Calcutta, Jan. 4.
Mr. Gandhi carried all before hi at Lahore on December 31, and before the arrival of the New Year the Indian National Congress was committed to a new creed. Introducing the Independence Resolution, Mr. Gandhi characterized it as the root of future Congress work. The resolution dedoed complete independence as the meaning of. Swaraj and resolved on the complete boycott of legislatures as a preliminary step towards organizing the campaign for independence. So far, however, no shoal of resigna-has accompanied the resolu-_ only two members having resignations from. in spite of such' ing been loudly. called, for by several lenders among Congressmen, including Mr. Ganahiy Bandit Motlel Nona (the Leader of the Congress Party in the Central Legislature) and his son Pandit Jawaharlal Nehra, who presided over the deliberations at Lahore.
Pandit Madan Mahan Malavi the leader of the Hindu Mahasabha 1 hoax oF not, it was a howe."
Most of us knew The Congress dispersed just after midnight, At one minute. past twelve, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehro, (the present President of the Indian National Congress) announced. the result of the poll, which ended. In the victory of Mr. Gandhi.
Tu a leading article on the Independence resolution the "Statesman" (Calcutta) says:—
When twelve months ago ate. Scintvasa "Iyengar persuaded Pertbsterous independence evoke You "we record grotesque. proooes where "Bt "faction leader "has his.
mark' the inglorious institution which layed" aco jerable "part India's modern political "history "all that' the old resent demonstrates jomaticians call. the (the most powerful socie-religious Hindu body in the country), moved an amendment for postponing the change in the creed till after the All-Parties Conference in March oF
April. He narrated the developments that led to the Viceroy's|" announcement of a round-table ent conference in London, and held that the Government had shown a clear intention of fulfilling. the national demand. He also drew attention to the sympathy exhibited by the British Parliament on Mr. Fenner, Brockway's motion.*
After referring to the Delhi manifesto Mr. J. M. Sen-Gupta, the Bengal leader, said it was necessary for the Congress leaders, before the Lahore Congress met, to see whether the Viceroy's offer was and it may be good enough ing. for bir. Saklatvala, the only Mosca sat in rh fe or for fen or naians the history of politics national and' International' we doubt Hf there ever, been, a. more. perfect feimole oe the iggat fu ahh Tewaharlal Nekray the new "Ps fan that presented by Pa dene of the Congress. If it true, as it certainly' is not, that there {2 an indian motion Munchausen," all showing the most remarkable fertility imagination in the creation of stage illusions and the mechanical means of carrying them out. Such feats as making a man take off his own head and throw it causing a "corps de ballet" to be swallowed up by the sea and traneformed into a train were quite in the ordinary way of business with him, Like so many inventors, has been very unfortunate. He was ruined by the war, and in 1923 his theatre was swept away to make room for a modern building. He is now reduced to selling sweets; and toys at a railway-station stall.
The Marseilles Bandits ractieal for the enthusiastic Pandit. instead he makes ed to. bring' in Him "all the age-force of his own and also, his own religion. lo not say' that La some mi any the But we ty Of high ideate sure as it In the outpouring of politi oratory during the week-end it was, inevitable that Lahore should attract much more attention than The trial of the Marseilles bandits and receivers, described in my last article, was out of the ordinary to the very end. One of the peculiarities of French law is that an assize court can not only sentence a pri soner to death or imprisonment but can also order him to make financial restitution to the dependents of his victims. Such dependents can parties to the trial and be represented by counsel. In this case the plaintiff was 'a girl, the orphaned daughter of the unfortunate bank messenger who was shot down by the bandits. In his address for the prosecution, the Advocate-General spoke very strongly against the Eyssautiers (man and wife) and Sénac, whose premises formed the! bandits' principal bases of operations. 'These three were the only solvent persons in the dock, and was hoped. that the verdict' would at least place" some financial responsibility on their shoulders, so that the orphan would not be entirely deprived of compensation. The jury, however, acquitted all three, and the Advocate-General took the very unusual course of criticising; tho verdict, which he described (is Mogical and incomprehensibj. Guiffaut, the desperado who fired the fatal shot, was condemned to death. The cithers were sentenced to penal servitude oF imprisonment ranging from 5 20 years. Three cays after the trial another Marseills bank messenger was attacked by' three men in broad day-light, hustled into a motor-car, robbed of a lange sum of money: whieh he.had jast collected, and dumped in a. suburban street.' He would no doubt have been shot had he resisted.
Madras. Sedition has greater spectacular value than constitutionalism, so that the Congress was, bound to overshadow to a large extent the meeting at Madras of the National Liberal Federation.
This is to be regretted, for al though it wold be foolish to underestimate the dangers implied in Jawaharlal Nehru's state-would be unfortunate Passages in presidential address to the Liberals were overlooked.
After affirming that the goal of Party was the attainment of Dominion Status without undue delay," and denouncing the criminal folly of civil disobedience, Sir Phiroze Sethna went on to indicate the Liberal attitude towards the proposed Round Table Conference. For such a conference to be effective, he insisted, it was necessary that the terms of reference should include the question of the immed-into establishment of Dominion Status, and he continued: "Provided the terms of reference are sati factory, we should not insist any condition being fulfilled as a pre-requisite to our ce-operation with the Government."
Though the Congress leaders, like the Bourbons, forget nothing sod lear nothing, the Liberals do give evidence of some ca paci Hecent by the lessons of experienc! for Sir Phiroze went on to draw a moral from the _calamitous blunders of Indian lenders in 1921, when the conference projected by Lord Reading was wrecked in advance by the impossible.conditions it was sought to impose on Government. "A repetition of such a mistake," said Sir Phiroze, "would show: that we utterly lack constructive statesmanship or sound diplomacy and allow ourselves to sacrifice vital interests in the pursuit of objects that are really subsidiary character."
Lack of constructive stetesmanship and sound diplomacy; tne neglect of the vital for the irrevelant—it would be difficult to sum-marine more concisely than Sir Phiroze Sethna has done the radical deficiencies of Indian politicians of during the, past decade, the "Englishman" (Cateatts) points "out, cannot be excluded from the indictment; deed, in certain respects their mistakes have the less excuse, in that their programme has not made it necessary for them to appeal to mass hysteria, as the extremists have been obliged to do to maint their following.
'Mass hysteria does not, and cannot, ever represent the opinion of the' masses in India, but the very vehemence of its outcry has given League, made this observation im a Press interview in discussing the Independence Resolution of the Congress. The resolution, he said, was most misleading, unpracti unsound and unwise, Me. Gandhi and Pandit Motilal Nehru, he added, have taken on themselves the gravest responsibility in taking the decisions which they did breaking up pourparlers with th Viceroy and in getting the Congress to adopt the Independence Resolution. The proposition had fonly to be stated (said the Moslem Teader) to be rejected that " me dopenidence could be won by non violent' non-ce-operation.
It was not to be expected—points out a Calcutta journal—that the Lahore Congress would succeed where so many others had failed and rally" Mohammedans toa policy little related to fact. So to the opposition of all moderate Hindus' (and not a few among professed éxtremista themselves) is to be added the determination of the it an inflated importance, chic ly Mohammedan Teaders, for whom because the voices of the moderate, Mr. Jinnah has spoken in clear leaders have been in language. useless recrimi Gandhi ly not going to, give ment with their own associate complete Independence of "the There has been no lack of opportun ities for constructive statesmanship sound diplomacy, for Liberal leaders—to borrow another phrase from Sir Phiroze Sethna—"to face the Indian problem as a whole in the nail on the penalty of, Complete all its aspects and in a proper perspective," and had those opport-relent in the 4 unities Leen grasped statesmanship would have been rewarded by wide and influential support in the country. Nor is the hour of opportunity' yet past. There is still room for 'a party of ce-operation and Constitutionalism to organize the elements of sanity and responsibility in India, The Mohammedans have taken none too kindly to the "precious? resolution passed by the Indian National Congress, and sever Moslem leaders are now but denouncing it as a "mad" step.
"The whole of Mr. Gandhi's political philosophy is a bundle of contradictions impossible for any rational man to follow." Mr, M, A. Jinnah, President of the Moslem government instituted with the "th which a cheque.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.