Page:The Life of Lokamanya Tilak.djvu/195

 pressly re-afi&rmed, and secondly such passages, if any, in Dr. Ghose's speech as may be offensive to the Nationalist Party, are omitted." Your's etc., B. G. TILAK.

This letter was taken by the gentleman to whom it was addressed to the Moderate leaders but no compromise was arrived at, as the Moderates were all along bent upon the retrogression of the Congress at any cost. A Convention of the Moderates was, therefore, held, in the Pandal, the next day, where the Nationalists were not allowed to go, even when some of them were ready and offered to sign the declaration required. On the other hand, those, who did not wish to go back from the position taken up at the Calcutta Congress and honestly desired to work further on the same lines, met in a separate place the same evening to consider what steps might be taken to continue the work of the Congress in future. Thus ended the proceedings of the 23rd Indian National Congress amidst confusion and in bitterness, leaving the parties more estranged than ever, thus making easy the task of those who were unfriendly to the cause of Indian freedom.

Let us now examine a little minutely Mr. Tilak's contention, that the Congress autocrats were bent upon a retrograde step by tampering with the four Calcutta resolutions, on Swaraj, Swadeshi, Boycott and National Education. These resolutions had been unanimously accepted at Calcutta after a long and heated discussion between the leaders of both the parties. Resolutions