THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 1919. THE FUTURE OF INDIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17141, 22 April 1919, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 1919. THE FUTURE OF INDIA.

The rioting in India is a symptom of the impatience of the extreme wing of the Nationalist party with the cautious approach of the British Government to constitutional questions which have absorbed the attention of educated Indians for many

years. If there is a pro-German or ' even anti-British faction in the coun-' try it is so small that it was unable to make any use of the exceptional, opportunity the war afforded it to embarrass British. authority. The feature of the war period, particularly of the first year, was the spon- J taneous rally of all India to the cause for which Britain was fighting.' The fervour of India's support was at least as striking as the valuable service of Indian troops in the field,; and though it received little notice i in the Dominions owing to the pres-

sure of their own affairs, it made a deep impression on officials in India and on public opinion in Britain. So absolute and universal was the loyalty of India that the country was almost hermetically sealed against enemy propaganda; the few conspiracies which took place, were isolated and uninfluential, and the most malevolent critics of British rule were compelled to give at least verbal support to the popular enthusiasm for the war. The British people and Government responded generously to a manifestation they had hardly dared to expect, and on August 20, 1917, Mr. Montagu, Secretary of State for India, made a most important pronouncement regarding the place of India in the British Empire. He stated, in reply to a question in the House of Commons, that the policy of His Majesty's Government was " the gradual development of self-governing institutions with a view to the progressive realisation of responsible government in India, as an integral part of the British Empire." This statement, despite the lack of formality with which it was made, marks an epoch. Never before had a responsible British Minister spoken of self-government for India except to deny its practicability. British aims in India had not been defined since the mutiny, and they were then summarised as " the government of India for the good of Indians themselves." That was a very excellent, in fad, the only possible, policy in 1858, and all intelligent Indians admit that it has been carried out with rare skill and unique altruism. But however benevolent the motive of Britain towards India, 1 it has hitherto been expressed in an alien autocracy. To abandon this form of government, however gradually, in favour of democratic institutions is a departure of the profoundest moment, a departure which, since it affects the well-being of one-fifth of mankind, demands the closest and most expert consideration. Can self-govern-ment, an evolution of the West, be imposed ready-made on the East What prospect is there that it will suit the temperament of Indians or that, even if given Oriental trappings, it will not still be a stranger in a strange hind? Can Indian rule be better for India than British rule? These and countless other questions arise from the restatement ■>f British policy, and they cannot je answered offhand. The British

Government has committed itself to an experiment, perhaps a great and a hopeful one, but still to an experiment. Beyond its pronouncement of principle it has not so far progressed. Mr. Montagu has visited India, and in consultation j with Lord Chelmsford, the Viceroy, I has presented a report embodying the measure of devolution he deems. immediately realisable. The admin- : istrative changes he proposes are, to take place in four different zones ■ —local, provincial, central, and parliamentary. In the local sphere it is proposed that popular control in municipal and rural councils should be made absolute. In the eight principal provinces an executive council and Ministers to assist the Governor are foreshadowed. The whole field of provincial administration will be divided into " reserved" subjects, which the Governor-in-Council will control, and others which will be in the hands of the, Ministers. In the central sphere the Viceroy's executive council is to bo enlarged, and in place of the present highly-officialised Legislature a bicameral system is to be set up. Portion of both chambers is to be elected, but British authority is iicciiicd in the upper house, which may, ill the Governor General's reqiu'tU, |nun iiii'UHiiroN without reference In ill,. low! r house. In the jiinli/iMicnl.ni'.y upborn it is proposed lull, thn ilniiDO of OommonH should n-Biiinit Niirv(>il|ance over Indian nffiiim, long left, entirely to Minis-

tors, by appointing eaoh year a select committee on India and by sending periodical commissions of inquiry to that country.

These rectomendations are not intended to be final. They are no more than a draft, free criticism of which is invited. Two committees have been authorised to make further reports, and when these are leceivsd the British Government will draw up a scheme for submission to Parliament. In the form in which it reaches the Statute Book this measure will probably contain only a modest measure of self-government as a first instalment. The instinct of Englishmen is to hasten slowly in such matters, and it is a sound one. The port which is to be the goal has been fixed, but the voyage to it must be long and may be dangerous. Nothing will be gained,, and everything may be lost, by precipitancy. It is easy to put European veneer over an Oriental system, but it is not easy to judge what the result may be either to the system or the

veneer. One great difficulty is that India is inarticulate. The Nationalists are not India, and most of them know less than British officials about the millions who form the vast agricultural majority of India. If full, pelf-government were granted to India now power would fall to a handful of educated men who are the product of the universities, some of whom have preached a sinister doc-

trine of racial hatred and anarchism,

and few of whom care much about

tho tens of millions who lie beyond the cities and have never seen a school, far less a university. For the sake of India Britain must keep the government in her own hands for yet many years. She must train the natives in self-government, and first of all she must give them the rudimentary education which self-gov-ernment postulates. Over ninety per cent, of the people of British

, India are illiterate, and only twenty I per cent, of the children are receiv- , ing instruction. The country is divided by deep lines of religious and I , racial and linguistic and caste J cleavage, and it will be a long time J before a common national spirit I emerges, and before sufficiently in- 1 : telligent electorates can be obtained 1 to give a reliable expression of public opinion. Britain's task in India has i not finished. It is merely entering i another phase and in this phase the provision of schools appears to be ; most urgent. Parliaments will i doubtless come later.

1 TRADE WITH SAMOA. i > * ' The detailed reports upon the ' I trade and commerce of the former ' i German colony of Samoa, which arc ! being issued by the military adminis- . tration, are deserving of careful study , in New Zealand. The Dominion has • j retained a considerable share in the - ! trade of Samoa during the .period of 1 the war, but commercial relations ' have been severely handicapped by shipping difficulties. An examina--1 I tion of the official statistics indicates ; ' that there are important possibilities /of an expansion of this trade, and | the inclusion of the colony within , the jurisdiction of New Zealand i Government under mandate from the ['■ League of Nations promises both . I opportunity and encouragement for . greater enterprise than in the past. , During last year, only 5j per cent, of the exports from the colony were ' shipped to New Zealand, the whole I production of copra, which formed > over 80 per cent, of the total export trade, being sold in the United States. With the development of candle and soap making and other industries utilising vegetable oils, ! New Zealand should be able to absorb a considerable proportion of this commodity. On the other hand, the colony offers an expanding market for foodstuffs and other sup- ' pliee which New Zealand could fur- . nish. America has the principal ' share in Samoa's import trade, the distribution being fairly even among the States, Australia and New Zealand. In such items as drapery, footwear, flour, and preserved fish. 1 the trade has been largely secured . ] by Australia, though there is no ini surmountable difficulty against its '■ I diversion to New Zealand. The I principal factor determining the ,! course of Sarnoan trade has appari . ently been the capacity of the exist- , j ing shipping services. Present cirI cumstances seem to offer a favour- • I able opportunity for co-operation i between New Zealand merchants and ! shipowners with a view to improving [ the commercial relations between • i Samoa and the Dominion, and suffi- • I cient data is furnished by the Ad- • i ministration reports to indicate the i' directions in which enterprise is l i likely to be most quickly successful.