DR. FISHER ATTACKS AFRICAN POLICY

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27688, 18 June 1955, Page 7

DR. FISHER ATTACKS AFRICAN POLICY

(Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, June 17. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Geoffrey Fisher, last night denounced the Government of South Africa which, ha said, ruled by fear. «

Dr. Fisher said that South Africa, which he recently visited, was a most unhappy country.

“The whole weight of Government policy is to drive people in the wrong direction. There is no doubt about that,” he said. “It was perfectly clear to me that it was a very unhappy country because every section was conscious, one way or another, that it was being governed by fear.” Dr. Fisher, who was speaking at the Lord Mayor’s traditional dinner for Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England, drew a sharp distinction between the situation in South Africa and that in Central and East Africa, where he said there were terrific problems to be met.' With the grace of God they could be met, he said. “This matter of the colour bar is not the sort of thing we should all get excited and fanatical about. The real thing is a cultural bar, which is a very different thing. “We live in the midst of them m England. These barriers must be passed, and should not be allowed to obscure fundamental fellowship,” said Dr. Fisher. In Africa people would slowly see the colour bar as an ordinary kind of cultural on social division, to be overcome by understanding and/ insight. \ If there were no outside interference. people of East and Central Africa would continue as fast as they could with the creation of a partnership between themselves, he said.

Speaking of the church in Central and East Africa, Dr. Fisher said he had found no kind of conscious colour bar there.

“Europeans liked to worship with Europeans; Africans liked to worship normally with Africans—not the least because of the language.

“I think the Bishop of Stepney (an East London suburb) would say that the people who live in the East End would rather worship with people of the East End than with ‘blokes’ in the West End,” said Dr. Fisher.