LABOUR AND THE CONSTITUTION. 457 
The output of the provincial legislatures has been very small. 
An Act repealing the Madras Planters Act (which provided inter alia for 
the system of criminal punishment of breaches of contract by workmen) 
was passed in Madras in 1927. On the other hand, the Coorg Legislature 
in 1926 continued this system for five years and seems tc have been pre- 
vented only by the Governor General from giving it a permanent place 
on the statute-book. Maternity Benefits Acts were passed by the Bombay 
Council in 1929, and the Central Provinces Council in 1930, somewhat 
similar proposals having been rejected by the Legislative Assembly in 
1925. This small output is no doubt largely explained by the activity 
of the Central Legislature and is possibly due in part to lack of the neces- 
sary equipment in some provinces for dealing with such questions. But 
there seem to be some grounds for believing that in labour matters the 
provincial legislatures have evinced less interest than the Legislative 
Assembly. The interest of the Central Legislature has been stimulated 
by the fact that the existing constitution, combined with the Treaty of 
Versailles, necessitates the submission to the central, and not to the 
provincial, legislatures of the Draft Conventions and Recommendations 
adopted by sessions of the International Labour Conference. 
Fufure Constitution. 
In approaching the discussion of the future position of labour in 
the constitution, we found ourselves handicapped by the fact that we 
have had to consider the question at a time when it is uncertain what form 
that constitution will take. The main lines of the constitution must be 
determined by considerations which lie outside our scope, and until 
these are determined, it is not possible to advise with precision as to the 
best manner of securing that the interests of labour shall be adequately 
served. A further difficulty is that the constitutional issues relate to the 
whole of India, whereas our field has been limited to the provinces of 
British India. In these circumstances, our best course is to set down what 
appear to us the main considerations relating to our own problems, to 
recognise frankly that these can exercise only a minor influence on the 
bigger issues, which may be decided in more than one way, and to offer 
some recommendations which we believe will be of service. whatever solu- 
tion is reached. 
Argument for Co-ordination. 
So far as labour legislation is concerned, the question of out- 
standing importance is that of the power which should be exercised by the 
central and provincial legislatures respectively. The arguments in favour 
of keeping legislation in the hands of a central legislature are strong. 
The chief argument is that without uniformity, at any rate in respect of 
the main principles, sound legislation is extremely difficult to secure. 
When the question was first raised in India more than fifty years ago in 
connection with the first Factories Bill, the recognition of this point led to 
the rejection of the idea of a provincial Act. Since that date the eco- 
nomic and industrial unification of India has proceeded steadily, and the 
difficulties inherent in provincial labour codes are greater now than at any