Hands Off The Tom Tom

Wellington: Progressive Publishing Society. Fair with no dust jacket. 1944. First Edition. Softcover. Dampstains and foxing throughout. ; 15, [1] pages. Illustrated printed wrappers. Page dimensions: 212 x 140mm. Political pamphlet by New Zealand poet, on the issue of patriotism. "Mr. Milner directs his main attack against the University teachers of New Zealand. Here are some of the phrases he scatter by the way: '. . . woolly humanitarianism of the academic. . . bilious invocation of a hypothetical and yet inevitable law of imperial vicissitude. . . tribe of Cassandras and Jeremiahs. . . professorial obliquity and teachers' envenomed bias. . . subversive activities. . . virulent political Irishism. . . University Leftists. . . economic nostrums, foreign cults and panaceas for all social ills.'" - pages 5-6. "A New Zealander, if he is a normal human being, will derive a normal amount of satisfaction from being a member of the English-speaking race of peoples. There is much in the English tradition that is of unique value." - page 7. "I contend that the good sort of patriotism is the first, the sort that is built up on a knowledge of concrete things, and takes humility as its starting point. But of course, it must be logical and not involve any contradictions; and the concrete things must be things that are not in themselves evil. I suggest Milner's patriotism, on the other hand, is too deeply coloured with pride, and too abstract, to be worth our respect." - page 13. [Reference: Bagnall F29 - "Comments on imperialism, patriotism, and freedom of speech, written as a reply to F. Milner's 'Hands off the Falg', an article in the New Zealand Observer for August 16th, 1944."] .