thereafter to Bombay at the instance of Panditji who together with the other friends of the Malaviya Con- ference undoubtedly wished to plead with me for a suspension and who were agreeably surprised when I told them that so far as I was concerned, my mind was made up, but that had kept it open so that I could discuss the point thoroughly with the members of the Working Committee. The suspension has no reference to a round table conference or to any settlement. In my opinion, a round table conference is bound to prove fruitless. It .requires a much stronger Viceroy than Lord Reading has proved to be to perceive the situation in the country and then to describe it correctly. I certainly feel that Pandit Malaviyaji has already come into the movement. It is not possible for him to keep away from the Congress or from danger, bu.t the Bardoli decision was arrived at purely on its merits and I could not have been shaken from the original purpose had I not been unnerved by the Chauri Chaura tragedy which was the last straw.
(3) Nothing short of a full Dominion status is likely to satisfy me personally and nothing short of complete severance will satisfy me if the Khilafat and the Punjab wrongs remain unredressed, but the exact form does not depend upon me. I have no clear-cut scheme. It has -to be evolved by the people's representatives.
(4} At the present moment there is no question of a settlement. Therefore, the question as to what Panditji and al) others will do is premature if not irrelevant. But assuming that Panditji holds any conference and that its resolutions are ignored by the Government, Panditji and others will act as all self-respecting men <io in such circumstances.
(5) I can never give up the idea of civil disobe-
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