ed servants of the Faith who have
arisen and gone forth from Uganda to pioneer, this would indeed be a loss
to the work. If their wives could go and join them, it would naturally be
preferable. This is a matter for the committee in consultation with your
Assembly and the Hand of the Cause, Musa Banani, to decide.

Undoubtedly the most important task facing the British community at the
present time, is to increase its membership. It has performed miracles
during the past ten years, through shifting around devoted volunteers from
one centre to another, in order to maintain or to create Spiritual
Assemblies; but, efficacious as this has been in the past, it is certainly
not a permanent solution to the problem. The only solution is to bring in
more Baha'is. This requires patient, prayerful, ceaseless efforts on the
part of, not only the Baha'i teachers and pioneers, but every single
member of the community. The British people are traditionally slow to
move. Fortunately, once they do move, it's almost impossible to stop them;
but to overcome the inertia requires great effort. In bringing new people
into the Faith, the friends always come up against this problem. He urges
all the Baha'is, however, not to become discouraged, but to persevere and
redouble their efforts, knowing that they can and must succeed in the end.
He, on his part, will reinforce their efforts with his prayers in the Holy
Shrines....

As regards your question about depleted Assemblies, as there is nothing in
the constitution of the National Spiritual Assembly covering these
matters, every National Body is free to make its own decision as to what
the status of an Assembly is from one annual election to the next, if they
fall below nine for any reason.

As regards certain matters raised in your recent letters:

Your Assembly is free to choose the place for the endowment for the East
and Central N.S.A. if you feel Uganda inadvisable.

The delegates reaching the Conventions in Africa is a matter for each
N.S.A., from whose area of jurisdiction they are elected, to arrange and
provide financial help if needed.

A prisoner, showing sincere faith in the Cause, may be accepted as a
Baha'i on the same basis of investigating his qualifications as to belief
as any other individual outside prison. Each case should be carefully
considered on its own merits. Naturally, a person in confinement cannot be
active in any community and administrative work. When he gets o