26 SEPTEMBER 1931, Page 2

India and the Round Table Conference The stupendous problem presented

by India is definitely summed up in the bare totals of the Indian census of this year. The population now numbers 350,353,000, and includes 238,330,000 Hindus and 77,743,000 Moslems. The Hindus have increased by 10 per cent. and the Moslems by 13 per cent. in the past decade. To frame a constitutional government suitable to the needs of these enormous masses of people must be an arduous task, and the British and Indian delegates now assembled at St. James's Palace cannot be expected to come to any rapid conclusions. The Federal Structure Com- mittee has this week considered the relations between the two Chambers in the proposed Federal Legislature. The main question of communal representation remains to be faced. We are sorry that Mr. Gandhi's proposed visit to Lancashire is abandoned. We are sure that he would not have been met with hostility for his part in the boycott of British cotton goods. * * * *