Vol. 64 No. 3 MARCH 1959 Sixpence Notes of The

vol. 64 No. 3 MARCH 1959 Sixpence

Notes of the Month Custos

S.P.E.S. Presents . . .

The Limitations of Man Dr. W. E. Swinton

Conflicting Loyalties in Modern Society T. H. Pear

Journey to the Far East Rkhard Clements

Father or Fleecer? Archibald Robertson

Conway Discussions Corrrespondence

Activities of Kindred Societies Society's Other Activities

SOUTH PLACE ETHICAL SOCIETY SUNDAY MORNING MEETINGS AT ELEVEN O'CLOCK

MarCh I—W. E SWINTON, Ph 0,EASY. ,(Paleeontologist) . -The Moon n. Cello and Piano Sololby JOY HALLMid ARVONDAVIES f , Fauré Hymn: No. 141 . . March -8-0. R. MCGREGOR, B.Sc.(Eeon.) (Bedford College) • The FamilY ;Today , Sopiano.Solds by-SHIRLEYJOMPSETT • • / A Sprini 'Morning . .•: .• Grieg . I Love Thee • .: . . . Grieg. ' Flynin .Nd. 59. March 15—JOHN LEWIS, Ph.D:.(Morley'College) 'T "Science,- Faith" and' Scepticism' ' '1. • Piario: Solos•by JOYCE'LANOLEY

March 22—F, H. A. MICELEWRIGHT, M.A., F.ItHist.S. Moral Practice and the Easter Legend Bass Solos by G. C. Dowman With Joy th'Impatient Husbandman .. Haydn Still Wie Die Nacht .. Carl Bohm Hymn: No. hi . March 29—Easter, No Meeting April 5—RICHARD PETERS, Ph.D. (Dept. Psychology, Birkbeck allege). Thomas Hobbes and his "Leviathan" Today (Thomas Hobbes born April 5, 1588) SOUTH PLACE SUNDAY EVENING CONCERTS, 68th SEASON Concerts 6.30 p.m. (Doors open 6 p.m.) Admission 2s. March 1—ST:CECILIA TRIO Beethoven in E flat, Op. 70, No. 2; Ravel; Brahms in B, Op. 8r. March 8—LONDON STRING QUARTET. THEA KING Mozart in B flat, K. 458; Brahms in A minor, Op. 51, No. 2; Frankel Clarinet Quintet, Op. 28. March 15=HIRSCH' STRING QUARTET • Beethoven in E flat, Op. 74; Dvorak in F, Op. 96; Mendelssohn in E flat, . Op. 12, No. 1. March 22—MACGIBBON STRING QUARTET Beethoven in D, Op. 18, No. 3; Hindemith No. 6; Dvorak in a, Op. 106. March 29—No Concert Officers Hon. Treasurer: E. I. FAIRHALL Hon. Registrar: Mas. T. C. LINDSAY Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, W.C.1 Secretary: J. HUTTONHYND

The Monthly Record is posted free to members anckAssociates. The Annual charge to subscribers is 8s. Matter for publication in the April issue should reach the Editor, G. C. Dowman, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, W.C.1, by March 5. •• The Objects Of the Soeiety'are the study and dissennMation of ethical principles and the cultivation of a rational religious sentiment. Any person in sympathy with these objects is cordially invited to become a Member (minimum annual cubscription is 12s. 6d.), or Associate (minimum annual. Subscrintion 7s. 6d.). Life membership .£13 2s. 6d. Associates are not eligible io vote or hold office. Enquiries' should be made of the. Registrar' to whom subscriptions should be paid. • - • The MONTHLY RECORD

VoL 64 No. 3 MARCH 1959 Sixpence

C 0 N T•E N T S

NOTES OF THE MONTH, Custos S.P.E.S. PRESENTS ... 5 THE LIMITATIONS OF MAN, Dr. W. E. Swinton 7 CONFLICTING LOYALTIES IN MODERN SOCIETY, T. 11 Pear . 8 JOURNEY TO THE FAR EAST, Richard Clements 10 FATHER OR FLEECER?, Archibald Robertson 1 CONWAY DISCUSSION 14 CORRESPONDENCE .. I 5 ACTIVITIES OF KINDRED SOCIETIES 19 SOCIETY'S OTHER ACTIVITIES .,... 19

The views expressed in this journal are noinecessarily dhose of the Society

Note. of the Month

ALT-Houck WE MAY 1-tAvg the worst of the winter yet to come, occasional. spring-like days cheer our hearts and we look forward optimistically to the better days when the governments of both the East and the West will sink their differences and allow the peaceful citizen to cultivate his garden in • tranquillity. • Both Eisenhower and Macmillan seem ready to talk with Russia who, if we are to believe either of them, are equally anxious to adjust their differences and certainly the vast majority of people on both sides will back them whole-heartedly. Clements Memorial Prize 1958 The 'prize of £50 was awarded to lan Spooner, .aged 31, of Amershain for a trio (clarinet, viola and cello). The adjudicators were William Alwyn, Malcolm Arnold. and Matyas Seiber and the number of entrants, twenty- nina. -As a boy, Ian Spooner was interested in jazz and extemporised on the clarinet and trumpet. After National Service, he decided to specialise in • serious music, so he studied the piano and joined evening classes in corn- 3 position. In 1952. he left the bank where .he was employed and entered Trent Park Training College, specialising .in music. He obtained a scholarship to the Trinity College of Music and by 1958 had reached B.Mus. standard. He is now teaching harmony, is choir. master and organist and finds time for composition and study. On January 31. at 6.40 p.m. the Clements Memorial Prize had the dis- tinction of providing two works for a concert on the Third Programme. The announcer said: "We are broadcasting a concert consisting of two works by two British coniposers who have come into prominence since the war. They are Racine Fricker and him Hamilton. In each case the work is the one which first brought its composer to the general notice of the public: each won a Clements Memorial Prize and was first performed at the South Place Concerts, Conway Hall, London." The, works were Wind Quintet, Op. -5 by Racine .Fricker. 1947, and String Quartet. No. 1 by lain Hamilton, 1950.

Church Finance From time to time, something happens which- draws attention anew to the old question of church finance. It is notorious that the churches have long been the focal points of "big business" in a particular domain. Many years ago, Upton Sinclair wrote an American exposure entitled the Profits of Religion and it is curious that nobody has yet written a Ph.D thesis on a similar subject covering this country. The Roman Catholic Church in Eng- land is demanding at the present Moment that the 50 per cent maintenance grant on its schools should be raised to 75 per cent and should be applied to schools not yet covered, to any built after 1944 or in the future. Its plea is based upon poverty. Yet the new Pope advertises his forthcoming council which must cost a vast sum to put over, and everywhere there are signs ot church-building and the expansion of communities or the like. This state of affairs does not suggest poverty! We made a few enquiries concerning Roman Catholic finance but could get very little information. The parochial finances go through the hands of the bishop whilst those of an Order are dealt with by the superior. Apparently, the financial work is done by laymen and is kept strictly private although we should like to know how much of the money raised leaves this country to support the international body! One fact stand out. Unless a full disclosure of Roman Catholic finances is made to the public at large and the income of the Church properly demonstrated. this body can hardly expect taxpayers to dip further into their pockets to finance educational schemes with which the majority disagree and which many taxpayers will see as being positively harmful to the child mind.

Striking Oil • In the case of the Church of England, we were equally befogged. We soon discovered that the Church Commissioners enjoy an income running into many millions of pounds per annum and that this income is disbursed for Church purposes, salaries and the like. The much-proclaimed poverty of the clergy seems still to leave plenty of room for highly-paid bishops besides a host of lay officials who batten well on the crumbs which fall from the rich man's table! But there are many other sources of income ranging from local endowments to the widow's mite so that we have been informed that the total gross income of the Church of England is well over £30 million a year. (If we have fallen for a piece of misinformation, it is the Church's own fault: they should publish a proper balance sheet!) Payment of its top people must be very satisfactory to themselves. For example, the Archbishop of Canter- bury receives £7,250 per annum and we are told that the income of the See of London is £5.200 per annum and that many other bishoprics are over 4 the £4,000 per annum level. In each case, the income is in addition tO free housing. This is not doing too badly as a recompense for discipleship of the Son of Man who had•nowhere to lay his head! Again, we have heard a certain amount of late concerning the "big business" dealings of the Church Commissioners. Apparently, they have sold out the bulk of their property investments and have entered such spheres as that of oil. Only the other day, they announced a profit of £350,000 earned by dabbling in the aluniinium ring. It is interesting that the Sociaffst weekly, Tribune, accused them in this matter of acting'in an anti-British-manner by'handing aluminium control over to the Americans! We do nof wish to 'go further concerning'questions of the capitalisation of assets by, the sale in some areas of former Church sites for commercial development at very large nurchase prices or, as we were informed concerning one diocese about two years ago, the raising of a £300,000 overdraft and its continuance :during the period of the "credit squeeze". The faet remains that those who are engaged'in the saving of souls after the manner established by the law of the land are also busily engaged in saving far more substantial and tangible assets. In the meanwhile, we should look upon this body as a facet of the ?big: business",.soCially con- servative world of 'which it is a living part and treat accordingly its imperti- nent demandS 'for more and more money from the pockets of a long-sutTerr ing public. Its membership at most is some 10 per cent of the population and we would suggesi that 'the time is long overdue for searching enquiry concerning the continuance of its legal,nositiori. Disestablishment with the con- comitant disendowment is indeed a slikht penalty to pay for ridding the state of so expensive and so socially useless a body... .

Conway Discussions - • The Tuesday Evening Discussions continue to show a good bill of health which, owing to the fine .programme that Mr. Hutton. Hynd has produced. has attracted such extensive audiences. As nothing succeeds like success, we may hope to build on the fortunes of this aetivity and so bring in to the' Society those sympathisers that exist in large numbers in our 'great City,sa circumstance which will be for their good as well as our own.

Advance Notice It is with pleasure that we announce the advent of a book which is to be published in the spring by Watts & Co. T. H. Huxley: SciCntist, 'Humanist and Educator, by Cyril Bibby, and which we feel certain will be a classic of Humanist literature. Financial assistance having been given towards the expenses of publication by various official bodies, and the faet that Huxley's grandsons. Julian and Aldous, have written forewords, underline the importance of this work. Dr. Bibby has been given many facilities for research into the life of this great Humanist and we arc confident that its publicatibn will evoke a wide public response.. Cbstas S.P.E.S. Presents . . . Sunday Morning Meetings—EL a.rn. Large Hall. (Public invited.) Dr. W. E. Swinton, on March 1, as a distinguished scientist, will .take us on an excursion to the lunar regions—so much in the news nowadays. "The Moon" is the title of his subject. In the course of the lecture he will give us a glimpse of the moon, and give us a piece of its history and mythology; and perhaps a hint of the part the familiar satellite may play in our immedi- ate human affairs. Are we to have a real "man in the moon'', soon? It is 5 reported that the coloured peoples. are hoping that the white loan will not get there first! Why?- There is art ethical issue in this, somewhere! To those who like the moon as it. is, and who like the poetic approach, we suggest the reading of Thomas. Hardy's lines, -To the Moon: -What have you looked at, MOon, in your time 2"• • Mr. 0. R. McGregor, Reader in Social Institutions, Bedford College. Uniyersity of London (and author of an excellent book on Divorce), will be Welcomed on March 8th as a newcomer to our platform. He will discuss "The Family Todar. Is the family, as we know it, an emotional and economic -.anachronism in our "brave new world" of enlightenment, efficiency, and state, controls, of easy divorce, "Malthusian belts", and A.I.D. or do we see the emergence of a new and better type of family life? Mr. 11,71cGregor has been heard with much pleasure at R.P.A. conferences. It is hoped that a large audience will greet the speaker on the occasion of his first appearance on our Sunday morning platform. - Dr. John Lewis of Morley College, on March 15, has chosen to speak on "Science, Faith, and Scepticism". An age of science may be an age of scepticism; and yet it may be, perhaps must. be, an age of faith. The mystery of life deepens with every new discovery; we cannot proceed as though we "know all the answers"—and we cannot proceed "in simple faith". What is the nature of the faith by which we must live today? .1s there a• new hypothesis upon which we may make.personal commitments? Mr. F. H. A. Micklewright- will speak on the Sunday before Easter— March 22. (No meetings on Easter Sunday, 29.) The Easter date seems to be determined by the first full moon after March 2I—which makes moveable dates of "the crucifixion" and- "the resurrection", in spite of the fact that the date of . "the -birth" is fixed. Certain beliefs and moral practices are associated with the "traditional season': of Lent, and Holy Week, and Easter. It will be interesting indeed to hear the speaker's discussion of "Moral Practice and the Easter Legend". In advance of this. some may wish to read Boris Pasternak's, poem. In Holy Week, in Dr. Zhivago. Conway Discussions—Tuesdays-7.15 p.m.—Library% (Public invited.) Dr. Cyril Bibby, biology and educationist, has written an erudite and important work on. T. H. Hukley and his views on education. It is expected that the book will appelir in March; and so we have invited the distinguished author to ,discuss, "T. H. Huxley's Views. on Education"— March 3.. Dr. Bibby says, -This is an aspect of Huxley's work which has been much neglected, but is very relevant today." - Mr. J. M. Alexander, Secretary of the Central London Secular Society, has made a special study of Freemasonry and kindred societies. On March 10 he will ask the question, "Is Freemasonry a Religion?" We hope that many Freemason friends will be present to take part in the discussion—. .. which promises to be lively! Mr. Maurice Cranston is the author of many books on the subject of Liberty. In 1957 his definitive biography of John Locke appeared. His book- let, John Stuart Mill, in the "Writers and Their Works Series" (published by British Council and National Book League), marks him as an authority on Mill. It will be a special privilege to hear him, March 17, on the famous Essay on Liberty, published 1859.-Mr. Cranston will offer "A Review—One Hundred Years After". 6 ' Dr. W. E. Swinton's address on March 24 will bring the current season 'of Conway Discussions to a,close. He will discuss. "Moral Ideas in Darwin's 'Origin of Species' " published 1859. Darivin's Views on "evolution" and "natural selection" seem to be a challenge to certain orthodox Christian opinions; are his views at the same time a challenge to certain opinions concerning ethics and morals—our own opinions, perhaps? (A brief social inter- val, with light refreshments, will bring a delightful informality to the,closing proceedings; and we hope to have a margin of time to hear suggestions from the audience regarding subjects and speakers for next season. Members and friends are ' asked to continue to display and distribute the current• Syllabus.) • • The Limitations of Man B Y • DR. W. E. SWINTON Ir Is PERHAPS an unpopular thesis that there are limitations to man ; yet the anatomists and physiologists can point out that, compared to some other primates, he is not as well suited to his environment. There are others today who fear, and perhaps not without reason, that rhan is more limited in his abilities than in his inventions — that his genius may be rapidly producing effects beyond his control. Yet it is not in these senses that. I want specially to speak today. I should perhaps have used limits rather than limitations, and I want to discuss the place man has in the world vis - a - vis other animals and other aspects of his environment. I have recently heard it said on a radio programme that the so-called Balance of Nature is nonsense. Primarily there is the remarkable balance in that all living animals take in oxygen and give out carbon-dioxide ; while all plants take in carbon-dioxide and exhale oxygen. This chemical relation, ship is of fundamental importance. But there are dependent relationships in'cvery animal community. A famous aild rather pretentious statement by Darwin in the Origin of Species says: "Hence it is credible that the presence of a feline animal in large numbers in a district might determine, through the intervention first of mice and then of bees, the frequency of certain flowers in the district." This can be, and has been taken rather further in a more amusing statement that old maids determine the supply of milk ; for the old maids keep cats ; cats destroy field mice, which in turn destroy the nests and combs of humble-bees. Humble-bees visit red clover and largely determine its luxuriance. Red clover is a source of food for cows. This story is, in fact, only partly true, .but it is indicative of a relationship that exists between organisms, a balance in particular environments that man destroys at his peril. The results of ravage and extinction may,have great consequences for man himself. Who knows what the ultimate result' of vast slaughter of whales (nearly one thillion in the.last thirty years) can be? Nor can the damage easily be assessecEfrom the destruction of animals that live on insects, for the estimated world population of insects is 35.000 million millions. Man just cannot cope with their immensity and must rely on allies such as bats, birds, lizards and spiders. Should they in their turn be weakened or destroyed, the human battle against the insect could be lost. 'Some people cannot visualise the seriousness of this combat. Yet apart from the damage that insects can do ,in the destruction of crops, material and food, and thus in creating famine, they are frequently the victims of disease. Plague, yellow fevEr, malaria, typhus and many other human dis- eases originate in an insect, and who can say that the cause of myxomatosis 7 will always stay faithful to the rabbit? The imponderable tasks of the World Health Organisation in attempting to stem the flood of some of these show how misunderstood is the role, and control, of animal populations. Yet, despite ,all the hazards of competing forms of life, of famine and disease, of wars and civilian accidents, the human population continues to increase. The advance of medical science, especially with the invention of antibiotics, the results of vastly improved child care, and the effect of the application of geriatrics have all contributed to the disestabfishment of the theories of Malthus' Essay on Population. The results are astonishing. The old theory that advances in the standard of living tend to lower the birth rate has no substantiation in recent years either in Britain or the United States. There is no reason to expect any other answer in the years to come. with the rising standards of life in the East. The annual increase in the world's population is over thirty millions a year. In fifty years' time the population will be doubled and, it is estimated, there will be standing room only in the year 3954. Jehovah's Witnesses are prepared for this apparently, for they agree that if each person has one and three-quarter square feet there will be room enough for all. Room for what? The least problem for this vast populace is in fact that of food, or rather the manufacture of it, fOr no doubt science will have given birth to many synthetics by that time. But transportation, leisure and employment would all be impossible in such a scheme. Planetary colonisation is a practical answer and the conquest of some of the nearer ones becomes more reason- able in this light. No doubt various superstructures, the occupation of the Antarctic wastes and the construction of artificial islands will all have to be undertaken if life is to be possible. Yet in this terrible. picture there would be no room for plants or animals ; there would have to be chemical substi- tutes for many things, even to breathe. It needs little imagination to picture the horrors of life of this kind. The alternatives are war or famine and the return to the conditions described by Malthus that would keep the population in check, and it is difficult to see ' how wars could be avoided where so many people stand on each other's toes ! The real alternative is population control. Can this succeed when so many authorities are now set against it ? Or will it succeed only in Britain and America, leaving the hordes of Asia to burst their racial dams some day ? These are problems created by science and ethics, for every man has presumably the right to live on the same general standards as his fellows. The world is ever coming nearer to this mean ; medicine must ethically do all it can to prolong life and decrease death. In just these.circumstances the size of the world's population marches on and the inevitable limits to the freedom of movement of man will come, even in our time. (Summary of a lecture delivered on January 4.) Conflicting Loyalties in Modern Society B Y 1'. FL P E A R, M. A. TODAY LOYALTY HAS so many meanings that some definitions offered by a — large dictionary may produce iii a psychologist a guilty sense of lazy con- formism or of irritation at their question-begging smoothness. He may ask "Loyalty to whom or to what; exhibited when, and how, verbally or in bodily action?" Consider the loyalty of writers. A totalitarian state may assert that its writers must . . . this seems unequivocal. In a free country, if an author telling the truth (in the psychologist's, not the novelist's sense) regards it as 8 material for analytic critical consideration, he is likely to appear disloyal to parents, or ,family, or friends, or school, or college, or profession, or regiment, or Church, or country. Such lone-wolf attitudes are strongly disapproved by influential persons who aim at shepherding writers into politically distinguishable groups, or even groups which offer the possi- bility of being described, correctly or not, by a single, snappy epithet. To some writers, loyalty, constantly and publicly avowed, to a famous father- figure or influential group may be, or seem,•necessary for economic survival. In the world of science, few researchers are now free to choose their subject: apparatus and calculating machines, even the services of those who minister to their wants, are increasingly expensive, and must be shared. Team- work is represented as necessary, even if at times it is a weapon in the unending struggles for large grants from the State or private firms. Since the word "loyalty" is derived from /di', the nature of a•loyalty oath" is. in theory, clear, but in practice the word "security", which seems to cover an increasing number of sins, makes consideration of scientists' loyalties, in peace-time, increasingly difficult. Consider the kinds of loyalty which grow out of liking and loving. Com- plicating many of these is ambivalence, entering into family loyalties. In this sphere, and in some allied to it, loyal conduct must at times be distinguished from loyal speech or writing : the difference is increasingly important now that, as a result of mass communication and increased verbal facility due to modern education, more people talk with and about more people, using more discriminative adjectives and nouns. The way in which loyalties grow was considered. A child's loyalty to school or gang is implanted early: it would seem that in America, "adjustment" to a group, social -integration", high "buddy-ratings" are more highly praised than here. The usefulness of a national leader can be hampered by his attempts to be, or appear, "one of the boys". Many English 'schools, including day schools, indoctrinate loyalty to a

- house". Yet an intelligent house captain, especially if he hopes to become head of the school, may often dissemble his well founded opinion that his house is not the "best". If he joins a regiment, he may habitually notice details in'which its discipline resembles and differs from that of his school. even of other regiments, and may examine the reasons offered. Years after a war, memoirs of retired generals containing retrospective criticisms are considered by different readers to be public-spirited, courageous, or disloyal. disgraceful, mean. Loyalties of many kinds hamper the writing of official histories of any war, especially of the last two. Often a pleasing aspect of regimental loyalty is the "material" solicitude shown by officers for the com- fort and moral support of its "sons". In a state of war, some simple loyalties may be so necessary and so highly praised that, many years after its cessation, a number of persons' resist any alteration of their sentiments. During the last forty years, a scientist ("physical" or "social"), anthropologist, economist or historian may have been so deeply enmeshed in morale-building, propaganda, public relations and "psychological" warfare that he may now, be unable to recapture the personal disinterest desirable in dealing with scientific 'reports. Moreover. in some minds a love of secrecy for secrecy's sake may have grown up. To be the recipient and guardian•of confidential information is apt to lead to increased self-esteem. Some lovers of secrecy may attempt to impose it on the work of others. And secrecy is closely related to important, prestige-earn- ing "priority". Obviously there are loyalties, e.g. to institutions or parties, which are *not entirely based on affection. The' declaration of a highly placed Army officer that certain others who had criticised the decision to amalgamate 9 two Scottish regiments "ought to have their heads knocked together" raised interesting questions of morale. The loyalty to a trade union, whether of dockers or of doctors, may not involve any love for; the .institution as such. The different uses of "loyal" and "loyalist" in discuss- ing the tangled issues of the next election at Bournemouth should interest the.psychologist. The complex problems of loyalty confronting the modern science researcher, in whatever country he works, are raised in Edward Shils's The Torment of Secrecy (1957, Heinemann), Rebecca. West's The Meaning of Treason (1949, Macmillan), Alan Moorehead's The Traitors (1952, Hamish Hamilton) and Robert Jungk's Brighter Than a Thousand Suns (1958. Gollancz). They were 'briefly discussed in the lecture, which ended with this quotation from Moorehead (p. 217): "Loyalty . . . can only be guaranteed by tradition, by fixed habits, by a long period of freedom from fear, and by affection. And all this must be backed by a philosophy or a religion or . . . some kind of faith which is rather stronger than the democracies have yet been able to engender." (Suniniary of a lecture delivered on February 1, 1959.) Journey to the .Far East (I)FIRST IMPRESSIONS • B Y RICHARD CLEMENTS I IfAVESET DOWNin this article some of the impressions gained during a recent journey from England to Japan. I have done this in hope that they may be of interest to readers at home: particularly to those who have a concern about peace, the development of a co-operative world order, and the social progress of all nations. I shall comment freely on what I have seen and heard from a liberal-minded and humanist standpoint. Such a journey, involving a sea voyage of about 12,000 miles, is something of an adventure even in these days. The traveller is made aware at the outset that he is soon to leave behind known ways of life for a venture into those which are unknown ; this' is always, even for a seasoned traveller, an exciting and stimulating experience. First, a decision has to be made as to whether or not the journey is to be by land, sea or air. If the time factor is important,• there is much to be said in favour of air travel, for nowadays it is a cheap, safe and quick method of getting about in the world. But it has, on the other hand, certain disadvantages: chief amongst these being that it is an impersonal way of travelling, the air passenger being hurtled from one country to another, with few opportunities for leisurely observation of places and people. Over- land journeying has much to be said for it. On trains, generally speaking, I have found it possible to relax, read, watch the changing face of the countryside, and sometimes to fall into conversation with interesting and agreeable companions. The drawbacks are, however, that train travelling today is a costly business, meals in restaurant cars are often of doubtful quality and very expensive, but worst of all are the clumsy and tiresome pass- port and custom examinations at so many frontier stations. I am at a loss to understand why the decency_ and commonsense of mankind have not led to the abolition in peace time of these last-mentioned excesses, for they, are both time-wasting and costly to the unfortunate traveller. So, having weighed the pros and cons, I opted, to make the journey bv sea. Having at,my disposal the ample leisure of a recently retired person. ,I0 and being by birth an islander, with a love of sea-faring and roaming id my blood, the prospects offered by such a trip were irresistible. I was fortunate in securing at rather short notice a passage aboard s.s. "Patroelus,- a trim, ten-thousand-ton freighter owned by the Blue Funnel Line. Besides carrying a miscellaneous and rich cargo, the ship had comfortable accommo- dation for some thirty passengers. The officers were all Britishers, but the crew was a mixed one and included a number of most capable Chinese seamen. The decision to travel by this ship was indeed a happy one. For I can truthfully say, in the light of experience, that I enjoyed every hour aboard her on the long passage from Liverpool to Yokohama. The voyage lasted forty-eight days. - The time thus spent' proved to be a good investment. For amongst the ship's ports of, call were first Rotterdam, Holland, where passengers could have four days ashore. This enabled some of us to explore the new city of Rotterdam, and to see something of the Dutch countryside. The centre of the. old.city was reduced to rubble by the ruthless bombing of the Nazi's airmen in the early days of the war. All traces of the ruin thus caused have been removed and a new centre, nobly planned, built on tasteful, modern lines. The impressive statue of Erasmus, which I saw on my first visit to Roiterdam, nearly forty years ago, stands out proudly in the new city centre, thus commemorating the life and work of one of the greatest figures in the long line of Dutch humanists. I felt ,that this city showed in its streets, shops, markets, hotels, business houses and banks, as well as on its bustling wharves and quays, all the marks of a thriving maritime ,and commercial community. And that this city was in itself a monument to the Dutch waV • of life, with its sense of the importance of earthly life, social realism and scientific humanism. The next port of call was Port Said. We stayed there only two days. It was my first visit to Egypt. and I was eager to go ashore and get a glimpse of the town and its people. On its arrival the ship was boarded by a horde of Egyptian traders, who proceeded to set out on the promenade deck and in the lounge their miscellaneous stock of wares. They offered for sale every conceivable thing, from newspapers and picture postcards to ladies' handbags and binoculars. Many of those itinerant traders excelled in the arts of salesinanship. The passengers who enjoyed thu game of bargaining and had the patience to play it through to the very end, had often the satisfaction of securing the articles or goods they wanted at about a third of the price first asked for them. Those who bought in haste were much less.satisfied with themselves and their purchases. It was a'busy, animated and amusing scene to watch. The town of Port Said was for me a disappointing place. The influences of East and West meet there and are 'jumbled together in its streets : Christian churches, Jewish synagogues and Muslim mosques stand almost cheek by jowl, as if to emphasise the conflicting elements in the religious beliefs of mankind ; streets of crazy old houses run on and end with a block of new flats ; and the small shopkeeper sits before his little shop within a stone's throw of an ambitious-looking departmental store. Nothing seems to cOme together and find reconciliation and synthesis.. Huge plaster portraits of President Nasser are to be seen everywhere : a reminder of the new power that today directs the economic, political and social life of Egypt.. • The impression made upon my mind by Port Said was That of a town out of which the life was slowly draining. Some of the ,great shops and hotels in a street running. parallel with the docks stood dark and empty, but on the approach of passengers from ships or Europeans in motor cars, switched on thed lights in hope of attracting customers. The most hopeful signs of.new life in this dismal jown were the clean, neatly clad groups of 1 I students, both boys and girls, carrying strapped parcels of school books under their arms. This fact, combined with the efforts being made to improve the housing conditions of the people, reflects the genuine desire on the part of the Nasser regime to improve the social conditions of the Egyptian masses. •Let me add that the glimpse I saw of Suez, at the other •end of the: Suez Canal, sent me on my way with a much more hopeful impression of the new Egypt. - I hope one day to come back and to see more of this historic country and its people. The Suez Canal, that hundred-mile-long strip of narrow waterway, which serves as a link between the nations of the East and the West, has been very much in the news in the last three years. We have all heard much dark prophecy about the evils which would follow its taking over by the Nasser regime. I saw nothing to- indicate that conditions were other than normal. There appeared to be a steady flow of passenger ships, cargo boats and oil tankers in both directions. The pilotage seemed to be excellent and under its direction the traffic moved on its course without delay. The pilot who came aboard our ship at Port Said was by nationality a -Pole, .and he certainly did a skilful job. It was clear that a large labour force was at work on maintenance and improvements at various places along the banks of the canal. Good care 'seemed to be exercised over the whole -enterprise. A passage through the canal, especially if it is one's first trip, makes an indelible• impression on the mind. The desert, so rich in changing colours, swept away to the horizon as far as the eye could see. Soinetimes, indeed, the illusion was created that the ship itself had taken to the wastes of .sand and moved on its way like some strange desert caravan. Father or Fleecer? BY ARCHIBALD ROBERTSON READERS OF BROWNING May remember his poem The Pope and the Net. A fisherman's son enters the Church and becomes priest, bishop and cardinal. As a sign of humility he hangs his dead father's net in hii palace hall. His humility and holiness so impress his brother cardinals that they elect him Pope. At his first audience they notice that the net is gone. One of them asks why. The Pope answers: " Son, it hath caught the fish." The Papacy is a very big fish to catch. The Pope is a soVereign prince and lives in royal state. In addition to the revenue settled on the Holy See in 1929 by the Lateran Treaty with Mussolini, the Pope draws an income from all over the Catholic world. Most of it is said to come now from the United States. The College of Cardinals are all " princes of the Church " and 'live in corresponding style. The initials S.C.V. (Stato dello Oita Vaticana —Vatican City State) are rudely interpreted by Roman wits as Se Cristo vedesse!—" If Christ were to see ! " There could be no .inore ironical contrast than between Peter, the Galilean fisherman, said by tradition to have been the first Pope (though there 'is no evidence 'of that in the New Testament or any first-century source) and his reputed successors ; or between the primitive church of Jerusalem, where all things were common, and the wealthy, world-wide corporation that claims identity with it today. The wealth of the Papacy has been proverbial ever since the decline of the Roman Empire. As early as the fourth century the last'pagan- historian, Ammianus- Marcellinus, noted the luxury of the Roman bishops and described the bloody battles of rival factions contending for that splendid prike. The Empire out of the way, the Papacy stepped into its shoes and became, as Hobbes later wrote, " the ghost of 'the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof." There were awkward moments during the Middle Ages when German sovereigns, calling themselves Holy Roman Emperors, tried to assert their mastery in Italy ; another awkward moment when the French put the Pope in their pocket and carried him off to Avignon; and a most awkward moment when rival Popes in Avignon and Rome excommunicated each other and consigned, their followers to everlasting damnation ! But all that passed. Medieval kings found the Pope far too useful to do without him ; and by playing off one against another he kept his power and his wealth. The really ticklish times for the Papacy came when invention and discovery (the inventions of the compass, gunpowder and printing, and the discoveries of the New World, the human past and the scale of the universe) brought it face to face with forces which medieval Popes-had never had to tackle. At the Reformation whole nations revolted against the Italian racket and broke away. To weather the storm the Papacy had to ally itself to one or other of the great monarchies that had remained Catholic — the Hapsburgs in Austria and Spain, the Bourbons in France. But the great monarchies were at best difficult masters, and as the modern world developed they too declined and fell. The Papacy had to face a more awkward moment than ever when the armies of-revolutionary France — schooled to regard priests as counter-revolutionaries and the Pope as an arch-enemy of the new freedom— invaded Italy under Napoleon Bonaparte and carried off Pius VI a prisoner. Fortunately for the Papacy, Napoleon had a use for it ; and, of course, after his fall, when " kings crept out again to feel the sun," the Pope too crept out and was allowed to enjoy and misgovern his Papal State for a time. But the seeds of the Revolution were sown and sprouted. In vain did Pius IX denounce democracy and liberty of •conscience, and repudiate any idea of reconciliation between the Papacy and modern civilisation. Italy arose from her long sleep a nation, ended the Papal State and left Pius nothing but the Vatican and the offerings of the faithful. What was the Papacy to do? Fortunately, from the Papal point of view, there were at the Vatican counsellors more astute than Pius. They saw that the modern world, which had ended the great monarchies and the temporal power of the Pope, was not at one with itself, but riven by struggles, social and national. The Revolution, which had destroyed feudalism, had only torn the mask off capitalism. In every industrial country the owners and the workers were at odds ; and if the opening up of undeveloped countries to some extent helned the owners to buy off the workers at home, that in its turn meant national rivalry, war preparation and finally war itself. In such troubled waters the Papacy could hopefully fish. The upshot was the issue in 1891 by Leo XIII of the Encyclical Rerun; Novaruin. In that edifying document the Pope — himself a parasite on Christendom — shakes his holy head at the dreadful class struggle between capital and labour, and admonishes both to behave themselves. Of course, he can have nothing to do with Socialism: that is.robbery. The landowner is entitled to his land, the capitalist to his capital. (The Pope could say no less.) But the landowner and the capitalist must be generous, give to charity and pay a living wage. Thus the Encyclical contrives to appear neutral in the struggle, leaving the capitalist to acclaim its thunder against the Red Peril, and the worker (if not seduced by agitators) to touch his cap grate- fully for his charter." Forty years elapsed. The First World War was won and lost: Out of it came the Russian Revolution. Out of the fear of revolution came the Fascism of Mussolini, and that Lateran Treaty which compensated the Pope for the loss of his temporal power and created the Vatican State. Then in 1931, in the Encyclical Qundragesinio Anno. Pius XI dotted the i's and 13 crossed the t's 'of Reruni Novarum. For the most part this Encyclical does not more than, like its predecessor, multiply fine words that butter no parsnips. A living wage must be paid ; but due regard must be had to the state of business, which must not be ruined by excessive wages ; and so on. In other words: Dearly beloved brethren. do agree somehow ! But as mere exhortation seldom produces agreement, the Encyclical draws fav- ourable attention to the " corporative State " planned by Mussolini, in which strikes and lock-outs are forbidden, and Socialism is suppressed as it should be. One good turn deserves another. The Lateran Treaty earned a pat on the back for Fascism. Above all: " Socialism, if it really remains Socialism, cannot be brought into harmony with the dogmas of the Catholic Church," for it " affirms that human society was instituted Merely for the sake of material well-being," whereas " true social authority . . . is not based on temporal and material well-being, but descends from God alone, the Creator and last end of all things . . . No one can be at the same time a sincere Catholic and a Socialist properly so called." It will be seen that the Papal objection to Socialism is precisely that it is humanist — that it seeks man's temporal well-being and leaves God out of the picture. It is exactly the same• as the objection made by Pius VI to the French Revolution and by Pius•IX to modern civilisation in general. I think we humanists may be grateful to these holy men for defining the issue better than we often define it ourselves. If there is a God who reveals his will to man (and a God who does not can be interesting to nobody but metaphysicians) then somebody somewhere must be the repository of that revelation. To be the repository of divine revelation, if it exists, is obviously the most important job on earth. The Pope claims to be that repository. But if there is no God or. no divine revelation (which comes to the same thing in practice) then nobody is a repository of divine revelation, and the Pope, who claims to be so, is an impostor—in which case there is no room for him in a rationally ordered world. • That is the point-as the Pope sees it—and as I see it. • • Conway Discussion ON TUESDAY, ,N6VEMBER 4, Mrs. Fanny Lines, B.Sc., spoke on " Humanism in Everyday Life." -She approached the subject in a frank and sincere manner, giving an account of her background, development, influences she had endountered:and explaining how Humanism had come to mean something in. her life. ' As a research chemist she was conditioned to make decisions from the point of view of facts. She would have liked to think that scientists, because of their training, were capable of making better judgments generally than other people, but she feared this was not always the case. People who specialised tended to become narrow in outlook. She herself had tried to counter-balance specialisation by acquiring wider interests. She had been- fortunate in finishing her studies in Paris, where she had been able to devote time to French, Art, Literature and Music. She appreciated Chartres -Cathedral for its 'architectural beauty, and came to admire man's genius in whatever way -it was expressed. During this period she made many friends, of people from all over Europe and the Commonwealth, and this left her without any racial -prejudice, and led to an interest in international affairs which had continued ever since. Mrs. Lines had been brought up in a church atmosphere, but in her teens when thinking of religion in general, she had decided there was much to doubt. Her opinion was settled when she came to the conclusion -that God was made in the image of man. She had been struCk by the hypocrisy prevalent among churchgoers, and by the self-righteousness of people always 14 professing they wanted to lead a good life. In Paris she had encountered more tolerance, and later had been amazed and further influenced by the tolerant attitude of her husband's family. She became a member of the Labour Party, as she felt it approximated nearer to her own outlook and ideas, but in common with most people who joined any movement, she wanted to improve it, and exert her own influence. Some people thought that Nuclear Disarmament could only be achieved through the Labour Party, whilst others were doubtful about introducing politics into the argument. She herself wanted to bring morals into politics ; and thought it was necessary to emphasise co-operation between people rather than competitionl After Mrs. Lines had rejeCted the Christian religion, as a scientist she judged according to facts and brought rational arguments to problems. Three years ago she had heard of Humanism for the first time, and the talks of Donald Ford had been a revelation. She became interested in the Sutton Group, and came to realise that Humanism stood for all she had come to think herself. Humanism was not just a word or a faith, but a way of living ; it connected up all matters and made sense of everything. Her only criticism was that at present there was not enough definite policy or sense of .commitment about Humanism, either as a group or an organisation. She believed that some people who had given up religion might not be helped by Humanism because they were little interested in anything, but there were others who would no doubt benefit, and Humanism could meet their basic needs. Humanism might not present anything new, but it showed one's limitations, and stimulated and inspired one to greater efforts. The greatest problem in everyday life was not deciding on worthwhile objects, but planning how to keep a balance, and how to have good relations with other people. In response to questions and discussion, Mrs. Lines declared that some people were apt to believe religion was a basic need only because they had been taught this ; and. that man had outgrown his need to worship. At was important to recognise two traits in individuals— a love of humanity. and a dislike of.meeting people. To counteract this, social instincts should be encouraged in education. She naturally approved of helping other individuals, but was of the opinion that the best way to relieve suffering was through political channels. , . L. L. B. Correspondence To the Editor of The Monthly Record Unity? Dear Sir, , , A word of thanks, please, to Mr. Archibald Robertson. In the report of his address on "The Winter of Our Discontent" (Monthly Record, February, 1959),we read: "The Ethical Movement, embodying the tradition of Conway and Coit; the National Secular Society, heir of the fighting anti-clericalism of Bradlaugh, Foote and Cohen; the Rationalist Press Association, with the radical scholarship behind it of J. M. Robertson and McCabe—these are a grand trinity. I should like to see them a unity." . Well—this grand trinity is just in process of becoming a . grand unity— in the form of a Humanist Council (in the formation of which S.P.E.S. has taken the initiative from the beginning). Three representatives from each body will serve on the Council—thus making a grand unity—in diversity. Each body will maintain its identity and integrity, and its own special emphasis. It is felt that each has a tradition to be respected and cherished. The Ethical Movement (we hope) will seek to maintain the tradition of 15 Conway and Coit and Company (to name a few of the glorious company: Adler-Salter-Weston-Chubb-Muzzey-Neumann-Bosanquet-Spiller-Snell-Del isle Burns-O'Dell, and Sir Julian Huxley, now President of the- British Ethical Union we are happy and proud to say, and author of Religion Without Revelation in which he states so eloquently and convincingly the case for religion—without revelation,and without supernaturalism). Conway and Coit and Company have been at pains to assert that the essence of the- religious drive is the desire for a good life. The gods were created as "super-natural", agents who would help men to gain the good. Listen to the pathetic prayers, in all the religions, for a good of some kind! Men established an emotional relation With,the godsand from this relation came.the entire paraphernalia of praise and prayer and all,the remainders of supernaturalisni. This' preodeupation with the supernatural has distracted mankind from the main drive of religion. Conway and Coit and COMpany would have mankind give up their supernaturalism and recover their religion —the religiori,of the good life, with an enlightened revei-ence for ideals related to the good, and with an enthusiastic devotion towardXthe fulfilment of the ideals in persOnnl and sdcial life; with institutional aids to this high ethl; and in co-operation with the kienceX,and the arti , • When Winchester and.his fellow-Universalists followed their good impul- ses and gave up the damnable pre-destinarian doctrines ,of hell-fire and elernalrdamnation; when William Johnson Fox and his congregation in South . Place Chapel encouraged a liberal and socially-minded and good-life Uni- tarianism; when Conway and Coit and their colleagues-moved away.from all traces of supernaturalism and gave emphasis to the good ,life, in terms of ethical and general good, as the supreme and most compelling element in religion, they were following, from the beginning on, a development, an achievement, a fulfilment within the religious tradition of which we should be very ,proud .and very grateful; it is a great tradition of which we are now the trustees in the S.P.E.S.; as it is written, "The objects of the Society are the -study and dissemination of ethical principles, and the cultivation of a rational religious sentiment"- Divorced completely from supernaturalism. S.P.E.S. is a religious organisation; allied with other groups under the Ethical Union, " . . to adVocate a religion'of human fellowship and service, based upon the principle that the supreme aim of religion is the love of goodness, ; and, by purely human and natural means, to help men to love, know and do the right in all relations of life." Yours sincerely. J. HIYITONHYND. Super-humanism or Super-naturalism? Dear Sir, After reading the correspondence from Miss Williamson and Miss Barker (February Record), I begin to wonder whether we are a Humanist (and therefore Rationalist) society, or not! I do not remember reading such question-begging stuff. Firsi—Miss Williamson speaks of super-humanism..-Now as, a society (I take it) we identify 'Humanism with naturalism, so on this basis her belief becomes super-natural! Her penultimate paragraph, quite frankly. 1 found to be somewhat unintelligible. Perhaps she means that if ode was once a Pagan, one need not now throw away all one's Paganism! In similar vein, Miss Barker (sore at Nature being "red in tooth and claw") bids us gird our loins towards a higher ethic—in other words, to beat the Creator at his own game! Her final paragraph I found merely amusing. In four lines she manages to enjoin us not to unfold the secrets of Nature (or there would be nothing left to strive for) whilst hoping that, one day, we'll all become God-men (knowing all the secrets, and 'so still with nothing 16 left to strive for!) It seems we must beware lest we become a "Babel of Believers". I, for one, am content to remain a plain "Humanist"! ARTHUR BARKER The Winter of our Discontent Dear Sir, • - I- would like to record appreciation of Archibald Robertson's lucid inter- pretation of the situation in which Humanists find themselves today. On the question of Religion there is no room for an uneasy peace of compromise.. We are definitely opposed to the fundamentals of Christianity, and must fight unceasingly to maintain the initiative. For me are not cornered with our backs to the wall; we are advancing. Our sword is reason,.and it should never tarnish in disuse. . . Therefore I salute all those who havw the greater scholarship in Theology,. and use it so faithfully in the cause of Humanism; more power to their punches. I salute.those too, who wield-their sword in the market place on our behalf. The National Secular Society have a grand team of workers who. go out; and meet the outdoor man on his own. ground. Mr. Robertson's plea for more unity among Humanists, Free Thinkers and Rationalists is timely and should be heeded. Only this week we hear of exorbitant sums being poured out of the coffers of our Treasury, in order to maintain schools and teachers' training colleges belonging to the religious. minority of the British population. • . . We are belligerents, and must remain so -Yours sincerely, .D. MCCONNOCHIE. Racialism • Dear Sir, The revival of the South African treason trial and one or two isolatecI incidents in this country reported in the local press recall anew the menace- of racialism and its social effects. wish to suggest that the Ethical mOve- ment as a whole should make this question a priority of activity at the present time. It has been befogged in certain quarters through a claim for humanity becoming mixed with a pietistic mysticism.' The humanist movement in this country is-in a position from which it can demand action based_ upon a scientific approach to the whole question. I would suggest three parallel lines of activity (I) The watching of the situations (parallel in many ways) in U.S.A. and South Africa with the giving of full support to the victims of oppression in these areas. The watching of the situation at home and a meeting of it both by hospitality where such-can be exercised and appropriate action in those areas where racial. animosity, of one kind or another is,likely to break out. As. one example, it would be interesting to know what action anti-racialists. have arranged to take at the Brewster Sessions against those publicans who refuse to serve coloured customers. Exposition of the question from a scientific anthropological and economic angle. Racial animosity is obviously a facet of the antagonisms arising our of the economics of a competitive and class society and cannot be met solely by oppositiOn to the policies of any one government or country. I hope that the Ethical movement generally can do soinething along these• lines and meet what is one of the more unethical and anti-social -aspects of our times. Yours faithfully, F. H. AMPHLETT MICKLEWRIGHT. World Federal Government Dear Sir, I agree with the ,first sentence of the letter by G. I. Bennett (February)' 17 but 1 fail to see how the point in the second sentence arises from anything that I have written. • Unlike him I cannot see why there should be any "federal whole" in any political, or governmental, sense. I want to see all government—over men—disappear, and have government. over things. I see no real difference between Communism and Fascism (as exemplified, for example, in Hitler's regime, and Stalin and Khrushchov's Russia).. I regard as rather thought/ess Bennett's idea that there is need for saying that -peace must be the primary quest of intelligent men. . . ." Even un- intelligent men, incidentally, are •fikely to quest for peace, too. Since man is by nature peaceful and co-operative we must quest for causes of human conflict, individual and group. Even Tito has pointed out that peoples never go to war with peoples: only their governments. What drives governments to war against each other? Let's have Bennett tackle that question before assuming that conflicts arise merely because of the existence of—so-called— sovereign states: which 1. flatly deny. Sloppy let's-huddle-together does not save the sheep from 'the wolf. That is the policy of World Federalism, as I. see it. (After studying lots of their literature and propaganda which I cannot avoid seeing, anyway, as an Esperantist!) Bennett states it as a belief, not as something he has worked out in logic, after investigating causes. It is as silly as believing that God is responsible for everything. There is no need to "divert . .. millions" to achieve what Bennett rightly wants in the eradication of poverty, disease, and illiteracy. The fact is that we can have "guns AND butter" at one and the same time—IF we want both! Bennett, like too many others yet, does not understand finance: does not know the answer to the simple—but fundamental—question, where does money come front? I do wish he—and others—would take. the trouble to study Social Credit (even though it is one of the "don't touch': subjects of the public organs of information: more so than Humanism!) . Maybe Bennett and I are on the same "quest" in the long run: the libera- tion of the individual human being from all superstitions, including the one about World Federal Government! Sincerely and without malice, • J. W. LESLIE. World Federal Government Dear Sir, ' ' • - Has not Mr.. G. 1. Bennett got the problem of peace in a wrong perspective when he states "world peace must be the primary quest of intelligent men— now more than ever?" I cannot accept peace as an end in itself, for it, is self-defeating- as a mechanism in an evolving World. Freedom from H-bomb warfafe 'is a' necessity•to further evolutionary progress but it is 'not an end in itself. We belong to an evolving world order that is subject to evolutionary laws and there is no escape from these laws eieepting that we can, I 'believe. control and direct the evolutigniry process, of which war or competitiOn is an integral part, within the limits of the laws which govern that process. One of these-laws is the irreversibility of the evolutionary. proceSs. How does Mr. G. I. Bennett know that "peace" under his world federal government will be all that he desires it to be? He has no experience of a world federal government and its defects, but once such a government has been evolved it will, I suggest, be too late to reverse the process. If Mr. G. I. Bennett cared to substitute "control of man's destiny" for "peace" he might find that, in controlling man's destiny, peace of the right kind resulted. The one way to lose all hope of achieving control over man's destiny is, I suggest, to set up a world government, federal oi• otherwise. 18

What we need is not world go•-ilernment,but control from species level of our evolving sovereign group structures. The problem facing us is nor that of the H-bomb fiut that.of controlling sovereign power, which includes power specialisations of all kinds. To do this we must keep sovereign power down to that level at which we can hope to evolve evolutionarY c'Ontrolsover it by controlling both its internal and its external environments: • The only way of controlling the external environment of a world government is by gaining evolutionary control of the..cosmos.. How. does Mr. Bennett propose to do this? „ • Yours faithfully, . GEORGEADCOCK., Activities of Kindred Societies Orpington Humanist Group Sunday, March 8, 5.30 p.m.. (Speaker 6 p.m.) at Sherry's Restaurant, Orpington. M. L. Burnet: "Is World Government Necessary?",

The Education of Engineers • - • The Ethical Union has been invited to make.up a party to visit the Ford Motor Company at Dagenham on Tuesday, 7th April. The programme will be as follows: 10.00 Assemble in the Library of the Apprentice School for coffee and inspection of the Library. . 10.30 Tour of the works:. 0 • . 1.30 Lunch as the guests of the Apprentice School. 2.15 Brief tour of the School. " 2.45 Talk by Mr. C. Attwood with slides, Principal of the Apprentice School, pn The Education of Engiriders in the Ford Motor:Com- 4.15 Tea and queStions. Application should be made to the Ethical Union if possible not later than March 7. Their address is 13 Prince of Wales Terrace, W.8„ Details about getting to the Ford Co. will be sent to those taking part.

Sutton Humanist Group • Sunday, March 15 at Red Cross House, 11 Park Hill, Carshalton Beeches: at 7.15 p.m. G. J..Mepham, BA.: "A Hunianist's View. of Work and the Profit Motive."

i SoCiety's Other Activities pamble Easter Sunday, March 29, Southern Railway Ramble to Pulborough and Amberley for Arundel Park and views of sea and Weald from South Downs. Return fare 8s. 6d. Bring packed lunch. Train 9.51 a.m. Victoria or 9.30 a.m. London Bridge, change East Croydon. Leader: W. L. George.

Sunday Social - - - • March 15 in the Library 3 p.m. Professor Hyman Levy: "Is Education Dangerous?" Tea will be served at 3.45 p.m. Members and friends are,cordially invited to hear this distinguished speaker. 19 Thursday Evening Socials in the Library 7 p.m. March 5—Closed. 12—Mr. S. Hammond: "Ghana" yesterday today and tomorrow. 19—Whist Drive. 26—Closed.

The Library, Conway Hall The Librarian will be in attendance on Sunday mornings and Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Addition to the Library: Frontiers of Science, by C. B. Chase.

Conway•Discussions (Tuesdays at 7.15 p.m.)

March 3 — Dr. Cyril Bibby, M.A., M.Sc. T. H. Huxley's Views on Education 10—L M. Alexander. Is Freemasonry a Religion?

17— Maurice Cranston. John Stuart Mill's "Essay on Liberty" (published 1859). A Review— One Hundred years after.

24— Dr. S. W. E. Swinton, F.R.S.E. Moral Ideas in Darwin's "Origin of Species" (published 1859). .

The Young Humanists It has been decided to rename the Friday Group as above, and to increase the activities beyond the scope of a discussion group. The aim is to make the Group more appealing to young people by introducing meetings of a more social nature. Meeting will continue to be held every Friday at 7.30 p.m. Programme for March:

March 6 — Geoffrey Elkan, "Mystical Experience and Human Knowledge". 13—D. W. M. Muirhead, Registered Naturopath, "Nature Cure —a Way of Life". 20—Informal Social and Dance. 27—No meeting.

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of this Society will be held in the Library at Conway Hall on. Wednesday, May 27, at 7 p.m. It should be noted that members are not entitled to vote unless they.are twenty- one years of age or upwards, their names have been twelve months upon the register, and their subscriptions for the previous year have been paid. Any motion which members wish to have placed on the agenda for consideration by the General Committee should be sent to the Sec- retary by March 31.

Services available to members and associates include: The Naming Ceremony of Welcome to young children; the Solemnisation of Marriage; Memorial and Funeral Services. For full particulars of membership, meetings etc. apply to the Secretary, Conway Hall, W.C.1.

Farleigh Press Ltd. (T.U. all depts.), Becchwood Rise, Watford. Herts.