The Guardian is immensely pleased over the settlement of pioneers(8) in
Newfoundland; this has accomplished one of the specific desires of the
beloved Master, and will redound to the glory of the Canadian Baha'is.
The next, most important task is to get Miss Gates(9) into Greenland. This
is fraught with many difficulties, but he urges your Assembly to persevere
and exert its utmost to remove every obstacle. He will specially pray that
a way may open for her to enter that country.
Regarding your question about contributions: it is up to the individual to
decide; if he wishes to denote a sum to a specific purpose, he is free to
do so; but the friends should recognize the fact that too much labelling
of contributions will tie the hands of the Assembly and prevent it from
meeting its many obligations in various fields of Baha'i activity.
Concerning the points your Assembly raised in the letter of December 20,
1949:
The Guardian is very anxious that no new rules and regulations should be
introduced. As far as possible each N.S.A. should decide secondary matters
for itself, and not try to lay down a rule general in application.
Baha'u'llah gives no right of appeal to the law that both parents must
give permission to the marriage, if they are living--Baha'i marriages
should be referred to assemblies to officiate; where there is no Assembly
to officiate your body is free to decide what procedure should be
followed. Whether it is the chairman or secretary or some other person who
actually conducts the marriage is, likewise, a matter for your body to
decide.
The Guardian has not found it desirable, for various reasons, to send a
recorded message to any Convention.