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100 Years Ago | 22 September 1918

On this day a century ago, these were some of the news items The Statesman readers got to read about India and the world.

100 Years Ago | 22 September 1918

OCCASIONAL NOTE

The proceedings of the conference at Ranchi of the non-official members of the Bihar and Orissa Legislative Council, apropos the Montagu-Chelmsford scheme, appear to have furnished, on the whole, a model for subsequent conferences of the kind. It is true that we have not been favoured with a verbatim report of the speeches, but, judging by the conclusions arrived at, the Conference appears to have discussed the issues submitted to it in an eminently reasonable spirit.

It is significant, however, that it found itself non-plussed by the crucial question of electorates. We are told that while “the principle of the enlargement of the legislative council was accepted,” the conference “was unable to come to an agreement as to the distribution of seats.”

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The only interest of sufficient weight to secure a definite recommendation as to its constituency was, as might have been expected the landlord interest, the conference deciding by a small majority that ‘the great landlords” should have a separate electorate. If the electorate difficulty proved insurmountable in the case of so exceptionally harmonious a palaver as that held at Ranchi, one can only speculate upon the difficulties that are likely to arise where the elements represented are much more heterogeneous and irreconcilable.

PREPARATION SCHOOL FOR ENGLISH BOYS

Owing to the conditions set up by the war there are a large number of English boys in India who in ordinary circumstances would have proceeded to England for their education. In order to meet their needs it has been decided to establish a preparatory school at Simla. War conditions have seriously affected the Bishop Cotton School, and it has been found possible to make arrangements for the boys attending that school elsewhere without prejudice to their interests or those of the school itself.

Through the good offices of the Punjab Government a two years’ lease of the school premises has been secured, and the school will be opened in the third week of January, 1919. The age limit is for boys between the ages of 7 and 13 years. A strong governing body had been constituted, with Sir Claude Hill as president, and an executive committee with Brigadier-General Luke as chairman.

ALIGARH COLLEGE RESIGNATIONS

The trustees of the Aligarh College continue to arrive. The Hyderabad trustees reached here yesterday and the Punjab trustees were due last night. In order to be out of reach of the influence of outsiders, they propose to meet with closed doors. The place of meeting has not yet been announced. Most probably it will be the President’s house instead of the college premises.

A few important documents have been issued to the trustees. These contain the correspondence between the Principal and the Hon. Secretary, and the staff’s notices of resignations. The staff complains of the trustees encroaching upon their rights, while the trustees through their Hon. Secretary attribute disobedience and disloyalty to the staff. Each party appeals to the other’s sense of justice and propriety.

FAMILIES OF OFFICERS SERVING IN EGYPT

The wives and families of all British officers of the British and Indian services now serving in Egypt are permitted to proceed to that country if they so desire. Applications should be submitted direct to the Quartermaster-General in India, stating (a) the appointment or unit in which the officer is serving, (b) the number of members of the family for whom passage is required, (c) in the case of a nurse or governess her name should be stated, and (d) the family’s address in India. All information as regards obtaining passports and passages will be communicated to applicants when permission has been obtained by the Quartermaster-General for them to land in Egypt.

THE HINDENBURG LINE

The severe German defeat recorded by Sir Douglas Haig is the culminating operation of an uninterrupted series of concerted engagements during the last eight days. Its chief importance lies in the fact that the advanced defences of the Hindenburg line west and north-west of St. Quentin have been broken down.

The new front borders almost everywhere on the Hindenburg line except west of St. Quentin, where the town is girdled by a powerful defensive system which is complete east and south by the double water-line of the canal and the Somme and narrow gullies and sunken roads constituting formidable obstacles. The positions taken by the British form a network of wooded hills commanding the Cambrai-St. Quentin road. Any further loss of ground here would constitute a new breach of the Hindenburg line.

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