Page:Heroes of the hour- Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak Maharaj, Sir Subramanya Iyer.djvu/305

 whether one is "right or wrong" in doing any of these it is worse than idle to dispute about. For we lack a common standard of judgment—there is no rod to measure and no scale to weigh in such matters. The important test in all these matters is "what for does he do these and how will they affect the country's interests ultimately?" Does or did he do any of them for personal glory or gain, or to injure a cause or community, or to uproot order and law, or has his action tended to stifle public spirit, throw back the country's progress and to leave his countrymen worse? He dictated that message without even intending that it should be known or that he should be given credit for it; and he did it in the service of the country to strengthen the cause of the British Crown in India. As for the result, although he has entitled himself to the fullest measure of executive displeasure, it must open the eyes of the Government as nothing else possibly can. It must show them that they will be in an unwise paradise to believe that India can always remain enveloped in Anglo-Indian beneficence. There is no means of ascertaining in what way the letter influenced the heart and judgement of the American public—it is reasonable