THE WAIPA POST. Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. THURSDAY, 12th MARCH, 1931. EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION.

Waipa Post, Volume 42, Issue 3271, 12 March 1931, Page 4

THE WAIPA POST. Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. THURSDAY, 12th MARCH, 1931. EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION.

THE address given to the local Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday upon some aspects of the present political situation in India directs more particular attention to the English press comment, reported by the cables, upon most recent happenings in that part of the Empire. It would seem that the press in Great Britain, with fuller information on the subject than is available here, is balancing the advantages and the disadvantages of the results of the conversations between the Viceroy of India and Mr Gandhi. The view that is expressed by The Times, always the best informed on any subject of either Imperial or international interest, and always the most sober exponent of public opinion, is one on which a great deal of dependence may be placed. The Spectator, which has been markedly sympathetic to the claim for the bestowal of dominion status on India, welcomes the agreement as an indication that Mir Gandhi has at last become a convert to constructive cooperation. The formation of a constitution remains a difficult problem —not the least difficult if Mr Gandhi’s statement that the goal that is in view is complete independence is to be construed literally—and the ingenuity of British and Indian statesmen will have to be wisely applied to it if a satisfactory conclusion is to be reached. The “ stunt ” press holds that the outcome of the discussions is a surrender to sedition. If this were actually the case The Times would not be slow to denounce the settlement. It says, however, that there has been no surrender of any vital or any important British or Indian interest to the extremist elements.

That is a judgment which, deliberately pronounced, is distinctly impressive. Mr Gandhi himself, it may be noted, does not claim that there has been any surrender of principle on the part of the Indian Government; and, as. far as it is possible to form any definite conclusion on the terms of the settlement as cabled, it would be very difficult indeed to sustain any such claim. To describe the settlement effected as “ a surrender to sedition ”is hardly fair criticism. Whatever may have been sacrified by way of concessions, and that at some risk to the Government’s prestige, has been more than offset by the benefits likely to - accrue from the cessation of Mr Gandhi’s non-co-operative activities. It 'has been Recognised all along that any settlement of India’s political future which did not represent the opinions of all parties would carry no guarantee of domestic peace. From this point of view the absence of all representatives or emissaries of the Indian Native Congress from the Round Table Conference meant that its conclusions could not be regarded as complete and satisfying; hence the efforts to bring the irreconcilables into the circle.

On Mr Gandhi’s part it has been undertaken that there will be an effective discontinuance of the civil disobedience movement, of the resistance to the payment of land revenue and other civil dues, and of the boycott of British goods. Moreover, there is to be a cessation of propaganda in support of civil disobedience and of attempts to influence public officials against the Government. It really follows from this that the ordinances that were promulgated to deal with the weapon of civil disobedience are to be abrogated and that, these ordinances being no longer in force, the persons >who have been imprisoned under them are, except in the cases of those who were guilty of violence, to be released, and that property seized by the Government is, subject to certain qualifications, to be returned.

An important point in the settlement relates to the £alt monopoly. The Government has declined to condone the breaches of the existing salt law, and it does not see its way in the present financial conditions to make substantial modifications of the Acts, but in order to give relief to certain of the poorer classes it is prepared to permit the residents in areas where there are salt deposits to gather and manufacture salt for domestic consumption or sale within those areas. This is a real concession on the part of the Government, but it is one, it may be surmised, which was not

wholly beyond the reach of attainment even if there had been, no subversive movement and no defiance of constituted authority. The result ma'y fairly be taken by the Gandhi faction as a timely recognition of the fact that the odds were against it, and that it was better to save the Congress Party from disintegration and futility, with the prospect of being definitely relegated to the sphere of political outcasts. It is a settlement of give and take, arrived at in an amicable spirit. The major gain is a new and more promising political atmosphere, for which all concerned have to thank the Viceroy. History may show that in this he has done his greatest service to India and the Empire. To sum up, the settlement is extremely valuable since it ensures that the whole of India will participate in the discussions upon the lines upon which the future constitution of the Empire will be framed.