, 1912-01-13

i'OAOO A'O" 800
most westerl Y arm of the rivers great delta,
and only about 80 miles from the sea. The
two cities are nearly Il thousand miles apart,
which single fact illustrates for us the vast
ness of this land, equal in extent to a third
Of the European Continent, sometimes caIled'
indeed the recruitment of India, and con-
tanning a total population approaching 300
millions, being exceeded III this respect by
China alone oul Of all The countries Of the
Globe:
The city off Calcutta. has over a millioWof
people, while Delhi has only the lifth part
Of that number. Calcutta will remain the capital
OF the 81 eat province of Beng j, iii itself IL
large country, nearly equal to the British
Isles III area and much exceeding them in
popu'ation. The country includes the delta
Of the Ganges, II district of great fertility
except on its soaWard face, where a stretch
of marsh lands and. water channels ends
towards the sea in a wide belt of dense
Jungle, the home Of tigers and other wild
beasts, while the waller of the river chan
pels teens with cr0codiles. Bengal Is
II rich land, a large part Of which IS formed
from the mud brought originally from the
mountains by the rivers; over thousands of
square miles not a pebble is to be seen, the
running water leaves them higher up the
stream. In this fiat land rice is the main
crop and is the chief food of the Bengalis.
We perhaps think Of rice as tie main
food of the people III all parts Of In,
dia; but such is not the case. In the
higher country west of Bengal is found
the great wheat country Of India, where
wheat is not only the principal food Of
the people but is the chief article Of export.
This great country, nearly equal to Bengal
i'll size and population, has been made into
a Lieutenant-Governorship under the title
of 'The United Provinces of Agra and
Dude" Its people are sturdy and intelli-
gent, and in the great Mutiny in 1857 gave
more trouble than any others. The siege Of
Lucknow, the capital of Dude, and the mas
sacre at Cawnpore, a town Oh. the Gauges
about 40 miles away, are memorable events
Of that sad time.
The above named province extends as far
west as the Jumna, and on the other side OF
the river we come to the new capital
of India, Delhi. The city and q former pro-
vince Of the same name are now merged III
the Province Of PuDjab. The name means
five rivers, referring to the five great tribu-
taries of the Indus, and Delhi belongs only
politically to the region, as a glance at the
map viii show. Lahore nearly 800 miles
northwest of Delhi is the capital, but has a
smaller population than the latter city.
We may naturally ask, why has the British
Government SURSIlIIt0Q DetHt lOf-O9l"
cutta as The capital Of India? The latter, as
already mentioned, has by far the larger
population, its trade is that Of a fourishing
seaport, and its history is closely connected
with that wonderful trading, intriguing and
fighting body known as, The East IndiaCom-
pNny. Why then make this change? We have
seen no account Of the reasons, but perhaps
it is safe to assume that they are two, the
poeticol and the practical. The p~oetical, or
historical, if you prefer that description, is
that Delhi has been the capital under an
cient Governments. There have been ear
Tier foreign rulers of India than the En-
glish. The Afghans and later the Mongols
ruled, and both had Delhi as their capital.
The Emperor whom the English found rul-
ing there, was known us the Great Mogul
(meaning the great MongoD~ The English
captured the city ut the beginning of the last
century (18O3) Delhi played Il conspicuous
part in the great Mutiny of 1857. The follow
ing year the famous Company transferred all
it's rights and possessions to the British
crown and i'll 1877 Queen Victoria was pro-
claimed Empress of India i'll a great Durbar
at Delhi. It can be easily understood why,
with such a history, Delhi should be chosen