CONSERVATIVE VIEW.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 5, 7 January 1931, Page 7

CONSERVATIVE VIEW.

Indian Cabinet Would Not Be Unitary. \ ....... MOSLEMS AND . HINDTJS.

(British Official Wireless.)

(Received 2 p.m.) RUGBY, January 6. The Conservative, attitude towards the Indian claims to responsibility with due . safeguards at the Federal Centre- was j stated in the Federal Structure SubCommittee of the Indian Conference today by Sir Samuel Hoare. He pointed out that none of the conditions which were associated with the idea of respon- ' sible Government ill Britain appeared to exist at prpeent in India.' An Indian Cabinet would not bo unitary in the British sense. The more he thought of the .difference between the Indian poei--1 tion and'the British the more formidable ; became his doubts. lie might have exaggerated the 'diffi- ' culties, but. he was certain that a.Con- ' stitution as suggested by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru would be so complicated and vulnerable to criticism that it would be workable only on a basis of wide accep- ■ tance and good will in India itself, and I they had no evidence at present, that such would 'be forthcoming. He doubted the wisdom.of attempting to apply the British House of Commons system to an All-India Federation. .. " Sir Samuel'Hoare further said he wha .against the setting up of a big popui lar Assembly on the lines of "♦-he House of Commons and direct election, because the huge size of India and the conditions of its population would niaka any imitation of the British political system impracticable. Hβ also questioned .the wisdom of attempting' to impose the British theory of Cabinet responsibility upon a Govern- ■ ment that would differ in all respects from the British Government. He feared it would end in blurring the responsibility, in weakening tho Viceroy's position, and in making the central Government of a great continent, in which there was much; inflammable material, unstable at the 'very moment when they were- introducing two great experiments, the all-India Federation and provincial autonomy. .. ; '. 1 Non-possuimis Attitude. . The delegates had "oeen appealed to by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru not to adopt a non-possumus attitude. *; He responded to that appeal, but because of his doubts he was bound to adopt a non-committal attitude to the question of responsibility at. the centre. • Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru then asked if Sir Samuel Hoare had contemplated a Federation without responsibility at the centre. , Sir Samuel replied that'he wished .to see a completed picture before answering, and the chairman said, that the committee must now start and fill in the picture. When the Minorities Sub-Committee met again this afternoon, Sir Muhammad Shafi made an offer on behalf of the Moslems to forgo separate electorates, but attached to it are conditions which Dr. Moonje declared to be unacceptable. Sir Muhammad Shaft said _ that, although an. overwhelming majority of Moslems still insisted on the retention of separate electorates, the Moslem delegates would accept joint electorates provided that the Hindus were willing to concede,,, through the joint electorates, to the Moslems of Bengal and the Punjab representation in both Houses of the Legislative Councils on the population of both in proportion to their population in those two provinces. That offer he described as the irreducible minimum.

Hindus In Minority? Dr. Mponjo said he was unable to accept Sir Muhammad Shaft's conditions, and pointed out that if all the claims of all the minorities that had been made were added up, the Hindu majority would actually be in a minority of about 35 per cent of the seats. During tho debate Dr. Moonjo was invited to makp proposals himself, and it was indicated also that further suggestions might come from the Moslems. Summary of Claims. The Priino Minister, Mr. Kamsay. MacDonakl, said that he was still hopeful of a settlement, and proposed that he, as chairman, should summarise the opposing claims in the form of a draft report on which discussion might be resumed. He urged the delegates meanwhile to continue their private conservations.