The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 1921. EMPIRE CITIZENSHIP.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 June 1921, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 1921. EMPIRE CITIZENSHIP.

. The brief cabled summary of the i views expressed in the leading , columns of the London Times, on j the subject of India’s resentment at exclusion from .the full status , of Empire citizenship, is far too ' meagre to enable any definite conclusion to be formed on the I merits of the arguments on which the conclusions are based. At the; i same time there are .several general principles affecting this qnesi tion, and there can be no doubt I that, sooner or later, it will have to be faced and dealt with. Empire citizenship has to be considerI ed from two main points of view —the ethical and the practical—! in .order to arrive at a rational conception as to what rights are embodied in that citizenship. We speak and write of the British Empire, but constitutionally it! does not exist The title of our! Sovereign is ’‘King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire-, 1 land, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of india.” When Lord Bea-, eonsfieid conceived and carried! out the idea of making Queen Victoria Empress of India it- was with the object of adding greater dignity and status to Her Majesty, so that the British Sovereign would be equal in status to any of the crowned heads in Europe. Indirectly the honor was deemed to be a compliment to India, there being not the least idea of conferring on the people of India any rights of citizenship in the British Dominions. Nominally India is an Empire, but until recent times it has been governed practically as a British possession and not as one of the self-governing Dominions. Reforms in the direction of instituting a qualified measure of home rule have been inaugurated and are in process of materialising, but they fall far short of the independence which the Dominions enjoy. The position, it must be admitted, is peculiar and involved in its Imperial aspect, though not in the practical application of the principle of citizenship. Educated Indians admit the ; right of the British Dominions to control the entry of those desiring ' to settle there. Whether the right is admitted or not it exists, and Hie need for its enforcement more strictly is generally recognised. The only question admitting of : discussion is that of policy. The ■ Times contends that the Premiers’ Conference should take the oppor- ' tunity to arrange a better understanding and bring about more direct relations between India and 1 the Dominions. The vagueness of : this recommendation robs it of all , weight, besides which the failure to recognise the true bearings of the problem from a Dominion point of view destroys any value the suggestion might possess. The 1 preservation of race purity, the ! maintenance of satisfactory coir ditions of life on as high a plane , as pqssible, the prevention of nn- ‘ fair competition 'by colored labor, • and numerous economic, social ' and industrial features have all to be taken into consideration. Besides which, can it be expected that the tactics of Ghandi and his fellow agitators are likely to be welcomed in the Dominion? There is already far too much foment-

ing of disloyalty and disregard of authority, so that the exclusion of fanatics is more than ever neeessarv. The establishment of closer

! trade relations is quite another ! matter, presenting no difficulties, but what the Dominioiis have to guard, against is becoming the dumping ground of undesirables —bo matter what, their origin—and on this point there can be no misconception as to the duty of the authorities. Tolerance and catholicity are all very well in the abstract, but they can, as bitter experience has proved, result in a serious menace to the well-being of a country. It will clear the atmosphere if the Premiers’ Conference definitely and conclusively settles tills vexed question by affirming the intention of the Dominions to adhere to the right of exclusion of undesirables, irrespective of race, color, or creed.