"Tea and coffee were provided by the members of the party. When all were seated, Khan Bahadur Cassum Mitha rose and said in Hindustani:
"'General Gatacre,—We have been much honoured by your visit to this place to-day. Since you have assumed the command of affairs relating to this dire pestilence, we have learnt to assure ourselves of our safety. We are convinced that you honour our religious feelings, and we believe that what you do is for our own good. You have perhaps no idea of the esteem and respect you command among us. You have won over our hearts by your noble demeanour, and on the altar of your popularity we are ready to sacrifice everything.... In you, General, we find a saviour, and we thank Lord Sandhurst for sending you among us. You may count on our assistance at any and every moment. Our lives and our money will be always at your command.'"[[6]]
[[6]] See Bombay Gazette, March 31, 1897.
Opposition
As if in protest against the compliance of the great majority to the wishes of Government, one sect of Mahommedans, the Sunnis, showed themselves very refractory. After much elaborate letter-writing the Headmen sent a Mr. Raikes to lay before the Plague Committee the objections to their proceedings. At the conference that was arranged the delegate was heckled into expressing himself clearly: "'It really comes to this,' he said; 'they ask you to minimise as far as you possibly can the great objections they have to the removal of the sick by not doing it at all.'"[[7]] To which the Chairman seems to have rapped out: "That is absolute nonsense!"—to the great amusement of his supporters. But though his words were pointed, his conduct was deliberate, and his patience faultless, for in a leading article we read:
[[7]] See Advocate of India, March 31, 1897.
"The correspondence between General Gatacre and the representatives of the Sunni Mahommedans will satisfy every one that the community has been treated with extraordinary patience. The Chairman of the Committee has given two long interviews to the Sunni leaders, who have had professional assistance in placing their views before him. He has listened patiently and respectfully to every argument and objection that has been put before him; they have gone to the Governor with a letter which put their case at its strongest; and once again they have gone back to General Gatacre, who once more, in replying to their solicitors, treats them with a kindness and a consideration which sheer stubbornness seldom meets with in this world."[[8]]
[[8]] See Times of India, April 7, 1897.
The show of troops was slightly increased when the recalcitrant quarter was visited, but this precaution had due effect, and no violence took place.
After about six weeks of unsparing toil and incredible devotion, it was becoming clear that the labours of all those concerned were not in vain: the returns were showing a steady and unmistakable decline. But this had not been accomplished without very great persistence on every side. The General writes: