The Daily News FRIDAY, JULY 5, 1919. FUTURE OF INDIA.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 July 1929, Page 10

The Daily News FRIDAY, JULY 5, 1919. FUTURE OF INDIA.

The history of British rule in India is so full of strife, warfare, and unrest that it is impossible, to epitomise even the outstanding events which would throw a useful light upon the position.which now faces the British Parliament in regard to the future administration of that vast Empire. It was in 1600 that India was acquired under a royal charter granted to the East India Company by Queen Elizabeth, and transferred to the Imperial Government in 1858, while in 1877 Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress. Modern critics have remarked with surprise how well the description of India given by the officers of Alexander the Great portray what is now beheld in that country at a distance of two thousand years. One effect of British rule has been to raise the standard of education of the higher ranks of natives, many of whom have taken advantage of western university careers, and in some rare cases have entered the political arena of the Imperial Government. It is from these cultivated men that have emerged leaders of the people, and to their efforts is due the demand for the self-government of India. Already an initial instalment of such selfgovernment was granted, under due safeguards, in 1919, it being provided that the experiment should continue for ten years, when it was to be reviewed as the result of an inquiry, the object of which was to ascertain what further instalment of self-govern-ment, if any, should be granted. Wisely, it may be considered, the Baldwin Government did not wait the full term before setting up a commission of inquiry, but last year set up what is known as the Simon Commission, which paid its first visit to India in the early part of 1928, but before arriving there, steps were taken by the agitators for absolute Home Rule to boycott the commission, and so prevent the taking of evidence, the Legislative Assembly and many of the Provincial Legislatures passing resolutions favouring the boycott, though several of these bodies subsequently rescinded such resolutions. All the same, the members of. the commission were able to see for themselves the conditions which' existed on the spot, thereby gaining useful data that saved much time on their second visit, when what .may be termed the real business of the commission was undertaken. Happily the importance and good intentions of the commission received more consideration on this second occasion, when a fair measure of official support was forthcoming, though several groups, representative of important Indian sections, refused to co-operate. As might be expected, it was from the Nationalist Party that the main opposition came, their demand being for out and out Dominion status and privileges. All that the commission has to do naw that the members have returned to London, is to collate the evidence obtained in India, together with the result of their observations and conferences, and to collect such pertinent data as can be in England. Their duty is not to frame a new constitution, but to place their conclusions before Parliament, and it is the latter which will have to decide upon the future administration of India—if it can. . It is much to be deplored that the stand taken by the Nationalists will probably set back for some time all hope of a further measure of self-government. Not only have they gone out of their way to place obstacles, in the way of speeding-up a further measure of responsible democracy, but they have conveyed the impression of such hostility to British sovereignty that even the granting of Dominion status cannot yet be considered as within the realm of practical politics. The position is further complicated by the change in the British Government since the commission was appointed, and it remains, to be seen how the Labour regime will handle this vital matter. There can be no doubt that the report of the commission, will be not only fair and just, but will be sympathetic on the main issue. The whole of India has been granted the opportunity of making known its hopes and aspirations, as well as its grievances. No one can forecast the tenor of the report, but the whole Empire may rely upon, having the position of affairs clearly set forth, and it will be for Imperial Parliament to deal with the subject according to its best traditions.

STOCK-OWNERS’ PROBLEMS. The annual conference of veterinary surgeons that commenced in Wellington on Wednesday is one of much importance. It is upon her flocks and herds that New Zealand relies for daily bread, and the increase or diminution in production from livestock is a fair indication of whether prosperity or depression will obtain throughout the Dominion. In every branch of livestock the tendency is to specialisation, and, by selection and special treatment, to breed for certain, purposes. The flock-owner must know whether he desires fat lambs or wool as his principal output; the cattle-owner must choose between the beef and dairy type, while the latter are again divided into breeds that are held to be most suitable for the manufacture of butter or cheese, as the case may be. So, also, with poultry and with pigs, expert knowledge of the output aimed at is essential to success. But it is beginning to be realised that in the process of specialisation, including, as it must', some rather arbitrary interference with natural development, disorders and complications arise in livestock that present new problems to their owners. It is the elucidation of the causes of .such troubles, and the methods of eliminating them or minimis" .g their effect that Is the function of the veterinarian, and In a country so entirely dependent upon ite primary products as New. Zealand animal public health is only second»in importance to the public health of the community. The Dominion is paying, dearly even yet for diseases introduced tn bygone days when tho value ofj scientific" oversight was less generally recognised than it is to-day. Of these swine fever, anthrax and blackleg are three outstanding instances of the introduction of disease from overseas. It seems reasonable to claim that the first two have been stamped out, and the third Is well undei’ control. It is also fairly certain that precaution against' the introduction of disease is not likely to be wanting in the future. What the veterinarians have now to face are disorders such as mammitis, sterility and abortion among cows, parasitic (external and internal) troubles in sheep and lambs, and other disorders that, while less deadly, cause grave economic loss. The cattle tick is a nuisance that appears to have been incapable of arrest, and, while its effect h not been very marked so far, it is anything but a de-, sirable addition to tlie worries, of tho stock-owner. So long as such disorders exist the conditions of animal public h< Ith cannot be said to be satisfac' tory. Some of the problems are not confined to New Zealand, and are being found as baffling in other countries as in the Dominion, but what this country needs to feel assured of is that their solution is being attempted with the utmost, zeal. If the veterinarians’ conference can give this assurance it will have been worth while.