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6 Ordinary Members of the Viceroy's Executive Council (Law, Finance, Home, Revenue and Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, and Military Supply).

7 Official representatives of the seven Provinces (Madras, Bombay, Bengal, United Provinces, Punjab, Burma and Central Provinces).

9 Other Officials, such as Director-General of Education, Chairman of the Railway Board,

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etc.

5 Non-Official Members nominated by the Viceroy.

25 Elected Members

13 Representatives of the seven Provinces elected by Provincial Councils-(Madras, Bombay, Bengal, United Provinces, Punjab and Burma, 2 each; Central Provinces 1). 3 Representatives of landed gentry (Bengal 1, Central Provinces 1; and Madras and United Provinces alternately 1); Bombay, Punjab and Burma do not need special representation for the landed gentry.

5 Representatives of Industry and Commerce (Calcutta Chamber of Commerce 1; Bombay Chamber of Commerce 1; Madras and Cawnpore (U. P.) Chambers of Commerce alternately 1; Planters of Assam, Behar and Southern India 1 by turns; and Bombay Millowners' Association, representing the Indian Mercantile Community 1).

4 Representatives of the Mahomedan community elected by special Constituencies to be created (Bengal 1, United Provinces 1, Punjab 1, Madras and Bombay 1 alternately).

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A Provincial Legislative Council should consist of not less than 50 and not more than 100 Members.

Not less than half of the Members of a Provincial Council should be elected by areas, as far as possible one Member for each District-or by constituencies representing the general community without distinction of classor creed; not more than one-quarter should be elected by constituencies representing special interests; and the remainder should be nominated by the head of the Provincial Government.

Taking the Presidency of Bombay as an illustration, I would have there a Legislative Council consisting of 60 Members composed as follows :-

30 Elected Representatives

23 Elected by 23 Districts.

2 Bombay Corporation.

3 Karachi, Poona and Ahmedabad Municipalities, 1 each.

1 Bombay University.

1 Bombay Justices of the Peace.

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10 Representatives of special interests

4 Elected by special Mahomedan Constituencies (Bombay City 1, Northern, Central and Southern Divisions, 1 each. Sind may be expected to return at least 3 Mahomedan Members and so no special Mahomedan constituency is needed for Sind.)

2 Chambers of Commerce, Bombay & Karachi.
1 Millowners' Association.

1 Sardars in the Deccan.
1 Taluqdars of Guzerath,
1 Zemindars of Sind.

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20 Members of the Executive Council and official and Non-official Members nominated by the Governor.

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Functions

Subject to the veto of the President, a Legislative Council should have complete control over its own legislation. To meet extraordinary emergencies, the Viceroy's Legislative Council should have the reserve power to legislate in Provincial matters, after a Provincial Legislature has refused to pass such legislation.

A Provincial Government should be free to frame its own Budget of expenditure within the limits of the revenue assigned to it. Imperial and Provincial Budgets should be settled by Budget Committees of seven Members, of whom three should be nominated by the Non-official Members of the Legislative Council. When a Budget is laid before the Legislative Council, a general discussion should first be permitted and then Members should be allowed to bring forward proposals in the form of Resolutions on which the Council should, if required by the movers, divide. The whole discussion should be subject to a time-limit (not less than three days and not more than a week.)

Members of a Legislative Council should have the power to raise administrative questions at Meetings of the Council in three ways:-(a) By interpellations as at present, supplementary questions being permitted. (b) By a motion for papers, which the Government may accept or refuse. (c) By a Resolution, if not less than one-fourth of the non-official Members submit a requisition to the President to have the Resolution considered.

No Resolutions of a Legislative Council on the Budget or on questions of administration should take effect unless they are accepted by the President.

A Provincial Legislative Council should meet at least once a month.

DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION.

District Administration should be decentralised by freeing the heads of Districts largely from the present excessive Secretariat control of Provincial Governments, and substituting in place of the control so removed the control of public opinion on the spot. For this purpose, small District Councils, partly elected and partly nominated, should be created, whom the Collectors should be bound· to consult in all important matters. The powers that should be conferred on these Councils and the functions that should be assigned to them have been indicated in my Note on Decentralisation.

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT.

Municipalities. These should be divided into three classes. In all towns which are the head-quarters of the Imperial and Provincial Governments or in which there are other special interests, the system which at present prevails in the City of Bombay should be introduced. In all other towns, with a population above 15,000 inhabitants, the Municipal Boards should consist wholly of elected Members. In towns with a population below 15,000, they should consist of three-fourths elected and one-fourth nominated Non-official Members. Provision should be made for the Government exercising stringent control in cases of gross inefficiency or corruption.

District and Taluq Boards.-District Boards should be three-fourths elected and one-fourth nominated (nonofficials). Taluk Boards should be wholly elected. The resources at the disposal of these bodies should be materially increased.

Village Panchayats. In all villages with a population of 500 and above, a Village Panchayat should be created of five or seven Members, partly elected and partly nominated. Smaller villages may be grouped into unions or joined to larger adjoining villages. The powers and functions which may be entrusted to these Panchayats have been set forth in my Note on Decentralisation, where I have dealt with the whole question of extension of Local Self-Government in some detail.

THE "TIMES" AND THE REFORMS.

The following letter from Mr. Gokhale, written in Bombay on April 3, was published in the “ Times" of Monday (April 19), 1909:

With reference to the comments which have appeared in your columns on my note on constitutional reforms, submitted to the Secretary of State for India towards the end of September last, and the attacks made on the Indian Councils Bill for its supposed connexion with that note, will you kindly permit me to say a few words?

Last April I was deputed by the Presidency Association of Bombay to proceed to England and lay before the authorities there their views on the proposed constitutional reforms. Before this deputation the Association had submitted an exhaustive memorial to the Government of India on the subject, and they had also laid their views before the Decentralisation Commission, before whom I gave evidence on their behalf. In view of the extreme gravity of the situation in India, however, it was thought necessary to supplement the representations made in this country by similar representations in England. The Secretary of State gave me a most kind, ready, and patient hearing, and at his suggestion I drew up my note, embodying briefly the change that we advocated. The note was only a summary of the views laid before the Government of India and the Decentralisation Commission, with very slight modifications, suggested by my discussions with a number of public men in England. There was nothing private or personal about that note.

The publication of the despatches between the Government of India and the Secretary of State, and the statement by Lord Morley in the House of Lords, had an almost magical effect on the situation in India. And the unique deputation that waited on the Viceroy immediately afterwards, consisting of leading men from all classes of

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