SERIOUS HITCH

Hawera Star, Volume L, 15 January 1931, Page 5

SERIOUS HITCH

HINDU-MOSLEM DEADLOCK

COMMUNAL PROBLEM.

ARBITRATORS SUGGESTED

(United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph Copyright.) LONDON, Jan. 13. •An eleventh-hour attempt is being made to end the Hindu-Moslem deadlock. says “The Times.’’ Hindu leaders in a letter suggest the communal question should be hauded over to arbitration, with the result of which they undertake to acme, and suggest the arbitrators should include Mr Ramsay MacDonald, Lord Sankey, Mr Gandhi and Professor Gilbert Murray. To-night the Aga Khan informed M.r MacDonald that unless lvis forthcoming statement of policy included satisfactory' safeguards to the Moslem community the Moslems would dissociate themselves from the findings of the conference'.

• The hitch is regarded as serious. The “Daily Telegraph’s” diplomatic editor says the fact that no Hindu-Moslem agreement is likely to be reached is bound to prevent tnc conference from making definite useful recommendations.

CHAIRMAN’S DRAFT REPORT. MEMBERS MAKE RESERVATIONS. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, Jan. 14. During further discussion by the federal structure sub-committee on Lord Sankey’s draft report to-day, various members made reservations, and Lord Sankey subsequently drafted a further paragraph to add to the committee’s report, noting the reservations and making it clear that while agreement had been reached by the majority of the committee on many important matters, the right was reserved for every member to modify liis opinion before the final picture was complete, this applying to British and Indian members alike. The Indian States maintained that they did not desire to discuss or vote on questions affecting British India alone, while on the other hand they did not contemplate that the question of paramountcy would come within the purview of the Federal Government. Lord Reading • said they would remember that the conclusions were provisional, because the conference could not frame the constitution, but could only decide broad principles. The understanding from the outset was that members, when they came to consider the completed proposals for federal constitution, could modify any provisional recommendation they had given. They of the Liberal Party delegation saw' no reason to depart from the opinions he expressed, in recent speeches. Mr. M. A. Jinnah maintained that the settlement of the Hindu-Moslem question was a condition precedent to the completion of any constitution fori India, and declared that unless safeguards for Mussulmans were provided which gave a complete sense of security, and unless their co-operation and willing consent were obtained, no constitution could work for 24 hours. He had serious doubts of an All-India Federation materialising, but all avenues leading to it should he explored. He thought that the special powers of the Governor-General should be limited to cases of complete breakdown or grave emergency endangering the peace and tranquility of the country.