ABSTRACT
The painstaking industry of the Simon Commissioners and their staff of workers is worthy of great commenda tion. The external facts of India are presented in a lucid and informative manner, and in certain chapters, such as those on Local Self-Government and Educa tion, in Volume I, it is evident that they had expert advice and counsel which was both sympathetic towards Indian aspirations and critical of the pre sent system. There is also throughout a courtesy of tone towards Indians generally that makes the Report a welcome change from the cold attitude towards the human side of life which Blue Books often represent. Immense pains have been taken to avoid the assump tion of a dominating racial attitude. All this and much more might be said concerning the Report in certain important directions. Personally I have endeavoured in all that I have written, even though I have differed radically from many of the conclusions, to give the Commissioners every credit for good intentions and to lay stress on the positive and constructive side of their work, accomplished under difficulties for which they themselves were hardly responsible. While making this as clear as possible, it is necessary at the same time to add that the Report has been to me, on the whole, the more I have studied its details and
considered its main conclusions, a very disappointing document.
