Their services in the present War--the Ambulance Corps and the
replacement of its _materiel_ when the ship carrying it sank, with the
splendid services rendered by it in Mesopotamia; the recruiting of a
Bengali regiment for active service, 900 strong, with another 900
reserves to replace wastage, and recruiting still going on--these are
instances of the divine alchemy which brings the soul of good out of
evil action, and consecrates to service the qualities evoked by
rebellion.
In England, also, a similar result has been seen in a convict, released
to go to the front, winning the Victoria Cross. It would be an act of
statesmanship, as well as of divinest compassion, to offer to every
prisoner and interned captive, held for political crime or on political
suspicion, the opportunity of serving the Empire at the front. They
might, if thought necessary, form a separate battalion or a separate
regiment, under stricter supervision, and yet be given a chance of
redeeming their reputation, for they are mostly very young.
The financial burden incurred in consequence of the above conflicts, and
of other causes, now to be mentioned, would not have been so much
resented, if it had been imposed by India on herself, and if her own
sons had profited by her being used as a training ground for the
Empire.
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