The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1900-06-16
BRITISH STATE PRISONERS,
Treatment of Rulers Who Have Been
Conquered In the Last Fifty Years.

Treatment of Rulers Who Have Been
Conquered In the Last Fifty Years.
In 1S49, when the state of Maharaia
Dhuleep Singh was finally annexed to
the Indian empire, that potentate was
requested to take up his residence in
England-the inducement to a ready
compliance being given by the promise
Of a yearly y income Of ;e24o, 600 with
nothing at all as an alternative.
Dhuleep Singh wisely acquiesced, pur-
Norfolk, upon which he resided for
many years as wealthy English
country gentleman. Though during
this period the Mahara::a frequently
expressed the desire to revisit his ma
tive country, protesting the utmost
loyalty to the Empress Queen, yet he
was never permitted to travel east of
the 1sthmus of Suez. In this case
the bond seems to have descended up
on the heads of his children, for while
his sons have entered the British army
and one of them, Prince Victor, re-
Gently married the daughter of tho
Earl of Coventry, yet they have never
been allowed to set eyes on the land
over which their ancestors ruled.
Approaching Calcutta on the left
bank of the HULL river at Garden
Beach, the visitor will have pointed
out the fine palace of the late Valid
Ali, King of Oudh. There from 1856
until recent date, this prince was
held in semi captivity upon an an
nual allowance OF 5000 0Oo, the only
! proviso as to his freedom of action
being that he should not leave the
vicinity of Calcutta The king of
Oudh, true to those prodigal instincts
which brought about his downfall, not
only managed to expend this large
sum, but in the keeping of snake
mounds, menageries and other costly
forms of amusement dear to the Ori-
entail mind, was obliged TO draw fire.
quently upon the imperial treasury
for further amounts. The leniencv
with which he was thus treated was
probably due to the fact that he offered
no armed resistance to his own de-
position. Blazing with jewels and
seated in smart equipage with ser
wants in royal liveries, the King of
Oudh was often a conspicuous figure
in the Calcutta park, where the society
of the Indian capital takes an outing
after the heat of the day has passed.
Far different was the fate of the
poor old Bahadur Shah, last of the
Great Moguls. After the fall of Delhi
in 1857, he was tried for high treason
and sent as a state prisoner to Ran
goon. There, in small hut, the only
lineal descendant of Shah Jehan and
Aurangzeb passed the remainder of
his days, unnoticed aud upon mere
pittance. AS, however, both his sons
were slaughtered and less culpable
rebel leader, Tantia Topi. was exc
cuted, he may have thought himself
fortunate to escape with his life.
Near Colombo, in Ceylon, England
still holds in light durance Arabi
Pacha and his colleagues OF the Egyp-
tian rebellion of 1882. While Arab
has not ceased to bemoan his fate and
uselessly petition the British govern
ment for permission to return to
Egypt, yet, considering the nature of
his offence, and that he was sentenced
to death, his lot cannot be considered
burdensome. Provided with an in
come sufficient for his wants, a pleas
ant residence, permission accorded
him to receive visitors and consider
able measure of freedom within the
district, he would undoubtedly have
been worse off had his successful
enemies been of his own race and re-
ligion.
For several years Cetewayo, king
of the Zulus, was held an unresigned |
prisoner at Ghowe, near the scene of
the present military operations in
Natal, where he died before the prom
ise of restoration to his throne was
carried into effect. t.--New York Sun.