SEDITION IN INDIA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13830, 18 February 1907, Page 5

SEDITION IN INDIA.

STATEMENTS IX A NATIVE NEWS- . PAPER. PROPRIETOR AND EDITOR PUNISHED. Preia Association—By Telegraph—Capjriglit. CALCUTTA. February 16. (Received Feb. 17, at 5.6 p.m.) The proprietor of a native newspaper has been sentenced at Lahore to two years' imprisonment and fined u thousand rupees for ha-ving published an unverified rumour. The defendant- pleaded that the publication was in good faith. The editor of the paper, who was indicted for sedition in publishing fictitious and wicked statements, received'a sentence ot six months and was ordered to pay a fine of 200 rupees. After the trial a crowd of Hindus paraded the streets gesticulating and hooting European l ..

There has roeenilv boon an unmistakable iiicrca.se in seditious utterances' iu India, awl a certain class native newspapers have been taking every advantage of (he leniency of the Government. Tho Saudbyra (Calcutta) recently stated:—"We shall now have t<> say constantly that- we are groat, the ferintjliecs are low. \IV are sous of men—we -have practised band to band lighting. It. is by ihe power of their guns that timy have captured our arts and industries. Let.-thorn give us live years' time. We shall prepare guns and show lheni our fitness. We know we shall not. get time— wo do not. want it. Rut wait, Coil will bo pleased with you. Your greatness ami their lowlier v;iH soon be displayed." At the recent, Indian National Congress there were frequent ories of " liandc, Mataram!" (Hail, Motherland!) during the sitting. This is a political war-cry. which has been forbidden by the Tndia.il Government on account of its seditious signification.

Sir Ba-mpfyldc Fuller, the LieutenantGovernor ot liistern Bengal, recently decided that the masters and students of two schools at Sirajga-nj had been guilty of seditious and lawless action in the prosecution of the organised political agitation, directed from Calcutta against the division of the old province of Bengal, and that, in tho interests of good government and publio order irithin tho newly-created eastern provincf, their conduct should Iks punished by the " disaffiliation" of these institutions from tho University of Calcutta. Ho officially requested the registrar of the university io submit- a proposal for <lisaffiliat.in(r them to tho syndicate of that, body. As the. Government questioned the expediency of this step, and asked Sir Bampfylde to withdraw his request to tho registrar, he resigned.