Page:The Life of Lokamanya Tilak.djvu/309

 his estate and in the evening of his life, with tremendous odds manifestly against him, fight with an opponent basking in the sunshine of the Imperial Govern- ment. Even this * blunder ' was creditable to him, in that it showed his unflinching faith in the British Justice ; and it is doubtful whether the victory of Sir Valentine Chirol has really helped the Government when this victory has been followed by the loss of faith in British Justice, in the minds of thousands and thousands of Indians, whose confidence in the truth and justice of Mr. Tilak's cause was instinctive. When the greatest Indian of the century was described before the highest Judicial Tribunal of the Empire as one whose reputation was not worth the smallest coin in existence, when every kind of abusive epithet was hurled at his devoted head with a levity truly disgusting, need we wonder if people commenced to beHeve that even British Justice is capricious and uncertain ? Mr. Tilak's financial embarrassments — amounting to nearly three lakhs of rupees — were, within a few weeks removed by the love and loyalty of his friends and followers, but the rude shock which India's faith in the "British Justice*' has received, does not angur well for the future.