13 JANUARY 1923, Page 4

Another milestone in the Constitutional development of the British Commonwealth

in Asia was passed when Sir Harcourt Butler arrived at Rangoon to take up his post as first Governor of Burma and to inaugurate the new Burmese Constitution. A year ago a Committee, presided over by Sir A. F. Whyte, visited Burma and made detailed recommendations, which are embodied in the new Constitution. The franchise is wider than the Indian franchise and gives women equal rights with men. Burma's State-owned forests, which are her greatest asset under the control of the Forest Administra- tion, are being handed over to Burmese Ministers— surely a tribute to the liberal nature of the British Government's new Burmese policy.