Page:The Life of Lokamanya Tilak.djvu/117

97 At the Bombay High Court, the trial commenced on August 8th, 1897 before Mr. Justice Strachey and a Special Jury of nine of whom six were Europeans, unacquainted with the Marathi language, "What with the tendencies of the times, the present temper of the European community in India, the prejudice excited against the Mahrattas of Poona since the murders of Mr. Rand and Lieut. Ayerst"* the verdict was practically a foregone conclusion. "The case was one of the greatest importance and involved the settlement of grave issues. It was too much to expect so young and inexperienced a judge as Mr. Arthur Strachey to rise equal to the importance of the issues before him"*. Had the trial been held at Poona both the Judge and the Jury could have acquitted themselves better on account of their intimate knowledge of the Vernacular.

In vain did Mr. Tilak protest that the translations of the incriminating articles were incorrect; in vain did Mr. Pugh, his Counsel point to Mr. Tilak 's fair criticism of the Government during the Plague administration, his complimentary language with respect to Lord Sandhurst which showed that he (Mr. Tilak) could have had no animus against the Government. Though Mr. Lang, the Advocate-General, was scrupulously fair, the Judge delivered a strongly prejudiced charge to the Jury. "It seemed that the Judge and the Advocate-General had interchanged places." "Mr. Justice Strachey freely referred to the famine and the plague * * told about the employment of British troops not being liked by the people * * passed on to the Poona murders" and "without the least hesita-