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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 12, No. 10. September 20th, 1949

- No Man's Land - — Letters to the Editor

page 3

- No Man's Land -

Letters to the Editor

IUS and US

Sir,

The following news is taken from Australasian Student Labour Federation reports, and is important to VUC students.

Concerning IUS from which NZ USA has disaffiliated for nebulous reasons, they point out the importance of strengthening the international organisations like WFDY and UN which have come in for so much attack from those who have much to gain from a World War III. Because a young movement might have growing pains is no reason for our abandoning them altogether. Surely the period between the two world wars proved the danger of non-cooperation.

"The ASLF considers that the work of the IUS in the Pacific area and in Australia would be greatly assisted by the establishment of an IUS Pacific centre, with Headquarters in China, which could undertake the distribution of information, the organisation of travel and. exchange schemes in this area, and which could assist in the organisation of relief for students in the colonial countries, and in the organisation of regional gatherings. Such a centre should be in the nature of an IUS department, subordinate to the international headquarters of IUS. We believe that a Pacific centre could do much to develop close links between Australian (and N.Z.) students and the students of China, India and S.E. Asia, and we urge the IUS to give consideration to this proposal."

One reason made by NZUSA for disaffiliating from IUS was that IUS would not permit a Pacific bureau of organisations affiliated to her. This is untrue. Mr. K. Tolhurst, Australian representative to IUS, informed the late secretary of the Australian students' organisation that IUS agreed with such proposals. The question of expense has also been raised. To date IUS affiliation has cost NZ very little for the simple reason that few. If any, contributions have ever been sent. In any case IUS affiliation is very cheap and such an argument is not valid on humane grounds.

Concerning student relief, they point out how International Student Service (ISS) is governed by a self-perpetuating council which is not composed of students; its relief work has been noted for political discrimination.

"ASLF condemns the attempts made by ISS and Pax Romana at the last executive meeting of World Student Relief to wind up the activities of WSR. We fully support the determination of IUS to maintain WSR as the international student relief organisation, and consider that only through the continued participation of IUS in WSR can the absence of political [unclear: discrination] in relief be guaranteed. ASLF promises its full support for the Australian campaign, etc. .. ."

The second World Youth Festival of WFDY is this month, August 14th-21st in Budapest. As with the first Festival, the press smears It as Communist-dominated and Just a tool of Russia and her satellites. I have had experience of the much-publicised Boy Scout Jamborees, and know Just how hypocritical and ineffectual are the idealising and pipe dreams of their leaders. Wedy has a [unclear: con] programme for peace which was forged by young people wins bitter experience of World War II, deter-mined that their sons will not die of radio activity in a generation's time. The bitter attacks on IUS, and WFDY are indications of the success which these movements are having In building world peace. It is up to all progressive students to urge NZUSA to re-affiliate to IUS, and to pay up overdue fees, and while keeping strong our own links with WFDY to work towards NZ USA affiliating. The cause of peace and progress is not an easy one but it is the finest cause of all.

W.H.M.

When Greek Meets Greek

Sir.

W. H. Oliver renders easy the destruction of Marxism by first asserting in its name things which are not implicit in dialectical materialism. Having said, "Partisan may reply that the only valid values are proletarian values." he then assumes that Partisan has in fact said this, and proceeds to demolish "a fallacy which is . . . the general property of Marxism." By all means let him demolish that fallacy (if there be such), but let him not attribute to Marxists the idea that "values are wholly and in every way relative," and thus that "proletarian values" are "completely relative"; or that "Marx wanted to give eternity to the proletariat and make their dominance the end point of the human process, to make their values absolute" (sic!).

In refutation of this preposterous statement I need only remind Mr. Oliver of the well-known Marxian thesis of the development of a stateless, classless society, accompanied by the "withering away" of the state forms and by the disappearance of the proletariat as a class. The general concept is expressed by Engels, "So this dialectical philosophy dissolves all conceptions of final, absolute truth, and of a final absolute state of humanity corresponding to it. For it. nothing is final, absolute, sacred. It reveals the transitory character of everything and in everything: nothing can endure before it except the uninterrupted process of becoming and of passing away, of endless ascending from the lower to the higher."

It is always more difficult to dis-pose of arguments of sincere and well-intentioned critics such as Mr. Oliver than those of the conscious falsifiers of history; so I would suggest that to learn what Marxists think, he should turn to the writings of Marxists, and not to those of the traducers of Marxism perennially infesting History Departments. Only from the latter would he have derived his gross distortions of the dialectical materialist view of history.

W. H. Oliver (The Elder—Ed.).

Straight From The Bull's Month

Dear Sir,

With reference to your "Gallup Poll" on the Catholic Church's excommunication statement, it appears to be necessary that certain misunderstandings should be resolved.

The statement is not a Papal Bull: it is a decree Issued by the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. The distinction should be familiar to students of history.

The decree does nothing in fact other than make explicit a state of affairs, and indicate actions to be done or not done in relation to that state of affairs, which had existed and was existing before the promulgation of the decree: that is, atheistic materialism is opposed to the Catholic Faith fundamentally and without possibility of reconciliation.

With regard to implementation: the decree itself makes it clear that "Catholics who profess and particularly those who defend and spread the materialistic anti-Christian doctrine of Communists, ipso facto, as apostates from the Catholic Faith incur excommunication."

The position of the faithful is not one of "the purest Irrationality." For sufficient reason persons will receive from the competent authorities permission to read works failing under the ban of the decree, and others will not have their "liberty" of thought taken away.

It is a fallacious definition of liberty which would lead to criticism of the decree as being unreasonable—members of the faith accept such aecrees for the same reason, and in the same manner in which civil society accepts regulations concerning, for example, the sale of dangerous drugs to persons unqualified to use them with discretion.

A Catholic as such considers the authority of the Church sufficient and competent, nothing more or less. It is difficult to know-what reasons persons not in communion with the Church have for criticising the decree-on grounds which are unacceptable to those whom the decree binds. If you disagree with the teachings of the Church, you may in consequence disagree with the decree or regard it as unimportant—if you accept the teachings of the Church you accept the decree.

Persons who express opinions on these matters should, to be "intellectually honest," have studied them, even if only in an elementary fashion: otherwise they should remain silent. The expression of uninformed opinion by those aiming at that "university ideal" would, we feel, be inexcusable.

Yours faithfully,

G. K. W. Johnstone.

P. A. Hutchings.

Grouse

Sir,

At the beginning of this year, Salient published an article—and a very good one it was, too—on the so-called library at this College.

What has been done between then and now?

Nothing.

Regularly, I go up to the so-called library. It must be the only place in the world where capitalism is preached and the customer is always—repeat—always wrong. Oh, how hard it is still to find anything. Oh. how hard it is to get the assistants to take a real interest in what one wants. I still get the feeling in there that it wouldn't be at all surprising if I disinterred a lost student among the odd piles around the place.

Your shake-up, sir, hasn't really had much effect. That the paper is read by those in authority has been evidenced: could I raise the question once again, and point out that the library is still far from perfect in the service it gives to students?

I am sure that there is no deliberate neglect on the part of the authorities: maybe they just don't remember how hard it can' be for a student who has to depend on the books which he can—or can't—get out of the library.

You could do an excellent job by raising the question again.

Overdue.

Flat Wanted

Sir,

I am writing to make rather an odd request. I do not know whether or not you even print in "Salient" any personal or private advertisements. In the past year we had not received any until a recent issue and that has prompted me to write to you.

I presume that at V.U.C. there are quite a number of students, who are flatting. A friend of mine—a B.E. ([unclear: cre] actually—is being transferred to Wellington towards, the end of the year. He was wondering whether any Varsity students who possess flats would be wanting someone to occupy theirs from say mid-November till the end of February.

He would prefer a 2-3 room flat, as central as possible and at not too exorbitant a price.

I was wondering whether you could find a spare half-inch to put in a small note to this effect.

Any replies could be sent to my home address, 57 Box Hill, Khan-dallah, or could perhaps be left at "Salient" office for me to pick up in the August vac.

Trusting you will excuse my asking this favour and thanking you in anticiaption.

Yours,

C. D. Burrell.