The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-03-01
MALHAR RAo.
He wasn't Good. but He Was verl


 Baroda on the 4th of February. and the gaikwar, as the ruling native prince is called, has expressed desire for us to be present He has a becoming re- spect for the appreciation of the in fiuence and usefulness of the press, and it is pleasure to find so sensible a man among the native rulers. Baroda is nontributary, independent native state of the first rank lying directly ; north of the province of Bombay, and the ruler is called a "gaikwar," which signifies ''cow-herd." do not quite understand whether it is his son or his daughter that is to be married, but the affair is to outshine everything in the history of India, except the imperial Dunbar at Delhi last winter, for the gaikwar is one of the biggest men in the country, and one of the richest and one of the greatest swells. He is enti- tied to salute of twenty-one guns, an honor conferred upon only two other native princes, the Maharajah of My sore and the Nizam of Hyderabad. He is one of the ablest and one of the most progressive of native princes.
 It was he who presented to the City of Bombay the beautiful statue of Queen Victoria which ornaments the principal public square. It is one of the finest monuments to be seen any, where, and expressed his admiration of his empress, who had shown particular 1 interest in his career. The present gaikwar was placed upon the throne in 1874 by Lord Northbrook, who was the Rao, one of those fantastic persons we read about in fairy stories but seldom find in real life. For extravagant phan- tasies and barbaric splendors he beat the world. He surpassed even those old spendthrifts of the Roman empire. | Nero Caligula and Tiberius. He spent a million of rupees to celebrate the. marriage ceremonies of fayorite pi- geon of his aviary, which was mated with one belonging to his prime minis ter. But the most remarkable of his | extravagant freaks was a rug and two pillow covers of pearls, probably the greatest marvel of all the fables that were ever woven since the world was made
 The carpet, which is ten feet six in ches by six feet in size, is woven en- tirely of strings of perfect pearls. A l border eleven inches wide and center ornament are worked out in diamonds. The pillow covers are three feet by two feet six inches in size. This extraordin- ary affair cost several millions of dol- lars. It was intended as present for a Mohammedan lady of doubtful repu- tation, who had fascinated his highness, | tIa Prft iet, 4t, s+.,l lintervened and prohibited the gift.
 The regalia of the gaikwar intended for state occasions, which will be worn l by him at the wedding. is valued at $15,00O0 GOO. He appeared in it at the re- 1 cent Durbar. It consists of collar and shoulder pieces made of 800 diamonds, some of them as large as walnuts. The smallest would be considered a | treasure by any lady in the land. The border of this collar is made of three bands of emeralGs, of graduated sizes, the outer row consisting of jewels near ly an inch square. From the collar,
 as a pendant, hangs one of the largest and most famoEs diamonds in the world, known as the Star of the Dec l can. This is only one of several sets I u De 1OuHu III JliS -COllGCllOn.
 Malhar Rao built superb palace at
 q cost of $1.500. 900. which is considered
 the most perfect and beautiful example
 of the Hindu Saracenic order of archi- lecture in existence, and it's interior fin- l ish and decoration are wonderful for
 their artistic beauty, detail and variety.
 In front of this palace are two guns of solid gold, weighing 2S0 pounds each,
 and the carriage, ammunition wagons and other accoutrements are made of solid silver.
 He built a temple at Dakor, a few miles from Baroda, which cost an enor- nous sum of money, in honor of an ancient image of the Hindu god Krish- na. It had been the resort of pagans for hundreds of years, and is consid- cred one of the most sacred idols in India. Tn addition to the temple he constructed hospices for the shelter and entertainment of pilgrims, who are all fed and cared for, furnished comfortable clothing and medical at I tendance, bathed, healed and comfort ed at the expense of his highness. Fate at last overlook the strange man who did all these things, and he came to grief. Indignant at Colonel Phayre, the British resident for inter- fering with his wishes in regard to the pearl carpet and some other little fam cies, he attempted to poison him in an imperial manner. He caused a lot of diamonds to be ground up into powder and dropped into cup of pomolo juice, which he tried to induce his prudent adviser to drink Ordinary drug store poison was beneath him. When Mall har committed crime, he did it, as he did everything else, with royal splen- dor. But Colonel Phayre suspected something wrong, and declined to drink the toast his highness offered.
 Criminal intent was soon afterward discovered, and Viceroy Lord North brook, who had tolerated his tyranny and fantastic performances as long as possible made an investigation and or dered him before a court over which the chief justice of Bengal presided. The evidence disclosed a most scandal ous condition of affairs throughout the entire province Public offices were sold to the highest bidder; demands for blackman were enforced by torture; the wives and daughters of his sub- jeets were seized at his will and car ried to his palace whenever their beau- ty attracted his attention. The condi- tion of the people was desperate. Two Hindu judges of the court voted for ac- quittal, but the remainder found him guilty. As the judgment was not unan-