India and the Statutory Commission
THE return of Sir John Simon's Commission after their second, and last, 'tour of India, is an obvious occasion for reviewing what has happened since their appointment. They deserve; first of all, to be compli- mented upon their industry and tact. It would not be easy to 'imagine more formidable conditions than those which they faced when they landed in• There 'had 'been widespread misunderstanding about the nature • of the Commission ; the constitution of this exclusively Parliamentary body was quite wrongly interpreted as an insult to India. The extremists among the politically-minded Indians tried everywhere to boycott the Commission. Although the boycott gradually failed of its own futility the spirit behind it poisoned the air. Where there was no boycott there were angry demonstrations informed with the bitter hysteria which is characteristic of the aggrieved Hindu. There was an attempt to blow up a train in which the Commii- sion travelled last autumn. Finally, a bomb was thrown in the Legislative Assembly at Delhi—Sir John Simon being a witness of this outrage.
Through all these trying experiences Sir John Simon and his colleagues kept their heads and their patience and, so far as we can remember, said not a word which Englishmen would now like to have unsaid. Even the demonstrations, the mistrust, and the refusal of many classes and many districts to co-operate, added to the information which the Commission went to secure. For it was their task, as Sir John Simon never forgot,• not to propose definite reforms but to report and advise on the facts. Let us recall the terms of reference. The Commission were instructed :—" to inquire into the working of the system of government, the growth of education, and the development of representative institutions in British India, and to report whether and to what extent it is desirable to extend, modify, or restrict the degree of -responsible government already existing there."
The Commission, on the whole, have done better than could hive been expected in the presence of so much opposition. Anyone who believed in omens might have been encouraged by a succession of them at the ceremony when the Commission was received home at Victoria. Station on Friday, April 26th. Few of the onlookers expected to see Sir Sankaran Naiii, the Chairman of the Indian Central Committee, arriving in England with Sir JOhn Simon as though he were one of the Statu- tory Commission. Among those who were present to welcome the Commission were representatives of all the British political parties. The arrangement has held good that the Imisiness of the Statutory Commission, like its appointment, should he a non-party affair. Sir John Simon himself took the first opportunity to say that he hoped that India would not be made an issue by any party at the General Election—an appeal which accords so strictly with general feeling that we have no doubt it will be obserVect Yet another good omen was the garlanding 'of members of the ComMission by Indians resident in London. No doubt all this seemed too good to be quite true, and as though to remind observers of the true facts there was a noticeable though ineffective demonstration by some other Indians and " anti- Imperialist " Englishmen.
As we said when the. Statutory. Commission was appointed, much of the indignation in India might have been avoided if pains had • been -taken to explain to the Indians carefully, and over a• considerable period in advance, the overwhelming Teasons for - appointing a purely Parliamentary . Commission. - Parlianienf has to decide upon the future- goverimient of India. Therefore, those who were chosen to inquire into the question and advise Parliathent would most appropriately be members of Parliament. It need not' be "denied that 'there appro- priateness, and even custom, might have been overridden for vital -reasons. Many menibers of the Labour Party, and some Liberals, argued that it would have been wiser to appoint a Joint Commission of Englishmen and Indians. This argument for vital: reasons, however, did not carry weight on consideration, because it was soon recognized that it would be impossible to represent in a Commission all the innumerable diVisions in India of race, creed, and- language. To represent part of these divisions would have been to put Indians in possession of new grievances ; to represent them all . would have been to swell the Commission to the size of several Parlia- ments.
It was most rightly decided, therefore, to have a Parliamentary Commission, but to encourage them to consult Indian opinion in every class, in every Province, in every district. If these decisive arguments for a Parliamentary Commission had been made known in India there would probably have been very much less dissatisfaction, though it is certain that even then there would have been considerable hostility. - The British politician who imagines that there is any conceivable set of reforms which would unite India, or which would earn for Great Britain general gratitude, knows nothing of the problem and also misconceives • the duty which is laid upon his country. " Do what you think is just, but don't expect thanks " is a safe rule. In-spite-of the boycott, all the Indian Provinces except One elected Committees to co-operate with Sir John' SiniOnl- The Upper House of the Central Legislature elected members to • the Central Committee, and, though the - Assembly refused, • the Central Committee was nevertheless appointed. - Every Provincial Committee and the Central Committee met the Statutory Commission in what Sir John Simon called " joint free eonferenee." Thus, although the Simon Commission was in form Parlia- mentary it was the equivalent of that mixed-Commission which the Indians themselves had desired. • - Now let us look to the future. The members of the Indian Central CoMmittee are expected to join their Chairrhan in London on June 8th, and will -Continue their collaboration with the Statutory • ConunisSion. The Statutory Commission will hear evidence at the Law Courts, and subsequently they and the Indian Central Committee will publish separate Reports. The Indian Report will probably be finished in the autunifi and the Simon Report later • in the year. ' When all the evidence is ready it will be laid befOie. a Joint Con= mittee. of both Houses of Parlianient. It must lie empha- sized that India will have the right to make 'her voice heard up to the last moment, for the Indian Central Committee will have. access to the Joint Parliamentary Committee. This 'access will be in many ways the most important of all opportunities for the Indian representa- tives ; they will then be in contactwith the makers • of the Bill. Sir John SiMon never failed to eXplain. in India that that was not the function of his Commission. " Our duty," he said, " is to make a fair honest; and sympathetic report to the Imperial Parliament of *things as we find them.'" N6 impartial person N611 have any hesitation -in ecn2luding that, so 'fir, the –StatUtOr), Commiision hive fully and conscientiously carried' out -their orders.
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