12 DECEMBER 1931, Page 2

The Future of Burma The Burma Round Table Conference has

opened with a degree of preliminary agreement which by comparison with its larger and more famous predecessor may be regarded as almost startling. The memorial which U Ba Pe presented on the first day of the conference's serious business was signed by eleven out of the twelve delegates representing Burmese national opinion, and the (me non-signatory, so far from dissenting from the demands put forward, went beyond them. The memorial, however, had reference only to immediate steps- such as an enquiry into the recent rebellion and the date of the inauguration of the new constitution. The form of the constitution, which will be. unitary and probably bi- cameral, with abolition of the official bloc in the Lower Chamber, is now under discussion. For all the initial agreement, the discussions promise to be lively enough when questions like franchise and the rights of the Indian minority in Burma come up.