The Sun.
London, England, 1870-02-07 00:00:00

VIE DUKE OF EDINBURGH AT

CALCUTTA.

CALCUTTA, Jan. 11.
A man-of-war converted into a brilliantly-lighted
ball-room is a sight never to be forgotten. Last
Tuesday night the Duke of Edinburgh acknow-
ledged, after a princely fashion, the hospitality of
Calcutta and the Viceroy by entertaining nearly a
thousand guests on board the Galatea. There was
but one drawback to the fete, that room could not
be found on board for another thousand, and great
has been the lamentation. About 10 o'clock his
Royal Highness received Lord and Lady Mayo
and their party at the gateway of the bridge of
boats, which gave access to the ship from a point
close to the Eden Gardens on the famed Calcutta
Course. The bridge was gaily illuminated with
lamps and Chinese lanterns, and led at once to the
Governor-General's yacht,which served as a cloak-
room. Outside, in the gloom of the night, the Galatea
looked forbidding enough, with canvas covering
her whole outline, and rising to a height of 50ft.
above her decks. But no fairy scene in the best
pantomime put on the stage ever equalled the spec-
tacle which presented itself to the spectator who,
climbing up a broad but steep staircase, entered the
hip by its lofty gangway and looked down on the

leek. From stern to forecastle, for nearly 280 feet,
naught was visiblo save gaily-dressed crowds, cool
fountains, flashing mirrors, knightly banners, gor-
geous flowers, and stands of arms arranged around
and over masts and funnel, so that the place would
have seemed one spacious theatre but for the sailors
who formed a setting around the whole as they
lined the bulwarks and forecastle. The height of

the canvas roof, decorated with flags and silks of
varied colours, made it possible to light up the whole
with long rows of gas jets and candelabra, which
seemed to be suspended by some invisible means.
Never was there so unique a ball room, and loud
were the exclamations of chiefs who rule millions
and count their revenue by half millions that truly
this was Paradise. His Royal Highness did the
honours, both in the dance and at the supper table
on the gun deck, with grace and spirit. On Fri-
day morning he left Calcutta for Upper India. it
is probable the Admiralty will allow the Galatea to
go on to Madras, where her captain will join her,
going from Bombay to Beypore, and across Southern
India by railway.

The first stage of the Duke's journey was Bard-
wan, where, by visiting the Maharajah, he paid a
compliment to the Zemindars of Bengal, of whom
he is the head. The carriage approaches to the
Palace were covered with crimson cloth and
strewn with flowers ; flags, banners, and festoons
of flowers were everywhere. There were the usual

Royal salutes, and an illumination in the evening
_ _

showed how the Maharajah felt the honour of
the visit. This nobleman has a revenue of nearly
half a million from estates larger than Wales,

but such was the inequality of the permanent settle

ment,that hardly a tenth of this income goes to the
Maharajah himself. The Duke reached Nulhatee
station in the afternoon. Leaving the East Indian
Railway there the party proceeded by the light rail-
way which, running along a common road, connects
the main line with Moorshedabad. The Duke's first

experiences of travelling in the interior of India
were amusing. There are no fences to protect the
line. Bullock carts toiled along the road within a
foot of the rail as the train rattled by, but at so

slow a pace that little native boys endeavoured
to keep up with it as they asked for coppers. Oa
arriving at Azimgunge, the terminus on the Bha-
guruttee, one of the channels by which the Gangcs

spills over into the Hooghly, a deputation of the
officials, followed by a crowd of the people, met the
Prince. The station and the road to the ferry were
illuminated. It was now late, and the party pro-

ceeded but slowly, crossing tedious rivers and
driving for 12 miles in the brilliant moonlight of
the East to the camp at Dewan Serai. Some of
the brggage had been left behind and some had
fallen into the river, but the dinner was none the
less cheerful.

On the morning of the Bth the party prepared,
after a hearty breakfast, to hunt the boar. There
were 18 riders, some of them the most skilful
members of the Calcutta Tent Club. His Royal
Highness was mounted on a trained horse sent
from Calcutta. No fewer than twenty-seven ele-
phants were assembled to beat the jungle. A
tine boar was secured before luncheon, and after
that three great tuckers fell before the spear. The
Prince, who rode well, shared with his coinpaniuns
the usual number of falls, but received no serious
hurt. He fairly won his spurs in getting the
" first spear" of the last boar. The brute had a long
run through high grass, and even after receiving
the spear several sportsmen were engaged in se-
curing him. Lord Marcus Beresford and others of
the party were not so fortunate. The former lost
a valuable horse, and many had severe falls. So
much for "pig sticking," a sport renowned in the
old days of prosperous indigo planters and hunting
civilians. The Duke will meet Lord Mayo at Raj-
mahal iu a few days and go on with his Excellency
to Benares, into which they will make a public
entry on the 17th. The splendid ghauts of the
sacred Kasi will be illuminated, and the next day
will be spent in shooting over the preserves of tLe
Maharajah of Benares at Chukea. Lord Mayo
will return to Calcutta on the 21st, and the Duke
will go to Luckuow and Agra, where the Taj
will be illuminated ; Bhurtpore, where the Maha-
rajah offers some shooting; Delhi, Umballa, and
Lahore, where there will be a great military dis-
play. About the Ist of March the Duke will meet
Lord Mayo at Jubbulpore, and will open the rail-
way through to Bombay at the Tawa-bridge.
Dr. Oldham, the director of the Geological Sur-
vey, has given so favourable a report on the ex-
tent of the Chanda coal deposits as certain to sup-
ply the railway for 250 miles from Nagpore to its
junction with the main line at Bhosawul, that a
railway is to be surveyed from Wurdah to Chanda
and the Godavery, so as to render the expense of
cutting the third barrier of that river unnecessary.
Lord Mayo
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the Budget in the second week in March.
While the political effect of the visit of the
Queen's sou continues to be so good in the case
of all our feudatories and the educated natives, it
is producing results among the ignorant in distant
provinces which he never could have anticipated.
The talk in the bazaars of Ajmer° and Rajpootana
is, a correspondent on the spot informs me, that
the Dola is to be revived. Now, the Dola was one
of the most offensive exactions of the Mogul Em-
perors, when they required the Rajahs of Raj-
pootana to send a daughter to the Imperial
harem. More than this, the Dola, being au insult
which roused the Rajpoot blood, has always in
popular belief been considered the precursor of
war and bloodshed. The rumour is a gauge not
only of the ignorance of our native subjects,
but of the accuracy with which they esti-
mate the relation of the Queen of England to
India since the Great Mogul passed away. The
people of Rajpootana are still suffering from
scarcity, which will not cease till the harvest has
been gathered, three months hence. The mis-
sionaries of the United Presbyterian Church have
exhausted their strength and their funds in
ministering to the destitute, and have co-operated
nobly with the Department of Public Works.
The deficit has unfortunately led Government to
restrict or withdraw its aid too soon, and there are
no fewer than 600 orphans thrown, as in Orissa,
on the missionaries hands. Many of these are
from native States, and it is to be hoped that Go-
vernment and the chiefs together will do their duty
to the last. Meanwhile the mission is appealing
for aid to clothe as well as feed the starving in a
country where the cold is very severe at this time,
and the lower classes have parted with their ra:ment
for food.
The Government of India has refused to abolish
the export duly on rice, even in the case of Burmab,
but promises to consider the feasibility of doing so
two months hence. This is unfortunate ; if the duty
is to be swept away at all it should be done now—
should have been done months ago—lest the rice
trade follow that in saltpetre, which was destroyed
by similar delay.
Mr. Forsyth is now on a visit to the Governor-
General, to whom he is reporting the results of his
mission to Russia.