ATTITUDE OF PRINCES

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 49, 27 February 1935, Page 9

ATTITUDE OF PRINCES

ALTEBATION SOUGHT

CHURCHILL ON FATAL BLOW

MINISTER REPLIES

(British Official Wireless.) . (Received February 27, noon.)

RUGBY, February 26. The British Ministers specially concerned with ihe passage through Parliament of the Government of India Bill met last night to examine advices from India bearing on the attitude of the Princes who at a conference in Bombay yesterday passed a resolution expressing the opinion that without satisfactory modification of and alteration to fundamental points the Bill and the instrument of accession could not be regarded as acceptable to the Indian States. The resumption in the House of Commons this afternoon of consideration in the Committee stage of the clause of the. Bill dealing with the proclamation of the Federation of India and the following clause which defines the procedure for the accession of Indian States afforded an opportunity for a Government statement on the subject. Government amendments to the clause concerning the instrument of accession already tabled will, it is believed,- allay to a large extent- the anxiety that has been aroused among the Princes. It is emphasised both at Bombay and at Westminster that the Princes have no desire to upset the Federal scheme. The Princes' anxiety to make certain that the Bill is so worded that their full ' rights and privileges are safeguarded is appreciated here and all. along the Government, through the Viceroy, have been kept in close touch with then* views. The Bill is not yet in its final-stages and there will be an opportunity later to incorporate such further . amendments as may be considered necessary and upon which the Government and Princes will, it is expected, be'able to reach an agreement. ' : . When the House resumed consideration of the Bill in Committee this afternoon Mr. Winston Churchill, who has throughout vigorously opposed the measure, moved to report progress in view of the Princes' resolution which, he said, had created a new political situation so far as the Bill's future was concerned. Mr. Churchill said that the question of the accession of Princes was the foundation of the whole policy and expressed the view that the Federal scheme was dead.: SOME MISUNDERSTANDING. Sir Samuel Hoare, who was warmly cheered, at once rose to remove, he said, various misunderstandings. It was not ■ improbable that such misunderstanding should arise in dealing With such complex questions when the principals were 6000 miles apart. He refused to accept the suggestion that the Government had gone back on agreements made with the representatives of the Princes., If by mischance there had been a.failure in drafting the Bill to carry out those undertakings he would see that they were fulfilled. He had no reason to suppose-that the Princes had altered their conception of what all-: India Federation should be, but, if they had done so, the sooner everybody knew the position the better it would be for all parties concerned. Assuming that both the :Princes and themselves were still ~bent on setting up an effective All-India Federation, he could say, after very careful examination, that there was no reason at all why these questions should not be adjusted between the Princes and themselves. He believed many of them were already adjusted in the Bill and that the Princes did not yet realise in detail how far, their legitimate desires had effectively been met. Where they had not been, met, he had given an undertaking to meet them. There was no reason for the Committee to delay discussions." Many of the points m which the Princes were interested came at a later stage .of the Bill. The Princes had not changed their view with regard to Federation and at present he could not see there was any irreconcilable difference between them. NOT A PRONOUNCEMENT. The Princes' resolution was in no sense a pronouncement against the general scheme of the Bill. Both the States arid the- Government had, he was sure, the same broad object in view. They both felt that accession by rulers to the Federation should, mean an effective participation by States in Federal organisation. It ,was for the ruler alone, subject, of course, to the acceptance of his accession by the Crown, to determine the extent of the field over which Federal authority should operate in his State. The Government proposal, was that the Prince's should accept the whole Act and then in the instruments of accession they should set out the subjects in relation to which,the Act is accepted, making it clear (1) that, the Act does not touch any other: subject, and (2) that the Act does not detract from the Princes'; sovereignty in any other respect. The Government were prepared to safeguard the Princes' position. He believed that when the Princes had studied the clauses of the Bill and there had been further opportunity for the. Government to discuss the difficulties with them, it would be possible most effectively to safeguard the Princes' position in every respect, whilst' retaining; the general Federal structure of the BilL The Government were just as determined as. they always had been to make it clear that they regarded the treaties between the Crown and an Indian State as inviolate. So far as he."could judge none of the points raised seemed questions of principle, but all seemed questions of detail that could be very well and in some cases easily adjusted.