F
Vol.
65 No.
OCTOBER
10
Sixpence
1960
Editorial
Notes
from the Secretary
Notes
by Custos
The
Common
Sense
Ebenezer
Elliott:
Dr. John
Socialism
Soul Under
Today
and Crisis
The
Corn Law
C. Bradiaugh
.
Clements,
O.B.E.
Book Reviews
Correspondence
Place
Bonner
,
Rhymer—II
Richard
South
Lewis
Actiyities
News
SOciety7s Other
of Kindred
Societies
Activities
Published by
mum Pan
SOCOEW
ETHICAL
ConwayHall, Red Lion Square,LondonWCI
Chancery 8032
SOUTH
SUNDAY
PLACE
MORNING
ETHICAL
MEETINGS
AT ELEVEN
SOCIETY
O'CLOCK
October
2-111. E. SWINTON, Ph.D., F.R.S.E. (Paleontologist)
A Century of the Darwinian Debate
Bass Solos by G. C. Dowmat8
Linden Lea
..
, Vaughan Williams
Hill and Vale ..
G. C. Dowman
Hynm: No. 108
October
9—PROFESSOR T. H. PEAR, MA.
Humanists, Psychologists and the Individual
Piano and Violin Solos by FREDERICJACKSONANDMARGOT MACGIBBON
Hymn: No. 50
October 16—JOSEPH MURUMBI (Africa)
Independence and Interdependence
in Africa-1960
Bass Solos by TED INGLIS
Hymn: No. 207
October 23—MRS. MARGARET KNIGHT, M.A. (University of Aberdeen)
How Europe became Christian
Soprano Solos by MARIE LOOISE
Hymn: No. 4
October 30—RICHARD CLEMENTS, 0.B.E., I.P.
Aneurin Bevan—Humanist
Statesman
Piano Solos by JOYCE LANGLEY
Hymn: No. 1
November 6—W. E. SWINTON, Ph.D..
G. B. Shaw and Evolution
SOUTH PLACE SUNDAY CONCERTS, 70th SEASON
Concerts at 630 p.m. (Doors open 6 p.m.) Admission 2s.
October
2—AMICI STRING QUARTET.
COLIN HORSLEY
Haydn in C, Op. 33, No. 6; Beethoven in E flat, Op. 74.
Schumann Piano Quintet.
October
9—HARRY ISAACS PIANO TRIO
Beethoven in C minor. Op. 1, No. 3; Dvorak Dumky, Op. 90;
' Brahms in C minor, Op. 101.
October 16—QUARTET PRO MUSICA
Mozart in E flat, K 428; Bartok No. 2; Brahms in A minor, Op. 51, No. 2.
October 23—BRAHMS PROGRAMME
CHRISTOPHER
BUNTING.
PETER WALLFISCH
Violoncello and Piano Sonatas in E minor, Op. 38; in F, Op. 99.
JA01 BRYMER
Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 11.
October 30—HIRSCH STRING QUARTET
Beethoven in E minor. Op. 59, No. 2; Mozart in D, K 575.
WILFRED PARRY.
Franck Piano Quintet
The Monthly Record is posted free to members and Associates. The Annual
charge to subscribers is 8s. Matter for publication in the November issue should
reach the Editor, G. C. Dowman, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, W.C.I, by
October 5.
Officers
Secretary: J. HUTTONHYND
Hon Treasurer: A. FENTON
Hon. Registrar : Mrs. T. C. LINDSAY
Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, W.C.1
Asst. Hon. Registrar: Miss W. L. GEORGE
Executive Secretary:
Miss E. PALMER
•
The
MONTHLY
RECORD
Vol. 65 No. 10
OCTOBER
1960
Sixpence
EDITORIAL
3
NOTES
4
FROM THE SECRETARY
Noms OFTHEMONTH,CUSIOS
..
.
THE SOULUNDERSOCIALISM,
Dr. John Lewis ..
COMMON
SENSEANDCRISISTODAY,
C. Bradlaugh Bonner
EBENEZER
ELLIOT:
THE CORN LAW RHYMER—II,
CORRESPONDENCE
..
BOOKREVIEWS
Sourx PLACENEWS..
ACTIVITIES
OF KINDRED
SOCIETIESSOCIETY'S
OTHERACTIVITIES
..
Richard Clements ..
6
9
10
11
13
19
19
20
20
The views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the Society.
EDITORIAL
ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO MAGIC in a particular date, yet the start of a new
season is an opportune occasion to ask members for increased support.
The deficit on the past season's running expenses is serious and should
excuse us if we call for increased activity in recruiting members. We feel
certain that London contains a large number who share our own liberal
attitude of thought and might welcome the amenities provided at Conway
Hall, where some of the best speakers in London deliver addresses of outstanding merit.
Can we prevail upon members to assist in accelerating the slow growth
in membership so sadly inadequate to the benefits offered by a Society
now nearly one hundred and seventy years old?
I.H.E.U. Bulletin
The I.H.E.U. in their July Bulletin state that they consider their membership is likely to be considerably enlarged. Already, Union of Free
Religious Societies in Germany, with a membership of more than 32,000,
has applied for affiliation. This union, they say, "is an important body of
organised humanists, who have no theistic basis in spite of the name''.
The Third Congress will take place. in Oslo during August 2-7, 1962.
The general theme will be "Long range :goals of Ethical Humanism".
We congratulate the I.H.E.U. on their dynamic progress and wish them
success for 'the Third Congress which; as they say: "promise's to mark a
stride forwarcr.for I.H.E.U.".
South
Place.Sunday
Concerts-
The report of the Sixty-ninth-Season -gives the usual happy account of
success. Although there was a deficit of £26 9s. 9d. on the•season's working,
this was easily Met by a transfer from the Subscription Fund.
The concert held on March 20.in aid of the Musicians' Benevolent Fund
resulted in a profit of £72 12s. 7d., which was duly handed over to that
Fund. Celia Arieli and the-Quartet- Pro Musica generously gave their services on' this occasion, and the South Plaee Ethical Society. provided the
hall and paid for all advertising and other expenses. George Baker made
a stirring appeal for this worthy charity which brought forth a generous
response from the audience.
George Hutchinson and his committee provided programmes.during the
Season, both classical and modern, which the public looks for and respects.
•The Society are fortunate in that this section of their acti•vities adds
lustre to their name.
Notes from. the Secretary
As THE 'NEW SEASON OPENS at Conway Hall, and as we glance at the
names and subjects on our S.P.E.S. calendar, we may be pardondd the
sentiment that here is one of the most attractive programmes of its kind
in London ; a programme . which should make its own strong appeal to
intelligent and responsible citizens who wish to meet their fellow citizens
froth time to-time for- fellowship and discussion, and for enlightenment
and inspiration (as supplementing radio and television!). 'How fortunate
we are to have a place—a place-of our own—in which to meet.- We-have
the programme and the place—now, what about the people? It is hoped
and their invited friends, will
that the readers of the Monthly,Record,
provide the audiences. A consistently good attendance of enthusiastic and
representative members of the Society may be expected to attract a goodly
number bf members of the general public. •The following meetings are open
tO the Public: but our first warm and Cordial invitation is extended to the
•
Members and associates of our Society.Sunday Morning Meetings With- the retirement of Mr. A. Robertson; Di. Swinton ig our •gole
Appdinted Lecturer. He will give the 'opening Sunday morning •address,
October 2. on "A Century of the Darwinian Debate". The debate (perhaps
as reflected in•The Huxley-Wilberforce, scienee v. theology, duel of a cen• • : •.,
tury ago) cohtinues. Who is winning the argument?
We had hoped to hear Mr. Ritchie Calder on October 9th 'address us-on
Escape into Space" but he has been called to the Congo at short notice.
As this is a subject that can be so well handled by Mr..Calder. we-can!but
hopehd.will, bp able to. speak •at some -future date. The breach has fortunately been:filled by .ProfesSor T..171,Pear, who ,will speOk on :'Huntanists,
..• ..,• „ .
.
.
Psychologists-and the Individual?.. .•
Mr. Joseph Murumbi,' of Africa (he writes, rI -have 'recently come-back
frdm• Ghana, Liberia, and 'otiinea, where I 'met Dr.,•Nkrumah, ,President
-
4
Tubman and President Sekou Toure-), will discuss on 'October 16 the
historical and social implications- of independence and interdependence in
relation to Africa's past, present .and future.
Mrs. Margaret Knight will come south from Aberdeen University for
speaking engagements ; she has very kindly accepted, our invitation to speak
on October. 23 on a subject of her choice, "How Europe became Christian".
Well—nominally and officially. Christian, anyway! Come early!
• Mr..Richard Clements wrote to say; "Ought wethot also to have something to say abouthAneurin Bevan,. the humanist statesman. We have a
much greater right to .a part in the heritage of thought and feeling of :the
man 'than the bishops and ministers 'who have been talking about him- in
Wales and in London in recent days"; and so we promptly and very
gladly invited Mr. Cleinents to give•the address on October 30—"Aneurin
Bevaw—Humanist Statesman"., •Mr. Clements does-not have a, political
eulogy• in mind ; rather, an appraisal of humanistic influences in the
thought and-career of an:influential political leader.
Conway Discussions on Tuesdays,
The speaker and guest of honour at the opening meeting of Conway
Discussions, October 4, will be Mr. Richard- Clements, who will make a
reference to the hundredth anniVersary of the birth of Jane Addams, the
American sociologist and pioneer in social work ; subject "A Century Of
the Social Conscience". The:social conscience. is a growing thing, a composite affair ; it .may create' a. Social Settlement (as- in the case' of Jane
Addams, Toynbee, CoiL and other), a Welfare State, a .group of "street
stewards", and so on. Mr. Clements has -had vast and varied experience
in the. field of the social services. (Come and enjoy a cup of tea during
the brief social interval.)
'October, 1960, brings independence to the people of Nigeria ; and we
Mark this important event -by inviting a distinguished Nigerian to speak
on October 11 on' "The New State of Nigeria"Mr: C. Ogwurike, who
is at present in London to complete -his advanced studies in Law (he
addressed the Ethical -Union Conference at High -Leigh last. month).
Mr. R. W. Sorensen, M.P., as Chairman of the Executive, World Congress Of Faiths,, and as n friend of cittr Society, will suggest the place and
part which the new ethical and religious -Humanism (as distinct from traditional academic Humanism) may have among the old religions. Or will it
be that the beliefs and 'practices of, this new Humanism will take the place
of the ancient faiths by which men have lived and died? Subject for
October 18—"The Nevi Humanism. and *the Old Religions". . '
•,
The Young Humanists, on Saturday, October 29, -will sporisor a Dance
in the large hall in aid of the work that•is- being done by Danilo Dolci
in Sicily. To encourage the young folks in their effort, and as an introduction to the'main occasion, the Dance, we have invited Mr. Robin Div.:in,
Secretary:of the Danilo Dolci Cominittee in -Londan, to addreSs Conway
Disdussions on the 25th ; he will present the film which tells the story of
Dolci's social enterprise. The meeting wig be .hel0 in,the large' halL,
It will be said that.the above programme 'represents much talk ; but we
may recall a sentence from:Mora Dickson's.recent book, The New Nigerians
(Dobson), "To:pay lip.service to an ideal is often no-bad beginning to
the' growth of a generous feeling for -it': ; and of course:there is -the saying
of Emerson, ''!Words• are -also actions':. lt: is no ,small matter. that there is
a programme and a place:in .which there is freedom to talk-and to discuss
some of the great issues:of the:day, in. the spirit of.courtesy: and responsibility. We should .take full advantage of it. ,. „•
,
H. D.
5
Notes by Custos
Sow. WEEKS AGO, the Archbishop of Canterbury, searching apparently for
some subject of religious moment upon which he might speak, talked of
the leg-gaiters which form part of the episcopal dress. Saying that they
formerly represented a symbol of autocratic authority, he remarked that
they were now symbolic of bondage to office. But we were amused that
he went on to say that it is a very comfortable form of bondage! Certainly
we should feel comfortable in a bondage which betokened a stipend of
£1,250 a year as.well as accommodation of a very pleasant and modernised
type. Comparing this standard of living with that of most wage-earners,
not to mention that of the Son of Man "who had no where to lay His
head", it is certainly a recompense for bondage which most people would
find highly satisfactory even if it does entail the wearing of leg-gaiters.
Nor should it be forgotten that, if the -office of Archbishop of Canterbury
were to disappear tomorrow, nobody would be-a scrap the worse off save
those who use it as a buttress of the social establishment. Incidentally,
it is nonsense to assert that the office no longer suggests high social
authority. It is clearly bound up with -the establishment at large and serves
as a bastion against social change. The holder presides over the Church
Commissioners, who deal with an annual income of some £314 million a
year and who utilise for sectarian ends both ancient endowment and commuted tithe which are properly the property of the nation at large. Whenever such a subject as morality, divorce. or A.ID. reaches the level of a
Royal Commission, episcopal interference is to be seen at the witnessstand even though the interfering bishops may possess little or no expert
knowledge of the subject. It is significant that, over the last year or two,
the bondage to which Dr. Fisher is subjected has led him to speak relatively
lightly of the morality of the H-bomb or of American power-politics whilst
leading him to suggest the prosecution of adulterers and the making of
AID. into a criminal offence. Such an attitude is clearly illustrative of
the moral arrogance which Christians normally substitute for intelligent
debate and is therefore suggestive, as are. the social positions which he
feels, of highly autocratic authority, We do not care in the least what
particular form of leg-dress is worn by Dr. Fisher and his episcopal colleagues. But we would suggest that it is high time for a policy demanding
the disestablishment and disendowment of the Church of England to clip
the wings of high ecclesiastical autocracy. We should like to see this cause
taken up in a militant manner by all rationalistic and humanist societies.
So far as South Place is concerned, it would merely be a return to the
healthy anti-ecclesiasticismwhich W. J. Fox voiced in his day and generation.
Agnosticism
and Christianity
' A most important paper was read by the Rev. Professor S. G. F. Brandon
at the recent Modern Churchmen's Conference. He spoke of the discovery
in 1945 of a Christian Gnostic library consisting of 13 volumes of papyrus.
Professor.Brandon went on to say that "the beginnings of Christianity were
not the simply defined guided process taught by the traditional theologist".
Gnosticism was more intimately involved in the development of Christianity
than was formerly realised. "Dr. Brandon added that the emphasis upon
the essential significance of the historical Jesus and His crucifixion, which
had been the strength of orthodox Christianity, was, as a result of modern
historical research, proving the most serious problem facing Christian
apologetics." (The Guardian, 4 August, 1960.) This is more than interesting, for it represents an outlook common to rationalistic scholars in these
fields for many years. Indeed, it suggests that the work* of some mytho6
sogists, such as J. M. Robertson or Couchoud, was not quite so far from
the point as more traditional scholars have imagined. The fact is that,
whether or not one holds that an historical figure moved behind it all, it
is impossible to distinguish Gospel "history" from Christian "myth". No
biographical portrait of Jesus is possible and the portrait which does survive is one compounded by ideological considerations in which Gnosticism
seems to have played a considerable part. Professor Brandon faces the fact
honestly from his standpoint as a liberal Christian. But we wonder how
far the outlooks demanded by the new standpoint will be evaluated and
discussed by the bishops and clergy in the parishes or by their equally illinformed laity. We hazard the opinion that they will continue to parrot the
old assertions as if nothing at all had happened and will rely for their
acceptance upon the ignorance of their hearers. Following the device common to Roman Catholic controversialists, they will seek to confine argument to general principles and will avoid the very real problems created
for them by Christian historiography. Above all, it will be the old and
discredited positions which will be used to influence moral and legal claims
upon contemporary society. In short, there is a vast hiatus between conventional Christian beliefs, demands or conduct and the developing results
of historical scholarship. The task of the humanist is both to contribute
to scholarly research and to make the positions attained known to the
person of general culture, a work which the R.P.A. did magnificently in
bygone .years and which we hope that it will continue.
A.LD.
At last, the Feversham Committee on Artificial Insemination has issued
its report and made it available to the public (14.M.S.O., 5s. 6d.). We cannot say that we are impressed ; it is detailed and pretentious without carrying the essential cjuestions very far. For example, there is a section on
the artificial insemination of the wife with seed drawn from the husband.
It does not seem a revolutionary moral position for the report to accept
this proeess as an ordinary medical operation and to place it beyond praise
or blame! In the case of artificial insemination with the seed of a donor,
there is a detailed discussion of a number of highly improbable or abstract
occasions. Most of them appear to be so improbable that they should have
been relegated to the category of those "hard cases" which make Thad
law" and left out of the discussion. It is acknowledged that AID. should
not be made into a criminal offence despite the pleas oIthe Archbishop of
Canterbury. But there seems a hovering doubt about the legitimacy of the
AID, baby although, when the wife has the operation with the consent
of the husband, it is agreed that it cannot be a ground for divorce or considered adulterous. In the end, the operation is regarded as undesirable
and is something which should be discouraged. We were grateful for the
commonsense minority ,report signed by Mrs. Peggy Jay and Mr. Ross,
Whilstthe majority decisions seemed to shirk facing the real issues. Actually,
there are very few cases of the operation in proportion to real births and
mosi childless couples clearly prefer the less complicated- process of legal
adoption. But there are couples who prefer the process of AJD. We quite
agree that the consent should be mutual; the husband has every right of
protection against an Unwanted birth. The act is clearly not a ground for
divorce; if it were so pleaded, a valid defence could be based upon "consent, connivance and collusion". The donor stands in a merely biological
relationship. Despite the majority report, it is nonsense to suggest that this
unknown causation of pregnancy in a woman never seen creates fatherhood in any real soCiological sense of the term. But over the report there
hangs the shadow of traditional Christian sex morality with its legal quibbling
7
and its negative repressions. We can only hope that the Government will
have the good sense to shelve the Feversham Report. Recent sex legislation
has included among its results some grave disservices to a healthy society.
The Wolfenden Report
Lord Stoneham and others have now admitted in the House of Lords
that the much-vaunted Street Offences Bill is the parent of the undesirable
clubs and savage gang outbreaks which now disgrace London. The debate
in the House of Commons concerning the Wolfenden Report shows that
the Government supporters have for the most part attained mere fatuity when
homosexual practices between consenting male adults come to.be.discussed
in their legal ramifications. We can only hope that a similarly fatuous outcome will not be the result of the opportunities provided towards attaining
this end by the Feversham Report and that it will be speedily forgotten.
We are grateful, however, to the commissioners for not falling in with
Dr. Fisher's apparent wish to make illegal in common law various forms
of sexual conduct of which he chances to disapprove!
Liberal Theology
During a debate held at the recent R.P.A. conference, it was maintained
13Vseveral speakers that liberal theology -is permeating the noti-Roman
churches and that rationalists 'should sit back, allowing this process to do
its work. One speaker made specific' reference to' the ieonoclasm of the
Modern Churchmen's Union. It is curious how this legend of a liberalised
church still pertains at a time when there has been a widespread retreat
into orthodoxy in various quarters..A glance at the Modern, Churchmen's
Union of today suggests:that its great days are over. Canon Cheyne .or
Dr. Glazebrook, Dean Inge or ,Dr. Hastings Rashdall seem to have left
few.successors. There is no longer ,the•-solichacadernic,atinosphereolsoUnd
learning. Of course, one reason is that it always represented-the liberalism
of clerical dons and schoolmasters, whilst mqwadays the Cducationalist is
no longer in -holyprders. At the same,fime, nonconformists no Longer.con;
duct ffnew.,theology” campaigns.. Some have retreated into, the orthodoxies
of, neo-Barthianism. whilst a liberalised generation no longer feels the.need
of churchgoing and has !dropped awawaltogether. Such accommodations. as
Unitarianism: have little or no part to play. In' the contemporary scene. It
is significant that an age•which has seen, a retreat into the neo-orthodoxies
of -Anglo:Catholicism .or Barthianism, is also an age which- has witneSsed
the collapse of the clergy as an educated or, , scholarly force. Take, for
example, the well-paid English bishops., Few have good .academic records
and qualifications. Fewer still haye.made any sort of serious contributiOn
to sound learning. More than- one prominent diocesan is Meiely,a "passman': whilst- at least onedeft the university.when he ploughed moderations
and was ordained, as a non-graduate! A large.,proportion of. the clergy,
both conforming or nonconforming, have no universitY ,degrec at all, a
fact ,which indicates that their minds .have never been stored ,and trained
by a proper .academic discipline. None of .this process of ,intellectual decay
suggests• a- liberalising movement within the church., But , it •does, betoken
the substitution of mere sentimentalism or-dogmatism, for .serious thought
in these, circles. Clearly, the, real, danger is; that a church which is•
badly in..the realm of thought ,is.a dangerous ,weed,,an upas-plant of 'superstition, which ,may poison .the, minds of the, ill- or partly-educated who
abound. in- church. congregations. The situation is rone,:which ;Calls:for a
militant. ratiOnalism, educational in its work of -destruction and actively
seeking7to, root out -a decayed ecclesiasticism from. every quarter OfLife,
•• )
„,:..CVSTOS
8
The Soul under Socialism
BY
LEWIS
'OSCARWILDE'Sfamous essay under this title was hardly a profession of
faith in socialism as a political creed ; it was rather a protest against the
soul destroying character of our commercial civilisation. In our, day we
are sometimes ourselves keenly aware of this, bin more often it is socialism
'that we think of as reducing man to a mere cog in the machine: It is
indeed supposed by many that the very creed of socialism exalts the state
as an entity superior-to the individuals who make it up., On the other hand,
the value of the individual is supposed to be fully accepted by what we
call the "free World", and our whole system is regarded as giving maximum
opportunity to everyone to develop his personality.
Oscar Wilde clearly .saw that this is not so ; and today informed opinion
is moving rapidly in his difection. Quite recently id the United States considerable alarm has been expressed at the paralysing uniformity of the mass
mind ; driven into near-imbecility by advertising and Commercial radio and
bludgeoned' into timid acceptance of convention by the Pressure of public
opinion and the fear of offending both big and little McCarthys: Other
thinkers have pointed out that in- our civilisation everything is bought and
sold, even man himself in the labour market; even; -indeed:the' writerand
is
the intellectual; the artist arid' Musician. Everything' and eYerybOdy
.- •
• Pietessor Hayek, one of -the. most stalwart defenders'. of indiv-idualisrn,
who regards every form of. social control and social welfare a.S' a step on
"the road. t6 serfdom", Makes a remarkable admission in. his- Mcent book
True and False: If we follow the path- of edonornic freedom,
Individualism
find ourselves in the grip 'cif 'edonomic forces'Which 'seem
he says, we
nor moral, and yet 'we must on no account resist
-rational
neither
us
.to
them 'Or: we Shall obstruct the operation of -that "Unseen hand", -as Adair'
Smith 'called it, which by the alchemy. of free competitiOn-and the:market,
automatically brings the maxithum social welfare• out of the struggle of
every man Ap secure fiis own' persdnal advantage.
Something has 'gene wrong With the individualit- argument. It was,:as a
-matter iof 'fact; -based on a fallacy, -While-the truth . appears somewhat
paradoxical. The fallacy is that we achieve our, freedom and self-fulfilment
by pursuing our- own interests and not the comrnon good, by rejecting social
obligations' and' responsibilities and doing only- what we like.: The paradok
is -that we +achieve. real- personality -Only• by co-Onerating -with other's 'to
achieve' the tommon good, and that we only find our freedom by aCcepting
Social responsibility. Boads may' be- Wings.: There is -great truth: in the
phrase from the Prayer Book: "His service is 'perfect 'freedom".
- Binh psychology 'and common experience surely' bear this-.out: I-Individualism leads not to; the fulfilled, Mit the' neurotic 'personality. Theiman
who Ins, not learned to work' for the common good, far the team,' for .his
fanilly,- his :club, is not ,a happy and successful type but a. misfit 'and -an
outsider.
But it. is impOrtant to note that it is not true of every -society 'that its
requirements 'are compatible 'with individual -welfare:ATery much Of our
oWn civilisation is hostile to individual, welfare: But it is so 'because 'as a
social- system it doesnor organise itself to secure a 'common: good, but
'private-profit: 'As HaYek.himseltdeinontrates it istompetitive;)individualistic society whose :demands' are destruCtive:of all:that we feel•to 'bet right
and` reasonable. ;Therefore; as Rousseau; told. us:long ago: our. task Must
Dr.
JOHN
' 9
be to create that form of society in which individual and social interests
are identical, and that can only be a society in which the resources of the
earth and the labour of man are consciously controlled and organised for
the common good.
This may look as though it deprived us of freedom ; actually it is the
'only road to real freedom. From the coercions and frustrations of an
individualistic society "Good Lord, deliver us", and let us see whether
in co-operation and brotherhood, with all its obligations and restraints,
we may riot find a place in the human family whose discipline and duty
we can freely accept, and thus achieve at last—"The soul of man under
socialism".
(Summary
of an address delivered on June 26.)
Common Sense and Crisis Today
BY
C. BRADLAUGH
BONNER
BERTRAND
RUSSELLin his letter to- Eisenhower and Khrushchov which
appeared in the New Statesman in November, 1957, wrote: "Never before
has there.been reason to feel that the human race was travelling along a
road ending only .in a bottomless precipice"; to this letter Dulles and
.Khrushchov both replied, both completely missed the point, neither able
to rise above party dispute. Has the situation improved since then? Today
Mr. K. seems to pursue the policy of "brinkmanship'. 'to the very brink
of very brinks. The recourse to violence, far from lessening, appears to
spread. What can Man be that this happens? Cannot the people learn to
learn (in the words of Dr. Brock Chisholm) Man and his societies are the
product of a million years of fear, and the modern scientist the product
, of a mere .century? The outlook of the trembling propitiatory sorcerer of
the Magdalenian Age is still strong on the world today. The human infant
can, particularly in the first twelve years of its existence, be moulded to
the needs of society. What prevents the child today being brought up with
a scientific outlook,. free from the fears and prejudices of its forebears? It
is a.pervasive anxiety derived from feelings of guilt and sin, the outcome
of the Magdalenian sorcerer's outlook. Common sensb requires that the
children should be freed, if freed they can be, from this inheritance and
prepared to face the difficult problems which our generation is bequeathing
them.
To express this urgency, let us picture it in concrete form as an.imminent
landslide in the Alps. Here the storm waters gather and rise yards above
their normal level. As they rise the mountain which has been stealthily and
gradually undermined-by springs, frost and wind shudders over the precipice
edge. In like manner the population of the world increases ever more and
more rapidly; hunger and misery increase in ratio. In three centuries -the
world's population has multiplied by five. The population increase at the
present day-in countries like India stultifies almost all efforts to ameliorate
the condition of the people as a whole. Thrust before the -eyes of the
miserably poor the wealth and comfort of the West, as has happened in
the oil countries of the Middle East or in the North African littoral ; join
to the-intense envy so aroused differences of religion and it is not surprising
that the cauldron boils over. Emigration may be a safety valve; it may
be a cause of war. -Since the opulent quarter .of the world's ,people use 95
per cent, of the world's mineral wealth,-equal distribution would mean an
immense reduction in the standard of living. of 'the West unless substitutes
can be found in time, and "in time" is the ominous phrase. ,
If we are not all swept away helpless as straws in -the path .of the land-10
slip we, the Freethinkers, must combine and co-operate as never before
especially with the aim of freeing the children. To teach the young to
accept the irrational makes it difficult for them to reason and they grow
up, to be the playthings of the "million years of fear" that formed the
Magdalenian sorcerer. What is wrong with the world at present is that it
won't scrap its old prejudices and its old moralities and its old religions ;
its national sovereignties and its tribal privileges. The old religions broke
down long before yesterday. Scrap them (Shaw: Major Barbara).
(Summary
of a discourse
EBENEZER
delivered
ELLIOTT:
on July
17)
2
The Corn Law Rhymer
BY
CLEMENTS
RICHARD
IT SAYSMUCHfor Elliott's resilience of mind and strength of character that,
in spite of his personal problems, he soon had a ready grasp of the details of
the trade by which he earned a living. He was later on promoted to a post as
commercial traveller in his father's business.
This work was more agreeable than the life of a foundry worker, as it
brought new and wider knowledge of Men and things. He felt himself to be
in touch with the life of the outside world. A few years later his father
took him into partnership, and his career progressed steadily for a time,
though he did not succeed in business until—in 1821—at the age of forty,
he set up in the iron trade for himself in the rapidly growing town of
Sheffield. This great industrial city exercised a life-long fascination on the
longest poem—he painted
poet's mind, and in The Village Patriarch—his
a striking picture of its people:
"Town of the unbowed poor! thou shalt not pine
Like the fallen rustic. licensed Rapine's thrall,
But first to rise wilt be the last to 'fall! '
Slow are thy sons the pauper's trade to learn ;
Though in the land that blossoms like the rose
The English peasant and the Irish kerne
Fight for potatoen, thy proud labourer knows
Nor workhouse wages nor the exile's wOes."
He was forced to set up in trade on his own account because his father's
business failed and he was personally involved in its ruin. The facts about
this disaster are not known, but Elliott alWays attributed it to the operation
of the Corn' Laws. He began his business life at Sheffield with a borrowed
capital of £100, and succeeded in rearing and educating a large family, as
Well as creating for himself a small fortune which was later valued at
16,000. He invested,his money, not, it was said, to the best advantage, and
retired to Great Houghton, near Barnsley, to spend the remainder of his
life as a poet.
Now, having traced the growth of the mind and character of Elliott, let
us look at his poetic writings. The theme of his early. poetry was nature.
His biographer said 'in. an arresting sentence: "He began by making pictures of flowers, which arc the poetry of nature, and ended by translating
their ' beauty and fragrance into verse". As a youth he heard his brother
Giles read aloud from Thomson's Seasons, and Elliott tried to imitate the
style of that author, but in rhYme. These first efforts were so severely
criticised by those about him that he is said to have tossed them into the
fire—but he was determined to try again and to write real poetry. This
experience showed him his limitations, and he was thus led to take in hand
!I I
e famous'
his own literary education. Some of the best authors in our language were
soon his favourites. It was perhaps' of his own struggles as a•student that
he was thinking when he wrote:
"Here oft, with fading cheek and thoughtful brow.
Wanders the youth, town-bred, bin desert born ;
Too early taught life's deeping woes to know,
'
He wakes in sorrow with the weeping morn,
And gives much labour for a little corn.
Thrall though he he,
He feels his ihtelleetual dignity,
Works hard, reads -usefully, with no mean skill
Writes, and can reason well of good and ill. •
How gratefully his growing mind receives
The food which tyrants struggle to with-hold!
Oh, with what rapture he prepares.to- fly
From streets and courts with crime and sorrow strewed,
And bids the mountain lift. him to the sky."
He was determined not to allow himself to be paironised as an "unlettered
poet", as this had become a popular craze of the times: ,..
•
- "When a' labourer Writes a poem", he- Wrote bitterlY. "the fact is
an -incident in the, history of poets—a class of , persons proyerbially
unable to earn their bread ; but if there is merit in the poem, why
marvel at the slave,driver's Wonder cry? I never felt ahy respect for
the patrons of inspired milkmaids and ploughmen, for milkmaids and
ploughmen, if inspired, cadnOt long-need patronage ; but I know that,
unwilling to believe aught good of the poor, the rich, when a.poor Man's
deed shames theirs, transform, the individual into,, a ',Marvel it the
expense of his _class; beCause, having wrOnged, they.liate it."
Let us now film to the Corn. Law•Rhymes. They are short pieces, and
were all the more effective for, being so, as they.,were intended to be read
by the unlettered masseS. In. many of Mem Elliott merely versified the
theories and Maxims taken ,frord the writihgs of- Colonel Thompson on
free trade. They were nOt written in any one ,style; or measure, for he
intended them to, be• sung, reaa: or ,recited.,They reflect very vividly the
passing moods of the poet, bdt they are marred by' bitterness and invective.
He often reminds one of a- Hebrew prophet foretelling the ,v,MOto come.
He can see ,thathing but, evil in the works Ofthese.Who suppOrted the Corn
LaWs, and for landloi-ds ahd their pelitical sUppOrters he- Wad'only contempt and ,hatred.
Elliott himelf was Under no delusion as . to the .artistic Merit ,of his
rhymes, for he wrote: - "I have published pOeMs,WithoutpalitiCil illusions
and the .wOrst of them all 'might juatlY claim a hundred Eines the. merit
of the Corn Law Rhymes". He' was, then, consdioui' of the ,fact that he
had used his gifts ,as a poet in the service of political. propagahda., Apart
from the' lack of artistic merit, hii,Versei have becoine almost ineahingless
beCanse of the' ginwth Of:edonOmic'nationalism. In our times hations striie
.forindin'trial and -pblitienl self-uffiaiency. Hil writings do,sen;e, however,
to thrOw'intO vivid Contrast the ideas of two different periods ofihistory.
Corn Law•Miyrnes:.
12Father!-- thy, nation-girding seas :f2
•
-
.
.".
:..
12
Obey _alike_the storm and -breeze -.
iTo.clasp us allIdn one -embrace,'
:Not -sever wide dmri Socialface:
•
•
To feed, not famish, human kind,
Was laboured land by thee designed;
To yield us food, hot tax our bread,
And libel Thee with mouths unfed! • '
Yet prosper they who curse the soil,
Ordained tb feed the sons of toil! They who make pain of sun and rain,
Of seas and winds a dungeon-chain!
God of the poor! shall labour eat,
,
Or drones alone find living sweet? Lo! they who call Thy earth their own Take all we have, and give a stone!
They toil not,: neither do they spin,
But call us names of shame and sin ;
Eat e'en our lives, our very graves!And make our unborn children slaves!"
•
Elliott's writings were often marred by vituperation and bitterness, but
there were moments when he rose above such faults, and•struck his true
note as a man- and a poet. This charming passage from The Splendid
Village is an .example of his best work:—
...•
"But me nor palaces nor satraps please ;
I love to look' on happy cottages. ,
The gems I seek 'are seen in Virtue's- eVe;
These gauds disgust me, and I. pass them by.
Show me a' hem& like: that I knew of old,
•
Ere heads grew hot with pride, and bosoms 'cold ; .
Some frank good deeds, which simple truth may praise':
' •
Some moral graee. on which the heart can gate;
Some little hopes that give.to toil its zest ;
, The equal rights. that make, the :labourer blest ;. .
The smile in which eternal love we.seani
-And thank his Maker:while we look on man.".•
. At his. home at Great Houghton; .on the morning of December 1, 1849,
his life-eame to a peaceful close. A few- days before his death, a. robin
had perched on his window, and its sweet notes had given-joy to the heart
of The dying poet. He listened quietly, and:then dictated these• two verses
--the last-he ever wrote:
. "Thy notes, sweet -Robin; soft as dew, • .
Heard •soon or late, are dear to me;
,
;To musioq could.,bid adieu, • ,
.,•,,
But not to thee.•
. -When front- my eyes. earth's lifeful throng
' 'Has passed away; nor. more 'to be,— .• •
Then,' Autumn's primose,t-Robin's 'song,' • •"
'
' Return to me." '
•
- Correspondence
.
Dear Editor, ,
;•Now that 'another season is inion. us; I would like to suggest that as
Mitch as 'pOisible be done during 'it, to mnke elth the "rationaliStic and
humanist basis of the work• undertaken at South Place: The' hiStory of the
chapel. is' illintratiVe of. this deireldpmenf..\\/.1 I. Epx 'sfciod. far , ahead .of
his•Iime,in 'the ;deiitie ind'non-Christian iinalitY of hili-theism.- Moncure
ConWay led the sOcietyon"from 4 franscendeMal theism bf the.New England
type into 'agriostieigm pUre and simple. Afte'r his day,' the rationalistic'. !nd
‘13
iconoclastic nature of the society's work is to be typified by the names
of such appointed tlecturers as Joseph McCabe, J. M. Robertson or J. A.
Hobson. The society was never a part of any conscious effort to create an
ethical religion or church bdt an essay in the evolution of a religious freedom
hostile to the supernatural and formal religions or their organisations.
At the present time, there is a very real danger that a conscious attitude
of hostility towards the conventional religious organisations may be forgotten. Yet it is a period when these organisations are growing more and
more aggressivc. I need only refer to the steady groWth in influence of the
Roman Catholic Church or to the demands made by the Church of England
in the fields'iirsex and education. In this country, the perpetuated anomaly
of an "established" church only serves to increase the arrogance of Christian
claims upon society.
I would like to suggest khat our work at South Place should continue to
take notice of these facts and to realise that our search for "a rational
religious sentiment" should cause• us to take up an attitude of open hostility to ecclesiastical corporations and their religious theories just as did
W. J. Fox in his day. It would indeed be an advantage if this element
were brought to the fore in our weekly gatherings as the necessary and
negative side of a viewpoint which has its positive aspects in constructive
humanism. May I suggest that, as a start, it would be an advantage if
we abandoned the anachronism of a hymn on Sunday mornings? Few if
any of our audiences join in the singing, whilst it 'doubtless repels many
who wish to make a total break with an orthodox past.
Yours faithfully,
. F. H. AMPHLETT MICKLEWRIGHT
Policy of South Place
Dear Sir,
Mr. George Adcock's provoking letter is both interesting and bristling
with targets for attack! It would take too long to deal ,with every pointof his letter inviting criticism. The criticisms I have in mind, however, can,
think, be focused on one basic point.
It seems to rne to be essential to differentiate clearly between theological
or anti-theological views on the one hand and practical ethical policies on
the other. Such views and policies are entirely separate and distinct, with
no connection whatsoever, as I see it.
Provided this clear distinction is kept constantly in mind, there seems
to be no reason at all why agnosticism and free-thinking should be a
hindrance to practical policies. The honest pursuit of truth may demand
that an individual be an agnostic, but this would seem to have no bearing
at all on the formation of practical policies, which through their nature
demand decisions, even though they be in the nature of trial and error.
As long as this basic distinction is continually kept in mind, it seems
that freedom of thought and the right to reserve judgment in cosmological
matters is not only harmless but desirable, and indeed'essentiak if one is
to concede individual freedom at all in what after all amounts to a very
academic realm of human thought.
If the distinction I have drawn is strictly and relentlessly implemented,
there would seem to be no valid reason why one should not be completely
free to be an atheist, agnostic or Christian or anything else on the one
hand, and yet combine with individuals ' of all other. •viewpoints for the
consideration of practical ethics on the other.
Whe keeps this distinction firmly in mind Mr. Adcock is quite free to
"have little use for agnosticiSm"—as free as others are to have little use•
for atheism. But to allege that agnoSticism is "an unscientific position". is
quite another matter. Mr. Adcock must prove •hat by seientific means—
if he can!
Yours faithfully: OSWALD B. 'DEAKIN
•
14
Sir,
I find some puzzling points in the long letter of George Adcock in
August/September issue.
Does he really believe that "the task of regimenting thought is infinitely
more difficult than in the past"? Does he not know of the existence of
newspapers, sound and television radio, the Church(es), and the "education" system from kindergarten to university? If so, what does he imagine
theY are all paid to do? I've omitted the talking shop at Westminster—
sorry I
I hope I am wrong in my reading of the third paragraph of his letter,
which seems to say that we should "evolve new moral selective mechanisms
capable of conditioning the minds of individuals up to world level". Snakes
alive! As a Humanist I have no wish to condition minds. On the contrary,
I wish to combat everything that is presently organised to do just that.
Personally I want human beings set free as individuals to evolve their own
minds. M/hat "up to world level" means, I cannot interpret.
As for Christianity and Adcock's naive assertion that "Their beliefs are
comparatively harmless . . ", I am amazed. Christianity, in any case, is
not merely belief in a life after death, as he seems to indicate. One answer
was published on page 18 of the same issue of "M.A."—
"Peace upon earth!" was said. "We sing it,
And pay a million priests to bring it ;
After two thousand years of mass
We've got as far as poison gas".
—
Thomas
Hardy.
No, Mr. Adcock, Christianity makes possible the newly announced
American nerve gas ; Humanism does not.
The only end to Christian collaboration with us is their giving up their
far from harmless Christian beliefs—if they stayed with us!
J. W. LESLIE
Yours sincerely,
Dear Sir,
May I ask for a little space to say how completely I disagree with the
letter of Major Adcock? In fact, it seems to me that, if it were .acted
upon, South Place might just as well close its doors! We should have
joined in sympathy the ranks of the Vatican, the Church of England, the
various Christian sects and the other reactionaries who are among the
causes of the mental obscurantism and reactionary politics which afflict
our world.
May I state my main objections to this viewpoint?
It is not true to say that South Place has worked consciously to a
policy appealing to the "extreme" left. On the contrary, it has adopted an
empirical and rational attitude to the greater issues of human thought and
experience. If the result has tended to be leftwards, this is merely because
the intellectual left can justify itself empirically to a greater extent than
can the opposite. A claim that the Conservative Party contained more
dense and stupid people than any of its rivals, and that this was in fact
the source of much of its power, was set forth by J. S. Mill, and Mill's
statement is as apposite today as it was when he made it. Incidentally, it
is not true to suggest that South Place is "a failure".
A shunning of "militant atheism" and a turning for sympathetic
companionship towards the Protestant churches would be a complete
reversal of the South Place traditimr from the days of Fox to the present
time. If Major Adcock wants this sort of thing, his proper place is with
the World Council of Churches.
There is a vast difference between the authoritarian ethic of the
churches and the empirical attitude of humanism. An empirical approach
15
to ethics suggests comparison and experiment. It does not look too kindly.
upon a claim to "positive belief" which is related in fact .to positive dog:
matism. Nor can it make common ethical cause with ehurcheS which
claim that their moral beliefs are based upon the infallible authority of a
divine revelatiOn.
Agnosticism does not m•ean 'an inability to make up one's mind*
this is a vulgar error concerning the label and definition. It meant to T. H.
Huxley and like thinkers ,an, assertion that the ultimate is unknowable, a
very different outlook. My own dislike Of the Word is•that of Bradlaugh.
It ,is, in-practice, the same as atheism but it too often .betokens a lack of
pugnacity and a fear ,of giving offenee. Unlike Majcir Adcock, I mot only
want my humanism•to be "militanr but also."pugnacious"I Major Adcoek
might recall that he owes his right lo a:mild heresy today to the pugnacious
radicals and free-thinkers of.the past and that it is a moral duty of SoUth
Place to .preserve their heritage. ,
I can see no reason why South Place, should have a viewpoint apart
from that of the humanist -and free-thinking movement as a whOle, still
less that it should ,adopt the:very. questionable views of de Chardin. It
would be far. better employed considering the, great humanistic writers on
•ethics of the last century and asking the extent to which economic interpretations of history had modified their conclusions . by illustrating the
unreality of any quest, for abstractions. If this mearth the domination of
left-wing groups, it merely means the domination, of a sound, factual
scholarship rather than of certain theoretical and abstract viewpoints far
removed from empirical justification. Indeed, the reference to left-wing
groups suggests to me that the whole of Major Adcock's letter is conditioned psychologically by this fear-complex and that it is the type ,of
thing which we may expect. to hear more, frequently if South 'Place were
ever persuaded by a handful of reactionaries to,desert.its old radical standpoint.
I would suggest that in view of the aggressiveness of contemporary
ecclesiasticism, its oppressive attitude in the moral, and economic *fields,
together with its obscurantism in,knowledge and the misery which it causes
in practice,• a far greater attitude of opposition :should . be shown by
humanists. towards Christianity„ particularly in ita organised forms, and
that this should be the policy ,of South,:Place. Especially should the agel
long controversy be interpreted, against the background of the sOcial and
economic fields, whilst anti-clericalism itself is an attitude which can find
much justification in England today.:Major Adcock rdoes not seem to wish
to see the hearts .of humanists warm towards the U.S.S.R.. But perhaps
such a warming is inevitable, as: the 'U.S.S.R. when passing through a
revolution at least had the courage and the common-sense to treat the
church in a realistic manner- which others might imitate to, their social
advantage.
Yours faithfully, ,•
.
F. H. ,AMPHLETT MICKLEWRIGHT
South Place Policy
.
Sir,
George Adeock is-a useful 'member.;of: any society or group,- if only
as a challenger of aimplacency, but unfortunately' he is. less successful in
building up a constructive cast-Indus letter he'eovers such a •lot of ground
in a•most complex field that it is .difp.cult,to pick up his many,,points or
even to-gather -pfeeisely what is his airn.. .He,can -scarcely put ion the
shoulders of South-Place.-the framing of a sciencetof morals,. especially
as he offers no definition of this curious addition to-the•sciences. ,, • ir
I think ihe clue to his basic and possibly.unconscious 'purpose is•reveaW
by his opening sentence ireferringlto "the extreme, left", uwhich I know , is
16
anathema to him. Socialists have always laid emphasis on the moral bank. ruptcy of private capitalist, society which he supports, but it is precisely
this which attracts them to a movement like the Ethical Union, which is
concerned with the dissemination of moral principles, just as Socialism
also attracts earnest Christians seeking the means to put into practice the
teachings of their .founder. The common factor in this process is not some
scientific law, Mit the recognition and pursuit of certain values. The recognition arid pursuit are no doubt aided by the-rational process and the achievement by scientific principles, but the• initiating cause is the dynamic of the
.
•
moral value.
It is' the failure to recognise that it is moral values which are the essential
basis of both the Ethical movement and the Socialist movement which
leadi to Mr. Adcock's confusion. It does not mean 'that all Humanists
are• Socialists or that all Socialists are Humanists. We are all to some
extent irrational in our thinking and 'behaviour. But it does mean that to
the extent that there is a common respect tor such'•values and particularly
any attempt• to 'secure their expression in' our social life, there is cOmrnunity of purpose. This' leads me to the one- constructive suggestion with
as an
which Mr. Adcock ends his letter—the recognition of evolution
inevitable feature of religious progress.. If 'he had added "social" to
"religious" he would have, gone' far AO answer -the problem he has raised.
HENRY LLOYD
Policy of South Place
Dear Sir,,
So Major.Adcock likes his blacks black and his whites white. If we are
not- Christians we must be atheists, if not right wing then we are left.
Personally, I like a little colour in my views; bright hues in some cases;
in others the palest of pale pinks. 'As an agnostic I do not know whether
there is a God or not, and what is more, I do not .care. My favourite
definition' of a Humanist is a person Who believes that people and events
in this world are not 'influenced' by .an outside God, and 'that therefore
social and moral progress must be worked for from this viewpoint. Perhaps
the majority of people in' this country could be included, in the first part
of 'this-definition, but unfortunately the workers are few. It is not what
people talk about but, what they do that matters. The Quakers are not
propagandist but 'they' are 'universally respected because they tackle
Humanist jobs 'which nobody else will. Humanist or Ethical Societies will
.
not be respected till j their deeds speak for them.
'We are too weak at present to do much. Our first job should be to
increase our membership to a thousand. Even'500 live .members would be
orderable to'a 'list of names 'in a register. For this we must feel expansion,
advertise that we want to welcome every Humanist no matter where he
comes from, and make him feel welcome when he comes—not shut down
all the summer, when 'London is full of visitors. There are plenty of jobs
to be done if we attract people tote set doing them, and plenty of lonely
in London jwaiting to be welcomed. ' ' '
As for. a science, of moralg, it brings' to Mind Christian Science at one
Moment. 'at anOther my mind conjures up 'ah electronic computor into
which we push ,the question, say, whether, it is right or wrong:for a man
to park his cat outside a 'Stranger's:, house all 'day so ;that the, viciiin 'cannot dinen. up fo his own docirstep,' press the neceSsary buttons 'and -out
pops the answer; Yes or .No. Experiencd tia. taught me that morals, where
not merely' a ihatter of 'storming soinebódy'else' from doing,what you don't
want to do yofirself, or worse,. don't dare, to, vary, with the' society in
cohntryThi1'niany resnects
W
hieh the'y' operate: The9' have altered ih
in my lifetime. If everkone were adulfiand reiponiible;' there wauld- be no
'17
need for morals except as a code to teach young children. An adult-minded
human race is a thing to work for.
Yours faithfully,
•
P. F. C. SOWTER
COM M ITTEES—June, 1960 - May, 1961
Major G. Adcock, R. Clements, P. R. Crellin, Mrs.
G. C. Dowman, Miss W. L. George, Miss R. Halls, Mrs. L. Hennion,
G. Hutchinson, F. E. Jones,, Mrs. K. Males, F. H. A. Micklewright, Miss
E. Palmer, Miss C. Paul, S. L. Pepper, G. N. Salmon, R. T. Smith, Miss
P. Snelling, Miss E. Stich, P. F. C. Sowter, B. 0. Warwick, F. H. W.
Washbrook. Ex-officio: G. C. Dowman, A. Fenton, J. Hutton Elynd, Mrs.
T. C. Lindsay.
Minutes Secretary: Mrs. L. L. Booker (Temporary), Miss E. Palmer (from
September).
Executive Committee: G. C. Dowman, A. Fenton, J. Hutton Hynd, Miss
E. Palmer, F.'H. W. Washbrook.
Finance Committee: A. Fenton (Convenor), C. E. Barralet, Mrs. L. L.
Booker, J. Hutton Hynd, Miss E. Palmer, B. 0. Warwick, F. H. W.
Washbrook.
Bookstall: Miss E. Palmer (Hon. Sec.), A. Fenton, Miss W. L. George,
Mrs. L. Hennion, F. H. Amphlett Micklewright.
Building: B. 0. Warwick (Hon. Sec.), C. E. Barralet, D. R. Errington,
G. N. Salmon.
Clements Memorial:
Mrs. F. M. Hawkins (Hon. Sec.), A. M. Lined,
J. Fairhall, Miss R. Halls, G. Hutchinson, L. Roth, Miss F. J. Simons.
Concerts: G. Hutchinson (Hon. Sec.), Mrs. F. M. Hawkins, Mrs. J.
Hutchinson (Asst. Hon. Secs.), A. M. Lined (Hon. Treas.), Miss R. Halls,
Hawkins, Mrs. M. Lined, L. Roth, Mrs. M. Roth, Miss F. Simons, Miss
P. Snelling, P. F. C. Sowter, Miss S. Sowter.
Conway Discussions:
J. Hutton Hynd (Convenor), Mrs. L. L. Booker,
C. Dowrnan, Miss R. Halls, J. W. Leslie, Mrs. T. C. Lindsay, S. L.
Pepper, R. T. Smith, Miss B. Smoker, F. H. W. Washbrook.
Conway Memorial:
Miss Palmer (Convenor), .1-I. J. Blackham, G. C.
Dowman, E. J. Fairhall, Mrs. E. J. Fairhall, Miss R. Halls, G. M. 'Hann,
J. Hutton Hynd.
Dances: P. R. Crellin (Hon. Sec.), Mrs. G. Crellin, F. Ellis.
Decor Advisory. Mrs. L. L. Booker (Convenor), Mrs. K. Males, Mrs.
G. N. Salmon.
Hawkins Chamber Music Library: Mrs. M. Linoe (Hon. Sec.), Mrs. F. M.
Hawkins, F. Hawkins, G. Hutchinson.
House: Miss P. Snelling (Hon. Sec.), Miss S. Freuthall, Mrs. H. Gamble,
Miss R. Halls, Mrs. T. C. Lindsay, Miss V. McLean, Miss J. Moore.
Library: Mrs. E. Altmann-Gold (Librarian), G. C. Dowman, Miss R.
Halls, J. Hutton Hynd, Mrs. T. C. Lindsay, Miss V. McLean, Miss J.
Moore, Miss E. Palmer, Miss P. Snelling, Miss E. Stich.
Music on Sundays: G. C. Dowman, G. Hutchinson.
Publicity: J. Hutton Hynd (Convenor), G. C. Dowman, A. Fenton, J. W.
Leslie, Miss E. Palmer, Miss C. Paul, F. H. W. Washbrook, Mrs. L. L.
Booker, II. L. Walker.
Rambles: P. R. Crellin, Miss W. L. George, B. 0. Warwick.
Social: Miss R. Halls (Hon. Sec.),, Miss P. Snelling (Hon. Treas.), Mrs.
E, Altmann-Gold, Mr. and Mrs. G. C. Dowman, Mrs. H. Gamble, Mrs.
T. C. Lindsay, Miss V. McLean, Miss E Moore, Mrs. D. Salmon, P. F. C.
Sowter, Miss D. Walters.
Young Humanists:
P. R. Crellin (Hon. Sec.), F. Ellis, Miss C. Paul,
D. Pope, R. Schama, Miss S. Sowter.
General
18
Committee:
Book Reviews
AMONGRECENTBOOKSof interest, thire are two which are well worth
attention by rationalists and which may be obtained by order from the
bookstall at Conway Hall. Professors Briggs and Saville have edited
Studies in Labour History in memory of G. D. H. Cole (Macmillan, 42s.).
This is a work which must be read by all who are interested in workingclass or radical history during the last century. Such subjects as the "First
International" or the changing view of class and status in England cannot
be overlooked by those who would wish to assess the evolution of the
country in the post-industrial period. But references to Charles Bradlaugh,
Mrs. Harriet Law and Dr. 'Sexton also recall a post-Chartist period when
secularism was a political force in its own right, whilst an essay on Professor
Beesly is a study of English Positivism and the important part which a
naturalised version of Comtism played in trades-union history here.
WE WOULDAlso recommend to rationalistic readers the Population
by Richard M. Fagley (Oxford
Responsibility
and Christian
Explosion
University Press, 28s.). The author is an American Congregationalist who
fully understands the principles of modern demography and who sees that
the population problem is one of the vast issues for society today. Having
outlined the problems involved very well indeed, he sees them as a contemporary challenge to Christian theology. Chapters follow on the Christian
tradition of sexual behaviour. The inadequacy of the tradition is contrasted
with the extent to which modern Protestantism has come to terms with
contraception. So far, so good! But this is not the only sexual problem
facing Christendom! Dr. Fagley's book could be read as a study in a
tradition of failure and it would serve a good purpose if it sent the reader
back to such a work as Brend's Sacrifice to Attis. But its discussions of
population, of Malthusianisrn and the like are able and well-documented
contributions. Rationalists would do well to study it as a good example
of the type 'of Protestant .sex-apologetic of which we are likely to hear
more during coming years. But it may be questioned whether it really
represents explOration or whether it is anything other than an abandonment of the historic outposts once manned securely by Augustine of Hicipo,
Aquinas and Calvin under pressures evoked by modern scientific enquiry.
CUSTOS
South Place News
•
S.P.ES. Resolution
At a meeting of the General Committee of S.P.E.S. held on"September 7,
the following resolution was proposed by Mr. Amphlett Micklewright, seconded by Mr. DOwman and passed unanimously:
"This Committee of South Place Ethical Society protests that at the
Quarter Sessions held at Carlisle in July, 1960,the Recorder, Mr. Edward
Q.C., remarked upon the fact that a Probation Officer had affirmed instead of taking the oath, commented that an atheist was unsuitable in the post of Probation Officer, and suggested that he might
look with less regard upon evidence tendered in view of this fact. Assuming that the report contained in the News Chronicle of July 23, 1960, is
accurate, the remarks of the Recorder would seem (a) to cut across tbe
impartiality of attitude demanded of a Court of Justice in matters per2
taining tO religious Liberty and equality; (b) to comment unfavourably
upon an action explicitly allowed by the law of the land in the various
relevant legislations of the last century; (c) to insult citizens exercising
their legal rights; (d) to risk the prejudicing of jury proceedings by the
effect of his remarks. The Committee of the South Place Ethical Society
19
sends this resolution to the Lord Chancellor to Her Majesty's AttorneyGeneral and Her Majesiy's Home Secretary with the request that they
will take steps to prevent any further incidents of this character."
Copies of the resolution were 6rdered to be, sent to the Lord Chancellor
the Attorney-General, the Home Secretary, Dr. Johnson, M.P. for Carlisle,
and to the Humanist Council.
•
Activities
of Kindred Societies
Forest Group
Sunday, October 2. Fungus Ramble. Central Line to Loughton, 11.30:
Lunch, 12.30 at Turpin's Cave, High Beach. Talk on specimens gathered
en route.
Society's
Other Activities
Sunday Social
October 16, in the Library at 3 p.m. Miss Gladys Farnell: "A Holiday
in Rumania". Colour slides. Tea will be served at 3.45 p.m. Members and
friends are welcome.
Young Humanists
Meetings held at 7.30 p.m. every Monday.
October 3—"How Children Develop Socially." Mrs. Ann White.
October 10—"The Gods that Died by the Nile." J. M. Alexander.
October 17—"Advcrtising.and Propaganda." S. L. Pepper.
October 24—Informal Eevening.
October 31—To be announced.
Conway Discussions. Tuesdays at 7.15 p.m.
•
Oct. 4—Richard Clements, 0.B.E., J.P. "A Century of the Social
Conscience" (Jane Addams Centenary). Brief social interval; light
refreshments.Oct. 11—C. Ogwurike (Nigeria). "The New Siate of Nigeria."
•
Oct. 18—R. •W. Sorensen, M.P: (Chairman, Congress -of Faiths). "The
New Humanism and the Old Religions."
Oct. 25—Robin Dixon (Secretary, Danilo Dolci Committee). "The
Work of Danilo Dolci." Film—"Murder by Neglect." Large Hall.
See "Notes from the Secretary" in this issue. - Nov. I—Richard H. Pear, B.Sc. (Econ.). "Selecting- and Electing an
American President.''. . •
Thursday Evening. Social
October 13, in the Library:at 7-p.m., Whist Drive and-light refreshments.
Dance '
'
• •
A dance will be held on Saturday, October 29 from 7.30 to 11.p.m., run
by the Young Humanists; the proceeds will be in. aid of the work of Danilo
Dolci. A cordial invitation is extended to. everyime. Tickets 4s may be
,
obtained at the door.
The Objects of the Society-arethe study and disseminationof ethical principles
and the cultivation of a rational religioussentiment.
•
Any person in sympathy with these objects is- cordially invited to become a
Member.(minimum annual subscription is 12s. 6d.), or Associate (minimum
annual subscription.7s. 6d.). Life membership £13 2s. 6d. Associates are not
eligible to vote or hold office. Enquiries should be made. to the Registrar to
whomsubscriptionsshould be paid.
Printed
by Farleigh
Press
Ltd.,
(T.U.),
Aldenbam,
Herm