Grey River Argus and Blackball News. PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, 27th. 1910.

Grey River Argus, 27 April 1910, Page 4

Grey River Argus and Blackball News. PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, 27th. 1910.

"A : : littl» leariiirig. is a f dangerous ; thiiig^" said thepoejb. This is -being! strangely, exemplified in at least two! countries -very wide apart., though * perhaps in a slightly" different " sense ; " i?. that, intended .by r: tb,e.: author^ of the .: proverbial; line. .The absence of a general -diffusion of learning amongst^the great mass ,of 'the.; people, and rather too much of it amongst the few, is the real cause of all the trouble that the British Government are now experiencing in governing, India and Egypt. Both{|Cbuntries '>j N have ■ been brought to a.-JBjbate of prosperity and wealth that ne^the^prob.abjy experienced in the whol^qourse.j'.pf-its history. ,]^ever since the 'days Xpf Roman rule has Egypt known : whatr,eal, peace arid prosperity weje^he^r. li^a ajid property could b6 ( «u(oo^^r^dv-^fe r :*a|i3^yis!?" n © 11 the patient and^ much-enduring:. Ifellaheen felt ■ that they were certain .oj^ %- ing able /fco'^e.njoy the fruits .of f'hjeir labour^;;, The tillers of the .soil ars,jip-, .^wa^rvbetter off than their. ,-c.l^| lias been, for many;. generations^ w^lei those ',pr other plashes above ? the of peasants,.; have " grown comparatively . rich. so;Vj^V^.'.^.^hle''the4i> i to'.^u^%te tfieir sdnsj'lto a^L extent; that^-Kad^been unknown ii^ '■ ',3S^pt V.HiJ>rieif6cv , :^A ajr transition an j^the. education of; a certain class has taken place in India. While the great mass of the people in both countries remains illiterate to a degree that is : ahnost inconceivably jri modern States, the very small class yrho have acquired, education put. it to a very bad, use, .Instead of taking .a proper view. . of the situation : and ,try r ; ing to elevate and , enlighten • their fel-low-countrymen, they, are discontented because;, they cannot get wellrpaid•.positions in ; the Government service,- which, they think their, education gives them a right to expect." As it is' an absolute im]sossibility to find good positions for all educated ' Hindus , and Egyptians, they avail themselves of the liberty of the; Press accorded everywhere un der British 'rule/ and become seditious i firebrands and disturbers of. the peace of their native countries. Their seditious and libellous sheets are circulated far arid wide amongst the native villages. The prejudices of the ignorant ' people are worked upon and' pandered to; and the poor unenlightened creatures do not know any better than W allow themselves to be carried away by the fiery appeals of the seditionpipngers to rise up and expel their alien rulers. The trouble caused in this way both in India and _, Egypt has become very Berious of late, and many valuable lives have been lost. in bpth countries already ; and, it is to be feared, ' a still greater fatal .toll will} be colledted ■' in consequence of [this national ' folly. Only a few days ago Pasha Boutros; the Egyptian Prerinier, a gifted man and a. real Ipver of his country, was done to death by .an ignorant fanatic ' who was only a curse to society. While India and Egypt were without a vernacular Press Tihe work of governing those countries was comparatively easy to what it is no ( w. But with this new. and powerful stimulus to the national prejudices of ,00th .peoples,, the task of ruling them has become far more difficult than people may imagine. We refer specially to the prejudices of the people, and chief amongst them must be jealousy and hatred of their alien rulers. , Neither the Hindu nor the Fallahcen can be said to Have much pride of :rdce as neither has known " the blessings of independence. Both abound in all the mean vices peculiar, to crushed : and cringing races, with only the: most nebulous ideas % of patriotisirir One of yesterday's cablegrams states ■ that the London Times, which t may still be regarded as something of an, authority on foreign questions, if not so . reliable on Home domestic matters, states that the chief root of the mis- 1 chief is the unbridled and increasing licence . of native .P^ess,, inijn,ly ■ directed against British „ occupation, and; yet the Government makes t little use of its strong powers. Another cause of the.,. trouble is the; unemployed educatejl na^v ( eB, though^ their numbers have increased in- rV the public service at the cost of efficiency. It is .there- ' fore t not -a£ g al^ surprising that the outlqok should be regarded by Times as very serious. It's views^ are ( of the lofV' 'imperial order, A with ' *sear(jeJy Ti a j^race^ { pf >ith de- ' mocr ( acy o c ijj any kin^. r But, ,des.ir able as, a free Presj^may^ Jbe^witli Anglo-Saxon' rac-es, it is altogether' a different in«i£- i ter when concerned are the Hindus o£ Inijlia^or^ jbhe.. of . JBgypify who^aire. steeped in a bog/of^ Stygian darkness regarding the 'conduct of "Iranian affairs that isindon-i 'eeiv^bla.-Ab peopje enjoying social and? political liberty. It, would seem that, if tne sedition thpt is ,npw^ so dangerously jrampant in both countries, ib to* b& cfieckedror stamped out.it can onlyE be done byjcurbingstl^e^oense j^pw al-j lowe^ t to f the Native' Press in Egypt and 'India alike. * That would seem to ' be the. safest and easiest' cour§e^ to t pursue^ jand it as , master fo^ s^r^r^se 1 la Australasia that the Government, IJ» '.• Mr -i- U > ) v« "f> O lift has not' exercised its power in that ■ direction long. ago. t It is. the sheerest 1 folly jn t the wojrid to t allow ,w^etifh,ed scribes of both countries, who are averse to honest labour, 'antl prefer to turn what little education they may possess, to "foment disturbance by

playing upon the. prejudices- and passions of. their ignorant countrymen. The unfortunate people of both 1 countries seem to be unable to:vunderstand that they enjoy a' protetetipn aiid prosperity, such, as r it-'is . that has been hitlierto unknown' amongst them.