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light, and those who sought to extinguish such light as we now had were gravely endangering the safety of our great national inheritance. He begged to second the amendment of his hon. friend. (Cheers.)

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THE MISGOVERNMENT OF INDIA.

On the evening of Wednesday October 26, 1898, a meeting convened jointly by the British Committee of the Indian National Congress and the Westminster Liberal Association was held to hear speeches on the subject of " India: Her Misgovernment.” Sir W. Wedderburn, Bart., M.P., presided, and among those on the platform were Mr. W C. Bonnerjee (of Calcutta), Mrs. and Miss Bonnerjee, Mr. W. A. Chambers, Editor of the Bombay Champion, the Hon. Mark Napier, Mr Dadabhai Nuoroji, Mr. Romesh C. Dutt, C. I. E., Mr. G. S. Ross, Mr. H. S. Khalil, Mr. W. Martin Wood, and Mr. A. G. Symonds.

Sir William, in opening the proceedings. said:—We have upon this platform this evening two gentlemen, one an Indian and the other an Englishman, who wish to speak to you on behalf of poor, unhappy, suffering India. Less than fifteen years ago India was peaceful and prosperous. Hear, hear.) Under the wise and sympathetic rule of Lord Ripon (cheers)—we had in our great dependency a contented people, friendly neighbours beyond the frontier, and a full public treasury. (Hear, hear.) Taxation was reduced; by a wise system of local self-government the people were given a voice in the management of their domestic affairs; and when Lord Ripon left India on the completion of his term of office, the people in all parts rose as one man to testify their gratitude to and affection for him. (Cheers.) I was myself present in Bombay on that memorable occasion, and I shall never forget that spontaneous burst of popular feeling. (Cheers.) The city of Bombay-the second city of the Empire, for it comes next to London—was decorated from end to end, and for three days the vast population of 800,000 inhabitants made holiday and swarmed in the streets. The people were quite beyond the control of the police, but no control was necessary, for the people of India are by

nature gentle, sober, orderly, and law-abiding; and during these three wonderful days I did not hear of a single case of disorder, or even an accident. (Hear, hear.) Surely that was a most marvellous condition of things. (Hear,hear.) What was the secret of this wonderful enthusiasm for British rule? Had Lord Ripon worked a miracle; had he some hidden talisman by which he, an alien ruler, had won the hearts of these millions of a different race? No, it was no miracle. All that Lord Ripon did was to carry out good British methods honestly and fearlessly. (Cheers.) He administered India in that spirit of justice and sympathy which is declared in the Queen's Gracious Proclamation of 1858, which is ordained in our Acts of Parliament, and which is I believe approved by you, ladies and gentlemen, and by the great body of the British people. (Cheers.) Now, I grieve to say all this happy condition of things has been changed. The wise and humane policy of Lord Lawrence and Lord Ripon has been deliberately reversed, and what is known as the "forward" policy has been adopted, a policy of aggression abroad and repression at home. Now what have been the results of that reversal of the accepted British policy? Instead of peace beyond the frontier we have had an unjust, foolish, and disastrous war; instead of a full treasury and reduced taxation we have increased burdens with exhausted resources and threatened insolvency; instead of prosperity within our borders we have a people dying from hunger and disease; and instead of contentment we have misery and unrest. To crown all and to make matters worse we have the suppression of free speech, police terrorism, and imprisonment without trial. ("Shame.") Now I would ask, who are the people responsible for this disastrous change in the condition of affairs in India? Surely the responsibility lies on those authorities in England and in India who within the last few years have changed the whole spirit of our Indian administration; who have reversed and discarded the methods which had produced

peace and prosperity-the honest, manly, kindly, open British methods, and have set up instead a pitiful imitation of Russian despotism, which puts its trust in spies and informers and secret police. I say this without fear of contradiction-that the British power in India will never gain anything by imitating Russian methods. (Hear, hear.) Our strength lies in emphasising the difference between our rule and Russian rule; and our safety will be found in speedily returning to those good, honest methods of Lord Lawrence and Lord Ripon which are so dear to the intelligent, docile, and lawabiding people of India. (Cheers.) I am not able to speak of recent important events in India from personal experience, but I am glad to be able to introduce to you two gentlemen who have recently come from India and who are thoroughly well qualified to tell you the facts. First I will introduce to you my friend Mr. Bonnerjee. He is a barrister with very large-perhaps I should not be wrong if I said the largest-practice in Calcutta. He also has occupied an important official position as Standing Counsel to the Government of India, and as a Member of the Bengal Legislative Council. 1 feel sure that when you have heard him you will be assured that the British Government in India, has no better friends in India than the educated Indians, among whom he is one of the most trusted leaders, (Loud cheers.)

CHRISTIANITY AND POLITICS.

On Thursday, 27th October, 1898, Sir W. Wedderburn, M. P., delivered an address at the Guildhall, Gloucester, as President elect of the Gloucester Young Men's Christian Association.

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Sir William Wedderburn, M. P., who was most heartily applauded on rising to deliver his presidential address, first of all referred to the object of the Association, which he said was to influence young men who were entering upon life in such a way that they might regulate their lives in accordance with Christian teaching. It was their daily life that should be regulated in that way, and not in reference to Sundays only. They wanted to regulate their lives according to Christian teaching, not in a portion, but in all their activities-in matters great or small: personal, social, or national. Proceeding to speak of the public, rather than the private application of the objects of the Association, Sir William said that all his life he had been engaged in public affairs. He had, to the best of his humble abilities, served his country in very distant lands, and he had had some personal experience of dealing with other races; and he could only say that, in all that personal experience, he found the Christian teaching to be the best practical solution of the difficulties that they had had to encounter. There was one simple and easy rule which any child could understand and any honest man could put into effect-the golden rule of "Do unto others as ye would they should do unto you." (Applause.) It really seemed that it would be much easier to give effect in public affairs to that doctrine than in private matters. As a nation we were not so much affected by these petty private considerations; and yet the extraordinary thing was that whereas as individuals so many people were found anxiously and conscientiously following the plain

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