was

Pherozeshah Mehta had been elected, or "recommended," by the Bombay Presidency Association. He read the paragraph in the Tribune and wrote to me at once that I had rightly interpreted the note of "Westland's Wail." For his great services in the Bombay Corporation Pherozeshah Mehta knighted but he was not the man to seek official favour at any time in bis life. When the Congress was threatened with a split in 1906 in Calcutta, which actually took place the next year at Surat much of the bitterness was directed against Pherozeshah Mehta personally. He was jeered at as a knight and flouted as a dictator. At Surat he was assailed with foul abuse and the Deccani shoe which fell in the lap of Surendranath Banerjea and was preserved by him in a glass case was really hurled at the Parsi leader. The cleavage in the Congress marked the parting of the ways but it reflected no dishonour on the older leaders who had served the country according to their lights and who could not appreciate or sympathise with the impassioned call of a new nationalism. The statue of Pherozeshah Mehta in front of the office of the Bombay Corporation and the naming of the Hanging Gardens of Bombay after him are fitting memorials of his distinguished and untiring services to the city of Bombay.

PROSECUTION AND IMPRISONMENT

In 1889, when I was editing the "Phoenix' I was prosecuted on a charge of defamation. That was the only occasion that I had to face a trial during my long association with Journalism. Frequent complaints appeared in the paper about the ill-treatment of prisoners in the Shikarpur jail. My correspondent was a teacher in the Government school at Shikarpur. He afterwards became a successful pleader at Sukkur. In a short newsletter of two paragraphs it was stated that the death of a prisoner in the Shikarpur jail was suspicious and there were rumours of foul play. If there was any insinuation it was against the Jailor, who however did not take any action himself. Instead the Superintendent of the Jail, who was medical officer, applied for sanction to proceed against me. The Bombay Government in sanctioning the prosecution stated that if the Editor gave out the name of his correspondent and satisfied the Commissioner in Sind that he had acted in good faith the case against

him need not proceed; nor was it necessary to proceed against the correspondent if he tendered an apology. It was obvious that the Government of Bombay did not consider the matter very serious. A copy of the Government Resolution was sent to me. I was not called upon to offer an apology, but I could not dream of giving out the name of my correspondent, whose good faith I never doubted for a moment. It was a very ordinary case and the only thing noticeable about it was the number the number of hearings it involved in various Courts before it was finished. The case was first tried by Mr, C. E. S. Steele, the Sub-divisional Magistrate of Sukkur, an able and accomplished officer. In a case of this kind it was impossible to get any evidence from the jail itself. The defence was that there was no intention of defaming the Superintendent of the Jail and the suggestion in the newsletter was for an enquiry by higher authority. Evidence on both sides was taken and the Magistrate discharged me without framing a charge. I knew, however, that I was by no means yet out of the wood. An application was made before the District Magistrate to set aside the order of discharge and to order a fresh trial. The District Magistrate held that of the two paragraphs of the newsletter one, in his opinion, was not defamatory but the other he considered libellous, and he directed a new trial by another Magistrate. Against this order an application was made to the Sadar Court before Mr. Macpherson. The wisdom of this course was questionable on account of Mr. Macpherson's well-known attitude in criminal cases, but my legal advisers and other friends relied on the well-reasoned judgment of Mr. Steele discharging me in the first instance. Mr. Macpherson might have simply rejected the application on the ground that he took the same view as the District Magistrate, but he went further and deliberately declared that both paragraphs of the newsletter were libellous. He did not pause to consider that this would seriously prejudice me in the new trial because the Magistrate was bound to be influenced by the opinion of the highest Court in the Province. The case was next tried by an inexperienced, young Civilian who bluntly asked me the name of the correspondent. I refused to disclose the name and the Magistrate, who displayed both impatience and temper during the trial, sentenced me to simple imprisonment for

I

two months and a fine of five hundred rupees. Dayaram Gidumal happened to be officiating District and Sessions Judge of Shikarpur at the time and I was released on bail the same evening. But Dayaram declined to hear the appeal himself and fixed a date for the hearing when he would cease to be Sessions Judge and revert to his substantive appointment as Assistant District and Sessions Judge. In simple gratitude should mention that throughout this long drawn-out and protracted trial Tahilram Khemchand and Harchandrai Kishindas stood by me unflinchingly. They neglected their professional work for defending me, they raised funds for the defence, they appeared in every court where the case was taken, and their vigilance and sympathy never wavered or faltered. Any man would be proud and deeply grateful to have such friends. The new District and Sessions Judge had the reputation of being somewhat eccentric. When the appeal came up before him Tahilram and Harchandrai engaged Mr. Russell of the Bombay Bar to appear for me. Mr. Russell, who afterwards became a Judge of the Bombay High Court, had come to Karachi in connection with another

the

the

case, but was persuaded to stay on for a few days to argue my appeal at Shikarpur. Mr. Russell was an Irishman and a pursuasive and eloquent advocate and he did his best for me. But the Judge upheld the conviction and sentence alleging among other grounds that the circulation of the paper had increased on account of my prosecution. There was not a shred of evidence en on the record to justify this assumption. I was conveyed to was conveyed to the jail at Shikarpur and was assigned a separate cell for myself. On the second or third day Superintendent of Police came to visit jail. At his suggestion I was given a Another visitor was Mr. Jacob, Inspector Schools, Sind, whom I knew very well. told me I should have given out the name of the correspondent, but I replied that that was out of the question as he bad not acted in bad faith. The jailor showed me great consideration and I requested him to obtain permission for me to do some literary work during my imprisonment. He promised to write to the Inspector-General of Police to obtain the necessary sanction. The warders and such of my fellow-prisoners as could have access to me were very good to me. Meanwhile, Tahilram and Harchandrai did

cot. of

He

an

not let the grass grow under their feet. They applied for revision in the Sadar Court through Mr. Russell who was still at Karachi. Luckily for me Mr. Macpherson was on leave and Mr. Hosking, a very able and conscientious Judge, was officiating for him. The Manager of the "Phoenix" filed an affidavit declaring that the circulation of the paper had not increased. Mr. Hosking quashed the sentence of imprisonment but upheld the fine. Tahilram sent me a telegram at once informing me of the order and Amil prisoner came running to me, evidently pleased to be the first to congratulate me. He was followed a few minutes later by the jailor himself with the open telegram in his hand. He seemed to be both pleased and relieved that it would not be necessary for him any longer to have me on his hands. I told him that he would have to wait for a copy of the judgment before he could let me out. He said it was not at all necessary and if he got a telegram from the Registrar of the Sadar Court confirming the information I had received he could release me at once. He proposed to send a telegram, reply prepaid, to the Registrar at his own expense and I could repay him afterwards. This was done and in anticipation of the reply the jailor took me out of the inner jail and had a bed put up for me in the comfortable verandah of the jail hospital. The reply arrived at about 9 o'clock at night and I was released at once. It was the tenth day of my imprisonment. As a memento of my life in jail I bought a small carpet from the jailor and sent him the price along with the cost of the telegram. There was a carriage waiting for me and I drove to the house of Dowlatram Sarat Singh, Government pleader. The next morning I got a telegram from Harachandrai asking me to stay another day at Shikarpur as they were arranging a suit-able reception for me. I telegraphed back that there should be no demonstration and I did not propose to delay my return to Karachi. I left Shikarpur the same evening. At the station while I was waiting for the train with a number of people around me Dayaram Gidumal came in and I sauntered with him up the platform to have a quiet talk. I told him he should not have hesitated to hear my appeal himself. His reply was that my case had affected his personal feelings and it was impossible for him to be in a judicial frame of mind. He added that Mr. Steele should haveacquitted me instead of discharging me, and in.

that case the Bombay Government would not have appealed against the acquittal. At Karachi the platform was crowded when the train arrived and some of my friends protested that I should have let them have their way as the people of Karachi were anxious to show their appreciation of my conduct. I pointed out that there was absolutely nothing to make a fuss about and although I was very thankful to be lack again among my

friends I should be allowed to return home quietly. But they all insisted on accompanying me to my house in procession. As I have previously stated there was nothing remarkable about the case except that it was heard no less than seven times before different Magistrates and Judges.

I left Karachi and Sind in May, 1891 to take up the editorship of the Tribune at Lahore.

JIBOUTI is

the capital of French

D Somaliland. There is the Governor

General to govern this province of the French Republic. There are about 400 Europeans, 200 Arabs, 100 Indians and 25,000 Somalis in this town. There is usually very little rain and this place is very hot and there is scarcely any vegetation. It was only ten years ago that the gardens around the palace of the Governor were decorated with artificial trees but at present there is a very good supply of water which is brought from an inland place and so a few trees could be grown in the gardens. For all outward purposes there are all the signs of western civilisation such as electric light, fans, ice, watersupply, motor cars and horse carriages. A Frenchman boasted that his Republic has converted the desert into a civilised town.

A responsible person once told me that the French Government was losing very heavily on the railway to Abyssinia, on the harbour at Djibouti and on the whole of the government establishment. And it is still true to-day. Yet it maintains its so-called trust for the world's, civilisation because it is anxious to maintain the balance of influence in the politics of Abyssinia at which the French, British and Italian Governments look with covetous eyes. The recent rapproachments between the last two governments are watched with great anxiety by the people of this place.

Abyssinia is the centre of all interest to

every one of this place. If the French Government allows the other Powers to get full control of Abyssinia, then the economic organisation of this place will be completely dislocated. At present piece-goods and other manufactured goods are imported into Abyssinia and it is worthy of mention that most of the cloth sold in the Abyssinian market is imported from Japan and merchants find the Indian cloth to be too expensive. Djibouti imports horses (those used in the town are worth only Rs. 30 in Abyssinia) cattle, beef, fruit, hides, coffee and goats.

Nothing is produced in Djibouti. Rice and other food stuffs of very inferior quality are imported into this place from India via Aden. The horse-carriages are brought from America and the hand carts from Austria. A few Italians and Greeks are interested in the import and export business but the export business in coffee and hides is mostly in the hands of Arabs and a few Somalis. The number of Somali merchants has been on the increase since the last six years and there are now three leather merchants, two coffee merchants and a few shop-keepers.

Small donkeys are used to transport sand and earth. But men are employed to pull the hand-carts, working in groups of 4 or 6 coolies and it is these workers who transport everything to and from the railway station and the docks. They get on the whole about 8 francs each per day of twelve hours work in the hot sun. It is noteworthy

that women are not engaged in this sort of work as they are in Madras and Delhi. The workers who are employed in the store-houses of leather to air and clean leather are paid 6 to 7 francs each per day of 12 hours, and those who are employed for the month are paid only 220 francs. The workers at the railway station are paid 6 francs per day per head if they are bachelors and 7 to 8 francs a day per worker if they are married people. They work for 10 hours a day. The postmen are paid 300 francs per month per person. A Policeman is paid 200 to 275 francs plus board and lodging per month. Porters in a hotel are paid 150 to 200 francs plus food per month per worker and two boys who are of 15 years of age are paid 50 francs each per month with food, and another boy who is only 12 years of age is paid only 40 francs. Somalis who ship things are paid one rupee (15 francs on 20th July 1926) each per day of 12 hours while their brother workers of Aden are paid Rs. 1-8. These and other workers go to fish in the sea whenever there is no work in the town and earn on the whole about 5 francs each per day. The drivers of the horse-carriages are paid 5 francs per hour and each of them is able to earn on the average 15 francs per day.

Only women are employed in cleaning coffee and even though this is a very slack season for coffee business, as many as 250 Somali women were employed on the 17th July. Even girls of 8 years of age and above are employed in this work and they earn nearly as much as women. These workers work between 6 A. M. and 6-30 P. M. with a short break at dinner time. They are paid 5 francs for cleaning one sack of coffee seeds of 20 kilos and an ordinary worker is able to earn only 5 francs a day. Though this work is is done in dusty and dirty factories the workers are not provided with special uniforms to be worn while working and the women are obliged to wear the same dirty clothes at home and in the factories. It is very unhealthy for girls to work in these ill ventilated factories.

Still many Somalis are unemployed for many months in the year. Some Frenchmen say that there is no unemployment in this place and that the Somalis are very lazy and do not want to work if they have some money. But the Somali and Indian merchants assure me that the Somalis are as industrious and ambitious a people as any other. I

met more than 6 Somalis who went to France and worked as Garcons in the hotels and returned with their savings. One of them who is a Garcon in the Hotel Des Arcadessaid that he used to get 30 francs a day with food and a room at Lyons while he is now paid only 175 francs per month, with food. He said he could not earn more in the Djibouti hotels as there is not much work in the hotels. He understood better, the reasons for the lower wages and unemployment of Somalis, than many Europeans of this place.

STANDARD OF LIVING OF SOMALIS

Every commodity consumed by theSomalis is of the most inferior quality and an Indian urban worker refuses to consume the sort of rice, chillies, red-grams, and cholam which are sold, in the local markets of this place. The Somali's daily food consists of boiled rice, chapati (thin bread) made of cholam and rice flour, fish or a little meat and little or no ghee. Though every Somali is very fond of ghee and though it is cheaper here than in Bombay as it is imported in large quantities from Abyssinia, Somalis are unable to get it except on festive occasions. A small plate of boild rice is sold at 50 centimes, a plate of very bad meat and soup at one franc and 2 chapatis at 10 centimes in an Arab restaurant where many prosperous Somali workers eat. A worker eats rice, meat and 8 chapatis and pays 1 franc and 90 centimes per meal and any one who has this food will testify that it is not enough to keep a human being in proper working order. Yet a Somali is obliged to work for 12 hours a day and maintain his wife and two children.

seen

A kilo (about 21/2 lbs.) of inferior rice is sold in the retail market at 41/2 francs and better sort of rice at 6 francs, cholam at 2 francs, redgrams at 5 francs and salt at 1/2franc. A cup of very inferior coffee with a little sugar in it and without milk is sold in a Somali restaurant at 12 centimes. It is heart-breaking to see these Somali women begging a few grains of rice etc., in addition to the quantity already paid for. Every night there are crowds of boys around the European hotels to beg mossels of bread and some Europeans drive them away as if they were flies. Starvation is a common feature of many Somali homes and most Somalis suffer from insufficiency of food.

Many Europeans complained that the idea of comfort of the Somalis is very low and that they do not need and do not want shoes, caps and shirts. But many of the drivers of the horse carriages earned enough. in Europe to buy their carriages and they take genuine pride in the clean cushions of their carriages and they wear clean and nice clothes. The Somali women who are employed as maids by Indians dress themselves in better and cleaner cloths than other women because they are paid better. Somali women wear a long skirt, a cloth to cover the breasts and another to cover their heads. These cloths are imported from India and are of very inferior material. Men wear a lungi, a shirt without sleeves and no cap. I saw only very few women who wore shoes and others do not wear them because they cannot afford that luxury.

Most of the Somalis live in small huts made of palm leaves. The floor has no coating of any kind and so the house is very dirty. In such a house we find only one or two cots and one or two stools with mattresses. In the evening the house is practically

dark and very few people keep lights in the nights. Most of them have no private water pipes and lavatories as the Europeans have. They have to bring water from the few public water-pipes and no wonder that they do not bathe every day while the Europeans bathe twice a day. They have neither electric fans nor ice and their houses are full of flies. There are no streets as in the European quarter and there are no street lamps. The narrow but long lanes are dusty and dirty and no one cleans them. There is always a very bad smell in their quarters. The local hospital serves the interests of the Europeans better and the venerial diseases contracted from the Whites and the other tropical diseases are not cured by any medical help. An intelligent Somali said that the so-called civilisation is not introduced for their sake but for the comfort of the Governor-General and his administration and that the Somalis are never made able to enjoy any benefits under the new civilisation. Where are the Factory Acts and where are the Conventions of the International Labour Office in Somaliland?

have

it seen

I in authority

by

are

asserted persons and holding responsible positions in Native States, who naturally supposed to be well-acquainted with the relations which exist beween the Native States of India and the Government of India, that the status and position of British India is in no way better than or superior to the more important Native States of India; or that "British India is but a State like other Indian States". They go even so far as to say that "The Emperor of Japan has as much power as any ruler of an Indian State".

Or in

other words the powers of a ruler of an Indian State are in no way inferior to those of the Emperor of Japan. For instance, Rao Bahadur Sirdar M. V. Kibe, a Minister of the Indore State, makes the following bold statement which is neither justified by Science of Politics nor by the Indian Treaties on which Sirdar Kibe takes his stand and lays so great

a stress. Unfortunately few have studied the Treaties with the Native States or followed the subsequent developments. It is, therefore, baseless no wonder that such statements should go unchallenged. Sirdar Kibe has the courage and confidence to declare:

"But the criterion for admission to the League of Nations is to be found in the status of its members. British India has been admitted as a member of the League. In its relations to the Government of Great Britain, British India is a State like other Indian States. While the relations of the latter with the former are governed by instruments known as treaties, its powers are defined by Acts of Parliament. Like all other Indian States it cannot make peace or war, independently of the British Government; moreover, even its finances are under the control of a member of the British Cabinet. In a word, as stated by the Marquess of Curzon, one of the most famous and masterful Governor-General and Viceroys of India, the Government of India is a subordinate Branch of the British Government. Moreover, unlike the Indian States, as regards judicial matters, it is not selfcontained. Yet, in spite of all these drawbacks, it has