It is by no means easy for the outsider to appreciate the developments in India since the Round Table Conference ended jand its offspring committees proceeded to India to undertake their respective enquiries. There "have been from time to time reports of Hindu-Moslem tension, especially in Bombay, Jof more anarchical outrages in Bengal. The North-West Frontier Province has been promoted to full rank as a Governor's ce with a brilliant and experienced young military civilian, Sir Ralph Griffith, at its head. The periodical ' reviews of the situation by Sir Samuel Hoare have revealed the fact that something like 26,000 political prisoners are in feustody, and the Government is now faced with a consideration of the steps to be taken to maintain control of the revolutionaries now that the period over which the various Ordinances have been projelaimed is coming to an end. That all seems very confusing. In regard to the Ordinances, it may be assumed that the Gov-jemment will not be able to remove them altogether. Steps may be taken in particular provinces to pass legislation rendering it unnecessary to have recourse to Ordinance, but it is more than likely that no such abandonment of a very necessary protection of Government servants and peaceful citizens will be possible in Bengal. The Government, of Jcourse, is. reluctant to keep the Ordinances in being any' longer than is necessary because they essentially outrage jin principle the notion of personal liberty. They can only; be, therefore, temporary expedient, although in Bengal, lever since 1924, an Ordinance or some exceptional power has been necessary in order to preserve. the fabric of the administration against terrorist activity. Sir Samuel Hoare has been very frank in his exposition of the Government's policy. Side by side with a firm intention to proceed to institute constitutional reforms, the Government considers' it necessary. to deal firmly, with movements which have for: their object: the pre-Jvention of any form. of constitutional advance. Those who believe that the policy in India merely that of using the strong hand have not_appreciatled the full force of Sir Samuel Hoare's admirable conduct of his office. He has already shown that a due regard to the realities of administrative re-Jauirements, that is to say, the support of the Executive by the Central Government and by the Secretary of State at Whitehall, is not inconsistent with steady perseverance in carrying out the declared policy of putting the Constitution of India on a self-governing basis.
The promotion of the North-West Frontier Province provides useful pointer here, That province was carefully left out lof the Montagu-Chelmsford reform scheme because it was felt that, being as it were the bulwark "Indian security against foreign invasion, the time was not ripe to expose it to the pos~ sible weaknesses of a semi-democratic constitution, Yet {those who know the North-West Frontier, and, in particular, the Pathan, would be the first to claim that a democratic spirit is far more active there than in many other parts of India. There in the first place, the essen ly democratic outlook of Islam. Secondly the Pathan tribes have long been used to local self-government by means lof the Jirga, which is in effect a Council of Elders bearing a close family resemblance to the patriarchal system of the Chil dren of Israel. So the bold stroke of putting the North-West Frontier Province on a political par with other provinces in India has caught the imagination of the people concerned and has added another valuable political prop to the complex administration. During the last few months the Committee presided over by Lord Lothian to examine the basis of the franchise, and the Committee pr jed over by Lord Eustace Perey to enquire into the system of federal finance, have completed their reports. "The latter has been published and is of great importance although and, perhaps, of acadersic interest only. It is'also highly technical, The Lothian Report has now been issued, The franchise proposed will "ive votes to fourteen per leant. of the population, This is a great advance, as come pared with the present constitution. The Perey Report gives fons. interesting guide to" the leeneral attitude of the" Gov-lornment. In order to. work lout, a typical year for" the beginning of the federation of India, the Committee took figures prospectively for 1986-6, "Th Report disclaims any particular Intention in the selection of that year, but it is significant because opinion is rapidly growing that there must be greater expedition in introducing the system, and Lord Lothian, in fact, has definitely' prophesied that' the elections will take place next year, To begin with, the dying constitution must inevitably tabour funder heavier handicaps as the months pass by. Everyone. is looking to the new regime. The Federation of India, agreed to in principle by the Round Table Conference, appears to be far more dificult to institute than its more eager champions were prepared at first to admit, Indian Political opinion was inclined to refuse the Government's proposal that provincial autonomy should be attempted before changing the character of the Central Government. The idea underlying this rejection was mainly one of suspicion. It was felt that the Government was trying to delay the introduction of responsibility into the Central Government and that it would be better, therefore, to have the whole cake all fat once rather than be content lat first with portions, This suspicion has been very largely allayed by the steadiness with which the Government has maintained its adherence to the policy of its predecessors. It is, therefore, possible that it may be content to bring about the constitutional reform by. piecemeal legislation pending the final drafting of the federation scheme. One difficulty has to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.