Free Lancing

The reporting of a Socialist Club meeting by "Freedom" and "People's Voice" illustrates an uncomfortable trend in V.U.C. politics. This is not the first time that outside papers have got more or less half-baked reports from one side or the other.

When students attend a V.U.C. meeting they do so as students. If they want to report for outside papers they should declare themselves as press representatives, so that we know who's who. A copy of Ron Smith's report on W.F.D.Y. was given to "Truth" (apparently by an opponent of W.F.D.Y.) at a time when it had not been presented to the Association in general meeting, a gross breach of confidence.

It is high time that both student writers and outside papers took more care with the way material is secured.

War about Peace

The Vicar of St. Aidan's in Hamilton has published some forthright comments on the N.Z. Peace Congress. He attended to find out for himself, and came away feeling that the clergy would do better to work among their own people.

All this means of course a dirty dig at his clerical colleague, Dean Chandler, who has Australian watersider, James Healy, as a co-member of the World Peace Council.

Cappicade Censored!

When a contributor "Vaux" advocated more dirt in Cappicades, he overlooked the strict principles of our helpful printers, Hutcheson. Bowman and Stewart Ltd. When they took on the job three years ago they warned us that they would not print anything they regarded as over the edge, and did in fact delete a line from a poem in 1947.

After a few years' experience of pointless and worn out jokes of the kind which spoiled the clever script of "Sidarella" "Vaux" might reconsider his attitude.

Single Handed

"Why leave it all to him?" asks "Vaux" about D. Patterson's cartoons in "Cappicade." It is to be hoped that this was a complaint directed against the artists of the College, and not at the harrassed editor.

"Cappicade" staff, less than half a dozen of them, apart from helpers for selling, turn out a magazine which sells 10,000 copies, reaching a far wider public than Extrav. It is a thousand pound business turning in a sure profit to the Students' Association year after year.

It is high time students tumbled to the importance of "Cappicade." Maybe this year's wasn't so wonderful, but for that should we blame the editor, staff, and three contributors or the 2000 who took no literary interest in it at all?

Underneath the Arches

"Mr. Drennan Welcomes McArthur's Dismissal"—"People's Voice" headline. Come to think of it, General McArthur and the exAuckland waterside's president would make good pals as they dream of their days of greatness, for there is little future for the deregistered watersider officials, if the Auckland Carpenters' Union is any lesson. In the recent annual elections Mr. Roy Stanley, the former carpenters' secretary, could only manage 338 votes against 1400 for the moderate candidate who displaced him two years ago.

Statesmanship

President Kevin O'Brien showed some traces of statesmanship when he wrote to "Freedom" defending Mr. Piper and the Socialist Club. It is true that the President, like the Editor of "Salient," is not seeking cheap martyrdom by flouting the Emergency Regulations, an attitude which seemed to annoy the Socialist Club.

Nevertheless, when "Freedom" advocated that any thoughts other than those approved and endorsed by the Prime Minister had no place in New Zealand today, Mr. O'Brien was quick to write to point out the meaning of a University.

It is to be hoped that whoever succeeds Kevin O'Brien will follow his example—obedience to the law, but firm defence of the University spirit, a defence extended in this case to a well known opponent over many an Exec. table.

Outcast

The Rt. Hon. W. Nash, recently asked the Exec, if he could speak at V.U.C. on the wharf strike, in accordance with the usual policy, this was referred to clubs likely to be interested. None were apart from the Socialist Club who, with Mr. Barnes as Vice-President, apparently didn't suit Mr. Nash's ideas of not for or against.

Dollar Denial

The article on the Colombo Plan recently published in "Salient" is almost entirely based on a "Manchester Guardian" story which was the subject of an official explanation of the United Kingdom Information Service, printed in "The Dominion" of March 3rd.

This showed that 250 million dollars for this year, together with expected aid for India, would be a most generous contribution from the United States, and the effect "far from being depressing, should be most exhilarating."