[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] S In, —I hope
the discussion of the Amritsar problem is not going to result in mutual recriminations between those taking part in it. Only God knows the exact facts and figures. Few sober-minded persons can doubt that there was justifica- tion for the initial firing. If the continuation of the firing arose from General Dyer's ignorance of the character of the site, then he laboured under a mistake of fact. If, however, he was anxious to create a moral impression, it would seem that he misconceived the scope of his duty. But those who would judge him might remember what Macaulay has written in his essay on Clive. " Ordinary criminal justice knows nothing of set-off. . . . But it is not in this way that we ought to deal with men who, raised far above ordinary, restraints and tried by more than ordinary temptations, are entitled to a more than ordinary measure of indulgence. Such men should be judged by their contemporaries as they will be judged by posterity."-- I am, Sir, h-c.,
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