. Some
Englishmen state that they took, and they hold, India by the sword. Both
these statements are wrong. The sword is entirely useless for holding
India. We alone keep them. Napoleon is said to have described the
English as a nation of shop keepers. It is a fitting description. They
hold whatever dominions they have for the sake of their commerce. Their
army and their navy are intended to protect it. When the Transvaal
offered no such attractions, the late Mr. Gladstone discovered that it
was no right for the English to hold it. When it became a paying
proposition, resistance led to war. Mr. Chamberlain soon discovered that
England enjoyed a suzerainty over the Transvaal. It is related that some
one asked the late President Kruger whether there was gold in the moon?
He replied that it was highly unlikely, because, if there were, the
English would have annexed it. Many problems can be solved by
remembering that money is their God. Then it follows that we keep the
English in India for our base self-interest. We like their commerce,
they please us by their subtle methods, and get what they want from us.
To blame them for this is to perpetuate their power. We further
strengthen their hold by quarrelling amongst ourselves. If you accept
the above statements, it is proved that the English entered India for
the purposes of trade. They remain in it for the same purpose, and we
help them to do so. Their arms and ammunition are perfectly useless. In
this connection, I remind you that it is the British flag which is
waving in Japan, and not the Japanese. The English have a treaty with
Japan for the sake of their commerce and you will see that, if they can
manage it, their commerce will greatly expand in that country. They
wish to convert the whole word into a vast market for their goods. That
they cannot do so is true, but the blame will not be theirs. They will
leave no stone unturned to reach the goal.

SWARAJ MY IDEAL

The following is a fairly full report of Mr. Gandhi's important speech
at Calcutta on the 13th December 1920:--

The very fact, that so many of you cannot understand Hindi which is
bound to be the National medium of expression throughout Hindustan in
gatherings of Indians belonging to different parts of the land, shows
the depth of the degradation to which we have sunk, and points to the
supreme necessity of the non-co-operation movement which is intended to
lift us out of that condition. This Government