The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-26

presence of Englishmen in India to that of the carpet bcggers" in the South. "Englishmen in India often speak of themselves as birds of passage. Ed mund Burke. that great and just Eng lishman. called them birds of passage and of prey The people thus plum dered' and deprived of the rights which in justice belong to all civilized men, are not barbarians, obscure people without a past. They are one of the great nations of history. Many of them are Aryans. of the same race with Greeks and Romans, Germans and Eng iishmen. Their civilization is one of the most ancient In the world They have given to the world two of the great historic religions and philoso- phies as profound as any that have pro -ceeded from the mind of man. They have created a literature which ranks with the literatures of Greece and Rome, England and Germany. As Lord Curzon himself said: Powerful empires flourished in India whle Englshmen were still wandering painted in the woods. India has left a deeper mark upon the history. philosophy and relis- ion of mankind than any other terri torial unit in the universe"
 Impoverishmen by England.
 These are the people who year after year are forced to contribute of their poverty to England's wealth. Avenues through which this tribute Is drained are enumerated as t1) Rich pensions re- ceived bv retired English officials; (2) Salaries of English officials in In- dia. the highest paid in the world; (3 Business profits sent to England by Englishmen in India Englishmen who are charged with having deliberately destroyed Indian enterprises for the purpose of supplanting then; (D Large remittancs to England by the Indian government for military stores. equipment and arms used in India partly for purposes of defence against possible foes. but much more to hold the Indian people themselves surely in subjection;" (5) Interest on English investments made in India most of them not desired by India or for her benefit"--merely forms of sexploita- tion."
 The annual tribute thus paid by In- dia to England Is rated at from $125.- 100000 to $l50.000.000.
 2.OOO per cent. Salt Tax.
 The letter asserts that according to her ability to pay India Is taxed by her foreign rulers more than twice as heavily as England and more heavily than any country in the world. The tax on salt alone has reached 1000 per cent of its cost price. England Is puTueHlHS d stdiNAHs PcopiO "ieh ehS payment of wars carried on outside of India. "some of them as far away that the terrible famines in India are not caused by any lack of food. but by an abJect poverty brought about bV British rule. England Is charged with spending on her army and strategic railways the peoples own money. need ed and demanded by them for educs- -tion. The government actually spends on education not more than three cents per year per head. Only one male in nine and one female In every IA can read or write. and this after hundred and fifty years of British supremacy. Railroads Controlled in British Interest.
 As to railroads and irrigation works in India Indian taxes 1t is protested. paid for these: that, taking India AS a whole. there has been a shameful neglect of irrigation" and that the railroad policy of India is controlled value and financial retrun to England. It Is England primarily that profits by these roads they are in the hands of Englishmen and the revenues de- rived from them go into the pockets of Englishmen: they are built where they will be of most advantage to the benefit the people of India. Had the spent on irrigation one half/ the money spent on railways which the country did not need, or quarter part of what has been squan- dered in military expenditure, famine might have been today thing un' known in India"
 Reform in India" the letter conclud- es. "is England's great and pressing duty and can not be much longer eva ded or deferred"