Page:Heroes of the hour- Mahatma Gandhi, Tilak Maharaj, Sir Subramanya Iyer.djvu/249

 from strife, they were as a fact much more accustomed to manage their affairs than we happen to be at the present day. Those who think and speak of British Rule as though it had always been by our side to keep us as a spoon-fed orphan left in the hands of a foreign matron, and stand aghast at the idea of our burdening ourselves with Self-government, have only to recall the state of Europe and England when the father was born and what it is to-day when the son submits his memorandum for the better government of India ! Then, Napoleon's first Consulate had not come into existence and ten years were yet to elapse for his becoming Emperor and shaking the peace of Europe as Wilhelm Kaiser alone has done after him. Now, the rule of the Romanofs has terminated and the Democracy of Russia is on the first adventurous voyage of most Democracies that overthrow Absolutism. In England at the time of the birth of the father, pocket-boroughs were in full prime, and thirty-five years had to elapse for cities like Manchester to obtain representation. Now, during the life time of the son, the House of Lords has passed into political sterility. In India, at that time, Tippu had