INDIAN AFFAIRS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17955, 6 December 1932, Page 5

INDIAN AFFAIRS

PROGRESS OF CONFERENCE OFFICIAL BRITISH STATEMENT (British Official Wireless.) Rec. 10 a.m. RUGBY, Dec. 5. A four-days’ discussion by the Indian Conference ou the special powers and responsibilities of the Governor-General and Governors under the federal constitution ended with a statement oi the Government’s views, made by Sir Samuel Hoare. He gave an assurance that the special responsibilities of the Governor-General would be strictly limited and not over an undefined field, and would be carried out in a common-sense way. The actual field would include finance, commercial discrimination, minorities, and the protection of services. Paramountey stood outside the Federal constitution, as it was a matter of direct relations between, the Crown and the princes. In the Federal field, recourse would be had to the Federal courts.

Regarding the Governor-General’s power to safeguard Imperial relations, the Government was prepared to look into the matter again in view of the apprehension expressed in the sphere of reserved departments. Although external relations include political relations with outside countries, commercial, economic, and other non-political relations would fall within the transferred 1 or Ministerial sphere. Defence would be discussed later.

The statement was well received.