find it an amusing romp. Others may well find it repellent
rather than amusing, and the frankness of some of the
language in the sexual scenes may cause offence to some.

The Tribunal classifies this book as indecent in the hands
of persons under the age of 18 years.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.
30 July 1971.

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in
the matter of an application by the Comptroller of
Customs for a decision in respect of the book Do It by Jerry
Rubin, published by Simon and Schuster, New York.

There was no appearance of the applicant nor of the pub-
lisher's representative in New Zealand. Accordingly no sub-
missions were made.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THE Comptroller of Customs submitted this paperback edition
of Mr Rubin's book to the Tribunal for a decision. There
was no appearance of counsel but a letter was received from
Mr Nigel S. Roberts, Lecturer in Political Science and
American Studies at the University of Canterbury.

Mr Roberts says that in December 1970 in the course of
his duties he asked the University Library at Canterbury to
order the book. He did so, he says, “Because: (i) whether we
like it or not, Mr Rubin has been an influential figure in an
unusual way in American politics since 1968; and (ii) over-
seas reviews indicate that Do It should not be simply censored
or easily dismissed. It is, apparently, an important work if we
are to understand and interpret the frame of mind of Mr
Rubin's followers.

“For these reasons it would be less than honest for a full
and thorough comprehension of American Government and
Politics if Mr Rubin's Do It is not made available for con-
sultation and reference by serious students of American
Government at the very least”.

Jerry Rubin is the leader of the Yippies, the Youth Inter-
national Party. This is his testament, written as provocatively
and offensively as possible. It amounts to a full exposition of
the communist-anarchical philosophy underlying much of the
student and prolonged-adolescent revolt prevalent today in the
United States. Alliance with the Black Panthers is an element
in the story, drugs are a factor. The tenets and attitudes which
make up the “philosophy” are socio-economic and political
as much as moral, although denunciation of conventional
morality and subversion of accepted standards are preached
throughout.

This is easily the most complete and authoritative statement
that any member of the Tribunal has encountered of one of
today's most disquieting social phenomena. It is ugly reading,
but it provides a major contribution towards the understand-
ing of a movement which is already to be reckoned with in
many places. “Representative democracy is the enemy. The
goal of each man his own revolution”.

To refuse to allow the adult citizen to read this book would
be to interfere with his right to make up his mind on ques-
tions which go to the root of moral and economic principle,
matters upon which he has, as an adult, a right to make up
his mind without unnecessary protection. It is not, in our
view, the intention of the statute that we should attempt to
deprive him of this.

We go further. The argument is aimed towards the minds
of those considered likely to be susceptible to its attraction:
adolescents and those who are immature. Here again we can-
not believe that paternalist protection is in the interest of such
persons, nor, therefore, in the public interest. To deny the
young access to important facts of modern life or to a know-
ledge of doctrines which at some stage they are likely to
encounter would be to do them a grave disservice.

In spite of features which we dislike and find objectionable,
and bearing in mind section 11 (1) (b) of the Act, we have
no hesitation in deciding that the Act does not require us to
restrict the circulation of this book.

The Tribunal classifies it as not indecent.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.
30 July 1971.

328

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in
the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs
for a decision in respect of the book Psychodynamics of Un-
conventional Sex Behaviour and Unusual Sex Practices by Paul
J. Gillette, published by Holloway House, California.

There was no appearance of the applicant. Mr P. J. Downey,
solicitor, appeared on behalf of the New Zealand distributors
and made submissions.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THIS was an application by the Comptroller of Customs. On
behalf of the distributors we were supplied with copies of
reviews of the book as an indication of its critical reception.

The case histories and explanations are typical of those
normally included in publications of this kind, and there can
be no question of the author’s competence. Originally pub-
lished as a textbook it is equipped with the scholarly apparatus
of bibliography, glossary, and annotation throughout. The
cover is unexceptionable, the style is not dramatised, there are
no illustrations. We believe, however, that the place of the
book is among textbooks and not as popular reading in paper-
back form.

The final third of the book deals largely with perversions and
aberrations of a kind few people will encounter in a lifetime.
While it is perfectly possible that the book might help people
whose sexual make-up is unusual to reduce their feelings of
guilt to more reasonable dimensions and to regard themselves
in a more objective and healthier light, it is still true that this
is a practitioner's book and that there could very well be a
risk, of the kind we are required to take into account, of its
being harmful and corrupting to some who might encounter
it. We are of opinion that its circulation should be restricted.

The Tribunal classifies it as indecent except in the hands of
persons concerned, either professionally, or as students, with
sexual abnormalities.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.
30 July 1971.

329

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in
the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs
for a decision in respect of the book Hidden Gems of Erotica
by James Paunce, published by Riverhaven Ltd., London.

There was no appearance of the applicant. Mr P. J. Downey,
solicitor, appeared on behalf of the distributors in New Zea-
land and made submissions.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THE back cover of this book states that “here are unveiled
and examined for the first time, seven startling, often shock-
ing, examples of writing. These are ‘sex stories’—suppressed
until now—specially designed to please readers in search of
what some people call ‘pornography’”.

Each story is presented by James Paunce and in so doing
he gives a brief account of the story with his observations
and explanations. Lengthy passages from the text are quoted
and one would surmise that the more lurid passages have been
selected.

The purpose of the book is frankly commercial and the
extracts are chosen for excitement and for their pornographic
content.

The Tribunal classifies it as indecent.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.
30 July 1971.

330

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in
the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs
for a decision in respect of the book The Klansman by
William B Huie, published by Sphere Books Ltd., London.

There was no appearance of the applicant nor of the pub-
lisher's representative in New Zealand. Accordingly no sub-
missions were made.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THIS is an account of racism in Alabama in the United States
of America told through the medium of a novel in which the