The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-09-11

United States. I was talking in Cal
cutta one day with Britisher who
has a Sir to his name. He rules one
of the largest of the Indian provinces,
and his subjects are half as many as
those governed by President Taft. This
man was speaking of the enormous ir-
rigation schemes of British India, when
he asked me If we had irrigated lands
in the United States. saying he could
not see why a land SO we'll watered
should need them. Thereupon l de-
scribed the Rocky Mountain plateau,
and mentioned the vast sums we are
using for retaining the desert 1 re
ferred also to irrigation in Canada and
especially to the great undertaking at
Calgary, where the Canadian Pacific
Railroad Is turning the Bow River upon
100000 acres of arid lands, and max :
Ing them yield like the fertile Nile
valley. Upon that this British official
replied:
'1ndded. thought Canada was wet
country! Fifteen hundred thousand
acres! | had no idea there were any
such works in the world! Why, gu,
here in all India we have nothing like
that in one body and the government
irrigation works are not altogether
more than fifteen times as big, as that
one In Canada. ! wonder If you are
certain as to your tigures?"
Il know. for have been there" said
l. And his honor was polite enough
TO pretend to believe me-
Some Social Features.
As rule the officials in the Indian
empire are men of fine education. The
most of them are graduates Of Oxford
or Cambridge. and many are officers
OF the English army. The majority
come from the better classes of society,
and many from the nobility AS to
things Indian and things oriental, they
are well posted; and nowhere will you
find civil service whose standard of
honor is higher.
rms is great sporting country.
Every city has It's clubs, and the larger
ones nave race tracks and grounds for
polo and golf. There are competitive
matches. which are attended by the
British and high-class nativesr, and in
which the native teams sometimes take
part. This is especially so of polo
which is patronized by the rajahs and
well-to-do natives, Every large sta
ton has Its polo grounds and every
army officer his pony. The races are
run with gentleman riders. and as a
rule the rider owns his own horse.
There is plenty OF cricket and football.
and rs for hunting, that is one or the
chief sports of the British of all class
es. The viceroy himself sometimes
goes off for week or SOS shooting.
and the game includes everything from
tigers to wild fowl and hare. Much
of the hunting is in the Jungle and
mountains and not little In Kashmir
1ie native rajahs. If one has letters
to them. will often organize hunts; and
to the man rightly introduced every
sort Of hospitality Is open. There are
dinner parties. dances and private
theatricals at all of the stations dur
Ing the season; and the proper dress
is quite as important here as in Lon
don. 1t seems to me that In NEST
matters of etiquette society is even
abroad being sticklers for form Every
one who gives dinner has to be care
tul how the guests are sent in, or those
who should be last may come first
The members of the civil service and
the army rank at the top, the high
civil service officials preceding. After
them comes the mercantile element, in
Which classification are the merchants.