The Demand for Self-government.

NO assertion is commoner among a class of our cities than that the diversity of races and of languages in India is an insuperable obstacle in the way of the grant of self-government. The assertion is absurd on the face of it, but there is some risk of it passing muster among Englishmen absolutely ignorant of Indian conditions. Mr B. Houghton does well in an article contributed by him to a recent issue of the Spectator in noticing the assertion and giving a reply to the critics that is practically the last word on the subject. "The plain fact," he says, "is that nearly all India, without distinction of race or language or creed is united in a demand for a substantial measure of self-government. This demand is not fictitious. It is not the cry of a new agitators. On the contrary, it springs from the heart of the people, in it their very soul speaks. Merchant, lawyer, shopkeeper, landholder, prince and peasant have alike embraced the cause." This is the plain truth and our critics know it.