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elected by them, and on no account be the Magistrate-Collector of the district; (3) that the functions and powers vested in the existing Committees should be increased in view of their amalgamation in the proposed Local Boards.’
It will be seen that the views set forth in this resolution formed the main features of the resolutions on Local Self-government issued by Lord Ripon. They urged (1) the constitution of the local bodies upon a popular and elective basis, (2) the enlargement of their powers, and (3) the election of their chairman by the local bodies themselves. These were the basic principles of the Resolutions of the Government of India. The meeting was held on February 18, 1881; the resolutions of the Government of India were issued in October, 1881, and May, 1882. Here was a conspicuous instance of almost perfect accord between the official and the popular view, and be it noted that it was Lord Ripon who soon after, as Chancellor of the University of Calcutta, declared that the time was fast approaching when popular opinion even in India would become the irresistible and unresisted master of the Government. No Viceroy did more to promote this blessed consummation. The impress of his policy has left its enduring mark upon Indian administration, and more than one Viceroy has essayed to walk in his footsteps.
But the question of Local Self-government formed only a part of the larger movement for the strengthening of public opinion and the enthronement of the popular view. Even before we had taken up the question of Local Self-government, the attention of the Bengal leaders had been drawn to what indeed is the most vital of our problems, namely, representative government for India. The Indian Association had appointed a committee, and I had already placed myself in communication on the subject with Mr. Shaw, late of the Bombay Civil Service, and Sir David Wedderburn.
In this connexion it may not be altogether out of place to notice the steady development of our national aspirations. In the sixties of the last century, and even earlier, the efforts of our national leaders were directed to securing for the people of India an adequate share of the higher offices of trust and responsibility under the Government. The Queen’s Proclamation of 1858 had stirred their ambitions in this direction, and in season and out of season they pressed for the redemption of the pledges contained in that message. In Western India, the movement was led by Mr. Nowroji Furdoonji