20 JULY 1918, Page 2

It might be thought that the Government regretted Sir S.

P. Sinha's manifesto, and hoped that it would not be repeated. That would have been a fair and just course for them to take if Sir S. P. Sinha published his remarks on his own authority. But any such explanation is ruled out by the facts, for in the Manchester Guardian of Thursday, the 18th, ten days after the publioation of the state- ment in the Times, we find a long interview with Sir S. P. Sinha on the Montagu Report. Sir S. P. Sinha concludes his remarks with these words : " The broader justification of the reforms is to make India prosperous, contented, and united in the face of foreign menace. . . . There should therefore be no avoidable delay, for delay is positively dangerous." Although that is Sir S. P. Sinha's opinion, there are other opinions. The real voice of India has scarcely yet been heard in this country. We invite the attention of our readers on this subject to our leading articles. In all the circum- stances, we hold most strongly that the Government should at once remove the prohibition which they have placed on Dr. Nair. We feel bound to say that if they do not remove it, Dr. Nair—earnestly believing as he does that the safety of India demands the rejection of the Montagu soheme—would be justified in disregarding' the prohibition.