The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

royalty OF India. and asked him how he
Sked MIS- present job He replied thatil
what the governor general of Canada ac-
eomplished had to lie done almost alto
gether through influencing others, the
governors general having little actual pow
eJ jim the. administration OF affairs In
India the viceroy and his council are al
most supreme, and they have a world
Under. their control, said fcasfs Mimic: ! i
But. few people. appreciate the extent
of our Indian empire We have here a
continent rather than a country. There
are 800 100000 people subject to us, and
they belong to many nations and tribes.
They speak more languages than Europe
and the nations are as different as are
those of the European countries. Hin
dustan has many religions, each with its
own customs. many of which do not har-
monte at all with the others. : 1t Is,
land of mighty problems and Of some al
most insolvable."
How India Changes
But it is also land which is rapidly
changing, is it not?'
Yes. replied his excellency, India is
changing. The people are different now
than they were five years ago, and the
policies which the state has successfully
used in the past are not adapted to the
present. In that lies one Of our great
troubles. I mean the making our people
| at home understand that they haye a new
think a policy should be adopted because
one of the Anglo-Indians who left here
20 or 30 years ago said it worked well in
his day, and that 1t ought to work well
now. They appear to think. that a man
who served India ten years ago should
be able to suggest and advise as to today.
This Is not so. We have here d new In
dia and a new people. The conditions are
entirely different, and they grow more
and more so every year. Many of the
changes have come about through,zt the
policies which we ourselves have inaugu-
rated. We have created an educated
class, and this rs made up of natives who
are thinking for themselves and who be-
lieve that they should have a greater
share in the government. In the past our
administration was practically autocratic.
We must rule the country today, but WEI
shall have to adopt conciliatory methods.
We shall have to use more diplomacy and
give the natives greater share In. the
administration. This change is the nat
ural outgrowth of movements which we
ourselves have Started, and I think 1t is
a change for the better"
The Awakening of India
Does this change exist among the
common people, and does 1T cover all
parts of India?"s
"The awakening of India; II you call
1t by that name, Is going on in near
ly every part of the peninsula al
tn ough it is more pronounced in Bengal
than otherwh eres. TIL ere are several sec
lions of the country in which the move
ment is quite active. The unrest began
previous to the Japan Russia war and
has grown rapidly since then. The
natives, who are Asiatics, then saw
an Asiatic nation victorious over a
European one. They began to inquire
that If this We're possible for the Jap
xxrI&x I. A..1I = - ha L.
for them They asked their fellows
why India should remain under the
rule of the British and discussed that
question here and there all over the
country. I think that war was, to
a considerable extent, the cause of the
be taken away2"
If the British Left India
"But, your excellency, what would
be the result II you should leave In
dia? Suppose the British rule should
be t aiken away?"
.ity, or at least any probability. of
the British rule being taken away from
India. We are bound to hold our
place here as a matter of. national
duty, not only to ourselves, but TO the
East Indians and to the rest of the
world. If We sh ould leave the re-
suit would bes chaos, and some other
the internecine war that would ensuc
and stop the carnage.
zone cannot imagine the. conditions
which would obtain upon our depar-
ture," his excellency continued. There
would be wars of religion. wars of
caste and wars arising out of longtime
personal grievances. The Nepalese
would rush down upon the Bengalese
and massacre them; the Mohamme dans
and Hindus would go for one anoth-
ers' threats, and the native rajahs Of
certain localities would wage wKf upon
each other. The result would be
anarchy. The majority of the better
classes of India know this would be
the case, and 1T is in their fear of
such a situation that lies one of our
elements of strength They realize
that, on the grounds of humanity If
for nothing else, the great powers of
the world would have to rush in to
keep order and that this would result
in India having "a change of masters
and also that the change might not
be for the better"
=. = More Native officials
Does your excellency think that
the new policy you have Instituted
giving the natives larger representa-
tion in the government will sbe of
permanent good?"
Most certainly, yes. The principle of
selection which has been adopted for the
new assemblies, both national and pro-
vipcial, means that from now on We shall
have about the best of the natives in
the councils. The native representatives
will be men of reputation and influence
among their own people, and also Of men
whose property Interests will make them
naturally conservative. These men want
peace and good government, and they
will be backward In advocating anything |
that would bring about revolution. We
have many Indians of ability. We have