22 MAY 1909, Page 16

THE "INDIAN NATION."

To TIM EDITOR OF TUE " SPUCTATOR."]

Snt,—A very good friend and helper of England in her work in India died on April 5th in the person of Mr. N. N. Ghosh, the editor of the _Indian Nation. On bearing of his death the new Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal wrote that he "had known Mr. Gliosh for more than twelve years in various public capacities, and had always been impressed by his high personal character, his clear political insight, and his earnest- ness of purpose The paper of which he was editor was uniformly characterised by outspoken sincerity, lofty prin- ciples, and distinction of style in a degree that is rarely found In any country in the world." And that the same character- istics will continue to pertain to the Indian Nation may, I think, be presumed from the following statement taken from the first issue of the paper after the editor's death :—

" It would be a scandal if the paper which Mr. Ghosh raised to eminence by sobriety of judgment, by exposure of cant, by counsels of wisdom, no less than by powerful advocacy of popular rights and by forceful criticisms of injudicious official measures, were to pass to others not imbued with the same sense of duty, or were allowed to die. We have decided to continue the paper as a trust bequeathed by the dead, and as a tribute to the memory of the dead.'

It occurs to me that some contribution to this tribute might be appropriately made from the British Isles. Also that the perusal of such a paper as the Indian Nation might be of much benefit to the average Briton, and especially to the average Member of Parliament. No doubt much informa- tion about India can be obtained from the columns of English newspapers, but that is not quite the same thing as a publica- tion written purely by Indians and for Indians. The Indian Nation is a weekly paper of twelve pages, of the size of the Spectator, well printed on good paper, and written entirely in English. The subscription is something very small (as in the ease of all purely Indian papers).—I am, Sir, &c.,

G. 0. WHITWORTH, I.O.S. (retired).

Club.