FEDERATION FOR INDIA

Hokitika Guardian, 3 December 1930, Page 7

FEDERATION FOR INDIA

RELATIONS DISCUSSED. LORI) SANK It Y ADDRESSES COMMITTEE. RUGBY, November 28. The Federal Relations Committee of the Indian Round-Table Conference (a committee of the whole) met under the chairmniiiship of Mr Ramsay MacDonald, the Prime Minister, and considered the subjects suggested for discussion by Lord Sankey. Lord Sankev explained his meaning of the component of ifederaifion, and a sub-commit-tee was appointed to go into details of the question.

The Prime Minister explained that it was proposed to have a general discussion on the heads of subjects prepared by Lord Sankey and then ito remit {hem to special suh-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 ns an introduction to the heads of the (subjects and not a preamble defining the character of contemplated constitution, LORD SANKEY’S ADDRESS. Add reusing th e com it tee Lord Sail key 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 rom Bombay, or what should he the position of the North West Frontier Province .That was not his intention.- lie had hoped to exclude all such matters of detail until a later period, possibly after these ques lions 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-Jndia on the other combining to make a federation ; (2) a federation of British-India on the one side and on the other the State seutering singly ; and (3) a federaetion 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 tween the States or any two or more

between the States or any one of them and British India. The ties between lire Government of India and the States were treaties and powers resulting from the doctrine of paramountcy, hut 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 SUB-COMMITTEES.

Alter discussion, i,t 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 thencomponent elements, The sub-committee which will be known as the Federal Structure Sub-Committee, comprises a chairman (Lord Saiikoy), and from the British delegation Mr H. B. Lees-Smith Lord Lothan, and a Conservative delegate to be nominated ; from the Indian States delegation, the Newab of Bhopal the Maharajah of Bikaner, Sir Akbar Hydari, Mirza Sir Mahommed Ismail, and Colonel K, N. Haksar; from the British-India delegation, Mr Srinivasa Sastri, Sir Tej Bahaddur Supra, the Hon Diwan Bahadur Arcot, Ramaswami Miudaliyar, Mr Jayakar, Sardar Sahib, Sardar Hjjal Singh, Mr M .A. Jinnah, Sir Muhammad Shafi, Air Tracey Gavin Jones, Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar, and the “ultan Ahmend.

The full committee will meet in the afternoon to consider the remainder of the twelve heads.

The General discussion was dropped