the Bible, for there are certain things in the Gospel of Christ which are of great importance to my country in the present transition stage through which it is passing."
But the reformer did not stop here. He realised that what was needed for the regeneration of India was not merely a return to a purer and a more elevating faith, but likewise a deliverance from the degrading social customs which kept the whole, or at any rate a large portion of the community bound hand and foot. The discouragement of polygamy, the education and enfranchisement of women, the overthrow of caste, and the abolition of child-marriage, were some of the reforms which seemed to him the most imperative, and to these he devoted all his energies with remarkable success. In 1870 Keshub Chunder visited England, where he was received with much kindness. He made a tour through the country, speaking and lecturing on various religious and social subjects, and awakening a great deal of interest and sympathy among a large class of people, and the Queen granted him a private interview.
In 1872 an Act was passed by the Government of India legalizing marriages between persons who did not belong to any of the recognized religions of the country, and who did not wish to be married either by Christian, Mahometan, or Hindu rites. This measure was passed mainly in the interests of the
