Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 1, No. 21 October 5, 1938

A Long Farewell

A Long Farewell

This is the last issue of "Salient" for the year. Exams draw close and lectures will soon be over.

Most of you will agree. I think, that the general policy or line adopted in this paper at the beginning of the year has been justified. The events of the last few days surely prove it. It was not to be expected that every student would agree even in general terms with all that has been said, yet you should all have known where you stood with regard to the opinions expressed, for you have been able to see who wrote them and to know what importance to attach to them. You were not asked to believe that the editorial policy was unbiassed. Yet you have not seen in these columns, advocacy of any particular point of view. The nature of the paper, of course, makes that impossible for any reasonable person to do. In the rest of the paper, however, articles of a more constructive type have appeared. Whenever there have appeared forces, political or otherwise, making for peace instead of war, for freedom instead of injustice, for hope instead of despair, we have given them their share of attention. But you haven't had to put up with any nonsense about "impartiality."

This general attitude is not confined to "Salient." Students of Victoria have for years subjected the existing order of things to a running fire of criticism which is almost invariably well-informed and couched in moderate terms. It is somewhat surprising, then, to find two "gentlemen"apparently so excited by the political campaign in which they are engaged that they have lost all sense of proportion, seek to gain support for their cause by attacking Victoria College as "a hot-bed of Communism." We could excuse Mr. Barker. Indeed, those who know him could excuse him almost anything he says. But Mr. Appleton, however, is old enough to know better.

Still, we do not forget that an attack on "Communism" is becoming the orthodox method of excusing an attack on all kinds of freedom of speech, and of suppressing all opinions critical of capitalism. We have come across statements just as misleading as those of Mr. Appleton and Mr. Barker before. The voice may be the voice of Appleton but the sentiments are the sentiments of Blimp—or, some might even say of Hitler. The party to which these two gentlemen belong is fast developing an unenviable [ unclear: reputation] for reckless misrepresentation. To one who attaches any value to the best conceptions of British honesty and Justice such misleading and hysterical outbursts cannot but cause pained surprise. It is only to be expected however that the representatives of a party which during its unhappy period of [ unclear: office] look only a [ unclear: repressive] interest in Education and in whose platform new Education barely finds place would adopt this attitude. Who know it might even be used as a good excuse for limiting bursaries.

So much by the way. In spite of our ill-informed critics, it has been a successful and pleasant year for V.U.C. Most of you will no doubt be more prepared to give a frank answer to that after November. [ unclear: At] the present time the library is full to overflowing with students trying, as usual, to do a year's work in a term. Most of them will succeed. A few (don't be alarmed gentle reader, this doesn't mean you) will fail. Whether you [ unclear: faifor] succeed, you will carry to the Winter Show Buildings the good wishes of the staff of your paper, and their hope that you will then forget all about, "swot" until next March. Good luck!—A.H.S.