(From second editorial)
After deep cogitation — and perhaps a little anxious waiting to see which way the wind blows — the Madras Times has come to the conclusion that General Dyer’s action was perfectly justified. Its reason for this remarkable conclusion is not less remarkable, being based on the analogy of the battlefields. Now, what are the facts? At a time when order had been restored after a period of mob rule, a meeting, the prohibition of which was imperfectly known, was held. It was attended by a large number of country-people down for the Baisakhi fair. There were a number of women and children also present. General Dyer heard of the meeting, he proceeded thither to make an example, and immediately on arrival opened fire and continued firing. In his evidence, he has clearly shown that he did not think the meeting was a rebellious one except on the technical ground that it was held in defiance of the prohibition. Fiat Justicia , says the Madras Times . If the justice of General Dyer is typical of British justice, we should prefer the justice of the Germans in Belgium, the Bulgarians in Macedonia, or the Belgians in the Congo. There is so much less of sickening hypocrisy, less of pharisaical divergence between practice and profession in the latter.
