Blowing the old coals of the Liberal Party and its ethos into life is more complex that Peter Bruce describes. (A cry for the beloved liberalism of Alan Paton, May 10) I attended the last meeting to disband the Liberal Party in Orange Grove, Johannesburg, in 1964. Paton, then president of the Liberal Party, said: "I always believed that where there is a will there is a way, but I realise now that even with the will, the way is at times not possible". Bruce describes the Liberal Party as having died, with only whites allowed to vote and not having ever won a seat in Parliament. (I am not aware they ever put up a candidate). This gives a very false impression of the reality of those times. Unlike today, Liberal Party members were hounded from pillar to post by the security branch. If not held in custody, in solitary confinement, banned or confined for years, as was Peter Brown, they were forced out of work by employers, especially if they were doing work for the government, pressured ...
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