Page:The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 1.djvu/188



8. On the Tuesday following, Your Lordship's Petitioners thereupon sent a petition to the Honourable the Legislative Council, which was presented through the Honourable Mr. Campbell, but the petition was ruled not in order, because it contained references to the Honourable the Legislative Assembly, and the Bill was read a second time. Your Lordship's Petitioners, as soon as they knew this, lost no time in addressing another petition to the Honourable Council, which was sent on the Thursday following, and was presented on Friday through the same Honourable Member. In the meanwhile, i.e., within one day after the second reading, the Bill had passed the committee stage. The Honourable Mr. Campbell moved the postponement of the third reading of the Bill, in order that the petition last mentioned might be considered. The motion, however, was not carried on the ground that the petition was presented too late. The Bill had been hardly four days before the Honourable Council, as Your Lordship will notice. Your Lordship's Petitioners may also mention that a deputation was appointed by the leading members of the Indian community to wait upon His Excellency the Honourable Sir Walter F. Hely-Hutchinson, who very kindly and courteously received the deputation. In order to know the individual opinions of the Honourable Members of the two Houses, a Committee of Indians sent a printed circular to the Honourable Members requesting them to answer certain questions. Your Petitioners append hereto the Circular and the Memorandum containing the questions. So far, only one Honourable Member has been good enough to send a reply, but he, too, has not answered the questions.

9. Before proceeding to criticize the Franchise Bill, Your Lordship's Petitioners would beg to dispose of one point that has been used against Your Lordship's Petitioners, namely, that they approached the Honourable Assembly too late. As to this, your Petitioners would simply state that they were not technically too late, and that the issues involved were, and are, so important, and the Bill so vitally affected and affects Her Majesty’s Indian subjects that the Government, or the Honourable the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly might well have reconsidered their decision and thoroughly investigated Your Lordship’s Petitioners’ case before allowing the Bill to pass the third reading.

10. During the debate it was stated, as also it is stated in the preamble of the Bill, that the Asiatic communities have never exercised