Mar. 4.
Those who have been watehing with dread the course of events in India during the past few months will hail the news of Gandhi's ultimatum to the Viceroy as the best they have yet heard. It has brought matters to an issue which the Government of India itself would never have sought, and to this challenge there can only be one possible answer. Gandhi, or rather his Lieutenant Patel, but! in this there is no distinction, declares that "a war unprecedented in the history of the world will start in a few days; those who are afraid of death should go on a pilgrimage; those possessed of riches should emigrate." This is childish, talk. The only possible explo ation is that Gandhi has gone mad. We do him the justice of not supposing that he has been bought by Soviet mone} which, as the Meerut trial h shown, has played a large part in instigating the Communists of India and the Workers and Peasants Associations in different parts of the country to revolution. By all accounts. of him, Gandhi is superior to bribes and needs no other} motive than conception of his! own importance. It may be remembered that on January 30, writing in "Young India" enumerated certain "term which he would be graciously pleased to make peace with Great Britain, No notice, of] course,.was taken of this article and the present ultimatum is the result.
It seems not unlikely that Gandhi has been driven to exasperation by the calm, almost contemptuous speech, delivered in the Assembly in the last week of January by the Viceroy on his return to India, In that speech Lord Irwin emphasized that the forthcoming Round Table Conference in London, no. date for which, he carefully pointed out; has yet been-fixed, would simply be concerned to frame recommendations. based on the Simon Commission's Report for the consideration. of] Parliament. He unequivocally rejected the impertinent..demand of the All India Congress
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.