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House came down with uproarious applause. Sir Hugh Graham, the doyen of the Canadian Press, who was present at the Confer- ence, said to me afterwards that it was a 'model of a debating speech'. Another member of the Press Conference remarked that 'Mr. Banerjea wiped the floor with Lord Cromer'. It was generally felt that the retort was merited and I was glad that I had the oppor- tunity of vindicating the Indian Press before the assembled journalists of the Empire.

Every day we had business meetings supplemented by parties. It was one continuous round of work, enlivened by festivities. The English are not a demonstrative people, but they are truly hospit- able, and they show their cordiality to their guests in ways that are not to be mistaken. At Sheffield every one of us was presented with a knife, the kind of work for which Sheffield is noted, and at Dempster, after we had inspected the motor works, we were asked to take with us a handsome pocket-book as a souvenir of our visit. At the dinner and luncheon tables the talk was frank, cordial, and free from reserve and restraint. At the luncheon given to us at All Souls' College, Oxford, the Regius Professor of Greek of the University (Professor Gilbert Murray), who was sitting next to me, said of Lord Curzon, who presided and spoke, 'Here is a man who could set off the most trifling commonplaces in the most superb ornaments of language.'

Visiting England after twelve years I could not help noticing some of the changes that had taken place. One thing that struck me was that both teetotalism and vegetarianism were making head- way, and, what was still more remarkable, as in the case of all social movements, their indirect influence upon the consumption of meat and alcohol was appreciable. But let me proceed with my narrative.

On the fourth day of the Conference Lord Morley was in the chair, and the subject of discussion was 'Journalism and Litera- ture'. I spoke at that meeting, and Mr. T. P. O'Connor, M. P., who followed me, paid me a high compliment. I think it was Lord Morley who at that Conference described Literature as an art, and Journalism as an industry. We were invited to Aldershot and witnessed a review of fourteen thousand troops. I was here intro- duced to Lord Haldane, who was then Secretary of State for War and had come down from London to receive the Press delegates. I had a short conversation with him in which I referred to the Partition and the great grievance it was to the people of Bengal.