The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-01-22 00:00:00

SATURDAY, JAN. 22, 1876.

.THE-PRINCE OF WALES IN INDIA.

The Special Correspondent of The Times, Writing from
'Delhi on January 16, gives the followineparticulars respect..
lug the movements of the PeillC6 of Wales?—
On Monday last the Prnee, attended, by his suites
drove to the Lucknow Cantonments, qpresent collating
to the Ist Battalien of the Bth Foot, a' wing of which
had been sent by special train from Benares. It is a
regiment with grand traditions, bearing a Royal Tiger
as its badge, and "Bhurtpore " among the names on
its colours, and the Prince, in addressing Colonel
Hawley and the other officers and men, took occa-
sion to allude to the past services of the gallant
regiment. The ceremony, enlivened as it was by a
hymn, tieing by a bandsman, and excellent music,
and aided by a Church service rendered by the
chaplain, was tedious to those who do not enter
deeply into the spirit of the Queen's Regulations,
but it was watched with great interest by crowds of
Europeans and Asiatics. Lady Couper, who could
sdmost see from the ground the Residency in which she
languished during that terrible siege; her husband,
who bore himself so well there; Kavanagh, who earned.
the Victoria Cross for signal services, and perhaps
many an one who stood on the other side, were present
on this occasion. Two batteries of our Artillery, De
Grice's- and Herbert Taylor's, one of Armstrong& the
other of Woolwich guns, went past in an admirable
manner. The 65th Regiment seemed stronger than
the 14th. Both regiments did well, but they were
quite eclipsed in stature and smartnesr of appearance
tha Bth Native Infantry, in handsome turbans,
Zersave trousers, and white gaiters—a splendid bat-
:ration, of which Colonel Holroyd may well be proud.
Thel3sth have been five years from home, and the 14th
;nearly eight years. The 41st, or Gwalior N_ative In-
fantry, in blue and red turbans, gray facings with
white lace, did not attract much attention. The Native
observers seemed specially interested in the religious
service around the drums, and watched every move-
ment closely. Before the Prince went away a non-
vommiesioned officer, named .Gardner, was called to
the front, and received from his Royal Highness's
hands a medal, given to the best shot in the British
Army, which the happy winner bore back to the ranks
with evident pride.
The Prince returned to the Commissioner's house as
he came, with an escort, through roadways lined with
cavalry and police. Many Hindoos and a few MuQsul-
mans were seen at the corners of the roads, the soldiers
In the Cantonments turning out guards of honour and
saluting. It is not to be much regretted that the-
Prince did not visit the interior of the native city.
The Chandni Chauk, or main street, is too narrow
to be traversed by carriages, and an elephant
Is the best means of locomotion, but howdahs are too
high to admit of seeing the shops, and people on the
drawing-room floors do not always like being looked
Upon. Those who knew best thought it unadvisable
to attempt it. He saw, however, everything of
st: public interest, and left with agreeable impressions
of the Talookdars and people. There are 350,000
People in the city, which is spreading out rapidly
westwards Buildings are permitted on the site of
• much of the razed town, which is now converted into
, market gardens. Kite-making and kite-flying flourish
ae of yore, when, amid a heavy bombardment, the sky
above the city would appear flecked with kites. So
great is this passion that the local authorities have had
to interfere to prevent the ruinous results of betting
on rival kites, skilled flyers being backed like horses,
their skill being shown in attaining the greatest
altitude in the shortest time, and in cutting the strings
of rival kites by small pieces of metal fixed on their
owia lines. The most remarkable changes in the out-
ward appearance of these sites have been mainly
effected by wholesale demolitions of quarters aban-
doned or depopulated ; but •there are some things
done which had better have been left un-
done. At Delhi, Selimghur Fort and Palaee
has certainly not been improved by British
occupancy. In the noble square stand detached
blocks of barracks of red brick, of amazing
' nglineas. The walls once covered with paintings of
flowers are now whitewashed ; but the scandalous
dilapidations which went on for years have been
stopped. Soldiers and civilians are no longer
aanwed to pick out precious stones (really of small
value) from the inlaid walls, destroying the beauti-
• Ell mosaics of Austin of Bordeaux, who handled
jewels and gems as if they were pigments, and de-
placid flowers, fruits, and birds on white marble
a With great finish and perfection. Selimghur is now
4. a large barrack, but it has as yet escaped the fate
of the Imambarati at Lucknow, certainly one of the
finest halls in the world, [serving as a canopy to the
tomb of a King of Oude, our friend and ally. The
Mosque of rhe Imambarah is fast crumbling. One gilt
ornament on the cupola is awry, the other is quite
one. Grass is sprouting out of the masonry chinks.
It is used as a garrison chapel, and no harm would be
„ done if it were kept in repair, but over the grand gate-
way and on the sacred walls of the grand hall itself are
. painted in staring black letters, the numbers of the
- various Magazines into which they have been con-
verted. The place is filled with cannon and muni-
tions, among them the guns Peel's sailors used in
1857-8. These are standing eyesores and grievances,
e although the Native public are not permitted to enter
J and see them. Cromwell did not stable his horses
permanently in religious houses. Space is to be had
to any extent, and the Public Works Department can
always be relied upon to run up buildings of sufficient
plainness.
At Cawnpore, as at Lucknow, the clearances have
been on a vast scale. Nothing is left of the old station
from the site of Windham's tete de pont to the Memo-
rial Church, which stands outside the site of Wheeler's
intrenchments. These have been levelled, and the
barracks inside pulled down, so it is difficult to reeog-
raise the place, and one looks for ancient landmarks in
vain. But there are fair parks, and fine drives, and
beautiful gardens for the European community, which
are appreciated by the native gentry also, and the
native municipalities which have been established have
done much for the improvement of the health of the
native parts of the town. The provisions of an Act
which is bitterly opposed by certain classes in England
have been applied here with most marked and bene-
ficial results.
The generation which thrilled at the names of
Lucknow, Cawnpore and Delhi is growing old. The
visitor to the scenes of such sufferings and such courage
may dismiss the memories of those days as evil dreams
when he hears the words of welcome and sees the re-
joicings for the Prince who is the son of the Empress
of Hindoostan ; but if he looks a little closer ha will
find that they are not forgotten and assuredly signs
and tokens of that time of trial' are all around him,
and, whether he will or not, the deeds of cruelty, of
'valorous constancy, and of vengeance will be brought
to remembrance by almost every incident csmnected
With the Royal pregress. They crop up in the lan-
guage of the most guarded addresses. Memorial
churches and pillars bear witness to them, and the parks,
gardens, carriage drives, and cultivated clearings,
where once were densely-peopled streets and multitu-
dinous populations, tell what followed.
When the Prince left Lucknow, on the 10th of
January, he had the satisfaction of knowing that he
had rejoiced the hearts of veterans by his kindliness
of speech. He would not allow them to be hurried by,
he spoke to each one ragged as he might be, squalid or
unclean, and when the purblind old soldier asked to be
allowed to come closer, that he might see his face, the
Prince bent forward until the lingering investigation
of every feature was at an end. Will Government do
nothing to bring comfort to him and his comrades,
and make them our recruiting officers?
On the way to Cawnpore the train stopped to take
lip Lord Carington, who has had a somewhat trying
journey of five miles in the sun from the Camp, where
he had been tenderly nursed, to Onao, but who was quite
cheerful, and answered all inquiries as if he had not
met with any accident at all. As the train approached
the Ganges every eye was strained to catch the first
sight of Cawnpore, but there is little to see except the
Bridge of Boats and the Temple and Bathing Ghauts.
On the right bank, however, the Ghaut which was
the scene of the massacre could be made out
down below, and as the Royal train swept over
the stupendous bridge which spans the great flood the
spire of the church came in sight, and a few bungalows
and trees. There is a fine station at Cawnpore, and
Some thousands of Hindoos were waiting patiently
outside, many attracted, no doubt, by the guard of
honour, escort, arid artillery drawn up to welcome the
Prince. Mr. Prinsep and the local authorities were
on the platform, together with some ladies and gentle •
men, whose salutations the Prince repeatedly acknow-
ledged. He then entered a carriage, and, followed
by his suite, was driven to the Memorial Church,
which is still gay inside with Christmas emblems .or
consecration ornaments The Chaplain and one or
two other gentlemen awaited him. There was no
crowd, no intrusion, and eveything was in excellent
taste • so the Prince walked all round, reading the
gad inscriptions on mural tablets-, without being
mobbed. -He stopped where he pleased, and asked
questions from time to time a those around him. Then
there was the tomb outside and the site of the intrench-
ments to be examined, so that it was near five o'clock
before the Prince reached the saddest of all the sad
Sights of Cawnpore.