Ivor Catt,

121 Westfields,

St. Albans AL3 4JR

8apr97

Ralph Hill,

12 Willow Drive,

Bexhill-on-Sea,

cc Martin Burnell,

Chairman of the Trustees,

The Friend Publications Ltd,

Drayton House, 30 Gordon St.,

London WC1H 0BQ

Dear Ralph Hill,

Thank you for your letter dated 5apr97, in which you suggest that I try to get the Morgan book into the Quaker Universe of Discourse via book review rather than letter to The Friend. My answer is that if the climate of censorship by the Quaker Thought Police requires various tricks and manoeuvers every time in order to bring crucial information to the notice of Friends, then I am not interested in applying such manoeuvers in a particular case. In fact, I now flag up that the Adrienne Burgess book, although she is of the politically left IPPR, and of crucial importance towards leading Quakers to research results on a matter of critical social importance, will also be kept out of the Quaker Universe of Discourse for five years. This confirms that information is banned if it is up to date, rather than if it does not meet the perceived Quaker dogma, anthough the latter is a factor. For the information of the Trustees of The Friend, I here put on notice that factual information of primary importance to concerns central to Quakers is systematically censored out of the Quaker Universe of Discourse until it has been common knowledge outside the Society for three years. I would be willing to discuss this with concerned parties, presumably not including censor Elizabeth Fowler, who last week stated that censorship does not exist in the Society of Friends, and so has to put all this down to my paranoia. I note in passing that you and others, after many years in key positions in the Society, have now resigned and are trying to join a foreign Society of Friends. This is not directly caused by censorship in our Society, but censorship is a significant contributory cause.

Now that Padfield has announced her resignation, perhaps I can get through the Reconstructed Quaker's perpetual determination to see everything in terms of personalities, at least for a brief period. I shall send a copy of this letter to the Chairman of the Trustees, in order to flag up for the first time the broad body of opinion that a climate of strict censorship pervades the British society of Friends. It is briefly outlined in my 25apr94 piece "The Quaker Quagmire".

When she approached me some yhears ago, I did suggest a broad ranging discussion with Padfield, but she did not take this up. I now state that, because in my fields of expertese I am up to date, none of my up to date knowledge will take its place in the Quaker Universe of Discourse in the future, as it has failed to do in the past. This even includes my knowledge as to the key books that Quakers need to read in certain fields. This marginalisation is definitely not limited to me. Some years ago Janet Arthur, clerk of her MM, set up a committee to examine the marginalisation of incipient leaders in the Society of Friends. (This subject also figures in Dandelion's PhD thesis.) I would rather have a committee examine the marginalisation of key factual information by the Society of Friends. I fear that JA had also been drawn into the pervasive cult of personality in the Society of Friends by looking at the less serious shooting of the messengers, rather than the more serious shooting of their messages. I get upset every time the Society (predictably) acts in anti-social ways as a result of dogged self-inflicted ignorance of the latest facts.

I have only recently realised that the growing heresy in our Society, that we got rid of laity, when in fact we got rid of the priests, is a factor in the desire that all Quakers keep at the same level of ignorance. Should half of Quakers read the key material and the other half not, this will be divisive. Also, the misuse of another Quaker precept, that God will in his goodness move even the ignorant towards the best actions, so we may as well remain ignorant, is one of so many distorcions of our cherished Quaker values by the Reconstructed Quaker.

Yours sincerely,

Ivor Catt

cc Elizabeth Fowler,

33 Camp View Rd.,

St. Albans AL1 5LN

cc Morton,

158 The Ridgeway,

St. Albans AL4 9XJ

cc Clifford Crellin

cc The Editor, The Friend,

Drayton House,

30 Gordon St.,

London WC1H 0BQ

cc Ben Pink Dandelion