Evening Post. TUESDAY, JULY 11, 1922. A DISTINGUISHED VISITOR

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 9, 11 July 1922, Page 6

Evening Post. TUESDAY, JULY 11, 1922. A DISTINGUISHED VISITOR

Without distinction of class, creed, or colour, the people of New Zealand are pleased to welcome the distinguished representative of India who arrived in Wellington yesterday. India has a glorious roll of honour, but ever since the country was opened up by adventurous traders, first for the East India Company, and then for the trusteeship of the Crown, pearly all the greatest names in the list have been those of British soldiers and statesmen. In the Right Hon. Srinivasa Sastri—who is known throughout the English-speaking world, though we believe incorrectly, as " MiVSastri " —we have a striking exception to this rule. Here is an Indian who has made a great name for himself not only in his own country but throughout the Empire and the world. And he has done so, not, like the only one among his living countrymen whose name is equally well known, by stirring up strife and trouble for India and the Empire, but by peaceful and constructive work which makes,, for unity, stability, and strength. Nor have our visitor's labours been confined to his own country. He has represented his country on Imperial tribnnals, and he has represented both his country and the Empire on international tribunals. In all these capacities he has' held his own, and in some respects more than held his own, with? the beat that Western civilisation could put into competition against him.

Speaking at the dinner given by Mr. Sastri to Lord Lytton on the eve of their departure from London for Bombay three months ago, Mr. H. A. L. Fisher, President of the Board of Education, said that " no Indian in the long annals of AngloIndian had had such richness and variety of experience in international and Imperial discussions as Mr. Sastri, and his work in this connection had raised the reputation of Great Britain all over the world." This is high praise indeed, but if we Consider the injury that the British mana has sustained through the; mischief-makers in India and their emissaries in Paris, Washington, and elsewhere, even the l£st and strongest part of.the eulogy will not appear to be pitched too high-. To the poison that has been provided by Mr. Gandhi and his followers, who are at once calling for freedom and working for the chaos and the anarchy which constitute the worst form of slavery, Mr. Sastri has supplied the best possible antidote. It is the antidote not so much of direct propaganda as of the loyalty, public spirit, and breadth of view which he has brought to bear in the name of India upon the problems of the Empire and the world. Yet he is not above dealing quite bluntly with the delusions of Mr. Gandhi when the occasion arises. Gould a better description be given in a single sentence of the essential weakness, not merely of the apostle of "non-co-operation" but of every idealist who is blind to the limits of the practicable, .than this?

He has great political plans, and he has also a new gospel for humanity; and he has got the two. hopelessly mixed up without greatly advancing either cause.

In the interview with the London correspondent of the Sydney Sun from which our quotation is taken, Mr. Sastri proceeded, with what his interviewer described as " the quiet scorn of the cultured apostle," as follows:

But nowadays it seems it is not enough to state views in a calm and. reasoned fashion. You must shout; you most scream at the top of your voice if you are to attract any attention. Perhaps it is because we are all in Opposition. Put a fellow'in Opposition and hear _ how he raves, but give him responsibility of office, and soon he finds there aie difficulties; he becomes as chary of hasty action as the moat hardened bureaucrat. In the absence of Sir Francis Bell, we should not care to back the united resources of Mr. Massey and his colleagues in the attempt to better, either. in substance or in. form, the description which Mr. Sastri has given in these five sentences of the methods of the unbalanced idealist and the irresponsible "fellow, in Opposition." Nor is it any discredit to our Ministers to say so, for the task could^ hardly ■ have been better done. Th*e racy and epigrammatic English in which Mr. Sastri's shrewdness, balance, and common sense find easy expression, helps one to understand the reputation that he won on three great occasions in London, Geneva, and Washington. At the First Assembly of the League of Nations the oratory of M. Viviani and the perfect English of Mr. Wellington Koo were profoundly admired. At the Second Assembly Mr. Sastri appears to have been supreme in both departments.

11l [thorn- . tii'ntiit-twil <ilatincti«'i W ilv. Hai'pld Temperiey, the palm .was

borne away by the second delegate from India., Everything about Mr. Sastri was remarkable. On all occasions he stoutly upheld the use of the British language as against French, yet he was a Brahmin of the Brahmins. He claimed a descent of five thousand years, but ho conjured the Council "not to wrap itself up in oligarchic mystery."

The bluest blood in England must feel abashed in the presence of such a claim. Only the proud plebeian who was content to call himself " the son of Adam and Eve," and asked " Can Bourbon or Nasr sau claim higher?" could face the competition unashamed. Mr. fernperley proceeds:

Though possessed of great natural eloquence, he often sat silent in committees, only speaking to urge practical conclusions or to demand the taking of a vote. On 12th September he stood up in the Assembly, a figure in a plain black collarless cassock and white turban, and spoke. There were no gestures^though the expression of his face changed continually, and the sustained melody of his voice held everyone entranced. "Brother and Sister Delegates "-phis very opening words were original—" hard and cold indeed must be the heart that fails to be touched, and touched to noble issues, by such a spectacle as this." He spoke of the critics and pessimists with scorn, but he reminded the League that it was wiser to limit its scope and not to attempt the impossible. .

This is wise and beautiful talk, and we may be sure that Mr. Sastri's message for New Zealand will blend the ideal and the practical in the same happy fashion and be delivered with the same eloquence.