Item 1 - Copy of a telegram from Lord Reading to Edwin Montagu

[Part 1.] The Prince of Wales will arrive on the 24th. Any arrangements must be made before his own departure on the 22nd. The immediate objective is to prevent trouble or demonstrations during the Prince’s arrival. The Calcutta visit is of special because an unpleasant reception there would have a particularly strong effect on public opinion in England and even in India, and would provoke racial bitterness. The proclamation of volunteers in this province and others, and the subsequent demonstrations and arrests, have led to tension, which though presently non-violent, is bent on getting respectable Indians to protest against the Government and to associate prosecution with non-co-operation. The imprisonment of respectable men and reports of high-handed action have caused emotion even among moderates in Ben-gal, though Ronaldshay is trying to prevent excesses and correct abuses. The immediate objective can only be achieved by Reading’s immediate promise to invite members of the various political sections to attend a conference at Delhi, probably in January. He has desired all along to understand the agitators’ practical propositions; the meaning of swaraj, in particular, has never yet been defined. There appears, however, to be a general desire for responsible government. Nothing can be done, of course, without the assent of Cabinet and the approval of Parliament.

(Carbon copy.)