Page:The Life of Lokamanya Tilak.djvu/92

72 made to the Working Committee. Mr. Tilak had secured the site, prepared plans and estimates, sent round men and letters for subscription, actually collected some money. For all this and other work, he was praised by Mr. C. Vijayaraghavachariar who expressed his surprise that Poona should have commenced work in right earnest so early. And yet the reformers of the Working Committee wanted to sit in judgment upon Mr. Tilak. Mr. Tilak showed how they themselves had shirked work and had thrown all the burden upon him. He produced the report of the Working Committee of the preceding year's (1894) Congress at Madras and challenged his opponents to compare that work with his. Discomfitted, the reformers had to submit to passing a resolution expressing their satisfaction at Mr. Tilak's work.

Discomfiture, however did not bring repentance. Taking advantage of Mr. Tilak's temporary absence from Poona, they made attempts to remove the Congress Office from his residence. The Sub-Committees were swamped with reformers and instead of adhering to the original resolution, fixing one vote for every gentleman who paid Rs. 50 and upwards, it was decided (Oct. 18) that those who paid upwards of Rs. 50 were entitled to vote not only on their own behalf but separately for heir wives and children! A more ridiculous resolution cannot be imagined and this the reformers could carry through only on account of the split in the Orthodox party. And yet Mr. Tilak was supposed to have been in league with Sardar Natu!

Mr. Tilak exposed all these tactics in a circular letter