THE "NATIONAL CONGRESS** AND MEL BONNERJEE. 51 yon, one and all, to take pride in measures which will be a blessing not only to India, bat to this country. (Renewed cheering.) THE "NATIONAL CONGRESS" AND MR. BONNERJEE. This great National movement, which is but the most visible and remarkable embodiment of the com* bined actions and energies of the educated Indians to ameliorate their political, social and religious condi- tton,has found in Mr. Bonnerjee, an active, sympathiz- ing friend and earnest worker. In its very incipient stage, when the people of Bombay held its inaugural meeting in December 1885, Mr. Bonnerjee was one of the few Bengali gentlemen who, at considerable ex- pense, and loss of time, went there to take part in the de- liberations of that self-constituted Parliamentary body* The people of Bombay, be it recorded to their credit, honoured Mr. Bonnerjee by electing him to be the President of the first National Congress ; and it is needless for us to say that in this honoring Mr. Bon- nerjee, they did not only honor to themselves, but paid a very high tribute of honor to the great Bengali race of which, he is one of its best and greatest men. Mr. Bonnerjee, though not a platform orator — for platform oratory is never in his line,— delivered a very sensible, and sweet but compact speech marked with flashes of eloquence and sobriety of thought quite worthy of his high position in society. We need not unnecessarily fill up the short space at our disposal by quoting it here in extenso as, we believe, most of our readers must have read it in the Congress Report of 1885. Besides, Mr. Bonnerjee lent hrs house in Park Street Calcutta, for the use of the ■delegates that assembled in the Metropolis, in the fol- lowing year. And we do not think it a breach of con- fidence to state for the sake of truth that, besides all
