Chapter 266Appendix Two: Writings and Jottings Connected with the Bande Mataram

APPENDIX TWO

Writings and Jottings Connected

1906–1908 The pieces in this appendix deal with the formation of the Bande Mataram Printers and Publishers, Limited, or with the finances, man-one of them are reproduced from Sri Aurobindo’s manuscripts. The exception, the first piece, is a printed version of the original prospectus in all likelihood was written by Sri Aurobindo and which was signed by him and eight others.

A Limited Liability Company has been formed, called the Bande Mataram Limited, which will take over the daily journal Bande Mataram and conduct it on a permanent and organized basis.

This journal was started as the exponent of a new political ideal and the mouthpiece of a growing school of thought. Established at first by individuals and on a small scale it has already in the single month of its existence made a great reputation and promises to be a power in the land. It has not only a standing in Bengal itself, but is daily expected and read with eagerness in other parts of India. When once placed on a carefully prepared and permanent foundation it cannot fail to be financially a success and politically a power. The very opposition it has received in many quarters shows that it is the representative of a force which has been waiting for a daily means of self-expression and, once possessed of that necessary weapon, can no longer be ignored.

ties, it is desirable for all who are of its way of thinking, to unite and make it a success. No paper can be a great public organ which expresses merely the ideas of the few. Any party or school of thought which wishes to be strong and influential, must join in strengthening the mouthpiece of its common advanced school of nationalism in India. It will endeavour to propagate the gospels of self-help and self-respect. It will oppose the habit of mendicant petitioning and inert dependence on the Government. It will advocate the creation of a new basis for the Congress, definitely democratic in its nature, instead of the loose and ineffective constitution it now possesses. It will endeavour to rally into one great force all those who are desirous of or-ganizing the nation for work and not for mere agitation and petitioning. Its ideal will be Swadeshi in all things, — Swadeshi in politics, Swadeshi in commerce and industry, Swadeshi in education. that it is not the property or organ of a single individual, but the voice of a party. Many writers of ability, will be on the staff. Besides Srijuktas Bipin Chandra Pal and Arabindo Ghose, Srijut Chitta Ranjan Das, Srijut Rajat Nath Ray, Srijut Hemen-dra Prasad Ghose, Srijut Syam Sunder Chakrabarti, Srijut Bijoy Chandra Chatterjee and others will be regular contributors to its columns. We hope also to get eminent men from other provinces to correspond with the paper. A good Mofussil correspondence will be organized, and arrangements will be made for corre-spondents in other parts of the world. The execution of this scheme needs time and general support from the public. It will be gradually developed and in a few months perfected.

The Company has been floated with a capital of Rs. 50,000 with option to increase to Rs. 1,00,000 and at present Rs. 21,000 is the money promised and another Rs. 29,000 will be placed on the market. Each share is worth Rs. 10. The shares have been purposely put at a low figure so that all who belong to take a personal interest. Anyone who wishes to subscribe more liberally to its support may do so by buying a large number of shares.

All applications for shares with remittances should be sent to Raja Subodh Chandra Mullik of 12, Wellington Square, Calcutta.

Subodh Chandra Mullik. Chitta Ranjan Das. Aurobindo Ghose. Sarat Chandra Sen. Sundari Mohan Das. Surendra Nath Halder. Hemendra Prasad Ghose. Bipin Chandra Pal. Rajat Nath Ray. Bijoy Chandra Chatterjee. Syam Sunder Chakrabarti.

Draft of a Prospectus of 1907 year and are now in a position to approach the public with an offer of shares on which a dividend for the next year is practically assured. So long as the paper was carried on at a loss and its future ill-assured, the Company had to invite the public to invest in it rather as a patriotic undertaking which deserved support than as a promising business enterprise; but the paper is now self-supporting and in a short time at the present rate of increase will be a paying concern, provided the capital required is subscribed. The following statement will show the present financial condition and give some basis for forming an opinion as to future prospects.

No. of Shareholders. Amount of Shares already subscribed.

7,000

Loans advanced on condition of repayment

by the raising of shares

18,000

Outstanding liabilities.

9,000

Liabilities to be converted into shares

1,500

Farther outlay necessary for Press & Type

1,000

————

35,5001

Full amount of maximum Capital in Shares

50,000

Amount of Capital to be raised in order

to stand clear

27,000

Amount of Shares the Company has still

the power to raise

43,000

Budget of Monthly Expenses sanctioned by

the Directors

[no entry]

Notes and Memos

[1]

I. Srijut Aurobindo Ghose is appointed Managing Director with full powers subject to the following provisions: —

1. The Budget to be fixed by the Directors, which he shall not exceed.

2. All appointments, dismissals, increments etc. to be in the power of the Directors only, but power of provisional ap-pointments, degradations etc. is given to the Managing Director subject to sanction by the Directors at their next meeting.

3. When the Secretary and other officials or members of the Committee of Management are not in agreement, the orders of the Managing Director will be final.

II. The Managing Director shall be assisted by a Committee of Management consisting of four persons including the Secretary, 1 The total was summed before the last entry (Rs. 1000) was added. — Ed.

the work to be distributed among them according to the following Departments.

1. Cash and Disbursements and general assistance to the Managing Director, especially in the matter of seeing that the books are regularly written up. NCM [Nirod Chandra Mullik]

2. Finance — i.e. Advertisements, Cash Sales, Subscriptions (V.P.P.) and generally whatever relates to the income of the paper.

HPG [Hemendra Prasad Ghose]

3. Editorial — i.e. the arrangements for work and the improvement of the paper. The responsibility for the matter does not go with this charge, as that can only be undertaken by a Managing Editor.

SSC [Shyam Sunder Chakravarti]

4. General Correspondence and Press, with Dispatch, Stores, etc.

Secretary Srijut Benoy Banerji shall exercise general supervision with the Secretary over the General Department, and be given whatever assistance he may require for any duties he may find it impossible to discharge in person.

The Managing Director shall have power to alter the distribution of work whenever he finds it working defectively.

III. The Budget is fixed at Rs. 4500 a month, according to the scheme drawn up by Srijut Prakash Chandra Dutt subject to the modifications subsequently made. It shall not on any account be exceeded until the paper becomes profitable, when the Managing Director will draw up a fresh scheme for the improvement of the paper. The reductions under the scheme shall be effected by the 24th February.

IV. Payments to the staff are to be made for the present out of the Rs. 500 received for shares with whatever comes in by way of daily realizations. No other money from shares is to be utilized henceforth for current expenditure but all strictly credited to Capital Account. The Rs. 500 abovementioned will be repaid to this account by instalments from the daily realizations.

V. Disbursements must be made according to the fixed rules. There shall be separate accounts for Capital Account, Paper, Establishment and general expenses, Daily Expenditure. The daily realizations shall be divided under these heads and only enough for the fourth item kept in the Office, the rest being paid into the bank. Whatever old bills have to be paid subsequent to the 24th February must be paid out of capital account except such as properly belong to the current month. When unexpected liabilities have to be met, an attempt should be made to raise shares to meet them.

VI. Srijut Girija Sundar Chukrabarti shall be appointed trav-elling Agent for the collection of shares, subscriptions etc. and asked to complete his Bombay tour as soon as possible so as to proceed to East Bengal for shares. Other agents shall be appointed on the commission system in Madras, Bombay and C. P. and Berar.

[2]

Budget 1. Money to be immediately paid for the scheme to be possible

Schroder

Rs. 1000 at least.

Dickinson

Rs. 1000.

Type

Rs. 1000.

Establishment

Rs. 2000 at least. 2. Arrears of work to be brought up and new system begun —

yet no increase of establishment possible. 3. System of four accounts to be introduced rigidly as soon as

1 is solved. 4. List of old liabilities.

1. Cash sale going down. How to remedy this? Causes of

decrease. 2. Advertisements difficult to procure unless paper is boomed

and cash sale & circulation increase. 3. Subscriptions.

1. Editorial matter insufficient. More hands required for arti-

cles etc. but fresh expenditure impossible. 2. News almost nil, more expenditure on telegrams, etc. neces-

sary, but impossible. Reporters to be engaged but this means fresh expenditure. 3. Correspondent arrangements. 4. Working of Editorial Department — especially editing of

Reports and Telegrams. Present staff seems unable to do it.

1. Correspondence. 2. Despatch horribly bad, how to improve it? 3. Stores — daily check. 4. Stocktaking. 5. Press. Another Press absolutely necessary but no money.

[3]

Elliot

Rs. 50 paid on account of pay, not case. Rs. 20 paid by C. R. Das to E. through our office. He says we have nothing to do with that, but must pay it separately.

[4]

Selections

A. Ghose

Correspondence

Editor

Reports & Telegrams etc. S. Chuckerbutty

[5]

Englishman Bengalee Amritabazar Empire (Mallik’s)

1. Two copies of the above three papers absolutely necessary.

Statesman & Daily News one copy for the present, whenever necessary another may be bought.

2. Bengalee & Amritabazar to be specially compared with our paper so as (1) to make sure that we are not fallen unnecessarily behindhand, (2) to see that full use is made of items we cannot secure.

3. Mofussil papers — to see that they are made fuller use of.

See whether they all come.

[6]

Morning. 8–12

Selections. Local items from other papers. Afternoon. 11–6

Correspondence. 3d page Early Telegrams. Local — from 3 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. sometimes at evening. Evening

Police Court Reports, between 5 & 7. High Court — generally 9 p.m. Later Telegrams.

Communication with Correspondents.

Two Daks.

1.30

Page 2 changed, Telegrams & Locals

5.0 pm

Page 2 changed. Page 3 & 4 not changed Page 5 locals changed, telegrams Page 6 & 7 slightly changed.

Leading Article —

12 noon.

Filing of Extra Copies. Paras up to

6 p.m. Extraordinary up to

9 p.m.

Suresh. Morning.

from 7 to 11. Selection. Pages 2, 6 & 7.

Afternoon from 11 to 7. Correspondence. Mofussil Notes.

3d page.

Kristo Babu

Telegrams etc. 1st page. Local.

Evening. from 4 to 8.30 Reports. Suresh

Telegrams H

Swinton’s Reports to be carefully pruned.

—

those which can be got from the Empire, not to be taken from Swinton

—

Police Court Reports & High Court Re-ports to be properly edited.

—

Arrangements to be made for reports of meetings etc.

Night. from 8.30 to 2.

[7]

Proofreading

A dictionary wanted.

7–11. Selections. Anucul 11–7. Mukunda 4–12. Manindra 9–2.

Selections. Page 2 & 7.

First proofs are seen by Anucul final

do [ditto]

Page 1.3.6.4 (Editorials)

1st proof. Mukunda 2d proof. Gokul Babu (final)

Page 4 (reports etc.) & Page 5.

1st proof by Mukunda & the rest by Manindra & Night Editor 2d proof (final) by Manindra.

2.6. leading articles

Sporting

1 column paragraph daily.

money market

By the Way. once.

High Court Board

Edit once.

Commercial

After Editorials

(from Gazettes & Capital etc.). Ask Basanta Ray to give daily

rates.

Empire & Englishman