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7

Journalism

Here I must interrupt for a moment the narrative of these political activities, in which I had my part and share, to refer to a personal undertaking which I believe greatly helped our political work.

The Press in India in the seventies of the last century was not as vocal or as powerful as it is to-day; but even then it was a great instrument of propagandism. I felt that an organ of our own was needed to help us in our political work. I had before me the example of the Hindoo Patriot, which, under the editorship of Kristo Das Pal, had become the first Indian newspaper in Bengal, and perhaps in India, exercising great influence over the people and the Government.

I could start an independent paper of my own or take up an old one. I preferred the latter. I have always preferred to build upon old foundations. Throughout my life and in all my undertakings, I have fought shy of the new. My faith, perhaps an inherited Brahminical instinct, is inveterate in the old. I have always taken my stand upon old foundations. I have never indeed deemed them perfect, but I have preferred remodelling the old to starting new organizations.

A chapter of accidents favoured me in providing myself with an organ of my own. The Bengalee newspaper was at that time under the editorship of Babu Bacharam Chatterjee. He was also its proprietor. The paper had gone down very low, the number of subscribers not being over two hundred. Negotiations were opened between him and myself through a common friend, the late Babu Romanath Law. Babu Romanath Law's name is now wellnigh forgotton. But he was a well-known solicitor of the High Court during the sixties and the seventies of the last century. We have now a crowd of Indian solicitors of the High Court; but in those days it was Girish Chunder Banerjee (Mr. W. C. Bonnerjea's father) and Romanath Law, who vindicated the capacity of our countrymen for this branch of the legal profession. He was as