THE INDIAN PROBLEM

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 539, 21 June 1909, Page 7

THE INDIAN PROBLEM

DEPORTATIONS. DAD EFFECT OF SYfAPATHY. MR. ASQuTTH WARNS THE COMMONS. (By Telegraph.-Press ABsoctattoa*~OopyrtehU ■ ■':..-..■; London, Jane 18.. Roplying in. the House of Commons to questions by tho Liberal members, Messrs. H. P.' Lynch (Bipou), J. 0. Wedgwood (Newcastle-. ondoT-Lyme), F, C. Mackarness (Newbury), and others, tho Prime Minister firmly uphold the notion of tho. Government oi India in connection with, the recent deportations of Indians for bomb outrages and soditioua writings. Mr. Asquith declared that tho Imperial wonld not oountcnanoe attempts to amend the regulation of 1818. Any effort to mitigate its strictness would deprive it of its value as la deterrent, and render it a loss effective instrument against anarchical and terrorist oonspiraoy. The Prime Minister warned tho questionori '. -that by constantly raising discussions they wore encouraging a revival of the'elements" j of mischief in India j which tho deportationi had done so nraob, to abate. THE TROUBLE IN THE TRANSVAAL. .■'■•:• DELEGATES IN GAOL. . ; Pretoria, Juno 18. Three members of deputations appointed to lay tho grievances of Indians in tbe Transvaal before tho Imperial' Government and the people of India havo boon sentenood to three months' imprisonment for infringing the Transvaal registration law. Tie deputations had intended to sail, on June 23. THE TWIN PROBLEM OF INDIA AND. EGYPT. Lord Cnreon'a speech and that of Lord Cro mer on the vernacular press of Egypt and India, bring strongly into the fore-ground th< twin problem presented by those two great dependencies of the Empire. Mr. A. ■R. Colquhoun draws an interesting comparison of the nationalism of India; and the nationalism of'Egpyt. He writes:-- ' Points of Resemblance. Thero is a resemblance and a contrast between, the so-called Nationalist platforms of India and . \ Egypt. In, both- there is a class which arro- , gates the right to speak for "the people" j in both there is a division of the patty into : extremists and moderates, tho latter desiring gradual evolution and the f ormor complete and instantaneous'independence of Great Britain. As to tho Egyptian Nationalists it may be said that, since the death of Kamol Pasha, they have receded from their original position and , are willing to accept the presence of the army • of occupation—for a time at all events—if the British agent will "induce" the Khedive to grant measures, of representative government ' to certain municipalities—the thin end of the wedge., ■" ... '■'.'.'■■ ' '; As in India, there is an; agitation for ( < much fuller employment of,-natives in tho Government- Service, though,, as a matter of faot (1906) only 1252 are Europeans out of a total of 73,279, and in both countries the immediate appointment, of natives in the higher posts would, to say the least, seriously impair the. efficiency of the machine, 'while,-!! could by no means dispose of all tho office-seekers. "Native" in Egypt, be it noted, moans Moslem, and might possibly bo strained to inolude Copts, bnt the "dwellers in Egypt," as Lord Cromer called them, inolude half a dozen other races and, religions. In Egypt, as in Turkey. Moslem supremacy has always been a cardinal point, nor docs there exist any guarantee foi the protection of tho minority. This, crudely put; is the raison d'etro for the continued presoncb of Britain in Egypt.: It isnot: denied that we have freed tho nativo Egyptian from official oppression, and have given security, to the other races, while immensely improving the eoonoroio condition of the country. , As a natural result of their .improved condition, the Egyptians ask for more. They feel so much bettor and stronger that they want to 6tand on their own legs. i .-,

A" Contrast—The Moslems.- '. ,: Now, here wo have the contrast-with India. Out of the welter of Egyptian politics a National party has emerged with an anti-British pfoDaganda, and that party is Moslem, whereas in India the Moslems aro pro-British and anti"National." : '. Egypt has 'this advantage' over India in creating a genuine ■ nationalism that sho has a vernacular' (Arabic), and is a conn, try—not a continent. But she has by no means fused her constitnents into anything approach, ing a coherent body politic- The government of Egypt is nominally in native hands—those of the Khedive and his Ministers—and there is a, Legislative Council and a General Assembly, both partially elected, but neither of these bodies has real power except that the Assembly must consent to any now taxation. The Khedive and his Ministers are "ad. vised" .by the British agent, and the administration is carried, on by a personnel, which, as already said, includes 1252 Europeans-occupying the superior posts, many, of these in technical positions., ft is apparent that this system it elastic, and can bo modified to meet the viowj of Egyptians with aspirations for self-govern-ment up to a certain'point. Unfortunately, tho extremist party, with a press at its.com' mand, demand political chanues of a far mort radical kind, and know how to mako'their programme attractive. Sir Eldnn Gorst has recently met this demand by declaring that the conditions: for Parliamentary government do not exist, but that measures will shortly be., taken to give, the people a greater share in local affairs. .-'.. . , ...