FREEDOM IN BOOKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22319, 17 January 1936, Page 12

FREEDOM IN BOOKS

VIEWS OF A MINISTER CENSORSHIPS OPPOSED "ENEMY OF ENLIGHTENMENT" [nY TKI.BfiKA P H —oW N CO lIIIKSPON » KNT | \VKJ-iLIN(jTON, 'illnrsrlay "We have the law of the land which is considered to be tho will of the people in a democratic community. The law should bo sufficient. \\'<r need no censorship," said tho .Minister of Finance, Hon. W. Nash, at a luncheon of the Associated Booksellers of New Zenland. "If the. public of this country wish to avoid any breeding of revolution, if they wish to achieve true democracy, to preserve all that their ancestors fought for, they should fight against censorships, for censorship is the enemy of enlightenment and progress. Some may say that this is going too far, that what we need is an enlightened censorship, but, as Bernard Shaw points out, an enlightened censorship is worse than unenlightened one. "The reason is that tho intelligent man will be able to see in many books tendencies for a change which the unenlightened censor might miss. In one case a book might bo banned and in tho other case allowed into tho country. There is no one who can say what his neighbour should read. Jt is a restriction of the rights of the subject to suggest that a citizen should not have access to books which some board censorship says are not for him. What we need is greater enlightenment, more access to new ideas, more knowledge of what the greatest scientists, scholars and philosophers aro thinking. "It may perhaps be a simple matter to abolish the censorship, but that is in itself only a permissive action. The next step is the co-operation of those who can pass on new ideas. The bookseller hi one of those who can be oi immediate help. He can thus play a great part in the future progress of New Zealand. Tho booksellers should be in the front iines of the battle for enlightenment, social security, and spiritual well-being. On them tho responsibility rests for seeing that the public have access to books which are breaking fresh ground in economics, sociology, politics, science and religion. "We can judge a society by its book shops. The book shops oi Germany today will illustrate what 1 mean. If we contrast those with the book shops of London we shall realise the difference between Fascist dictatorship and liberal democracy. Similarly, our book shops reflect New Zealand. Perhaps f should put it another way and sn.v that New Zealand reflects its book shops. That means that the active agents should be the booksellers, leading tho forces of enlightenment. 'I he history of tho British people is the history of the struggle ior freedom, liberty of speech, thought and religion. It has been a fight against intolerance. In tho main it has been victory. It is for us to keep this spirit alive —to continue to light intolerance. Buskin and Carl.vln fought intolerance. Samuel Butler fought it The fight must be carried on."