WELFARE OF INDIA

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 10, 13 January 1932, Page 9

WELFARE OF INDIA

COMMERCIAL ASPECT

LORD INCHCAPE'S VIEWS

(From ?'The Post's'?, Representative.) LONDON, 10th December. Lord Inchcape prepared one of his uusiial Empire-embracing speeches for the 91st annual general meeting of the P. and O. Company,' held in London yesterday, But in his enforced absence his remarks were lead by the Hoir. A. Shaw (one of the deputy chairmen). •;•' '■: .■■■■'-■' ' : .■'••;.,;■:

To: those who' thought they knew something of India, wrote Lord. Inchcape, the proposals put forward in. certain quarters .were beyond understanding. What had Great Britain done for India, in the last; seventy or--; eighty years? She. had preserved-peace in the country up to two or three years ago, and administered equal justice, to all, as she continued to do now. "She had given Indians_ the: opportunity to serve in tho administration, of the country in' many capacities, from subordinates in tho Civil Servico to collectors, commissioners of' districts,"and 'Governors, of Provinces, and? to bo-High Court Judges and members p£ the Executive Council of thd Viceroy and the various Presidency Governors. It was true that the '.offices 7 of \ Gdvornbr-Gen-eral and ■ Commander-in-Chief of tho Army had always been and were still held by Britons. It would lie an evil day for India and Great Britsin if that was ever reversed. >• : ■ When he went to India: nearly sixty years ago there were 6200 miles of open railways, mainly constructed by private enterprise. Now. there are 42,000 miles, costing' about' £600,000,000, practically all subscribed by Great Britain, with Government guarantee .of interest on the. capital, There Were but few jute mills, wpollen, cotton, paper, or' rice mills, few coal mines, goldmines, iron and steelworks. Look at their numbers now.'. There were practically no tea gardens or coffee .plantations of any size. To-day there are thousands of acres. The oil fields were entirely undeveloped. There were no banking or insurance facilities such as thero are now. There were few steamers on the rivers of Bengal or on the Irrawacldy, wMle to-day there were legions. The coastal trade of India was then . a flea-bito compared with what it was to-day, "and there had been, for many years past ah adequate, frequent and regular service by high-class steamers between; India, the Persian Gulf, , Mauritius, the Straits Settlements, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, arid East and South Africa. ■<■'■. BRITISH CAPITAL. Into all these industries hundreds of thousands of British capital had been invested, and the trade of the country had increased by leaps and bounds, providing employment for millions. He had been a director of the East Indian Railway Company for many years under the chairmanship of that able business -man, General Sir. Richard Strachey—froni whom he had learned much —beforeit wastaken over'by the Government. Gradually the Government acquired most of the railways or secured the option of purchase, paying for them by terminable annuities or issues of India stock, which at present was proving rather unfortunate for the country financially. The result of this policy in India might teach the

authorities at' home not to buy up the railways, but to leave them, ana their management to private enterprise. , The ports, ."docks, and; ary.Jdocks in Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, .B&ngoon, Karachi, Chittagong, Akyab, and many other x'laees had been constructed by the genius of British engineers, and had riot cost the taxpayers of India a penny. Interest on their cost and their working and upkeep were paid for by shipping and trade; The relations between the • British and Indian mercantile communities had always been, aa they were to-day, of the most agreeable: and friendly description, but that boycott and civil disobedience had been, allowed to be preached had to some extent shaken confidence in the British Baj. ■ Among many interests: in India, such as tea,gardens, jute mills, coal mines, cotton mills, woollen mills, his firms had two long-established' cotton mills and factories in Madras. Belatibiis with their workmen had always been those of mutual friendship. When the mills did fairly well, as they generally dia, the workpeople shared in the profits.by way of a bonus. The mills were limited liability companies, the shares being on the market in Madras. THREAT OF BOYCOTT. liast week he had received advices from his partner in Madras stating that the Congress party had intimated that a boycott against' the' sale' of their manufactures would be put..up unless they subscribed to .the .following declarations:—-■-, ■■•■ '-.'• ;'■' '•■'.■''■ ■:■'.: , "That not less than 75 per cent, of the share capital of the company is held by Indians. . _ .:, "That not less than 66 per cent, of the directors of the company, apart from the es-officio directors, are and will continue to bo Indians! ! "That the partners of the agent's firm or the firm itself are not in. any way interested in the import trade of foreign yarn or foreign piece goods.; "That the personnel of the management is Indian in outlook and spirit arid is pledged to safeguard Indian interests. In pursuance of the' above declaration we hereby undertake to do as follows until tho Congress'ban is removed:— '.'"■■■ ", ' : . "No person connected 'witVth'e management of, the niills will' engage himself in propaganda hostile 'jo/the, national movement or participate in; any activity organised voluntarily or at the instance or on behalf of tho British Government in India, in opposition to the movement. , ; "Kecruitment of stafit wHl''be restricted to Indians, except for special reasons. ': ; ,; "'■•'. : ". ■■ :i "As far as possible, wo,shall pass our_ insurance, banking, and shipping business to Indian.insurance'companies, Indian banks,' and 'Indian? steamship companies. ' .; _ "Wo shall purchase, as far- as possible, store articles of Indian manufacture and will buy such foreign articles ns are indispensable and as cannot be replaced by Indian Swadeshi articles; "Weshallnot make use of-any kind of foreign yarn or foreign silk or artificial silk or' thread or yam "made in mills on the boycott list. ' " :\v '.'.■ '' Persons connected with the management of the mills -will wear Swadeshi cloth." " : , BRITAIN' MUST REIGN. This meant that all, cotton or woollen mills owned or managed by British companies or firms were to be compelled to close. It was, as an important London newspaper said a' few'days' ago, "an outrage upon the liberty of British subjects." It meant nothing less than, driving the British commercial community out of India,: which surely no British Government would ever sanction. He remembered some years ago when discrimination against the British began to be preached he put it before the late Lord Biikenhead, wno was then Secretary of State for Indian and Whose > reply was:■'«' Thp -proposal is perfectly- monstrous.";:" :.C:t '?:•;- . '■;:■ '~.t<> : If \the-unrest^in .India .and c the boycott of: British, goods and; the,, disposi-. tibn.to turn' the British .out" of the1 country ■were' abandoned} :tradel would improve and confidence would be'restored. It was his, belief that, were the British to give up government of India, at the centre," chaos, civil war," and slaughter would follow; and the "country would go to the devil. -': :-:.i ; •-. :r.-.yy .-. :• ! Lordlnchcape desired to refrain from anytbingin the naturoof intemperate criticism, but, in ' his -'bumble' judgment^ the suggestidn"'to give' Dominion status -to India, a country composed of numerous races: of different nationalities, religions, and; creeds, Vas a profound mistake. Let people think what Dominion status for India would mean; ■:'■ The British 'Army w6tild;be withdrawn, the" King's- representative would have no executive power, and no ■ right, to take part ia any way in the Government of the'country.- Australia, New^ Zealand, '.and Canada 3iad Dominion status, but the population of those : countries was:;entirely' ■-■;British, with one faith. There were no Indian princes there, with practically 'plenary powers over their territories, ■■■ holding their mandates from the^ King. ■'Were these powers to be abrogated.?' How, under, Dominion"status, was an Indian Prime Minister, with, his Cabinet, to rule the 'country, with its great diversities of people and. race? Thepropoßal^ bo far .as he could' judge, if would play havoc all round with the population of over 350,000,000," and with the prosperity which under British rulo,. all subjects in -India! had enjoyed. What W£vs wanted in India-was a firni Central Government, to : preserve -law and order, to continue to ; give equal justice to all in the country^ and to pat up with-no nonsense. He was glad to see that the present Secretary of State, Sir Samuel Hoare, was determined to Btop the: preaching of::sedition, murder; and outrage. ■ : • ■ =. ;.:..-■ . > :