Our own opinion is distinctly in favour of voluntary rather
than of State action. No doubt the aid of the law is required in extreme cases, but for dealing with the most difficult problem of checking poisonous literature, where the poison is indirect rather than direct, voluntary action such as that taken by the Associations of Booksellers and Librarians is far more effective. Through such voluntary action one may get a great deal of the good of a censorship with very little of the attendant evils. Liberty is of course the ideal, but without some restriction literature would become a plague-spot.. No one can doubt this who has had the misfortune to receive through the post the filthy catalogues and specimens of obscene literature which are occasionally sent to the British house- holder by firms on the Continent who carry on this loathsome trade. A very slight acquaintance with these works would convert the most ardent upholder of the principle of absolute liberty. The thanks of the public are due to all connected with the Conference, and not least to the energetic director, the Rev. James Marchant.
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