was a village enquiry, because in the rural villages were included 80 per cent. of the population, and because the village community was the microcosm of all India; and if they could discover the means to make one village prosperous they held the clue to make all India prosperous. For such an enquiry no Imperial Commission was necessary. The local administration might be directed to select typical villages in each Province, and to appoint a committee to make a through diagnosis of their condition. The Committee must be representative, consisting of Europeans and Indians, officials and non-officials; such as were appointed to the Deccan Rayats Commission 20 years ago. Their investigation should be of a microscopic kind, to detect the microbes which blighted the rayat's prosperity. He believed that the microbes would be found to be the usurious moneylender (who should be replaced by Agricultural banks); the Civil Court (which should be replaced by popular Conciliation and Arbitration Courts); and the harsh and rigid collection of the revenue (which should be replaced by methods suited to the habits and wishes of the rayat). If these simple remedies were adopted he believed that famine would be rendered impossible. making these proposals he did not desire to impute any blame to the noble lord, the Secretary of State for India; but he had carefully studied the condition of the rayat for thirty or forty years, and in this great crisis he desired to place the results of his experience at the disposal of the noble lord and of the House. He earnestly trusted his proposals would receive sympathetic consideration. (Hear, hear.)

In

The House divided upon Sir William Wedderburn's Amendment when the figures were.

RECEPTION TO Mr. W. S. CAINE.

Sir William Wedderburn, on Tuesday, March 9th, 1897 gave a reception and luncheon at the National Liberal Club to welcome Mr. W. S. Caine on his return from the Indian National Congress, which he attended as the delegate of the British Committee. Sir William presided at the luncheon, and had on his right the guest of the day and on his left Lord Kinnaird.

There were four Vice-chairmen, viz., Mr. H. J. Wilson M.P., Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji, Mr. H. N. Haridas and Mr. W. Martin Wood; while the guests also included Mr Burt. M.P., Mr. F. W. Cawley, M.P., Mr. Geo. Harwood, M.P., Sir Wilfrid Lawson, M.P., Mr. J. Herbert Lewis, MP, Sir J. Long, M.P., Mr. Swift McNeill, M.P., Mr. Justin McCarthy, M.P., Mr. J. Herbert Roberts, M.P., Mr. Samuel Smith, M.P., Mr. C. E. Schwann, M.P., Mr. Robinson Souttar, M.P., Mr. John Wilson, M.P., (Govan), Prince Ranjitsinghi, Sir Geo. Birdwood, and Messrs. W. Digby, the Hon. Conrad Dillon, A. E. Fletcher, A. G. Symonds, A. J. Wilson, and Fisher Unwin, and the Hon. Mr. Justice Jardine. Over 70 sat down to luncheon.

After luncheon, the Chairman asked the company to drink the health of the Queen Empress. (Cheers.) This, he said, is a toast which in India is always received with the greatest enthusiasm, because Indians will never forget that after she had reigned twenty years her Majesty personally gave them the great Queen's Proclamation of 1858, which they regard as the Magna Charta of India. (Cheers.) They will never forget that, in speaking of the people of India, she said, "In their prosperity will be our strength, in their contentment our security, and in their gratitude our best reward." (Cheers.) Well, gentlemen, forty years have passed since that time, and this year there will be great celebrations of triumph all over the Empire for great prosperity has accrued to

the British Empire. But, sad to say, India alone lies prostrate, and therefore we may hope that her Majesty will not forget India, and as we know she personally intervened to put the words I have quoted into the Proclamation of 1858, we trust that the personal intervention will be again exercised in this Diamond Jubilee, so that India may not be forgotten.

The toast was duly honoured.

(Cheers.)

The Chairman: There are some of our friends invited who were not able to attend, but have written letters regretting that they cannot be here to welcome Mr. Caine. I will read but two of them.

The first is from Sir William Hunter, a great authority upon Indian matters. He writes:

Oaken Holt, Near Oxford,

March 6th, 1897.

My Dear Wedderburn,-I much regret being unable to be present at your luncheon to welcome home Mr. Caine But, as you are probably aware, I have to preside at a Famine Relief meeting on that afternoon, and so must prefer duty to pleasure. I beg you will remember me kindly to your guest, and I feel sure that the gathering will be a cordial and sympathetic one. We all have the interest of India at heart, and little differences in our methods of working should not be allowed to obscure our identity of aim.

Ever sincerely yours,

W. W. HUNTER.

The other letter is from Mr. Alfred Webb, who presided. at the previous Congress, and whom we had the pleasure of entertaining in this room two years ago. It is as follows:

11, Frankfort Avenue, Rathgar, Dublin,

March 6th.

Dear Sir William,-Illness has prevented my acknowledging your kind invitation for the 9th. Even still I have to employ an amanuensis.

Were it possible, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be one of the company to welcome Mr. Caine back. I have followed his course in India, and he is worthy of all honour. How beneficial it would be to both countries if men of his calibre and clearsightedness oftener visited India.

It is deplorable the general ignorance here prevailing regarding the Congress movement. By here I mean the United Kingdom at large.

It is amazing how difficult it is to rouse public interest on the question, the most important of all others to the future of the Empire, I do not even exclude the Home Rule question, to which I have given so much of my life. People appear blinded to the overwhelming importance of the political and educational forces at present at work in India, and which sooner or later will work their way-whether for good or ill largely depends on the manner in which we meet or help to guide them. I am very sincerely yours, ALFRED WEBB.

Among those who have also written expressing their regret at not being able to attend are: Mr. T. R. Buchanan, M.P., Sir Charles Cameron, M.P., Dr. Clark. M.P., Mr. Michael Davitt, M.P., Mr. J. E. Ellis, M.P., Mr. Charles Harrison, M.P., Sir Robert T. Reid, M.P., Mr. C. P. Scott, M.P., the Hon Philip Stanhope, M.P., Mr. E. T. Cook, Mr. H. W. Massingham, Dr. Clifford, Mr. Frederic Harrison, Sir John Budd Phear, Mr. Geo. W. E. Russell, Dr. Guinness, Rogers, and Sir James Stansfeld.

The object of our meeting this morning is to give a hearty welcome to our friend Mr. Caine, upon his return from India, and to say how glad we are that he has come back safe and sound. (Hear, hear.) We wish also to tender to him our thanks for his services in India. At considerable personal risk he has visited that country in order to be the delegate to the 12th Indian Na

tional Congress, and to carry to the people of India a message of good will and of deep sympathy in their sufferings. (Hear.) For, gentlemen, a double calamity has now fallen on India. To the famine pestilence is superadded, and, whatever efforts may be made there will, no doubt, be great misery and great loss of life. We know that twenty years ago, when there was a famine, no fewer than five millions of people perished, and what will be the number to perish on this occasion no one knows. The problem how to avert disaster is a very difficult one. Here in this island we have a population of 40 millions, and with the people of this country rests the whole power and the whole responsibility. And 6,000 miles away there is India with its 300,000,000 inhabitants; they have none of the power, but they have all the need and all the suffering. The problem is a difficult one. The only thing is for us all to work together with mutual good will and confidence; the Government must do all that it possibly can, and the natural leaders of the people must do all that they can, but even that will not suffice unless all work heartily together. (Hear, hear.) What we want is solidarity in facing this question, in order to bring together public opinion in this country and in India. To do this our friend Mr. Caine recently undertook this journey to India. He has not only attended the meetings of the Congress, but he has visited many local centres and been present at gatherings at which delegates to the Congress were elected. I hope that he will tell us something of his experience, in order that those present may judge of the real substance and basis of this movement for the benefit of the people. (Hear.) I should explain that at one time it was doubtful whether the Indian Congress would meet this year; so great were the difficulties and hardships, and so occupied were the people in their own homes, that some thought i' would be better not to meet at all. I think it was hig' to their credit that all those difficulties were overc