LORD READING ON INDIAN AFFAIRS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19270, 6 January 1931, Page 7

LORD READING ON INDIAN AFFAIRS.

DISTRUST CAN ONLY BE CURED BY TRUST, HE SAYS.

(United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) (Received January 6, 12 50 p.m.) RUGBY, January 4. It is understood that the Aga Khan who has been ill in Paris, where he narrowl} r escaped pneumonia, will be sufficiently recovered to be present in London at to-day’s meeting of delegates. Maulana Muhammad Ali, who died in London yesterday, during his speech at the plenary session told the British delegates that they might have to give him a grave. Several of his relations were present when he died, and his embalmed body will be taken to India. He was a great patriot and had the personal esteem of his strongest political opponents. Lord Reading’s Speech. Lord Reading, speaking at the Federal Structure Sub-committee, associated himself warmly with the opinion expressed by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru that the only cure for distrust was trust, and made a plea for mutual trust between India and Britain. The question of responsibility and the settlement of the Hindu-Moslem controversy were the most important matters before the conference. Regarding the he expressed the earnest hope that when it came up again it would be found to be settled amicably. He devoted his speech solely to the question of responsibility. Since the Princes had declared their intention of joining the Federal Constitution for All-India a new situation was created, and, as the Prime Minister had said, the declaration had revolutionised the whole aspect of the matters before them. The Liberal section of the British delegation approached the subject of responsibility of the Federal Executive and Federal Legislature with a genuine desire to give effect as far as they legitimately could to the views of the Brit-ish-Indian delegation, provided that adequate safeguards and reservations were introduced, enabling the Government of India to be carried on with reasonable security and protection to all interests, and that the new constitution would be fairly workable. That was the recommendation that the Liberal section would make to their party in Parliament. The necessary safeguards and reservations were in fact very little in advance of those which it had already been admitted must be made in setting up a Federal system. It was inevitable that they should meet complications and difficulties. Dual Government. It was idle to refuse to recognise that at this stage there must be some form of dual Government. Questions like defence, the army, foreign relations, international obligations and obligations already undertaken must be regarded as outside the region of controversy and as reserved subjects. The Viceroy, or Governor-General, must be responsible to some authority. They could not have an autocrat at the head. Relations with the Princes in dynastic matters and questions generally referred to in connection with paramountcy would also be included among the reserved subjects.

Regarding the proposals of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, to whose courage and statesmanship he paid a warm tribute, Lord Reading said that he broadly approved of the setting up of a Cabinet of seven or eight Ministers in charge of various departments, and that the Cabinet should have collective responsibility. Although, at first, he hesitated to accept the proposal that two or three Ministers, as advisers in reserved matters, should sit with Cabinet, on reflection he concluded that it was a good proposal 1 and should be carefully considered. A great advantage would be that all the Ministers participating in the Cabinet discussions would get to understand each other, and the system would be of considerable benefit in securing unity in government. Undoubtedly the Governor-General must be President of the Council, although he need not always preside. lie thought that all were too apt to think of the past instead of the future. After listening to the arguments, he was looking forward to the time when the Council met, when there would not be opposition between Cabinet and the Ministry, or the Legislature and the Viceroy, and when the whole Ministry would be giving the best of their ability to give effect to the views of the Legislature, and explaining to the Legislature why a particular decision was necessary in those circumstances. Many of the safeguards and reservations now being introduced, because they had to prepare for all eventualities, would, in all probability, never be brought into play. He agreed that no Ministry should be turned out unless there were a twothirds, or perhaps three-quarters majority, but that could be left for the present. The power must be inherent in the Viceroy to dismiss the Ministry it he thought that it had lost the confidence of the House. . As to representatives taking part in matters said to be of purely British-Indian interest, he thought that there would be very few subjects in which they had no such interest, either direct or indirect. Reserved and unreserved subjects and questions would be discussed in Cabinet, but on the reserved points Cabinet would not vote and on the unreserved points the Viceroy’s Ministers would not vote. Finance. Lord Reading dealt with finance questions and urged great care in exchange and currency matters, control of which must, pending the establishment of the reserve bank, be left with the Viceroy Although law and order were to be transferred to the provinces, overriding power must be left with the Viceroy to act in cases where disorder covered a wider area. Assuming that the Federal Constitution came into existence and they carried out what they had been discussing, India would have made an immense constitutional advance. He did not think that it was entirely without risk, but he was prepared to face that risk. Sympathy with King. Expressions of deep sympathy with the King and members of the Royal Family on the death of the Princess Royal were expressed by the Chairman and members of the Federal Structure Sub-Committee. Lord Sankey and several speakers representing all sections also paid tributes to Maulana Muhammad Ali. When the discussion on the constitutional question was resumed a Moslem delegate criticised in detail the present sj'stem of administration. Speaking of the future, he urged that the new system should provide adequate safeguards for minorities. Lord Sankey tentatively suggested to the subcommittee that in the new form of the Viceroy’s Cabinet portfolios might possibly be allotted as follows: (1) Finance, (2) law, (3) railways and posts and telegraphs. (4) education, health and lands, (5) industries, (6) commerce, (7) revenue subjects, for example administration of Customs, opium and salt, (8) minor departments, for example botanical and geological surveys, and (9) Minister in Charge of Minor Administrations. At present the Cabinet consists of eleven members, including the Coni-mander-in-Chief.