Read and approved. Shoghi
Editor’s Note:
From December 1926 to April 1927, while the secretary who was then helping with the English correspondence was away from Haifa, Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg (addressed in letters by the Guardian as “My dear Rosa”), was on pilgrimage and kept up a lengthy and repetitive correspondence with George P. Simpson. In these letters from Miss Rosenberg are many instructions from the Guardian to the British National Assembly. The letter reproduced in this compilation, dated January 29th, 1927 is important for many reasons:
1. It is the only one from Miss Rosenberg which carried the handwriting of Shoghi Effendi where he “Approved” what had been written.
2. It outlined the principle for the election of the National Spiritual Assembly by delegates which the British N.S.A. had not then appreciated from the earlier letters of the Guardian (of 1923, 1294, 1925, later published in “Bahá’í Administration”).
3. It insisted upon Convention being held in London during Ridván.
4. It clarified the need to have a recognised voting area for London but left the final decision to the local Spiritual Assembly of London.
As a result of this letter 13 delegates attended Convention and 4 voted by post; ten members were elected to the National Assembly (Guardian’s letter of May, 13th, 1927 refers), and the London area was defined as having a radius of 36 miles.