Gokhale was by no means an imperialist, but he was genuinely loyal to the Imperial economy, partly because of his conviction that a strong and stable government was essential to the Indian development ; partly because he thought of .the British connection as, in the judgment of the more 'desirable element among the Empire-builders, Consisting of a feder ation of races engaged in achieving common ends ; but mainly because of the feeling that as the British democracy takes an increasing interest in the affairs of the Dependency, it will be possible for Indians, within the economy of the Empire, to rise to the full stature of their height. He was fully sensible of the humiliations to which a subject-race is submitted. And as a member of a race that shortly before the establishment of British ascendancy wielded the reins of Empire, he must certainly be looking forward to India's entering on her fuller inheritance, on an equality with the sister-nations of the Commonwealth.
In the meanwhile, he acquiesced in India's present anomalous predicament as a part of the discipline of growth, so that she may thus learn to set her house in order and acquire that spirit of unity, catholicity and co-operation, without which no nation can ever stand on her own feet.
But friendly and genial as Gokhale ever was, he could pour out vials of wrath on measures which he held to be inconsistent with liberty or justice. Only he would never let his speech degenerate into venomous diatribes or caustic personal attacks. He had the fully developed instincts of a perfect gentleman.
Gokhale was fond of manly out-door sports like cricket and football, though he never excelled in either, also of billiards and other indoor games, cards included. He was thorough in his work always, but he would let work accumulate for a season, and then when the humour for industrious application seized him, he would start to clear off whole piles of arrears, and would not rest till the task was quite accomplished.
His death on zoth February, 1915, removed a very striking personality and a restraining influence from Indian politics. Shortly before his death, he very politely and with great dignity declined the offer of a K.C.S.I., communicated through Lord Crewe, then Secretary of State for India, as he sincerely felt that the acceptance of this great personal distinction might hamper his public activities.