‘REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1919-20’ [‎233v] (14/192)

BOMBAY ADMINISTRATION REPORT.
vi
[ 1 919 - 19 2 o >
struction of fourteen had been commenced. A Debenture Loan f d
lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees bearing interest at 6 per cent, per annum and repayble after 10 ^ S ’ ^
raised during the year. Expenditure on capital works during the vpar y6arS Was
ed Rs. 37 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees , of which Rs. 13 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees were expended on the Alexand^r^'
Mazagon-Sewri Reclamation and the Port Trust Railway and Rs Hpif 00 ^
the construction of the Oil Pier at Trombay with pipe line coroninni f ° n
Sewri, on which considerable progress was made. Proposals for dock e f 10n at
at Trombay were under consideration. Owing to the dearth of housing eU ^ 011
modation in Bombay, considerable attention was paid to the question ofh 0111 '
employees, and good progress was made in the Port Trust programme
structing quarters. Quarters for 12 officers and 200 menials were comnlTi
during the year, the amount expended being Rs. 7 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees . p e ea
(b) As the result of the post-war conditions the receipts of the W k-
Port Trust fell from Rs. 53,76,732 to Rs, 41,06,406. The Trustees took spectl
steps for the expansion and further improvement of the port of Karachi 1 d
(c) The financial position of the port of Aden continued to be satisfactory
and trade and shipping began to show a distinct recrudescence after the years
of war. ^
9 . Politics. — (a) The news of the so-called arrest of Mr. M. K. Oandhi
on his entering the Punjab in defiance of an order under the Defence of India
Rules was the signal for the outbreak of serious disturbances at Ahmedabad
and Viramgam and in the City of Bombay. In Bombay an exceedingly critical
situation subsided without loss of life and relatively little injury to person or
property. At Ahmedabad and Viramgam the situation became very grave
three officers being killed and one burnt alive. Troops had to be called out
and firing resorted to, which resulted in 28 rioters being killed and 123 wounded.
Several public buildings and private houses and shops were destroyed or
damaged. The measures adopted to quell the disturbances won the commendation
of all shades of opinion and of the Hunter Committee which enquired into the
disturbances. On the outbreak of the disturbances and of those in the Punjab,
Mr. Gandhi temporarily suspended his Satyagraha movement which he finally
postponed sine die later in the year in response to the almost universal advice
of responsible opinion.
(b) The protraction of martial law in the Punjab and the heavy sentences
inflicted by the Martial Law Tribunals however soon began to excite popular
feeling which developed by degrees into widespread resentment as the full text
of the judgments in the more important cases was published. This feeling
was accentuated by the passing of the Indemnity Act, the scope and objects of
which were largely misrepresented and misunderstood, and later by the
published reports of the evidence given before the Disorders Inquiry Committee,
more particularly in regard to events at Amritsar and Lahore. Moslem circles
were in addition becoming much exercised over the future of Turkey and the
Khilafat and to further surcharge public feeling the annual sessions of the
Congress and the Moslem League were held at Amritsar. The main resolutions
of the Congress centred round the martial law proceedings and the Reforms
Act (9 and 10 Geo. 5 , ch. 101). In regard to the latter keen interest had been
evinced in the evidence given before the Joint Parliamentary Committee
on the Reforms Bill and much anxiety was felt as to the scope the
Committee’s recommendations would take. These eventually proved to
have been drafted in a more liberal spirit than had been anticipated and
their embodiment e?i bloc in the Bill and its quick passage through both
Houses of Parliament came as a welcome and gratifying surprise. The
gracious terms of His Majesty’s Proclamation announcing his assent to the
Act and the Royal Amnesty evoked feelings of deep loyalty in all but ultra
extreme circles and caused a deep impression which was confirmed when i
began to be realised by the prompt release of many important political prisoners
and detenus throughout India that His Excellency the Viceroy intended to in er
pret the terms of the amnesty in their widest sense. Grateful appreciation was
also generally felt of the great services rendered to India by the Secretary oi
State in the shaping and passage of the Reforms Act. The Congress, however,
found the Act disappointing and decided to secure a majority in the Reform^
Councils with a view to pressing for larger reforms at an early date. Altnou 0