We regret to announce the death of Mr William Paynter, onetime General Secretary National Union Miners and the Communist Party's leading trade-unionist. Paynter fought in the Spanish Civil War (against Franco) and was also active in some of the early miner's struggles. He joined the Communist Party at the age of 14 and remained a member till December 1968 when he let his membership lapse. The unfree press reported that Mr Paynter was always a rather 'independent' communist and did not always follow the party line. Lest our readers be in any doubt it should be pointed out that Mr Paynter's differences with the C.P. were from the Right. Over the last few years Paynter's political health Deer detiorating. He pleased the Labour establishment by attacking miners for absenteeism and for not working hard enough, but Mr Paynter could also be kind and human as far as the ordinary miners were concerned. A Dwarf reader in Cardiff who works as a coal-miner tells us of how at one Miner's Gala Mr Paynter offered to buy him and hree other miners a drink. They accepted. ust then Mr Paynter was summoned by a Coa IN DEFENCE OF PERRY ANDERSON In the 50th number of the New Left Review there appeared a lengthy and comprehensiv тисе ov comrade rerrv Anderson. ine artici entitled: Components of The National Culture vas a well-argued critique of the structures o ourzeois culture in Dotal, maus arucie cer Anderson pointed out the complete paucity of a conerent bourgeois ideology by nauve Briton and showed the influence of the White emigres". He compared the influx of emigres to Britain to the influx in the rest of the continent and maintained that Britain was destined to have only secono-rate emigres in ine zom century Some of the names mentioned were Karl Popper, Isiah Berlin. Lewis Namier. Since the article appeared there have been many snide comments bout it. A well-meaning Indian economist a Oxford thought it was anti-foreign. He obviously did not understand what Comrade Anderson was about. But by far the most rebuttal has come from Sir Isiah Berlin. A private rebuttal, needless to add. Berlin maintains that Perry Anderson is anti-semitic and cites as evidence the fact that all the emigres he attacks are Jewish. This drivel is being repeated by erlin's acolytes notable among whom is Mrs ean Floud of Nuffield College, Oxford. Wha Professor Berlin and his cohorts fail to mention is that Anderson was arguing that in liberal democratic' England the most distinguished and undoubtedly the most brilliant of the emigres was one Isaac Deutscher (also a Jew, Professor Berlin!) and that he was ignored by the academic establishment because he was a Marxist. There are good reasons why Berlin prefers to gnore this. It was Berlin who was responsible fo Deutscher being retused a university post at Sussex. He justified it by saying: 'You can't have a Marxist teaching Russian history. And of course Berlin was fully aware that Deutschen was not a person who could be integrated into the system. With a record such as his own Professor Berlin should think twice before he accuses Perry Anderson of being an KAUNDA, ZAMBIA AND A MISSING MARXIST For some time now various Dwarf contacts in Africa have been bringing us stories of secret negotiations between Zambia and South Africa. As we are still not conviced of their authenticity we have decided not to publish them, but what the Lambian government should be forced to explain is its victimisation of a coloured exile from S. Africa, Dr Kenneth Abrahams. Abrahams was active in founding the Yu Chi Chan Club in South Africa a political discussion group that studied Marxist theory and revolutionary history. The club was smashed in 1963 and ten of its leading members arrested by the S.S. Abrahams EDITORIAL BOARD:
Adrian Mitchell Fred Halliday, DESIGNER: Kim dowers CIRCULATION: Jess Mackenzie ADVERTISINE David Kendall SECREIAKY: Ann Scott Puhlished hu the Rlack Dwarf 7 Carlisle Strept london WI A 4PZ.
Board bureaucrat and he hurried away leaving the one of the miners a pound note to buy four British pints. The miners bought the drinks and one of Mr them took Mr Paynter's himself with the change. "Thank you lad', said Mi Paynter, 'you can keep the change.' The miner overcome temporarily was too shy too accept. "Stuff it up your arse' was the only thanks Mr Paynter got. Even today miners in South Wales recall similar instances of Mr Paynter's generosity and kindness. At the Dwarf/Tribune debate Mr Michael Foot declared that: Will Paynter is an ideal communist trade-union leader' and implied that the Labour movement needed more like him. rapidly VIT Paynter's death was statement from 10, Downing Street in collusion with nCW Relations where Mr Paynter's corpse will lie in state for the next few years government's life. The corpse will be paid £6,500 a year, considerably more than the retirement pension the NUM could afford to pay. but Messages concolence CPGB, King Street, W.C.1.
managed to escape to Bechuanaland but was. captured and brought back to Capetown. strong defence effort on his behalf got him released and he was given asylum in Zambia. In November 1968 the Kaunda regime declared him an undesirable alien and an expulsion order was issued. He defied it and Newspaper reports in • Zambia ontradicting each other regarding Dr Abrahams whereabouts rebsons for the expulsion order The Standard of but no one has yet Dares Salaam stated in its issue of Jan.1,1969 that Abrahams had been arrested trying to flee to Tanzania. Police headquarters in Lusaka refuse to confirm this and Dr remain a mystery. A possibility is that Abrahams had some material evidence of talks between Kaunda and Vorster's representatives. Whatever the case the Zambian government owes "serious the world an explanation. Dwarf readers should send protests to President Kenneth K. Kaunda Lusaka, Zambia.
MARCH 16TH AT HEATHROW A demonstration at Heathrow Sunday, March 16 is being planned by an Ad Hoc includes Front of South Vietnam and try and get them into London where they are scheduled to address a mass public meeting. Up till now the British Covernment Sas consistently refused to allow representatives of the NLF visas to enter Britain. Isaac It is up to us to show what we think of this decision. The NLF are Scandinavia and Canada. Britain alone prefers to scrape the bottom of the U.S. President whoever he happens to be. It is quite possible that if the NLF delegates are not allowed in there might be an effort made to immobilise London Airport and prevent passengers from leaving or arriving by a mass sit-in on the tarmac. The onus for this, further details please get in touch with SC, 120 on brun social-democracy. Commercial Road, • London 01-480-6789. Posters, leaflets available. The demonstration at Heathrow could lake many different torms practical suggestions will be printed in the Dwarf in forthcoming issues so ideas, help etc welcome starting from now. Comrades outside London should start booking coaches for the airport now because thev might find that al been mysteriously. coaches nave unknown agencies nearer une date. Any comrade with information about brass bands should get in touch with us immediately.
Tariq Ali, Bob, Rowthorne. Clive Goodwin, Douglas Gill, John Hoyland, Sheila Rowbotham, pint to the great man But surely "same Listener announced was not really Commission for Industrial of the Labour to: Bert Ramelson, which organise A went underground.
have been 7275 for detail MUNDAY FED MI Abrahams whereabouts Dr MONDAY FEB 17th:
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TRIBUNE/DWARF ENCOUNTER We never advertised it as the 'debate of the decade and we did not expect it to be one, but all said and done it was a worthwhile occasion.
Tribune should have had a detailed report on the 'debate of the decade instead of the snide, innuendo ridden report written by a Ben Mallalieu. Mallalieu has quite obviously never read this newspaper because if he had he would not attribute to us views which we do not hold. As for Tribune and the Dwarf believing in the things" we would advise Mr Mallalieu to read Chris Harman's article in the last Dwarf. It might clear his mind a bit.
As for the reports in the New Statesman and The ENEM were exersizes self-indulgence though to be fair D.A.N. Jones writing about the debate. Alan Brien was probably restricted from reporting the debate by the politics of the journal for which h wines. we understand. Arter all a deraned eo would probably have meant hurting Paul Johnson in some form or the other and Alan Brien is not to be blamed for ignoring the real arguments differentiate the reformists from revolutionary socialists. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking all Dwarf supporters who turned up to the debate and helped us our literature stall. Dwarfs will be pleased to know that we sold 1000 copies at the debate alone! Venceremos.
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