76 BOMBAY AND " SERVANTS OF INDIA SOCIETY " 



definition of what the ulterior object of the Society 

 really is. That Mr. Gokhale is trying to create 

 good citizens I have myself no doubt, but the 

 whole plan seems to be visionary, and I suspect 

 that in the end we shall find these men seeking 

 either Government or municipal employment as a 

 means of livelihood. They are highly educated 

 and will no doubt make useful public servants, 

 unless their age, which is somewhat advanced, 

 stands in the way. 



On the 22nd I proceeded to Bombay, and it is no 

 exaggeration to say that from 6 o'clock in the 

 morning till past midnight I had not a moment's 

 rest. My movements have been thus chronicled 

 in the Statesman of Calcutta : 



GOVERNMENT TOURS. 



"The Finance Member visited the Bombay 

 Presidency, where the Opium difficulty with China 

 and the Fiscal policy of the Government had met 

 with a good deal of hostile criticism. Sir Guy 

 Fleetwood Wilson visited Poona first and conferred 

 with His Excellency the Governor and others. 

 He also visited among other places the Servants 

 of India Society, of which Mr. Gokhale is the head. 

 At Bombay he was the guest of the Hon. Mr. Mon- 

 teath, President of the Chamber of Commerce, 

 and had an informal discussion with the Chamber 

 itself on the vexed question of the gold standard 

 reserve and the closing of the mints to rupee 

 coinage. Sir Sassoon David and other Indian 

 merchants met Sir Fleetwood and discussed the 

 question of the Opium trade and urged compensa- 

 tion for losses in Canton owing to the contravention 

 of the Cheefoo Convention and suggested the 



