18 MAY 1929, Page 3

Bardoli The inquiry set up by the Governor of Bombay

into the grievances of the small farmers in the Bardoli district has proved that, after all the movement against the reassess- ment of land values was genuinely justified. In a country where fabricated grievances are rampant this revelation is a surprise, but now that the discovery has been made, the Governor has very rightly and speedily promised revision. The average increase in the values set upon the land at the reassessment was about 22 per cent. The Committee of Inquiry reported that the average increase ought not to have been much more than 5 per cent. One wonders whether the Bardoli district alone has suffered from the mistake. If other assessments are wrong they must also, of course, be corrected.