Booksellers Acclaim Tribunal Ruling

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30395, 20 March 1964, Page 1

Booksellers Acclaim Tribunal Ruling

The decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal to admit James Baldwin’s book, “Another Country,” was welcomed at the annual conference of the Associated Booksellers of New Zealand in Hanmer Springs yesterday.

The association unanimously adopted a resolution that the tribunal’s careful decision would set a standard and that hereafter it would be clear that the moral quality of a book did not depend upon the number of foul words and sexual passages but on the seriousness and intention of the book as a whole.

“The ‘ association trusts that the Customs Department will cease to prohibit the importation of similar serious and sincere works of literature, and will in future restrict themselves to their proper function of stopping porno-graphy-dirt for dirt’s sake—from entering the country,” said the resolution.

In a -panel discussion on the Indecent Publications Act and censorship, a Wellington bookseller, Mr R. Parsons,

said that he was prepared to go the “whole hog.” “If, 16-year-olds can read ‘Another Country’ well and good,” he said. “It will show them what life is really all about. As an American judge said, it is better to meet it in a book, than behind a cowbarn.”

A panel who tackled questions relating to the Indecent Publications Act were a publishers* representative, Mr M. Catt, an interested party in the recent case before the tribunal; a Christchurch bookseller, Mr P. Bourne; a Wellington bookseller, Mr R. Parsons, who was a witness in the case; and a Wellington bookseller, Mr D. Emanuel, who attended the car? as an onlooker. The panel chairman was another bookseller, Mr E. J. Ward.

Mr Catt said he thought the atmosphere of the tribunal hearing was liberal. He said that one of the most important things in the case was when the SolicitorGeneral tried to further the definition of indecency. The Solicitor-General had felt that the definition should be broadened so that a book which offended against any institution which New Zealanders held dear, could well be regarded as indecent “He quoted religion and Anzac Day as examples,” said Mr Catt. “That was getting into pretty deep waters. Mr Blundell, counsel for the defence, certatinly took this one on.” Real Test Mr Emanuel said he thought the tribunal would be liberal. But the real test he said, would come when a book of no real literary merit came up. “It will be a bigger test than in the past” he said. “I understand a book by an American author, Grace Met-

alious, who recently died, is coming up. That will be interesting.” When the panel was asked if the Customs Department or the police had the power to seize as indecent books which had not been considered by the Tribunal, Mr Catt replied that he thought they did not have that power. They could demand a copy for inspection but he was not sure whether they could seize a bookseller’s stock when it came into the country. On the question of how a bookseller was to be sure he did not transgress when a book had been ruled as indecent for persons below a certain age, say 17 years, Mr Bourne said booksellers would have to use their own judgment as did publicans. Age Declaration

Mr Parsons said he rather thought he would have some little order card to be signed by customers, declaring they were over 17 years, or whatever age might be applicable. Mr Parsons said that members of the Customs Department must find out what was literature and what was not “If they don’t find that out then we are lost,” he said. “They are honest men and sincere. But they don't seem to be able to find this thing. “They always get tangled up with literature when it comes to defining a book,” he said.