The evening times., 1899-06-27
ATToRNEYs.
LATEST STYLES IN RAJARS.
The Sporting Variety FOrges Ahead
of the Dignifed Species.
&C. W. Stevens in the London Mail.)

&C. W. Stevens in the London MaiI)
OF rajahs there are very many kinds,
and much thought and care has been ey-
pended on the theory and practice of their
production. The Government of India.
while usually leaving them to themselves.
has made an exception in the case of their
manufacture II is exceptional that
native State passes to an adult heir-a
rajah's life is not a healthy one: the
average age Of the ruling princes appears
to be about seventeeu-and the Goverl-
ment of India educates the minors. For
young Rajput chiefs there is the Mayo Col
lege, at Amir: rulers OF wider influence
usually have governor told on to them
from the Indian civil service or staff corps.
The question is, what sort of man you
should aim at producing. The old-fash-
ioned good rajah-the conservative, pious
ruler. on good terms with his resident and
his subjects alike. but impartially disiik-
ing champagne, sanitation, bookmakers.
female education and trousers-was per-
haps the most satisfactory, certainly the
most dignified. type; but he, alas! though
still extant here and there, must shortly
die out. With him, as a compensation,
will probably perish the old fashioned bad
one. the intriguer and blackmai.er, who
took greedily to champagne and bookmak-
ers, and-now and then-trousers. but
hated sanitation and female education none
the less. OF the new generation the most
familiar type is the sporting rajah. In
what was practically the final of this years
polo championship, the Patiala and Kotah
teams were each captained by the Mahara-
1ah. Other young chiefs are not less emil
nent in the saddle, and the Maharajah of
Patiala Is a keen and useful cricketer.
The Nizam of Hyderabad is, or was, al
most the best shot in the world. At his
best the sporting rajah is probably the best
solution Of the difficulty of keeping man
manly when you deny him his hereditary
pursuit of war. At his worst-and there 10
a worst-he becomes bad imitation Of the
less gentlemanly kind of sporting peer. In
both cases it is hard to get him to take the
least interest in the affairs of his subjects.
After all, why should he? If a second
Akbar were born in India We should not
let him rule in his own way, and he would
in that case rather not rule at all. 1t is
childish to blame the rajah for being
Oriental. ,. ,al.
Thus see-saw the native states of India
over third of its area, over fourth
Of its population. Up with good rajah-
down with bad; most up with a very bad
who brings in British administrator.
Many of their people would like to be an
nexed to British India; others prefer
things as they are-especial1y everybody
even distantly connected with the public
service. We might annex them-there is
never any lack of pretext-and we might
leave them entirely alone to serve as awful
examples, and make our subjects content
ed by the contrast. Instead of that we do
as always in India-the straight and dis
interested thing. We are tolerant of the
rajah as long as he is possible. and sue
cor his people when he is not. Thus-as
always in India-we get no thanks from
either.