Evening Post. FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 1922. VALUE OF THE PRINCE'S TOUR

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 63, 17 March 1922, Page 6

Evening Post. FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 1922. VALUE OF THE PRINCE'S TOUR

The predominant feeling throughout the Empire on the conclusion of the visit of the Prince of Wales to India will be much the same as that inspired by the King's visit to Belfast—a feeling, namely, of relief and thankfulness that it is. safely over. In each case a tremendous risk was involved, which must have thrown an almost' intolerable responsibility upon those who had to advise and cany out the arrangements, but the burden of the initiative was lightened to some extent in each case by the clear and resolute determination of the King that the thing must be done. Questioned by a special correspondent of the Observer shortly after the Prince's arrival in India as to the policy of the visit under existing conditions, Sir Valentine Chirol, who was in India during, the Duke of Connaught's visit; evidently had some difficulty in answering the question. After, referring to the Duke's visit as required by the special mission which he had discharged with great success, Sir Valentine Chirol said: "Marty people, both Indians and Europeans, were of opinion that, as there was no special reason for the Prince to go out this year to India, his visit might have been with advantage postponedl until non-co-operation" had died out." The severity of the economic depression in India, which had resulted in' a large deficit and increased taxation, and the handle that the cost of' a second Boyal visit at such a time would give to the malwntents, were also mentioned as points which made postponement advisable.

The King, however, had publicly promised, when the Duke of Connaught went out in the Prince's place to open the new Indian Legislatures, that the visit of the Prince should only ,be deferred/ until the winter. "In view of that promise," said Sir Valentine Chirol, '/the Viceroy assumed the responsibility of recommending that the visit should take place, arid it would certainly be premature to hazard any opinion that Lord Reading's judgment was in this case at, fault." But from the report of the Prince's reception in Bombay, where the enthusiastic welcome given him by the great bulk of the population was marred by the violent disturbances engineered by the extremists' in other parts of the city, Sir Valentine apparently drew a conclusion not % unlike'that of the.press correspondent whose opinions on the tour as a whole were reported by cable yesterday. The " special press representative with the Prince of Wales " is to be particularly congratulated upon the candour with which he states the position. He avoids the circumlocutions, the half-truths, and tlie nebulous platitudes with which on such occasions unpleasant facts are so often obscured, and he speaks like a historian and not like a courtier. . ..

The Prince's tour, he says, has not influenced the political position one way or the other, and it is idle Jto assert that the Prince's personality has been felt by the majority of the people. He has Been little or nothing of the bulk of the natives, the precautionary measurer for his safety preventing free intercourse with them. It is a mistake to think he has won a single convert from tHe Gandhist movement.

This sounds like the plain, unvarnished truth, and, ,of course, suggests a doubt whether the visit has really been worth all the labour and risk involved. "The tour,", according to the same authority, "has in no sense been a'failure," nor can he see how in the circumstances it could have been a greater success. This may well be, yet it leaves the question whether the circumstances Were not suet that the attempt should not have been made. That, "the Prince acquitted hims.elf in a delicate and difficult task with characteristic tact" is no more than what we were all able to prophesy with perfect confidence, but was not the task of such insuperable difficulty that he should never have been asked to undertake it ? The one specific advantage mentioned by this special correspondent is that the Prince ha 3 been able to make the right impression on the native rulers. One might have hoped that in the native States he would have made the right impression on the people aico, for Sir Valentine Chivol tells ug that' " the ruling chiefs gave much shorter shrift to non-co-operator 3 than in .Britishadministsred India." But it does nob appear that this more resolute administration enabled the Prince to get into closer touch with the niaEfiCo than' where the ■ seditionmongers were allowed their full fling.. The Times correspondent writes rather more, optimietisaliy than the correspondent already quoted, but with less.precision,'and the grounds for his optimism are not clear. His opinion is that tiis Prince's .coming j nituUi things wo.uo everywhere, but left them better. That "the Prince •

has gained a knowledge oi India which cannot fail to be of value to the Empire" we may well believe. But • the caae seemo to be rather .weakened than strengthened when The Times correspondent ( adds : " Finally, and no less important, the attention of the press, the Parliament, and the people of England has been called to the seriousness of the conditions in India." It surely was not' necessary to send the Prince of Wales on a six months' journey in order to discover that. With the aid, of Lord Northcliffe or some other publicity expert, Mr. Montagu might have arranged for the necessary educa-. tive progress at a. • very much cheaper rate. The disastrous indiscretion of Mr. Montagu himself, which has darkened and embar- ( rasaed-.the concluding days of. the Prince's visit, would have sufficed of itself to awaken the Empire to the dangerous condition of India, but wo shall be lucky if the cost is less than that of the Prince's visit. Now that the Prince has left India and Gandhi is in gaol, it is to be hoped that the Indian Government will take the advice of the special press representative with the Pfince and bring things to a head.