46 M. K. GANDHI ful speech advocating his scheme. Mr. Gandhi went to Tanjore, Trichy, Bangalore and other places and discoursed on the same subject with his accustomed energy, while his weekly Y owng India was replete with regular contributions from his indefatigable pen. Week after week Young India. came out with a series of articles from Mr. Gandhi’s pen answering objections and formulating methods of N on-Co- operation. Couoanss AND NoN—Co-omcnarron Mr. Gandhi’s immediate objective was to convert the Special Congress to his creed. For as we have said though many had jubilantly proclaimed their faith in his pro- gramme, it was found that as time drew near for putting his plans into practice they were busy finding loopholes to escape the rigours of Mr. Gandhi’s discipline. Everybody would throw everybody else into the struggle. A body of men who had sworn by Mr. Gandhi and denounced those who had the courage to differ from him were suddenly faced with an awkward dilemma. They felt the inconveni- ence of suffering and sacrifice and would fain be relieved of their unwitting words of bravado. But Mr. Gandhi would stand four square to all the winds that blow. Nor could they with any grace secede from the Congress, having so violently denounced as treason the Moderates’ disregard of the Delhi and Amritsar Resolutions, There was to their mind only one course left open, i. e., to thwart Mr. Gandhi’s resolution in the open Congress. But Mr. Gandhi had prepared the ground with characteristic thoroughness. Kbilafat specials from Bombay and Madras had Hooded the Congress with delegates sworn to vote for him. There was a tough tight in the Subjects Committee which sat for eight long hours without coming to any apparent decision. Over forty amendments were brought in by different mem- bers, twelve of them were ruled out as mere verbal repeti- tions and there remained no less than 28 amendments to consider. The speeches in the Subjects Committee were remarkably frank. Messrs. Malaviya, Das, Pal, Jinnab, Baptiste, all attacked the original resolution with warmth · while Mrs. Besant vigorously assailed the very principle of
