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January 16th, 1935.

Dear Bah?'? Sister,

Your welcome letter of the 13th of December, together with the accompanying message of December 11th addressed to the Guardian by "The General Purposes and Business Committee" of the N.S.A. have all been duly received and deeply appreciated by him.

He has also received and read with great care and interest the enclosed copy of the minutes of the above-mentioned committee, and was pleased to realize that, despite the various impediments standing in the way of your Assembly, that body is functioning smoothly and with one accord. He hopes that the various steps taken by your Committee in connection with the publication of the "Herald of the South" will all materialize and meet with success.

May I also in closing express the Guardian's appreciation of your efforts in connection with the management and direction of this monthly review, and also with regard to your activities in the field of teaching.

With his loving greetings to you and to your co-workers in the "Herald of the South" Committee, and with the assurance of his prayers for you all.

Yours in His Service, H. Rabbani.

Dear and valued co-workers:

The repeated evidences of the strenuous efforts exerted by the believers in Australia and New-Zealand for the spread of the Cause and the rise and consolidation of its institutions have brought me intense joy and excited my deepest admiration. I urge them to persevere, to remain united, not to relax in their determination, and to strive with all their might to extend the scope of their meritorious activities. I will continue to pray for them from the bottom of my heart.

Your true brother, Shoghi.

LETTER OF APRIL 24TH, 1935

April 24th, 1935

Dear Bah?'? Sister,

The Guardian has read with great care and interest your letter of the 24th of March last, and has noted with deep satisfaction the steady progress which your N.S.A. is making since its formation last year. He is particularly pleased and encouraged to realise how wisely and effectively your Assembly is adjusting itself to the general conditions and specific requirements of the Cause in Australia and New-Zealand, to such an extent that obstacles which a year ago seemed to be insurmountable have now, through the sustained and earnest efforts of the friends, been partially if not completely removed. Your Assembly has, indeed, truly vindicated its ability and power to function as a well-organized and united body, and this in the face of manifold difficulties which the all-conquering spirit of the Faith could alone overcome. Nothing short of this Divine spirit, as expressed through the self-sacrificing and confident labours of the Australian and New-Zealand friends, could have so effectively subdued those forces which every now and then threatened to undermine the foundations of your Assembly, and thus overthrow the entire system of the Administration in your land.

Now that the N.S.A. has successfully emerged out of these difficulties and trials, the Guardian has every reason to believe that the progress thus far achieved will continue undiminished and undeterred by any obstacle, however formidable it may seem to appear.

In his moments of meditation and prayer at the Holy Shrines he will specially supplicate for the guidance and assistance of the N.S.A. and will supplicate Bah?'u'll?h to inspire its members in all their deliberations.

With his warmest and most loving appreciation and greetings to them and to all the friends in Adelaide.

Yours in His Service, H. Rabbani.

Dear and valued co-worker:

I fully approve of the decisions arrived at by your assembly regarding the various issues referred to in your letter, and feel gratified to learn of the zeal, the constancy, the loyalty and the determination with which the national representatives of the believers in Australia and New-Zealand are prosecuting the noble work entrusted to them by the Almighty. I would urge you to take the necessary steps for the incorporation of your national assembly as soon as you adopt your Declaration of Trust and By-Laws, and I pray that the almighty hand of Bah?'u'll?h may guide and sustain you in your high and historic endeavours.

Your true and grateful brother, Shoghi.

LETTER OF JUNE 19TH, 1935

June 19th, 1935

Dear Bah?'? Sister,

The Guardian has received your letter dated May 8th, and has carefully read and considered its contents. He wishes me to thank you for it, and specially to convey to you, as well as to the other members of your N.S.A., his hearty congratulations over the success that has attended your national elections this year. He hopes and prays that as years go by your Assembly will increasingly grow in unity and strength, and will demonstrate its capacity to cope with the manifold problems and difficulties with which it will be inevitably confronted as it forges ahead in its slow though steady progress towards the firmer establishment of Bah?'u'll?h's World Order throughout Australia and New-Zealand.

With regard to your question as to the advisability of disclosing to an individual believer the contents of the N.S.A.'s correspondence. The Guardian thinks that although this cannot be considered as constituting an obligation which a believer can impose upon the national body, yet, it would seem highly advisable that the N.S.A. should give a sympathetic consideration to any such request made to it by a believer. This, he feels, would avoid giving the impression that the assembly is working in an atmosphere of complete secrecy, and that it is motivated by dictatorial motives. The final decision in such matters; however, is entirely left to the discretion of the N.S.A. The basic principle that should always be remembered is that the N.S.A. cannot be required to reveal to any outsider all the details concerning its work. It may choose to do so if it wishes, but nobody has the right to enforce upon it any such action: This is, of course the purely legal side of the question. But a purely legalistic attitude in matters affecting the Cause, particularly now that the Faith is still in a state of infancy, is not only inadequate but fraught with unforeseen dangers and difficulties. The individuals and assemblies must learn to cooperate and to cooperate intelligently, if they desire to adequately discharge their duties and obligations towards the Faith. And no such cooperation is possible without mutual confidence and trust.

With loving greetings from the Guardian to you and to the members of the N.S.A. and with the assurance of his prayers on behalf of you all,

Yours in His Service, H. Rabbani.

Dear and valued co-worker:

I cannot refrain from expressing in person my deep sense of gratitude and indebtedness to the beloved co-workers in that land for their splendid achievements in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bah?'? activity. I feel truly proud of your accomplishments. I will continue to supplicate for every one of you the Beloved's imperishable blessings.

Rest assured and persevere. Shoghi.

LETTER OF SEPTEMBER 26TH, 1935

September 26th, 1935.

Beloved Bah?'? co-worker,

On behalf of the Guardian I wish to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 8th of July last, with the enclosed copy of the minutes of the N.S.A. of the Bah?'?s of Australia and New-Zealand. I wish, in particular, to express his gratification at the news of the success of the last meeting of your N.S.A. held in Sydney. It gives him, indeed, much pleasure and encouragement to realize that your Assembly meetings are conducted with such a good deal of order and efficiency, and above all, in such a perfect spirit of unity and fellowship--the few other obstacles and difficulties left, he feels confident, will in due time disappear. The foundation has been now firmly laid down, and the work is bound to develop and expand. The friends should, therefore, be confident, and should exert their utmost that the institutions they have so painstakingly and laboriously established should flourish and yield their fruit.

In connection with the N.S.A.'s decision regarding the appointment of Mrs. Axford and Mr. Inman to keep records of Australian and New-Zealand activities for the "Bah?'? World"; the Guardian wishes you to assure your fellow-members in the assembly that he fully endorses their choice. He also wishes you to impress the newly-appointed correspondents with the vital importance of their task, and to urge them to acquit themselves of it with thoroughness, efficiency and vigour.

Regarding dear Mr. Hyde Dunn's health; Shoghi Effendi is grieved beyond words to learn that he is growing so weak physically. Will you kindly assure him, as well as Mrs. Dunn, of his supplications for the amelioration of his health and for the complete restoration of his forces.

In closing will you also convey his love and greetings to the members of the N.S.A. and assure them once more of his continued prayers for their welfare, protection and guidance,

Yours in His Service, H. Rabbani.

Dear and valued co-worker:

The detailed report of the activities of the national assembly--the furthermost pillar of the Universal House of Justice which the high endeavours of the believers of Australia and New-Zealand have reared--has filled my heart and soul with immense joy and gratitude. The Beloved is surely watching over and continually blessing your splendid accomplishments, the plans you have conceived, the methods you have devised, the efforts you are exerting, the services which you have rendered. I will continue to pray for the consolidation and uninterrupted expansion of your laudable activities in the service of so glorious and mighty a Cause. Never relax nor despair. The tender plant which your hands have raised and nurtured shall grow and will ultimately gather beneath its shadow the whole of that far-off and promising continent.

Persevere and be happy. Shoghi.

LETTER OF JANUARY 3RD, 1936

January 3rd, 1936.

The N.S.A. of the Bah?'?s of Australia and New-Zealand

Dear Bah?'? Friends,

Miss Effie Baker is leaving for Australia with the consent and full approval of the Guardian.

As you know for over ten years she has been devotedly working for the Cause in Haifa, as keeper of the Western Pilgrim House and also as the custodian of the International Bah?'? Archives. During this long period of service she has accomplished much for our beloved Cause, and she is now in need of some rest after so many years of strenuous labours. She is going to join her mother, and will, it is hoped, prove of great help to the friends throughout Australia and New-Zealand in both their teaching and administrative activities.

The Guardian hopes, therefore, that the friends will give her all the opportunity she needs to help in the extension and consolidation of the Cause throughout Australia and New-Zealand.

He is entrusting Miss Baker with a beautiful and most precious present for the friends; it is one of the finest photographs of the Master which, he wishes your N.S.A. to place in your National Bah?'? Archives. He is, in addition, sending through her for the believers a bottle of attar of rose extracted by the friends in Persia.

With loving greetings and all good wishes for a most happy and prosperous New Year.

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