The Daily News. TUESDAY, JULY 9, 1918. SELF-GOVERNMENT FOR INDIA.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 July 1918, Page 4

The Da ily News. TUESDAY, JULY 9, 1918. SELF-GOVERNMENT FOR INDIA.

For many years past there lias existed a strong party in India, j the members of which have vainly striven to secure that measure of self-government to which they claimed the people of India were entitled. The position of India as regards government has be«n that alone out of all the great British possessions she has been rul«d by a council directly appointed by the British Government, supreme authority being invested in the Viceroy. The Indian Empire has an area of 1,802,657 square miles, and a population of considerably over 315,000,000, being equal to the area and population of Europe without Russia. The great difficulties in constitutional Teform in the past have been the religious and caste divisions, as well as the temperamental natuTe of the Indians, but there i 3 no (question that the horrors of the great mutiny still linger in the imnds of the British. The government su&h a ..v&at, .ol peogle

whose traditions and beliefs are as sacred as they are varied has taxed the ingenuity, statesmanship and skill of Britain, especially as native risings were by no means infrequent. Blunders have been made that have caused trouble, but, on the whole, British rule has been beneficial, though more or less upheld by armed force. During the last half century numbers of Indians have passed through English universities, and proved to be some of the best scholars of their time. That they imbibed radical principles is not surprising, and it is conceivable that these and other educated natives have regarded India's constitutional isolation with ever-increas-ing dissatisfaction, especially as the application of democratic principles to the other parts of Greater Britain have taken root and flourished. But what years of agitation failed to accomplish the war has achieved. The fruit of British policy was most gratify - ingly exemplified when the hour of the Empire's great need rived, and Injdia came forward with whole-hearted loyalty to do her part in helping the Empire to defeat the enemy. How nobly India rose to the occasion and gave men and treasure is too recent to need recapitulation. No more signal proof could have been given of her devotion to Britain, and this conclusive proof of loyalty has banished the last remnant of doubt as to trusting the natives with self-government, bringing them into line, in the course of time, with South Africa and the other Dominions. The report of the committee appointed to consider the question of Indian constitutional reform plainly states that the time has arrived when a reasonable measure iof self-gov-ernment can no longer be delayed, and the scheme proposed is one that is practically a frame-work, the filling-in of which will take time, but the more immediate reforms are such as should satisfy the natives that Britain is in earnest over the matter, and that if the scheme is allowed to gradually develop it ivill not be long before self-government becomes an accomplished fact, though owing to the peculiar circumstances connected with India, the British Government must always be the supreme authority, the representation of India on the Council of Empire (or whatever the final name of the supreme authority may be) being a sufficient guarantee that Indian interests will be as favorably treated as those of any of the other Dominions. At present India is ruled by British officials, though there are 712 municipal bodies appointed on the elective principle, but with some Government members in all cases, while in the rural districts there are some 1134 district and local boards. The new scheme provides, in the first place, for a Second Chamber, the creation of an Indian Privy Council, and a Council of the Princes. Then it proposes that Indians shall form pfirt of the Provincial Executive, and that the Legislative Council of each province shall, have a substantial majority of elected members chosen on a broad franchise. The scheme begins practically with local government, and apparently will work up to executive government. This is both prodent and wise. Naturally the proposals will be keenly criticised and discussed, but the giving of the opportunity to India to qualify by degrees for self-government appears to lit in with the natural trend of democracy, and to be a recognition of the'splendid work done by India in connection with the war.