§ 6. Mr. T. WILLIAMSasked the Secretary of State for India whether the recent ordinances promulgated in India are available as a White Paper or whether they can be made available to Members in this form?
§ Sir S. HOAREA White Paper which will contain the text of the Ordinances is being prepared.
§ Mr. WILLIAMSCan the right hon. Gentleman say when it will be available for Members?
§ Sir S. HOAREIn the course of the next few days.
§ 16. Mr. JOHNasked the Secretary of State for India if he will issue a White Paper giving the text of the five ordinances published this year; what is the total number of persons arrested to date; how many women and juveniles are included; on what charges are arrests made; and is it sufficient that a man was a member of congress before the rupture for him to be arrested, or is he not liable to be arrested until he has associated himself in some definite way with the organisation of civil disobedience?
§ Sir S. HOAREAs I have already promised the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. T. Williams) a White Paper will be issued. As regards the second, third, and fourth parts of the question I would refer the hon. Member to the reply to Question 3. As regards the. last part I would remind the hon. Member that the Indian National Congress as a whole has not been declared an unlawful association.
§ 43. Mr. HICKSasked the Secretary of State for India if he is aware that representations were made to the Viceroy by Indian moderates and representatives of Europeans in India to reconsider his decision about the refusal to discuss the ordinances with Mr. Gandhi; and what reply was given?
§ Sir S. HOAREI understand that representations were made by certain Indian moderates, but I have no information as to the details of the correspondence.
§ 44. Mr. HICKSasked the Secretary of State for India whether, during the conversations with Mr. Gandhi, the idea of his discussing the Ordinances with the Viceroy was mentioned; and what was the attitude of the right hon. Gentleman to this suggestion?
§ 54. Mr. MORGAN JONESasked the Secretary of State for India whether in his conversations with Mr. Gandhi the Bengal Ordinances were discussed; and what was the attitude expressed by the right hon. Gentleman to the idea of Mr. Gandhi visiting Bengal to see for himself the working of the Ordinances?
§ Sir S. HOAREMy conversations with Mr. Gandhi on the subject of 460 Ordinances related only to the Bengal Ordinances which are directed against terrorism and not to the Ordinances directed against Congress action which were promulgated after his departure. I do not remember that Mr. Gandhi expressed the intention or desire to visit Bengal to see their working and I certainly gave him no undertaking in the matter, nor did I enter into any commitment on behalf of the Viceroy as to discussions in India. I made it quite clear to Mr. Gandhi that there could be no question of withdrawing the Bengal Ordinances so long as the terrorist movement was in being.
§ Mr. JONESWas the distinction between the two sorts of Ordinances abundantly clear to Mr. Gandhi in the conversations?
§ Sir S. HOAREYes, because the only Ordinance we were discussing was the Ordinance against terrorism. The others were promulgated subsequent to his departure.
§ Mr. WILLIAMSAs there had been no terrorism, or practically no terrorism, while Mr. Gandhi was in England, is it not the case that a request was made to the right hon. Gentleman to grant facilities for any incidents to be discussed at the moment of his arrival, and did the right hon. Gentleman not undertake to send along some message so that the facilities could be provided?
§ Sir S. HOAREThe hon. Member is misinformed on both points. I do not think he can have been following what has been happening in Bengal. As to my own position, I made it quite clear in the answer I gave that I gave no pledge of any kind, and I do not remember that Mr. Gandhi suggested to me that he wished to visit Bengal.
§ 55. Mr. MORGAN JONESasked the Secretary of State for India. whether he was consulted before the Viceroy made his decision about declining to discuss the Ordinances with Mr. Gandhi; and whether before ordering Mr. Gandhi's arrest any communication to His Majesty's Government was made by the Government of India?
§ Sir S. HOAREThe reply to both parts of the question is in the affirmative.