THE ISSUE AT STAKE 59 remove the badge of inferiority, but is ready to chsnQ¤ the present rough-looking symbol for a nicely polished one. British Indians, however, decline to be deluded. They may yield everything, occupy any position, but the badge must be removed first. We, therefore, trust that the public will not be misled by the specious concessions that are being offered, into the belief that British Indians, because they do not accept them, are unreason- able in their demands, that they are uncompromising, and that, therefore, they do not deserve the sympathy and support of a common sense and practical public. In the final reply received by us from Lord Crewe the following is the position that is taken up: His Lordship explained to you that Mr. Smuts was unable to accept the claim that Asiatics should be placed in a position of equality with Europeans in respect ot right of entry or otherwise. Herein lies the crux. Legal equality in respect of the right of entry, even though never a man does enter, is what British Indians have been fighting for, and accord- ing to the reports we have received from the Transvaah is what some of them, at least, will die for. The only possible justification for holding together the different communities of the Empire under the same sovereignty is the fact of elementary equality, and it is because the Transvaal legislation cuts at the very root of this principle that British Indians have offered a stubborn resistance. It would be contrary to fact to argue that no relief can be had in this matter because the Transvaal is a Sell·Governing Colony, and because now South Africa has got its Union. The difficulty of the situation is due to a mistake committed at the centre of the Empire. The Imperial Government are party to the crime against the Imperial Constitution. They sanctioned when they need
