On Thursday, May 29th, the Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry demanded a prompt and plain statement of the terms of reference for the Round Table Conference. They added bitterly, "The one man who can deliver the goods is fast behind iron bars." At the opposite pole to this frame of mind was the address by Lord Zetland at the Calcutta Dinner at Grosvenor House on Tuesday. He denied Mr. Gandhi's sincerity, and declared that India had no cause to be grateful to him for his blind folly. "The essential basis of all organized society is a rigid respect for law." Lord Zetla,nd also trounced Lord Rothermere for his entirely unreal articles about India—as though the War and the Act of 1919 had never been ! His tribute to the Viceroy's wisdom, patience, and courage was thoroughly well deserved. Mr. Wedgwood Benn has reiterated the stedfast purpose of the Government. Speaking in London on Tuesday, he declared that the emergency powers would pass with the emergency. Force, he said, was in itself no remedy. "The real sanction of govern- ment is public opinion." That is a good balance, and if the Government can preserve it all will yet be well.
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