Orde reluctantly interpreted, and with a smile which even Mohammedan
politeness could not save from bitter scorn, Rasul Ali Khan intimated that he
knew nothing about it and cared still less. It was a kind of talk encouraged
by the Government for some mysterious purpose of its own, and for his own part
he wondered and held his peace.
Pagett was far from satisfied with this, and wished to have the old
gentleman's opinion on the propriety of managing all Indian affairs on the
basis of an elective system.
Orde did his best to explain, but it was plain the visitor was bored and
bewildered. Frankly, he didn't think much of committees; they had a Municipal
Committee at Lahore and had elected a menial servant, an orderly, as a member.
He had been informed of this on good authority, and after that, committees had
ceased to interest him. But all was according to the rule of Government, and,
please God, it was all for the best.
"What an old fossil it is!" cried Pagett, as Orde returned from seeing his
guest to the door; "just like some old blue-blooded hidalgo of Spain. What
does he really think of the Congress after all, and of the elective system?"
"Hates it all like poison. When you are sure of a majority, election is a fine
system; but you can scarcely expect the Mahommedans, the most masterful and
powerful minority in the country, to contemplate their own extinction with
joy.
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