16 JANUARY 1915, Page 3

Lord Hardinge in his speech at the reopening of the

Legislative Council at Delhi on Tuesday dwelt upon the manner in which the war had been brought about and Turkey had been dragged in. For Turkey it was an unneces- sary and useless war. But Islam, whose interests were not in any way represented by Turkey, would remain one of the great forces of the world. Britain undertook that the Holy Places should be held inviolate. In India a " towering wave of patriotism" had swept over the country. Two hundred thousand men had been, or were being, despatched to fight in various parts of the Empire. Till the war was over all controversial subjects would be avoided.