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should do. Among them were the late Mr. A. Rasool, Babu Ananda Chunder Roy and Babu Ambika Churn Majumder. Their unani- mous opinion was that I should decline, for, if I stood for election to the Bengal Legislative Council, the people of East Bengal would lose all faith in the leaders of West Bengal and the Partition agita- tion would receive an irreparable blow. The political leaders of East Bengal had abstained from standing for election to the Council of the new province and they naturally expected that we should do the same. I accepted their advice. To me the modification of the Partition of Bengal was the most pressing national concern, eclipsing. all others then before the public.

There was yet another serious ground of objection. Under the Regulations as passed, several prominent leaders of the Moderate party stood disqualified. How could I enter the Council with the ban of disqualification excluding my colleagues? That was the decision of a conference of some of the leaders of the Moderate party. I accepted it and informed Sir Edward Baker that, deeply grateful as I was to him for the kindly consideration which in this as in other matters I had received at his hands, I must respectfully decline to avail myself of the Government notification removing my disqualification and to stand as a candidate for election to the Reformed Council. I may here add that my refusal did not in the slightest degree interfere with the cordiality of my relations with Sir Edward Baker, whose early death I deplore and whose memory I revere.