The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-10
midas Nati0eIRulers
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER.
Copyright. 1910,

Jeypore, 1910.
TIME native states of India are like
to become hotbeds of unrest. Many
of the rajahs have been educated
abroad, and not few are bringing mod
ern innovations. Maharajah of Jeypore
has established schools for both boys and
girls. He has native college contain
ing 1000 students a female seminary
where 800 girls are being educated by for
eigners, and an Industrial art institute,
in which among other things, Is made a
blue and white porcelain which compares
favorably with that of Japan.
| The Gaekwar of Raroda, who has q ter
ritory big as Massachusetts between
here and Bombay, is instituting all sorts
of factories. He has appointed an Amer
lean as his economic adviser, and this
man is suggesting all sorts of improve
ments A bank has been organized, and
native capital will be used to develop the
country. A cotton mill with 1900 splndles
has already been built, and factories for
the manufacture of glass, brick, cement
| and pottery will shortly be started The
| Gaekwar expects to make starch from
rice and he will manufacture his own
Icgarettes and cigars. He Is teaching his
farmers modern agriculture. dairying and
stock breeding He has his agricultural
| experiment stations, and new plants and
crops are being tested He has large cot
ton plantations upon which he uses mod
ern gins with hydraulic pressure. He
will eventually have weaving mills as
we'll He is also experimenting in silk
| raising as we'll as in ramie and other
| hbers.
On nv way here I was advised to stop
at Gwalior and told that the mahara-
| ah there would take me over the coun-
| try In his automobile and show me his
improvements of various kinds. There
are other states where railroad enter
prises and irrigation schemes eSe well I'M
der way, and altogether this supposedly
dead part of India is springing to life.
l. The Native States
Few people realize the extent of the ter
ritory still controlled by the Indian ra-
iahs. They govern about half of all Hin
dustan and more than one-ffth of the
| people The native states are scattered
all over India from Kashnfr and Nepal
in the Himalayas to Mysore and others
at the extreme southern end OF the
country. Rajputana takes a great slice
| out of the heart OF the peninsula, and
| Hyderabad, ruled by the Nizam. Is an I'M
mense state still further south. Altogeth-
er there are 600 or 700 of these states.
| containing a population of more than
S. 900, 0oo
These are part of British India and
| yet not of It. The native princes and
rajahs are supposed by the common peo-
| pie to have absolute rule, but they are all
under the control of the British and all
have British advisers. The chiefs have
no right to make war or peace or to send
ambassadors to each other or to out
side states. They are permitted to OBJ
| tain limited military force, their troops
| altogether amounting to a little over co.
600 men. It is provided that no European
| shall preside at any of their courts with
out the sanction of the British govern
ment and In case of outrageous misrule
| the British can come in and dictate what
| shall be done Some of the native states
pay tribute to the British and others
I believe, have allowances of various
kinds to help them support their rank
''The Monkey the Stick"
Indeed, the rules of most of these ma
tive states are little more than the
monkey on the stick, which is held by
John Bull. He pulls the string and they
dance as he wishes. If they will not obey
ne merely changes the monkey. Said one
of the highest officials of the Indian army
to me the other day:
THE power of the Viceroy of India
over the rajahs is beyond conception.
Nearly every one of the native rulers has
| an army, and some of them have forces
of well trained men fully equipped for ac-
tive warfare. Nevertheless we can de-
pose them at will. When I first came
here we had a maharajah who was maxi
ing a disturbance He would not work
with the government and was always
kicking over the traces. One day the Vice
roy said to me- That man Is too much
bother. I think I shall depose him and
put his son, a boy of 10, in his place.
Then we can rule as we please
but. said l. in that case Tou will
need the army to support your order,
will you noty
81 think not replied the viceroy; I
shall just send word to our resident there
to make the change and 1t will be done
Indeed said I; but the maharajah
has large army and he may declare
war
81 think there will be no trouble, was
the reply.
Well continued the general. IT hap
pened to be at the capital of that native
state when these instructions from the
viceroy came 1t was at the time of the
durbar and the rajah sat In state upon
his throne. Then a little man In black
clothes entered and handed the gorgeous
ruler the viceroy's orders to step down
and out. lie READ lnem anu was greatly
lsurprised But he merely salaamed to
the little British resident, and walked off
to prison, while his boy took the throne
in his stead I cannot tell you why 1t is,
but the power of our government here
seems supreme and the native rulers
know that it is useless for them to re-
sist."
Educated Rajnhs
The most of these native rulers are we'll
educated The British government Is In
terested in having them so, and 1t urges
them to visit England and to send their
sons there to college In my travels
through China made one or two jour
neys with the Kumar of Sikkim little
native state in the Himalayas, under the
shadows of Mount Everest and Mount
lKinchunjanga. The kumar, or prince,
had just graduated at Oxford and was
coming home by way of japan and
China. He spent some time In Pezin,
and while there met the Dalai Lama Of
Tibet, who was visiting the Chinese cap
ital I rode with the prince from PeSin
to IIankow by rail. and chatted with him
about the little principallty. He was glad
he was going back home. and was anx-
ious to take part in the government of
| "a