The Forrest City times., 1891-01-09
ONCE OWNED KoH.hNooR.
The MahsrsJah of Lahore, on Who n
 England Has Spent Much Money.

England Has Spent Much Money. Duleep Singh when a boy, was the Maharajah of Lahore. and the owner of the Koh-i-noor. or the Mountain of Light, now the chief among the crown jewels of England. Duieep was not yet in his teens when the great Sikh dynasty. of which he was the last rep resentative, fell before the arms of England. and the little boy lost his throne and his wonderful diamond. The third clause of the treaty of peace provided that the gem called the Koh-i-noor shall be surrendered by the Maharajah of Lahore to the Queen of England"
 It is doubtful if the English ever spent so much money on any other fallen foe as on the Maharajah of La- hore. observes the Boston Transcript. He was taken to England along with the Koh-i-noor, and no English prince was ever more carefully reared and educated. As he grew up to manhood parliament voted him money to buy magnificent estate and Sl25, 900 & year to keep the wolf from the door. He became extremely lavish in his ex- penditures. supported frst-class shooting-box ahd stable. on grand occasions outshone everybody in the splendor of his diamonds, and in fact became one of the most stunning young men in England. He was now and then a guest at the palace, and was favorite in aristocratic society. Il should like" he said one day. ito place the Koh-i-noor in the queens 1 hand now that 1 am a man. l was | only a child when 1 surrendered it tn ] her by the treaty, but now l nm old enough to understand.
 The very next day he was summoned I to the palace. The jewel was placed in his hand. and for some time he toy ed with 1t. Then the descendant of eastern kings handed back the rich prize of many conquests. and formally remarked that ii gave him much pleas use to place the jewel in the hand of h.s sovereign.
 But not great while after Duleep l Singh ceased to hold the queen in such high regard. He begged to inquire how many millions she was making out of his old country, the Puniah. while he was almost starving on the beggarly pittsnce of $125, 900 year In fact $l25, GOO was a small sum of money when compared with the almost fabulous income of his predecessors on the throne of Lahore. He appealed to tho government to give him a larger allowance, but the request was refused. So Duleep Singh said that if he could not have enough money to properly support his dignity he would not take a penny. He therefore betook himself and his gorgeous diamonds to foreign parts. His gems like the Koh-i-noor. were derived from his fathers, aud were worth goodly fortune.
 His departure moved the British to contemplation. They really did not kuow how much mischief the ex- Maharaiah might stir up among the dissatisfied elements in India. He had hardly crossed over to France before the British offered him all he had asked to come back. But he would not stir peg. He was the Sikh chief again. robbed of his rights, his people and his splendor by brutal invader. From that position he has never sweryed un- til now. Nearly every court on the
 
 has ever been ready to tell the story of his wrongs to all who would listen
 For years he has periodically issued addresses 10 the Sikh people, urging them to revolt and promising to ap- pear among them soon to restore the old regime. In the proclamation he issued two years ago to the princes and people of India. he signed himself:
 Sovereign of the Skin nations and implacable foe of the British govern ment.n
 Some of his friends in India have always managed to have his proclama- tions mysteriously placarded on the bill board
 Of late years. however, these efu- sions have been hardly more than objects of dersien.
 Last year he wrote q letter to Queen Victoria. telling her that it was high time she restored the koh-i-noor to its rightful owner.
 Of late years Duleep Singh has lived mostly in Russia. He attended the Paris Exposition last year and an English newspaper said he was look ing rather seedy and "out of luck. '" As far as is known, he has had no means of support for many years ex- cept the gems he has occasionally sold. He is now getting old. and it is certain that his old spirit is broken. or he would never renounce jot or title of his regal claims upon the Punjab for all the wealth and honor England could give him. For many years he had but to speak the word and a prncely income would have flowed to him from British coffers. But he never spoke the word.