Legal The Dyer Johnson Regime Ditcher writes in Capital: .. The evidence of General Dyer and Colonel Frank Johnson before the Hunter Committee reminds me of a saying of Napoleon, that wonder of all the ages, Take the soldier and separate him from his civic surroundings, and you have a man who knows no other law but brute force, who judges everything by that standard, and uses nothing beyond it. The civilian on the contrary makes the good of the nation his standard. The method of the soldier is to act despotically; that of the civilian to submit to discussion, to truth, to reason." When the Government of India allowed a typical soldier like Colonel Frank Johnson to take charge of the administration of the Punjab they made as big a mistake as the Coalition when it sent FieldMarshall Lord French to rule Ireland. Fortu nately the Indian Reforms Act will come oppor tunely to rescue India from a wave of Ghadar, the Indian equivalent of Sinn Fein. Legislation re Commercialised Vice The following resolution was unanimously adopted by the National Convention of the Women's Christian Temperar ce Union of India, meeting in Lucknow, November 6-12-1919. "That the Hon'ble Dr. Tej Bahadur Sapru, Member for the United Provinces upon the Imperial Legislative Council, be requested to prepare a bill, and introduce it to the Imperial Council, praying for additional legislation, which shall be deterrent to commercialised vice, wherever practical among all races in India; this being the source of a very wide-spread and devastating disease, which saps the public health and wastes child life. And that the following provisions be incorporated in this bill. First, that the trade of prostitution be made illegal, equally to the man who buys a woman, either for money or kind, for immoral purpose, and to the woman who sells berself for that purpose. Second, that the man or woman who trades in women or keeps a disorderly house or has vested interests in such brothels shall be penalised." We are glad to learn that Dr. Sapru has consented to draft a bill and to submit it to the Imperial Legislative Council. Libel Actions on the "Daily News." The proprietors of the London "Daily news" have paid £250 and costs to each of the plaintiffs in the libel actions which were brought by them in July last against that newspaper. The plaintiffs were Sir Eric and Sir Auckland Geddes and Messrs. Austen Chamberlain and Walter Long. The libel related to statements published by the "Daily News" concerning the investments of the plaintiffs in Russian securities. The newspaper withdrew the statements unreservedly and apologised to the plaintiffs. Mrs. Besant vs. the "Madras Mail" It will be remembered that an action was instituted by Mrs. Besant for the recovery of certain damages against the Editor of the Madras Mail in respect of allegations contained in an article in the paper. The innuendo was that the plaintiff, Mrs. Besant, and her organisation were in some manner connected with Germany and the plaintiff construed that article as meaning that she and her organisation were connected with the enemies of the King. Subsequent to the institution of the suit, the matter has been talked over with the other side, and the matter was settled out of court. The counsel for the defendant having declared that no such innuendo was meant, the defendent's counsel accepted the assurance and did not press the case. His Lordship, said: It is a matter for great congratulation that a leading journal in this country and a lady who has played a conspicuous part in public life should have been able to settle their differences on a matter of very great public interest without recourse to arbitrament of this Court. Now that the war is over, everybody hopes for a new era in this country, and it will be a lamentable thing to inaugurate it in this presidency by a protracted and bitter political litigation. I will just add one word. The partisans on either side have been in a sense disappointed in a fight which would have been of great interest to them. I appeal to them not to undo the good which has been effected by the wisdom and moderation of the parties themselves by claiming, now that it is all over, that the one: side or the other side did not face the issue and gained a moral victory. That will only have the effect of undoing the good the parties has achieved. which the wisdom of: In the result, the suit was with-drawn and there was no order as to costs. Medical The Story of Quinine. Among the most important achievements of medical science in modern days has been the discovery of certain "alkaloids" in the tissues of plants that are useful in the treatment of diseases or for kindred purposes. Thus, for instance, there is strychnine, which is valuable as a heart stimulant and for other uses. The juice of the opium poppy contains at least 100 "active principles," of which morphine, heroin and codeine are perhaps the best known. Cinchona bark yields quinine, which is the most valuable of all drugs, being the only known antidote for malaria. Quinine is deadly to malaria germs, and, when taken internally, attacks them in the blood, killing them and soon putting a stop to their multiplication in the vital stream. Hence its effectiveness as a cure for "chills and fever." The bark in question is that of a lofty tree native to the slopes of the Andes in Peru and Bolivia. Indians of that region in pre-Columbus days had discovered its peculiar property for the cure of malaria and were accustomed to make medicine from it by steeping it in water. This fact was brought by chance to the attention of a clever woman, the Countess of Cinchon, who visited Peru in 1640. She carried back with her to Europe some of the bark, and the tree that bears it owes it botanical name to her. Even with recent years "Peruvian bark," derived from this tree has been a standard remedy for malaria. Doctors' Fees. Doctors appear to exist for the public convenience. But doctors must live, and in England little surprise has been caused by the announcement that in some quarters fees have been raised by 50 per cent. The doctor in particular has to meet very heavy expenses which the nature of his work makes it impossible to avoid, if he is to do the best for his patients, and paradoxically enough these not uncommonly weigh most heavily on those practitioners whose clientele is drawn from the more prosperous neighbourhoods, There is no doubt that the introduction of the panel made it possible for doctors in workingclass neighbourhoods to introduce business-like methods into their practices by which they could minimise their expenses in relation to their incomes. [ DECEMBER 1919 Crowd Disease Bronchitis is singled out as the most signifi cant disease of the war on account of (1) its direct impairment of efficiency, (2) its relationship to other respiratory diseases, and (3) its aid in spreading other infections not strictly respiratory. An army surgeon states that, while always common in armies as "barrack cough," it was almost universal in the camps of 1917 and 1918. It usually began about ten days after the arrival of the men, of whom many had an acute period of lowered efficiency, and it persisted for months Bronchitis is a hard, explosive cough. declared to be a crowd disease-more than the result of exposure to cold. People living in the open and under ordinary conditions in cities are quite free from it. Those who change from isolation to crowding seem to be most susceptible. School Hygiene as The annual report of the Medical Department of the Board of Education in England emphasises that the scope of its duties and responsibilities becomes increasingly important, involving the physical nature of childhood from two years to adolescence. Experience has shown that the physical supervi sion of the child must be begun early and There is no one continued unremittingly. areas. The solution of the numerous, complex and far reach ing problems. Consequently only all round vigilance and a systematic progressive policy, including improved nutrition, medical treatment, physical training, teaching of hygiene and more open air life, can build up a healthy race. report declares that medical treatment must receive an increasing amount of attention in all Furthermore the time has arrived for 8 of the whole re settlement and adjustment The report draws machine. administrative attention to the necessity of widely extending to all schools, especially continuation schools, the teaching of mother craft which was begun last It urges a great extension year in some centres. of open air schools for backward and mal-nourish ed, debilitated children. At present there are only twenty such centres accommodating a hundred. The report indicates that great work is being accomplished by the schools of dental service. On Raw Food few Two French scientists contend that a raw food diet increases the white corpuscles, which play an important part in combating disease germs. Science Science in Warfare At the twenty-fourth annual dinner of the Institute of Marine Engineers, recently held in London under the presidency of Lord Weir, Rear Admiral Sir William Nicholson, Controller of the Navy, replying to a toast of "The Forces," said they were all convinced that the internal combustion engine was the engine of the future. The engineers of steam must be prepared, he added, to be engineers of the electrical drive in the future, and he believed before long they would be molecular engineers. Lord Rawlinson, also replying to the toast asserted that the difference between the warfare of the Napolenic era and of to day was mainly due to the discovery of the internal combustion engine. To that we owed our aircraft, submarines, tanks, and lorries, and, after all, the lorry made it possible to utilise millions of men in a small area. As it had revolutionised methods on the battlefield so he believed it was going to revolutionise ships on the ocean. our Air Commodore Vyvan, replying for the Air Force said the size of that force would be determined very largely by the progress of commercial aviation. Commercial aircraft could quickly be turned into very serious weapons of war. Wireless Telephony Wireless telephony says the Indian and Eastern Engineer, has been obtained by setting up in the eather surrounding a wireless station, a succession of very short waves, shorter I believe, than those of light, and superposing upon them the larger waves set up in the æther, by the variation in the current produced by the voice impinging upon the diaphragm of an ordinary miscrophone transmitter. The apparatus employed is simplicity itself; for sending it consists of an erial wire which is connected to a source of very high periodicity electric currents, and which sends out very high frequency waves of very short wave length; a miscrophone set is also connected to ærial. At the receiving end there is another ærial with a receiving set, including a pair of telephones, connected between it and earth. The pulses set up by the sound waves from the human voice, through the miscrophone, are reproduced in the telephone at the receiving station, just as with an ordinary receiver and transmitter connected by a wire. Tank Invention Enquiry The Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors has reported regarding the various claims in respect of tanks. The report records that it was primarily due to the receptivity, courage and driving force of Mr. Winston Churchill that the general idea was put into practice. The report attributes the principal credit for design in and production of tank to Sir William Tritton and Major Wilson to whom fifteen thousand sterling is jointly awarded. Major General Swinton is awarded one thousand. The report recognises that of still greater value to the war his work of advocacy of tank for which pecuniary award is inappropriate. Another claimant is awarded one thousand and two others five hundred each. Some claimants are disqualified, because the investigation was within the scope of their duties. Mr. Tennyson D'Eyncourt is awarded one thousand. The Commission exceedingly regrets that it is unable to recommend an award for a West Australian named De Mole who is entitled to the greatest credit for reducing to practical shape in 1912 a billiant invention which anticipated and surpassed, in some respects, that actually utilised in 1916, but which was put aside because the occasion for its use had not then arisen. The Commission however is bound to adhere to the general rule requiring casual connection between making invention and Government's use of any similar invention. The Nobel Prizes Three Germans have been awarded the Nobel Przes for Physics and Chemistry. It indicates, observes the Ceylon Daily News, that the German reputation for excelling in the scientific world is still maintained. This superiority, which is the outcome of a deliberately organised system of education, will re-act favourably when the German people take up the task of re-establishing their industries. The scientific cast of mind is becoming peculiarly German, which people carry the scientific method even to the study of the humanities. Mr. H. G. Wells is one of those scientific romance writers who are never tired of nagging at the English system of education for developing character at the expense of brain. The English type of scientist who was equal to the standard set by Nobel prize winners is quickly passing away. Lord Rayleigh and Sir William Ramsay, winners in 1904 of the Nobel prizes for Physics and Chemistry respectively, died a short time ago. Happily Sir Oliver Lodge, Prof. Thomson and Sir Ray Lankester still remain. Personal. Hon Mr. John Fortescue The London "Daily Express" announces that with the Cabinet's approval the Committee of Imperial Defence has dismissed Mr. John W. Fortescue from the position of British Official Historian of the War in consequence of his recent structures on Lord French in defence of Sir Horace Smith Dorrien. Mr. Fortescue, in a letter to the "Morning Post" states that be only accepted the position of Official Historian of the War after much pressure. He twice pressed the authorities to allow him to resign at the end of 1919, and this was agreed to last August. He adds that he found Lord French's book so inaccurate that he asked permission to ignore it in his official history, otherwise much space would be absorbed in correcting Lord French's statements. The authorities agreed to this. He denies that he utilised official documents for his review of Lord French's book. If he had done so he would have been better able to expose the full measure of Lord French's inaccuracies. On Swami Vivekananda "A few years ago there was a Congress of Religions at Chicago. Many said that such a thing would be impossible. How could any understanding be arrived at where each particular party was absolutely right and all the others were completely in the wrong? Still the Congress saved the American people more than a million dollars a year, not to mention many lives abroad. And this was all brought about by one brave and honest man. When it was announced in Calcutta (?) that there was to be a Congress of Religions at Chicago, some of the rich merchants took the Americans at their word, and sent them a. ... monk, Vivekananda, from the oldest monastery in the world. This monk was of commanding presence and vast learning, speaking English like a Webster. The American Protestants, who vastly outnumbered all others, imagined that they would have an easy task, and commenced proceedings with the greatest confidence, and with the air of "Just see me wipe you out." However, what they had to say was the old commonplace twaddle that had been mouthed over and over again in every little hamlet from Nova Scotia to California. interested no one, and no one noticed it. It "When, however, Vivekananda spoke, they Saw that they had a Napoleon to deal with. His first speech was no less than a revelation. Every word was eagerly taken down by the reporters, and telegraphed all over the country, when it appeared in thousands of papers. Vivekananda became the lion of the day. He soon had an immense following. No hall could hold the people who flocked to hear him lecture. They had been sending silly girls and halfeducated simpletons of men, and millions of dollars, to Asia for years to convert the poor benighted heathen and save his alleged soul; and here was a specimen of the unsaved who knew more of philosophy and religion than all the parsons and missionaries in the whole country. Religion was presented in an agreeable light for the first time to them. There was more in it than they had ever dreamed; argument was impossible. He played with the parsons as a cat plays with a mouse. They were in a state of consternation What could they do? What did they do? What they always do-they denounced him as an agent of the devil. But the deed was done; he had sown the seed, and the Americans commenced to think. They said to themselves; "Shall we waste our money sending missionaries who know nothing of reli gion, as compared with this man, to teach such men as he? No!" And the missionary income fell off more than a million dollars a year consequence."—(Li Hung Chang's Scrap Book.) in Appointment of Indian Officers Sinbji. Political Lord Ronaldshay on British Rule After five years St. Andrew's Dinner was held at Calcutta on Nov. 29. Lord Ronaldshay, in proposing the toast of the Viceroy and the land we live in, said: The goal of British Rule in India has been clearly and authoritatively defined. The road thither is even now being marked out. The road leading to really great achievements is never an easy one to travel. The greater the achievement aimed at the more difficult and arduous is the road. The goal, in the words of the official statement, is the progressive realisation of Responsible Government in India as an integral part of the British Empire, and the increasing association of Indians in every branch of the administration and the gradual development of Self-Governing institutions. I am not going to abuse your hospitality by inflicting upon you a polemical contribution to the political controversies of the day. I desire only to paint in very broad outlines what, in my imagination, is the future of the land we live in. As I picture, it may be likened to a splendid edifice built upon a firm foundation of pillared arches. The pillars, as I see them, are the two great races whose lot has been so strangely intertwined by the finger of Providence, the Indian and the British. The keystones of the arches are the will on the part of both the races to understand and co-operate with one another, and for the building of those arches a special responsibility rests upon all in authority in this land, and in a special degree upon the Viceroy and the Governor-General of India. For the proper discharge of those responsibilities a man needs many qualities, but, above all, the gift of imagination, without which he will assuredly be in constant danger of succumbing to that, The most paralysing of all complaints is political myopia. It is so easy to get snowed under by detail, to lose sight of the wood on account of the multitude of its trees He must make it his unceasing endeavour to remove misunderstandings natural enough between the peoples born and reared in different hemispheres, nourished on different traditions, the heirs of civilisations, different widely in many of their most essential characteristics, but what is fatal to the building of the edifice which I have in view is the multiplicity of tongues to the construction of the tower of Babel. The Indian Army Committee The Army in India Committee consisting of Sir Michael O'Dwyer as President (in the absence of Lord Esher, who was unable to visit India), Lieut. General Sir H. V. Cox, Lieut.General Sir C. W. Jacob, Sir G. Fell, and MajorGeneral Sir W. Gillman, commenced their enquiry at Delhi on the 1st December. They have been joined by Lieut. General Sir H. Hudson, who was unable to take part in their deliberations at Home. Sir Krishna Gupta and Major Sir Umar Haiyat Khan have also joined the Committee. It will be recollected that the terms of reference are as follows:-(1) To inquire and report with special reference to post bellum condi. tions upon the administration, and, where necessary, the organisations of the army in India, including its relations with War Office and the relations of the two offices with one another; (2) to consider the position of the C. in C. in his dual capacity as head of the army and member of the Executive Council and to make recommeudations; and (3) to consider and report upon any other matters which they may decide as relevant to the enquiry. The proceedings of the Committee will be private. It is understood that they will hold informal discussions with the military authorities and others, but will not take formal evidence. They hope to complete the Indian portion of their inquiry by the middle of March when they will proceed to England, where the final proposals will be formulated under the presidency of Lord Esher after a discussoin, where necessary, with the authorities at the War Office and India Office. The Committee's sole function is to advise as to the best post bellum organization for the army in India with special reference to changed conditions and the lessons of the great war. The Referendum. His Highness the Aga Khan broke new ground in his memorandum on Indian constitutional reform submitted to the Joint Parliamentary Committee when he insisted on the referendum as especially suited to Indian conditions. As much is not known about this form of legislation outside some of the States forming the United States, we give here a description of it. The referendum vests the final power to pass or reject a legislative measure on the people. According to the usual form of it, the people of a State, by procuring the signature of a certain percentage of the qualified voters, may compel the submission to a vote of the people of any recently passed Bill. In a few States it is possible for the people themselves to take the initiative and, by securing the signatures of a certain number of voters, petition and compel the legislature to pass a proposed Bill, and then submit it to a vote of the people. In the formulative, initiative, referendum, the people themselves have a Bill formulated which when signed by the requisite number of voters, is filed with the Secretary of State, who has the Bill published and gives notice of an election. If the requisite number of voters endorse the Bill, it becomes the law of the State without the aid of the Legislature. By this means the State of Oregon secured in 1904 a law compelling direct primary nominations and a local option liquor law. Indian Social Reformer. - |