Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-07
THE EMPIRE OF INDIA
TTT-Stern Repression of Disorder
BY Frederic j. HaSkin

Judges selected from the high court
bench. 1t tries men upon Information
without a jury. and there is no appear
whatever from its findings. The same
law provided that persons furnishing
money or aid of any kind to seditlous
persons or societies were to be held
equally oulpable.
That measure had the effect Of stop
ping a great deal of the trouble. A
gang of dacoits was apprehended ana
sent to swift punishment. That hid y
soothing effect. But the most important
part of the new law was the money
provision. Wealthy Bengalese OF the
educated classes had been advancing
money to the anarchists, and in other
ways encouraging the campaign of vio-
lence. When the law was changed 50
that their participation might send
them also to the gallows, they shut up
their purses Now the anarchists must
depend upon their own resources for
funds, or resort to the dangerous meth
cd of stealing 1t by "dacolties." That is
extremely perilous, for even sympa-
thizer does not wish to have his house
broken into and his valuables stolen to
aid the "cause"
Early in this year the police adopted
systematic system of search. Every
mans house is liable to be entered and
searched any day. Almost every day
the newspapers publish long lists Off
these searches, nearly always accom-
panied by list of seizures. Seditlous
books and literature are usually the
only things found, but occasionally a
frearm which has escaped the police
altogether, or recipe for making
bombs, will be discovered. In such
cases the occupants of the house are
arrested and held for examination.
"Sedition" covers multitude of
things when applied by the British po-
lice officer to the pages of an Indian
newspaper or book. Editorials which
would be considered too mild to be
worth reading in the United States are
here made the warrant for a suppress
sion OF the paper One such editorial
cited as a sample of seditious writing,
was defense of the boycott. The
editorial declared that the boycott was
not an instrument of hate, but of self
defense. 1t upheld the "Swadeshi'
movement, and declared that a protec-
tive tariff was morally nothing but a
boycott enforced by law, compelling a
people to buy only home produced
goods on pain OF the penalty of high
prices. There was nothing else in the
eultorlal, except a long appeal to a
multitude of Hindu precedents,
Other editorials, of course, have been
openly seditious. Some have advocated
an entire separation from England un-
der the protection of the Japanese navy.
But the majority have been condemned
because they condoned assassination as
means of bringing the English gov
ernment to a sense of its duty to In
ala. NOW that persons accused of sedi-
ton may be tried by English Judges
without jury and without appeal. tha
newspapers have been much more care
ful In their utterances and such n
thlng as a 5editious journal does not
now exist In india. There is an organ
In Europe through which the Indian
extremists promulgate their views. but
IL is prohloited from coming into India.
The British government here ia ex-
ercising its right to open letters in the
mail, to procure evidence of sedition
IN any Fashion pleasing to the police
ana 1t is taking care that no guilty
man escapes. The English politicians
nave been proud Of England's two
great gifts to India-peace and equit-
able laws. The Indian for a time OH
1ected to the English law which was
enforced upon him, but now he appeals
10 1t IN vain. 1t has been set aside.
The inviolability of private correspond
ence, the principle that a mans house
Is his castle and is not subject 10
search, the principle that a man Is en-
si'Aou ~ a lIldL Dy a jury or his peers
ali these things and many more of
their kind have been taught to the In
dams by English teachers. Now the
English take these things away from
them, and they are discontented. They
would protest, but they are afraid of
going to jail. Only the lawyers In the
court room are permitted to have their
sty, and Ii must be admeiied that their
speeches are reminiscent of the famous
orations of the reform epochs of Eng
lish and American history.
The repressive measures have been.
however, more or less successful. Vlo-
lent anarchy Is on the decrease and
the ranks of the extremists are gain
ing no recruits. The fear OF the law
is wholesome deterrent The popular
unrest is being increased by the char
acter or the repressive measures, but
at the same time the promise of Inn
mediate relief given in the Morley re-
form scheme Is helping to quiet the
whole country. The situation now is
that the official Briton believes and de-
clares that the unrest Ia at an end. Tho
police officer, on the other hand. saws
1t Is likely to break out tomorrow in a
more virulent form than ever, The
native leaders say that the unrest will
be stilled for a time by the reforms.
but only for a time. "Men NAV crv
peace, peace, but there is no peace"
Copyright, 1909, by Frederic J. Haskin)
Tomorrow. Tho Empire Of India. Nv. Th.
Cause of the Unrest.
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