The courier., 1903-01-24
T H E CO RI E r

salute ranging from nine to twenty-one
guns. Then all the high English officials.
secretaries of states, governors, and
commissioners, had their share Of pow
der.
But the native princess liked it. How
well do / remember the intense delight
Of a great rajah as he entered Delhi on a
splendid charger, at the head of some
magnificent troops. as his twenty-one
guns were booming. The whole Anglo
official community laughed at it, and
there was something in "Owen Mer-
edith the poet viceroy, the little man
in uniform on the great golden elephant,
to excite the visibility of his brother
Britishers. But there were $50. 900 ma
tives of India, from Peshawur to Cape
Comorin. who did not laugh. but who
said 1t was a revival of the days Of
Akbar the Great.
Yes, Little Bobs" was there. He was
a man of no account. But he performed
his duties as quartermaster general with
satisfaction to every one. He had to see
that every one had tents and boots and
knapsacks and swords. The commissary
department took care of the rest. He
was only a colonel. And no one for
moment dreamed that this little man
who hustled from camp to camp would
in time be Field Marshal Earl Roberts,
X. G., the greatest Of English generals,
Wellington excluded. There were men
in that camp such as John Watson, ".
c., and Sam Brown, " c., Of whom this
may have been predicted, but not Rob-
erts
1t is almost impossible for the average
American to realize what this imperial
durbar at Delhi means. British India
and the United States are so different in
their whole makeup. The great native
princes of India some of whom have
large standing armies would not care
two straws about Brooklyn bridge over
the Chenab, OF a rapid transit through
the Afghan hills, but they do care about
their historic dignity and their state in
dependence. And this is what the i'm
perial durbar of 1877 assured them, and
this is what the imperial durbar Of 1903
confirms.
No matter who rules England, Queen
Victoria, or King Edward, or King
George, the great rulers of the native
states will still retain their royal rank,
and are as much a part of the British
empire as the lord mayor of London and
General De Wet. The Independent state
rule of India is as closely bound up with
the interest of the empire as Independent
state rule is essential in the United
States of America.
The expense of this durbar is enormous.
But it gives employment to hundreds of
thousands, and the great rajahs, sultans.
nizams, guikwars, nawabs, and ameers
are scattering gifts at Delhi at the pres
ent time as freely as divine Providence
gives rain in its season. 1t fact, 1T is inn
possible to catalogue all that this inn
perial durbar does give. But, in the con-
crete 1t assures a population of about
300, 100000 people in India of everything
which Mr. Chamberlain Is endeavoring
to impress upon the lesser millions of
South Africa, namely, that the imperial
rule Of Great Britain is firm, stable and
enduring.
1t is a notable incident in this durbar
that the duke of Connaught, although he
is a royal prince. and represents the king
of England, ranks below the viceroy, who
in his person represents the emperor Of
India Only twenty-one guns Of explos-
ives are expended on Prince Arthur and
his royal princess, while 101 honor the
presence of Lord Curzon and his Ameri-
can wife
I have often been asked how II is that
5000 Britishers keep in check 300, ,000, 900
people, some of whom are the finest SOL
diers in the world. My reply is that IL
carefully studied the answer will be
found in the intensely cosmopolitan and
democratic condition of Delhi durbar.