ludicrous in the extreme. The attempt at boycott would be felt by the Government, if only the number of men wanted by it for its work failed at any time to come forward. Well, with all respect, he must decline to consider that as a practical proposal. Finally, there was the boycott of honorary offices, such as seats on Local and Municipal Boards and on Legislative Councils. If the present men resigned, enough men would still be forthcoming to take their places, and those who resigned would soon find that they had only thrown away such opportuni-ties as could be had at present of serving the public. They must seek steadily to increase what little powers of administration and control they possessed, and they would be injuring and not advancing the interests they had at heart by the course proposed. The speaker said that they must all resist as much as they could the attempt to shift the foundations of their public life. He would make one suggestion to those who advocated a general boycott as the sole, or indeed any, means of achieving self-government in the present state of India. Nonpayment of taxes was the most direct and the most effective form of passive resistance, and it had, moreover, the merit of bringing home to each man the responsibility of his own action. If some of those who were talking of employing passive resistance to achieve selfgovernment at the present stage of the country's progress would adopt that form of passive resistance, they would soon find out where they stood and how far they were supported.

In concluding his address, which had lasted for an hour and a half, Mr. Gokhale exhorted his countrymen to sink small differences and work together whole-heartedly in the service of India. "We cannot," he said. " allow ourselves to be split up into small sections fighting with one another for the sake of petty differences. After all, there is a destiny which is really shaping our ends, and we are all engaged in merely rough-hewing them. Whoever promotes union in the country, whoever preaches Swadeshi, whoever inculcates lessons of self-sacrifice, whoever builds up in any shape or form the strength of the nation

politically, socially, industrially, morally-he is a fellowworker, a brother. The struggle before us is a long and a weary one, and while the thought of it should stimulate all our energies, undue impatience will only recoil upon our own heads. Nation-building is nowhere an easy task. In India it is beset with difficulties which are truly formidable and which will tax to the uttermost all our resources, and all our devotion. Let us not forget that we are at a stage of the country's progress when our achievements are bound to be small, and our disappointments frequent and trying. That is the place which it has pleased Providence to assign to us in this struggle, and our responsibility is ended when we have done the work which belongs to that place. It will, no doubt, be given to our countrymen of future generations to serve India by their successes; we, of the present generation, must be content to serve her mainly by our failures. For, hard though it be, out of those failures the strength will come which in the end will accomplish great tasks.'

THE SWADESHI MOVEMENT.

[In the second week of February 1907, the Hon Mr. Gokhale delivered a series of public addresses at Lucknow. The following address, the second of the series, was delivered on 9th February 1907, Raja Rampal Singh being in the chair:-]

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,-I propose to speak to you to-day of the economic condition of India and the Swadeshi movement. One of the most gratifying signs of the present times is the rapid growth of the Swadeshi sentiment all over the country during the last two years. I have said more than once here, but I think the idea bears repetition, that Swadeshism at its highest is not merely an industrial movement, but that it affects the whole life of the nation-that Swadeshism at its highest is a deep, passionate, fervent, all-embracing love of the motherland, and that this love seeks to show itself, not in one sphere of activity only, but in all it invades the whole man, and it will not rest until it has raised the whole man. Now the first thing I want to say about this movement is that it has come here to stay. We often have movements which make a little noise for a time and then disappear without leaving any permanent mark behind. I think it safe to say that the Swadeshi movement is not going to be one of that kind, and my own personal conviction is that in this movement we shall ultimately find the true salvation of India. However, ladies and gentlemen, I do not wish to speak to you to-day about Swadeshism in general. The more immediate question before us is Swadeshism as applied to the present economic situation of India-its scope and character, the materials with which it has to work, and the difficulties it has to overcome before it can achieve in any degree the true industrial regeneration of the country.

Gentlemen, as Mr. Ranade once pointed out, the industrial domination of one people by another attracts much less attention than the political domination of a

foreign people. The industrial domination is less visible and does its work in a more insidious manner. The disadvantages of a political domination lie very much on the surface. We see a foreign race monopolising all power and authority and keeping the people in a state of subjection. These are facts which we observe and feel every day of our lives. Human feelings often matter more to humanity than human interests, and when your feelings are hurt in various directions, as in a state of subjection, they are bound to be-I do not mean to throw any unnecessary blame on any one-their thought fills you night and day and makes you think constantly of the fact that you are living under a foreign domination. On the other hand, the industrial domination of one people by another may come in an attractive garb. If, as has been the case with India, this foreign domination comes in the shape of more finished articles-especially articles that administer to the daily wants of a community-you unconsciously welcome the domination, you fall a victim to its temptations and its attractiveness. And it is only when the evil grows beyond certain limits, that your attention is drawn to it. Now this is precisely what has happened in the case of India. As soon as Western education came to be imparted to the people of this country, their first thoughts were directed to their political status. Of course they also thought of their social institutions. Those who are acquainted with the history of the last fifty years, know that the struggle for political and social reforms started almost simultaneously, but I do not wish to go into that on this occasion. What I want to point out is that the thought of the industrial domination of India by England did not really occur to men's minds at that time. At any rate, it did not occur in that pointed manner in which the thought of political domination did. The result was that the main current of our public activity came to be directed towards the realization of our political aspirations, and about 22 years ago when the Congress came into existence for the political advancement of the people, the question of this industrial domination, though it had struck a few thoughtful minds, did not receive that consideration at the hands of the leaders of the people that it deserved. However, the

industrial problem and its importance are now receiving their due recognition, and to-day at any rate we appear to have gone so far in this direction that there is now the risk of the industrial problem actually throwing into the shade the political problem which, however, to a great extent lies at the root of the industrial problem.

Gentlemen, when we come to this question of India's industrial domination by England, we come to what may be described as the most deplorable result of British rule in this country. In other matters there are things on the credit side and things on the debit side. Take, for instance, the political and administrative results of British rule. We have here the shutting out of a whole race from positions of real trust and responsibility where powers of initiative can be developed, and this is producing disastrous results on the character of the people. We also see that the forcible disarming of a population is bound to crush. the manhood of the nation. In these directions we find that a steady deterioration of the race has set in. But there are compensating advantages, and I am not sure that the balance is not on the latter side. Thus, the introduction of Western education, with its liberalising influence, has been a great blessing to the people. We now understand better the necessity of equal treatment for all; we also see that unless the status of woman is raised, man by himself will not be able to advance very far; and altogether this Western education is doing most noble work in the country. Then the British have established, on the whole, equal justice between Indian and Indian-as between European and Indian, that is a different matter-but between Indian and Indian it is equal, though it is costly, and that is more than can be said of previous rulers. Railways, Telegraphs, Post Offices and other modern appliances of material civilization have also been introduced into India by the present rulers, and it is fair to acknowledge that these things have added greatly to the comforts and conveniences of life and are a powerful help to our progress. Lastly, there are the blessings of peace and of order well and firmly established. These are things which must be set against the steady deterioration