Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-25

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y X
The British Empire.-Lord Winter
ton. undersecretary for India, address
ed the Commons the other day on the
affairs of India. He declared the situ-
alton greatly improved from the stand
point of the British Raj. The SwaraJ,
or home rule party, he found to De IN
a desperate decline. He indicated the
possibility Of emergence of strong
center party willing to cooperate gen
timely with the government. me
Communist peril. he asserted, has
become negligible; the Sikh shrine
agitation and Bengal terrorism are
fading away.
The most depressing aspect OF the
situation, he reminded his hearers, is
the revival and aggravation or Hlnou'
Moslem feuds.
OF Indian trade and finance he spoke
with complacency and optimism. The
charge of British exploitation or In
dia is obviously absurd. India has a
balanced budget, adequate credit, fiscal
autonomy. He pointed out how the
Northwestern frontier Is rapidly be.
coming impregnable through rapid
progress in execution OF the road
building program. On the whole, he
concluded, it Is to rejoice and nope.
No cessation OF Hindu-Moslem clash
es in Calcutta. Here is an example: A
religious procession of Hindus, with
bands playing, passes mosque. Cfnls
Hindu band playing when passing
MOSQUES is peculiarly obnoxious to the
Moslems.) 1t Is not Moslem prayer
time, but Moslems rush from side
streets and set to praying in front
of the mosque, obstructing traftic. Inc
police try to dispense them, whereupon
MosIems and Hindus fall foul Of one
another with knives and bricks. ulti-
mately the native police (having first
used swords in vain) fire. Total cas-
ualties killed, about 80 wounded.
One Of many similar incidents.
France.-On July 16 Caillaux sub.
mitted to the finance commission
of the Chamber his bill author
izing the government to exercise by
decree. until November 80, 1925, full
fiscal and financial powers. BY IA to
10 the commission turned 1t down.
The next day the government carried
the bill over the heads of the COM
mission to the Chamber There fol-
lowed a momentous debate. M. Her.
riot. president of the chamber, left the
presidential chair to protest against
delegation by Parliament OF its "es-
sential rights" including its most
sacred power, namely. control OF taxa
ton. He found an ally In M. Marin,
leader of the Moderates of the Right.
Analyzed, M. Marin's objection was
not to the grant Of the powers asked,
in principle, but to the grant thereof
to the existing government, because
the financial minister Of that govern
ment, by whom in chief the powers
would be exercised, was M. Caillaux,
the defeatist. The vote on the bill was
made q question of confidence, and
the government was defeated, 2S8 to
243. Whereupon, of course, the
BRAND government resigned.
As to whether or not M. Herriot
acted with complete disinterestedness
T venture no opinion, but there seems
no reason to doubt the sincerity of
M. Marin and the others of the Right
who voted against the government.
They profoundly distrust M. Caillaux.
Thus. in 9. manner of speaking, re-
tributive justice pursuing Caillaux,
may, as a by-blow, have annihilated
the franc.
Invited to form a new cabinet, Her
riot announced one on July 10. He
had hoped for a cabinet on broad
basis--a cabinet of republican con-
centration"; but most of the distin-
guished gentlemen approached -a as
Poincare, BRAND, Tardieu. Marin,
Barthou (for finance minister)-de-
clined. The group as finally made up
included only three men of proved
distinction: Herriot himself, premier
and foreign minister; Painleve, min
lister of war, and Loucheur, minister
Of commerce. One noted that almost
all were of the Left and that almost
all had strongly declared against rati-
flcation of the Berenger agreement.
The general comment was that the
new cabinet did not inspire confidence
and had not the look of permanency.
On the 21st the new cabinet ap-
peared before the Chamber. The min
isterial declaration was singularly
vague and colorless. The Chamber
refused confidence, 290 to 237. Mean.
while the franc had displayed it's lack
of confidence by a dizzying plunge and
there had been ominous popular dem
onstrations against Herriot.
| As Herri0t was going out of the
| Eiysee Palace after presenting his
resignation, he met going in dele
cation of deputies on a momentous
errand to President Doumergue. They
| brought petition signed by a ma.
| tority of the chamber asking that a
cabinet of national union be formed
and pledging to such a cabinet the
| support. of the signatories. The presi
dent at once sent for Poincare, and
4 the latter accepted to try to form 9
national union government.
| M. Anattole de Monte, Herriot'c
finance minister, did one important
| thing during his brief tenure Of
| Office. He submitted a bill authorizing
/ the turning over by the treasury K
the Bank of France of the remnant o.