Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-15

year and are all I'D ant cared for fur.
nished comfortable clothing and medical
attendance. bathed--heaTed and comforted
at the expense Of his highness. whose gem
erosity and hospitality are not limited to
his own subjects. The throne of the idol
Krishna in that temple Is masterpiece OF
wood carving and bearsyy60O o0 worth OF
gold ornaments Artists say that this tenn
ple although entirely modern. surpasses In
the beauty of its detail. beth in design and
workmanship. any of the old temples In
India which people s9ne thousands of miles
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 interfering with ms
wishes in regard to the pearl carpet and
some other little fancies, he attempted to
poison him in an imperial manner. He
caused a lot of diamonds to be ground up
into powder and cropped into cup OF
prudent adviser to drink. Ordinary drug
store poison was beneath him. When NAL
har Rao committed a crime he did 1t, as he
did everything else, with royal splendor. He
his brother and predecessor, Gaikwar
Khande Rao, the man who built beautiful
sailors home at Bombay In 1870 to COM
memorate the visit Of the Duke of Edin-
burgh to India. Colonel Phayre suspected
something wrong, and declined to drink the
toast his highness offered.
Ordered to Trial.
Criminal intent was soon afterward dis
covered and viceroy Lord Northbrook. who
had tolerated his tyranny and fantastic
performances as long as possible, made an
investigation and ordered him before
court over which the chief justice of Ben
gal presided. The evidence disclosed
most scandalous condition of affairs
throughout the entire province. Public Of
fees were sold to the highest bidder; de-
mands for blackmail We're enforced by
torture; the wives and daughters of his sub
jects were seized at his will and carried to
his palace whenever their beauty attracted
his attention.
The condition of the people was desperate.
In one district there was open rebellion, dis
methods of administration were infamous.
1t was shown that a previous prime minis
ter had been poisoned by direct orders of
his chief and that with his own hands the
Gaikwar had beaten one of his own serv-
ants to death. Two Hindu judges of the
court voted for acquittal but the remain
der found him guilty. AS the Judgment
was not unanimous. Malhar Rao escaped the
death penalty which he deserved, and would
have suffered but for the sympathy of his
judicial co-religionists. He was deposed
and sent to prison, and when an investiga-
ton of his finances was made, it was found
that during the last year Of his reign he
had wasted S.5e0O00 in gifts to favorites
In gratifying his whims and fancies. and
Tor personal pleasures. All Of which was
Wrung from the people by taxation
After his conviction the widow of his
orohtre and predecessor, Khande Rao whom
he had poisoned, was allowed to exercise
the right of adoption. and her choice fell
upon the present Gaikwar then a Lad of
eleven, belonging to a collateral branch of
the family. He was provided with English
tutors and afterward sent to England to
complete his education. He proved bril-
liant scholar. an Industrious earnest prac-
teal man, and, as 1 have said, Queen Vic
toria took great personal interest in him.
When he came to the throne in 1888 he i'm
media tely applied himself with energy and
Intelligence to the administration of the
government and surrounded himself with
the best English advisers he could get.
Since his accession the condition of Baroda
has entirely changed and Is In striking con-
trast with that which existed under his
predecessors Many taxes have been abol-
ished and more have been reduced Public
works have been constructed everywhere.
schools. colleges, hospitals, asylums, mar
kets. water works, electric lighting plants,
manufactures and sanitary improvements
have been introduced, competent courts
have been established and the province has
become one OF the most prosperous in India.
The Garden Of India.
Baroda Is called s-fhe Garden of India
1t occupies a fine plain with rich alluvial
soil, well watered and almost entirely I'M
der cultivation. 1t produces luxurious crops
of grain. cotton. sugar, tobacco and other
staples, and the greater part of them are
turned from raw material into the finished
product in factories scattered Throughout
the state. We were advised that Baroda
is the best place in india to study the native
arts and fabrics. The manufacturing is
chiefly controlled by Parsees, the descend
ants of Persian fugitiyes who fled to India
and settled in Baroda more than a thou
sand years ago, and in their temple at
NavaSari- a thriving manufacturing town.,
the sacred fire has been burning uninter-
ruptedly for five hundred years.
The City of Baroda has about $4,000
population. The principal streets are lined
with houses of teak wood. whose fronts are
deliberately carved Their like cannot be
seen elsewhere.
The maharajah keeps up the elephant
stables of his predecessor in which are bred
and kept the finest animals IN India. He
also breeds the best oxen In the empire.