It became plain at both the Round Table Conferences that
the Indian representatives could come to no agreed decision in this matter, though the Government here begged them to bend all their efforts to do so. The Prime Minister, after consulting many of the Indians then here, announced that if there was a deadlock impeding all the other reforms, His Majesty's Government here would reluctantly assume the role of arbiter and make the necessary decision on the distribution. Since then the Consultative Committee has failed equally to agree, and the Government here has therefore acted. We sympathize with their reluctance, but this duty has been imposed upon them. It was certainly the most difficult by far of the questions on which Indians have been asked to agree, and in additon it involves the Indians in the need to take a final heavy responsibility. Nothing harder can be asked of an Oriental. Those ex- cellent " Liberal " Indians, who lately withdrew their valued help and counsel, are examples, conscious or unconscious, of this weakness which will grow inevitably more conspicuous as we devolve our responsibilities.
