INDIA CONFERENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 280, 26 November 1931, Page 7

INDIA CONFERENCE.

*3 Mr. Mac Donald's Efforts to

Settle Differences.

IDEALS AND AIMS OF MOSLEMS

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, November 20

It is generally expected that the present session of the India Round Table Conference will be brought to a close about the middle of next week. The Federal Structure Committee resumed its discussion of commercial safeguards. The only reserved subject remaining for discussion is financial administration. The committee "will approve a brief report on these matters before they are passed on to the next plenary session, at which the Prime Minister, Mr. MacDonald will make a statement on the policy of the Government. Very strong pressure has been brought to bear upon Mr. Mac Donald by a section of the Conservative members of Parliament, led by Mr. Winston Churchill, to have a debate in the House of Commons before the Prime Minister speaks at the conference. "The Times" says that presumably there will be no difficulty about arranging a debate before the House rises, but there is no essential connection between the proceedings of Parliament at this stage and Mr. Mac Donald's closing speech as chairman of the conference. The "Manchester Guardian" says the Prime, Minister has a united Cabinet behind him in standing by the declaration he made at the close of the last conference. In the meanwhile, although it is recognised that a settlement among the delegates themselves of the communal problem would have been incomparably better, the Prime Minister's offer of help from the British Government still r'ands and his efforts to compose the differences are being continued. The Moslem delegates to the conference were the guests of the? National League at a- reception at which the Aga Khan said they wanted to live in selfrespecting amity and on terms of equality and friendship with other peoples and races. Sir Muhamad Shafi said the Moslems believed with all sincerity that the future of India lay within the British Commonwealth of Nations and thev would do all in their power to counteract, the movement designed to bring about a separation. <