But the very fact that the Communists are able to capture the hearts and minds of only a small number of New Zealanders induces an attitude that Communism in New Zealand can safely be ignored. This attitude is akin to that of the ostrich which buries its head in the sand. The Party membership includes a number, increasing year by year, of "comrades" who have visited the Soviet Union and China on courses of training The present District Secretary of the Party in Wellington, a paid functionary, is a case in point. The Soviet and Chinese authorities must think that their liberality in financing these visits will pay a dividend.

Some of the Party's intellectual members made their break decisively and publicly proclaimed their stand, but a larger number merely allowed themselves to drift out of Party Membership. They do not appear to have done much more than that. Communism has made its mark indelibly on their minds and personalities, They still value highly the human relationships they built up during their Party life and remain fascinated of their Party activities. Some continue to support the Party line on specific issues. For example, current Communist propaganda themes include recognition of the Chinese People's Government and its admission to the United Nations, withdrawal from Seato and Anzus, trade with the Communist Bloc, and support for the Soviet position on disarmament. The former Party intellectuals continue to support these Party themes, particularly in the so-called "front" organisations.

These Communist "front" organisations call for special mention. It is as well to be aware that they are not of spontaneous growth but are established internationally in accordance with directives from none other than Lenin and Stalin themselves who saw the need for developing Communist propaganda organisations separate from the Communist Party, which would attract support from a wider cross-section of the community than would the Communist Party itself. Typical examples are the Peace Council, affiliated with the World Peace Council, and the NZ/USSR Society, affiliated with a Soviet counterpart.

The Communist Party directs these "fronts" usually through the device of having a trusted Communist Party member as the Secretary— for example, the National Secretary of the NZ/USSR Society in Wellington is a member of the national committee of the Communist Party—and through "fractions" of Party members whose existence is kept secret from the rank and file membership and who function as "ginger groups".

A "front" organisation advocating peace, disarmament and friendship with the Soviet Union, and professing (albeit falsely) to be non-political, has undoubtedly an appeal to persons of goodwill, But, if I may offer a word of caution—be sure, if you are approached to join such a group (hat you are fully satisfied about the loyally and bona fide of its executives.

There are only a few intellectuals still remaining in the Party. They are to be found as a small leavening in the teaching profession and among doctors, lawyers and accountants.

A few are in the Public Service. I repeat that they are but a small leavening but as they are there they cannot, in my view, fail to exert their influences, for example, I do not believe that a Communist university lecturer or schoolteacher will not endeavour to influence his students in accordance with his Communist beliefs.

It is in the nature of things for a Communist to be a fanatic. The Party functions on a clandestine and conspiratorial basis. It conceals its membership and its finances. Because experiences, some of them dramatic, have demonstrated that many Communists tend to be disloyal and untrustworthy, it has been Government policy here and in other countries for a number of years now to exclude Communists from certain more sensitive aspects of Government work, particularly work concerned with defence and foreign relations. In a small and relatively homogeneous community such as ours, where so many people take so much interest in their neighbours' affairs, it is sometimes said that the Communists in our midst inevitably become labelled and publicly known. Experience shows that this is unfortunately not the case. The problem of identifying Communists is by no means easy. An even greater problem is the identification and assessment of persons with past records of Communist associations who retain some degree of sympathy for Communism. The answer to the question—"Are there or are there not reasonable grounds for supposing that a particular individual has or has recently had Communist sympathies or associations of such a type as to raise legitimate doubts about his reliability?" must be of particular concern to the employing authorities of the Government and, at the same time, is frequently most difficult to answer.