SECTION XVI.
CORRESPONDENCE WITH GOVERNORS AND VICEROYS
(Excerpts)
The
present section will deal with the correspondence which Dadabhai had with
Governors and Viceroys. It will be noticed that this correspondence increased
after Dadabhai’s retirement form England.
LORD HARDINGE
Lord Minto was succeeded by Lord Hardinge
in November 1910.
…On
8-10-1913 Dadabhai wrote to Lord Hardinge controverting the contention advanced
by him in his Council speech viz. the figures of imports and exports of India
showed that in rate of progress India compared favourably with any of the
principal countries in the world. Dadabhai argued that if a man exported goods
worth £1000, he must expect to get back his £1000 + profit, but if he did not
get back even his £1000, but say only £800 he actually made a loss. That was
what was happening to India. The interpretation put in the figures of imports
and exports by officials and repeated by the Viceroy was quite mistaken and
calculated top mislead the public and Government.
“The
Commercial returns’’ said Dadabhai “when understood correctly prove clearly
that a large amount of India’s wealth is carried away by England every year.”
For fuller information Dadabhai referred Lord Hardinge to certain pages in his
book “Poverty and Un- British Rule in India.” Dadabhai also enclosed with his
letter a copy of his letter to the Daily News (London), dated 3-4-1905 on the Subject
of the Drain.
