FUTURE OF INDIA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21281, 7 September 1932, Page 9

FUTURE OF INDIA

OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS A FURTHER CONFERENCE ' STATEMENT BY VICEROY'" By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright British Wireless RUGBY, Sept.' 5 The Viceroy of India, the Earl of Willingdon, addressing the Legislative Assembly at Simla, stated that a small Round-Table Conference, representative of British India and the Indian States, would meet in London in November to make an earnest attempt to reach an agreement on the outstanding questions of constitutional policy. Lord Willingdon gave a comprehensivo review of the position, and said there would be no compromise with the Indian National Congress while the civil disobedience movement continued.. The Congress campaign would not succeed while -the Government maintained its present policy. A modification of the Indian constitutional reforms procedure was also announced by the Viceroy. This, he said, was designed to meet circumstances which, owing to resignations and through other causes, had arisen to prevent the projected reassembly in India of the Consultative Committee of the Round-Table Conference for the consideration of questions still outstanding. Further London Discussions Necessary Lord Willingdon recalled the fact that Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary of State for India, announced on June 27 the intention of the British Government, after it had formulated the specific recommendations for Indian constitutional reform, to set a joint select committee of Parliament to examine the proposals in consultation with Indian representatives. The British Government had hoped, in the interests of speed, that no further formal discussions would be necessary in London before these proposals were formulated, but was prepared to arrange for such discifesions if the deliberations in India of the Consultative Committee proved less conclusive than was hoped. / Since this announcement it had become clear that it was not possible to look to , the Consultative Committee for the contribution anticipated from it, and consequently further discussions in London would be necessary.

Avoidance of Public Sessions " The British Government proposes,therefore, to invite a small body of representatives of the States and British India to meet it in London about the middle of November," said the Viceroy. " It intends by this means, to make an earnest attempt tq reach an agreement' consistent with the declared- policy of the British Government upon the important > questions which still remain to be decided. " The status of the Indian represeptatives will. be. the same, as tMt of the delegates at the Round-Table Conference, but the character of the discussions and v the stage that has now been reached necessitate less formal and more expeditious procedure than that adopted during the last two years. This result, the British Government is convinced, will be achieved by avoding public sessions and

by working upon a fixed agenda. "The objects of, the discussions will be to agree upon as large a number of points as possible. As. already indicated by the Secretary of State, the Government subsequently will present for consideration of the joint select committee and Parliament its specific recommendations, including the points which have been agreed upon, and will, of course support them."