FIRING AT JAITO

IT is a striking coincidence that on the very day and perhaps about the very time when the Legislative Assembly was listening to Mr. Rangachariar’s explanation of his Bill to restrict the use of firearms for the dispersal of assemblies to really necessary cases, there happened at a place, not far from the Capital of India, one of those grim tragedies through the use of firearms, which, no matter what might be their rights or wrongs, are bound to be universally deplored. We do not at the time of writing know all the facts of the case and so far as we do know anything about the incident, there are clearly two versions which conflict in some material particulars. But it is not necessary to know more about the incident than we do to see that it raises exactly the questions which Mr. Rangachariar’s Bill is an attempt to settle, namely whether for the object which the authorities had in view firing was an absolute necessity, and whether assuming that it was necessary, the conditions that required to be fulfilled before firing was resorted to were satisfied. Another question which the incident raises is as important as either of the above two, though it is not touched by Mr. Rangachariar’s Bill, so far as one can judge from his explanation, namely whether assuming that firing was justified, steps were taken to ensure its being confined to within strictly necessary limits, so that the casualties might be no heavier than the circumstances of the case made imperative. All these questions must be answered before the public can be satisfied that the deplorable tragedy that has just taken place was unavoidable.