Hazrat Ahmad — Page 34
34. HADHRAT AHMAD. Governor of Jammu; 4. Maulvi Hakim Noor-ud-Din Sahib, Physician to H. H. the. Maharaja of Kashmir; 5. Rai Bahadur Bhavani Darshan, Settlement Officer, Jhelum; 6. Sardar Jawaher Singh, Secretary, Khalsa College Committee,. Lahore. . Many of the most eminent exponents of different religions had sent their contributions to the conference, which naturally aroused great public interest. People attended the sessions with great eagerness. In fact, the conference had assumed the aspect of a tournament of religions, and the partisans of different creeds desired to witness the triumph of their respective champions. In the circumstances, the older faiths which could already count a large following were sure enough of a favorable response, because there were many in the assembly who could champion their cause. But in the case of the Promised Messiah, his paper was to be read in an assembly where friends were few and opponents many. At that time his followers did not number more than two to three hundred, and of them not more than fifty were present at the conference. His paper was to be read on 27th December between 1:30 and 3:30 p. m. . He could not personally attend the conference, but appointed one of his disciples, Maulvi Abdul Karim, to read the paper on his behalf. That gentleman commenced reading the paper and within a few minutes such a spell fell upon the assembly that they sat listening intently utterly unconscious of the passage of time. When the appointed hour came to an end, the audience was greatly agitated because the reading of not even the answer to the first question had yet been completed. There was, therefore, great joy when Maulvi Mubarak Ali of Sialkot, who was the next speaker, announced that the time fixed for his lecture might be allotted to the Promised Messiah's paper. Maulvi Abdul Karim accordingly continued with the reading of the paper till 4:30, which was closing hour for the day's proceedings. . But even the first topic had not yet been concluded and the audience desired that portion might be concluded before the close of the sitting. The moderators accordingly directed that the reading might be continued and accordingly it went on till the first topic