danger of
dissolution.

He realises that the enforcement of the general rule that an Assembly must
function within civic limits has caused considerable havoc in Britain, as
well as other countries. However, it enables the friends, through
splitting up into smaller communities, to have before their eyes the
appetising prospect of forming yet another Spiritual Assembly, all on
their own, so to speak. It gives more believers the opportunity to serve
on these Administrative Bodies, challenges the teaching activities of them
all, and stimulates them to fresh efforts in the hope of early victory.

The news of the success of your Convention this year; the fact that the
community was able to manoeuvre its finances into a position of
equilibrium, a position, incidentally, which it should make every effort
to maintain; the large number of friends who attended the beautiful
memorial meeting held for the dear Hand of the Cause, George Townshend,
also pleased and encouraged our beloved Guardian.

He was pleased to hear from Rhodesia of the incorporation of the Salisbury
Assembly, which seems to be in the nature of a foundation for the future
incorporation of all Spiritual Assemblies throughout the Rhodesias. This
is yet another valuable service which your Assembly has been instrumental
in rendering the Faith in Africa.

He thanks your Assembly for the coloured photographs of the
Haziratu'l-Quds and also for the film of the Summer School which you sent
him. He was very pleased also to receive copies of the Irish pamphlets,
and hopes the Gaelic translation will soon be out.

As regards your question about printing in books the approval of the
National Assembly, he thinks that, if in certain circumstances this seems
inadvisable, there is no objection to omitting it. The approval of the
National Body should be sought for all Baha'i publications, so as to
protect the Faith from unofficially disseminating information which may in
some respects be false or inaccurate. Once this has been done, it is not
so essential for the fact to appear in the book, if it will mitigate the
effects of the book and decrease its sales....

The death of the Hand of the Cause, George Townshend, is a great loss to
the British community as it not only deprives them of their most
distinguished member, their unique Hand, but also of a most inspiring and
faithful co-worker and a distinguished Baha'i author. His latest book has
been read with great interest b