DISCORDANT NOTES IN INDIA.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18821, 9 March 1931, Page 7

DISCORDANT NOTES IN INDIA.

No Half Measures Acceptable. SETTLEMENT REGARDED AS BETRAYED. Unlt-d Preis Association— By Electric Telegraph—Copyright (Received March 8, 8.55 p.m.) CALCUTTA, March 7. India yesterday joined whole-heart-edly in supporting the Delhi agreement terms. The members of the “Youth League,” and the Labour leaders representing the extreme wing of the Congress, in Bombay, however, condemn the settlement as a betrayal and the lowering of the independence flag. Interview by pressmen Mahatma Gandhi said that Burma Swaraj meant complete self-government, and did not exclude association with any nation, much less England. It waa quite compatible with India remaining within the Empire, but the partnership with England must be on terms of absolute equality. He and the other Nationalist leaders would press for independence at the second Round Table Conference, of which he would prefer the first part to be held in India and second in London.

RECEPTION OF AGREEMENT. VIEWS OF ENGLISH PRESS. British Official Wireless RUGBY, March! fl. In both the House of Commons and the Legislative Assembly at New Delhi loud cheering greeted the reading of the terms of the agreement between the Viceroy and Gandhi In England Press comments from both Government and Liberal organa express extreme satisfaction at tho settlement. Opinion among Conserve tive journals is divided. "The Times” gives its firm and reasoned approval, praising warmly Lord Irwin’s statemanship. The '‘Daily Telegraph” and "Morning Post” are dubious, and fear for the prestige of the Indian Government. The “Daily Mail” and, in a somewhat diminished degree, the “Daily Express” have attacked the conversations with Gandhi from the inception as a "surrender to sedition,” and continue to pursue this line, unaffected by the terms of the agreement. The “Yorkshire Post,” an influential provincial Conservative organ, gives its approval on lines similar to "The Times.” Meanwhile the Parliamentary correspondent of the last-named journal declares that the terms of the agreement will do much to steady opinion in the Conservative Party. Regarding the alleged “surrender," “The Times” says that the terms of the agreement finally lay that phantom. since there has been no surrender of any vital or any important British or Indian interest to the extremist elements. , The "Spectator” says: “Ghandhi is at last a convert to constructive cooperation. As for Lord Irwin, we cannot express too strongly our grateful admiration of his moral courage. We think that careful examination of the facts will convince nearly all reasonable people that the Viceroy, so far from having made a case for surrender, has contrived terms, not only honourable, but also businesslike.”

The "New Statesman” and “The Nation” say that Lord Irwin and Gandhi share equally the honours of this victory for common sense. The "Birmingham Post” describes the settlement as a notable success fof commonsense.