Last week Mr. Gandhi sent to the Viceroy a letter
beginning " Dear friend;". in which lie announced. that as he held British rule to be a curse he could do nothing but resist it. He added, " I do not intend to harm a single Englishman or any legitimate interest which he may have in India." The. Viceroy sent a short and sufficient answer through his Private Secretary, in which he ex- pressed his regret at learning that Mr. Gandhi con- templated action " which is clearly bound to involve a violation of the law and a danger to public peace." Mr. Gandhi seems never to learn. His previous adven- ture in " civil disobedience " passed utterly beyond his control and ended in bloodshed. In a criticism of the Viceroy's answer he said that it was his duty to " break the mournful monotony of compulsory peace "—very ominous and scarcely sane words. The Viceroy deserves the support of all Englishmen and the very careful re- straint of those who are his critics. On Friday, March 7th, Mr. Vallabhai Patel was imprisoned for disobeying an official order. Mr. Gandhi's surprised comment was that he had not dreamed that Mr. Patel would be arrested before himself. On Wednesday, he and seventy-nine volunteers started on a " march " for advertising the campaign of " civil disobedience."
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