THE CIVIL MARRIAGE BILL.

[On 26th February 1912, the Hon'ble Mr. Basu moved in the Imperial Legislative Council that the Civil Marriage Bill be referred to a Select Committee. Mr. Gokhale, in supporting the motion, spoke as follows :-]

Sir, after the speeches of the Hon'ble the Home Member and the Hon'ble the Law Member, it is clear that there is no chance of this motion being adopted by the Council. In spite of this, however, I would like to say a word, by way of appeal, to the Government to ask them to reconsider their position even at this last moment and let the Bill proceed to the proposed Select Committee. It is quite true that a very large majority of our countrymen are strongly against this Bill. At the same time even the strongest opponent of the Bill cannot deny that there is a very influential and enlightened minority in support of the Bill. That being so, I think it is due to the supporters of this Bill, to their position in the country and to the interests of Indian progress which they represent, that the Government should allow the Bill to be examined by a Select Committee; because it is only a Select Committee that can properly examine a measure of this kind. Personally, Sir, I am strongly in favour of the Bill. It is quite true, as we have seen from opinions expressed both in this Council and outside, that the Bill represents ideas which are in advance of the views of the bulk of the Hindu and Muhammadan communities to-day; but I am quite sure that with the spread of higher education among Indian women, with late marriages coming more and more into vogue-and late marriages must lead to choice marriages, .., to free choice by the marrying parties-with these things coming, with the dignity of individual freedom realised better and better, and last, but not least, with the steady fusion of different creeds and different races, which is bound to take place under the stress of our growing nationality, to which my Hon'ble friend Mr. Ali Imam referred a reference which seems to have been

misunderstood by my Hon'ble friend Mr. Mudholkar-I say, under all these influences, the day cannot be far distant when a measure like the one before us will find its way to the Statute-book. And, Sir, when that day comes, the labours of my Hon'ble friend will be duly recognised. For the present, however, we must admit that owing to the apprehensions of orthodox people that have been aroused, and the attitude which the Government have adopted in this matter, the passing of this Bill becomes practically an impossibility. But that does not mean that the opportunity which has now arisen to examine the question of amending the law of 1872 need be thrown away altogether. Sir, there is a strong feeling in some quarters that this opportunity may be utilised at least to give relief to certain sections of the Indian communitycertain denominations—who have a real and reasonable grievance under the existing law, without wounding the susceptibilities of other sections. To mention only one suggestion out of several, if the Bill were so amended that instead of omitting the present negative declaration of the Act of 1872, that declaration was retained with an alternative positive declaration added, saying that a person belonged to one of the Churches enumerated, that, I think, would meet the requirements of the Brahmo community and I do not think that there would be any objection to this on the part of even the most orthodox people. Under such a provision, a person would be able to come under the Act either by declaring that he or she did not profess this, that, or a third faith, or by saying that he or she was a member of this or that Samaj or Church. I gather from what the Hon'ble Maharaja of Burdwan and the Hon'ble Mr. Malaviya said to-day that they would have no objection to such an amendment. If the Select Committee is disposed to examine the question in this spirit and find some such way out of the difficulty, I do not see why that should not be allowed by the Council. I do not see, Sir, why the whole of the Bill should be lost altogetherwhy we should not try to save as much of it as we can.

One more thing. My Hon'ble friend has proposed a Select Committee on which official Members are in a major

ity. The question will therefore remain under the control of the Government even in Select Committee. If my 'Hon'ble friend, the mover of the Bill, takes at any stage a line in the Committee which the Government are unable to approve, they can prevent a favourable report being made to the Council, and even at the last moment they can throw out the Bill in Council. I would therefore make a strong appeal to the Government to reconsider their decision and allow this Bill to go to the Select Committee.

THE POLICE ADMINISTRATION.

[On 27th February 1912, the Hon'ble Mr. Basu moved a Resolution in the Imperial Legislative Council recommending the appointment of a Committee of officials and non-officials to inquire into Police Administration in India and the necessity for amending the law relating to confessions in Criminal cases. Mr. Gokhale, in supporting the Resolution, spoke as follows:-]

Sir, I rise to support the Resolution which my Hon'ble friend Mr. Basu has moved for the adoption of the Council, and in doing so I would like to say at the outset that because non-official critics of the police administration of this country deem it their duty to make complaints about the character of that administration, whether in this Council or outside, they should not be understood, on that account and by reason of that fact only, to lay the blame of the defects of that administration at the door of the British Government as such. I am free to confess, Sir, that the police administration in Native States is as bad as in British territories, if anything, even worse; and I will go further and say that from such records as we have of pre-British days, for instance, at Poona, which was at one time the capital of the whole Mahratta Confederacy, things were as bad as in these days. The difficulty in discussing this question calmly arises from the fact that when a complaint is made about the defects of the present-day police administration, high English officials deem it their duty, owing to the very peculiarity of their character-and that is really one of the strong points of their race-to stand by the instruments whom they employ and interpret such criticism as directed against themselves, and that imports feeling into a discussion which otherwise might very well be conducted without feeling. It is quite true, Sir, as has been pointed out by several Hon'ble Members, that the inquiry by Sir Andrew Fraser's Commission is a comparatively recent inquiry; but since the Commission reported, two questions have come very prominently to the front.

One is the manner in which confessions are obtained and the general unreliability of such confessions, and the second is the manner in which the work of the new Criminal Investigation Department is done. As regards confessions, the Under Secretary of State for India stated some time ago that the Government of India were considering the matter, and that an amendment of the law on the subject would shortly be undertaken. And I, for one, expected that this session legislation would be introduced on the subject. Very probably the Law Member is going to take part in this debate. I see he has been taking notes. At any rate, I hope he will, and I trust he will tell us when the legislation outlined by the Under Secretary for India will be produced. As we have been assured that the Government themselves are considering this question, I think my Hon'ble friend, who has moved this Resolution, will be satisfied if a statement is made as to the intentions of Government on the subject.

The other question, namely, the operations of the Criminal Investigation Department, stands on a different footing. When Sir Andrew Fraser's Commission inquired, the Department was not constituted on its present basis. In reply to a question which I put last year in this Council, the late Home Member laid on the table a statement showing the growth and cost of the Department from year to year since 1905, when the Department was first created. The cost has been going up very largely, but that is a financial matter which I do not want to raise to-day. What I however want to say is this. The Department, on its present basis, has been in existence for the last seven years and there is so far no sign that its operations would be curtailed. Now, Sir, I am free to admit that during the somewhat anxious times through which the Government had to pass during the last few years, it was perhaps necessary for the Government to devise a machinery whereby they could keep in touch with the various movements that existed or were being started in the country. I am speaking with special reference to the political branch of the Criminal Investigation Department. I am also free to admit that while there was

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