The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-14
EXPENSE OF THE DURBAR
IMPERIAL PROCLAMATION PAGEANT
NOT VERY COSTLY.
Gross Amount VIII Not Exceed 49,
900 Pounds, and Half VIII BE Re-
cOycred-New Economies.
London Mail.

the preJuulce OF the Little EDgldnder, eX-
lists with respect to the durbar that will
greet the New Year at Delhi Fabulous
accounts OF its cost have been circulated.
with lurid description of the added misery
OF plague-stricken, famine-ridden native
population. who have the burden added to
an already gTievous load of taxation. Fig
ures have been tabulated representing the
total cost at one million and three-quarters
sterling. And 10! the poor Indian is TO
pay II all.
The fact is that the budget estimate of
the cost of the durbar. carefully drafted.
is twenty-six and half lakhs of rupees.
equal TO G176,OOO sterling. OF this sum it
Is calculated that fully one-half will be
recovered. To that end all the arrange
ments for the entertainment of guests and
the presentation of the spectacle have. I'M
der Lord Curzon's personal direction. been
laboriously and intelligently planned. One
OF the last public meetings Lord Curzon
attended in London before his departure
Tor Calcutta was at the Mansion House.
where Lord Kitchener, home in triumph
from Egypt, was entertained by the lord
mayor. Lord Salisbury, in the course of
his remarks. eulogized the guest Of the
evening on his ability Ito run campaign
told the Legislative Council in a speech
delivered last September, he in directing
preparations for the durbar kept this rec
ommendation in mind.
While the ceremonial will lack nothing In
splendor. the taxpayer viii have the salts
faction of knowing that underneath, un-
seen. runs a current OF shrewd commercial
enterprise. The whole of the buildings and
hah ffot IL 81
purposes of the gatherings are, like the
poets chest Of drawers. contrived a double
debt to pay. They will make possible the
gathering at Delhi of representative people
from all the ends of the empire. After
wards they will fetch good prices as build
ing material. 1t is estimated that from 50
to so per cent. of the original cost will be
thus retrieved. Tents, carriages and horses
(the latter not purchased by a remount de-
partment) will have to be provided In enor-
nous numbers for the convenience OF visit
ors- But, purchased wholesale in leisurely
preparation, they have been bought cheap,
and IL Is confidently expected that resold
In smaller quantities they will fully recoup
expenditure
Another example Of the foresight and
preparation for the spectacle appears in
connection with the Nominations Through
the three weeks the ceremonial will last
ment and the city with electric light. II
that involved installation especially and
exclusively designed for the occasion the
cost would or course be considerable. 1t
happens that under Lord Curzon's enlght-
ened administration II has been arranged
TO ventilate and illumine all the barracks
OF India by electricity. The plant will be
borrowed for the purposes Of the durbar,
and when IL has served them will be passed
on to perform its benefcent work for the
soldier in India.
BUSY INDIA.
The last durbar, held In Delhi on Jan. l.
1877. involved a net cost to India Of $4,000
The further-reaching and more magnificent
pageant planned for January, 1903, will
probably involve maximum net charge
upon the revenue Of India OF 100000 The
transaction to a large extent assumes the
character OF transferring money from one
pocket to another. Care has been taken
that every penny OF expenditure shall go
into the pockets OF Indian artisans and
their employers. The impetus given to ma
tive industry Is enormous. For months
past the cotton mills OF Lahore Jubbul-
pore and Cawnpore have been working full
time making tents. The native factories
where harness and saddlery are wrought.
the furniture-makers engaged on camp
equipage, the carriage builders. the carpet
factories where durries and rugs are
woven, are working overtime. In every
town or village where native art industry
exists. the coppersmiths and silversmiths,
the casveTs IN WOOD; , In rvory and stone.
are all hard at work. Thus over countless
native homes the durbar already sheds the
light or prosperity.
There is a further, more direct credit side
to the state account in connection with the
durbar. In India the railways are, for the
most part; government property: whether
proportion or profits flows into the govern
ment chest The increased traffic receipts
through the months OF December, January
and February may safely be counted upon
to yield considerable revenue The same
impetus viii be given to the postal and tel
egraph services, which are, OF course,
sources OF government revenue. In add.
ton, there viii be an appreciable influx of
foreign money flowing from the purses of
the crowd of British and European guests
already preparing for flight to India.
In the spiteful and ill-informed asper-
sions glanced at IT Is stated Ted that. in ad-
viceroy will. on account OF the durbar, re-
ceive q special sumptuary allowance of
1900 In the e nrs G place. the the o xiceroys
sumptuary allowance is a pure fiction; not
single anna being advanced to the viceroy
on a1Soo nt OF OK tbs persona expenses
considerable. since Lord Curzon meets out
OF his own pocket the cost OF entertaining
the distinguished guests who will at his
bidding be present at the pageant
This is, perhaps, sordid way OF con-
sidering a spectacle that will be worthy
the record of the stored East and the fame
of the empire in whose crown India is a
choice Jewel. But the facts are Interest,"
ing as testifying to the solicitude with
which expenditure has been curtafled Their
simple statement will be useful as correct
ing sedulously spread misrepresentation.
harmful at home. and still more undesir-
able to be chartered about in the bazars
OF India
WATERFRONT COMPARTMENTS.
Taking broader view, and for the mo-
ment excluding notice OF the delight the
spectacle will give to a countless popula-
ton whose simple pleasures are few, the
durbar is fraught with political, social and.
as we have seen, commercial benefit Lord
Curzon discerns the weak spot In India
I'm what he calls it's water-tight compart-
ment system. Each province. each native
state. Is more or less shut of from its
neighbors by bulkheads either natural or
artificial The population OF each lives all
TO itself. having only vague ideas of the
existence of peoples beyond their own
boundary.
Even princes dwelling in the south rare
", IL ever, see or visit the states of the
north. The north makes no attempe to re-
dress the balance by making occasional
holiday in the south. There are many men
I'm Madras who have never looked on the
Punjab. while TO the native population of
Bombay Bengal is but name. The durbar
will AFFORD opportunity extended over three
weeks, OF soldiers and civilians from ali
the vast continent n meet and