She has proved up to the hilt her desire to remain
within the Empire, to maintain her tie with Great Britain. But if
Britain is to call successfully on India's man-power, as Lord Chelmsford
suggests in his Man-Power Board, then must the man who fights or labours
have a man's Rights in his own land. The lesson which springs out of
this War is that it is absolutely necessary for the future safety of the
Empire that India shall have Home Rule. Had her Man-Power been utilised
earlier there would have been no War, for none would have dared to
provoke Great Britain and India to a contest. But her Man-Power cannot
be utilised while she is a subject Nation. She cannot afford to maintain
a large army, if she is to support an English garrison, to pay for their
goings and comings, to buy stores in England at exorbitant prices and
send them back again when England needs them. She cannot afford to train
men for England, and only have their services for five years. She cannot
afford to keep huge Gold Reserves in England, and be straitened for
cash, while she lends to England out of her Reserves, taken from her
over-taxation, L27,000,000 for War expenses, and this, be it remembered,
before the great War Loan.
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