Page:Allan Octavian Hume, C.B.; Father of the Indian National Congress.djvu/143

by a return to Lord Lawrence's policy of masterly in- activity on the frontier, with masterly activity in domestic progress. It is evident that a man of strong convictions and independent character, cannot serve these two masters with equal zeal and equal claim for advancement. Mr. A, who is an honest admirer of Lord Lytton's 1 Imperialism, must lie low under Lord Ripon, while Mr. B, who is an enthusiast for local self-government, will be out in the cold when the *^ forward " policy is in the ^ ascendant. But Mr. X, who has no strong convictions either way, comes under no such disqualifications. He is equally ready to serve both masters ; either to gag the Press, or to free it ; either to befriend the leaders of the people, or to put them in gaol for sedition. To his mind, these are questions of policy, for which he is not respon- sible ; his business is to carry out the orders of Govern- ment ; if he does not do so, some one else will ; he will be superseded by a junior, and his chances of distinction will be lost. Such sentiments are abhorrent to men of the type of Mr. Hume. But to Mr. X they seem a mere matter of official business. *' Let who will be king," he gets his promotion, going up two steps of the official ladder for one step gained either by Mr. A or by Mr. B ; he becomes the chief of a centralized department ; and passes early into the group at headquarters who are eligible to be members of the Viceroy's Council and Lieutenant- Governors. Thus, by a process of natural selection, is formed the dominant Simla clique, which controls the Government, disregarding public opinion, and trampling on the rank and file of the service. Naturally enough, the members of this Junta and their adherents take the pick of official prizes; decorate themselves as a matter of course ; and ultimately co-opt each other into the Council of the Secretary of State at Whitehall, where they sit in secret as a Court of Appeal from India, and pass