shed in July, 1918.

The report recommended concessions far beyond any which Great Britain
had hitherto made. It frankly envisaged the gift of home rule for India
"as soon as possible," and went on to state that the gift was to be
conferred not because of Indian agitation, but because of "the faith
that is in us." There followed these memorable words: "We believe
profoundly that the time has come when the sheltered existence which we
have given India cannot be prolonged without damage to her national
life; that we have a richer gift for her people than any that we have
yet bestowed on them; that nationhood within the Empire represents
something better than anything India has hitherto attained; that the
placid, pathetic contentment of the masses is not the soil on which such
Indian nationhood will grow, and that in deliberately disturbing it we
are working for her highest good."

The essence of the report was its recommendation of the principle of
"diarchy," or division of governmental responsibility between
councillors nominated by the British executive and ministers chosen
from elective legislative bodies. This diarchy was to hold for both the
central and provincial governments. The legislatures were to be elected
by a much more extensive franchise than had previously prevailed and
were to have greatly enlarged powers. Previously they had been little
more than advisory bodies; now they were to become "legislatures" in the
Western sense, though their powers were still limited, many powers,
particularly that of the purse, being still "reserved" to the executive.
The British executive thus retained ultimate control and had the last
word; thus no true "balance of power" was to exist, the scales being
frankly weighted in favour of the British Raj. But the report went on to
state that this scheme of government was not intended to be permanent;
that it was frankly a transitional measure, a school in which the Indian
people was to serve its apprenticeship, and that when these first
lessons in self-government had been learned, India would be given a
thoroughly representative government which would not only initiate and
legislate, but which would also control the executive officials.

The Montagu-Chelmsford Report was exhaustively discussed both in India
and in England, and from these frank discussions an excellent idea of
the Indian problem in all its challenging complexity can be obtained.
The nationalists split sharply on t