* * * * The Orissa Dilemma There should be
universal recognition of the self-sacrificing public spirit shown by Sir John Hubback, the Governor of Orissa, in forgoing his leave in order to avert a political crisis in that province. But the -difficulty 'which his action has temporarily shelved remains. During Sir John's absence an Orissa Civil Servant, Mr. Dain, against whom personally no word of criticism is heard, was named as Acting-Governor. To that the Ministry quite intelligibly took exception. on the ground that an official who was normally subject to their orders was not the right person to be put tempo- rarily in a position in which he could, among other things, suspend or veto action which a vote of the Provincial Assembly had authorised. This is one of the results of provincial autonomy which had not been fully foreseen, and the Under-Secretary for India, in an answer published on Tuesday, frankly recognised the difficulties of the situation, there being no obvious source except the Civil Service from which Acting-Governors can be drawn. In many recent cases the office of Acting-Governor of a Province has been filled by a Civil Servant from another province. The trouble at Orissa was due to the fact that a Civil Servant from Orissa itself was chosen. The Orissa Government, which rests on a Congress majority, cannot be said to have shown itself unreasonable in the matter.
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