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ment on their own responsibility, in the exercise of powers with which they were fully invested. Let us take another instance. A grave situation was developed at Chandpur, an important railway station in East Bengal, owing to an influx of coolies from Assam, who had struck work and were returning to their homes. I was asked by some of my friends to run up to Chandpur, although the matter was one that did not concern my department, and the Government was already dealing with it. I went and saw Sir Henry Wheeler, since Governor of Behar, who was then in charge of the department. As he himself was going down to Chandpur, he did not think it necessary that I should do so. Sir Henry Wheeler went down to Chandpur. He stayed there for days together and made an elaborate report. But our critics were not satisfied, and the matter was discussed at a meeting of the Legislative Council. Mr. Kissory Mohan Chowdhury, a member of Council representing the Rajshahi Division in North Bengal, charged us with doing nothing. He said:

'Though there was public agitation our popular Ministers did not think it necessary to do anything, though we expected much from them. We expected that they would personally go there to see things for themselves, but that was not done. No contribution was made by them, though from the Hon. Sir Henry Wheeler's report it would be seen that the coolies were suffering very much. But nothing was done by our popular Ministers.'

As soon as the hon. member sat down, I got up and challenged his statement. I said:

'I challenge the statement which has been made by the hon'ble mem- ber, and which he has been repeating again and again—that the Ministers have done nothing. He ought to have known that, as soon as I heard from the Chairman of the Chandpur Municipality that there was a chance of the outbreak of cholera, I sent out Rs. 6,000 and nine doctors to look after the coolies; and yet my hon'ble friend says that we did nothing, as if by repetition he could convert falsehood into truth.'

My friend climbed down by saying 'I did not know it.'

One other incident in this connexion, and I close this chapter of my reminiscences.

In October 1922, a disastrous flood overwhelmed North Bengal, causing havoc and loss of life over an extensive area. The Govern- ment was then at Darjeeling, and I was there as a member of the Government, having fixed Darjeeling as the place for the meetings