INDIA DEBATE

Hokitika Guardian, 8 November 1929, Page 5

INDIA DEBATE

SPEECH BY MR BALDWIN

(British Official Wireless)

(Received ibis day at 11 a.in.) RUGBY, November 7

In the House of Commons to-day, Mr Baldwin (Conservative Leader) opened the debate on the British policj in India, with a statement regarding his attitude towards the issue of the declaration concerning Dominion status for India. He said that oil Friday, September 20th, the Secretary for India arrived at Pau charged with a letter from the Prime. Minister. The Prime Minister asked him to concur in the issue of a statement concerning Dominion status in the event of the Simon Commission being consulted and agreeing, and the consent of all parties being obtained. He replied that so far as he was concerned he would concur, hut he could not speak for his colleagues or party.

On October 23rd he met his colleagues and learned for the first time that the Simon Commission had not approved of the publication. Lord Irwin’s note was clearly a new situation had arisen, and therefore he called together the ex-Secretary for India and Lord Salisbury and it was at once decided that he should write to the Prime Minister, pointing out that in all the circumstances he could not agree to the publication of the note.

It was not a true statement that a shadow Cabinet of the Conservative Party insisted that he should formally repudiate his personal pledge and required him to write to the Prime Minister withdrawing his approval, and support of Indian home rule. What actually happened was that as soon as he knew the Simon Commission had refused to take any responsibility for the publication of Lord Irwin’s letter, he met his colleagues and told them tlie whole of the circumstances of his correspondence with the Prime Minister, and he then wrote with their approval, and not under coercion, his letter to the Prime Minister.

Speaking on the general object of the pronouncement of the Viceroy of India, Mr Baldwin said it was absurd to talk of a crisis. There was no crisis and had been none. The situation had only demanded elucidation with regard to India’s future. Mr Baldwin said: “Let us never forget that the whole of the great Indian peninsular has been for centuries the subject of invasions and struggles, and perhaps the best thing we have ever done, if we could do no more, is that for a space we have given her internal peace. We have given her justice and the rule of the law. I pray that those three tilings, peace, justice, and the rule of the law, may accompany India and ourselves throughout every stage of the long and arduous journey which is before us now. At the best, it is a difficult journey—a ■journey that will have to be taken •through a tangle of creeds and castes of ancient interests and immoral hate.

“ YVe have promised India in our declaration responsible Government. All parties in this country are agreed that that pledge snail be honoured and it will form the most responsible task of the Commission of which Sh’ John ,Simon is Chairman to point out what step at this moment is the most desirable to take.

“ Should there be any doubt whatever in any quarter of the House,” added Mr Baldwin, “ thnt the position of India, with full responsible Govern, meht in the Empire, when attained, in whatever form it might take, so far as the internal government of India is concerned, must he one of equality, with other seats of Empire.” Mr Baldwin concluded: “No Conservative Party with which I am centred will fail in sympathy and endeavour to help in our time and the utmost extent of our ability, the solution of the greatest political problem which is before us to-day. We cannot hope to live to see it realised. Our work must be done in faith, so that when, perhaps after long generations to come, there are men who will be putting the coping stones on this foundation, they happily will not forget those who toiled with faith among the foundations.” Mr Lloyd George (Liberal Leader) said he was a member of the Government that introduced reforms in India ami presided over a Cabinet that not only sanctioned hut framed the declaration in reference to future self-gov-ernment of India. There was no question so far as the Liberals were concerned, of going back one single inch from those declarations. Those declarations were considered carefully, not only by the British Cabinet. They were considered during the war at the Imperial Cabinet, where there were representatives of every Dominion in the British Empire, including India. He expressed the nature of the pledge which was given to India and why a full partnership was not conceded immediately. It was owing purely to practical difficulties. The first difficulty was that never in the whole history df India had India or any part of it ever enjoyed the slightest measure of democratic selfgovernment until 1919. | Secondly, that 95 per cent of the population was illiterate.

And, thirdly, there were so many different races, nationalities, and languages as there were in the whole of Europe. All these facts had to he taken into account.

The Imperial War Cabinet in 1917 with the Prime Ministers of ail Dominions present, decided that there should he accorded to the public of India a considerable measure of self-govern-ment, limited, restricted, experimental and tentative, but they promised and this, was where the pledge came in, gradually if the experiment was sue-

cossful to extend it until finally India enjoyed full partnership in the Empire on equal terms with our great dominions. They made it dear that the ultimate goal could only be readied by stages and that the limiting and number of those stages must be determined carefully from time to time by the success which attended the experiment at each stage.

Mr Lloyd George regretted that while the report of the Simon Commission was. being awaited, a declaration was issued with the consent of the Government, which had created an impression in India that it was intend'd Without dehiv to confer full dominion status oil India.

Mr Wedgewood Bonn (Secretary fo> India) said the Government were m't taking a new step in the nnliev. but wen* making in effect administrative action and wore declarin'’ and interpreting in unmistakable terms the existing policy. The declaration was a restatement and intornretation of the Montague policy. Lord Irwin’s statement was what it said, no less and no more. The Montague policy stood as a cardinal article of faith in the British policy towards India. Tbe first reason for the Government taking the action they did was that they were advised to do so by the Vieerov. He would like ,to absolve tbe Viceroy because be came to England as an Ambassador of peace and had gone back to India as a peacemaker. There had grown up in recent year* a doubt in India about the British policy. The Viceroy said that for the removal of that doubt it was neoo«s''vy to issue a clear declaration of the existing policv. The Vieero v also wanted, if possible, to "et r good atm o r>ntie.’’o which would be better secured if they could dear, up those doubts before the report of tin* Statutory Commission was issued. It was because those reasons appeared to /the Government to be good and sound that thev took tin* course thev did. Mr Linvd George lias asked whether there had been any change of policv. Mr AY edgewood Bonn said that using the word in its widest sense, there had been a change. A new spirit had been introduced and an effort had boon made to make the Indian people realise the position they occupied in the British commonwealth, and to give them an assurance of equality. The second change that the Government had made was far more important, namely, in regard to a conference. The conference was to be fully representative of the different parties and interests in India, and ir Indian States.

Sir John Simon (Chairman, of the Statutory Commission) said the Commission had endeavoured to discharge their duties and would go on discharging them. The Commission was absolutely determined to do nothing which could be construed or misconstrued as the presentation of an interim report. The function of the Commission could neither be enlarge ed nor diminished bv any declaration or statement made by anybody whatever. Hence he earnestly asked Parliament to leaves the Commission, te continue their work undisturbed, without Parliamentary conflict. Members of the Commission had an undecided and sincere desire to serve not only India, and not only Britain, hut both together. One outcome of the events of the last few days was to make everybody realise that the future constitutional progress of India w°s one of the most complicated, ns well as most important quetsion? in the whole world. The Prime Minister had said the declaration of the Viceroy was required because after 191.9 propaganda had been start'd asking Indian people to believe the British Government had departed from its policy. A declaration was necessary in order that a better atmosphere and more confidence should be established, pending the Publication of the report of the Commission. The debate then ended, the motion for the adjournment being withdrawn.