Page:Allan Octavian Hume, C.B.; Father of the Indian National Congress.djvu/117

 to Congress workers on the 16th of February 1892, regarding a proposed memorial to Pandit Ajudhia Nath? As is well known, there was no one for whom he had a more sincere personal regard than Pandit Ajudhia Nath, but in this letter he wrote, "For God's sake waste no money on memorials or any other minor enterprise; give every farthing you can spare to the general cause." The purpose for which he claimed the money was for propaganda in this country: "Our only hope," he wrote, "lies in awakening the British public to a sense of the wrongs of our people." What then is my suggestion? It is this: Mr. Hume's dearest wish was for the emancipation of India, and he held that this could be secured only by an insistent appeal to the British people. The best memorial therefore to the faithful friend who has now passed away would be an "Allan Hume Memorial Fund," having for its object to perpetuate his work, and prevent the destruction of his dearest hopes.



In 1894 he bade farewell to India, and on the 18th of March of that year an address expressing affection and gratitude was presented to him by the Bombay Presidency Association, signed with the honoured names of Pherozeshah Mehta, President, and Dinsha Edalji Wacha, N. G. Chandavarkar, and A. M. Dharamsi, Honorary Secretaries. Replying to this address, Mr. Hume gave a forecast of world politics, as affecting India: at that time the forces of militarism and reaction in every country seemed to be gaining strength; in England the party opposed to Indian aspirations would probably come into power; a great European war was possible, with the most disastrous consequences. There were black clouds darkening the horizon; and Mr. 103