Piquantly the reports of the debates In Westminster and New Delhi show that the supporters of the India Bill are caught between two fires. On the tone hand, the Government spokesmen in the House of Commons have to refute the {dea that the new Constitution involves perilous weakening of the ties between England and In-ala; and, on the other hand, the Government spokesmen in New' Delhi have to show that there is a real desire to put India in virtual control of her own destiny. In both cases domestic politics vitiate the' possibility. of coming readily to lear consideration of the measure on merits. In India the extravagance> of the Congress Party prevent the more moderate Nationalist from tov readily endorsing the character which the Government wish him to give to the HI. In England, the right-wing Conservatives are maintaining a pressure which is likely to be highly: critical of attempts to mest Indian criticisms, however far Mr. Baldwin and Sir Samuel Hoare might be disposed to go in the matter. The dis cussion of the term "Dominion statu: affords an interesting lustration of this difeully, Sir Thomas Inskip is obviously on sound ground when he maintains that Dominion status cannot be satisfactorily embodied in the Bill. The Indian insistence on that point equally reasonable because of the violent attacks made on the term: "Dominion status" when Lord Irwin, fag he was then, reaffirmed it as the: goal of British" policy in 1929, In. particular, these apprehensions have. been revived owing to an unfortunate speech In the House of Lords by the Archbishop of Canterbury who, for some unexplained reason—although firm supporter of the Bill—went ut of his way to express satisfaction that the term "Dominfon status" had not been mentioned in the Joint Committee's Report. To correct the false Impression which this clerical indiscretion created, Sir Samuel Hoare made his recent declaration. But it will be seen from the debate in the Council of State in New Delhi that Tndian politicians have already declared that the Secretary of State's 'Announcement has not' gone far enough.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.