LABOUR AND INDIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18690, 22 April 1924, Page 6

LABOUR AND INDIA.

For the second time the Labour Prime Minister of Great Britain has intimated to Indian extremists that the arrival of his party in office will not signalise the immediate granting of all they dem'and. As long ago as January 6 he sent to India a message which though couched in the most friendly terms indicated quite plainly that any hope of dragooning the new Government could be abandoned immediately. The most significant portion was expressed thus: "No party in Great Britain will be cowed by threats of force or by policies designed to bring government to a standstill; and if any sections in India are under the delusion that that is not so, events will very sadly disappoint them." To the impatient Indian, looking for "Swaraj" to-morrow, there will equally be little comfort in Mr. Ramsay MacDonald's new declaration that an inquiry was being held, seeking information " which would be the basis of consideration when the time came to draft the Indian Constitution." Under the Government of India Act, 1919, the whole question of autonomy is due for reconsideration in 1929, the present system being given that period of trial. The Prime Minister shows no disposition to answer- definitely the extremist demand for the granting forthwith of a much more substantial instalment of self-government. The plain inference is that Britain has in India grave responsibilities for the maintenance of order and good government. Any premature withdrawal would menace the safety and happiness of many millions not yet strong enough to walk alone, and by no means content to accept the guidance of Indian leaders. However convenient India may have seemed to the Labour Party in the past as a stick with which to beat the Government, with accession to office has come a fuller realisation of those responsibilities. So much can easily be deduced from Mr. Ramsay MacDonald's two statements.