14 DECEMBER 1934, Page 1

A Decisive India Vote The vote on the Indian Reform

resolution in the House of Commons-410 to 127—must be considered entirely satisfactory when it is remembered that the minority, consisting mainly of Mr. Churchill and his friends, who think the proposals go much too far, was swollen by the addition of 49 Labour Members • who think they do not go far enough. The real opponents of the Select Committee's report are the Right-wing Conser- vatives, and the division shows their strength to be some- thing under 80 in a House of 615 members. Measured in weight of argument the disparity between the two sides is at least as great, for the speeches of Ministers like Sir Samuel Hoare, Sir John Simon and Mr. Baldwin were unanswerable. The debate in the House of Lords opened as that in the other Chamber was ending, but there too the opposition, represented by Lord Salisbury, cut a poor figure against the advocacy of the reform proposals by Lord Halifax, Lord Lothian and Lord Hardinge. The Government has quite rightly decided to keep the Reform Bill on the floor of the House, and with confidence in general support of the measure so .complete, Ministers can well afford to consider reasonable amendments on points of detail.