1 NOVEMBER 1930, Page 19

GREAT BRITAIN AND INDIA

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Sir T. Sapru has reiterated once more, in his article on " Great Britain and India," what so many other Indians have said before ; and that is " the loss of faith in the intentions of Great Britain."

In my own personal investigations during the last six years in Morocco, Egypt and Palestine, and also in my conversations with Arabs and Indians, I have been met time after time with growing suspicion of Great Britain's good intentions. What are the causes ? I trace these to be :-

(a) The rapid advance of political consciousness among the more educated masses, consequent upon the War and Allied War propa- ganda.

(b ) British politicians of to-day are almost entirely bound up with the local demands of their constituencies.

(c) The politician who has achieved a position in his party— probably in the Cabinet—is more intent upon retaining his position than upon pressing certain policies which have no great vote-catching power.

It is sad to note this ever increasing lack of confidence in the moral value of Great Britain's promises. Such lack of confi- dence will undermine the foundations of the British Empire quicker than any other cause. There are few individuals among the older politicians whose character or prestige is such that they can rehabilitate the moral standard of British politics in the minds of these people, but Mr. Baldwin happens to be one.—I am, Sir, &c.,