Page:The Life of Lokamanya Tilak.djvu/273

 Tilak was desirous of keeping the door open for their return to the Congress Camp. On the fourth day of the Congress (September ist 19 18), the Resolution on the Reform Scheme was moved by (the Hon'ble) Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya in a closely-reasoned speech which will go down to future generations as a historic and statesmanlike pronouncement. (The Hon'ble) Sir Dinshaw M, Petit, the distinguished Parsi millionaire seconded the Resolution in a lucid speech which described how "the Resolution dispels the fear of some of our friends and shatters the hope of our enemies that the Congress was going to reject the seheme without discussing its merits or demerits." Eleven leading Congressmen supported the Resolution. Pandit Motilal Nehru showed how the Congress was " able to perform the impossible feat of uniting its appreciation, recognition, and in plain English, its condemnation " of the Montague-Chelmsford Report. Mr. Fazlul Haq proved how " though we hear of the change of the angle of vision, it is either an obtuse angle or an acute angle but never the right angle." Mr. Jayakar showed how the " taint of the school-master "was responsible for the "periodic examinations "set for the Indian people. Mrs. Besant wound up the discussion in an impassioned speech. Speaking to the Resolution, Mr, Tilak said : —

"What we have tried to do in the Subjects' Commitee is to distil our different opinions, and it was very difficult to distil " the gourds and the cucumbers " together. It was no easy task ; even our enemies had considered it to be difficult. They believed that we were engaged in an impossible business and that by the beginning of September the Congress would be no-