LEAGUE'S REPLY

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 48, 25 August 1933, Page 8

LEAGUE'S REPLY

LACK OF SUPERVISION

COMMUNIST ACTIVITIES

The attitude of the New Zealand Welfare League towards the inquiry was defined today by tho secretary (Mr. A. P. Harper) in an interview with a "Post representative. He said that the league was deeply concerned with the lack of supervision as to tho persons allowed access to the students and the subjects permitted to be debated.

"The league does not propose to' enter into, further correspondence on this matter," said Mr. Harper, "but desires to call attention to the following state- ' ment in the report handed to the Press by tho council:—'The Welfare League stated that it had made no charge or insinuation against the staff of Victoria College.' This is not correct. AVo t made the following statement which, we ■ purposely put in writing before handing' it to the committee: —'Broadly speaking it is claimed that the league says i that in this (Victoria) University Col- ' lego there arc teachers who deliberately ' giro an auti-British "twist" to thenteaching and that these teachers aro '• told by Moscow to do so. To clear the air of all misunderstanding on behalf of the Welfare League I wish to say that we still do not think that what we said can be fairly construed into such a charge; that we hacl no intention to ! insinuate, nor do we make such a charge against any member of the Professorial . Board at Victoria College. . "ONLY ACCUSATION."-' " 'The only accusation reflecting on the professorial staff that we have made is that persons definitely and admittedly connected with the Communist Party—and hold views and opinions contrary to our accepted ideas of law, order, religion, and the family—have been given an "entre" to the college organisations and allowed to place their 1 views before .■students both young and old. In other words facility has been granted to Communist agents outside the university to- further this subversive campaign within its gates. We cannot see our way to modify this charge.' , "You. will see," said the secretary, "that so far from, our denying having . made any charge, we actually admitted having made one and gave evidence- in support of it. We only denied, and still deny, having made the specific charge claimed by Professor Gould. "The result of the discussions with , the committee has convinced the league that there has been a-grave, .Jack of , supervision as to. the persons allowed access to the students and- the subjects allowed to be debated. Also wo gather that there is considerable doubt in the minds of the authorities at the • colleges as to what powers of discipline [ and control exist and whose duty it is to exercise them. These aro the- mat- ; ters to which we referred' when wo stated that parents hesitated to send their sons and daughters to the univer- . aity. These matters call for a more impartial investigation."