FEDERAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE MEETS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19240, 29 November 1930, Page 9

FEDERAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE MEETS.

DELEGATES DISCUSS FUTURE OF INDIA. (United Press Assn.—-By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) (Received November 29, 1.30 p.m.) RUGBY, November 28. At the first full meeting of the enlarged Federal Relations Committee of the Indian Conference the Prime Minister presided. The Prime Minister explained that it was proposed to have a general discussion on the heads of subjects prepared by Lord Sankey and then to remit them to special sub-committees for investigation, implications and for suggesting methods as to the methods of overcoming the difficulties. The sub-committees reports would be considered by the committee of the whole Conference. Mr MacDonald said that he hoped that the Conference would succeed embodying its conclusions in a series of resolutions. It was agreed that Lord Sankey’s heads of subjects be adopted as a provisional agenda. Lord Sankey’s document was prefaced by what was described as a preamble. After some discussion on a proposal to amend the wording of this to include the word Dominion it was agreed to regard it simply as an introduction to the heads of the subjects and not a preamble defining the character of contemplated constitution. Lord Sankey gave an exposition, of the scope of head No. 1, namely, the component elements of the Federation. After discussion, it was agreed that a sub-committee be appointed by the chairman after consultation with the business committee to report on the types of federal structure and their component elements. It later was announced that the sub-committee, which will be known as the Federal Structure Sub-committee, comprises a chairman (Lord Sankey), and from the British delegation Mr 11. B. Lees-Smith, Lord Lothian, and a Conservative delegate to be nominated. From the Indian States delegation the Nawab of Bhopal, the Maharajah of Bikaner, Sir Akbar Hydari, Mirza Sir Mahommed Ismail, and Colonel K. N. ITaflsar from the British-India delegation, Mr Srinivasa Sastri, Sir Tej Bahaddursapru, the Hon Diwan Bahadur Arcot, Ramaswami Mudaliyar, Mr Javakar, Sardar Sahib Sardar ITjjal Singh, Mr M. A. Jinnah, Sii Muhammad Shafi, Mr Tracey Cavin Jones, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar, and the Sultan Ahmed. The full committee will meet in the afternoon to consider the remainder of the twelve heads. Addressing the committee. Lord Sankey said that the first heading might seem to invite discussion, as for example, whether Burma should be a component unit or whether Sind should be separated from Bombay, or what should be the position of the NorthWest Frontier Province. That was not his intention. ITe had hoped to exclude all such matters of detail until a later period, possibly after these questions had been examined by the subcommittee. What was to be discussed now was the theory of what should be the component elements of federation. Theoretically there were several possibilities: (1) A union of all the States on the one hand and British-India on the other combining to make a federation; (2) a federation of British-India on the one side and on the other the States entering singly; and (3) a federation of which the component elements were each Province and each State. Three things must be borne in mind: (1) British India was at present a unitary State, divided for the purposes of convenience into Provinces, and not a number of provinces federated to form a State; (2) there was hardly any organic connection between the States or any two or more of them; (3) there was no organic connection between the States or any one of them and British India. The ties between the Government of India and the States were treaties and powers resulting from the doctrine of paramountcy, but the subjects of the States were not British subjects. Other trends of subjects for discussion under the first head were entrenched somewhat on the other heads indicated. The General discussion was dropped.