§ MR. REESI beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he 2115 will give the caste in each case of the persons convicted in India of sedition, bomb-throwing, and other crimes of the like character during the present year.
§ MR. BUCHANANAs I stated yesterday the Secretary of State is unable to give this information.
§ * MR. REESI am sorry I did not hear the right hon. Gentleman's Answer yesterday—there was a noisy demonstration at the time—but does he not consider it very desirable that this should be done so that the limitations of this agitation may be made clear to the House?
§ MR. BUCHANANI do not think it desirable to add another column to the Return asked for.
§ SIR H. COTTON (Nottingham, E.)Have not all the persons punished been of the upper caste?
§ MR. BUCHANANI am not prepared to admit that.
§ MR. BUCHANANI will leave the hon. Gentlemen to settle that point between them.
§ MR. MACKARNESS (Berkshire, Newbury)Will the return, when published, be brought up to the end of this year.
§ MR. BUCHANANNo doubt it will be brought up to as late a date as possible.
§ SIR H. COTTONI beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can state the reason of the arrest of Mr. Krishna Kumar Mitter, I in Calcutta, and of Messrs. Aswini, Kumar Dutt and Pulin Behary Dutt, in Eastern Bengal; what charges have been made against them; and under what law have proceedings been taken; in their case.
§ The following Questions were also on the Paper—
§ MR. MACKARNESSTo ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he 2116 will state how many British subjects in India have been arrested and deported without trial, and upon what evidence; what is the charge made by the Indian Government against them; has the charge been made known to them; and have any or all of them been given any opportunity of answering the charge.
§ SIR H. COTTONTo ask the Under-Secretary of State for India if he can state the reasons why it has been deemed necessary to arrest and deport nine leading Nationalists in Bengal without charge or trial under Regulation 3 of 1818, instead of proceeding against them under the ordinary law in the Courts of justice.
§ MR. G. GOOCHTo ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can inform the House on what grounds nine Indians have recently been arrested under the Regulations of 1818; and whether they will speedily be brought to trial.
§ MR. BUCHANANI may perhaps be allowed to answer the four Questions on this subject together. Nine persons in all have been arrested under Regulation III. of 1818; under that Regulation it is not necessary to formulate charges against them, and they will not be brought to trial, but the Government of India are satisfied that their seclusion under the Regulation is necessary "for the security of the British dominions in India from internal commotion." The prisoners are, no doubt, aware of the grounds on which they have been arrested, and it is open to them to forward to the Governor-General in Council any representations they desire to submit.
§ SIR H. COTTONMay I ask whether these persons have been arrested under that portion of the regulation which declares that it is necessary to place under personal restraint individuals against whom there may not be sufficient ground to institute any judicial proceedings?
§ MR. BUCHANANThey have been arrested under the terms of that part of the regulation to which I have referred.
§ SIR H. COTTONWhy were judicial proceedings not taken against them?
§ MR. KEIR HARDIE (Merthyr Tydvil)Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether any proceedings have ever been taken in this connection against Mr. Krishna Kumar Mitter and whether Mr. Kumar Dutt, on being accused of sedition a year ago, did not successfully raise an action for damages against the official who brought the accusation?
§ MR. BUCHANANasked for notice of the Question.
§ * MR. REESIs the regulation of 1818 the regulation under which Lajpat Rai was deported from the Punjab with such satisfactory results?
§ MR. BUCHANANIt is the same regulation.
§ MR. MACKARNESSCan the right hon. Gentleman say whether these persons have been told what is the charge against them, and, if so, what is their answer?
§ MR. BUCHANANI have stated that they have full opportunity of forwarding to the Governor-General in Council any representations they desire to make.
§ MR. MACKARNESSWere they told before they were deported for what reason they were to be deported?
§ MR. BUCHANANI have no reason to believe that they are ignorant on that point.
§ MR. MACKARNESSHas the right hon. Gentleman any reason for thinking—
§ * MR. SPEAKEROrder, order. The hon. Member has had two or three supplementary Questions already.
§ MR. RAMSAY MACDONALD (Leicester)May I ask whether this Mr. Krishna Kumar Mitter is the author of a very fervent and eloquent appeal to 2118 young men to refrain from murder and disorder, published immediately after the attempt on the life of Sir Andrew Fraser?
§ MR. BUCHANANI cannot answer that.
§ * MR. LUPTONHave the Indian Government lately been in consultation with M. Stolypin?
§ [No Answer was returned.]
§ SIR H. COTTONI beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been drawn to a case in Allahabad in which the youthful editor of a newspaper called the Swarajya or "Self-Government," has been sentenced to seven years transportation three times over, for sedition, the sentences to run concurrently; whether any appeal lies in this case; and whether the Government propose to take any action to the severity of the orders passed.
§ * MR. REESMay I ask whether a man who is old enough to edit a newspaper is not old enough to know better?
§ MR. BUCHANANThe attention of the Secretary of State has been drawn to this case. The accused is entitled to appeal. I have no reason to think that the Government of India proposes to take any exceptional action.
§ SIR H. COTTONI beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India if he can state when the Return regarding seditious prosecutions in India, which was promised in June last, will be laid upon the Table of the House.
§ MR. BUCHANANThe Secretary of State hopes to present early next session the Return for which the hon. Member moved on 29th July. The delay has been due to the necessity of going to the local authorities for accurate information.
§ SIR H. COTTONI beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether Mr. Pulin Behary Das, of Dacca, has been arrested and deported without charge or trial after criminal proceedings had been instituted against him in the ordinary 2119 Courts of the country and the prosecution had failed.
§ MR. BUCHANANThe person has been arrested under Regulation 3 of 1818; the criminal proceedings against him did not fail, but were interrupted by the murder of the principal witness, and he was only released on bail.
§ MR. MACKARNESSOn whose evidence were these persons arrested under this Regulation?
§ MR. BUCHANANThey were arrested after the most careful examination had been given to statements submitted by the best authorities.
§ MR. LUPTONWas the evidence subjected to cross examination?
§ MR. MACKARNESSWas it the evidence of the police?
§ * MR. SPEAKEROrder, order. That does not arise out of the Question.
§ * MR. REESI beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether, in native States in India, laws do not exist of the like character with Regulation 3 of 1818; and whether such laws are not enforced in such States from time to time by the ruling chiefs.
§ MR. BUCHANANNative States have laws and usages of their own, with which, except in proved cases of gross maladministration, the British Government is under treaty obligations not to interfere. I am not in a position to state the laws on the subject referred to in the Member's Question that may be in force in the various States, or how far cases that arise are dealt with in accordance with usage. But, whether by law or usage, the Durbars of Native States are in a position to take action, when necessary, of a similar nature to that authorised by Regulation 3 of 1818.