11 MAY

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE

1027

Sade while incarcerated in the Bastille in 1785. The manuscript ultimately turned up in Germany where the book was first published in 1904.

The Tribunal had an abridged edition of this book submitted to it in 1968. The title of this edition was Francon Duclos: the Memoirs of a Paris Madame. Translation and introduction were by Paul J. Gillette and the paperback edition was published by Holloway House Publishing Company, Los Angeles, 1967. In giving its decision, No. 115 of 11 November 1968, the Tribunal outlined the plan of the work in its four sections indicating the depraved nature of the full work. The comment which the Tribunal made on that edition is equally applicable to the translation now under consideration.

“It has no literary interest to redeem it, and it contains none of the philosophic content which may be found in some of de Sade’s later writings. The most that can be said is that the recital of perversions might be of interest to those professionally concerned with abnormal psychology, and that the phenomenon of de Sade can only be seriously studied if the necessary raw materials, in the form of fundamental texts, are available.”

The book is one which clearly offends against the Act as far as general circulation is concerned. There remains the question of whether it is of any value to those who are genuinely and seriously concerned with scholarship or who are professionally concerned with advancing the understanding and the treatment of persons with psychological disorders. This requires us to look not only at the contents, the presentation of the material, and the translation, but also the format and the visible impact and intent of the production. Of the abridged edition to which reference is made above, the Tribunal said that were it an accurate one like that of Maurice Heine (3 volumes 1931–35) or a faithful translation of it, a restrictive classification might reasonably be applied. The edition before us falls far short of the standards of a classical work of scholarship and integrity. It is a cheaply produced paperback translated from a French edition brought out for popular appeal rather than scholastic or professional use. The same objections which applied to the earlier abridged edition apply with equal force to the edition now submitted to the Tribunal.

The Tribunal accordingly classifies this book as indecent.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.

1 May 1972.

No. 489

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by Patrick Frederick Arthur Cavanagh for a decision in respect of the book Thongs by Alexander Trocchi, published by Brandon House, California.

There was no appearance of the applicant nor of the publisher’s representative in New Zealand. Accordingly no submissions were made.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THIS is a story about pain—“hurt me—so that I may feel pleasure”. And the pain is inflicted by the use of thongs and other devilish devices. The story devolves around a beautiful young girl lifted from a degraded home environment in the slums of Glasgow to become the head of an order dedicated to the satisfaction of sexual desire by the infliction of pain. Sexual perversion, cruelty, and violence dominate the story and for this reason the Tribunal considers that it would not be in the public interest to allow this book to circulate freely.

The Tribunal classifies this book as indecent.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.

1 May 1972.

No. 490

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by Patrick Frederick Arthur Cavanagh for a decision in respect of the book A Lesbian Happening by Tony Trelos, published by Brandon House, California.

There was no appearance of the applicant nor of the publisher’s representative in New Zealand. Accordingly no submissions were made.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

IN this novel there is an attempt, even if a clumsy one, to explore the relationship between the two women involved in a lesbian affair and their relationships with the man who disrupts the affair, with the result that the conflicts and confusions of the characters receive enough treatment to make the sexual episodes not unduly emphasised. But these episodes are sufficiently explicit, and the tone of the cover material sufficiently sensational, to require that the book not be made available to younger readers.

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

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.

1 May 1972.

No. 491–2

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 books Larry—I Wish You’d Lose Some Weight, anonymous, published by Fleur de Lis Publications Inc., New York, and Max, Does This Mean We’re Engaged, anonymous, published by Hamilton Alexander Co. Inc., New York.

There was no appearance of the applicant. Mr Downey, solicitor, appeared on behalf of the publisher’s representative in New Zealand and made submissions.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THESE two booklets consist of a series of cartoons based on one theme and one theme only—sexual intercourse. A few of the cartoons are amusing, some are infantile, and others vulgar. The booklets as a whole deal in a trivial manner with sex and it appears to us they are undesirable in tone and could exercise a debasing influence on younger teenagers, but they cannot be considered as likely to corrupt adult readers.

The Tribunal classifies these books as indecent in the hands of persons under the age of 16 years.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.

1 May 1972.

No. 493

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by Patrick Frederick Arthur Cavanagh for a decision in respect of the book Libido Sexualis by Albert Moll, M.D., published by Brandon House, California.

There was no appearance of the applicant nor of the publisher’s representative in New Zealand. Accordingly no submissions were made.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THIS book is something of a museum piece in the study of sexual psychopathology. Moll was a contemporary and friend of Freud and Krafft-Ebing which gives some historical interest to this investigation of the libido. Its analysis of the sexual instinct is not particularly scholarly and this edition does it no service (page headings correspond very haphazardly with the content) but there is nothing harmful here. Detailed case histories make the study less suitable for younger readers and incline the Tribunal to restrict it to those of mature years.

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

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.

1 May 1972.

Approved Wool-marketing Preparation (No. 269 Ag. 3104)

PURSUANT to sections 69 (1) and 94 of the Animals Act 1967, notice is hereby given that the wool-marking preparation set out in the Schedule hereto (a product of Vetco Products Ltd., Auckland) is approved for sale and general purpose use in marking wool on sheep.