consider also whether it would not be advisable hereafter to allow India to be called a Dominion, not a self-governing Dominion until she becomes so, but a Dominion, specially when making reference to her in relation to her sister Dominions.

Gentlemen, I think I have said all that I wished to on the subject of my countrymen overseas on India's day. It has been a great pleasure to me to meet round this table great Statesmen who are my colleagues from the Dominions and to have the pleasure of making their personal acquaintance. May I thank them for their kindness and courtesy to myself which I take as a token of their goodwill for my country? If, at any time, any of my colleagues think of visiting India, I hope they will give us an opportunity of showing and proving that we do not always speak words but act on them, and that we can give you as cordial a welcome to our country as it is possible to do within our capacities.

General Smuts welcomed to India.

I said one day to my friend, General Smuts—and I speak sincerely and in no conventional language because he who was our enemy a few years ago is to-day one of our best friends and a great statesman of to-day-I said to him I hoped he would come some day to India and he replied that he would be viewed with suspicion. I hope India, with all her political quarrels and difficulties, has not lost her human touch and response to appreciate great statesmen and to prove to them that beyond our domestic disputes, beyond our domestic quarrels, lie the sentiments of humanity.

I believe, and I will with this conclude, that India came into the comity of nations within the British Empire with a definite purpose. It is a link that was soldered by the hand of Divine Destiny. It was a means of enabling the West to understand the East and vice-versa, but it also came in in order that the two civilisations with their spiritualities, with their material advancement and progress, might by their association together evolve a civilisation, a great humanity of God's children playing their individual parts in the cause of God. When that day comes before us and, figuratively speaking, we stand before the Judgment Seat of Him who has sent us here, we shall each have our accounts to render. India may differ from you in race; she differs in religion and in creed, but she does not differ in point of humanity. Personally I say this: If you give us your assistance in time of need-for a friend in need is the friend in deedwe shall give you not only our gratitude but also our cordiality and practical assistance. But if it is destined to be otherwise, then I say this, that we shall be in a still higher position, for India will be able to say that she sacrificed herself in order that others might live; she prided herself in her political weakness in order that others may be strong; we gave our little best for the Higher purpose, for the Divine purpose which is our common goal-our common brotherhood and the salvation of humanity.

OCTOBER 29, 1923.

STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES.

Tribute to Presentation of Case for India.

The Duke of Devonshire: At the outset of the few remarks I have to offer, I cannot refrain from saying that India has been exceedingly fortunate in the spokesmen selected to represent her case in this Conference.

That case, eloquently stated by Lord Peel and by His Highness the Maharajah of Alwar, was developed by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru in a speech the closely reasoned argument of which was greatly reinforced by its studied moderation.

What India asks.

I particularly noticed that the proposal which he submitted was outlined rather than reduced to the specific terms of a resolution. In this, if I may say so, I think he was very wise, because, while he made the general purport of his proposal perfectly clear, he left the precise form to be moulded in the subsequent discussion. Let me state as shortly as I can the gist of that proposal as I understood it. Two years ago this Conference, with the exception of the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, agreed that the rights of Indians domiciled in parts of the Empire other than India should be recognised. Sir Tej now proposes that the question how and when effect can be given to this agreement should be made the subject of enquiry and discussion between committees representing the several Governments concerned and a committee representing the Government of India.

Limitation of Indian Request.

That is what Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru asks. But before I proceed I must also invite you to note that there are various matters already settled which he is not attempting to reopen. He does not question the right of each community in the British Commonwealth to control the composition of its own population. He is not, in a word, asking the self-governing Dominions to reopen the question of Indian immigration. He frankly recognises the autonomy of the Dominion Governments within their respective territories. What he asks is that the Governments concerned will agree to discuss with the Government of India the steps necessary to give effect to the resolution passed by the Conference in 1921. It is, of course, in the last instance for each Government to decide for itself, but, because in certain matters such decisions are not limited in their effects to the countries by which they are taken, the issues to which they relate may be brought for mutual discussion here. British Government accepts Principle of Request.

In so far as the British Government is responsible for the Colonies and Protectorates, I can only say on behalf of the British Government that we certainly accept the principle of the request put forward by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru.

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Maintenance of Kenya Settlement.

In saying this you will not understand me to mean that we are prepared to reopen matters which have been made the subject of recent and most carefully considered decision. I refer more especially to the Kenya settlement, the terms of which were placed before and accepted by the British Parliament in July. While I would not propose that the area of discussion between the contemplated Committee and the Secretary of State for the Colonies should be limited, I should only be misleading India if I were to say anything to suggest that the Government could consent to reconsider the decisions embodied in the settlement of July last. To use the words of the White Paper, the constant endeavour of the British Government throughout their deliberations was to relate the principles which must govern the administration of a British Colony in Tropical Africa to the wider considerations of general Imperial Policy as enunciated in the Resolution of the Imperial Conference of 1921.

Responsibilities of British Government.

I have also to remind the representatives of India that, so far as the British Colonies and Protectorates are concerned, the ultimate responsibility rests with the British Government, and it is with the British Government, and more particularly with the Secretary of State for the Colonies, that any questions affecting British Indians domiciled in these Colonies and Protectorates should be discussed in the first instance by such a Committee as Sir Tej has suggested. It will then be for the Colonial Office to consult, as may be necessary, any Colonial Government concerned with these discussions before any decisions are taken by the British Government.

Political Status of Indians in Colonies, Protectorates and Mandated Territories.

I am hopeful that the area to be covered by these discussions will not in fact prove wide. I recently circulated to members of the Conference, in response to their general wish, a memorandum* upon the political status of British Indians in the Colonies, Protectorates and Mandated Territories. I studiously confined my memorandum to facts, and perhaps I may be permitted to summarise quite briefly what that memorandum contains.

It shows that, in the West Indian Colonies, British Indians are under no political or legal disability of any kind. They have the same franchise and the same opportunities of becoming members of elective bodies as any other British subjects. The West Indian Colonies in which there is a considerable British-Indian population are British Guiana, Trinidad and Jamaica. In British Guiana and Jamaica the elective system already exists, and it will be introduced in Trinidad at an early date.

When you turn to the Eastern Colonies the memorandum shows that in Ceylon, under a revised Constitution about to be issued, qualified British Indians will be eligible for the franchise and for

* See page 136.

election to the Legislative Council in the same manner as all other British subjects. Again, in Mauritius there is no distinction between British Indians and other British subjects as regards eligibility for the franchise.

In East Africa you will find from the memorandum that in Uganda the Legislative Council is not elective, but that there is no restriction on the number or race of the unofficial members who may be nominated to the Council, while in Tanganyika Territory there is no Legislative or Executive Council.

Subject to a clear understanding on these points, my colleagues and I cordially welcome on behalf of the British Government the proposal of the representatives of India so far as the Colonies and Protectorates are concerned.

STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA. Canada's Attitude of Goodwill.

Mr. Mackenzie King: I would like to say that I think Canada fully appreciates the magnitude and seriousness of the problem with which the Government of India and the Government of Britain are confronted in dealing with any question affecting the status of Indians, and that our attitude from the beginning has been, and at present is, one of being exceedingly anxious to be helpful in the solution of any problem that may arise. His Highness the Maharajah, in speaking last week, referred to the manner in which we had recently taken up by conference some questions respecting Immigration with Japan, and he said that, in his opinion, any of these questions of status and political rights respecting resident Indians could be best settled by adopting a similar method. He referred particularly to an attitude of goodwill being more important than anything else in the solution of these difficult questions. I think the Maharajah is entirely right. Attitude in these matters is all-important; so far as the Canadian attitude is concerned, it gives me pleasure to say that we are most anxious to deal with this whole question in a spirit of mutual understanding and goodwill.

Recent History of Indian Immigration Question.

I have in my hand a Report* that I made to the Government of Canada in 1908. It relates to Immigration to Canada from the Orient, and Immigration from India in particular. It was the result of a visit which, at the instance of the Government of the day in Canada, I paid to England to confer with the Secretary of State for India in regard to the question of Immigration from India to Canada. If I may be permitted, I would like to read the concluding paragraph of this Report, because it sets out the attitude at that time-fifteen years ago-which we took towards questions affecting our fellow British citizens from India :—

"Nothing could be more unfortunate or misleading than that the impression should go forth that Canada, in seeking to regulate a matter of domestic concern, is not deeply sensible of

*See Canadian Sessional Paper No. 36A of 1908.

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the obligations which citizenship within the Empire entails. It is a recognition of this obligation which has caused her to adopt a course which, by removing the possibilities of injustice and friction, is best calculated to strengthen the bonds of association with the several parts, and to promote the greater harmony of the whole. In this, as was to be expected, Canada has had not only the sympathy and understanding, but the hearty co-operation of the authorities in Great Britain and India as well."

I should say, perhaps, that, after conferring with the Secretary of State for India in London at that time in regard to this question, I subsequently, at the instance of the Canadian Government, went to India to take up with the authorities there the question of the migration of Indians to Canada with a view of seeing whether we could not work out a solution which would avoid anything in the nature of legislation which might be misunderstood or regarded as invidious in India, and I am happy to say that we were able, as a result of conferences, to come to an understanding between the two Governments which was as satisfactory to the Government of India as it was to the Government of Canada. If it was possible to do that in regard to the difficult question of Immigration, I think it ought to be possible for us similarly to effect a satisfactory solution with respect to any of these other questions that may arise, and it is from that point of view that I hope my colleagues from India will feel that the Canadian Government is approaching this particular subject.

Position of Indians domiciled in Canada.

Lord Peel in his remarks said, I think, very rightly, that what the Indians felt more than anything else was that the disabilities under which their countrymen live appear as a brand of social inferiority. The extent to which that is true depends very largely upon the nature of the disabilities and the circumstances which account for any that may exist.

No Disabilities in eight Provinces. Some Political Disability in one. May I say at once in regard to Canada that, in eight of the Provinces out of nine which comprise the Dominion, I am not aware of any legal or political disability under which any Indian resident in Canada suffers, and, with respect to the ninth Province. I am not aware of any legal disability of any kind; I am only aware of a political disability in the matter of the exercise of the franchise in that one Province, and that not as regards all Indians, because, as respects all Provinces, including British Columbia, the one exception I have mentioned, the Federal Law relating to the franchise sets it down that any Indian who served with His Majesty's ForcesMilitary, Naval or Air-is entitled to the franchise. I mention this as evidence of the fact that our citizens appreciate the services that India has rendered the Empire and desire to acknowledge them wherever possible.