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first start. He was Governor of South Africa, and South Africa stinks in the nostrils of every patriotic Indian for its anti-Indian policy. It is possible that the Governor, being the chief of a self- governing community, has little or nothing to do with the policy followed. But it is difficult to dissociate a policy from the head of the State. Public opinion is not always nice in its discriminations, but it carries everything before it, by its massiveness and weight. I further remembered that the suggestion of a Joint Parliamentary Committee emanated from him; and we all condemned it. I think we were premature in forming this adverse opinion. The Joint Com- mittee was indeed helpful to Indian interests and the cause of the Reforms.

Next to the Chairman, the most 'striking figure on that Committee was Mr. Montagu. The Committee was his own; and at its open meetings he had a masterful hand in shaping its proceedings. His cross-examination was searching and effective; hostile witnesses writhed under it. One witness, a lawyer and an ex-Indian judge, was reduced to pulp, and he had to admit that, being away in the country, he had not studied all the papers. Lord Sinha inspired confidence. His demeanour was quiet and dignified. His examina- tion and cross-examination of the witnesses was that of the practised lawyer: no offence was given, but the witness was sometimes turned inside out. The general attitude of the members of the Committee was friendly, except that of Lord Sydenham, and Lord Midleton was disposed to follow him, though at a distance. I once thought of interviewing the latter, but i gave up the idea, as the members of the Committee were in one sense judges, called to decide upon evidence before them.

The number of witnesses examined was quite large, and after a time they were examined in batches of three or four. The usual procedure was for the witness to make an oral statement, and then be examined upon it by the members of the Committee, one after another. I was not examined upon my statement either by Mr. Montagu or Lord Sinha. I was somewhat shortly cross-examined by Mr. Ben Spoor, a Labour member. He evidently had been primed by some members of the Congress Deputation. I was asked whether I had not moved a Resolution in the Congress fixing a time-limit within which responsible government was to be esta- blished. The object apparently was to convict me of contradiction, as my evidence before the Committee did not support the idea of