§ 4. Mr. JOHNSTONasked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he has any further information as to the arrests of trade union officials in India who are alleged to have engaged in illegal and seditious activities, and can supply that information to the House; whether, in particular, he can give any information regarding the arrest of the secretary of the jute workers' union at Calcutta; whether any documents, the property of and necessary to the work of the union, have been seized; and where and when the trials of these arrested trade union officials will take place?
§ Earl WINTERTONAs regards the first part of the question, there is little that I can properly add to my statement of the 21st March. I have, however, ascertained that the secretary of the Jute Workers' Association was arrested, though it has not yet been possible to obtain any information whether any documents belonging to the association were seized. The trial of all those arrested on this charge of conspiracy will take place at Meerut, but I am unable to say how soon.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYIs the Noble Lord sure that under cover of the arrests of plotters against the King, bona fide trade union officials have not been taken up as well?
§ Earl WINTERTONQuite obviously, when arrests on this scale take place, it is necessary for the police to seize a large number of documents, and, if any of them have no connection with the case in question, they will be returned to the people to whom they belong.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYI am asking about men; is the Noble Lord certain that some of the men taken are not bona fide, trade union officials?
§ Earl WINTERTONI do not quite know what the hon. and gallant Gentleman means. It does not matter whether a man is a bona fide trade union official or not; if he has committed a crime, he will be arrested like anybody else.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYDoes not the Noble Lord see that under cover of one thing it is possible to do another?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat is argumentative.
§ Mr. THURTLEWill the Government urge upon the Government of India the desirability of bringing these men to trial at the earliest possible moment?
§ Earl WINTERTONYes, Sir; that is an entirely reasonable request, and of course it will be carried out. As the hon. Gentleman is aware, the practice in India is the same as in this country. It is necessary that the case shall be prepared with some care, and I cannot say what the exact date will be, but there will be no avoidable delay.
§ Mr. SAKLATVALAWill the Noble Lord explain why people arrested at Calcutta are to be tried at Meerut, which is 700 miles away?
§ Earl WINTERTONBecause the warrants were issued by the magistrate at Meerut.
§ 7. Mr. SAKLATVALAasked the Under-Secretary of State for India in what towns and cities were raids and arrests carried out in India last week in connection with labour or political agitations and how many in each; of the persons searched and of the persons arrested how many, respectively, are definitely members of the Communist party and how many are members of, or are officially connected with, trade union organisations; of the premises raided or searched how many were in the use of registered members of the Communist party; and what was the number of police, magistrates and military force employed, respectively, during the above raids and arrests?
§ Earl WINTERTONI assume that the hon. Member is referring to the arrests on a charge of conspiracy that took place last Wednesday. As I stated on the 21st March, 31 arrests were made in all. I understand that these took place principally in Bombay, Poona, Calcutta, Dacca, Allahabad, Lucknow and Lahore, but I cannot say how many arrests occurred in each place. The nature and extent of the Communist connection of the 31 persons arrested will appear in the course of the trial and I am not prepared to make any further statement about them at present. Seventeen of them are reported to be either officials or members of trade unions. As regards 2043 the searching of premises, I have no detailed information. With regard to the last part, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I am giving to Question No. 8.
§ Mr. SAKLATVALAWill the right hon. Gentleman explain what these men did at Meerut which caused the magistrate at Meerut to issue warrants wholesale over all parts of the country beyond his jurisdiction?
§ Earl WINTERTONHe did not issue warrants beyond his jurisdiction, and the hon. Gentleman makes a very serious charge against the magistrate in question in saying that he did. He issued the warrants within his jurisdiction.
§ Mr. SAKLATVALAThat is not an answer to my question. Will the right hon. Gentleman explain whether these men went to Meerut, and what particular thing they did at Meerut winch caused the magistrate at Meerut to issue the warrants?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat point does not arise out of the question at all.
§ 8. Mr. WELLOCKasked the Under-Secretary of State for India the number of troops and police, respectively, that were used in Bombay and Calcutta in making the arrests of last Wednesday; and whether they have since been removed?
§ Earl WINTERTONAs a precautionary measure, military assistance was asked for in Bombay and military pickets consisting of about three companies were stationed in Bombay city from 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning. They were withdrawn on Friday evening. No troops were used in Calcutta, and I have no information as to the number of police used in making the arrests.