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receive their training under him, and then they are put over his head. I understand the Government of Bombay is anxious to help this gentleman; but the matter rests with the Government of India, and somehow his ability. and record of services receive no recognition from them.

Lastly, I come to the Department of Railways. I am not going into the question in detail to-day, because my friend the Hon'ble Mr. Mudholkar has already dealt with it exhaustively. Here we are almost entirely excluded from all higher appointments, and I hold that this is absolutely indefensible. It cannot seriously be contended that Indians are not fit for any place in the Railway Administration above Rs. 200 a month, when you can put them on the Government bench there, make them Chief Justices of High Courts or entrust them with the management of districts and divisions. To those who speak of such unfitness, I would like to mention an interesting episode. It refers not to the Railway Department, but to another Department-the Survey Department-but the principle is more or less the same. many years ago, there was a controversy about the position of Indians in the Survey Department, and it was contended very vigorously by the champions of European monopoly that Indians were not fit for the work, and that therefore they should be kept out. Unfortunately a report, submitted by Colonel Du Pre, who was then the head of the Survey Department and who was a strong advocate of Indian exclusion, came to be published, and this is what he was found to say in that report:

Not

I may here remark incidentally that my numerous late inspections show me that the tendency of the European surveyors is to stand and look on, while the natives are made to do the drawing and hand printing, as if they thought themselves quite above that sort of thing. This is a mistake and cannot be permitted for the future. Besides, it is suicidal for the Europeans to admit that Natives can do any one thing better than themselves. They should claim to be superior in everything, and only allow Natives to take a secondary or subordinate part. In my old parties, I never permitted a Native to touch a theodolite or an original computation, on the principle that the triangulation or scientific work was the prerogative of the highly paid European, and this reservation of

the scientific work was the only way by which I could keep a distinction, so as to justify the different figures respectively drawn by the two classes-the European in office time and the Native who ran him so close in all the office duties as well as in field duties. Yet I see that Natives commonly do the computation work, and the Europeans some other inferior duties.

Sir, I beg, with all respect to make a present of this extract to the Hon'ble Sir T. Wynne! One word more, and I have done. Sir, I have admitted that the question is a difficult one, but what I urge is that there should be continuous progress. Nobody urges that the English element should be withdrawn suddenly or even largely, but unless Indians are introduced into the higher ranks in larger and larger numbers, the discontent which the Government are anxious to remove is not likely to disappear. With these words, I strongly support the motion which my Hon'ble friend has brought forward.

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THE INDIAN FACTORIES AMENDMENT BILL.

[On 21st March 1911, Mr. Gokhale moved in the Imperial Legislative Council an amendment to the Indian Factories Bill as amended by the Select Committee, making it obligatory on every factory employing more than twenty children to maintain an elementary school and provide them with free and compulsory instruction. In support of his amend ment, he spoke as follows:-]

Sir, I beg to move that to clause 23 of the Bill as amended by the Select Committee, the following subclauses be added :

(1) Every factory, in which more than twenty children between the ages of nine and twelve are employed, shall maintain an elementary school in proper condition for their benefit, and attendance at such school for not less than three hours every working day shall be compulsory in the case of each child so employed.

(2) No fees shall be charged for the instruction given in such school.

Sir, I urge this amendment on the broad grounds of justice and humanity. The plea of justice is based on three considerations. In the first place, the very fact of the employment of these children in these factories disables them from availing themselves of the ordinary facilities that exist for receiving instruction at school. They have to be in the factories for certain stated hours and therefore they cannot suit themselves to the hours during which they can receive instruction in ordinary schools. Secondly, under what is known as the split shift system, their presence in the factories is not confined to the actual hours during which they have to work; but they are expected to be about the factories, on the premises or somewhere near by, because their work is divided into two parts and they have to do part of the work in the morning and the other part in the afternoon. Therefore, the total time for which they must be present in or near

the factories is really much longer than the actual period for which they have to work. And thirdly, the parents of most of these children are employed in the factories, and being so employed they are prevented from exercising. that supervision over their children which ordinarily they might be expected to exercise. Therefore, Sir, on these three grounds of justice, I urge that the factory-owners should be made responsible for the education of these children. This is only fair, because the factory owners make money out of the children, make money also out of the children's parents, and further work in their employ makes it impossible for the children's parents to exercise that supervision over the education and other interests of the children which they might otherwise have exercised.

Then, Sir, I urge my proposal on the ground of humanity. The sole justification for a measure like this is its humanity, and humane considerations must apply most to that section of the labouring population which is least able to take care of itself. Now, children are obviously the least able to take care of themselves, and therefore, if humane considerations are to apply anywhere and the State is to extend its protection on humane grounds to any section of the labour-population, that ought to be in the case of children. If the children are to be left to themselves, if after six or seven hours' work has been exacted from them they are to be turned into the street there to get into the ways of mischief-without anybody to look after them, their parents being engaged in the factories-then I say the humanity on which the State bases itself in introducing this legislation is not extended to the children.

I think, therefore, Sir, that some provision ought to be made for the education of the children employed in factories, after they have performed their work. The half-timers are between the ages of 9 and 14; I am quite willing that the provision to be made should be for children between the ages of 9 and 12 only. Of course, it is true, as the last Factory Commission has pointed out, that there is no compulsory education for anybody in this

country. It is also true that the Commission has expressed itself against compulsory provision for the education of factory children; but even so, the Commission has recomfhended very strongly that something should be done to ensure the education of these children and that local bodies and the Government and the factory-owners should all concert measures together for the purpose. The earlier Factory Commission, however-that of 1890-is emphatic in its recommendation that provision ought to be made for the education of the factory children, and I prefer its recommendation to that of the latter Factory Commission. This is what the earlier Factory Commission, which first provided that children should be employed as half-timers only, recommended:

If our suggestion that children should be employed as halftimers is adopted, it will be found most important to provide some means of instruction during two or three of the spare hours that the children are off work. It is not for us to discuss here the advantages of elementary education, and general control and supervision of the rising generation of operatives. These are too obvious to require any advocacy from us. What we would say is that Local Governments and municipalities should meet mill-owners half-way and, as is done in regard to children under other circumstances, contribute half the cost of teaching factory children. Supposing, for instance, that a mill, employing 100 children, spends 16 rupees a month for two teachers; the Municipality or Government should double this subscription and provide two or more teachers. Looking at it from a pecuniary point of view, the expenditure is so trifling that we cannot doubt that schools would be started without delay in connection with all mills employing a large number of children. It was not to be expected that schools started under the present circumstances could be a success. For it is impossible that a tired and jaded child (there was no class of half-timers before 1890) can work his brain to any useful purpose after his body has been thoroughly worn out with physical exertion.

Then, Sir, our friend, the Hon'ble Mr. Fremantle, in a very interesting report which he submitted some time ago to the Government of the United Provinces on the condition of labour in Upper India, takes up this question and makes a very strong recommendation. I think he puts the case so well that I cannot do better than read to the Council what he says:

The first step, says Mr. Fremantle, is to compel observance of the law as to the employment of children. When the children

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