A HEAVY CROWN.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 259, 2 November 1925, Page 6

A HEAVY CROWN.

It might be possiblo to find in Britain a man who was willing to accept the position of Viceroy of India from motives of pure ambition or lo\-o of publicity, or both. Wo may doubt, however, whether any man acquainted with the difficulties of the position would accept it without being moved by a strong sense of duty. In the old days there was much to attract tho aspiring Englishman of good family and political position. Life in India, it is true, had serious drawbacks. Lord Curzon emphasised in impressive words the tragedy of separation and bereavement. There was, besides the danger of the climate, a risk of assassination. Tho position, however, was one of immense prestige and glamour, of power and pomp and romance, in which the aspirant could see himself sitting on a throne as tlie first of British ProCoiisulf, and devoting himself to the extension of the "pax Britanniea" and ordered progress. Then there, were no complications of self-determination, such as India knows now. The system of British rule seemed fixed. Occasional disturbances in India itself and on the frontier did not shake the fabric of the Government. The Viceroy had many worries, but he was spared the task of dealing with a rebellious Parliament. The superiority of tlie Western world, and especially Englishmen, was not questioned. Tlie great machine rolled on year after year, steady, august, and omnipotent. To-day the position of the Viceroy is very different. The system of government has undergone revolutionary changes. The Indian has been admitted to a. large share in the government, and the agitating class is clamouring for niore. The vociferous minority is tiny, but in and beyond it are new ideas of profound significance. The East is challenging the West in its ideals. The superiority of the Englishman, either as it governor or as a man. is no longer accepted. The ferment of nationalism lias spread. The national Legislature and the provincial Assemblies reject Budgets and Bills sponsored by the ruling race. When the "reforms" were granted in 1917 it was on the understanding that they would be tried for ten years, but Indian Swarajists and Liberals have long been agitating for a revision. Thus the position- of the Viceroy is extraordinarily difficult. The greater risk to life and limb oppresses him iniu-h less than the difficulty of persuading the political minority to press forward gradually and test one ground before advancing to another. He i.-- head of a Government responsible for tin- welfare of three hundred million people, a most ball] ing collect ion of tongues, races, and creeds. He knows that if Britain fail-; in her trust the result will be chaos and appalling suffering, especially among the inarticulate millions who have no political power and look to, the "Protector of the Poor" for justice. It' ho governs too easily he may lead the extremists to expect too much, and encourage violence. If lie governs too sternly lie may provoke violence. Lord Reading ras been a very able Viceroy, lie could be both lenient and linn, and he brought to his tusk exceptional intellectual gifts. Vet it may be said of him that he settleil nothing— though the situation i> better than it wa—bu; leaves a vast problem to bis successor. Mr. Edward Wood, as was seen by rhe appreciation we published on Saturday, is a capable and very high-minded man, one "whose life and doctrine are in com-

plete harmony with a very lofty moral principle." He has made a mark as a Minister under Mr. Baldwin, but he now goes to a position of much greater danger and far heavier responsibilities. We can be certain that in accepting the post lie has been actuated mainly, if not entirely, by a sense of duty.