Item 5 - Draft of a telegram from Edwin Montagu to Lord Reading, in the hand of S. K. Brown, [20 Dec. 1921].

The Government have considered Reading’s telegram [A3/15/1–3] and accept his conclusions. They agree with his doubts as to the practical result of a conference, since the recent reforms were not initiated in response to clamour but as an attempt to establish a working electorate, and their whole basis would be jeopardized if the Government allowed itself to be pressured into making premature concessions. They acknowledge, however, the difficulty of refusing discussion and the practical advantages of granting it, for the sake of leading agitators to formulate their demands. They endorse the paramount necessity of including members of the legislatures in such a conference.