THE DAILY PROVINCE
JULY 21, 1914

COMMENDABLE BRAVERY.

p.6

-------------------------Fuller details of the Sunday morning attempt to take the Komagata
Maru to sea makes it plain that the affair was by no means farcical. The police
hahaved(Sic) with most commendable bravery and with extreme forbearance.
They were evidently unprepared for their reception and expected to be
allowed on board without much trouble. The immigration officials were
prepared to take the ship to sea the moment the police had convinced the
passengers that order must be maintained. The rifles were not taken out with
the idea of shedding blood, but were for the specials to act as a guard for the
captain and crew. The Hindus unfortunately were determined to resist any
attempt by the police to get on board. They caught the police at a great
disadvantage and despite the hail of missiles the police kept their heads and
not a single man appears to have lost his temper sufficiently to fire a shot
although they all carried their revolvers. The wisdom of the proceedings may
be open to question in one or two details but that everybody behaved with
most commendable patience and bravery is undoubted. The fact remains that
if the police had used their revolvers they could have got on board and
clubbed the Hindus into a reasonable frame of mind. But they were specially
warned not to fire on the Hindus and they were consequently handicapped
from the start. They carried out a most difficult task in the best way they
could. The resistance of the Hindus place them on the wrong side of the law
altogether and if there is any trouble today their blood rests on their own
heads.