Gentlemen, many of you may have read the declaration of Policy issued
by the Secretary of State the other day and may also have read the
speech of His Excellency the Viceroy made with reference to that.
Reading these two statements together, it is clear that the time has
come when every educated man in this country should set about earnestly
to frame a scheme for the introduction of self-government keeping in
mind the ideal which we have before us and keeping in mind also the
standard of practical politics. Now, gentlemen, if you have to frame
a scheme like that, you will of course take into consideration the
first point, _viz._, of provincial autonomy _i.e._, of each province.
Let us think of Bengal at the present moment, Bengal must have a
government which is representative that is to say, the people of Bengal
will be the electors and they will elect their representative to this
Government and the legislative Council is to regulate and control the
executive. The Government officials that there are at the present
moment, will be under the control of that Executive Department or in
other words, every office and the government itself will be responsible
to the people of this country. That is the first point you will have
to consider. You will have to consider how you can bring about these
things, the particular method according to which this must be worked
out. Now, gentlemen, the second thing that you have to consider is
how to federate these different provinces and connect them with the
Central Government. These are the two important points which you have
got to think about at the present moment and I invite your attention
to a scheme which you must formulate amongst yourself. I have given
you what my views are but you are not bound by these; you must form a
committee of competent men to frame such a scheme and I think all the
representatives of the districts should meet in Calcutta some time in
November to discuss the scheme of self-government. We shall then adopt
one scheme for Bengal in which the interests of the Hindus and the
interests of Mahomedans will all be considered and we, the Hindus and
Mahomedans of Bengal will present this scheme to the Secretary of State
when he arrives here in November or in December.