A.—6

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an equal member of the British Empire and the existence of disabilities upon British Indians lawfully domiciled in some other parts of the Empire. The resolution recorded the opinion that, in the interests of the solidarity of the British Empire, it is desirable to recognize the rights of such lawfully domiciled Indians to citizenship in their countries of domicile. This resolution was concurred in by the representatives of Australia. Sympathy with Indians domiciled in Australia. The object of the representatives of India at this Conference in bringing forward the question of the status of Indians is, as I understand, to further the investigation of the question of the means of giving practical effect to that part of the resolution which refers to the recognition of rights of citizenship of Indiarrs lawfully domiciled in other parts of the Empire. As far as Australia is concerned, this question has been the subject of considerable public discussion, and the representatives of every shade of political thought have shown sympathy with the claim that lawfully domiciled Indians should enjoy full citizen rights. As the question did not figure in the preliminary agenda of tho Conference, I have not had the opportunity of consulting my colleagues or my Parliament upon it. I believe, however, that Australian public opinion is ready to welcome, so far as the position of Indians domiciled in Australia is concerned, any measure which is conceived in the interests of the Empire as a whole. The number of Indians in Australia is small —there are only two thousand of them—so that from the purely Australian point of view the problem is a small one, but it is recognized that this is part of a larger Imperial problem. No Change in Commonwealth Immigration Policy. It is not a question of admitting fresh Indians within our territory : that would be contrary to the fundamental principles which animate the people of Australia and must govern the policy of any Australian Government. Nor, as I fully understand, is there the slightest shadow of a suggestion that the immigration of Indians into Australia is desired by the Government or by the people of India. It is simply a question of satisfying the legitimate aspirations of the few Indians who are already lawfully domiciled in our midst, and contributing by this action to the solution of an Imperial problem by tho removal of anomalies which, as I understand, are felt very keenly in India in viow of her new status as an integral part of the Imperial Commonwealth. Tribute to India's Place in Empire, and to her Civilization. India is no longer a mere dependency, but one of the component members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. We have tho greatest admiration of the efforts put forth by India in the late war, by which she won her new status. I need only refer to her contributions in men, money, and material; her recruitment on a voluntary basis of something like one and a third million men ; the services which her army rendered by sending more than a million Indian troops overseas to all the theatres of war ; and her free gift to the Imperial Exchequer, which added, as 1 am told, over 30 per cent, to her national debt at that time. Apart from these material aids, the moral value of the part played by India in the war cannot be overestimated. The vast masses of the Indian people have always been conspicuous for their loyalty to the British Throne, and their whole-hearted and voluntary participation in the world conflict undoubtedly afforded striking proof of this to both foes and friends alike. Even apart from that welcome evidence that in its hour of need the Empire may rely on India as a strength and support, instead of a source of weakness as our late enemies dared to hope, I wish to emphasize that the people of Australia have always had the greatest respect for India's traditions and culture, her literature and her arts, her attainments in the world of thought, and her achievements in action —in a word, for her civilization, which, while reposing on such ancient foundations, has at the same time shown itself capable of progress and adaptation to the needs of the modern world. That civilization is not identical with ours ; it is older, and it is tho civilization of the East rather than of the West; capable, however, as India has already shown, of absorbing what is valuable in Western civilization, just as the West, in its turn, has lessons to learn from the civilization that is characteristic of India. Indian Problem results from Conflict of Economic Standards. Nor is the established policy of maintaining the European character of our population and not permitting the immigration of Asiatic settlers in conflict with such an appreciation. It is not a policy founded on feelings of race or colour, but it is motived by economic considerations which appear to us to be clear and cogent. I have said that the civilization of tho East, though older and possibly in some respects superior, is different from that of the West, and among other things this implies a well-marked difference of economic standards. Asiatic immigrants would be able to work and support life with what, to them, would represent a high degree of comfort, under conditions and for wages which would make it impossible for workers of European descent, accustomed to European standards, to compete with them. If, therefore, Asiatic immigrants were admitted it would be impossible to provide employment for Europeans. They would inevitably be ousted from the labourmarket, and our population, and with it our institutions and our civilization, would gradually lose their original European character, which we are naturally determined to do all in our power to preserve. It is for this reason that the Commonwealth Parliament has passed enactments which effectively prohibit the immigration of Indian or other Asiatic settlors or labourers, and it is for this reason that we welcomed the resolution of 1918, reaffirmed in 1921, by which the Imperial Conference has recognized the right of each Government to control the composition of the population of its country by means of restriction on immigration from the other communities of the Empire. Attitude of Australia is sympathetic, but no Need for Committee. That resolution was accepted by India, and the Government of India have never swerved in their loyal acquiescence and co-operation with us in our policy. But, viewing the relations of India with the other parts of the Empire as an Imperial problem, we appreciate that the maintenance