Page:Heroes of the hour- Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak Maharaj, Sir Subramanya Iyer.djvu/294

 through the columns of the Hindu, dedicated from its commencement to national service and ever winning new laurels in it, remains unanswered still. But it shewed the temper of those whose opinion ought to have carried weight with Lord Pentland, had he not been so woefully misguided by men who were near if not dear to him. Dewan Bahadur V. K. Ramanujachariar, another public servant who has retired after an honourable record of service,—none too highly appreciated by a Government which has a separate measure for the worth of an Indian in service,—came forward to make his confession following the footsteps of Sir Subramaniem; and, in the crusty spirit of men of action of a bye-gone age, keeping his chin unshaven and holding it at an angle of opposition, was to the fore not so much to put heart into the country as to counteract a policy of suppressing the attitude of the public from the knowledge of the more responsible authorities. Even then the Madras Government failed to read the signs of the times, and would not think of a feat of honourable retreat at its own initiative. On the other hand, it stood by and gazed on petty attempts at strengthening the