10 APRIL 1920, Page 13

CONSTANTINOPLE AND INDIA.

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—There seems to be a tendency towards supporting, if not endeavouring to decide, the Turkish question by appeals and statements which are not justified. One of the worst of these is the assertion of Mr. Ameer Ali that " in India riots attended by • massacres' are ordinary occurrences; the outburst of frenzy in Behar and in Katarpur happened only a short time ago." The writer of this letter has observed closely the history of Northern India for close upon sixty years, and he cannot recollect any outbreaks of importance for the past fifty years, during which the recent cold-blooded brutalities of the Hindus in Behar and Saharanpur would have been looked upon as incredible. It was not until Mr. Montagu excited his present

following that the two neighbourhoods named ceased to be among the most orderly localities in the British Empire. Mr. Ameer Ali may feel himself justified By certain remarks of Lord Siuha in the House of Lords; he should justify his defamation of a large and generally peaceful population by facts—if they