Australia and India

SENATOR Matthew Reid, a member of the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia, recently gave an interview to the Associated Press at Madras, in the course of which he made certain observations regarding Indian self-government and the Australian policy regarding non-Whites. He said he had studied Indian history and that he was convinced that this country had a definite mission within the British Empire. He was an ardent advocate of dominion status for India within the Empire, which would not be complete or be able to carry out its own mission in the world until India was in full possession of her rights. It is not clear whether in expressing this view, Reid was merely stating his personal opinion. He did explain, however, why Australia was interested in India. “As a matter of defence,” he said, “India and Australia as the outposts of the British Empire united within the future British Commonwealth of Nations, would be strong factors in preserving the peace of the East.” Evidently, Reid had in his mind the Singapore Base scheme for which India is expected to make a contribution, but before India can be induced to interest herself in the world’s peace problem or the future Commonwealth of Nations, it is obviously necessary that she should be the mistress of her own affairs. On the important subject of racial prejudice against Indians, Reid said that, so far as Australia was concerned, there was no racial prejudice and the few Indians who had settled in some of the states were given equal rights with the white population. As for Australia’s exclusion of Indians, he said this was more an economic than a racial question.