Page:Allan Octavian Hume, C.B.; Father of the Indian National Congress.djvu/176

 vain ; and in so far as the two customs against which you righteously inveigh tend inter alia to depress that element, all are bound to sympathize with and support you in your proposed reforms : not overrating their importance, not pressing them too furiously before their time is ripe, but accepting them as two, amongst several, reforms by which our women must be raised to their rightful status, before India, whether still affiliated to England or not, can become either truly prosperous or truly free.

In conclusion I must apologize for the length of this rambling letter r.nd even more so for presuming thus to differ in some degree from one so much better entitled to speak with authority than myself. But you insisted on having my thoughts on the subject, and right or wrong, in all their natural ruggedness, you have them now.

Yours sincerely, sc}}