The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-10
MUCH INTEREST
 IN INDIAN DURbAR George and Mary's Second
 Coronation PORTSMOUTH UNSAFE
Franco German Embroglio Causes Naval Experts to Examine Eng lands Chance of Warding Off
 Attack by Water
Fly PHILLIP EVERETT

London, October 9.-(Special. With the Canadian annexation boge safely relegated to the limbo of the forgotten, Londons sole topic of interest is the coming Indian Dunbar, when King George V and his consort will make triumphant entry into the realms of Budha and formally receive their crowns and orders as the Emperor and Empress of India. Every possible contingency has been met by those In charge of the ceremonies, and, though the pageants will not take place until December, structures are now well under way to receive the tens of thousands who will flock to India to view this "secod coronation"
 An interesting feature of the Calcutta ceremony will be the massing on either side of the Red road of 25ooO school chi- dren from Calcutta and the suburbs. The children will be accommodated in front of the stone balustrades on stands erect ed by the Bengal government. Each child will be provided by the reception com mittee with a small flag to be waved as their majesties pass. These flags have been designed by the Hon. Maharajah, Sir Prodyot Kumar Tagore, and contains the star Of India and other devices on a light blue ground.
 At the Durbar ceremonial Queen Mary will appear in the same robes and crown that she wore at the coronation, but to the gems in the crown has been added the famous Koh-i-noor, out of compliment to the Indian empire.
 This marvellous gem crowned the head of an Indian Emperor 5000 years ago. It passed from one imperial line to another, until it became the treasure of the Pun jah, and then fell into the hands of the English, who sent 1t as a trophy of con- quest to Queen Victoria, thus giving point to the Indian saying that "Who holds the Koh-l-noor holds India.''
 In India the superstition obtains that if the diamond Is worn by a man dire disaster will befall him, while if the wearer be a woman fortune will shine upon her for the rest of her days.
 So strong is the belief in this legend that when it was announced that the late King Edward intended to have the gem set in his crown, many leading Indians petitioned his majesty to give up the idea.
 The result was that the Koh-i-noor in- stead of appearing in the Kings crown was mounted in Queen Alexandra's dia- dem. It has now been transferred to the crown of Queen Mary, and before the close of the year this historic gem will be seen once more in the land from whence 1t came.
 Another notable jewel to be worn by Queen Mary at Delhi Is a large diamond lotus, which is now being mounted. This will be worn at the enthronement as will the magnificent necklace which was one of India's presents to her majesty when, as Princess of Wales, she made her memorable visit. to the east. The necklace Is formed of graduated pearls all differing in color. The central stone Is an immense gray pearl of matchless beauty and size, and among tbe others are perfect specimens of mauve, bronze pink, black and yellow pearls.
 Following her majesty's example most Of the ladies who will attend the Delhi pageant have chosen for their dresses gold cloth, and tinsel woven brocades. lotus blue, emerald green. orange and other colors favored by the Queen and by those who will accompany her.
 Just now, when a hint of war has been in the air ever since the Franco German negotiations over the Moroccan affair." English naval and military experts are expressing fear that Portsmouth is any thing but a safe naval base. All dur ing this summer the Isle of Wight has been overrun by German tourists who have studied the surrounding country with true Teutonic thoroughness, and, al- though his fondness for sketching no one doubts that Germany knows all there is to know about the Portsmouth fortifica- tions.
 An English naval officer said to me Q few days ago that a modern battle fleet could knock the Notifications silly with out running any great risk, except from local submarines. The guns of the de- fense are not sufficiently powerful to disable battleships, and. for practical pur- poses, might just as well be absent as present. But, he added. so long as any British fleet sexists, no enemy would be sufficiently foolish to attempt the enter prise; while. even failing the British fleet, sea attack would not be worth the | risk from submarines.
 He says that if an attack were ever to | be made the enemy would undoubtedly | use the Isle of Wight as a naval base.
 Tt assuredly is true,'' he said, that | .oday a few thousand foreign soldiers. with few long range guns established on | he island could make things remarkably | unpleasant for Portsmouth backward | From the hills at Ryde and Sea View | 0 Portsmouth backyard is not much | ,ver 10000 yards. and the dockyard pre- | sents target of the haystack type. A single big North German Lloyd liner | could carry the necessary force, and | with a few friends ashore ready to cut | he telegraph and telephone wires at the | suitable moment this force could estab- |
 sh itself and give endless trouble and | 10 endless mischief before 1t could be | 1ealt with
 ''I will not venture an opinion as to how | lar the Isle of Wight may represent the | 1ee1 of Achilles of Portsmouth; but a. ;uredly the foreign geologists, botanists, md entomologists appear to consider that | t does. for nowhere in England are they | ,o plentiful as here. The natives, I be | ieve, hold that it Is the wonderful | charms of their island which make it | 50 attractive to the visitors. They may 1e right; and it may be but a freak of | nature that their fauna and flora only abound around what may be described as spots'"