1959-08-25 — Page 1

A bishop's built-in

instinct for

limelight...

London. WHEN I was a little

W

" THE CHINA MAIL, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1959.

THE #1BHOP

"years past. How do you account for that?"

Another deep sigh came down the telephone, "I con only suppose," cald the bishop, "that it is on account of my friendship in the old days with men ke Ue late Sir Stafford Cripps, who held somewhat radical views. That sort of thing, you know."

"And you really tell me," I sold, "that you never sock publicity?"

"Never!" eried the bishop. "It is thrust upon me, I can assure you,

Living Issue

"What I am really interested in is making religión a living Issue In such portions of my diocese пе Bermondsey and Baltersea, Fatuous trivia are nothing to do with me."

Well, there we are, Maybe it's Just one long series of remark- abla coincideries. You prob-

by RENE MacCOLL

裏

ably recall come of the

high - Lights of aytonishing carest,

מה

THE VIBIT to Russia

back in 1933. when

of applause fran the Muscovite

I blame TV

for the flood

of crime

London.

THAT is the reason for the staggering When British adolescent crime? Why is it that in England and Wales in 1958 22,579 persons between the ages of 14 and 17 were convicted as against only 12,317 in 19387

boy living in the Hampstead Garden

Canon Stockwood (as he then Suburb, the newspapers Can there be something about that makes you such made-to- was) got a tremendous round

the S.E. postal districts at order pubtlety material?" of the day regularly London which acts as a hol- "Belleve it or nol," be congregation of 10,000 after he made references to the house for this ability to "pro- rejoined sonorously, "I try 10 bad preached a rousing sermon. Why should there be 16,482 wrongdoers

Ject an Image?"

vold publicity, at every possible THE FIERCE ATTACK, not Reverend Basil

turn. I spend my life trying to long since, on a London magis-between the ages of 17 and 21 in 1958 as avoid

trale for sending a woman to compared with 9,447 in 1938? "Good heavens," I said, "you gool, and the death, a few days certainly fall there, don't you?" later, of the magistrate in

it is none the less the case," question, said the bishop. "

pur-

THE UPROAR over his pro-

Bourchier.

He was then the Incumbent of St Jude's, the church designed by the late Str Rubert Lutyens whose fire, 231 07 a bill, brand unobstrusively over thi Lorthern extension of Homp- stead Heath,

I am not sure today just how effective a minister Bourchier

nbult-

Wa

But he bad tufe-Nor 10 per cent instinet for publicity.

A

wenr

This may or may not be good think i 2 minister of zeligion. The fort reins that CRIT at the men whe clerical garb y into national headlines with all the next able compulsion of an iron ing entering a magnelle Bek.

Fascinating

Now, in 1950, we have a fascinating example of this from -in one of Britain's most pru- minent contemporary church-

men.

I refer to the Right Reverend Mervyn Stockwood, the 16-your- old Bishop of Southwork, a' man who shares with Lawrence of Arabla an enviable capacity for backing luto the limelight.

Lewisham and Southwark,

Lady L. and the Bishop of 5. Unlike, needless to say. in practically every other respect, they certainly share an awe- some ability to snatch a head

line.

1 sometimes think — end I write this without any intent of dirrespect--that chips ke the Reverend Mervyn take us their byske metta that wonder- ful tagline of Kipling's "If you en walk with Kings- nor lose the common touch.”

Attractive

Because, while dealing mainly with those weighty matters of ethics and spiritual needs which naturally concern bishops, the Rollicking Rev. keeps breaking into the news on such relatively trival matters na gnitors bow ties

and

telephoned the bishop the other night, so tell him that I was writing about him.

ום

Why have the gun, the knife, the broken bottle, and the bicycle chain become

sued by the Press, by television, Jected B.B.C. appeal on behalf the familiar weapons of the young thug?

by all sorts of people. cate, for it."

I do not

"But, bishop," I went on, paper before "I have

the There on

front me. page is a headline quoting you- PII never your those ridiculous Balters." How about that?"

"Oh, dear," sighed the bishop. "But 1 can assure you that to refer lo me as the bow-tle bishop is unfair-most unfair. "I do wear the clerical collar, I'm wearing it even as I sit I have no speaking to you now, objection to it whatsoever,

"I find that li is most diff- euli to get on with my job, with my own personal life, such is the Interest in my sellvilles, it is too bad.

A

most

Ho JOSSES305 an extremely ettructive voice, a low draw!" "Well, bishop." I said. "be And he sounds very nice and that as it may, the fact remains Intelliger -1 musi make a that the brary in any news-

has office point of catching one of his paper serenons soon,

formidable collection of cut- "Bishop." said. "how come tings about you. You have, vou keep crashing the head- willynilly, been breaking into lines? What Is It about you the news regularly, and for

NATIONAL

of the association which has to do with planning families.

UNUSUAL idens worker-priests."

about

ADVOCATION of alterations within the present structure of Anglican services.

HIS STATEMENT that "The socher

enter

we

Christians polllies, the better."

I'll go along with the bishop on two things. I-His dislike of "lugubrious bells." He said. "It's easy to talk about the prostitution of Soviet ari, but I would prefer a dreary card of a collective farm to some of the cards I am sent from British seaside resorts by well-meaning friends,"

I feel-

I'm with you there, bishop. And something tells me that, however much the bishop may try to avoid publicity in the future, he will be no more successful in dodging I than he bus la the past.

(London Express Service).

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Police. clergy, and educa- tionists in Britain have thrown up their hands in perplexity. I offer one answer.

I BELIEVE THAT THE BRUTALI- TIES REPRESENTED ON TV ARE REFLECTED IN THE OUTLOOK AND BEHAVIOUR OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT VIEWERS, AND ARE A DIRECT INSPIRATION TO CRIMINAL AND SADISTIC VIOLENCE.

Scotland's case

In-

Let me Arst point to a statistical clue. In 1957 the number of charges proved against Juveniles in Scotland was (for crimes) 7,900 compared with 8,133 in 1938 and (for offences) 8,167 compared with 7,272-a very slight overall crease, Insignißeant in compari- sen with the juvenile crime in- crease in England and Wales,

Let us accept for the sake of argument-though this may be controversial that feilly, school church discipline is more effective in Scotland than in England and Wales, There still remains the need to ex- plain the difference in social be- haviour expressed in the criminal statistics.

and

The answer may be found, I think, in the statistics of T.V. Ucences,

of

MAURICE EDELMAN

LABOUR M.P. for COVENTRY NORTH

Can there be any doubt that recent bank robberies in Britain in witch holes have been dug from next-door shops have been imitated from similar TV descriptions, borrowed in turn from the im "RIA0"?

It corrupts

In England and Wales, there was one licence for every five Individuals.. In Scotland one for every seven, But, more than that; hundreds of thou-- sands of working-class families in Scotland. have remained 90 I am not urging a censorship for. Immune from the diet for television. Violence, like sex, bashing, muling and gunplay has a central place in art. Bul which commercial, T.V. there's a pornography of vio- specialises in South of the lonec, just as there's porno- border,

graphy of sex, and it is as cor- rupting in its effect on adolescents and even adults of low intelli- gence as anything covered by the Obscene Publications Act.

The offenders

I single out commercial TV (although the B.B.C. tags along in its wake) because the pro- grarine companies OTC the chief offenders.

Consider a typical tweek's viewing by British children.

It is dominated by crime pro- gramines (Highway -Patrol, Shadow Squad, Murder Bog Dial 990, Dragnet, Cannonball, Have Gur-Will Travel, Crimé Sheet, M-Squad) and the pseudo-Westerns series (Mave- rick, Wyatt Earp and Wagon Train, for example).

Únilke the old cowboy and Indian fantasies, these ATH really concerned with contemporary thugs in fancy dress-men who in the, words of the Police Commissioners' Report in a different context bave ал "Indifference to authority amounting in many cases to open deßance." How can

expect our children not to identify them-

the aclves with

outlaw. the slugger and the killer who night after night are presented to them in herole situations?

we

Excitement

TV has popularised the gun and the Sunmen.

Turn now to the crime pro- pranimes.

These, in my view, have a doubly evil effect, although commercial TV raises it hat to virluc by bringing the crook to a conventionally bad end.

In the first place, crime and viotence is made thrilling and the chase of copa-and-robbers is glamorised.

Tho crunch of the cash on the victim's head produces a secret, sadistic stimulus.

the

What makes for excitement in the viewer is this knowledge that I

criminal huet only dono something

dif- ferent, he would have got away with it. And 100 often the viewer has seen how the bank robber of last night's serial does in fact get away, with it In the real-life. amash-and- grab that he reads about In the Junch-time papers.

Crime programntes, encourage Imitation.

Not long ago. I received a letter from the sender security offloor of a bank. He wrote: "The portrayalon. TV of method of attacking money-carrying [vehtelen in ... a danger to the security, methods of firms and personnel,"

Because ITV today regards Its programmes as little more than a stop-gap between two

VICKLY

Cummings

"commercials," it demands of Its writers that by hook or by erook they should arrest the

viewers' attention,

The easiest way, of doing it, they have so far round, is to challenge the peaceful family with a session of violence and then to leave it, before the "natural break," on a "cl!f=

perience may not manifest 1- Lelf titi adolescence or early maturity,

Their duty

The TV Act of 1054 is specific about the duties incumbent on Sec. tion 3 1, a) requires:- a programme contractor.

"that nothing Ath included in the programmes which offends against good taste or decency or is likely to encourage of Incite to crime...

Has that provision bren hænger - ♫ polsed pistol, observed? I say that it has not, knife or some Invisible terror, and while it fails to be observed The Nuffield Foundation, it is adolescent crime will continue true, protuced a study called to rise. "Television and the Child" It is tirne for the British which concluded:

TV people to turn their суса "Television is unlikely to from

their

money-minting aggressive behaviour machines to their obligations although it could precipitate it under the Act, for in the notion in those few children who are there is a frustrated but mount- emotionally disturbed."

ing anger that they have used

couse

1

reject that conclusion. their power. without respon Every paychologist knows that siblity. the shock effect of a child's ex-

~~(London Express Service).

SOUTH AFRICAN JUSTICE

VERWOERD

ARCHITECT

"There must be law and order!"