The All-Party Conference

Lahore, Sunday, November 23, 1924

AT the time of writing, we do not know what took place at Friday’s meeting of the All-Party Conference. Judging, however, from the attitude of several parties, as disclosed in the statements recently made by their leaders, it seem extremely improbable that except in one respect the tangible achievement of this conference will go materially beyond that of the Calcutta conference. The exception is the condemnation of the government’s repressive policy, as to which the Liberals have already extended their hand of cooperation and fellowship to the Congress. At a meeting of the Council of the Liberal Federation held on the eve of the All-Party Conference, a resolution was passed, not only condemning the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance as being “far too extensive in its scope” and “placing excessive powers of arrest and detention in the hands of the Executive” but also expressing the deliberate opinion of the party that “there are serious dangers in the employment of the Ordinance and Regulation III of 1818 of injustice being caused to those whose political activities are of an entirely different character from those of the persons engaged in anarchical conspiracies,” and the equally significant opinion that “while anarchical crimes should be put down, the true remedy for the present political situation lies in the adoption of a far-sighted policy of constructive statesmanship.” This essentially patriotic move on the part of the council makes it perfectly clear that the united fight against this policy is to be carried on.