taxationWhenafarmerhasn’tgotthelittlesurplusheI]opedtohaveforbuyinganewwagonanddrainingalow-lyingfieldcorner，youdon’taccusehimofm~versation，ifhespendswhathehasonthenecessaryworkoftherestofhisfarm。”
Aclatterofhoofswasheard，andOrdelookedupwithvexation，buthisbrowclearedasahorsemanhaltedundertheporch。
“HelIn，Orde！justlookedintoaskifyouarecomingtopoloonTuesday：
wewantyoubadlytohelptocrumpleuptheKrabBokbarteam。”
OrdeexplainedthathehadtogooutintotheDistrict，andwhilethevisitorcomplainedthatthoughgoodmenwouldn’tplay，dufferswerealwayskeen，andthathissidewouldprobalnybebeaten，Pagettrosetolookathisn~ount，ared，latheredBilochmare，withacuriouslyre4ikeincurvingoftheears“Quitealittlethoroughbredinallotherrespects。”saidtheM。P。，andOrdepresentedMrReginaldBurke，ManageroftheSiadandSialkoteBanktohisfriend。
“Yes，she’sasgoodastheymake’em，andshe’sallthefemaleI
possessandspoiledinconsequence，aren’tyou，oldgirl？”saidBurke，pattingthemare’sglossyneckasshebackedandplunged。
“MrPagett。”saidOrde，“hasbeenaskingmeabouttheCongress。
Whatisyouropinion？”BurketurnedtotheMPwithafranksmile。
“Well，ifit’sallthesametoyou，sir，Ishouldsay，DamntheCongress，butthenI’mnopolitician，butonlyabusinessman。”
“Youfinditatiresomesubject？”
“Yes，it’sallthat，andworsethanthat，forthiskindofagitationisanythingbutwholesomeforthecountry。”
“Howdoyoumean？”
“Itwouldbealongjobtoexplain，andSaraherewon’tstand，butyouknowhowsensitiveca~italis，andhowtimidinvestorsareAllthissortofrotislikelytofrightenthem，andwecan’taffordtofrightenthemThepassengersaboardanOceansteamerdon’tfeelreassuredwhentheship’swayisstopped，andtheyheartheworkmen’shammerstinkeringattheenginesdownbelowTheoldArk’sgoingonallrightassheis，andonlywantsquietandroomtomoveThem’smysentiments，andthoseofsomeotherpeoplewhohavetodowithmoneyandbusiness。”
“Thenyouareathick-and-thinsupporteroftheGovernmentasitis。”
“Why，no！TheIndianGovernmentismuchtootimidwithitsmoney-likeanoldmaidenauntofmine-alwaysinafunkaboutherinvestmentsTheydon’tspendhalfenoughonrailwaysforinstance，andtheyareslowinageneralway，andoughttobemadetositupinallthatconcernstheencouragementofprivateenterprise，andcoaxingoutintousethemillionsofcapitalthatliedormantinthecountry。”
Themarewasdancingwithimpatience，andBurkewasevidentlyanxioustobeoff，sothemenwishedhimgood-bye。
“WhoisyourgenialfriendwhocondemnsbothCongressandGovernmentinabreath？”askedPagett，withanamusedsmile。
“JustnowheisReggieBurke，keeneronpolothanonanythingelse，butifyougototheSindandSialkoteBankto-morrowyouwouldfindMrReginald264
WORKSOFRUDYARDKIPLING
Burkeaverycapablemanofbusiness，knownandlikedbyanimmenseconstituencyNorthandSouthofthis。”
“DoyouthinkheisrightabouttheGovernment’swantofenterpnse？”
“IshouldhesitatetosayBetterconsultthemerchantsandchambersofcommerceinCawnpore，Madras，Bombay，andCalcuttaButthoughthesebodieswouldlike，asReggieputsit，tomakeGovernmentsitup，itisanelementaryconsiderationingoverningacountrylikeIndia，whichmustbeadministeredforthebenefitofthepeopleatlarge，thatthecounselsofthosewhoresorttoitforthesakeofmakingmoneyshouldbejudiciouslyweighedandnotallowedtooverpowertherestTheyarewelcomeguestshere，asamatterofcourse，butithasbeenfoundbesttorestraintheirinfluenceThustherightsofplantationlaborers，factoryoperatives，andthelike，havebeenprotected，andthecapitalist，eagertogeton，hasnotalwaysregardedGovernmentactionwithfavorItisquiteconceivablethatunderanelectivesystemthecommercialcommunitiesofthegreattownsmightfindmeanstosecuremajoritiesonlaborquestionsandonfinancialmatters。”
“Theywouldactatleastwithintelligenceandconsideration。”
“Intelligence，yes；butastoconsideration，whoatthepresentmomentmostbitterlyresentsthetendersolicitudeofLancashireforthewelfareandprotectionoftheIndianfactoryoperative？
Englishandnativecapitalistsrunningcottonmillsandfactories。”
“ButisthesolicitudeofLancashireinthismatterentirelydisinterested？”
“Itisnob~~sinessofminetosayI
merelyindicateanexampleofhowapowerfulcommercialinterestmighthamperaGovernmentintentinthefirstplaceonthelargerinterestsofhumani...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：