The tenth commandment
Sir: Mr Enoch Powell has the unfortunate habit of making controversial statements as if they were self-evident truths which re- quire no corroboration.
For example in your last issue (14 March) he says 'hence the often observed fact that international and long-range do-gooders are commonly highly uncharitable at close quarters'. Who are these 'do-gooders' and by whom has their lack of charity been observed? We are not told and Mr Powell cannot therefore complain if this extraordin- ary allegation is written off as another piece of fiction similar to the story of the mythical lady who had excrement pushed through her letter box.
Again, in the same article, he says 'the fact that the receiver of a gift hates the giver is a commonplace'. Taken literally this would mean, for example, that the Christ- mas season always results in an orgy of hatred, but one assumes that Mr Powell is referring to recipients of overseas aid. Does he therefore really suggest that an Indian mother on learning that the life of her child has been saved by food or medicine supplied by a foreign country is instantly filled with hatred towards that country? If so, what grounds has he in believing this to be the case?
J. M. Venables Little Poynetts, Chilworth, Guildford, Surrey
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