THE INDIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE. (Hansard, 16 September 1914)

*THE LORD PRIVY SEAL AND SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (THE MARQUESS OF CREWE)
My Lords, I rise to make the Motion that stands in my name in respect to the charge upon the revenues of India for the military force, consisting of British and Indian troops, sent from India to the seat of war. This Resolution has to be made in both Houses—it is being simultaneously made in another place—in consequence of a provision in the Act of 1858. Section 55 of that Act provides as follows— Except for preventing or repelling actual invasion of Her Majesty's Indian possessions, or under other sudden and urgent necessity, the revenues of India shall not, without the consent of both Houses of Parliament, be applicable to defray the expenses of any military operation carried on beyond the external frontiers of such possessions by Her Majesty's Forces charged upon such revenues. That provision was, no doubt, inserted in the Act largely in the interests of India. It is conceivable also that in the minds of those who framed it there may have been a feeling that unless some such provision were inserted in an Act of Parliament a British Government could imitate the famous action of King Charles I in bringing Irish troops over to this country, and could defy the important provision of the Bill of Rights which makes it necessary to vote every year, as this House very well knows, the provision for a Standing Army, and that it might be possible to maintain a Standing Army in Europe, or even in this country, without the consent of Parliament. But I have no doubt that the main object of those who framed this section was with regard to the revenues of India, to secure that they should not be expended by the Indian Government of the day for this purpose or a kindred purpose without the solemn consent of Parliament.
I need not add anything to-day to what I said a short time ago as to the pride which we all feel in the despatch of such an important Indian force to fight side by side with British soldiers and with the soldiers from the self-governing Dominions in this mighty conflict. It was quite evident then from the attitude of the House that the pride which I expressed in this event is shared by the House as a whole, and it was clear from what appeared in 696 the Press the next day that the same feelings are entertained throughout the whole country. It is a most remarkable and most memorable fact, and the reception of the news that Indian troops were to come here is for one thing, as I venture to hope, a magnificent tribute to the justice of our rule in India, and is also an evidence of how high the heart of India beats in sympathy with us in this great struggle in which we are engaged.
India has desired to play her part not merely in sending troops, but she has also taken the view that at any rate she ought not to profit in the sense of making any sort of saving because of the absence of those troops from India and the consequent absence of necessity of paying for them. As I pointed out before, the precedents on this subject are very various. Sometimes India has been asked to pay a large amount not merely of the ordinary charges but of the extraordinary charges in respect of troops sent to other parts of the world. In some other cases the whole charge has been undertaken by this country. The particular course which is proposed in this Resolution is the same that was adopted in the year 1896 in respect of the Indian contingent which went in that year to Suakim—that is to say, that all the ordinary charges are paid by India and the extraordinary charges are chargeable to this country. The arrangement may be regarded, I think, both in India and here as a thoroughly fair one considering the magnitude of the struggle in which we are engaged.
It was held by what was known as the Welby Commission, which sat about fourteen years ago, that a war in Europe could not of itself be taken as involving the direct interests of India, but for a war such as this there is no precedent, and no argument of a merely technical kind can therefore be based upon a sentence in a Report of a Royal Commission the members of which contemplated in all probability some totally different and minor employment of troops from India. Therefore as we stand at the moment, and speaking without prejudice to what may happen in the future, to the duration of the war, or a number of other factors about which it is impossible to express any opinion at present, I think that this arrangement is a reasonable one both from the Indian and the British point of view. I trust, therefore, that your Lordships will be able to assent to this Resolution without demur.

§ *EARL CURZON OF KEDLESTON
My Lords, as one who was connected for some years with the Government of India, perhaps I may be allowed to say a word upon the statement which has just been made by the noble Marquess the Leader of the House. I am the more anxious to do so because on the two previous occasions on which the despatch of this Indian contingent to take part in the war has been mentioned I was, unfortunately, prevented by duties elsewhere from saying anything in your Lordships' House. I should like, therefore, to take this opportunity of joining the noble Marquess in a tribute of admiration for the, splendid spirit of loyalty that has been shown by our Indian Dominions and their inhabitants of all classes and creeds in this crisis, and, further, of adding my tribute of congratulation to the Viceroy in particular and to the Government of India for the substantial and magnificent offer of assistance that they have been able to make to His Majesty's Government. That the noble Marquess was quite justified in what he said just now about the feelings which have been evoked by the offer in this country is plain from my own experience, because during the past ten days in which I have been engaged elsewhere I can truthfully say that no subject I have heard mentioned has evoked more enthusiasm among the thousands of people I have seen assembled than the 698 splendid offer by the Indian Government of an Indian contingent.
The noble Marquess takes us a step further to-day and makes a Motion to the House to the effect that the ordinary charges of these troops should continue to be borne by the Indian Government, or, to use his own words, that the Indian Government should derive no profit from their patriotism in this respect. In ordinary circumstances I might have felt some doubt about such a proposal. As the noble Marquess truly said, there have been fluctuations in our policy with regard to this matter in the past—fluctuations, I am bound to say, in some cases not altogether creditable to ourselves or to our standard of chivalry and honour. But the conditions have very much changed in recent years, and, broadly speaking, the principle that is now observed is that when Indian troops are employed outside that country in foreign service the expenditure should not fall upon India. That certainly was the case with regard to the Expedition which I had the honour of despatching from India myself in the year 1900—the Expedition which went to assist in the relief of our Legations at Pekin, when in reply to the request for ass stance from his Majesty's Government my Government laid down, I think properly and successfully, the condition that the expenditure should not fall on the revenues of India. But the noble Marquess has stated to-day with truth that the present is an exceptional case. This is a ease in which the troops of India are spontaneously taking part in a war which may be held to involve the interests of India itself as being included in those of the whole Empire. I conclude that the proposal which the noble Marquess has submitted to the House is one which has been made to him by the Government of India.

THE MARQUESS OF CREWE
Hear, hear.

§ EARL CURZON OF KEDLESTON
The noble Marquess did not expressly say so, but it was obvious from the nature of his remarks. That being so it seems to me that the Motion is one which your Lordships can well accept, and that this desire on the part of the Government of India, backed up, I believe, by the whole of its people, to bear the charges to which I refer adds to the splendid token of loyalty which they have offered us in the despatch of these troops. I have therefore great pleasure in supporting the noble Marquess's Motion.

THE MARQUESS OF CREWE
Perhaps I may say, in explanation of the last remark that fell from the noble Earl, that on one of the occasions on which he was unfortunately not able to be present I called attention to a debate in the Viceroy's Legislative Council and read some extracts from it in which this particular proposal that India should hear the ordinary charges was received with unanimous enthusiasm by the members of that Council.

§ VISCOUNT MIDLETON
My Lords, I do not rise to acid anything to what has been so admirably said by my noble friend behind me, but to call attention to a letter which appears in The Times to-day with regard to the payment of the Indian officers who accompany the Expedition. I have not been able to refer to what took place in the Boer War, and I think it is quite possible that the system which His Majesty's Government have apparently adopted on this occasion is the one which was adopted in the Boer War. On the other hand, whatever was done then affected a comparatively small number of officers and especially did not affect officers of the Indian Army who were brought to South Africa. On this occasion a large body of actual Indian troops are serving, and I think that probably the noble Marquess will feel that it is a considerable hardship that any officer who is established in India on a certain rate of pay, especially a married officer on whom heavy expenses are involved in giving up his work in India and equipping himself for foreign service, should be at any financial loss, whether the charge falls on the revenues of India or of this country, by going to serve His Majesty on the Continent of Europe. I hope the noble Marquess will take the subject into favourable consideration, and, whatever has been the practice in the past, I am quite certain that in this House he would have our sympathy in any concession he could find it possible to make.

THE MARQUESS OF CREWE
My Lords, my attention had been called to the letter to which the noble Viscount has alluded which appeared in The Times this morning. The question is not quite a simple one, as a little consideration will show your Lordships. It is simple enough in the case of officers in the Indian Army, and I suppose it would generally be agreed that there the circumstances would make 700 it reasonable that they should receive the same rate of pay when serving abroad from. India as when they are serving at home. Probably, though I think there is nothing in the letter to show it, the letter in The Times was written in the interest not of an officer in the Indian service but in one of the British regiments which happened to be in India at the time, receiving there the increased rate of Indian pay, and which has now been brought home to Europe. In these cases the question is not quite so simple. It might be felt by officers in some other British battalions serving almost alongside this one that it is hardly reasonable that officers in the same service should receive a far higher rate of pay, perhaps for a considerable period, than they themselves are receiving. There is also a further difficulty which the noble Viscount will appreciate—namely, that a large number of officers, both in the Indian service and in British regiments serving in India who were home on leave at the time have been detained and have not returned to India but have gone to join the Forces. The question of their rate of pay would also create some difficulty; and, in addition to that, a certain number of officers have been actually borrowed from India itself, not to serve with Indian units but for other purposes either at home or on the continent of Europe. Therefose, as I say, the question is not quite so simple or straightforward a one as might appear. On the whole, however, I am disposed to regard this claim with a great deal of sympathy. In a number of cases, as the noble Viscount pointed out, though, of course, not in all—not, for instance, in the case of a number of subalterns but in the case of a great many senior officers—establishments for their wives and families have to be kept running in India for an indefinite period without much possibility of economy, and the sacrifice of the extra Indian pay might be a serious matter indeed to such officers as those. I confess, therefore, I am disposed, although at this moment I am not able to make any definite promise on the subject, to regard the claim with a great deal of sympathy, and I can assure the House that it is, as a matter of fact, now being carefully considered at my Office as to how the claim can best be met.