INDIA CONFERENCE

Southland Times, Issue 21273, 19 December 1930, Page 5

INDIA CONFERENCE

MINORITIES SUB-COMMITTEE.

MR MACDONALD CHAIRMAN

(British Official Wireless.)

Rugby, December 17.

The Prime Minister, Mr Ramsay MacDonald, will be chairman of the Minorities Sub-Committee the members of which were selected by the Business Committee at the India Round-Table Conference. His acceptance of this position is appropriate in view of his presence in the role of conciliator at the recent conference on the minority problem between the Hindu Mahshabha, the Hindu Liberals, Moslems, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Indian women, depressed classes of labour and Europeans. The terms reference are “provision to be made to secure the willing co-operation of minorities and special interests.” A sub-committee on the franchise consisting of 37 members, including both women delegates was also formed with Sir William Jowitt as chairman. The subcommittee on the North-West Frontier Province, which was also set up with 20 members, will have Mr Arthur Henderson as chairman.

The Federal Structure Sub-Committee meets to-morrow to discuss the future treatment of subjects not placed on the federal list. On Monday it will begin consideration of numbers 4 and 6 on the Lord Chancellor’s list of heads of subjects, namely, the number of members comprising the federal legislature and, if the legislature is of more than one chamber, of each chamber and their distribution among the federating units, methods whereby representatives from British India and the Indian' States are to be chosen, and the constitution, character, powers and responsibilities of the federal legislature. The sub-commit-tee had also to report upon the relation of the federal executive and provincial executives to the Crown.