Max Riske. . .

Max Riske, whom the College will hold in loving memory as a founder of "Smad," has sudenly acquired newspaper fame. He wants to go to Russia—at his own expense. The Education Board which employs him will not give him leave. The Minister of Education will not interfere with the decision of the Board; he will not even commission Max to inquire into educational matters in Russia. It is a question whether if Max had simply asked for leave without stating what he was going to do with it his request would have been granted; for Max has, during recent years, been a keen student of Asiatic politics and has shown such ability in passing his knowledge on, that some people have trembled for the safety of the New Zealand constitution. These people would be difficult to convince that Max wished to go to Russia merely to find out things about education. The situation is a tribute to Max's potentialities as a reformer of institutions or, at least, as an irritant to the politically satisfied, but the problem involved is a difficult one. Is an employee entitled to what he asks for, if it costs his employers nothing, or are his employers entitled to refuse him what he wants if they think it concerns something other than the work for which he is employed. The question is one of competing liberties—the teacher's liberty to leave his job, the Board's liberty to keep it open for him. It would be quite easy to take a stand for liberty on either side, but what's the use? As Victoria College and Russia know, there is no complete liberty in a condition of dependence on others. From fellow-sufferers here—sympathies, Max.

—C.U.V.