The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-08-24
CALCUTTA AS T IS TO-DAY THE CHIEF CITY OF INDIA Interesting Customs of the People and a Description
 of Their Lives.

Calcutta is a sleepy-looling city until between 9 and 10 o'clock; then the shops and offices begin to open and the place to awaken, as it were, from dreaming, due to the fact that all English people live a little outside the city, or on the fringe as it were of the great 9maidan" or park. Great improvements in the cleanliness of the streets, the water supply, and most of all in the street lighting, are due to the initiative of the late vlceroy ana to the energy of the present chairman of the corporation, Mir. Allen Elec- tric fans are now almost universally used, and electricity for house light ing has come to stay The punkah wallah who used to be seen on every veranda night and day during the hot weather, sleeps in his own home in the city, or may be seen away in the pad- dy fields up country. He is a very welcome miss! The shop fronts in Call cutta on Old Court House street have wonderfully improved, and many frontages in Chowringhee are quite homelike; but in many shops still all the best things are to be found inside, no doubt owing to the fierce sun in the heat of the day. The introduction of electric tramways and the ubiquitous motor cars of which latter there are already some 300, is teaching the In- dians to step lively and quick. On tct1 anr trs4 s4e ar" New Market, to see the display of Christmas goods, and the mixed throng which gathers here only at this season. This is the gala time or the Anglo-Indian, when the military set, the 1,500 civilians who govern India, the bank managers, tea and indigo planters and "Burra Saheblogue" vis- it the capital Of course, the great
 hing to do is to attend IT. E. the vice .roy's levee and drawing-room, and then to witness the race for the vice. roys cup,
 Every evening, too, between the hours of and ', all the world and his wife meet at the delightful Eden gardens (the gift of Lord Auckland's sisters to Caieutta) to listen to the band. Some miles of carriages line the road outside, and the gay scene in these gardens, which have been much beautihed of recent years, is a sight long to be remembered. Then a drive by the Esplanade, along the Strand and the Avenue of Statues, down the Red road, and round the Maidan, and even on to Garden reach where can be witnessed one of the grandest sunsets in the East. Govern ment house and gardensJ the scene of al India's great State functions strange to say, was designed after the plan,
 to a certain extent of Kedleston hall, .Derbyshire, the home of Lord Curzon, the late viceroy and the grounds cover an area of six acres. Among the sights of Calcutta is the general postoffice near which is the Black Hole" which was part of the first Fort William built in 1896, The tablet reads:
 Behind this Gateway immediately joining this spot, is the site of the Black Hole prison in old Fort Will liam"
 The size of this well" or hold"
 was 22 feet in length by about 14O1-2 feet wide and here 12S white people met their horrible death on June 20 1756. Nearby is an obelisk, erected by Lord Curzon in place of one that had been destroyed by storm and de- cay to the memory of the victims, by J. c. Holwell, who was commanding officer at the time the old fort fell into the hands of the enemy.
 A military service Is held on Christ mas morning at the Garrison church, St. Peters in the New Fort. Prinsep's Chat is a memorial to one of the ablest and most beloved of English settlers in Bengal Next in interest Is Calcutta High Court and Town hall. This latter was raised by a se- ries of lotteries during the years 1S06- 1908. It contains statues and valua- ble oil paintings No visit to Calcut- ta is complete without seeing the Zoo- logical garden. The Indian Museum is also rich and beyond rivalry in treasures of ancient art, On one af- ternoon in the week it is closed to men visitors, and then the Indian women, bedecked with much jewelry, and children come in great numbers. This affords European ladies a grand opportunity of mingling with them and becoming acquainted with their dress and customs, Warren Hastings private home at AliDore, commonly known as Hastings house, was bought for the government by Lord Curzon in 1901, and has been con verted into a state guest-house, in which the viceroy entertains the In- dian princes visiting Calcutta during the winter season. The buildings of the Presidency bank were erected in the year 1925. The original charter was granted to the Bank of Bengal by Lord Minto, ancestor of the present viceroy, the Earl of Minto. and is dat ed Jan. }, 1909. The Royal Mint here is the largest in the world, and here all the silver rupees are issued for India, Ceylon and Straits Settle ments. It is designed after the Min ov4tro o&