THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES SPEECHES DELIVERED IN INDIA, 1884-8, BY THE MARQUIS OF/DUFFERIN AND AVA. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. CALCUTTA : THACKER, SPINK & Co. BOMBAY : THACKEB & Co., LIMITED. 1890. PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, 8TAMFOD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. PREFACE, 2 IT is the custom in India for the Viceroy's speeches to be ^printed in the Private Secretary's office, each speech being 3= preceded by an introductory heading, descriptive of the c circumstances under which it was delivered. Although Lord Dufferin, as he himself has told us, did not think it very desirable that the Viceroy should appear frequently on the platform, he was compelled during his term of office to deliver 177 speeches. The present volume consists of such P these as, from one cause or another, may be considered as assessing peculiar interest, and they are now published in *the belief that some of them may prove useful to the large v r ^ cjnumber of persons who have of late begun to turn their ^attention to the affairs of our Indian Empire. Four non-Indian speeches have also been inserted. Two of these were delivered by Lord Dufferin before he went to India, namely, one at the Empire Club, and one at a dinner given to ^_ him in Belfast. The other two were made after his return to 5j this country : one at the Mansion House on the 29th of May, s 1889, and the other at a banquet given to him by the London Chamber of Commerce on the 30th of October, 1889. DONALD MACKENZIE WALLACE. LONDON, February, 1890. 391750 TABLE OF CONTENTS. TAG* I. SPEECH AT THE EMMKE CLUB. July 11, 1883 .. 1 II. BANQUET IN ULSTER HALL, BELFAST. Oct. 15. 1884 G III. SPEECH AT THE NORTHBROOK CLUB. Nov. 1. 1884 10 IV. EEPLY TO THE ADDRESS FROM THE MUNICIPAL CORPORA- TION OK BOMBAY. Dec. 8. 1884 20 V. REPLY TO THE ADDRESS FROM THE BOMBAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Dec. 8. 1884 22 VI. REPLY TO THE ADDRESS FROM THE ANJUMANI ISLAM. Dec. 8. 1884 23 VII. REPLY TO THE ADDRESS FROM THE CORPORATION OF CALCUTTA. Dec. 13. 1884 .. .. 25 VIII. REMARKS IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Dec. 19. 1884 27 IX. SPEECH AT THE CALCUTTA TRADES' ASSOCIATION DINNER. Jan. 30. 1885 .. ..""" .. .. ' 27 X. THE BENGAL TENANCY BJLL. Feb. 27. 1885 .. 31 XI. TENANT RIGHT IN BENGAL. March 5. 1885 .. 34 XII. THE BENGAL TENANCY BILL. March 9. 1885 .. 36 XIII. REPLY TO THE LANDHOLDERS OF BEHAR. March 10. 1885 ." 37 XI V. THE BENGAL TENANCY BILL. March 11. 1885 .. 39 XV. THE BENGAL TENANCY BILL, March 13, 1885 .. 44 XVI. AKT ix INDIA. Sept. 18. 1885 .. , 4(> VI TABLE OF CONTENTS. XVII. Silt DONALD STEWART. Oct. 13. 1885 .. .. 48 XVIII. THE NEW GENERAL HOSPITAL, DELHI. Nov. 2. 1885 ; .. 51 XIX. OPENING THE MAYO COLLEGE AT AJMIR. Nov. 7. 1885 52 XX. SPEECH AT THE FORTRESS OF GWALIOR. Dec. 2. 1885 57,60 XXI. EEPLY TO THE MUNICIPALITY OF LUCKNOW. Dec. 4. 1885 61 XXII. LICENSE TAX AMENDMENT BILL. Jan. 4. 1886 64 XXIII. LICENSE TAX AMENDMENT BILL. Jan. 11. 1886 81 XXIV. WELCOME TO FOREIGN OFFICERS AT DELHI. Jan. 19. 1886 82, 86 XXV. THE COUNTESS OF DUFFERIN'S FUND. Jan. 27. 1886 86, 91 XXVI. REPLY TO THE ADDRESS FROM THE INHABITANTS OF RANGOON. Feb. 7. 1886 91 XXVII. REPLY TO THE ADDRESS FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AT MANDALAY. Feb. 8. 1886 .. 93 XXVIII. REPLY TO THE ADDRESS FROM THE BURMESE COM- MUNITY, MANDALAY. Feb. 8. 1886 .. .. 95 XXIX. REPLY TO THE ADDRESS OF THE MAHOMEDAN COM- MUNITY OF MANDALAY. Feb. 18. 1886 .. 96 XXX. MILITARY OPERATIONS IN UPPER BURMAH. Feb. 17. 1886 97 XXXI. ADDRESS TO THE MEMBEUS OF THE HLUTDAW .. loi XXXII. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, RANGOON. Feb. 23. 1886 .. .. 102 XXXIII. DECORATION OF BURMESE GENTLEMEN. Feb. 24. 1886 104 XXXIV. REPLY TO ADDRESS FROM MERCHANTS ON THE TIMBER TKADE 104 TABLE OF CONTENTS. VII IMfiF. XXXV. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE RANGOON BAR 10. r > XXXVI. REPLY TO AX ADDRESS FROM THE BURMKSK COMMUNITY OF RANGOON 100 XXXVII. REPLY TO THE ADDRESS FROM THE GEE HENG CHINESE COMMUNITY .. .. 107 XXXVIII. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE SHAN COM- MUNITY OF RANGOON 4 . .. 103 XXXIX. THE BUDDHISTIC CHURCH IN BURMA 109 XL. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE HOXKIEN CHINESE OF RANGOON 110 XLI. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE TAMIL AND TELEGU CHRISTIANS OF RANGOON .. .. 110 XLII. THE COUNTESS OF DUFFERIN'S FUND. Feb. 24. 1886 Ill XLIII. REPLY TO ADDRESSES AT MADRAS. March 1. 1886 112 XLIV. INFANT MARRIAGES AMONG HINDUS. March 2. 1886 117 XLV. THE OUDH RENT BILL. June 9. 1886 .. .. 118 XLVI. THE DEATH OF SIR HERBERT MACPHERSON. Oct. 21. 1886 120 XLVII. THE AITCHISON COLLEGE. Nov. 3. 1886 .. .. 121 XL VIII. ADDRESS TO THE CONVOCATION OF THE PUNJAB UNIVERSITY. Nov. 4. 1886 124 XLIX. SIR WEST RIDGEWAY. Nov. 4. 1886 128 L. THE GAEKWAR OF BARODA. Nov. 9. 1886 .. 129 LI. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE CORPORATION OF BOMBAY. Nov. 13. 1886 132 LII. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE POONA MUICI- PALITY. Nov. 19. 1886 133 LIII. BANQUET AT HYDERABAD. Nov. 24. 1886 .. 138 LIV. BANQUET AT MYSORE. Nov. 30. 1886 .. .. 139 Vl'ii TABLE OF CONTENTS. PACK LV. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE MYSORE REPRESEN- TATIVE ASSEMBLY 141 LVI. THE FRENCH IN INDIA. Dec. 10. 1886 .. .. 143 LVII. EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS IN INDIA. Dec. 30. 1886 148 LVIII. ADDRESS TO THE CONVOCATION OF THE CALCUTTA UNIVERSITY. Jan. 8. 1887 152 L1X. THE COUNTESS OF DUFFERIN'S FUND. Jan. 26. 1887 154 LX. THE QUEEN'S JUBILEE. Feb. 16. 1887 .. .. 156 LXI. BURMA MILITARY POLICE. July 27. 1887 .. 161 LXI1. FRENCH SCIENTIFIC TRAVELLERS AT SIMLA. Aug. 18. 1887 163 LXIII. INVESTITURE OF THE COUNTESS OP DUFFERIN WITH THE PERSIAN ORDER OF THE SUN. A PERSIAN SPEECH. Aug. 30. 1887 .. 164 LXIV. THE PUNJAB TENANCY BILL. Sept. 22. 1887.. 167 LXV. REPLY TO ADDRESSES FROM THE KURRACHEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE INHABITANTS OF SIND, THE MAHOMEDAN CENTRAL ASSOCIATION, AND THE SIND SABHA. Nov. 12. 1887 168 LXVI. DCRBAR AT PESHAWAR. Nov. 25. 1887 .. .. 174 LXVII. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE PESHAWAR MUNI- CIPALITY. Nov. 25. 1887 176 LX VIII. THE DUFFERIN BRIDGE, BENARES. Dec. 16. 1887 177 LXIX. CUSTOMS DUTY ON PETROLEUM. Jan. 27. 1888 181, 182 LXX. CUSTOMS DUTY ON PETROLEUM. Feb. 3. 1888 .. 182 LXXI. COUNTESS OF DUFFERIN'S FUND. Feb. 8. 1888 186 LXXII. ANNOUNCEMENT OF LORD DUFFERIN'S RESIGNATION. Feb. 10. 1888 188 LXXIII. ADDRESS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, IN CALCUTTA. March 23. 1888 190 TABLE OF CONTENTS. \\ PAG r. LXXIV. REPLY TO FAREWELL ADDRESSES, CALCUTTA. March 23. 1888 102 LXXV. REPLY TO FAREWELL ADDRESS FROM THE OOTERPABA MUNICIPALITY. March 24. 1888 201 LXXYI. REPLY TO FAREWELL ADDRESS FROM THE CENTRAL MAHOMEDAN ASSOCIATION. March 24. 1888 .. 203 LXXYII. REPLY TO 'FAREWELL ADDRESS FROM THE CALCUTTA MAHOMEDAS LITERARY SOCIETY. March 26. .. -. 1888 .... .... .. 205 LXXVIII. REPLY TO FAREWELL ADDRESS FROM THE TALWKDARS- OF OUDII. April 7. 1888 .. .: .. :.. 207 LXX1X. "REPLY TO FAREWELL ADDRESS 'FROM MAHOMEDAX ASSOCIATIONS AT LUCKNOW. April 10. 1888 212 LXXX. 'SPEECH AT FAREWELL BALL AT SIMLA. Sept. 24. 1888 .. .. '.. ;. .. .. ' 215 LXXXI. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE MUNICIPAL COM- MITTEE OF LAHORE. Nov. 14. 1888 .. .. 217 LXXXII. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE ANJUMAX-I-!TIHAD, LAHORE. Nov. 15. 1888 210 LXXXIII. LADY DUFKERIN'S REPLY TO THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE WOMEN OF THE PUNJAB. Nov. 6. 1888 220 LXXXI V. SPEECH AT DURBAR HELD AT PATIALA. Nov. 17. 1888 22:] LXXXV. SPEECH IN PROPOSING THE HEALTH OF THE MAHA- RAJA OF PATIALA. Nov. 17. 1888 .. .. 22(i LXXXVI. THE ALIGAUII COLLEGE. Nov. 20. 1888 .. .. 227 LXXXVII. ST. ANDREW'S DINNER, CALCUTTA. Nov. 30. 1888 229 LXXXVIII. LADY DUFFERIN'S REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE NATIVE LADIES OF BENGAL. Dec. 4. 1888 248 LXXXIX. LADY DUFFERIN'S REPLY TO THE FARBWELL ADDRESS OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SOCIETY. Dec. 7. 1888 .. 250 TABLE OF CONTENTS, fAOE XC. REPLY TO THE FAREWELL ADDUESS FROM THE CALCUTTA. MUNICIPALITY. Dec. 8. 1888 .. 252 XCI. REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF BOMBAY. Dec. 12. 1888 .. 255 XCII. REPLY TO THE FAREWELL ADDRESS FROM THE BOMBAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Dec. 13. 1888 256 XCIII. THOUGHTS ON ARRIVING IN AND LEAVING INDIA. Dec. 13. 1888 .... .... 258 XCIV. SPEECH AT THE MANSION HOUSE ON RECEIVING THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY OF LONDON. May 29. 1889 263 XCV. BANQUET IN THE ULSTER HALL, BELFAST. Sept. 19. 1889 274 XCVI. ENGLAND'S TRADE WITH INDIA. Oct. 30. 1889 282 SPEECHES. On the llth of July, 1883, Lord Dufferin was entertained at dinner by the members of the Empire Club, London, and in reply to the toast of his health spoke as follows : MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, In rising to return thanks to those I see around me for the kind manner in which they have drunk my health, I cannot help asking myself, with some anxiety, what title I possess to the goodwill of my enter- tainers. The chairman has, indeed, referred to my public services in very nattering terms, but the reason for the cordiality you have evinced is further to seek, I fear, than anything contained in his indulgent observations. (Cries of " No.") My hosts upon this occasion are the members of the Empire Club, and perhaps I am justified in concluding that they have conferred upon me so signal an honour not so much on account of my individual merits, as because during the last twelve years I have been unremittingly occupied in main- taining and promoting in different parts of the world the u imperial " as distinguished from the domestic interests of our common country. (Cheers.) In Canada, in Russia, at Constantinople, and in Egypt, home politics, and the bitter strifes engendered by party warfare, have naturally faded from my view, and my one thought by day and by night has been either to safeguard the honour, the influence, and the commerce of Great Britain in its relations with foreign Governments, or to draw still more closely together the ties which unite her to the most powerful as well as the most loyal of all her colonies. (Loud cheers.) Under these circumstances, it must be forgiven me if, without indulging in any vulgar 2 SPEECHES. [1884. or selfish spirit of Jingoism and, after all, an Ambassador or Colonial Governor is almost a Jingo by profession I have come to look at England " This sceptred isle, this earth of majesty, This other Eden demi-Paradise, This precious stone set in the silver sea This happy breed of men " not as she exhibits herself in the recriminations of Parlia- mentary warfare, or the denunciatory eloquence of the platform, but in an aspect softened by distance and regret, as the happy home of a great and noble-hearted people, whom it is an honour to serve, and for whose sake it would be a privilege to make any possible sacrifice to look at her, in fact, with the same loving, loyal, all-embracing pride and affection as she is regarded by those widespread communities to whom she has given birth, who are filling the most distant regions of the earth with her laws, her liberties, her language, and her civilization, many of whose most distinguished representatives are here to-night, and to whom it is the special object of this club to extend the right hand of brotherhood and good fellowship. (Cheers.) If, therefore, I fail, gentlemen, in adequately expressing to you my deep sense of obligation for having invited me to this splendid banquet, it will not be from any want of sympathy with the guiding idea which has drawn you together. I am well aware, indeed, that some of the most influential thinkers of the day are disposed to stand aghast at the accumulating responsibilities, the increasing calls upon our resources, the widening vulnerability entailed by England's imperial position, and the outlook may well suggest the necessity of caution, and, above all, of preparation. But, after all, it is with nations as with individuals. The burden of a man's duties, cares, and preoccupations gathers weight in proportion to the expansion of his faculties, the richness of his nature, the increase of his wealth or influence. The very children who people our homes are so many hostages that we have given to fortune. Nay (but I say it beneath my breath), the wives of our bosoms seldom fail to provide us, each on her own account, with a whole chapter of startling 1884.] IMPERIAL UNITY. 3 accidents. (A laugh.) Yet what man of spirit ever turns his back upon opportunity, or disdains the tender ties of a love-lit fireside, through fear of the obligations which might be entailed by a fuller and more complete existence? (Cheers.) But, even did she so desire, it is now too late for this country to disinherit herself of the destiny with which I firmly believe she has been endowed by Providence. The same hidden hand which planted the tree of constitutional liberty within her border, which called upon her to become the mother of Parlia- ments, has sent her people forth to possess and fructify the waste places of the earth's surface. How the desert is being planted and turned into a paradise in every quarter of the globe those who hear me can best tell. Yet what has been done is nothing in comparison with what may well be accomplished within the lives of our own grandchildren. According to the computation of one of the most sober of our statisticians, before another century is brought to a close the English- speaking populations will have expanded to a thousand millions. Of these, forty millions will probably be found in Canada alone, seventy millions in the British Islands, and a cor- responding proportion along the coasts of Africa, in India, and in our Australian possessions. If united, co-ordinated, and inspired by a common impulse, what a powerful influence, as compared with that likely to be possessed by any other nationality, whether for good or for evil, whether considered from a moral or from a material point of view, this multiplica- tion of the English race implies ! (Cheers.) For that they will remain Englishmen if not in name, at all events in their common feeling and in their affections who can doubt ? (Cheers.) Chance and change, the increasing momentum acquired by the progress of civilization, forbid us to forecast or anticipate the future too minutely. Moreover, the gigantic forces operating over these large spaces preclude almost the hope of human prescience or human wisdom directing the course of events. But one thing at all events is obvious namely, that for many a generation those communities must necessarily be deeply impressed by English sentiment, English habits and customs, English literature, and English institu- B 2 4 SPEECHES. [1884. tions. (Cheers.) That this should long continue to be the case is the object dearest to the heart of those I am addressing. (Cheers.) It is their desire to see our statesmen so conduct their relations with our colonies and dependencies as to retain unimpaired those affectionate feelings with which they are instinctively disposed to regard the mother-country. What- ever else may happen, it is certain that the people of England will never allow their Government to repeat the errors which led to the separation of the United States. (Cheers.) How- ever well contented we may be with the relations now existing between ourselves and the great Transatlantic Republic, there can be little doubt that, but for the violence of the disruption, those relations would at the present moment have been more mutually advantageous. The catastrophe occurred through the Minister of the day failing to appreciate the force and direction of colonial sentiment. There can be no greater mistake than for statesmen to overlook the important part which sentiment plays in the conduct of human affairs. (Hear, hear.) More of the wars which have desolated the earth have been occasioned by outraged sentiment than by the pursuit of material advantage. Nay, even commerce itself, the most unromantic and sagacious of interests, follows for lengthened periods in the wake of custom, consanguinity, sentiment, and tradition. This is one of those truths of which the English people are but imperfectly aware. Indeed, until lately, they scarcely realized the yearning desire felt by the British colonial populations for the due recognition of their kinship. Happily, increased facilities of intercourse, the ever-widening stream of emigration, and the exigencies of trade, have changed all this. The fact has now been brought home to the imagination of Englishmen that beyond the narrow seas which encircle their island, there lie vast regions peopled by powerful communities, owing allegiance, and proud to owe it, to Queen Victoria, animated by the same ideas as themselves, in their material resources richer, and destined, perhaps, some day to become more powerful than themselves, and yet who will never have a higher ambition, if only they are properly dealt with, than to continue co-heirs of England's illustrious past, associates in 1884.] PRINCIPLES OF IMPERIAL UNITY. 5 her empire, and sharers in her future fortunes, whether they be for good or evil, until the end of time. (Cheers.) Gentle- men, I believe it is the desire of the members of this club to propagate such ideas as these, however imperfectly I may express them, and I feel that, in returning thanks to you for the great honour you have done me, I cannot show my gratitude in a more acceptable manner than by telling you how cordially and enthusiastically I subscribe to them. The conclusion of his Lordship's speech was received with great enthusiasm, the company rising to their feet and continuing to cheer for some minutes. SPEECH IN BELFAST. On October the 15th, 1884, the inhabitants of Belfast and of the neigh bouring counties entertained Lord Dufferin at a banquet in the Ulster Hall, on the occasion of his appointment to the Viceroyalty of India. In reply to the toast of his health, which was proposed by the mayor, Sir David Taylor, his Lordship spoke as follows : MR. MAYOR, MY LORDS, AND GENTLEMEN, I am sure that there is not one in this room who will not understand how impossible it is for me to give anything approaching an adequate expression of that deep emotion which is stirring the very inmost recesses of my heart as I rise to respond to the toast which you have just received in so enthusiastic a manner. Standing as I do in this well-known hall, surrounded by the friends and neighbours of my early manhood, with the cheers and plaudits of all Ulster ringing in my ears, and over- whelmed, as I have been, by the kind words of welcome and encouragement pronounced on your behalf by the president of this banquet, I am almost driven to take refuge in silence from the bewildering thoughts that crowd on my mind. How at such a moment can I help remembering the many occasions? upon which during the last thirty years I have appeared before you, only to receive fresh proofs of your goodwill and indulgent sympathy ? Least of all, how can I forget that memorable night when, on the eve of my departure for Canada, this splendid chamber was filled with friends who had assembled to bid me God-speed and to assure me that, in the opinion of those who had known me best and longest, the honour then conferred upon me by Her Majesty was not considered misplaced or undeserved ? (Cheers.) The fact that I am again standing before you in analogous circum- stances authorises me to entertain the pleasing conviction that none of you regret tho pledge you then gave for my good 1884.] APPOINTMENT AS VICEROY. 7 behaviour, or consider that I have done disgrace to your imprimatur. (Cheers.) The occasion ushered in the brightest and happiest period of my life a period passed in one of the fairest regions within the confines of the empire, amongst a people animated by the most generous instincts, endowed with all the noblest gifts and qualities which dis- tinguish ihe British race, and to whom I owe a debt of gratitude and affection whose welcome burden I shall carry to the grave. Since that auspicious celebration twelve years have passed, during which in different capacities I have done my best to render faithful and loyal service to my Queen and country (cheers) and now again that I am about to proceed to a distant land, to undertake a task more arduous, more responsible, and, I may add, more honourable, than any which has ever been imposed upon me, can it be wondered at if, like the hero of old who was invincible so long as he was in contact with his mother earth, I come back here amongst you to gather fresh strength and vigour and renew my youth by once more looking around on your familiar faces, by listening to your genial words of welcome and encouragement, by taking a farewell grasp of your thousand friendly hands. (Cheers.) It is true that the powers of Antaeus faded into impotence as soon as his enemy lifted him from the ground, but I feel that, no matter how high the sphere to which I may be elevated, the fortifying influences with which I am sur- rounded to-night will follow me wherever I go, and in the darkest moments of lassitude and depression the recollection of this glorious scene will restore my faltering spirits and make me more than equal to deal with any emergency which may occur. (Cheers.) And yet the fable to which I have referred carries with it a wholesome warning and some melancholy reflections. It may simply mean that the pro- motion of a man to a situation beyond the scope of his abilities is certain to be followed by his speedy overthrow. But though, I trust, future events may prove that this is not its true interpretation so far as I am concerned (hear, hear) I cannot help being aware that the unanimity with which you, gentlemen, who sometimes are temporarily divided by differ- 8 SPEECHES. [1884. ences of opinion in the fields both of political and of religious thought (hear, hear) have been pleased to hail my nomi- nation as Viceroy of India, together with the cordial manner in which my appointment has been endorsed, and which it would be an affectation as well as an act of ingratitude on my part not to recognise and take pride in, is a con- dition of public sentiment which can never again recur to me. (Cheers.) Never again, I fear, no matter what my efforts or exertions, can I hope so completely to unite in their present harmonious concord the suffrages of my countrymen. The government of India is not only a laborious task, but it is one presenting problems of the very greatest doubt and intricacy. From day to day the most complex questions are submitted to the attention of the Executive, which from their very nature are incapable of an altogether satisfactory solution ; and in regard to which the choice does not lie between the absolute good and the absolute bad, but is dependent upon such a delicate com- parison of advantage and disadvantage upon either side as to render it very difficult for even those who have every oppor- tunity of acquainting themselves with the elements of the case to come to a sound conclusion. Out of these circum- stances must arise a vast amount of intelligent and con- scientious criticism ; and, while on the one hand it can scarcely be expected that he who is ultimately responsible for what happens will be invariably in the right, it is certain that he will frequently appear to many intelligent observers to be altogether in the wrong. Hence it must inevitably follow that very conflicting estimates will be formed of the success with which the Governor-General of the day is conducting the arduous administration over which he presides. Nor is he in any way entitled either to deprecate the most searching examinations into his conduct, or to be irritated at the blunt and angry criticisms to which he may be exposed. All regard for his personal susceptibilities will naturally be postponed and disappear in the presence of the great questions at stake, affecting at the same time the happiness of millions of our fellow-subjects in India itself, and nearly touching the honour, the conscience, and the safety of that 1884.] POSITION OF AN INDIAN VICEROY. 9 Imperial Power to whom Providence has entrusted the superintendence of their destinies. (Cheers.) All that a person in such a situation can demand is that one thing, and one thing alone, should be remembered in mitigation of any impending condemnation which public opinion may be disposed to pass upon his conduct, and that is, that he is the man upon the spot ; that he is the man who must know a great deal more intimately than anybody else what may be the requirements of the situation (hear, hear) that there may be many a consideration present to his mind possessing the most cogent force which is naturally hidden from the gaze of those who are watching the drama from a distance (hear, hear) that the temporary puffs and flaws of fleeting public opinion are not always a true indication of the direction in which the wind is blowing ; and that it is but just and fair to credit your servant, to whom you have once given your confidence, at least with the presumption of being in the right until the contrary is shown to reasonable demonstration. (Cheers.) Above all, let me remind you, my lords and gentlemen, that when dealing with such vast subjects as those which occupy the statesmen of Calcutta ; when handling the tremendous forces which are evolved out of the complicated and multitudinous political systems which exist within the borders of the Indian peninsula ; when endeavouring to mould by slow and cautious efforts the most ancient, the most con- tinuous, and the most artificially organised civilisation to be found on the face of the earth, into forms that shall eventually harmonize more and more with those conceptions which the progress of science and the result of experience have shown to be conducive to human happiness, the result of the ruler's exertions and the flower of his achievements are seldom per~ ceptible at the moment, but far more frequently bring forth 1 their fruit long after those that tilled the field and sowed the seed have rested from their unrecognised and sometimes depreciated labours. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) /The days when great reputations are to be made in India are, happily perhaps, as completely past as those in which great fortunes were accumulated. Famous Indian Pro-Consuls are no longer 10 SPEECHES. [1884. required by their superiors or compelled by circumstances to startle their countrymen by the annexation ofjprqvinces, the overthrow of dynasties, the revolutionising of established systems, and all those dramatic performances which invariably characterise the founding and consolidation of new-born empires. Their successors must be content with the less ambitious and more homely, but equally important and beneficent, work of justifying the splendid achievements of those who have gone before them, by the careful and pains- taking elaboration of such economical, educational, judicial, and social arrangements as shall bring happiness, peace, contentment, and security alike to the cabin doors of the humble ryot, to the mansions of the loyal zemindar and enterprising European settler, and to the palace gates of Her Majesty's honoured allies and princely feudatories. (Cheers.) Nor let it be imagined that this humble programme is not enough to exhaust the energies and strain to the utmost the abilities and statesmanship of India's most experienced servants, and England's wisest counsellors. (Hear, hear.) Things go very fast with us nowadays, and the changes in their conditions and relations are as multiplex and instantaneous as those in a kaleidoscope. Yesterday India was an isolated region, remote from the disturbing influences of foreign contact. To-day we have an European neighbour on our north-western frontier, and ere long we may have another on our eastern boundary. Happily I have the good fortune to be united to the foreign Minister of Russia by the ties of personal intimacy and regard. I am convinced that a more moderate-minded, wise, and unaggressive statesman does not breathe in Europe. I believe his great desire is that Russia should live in amity with England (hear, hear) and that no causes of disagreement and suspicion should be gene- rated in Central Asia between the two countries. (Hear, hear.) He has more than once assured me that he regarded the ex- pansion of Russia in a south-easterly direction with regret, and his most earnest wish is for such a condition of affairs to come into existence as should impose upon that expansion its natural and permanent arrest. I rejoice to think that it 1884.] THE INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE. 11 should have fallen to my lot to co-operate with a personal friend in arriving at this desirable and necessary result. (Hear, hear.) Nor within the confines of India itself have matters remained a whit more stationary. The spread of education and the extension of railways, the congestion of populations, slow moving as are the habits of Indian thought and sentiment, have created new requirements and demand fresh readjustments, the successful accomplishment of which will call for the most extensive knowledge and the acutest insight. It would be altogether inappropriate at to-night's celebration to trouble you with the crude speculations of one who is still an outsider and a neophyte in regard to Indian politics ; but in one respect, at all events, I am to be congratulated, and it is this : that when I come to address myself to the study of these subjects I shall be assisted by as able a body of public servants, both English and native, as has ever been at the disposal of any ruler. (Cheers.) I believe, my lords and gentlemen, that the civil service of India is un- rivalled for integrity, intelligence, loyalty, and a sense of public duty ; and probably nothing has contributed more effectually to impress it with these characteristics than the recruits it has received from Ireland, and especially from Ulster. (Loud cheers.) I might perhaps be straining our native privileges too far if I connected Wellington with the civil service, though India's greatest soldier was a civil m, servant, and some of her ablest civil administrators have been > soldiers. But, keeping within the letter of the allusion, where has there existed a more capable and benevolent representative of the Crown than Marquis Wellesley ? (Cheers.) What Governor-General has ever so captivated the affections of the Indian people as the late lamented Lord Mayo? (Cheers.) What statesman in either hemisphere can point to such an heroic record as that of the immortal Lawrence? (Cheers.) Where can you find a name surrounded by a brighter halo of blameless fame and honour than that of Sir Robert Mont- gomery ? (Cheers.) Nor in this connection can I altogether pass over the allusion made by a previous speaker to one of the most heroic and noblest individuals with whom it has ever 12 SPEECHES. [1884. been my good fortune to come into contact. During the period I spent at Constantinople I had become acquainted with Colonel Stewart's exceptional qualities. He had served under my orders in Asia Minor, and again in Egypt. He was sent out by her Majesty's Government in a diplomatic capacity, with orders to repair to Khartoum to report on the condition of affairs which he found there. It was a matter of astonish- ment to me to hear of his reported death ; and I am happy to think that I have recorded in an official despatch the capacity, the industry, and the ability with which, under most un- propitious circumstances, that noble officer discharged the task entrusted to him. He sent home a series of despatches which are unrivalled for their lucidity, for the mass of com- plicated information which they conveyed, and, above all, the noble spirit of humanity which they breathed. Gentlemen, it is a melancholy pleasure to me if, indeed, it is true that we must give up the hope of ever seeing him again to have this opportunity of paying this public tribute to the memory of Colonel Stewart. But, to return to India, behind and beyond the fortunate few whom accident and happy chance, seconding their inherent merits and native genius, have made known to the world, there are hundreds and hundreds of noble and high-minded officials, unknown and unrewarded, who in the solitude of their several districts, burdened with enormous responsibilities, compelled to sacrifice almost every- thing that renders human life delightful, are faithfully ex- pending their existence for their Queen, for their country, and for those committed to their charge, with nothing but their conscience to sustain them, reinforced by the con- viction which is inherent in every Briton's breast, that the sense of having done one's duty is better than name or fame, Imperial honours, or popular approbation. (Loud cheers.) It is to join these men that I go, and though I dare say there may be many amongst them superior to myself in ability, as they all must be in experience, one thing I can promise you, that neither amongst those who have lived and laboured and who have disappeared from the scene, nor amongst those who are still working for the good of England and of India, will 1884.] GLANCE AT THE FUTURE. 13 any have set forth more determined to walk fearlessly and faithfully in the unpretending paths of duty. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) So convinced am I, indeed, of the truth of what I say, that I imagine the greateat success and triumph I can obtain is that, from the time that I depart from these shores and wave a grateful response to the farewell you are saying to me to-night, even the echo of my name may never be wafted to your ears until at the end of my official term I stand again amongst you, having won from the historian of the day no higher encomium or recognition than that my administration was uneventful, but that I had kept the empire entrusted to my guardianship tranquil and secure. (Loud cheers.) And now, gentlemen, I have done. In the few words I have ad- dressed to you I have made but a poor return for the honour you have conferred upon me, for the kindness you have shown me, and for the confidence you have placed in me. What the future may bring forth none can foretell, but of this at least you may be sure, that no act or thought of mine shall be unworthy of my country and its Sovereign, who have entrusted this charge into my hands, of the Indian Empire I am required to administer, or of that greater Empire of which India is but a part of that Empire whose laws and liberties, whose honour and repute, whose past and whose future are the birthright and the legitimate care and pride of every English- man in every quarter of the globe ! (Loud and prolonged applause.) On the same occasion Lord Dufferin, in responding to the toast of Lady Dufieriu's health, said : MB. MAYOR, MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN, I hope you will remember that during the last four years of my life the chief obligation imposed upon me was that of silence (laughter) and that consequently the effort of addressing a public assembly after so long an interval of desuetude is extremely difficult; but all the married men amongst you will understand that, when any one hears his wife praised in such chivalrous and eloquent terms as those to which we have just listened, his heart begins 14 SPEECHES. [1884. to burn within him and he cannot hold his tongue. (Laugh- ter and applause.) I myself, my lords and gentlemen, have always considered that amongst Lady Dufferin's great and eminent qualities the most pre-eminent, and the one of which I was proudest, was the very one alluded to by my honourable friend namely, that she was an Irishwoman (applause) and, having already ventured to treat you to a classical allusion, I will venture to refer you to another, in order that you may thoroughly understand how completely I endorse the senti- ments which have been so cordially received by all present. In ancient times there was a certain well-known I dare not call him distinguished Grecian chief who wandered over many seas and visited many cities and conversed with many men, but wherever he went he was followed by the mysterious influence of the goddess, who suggested to him at all times and seasons what he was to do and say, who smoothed his path before him, and rendered his progress miraculously successful. (Applause.) My lords and gentlemen, it is no exaggeration to say that during the course of my public career no ancient goddess of Grecian mythology could have rendered me more effective aid, could have extended to me more completely the segis of her sweet wisdom and comforting counsel than that of the lady to whose health you have just paid this tribute of respect. (Applause.) It has been a deep regret to her not to be able to be present on this occasion, but I assure you I shall not fail to make her un- derstand how kindly you have expressed yourselves towards her, and I assure you in her name that she is most deeply grateful to you for the friendship and consideration with which you have honoured her. (Cheers.) And now, my lords and gentlemen, it is my pleasing duty to discharge a most import- ant, and to me most imperative task. Amongst the many regrets which, in the midst of all this pleasure, I cannot help experiencing, is the regret of finding myself in the midst of so many personal friends and neighbours and acquaintances without having the power of shaking them by the hand or ex- changing with them with each individual a friendly word of greeting ; but I feel that I cannot better consolidate and 1884.] THE MAYOR OF BELFAST. 15 concentrate the gratitude which I feel towards you one and all than by endeavouring to convey it to this great and generous assembly by calling upon you to drink the health of your honourable representative on this occasion the Mayor of Belfast (applause) who has presided over this banquet with so much propriety and dignity, who by the cheers with which his various speeches were greeted has evidently expressed so completely to your satisfaction those sentiments which you desire to make known. (Hear, hear.) I am well aware of the estimation in which the Mayor is held by his fellow-citizens, but in one respect I will not follow his example. I will really abstain from doing what might embarrass him by enlarging at too great length upon his many amiable qualities. I beg leave to propose to you " The Health of the Mayor," and with the toast I venture to couple " Prosperity to the great town of Belfast." (Applause.; SPEECH AT THE NOKTHBROOK CLUB. On the 1st of November, 1884, the members of the Northbrook Club entertained Lord Dufferin at dinner in the Westminster Town Hall, previous to his departure from England to assume the duties of the Indian Viceroyalty. In reply to the toast of his health Lord Dufferin spoke as follows : In rising to return thanks for the kind reception you have just given to the mention of my name, I cannot help expressing at the same time my deep sense of the favour shown me by the large attendance of members who have assembled in this magnificent apartment to bid me " God-speed." One some- times hears of a person not being able to contain himself for joy, and of a man's heart being too full for words, but it is an unprecedented honour when a club, in its generous enthusiasm for its guest, is content to emigrate from its accustomed haunts in order to find elbow room for its feelings in the ample precincts of an alien hall like this. And now, gentlemen, I scarcely know in what way to con- tinue. When I look around me upon this august assemblage, composed as it is in a great measure of illustrious and dis- tinguished persons who have passed their lives in India, who are intimately acquainted with every nook and corner of that great peninsula and the intricate mysteries of its administra- tion, I feel that it would be the height of presumption on the part of one so ignorant and inexperienced as myself in Indian matters to hazard any observations in reference to our great dependency. A newly-appointed viceroy, when called upon to make a speech under such circumstances, must seem to the onlookers very like a man who is playing at blind-man's buff. While the room and the company present are flooded with light, he is floundering about with outstretched arms in utter darkness, with great danger of breaking his shins over the 1884.] THE NOETHBROOK CLUB. 17 furniture, or, what would be more dreadful still, of knocking over any amount of delicate bits of china, to the great indig- nation of the mistress of the house who on this occasion is not inaptly represented by my noble friend the Secretary of State as she watches in an agony of indignant trepidation his indiscreet and ungainly rhetorical gambols. Happily, however, there is nothing your kind consideration has not taken into account, and I understand that all of us who may have the privilege of addressing you will do so in the happy consciousness that they are revelling in the luxury and licence of unreported speeches. Be that, however, as it may, there are one or two things I can say with a perfectly clear conscience. In the first place, it greatly enhances my pleasure to know that the favour shown to me emanates from a society which in a great measure owes both its name and its existence to one of my earliest and most constant personal friends, a statesman who has rendered the greatest services to his country, whose name is equally beloved and honoured in India and at home, and whose bright example it will be my highest ambition to follow and emulate. Neither can I refrain from expressing my satisfaction at finding myself in contact I may say for the first time, and under such agreeable auspices with so many of our Indian fellow-subjects. Ignorant as I am of many matters connected with India, I am not ignorant of the claims the native gentlemen I see around me possess to my respect and consideration. Their acquirements, their princely charities, their loyalty, and their personal qualities are well known to me, and I regard it as a most happy omen that they should have thus met together in such large numbers to give me a foretaste of the cordial welcome which never fails to await the representatives of their Queen at the hands of their countrymen at home. I am also entitled to express my deep gratitude for the kind words of encouragement and approval in which Sir Barrow Ellis (the chairman) has been good enough to refer to my nomination. Though I do not dare to accept all the pleasant things he has said in my regard, I may certainly hope, without incurring the charge of presumption, that my previous official c 18 SPEECHES. [1884. experiences may prove of advantage to me in my new position. I believe that it will be by no means a bad thing for the Viceroy of India to have established friendly relations both with the Court of Kussia and with that of Constantinople. During the whole time of my stay in Turkey, I experienced nothing but the greatest kindness and many personal favours at the hands of his Imperial Majesty the Sultan, who is dis- tinguished amongst the monarchs of the day for the unrivalled courtesy of his manners and the greatest consideration for those who come into personal relations with him. Nor can the acquaintances and friendships I formed with the Turkish statesmen at Constantinople, and the knowledge I acquired of the habits and modes of thought of the inhabitants of the Turkish Empire, fail to be of the greatest service to me in a country where Mahomedans compose a very large and influ- ential section of the population. Of my regard for the distinguished minister who conducts the foreign affairs of Bussia, I have already had occasion to speak, and as far as the ties of personal friendship can influence such matters, I am sure that nothing will be wanting on Mr. de Giers' part or on my own to promote the most friendly understanding between the two countries. At the same time I trust that the people of England will not forget, as certainly I will not for- get, that national security must not be allowed to depend upon the moderation of a minister of a foreign State whose hand may be forced at any moment by rivals or subordinates, or upon the friendly intentions of a neighbouring monarch, who is as often compelled to follow as to lead but that the only trustworthy guarantee for the integrity of national boundaries is the vigilance and valour of those who dwell within them. And now, gentlemen, in conclusion I will merely say that in proceeding to the fulfilment of the task which has been set me, my highest ambition will always be to illustrate in practice, and carry out in spirit, those praiseworthy purposes for which this club was founded. In doing this, I believe I shall be making the best return in my power for the hospitality you have extended to me to-night. These purposes as I understand them are to promote by every means in our power 1884.] PRINCIPLES OF INDIAN ADMINISTRATION. 19 the best possible relations between the native populations of ' India and their British fellow-subjects ; to unite them in the .' bonds of a common loyalty ; and, under the aegis of an im- ] partial executive, to extend to all and each of them the blessings of justice and good government. Those honoured and distinguished persons who are sitting around me are the men who, in their day and generation, have inextricably interwoven these principles with the most sacred traditions of Indian administration, and I may observe in passing that these principles have never been more vigorously enforced than by the present courageous, unselfish, and high-minded Viceroy. The wisdom, integrity, and devotion to their Queen and country which these high-minded and conscientious men have displayed, have established immutably upon this right- eous basis what I believe to be the most beneficent empire the world has ever seen. Your society has been impregnated by the same lofty and generous spirit, consequently 1 regard it as a fortunate circumstance (to borrow a simile from oriental philosophy) that I have had an opportunity of thus passing within the sphere of your influence and of becoming incor- porated with your essence, before I go forth as an emanation temporarily severed and separated from your august com- munion, to pass through the stages of a troubled existence in a distant world of anxiety and labour. Should fortune favour, however, and no misdeeds or miscarriages of my own render me unfit for such enjoyment, I have at least the prospect of at length returning to find in your approval and welcome that Nirvana and perfect rest which the justified great ones I see around me have attained to in your placid halls. c 2 ADDRESS FROM THE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OP BOMBAY. The Earl and Countess of Dufferin, accompanied by Lady Helen Blackwood, Miss Thynne, Mr. Mackenzie Wallace, Major Cooper, and other members of His Excellency's staff, arrived in Bombay Harbour by the P. and 0. steam- ship Tasmania on the morning of the 8th December, 1884. Their Excellencies landed at half-past four in the afternoon, and an address of welcome was presented to Lord Dufferin by the Municipal Corporation of Bombay at the Apollo Bunder. In the course of their address, the Corporation referred to Lord Dufferin's distinguished career in other parts of the world, and, remark- ing on the fact that the success of His Excellency's administration of Canada was largely due to his personal intimacy with the various communities and outlying regions of that country, they hoped that he would be able to visit the various provinces of India and become personally acquainted with the people and their leaders. They referred to some of the more important ad- ministrative measures with which Lord Dufferin would have to deal, such as railway and irrigation works, the advancement of free Municipal Government, and other measures of internal reform, and in conclusion drew His Excellency's " serious attention to the danger which one-half of the sea-borne commerce of India incurs from the utterly defenceless condition of Bombay Harbour." Lord Dufferin replied as follows : Mr. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN, No servant of the Crown could desire his arrival in India to be more auspiciously in- augurated than by the cordial words of welcome and encourage- ment you have addressed to me on behalf of the inhabitants of this prosperous and famous city ; and the impressive picture you have drawn of the opportunities, duties, and responsibilities attaching to the great office I am about to assume, is well calculated to afford me matter for serious and wholesome reflection. It has been your pleasure to extend similar courtesies to several of my predecessors when they stood as I do now on the threshold of their career in this country, un- witting of the good or evil fortune which might be in store for them. These illustrious persons have greatly differed from each other in their antecedents, their dispositions, their attain- ments, and their intellectual idiosyncrasies. But there is one 1884.] PREVIOUS VICEROYS. ^l quality which all of them have possessed in common a deep- rooted and unswerving determination to sacrifice ease, health, leisure, nay, as some of them have done, even life itself, at the welcome and spirit-stirring call of duty. (Hear, hear ; and cheers.) It is this characteristic which has impressed the Government of India, from its foundation to the present day, with a loftiness of aim and intention, and an energy in execution, which I believe to be unparalleled in the history of the world, (cheers.) Though not presuming to compare myself with the statesmen who have gone before me, in this last respect at least I trust to prove their equal, by preserving unimpaired the noble traditions of devotion and self-effacement which have been established by their heroic examples, and by none more signally than by your present illustrious and eminent Viceroy. (Loud cheers.) Whatever criticisms may be justly passed on my future administration, it shall be in the power of no man to allege that either from fear or favour, or any personal con- sideration, I have turned aside from whatever course was most conducive to the happiness of the millions entrusted to my care (cheers), or to the dignity, honour, and safety of that mighty Empire with which this great dependency is indissolubly incorporated. (Kenewed cheers.) Only partially acquainted as I am at present with the indigenous customs and ancient civilization of its multitudinous races, I hope to find at your provincial centres advisers and counsellors, both British and native, whose experience will enable me to discharge with success the task I have undertaken ; and to no set of men could I address myself with greater advantage for such information as I may require, than to the representatives of the great community of Bombay, whose industry, enterprise, and sagacity have created a city vying in its prosperity and wealth with any capital that has ever been called into existence by Caliph or Mogul. Should fitting opportunities present themselves to my Government of still further promoting your welfare, stimulating your trade, increasing your security, or enlarging the scope of your municipal activity, you may rest assured that it will be my most anxious desire to take advantage of them. Under any circumstances I shall always retain a grateful recollection 22 SPEECHES. [1884. of the considerate manner in which you have made me feel that in landing upon the shores of India I have come to a home already rendered bright and attractive by the presence of hosts of fellow-workers, well-wishers, and friends. (Loud and pro- longed cheers.) ADDRESS FROM THE BOMBAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. The Bombay Chamber of Commerce next presented an address to Lord Dufferin, in which His Excellency's attention was specially directed to the importance of developing railway communication not only in the Bombay Presidency, in which the Chamber indicated certain lines requiring more immediate attention, but throughout India generally. Reference was also made to the defects of the Indian Insolvent Act, and the Chamber pointed out the desirability of extending the provisions of the new English Bank- ruptcy Act of 1883 to India. The appointment of a Commission to inquire into the defences of Bombay Harbour was suggested; and the Chamber remarked that, in common with the Chamber of Commerce at Manchester, they would welcome any efforts having for their object the development of the overland trade with Western China and the early termination of the present unsatisfactory state of affairs iu Upper^ Burmaa. ,His Excellency replied as follows : Mr. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN, I have to thank you cordially for the words of welcome and confidence which I have just heard, and for the suggestions which you have made con- cerning the measures for increasing and intensifying that commercial and industrial enterprise with which your magnificent city is so intimately associated. It is hardly necessary for me to say that I thoroughly sympathise with you in your desire for still further developing the natural resources of the country, and that it will be my constant endeavour to aid and encourage, within the limits of the means at our disposal, all legitimate and practical schemes which have that object as their aim. Before leaving England I had the advantage of having your views regarding railway extension presented to me by very competent authorities, and I was fully impressed with the necessity of constantly keeping the means of communication oil a level with industrial and commercial requirements. That 1884.] THE INDIAN MAHOMEDANS. 23 the principle is a sound one there can be no doubt ; but I cannot of course express any opinion as to how it is to be applied until I have had time to consider the question carefully in all its bearings. All that I can say, therefore, for the present is, that I shall consider your suggestions with the care and attention which are due to a body so deeply interested in the question and so competent to form a sound judgment upon it. In conclusion, gentlemen, I have to thank you personally, and through you the great mercantile class which you so worthily represent, for the very kind reception which I have met with in Bombay. ADDRESS FROM THE ANJUMANI ISLAM. The President and Members of the Anjumani Islam of Bombay, on behalf of themselves and of the Mahomedan community of Western India, then presented an address of welcome to His Excellency. After expressing a hope that the contact into which Lord Dufferin's duties had brought him with Mussulman communities in other parts of the world had created a sympathy for them in his Lordship's mind, the address proceeded to draw Lord Dufferin's attention to the backward condition of the Mussulmans in India as compared with that of other communities ; while these had risen socially, intellectually, and morally, the Mussulmans had not even remained stationary, but had declined and decayed, and unless the causes were at once traced and remedies applied, the address went on to remark, " the poverty and decay of the fifty millions of the Mussulman subjects of Her Majesty cannot but prove a source of danger to the State." Pressure of work, the address stated, had prevented Lord Ripon from dealing with the question, but the deputation looked to Lord Duflferin for support, and expressed every confidence in his ability to deal adequately with the evil. His Excellency replied as follows : GENTLEMEN, Few things could have given me greater pleasure on my arrival in India than to find myself welcomed by the representatives of Her Majesty's Mahomedan subjects. A considerable portion of my public life has been passed in endeavouring to be of service to Mussulman communities in different parts of the world. I am well acquainted with their history, their literature, and their modes of thought and feelings. The personal kindness I have received from His Majesty the Sultan of Turkey who excels all the monarchs of 24 SPEECHES. [1884. the day in the urbanity and charm of his manners and in the gracious consideration he shows to those who have the happiness of being admitted to his presence would of itself have made a lasting impression on my mind ; and in taking leave of His Majesty I was glad to assure him of my determination to watch over the interests of his co-religionists with a fatherly solicitude. It pains me much to learn that the Mussulman community of India should entertain the misgivings you have expressed in regard to their actual condition. It is both the pride and the desire of the Imperial Government to provide impartially for every class and section of Her Majesty's subjects in India, fair and equal opportunities of improving their material condition, and of multiplying their means of moral advancement. If one member of the body politic lags behind the rest, it is a mis- fortune for all. I am too new to the country to be able to form an opinion as to the causes of the exceptional circumstances you signalize ; but I have been glad to learn that of late you have been making great exertions to improve your educational system. When I remember that it is to Mussulman science, to Mussulman art, and to Mussulman literature that Europe has been in a great measure indebted for its extrication from the darkness of the middle ages, I find it impossible to believe that the Mahomedan communities of India should have any difficulty in keeping abreast of the rest of their fellow-subjects in the general progress of the nation. Should they be labouring under any exceptional disabilities which might militate against so desirable a result, I will endeavour to see them removed, and I have no doubt that your present illustrious Viceroy, who has had your welfare so much at heart, will place me in possession of his views on the subject to which you refer. Under any circumstances you must allow me to assure you that I have been very much touched by the terms of personal goodwill in which your address of welcome to me has been couched. ADDRESS FROM THE CORPORATION OF CALCUTTA. On Saturday afternoon, the 13th December, the Earl and Countess of DufTerin, accompanied by Lady Helen Blackwood, Miss Thynne, Mr. Mackenzie Wallace (Private Secretary), Major Cooper and Lord Herbrand Russell (Aides-de-Camp), and other members of His Excellency's staff, arrived in Calcutta from Bombay. Their Excellencies were met at the Howrah Railway station by the Secretaries to Government in the several depattments, Brigadier-General Wilkinson and his staff, Lord William Beres- ford (Military Secretary to the Viceroy), and various other civil and military officers. Their Excellencies drove at once to Government House, receiving en route a very enthusiastic reception from the crowds who thronged the streets. On arriving at the foot of the grand staircase at Government House Lord and Lady Dufferin were received by the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal (Mr. Rivers Thompson), and at the head of the staircase by Lord and Lady Ripon, the members of the Executive Council, the Judges of the High Court, and a large number of English and native gentlemen. Lord Dufferin was shortly afterwards conducted to the Council Chamber, where the ceremony of installing His Excellency as Viceroy and Governor-General of India was gone through with the usual formalities. Lord Dufferin then proceeded to the Throne Room, where a Deputation from the Corporation of Calcutta was in waiting to present him an address of welcome. The principal points touched upon in the address will be apparent from His Excellency's reply, which was as follows: Mr. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN, No man acquainted with the history of our Indian Empire and with the annals of Calcutta could fail to be moved when addressed for the first time by the honoured representatives of that illustrious city. The friendly words of welcome and encouragement with which you have been pleased to greet my arrival amongst you add a peculiar grace to the impressive ceremony in which I have just taken part. India appears to differ so much even from the Oriental countries with which I am acquainted, that 1 scarcely dare attach the value to my past experiences which you are good enough to attribute to them ; but at all events I trust that my familiarity with different races, forms of government, customs, and habits of thought alien to our own, have endowed me with a faculty for appreciative sympathy with what does not exactly square with Western ideas, which may prove of service to me in my new position. In alluding to the subject of Local Self-government and to 26 SPEECHES. [1884. the exceptional impulse it has received under the benign auspices of Lord Bipon, you have touched upon a matter which has already attracted my attention. If there is one principle more inherent than another in the system of our Indian administration, it is that of continuity. Nothing has struck me more than the loyal and persistent manner in which successive Viceroys, no matter what part they may have played in the strife of party politics at home, have used their utmost endeavours to bring to a successful issue whatever projects their predecessors may have conceived for the benefit of the people. It is by adherence to this principle that we have built up in this country the majestic fabric of our Government ; and it is needless for me to assure you that I shall not fail to follow a line of conduct consecrated by the example of Cornwallis, Bentinck, Canning, Mayo, and those who followed them. The Marquis of Eipon and his predecessors have prepared the soil, delved, and planted. It will be my more humble duty to watch, water, prune, and train ; but it may not be out of place for me to remind you that the further development of the principle of Local Self-government rests very much in your own hands. It is by an intelligent discharge of your duties, by a conscientious care of the public purse, by purity of administration, by the vigorous and econo- mical promotion of whatever operations come within your sphere, that you will vindicate your title to enjoy the privileges conferred upon you. In conclusion, allow me to express the satisfaction with which I have listened to your loyal reference to Her Majesty the Queen and Empress. The good of her Indian subjects is never absent from Her Majesty's mind ; and it will be a gratification to her to know that you appreciate her claims to your love and devotion. ( 27 ) REMARKS IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. In opening the Proceedings at the Legislative Council, held at Government House, Calcutta, on the 19th December, 1884, the first Council at which Lord Duflerin presided, His Excellency made the follosving remarks : YOUR HONOUR AND GENTLEMEN, I cannot take my seat for the first time at this Council Board without desiring to express to you the extreme satisfaction which I feel in being associated with so many distinguished persons in the government of this great dependency. For a very long time I must be little more than a learner in regard to the details of many of those important questions which will come up before us. But it makes me happy to think that I shall have for my colleagues and advisers men so thoroughly acquainted as yourselves with everything that is connected with the ad- ministration of India, and in whom both Her Majesty's Government and the general public possess such confidence. I only hope that I, on my side, will be able to do what is incumbent upon me for expediting the public business to your satisfaction. The ordinary business of the Council was then proceeded with. CALCUTTA TRADES' ASSOCIATION DINNER. The Annual Dinner of the Calcutta Trades' Association took place in the Town Hall on Friday, the 30th January, 1885, His Excellency the Viceroy being present. Amongst the guests were also Sir Rivers Thompson (Lieutenant- Governor of Bengal), General T. F. Wilson, and Messrs. Hope and Ilbert (Members of the Viceroy's Council), Messrs. Cunningham, Pigot, Norris, and Prinsep (Judges of the Calcutta High Court), besides a large number of civil and military officials and gentlemen, including the representatives of the various Consulates in Calcutta, and of the Press, European and native. After the toast of the Queen-Empress and the Royal Family had been honoured, the Master of the Association (Mr. A. H. Wallis) proposed the health of the Viceroy, his speech being frequently interrupted by applause. Mr. Wallis remarked that the Association were deeply sensible of the honour uhich the Viceroy had done them in accepting their invitation, "thus giving the city an opportunity of personally renewing that warm aud heartfelt 28 SPEECHES. [1885. welcome with which all clnsses of the community received His Excellency on his arrival in Calcutta." He expressed the gratification they all i'elt at Lord Dufferin's appointment, than whom, he said, no servant of the British Crown was more eminently fitted to fulfil the duties of a ruler ; he referred to Lord Dufferin's distinguished services in other positions, and observed that it was a happy augury for India when England could send out such sons to do her service, and he expressed his conviction that " the wise and just and honest and political administration of India would have a staunch interpreter" in the Viceroy. His Excellency, who, on rising to respond to the toast, was greeted with loud and continued cheering, said : Mr. CHAIRMAN, YOUR HONOUR, AND GENTLEMEN, In rising to return thanks for the cordial reception you have given to the mention of my name, I hasten to express my satisfaction at finding myself surrounded by the representatives of the trading community of Calcutta. (Cheers.) At the same time I confess that it was with some hesitation that I accepted your invitation. I knew that I should be expected to address those whose hospitality I was permitted to share, and I had some doubts whether it was altogether desirable that the head of the Executive Government of India should indulge, otherwise than upon exceptional and rare occasions, in oratorical displays. It is his duty to listen to others rather than to speak himself; to examine and decide rather than to explain or advocate ; and, if I am right in considering that such ought to be the general rule of his conduct, it is still more imperative that he should follow it when he is but newly arrived in a land which presents to his consideration so many problems of the greatest magnitude and importance, and where a casual word pronounced in ignorance, or under mis- apprehension, may occasion numberless embarrassments. Still, as I am here, it would be ungracious upon my part were I not to take so fitting an opportunity of expressing my deep appre- ciation of the friendly feeling which has been manifested towards me from the time I landed in Bombay to the present moment, by all ranks and conditions of men, by the various communities which compose our body politic, and by my British and Native fellow- subjects. All have made me feel that they are ready to give me their confidence ; that they are 1885.] THE VICEROY'S POLICY. 29 willing to believe in my sincere desire to do my duty faithfully by each of them ; that they appreciate the difficulties of the task which lies before me, and that I can count on their conjoint sympathy and united assistance in my endeavours to promote the well-being of the common weal. (Cheers.) Now some of those present are probably anxious that I should define the character of the policy I am disposed to follow. I do not know that there is any reason why I should not gratify their curiosity. In doing so, I shall disclose no secret, nor initiate them in a new revelation, for my policy will be guided by those ancient principles upon which the British Empire in India was originally founded, which have ever since been interwoven with its structure and vindicated in turn by each of my illustrious predecessors: namely, a justice which neither prejudice nor self-interest can pervert; an impartiality between all religions and races, which refuses to be irritated by criticism, or cajoled by flattery ; and a benefi- cence of intention which seeks to spread abroad amongst the many millions of Her Majesty's subjects in this country, contentment, prosperity, wealth, education, professional ad- vancement, a free scope to municipal institutions, and every other privilege which is compatible with authoritative Govern- ment and Imperial supremacy. (Cheers.) And in saying this, remember I am not speaking in my own name, nor merely as the head of the Indian administration. I am speaking in the name of the Queen-Empress herself, and not only of the Queen, but of the Parliament and people of England, who are fully determined that English rule in India shall be so blame- lessly and vigorously conducted as to become the crowning glory of our country's history; and that any grievance and wrong of which Her Majesty's subjects can complain, whether Princes or People, whether native or British-born, shall be examined into, and so far as the imperfection of all human administration will allow, abated or redressed. (Cheers.) That I may be able, under God's providence, during my brief residence among you, to perform the part allotted to me in a satisfactory manner, is my dearest ambition. There is no sacrifice, whether of time, labour, health or strength, I am not 30 SPEECHES. [1885. prepared to make in pursuit of it ; and though it is only by painful and slow degrees that so vast and inchoate a community as ours can expect to move towards the consummation of an ideal, I trust that when the time arrives for me to quit these shores, I may have perceptibly contributed towards the ad- vancement of the country and the realization of the just and legitimate aspirations of its inhabitants, and to the fair fame and stability of the British Empire. That you, gentlemen, as organisers of labour, as promoters of the industrial arts, as creators and distributors of wealth, are powerful factors in our national development, none can doubt ; and it is on that account I again repeat I have so much pleasure in finding myself associated with you in to-night's celebration. (Loud cheers.) The toasts of "The Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal," "The Legislative Councils," " The Army, Navy, and Auxiliary Forces," and other toasts followed, and at the close of the proceedings the Viceroy proposed the health of the Chairman (Mr. Wallis) in the following terms : Before we separate I have received the permission of the chairman to propose a toast. I dare say that many are under the impression that the toast that I am about to propose is that of the ladies. As a married man I could not do justice to that toast under half an hour. (Laughter.) Therefore it will be a relief to you to know that it is not the toast of the ladies but the health of your chairman. (Cheers.) It will not be necessary for me to detain you by any observations in support of that toast, because I have only to ask you to cast your memory back along the whole course of to-night's pleasant proceedings and to consider that it is under the auspices of your chairman, and thanks to the Trades' Association of Calcutta, that we have enjoyed one of the most genial enter- tainments, and I may add, as far as I am concerned, one of the most profitable we have ever attended. (Loud cheers.) The chairman, Mr. Wallis, briefly responded to the toast ; and the pro- ceedings came to a close at at;out half-past twelve o'clock. THE BENGAL TENANCY BILL. The first meeting of the Legislative Council, to discuss the Bengal Tenancy Bill, took place on 27th February, 1885, there being a full attendance of members. Sir Steuart Bayley (the Member in charge of the Bill) moved " that the Beports of the Select Committee on the Bill to amend and con- solidate certain enactments relating to the law of landlord and tenant within the territories under the administration of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal be taken into consideration." Sir Steuart Bayley delivered an exhaustive speech on the motion. He reviewed the work of the Select Committee and showed the nature of the principal alterations made, the reasons for them, and how far the Bill as altered was likely to succeed in securing the results which the Council had in view. He claimed for the measure that it was an improvement on the old law, and without any injustice to the landlord ful- filled the object of Government, which was " to give reasonable security to the tenant in the occupation and enjoyment of his land," while the just interests of the landlords were not lost sight of in any way. Having answered the charge that the Bill was being passed with undue haste, he con- cluded by asking the Council to reject the amendment that the Bill should be republished, and to decide on proceeding at once with the consideration of the Select Committee's report and of the amendments of which notice had been given. Mr. Quinton followed Sir Steuart Bayley and spoke in support of the Bill as amended. The Mahdraji of Darbhunga offered unqualified opposition to the measure, and urged its withdrawal, as the Bill was distasteful to zaminddr and raiyat alike. Mr. G. H. P. Evans delivered an able speech reviewing the whole position. He regarded the kernel of the Bill as sound and the general object and scope of it as salutary, but argued that many portions of it, as now amended, were ill-advised and mischievous. The Council adjourned at five o'clock, and re-assembled on the following Monday (2nd March), when the debate was resumed. Mr. Goodrich supported the Bill, and held that the necessity of immediately regulating the law between landlord and tenant was proved. He believed the Bill would limit the landlord's right no further than the public interest demanded. B&bu Pe&ri Mohan Mukerji urged strongly the postponement of the passing of the Bill, in order to afford mem- bers of Council, the outside public, and parties interested in the measure, an opportunity of studying it. Mr. Vishvanatha Narayan Mandlik, Messrs. Reynolds, Hunter, Gibbon, Hbert, and Sir Rivers Thompson spoke in support of the Bill and against its postponement. His Excellency the Viceroy in closing the debate said : I do not think it necessary that I should trouble the Council with any observations of my own at this stage of our proceed- ings. I shall have ample opportunity, when we come to discuss the several points in this Bill with respect to which amend- ments are to be moved, of expressing my opinion in regard to 32 SPEECHES. [1885. them. I will therefore content myself by saying that, although it is likely that during the course of our deliberations this Bill will be considerably improved in many of its particulars, I have no hesitation whatever in giving to its general features my most cordial and sincere support. I have convinced myself that it is, as my honourable colleague has just said, a very honest and conscientious piece of work. I am quite certain that those who have engaged in advancing it to its present stage have been actuated by the sole desire of doing equal justice to all those interests which are dealt with under the Bill. It cannot be seriously urged that this Council has not a right to legislate in the direction proposed. It so happens that I became Under-Secretary of State for India while the legislation, which resulted in Act X. of 1859, was still under discussion, end I then came to the conclusion, which further examination has only confirmed, that it would be idle to contend that legislation of this description is any invasion whatever of the rights accorded to the zamindars under the Permanent Settlement. If I thought that any clause of the Bill interfered with rights which have been granted to any class of Her Majesty's subjects in India by the Imperial Government, I certainly would not be found among its sup- porters ; but, on the contrary, I believe that this Bill is in perfect harmony with those principles which inspired the authors of the Permanent Settlement ; and I am quite certain that hereafter, when the present controversies have subsided, even those who consider their interests most injuriously affected by what it is proposed to do will acknowledge that this legis- lation has benefited the agricultural interests of the country. With regard to the special point which is before us, namely, whether or no the present Bill should be hung up for another year, I can only say that, in the presence of the all but unanimous opinion which has been delivered by my colleagues in favour of proceeding at once to the immediate consideration of the Bill as amended by the Select Committee, it would be impossible for me, even if I myself did not share that opinion, to undertake the responsibility of delaying a measure, the postponement of which, I am told by so many persons com- 1885.] THE BENGAL TENANCY BILL. 33 petent to speak with authority on the subject, would be so disastrous. In conclusion, I may observe that I for one have listened with the greatest interest and pleasure to the discus- sion which has taken place. Although I have certainly done my best to acquaint myself with all the facts and arguments bearing on this question as far as they are contained in the voluminous literature connected with the subject, this is the first occasion on which I have had the advantage of hearing it discussed by persons so capable of handling it. I have been specially struck with the moderation, the temper, good sense, and the eloquence with which my several colleagues have placed us in possession of their respective views, and I may be permitted to add that the native members of this Council were certainly not those who have shown the least ability in dealing with the question. Sir Steuart Bayley's motion that the Report of the Select Committee be taken into consideration, was then put and carried. The motion of Bdbii Peari Mohan Mukerji that the Bill as amended be tepublished and the consideration of the measure be deferred for at least three months from the dato of its republication, was then put and declared lost, the Honourable Mover and the Maharajd of Darbhunga only voting in favour of it. B&bu Pedri Mohan Mukerji then moved that the consideration of the Bill be postponed for two or three weeks, to enable members who were not on the Select Committee to study the amended measure, and the English-knowing landlords and tenants to give their opinions on the subject. Sir Steuart Bayley pointed out that such postponement meant delay for another year, and asked the Council to reject the proposition. The amend- ment was put and lost, and the Council adjourned. At the sitting of the Council on Thursday, the 5th of March, Mr. Amir AH brought forward the following amendment : After this section (section 24) insert the following section : "An occupaucy-raiyat shall be entitled in Bengal Proper to transfer his holding in the same manner and to the same extent as other immovable property : " (a) Provided, however, that in the case of a sale the landlord shall be entitled to a fee of five per cent, on the purchase-money. " (6) Provided also that a gift of an occupancy-right in land shall not be valid against the landlord unless it is made by a registered instrument. D 34 SPEECHES. [1885. " (c) The registering officer shall not register any such instrument except on payment of the prescribed fee for service on the landlord of notice of the registration. "(d) When any such notice has been registered, the registering officer shall forthwith serve notice of the registration on the landlord." Before moving the amendment, Mr. Amir AH obtained the permission of the Council to make the following alteration in clause (a). "Provided, however, that where the right of transfer by custom does not exist in the case of sale, the landlord shall be entitled to a fee of ten per cent, in the purchase-money." Mr. Amir Ali having spoken in support of his amendment, he was followed by Sir S. Bayley, who pointed out that the Executive Council of the Govern- ment of India had decided that the transferability of these tenures should not be made a principle in the Bill, and he therefore asked the Council to reject the amendment. Babii Peari Mohun Mukerji, Mr. Mandlik, Messrs. Keynolds, Hunter, Gibbon, and the Lieutenant-Go vernor opposed the amendment, and thought the mover, in view of the opinion expressed against it, should withdraw it. His Excellency the President said : As a reference has been made to my connection with this part of the subject, I should like to have an opportunity of expressing my own opinion upon it. In the first place we have to consider the matter from the point of view of right and equity. Sir John Shore, a contemporary authority upon the subject, has stated in the most positive manner that the occupancy-right does not include the right of sale or transfer, and the Courts of Bengal, as I understand, have hitherto maintained this view. It is therefore a question as to how far we should be justified in giving the occupancy-tenant a right carrying a money value to which he has not hitherto been entitled by law. That he should have it by custom is a totally different question. It stands to reason when a landlord has allowed such a custom to grow up, when the landlord has permitted sales of occupancy interests to take place, it is but fair and just that the actual tenant, who has paid consideration for the occupancy-right, should be allowed to dispose of it upon the same conditions as those upon which he bought it. Without, however, wishing to pronounce dog- matically upon this part of the question, I have to observe that when the matter was brought to my notice, the Govern- ment of Bengal had already decided that the legalising of the custom was at all events not desirable in Behar. It was also 1885.] TENANT RIGHT IN BENGAL. 35 decided that its application to Bengal must be hedged and restricted by various safeguards, one of which consisted of the right of the landlord to bar the transfer where the transferee was objectionable to him. Thus it became apparent that even its application to Bengal might be also questioned. I can quite understand that the honourable member who has moved this amendment should take a different view of the question, because I believe that he is more immediately con- nected with a part of the country where the raiyats are in a very satisfactory and strong position ; and undoubtedly where that is the case transferability is not only a convenience, but works without injury to the raiyat and with advantage to the public. But, on the other hand, we must remember that if the amendment were to be adopted, we should at once confer upon vast numbers of indigent men the right and opportunity of mortgaging the land on the unembarrassed condition of which the salvation of themselves and their families depends. However, I need not enlarge upon this view of the question, because the remarks which have already fallen from the Lieutenant-Governor I think amply justify the view which has been taken of the subject by the Government of India. I think it right, however, to say, on behalf of myself and my colleagues, that if, at this stage of the proceedings, arguments had been adduced in favour of such an amendment as that which has been proposed by Mr. Amir AH, we should have been quite prepared to give to them that attention which they deserve. But so far from that being the case, even those other members of the Council who are disposed to look with an indulgent eye upon the principle in the abstract, announce to us that they do not feel themselves in a position to support it. Under these circumstances, we I for one, and I imagine all my colleagues feel that there is no reason whatever why we should depart from the conclusion at which we originally arrived. The honourable Mr. Amir Ali said that under the circumstances he would ask the permission of the Council to withdraw his amendment. The amendment was accordingly withdrawn. D 2 36 SPEECHES. [1885. THE BENGAL TENANCY BILL. In the course of a discussion which took place on the 9th March, Babu Peari Morum Mukerji moved that sections 101 to 115 of the Bill be omitted. He said that both landlords and tenants were opposed to this portion of the Bill more than to any other. Speaking not in the interests of either class, he conscientiously thought the provisions of this chapter would give rise to a great deal of litigation and create bitter feelings and irritation amongst both those classes. These provisions were altogether unnecessary, and all that this chapter contemplated might be much more simply and effectually done by the provisions of section 158, to which reference had already been made. Messrs. Eeynolds, Gibbon, the Lieu tenant- Governor, and Sir Steuart Bayley spoke against the amendment. His Excellency the President observed that he had been very much struck by the almost complete unanimity of opinion which prevailed in the Council as to the utility of this chapter. At the same time he was perfectly able to comprehend the natural anxiety which its unreserved application over very- extensive areas would occasion both to the raiyats and the zamindars. Regarding the question in the abstract, it was obvious that one of the first steps towards the cessation of litigation and ill-feeling between two antagonistic interests, was that they should each know exactly what belonged to them ; therefore no one, His Excellency imagined, not even the honourable member himself, could in theory be opposed to the introduction of this chapter. At the same time His Excellency could assure the honourable member that not only in deference to the suggestions made to them by the Secretary of State, but also from their own appreciation of the exigencies of the case, the Government of India would be indisposed to consent to the application of the sections referred to otherwise than in the sense and spirit recommended by Lord Kimberley. By applying the machinery of the chapter to a special and limited area in a tentative manner they would be able to observe how the clauses were likely to work, and there was every hope that by that cautious method of procedure they would be able to obviate those objections to which the honour- able member had referred. The motion was put and lost. 1885.] ( 37 ) DEPUTATION FROM THE LANDHOLDERS OF BEHAR. On Tuesday, the 10th of Marcb, 1885, a deputation from the land- holders of Behar, headed by the Maharaja of Darbhunga, waited on the Viceroy at Government House, and presented a memorial to His Excellency on the subject of the Bengal Tenancy Bill. The memorial, which was read by the Maharaj of Darbhunga, set forth that zamindars and raiyats alike regarded the Bill with most unfeigned alarm, as a novel departure from the existing law and the precursor of future taxation. The memorial went on to say that the zamindars and raiyats " look upon the Patwari Bill now before the Bengal Council as an indication of the measures of taxation by which the present Bill will be supplemented. They feel that the Patwari Bill will soon be followed by another Bill to impose additional taxation to meet the expenses of a survey and preparation of a record-of-rights, and burdened as they already are with a road-cess and public works cess, they look with despair on the prospect before them. They desire a final measure, and not a measure which will have to be supplemented by legislation in another Council." The memorial further pointed out the disastrous effects which would follow the preparation of a record-of-rights, as endless litigation would follow, and, in conclusion, respectfully asked whether the Government of India would distinctly declare whether the zamindars had any, or what, special rights under the Permanent Settlement, and in what respect they differed from the zamindars of a district which had not been permanently settled. His Excellency the Viceroy replied as follows : AND GENTLEMEN, It has been some satisfac- tion to me, in listening to an address which criticises the Bengal Tenancy Bill, to find that the complaint with which it begins and ends is not directed against the actual Bill under discussion by the Government of India, but to what is at present merely inchoate or contingent legislation to be initiated hereafter under the auspices of the Local Govern- ment. Almost all the points you have brought to my notice have been so ably discussed by your representatives in the Legislative Council and I cannot sufficiently acknowledge the ability, the patience, and the temper evinced by those gentlemen during the discharge of their arduous duties that it would be altogether inopportune for me to re-open them. There is one matter, however, you have mentioned to which it is desirable I should refer. You have stated on behalf of the zamindars of Behar that you regard with special apprehension that chapter which relates to the survey and to the record-of- 38 SPEECHES. [1885. rights. Now I must ask you to remembe.r that the provisions of that chapter cannot, in their most important particulars, be applied by the Local Government except with the consent of the Government of India, and the Secretary of State has especially recommended that when they are applied it should be done in a cautious and tentative manner, and that the experiment should be confined to a small and special district. Under these circumstances I cannot but hope that you will go away with the conviction that nothing rash or detrimental either to the interests of the zammdars or of the; raiyats will be likely to take place under the operation of that particular chapter. As to that which is, I may say, the main question of the Bill, i.e., whether too much or too little has been done for the raiyat, I must remind you that there are several members of my Council gentlemen of high standing and of large ex- perience, gentlemen to whose opinions I am bound to pay the very greatest attention who maintained that so far from the present legislation having erred against the zammdars, it still fails, on the contrary, to give adequate protection to the raiyats. After having given to this vital question my most anxious attention, I have not, nor have the majority of my colleagues, been able to acquiesce in that view ; but, on the other hand, such a contention naturally strengthens us in the belief that we have not gone too far in the other direction. I believe that upon the whole this legislation does fair and equal justice between the two interests concerned, though, perhaps, it may be found indeed it could hardly be otherwise that in the application of so intricate a measure to such large areas and varied agricultural conditions, exceptional cases may arise here and there where its operation will fall short of effecting the results desired by its framers, but such conse- quences are incident to all legislation of the kind. Apart, however, from inevitable imperfections of this description, I have every reason to hope that the condition of affairs created by the Bengal Tenancy Act will turn out to be a very considerable improvement upon the existing state of things, a state of things which successive Governments. 1885.] THE BENGAL TENANCY BILL. 39 Commissions, and other authorities have agreed in pronouncing intolerable. Sir Steuart Bayley added a few words in addition to what had fallen from His Excellency the Viceroy, and confined himself more particularly to the subject of the objection made in the memorial to the proposed survey and record of rights in Bengal. Sir Steuart Bayley pointed out that this survey and record of rights, when made, would operate beneficially, both in the interests of the raiyat and of the zaminddr, and that he could not see what objection there could be to it. At the sitting of the Legislative Council on Wednesday, the llth March, after the last of the amendments before the Council had been disposed of, Sir Steuart Bayley moved that the Bill be passed. The members who spoke on the motion were the Mahdraja of Darbhunga, Mr. Evans, Babu Peari Mohun Mukerji, Mr. Mandlik, Messrs. Keynolds, Hunter, Amir Ali, Gibbon, and the Lieutenant-Governor. Sir Steuart Bayley having replied at some length to the various objections raised against the Bill, His Excellency the Viceroy addressed the Council as follows : It is perhaps as well that I should say a few words before putting the motion. Sir Steuart Bayley, in his admirable speech, has explained so fully the views of the Government of India, and has anticipated so many of the points upon which I had felt inclined to touch, that there is but little for me to add. At the same time it is but fair to my colleagues that I should take this opportunity of saying how glad I have been to associate myself with them in the passing of this measure. It is true I have only come in time to take part in its recent stages, but I should be very unwilling on that account to withdraw in any degree from the full responsibility which rightly attaches to the head of the Government of India for any Act passed by this Legislative Council. Moreover, it must be remembered that before reaching Calcutta I was perfectly familiar with almost all the issues raised in this Bill. Similar discussions took place in reference to Act X. of 1859 when I was Under- Secretary of State for India, and other circum- stances have for some years past called my special attention to questions connected with land legislation. It was urged at that time that Act X. of 1859 was an infringement of the Permanent Settlement; but I was convinced then, as I am 40 SPEECHES. [1885. convinced now, and as the British and Indian Governments of that day and of this were and are convinced, that the " per- manency " of Lord Cornwallis' Settlement applied to the pledge given by His Excellency never to demand from the zamindars an increase of the assessment which at that date was imposed upon them, but that, so far from any quality of permanency having been then officially impressed upon the relations subsisting between the zamindars and their raiyats, the Indian Administration of the day and the East India Company reserved to themselves in the most explicit and express manner the right of interfering in the interests and for the protection of the raiyats whenever circumstances might require them to do so. But I have no hesitation in adding, that even if no such reservation had been made by Lord Cornwallis and his colleagues, there would have remained an inherent and indefeasible right in the Government of India to enter upon legislation such as that we have undertaken as a matter of public policy, and in the interests of the community at large. I do not presume, however, to say that, in spite of my conscientious endeavours to master all the intricacies of the Bill, I have felt myself in a position to pass an authori- tative opinion upon all the subordinate points which are involved in it. A great number of those points are of a technical character, and can only be properly decided by those who have a practical acquaintance with the agricultural conditions of the country. Again, there are some parts of the Bill to which I have assented with a fuller and more satis- factory conviction than to others, while there are some with regard to which I have subordinated my indefinite impressions to the opinions and authority of those who were more competent than myself to come to a decision upon them. It was impossible that this should have been otherwise, but taking the measure as a whole, I have no hesitation in saying, both with respect to its principle, its general features, and its chief details, that the Bill as it stands has my hearty and sincere support. I believe with Mr. Reynolds that it is a translation and reproduction in the language of the day of the spirit and essence of Lord Cornwallis' Settlement ; that it is 1885.] THE PERMANENT SETTLEMENT. 41 in harmony with his intentions ; that it carries out his ideas ; that it is calculated to ensure the results he aimed at ; and that it is conceived in the same beneficent and generous spirit which actuated the original framers of the Regulations of 1793. Lord Cornwallis desired to relieve the zamindars from the worry and ruin occasioned by the capricious and frequent enhancements exacted from them by former Governments ; and it is evident from his language that he expected they would show the same consideration to their raiyats. I am happy to think that all of us assembled here to-day, no matter what our individual opinions upon various points of this measure may be, are actuated by the same honest and con- scientious desire to do justice to each of the interests concerned, and to regulate their relations in such a manner as to secure the rights of the one and to respect those of the other. Nor is there one of us who would not have been ready to have submitted to any amount of additional labour or inconvenience had there been any hope that by further discussion we could have arrived at a more satisfactory con- clusion than that which we have reached. These few observations are all that it is necessary for me to make on the Bill generally ; but there is one accusation which has been brought against the Government of India and against its responsible head, so extraordinary and unfounded that it is right I should vindicate both myself and my col- leagues in the matter. In consequence of a telegram which has been sent to England for the purpose of being used in Parliament, a statement is about to be made that the Viceroy of India has rushed this Bill with indecent haste through the Legislative Council, in order that he might hurry off to Simla. That statement ought never to have been made. So far from any haste or desire for haste having attended the passing of this measure, I would venture to remind the Council that, independent of the long consideration it has received since it was introduced in 1882 I may say ever since the letter of the Government of India was written in March, 1881 the most ample opportunity has been given to those interested on either side of stating their objections, and 42 SPEECHES. [1885. of bringing to the notice of the Legislature any alterations they might have to suggest. After lengthy debates in Council upon its first introduction, it was referred to a Select Committee. There were sixty-four meetings of that Select Committee, each meeting lasting nearly four hours periods which, if added together, would amount to nineteen or twenty days of twelve hours each. At these discussions the repre- sentatives of the zamindars had the most ample opportunities given them of pressing their views upon their colleagues, and so far from their representations having failed to produce any effect, so far from the observations of an honourable Member being true that amendments proceeding from the zamindars' representatives always failed to meet with due consideration at the hands of the Committee, even since I myself have been in the country, that is to say, within the last two or three months, amendments of the most important kind, amendments which the zamindars represented as being vital to their interests, have been incorporated with the Bill. Amongst these amendments I may mention the elimination of the word " estate," which gave to the clause in which it was found an operation so wide as to be very disadvantageous to the interests of the zamindars. The right of transfer, which was found in the original Bill, was also removed at the instance of the zamindar party. It was agreed for the same reason that no limit should be placed upon the initial rent to be demanded from the non-occupancy-raiyat, that is to say, that there should be no interference with freedom of contract in respect of rent between the zamindar and his ordinary tenant, for it will be observed that the Bill has been careful to discriminate between the ancient customary and acknowledged rights of occupancy and its attendant incidents, universally acknowledged to be inherent in the resident raiyat, and the unprivileged status of the non-occupancy raiyat. Again, it Mas proposed in the original draft of the Bill to introduce a universal limit to rent, represented by one-fifth of the value of the gross produce. That limitation has been abolished. In the original Bill fractional limitations were imposed upon enhancements in Court. These fractional limitations have 1885.] ZAMINDARS AND BAIYATS. 43 disappeared. There was also a clause which nullified all contracts which had been entered into between the zamindars and their raiyats during the last twenty years. That clause was recognised as unjust, and has been excised. There was another chapter giving to the non-occupancy tenant compen- sation for disturbance on eviction. It was pleaded by the representatives of the zammdars that the introduction of a novel principle of the kind would work a great deal of in- justice, and it was therefore dropped. In the chapter relating to agreements for enhancements out of Court, the representa- tions of the zamindars have been taken into account, as far as circumstances permitted, and a subsidiary clause has been introduced with the object of redressing the hardships entailed by the hard-and-fast application of the twelve per cent. rule. Liberal reclamation clauses were also introduced in the interests of the zamindars, and no later than this morning a most important amendment, moved by the honourable Mr. Hunter, was unanimously accepted by the Council in their anxiety to encourage the zamindars to improve their properties and to relieve them of all unnecessary restrictions in dealing with any tracts of land they might themselves bring under cultivation. I do not say that, in agreeing to these modi- fications, we were actuated by any other motive than a desire to do equal justice between the two parties. We did not adopt these alterations in order to conciliate the zamindars or by way of offering a compromise. That would not have been consistent with our duty to the raiyats, nor is it within the province of the Government of India to enter into compromises. The Government of India distributes justice, and that is what we have endeavoured to do in the Bill. We agreed to these concessions, because we thought the demand for them was just, but I have mentioned the circumstance, in order to rebut the assertion that the amendments introduced in the interests of the zamindars and by their representatives have been uniformly rejected or disparaged. I fear that the enumeration I have made of these modifications which have told so largely in favour of the zamindars, will have renewed the pang felt by those of my honourable colleagues who were opposed to their 44 SPEECHES. [1885. being made, and who, so far from admitting that the zammdars have been hardly dealt with, contend, on the contrary, that this Bill still falls short in giving adequate protection to the raiyat. At all events, if there is one thing more obvious than another, it is this, that the Government of India has had to exercise a very severe watch over its conscience in order to discriminate with justice and impartiality between the elaborate arguments advanced on either hand by the eloquent representatives of the zamindar and raiyat seated at this Council Board. We have been told that we have undertaken a great responsibility in promoting a measure of this descrip- tion. I should be the last person to deny the truth of the assertion. The measure is a momentous one, affecting vast interests, and calculated to produce far-reaching consequences ; but I maintain that a far graver responsibility would have weighed upon those who, if their opposition had succeeded, would have stood between the occupancy-raiyat and those rights which every one acknowledges to be his, and which every one is equally aware but for this legislation he would have been in the greatest danger of losing. The motion was then put and carried, and the Bill was passed. The only members who voted against the Bill were the Maharaja of Darbhunga and Babu Peari Mohan Mukerji. The Legislative Council re-assembled on Friday, the 13th of March, for the despatch of ordinary business, when the Viceroy took the opportunity of making a further statement with regard to the Bengal Tenancy Bill. His Excellency spoke as follows : I have to apologise to my colleagues for having called them back in Council, but the recent adjournment was an accident. I was detained in my room unexpectedly, and requested Mr. Gibbs to take the chair, but the business before the Council was transacted so rapidly, that when I came to take my place the Council had adjourned. I regretted the circumstance, more especially as I was anxious to have had an opportunity to thank honourable members for the cordial and effective assistance they have been good enough to give me during the 1885.] BENGAL TENANCY ACT. 45 conduct of the legislative business of the session, but I was also anxious to make a few observations. At the last meeting of Council, it was my unpleasant duty to allude to a most unfounded statement forwarded from this country, to the effect that the Bengal Tenancy Act had been rushed through the Legislative Council with indecent haste in order that the members of the Indian Executive and the Viceroy might hurry off to Simla. This misstatement has been repeated in Parliament, and it has now been supplemented by another assertion equally devoid of truth, namely, that the Bill had been forced through the Council over the heads of its opponents by the dead weight of an official majority. It is sufficient to observe, in reply, that so far from the official majority having attempted to coerce the independent section of the Council, only two dissentient voices have been raised against the Bill. Consequently it has been passed at the instance, and with the all but unanimous consent, of our entire body, of that body which the wisdom of Parliament has associated with the Viceroy for the purpose of making laws for India. On a previous occasion I have mentioned the extraordinary length of time devoted to the most minute examination of this Bill, and to the unprecedented number of sittings 64 I think of the large Committee of eleven members, of whom only two, I may mention, were members of the Government of India. We ourselves have consumed seven days of six or seven hours each in its further consideration, and when eventu- ally we came to a final vote, there was not a single member who dreamt of suggesting that it had not in every particular been subjected to a most minute and exhaustive discussion. Had it been otherwise, I need not say that there is no one amongst us who would not have been ready and glad to have sat on for another six months, if by so doing there had been any prospect of arriving at a different conclusion from that which had been reached, or the slightest chance of the opinion of members being modified by further debate. I have gone at length into this subject for a specific pur- pose, naiiu-ly, in order to show what embarrassments must be 46 SPEECHES. [1885. occasioned to the Indian Executive, and what mischief must arise from members of the British Legislature bringing forward motions in Parliament founded upon no better authority than the inaccurate statements forwarded for party purposes by the agents of particular interests in this country. The Bill upon which this discussion has arisen may be a good Bill or a bad Bill; that has nothing to do with the subject: but at all events this is manifest, and cannot be gainsaid, that every clause, and, I may add, every word in every clause, has received a most minute, patient, and conscientious examination at the hands of this legislative body, and that the idea of its having been passed with haste, or forced through the Council by the dead weight of the official members of the Government of India, is in contradiction with the facts of the case. Having thus vindicated the honourable and the upright intentions of this Council ; having placed upon record, and in a permanent manner, the real facts of the case, I do not propose hereafter to take further notice of any similar misrepresentations, either in respect of this or any other cognate matter. The Council was then adjourned sine die. FINE ARTS EXHIBITION AT SIMLA. The Fine Arts Exhibition at Simla was opened by the Viceroy on Friday afternoon, the 18th September, in the presence of a large assembly. The proceedings were commenced by a speech by Mr. W. W. Hunter, who, on behalf of the society, welcomed His Excellency. The following is an extract from the speech made by Lord Dufferin in declaring the Exhibition open : But passing from the immediate scene before me, and taking a somewhat wider view of the subject to which our attention has been directed by to-day's celebration, I cannot help ex- pressing my surprise that there should not exist in India a more favourable field for the exertions of the professional artist than there appears to be. In many of its social aspects the India of to-day resembles the Italy of the 15th century. There, as here, there existed a great number of sumptuous 1885.] ART IN INDIA. 47 Courts, ruled over by Princes of wealth, education, and refine- ment. There, as here, there were rich and splendid nobles, landed proprietors, merchants, and traders. There, as here, there were numerous nascent municipalities, entrusted with the charge of great works of civic utility. There, as here, there rose on every side the most exquisite examples of the artistic genius of an older civilization : while there, as here, the characteristics of the climate and other corresponding circumstances endowed the magnates of the land with oppor- tunities of leisure and inducements to the cultivation of Art unknown to less favoured regions and to busier and more prosaic ages. Why, then, should not here, as there, the leading classes of the country create for Art among themselves such a home and second birthplace as was given to it in Italy by the Leos, the Medicis, the Colonnas, the Dorias, and the Strozzis of the days of the Eenaissance ? In doing so, they would engage in an enterprise as patriotic as it would be agreeable ; for if there is one need more evident than another in the present stage of our social evolution, it is that of discovering for the generations who are being so rapidly educated at our schools, colleges, and universities, fresh channels in which they can exercise the new intellectual powers with which they have been endowed, and multiplied opportunities of following such honourable and remunerative professions as shall provide their industry and ability with appropriate rewards and merited distinction. At present the native youth of India seem but to have three outlets for the exercise of their faculties official employment, the Bar, and the Press. But it is very evident that at the rate at which our educated thousands are being manufactured, each of these three walks of life will soon become overcrowded. If, however, a real and genuine love of Art were widely diffused amongst our wealthier Indian fellow- subjects, a highly honourable, lucrative, and useful career would be opened to hundreds and hundreds of our aspiring young men, whether as painters, engravers, sculptors, architects, designers, illuminators, enamellers, or otherwise; while, what is even more important, a corresponding stimulus would be communicated to those manufacturing industries which are 48 SPEECHES. [1885. peculiarly suited to the genius of the people. However, this is too large a subject to be touched upon on so chance an occasion as the present, and I almost feel that I owe you an apology for having done so. It only remains for me to con- gratulate you heartily upon the number and diversity of the works of Art which have been gathered together this year at Simla as well as upon the wide geographical area which is represented. SIR DONALD STEWART. On the evening of Tuesday, 13th October, 1885, the Viceroy and Lady Dufferin entertained Sir Donald and Lady Stewart at dinner at the Viceregal Lodge, Simla, previous to their departure from India. There was a large number of guests present; and after dinner His Excellency proposed the Commander-in-Chief 's health in the following terms : LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I am about to do a thing which may not perhaps be altogether pleasing to the person in this room whose feelings and wishes I should of all things have been most anxious to consult ; for, in the whole range of my acquaintance, I know no one who would be probably less gratified in having his services referred to in his own presence than Sir Donald Stewart; and yet it is the health of that distinguished officer I am about to propose to you. (Cheers.) Unfortunately the Viceroy of India is seldom able to consult the inclination of his friends ; and I should have justly exposed myself to criticism, and have caused great disappointment to every soldier nay, to every servant of the British Crown in this country had I allowed our illustrious Commander-in- Chief to quit the shores of India without attempting, in how- ever imperfect a manner, to make him feel with what infinite regret we shall watch his departure, and with how tender and affectionate a regard we shall ever cherish the memory of his presence amongst us. It is just forty-five years since Sir Donald Stewart joined the army of India ; and in the military annals of this country it would be difficult to point to a career more deeply impressed with all those characteristics which 1885.] STU DONALD STEWART. 49 ensure the success and adorn the renown of a great commander. Abnegation of self, simplicity of purpose, devotion to duty, freedom from all taint of jealousy or personal ambition, pro- fessional industry, combined with those natural gifts and talents which are native to the genius of every born soldier, have unassisted by any adventitious advantages of favour or patronage raised Sir Donald Stewart to his present enviable and eminent position ; have earned him the unbounded confi- dence and gratitude of his Sovereign ; and have rendered his name at this moment more honoured and respected than that of any other man in India. (Cheers.) It is not necessary that I should enumerate to those around me my guest's especial services. In recording the annals of the last half century, the hand of History herself will emblazon in imperishable characters his successive achievements, and mark the stages of his ever- widen ing reputation ; for scarcely any considerable operation of war has taken place within living memory in which he did not play a distinguished part, whether while engaged, in early days, with the wild hill tribes upon our frontier ; or, at the outbreak of the mutiny, when his calmness, enterprise, and courage will never be forgotten by those who were eye-witnesses of his conduct ; or during the siege and storming of Delhi ; or at the capture of Lucknow ; or subse- quently while heading the Indian contingent under Lord Napier of Magdala in Abyssinia ; or later still when, after winning a decisive battle, he took possession of the enemy's capital, and by the wisdom of his policy, his moderation and humanity, and above all, by the energetic and effective manner in which he sped his distinguished lieutenant, Sir Frederick Roberts, on his successful march to Candahar, he crowned his career in the field in a manner so noble and generous as to send a thrill of loving admiration through the hearts of all his countrymen. (Great cheering.) But my task would be unfulfilled if, in thus imperfectly glancing at Sir Donald Stewart's achievements as a soldier, I did not also allude to the equally valuable services he has rendered at the Council Board (hear, hear) : and here, -Ladies and Gentlemen, I am able to speak from my own experience, E 50 SPEECHES. [1885. and with all the force of grateful and earnest conviction which a ruler must ever feel when, in troublous times and in the presence of great anxieties and responsibilities, he finds at his side a colleague in whose sagacity, calmness, experience, and loyalty he can place implicit confidence. And in saying this much, I feel that I am speaking, not only in my own name, but on behalf of every other member of the Indian Govern- ment. One and all of us are deeply sensible that we are sustaining an irreparable loss in the departure from amongst us of so kind, so courteous, and so straightforward a coadjutor, who possesses the art of urging his opinions with as much engaging suavity as lucidity and force. (Cheers.) On behalf, then, of all your colleagues ; in the name of the Army you command and I will add of both the Civil and Military Services of India as the representative of your Sovereign and of her Government ; as the spokesman of the Natives of India, from amongst whom the major part of the gallant battalions you led to victory were recruited, I now bid you farewell. And from the bottom of my heart I trust that you will long live to enjoy your well-merited honours, and to assist with your fresh experience and ripe wisdom the counsels of the Indian Administration in England. (Long and repeated applause.) I need not say that, in losing you now, it is a great consolation to me, and to all of us who are responsible for the proper conduct of Indian affairs, that your connection with the Government of India is still to remain unbroken. Arriving in England at a time when external circumstances have necessitated the recon- sideration of many difficult military and political problems, your presence among the official advisers of the Secretary of State cannot fail to prove of the greatest service and utility ; and glad am I to think that, while the memory of your noble example and great deeds will be stimulating every one of us out here from the junior ensign in the army to the highest officials in the land to emulate your patriotic devotion to the service of your Queen and country, you yourself will be pursuing at home, I trust with unabated strength, vigour and success, that splendid and blameless career which, to the deep 1885.] THE DUFFERIN HOSPITAL. 51 and unspeakable regret of your comrades, friends, admirers, and fellow-subjects, is so soon to reach its destined close in India. (Loud and continued cheering.) LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE OF THE NEW GENERAL HOSPITAL, DELHI. On the morning of the 2nd November, 1885, the Viceroy, who was accom- panied by Lady Dufferin, laid the foundation stone of the new General Hospital at Delhi. Mr. Smyth, the Deputy Commissioner, read an address, in which the prominent position the city of Delhi had always occupied in the world of medical science was touched upon and the history of the hospital briefly related. In asking His Excellency to perform the opening ceremony, Mr. Smyth explained that it was the unanimous desire of the Native gentlemen, who were the largest subscribers to the fund for the new building, that the hospital should, with His Excellency's consent, be called " The Dufierin Hospital " instead of " The Delhi Hospital," as was originally con- templated. This decision to rename the hospital was come to only on the previous evening and after the leading members of the Native community had met and been personally introduced to His Excellency at the conversazione which was held at the Town Hall. The Viceroy in declaring the hospital to be open spoke as follows : GENTLEMEN, I can assure you it gives me the very greatest pleasure to have had an opportunity of participating in the ceremonial of to-day. I am always glad to evince by every means in my power my deep sympathy with all enter- prises which are conducive to improving the sanitary condition of the people of India, the prevention and cure of disease, and the mitigation of human suffering ; and I am especially touched by your kind thought in suggesting that my name should be connected with so noble an institution as that whose foundations I am about to lay. I am glad to see that you have referred in becoming terms to the well-known excellence of the local Native physicians of this place in former days ; nor should it ever be forgotten how great is the debt of gratitude which the Science of Europe, and especially the Science of Medicine, owes to the East. It was Arabic literature that preserved intact the fruit of the world's earlier E 2 52 SPEECHES. [1885. experience and research during those dark ages which almost submerged and obliterated for a time the intellectual achieve- ment of the classic nations. But the centre of gravity of all human excellence, whether in the fields of art or of science, is perpetually shifting. Yesterday it was here, to-day it is in Europe, to-morrow it may move still further west ; but, wherever it may be, thanks to the rapidity of modern com- munication, its results are soon universally disseminated and become the property of all. The past history of India is a sufficient guarantee that the seed we are now sowing will fall in fertile soil, and will be certain, I trust, to bear the most beneficent fruits. That this Hospital may not only become a source of relief to thousands, but also a successful witness to the true principles of medical science, is my earnest hope; and most heartily do I congratulate its founders and pro- moters upon the successful issue of their labours and this day's auspicious inauguration. OPENING THE MAYO COLLEGE AT AJMIR. On the afternoon of the 7th November, 1885, the Viceroy opened the Mayo College at Ajmir and Lady Dufferin distributed the prizes to the assembled students. The immense hall of the College was crowded with Europeans and Natives, who gave Their Excellencies, on their arrival, a most enthusiastic reception. Amongst those present were Sir Charles Aitchison, Sir Oliver St. John, Sir Edward Bradford, and a number of political officers, the Maharajas of Ulwar and Kishenghar, and several other native chiefs. The Viceroy, who was accompanied by Lady Dufferin, Lady Helen Blackwood, and Miss Thynne, was received by Sir Edward Bradford and Major W. Loch, Principal of the College. On Their Excellencies taking their seats, Major Loch read an interesting account of the origin and growth of the College, the facts of which, briefly, were that, in 1870, at a durbar held within a few yards of the present building, Lord Mayo proposed to the Rajputana Chiefs then assembled a project he had much at heart, namely, the establishment of a college to be devoted exclusively to the education of the sous of the Chiefs, Princes, and leading members of the aristocracy of Rajputana. After Lord Mayo's death, Sir Charles Aitchison, then Foreign Secretary, proceeded to give effect to Lord Mayo's wishes, and nearly six-and-a-half lakhs of rupees were eventually subscribed towards the College by the Rajputana Chiefs. The scheme had been completed by the addition of boarding-houses for the 1885.] THE MAYO COLLEGE. 53 students from the various states, as well as ornamental grounds. The foundation stone was laid in July 1877 by Sir Alfred Lyall, then agent to the Governor-General in Kajputana, and the building, which was designed by the late Major Mant, was virtually completed in June 1883. The style of the building is Hindu-Saracenic, which was selected by Lord Northbrook as the most suitable to adopt in a part of the country where the palaces and finest buildings bear witness to its popularity. The entire cost of the building was over three-and-a-half lakhs of rupees. The attendance had been steadily increasing up to the present, and there were now seventy-nine young Chiefs on the rolls of the institution. In concluding his statement, Major Loch asked the Viceroy to declare the College open, and called upon the Chiefs and Sirdars for whose benefit the building had been erected, to remember the precepts and example of the great statesman whose name the College bore. The Viceroy then rose to reply to Major Loch's address and was very heartily cheered, while in the course of his speech he was frequently inter- rupted by bursts of enthusiastic applause. His Excellency spoke as follows : LADIES, PRINCES, CHIEFS, AND GENTLEMEN, It is almost superfluous for me to tell you that I experience exceptional satisfaction in taking part in this day's celebration. The late Lord Mayo was a personal friend of my own, and I am naturally glad to have the opportunity of showing my interest in the prosperity of an institution which bears his name, and to join with you in paying a well-merited tribute to his memory. But, however grateful such an act might be to my private feelings, it is in my public capacity and as the representative of Her Majesty and the British Government that I desire more especially to mark my admiration of the intention and ideas with which Lord Mayo was inspired when he founded this College, to emphasize my approval of the special objects for which it was designed, and to assure you of my earnest desire to extend the sphere of its usefulness. And in doing this I feel that it is not to the statesmanlike views of Lord Mayo alone that I am according the acknow- ledgments which are their due, but that I am also conveying, in as marked a way as circumstances permit, my appreciation of the public-spirited manner in which the Princes, and leading Chiefs and inhabitants of Bajputana have associated them- selves with his noble work. Though the idea of such a foun- dation originated with Lord Mayo, it is to the generosity and 54 SPEECHES. [1885. wise liberality of the Kajput Eajas and aristocracy that the realisation of the project is due, and most heartily do I con- gratulate them on the effective manner in which they have been able to give effect to the intention of their late lamented Viceroy. (Cheers.) And now, turning for a moment to those for whose benefit so many have laboured and so much has been done, I would wish to address to them a few words of earnest and friendly advice. In the first place, I would remind them that, whether as the scions of ancient houses, as the heads of historical families, as destined to fill public positions of importance in Eajputana, or as the future Chiefs of independent States, there has already fallen upon their young lives the shadow of heavier responsibilities and stricter duties, as well as the sunshine of loftier aspirations and wider possibilities, than any which encompass the existence of the bulk of their country- men. The happiness of thousands, the tranquillity of vast territories, and the general prosperity of the Empire at large, may be advanced or retarded in a sensible manner in pro- portion to the degree to which they may take advantage of the opportunities of self-improvement afforded them within these walls. For this reason it is exceptionally incumbent upon you, my young friends, to cultivate certain special qualities, and to avoid certain special dangers. Inasmuch as Providence has placed you in a position of considerable social dignity, has relieved you from the pressure of sordid cares and the anxieties incident to straitened circumstances, it should become a matter of pride and conscience with you to clothe yourselves with those manly virtues and characteristics which in all ages have been recognised as the proper adornment of the well-born, such as self-restraint, fortitude, patience, the love of truth and of justice, modesty, purity, consideration for others, a ready sympathy for the weak, the suffering, and the oppressed, and, above all, with that noble courtesy which does not merely consist in grace of manner and a veneer of conventional politeness, but which is the outcome of an innate simplicity and generosity of spirit which instinctively shrinks with scorn and disgust from anything approaching to egotistical vanity 1885.] THE CHIEFS OF RAJPUTANA. 55 and vulgar self-assertion. On the other hand, you should be equally watchful against those temptations to which wealth, with its opportunities of self-indulgence, in all ages and all countries, has been peculiarly exposed, such as sloth, idleness, sensuality, effeminacy of mind and body, and all those baser influences which render a man a burden to himself, a disgrace to his family, and a curse to his country. And in saying this I would warn you that we are living in a shifting world, in a world in which those very privileges and advantages upon which you have been led I do not at all say illegitimately to pride yourselves, are being continually exposed to the criticisms of public opinion and the ordeal of intellectual competition. If, then, Rajputana is to maintain her historical position as one of the leading provinces of Hindustan, and the ancient home of all that was high-bred, chivalrous, and heroic, it is absolutely necessary that the sons and representatives of its famous houses should endeavour to retain as leaders of the people in the arts of peace, and as their exemplars in the van of civilisation, that pre-eminence and renown which their fore- fathers won, fighting sword in hand at the head of their clans on many a field of battle. (Cheers.) And, believe me, such peaceful triumphs, promoting, as they do, the well-being of multitudes of our fellow-creatures, are far more worthy of your ambition than any which were gained in those miserable days when scarcely a twelvemonth passed without the fair fields of India being watered with the blood of thousands of her children. But, passing from these general topics, I would have wished to have made a few specific recommendations in regard to matters of detail. Having, however, already detained you longer than I intended, I will confine myself to a single point which has been already frequently referred to on similar occasions, namely, the great desirability of your becoming thorough masters of the English language. In doing so, I will not particularly insist upon the obvious advantage of your acquaintance with a tongue so rich and varied in its literature, and through which you can make yourselves acquainted at first hand with the ideas of some of the greatest men that have 56 SPEECHES. [1885. ever lived, as well as with the latest results of modern philo- sophic thought and scientific research. I would rather remind you of the practical benefits which the due prosecution of your studies in this direction will confer upon you. English is the official language of the Supreme Government under which you live, and of the books which deal with the public affairs, the domestic administration, and the general interests of your country, and it will be of continual use indeed, I may say of absolute necessity to you in the positions which you may be called upon to fill. The keen-witted inhabitants of many other parts of India have fully appreciated this fact, and all their energies have consequently been devoted to the acquisi- tion of English. As a consequence, many of them both speak and write it with an eloquence and fluency beyond all praise. Now, I trust that those I am addressing have sufficient self- respect and take a sufficient pride in their province not to wish it to fall behind the other component parts of the Empire in this particular ; and therefore, again I say, let it be one of the principal objects of your ambition while within these walls to acquire the English language. (Cheers.) Already in the Councils of Providence the edict has gone forth that English should be the language chiefly prevalent upon God's earth. Within another hundred years it has been calculated that the English-speaking races of the world will number upwards of a thousand millions. Under such circumstances, it would indeed be a disgrace if any of Her Majesty's subjects in India with any pretensions to belong to the educated classes should remain ignorant of it. (Cheers.) And now, Ladies, Princes, Chiefs, and Gentlemen, it only remains for me to congratulate those present and especially those who, like my honoured friend Sir Charles Aitchison, and your first Principal,* happily present upon this occasion, were the first promoters of this great and noble institution on the practical success it has attained, and on the favourable future extending before it. Already it has turned out pupils possessed of those characteristics which we in England most highly value ; nor need I go further in illustration of this fact * Sir Oliver St. John. 1885.] CESSION OF OWALIOR FORTRESS. 57 than to point to the first and as yet the only Kajput Prince whose State I have yet visited, and with whom I have had the pleasure of a few days' personal intercourse, the Raja of Ulwar (cheers) an honoured pupil of the Mayo College, who has more than kept the promise of his youth by the intelligence of his government, and by the personal industry which ho brings to the management of his affairs. He is administering his State in a way to conduce to the prosperity and contentment of his people, his own reputation, and the honour and welfare of the Supreme Government. (Cheers.) If only the Mayo College will continue to turn out such rulers, we may well envy the illustrious Viceroy to whose wisdom we are indebted for its establishment, and whose honoured memory it is destined, I trust, to preserve in the land for many and many a generation. (Loud and continued applause.) RESTORATION OF THE FORTRESS OF GWALIOR. On 1st December, 1885, the Viceroy and Lady Dufferin, accompanied by Sir Frederick Roberts (the recently-appointed Commander-iu-Chief in India), with their personal staffs, left Agra by special train for Gwalior, which was reached in the afternoon. On the following morning the Viceroy, with Sir Frederick Roberts, visited the Fortress, and in the afternoon His Excellency held a special durbar for the purpose of formally announcing to Maharaja Scindia the restoration to him of the Fortress of Gwalior, with the neighbour- ing cantonment of Morar. Tlie scene was one of unusual magnificence. Over one hundred and fifty of Scindia's Sirdars attended, and were seated according to their rank in the durbar, while in another portion of the hall were assembled Sir Frederick Roberts and his staff, the General commanding the division and his staff, and a brilliant company of civil and military officers. Lady Dufferin and a number of ladies were also present. The Viceroy entering the Durbar Hall in procession with his staff, was received by the Maharaja and Sir Lepel Griffin at the entrance, and conducted to a chair of state on the dais. The Maharaja was stated on His Excellency's right and Sir Lepel Griffin on his left. After a short interval the Viceroy rose and addressed Maharaja Scindia as follows : YOUR HIGHNESS, I have invited you to meet me here to- day, in order that I might formally communicate to you the intelligence that Her Majesty the Queen-Empress of India has 58 SPEECHES, [1885. resolved to bestow upon you a signal mark of her confidence and favour. Twenty-eight years ago India was shaken by a great con- vulsion ; and, in common with many other Native Princes, Your Highness found yourself involved in the gravest diffi- culties and dangers. These eventually culminated in the overthrow of your authority by a misguided soldiery, which had risen in revolt alike against Your Highness and against the British Govern- ment. The rebels were speedily defeated and dispersed by Her Majesty's troops ; but in the interests of peace and order, it was thought desirable that the Fortress of Gwalior and the neighbouring Cantonment of Morar should be temporarily garrisoned and held by a British force. This arrangement has been maintained up to the present day. Time, however, with its healing hand, education with her divine light, and the irresistible and subtle influences of civilization, have in the meanwhile been making great changes around us. Order and tranquillity have succeeded to disturbance and unrest. Convinced both of the power and of the intention of the British Government to protect the weak, to control the unruly, and to reward the well-disposed, the inhabitants of the Native States of India, with few exceptions, have for many years past been following the path of progress in peace and contentment, while their rulers have long since recognised the benefits accruing to them from the predominance of a government which unfeignedly desires the perpetuation of their dynasties and the maintenance of their rights, demanding only in return that they should be loyal to their Empress, and should ad- minister their important governments in such a way as to promote the happiness of their subjects, for whose welfare the paramount Power is ultimately responsible. One of the results of this change has been that some of the precautions which were at one time necessary both for the protection of the Princes themselves and for the maintenance of the imperial authority, have become superfluous. For these reasons, and because the Ruler of this State, as is well known to all present, holds an exalted place among the 1885.] LOYALTY OF PRINCES AND PEOPLE. 59 loyal and capable feudatories of the Crowu, Her Majesty the Queen-Empress has determined to restore to Your Highness's possession and keeping the noble Fortress which towers above the capital of your State. In accepting this important trust, Your Highness need have no apprehension that the support which you have hitherto received from the British Government will be in any way diminished. In consequence of the extension of railways and the changes which have taken place in the military require- ments of the situation, we can act as effectively from a distance as from the positions we now occupy; and Your Highness may rest assured that if ever the necessity should arise, the British Government will fulfil with promptitude and energy the obligations imposed upon it by existing engagements. Her Majesty the Queen-Empress well knows that in restoring to Your Highness the Fortress of Gwalior, she is gratifying one of the most ardent wishes of your heart, and I may add that it is a personal pleasure to myself to be the instrument of conveying to Your Highness this fresh proof of Her Majesty's favour. At the same time the Queen- Empress hopes that this act will be regarded throughout India, not merely as a per- sonal favour bestowed upon the individual Chief to whom it has been accorded, but as an indication that Her Majesty and the English nation have not failed to appreciate the universal loyalty to the imperial rule, and to the throne and person of Her Majesty, which has recently been displayed in so striking a manner by the Princes, the Native States, and the people of India. Mr. Durand, the Foreign Secretary, then read a translation of His Excellency's speech in the vernacular ; and after a brief pause the Maharaja replied in a short speech, which was rendered into English by Sir Lepel Griffin as follows : " In the first place I desire to express to Your Excellency my thanks for the honour you have done me in visiting my capital, and in the second place, my gratitude for your having fulfilled the deepest wish of my heart in restoring to me the Fortress of my ancestors. So long as I live I shall never forget the kindness and honour that have been bestowed upon me by former Viceroys, your predecessors, and especially by Your Excellency. I trust that you will always consider me among your sincere friends and well-wishers, and that I 60 SPEECHES. [1885. may be counted among those who are most warmly attached to the service of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen-Empress." The proceedings then came to a close, and the Viceroy, taking leave of Maharaja Scindia, left the hall in procession as he had entered it. In the evening the Maharaja entertained the Viceroy and a large number of guests at a banquet in the palace. Towards the close of dinner the Maharaja entered and was seated close to the Viceroy. Sir Lepel Griffin, on behalf of the Maharaja, having proposed the health of the Queen-Empress, and of Lord and Lady Dufferin, the Viceroy spoke as follows : LADIES A:ND GENTLEMEN, In rising to acknowledge on behalf of the Queen-Empress the courteous terms in which the Maharaja has been good enough to propose her health, I am anxious to take the opportunity of offering him my sin- cerest congratulations on this morning's proceedings. When I received him in durbar, I was speaking as Viceroy and in the name of the Government of India. My language was of necessity formal and restrained. Now, however, that I am addressing him as a personal friend and as a guest under his roof, I may indulge in a more familiar strain. I may tell him what intense personal satisfaction I have derived at being the fortunate instrument through which the natural and legitimate desires of his heart have been gratified. In restoring to his keeping the noble Fortress of his ancestors, which, with its historical monuments, its picturesque characteristics, and its commanding position, the greatest monarch might be proud to possess, I well know that it is to one of the most loyal feudatories of Her Majesty, to one of the best friends of the Government of India, to a fine soldier, and to a brave and honourable prince, that this great trust has been confided. (Cheers.) And, furthermore, let me assure him that the gift thus conferred upon him by his Sovereign is conveyed freely, ungrudgingly, and untainted by any misgivings or regrets. Long, I trust, may His Highness live to look forth from its coronet of towers over the noble expanse of territory at the feet of his Fortress of Gwalior, and for many and many a generation hereafter may his descendants refer with gratitude and reverence to the name of their distinguished ancestor through whose merits and good fortune so bright a jewel of 1885.] THE MAHARAJA SCINDIA. 61 the State was restored to the family. And in saying this, I feel that indirectly I am addressing the Princes of India at large, and that the especial honour which peculiar circum- stances have enabled the Queen-Empress to confer upon one of their most illustrious representatives, is in a certain sense shared by them all, as no more striking proof could be given to the world of the deep trust reposed in their loyalty as a class by their Sovereign and the British nation. At all events, it is in this light that Her Majesty and her Government hope that the matter may be regarded. (Cheers.) And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, before I sit down, I will ask you to drink the Maharaja's health. The major part of this company is composed of the officers and of the inhabitants of the neighbouring cantonment of Morar. I know that I am expressing the feelings of those gentlemen and of all connected with them, when I say that it is with extreme regret they have learned that the arrangements following upon the cession of the Fort of Gwalior will remove them from the vicinity of the munificent Prince and considerate host and neighbour, within whose territories they have enjoyed such a pleasant sojourn, and of whose personal kindnesses they have had so many proofs. (Loud cheers.) ADDRESS FROM THE MUNICIPALITY OF LUCKNOW. The Viceroy arrived at Lucknow at 9 A.M. on the 4th December, 1885. At the railway station His Excellency was met by a deputation from the Municipality, who presented him with an address of welcome. The address remarked on the general satisfaction which was felt at Lord Dufferin's appointment as Governor-General, as well as the confidence in his ability to deal with pending questions a confidence which had since been amply justified by the firm and able manner in which His Excellency had dealt with the complications on the North-Western Frontier. It referred to Lady Dufferiu's sympathetic efforts to further the cause of medical education among the women of India, which had " called forth the admiration and affection of all classes," and it concluded with some observations on the progress of municipal administration in Lucknow and with the warmest expressions of confidence in Lord Dufferin as Viceroy. His Excellency replied as follows: 62 SPEECHES. [1885. GENTLEMEN, It is with the utmost sincerity that I offer you my best thanks for the kind and friendly address with which you have welcomed me to the city of Lucknow a city round whose walls there cling many sad and solemn, as well as many triumphant, memories, and within whose precincts there passed to his rest one of the most heroic, chivalrous, and un- selfish soldiers and servants of the State that ever sacrificed health and life in India for his Queen and country. His name, and the names and fame of hundreds of others who were his brave companions in that time of trouble, will not only long live in the pages of history, but have received additional and undying lustre at the hands of the greatest poet of our age, whose son, I am happy to think, has to-day accompanied me to the spot which has inspired one of his father's noblest poems. Though we also in our generation have our troubles, anxieties, and preoccupations, those miserable times have passed away, and the India of to-day, her face averted from the past, and not discontented with the present, is pressing forward with high hope and widening aspirations to what I trust will prove an ever-brightening future. I have remarked with pleasure the modest terms in which you speak of your own efforts as a civic body to contribute to the general progress and prosperity of the community with which you are connected ; and that very spirit of modesty which characterises your address is in itself the best guarantee we can wish to have of the success with which your efforts will be undoubtedly crowned. My illustrious predecessor said on one occasion, if I remember right, that, rather than discourage or damp the spirit of local self-government by any over- severity of remonstrance, it would be better for us to put up for a time with the initial mistakes and shortcomings of our newly-fledged municipalities, even though their first in- experienced and tentative efforts should fall short of the efficiency which might otherwise be required. Though you yourselves stand in need of no such indulgence, I may be permitted to say that, however closely and strictly the Government of India may be disposed to watch, and, if need be, to criticise, the proceedings of older and more responsible 1885.] THE BURMESE EXPEDITION. 63 urban administrations, in the soundness and wisdom of this considerate opinion of my predecessor I fully concur. And now I must thank you for the friendly allusions you have made to the endeavours of the Government to maintain peace along our North-West Frontier, and to the successful issue of our campaign in Burma. Fortunately, we have attained the object for which the Burmese Expedition was undertaken, without serious loss of life either to ourselves or to those who were unhappily opposed to us ; and I have been informed by our authorities on the spot that nothing could be more satisfactory than the goodwill and friendly spirit dis- played by the population of Upper Burma and of Mandalay towards us. The future arrangements to be introduced into that region will now have to be considered carefully, deliber- ately, and after a full examination of the various elements of a most momentous question. It is undoubtedly necessary to the peace and security of Lower Burma, as well as of our Eastern Indian Frontier, that our political ascendancy should prevail throughout the upper valley of the Irrawaddy. Whether this may be best secured by the union of both sections of the Burmese people under British rule, or by the re-constitution, under certain conditions, of the Kingdom of Upper Burma, is a very grave and serious matter, not to be settled hastily or without the most anxious examination as to what will be con- ducive to the interests of India, to the welfare of the Burmese people themselves, and to the requirements of the Empire at large. Of this at all events you may be sure, that the Government of India will not approach the question in any light or thoughtless spirit, nor will it in any way seek to commit the Government of Her Majesty prematurely to a line of action which may not approve itself to the English people. We commenced the war against our will, and our chief cause of satisfaction in the conquest of the kingdom has been that the event has neither brought disaster upon the country we have taken, nor engendered feelings of animosity towards us amongst its inhabitants. In conclusion, Gentlemen, allow me to thank you for your kind allusion to Lady Dufferin's efforts to improve the medical 64 SPEECHES. [1886. education of the women of India. I have already had so many opportunities of expressing my own and her deep sense of the sympathy with which her proposals have been met, that I need not again refer to the subject. My not doing so, however, must not be misinterpreted as any want of gratitude upon our part for the kind expressions you have made use of in regard to them. (Applause.) LICENSE TAX AMENDMENT BILL. In the Legislative Council which assembled at Calcutta on the 4th January, 1886, the Hon. Sir Auckland Colvin moved for leave to introduce a Bill for imposing a tax on income derived from sources other than agriculture. He concluded an exhaustive speech on the motion as follows : " In the necessities of the time in the interest of all classes of the community in the present incidence of our Indian taxation in the legitimate and necessary result of the financial policy pursued by our predecessors, in the admissions of those who oppose an income tax, will be found the justification of the measure which 1 now have the honour to ask Your Lordship to allow me to introduce. I have shown what our financial position is ; I have added that, while we are not forgetful of economies, we cannot hope, in the ensuing year, for any great relief in this direction; I have stated why, in our opinion, resort to indirect taxation is undesirable; I have pointed out that direct taxation is the necessary outcome of the financial policy of the last eight years ; I have drawn attention to the provisions of the Bill to prove that it is framed with a view to profiting by the great experience which in a quarter of a century we have acquired ; I have glanced at the objections which may be urged in view of the silver exchange, and while deploring its effect on the position and the circumstances of so many here in India, I have given my reasons for thinking that, objection for objection, there is more to be said in favour of the struggling silent masses than of the few to whom I have just referred ; and I now look to the candour and intelligence of my hearers to decide whether in these circumstances some revised form of direct taxation is not inevitable, and whether direct taxation in the form embodied in the Bill which I wish to lay before the Council is not unquestionably a course which is more free from objection than any which can be urged upon our attention as an alter- native." His Excellency the President spoke as follows : As Sir Auckland Colvin has made so complete and lucid a statement of our present financial position and the reasons which have compelled the Government of India to introduce 1886.] INDIAN FINANCE. 65 the present Bill, it would have been scarcely necessary for me at this stage of the proceedings to trouble you with any observations of my own, did not I think it my duty to seize the earliest opportunity of taking upon myself, as the head of this Government, the full responsibility of a measure which, however imperative, must by its very nature prove extremely unpopular. The Financial Member in taking the initiative has merely discharged the technical duties attaching to his office, and he is no more responsible for the policy upon which we have determined than any other member of the adminis- tration, inasmuch as the causes which have created the difficulties with which we are about to grapple have in no way resulted from circumstances over which the Financial Depart- ment have had the slightest control. Before, however, I touch upon that part of the subject which concerns the future, it is but right that the Indian tax-payers, and the Indian public generally, should receive a full explanation in regard to the past, and to the causes which have occasioned the actual deficit which will confront us at the conclusion of the present financial year. That deficit, as you have been already told, will probably amount, in round numbers, to 2,800,000. The principal portion of this sum, which may be put roughly at a couple of millions, is due to those preparations which we were compelled to make on our side of the water in view of a possible contest between Great Britain and Eussia. The nature of the crisis to which I allude was thoroughly understood from one end of India to the other. Its gravity was fully appreciated, and there probably has never been a more gratifying feature in the history of this country than the way in which all classes of Her Majesty's subjects came forward, not merely with a unanimous expression of loyalty and de- votion to the throne and to the person of the Queen-Empress, but, in numerous instances, with offers both of personal and material assistance. In these circumstances, it scarcely is necessary for me to show that the expenditure which we at that time incurred was necessary and inevitable. It will be sufficient for me to point out that so imminent was war con- sidered by Mr. Gladstone and his colleagues that the reserves F 66 SPEECHES. [1886. were called out and a powerful fleet was equipped by the British Government, at an expense of six and a half millions. J imagine that no one will care to suggest that, while these sacrifices were being made by the English tax-payers with the view of maintaining the sanctity of the north-western frontier of India, India .herself should have remained a listless spectator of the scene and have done nothing for her own defence. But though we felt it incumbent upon us to prepare for what then appeared the probable contingency of war, we restricted our precautionary measures to those which the barest necessities of the case required. We contented ourselves with providing such an amount of transport and stores as would enable us to place a corps d'armee of observation on our own frontier. We did not mobilise a regiment, or move a man, or spend a penny otherwise than on these initial and elementary measures, and had any Government done less, it would have deserved impeachment. The other items of the deficit have been occasioned by the construction of a temporary line through the Bolan Pass from Bindli to Quetta, and by our military operations in Upper Burma, the cost of the latter of which has been estimated for the current year at 270,000. With regard to the first of these projects, the Bolan line, I need not say much. It is well known how fatal to the lives of our soldiers and how intolerably expensive has been in times past the despatch of troops on foot along this fatal road. A considerable period must of necessity elapse before the Hurnai route can be com- pleted, and were a war to occur there is no doubt that the existence of direct and through railway communication to Quetta would save thousands of lives, as well as the original cost of the railway many times over. As to the Burmese war, though it is not perhaps a very fitting opportunity for explaining the policy of the Govern- ment, there are one or two observations it might be opportnne for me to make in regard to it. That our proceedings in the matter have been almost unanimously approved of in England has long since been sufficiently apparent. In this country, however, a different view has been taken of the affair by a 1886.] THE BURMESE EXPEDITION. 67 considerable proportion of the native press. That this should be the case has not at all surprised me, and I readily admit that the instinctive aversion so many of our native friends have shown to the Mandalay expedition has been both natural and reasonable. As a general principle, it is not desirable that either the limits or the political and financial Tesponsibilities of the Indian Empire should be extended, and every Indian tax-payer is perfectly justified in apprehending that every war, no matter upon how moderate a scale it may be conducted or how successful its issue, must add to the public burdens. Nor, indeed, can we expect that those larger and predominant considerations which dictated the line of action we have followed should be present to the minds of the great mass of the Indian people. To them Burma is a remote and foreign country. The history of our relations with the Government of King Theebaw during the past years is alike indifferent and unknown to them, and we must not be surprised if the inhabitants of Lahore, or of Trinchinopoly, Benares or Multan, should fail to remember that, for thirty years, Lower Burma has formed an integral part of the Indian Empire ; that it has contributed its full share, and, as the Burmese allege, more than its full share, of taxation to the Imperial Exchequer ; and that anything which affects its security or welfare must of necessity prove of as deep concern to the Government of India as if it lay in the heart of Her Majesty's Indian possessions. A variety of concurrent circumstances made it only too evident that the future of Lower Burma would be seriously compromised unless we came to some satisfactory understanding with the Government of Mandalay in respect to the various outstanding complaints which for years past we have been vainly preferring to the Burmese King. An honest and sincere endeavour was made to reach an amicable settlement, but our well-meant intentions were frustrated by the folly of the ruler, and we were forced very reluctantly to undertake the conquest of the country. Thanks to the skill, the prudence, and the humanity with which the expedition has been con- ducted by General Prendergast, and to the zeal and energy displayed by Her Majesty's forces of both services, English F 2 68 SPEECHES. [1886. and native, the capital of Upper Burma has been occupied, it may be said, almost without bloodshed, and certainly without engendering any bitterness of feeling between ourselves and the Burmese people. That these proceedings will entail a certain amount of cost cannot be denied ; but, without en- dorsing the complaint of the representatives of Burmese interests, who maintain that the Indian Exchequer has unduly profited for many years past by the exorbitant amount of Burmese revenue which it absorbs, it will probably be found, when the debtor and creditor account between India and Burma is finally examined, even after the expenses of the present war have been duly debited, that an ultimate balance sheet will be shown which may by no means prove unsatis- factory to the Indian tax-payer. As to the degree to which the revenues of Upper Burma may suffice to provide for the wants of its own administration in future, nothing at present can be said. It was necessary, of course, once the conquest of the country had been effected, to determine and to declare for diplomatic purposes its international status. This has been done by the Proclamation of the 1st of January, under which the authority of the Viceroy is substituted for that of the late King. Such an arrangement, however, though required by the actual circumstances of the case, will eventually be re- placed by a more fully regulated system, the nature of which will, in all probability, not be determined until I have myself visited Mandalay, and been in a position to submit a report to the Queen's Government at home. Having now dealt with the causes of our actual deficit, and one or two subjects cognate to them, I will ask permission to make a few further observations in regard to the Bill we purpose to introduce. The object of that Bill is to impose a tax upon those classes who at this moment contribute nothing, or only contribute in a very imperceptible degree, to the Indian revenues. On the necessity for strengthening our present financial position I will not enlarge. Sir Auckland Colvin has clearly shown that the financial position of the country is gravely imperilled by a harassing uncertainty in regard to the future of silver. The fall of a penny in the 1886.] CHARACTER OF THE NEW TAXATION. 69 price of silver at once adds, in round numbers, a million to our expenditure. In this manner, since I entered upon the duties of my office, an additional charge of a million sterling has been laid upon our shoulders ; and, though I trust that the depression of the metal may have reached its lowest limit, the possibility of a further fall, and the consequent presence of an element of uncertainty in all our accounts, renders it absolutely incumbent upon the Government to take such pre- cautionary measures as the circumstances of the case permit. After consnltation with a number of persons, both English and native, who are entitled to speak with great authority upon such questions, we have framed the provisions of the present Bill, and from first to last the utmost care has been taken to render their application both equitable and as consonant to the habits and feelings of those affected by it as possible. I am aware that in all Eastern countries there is a great objection to anything approaching to direct taxation, and I might have hesitated to give my assent to such a measure as the present if it had been an unprecedented essay in that direction ; but so far from this being the case, direct taxation has for some years past formed a portion of the fiscal system of India. The license tax is a tax essentially direct both in its principle, its incidence, and its application, and so far as I have been able to learn by enquiry, or to gather from the public prints, the opposition which this impost originally encountered has in a great measure subsided. Its assessments have been gradually brought into harmony with the real status of those who have been subjected to it. Its inquisitorial character has been eradicated, and it is now submitted to with as much cheer- fulness and good humour as is compatible with the infirmity of human nature. The necessity then of some addition to our public revenues being admitted, the Government naturally considered that the extension of a tax similar in principle to the license tax to those classes of the community who are not subject to its operation, was both a just and a desirable ex- pedient. The only alternative open to us was to re-enhance the salt tax ; but, though this would have been an indirect tax, and consequently not so unpopular as the one we are 70 SPEECHES. [1886. about to impose, its operation would have chiefly affected the poorer masses of the community. Now, I am very far from wishing to say that in the presence of any overwhelming necessity, such as that of a great war or a great famine, it might not be necessary to raise the duties upon salt. It would be by such a measure alone that a great emergency of the kind could be met, and all minor considerations would have to be postponed to the imperative necessities of the hour ; nay, even something short of either of these calamities might justify us in resorting to it. But when the situation merely requires a comparatively slight addition to our current revenue, it is obvious that any honourable man who had to chose between taxing the most indigent classes who already con- tribute a considerable share of the public burdens, and taxing those classes who, though in easier circumstances, scarcely contribute anything, it is to the latter alternative that he would resort. This at all events is the conclusion that the Govern- ment of India has come to in the matter. We look abroad, and we see that the peasant pays his salt tax, which, though it has been reduced, still supplies us with a yearly net revenue of 6,000,000 ; that the landowner pays his land tax and his cesses ; that the tradesman or the merchant pays his license tax ; but that the lawyer or doctor, the members of the other learned professions, the officers of Government, and other persons occupying an analogous status, and the gentleman at large, pay little or nothing. I look around this very table, and what do I see ? That there is not one of us into whose pocket Sir Auckland Colvin is able to get so much as his little finger. For instance, take my friend Mr. Mandlik, a most eminent and distinguished member of the legal profession. He will admit, I am sure, that his qualifications to rank as a tax-payer are of the most microscopic proportions. The same may be said of my friend Mr. Peari Mohan Mukerji, except in so far as he may be a landowner ; but whatever revenue he derives from land are exempted from the operation of this Bill. I might make the same appeal to most of our other colleagues, and, what is equally sad, I am forced to make an identical confession in regard to myself and to the members of the 1880.] AN EXTENSION OF THE LICENSE TAX. 71 Government. There is not one of us who pays any really serious sum from his income into the Imperial Exchequer. Now, surely this cannot be right, and to such an anomaly it is no answer to say that direct taxation is repugnant to oriental customs. Justice is the inhabitant neither of the East nor of the West. She admits no geographical limits to her supremacy ; her throne is on high, and sooner or later, in spite of prejudice or custom, she never fails to vindicate her title to the respect and veneration of mankind. It is then in the name of justice that we propose the imposition of this tax, and we feel assured that every fair and right-thinking man in the country, no matter how his private interest may be affected by our action, will recognise that no other course was open to us. Indeed, already I see that no less intelligent a body than the congress of Indian delegates lately held at Bombay have forestalled our conclusions, and have passed a resolution, recommending, in default of other expedients, the extension of the license tax to those members of the community who hitherto have enjoyed an undeserved immunity from the visits of the tax collector. But though I do not anticipate that any serious objec- tions will be raised to the principle of the Bill, it is possible that adverse criticisms may be passed upon some of its details. I need scarcely say that the most searching criticism, espe- cially if accompanied by practical suggestions, will be very welcome and will receive from the Government most careful and impartial consideration. I do not anticipate, however, that any great changes will be necessary, because great care has been taken to divest it of all those unsatisfactory charac- teristics which have hitherto rendered the imposition of direct taxation so unwelcome. Warned by the experiences of those who have gone before us, we have carefully eliminated from our Bill everything that rendered former measures of the kind odious and obnoxious. In fact, our project is merely an ex- pansion of the license tax. The license tax is a one-storeyed house, and on the top of it we are putting a second storey, but the order of architecture in both will bo the same ; and as the foundations of the one have stood the test of time and 72 SPEECHES. [1886. of popular criticism, so I trust will the walls of the other possess the same solid characteristics. But there is now another aspect of the question to which I am bound to refer. Following in the steps of Sir Auckland Colvin, I have shown, I trust in a perfectly conclusive manner, that the instability of silver, and the loss by exchange we have sustained during the current year, have compelled us to strengthen our financial position in the manner I have de- scribed; but, besides this, other unexpected calls upon our revenue have arisen, which have also had their influence in determining us to introduce the present Bill. A few short years ago, India was an isolated region, cut off from the rest of the world, on two sides by the sea, and on the third by a range of mountains whose further slopes were inhabited by populations destitute of modern arms, unskilled in the arts of war, and from whom no serious acts of aggression were to be apprehended. But within a period of startling brevity this situation has been completely revolutionised. A great Euro- pean Power has advanced its confines by sudden leaps and bounds into what by comparison may be called close proximity to our own frontier. It is true several hundred miles still separate the territories of India from those of Eussia, but the intervening space is ruled by a Prince in close alliance with ourselves, whose interests are cognate to our own, and the invasion of whose territories we are solemnly pledged to resent so long as he conducts his external relations in accordance with our advice and wishes. I do not propose to waste the time of the Council by entering upon any justification of the arrangements out of which the foregoing obligation has arisen. They were made by my illustrious predecessor, to whose good management and wise conduct of the affairs of the North- West we are indebted for a united Afghanistan and a friendly Afghan ruler. But whatever their character, they have to all intents and purposes brought, though in an indirect manner, the area avowedly dominated by our political influence and ascendancy into direct contact with one of the greatest mili- tary monarchies of the day. Under these circumstances it would be the height of folly upon our part if we did not 1886.] THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER. 73 recognise the change which has taken place in the external position and relations of the Indian Empire. My own opinion is that the councils of Russia are controlled by a just and peace- loving Emperor, and inspired by a moderate and unaggressive statesman ; but those who have watched the recent current of events in Europe and the origin and causes of some of the most bloody wars of the last thirty years, must be aware that the hands of monarchs, however powerful, and of ministers however conscientious, are violently forced and their most earnest desires countervailed by a hundred disturbing in- fluences. The accident of a moment, a wave of popular pre- judice or passion, the influence of a subordinate but powerful party in the State, a chance collision between distant pickets, each one of these, or all combined, have been and will be again sufficient to bring the nations of the earth into disastrous collision. But for the accidental circumstance of the Amir being in my camp at Rawal Pindi, and the fortunate fact of his being a Prince of great capacity, experience, and calm judgment, the incident of Penjdeh alone, in the strained con- dition of the relations which then existed between Kussia and ourselves, might of itself have proved the occasion of a long and miserable war. But, not only so, there are other contin- gencies and untoward possibilities which must occur to the mind of every one, though it may not be desirable or prudent to specify them in detail, which, were they to happen, would still further accentuate the change in our circumstances which the entry of Russia into the valley of the Hari-Rud, and her advance to the borders of Maruchak, Maimena, and Balkh, have occasioned. If then the situation is such as I have described, and I have endeavoured to shape my language in accordance with absolute fact and the suggestions of plain common sense, it is evident that we should be neglecting a grave and obvious duty did we not follow the example of all civilised communities under such circumstances, and place our frontiers in such a position of defence and impregnability as will render us comparatively indifferent to the changes and chances of the outside world, and restore to us that feeling of security and independence of others which is absolutely essen- 74 SPEECHES. [1886. tial to the stability of our credit and the healthy condition of our finances. These necessities have been equally admitted by the late and the present Governments of Great Britain. During a remarkable debate which took place last year, the represen- tatives both of the Conservative and of the Liberal parties united in recognising the necessity of completing with as little delay as possible such a system of defensive railways, fortifications, and other works along our north-western frontiers as would effectually bar our doors against all chances of annoyance from beyond them, no matter from what source they might proceed whether occasioned by a foreign foe or by any change of policy on the part I will not say of the present ruler of Afghanistan, for of his steadfastness and fidelity we have re- ceived satisfactory proofs but on the part of any of his suc- cessors. With such a consensus of opinion in the Parliament of Great Britain, the Government of India had no difficulty in discerning what line of action to adopt. Some very com- plete and well-considered projects for the construction of military railways wherever strategic considerations might re- quire them to be laid had already been drawn up by the late Viceroy and accepted by the Secretary of State, and during the past summer the military authorities here, in conjunction with those at home, have been elaborating a plan for the erection of such places of strength, fortresses and fortified positions, as may be best adapted for the purpose we have in view. In doing this we shall be merely following the ex- ample of every other nation in the world, who, no matter how friendly may be its relations with its various neighbours, rightly feels that its security and peace should not be allowed to depend upon their good-will, however genuine, or their professions of amity, however sincere, but upon its own valour and prudence, aided by such means as military science can suggest for the protection of its borders. It has also been determined for the same reasons to increase to a moderate degree the numbers both of the British and of the native forces in India. This is a measure which the late Commander-in-Chief, one of the most economical, sagacious, and prudent officers that ever occupied that high position, 1886.] INCREASE OF THE ARMY. 75 most earnestly counselled, and the necessity for it has been impressed upon us in an equally emphatic manner by his present distinguished successor, as well as by other persons entitled to speak with scarcely less authority. But, though anxious and ready to give every proper consideration to the recommendations of those who are the legitimate advisers of the Government of India in these matters, we felt that due regard had also to be paid to the financial exigencies of the situation. Consequently, the addition we propose to make to our present forces falls considerably short of the figure desired by Sir Donald Stewart and other high military authorities both here and at home. In coming to this conclusion the Government has felt that it was incurring a very grave respon- sibility, but still, on balancing the conflicting considerations forced upon our attention, we are convinced that the more moderate limit we have adopted is the one best suited to the circumstances of the case. Unfortunately, precautions of this kind cost money and the necessities of the case require them to be pushed with energy and rapidity ; and although the expenditure needed for the greater proportion of these works will be, as heretofore, pro- vided by loan (and by sums refunded to us from time to time by the private companies to which Government railways may be transferred) we shall have of course to pay the interest on whatever sums we borrow. Then again there are three Famine Railways which have been already commenced, and which the Government are determined to complete with all despatch, namely, two in Madras and one in Northern Bengal. And here perhaps I may take an opportunity of correcting an error which has been frequently made, and which seems to return to new life each time that it is corrected namely, that an inroad has been made upon the Famine Grant. When I arrived in the country, I found that the system which had been followed by my predecessor had been to apply half a million a year from the Famine Grant to Famine Railways ; 250,000 to irrigation works ; and the remainder of the grant to the diminution of debt. The justification for its application to this latter purpose has been so fully set forth 76 SPEECHES. [1886. and explained in a speech of Sir Evelyn Baring's that I need not say any more upon that head. Such was the system I found in vogue when I arrived in India, and during the current year that is the exact system which has been followed. These facts are perfectly well known to all who are acquainted with the subject, and now that I have myself re-stated them in Council, I trust that the foolish ghost of this perennial fiction has been once and for ever laid. In fact, I may say that, so far from diverting the Famine Grant to extraneous purposes, there is nothing which myself and my colleagues have so strongly urged upon the Secretary of State as the desirability of continuing the policy sanctioned by our prede-? cessors, at all events until we shall have reached a stage when our Famine Protective Kailways shall have sufficiently multi- plied to compress within tolerable bounds the chance of such casualties from famine as have desolated the land in past times. But, though such is our intention and desire, we have thought it perfectly consonant with the principles I have enunciated to ask the Secretary of State that, instead of making all these Famine Protective Railways ourselves, we should be permitted to apply a small proportion of the Famine Grant to the payment of interest to certain companies whom we propose to entrust with the construction of special lines which possess a protective character, and which, by their com- pletion, will diminish the evil consequences of bad seasons in various threatened districts. Such, gentlemen, are the circumstances under which the Government of India have asked this Council to give leave for the introduction of the present Bill. Stated briefly, our chief justification for the measure is to be found first of all in the extraordinary fall of silver which has recently taken place, and in the uncertainty which prevails as to the future fluc- tuations which may affect its value. In the presence of such a state of things, the strengthening of our financial position became an absolute duty, and the performance of this duty has been rendered still more incumbent upon us by the neces- sity, which has been equally recognised by every shade of public opinion in England, of strengthening our frontier 1886.] FRONTIER RAILWAYS. 77 defences, and prosecuting with energy the completion of our frontier railways. In determining the amount of money to be raised, we were very careful to limit it to the minimum sum which we thought it safe to ask for, and you may be satisfied that in carrying out the programme which has been deter- mined upon, the Government will be careful to square its efforts with the means at its disposal. All the works which are contemplated cannot, of course, be carried out at once, and by the exercise of prudence and discretion, and by a wise adap- tation of the means at our disposal to the ends in view, it may fairly be hoped unless some unforeseen catastrophe should overset our calculations that with this slight addition to the taxation of the country, which as I said before will merely touch those who hitherto have contributed but slightly to the public burdens, we shall be able to carry out our programme. Nor need we by any means despair of a very considerable pro- portion of the expenditure to which I have referred proving remunerative. Railways of course which are simply con- structed for strategical reasons cannot be expected, as they are not intended, to prove profitable commercial speculations ; but it so happens that the two principal railways which are to sub- serve our military needs will run in such a direction as in all probability to become of the greatest service to commerce. As everyone knows, the caravan route which connects Hin- dustan with Persia and Central Asia runs through Quetta, and the goods which are now conveyed on camels' backs to the proximity of the Indus may be expected to feed the chief of these lines with a continually growing traffic. Again, the Sind-Saugar Railway, which will enable us to move our troops along the whole face of our frontier, may from the peculiar circumstances of its location eventually become a considerable commercial artery. These results, however, are only subsi- diary to the main purpose of the two lines in question, and I merely mention them as affording some consolation to those of us who like myself have ail instinctive dislike to purely military expenditure. It only remains for me, gentlemen, to thank you for tho patience with which you have listened to me, and to apologise 78 SPEECHES. [1886. for the length of my observations ; yet there is one thing which I desire to say before I conclude. Although I have not the slightest doubt or difficulty in recommending you to agree to the introduction and to the eventual passing of this Bill, I cannot help desiring to express my extreme and heartfelt regret that the occasion should have arisen for legislation of this description. The imposition of taxes is always an un- grateful task to any Government, even when its measures have received, through their representatives, the sanction of a majority of the people. The performance of such a duty to persons situated as are my colleagues and myself is still more irksome. When I reached the shores of India, I had marked out for myself a very different programme. For five years the country had been administered by a wise, cautious, and dis- tinguished statesman, who had devoted his attention to the internal welfare of Her Majesty's Indian subjects. Peace reigned from one end of the land to the other ; and though our Financial Member could not boast of more than an actual equilibrium between our resources and our expenditure, there was no reason to anticipate, until some months after my arrival, that anything was likely to disturb the even tenor of our way. My predecessor having had such exceptionally favourable opportunities for introducing reforms, and of bring- ing the institutions of the country into harmony with its growing wants and aspirations, my ambition was confined to the humble intention of watching the effects of his policy, and tending and watering what he had planted. We all know how rapidly these prospects have been overclouded by a suc- cession of adverse circumstances over which this Government has had no control ; and now, at the expiration of the first year of my term of office, I and those associated with me in the government of the country find ourselves driven to a course of action which cannot fail to cause inconvenience to certain classes of our fellow-countrymen, whose worldly trials and troubles are already sufficient, I dare say, to try their patience and fortitude to the utmost. Let me assure them that, at all events, neither my colleagues nor I have failed to comprehend the many sacrifices which the imposition of this 1886.] RECENT REMISSION OF TAXATION. 79 taxation, moderate as is the scale we have adopted, and comparatively few as are the individuals it will affect, cannot fail to entail upon many of them; and most deeply do we lament the necessity of subjecting them to the ordeal. These observations more especially apply to those Anglo-Indian servants of the State who are compelled by their domestic necessities to transmit to England the greater part of their hard- won earnings for the support of their children. That very depreciation of silver from which the revenues of the State have so greatly suffered has also made itself felt in their case with the most bitter severity. On the other hand, how- ever, it must be remembered that only five years ago three millions of taxes were remitted by the Government of the day. The amount of taxation which we are about to impose will not probably bring in more than six or seven hundred thousand pounds, so that, when all is said and done, the inhabitants of India will be still left the enjoyment of more than two millions of the taxation which was remitted in 1882 by Sir Evelyn Baring. Indeed, if an actual calculation were made, I think it might probably be shown at all events in the case of the wealthier classes we are now bringing into our net that the gain they have derived from the remission of the import duties compensates them in a considerable degree for the additional impost to which they are being subjected. Be this, however, as it may, whatever the sacrifice, whether it affects the Anglo-Indian or the native servants of the British Crown of this I am sure, that if they are once convinced that the measures proposed by this Bill are necessary to maintain unendangered the honour of the Queen-Empress and the safety and security of the Indian Empire, and of the millions of hearths and homes it contains, as well as the stability of our public credit, they will cheerfully submit to them. The offers of assistance forwarded to me during the course of last summer in so generous a manner by the princes, zamindars, and leading men of the country more than justify such an expecta- tion. But the days are past for supplementing the resources of the State by private benevolences. The only fair and effectual way of accepting the assistance we have been proffered 80F SPEECHES. [1886. is by recommending to the generous acceptation of the people a fair, just, and equal measure of taxation. This in our hearts and consciences we believe we have done. But there is one other measure by which we intend still further to fortify our financial position, and to protect it from whatever changes or chances the future may bring forth. Although from time to time during past years frequent endeavours have been made to examine the great machine which constitutes the Indian Government, with the view of rendering its operation more effective and economical, much, I cannot but believe, still remains to be done in that direction. As you are aware, the Government of India itself controls but a part of the expendi- ture of the country, so large a proportion of the Imperial resources having been confided to the control of the provincial and subordinate administrations. Very soon, however, the provincial contracts instituted between ourselves and the local governments will expire ; and it will be necessary, especially in view of the circumstances to which I have referred, most carefully to review them. At a time when fluctuations in the currency are threatening the stability of our whole financial system, and when the possibility of external commotion is darkening the political horizon, it is very evident that the duty of economy and retrenchment ought to be prosecuted with the utmost energy and decision. Already we have initiated this policy with effect ; and by an appeal to the provincial governments, which I must say was answered with the greatest loyalty, we have to a very considerable extent been compensated for our additional military expenditure. But this was a temporary measure to meet an equally tem- porary need. It is now desirable to ascertain whether it would not be possible to add considerably to the margin of our resources by a careful revision of our Imperial and Provincial expenditure, as well as by the addition to our income with which the present Bill will provide us. With this view the Government of India have determined to issue a Financial Commission, so strongly constituted and furnished with such instructions as to ensure that the task entrusted to them will be conscientiously performed, and to prove conclusively that 1886] LICENSE TAX AMENDMENT BILL PASSED. 81 the Viceroy and bis colleagues are thoroughly in earnest in their determination to adapt the administration in all . its branches to the financial exigencies of the Empire. The motion was put and agreed to. Sir Auckland Colvin then introduce*! the Bill, explaining its more important provisions, and the Council was adjourned. LICENSE TAX AMENDMENT BILL. On the llth January the License Tax Amendment Bill was again con- sidered in the Legislative Council Sir Auckland Colvin moved that the Bill be referred to a select committee consisting of the Honourable Messrs. Ilbert, Hope, Quinton, Hunter, and Steel, the Honourable Jite aura, pour ainsi dire, inaugure" la prise de possession des hautes fonctions que m'a confiees la Kepublique, presage heureux pour mon administration, en me*me temps qu'elle est une nouvelle preuve de la bonne entente de nos gouvernements. 1 ' His Excellency replied as follows : MESSIEURS ET MESDAMES, En me levant pour remercier Son Excellence des bonnes paroles dans lesquelles il a bien voulu parler de ma visite a Pondichery, j'espere que les per- sonnes aimables que je vois autour de moi m'excuseront si je ne parviens pas a exprirner pleinement et dument mes senti- ments de reconnaissance, mais vous comprenez, messieurs et mesdames, que quand le cceur est plein d'emotion on se sent fort gene si Ton doit se servir d'uue langue qui n'est pas la langue maternelle. Depuis de longues annees j'ai le bon- heur de vivre en rapports plus on moins intimes avec les L 146 SPEECHES. [1886. Franpais les plus distingues dans la carriere de la politique et de la diplomatic, des arts et de la litterature, et j'ai tou- jours rencontre aupres d'eux, ainsi qu'aupres de leurs com- patriotes en general, beaucoup d'egards et de bonte. Ainsi, messieurs, tout nature! lement, me trouvant dans le voisinage de votre ville si celebre dans 1'histoire de 1'Inde Meridionale, j'ai voulu presenter mes respects a la Kepublique et a la nation franpaises dans la personne de leur representant. En meme temps j'ai pense que je pourrais peut-etre apprendre quelque chose qui me serait utile dans 1'exercice de mes fonctions officielles, en me faisant une idee de 1'organisation administra- tive de votre colonie. Mais avant tout j'ai voulu accentuer* par une visite aux Etablissements Franpais dans 1'Inde, le desir de mon Gouvernement de maintenir avec mon note et collegue distiogue des rapports d'amitie sincere et cordiale. Quelques- uns des noms les plus illustres dans 1'histoire de France ap- partiennent a 1'histoire de 1'Inde, et tout Anglais qui se trouve dans ces parages doit eprouver le desir de temoigner son respect et son admiration pour des generaux comme de Bussy et pour de grands hommes d'etat comme Dupleix. Dans ces sentiments de respect et d'admiration le souvenir des anciennes rivalites s'eteignent et maintenant nous ne sommes heureusement des rivaux que sur le champ des progres pacifiques. A vous, Excellence, et aux Etablissements que vous ad- ministrez avec tant de devouement je souhaite ardemment toute sort de bonheur et de prosperite, et je peux vous donner 1'assurance que rien ne manquera de mon cote pour consolider ces liens d'amitie et de cordialite que unissent les Franpais et les Anglais aux Indes. Je regrette seulement que mon sejour a Pondichery, sous votre toit si hospitalier, soit necessairement de si courte cluree, mais je snis oblige de partir demain matin afiri de pouvoir passer quelques heures cliez le nouveau Gouverneur de Madras, qui vient de prendre possession de son poste. Ce fonctionnaire distingue a probablement consacre, pendant son voyage sur mer, une partie de son loisir a par- courir 1'histoire de la province qui lui est confiee, et comme il a sans doute appris qu'a une epoque pas trop reculee, les 1886.] THE FRENCH IN INDIA. 147 habitants de Pondichery avaient assiege ct pris sa capitale, il se sentira peut-etre rassure en apprenant de ma propre bouche que vous, messieurs, vous n'avez nulle intention de suivre sous ce rapport, I'exemple de vos aieux. Messieurs et Mesdames, je vous invite a boire avec moi a la sante de notre aimable hote, Son Excellence le Gouverneur des Etablissements Francais dans 1'Inde. The following is a translation of the above speech : LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, In rising to return thanks for the kind terms in which His Excellency has been good enough to refer to my visit, I trust that the amiable persons around me will excuse my shortcomings if I fail to express my gratitude in adequate and becoming terms ; but you under- stand, ladies and gentlemen, that when the heart is very full a foreign language is always a difficult channel through which to convey its outpourings. I have had for many years the good fortune to live on more or less intimate terms with the Frenchmen most distinguished in the world of politics, diplomacy, art, and literature, and I have always received from them, as well as from their fellow-countrymen in general, much attention and kindness. I was therefore naturally anxious, when I found myself in the neighbourhood of your city, so celebrated in the history of Southern India, to pay my respects to the Kepublic and to the French nation in the person of its representative. I also thought it possible that I might learn something which might prove useful to myself in the discharge of my official functions by making myself ac- quainted with your administrative machinery. But above all things I was desirous of accentuating by my presence in French India the wish of my Government to maintain the most cordial and affectionate relations with my distinguished colleague and host. Some of the most illustrious names known in the history of France belong to the history of India, and no Englishman can find himself in this locality without involuntarily wishing to pay his passing homage to such a general as Bussy and to such a great statesman as 1 )upleix. In these sentiments of respect and admiration, the remembrance L 2 148 SPEECHES. [1886. of ancient rivalries are extinguished, and now we are, happily, rivals only on the field of peaceful progress. That all good fortune and prosperity may attend you, sir, your state, and the honourable citizens whose affairs you so ably administer, is my most earnest auspication, and, believe me, nothing shall ever be wanting upon my part still further to consolidate those bonds of amity and mutual good fellowship which now characterize the relations of the French and English in India. I regret extremely that my stay in Pondicherry and under your hospitable roof should be so short, but I am forced to set out to-morrow morning, in order to meet the newly-arrived Governor of Madras. That distinguished officer has probably employed his leisure hours at sea in reading the history of his Presidency, and having thus acquainted himself with the fact that on a particular occasion you captured his capital, it may reassure him to learn from my own lips that you have no intention of repeating the achievement. Ladies and gentle- men, I invite you to drink with me the health of our amiable host, His Excellency Monsieur de Manes, the Governor- General of French India. ADDRESS FROM THE INDIAN ASSOCIATION. On the 30th of December, 1886, a deputation from the Indian Association waited upon the Viceroy at Government House with an address of welcome on His Excellency's return to Calcutta. Foremost among the topics which the association desired to bring to His Excellency's notice was the reconstitu- tion of the Legislative Councils. Local self-government in Bengal had, on the whole, been a success, and the association ventured to hope it might be extended to the wider concerns of the province, feeling that the time had come for the recognition of the representative system in the government of the country. In 1885, when complications arose on the North-west frontier, the Indian population had offered to enlist themselves as volunteers, but no answer had been received to the numerous petitions addressed to Government on the subject. The association desired to call His Excellency's attention to the condition of the coolies in Assam. The disclosures which had been made in the newspapers and courts of law pointed to the necessity of reform in this direction. The time seemed to have come when both Act XIII. of 1859 and Act I. of 1882 might be repealed, and the importation of labour into Assam 1886.] EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS IN INDIA. 149 permitted to be regulated by the law of supply and den .and. The association suggested the appointment of a Commission of Enquiry into the matter. The association noted with gratitude that the question of technical education had enslaved the attention of the Viceroy, and recommended the establishment of a technical college in Calcutta. In conclusion, they hoped th'at it might be permitted to the people of India to associate His Excellency's name with a beneficent era of domestic reform. The Viceroy replied in the following terms : GENTLEMEN, I need not say that I am very grateful to you for the kind words with which you have welcomed my return to Calcutta, and that it is always a pleasure to me to enter into communication with persons of such intelligence and distinction as yourselves. I trust that my progress through a considerable portion of the south of India has not been altogether without profit. Though the acquaintance I have made with various important localities has been necessarily superficial, I have, at least, had an opportunity of coming into contact with a great number of gentlemen of standing and influence in their several districts. This in itself has been both a very great pleasure and an unspeakable advantage to me. There are few things that I more prize than the enjoyment of frank personal intercourse with the leading minds of India. In your address you refer to certain questions connected with the administrative machinery of this country, which have more than once been brought to my notice, and you seem to expect that I should make some statement on behalf of the Government in regard to them. This is, I think, not altogether a reasonable demand. I have already stated on more than one occasion that the India of to-day is in many respects a different India from that which existed twenty years ago, when the constitution of the Government of India received its present shape. Since then a class of highly educated men has come into existence gentlemen who, like yourselves, are well acquainted with the political and economic literature of Europe, who have assimilated Western ideas, and who naturally consider that it would be advantageous to the country if they had an opportunity of becoming more largely associated than has hitherto been the case with their British 150 SPEECHES. [1886. fellow-subjects in the task of administration. I fully recognise that this is a very legitimate and laudable ambition ; and I must remind you, as I have reminded others, that successive Governments at home have admitted the desirability of re- examining the working of the Act of Parliament of 1858, with the view, it is to be presumed, of ascertaining whether its provisions ought not to be more closely adapted to the altered conditions of the present day. The matter may, therefore, be considered as being sub judice, and a moment's reflection will enable you to understand how impossible it is, under these circumstances, for the Government of India to make any declaration on the subject. Another subject to which you have referred is the question of Volunteering in India ; but I am a little surprised to find you state simply that the Government has not announced the view it takes of this matter. Nearly a year ago, at Madras, the moment I learned the decision of the Home Government and you will remember that it was Mr. Gladstone's Govern- ment that was then in office I took the opportunity of publicly announcing the regret I felt in not being able to accede to the wishes of the petitioners. I said that there was no doubt in my mind that their desire to enrol themselves as volunteers was prompted by the purest spirit of loyalty and patriotism; but when the Government of India came to consider the practical methods by which effect could be given to the movement, it very soon became apparent that the difficulties and disadvantages attending the elaboration of any plan for the embodiment of a volunteer army altogether out- numbered and outweighed the military and practical ad- vantages to be derived from the realization of the scheme. Nor can I hold out to you any hope that either the Govern- ment at home or the Government of India will be likely to change its decision. I am glad to see that you duly appreciate the desire of the Government, by the appointment of the Public Service Commission, to re-examine every question connected with the admission of natives to the Civil Service in a sense favourable to their interests, and the proceedings of that body are in 1880.] TECHNICAL EDUCATION. 151 themselves a proof of the thorough and energetic spirit in which the work has been undertaken. It has been a real pleasure to me to learn that you attach due importance to the question of technical education. It is a matter of the utmost moment to this country, and nothing shall be wanting on my part to confirm and widen its basis, and to elevate its superstructure. I intend to spare no endeavours to promote its best interests ; but let me assure you that nothing would be further from my thoughts than to allow whatever efforts it may be desired to make on behalf of technical education to retard or interfere with that higher education to which you very properly attach so much im- portance. You have referred also to the subject of coolie labour in Assam. This is a matter to which the Government of India has recently devoted, and is still devoting, a considerable amount of attention. We have accepted in principle that special legislation should be maintained only as long as it is practically necessary for the protection of the two classes concerned, but I am not prepared to say when it will be safe to leave the coolies to the unfettered action of the harsh economic law of supply and demand without any special protection from the administration. The existing procedure may, however, I think, be improved, and for this purpose it is intended to amend the executive rules now in force. In view of the recent inquiries and of the Secretary of State's decision to give Act I. of 1882 a further brief trial, it would be premature at the moment to appoint a commission, but I may tell you that the working of Act XIII. of 1859 is now under the consideration of the local government, and that the representations which you have made to me will be carefully examined when the report of the local government is received. 152 SPEECHES. [1887. CONVOCATION OF THE CALCUTTA UNIVERSITY. A convocation of the University of Calcutta for conferring degrees was held on Saturday, the 8th of January, 1887, at the Senate House in t'ne presence of a large gathering, composed of European ami native ladies and gentlemen. The members of the Senate in academic costume assembled at 2.55, and at three o'clock the Vice-Chancellor and the Fellows proceeded to the entrance hall to receive His Excellency the Chancellor. On the arrival of His Excellency a procession was formed and entered the ball. The Registrar then conducted His Excellency to the dais, where the Lieuteuant-Governor of Bengal, the Chief Justice, and the ex-qfficio Fellows and members of the syndicate occupied seats. The Vice-Chancellor, having declared the convoca- tion opened, called upon the Registrar to read the names of the candidates for degrees. Among these were two native ladies from the Bethune School. Alter they had received their degrees of B.A. they were introduced to the Viceroy, who shook hands with them and congratulated them. When the ceremony of presenting diplomas was concluded His Excellency the Chan- cellor, in calling upon the Vice-Chancellor to addrfss the Convocation, said : VICE-CHANCELLOR, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, Although I do not intend to detain you with any observations of my own before calling upon our Vice-Chancellor to address you, it is but natural that I should take this opportunity of congratulating the University upon the eminent position it holds among our Indian institutions. In 1882, when my illustrious predecessor addressed you as Chancellor, he called attention to the fact that this University had been in existence for a period of a quarter of a century, and he referred with satisfaction to the admirable results which had been produced in the provinces subject to its influence. Since then a good deal has occurred. A Government commission was appointed for the purpose of examining the position of education throughout all India, and it laid down the lines upon which, I believe, education is destined most successfully and safely to proceed. At the same time Lord Eipon expressed the hope that, side by side with the Government system of education, there should spring up through the medium of local effort, free and independent educational institutions characterized by greater variety and spontaneity. Before the commission had reported, various circumstances occurred to prove that the wise words of your late Chancellor had not fallen upon barren ground, and there 1887.] UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 153 is nothing which has given me greater pleasure than to observe with what remarkable energy and with what illimitable liberality independent and local efforts on behalf of education have been prosecuted throughout the country. (Cheers.) But the secret of all progress is untiring and unceasing effort, and I trust, therefore, that I shall not be considered to ignore or overlook the past if I express the hope that not only those efforts will be continued, but that this University will go still further afield, and will eventually proceed to cultivate ground which hitherto has been only imperfectly tilled. You, gentle- men, as representatives of the enlightenment of modern India, are not only bound to direct the efforts of your fellow-country- men towards the study of literature, of law, and of medicine, but it is also incumbent upon you to turn your attention to the development of those scientific pursuits upon which the material prosperity of every nation so much depends, and which are such essential characteristics of that civilization which is being so rapidly assimilated by the people of this country. (Cheers.) I have learned with satisfaction that the changes, which after due deliberation have been introduced into the courses of this University, have amply fulfilled the expectations of those who inaugurated them. Those changes have all been in the direction of greater thoroughness. That is entirely as it should be. Thoroughness ought to be the watchword inscribed over the doors of every temple of learning, for believe me that, although pedantry may be excused in such an institution as this, anything approaching to dilettantism can only be regarded as the sign of irretrievable deterioration. Con- sequently I again repeat to you that, whatever else you do, be careful that your system is thorough. That it has now become so is, I believe, admitted, and it is a source of pride to all of us to know that those gentlemen who have passed before me to-day are able to go away with the conviction that they have received a sound and thorough education, and that they have won their diplomas by dint of untiring industry and applica- tion. (Cheers.) But however thorough may be your system, it is also desirable that it should extend over as wide an area as possible, and 1 am glad to think that, under the auspices of 154 SPEECHES. [1887. this convocation, favourable conditions have been created for the promotion of female education. (Cheers.) It must have given us all the greatest pleasure to see those two ladies approach the Vice-Chancellor and receive at his hands their diplomas, which they may justly regard as a source of honour to themselves and to everyone connected with them. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, I will not longer detain you. I will simply congratulate you upon the continued proofs which every year exhibits of the wholesome influence you exercise over the various collegiate and other educational establishments in India, while at the same time I express the hope that, from year to year, your efforts may be ever crowned with increasing and permanent success. I now call upon the Vice-Chancellor to address the Convocation. (Loud cheers.) The Vice-Chancellor then addressed the convocation at great length, after which the proceedings terminated. THE COUNTESS OF DUFFERIN'S The second general meeting of the National Association for supplying Female Medical Aid to the women of India was held in the Town Hall, Calcutta, on Wednesday, the 26th January, 1887. The Viceroy occupied the chair, the Countess of Duffcrin being seated at his left hand, and Lady Elvers Thompson at his right. The attendance was very large and represented all sections of the community. In opening the proceedings His Excellency made the following remarks : LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, It is a great pleasure to me again to preside on this occasion, to see around me so many supporters of the movement in favour of the better medical education of the women of India, and to know that the principles which we are so earnestly advocating have taken such deep root in the convictions and the affections of the people of India. I congratulate all present heartily on the success which has attended their exertions, and I only trust that it will be a motive of encouragement to us to make still more energetic efforts. 1887.] THE COUNTESS OF DUFFER IN' S FUND. 155 The Hon. Mr. Peile then presented the report of the Central Committee and explained the work which had been done by the association during the year. Jlis motion that the report should be accepted and confirmed was seconded by Mr. Cruickshank, President of the Chamber of Commerce. The Lieutenant- Governor also addressed the meeting on the motion to make certain additions to the articles of association, which was seconded by the Hon. Abdul Jubbar. Maharajah Narendra Krishna then proposed " that the grateful thanks of the people of the country be conveyed to Her Excellency the Countess of Dufferin for the establishment of the association named after her " and for her active sympathy in promoting the objects of it. The resolution was seconded by Nawab Abdul Latif, and the Viceroy returned thanks for Her Excellency in the following terms : LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I was quite unprepared, as was Lady Dufferin herself, for the kind manner in which two of your eminent citizens have been good enough to allude to her, and therefore I trust I shall be forgiven if I am only able to return our thanks in a very inadequate manner. This, how- ever, I may be permitted to say, that the best reward which Lady Dufferin can receive, will be found in the hearty and cordial support which this movement is obtaining at the hands of all classes and of all communities in the country. Now, ladies and gentlemen, having said this much, perhaps as an humble outsider, uninitiated in the mysteries of the internal government of the fund, I may be permitted to address to those who superintend its operations, on the one hand a compliment, and on the other a criticism. In the first place, I desire to compliment them on their admirable State papers. India in all times has been celebrated for the admirable character of these documents, and I am glad to think that no matter from what source whether from Bombay, from Madras, from Calcutta, or from the central committee these documents emanate, they are all characterized by a laudable simplicity of expression and by the extreme lucidity with which they give a vast amount of complicated information. The criticism which I would desire to address to the managers and to the governing body of the fund is that they are a great deal too modest in their demands and in their requisitions. When I heard them simply talking of three more lakhs of a maximum of five lakhs as the utmost to which they dare aspire, I could not help thinking that it would have been more 156 SPEECHES. [1887. becoming the occasion, much more appropriate to the cause which they are so nobly advocating, and much more respectful to the constituencies to which they are authorized to appeal, that they should have talked of fifty lakhs. When we remem- ber, on the one hand, what is the task that they have set themselves the way in which they are bringing health and light and happiness into millions of Indian homes, and on the other hand, as I myself have had an opportunity of observing, that from one end of India to the other, every community in the land is full of sympathy with this movement then I feel that if only they have the courage of their opinions and make a sufficiently peremptory and earnest appeal to their friends and admirers, they will obtain an infinitely larger sum than that to which their ambition seems at present restricted. (Cheers.) No one knows better than myself the difficulty of obtaining money in India. It is one of those disagreeable problems which I have had to face under very disheartening circumstances, but let me tell the Lady President of the fund that it will probably prove a far more graceful, as well as more successful method, to throw herself on the generosity of the Indian people than, as I have been obliged to do, to resort to those mechanical means by which alone the Government coffers can be replenished. (Laughter and loud cheers.) On behalf of Lady Dufferin I beg to express to you my warmest and most hearty thanks for the kind manner in which you have been pleased to receive this expression of her thanks. (Cheers.) Maharajah Sir Jotendro Mohun Tagore then moved a vote of thanks to the Viceroy for presiding, which was seconded by the Hon. Mr. Steel, and carried with acclamation. This concluded the proceedings. CELEBRATION OF THE QUEEN'S JUBILEE. The IGth and 17th February, 1887, were the days officially set apart by the Government of India for the simultaneous celebration throughout India of the fiftieth year of the reign of Her Majesty the Queen-Empress. Each Presidency, Province, and native State, each city, town, and centre of population, organised and carried out its own arrangements for the 1887.] THE QUEEN'S JUBILEE. 157 ceremonials and festivities which were observed on the occasion. In Calcutta, the winter headquarters of the Supreme Government, the Jubilee was ushered in by an imperial salute of 101 guns fired from the ramparts of Fort William at sunrise. This was followed at nine o'clock by a parade and march-past of the troops and volunteers on the Maidan in the presence of the Viceroy, the Commander-in-Chief, the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, and an immense concourse of people, European and native. After the parade the Viceroy, with the Countess of Dufferin, attended a special thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Cathedral, and in the afternoon, at five o'clock, His Excellency pro- ceeded to the racecourse, where, in the presence of a large assembly of all classes of the community, he received about 300 deputations (representing the great commercial and landed interests of the Lower Provinces of Bengal, public and political bodies, literary and scientific associations, &c.), who came to wait on His Excellency with addresses of loyal congratulation to the Queen-Empress. On the arrival of the Viceroy and the Countess of Dufferin, Their Excellencies were greeted with loud and continued cheers from the spectators, and were received by the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, the Commander-in Chief in India, the members of the Viceroy's Council, the Bishop of Calcutta, the Chief Justice of Bengal, and the Headquarters and District Staff. On the Viceroy taking his seat, Sir Rivers Thompson, in introducing the various delegates to His Excellency, delivered a brief address, after which His Excellency rose and spoke as follows : GENTLEMEN, It is with equal pride and pleasure that I now come forward to thank the representatives of the various cities, associations, and communities who have gathered around me to-day for the purpose of presenting to Her Majesty their congratulations on her having entered the fiftieth year of her reign. A more prosperous reign, a more blameless ruler, or a more beloved Sovereign the world has never seen. (Cheers.) Wisdom, justice, piety, duty have been the guardians of her throne and the companions of her daily life, and though it has been impossible for a monarch, ruling dominions which comprise within their limits a fourth of the human race, to escape from those vicissitudes which the responsibilities of Empire entail, it may be said with truth that under her fortunate auspices her people have issued triumphant from every trial, and that, with each revolving year, the foundations of her realm have become more firmly established, and the loyalty and devotion of her subjects to her throne and person have grown more tender and intense. (Applause.) At this moment 200 millions of her Indian 158 SPEECHES. [1887. subjects are giving expression to the feelings and sentiments I have described, with a unanimity and spontaneity which I believe it would be impossible to parallel in any other country in the world. Of set purpose my Government has left the initiative and the organization of those public rejoicings, which are taking place in every capital city, town, and village in India, to the unprompted impulses of the people. In a land where official action is generally the prime mover, officialism has for once stood upon one side, and has left the nation face to face with its Empress. (Cheers.) In the simple language which is native to their affectionate disposition, there have gone up to-day from every shrine, from every place of worship, from the tabernacle of every heart, prayers for her happiness, blessings on her goodness, and the incense of an honest and trustful devotion. The great princes in their durbars, the municipalities in their city halls, the soldiers in their barracks, the zemindars in their country houses, the citizens in their pavilioned streets, and the ryots in their humble homesteads feel, and justly feel, that the close of half a century which has encompassed and endowed the land with universal peace which has brought justice to every cottage door which has bridged the floods and pierced the jungle which has converted millions of barren acres into well-watered plains which has sensibly diminished the risks both of famine and of pestilence which has lit a hundred lamps of learning in every chief centre of population and placed within the reach of the humblest Indian student the accumulated wealth of Western learning, science, and experience every English and Indian subject of the Queen, I say, justly feels that such a day of retrospect as this is indeed a fitting occasion for commemoration and mutual congratulations. (Applause.) But if we rejoice in the past, it is not merely on account of the actual good it has brought us, but because the past is the parent and creator of the future. Change and development is the law of human existence ; and great as have been the achievements, both in England, in the colonies, and in this country, which will ever render the Victorian era memorable in the annals of history, they will prove, I trust, but the forecast 1887.] NATIVE POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS. 159 and preface to even greater and still happier times. (Cheers.) Wide and broad, indeed, are the new fields in which the Government of India is called upon to labour but no longer, as of aforetime, need it labour alone. Within the period we are reviewing, education has done its work, and we are surrounded on all sides by native gentlemen of great attain- ments and intelligence, from whose hearty, loyal, and honest co-operation we may hope to derive the greatest benefit. In fact, to an administration so peculiarly situated as ours, their advice, assistance, and solidarity are essential to the successful exercise of its functions. Nor do I regard with any other feelings than those of approval and good-will their natural ambition to be more extensively associated with their English rulers in the administration of their own domestic affairs ; and glad and happy should I be if during my sojourn amongst them circumstances permitted me to extend and to place upon a wider and more logical footing the political status which was so wisely given a generation ago by that great statesman Lord Halifax to such Indian gentlemen as by their influence, their acquirements, and the confidence they inspired in their fellow-countrymen, were marked out as useful adjuncts to our Legislative Councils. (Applause.) But while thus recognising in the fullest manner the legitimacy of such political aspira- tions as those to which I have referred, I hope that they will not divert our Indian fellow-subjects from those equally imperative duties which lie altogether outside the circle of political interests and administrative action, and upon which indeed far more than on anything which Government can do the prosperity of the country depends. Such, for instance, are the improvement of our agricultural systems the reclamation of waste lands, and the planting upon them of the redundant populations at present inconveniently accumulated in congested districts the opening up of fresh avenues of industry both to our urban and rural classes by the spread of technical education the improvement of the sanitary conditions not merely of our great towns, but of our villages, of our hamlets, and of the dwellings of the poor the wise and judicious diffusion of education and knowledge amongst the future 160 SPEECHES. [1887. mothers of the next generation the ripening of public opinion in regard to some of those social questions which lie at the root of all domestic happiness and morality the expan- sion and consolidation of that movement on behalf of the better medical treatment of Indian women in which our Sovereign takes so deep a personal interest the development of our native industries, some of which, I am happy to think, are already competing on triumphant terms with their European rivals the creation, or rather I should say the reintegration, of that artistic genius which in former days rendered India famous for her architecture, her decorative taste, her ornamental treatment of the precious metals, her portrait and miniature painting, and the illumination of her manuscripts and, finally, the bringing into line of all the more backward popu- lations of every race and creed, so that each may compete on equal terms with the others for whatever prizes this life has to offer, whether in the shape of honourable distinction or material advancement. (Applause.) These at least are a few of the objects which the past fifty years of Queen Victoria's reign have placed us in a favourable position for pursuing, and most heartily do I join with you in hoping that our loved Empress may live to witness their successful attainment. Believe me, I speak from personal knowledge when I say that, amongst her many pre-occupations and anxieties, there is no section of her subjects whose interests she watches with more loving or affectionate solicitude than your own. Moreover, in doing this, she most truly represents, as it is fit and right their Sovereign should, the feelings and instincts of the English people. Through the mysterious decrees of Providence, the British nation and its rulers have been called upon to undertake the Supreme Government of this mighty empire ; to vindicate its honour, to defend its territories, and to maintain its authority inviolate ; to rule justly and impartially a congeries of communities, many of them widely differing from each other in race, language, religion, social customs, and material interests ; to preserve intact and unimpaired the dignity, rights, and privileges of a large number of feudatory princes ; to provide for the welfare of a population nearly as numerous 1887.] SURMA MILITARY POLICE. 161 as that of Europe, and presenting every type of civilization known to history from the very highest to the very lowest ; to safeguard and to develop the enormous moral and material British interests which have become inextricably implicated with those of the natives of the soil ; to conduct its adminis- tration in a way to win the love, confidence, and sympathy of races as keenly sensitive to injustice and wrong as they are ready to recognise kindness and righteous dealing; and eventually to evolve from its present intricate and imperfectly adjusted mechanism a homogeneous community so well balanced and co-ordinated, so united in its material interests and in its moral convictions, as to form a loyal, patriotic, and compacted whole. Within what period this result is to be achieved is a secret hidden in the distant future, but of one thing you may be sure, that there is no determination more fixed and immoveable in the will of England, there is no wish dearer to the heart of Her Majesty and of the British people, than faithfully, firmly, and courageously to discharge the difficult and stupendous duties which I have thus rapidly enumerated, in the interests and for the benefit of our Indian fellow-subjects and brothers, (Loud and continued cheers.) A brilliant display of fireworks brought the proceedings of the day to a close. The illumination of Calcutta took place on the following evening, and the Viceroy drove in procession through the principal streets of the city to witness it. BURMA MILITARY POLICE- At the Legislative Council, held at Simla on the 27th of July, 1887, the Bill for the Regulation of Military Police in Burma was taken into con- sideration and subsequently passed into law. Mr. Pejle explained that the object of the Bill was to repeal the Military Police Regulation which was introduced into Upper Burma in January last, and to put the Military Police under the same law in Upper and Lower Burma. Mr. Peile also moved a number of amendments in the original Bill, which were merely additions or alterations to make the meaning clearer. In putting the motion the Viceroy spoke as follows : Before putting these amendments I should be glad to take the opportunity, which as yet I have not had, of expressing V 162 SPEECHES. [1887. on behalf of my colleagues in the Government of India the great satisfaction afforded to us by the admirable manner in which the Indian Military Police of Burma have discharged their difficult and arduous duties from the date they were despatched to that country. Although from time to time the Government of India, through the Home Department, has conveyed to the officers, European and native, of that corps various indications of their approval, I do not think that any very formal recognition of their services has as yet been made. There is no doubt that the duties which have fallen to their share have been as arduous, as dangerous, and as trying to their health as those to which the military forces of Her Majesty in Burma have been exposed, and both in regard to the physical courage and patience which they have displayed, and to their discipline and obedience to command, they have in no degree fallen behind the other police forces of India. Indeed, on several occasions, the Military Police of Burma have distinguished themselves in a very remarkable manner, and, on more than one occasion, individual native officers have shown extraordinary bravery and enterprise. I entirely agree with the observations which have fallen from my honourable colleague, Mr. Peile, that it is of the most essential importance that this force should be worked up to a very high level of military discipline. We must remember that it discharges its duties under very peculiar conditions. It is a force sent to Burma for the purpose of maintaining the domestic peace of the country, but at the same time it is composed of men who are alien in race, in religion, and in language to the population amongst whom they exercise their duties. Consequently, unless there is introduced into the force the bonds of a very strict military discipline, there might be a danger lest it should transgress the proper limits of police action. Thanks to the judicious and practical recommendations of the Commander-in-Chief, when he was in Burma and had an opportunity of observing both the defects as well as the good qualities of the force as it was then constituted, the Government of India, acting by his advice, was able to introduce into Upper Burma those 1887.] THREE FRENCH TRAVELLERS. 163 improvements and those special arrangements which, in con- sequence of their successful operation, my honourable colleague is now anxious to extend to the force in Lower Burma. It is satisfactory to think that the alterations about to be applied to the organization and composition of the force in Lower Burma have successfully operated in the Upper Burma Police Force. I do not think it will be necessary for me to re-read the various amendments proposed by my honourable colleague, and therefore I shall proceed to put them en Hoc. The motion was put and agreed to, after which the Bill was passed into law. FRENCH TRAVELLERS AT SIMLA. On Thursday, the 18th August, the Viceroy entertained at luncheon three French scientific travellers (Messrs. Bonvalot, Pepin, and Capns) who had crossed from Central Asia into India by the Baroghil Pass and Chitral, sufft-r- ing much privation and hardship on the journey. After luncheon His Excellency proposed their health in the following terms : His Lordship on rising said he was desirous, both as the head of the Government of India and as an ex-President of the Royal Geographical Society of England, to congratulate his guests upon their safe arrival in Simla, and stated with what great pleasure he welcomed them to the dominions of Her Majesty. He then expressed in very warm terms his admiration of their tenacity, courage, and endurance in sur- mounting successfully the innumerable difficulties which had impeded their progress across the snowy ranges of the Hima- layas. They had indeed suffered great hardships, but they had borne them with the gaiety and fortitude natural to the gallant nation to which they belonged. We should all profit by the experiences they had gone through, and he looked forward with great pleasure to the account of their adventures, which, in the interests of science, he hoped they would give to the world. He regretted extremely that their stay at Simla should be so short, as both his countrymen and his country- 164 SPEECHES. [1887. women would have joined in trying to make them forget the trials and sufferings they had lately endured. However, he well understood their desire to get back to their own country and to their friends, and he was quite sure that all present, especially the members of the Indian Government, would join him in wishing their guests a prosperous voyage across the sea, and a happy return to France, where the services they had rendered to geographical science would be certain to meet a fitting reward at the hands of their appreciative countrymen. INVESTITURE OF THE COUNTESS OF DUFFERIN WITH THE PERSIAN ORDER OF THE SUN. The following notification in the Foreign Department of the Government of India (No. 1804E., dated Simla, the 2nd September, 1887) appeared in the Gazette of India of 3rd September with reference to the above ceremony : " On the 27th of August, Haji Mirza Hoossein Goli Khan, Motamid-ul- Vizareh, Consul-General for Persia in India, arrived at Simla for the purpose of investing Her Excellency the Countess of Dufferin, C.I., G.C.S., by command of His Majesty the Shah of Persia, with the Imperial Order of the Aftab (Sun) of the Sublime Persian Empire, which Illustrious Order Her Majesty the Queen-Empress had graciously authorized Her Excellency to accept. The investiture took place on Monday, the 29th August, at a durbar held in Simla by His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor-General." On the following day (the 30th August) the Viceroy, accompanied by the Countess of Dufferin, received the Persian Consul again in Durbar, and addressed him in Persian as follows : JANAB-I-SHUMA, Man az shuma Mwahish karda-am ki im-riiz ba man dar in-ja mulaki shaved, ta ba shuma jawab- i-t'alika'e ki dar-an a'la Hazrat-i-Shah, aka-i-zi-shaukat-i- shuma, az rah-i-iltifat izhar farmuda-and, ki ba 'ulya janab Lady Dufferin kita-i-nishan-i-aftab-i-daulati-i-daulat-i-Iran 'ata farmuda-and, barae tahvil namiidan ba a'la Hazrat-i-Shah mufawazz numayam. Dar t'alika-i-mazburah a'la Hazrat-i-Shah wajh-i-in 'atiya-i- atifat-o-iltifat-i-Mud ra mansub ba dusti-o-ittihad-i-kalbi, ki az diryaz darmian-i-daulatain 'ani daulat-i-Iranwa daulat-i- 1887.] A PERSIAN SPEECH. 165 Inglis bar karar biida, izhar mf-farmayand, wa ham timmid mi-kunand ki in-dusti-o-ittihad riiz ba riiz rii ba tazayud-o- tarakkf numayad. Wakte-ki janab-i-shuma t'alika-i-a'la Haz- rat-i-Shah ra wa nishan-i-tabka-i-daulati ra muhavval namiided, janab-i-shuma hamin alfaz ra dar mahall-i-bayan awurded, wa hamin ummfd ra izhar karded. Janab-i-shuma az janib-i-a'la Hazrat-i-Shah ba Matir-i-man awurded ki dusti-o-ittihad darmian-i-har du daulat az pushtha kaim-o-barkarar biida, wa janab-i-shuma pishin-giii-namuded ki, ba fazl-i-janab-i-Bari, ittihad-o-mawaddat aindah hamesha rri ba izdiad bashad ta wakte ki 11 jiiba-i-zamana gardad. Hich kalimat an kadar pur zur-o-kafi nist ki ba-wasitah- i-an man kadar-dani-i-Mialat-o-makniinat ra ki a'la Hazrat- i-Padshah-i-shuma az rah-i-iltifat tahriran, wa ham ba wasitah-i-mulazim-i-mu'tamad-'alaih-i-Mud izhar namiida-and, ibraz numayam ; wa na man mi-tawanam ki janab-i-shuma ra, wa ba tawassut-i-janab-i-shuma a'la Hazrat-i-Shah ra, mutayak- kin sazam ki Mialat-i-man fakat 'aks-o-partaw-i-Miaslat-i-a'la Hazrat-i-Shah ast. Man dusti-o-Mair-Mwahi-i-daim ra ki daulat-i-'aliyya-i-Shah ba daulat-i-bahiyya-i-Inglistan izhar namiida-ast ba ibtihaj-i-kalbf ba-yad-i-Matir mi-aram, wa man ba i'tikad wa nihayat Mush-dili dawam-o-izdiad-i-dusti-o-A;7tair- i/iwahi ra mutawakki'-am. Iran-o-Inglistan bisyar rawabit-i- ittihad darand, wa hich amre nist ki daran masalih mutasadim shawand wa baham Murand. Man ummid mi-kunam wa i'tikad daram ki dar zaman-i-aindah har du millat o-kaum paiwasta chunanki alan and, diistan-i-hamim-o-rasi^ Mwahand biid, wa chunanchi Mud-i-janab-i-shumd mi-gued mawaddat-o- dusti-i-unha pusht-ba-pusht mazbut-o-mustahkan Mwahad shud. Man az janab-i-shuma Mwahish mi-kunam ki a'la Hazrat- i-Shah ra bar-anchi man gufta-am muttali'-o-hali gardaried wa a'la Hazrat-i-Shah ra mutayakkin sazed ki chunanki man az jihat-i-'ata-i-nisban-i-tabka-i-daulati nihdyat mukirr-o-kail bar ihtiram, e ki a'la Hazrat-i-Padshah ba Lady Dufferin wa ba A;Aud-i-man namuda-and hastam, man nishan-i-mazkur ra az hama chizha bish-buha Mwaham danist, wa Lady Dufferin ham i'ui-ia az hama ashy a bishbaha Mwahand danist, chi, an 166 SPEECHES. [1887. 'alaniat-o-nishan-i-dusti-i-a'la Hazrat-i-Shah nisbat ba kishwar- o-mulk-i-rna hast. Man bar an chi im-riiz ba wuku' rasida 'ulya Hazrat-i- Malika-i-mu'azzama ra muttali'-o-hali mi-gardanam, wa man ba yakin mi-danam ki 'ulya Hazrat-i-Malika-i-nm'az-zama ra az istima'-i-in amr Maile bahjat o Murrami ru Mwahad namiid. Ba janab-i-Lady Dufferin, wa ba Mud-i-man ba-'is-i-inbisat-i- ziada dar zaman-i-aindah Mwahad biid, wakte ke ba yad mi-arem ki janab-i-muhtasham ilaiha ba nishan-i-tabka-i- daulati dar in sal-i-kabil-i-yad-gar-i-hukumat-i-'ulya Hazrat-i- Malika-i-mu'azzama muhalla namiida shudand. The following is a translation of the above speech: YOUK EXCELLENCY, I have asked you to meet me to-day in order that I might hand over to you, for delivery to His Majesty the Shah, your august master, a reply to the letter in which His Majesty was good enough to announce that he had conferred upon Lady Dufferin the Imperial Order of the Sun of the Persian Empire. In that letter his Majesty refers, as the reason for his gracious gift, to the cordial friendship which has so long existed between the Governments of Persia and England ; and he expresses the hope that this friendship may grow closer day by day. In presenting His Majesty's .letter, and the Insignia of the Imperial Order, Your Excellency dwelt upon the same subject, and expressed the same hope. You reminded me, on His Majesty's behalf, that the friendship between the two Govern- ments had endured for generations past, and you foretold that, by the grace of God, it would continue to increase in the future until it should be a wonder to the world. No words would be too strong to convey my appreciation of the sentiments which your Sovereign has been pleased to express, both in writing and through the agency of his trusted servant. Nor could I too warmly assure your Excellency, and through you His Majesty the Shah, that my own feelings are but the echo of His Majesty's. I look back with hearty pleasure upon the unfailing good- 1887.] PUNJAB TENANCY BILL. 167 will which the Government of the Shah has shown towards England ; and I look forward with confidence and deep satis- faction to the continuance and increase of that good-will. Persia and England have many bonds of union, and there is no point upon which their interests should conflict. I hope and believe that in time to come the two nations will ever remain, as they are now, warm and constant friends ; and that, to use your own words, their friendship will grow closer from generation to generation. I would ask Your Excellency to inform His Majesty of what I have said, and to assure him that, while I am deeply sensible of the honour which His Majesty has done to Lady Dufferin and myself by the conferment of the Imperial Order, I shall value it above all, and Lady Dufferin will value it above all, as a sign of His Majesty's friendship towards our country. I shall inform Her Majesty the Queen-Empress of what has passed to-day, and I feel sure that Her Gracious Majesty will hear of it with sincere satisfaction. To Lady Dutterin and myself it will be an additional source of pleasure in the future to remember that Her Excellency was invested with the insignia of the Imperial Order in this memorable year of Her Majesty's reign. PUNJAB TENANCY BILL. At the meeting of the Legislative Council which was held at Simla on 22nd September, 1887, Lord Duflerin made the following remarks on the motion that the Punjab Tenancy Bill be passed into law : Before putting this motion to the Council, I desire to congratulate my colleagues in the Government, as well as the members of the Legislative Council, upon the successful termination which has been reached in this important matter. Undoubtedly we are under the very greatest obligation to those members of the committee who have undertaken the responsible and laborious task of shaping this Bill in so careful and conscientious a manner. Although it is perfectly true 168 SPEECHES. [1887. that the proposed Act may, in some sort, be called an amend- ing Act, there can be no doubt that any piece of legislation which touches such important and extensive interests, unless very carefully drawn, is liable to inflict both injury and injustice. I am quite convinced that, thanks to the ability and care with which the clauses of the Bill have been framed, this danger has been reduced to a minimum. I think we are also very much indebted to the Government of the Punjab for the manner in which they have given their attention to the subject. I also wish to express, on behalf of all my colleagues, our thanks to Mr. Peile for the interesting and clear manner in which he and no man is in a better position than himself to undertake such a task has described the general scope and objects of the measure. With these few observations, I now beg to put the motion made by Colonel Wace that this Bill, as amended, be passed. The motion was put and agreed to. ADDRESSES FROM THE KURRACHEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, THE INHABITANTS OF SIND, THE MAHOMEDAN CENTRAL ASSOCIATION, AND THE SIND SABHA. At Kurrachee, on 12th November, 1887, four deputations waited on the Viceroy: the first, from the Chamber of Commerce, with an address which was read by Mr. Mclnch, the President ; the second, from the inhabitants of Sind, with an address which was read by Colonel Cory ; the third, with an address from the Mahomedan Central Association which was read by Mr. Hassan AH ; and the fourth, from the Sind Sabha. The Hyderabad- Pachpadra Railway was the subject principally referred to* Colonel Cory made a long statement in support of the prayer of the memorialists for a reconsideration of the railway project, on account of the grave mistakes as to figures and facts which he alleged had been made by the Public Works Department. Besides referring to several local wants, the Sind Sabha asked that Kurrachee should be made the headquarters of the Govern- ment of India; whilst the Mahomedan Association referred especially to the backward condition of their co-religionists. Lord Dufferin replied collectively to the addresses as follows : GENTLEMEN, It is needless to say that I have listened with the greatest interest, gratification, and attention to the several 1887.] RAILWAY EXTENSION IN SIND. 169 addresses which have been presented to me. I am very sen- sible of the kind and friendly spirit in which you have met me here to-day, and of the warm and friendly welcome which the representatives of this important province have been pleased to accord to me. Any one in my position feels very deeply touched by finding, wherever he goes amongst the various communities of India, the same universal loyalty towards the throne and person of our Sovereign, and the same generous desire to place confidence in the Government representing Her Majesty in this country. Personally, I desire to express to you, both on my own behalf and on that of Lady Dufferin, to whom a very friendly allusion has been made, our best and most grateful thanks for your kindness. I will now turn for a few moments to some of the points which have been brought to my notice in your respective addresses ; and, in the first place, I desire to recognise in the most ample manner not only the force and lucidity, but the moderation and good feeling which have characterized all your references to what is undoubtedly a very burning question in this neighbourhood I allude to the extension of your railway communications. Of course, when a Viceroy finds himself alone, and separated from his councillors and constitutional advisers and from those technical experts upon whose special acquaintance with these particular subjects he is forced so much to rely, his natural inclination is perhaps to sympathize overmuch with those who appear before him, and who are generally able to make out a very strong and cogent case for the particular line of policy they advocate. Undoubtedly, were I an inhabitant of Kurrachee and were my material interests bound up with the prosperity of this province, I should feel as deeply as any one here present the force of those representations which you have submitted to me. Indeed, it would be impossible to dispute the correctness of the view you take that the extension of your railway communications towards the north-east would materially improve the prosperity of this town and neighbourhood, and 1 may say of the greater part of the province. But, as I said before, in replying to the address with which I was favoured vesterdav, the Government 170 SPEECHES. [1887. of India in relation to questions of this kind always finds itself in a very difficult and embarrassing position. We are strictly enjoined by the Secretary of State and recently his instruc- tions have been more imperative than ever not to expend, either directly or through the medium of a guarantee, more than a certain sum annually in the construction of railways. On the other hand, the Government of India, long before I came to the country, was irretrievably committed to the con- struction of a great number of lines which are still incomplete, and which consume annually almost the whole of the capital which we are allowed to borrow for such purposes. By post- poning indefinitely some of these lines we should not only cause an unjustifiable amount of loss to the Government, but we should also imperil the lives of thousands, nay of millions, of our fellow-subjects in the districts liable to famine. Then, as I have already said to the deputation which addressed me yesterday, we have also to consider our obligations to the new province of Upper Burma. The construction of railways from one end of that province to the other is not only required for preserving peace amongst our new subjects, but is also neces- sary to enable the province to assume that position of financial equilibrium which can only be brought about by the natural development of its resources. Here in Kurrachee, when listening to the eloquent and forcible language addressed to him, a Viceroy is apt somewhat to overlook the other obliga- tions which must present themselves to the mind of the Oovernment, and the claims of your town are only too likely to assume almost an undue importance ; but when he goes to Calcutta and again finds himself surrounded by his advisers, when he hears this question discussed in connection with the claims of other communities, then, perhaps, even against his own amiable inclinations, he may be forced to attach greater importance to other considerations which tell against your wishes. Be that, however, as it may, I can assure you that I will do my very best fairly to study all those arguments which have been advanced in your several addresses ; and although it would be both unwise and unfair of me to hold out any hopes that the present decision of the Government will be 1887.] MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS. 171 reversed, this at all events I can promise you, that, as far as my own judgment is concerned, I shall be prepared to go into the question in a very thorough and earnest manner. I am sure, under the circumstances, those gentlemen whose addresses were principally concerned with the railway question will consider that I have given them as fair and as conciliatory an answer as the case permits. Passing from that topic, therefore, I will now thank the Sind Sabha for their loyal and hospitable sentiments. I am glad to find that they have fully appreciated as it deserves the great boon that was conferred on India at large when my illustrious predecessor granted municipal self-government to various communities, and I have observed with pleasure the singularly modest manner in which they have referred to the working of that institution in their own province. That modesty and moderation is in itself an assurance to me that those citizens who have been entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the municipal business of their fellow-townsmen, are likely to fulfil their duties to the satisfaction of those whose affairs they administer, as well as to that of the Govern- ment, which will always watch, with the greatest interest, the successful development of these institutions. I have noted what has been brought to my attention in regard to the fact that those two important commissions, the Civil Service Commission and the Financial Commission, did not visit Sind. I certainly share the regret of the members of Sind Sabha that that visit should have been omitted, and I will take care that, should it be my duty hereafter to appoint any commission of an equally universal character, the population of Sind will not have any cause to complain of similar neglect. With regard to the suggestion that the capital of India should be transferred from its present locality to this port, I am afraid it is a proposal that is likely very much to flutter the hearts of the inhabitants of Calcutta, who are peculiarly sensitive to any question of the kind. Personally, I am always glad myself to be in the neighbourhood of the sea, and, as far as my short experience goes, it appears to me 172 SPEECHES. [1887. that the air of Kurrachee is exceptionally pleasant and in- vigorating; but at the same time, as I am always careful never to raise hopes which I see no immediate prospects of fulfilling, I do not like to bind myself by any promise on the subject. It only remains for me now to thank the Mahomedan gentlemen whom I see before me for the kind and sympathetic manner in which they have approached me. They are per- fectly right in thinking that the fact of my having passed so many years of my life in close contact with Mahomedan communities, and in official relations with Mahomedan Go- vernments, has naturally inspired me with the deepest and most genuine sympathy with the Mahomedan subjects of Her Majesty in India ; but, on the other hand, it must always be remembered that one of the most important and righteous functions of the Indian Government is to administer the affairs of the State with the most absolute impartiality, and with an equal distribution of sympathy amongst all the classes, races, and religious communities of which India is the home. What we desire to bring about is a condition of absolute impartiality as between race and race, religion and religion, community and community. But, though firmly determined, as long as I shall have the honour to retain the great and responsible office which I now hold, to preserve inviolate this traditional impar- tiality, and to avoid, even in thought, any departure from those principles, I am certainly, neither in my individual capacity nor as head of the State, precluded from recognising the undoubted fact that, owing to various circumstances and to historic forces over which they themselves have had no control, the Mahomedan community in many parts of India hardly finds itself in that satisfactory position to which it has a right to aspire. I am, however, happy to think that wherever I have gone I have found the Mahomedans them- selves most ready and willing to acknowledge what is the principal reason for this state of things, as well as to create and to apply the necessary remedy. In this province I am glad to find that the Mahomedans have an earnest zeal for the promotion of education among the youth, and are showing that 1887.] THE INDIAN MAHOMEDAN^. 173 they, too, are determined no longer to remain behind in the race of progress upon which all the communities of India are so happily embarked. With regard to those other special points to which my attention has been called, I would only observe that they are questions which fall rather within the jurisdiction of the local government than that of the Viceroy, and inasmuch as Sind has recently had the advantage of a visit from Lord Reay, one of the most experienced, most intellectually gifted, and most scholarly Governors that have ever been sent to India, it is to be supposed that the circumstances referred to have been brought to his notice, and that he and his Government in due time and place will do their best to apply such remedies as are compatible with those principles of absolute impartiality to which I have already referred. I have now, gentlemen, touched upon, almost every point except one, to which reference has been made, but I should certainly fail in my duty if I did not take this opportunity the first which has presented itself of expressing publicly, in the most cordial terms which I can command, my sympathy with that just pride with which the Mahomedan community have signalized the fact that, amongst all the native chiefs of India, a Mahomedan Prince, the Nizam, has been the first to come forward with one of the most noble and generous offers ever made to the Government. The whole Mahomedan com- munity may be proud of his wisdom, of his patriotism, and of his loyalty ; and it has already been my duty to express to His Highness personally, both in my own name and in that of my Government and of Her Majesty the Queen-Empress, our very deep sense of the noble manner in which he has acted. In conclusion, gentlemen, addressing you all collectively, allow me again to thank you for the manner in which you have allowed me to ascertain your views and sentiments. I only wish you to believe that I have no higher ambition, no stronger hope, than to promote, as far as lies in my power, the interests of this place, which I fully acknowledge to be already one of the most important harbours which exist 174 SPEECHES. [1887. in India, and one which undoubtedly, as time goes on, is destined to assume even greater prominence, both as a com- mercial port and as one of the bases of military operations in India. DURBAR AT PESHAWAR. On the 25th of November, 1887, the Viceroy held a Durbar at Peshawar for the reception of the Chiefs and Sirdars of the frontier. The ceremony took place in a spacious shamiana, in the presence of a large assembly of European and native gentlemen. On the left of His Excellency were seated the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, the Commander-in-Chief, Sir Theodore Hope, and other high officers of Government. The representatives of the frontier tribes were accompanied by their followers. After the presentations had been made the Viceroy delivered the following speech : PERSIAN TRANSLITERATION. SARDARAN WA .OANAN, ^ Har chand ki man mi-Mwastam ta in wakt mara hich mauka-i- didan-i-Peshawar dast na dada ; wa azin arnr ki man imruz ba shuma dar inja naubat-i-awwal mulaki shudam Maile mahzuz wa masrur gardidam. Chunanki shuma mi-daned man du hafta-i-guzashta ra dar daura- o-safar-i-azla'-i-sarhadd-i-paulat-i-bahiyya-i-Britania ki az Karachi ba samt-i-shimal mumtadd mi-shawad sarf karda-am ; wa man az yak sar ta digar sar sarhadd.e pur amn-o-aman mulahaza narnudam ki dar kabza-i-mustahkam wa khiib muntazam ast. Har iae ki * *} budam az mnla-haza-i-asar-i-sarsabzi-i-kamil ki har ja ham-kadam- i-istih-kam-i-Hukumat-i-paulat-i-bahiyya-i-Britania ast, mara far- hat wa inbisat ru dada. Zira'at wa daulat dar-mian-i-mardnm ru ba tarakki-st ; Mutut-i-buzurg-i-rah-i-ahan miita'ilik ba tjidabir-i- harb-o-tijarat bar sath-i-mamlukat ru ba imtidad darad. Eawabit- i-dustana ba hukmranha wa sakinin-i-diar-i-^Aud-muA-Atar' e ki an rue sarhadd-i-ma-st kaim ast. In wa digar ' alamat-i-ummid wa himmat afza-i-kuwwat wa tarakki ba har taraf ba mulahaza-i-man rasid. Wa alan ki man darin shahr-i-Peshawar, ki zikr-i-an dar tawariM bisyar ast, v/arid shudam, human hakaik wa wakiat-i-numayan mu'ayana shud. Railway y'ani rah-i-ahan az mian-i-mulk-i-pur 1887.] THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER. 173 amn-o-aman wa sarsabz-o-shadab inara in ja rasanid, ; wa in lahza man ra'aya-i-wafa-kish wa kani'-i-'Ulya Hazrat-i-Malika-i-Mu' az- zama waMawanin-i-ba ittihad wa malikan-i-akwam-i-Mud-muM- tar ra daur-o-hauz-i-Mud mi-binam. Unhara man ba farhat-o- inbisat az janib-i-sani-ul-jawanib-i-Malika-i-Mu' azzama marhaba wa Musli-uinaded mi-giiyam. Ba ham a wa ba har yak az shuma wa ba sahib-man-saban-i- shuja' wa kabil-i-Daulat-i-bahiyya-i-Britania, chih az ahl-i-Inglis- tan wa chi az sakinin-i-in mulk ki in sarhadd ra anche hast saMta- and, man az samiin-i-kalb tahniat wa mubarakbad mi-diham, wa ummid mi-kunam ki ta ba bisyar pushtha amn-o-falah dar mian-i- shuma kaim manad. Wa man yakin mi-kunam ki rawabit-i- dilMwah ki alan, na sirf hamrah-i-akwam-i-sarhacld balki ba hukmran wa sakiiiin-i-Afi/Mnistan bar karar ast, mujib-i-bisyar istihkam-i-in amn-o-aman Mwahad shud, ki in amn-o-aman alan dar in hissa-i-muhimma-i-Saltanat-i-I^ind-i-'Ulya Hazrat-i-Malika i Mau'azzama shai' ast. The following is a translation of the above speech : GENTLEMEN, CHIEFS, AND SIRDARS, Until now I have had no opportunity of visiting Peshawar, and as I have always wished to do so, it is with deep interest and pleasure I meet you here for the first time to-day. As you know, I have spent the last fortnight touring along the British border districts from Kurrachee northwards. I have found throughout a peaceful frontier, firmly held and firmly administered ; and I have been gratified to observe, as I passed, the evidences of material prosperity which everywhere follow the establishment of British rule : cultivation and wealth increasing among the people, great lines of strategical and commercial railways spreading themselves over the face of the land, and friendly relations existing with the rulers of the people in the inde- pendent tracts on the frontier. These and other hopeful and inspiriting signs of progress have met me on every side, and now that I huve arrived in this historical city I am impressed by the same significant facts. The railway has brought me here through a peaceful and prosperous country, and I stand at this moment surrounded by loyal and contented subjects of the Queen and by the friendly chiefs and representatives of the ] 76 SPEECHES. [1887. independent tribes whom I am rejoiced to welcome in Her Majesty's name. To one and all of you, and to the brave and able officers of the British Government in India who have made the border what it is, I offer my heartiest congratula- tions ; and I hope that for many generations to come peace and prosperity may continue among you. I am confident that the friendly relations now established, not only with the border tribes but with the ruler of Afghanistan, will do much to strengthen the feeling of rest and security which prevails in this important portion of Her Majesty's empire. ADDEESS FROM THE PESHAWAB MUNICIPALITY. After the conclusion of the Durbar at Peshawar on the 25th of No- vember, the Viceroy and party, including the Commander-in-Chief and the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, drove through the city in the afternoon. Outside the Edwardes Gate the Yusufzai armour men were drawn up, and guards of honour of 100 men with band were placed inside the Kotwali and Gor Khatri. At the Tahsil, Lord Dufferin received a loyal address from the Municipal Committee, to which His Excellency replied as follows : GENTLEMEN, I desire to express to you my warmest thanks for the kind reception you have prepared for me on entering your city. It so happens that during the first year of my residence in India I had formed all my plans with the intention of coming amongst you, for though you allude to Peshawar in very modest terms, I can assure you that in the estimation of the rest of your fellow-subjects, whether native or English, it is regarded as one of the most important cities in Hindustan. Now at last I have been able to accomplish my desire, and I need not say with what pleasure I have driven through your orderly streets, or how deeply I feel those marks of respect which I have encountered on every side at the hands of its inhabitants. As you are aware, during the past two or three weeks I have been engaged in visiting the whole of the frontier of British India from Kurrachee to this place, 1887.] THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER. 177 and I have been glad to find wherever I have gone, the marks of prosperity, of contentment, of good government, of loyalty, and of peace, which characterise what at one time was a dis- tracted and disorderly region. One of the great benefits of British rule, which every one in India, I think, is ready to acknowledge, is that, wherever the sway of Her Majesty extends, there at all events, peace is insisted on, and justice is administered with impartiality to all persons, no matter to what community or to what religion they may belong. I have also to congratulate you upon what is always a matter of importance to those inhabiting a frontier region ; namely, upon the amicable relations between us and our immediate neighbours. A most excellent understanding exists between the Government of Her Majesty and the Government and people of Afghanistan ; and there is no doubt that the recent conclusion of the frontier convention with Russia which was inaugurated, to his credit be it said, by my illus- trious predecessor will still further add to that feeling of satisfaction to which I have already referred. I am glad to learn from the authorities of your town whom I have met that its condition is prosperous and its trade flourishing, and that every year the industries of its inhabitants attain greater dimensions. I have no doubt that under your auspicious direction that satisfactory state of things will continue, and that Peshawar will become year by year a still greater and more prosperous city among the great and pros- }>erous cities of Hindustan. OPENING OF THE DUFFERIN BRIDGE, BENARES. On Friday, the 16th December, 1887, the Viceroy arrived at the britlge setroleum, and made an exhaustive statement explanatory of the financial position of the Indian Government. His Excellency the Viceroy spoke as follows: GENTLEMEN, I do not think it necessary at this stage of the proceedings to trouble the Council with any special observa- tions in regard to the motion before it. But I cannot help expressing my satisfaction at hearing from our honourable colleague Kaja Peari Mohun Mukerji that the recent increase which we have made in the salt duty has met with his approval. Representing so fully as he does the views of the intelligent and educated native community of India, that expression of opinion on his part is very valuable. Of course it is with ex- treme reluctance that any one in my position can give his con- sent to any increase to the burdens of the people of India. Unfortunately it has become my lot on two several occasions to add to the taxation of the country. But, in justification of this hard necessity, it is sufficient for me to remark that since my arrival in India, owing to the depreciation in the price of silver, the annual accumulative loss to the Government has progres- sively increased year by year by a million pounds sterling. The loss in 1884-85, when I first took up the reins of Govern- ment, stood at 3,400,000; in 1885-86 it amounted to 4,400,000 ; in 1886-87 to 5,400,000 ; and now in 1887-88 to 6,200,000. But, even in the presence of these growing em- barrassments, I would certainly have been unwilling to agree to an increase of the salt tax, had it not been, as the Honourable Mr. Westland has most clearly explained to the Council, that a somewhat unexpected loss of revenue had declared itself during the last year under two other heads through a fall in the price of opium and in our railway receipts. As the Govern- ment would not have been in a position to suggest to the Council on other grounds than those of mere conjecture that any improvement would take place in future years under the 182 SPEECHES. [1888. head of exchange, or even under either of the other two heads of income I have referred to, it became obviously our duty at once to strengthen our financial position and to provide our- selves with a working surplus. By the executive measure which we adopted a few days ago, and by the bill which is now about to be introduced into the Council, I trust that this satisfactory result will be obtained. I am very glad that my honourable friend Mr. Westland has noticed the circumstances under which the Government was induced to issue a Gazette notification raising the salt duty. In acting as we have done, we have merely acted in accordance with the intentions of an Act of the Legislature which placed us in possession of those powers which we have put in motion. To have adopted any other course would have been undesirable. To have given the kind of notice which some persons seem to have wished would have only benefited a certain number of individuals at the expense of the community at large. I can quite understand that my honour- able colleague Raja Peari Mohun Mukerji should have felt him- self and in that respect he has merely expressed what, I am sure, is the feeling of his colleagues unable at this stage of the proceedings to enter into any of those larger questions of finance which my honourable friend Mr. Westland has brought to the notice of the Council. But I hope that he will appreciate the desire of the Government of India, in submitting to the Council so full a financial statement as that made by Mr. Westland, to profit by the experience and advice of those eminent gentlemen I see around me. The motion was put and agreed to. CUSTOMS DUTY ON PETKOLEUM. At the meeting of the Legislative Council held at Calcutta on Friday, the 3rd February, 1888, the Hon. Mr. Westland, the Finance Member of the Viceroy's Council, moved that the bill for levying a customs duty on petroleum be referred to a select committee consisting of the Hon. Messrs. Scoble, Whiteside, Steel, and the mover. At the conclusion of the debate which ensued His Excellency the Viceroy spoke as follows : 1888.] TEE FINANCIAL SITUATION. 183 GENTLEMEN, Our honourable colleague the Finance Mem- ber may certainly be congratulated on the candid and generous manner in which his financial statement has been received by all the members of this Council ; and it is gratifying to the Government to feel that not only do we possess the unanimous approval and support of the Council, but that we may fairly conclude that the views which have been expressed by Mr. Steel in his very weighty speech, by Mr. Evans, and by all the native members, are the reflex of that intelligent public opinion which they are so well entitled to represent. The question has been so ably dealt with by every member who has spoken, and the consensus of opinion is so general, that it is unnecessary for me to trouble the Council further. Of course the real difficulty attending our financial policy is the insta- bility of silver. With an uncertainty of that kind introduced into all his calculations, no Finance Minister can ever enjoy any real repose. He must be always conscious that in the un- known future there may exist contingencies which will upset all his calculations and destroy the anticipated equilibrium in his budget ; but from the very nature of the case all that the Government can do is to exercise its best intelligence in calcu- lating the probabilities of the actual situation, and leave the ultimate issue in the hands of Providence. As I have already had occasion to say, had it not been for the fall in silver which has made me three millions a year a poorer Viceroy than I was when I first came to the country, I think we might, notwithstand- ing even the fall in opium and the expenditure in Burma, have tided over our present difficulties without any resort to increased taxation. From what I have recently heard from our minister in China it does not seem likely that any very considerable change iu the mercantile relations between China and India as regards opium is likely to ensue. Again, though we have no right to allow such an anticipation to influence our practical policy, we may fairly hope that our railway receipts will gradually recover. With regard to Burma, there is no doubt that, although during the last year the expenditure has been very heavy, heavier even than was anticipated, it will be a diminish- ing charge, and even in the budget we are now preparing a 184 SPEECHES. [1888. change for the better will be shown. Moreover, it must be re- membered that Lower Burma may soon be expected, if not altogether, at all events to a considerable extent, to be able to carry Upper Burma on its back. It is true the surplus revenue of Lower Burma which annually accrues over and above the expenses of its own administration and now amounts to nearly a million, only represents the fair share which that province might be called upon to pay towards the general imperial expenses of administration ; but, on the other hand, it is clear that if Lower Burma did not exist, the large sums which for some years past we have received from thence would have had to be supplied by India herself from extra taxation from which she has now been relieved. Consequently, were the accounts of the two provinces to be united, the deficit in regard to Upper Burma, even for the present, will be found to be inconsiderable. It will be interesting to the Council to know that not only are we daily receiving satisfactory proofs of the rapidity with which Upper Burma is settling down and order is being established, but that we have made most satisfactory progress in dealing with all those subordinate questions which affect the Shan States and our relations both with Siam and China. It has been stated that this Government has determined upon the subjugation of the Shan States, and that we are about to send a corps d'armee in order to carry this purpose into effect. Such an observation only shows how very great is the misconception which prevails in regard to the political and geographical con- dition of what are known as the Shan States. As you are aware, Burma may be described as a broad valley traversed by the Irrawaddy and the Chindwin, with the Arracan mountains on the western side, and a corresponding high plateau on the eastern side. It is upon this plateau, which extends as lar as the Salween, that the Burmese Shan States are situated. These states have always been subject to Upper Burma, and when we took possession of that country we sent messages to their various chiefs that from henceforth they were to regard Her Majesty the Queen as their Sovereign. This information was received upon their part in a satisfactory manner, and they suggested that we should send up some officers to settle the exact nature 1888.] BURMA AND THIBET. 185 of their future relations with us. We have taken advantage of the cold weather to despatch two political officers into the Shan States, accompanied each by a small column. These gentle- men have traversed the whole district from one end to the other in perfect security, and have been everywhere received in a cordial manner both by the population and by the various chiefs. Not only so, but our agents have met on the extreme eastern frontier of Shan Burma the authorities of Siam, and have come to a preliminary understanding with them as to the frontier which is hereafter to divide the Shan States under British rule from those under Siamese jurisdiction. But what perhaps is even a more gratifying feature in the situation is the fact that the government of His Majesty the Emperor of China is exhibiting towards us a most friendly spirit, and is doing everything we could desire to render the settlement of that part of Burma which borders on China easy and successful. The Viceroy of Yunnan has received instructions to order the officials on the Chinese frontiers to cultivate friendly relations with us, and the effect of this action upon the part of China is now becoming very marked. 1 may mention, as an additional proof of the desire of China to exhibit a conciliatory spirit to- wards the Government of India, that she is using her best efforts to induce the garrison of Thibetans, who have passed beyond their own frontier and built a fort on a road which was made by the Indian Government in Sikkim a road over which we have definite and strict legal rights to retire within their own territories. Consequently, although, as must always be the case in a new province recently added to the empire, a very considerable outlay will be necessary in Burma with the view to furnishing it with roads, jails, barracks, and public buildings, and for the purpose of opening up what are undoubtedly its large material resources, I do not think that any one need ap- prehend that our expenditure in Burma will eventually prove a source of financial embarrassment to the Indian Government. Thanking the members of the Council for the patience with which they have listened to my few observations, for the gene- rous spirit in which they have received the financial statement which has been.placed before them, as well as for the valuable 186 SPEECHES. [1888. suggestions which have fallen from various members, I proceed to put the motion, namely, that the bill to provide for the levying of a customs duty on petroleum be referred to a select committee consisting of the Honourable Messrs. Scoble, White- side, Steel, and Westland. The Motion was adopted. COUNTESS OF DUFFERIN'S FUND. The Viceroy presided at the annual meeting of the supporters of the "Countess of Dufferin's Fund for providing medical aid to the women of India," held in the Town Hall, Calcutta, on Wednesday, the 8th February, 1888. In reply to a resolution thanking him for presiding on the occasion, His Excellency said : LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I feel that it is not from you to me, but from me to you, that thanks are due for the privilege afforded to me of presiding on this occasion, for who is there that would not feel gratified to find himself associated with those patriotic gentlemen who, by their generosity and energy, whether as members of the committee, as subscribers to the fund, or as general supporters of our institution, have so ably seconded the efforts of our Lady President ? (Applause.) When we first met here three years ago, we must have felt that, after all, we were embarking upon a tentative experiment ; but no one, I am sure, can leave this room to-night without feeling that the institution has been placed upon a basis which can never fail, and that henceforth and for ever its benevolent operations will extend wider and wider, and penetrate further and further into the homes of India. (Cheers.) Not only so, ladies and gentlemen, but there is another reason on account of which I feel proud to be present upon this platform. To- night we have received the assistance of the brother of one of the noblest Viceroys that ever presided over the destinies of this country (cheers), who sacrificed his life in the discharge of his duty, and to whose memory the affectionate reminiscences 1888.] COUNTESS OF DUFFERIN'S FUND. 187 of the grateful people of India still cling with undying fidelity. (Applause.) Then again, on the other side of me there sits the daughter of one of the most illustrious statesmen that ever left the shores of England in order to devote their great talents and undaunted energies to the service of their country, the memory of whose achievements will last as long as history itself. He, too, ladies and gentlemen, it will be remembered, laid down his life for India, for though he left these shores alive, he soon afterwards succumbed to those unparalleled labours which signalized his Viceroyalty. Ladies and gentlemen, I also desire to thank those who have addressed you, and you who have so generously accepted their observations, for the kind way in which Lady Dufferin has been remembered by you on this occa- sion. (Applause.) There is no one perhaps more capable than myself of bearing testimony to the constant and earnest atten- tion which Her Excellency is continually paying to your inte- rests ; for only too frequently when the hard labours of my office are concluded, and I repair to the retirement of my zenana for the purpose of seeking that repose which my conscience tells me I have earned, I am grievously disappointed by finding Her Excellency so closely engaged upon the various matters connected with her " fund," that she is unable to pay me any attention whatsoever. (Cheers and laughter.) Nor, ladies and gentlemen, must I forget on this occasion to pay, on behalf of the committee and on your behalf, a well-merited tribute of gratitude to a gentleman of whose exertions and of whose devotion and industry I cannot speak in too high terms, but who, very much to his own regret, has now been compelled to dissociate himself from those labours which he has so efficiently discharged, and to which he is so much attached I allude to your late honorary secretary, Major Cooper. (Cheers.) Though we have been sufficiently fortunate in finding a successor who, I am sure, will be prepared to tread conscientiously in his footsteps, of this I am certain, that you will never have a more devoted or a more single- minded friend and servant than Major Cooper. (Cheers.) Ladies and gentlemen, it now only remains for me to thank you for the kind reception you have given me, and to con- 188 SPEECHES. [1888. gratulate you, as I do with all my heart, upon the proud position which you have already attained, and which I hope you will seek still further to improve, for I trust that you will never rest until the capital sum in your possession shall at all events reach the very moderate figure of a hundred thousand pounds. (Applause.) ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS EXCELLENCY'S KESIGNATION OF THE OFFICE OF VICEROY. At the close of the business of the Legislative Council held at Calcutta on Friday, the 10th February, 1888, His Excellency addressed the members as follows in reference to the announcement of his resignation of the office of Viceroy at the end of the year 1888, which had appeared in the newspapers on i he preceding day : GENTLEMEN, It would be scarcely respectful that I should allow the members of this Council, with whom I have been so frequently associated in devising legislative measures for the good of this country, to separate without referring to the an- nouncement which was made public yesterday, that I had obtained the permission of Her Majesty's Government to resign the Viceroyalty of India at the end of the present year. It may be well imagined that no one in my situation would take such a step without feeling both pain and regret ; for the post I am now filling is at once the most honourable and the most important that can be held by a subject of the Crown. It was with no light heart that I accepted it, and it is with a deep sense of the responsibility I owe to my Sovereign, to my fellow-countrymen at home, and, above all, to the inhabitants of India, that I have endeavoured, however imperfectly, to discharge the laborious duties attaching to it. I desire it, therefore, to be understood that I have been actuated by im- perative private considerations alone in pursuing the course I have adopted. From the time I set foot in India till the present moment not a shadow of difference has arisen between myself and the Government at home, nor, as I trust, have I in 1888.] LOUD DUFFER IF S RESIGNATION. 189 any way forfeited the confidence of the Secretary of State. Indeed, I cannot sufficiently express my deep gratitude for the generous support I have received at the hands of the successive ministers who have presided over the India Office since 1884. Neither has anything occurred in India itself to render my position as Viceroy less agreeable or less attractive than it was when I first came to the country. On the contrary, from the entire European community, from all classes of my native fellow-subjects, whether Hindu or Mahomedan, whether princes or private persons, whether in Calcutta or in other localities, I have received constant and innumerable tokens of sympathy and good-will. I only wish I had been better able by my public exertions to show my appreciation of so much loyalty and kindness. Domestic reasons alone have induced me to return home a year before the regular effluxion of my term ; but, after all, it must be remembered that in limiting my service in India to four years, I shall have stayed in this country as long, or almost as long, as any of my immediate predecessors, and four years of such constant labour and anxiety as a Viceroy is called upon to bear are almost as much as is good for any one, so that I cannot but feel it may be for the public interest that I should resign my charge into the hands of a younger man, especially as the general political condition of the country, whether we regard its domestic affairs or its external relations, is prosperous and peaceful. Had it been otherwise, I would have gladly sacrificed every personal consideration in the cause of duty. With regard to my successor, all I can say is that had the choice lain witli me, he is the very person whom I would have suggested, possessing, as he does, every quality to recommend him to the confidence of the Crown and of the nation. A grandson of one of our most venerable statesmen, and initiated from his earliest youth in the conduct of serious political affairs, he is now discharging the duties of Governor-General of Canada in a manner equally satisfactory to the people of that great Dominion and to the Government at home. He is in the prime of life, and married to one of the most charming ladies that ever graced London society, and whether as presiding 190 SPEECHES. [1888. over the social or the political world of India, I prophesy for him universal popularity and acceptance. Gentlemen, I feel that I have already occupied you too long with my own personal affairs, but my great gratitude for your constant kindness and assistance, and the friendly regard in which I hold every member of this Council, have induced me to trouble you with these observations. THE VICEROY'S ADDRESS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, IN CALCUTTA. At the conclusion of the business of the Legislative Council held in Calcutta on Friday, 23rd March, 1888, His Excellency the Viceroy addressed the members present as follows : GENTLEMEN, This Council will now adjourn sine die, and as it will probably not be my good fortune to preside again over so full a meeting, or in the presence of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, I trust I may be permitted to express my deep sense of obligation to all its members for the great assistance which they have given to the Government in the discharge of its legislative duties. I especially desire to tender my thanks to the non-official members who have been good enough to sacrifice their time and pretermit their private and professional pursuits in order to devote their energies to the business of the country, and to give us the advantage of their experience. I can assure them that, as representatives of an independent public opinion and of those various important interests which form so large an element in the Indian commonwealth, my colleagues and myself have welcomed their presence and assistance with the greatest satisfaction. I also wish to convey to our native colleagues my deep sense of the ability with which, from time to time, they have handled the various matters which have come up for consideration. The manner in which they debate the several questions under discussion in a language which is not their own, has always been to me a matter of surprise and 1888.] THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. 191 admiration. I have been equally struck by the good temper, the courtesy, and gentlemanlike bearing with which they engage even in the warmest controversies. I think I may congratulate the Council on the very considerable amount of work which has been done during the four sessions over which I have presided. The number of bills which have been passed has been no less than 73. Amongst these may be mentioned the Bengal Tenancy Bill, the Oudh Rent Act, the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, the Indian Marine Act, the Punjab Tenancy Act, the Punjab Land Revenue Act, the Invention and Designs Act, and last, though by no means least, the Debtors Act. It must always be remembered that the debates which take place round this table and to which the public are admitted, form but a very small part of the labours of the Legislative Council, inasmuch as the time, thought, and attention devoted to bills in committee are infinitely greater than that which the Council when assembled in its full numbers is required to give them. It is true the bills I have enumerated do not belong to that category which excite abnormal and universal attention throughout the country, but they have not for that reason been the less beneficent in their operation. In fact, if we regard our land legislation alone as it affects Bengal, Oudh, and the Punjab, it will be found that the labours of this Council have con- tributed vastly to the security, happiness, and content of many millions of our fellow-subjects. I have also especially to express my thanks to the Legislative Department, and I shall always remember with gratitude the industry and de- votion which Mr. Ilbert and Mr. Scoble, assisted by Mr. James, have given to the preparation of these various Acts which have eventually secured the assent of the Legislature. Neither their colleagues iior the general public have any adequate idea of the amount of thought, correspondence, labour, and research which are necessary before a bill can even be brought up for the consideration of the Council. I am glad to be able to add that experience has proved and a sufficient time has now elapsed to justify the statement that the legislation upon which we have been engaged during the last four years, what- 192 SPEECHES. [1888. ever opinions or doubts existed at the time, is now admitted to have been necessary and desirable, and to have worked advantageously. PKESEiNTATION OF FAKEWELL ADDRESSES TO THE EARL AND COUNTESS OF DUFFERIN IN THE TOWN HALL, CAL- CUTTA, IN VIEW OF THEIR DEPARTURE FROM INDIA. On the evening of Friday, the 23rd March, 1888, a very large and enthusi- astic gathering of the general public of Calcutta and of the neighbouring stations assembled in the Calcutta Town Hall to witness the formal presenta- tion of the farewell addresses from the inhabitants of Bengal which had been voted at a recent meeting of the public to Their Excellencies the Earl and Countess of Dufferin. On the arrival of Their Excellencies they were received by His Honour the Lieutenant-Go vernor of Bengal, Sir Coiner Petheram, and other members of the committee, and were greeted by the assembled public with repeated cheers and acclamations. The proceedings opened with the reading of the address to the Viceroy by Sir Steuart Bay ley, Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, to which His Excellency replied as follows : GENTLEMEN, I am sure you will readily understand that it is almost impossible for me to express in words my deep sense of the honour conferred upon me by the presentation of such an address as that which you have just read. To be assured of the good-will, the confidence, and the approval of his fellow-countrymen and fellow-subjects, whether English or native, is the highest and the most legitimate reward to which a person in my situation can aspire. (Cheers.) Indeed, the marks of approbation which I have received from so many different quarters have taken me almost by surprise. A Viceroy is so continually engaged every hour of the day in labours requiring all his energy and attention, problem after problem presses so uninterruptedly upon his consideration, that he has not even breathing-time to ask himself whether he is satisfying the expectations of his friends or the reverse. (Cheers.) Nay, more, the issues with which he is confronted are so vast and far-reaching, affecting as they do the destinies of millions and millions of men, that his own individuality 1888J A RETROSPECT. 193 and personal interests sink into insignificance in the presence of these mighty multitudes for whose welfare he is responsible. (Applause.) And it is very fortunate that this should be the case, for I cannot conceive a greater danger to India than that a man, in assuming this great office, should be preoccupied with such trivial considerations as his fame or popularity. (Cheers.) His duty is to efface himself as much as possible, and to forget bis own identity in his devotion to those absorb- ing duties with which he is intrusted. It is in accordance with this golden rule that my illustrious predecessors have invariably lived and laboured, and it is the same spirit of self-abnegation and unostentatious devotion to duty, irre- spective of recognition or reward, that has characterised the successive generations of those public servants of all ranks who, at the sacrifice of ease, health, and even life itself, have built up the India of to-day the loyal, contented, and pros- perous India of Queen Victoria. (Loud cheers.) Nor, in thanking you for the kind expressions you use towards me, must I forget to remind you that it is to the Government of India and to my colleagues that the largest measure of the approval you are pleased to bestow upon me is justly due. If I have succeeded in steering the ship of State with success through the troublous period we have recently traversed, it is owing to their wise assistance in council, and to the energy and skill with which they have administered their several departments. (Applause.) Not only so, but it must also be remembered that a great deal of the harvest reaped in one Viceroyalty is the fruit of the seed sown and the labours inaugurated in the preceding reign, and I gladly acknowledge that much of the policy of the existing Indian Government which has met with cordial acceptance, both here and at home, received its original impulse from my predecessor, with whom, as is well known, originated the demarcation of the northern frontier of Afghanistan, the retention of Quetta and the Harnai line, and similar measures. The settlement finally arrived at between ourselves and Russia, though some people make light of it, is in my eyes a most valuable diplomatic achievement, and I venture to think that our policy as a whole o 194 SPEECHES. [1888. in that region has been eminently successful. (Cheers.) The fixing of the confines of India proper at the Amran range has placed us in possession of an advanced military position of almost impregnable strength, and my interview with the Amir not only prevented a war which would certainly have broken out between England and Kussia in connection with the Panjdeh affair had he not been in my camp when that sinister event occurred, but by the knowledge it gave me of his character, wishes, and modes of thought, and by the mutual good feeling which was then established, it has enabled me to secure his assent to the Russo- Afghan agreement, and to deal with many other delicate questions which have since arisen between us, in a manner to increase and corroborate his confidence in the friendship and good faith of the English Government. (Applause.) Nor is it merely with the Amir himself that better relations have been established ; the Afghan people generally have assumed a totally different attitude towards us during the last three years from that which previously prevailed, as was exemplified not only when Sir West Eidgeway and his companions returned through Cabul to India, but in a still more remarkable degree by the cordial reception given to our boundary escorts at those very places near which a little while ago they dared not even pass by reason of the hostility of the inhabitants. (Cheers.) Turning to the next topic upon which you have touched, the conquest of Burma, I need not assure you that it is a great satisfaction to me that our policy in this respect should meet with your approval. War is always a hateful and an evil thing ; no one detests the very thought of war more heartily than myself. Again, annexation, the increase of our territories, and consequently of our responsibilities, is confessedly unde- sirable ; yet I never had a clearer conviction of anything .in my life than as to the necessity, under the then existing cir- cumstances, of extending our control over the whole of the Irrawaddy valley. (Applause.) What was Burma? It was neither a government nor a kingdom. There was no central authority. Even after massacring most of his relatives and kindred, the king did not dare to leave the precincts of his 1888.] THE ANNEXATION OF BURMA. 105 palace. His whole territory was the theatre of anarchy and lawlessness. One half of the population lived by plun- dering the other half. The local chiefs were cruel and rapacious brigands, extorting money from the helpless vil- lagers at the point of the sword. A Chinese horde had a short time previously taken possession of one of Burma's most important northern towns, and the government of Mandalay had embarked upon a line of diplomacy which would have infallibly brought us into hostile collision with a great European power. (Cheers.) English merchants who had sunk large sums at the express invitation of the Burmese Government in developing the resources of the country were treated with the greatest injustice, and the friendly remon- strances of the Government of India on their behalf were replied to with insolence and contempt; while the total disintegration of all civil society in Upper Burma was exer- cising a most pernicious and baneful influence on the peace and prosperity of our own province. In these circumstances something had to be done ; and if only the moderate and benevolent terms of the Indian Government had been ac- cepted, the tottering Court of Ava might have been kept upon its legs a little longer, though under no conceivable cir- cumstances could the catastrophe have been very long delayed. As it was, our proposals were met with a cry of insolent defiance, and, as a consequence, Upper Burma became a province of the British Empire. (Cheers.) I am well aware that this result has not been regarded with great satisfaction by some of our fellow-subjects. On the one hand, they could hardly be expected to look at the question from the imperial standpoint, while, on the other, they naturally dreaded the expense in- evitably attending conquest; but it is evident, even taking the most restricted view of the matter, that India was bound, after drawing for several years a surplus revenue of a million a year from Lower Burma, to come to the assistance of the province when it had become so obviously necessary to provide for its protection. Nor do T think that any apprehension need be entertained as to the ultimate financial effect of what we have done. (Cheers.) At first, of course, there must be a o 2 196 SPEECHES. [1888. great deal of expenditure on courts of justice, barracks, jails, and the other appliances of civilization, but the more we know about the country the more extensive and the richer seems to be its resources, and the more certain it is that in the course of some years it will become an even more prolific contributor to the Indian Exchequer than Lower Burma. (Loud applause.) In any event, the verdict of history I am sure will pronounce that by establishing in that unfortunate country order, se- curity, peace, and justice, in the place of anarchy, rapine, torture, and murder, and by replacing the late king's helpless and hopeless administration by the temperate and benign rule of Queen Victoria, we have reached a consummation as bene- ficent as it was unavoidable. (Cheers.) I approach the next topic to which you have alluded with great reluctance, notwithstanding the gracious language in which you have been pleased to clothe your reference. How can the head of any Government reflect otherwise than with pain and regret on the hard fate which has compelled him on two repeated occasions to add to the burdens of the people ? That after this he should be regarded with tolerance and equanimity would itself argue great generosity of nature in those to whom he has dealt such hard measure ; but the fact of their so candidly recognising the necessity of these un- popular expedients, which, in the case of the income-tax, so immediately affects our industrious classes and the Civil Service, is indeed to pour coals of fire on his head. (Applause.) To the Finance Committee and to the Public Service Committee I can turn, however, with a far happier feeling ; for if ever two committees did their work honestly, tho- roughly, and effectually, it is those two bodies ; and glad am I to have this opportunity of expressing my deep thanks to Sir Charles Elliott and Sir Charles Aitchison, and their respective colleagues, for the great services they have ren- dered to the Government by their arduous labours. (Applause.) The report of the Finance Committee will, I hope, soon be in possession of the public. That of the Civil Service Committee has already, I believe, been laid on the table of the House of Commons, and it is now in the hands of the local governments, 1888.] THE NATIVE PRINCES. 197 on receipt of whose opinion it will be at once dealt with by the Government of India. (Applause.) Leaving, however, these two important topics, I turn even with greater pleasure to your allusions to the noble spirit which has been recently displayed by the feudatory princes and chieftains of India. Most heartily do I agree with you in all that you have said in their regard, for certainly a finer example of patriotism and loyalty has seldom been witnessed than that displayed by these august personages. (Cheers.) The Nizam, the Gaekwar, Holkar, the Maharaja of Cashmere, the martial chiefs of Kajputana and of the Punjab one and all, with an enthusiasm and a spontaneity without parallel, have not merely made offers of large sums of money, but have placed their persons, their swords, and all the resources of their states at the disposal of Her Most Gracious Majesty. (Cheers.) What more signal justification could we have of that sound and generous policy which has made their power, their inde- pendence, and their dignity an integral part of the imperial system ! Most of them are my personal friends ; and though here and there may be a ruler less appreciative than his fellows of the responsibilities imposed upon him by his great position, without flattery I can say that, both as regards their private characters, their sense of duty, their desire to benefit their subjects, and their friendly feelings towards the British Government, there is every cause for satisfaction. (Applause.) And I can assure them that the British Government desires no better than that they should administer their several states in accordance with their own lights, untrammelled by undue interference, and along whatever lines are most natural to the habits and customs of their people. (Applause.) Above all things I hope it will be remembered both by them and by the Indian people at large that, if here and there the Government has had to make its influence felt in a native court, so exceptional a procedure has only been adopted in the last resort, most unwillingly, and in the interests of the chief himself, and of the people for whose welfare he is responsible. (Cheers.) And now, gentlemen, what more am I to say? You all SPEECHES. [1888. know how deeply I have had at heart the interest and the welfare of all classes of the community, how impartially I have endeavoured to promote the welfare of each in turn, how faithful I have been to that obligation which has been always felt by the Government of India to see in every subject of the Queen, not the member of a sect, of a caste, of a religion, but a citizen of the empire possessed of rights and privileges which are equally the property of all. (Loud applause.) What can I say to you, Europeans and natives alike, but this ? Whatever you do, live in unity and concord and good- fellowship with each other. Fate has united both races in a community of interests, and neither can do without the other. (Cheers.) The rule of England maintains peace and justice within the borders of India, and secures its safety from outside dangers, but that rule cannot be exercised either effectually or acceptably without the loyalty and assistance of the native races. (Applause.) Therefore again I say co-operate with each other in a generous and genial spirit. I confess I would rather see the Europeans, the Hindus, and Mahomedans united in criticising the Government than that the Hindus and the Mahomedans, the Europeans and the natives, should become estranged from each other by unworthy prejudices or ani- mosities of race and religion. God forbid that the British Government should ever seek to maintain its rule in India by fomenting race hatreds amongst its subjects. Its antecedents, its strength, its self-confidence, and its dignity will for ever render a recourse to such expedients unnecessary and impos- sible. (Cheers.) To those amongst my native friends who, imbued with the political literature of the West, are seeking to apply to India the lessons they have learnt from the history of constitutional countries, I would say, pursue your objects, which no one can pronounce to be unworthy, with temper, with moderation, and with a due perception of the peculiar circumstances of your native land. (Applause.) Found your claims, whatever they may be, upon what is real and true, and not upon what is baseless and fantastic. It is by this method, and by this method alone, that you have a prospect of realizing anything practical. (Cheers.) My general feelings 1888.] THE NATIVE PEESS. 199 on these subjects I have already expressed in the speech I delivered on the occasion of the Queen's Jubilee, and to what I then said it is needless to say I still adhere. (Cheers.) To the writers in the public press I would say, follow your most honourable vocation in a manly, courageous, and faithful spirit. When England gave you a free press she intended that it should become an instrument for the guidance, the assistance, and the enlightenment of the Government and the protection of the people ; nor will any Viceroy or any Go- vernment ever complain, no matter how severely you criticise what they have said, written, or done, provided there is that ring of sincerity and conviction in your utterances which none can mistake. (Applause.) But do not seek to excite the hatred of the people against the Government by wilfully and maliciously attributing to it intentions and designs which are the fruit of your imagination. (Cheers.) It was misrepre- sentations of this kind that thirty years ago helped powerfully to deluge the land with blood, and those who indulge in them are abusing the protection and freedom of speech extended to them by the laws of England a freedom which a considerable portion of the Indian press, I gladly acknowledge, exercises with sagacity, discretion, and moderation, and which I trust it will every day be found more worthy to enjoy. (Applause.) These I think are the only valedictory words with which I need trouble you. It only remains for me again to assure you, from the very bottom of my heart, that I have been deeply touched by this proof of your good-will and generous appre- ciation. (Cheers.) I shall never forget my friends in this country. It will always be my earnest endeavour, if I ever again take part in public life in England, to further the interests of my Indian fellow-subjects, and to consider in a sympathetic and liberal spirit whatever demands they may prefer. (Cheers.) The English empire in India is, indeed, the marvel of the world ; and, encouraged by your approbation, I can carry home with me the conviction that, in the opinion of my Anglo-Indian countrymen, and of my Indian fellow- subjects, I have done nothing during the four years of my anxious rule to shake its stability, to dim the glory of its 200 SPEECHES. 1888. majesty, or to tarnish that reputation for humanity, justice, and truth, which is its crowning and most precious attribute. (Loud and long- continued cheers and applause.) The Hon. Mr. Steel, chairman of the committee for organising the meet- ing then read an address to the Countess of Dufferin, to which Her Excellency made the following reply : It is indeed difficult for me to express my very deep sense of the kindness I am receiving at your hands. Your over- appreciation of the little I have been able to do here makes me feel painfully how much more I might have done, and this regretful thought is the only one which, when I leave this country, can in any way mar the pleasant recollections of the years I have spent here, and of the exceeding kindness and consideration I have experienced on all sides. I am grateful too for the expressions you use with regard to the project for supplying female medical aid to the women of India. The success of that movement I have most deeply at heart, and I should resign the conduct of its affairs with very great regret, had I any misgivings as to the permanent character of the work. I have none. From the first moment that I undertook to organize this association, I have received the most valuable and the most cordial help from persons of all classes and conditions, and from every part of the country. I have found that when from time to time presidents, or secretaries, or members of committees have been forced to abandon the work, others have been found ready to take it up, and in no single instance has the association had the smallest difficulty in finding earnest and capable workers to carry out its objects. Moreover, these committees have been constituted in a great variety of ways, but whether their members have been drawn from different nationalities, whether they have been European or native, whether the secretaries have been men or women, English or Indian in whatever form, in fact, the experiment of forming such committees has been tried, the result has in every case been equally and perfectly successful. 1888.] OOTERPARA MUNICIPALITY. 201 With its organization established ; with committees such as these at work all over the country ; with local bodies daily waking up to their responsibilities in this matter ; with a respectable, if not an adequate endowment-fund in its possession ; favoured by the friendly countenance and approval of the Government ; with all these advantages and securities on its side, the association surely cannot fail to prosper. And I appeal with confidence to the people of India, and especially to the municipal councils of this great country, to take up earnestly, and to support liberally, a movement which, with God's blessing upon it, will, I trust, bring an increase of health and happiness to countless Indian households. I thank you with all my heart for your friendly words and for your good wishes. I shall never forget this day, and shall ever retain feelings of the warmest interest and affection for the people of Calcutta, whose kindness to me during the three past years has culminated to-night. (Loud and continued applause.) FAREWELL ADDRESS FROM THE OOTERPARA MUNICIPALITY. On the afternoon of Saturday, the 24th March, 1888, the Viceroy and the Countess of Duflerin, on their way to Barrackpore, visited Ooterpara, and were preseut at a garden party given by the Hon. Raj Peary Mohun Mukerji. The local municipality took advantage of the opportunity to present a farewell address to the Viceroy, who replied as follows : GENTLEMEN, I beg to return you my best thanks for your friendly welcome, as well as for the address you have pre- sented to me. I recognise with pleasure that you take a proper pride in the town with which you are connected. Local patriotism is as desirable and useful a sentiment as the same feeling when applied to a country at large, for it frequently leads the members of the community not merely to take a pride in everything that concerns the prosperity of their native place, but also induces them to endow it with institu- tions similar to those which you have enumerated. 202 SPEECHES. [1888. It is quite true that during the last four years the Govern- ment of India has had many difficulties to contend with, both as regards its external relations, its internal development, and its financial condition ; but I am glad to learn that the various circumstances which have arisen out of this state of affairs have, in your opinion, been satisfactorily dealt with by my administration. I am indeed sorry to bid you good-bye, for I have always regarded you as my neighbours, and have frequently had occasion to admire those marks of prosperity and improvement which characterise this locality, as I passed up and down the beautiful banks of the Hooghly on my way to and from Barrackpore. The ladies of Ooterpara presented an address to the Countess of Dufferin, expressive of their gratitude for her efforts on behalf of the ladies of India, to which Her Excellency replied as follows : MY FRIENDS, I thank you sincerely for the warm welcome you have given me, and for the kind words you have addressed to me. I am especially grateful for the expressions of your sympathy and interest in the aims of the National Association. Your countrymen have come forward generously and effectively io establish this work, and the hearty though unseen co- operation of the women of India can do much to ensure its universal success. It is doubtless difficult for you who have not yet profited by those remedies and alleviations to which women of other countries are accustomed, to understand that you often have to suffer unnecessary pain ; that many lives are lost through ignorant treatment, and that much ill-health is entailed upon yourselves and upon your children by the employment of un- skilled practitioners, or by the absence of all medical aid. But if once you realize these facts, I feel sure you will use the influence you possess in your own homes to advance the work of an association which is endeavouring to bring these remedies and this relief into your households. I would appeal to you also on behalf of those Indian women who undertake the study of medicine as a profession. I ask 1888."] CENTRAL MAUOMEDAN ASSOCIATION. 203 you to give them your sympathy and your support, and, wherever it may be needed, your protection. They have no light task before them ; they have much to learn, much to bear, many prejudices to overcome, many cherished customs to give up, and they will need all the encouragement and all the respect their countrywomen can give them to carry them through their arduous duties. I thank you again for your kind reception and for giving me this opportunity of meeting you. I trust that health and happiness and every blessing may attend you, and I can assure you that wherever I may go no subject will ever interest me more deeply than that of the welfare of the women of India. FAREWELL ADDRESS FROM THE CENTRAL MAHOMEDAN ASSOCIATION. On Saturday, the 24th March, 1888, a deputation from the Mahomedan Central National Association waited on the Viceroy at Government House, Calcutta, and presented a farewell address on behalf of the Mahornedan community. Delegates from several parts of Bengal, Behar, and the north were present. Mr. Amir Ali, the secretary of the association, read the address, and His Excellency replied as follows : GENTLEMEN, It is indeed extremely flattering to me that the large deputation which fills this hall should have come from so many important and distant cities of India to present me with an address expressive of your good-will and con- fidence. As the representative of Her Most Gracious Majesty and of the people of England, it is one of the first duties of the Viceroy so to conduct his administration as to render it, as far as possible, acceptable to the people over whom he rules, and especially is he bound to make those races who are in any way disadvantageous] y situated feel that they are the objects of his sympathy and solicitude. The guiding principle of English rule has always been to administer the affairs of the empire with absolute impartiality in the presence of the diverse religions and nationalities of which it is composed, and, in order that this may be effectually accomplished, it is 204 SPEECHES. [1888. its duty to see that each denomination obtains a fair start, and that the conditions upon which they enter on the contests of life are equalized and fairly adjusted. The Mahomedans of India may, consequently, rest assured that the Government will always view with the utmost sympathy and approval their endeavours to remove the peculiar impediments which hamper their efforts, especially when those impediments result from a conscientious adherence to the behests of their religion. For- tunately the whole Mahomedan community, under the intel- ligent leaders I see before me, and with the assistance of many other wise and thoughtful Mahomedans whom I have met in the provinces, are energetically working for this end, and we already see the fruits of their labour both in the increase in the number of Mahomedan students at our various educational centres and in the high places which they have begun to take in the university and school competitions. I trust, therefore, that ere long the whole Mahomedan youth of the country will be marching abreast with their Hindu brethren, and that all the present causes of complaint and dissatisfaction which you have so keenly felt will eventually disappear. In any event, be assured, gentlemen, that I highly value those marks of sympathy and approbation which you have been pleased to express in regard to my general administration of the country. Descended as you are from those who formerly occupied such a commanding position in India, you are exceptionally well able to understand the responsibilities attaching to those who rule ; nor does it surprise me to learn, considering the circum- stances under which your forefathers entered India, that you should be fully alive to the necessity of closing its gates, for it is only by such precautions that content can reign, that commerce can flourish, or wealth increase. In conclusion, allow me to thank you on behalf of Lady Dufferin for the kind expressions you have made use of in her regard. She will be the first Viceroy's consort and I say it with pride whose popularity will be more extensive and her fame more enduring than that of her husband. ( 205 ) FAREWELL ADDRESS FROM THE CALCUTTA MAHOMEDAtf LITERARY SOCIETY. On Monday, the 26th March 1888, a deputation of the Mahomedan Literary Society waited upon His Excellency the Viceroy at 3 P.M. His Excellency received the members of the deputation in the Throne-room of Government House. Nawab Abdool Latif Bahadur, the secretary of the association, read the address, to which His Excellency made the following reply : GENTLEMEN, It is needless for me to assure you that I am very sensible of your kindness in presenting me with an address which at once assures me of your personal regard towards Lady Dufferin and myself, and of your general approval of the way in which the administration of India has been conducted during the period that I have presided over its Government. I can well understand the satisfaction with which as Mahomedans you have watched the growth of the better understanding which has come to exist between our- selves and the Amir of Afghanistan. From the moment I came into personal relations with His Highness at Kawalpindi until now, I have done everything in my power to make him and his people understand that there is nothing we more desire than the maintenance of Afghan independence and the pros- perity of Afghanistan and its inhabitants. The delimitation of the Russo-Afghan boundary has undoubtedly removed a fertile occasion of friction, dispute, and uncertainty, and the very fact of Eussia having herself drawn a line beyond which her progress southwards is not to extend is an additional element of security. This fortunate circumstance, however, should not tempt us to neglect those ordinary precautions which all nations take, and are bound to take, when they are conterminous or nearly conterminous with great military monarchies. The most peaceful and well-disposed govern- ments are sometimes powerless in the presence of a wave of popular feeling, or the ambition of a strong military party, and if a nation wishes to maintain its territory inviolate, the only certain way of doing so is to render its frontier impreg- nable to attack. Fortunately the natural features which characterise the boundaries of India are such as to render this 20G SPEECHES. [1888. task both of easy and comparatively cheap accomplishment. The system of railways which we have recently constructed would enable us in a very short period to concentrate the whole forces of India at whatever point might be threatened ; and the passes that lead from the outside world are easily defensible. Inasmuch as the one desire both of the Govern- ment and of the people of India is to be left alone in order that they may tread the paths of peace and progress, the conditions I have referred to are sufficiently reassuring, but, if anything were wanting to enhance our satisfaction, it would be the spontaneity and patriotism evinced by our Indian princes in placing large sums of money at the disposal of the Government, with a view to rendering still more effectual those precautionary measures upon which the executive has so pru- dently embarked ; nor is it unnatural that a Mahomedan com- munity like yourselves should take a just pride in the fact that His Highness the Nizam, the chief Mahomedan ruler in India, should have put himself at the head of this movement and afforded so splendid an example. I see with pleasure that you have been good enough to allude to the arrangements made with the firm of Messrs. Cook and Son for the promotion of the comfort of the Mahomedan pilgrims to Mecca. This was a matter in which I took the deepest personal interest, as during my stay at Constantinople I had been made aware of the extortions and hardships to which they were exposed ; and it is already evident that the system is working well, and that the benefits attained under it are considerable. I must also thank you for the specially friendly terms which you use towards Lady Dufferin and her efforts to be of service to the suffering women of this country. However fully her endeavours may be appreciated, there is no one but myself who knows the unremitting labour, attention, thought, and anxiety which she has given to this subject ; but I assure you she feels herself more than rewarded by the generous support which she has received on all sides, and by the fact that the institution she has established should have become so thoroughly incorporated with the social system of the country. 1888.] THE TALUKDARS OF OUDH. 207 And now, gentlemen, in conclusion, allow me to assure you that I shall never forget your kindness ; that I shall watch with extreme interest the efforts of the Mahomedan community to place themselves in line with their Hindu fellow-subjects in the matter of education and the other requirements of modern civilization; and that the success which I do not hesitate to predict for you will always command my warmest sympathies. FAREWELL ADDRESS FROM THE TALUKDARS OF OUDH. On the night of Saturday, the 7th April, 1888, His Excellency the Viceroy and Lady Duflerin were entertained at a grand fete by the Talukdars of Oudh at the Baradari in Lucknow. Raja Ameer Hossein read an address to the Viceroy on behalf of the Talukdars, and His Excellency replied as follows : TALTJKDAES OF OUDH, Being well acquainted with the his- tory of your country, I am fully able to appreciate the signifi- cance of the gathering I see before me. Representing as you do its great territorial families and both its agricultural and its political interests, it is a matter of deep satisfaction to me to be assured of your confidence, as the head of the Government of India, and also of your good-will as the representative of the Queen. There is nothing Her Majesty more desires than that it should be brought home to the convictions and consciences of her subjects in India, great and small, not only that she has their general welfare at heart, but also that she takes a deep personal interest in everything that concerns them. By no means the least of my important functions is so to carry myself towards Her Majesty's Indian subjects as to make this thoroughly known and understood, and I am pleased to see from the language you use that my efforts to produce this result have proved effectual. Unhappily, with every desire to keep himself in touch with all classes and communities, a Viceroy's occupations confine him necessarily so much to his office, that it is only with an infini- tesimal portion of his Indian fellow-subjects that he ever suc- ceeds in coming into contact ; consequently, I must ask you to be my interpreter to those large populations with which you 208 SPEECHES. [1888. are connected, and to convey to them in my name my warm appreciation of the loyalty which animates the whole of Oudh from one end to the other, at the same time that you assure them of the deep solicitude felt both by the Queen and by the English people for the prosperity of this great province. For- tunately, for the last five years it has been in the charge of one of the ablest and most eminent statesmen that this generation has seen, of a writer who has done more than almost any one else to disseminate in Europe an adequate idea of the history, the philosophy, the poetry, and the characteristics of the Indian peoples. Moreover, combining as he does eminent practical ability with the highest literary attainments, he has left behind him in the University of Allahabad, in the Legislative Council of the North-west, and in various other measures adopted by the Government of India at his instance, innumerable monu- ments of his zeal, wisdom, and forethought. And now he has been succeeded by a ruler whose father sacrificed-his life in the public service, who has been long connected with you by the closest ties, who has occupied positions of the highest responsi- bility both under the Home Government and under the Govern- ment of India, and who has already given abundant proofs of his deep and earnest desire to guide you in a wise, sympathetic, and benevolent spirit along that path of reasonable progress and material and political improvement which you have so wisely chosen. I will not attempt to follow you through your review of the policy of the Government of India during the last four years, which you have embodied in terms so kind and so flattering to myself, though I cannot help expressing my satisfaction at finding that you appreciate in an adequate manner the efforts we are making to secure the peace of India by rendering our frontiers impervious to attack on the north-west, and by the extension of our jurisdiction over the entire valley of the Irra- waddy on the east. Our action in both directions has been forced upon us by external conditions over which we had no control. They must be regarded as simple measures of home defence, which cannot fail to contribute powerfully to the quiet and security of our own house for many a year to come. 1888.] OUDH. 209 But, though unwilling to detain you long, I must return you my special thanks for your expressions of gratitude to the Government of India for the establishment of the Allahabad University and the creation of the Provincial Legislative Council of the North-west. As I have already mentioned, both these measures were originally suggested by Sir Alfred Lyall, and what better proof could you have than these of the desire of the Government of India to sympathize with your aspirations, and to do everything in its power to enable this province to hold its head high amongst its neighbours ? Most heartily do I congratulate you on their acquisition, for I am fully persuaded that you will make a good and effectual use of both. There is one other most important legislative measure upon which the Government of India also embarked at the instance of Sir Alfred Lyall, to which I must also refer, namely, the Oudh Rent Act. That Act was introduced with the view of terminating in a fair and impartial manner those disputes, un- certainties, and complications which had arisen regarding the status of the Oudh ryot, and I am glad to have this opportunity of expressing my high appreciation of the liberal and hearty manner in which the talukdars of Oudh met the Government on this question. Had it not been for the fair and generous way in which they consented to assist us, the matter which has now been happily settled in a way greatly to benefit the culti- vator, without, I trust, in any degree injuring the talukdar, might have grown up into a controversy only too well calculated to sow ill-feeling and dissension between two classes whose in- terests, if only properly regarded, will be found to be interde- pendent and closely connected with each other. Again I say, gentlemen, I thank you heartily, and especially my honourable colleague Eana Shankar Baksh, for the manner in which you have dealt with the land question in Oudh. Turning now to two matters upon which you justly pride yourselves the success with which you are working your local self-government, and the auspicious fact of Her Majesty's jubilee having resulted in the foundation of a School of Arts and Industries I would observe that, as I have frequently 210 SPEECHES. [1888. stated, local self-government has never had a better friend in India than myself. I have watched its operations throughout the country with great interest, and though, as was to be ex- pected, there is a considerable difference in the results which it has produced in different localities, there seems to be a very general consensus of opinion that the system is as a whole working in a promising and successful manner, especially in the larger centres of population. Some municipal bodies may be inert, local and district boards may fall short of the ex- pectations formed of them by their friends, but the great fact remains that from one end of the country to the other, whether in the urban or the rural districts, there are numerous bodies of men who are busily occupied in looking after the affairs of the important communities they represent, who are being made to feel the responsibilities attaching to a public post, and who are gradually learning to look beyond the range of their own private interests and businesses, and to entertain an intelligent and lively concern for the common good. It is in this way, and under this discipline, that true patriotism and a wise public spirit can alone be generated, and glad am I to learn from several independent sources of the successful way in which both have been developed in your own midst. I need hardly observe that I am much pleased to learn that you are in a fair way of establishing a School of Arts and In- dustries. Both as the head of the Government and personally I have always taken the deepest interest in technical education. I have called the attention of all the subordinate Governments to the desirability of promoting this branch of instruction by every means in their power, and I never lost an opportunity of reminding the general public of the many benefits to be derived from a large measure of technical skill being diffused amongst the people. But I must ask you always to remember that it is not within either the competence or the functions of the Supreme Government to give practical effect to its views. This latter responsibility devolves upon the local governments in a certain degree, but still more largely upon the various Indian com- munities. Even the local governments, unassisted by the liberality and by the counsels of those who are in a position to 1888.] COUNTESS OF DUFFERIXTS FUND. 211 support and direct their efforts, can do but little. Indeed, I know no road along which it is so desirable to march with caution and discretion, and with a view to the local needs, opportunities, and requirements of each district ; but you at all events in contributing no less a sum than five lakhs to this most noble and practical mode of meeting the needs, embarrass- ments, and wants of modern Indian civilization, deserve the highest praise, and most warmly do I congratulate you on the extraordinary success which has attended your efforts. And now, gentlemen, allow me to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kind expressions which you have used towards Lady Dufferin and her efforts to mitigate the trials to which for so many generations Indian ladies have been exposed, without any of those alleviations with which Western science has so amply provided their sisters in other lands. I am indeed happy to think that the institution which my wife has founded has taken such deep root in the confidence of the people, has been so nourished and supported throughout the length and breadth of the land by all the intelligent classes, has been so endowed with princely gifts, that its permanent vitality and continued existence are amply secured. With these auspicious results already obtained, Lady Dufferin will leave your shores with the happy assurance that she has really accomplished a useful and successful work amongst you, and that her name will be remembered with gratitude not merely in the mansions of the rich and of the great, but in the humble dwellings of the poor, for many a generation. In conclusion, gentlemen, I must again bid you good-bye. I shall lay down my great office at the end of this year with many a regretful feeling, but at the same time with a most grateful recollection of the universal indulgence with which my humble endeavours to do my duty amongst you have been met. I am already the oldest Viceroy that has ever ruled in India, and I feel the time has come when in the public interests the heavy responsibilities of my office should be confided to the hands of a younger man ; but at least I can carry away with me the consolation of knowing that at no time during the past hundred years has there prevailed a deeper feeling of p 2 212 SPEECHES. [1888. security in reference to all those great interests upon which the happiness of every nation so much depends as at the present moment, and that, while the prince in his palace is conscious that his throne is as firmly and irrevocably secured to him and his dynasty as is that of the Queen-Empress herself, the zemindar in his country-house, the trader in his shop, the humble ryot in his cabin, are all equally convinced that where they have sown there also they shall reap, and that English might and English justice are ever ready at hand to protect the land from outward aggression, and to ensure to every citizen the untroubled enjoyment of his rights and privileges within its borders. FAEEWELL ADDEESS FEOM MAHOMEDAN ASSOCIATIONS AT LUCKNOW. On Tuesday, the 10th April, 1888, at 3 P.M., the Anjuman-Jhalsa-i-Islamia, and other Mahomedan societies in Lucknow, waited on His Excellency the Viceroy at Government House in Lucknow, and presented him with an address, which was read by Munshi Imtiaz Ali. His Excellency, in reply, spoke as follows : GENTLEMEN, I return you my best thanks for the friendly and flattering address with which you have presented me. I need not now repeat what I have often said, that having for so many years of my previous public career found myself closely connected with Mahomedan Governments and Mahomedan populations, it was an additional pleasure to me in coming to India to remember that it would be one of my duties to watch over the interests of fifty millions of Her Majesty's Mahomedan subjects. Fifty millions of men are themselves a nation, and a very powerful nation; and when we remember the circum- stances under which the Mahomedan community has come to form an integral part of the Indian people, and all the splendid antecedents attaching to their history, a ruler would indeed be devoid of all political instinct if he were not careful to consider their wants and wishes, and to bring their status and condition into harmony with the general system over which he presides. But you have another especial claim upon my sympathy and 1888.] MA HOMED AN EDUCATION. 213 good-will. Owing to circumstances beyond your own control and to the necessity of conforming to certain accepted tradi- tions attaching to your religious convictions, you long occupied a disadvantageous position in relation to your Hindu fellow- subjects, for, whereas their youth were free to master at an early age those acquirements which are the essential prelimi- naries to most employments in the public service, the Maho- medan children were required to devote themselves to the studies enjoined by their spiritual guides. Consequently you were beginning to lag behind in that arduous race in which it is so desirable that all sections of our body politic should be able to engage upon equal terms. But, however great might be the sympathy of Government with your unfortunate posi- tion, it was precluded by those strict principles of impartiality which, I trust, no Indian administration will ever be tempted for a moment to violate or neglect, from extending to you ad- vantages which could only be enjoyed at the expense of the interests of Her Majesty's other Indian subjects. But what it could do it did. It issued the resolution of the loth of July, 1885. For the reasons I have stated, that resolution un- doubtedly fell short of the expectations you had conceived, but, as I trust will be the case with many other acts of the Government, as time went on it was found to be of a more beneficial and effective character than was at first supposed, and I am proud to think that by this bare act of justice I have been able to give you a satisfactory proof of my deep and warm solicitude. Acknowledging, as I do with thanks, the favourable opinion which you have expressed in regard to the general policy pur- sued by my colleagues and myself, I desire in a special manner to recognise the generous terms in which you have referred to the Civil Service Commission. When that commission was appointed, the commission itself and the motives of the Government in nominating it were denounced by a certain portion of the native press in a very unworthy manner ; but there is no honest person in India, I imagine, who is not now satisfied that the commission was actuated by a single-minded desire to open still wider the doors of our public offices to the 214 SPEECHES. [1888. natives of India, and that its members have discharged the task intrusted to them in an earnest and liberal spirit. Their recommendations are now being considered by the local govern- ments, and I do not think Sir Charles Aitchison and his able associates need be anything but gratified by the way in which their proposals have been generally received by the public at large. I also note with pleasure that you are good enough to refer in terms of approbation to that portion of a recent speech I made at Calcutta, in which, with all possible earnestness, I en- deavoured to impress upon the various communities which are united into a whole under the Imperial Crown of India to live in peace and good-fellowship with one another. Divergences of race and differences of religion, and the historical circum- stances in which those divergences and differences have origi- nated, must inevitably give rise from time to time to occasional discrepancies of opinion, as well as to political and social friction ; but the causes which generate these evanescent fires will be found, on examination, to be absolutely insignificant in the presence of those far mightier forces which work for peace and amity amongst you. The former are too frequently born only of prejudice, fanaticism, misapprehension, and perversity ; the latter are closely incorporated with your most precious material interests, and are essential to the well-being of your- selves and of your children's children. Those amongst you who are acquainted with history, whether in the East or the West, will have observed that there is no circumstance which better exemplifies the occasional folly of mankind than the absolute indifference of subsequent generations to those very disputes and controversies for the sake of which their forefathers only too frequently persecuted and destroyed each other. And now, in conclusion, to you also I must return, as I have already done to so many others, both in my wife's and my own name, our united and heartfelt thanks for the kind manner in which you have recognised her efforts for the amelioration of the condition of the ladies of India. In bidding you good-bye, I wish you all prosperity and happiness, and I would ask you to remember that, when all is said and done, your future is very 1888.] FAREWELL BALL AT SIMLA. 215 much in your own hands. Government can do far less than is imagined either for the happiness or the advancement of the people ; but the intelligence and energy with which your leaders in all parts of the country are promoting the cause of education, and are affording facilities to the rising generation to make up for the time that has been lost, is itself a certain pledge of eventual success. SPEECH AT FAREWELL BALL AT SIMLA. On the evening of the 24th September, 1 888, the Viceroy and the Countess of Dufferin were entertained at a farewell ball, given in the Town Hall of Simla, by the members of the Simla United Service Club. All the society of Simla was present on the occasion. At supper the Hon. Lieutenant-General Chesney, military member of the Viceroy's Council, proposed the health of Lord and Lady Dufferin, in reply to which His Excellency spoke as follows : GENERAL CHESNEY, LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN, To say that Lady Dufferin and I are both deeply touched by the kind way in which the society of Simla has joined together in giving us this farewell entertainment, is to say very little in comparison with what we both feel. If anything could enhance our gratitude, it is the eloquent and graceful manner in which General Chesney, as your representative, has conveyed to us your good wishes and adieus. (Applause.) The viceroys of India, as other representatives of Her Majesty elsewhere, are called upon to lead a kind of double life and to discharge two- fold functions. On the one hand, as governors and administra- tors, burdened with heavy and anxious executive responsibilities, they are bound to give their time and their best energies to those important duties upon the proper discharge of which the welfare of their fellow-subjects depends. On the other hand, as heads of the communities amongst whom it is their happi- ness to live, they are called upon to dispense those hospitalities and to exercise those representative functions which tradition has recognised as appertaining to their state. Unfortunately, however, the conditions of this great empire are such, the cares and anxieties of Indian administration are so constant 216 SPEECHES. [1888. and absorbing, as greatly to impede and fetter the Viceroy in the execution of these his lighter and more genial labours. Secluded all day within the four walls of his office, he is compelled to lead a monastic indeed, so little does he see even of his own wife, I might almost say a celibate existence. (Laughter.) Consequently he has neither the time nor the opportunities to give so much thought as he might otherwise desire to ministering to the well-being and content of that fairer portion of the society upon whose verdict his popularity and estimation so largely and so properly depend. Conscious, therefore, of my shortcomings in this respect, I am all the more glad to find that my own enforced austerity which, I hasten to assure every lady present, is merely official and assumed, and altogether foreign to my real inclinations has been forgiven and condoned, in consideration of the way in which Lady Dufferin whom I am almost disposed to refer to rather as my colleague on the Viceregal throne than as my wife has endeavoured to supplement my laches and deficiencies. (Ap- plause.) In one respect, at all events, I know I shall have merited some recognition from a very influential and powerful class I mean the young ladies for now that a decent Vice- regal residence has been erected, all future generations of Simla maidens will have far better opportunities of displaying both their graces and their pretty frocks, when they honour Government House with their presence, than had any of their predecessors. (Cheers.) Be that, however, as it may, I am sure it will be gratifying to all my friends to know that, no matter how little he may be able to show it, it is always a great comfort and consolation to any one in my situation to feel that, while he is pursuing his solitary labours, uncheered by those social relaxations which are open to others, he is, nevertheless, surrounded by an atmosphere of sympathy and good-will on the part of his countrymen and countrywomen. Such genial and subtle influences have an effect little com- prehended perhaps by those from whom they unconsciously emanate, in sustaining his energies, encouraging his efforts, and soothing his ruffled spirits. For four successive years Lady Dufferin and myself have had the honour of presiding 1888.] TEE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER. 217 over the society of this place, and during the whole of that period we have experienced nothing but the greatest kindness from all its members. That unvaried good-will has now found its final consummation and expression in this beautiful ball and banquet. It therefore only remains for me, ladies and gentlemen, to express to you our heartfelt gratitude, and to assure you, both in Lady Dufferin's name and my own, that those kind, and I hope I shall not be thought impertinent if I add beautiful faces, whose friendly and sympathetic smiles have so often gladdened our sojourn amongst you, will always be a welcome sight to us wherever we may be, whether in our home in Ireland or in the ambassadorial palace at Eome. (Loud and continued applause.) REPLY TO ADDRESS FROM THE MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE OF LAHORE. The Viceroy left Simla on his final autumn tour on the 13th of November, 1888. On the 14th of November he arrived at Lahore, and at the railway station was presented with a farewell address by the Municipal Committee of the city. In reply, His Excellency spoke as follows : GENTLEMEN, I beg to return you my most cordial thanks for your address, and for the loyal expressions contained in it towards Her Majesty the Queen-Empress, as well as for the kindly terms in which you have referred to my approaching departure from India. Having had many occasions of be- coming acquainted with the public-spirited citizens of Lahore, I should indeed have been sorry had I not had an opportunity of bidding them good-bye before leaving India. I have to thank you for the flattering manner in which you refer to the results of my administration. Prosperity and contentment can only be secured in times of peace. Peace is the greatest blessing which a country can enjoy, and, living as you do in a frontier province, it does not surprise me that you should appreciate to the full the value of the precautions which the Government of India has taken against all possible risks of aggression. The best security against so great a 218 SPEECHES. [1888. calamity is timely preparation. Any want of preparation is itself an invitation to attack. Not only so, but by encouraging the hopes of those sections of a neighbouring people who may be anxious for war, it weakens the hands of their governments when endeavouring to maintain a friendly attitude towards you. Happily, at a cost which is infinitesimal as compared with the expenditure of European nations for a similar purpose, we are in the course of putting the whole of our north-west frontier into such a state of reasonable defence as will enable you to continue to cultivate your fields in peace and contentment. And now I must thank you for the kind manner in which you have alluded to the efforts made by Lady Dufferin to improve the condition of the women of India. The association over which my wife now presides, and the presidentship of which has, I am glad to say, been accepted by the Marchioness of Lansdowne, stands now on an assured basis of success. It has a sound system of organization, and, thanks to the readiness with which people in India, both European and native, have contributed towards it, it is in a favourable position financially. With these conditions we may anticipate its future success, and look forward with confidence to the day when India will be adequately provided with hospitals for the reception and treatment of women, and with women practitioners capable of affording proper medical attendance to their own sex. Each institution, such as that which will be opened by Lady Dufferin to-morrow, may be regarded as one more step towards this consummation, and it affords the greatest pleasure both to Lady Dufferin and myself that the most important institu- tion of this kind in the Punjab will bear the name of Lady Aitchison, which I feel sure you all prize and venerate equally with that of her husband. And now, gentlemen, I will bid you farewell. You have always received me with kindness. You have judged my conduct with indulgence, and have never withheld your generous appreciation of the endeavours of my Government to do its duty. As long as I live I shall always retain a most affectionate recollection of the brave and high-minded races 1888.] THE ANJUMAN-I-ITIIIAD. 219 of the Punjab, with so many of whose chiefs and leading men I have formed ties of personal friendship. May every blessing that Providence has in its gifts rest upon you and yours for many a generation ! REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE ANJUMAN-I-ITIHAD, LAHORE. On the 15th of November, 1888, a deputation from the Anjuman-i-Itihad waited on the Viceroy at Government House, Lahore, and presented him with a farewell address on behalf of their Association, to which His Excellency replied as follows : GENTLEMEN, I have much pleasure in accepting the address which you have been kind enough to present to me, and in listening to your expressions of approval of the work which I have been able to do as Viceroy. The cares and responsibilities of a Viceroy are, as you yourselves realize, very great, and with the development of our system of govern- ment in India they show a tendency to increase rather than diminish. Nor can the public at large have any conception either of what is being accomplished by the Government for the good of the people over so vast an area as that comprised within the peninsula of Hindustan, or the enormous amount of anxiety and labour which it entails. In the Punjab alone, to mention a single subject, the Swat River, Sidnai and Chenab Canals have been opened, fertilizing nearly a million acres, while projects for the extension of the Western Jumna Canal and for the construction of the Jhelum Canal, which, it is estimated, will irrigate between them another half million acres, have received the approval of the Government of India and been recommended to the Secretary of State. The wealth of the country, and the outlet which will thus be afforded to the inhabitants of congested districts for improving their material conditions, cannot fail to be very considerable. To the extension of railways, again, great attention has been paid by my Government, and not only have 670 miles of 220 SPEECHES. [1888. military railways been opened during the past four years, but 2235 miles of commercial and protective railways have also been completed within the same period ; and 2634 more are now under construction. Nor have the more domestic concerns of the people of the country escaped our attention. The Government has long realized the extent to which disease which is the direct product of insanitary conditions affects the energy and retards the advancement of the population of India. The efforts made in the past towards improved sanitation have been less fruitful of good results than they might have been had funds been more easily procurable, and had there been proper agencies for directing reform. The recent legislative enact- ments relating to municipal committees and local boards have provided the agency required, and the rules which restricted the advancement of money on loan to local bodies for sanitary and other similar purposes have been considerably relaxed. To assist the local agencies in directing sanitary improvements, we intend to appoint a central sanitary board in each province, and I sincerely trust that these measures will gradually result in the improvement of drainage through- out the country, in the provision of a supply of pure water in towns and villages, and in the general adoption of simple rules to regulate village sanitation. LADY DUFFEKIN'S KEPLY TO THE EEPEESENTATIVES OF THE WOMEN OF THE PUNJAB. On the 16th of November, 1888, a deputation of Native gentlemen waited on the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava at Government House, Lahore, and presented her with an Address on behalf of the women of the Punjab. The Address bore 25,000 signatures. In reply, Her Excellency spoke as follows : GENTLEMEN, The very kind words you have addressed to me, and the warm approval you express of the scheme with which I have been specially connected here, touch me deeply. It is true that I have taken the greatest possible interest in the inauguration of the National Association for Supplying 1888.] MEDICAL TUITION. 221 Medical Aid to Women, and that, thanks to the position I have held in this country, I have had exceptional opportunities and facilities for pressing the needs of our Indian sisters, and their claims to all the benefits which medical science can pro- cure for them, upon the Indian public. But my interest in the matter, or my efforts, or my words, would have been of no avail, had they not met with a ready response in the hearts of their countrymen ; had I not found fellow-labourers in every province, and sympathy -and practical support in everyplace where I have sought it. I am glad to think that I am only one of the many hundreds to whom this movement owes its vitality and its great success, and to whom the kind words addressed to me might equally well be directed. I rejoice too in the belief that the people of India have accepted and acknowledged this work as one that has to be done and as one that they must do themselves ; and I feel sure that, having recognised their duty in this respect, they will never falter in their efforts to accomplish it. And now, perhaps, as this is the only occasion upon which I shall have an opportunity of expressing an opinion on the subject, you will allow me to point out to you the direction in which I venture to think your greatest efforts should be made in the Punjab. The National Association set before itself three objects medical tuition, medical relief, and the supply of trained nurses. It is to the first of these that I desire to draw your serious consideration. Medical tuition is the very foundation of a permanent supply of medical relief. Female hospitals and female dispensaries cannot succeed unless you have medical women to put into them ; and as I believe that every part of India will have to provide and to educate its own supply of female doctors, it follows that each year that is lost in any particular place in sending pupils to the university must seriously retard the progress of female medical relief in that part of the country. There doubtless is a vague idea abroad that Englishwomen, or native women from other provinces, can easily be got to officer new hospitals and dispensaries ; but this is a false 222 SPEECHES. [1888. impression. The Englishwomen who are able and willing to come to India as doctors will always be exceedingly few in number ; and as regards native women, each province will for many a long year have more than enough to do in providing for its own requirements, and will not be able to spare any of its educated medical women to other places. It is, therefore, from the Punjab itself that female doctors for the Punjab must as a rule be taken, and the question of finding them and of educating them admits of no delay. So strongly have the central committee of the National Association felt the necessity of helping on the cause of medical tuition here that they have made a special donation towards building a home for medical students at Lahore. I trust you will complete that work ; for, until a house for them, and a trustworthy matron to look after them, be provided, I do not think that it is possible for many pupils to come and reside in this place. With regard to the other two objects of the association, I may congratulate you heartily upon the way in which they are being carried out in the Punjab. Female medical relief is receiving the attention of the branch committee, of private individuals, and of municipalities, at Delhi, at Kapurthala, at Gurdaspore, at Quetta, at Ludhiana, at Multan, and at many other places ; while in the Lady Aitchison Hospital at Lahore you have a great central institution whose beneficent influence will be felt throughout the province. There too you have the means of giving practical instruction to your medical students, and of promoting the third object of the association by the training of native Dhais. You have also, in the institution presided over by Miss Hewlett at Umritsar, one of the most practical and one of the most successful training places for midwives that I know of in India. I think, therefore, that I may rejoice with you at the progress that has been made in promoting the objects of the association in this province ; and when I learn, as I hope I shall ere long, that the Hindustani female medical class at the Lahore University numbers at least fifty pupils, I shall feel satisfied that female medical relief in the Punjab rests upon a sure foundation. 1888.] THE MAHARAJA OF PATIALA. 223 I again thank you heartily for the kind words of your address, and I wish you every possible success in your efforts to improve the condition and to increase the happiness of our Indian sisters. SPEECH BY THE VICEROY AT DURBAR HELD AT PATIALA ON THE OCCASION OF THE MAHARAJA'S MARRIAGE. On the 17th of Novemher, 1888, the Viceroy arrived at Patiala to attend the marriage ceremonies of His Highness the Maharaja. The same afternoon a grand durbar was held in the Maharaja's palace, in the course of which His Excellency addressed the assembly as follows : YOUR HONOUR, CHIEFS OF THE PUNJAB, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I need hardly say how much pleasure it gives me to be present on this auspicious and joyful occasion. I am sure that in offering my congratulations to the Maharaja of Patiala on his marriage, and in wishing him and his house all the happiness and prosperity that this world can give, I am expressing the unanimous sentiments of all present in this distinguished assembly. When His Highness comes into possession of power, I feel convinced that he will worthily maintain the honour of his ancestral house, and take a high place among the princes of India as a loyal and brave feudatory of Her Majesty the Queen-Empress, as well as a conscientious and enlightened ruler. And now, before I leave this assembly, I wish to say a few words regarding a subject of the utmost importance. You are all aware that three years ago, when war seemed imminent upon our north-western frontier, the native princes of India, both in the south and in the north, both Hindus and Mahomedans, came forward in a body to place at the disposal of Her Majesty's Government the whole resources of their States. Hostilities were then happily averted, but the feeling shown by the native chiefs could not be misunderstood, and I am convinced that their attitude in this crisis of our affairs not only created a very favourable impression in England, but produced a very striking effect in other countries. Again, 224 SPEECHES. [1888. last year, the year of the jubilee of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen-Empress, the rulers of many native states seized the opportunity of offering to contribute in a very liberal manner towards the defence of the empire, and their offers excited universal approval both at home and abroad. Prominent among the princes who came forward on both occasions were the chiefs of the Punjab, the frontier province, who had already stood by the British Government more than once in the hour of trouble, and whose brave troops had fought and bled by the side of their English fellow-subjects. I remember with deep gratification, and they must remember with pride, that only ten years ago a contingent from the Punjab states marched to the Afghan frontier, and did its duty well under circumstances of great hardship and difficulty. Some among those around me wear on their breasts the medals earned by them for the service they then rendered to their Sovereign and country. The Government of India has not failed to give earnest attention to the offers of the native princes, and, well knowing them to be as sincere as they were generous, has endeavoured to work, out a scheme by which they might be turned to advantage in a manner both gratifying to the princes them- selves and of material value to the empire. I believe we have succeeded in working out such a scheme, and this durbar seems to me to afford a fitting opportunity for its public inauguration. The Government of India does not think it necessary, or in all respects desirable, to accept from the native states of India the pecuniary assistance which they have so freely tendered. But in one very important particular we wish to enlist their co-operation. The armies of the native states are strong in numbers, but at present of various degrees of efficiency. Among many of them there exist warlike traditions and fine soldierly material, while some already contain regiments well worthy to share in any active operations which Her Majesty's troops may be called upon to undertake. What we propose is, in a few words, that we should ask those chiefs who have specially good fighting material in their armies, to raise a portion of those armies to such a pitch of 1888.] Alt MIES OF THE NATIVE PRINCES. 225 general efficiency as will make them fit to go into action side by side with the imperial troops. For this purpose some extra exertions will be necessary, as troops in the present day, to be thoroughly fit for service, require very complete arrange- ments in the way of arms, transport equipment, and organization generally. But we shall in no case ask a native state to maintain a larger force of this description than it can well afford to support, and we do not doubt that under these con- ditions, the chiefs, knowing that the Government of India has no desire to take undue advantage of their loyalty in order to throw upon them an excessive burden, will be glad of the opportunity of making good their words by providing troops for the defence of the empire. I trust that the chiefs selected will in any case regard the acceptance of their offers as an honourable distinction, while those whose armies it is not found possible to utilize in the same manner will under- stand that if they cannot usefully contribute to the fighting strength of the empire, they can in other ways render services equally meritorious and equally sure to win the approval of Her Majesty the Queen-Empress. To help these chiefs in setting on foot and maintaining the troops selected for service, a few English officers will be appointed as advisers and inspectors. These officers will have their headquarters at some central point in British territory, and will visit the several states in turn. Capable native drill instructors will also be lent to the native states from our own regiments. It is hoped that in this way, while each force will remain a purely state force recruited in the territories of its chief and serving within them, the troops composing it will gradually be made so efficient as to enable the imperial Government to use them as part of its available resources to meet any external danger. The selected troops will be armed with breech-loading weapons presented to the several states by the British Govern- ment. These will be carbines for the cavalry, and Snider rifles for the infantry. In addition to this, each Punjab chief will receive from the British Government a battery of four guns. The principal states of the Punjab and others elsewhere Q 226 SPEECHES. [1888. have, I am happy to say, expressed their full concurrence in this scheme, and arrangements will be made to carry it into effect as far as they are concerned. I cannot but feel that I have been very fortunate in being able to announce before I leave India the inauguration of this important measure, which will, I hope, serve to show the world in what estimation Her Majesty the Queen-Empress holds the native states of India, and how she appreciates the conspicuous loyalty and attach- ment of their chiefs. I have now, your Highness, to thank you for the eulogistic manner in which you have referred to Lady Dufferin's exertions to improve the system of medical aid for the women of this country. The splendid success of the fund inaugurated by her ladyship is due in a large measure to the munificent liberality of the chiefs of India ; and the determination which Your Highness has arrived at of commemorating the occasion of our visit to you to-day by the establishment of a Zenana Hospital, intended to provide relief to both indoor and out- door female patients, is one worthy of the high reputation which you already bear for concern for the welfare of your subjects and for noble public charity. SPEECH IN PROPOSING THE HEALTH OF THE MAHARAJA OF PATIALA. On the evening of the 17th of November the Maharaja entertained the Viceroy and Lady Dufferin and the other guests present in camp at dinner in a large Shamiana. His Highness was himself present on the occasion, and proposed the Viceroy's health. In reply, His Excellency said : LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, In conveying to His Highness the Maharaja the grateful thanks of Lady Dufferin and my- self for the honour he has done us, I am sure it will be agree- able to all present if I make myself their spokesman upon this auspicious occasion, and express to the Maharaja, in their name and on their behalf, our warmest wishes for his future happiness and prosperity. (Applause.) His Highness stands on the threshold of what we have every reason to hope will 1888.] THE ALIGARH COLLEGE. 227 prove an honourable career and a happy life. He is surrounded by those who have known him from childhood, whose respect and love he has won ; he is called upon to preside over the fortunes of a happy and contented people, and he enjoys the confidence of the Government of India. There now stretches before him, I trust, a long life of usefulness in discharging the duties for which his previous education will have well fitted him. He has been taught that, though called by Providence to one of the highest posts which this world can offer, he too is bound to be the servant of duty and the faithful guardian of the welfare of his people. (Applause.) These doctrines I have every reason to believe have sunk deeply into his mind, and as soon as the time shall have arrived for him to be intrusted with those ample powers which Her Majesty the Queen-Empress is always glad to confide into the hands of her feudatory chiefs, he will, I am sure, fulfil the promise of his early days, and, by a faithful adherence to the path of duty, take his proper place amongst those other princes who have already started upon so satisfactory a career, whose example, I trust, he will follow, and in combination with whom the stability of the British empire in India is so likely to be assured. (Applause.) It only remains for me, ladies and gentlemen, again to call upon you to drink long life, health, and prosperity to the Maharaja and to all his house. (Loud applause.) ALIGARH COLLEGE. On the 20th of November, 1888, Lord Dufferin, in the course of his autumn tour, visited the Anglo-Mahornedan College at Aligarh, and was presented with an address by Sir Syud Ahmed (the President.) and the Committee of the college, in reply to which His Excellency spoke as follows : Mr. VICE-PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN, It is a source of much pleasure to me that I have been able to visit your college before leaving India and to receive the address which has just been read on your behalf by the Principal of the institution. Mv only regret is that my stay in Aligarh this Q 2 SPEECHES. [1888. afternoon will be so short that I can only reply to you in the briefest possible way. I have listened with much interest to the splendid list of benefactions by which your college has been endowed, and my attention has naturally been much struck by the manner in which Englishmen, Mahomedans, and Hindus have vied with one another in assisting you to enlarge its buildings and increase its revenues. This noble institution with its rich endowments owes its foundation to the spirit of self-help and self-reliance which animated its founders, and the success which it has attained affords, I trust, a happy augury that we shall not have long to wait before there are in India numerous colleges and public schools maintained by those who use them, or supported by the liberality of private benefactors. You have decided, and in my opinion, very rightly, to open your college to all, irrespective of their creed, and it is, I think, much to the credit of the managing body of this insti- tution that it is conducted on non-sectarian principles, and that the Hindu scholar is as readily received as the Mahomedau, just as a native of Madras is as eligible for admission as one from these provinces. It is the opinion of the Government over which I have the honour to preside that our present State system of education is not sufficiently safeguarded by discipline and moral training, and it is a matter of satisfaction to me that you have recognised the need for giving religious, moral, and social instruction to your pupils and for following our Western methods in bringing to bear upon them during their leisure hours the influence of upright and high-minded tutors. The encouragement which you give to the boys at your college to become skilled in outdoor amusements is also, in my opinion, highly to be commended, and I have read with interest, of the success which they have from time to time achieved in the cricket-field. 1888.] A RETROSPECT. SPEECH AT ST. ANDREW'S DINNER, CALCUTTA. On the 30th of November, 1888, Lord Dufferin attended the annual dinner given by the Scotch inhabitants of Calcutta in celebration of St. Andrew's Day. In reply to the toast of his health, which was proposed by the Chair- man, Sir Alec Wilson, His Excellency spoke as follows : GENTLEMEN, Before attempting to return thanks for the kind and hearty manner in which you have drunk my health, I feel that, above all things, it is necessary that I should j ustify iny presence amongst you upon this occasion. This is es- pecially a Scotch dinner, and it is held in commemoration of an eminent personage, who was next door to having been born and bred in Scotland. (Laughter.) Well, gentlemen, I may claim as much right to your consanguinity as St. Andrew himself ; for, in those distant days to which we both belong, I also, as represented by my remote forefathers, was a country- man of your own. (Applause.) Indeed, I may still call myself by that honourable appellation, the only difference being that I have been very much improved by having been an Irishman during the last three hundred years. (Cheers and laughter.) You, gentlemen, represent the raw material in its protoplastic condition; Mr. Barbour, my eminent financial colleague, whom I am happy to see keeping me in countenance, and myself, are specimens of the manufactured article and the developed organism. (Laughter and cheers.) But, for all that, the old Adam I do not allude to the father of the human race, but to one Adam, an ancestor of my own, who, like his namesake, was turned out of your northern paradise, and that, too, for being too submissive to a lady, who was not even his wife, but Mary Queen of Scots (laugh- ter) the old Adam, I say, will still betray itself and kindle a glow of brotherly enthusiasm in my breast whenever I find myself surrounded by a company of kindly Scotchmen. (Cheers.) And now, gentlemen, having made good my locus standi amongst you my foot being, so to speak, on my native heath I desire, from the bottom of my heart, and with all the earnestness that words are capable of displaying, 230 SPEECHES. [1888. to convey to you my deep sense of your goodness in having extended to me so friendly and so gracious a welcome. (Cheers.) Although I cannot take credit to myself for all the appreciative and indulgent encomiums which your chair- man has been pleased to pass upon my administration, I am not the less sensible of the good-will and sympathy implied by the enthusiastic cheers which greeted his utterances. It is quite true, as Sir Alec Wilson has observed, that, in the four years of my Viceroyalty, I have had greater and more unexpected difficulties to contend with than have troubled the serenity of most of my immediate predecessors. The first and the greatest of these has undoubtedly been the fall in the value of silver, which, by depleting the revenues of India to the extent of more than three millions a year, has crippled the energies of my Government in every direction, and im- posed upon me the ungracious duty of well, I will not damp the gaiety of this joyous festival by alluding further to so dis- agreeable a subject. (Laughter and cheers.) Indeed, I do not intend to trouble you to-night with egotistical references to my own administration, or with any attempt to vindicate the general policy of the Government of India. The verdict upon both has passed out of my hands, and it will be the pen of the historian that will determine whether my colleagues and myself have succeeded in any adequate degree in con- tributing to the peace and security of the country, in dis- sipating some formidable dangers, and in inaugurating such reforms and improvements in its administration as the time and the circumstances of the case either permitted or required. (Applause.) Of one thing, at all events, I am certain we have done a great deal more in these directions than is gene- rally supposed. Still there is one misapprehension into which the public has fallen, which I am desirous of taking this oppor- tunity of correcting once for all, lest it should crystallize into a popular belief, and that is that the difficulties which we have had to encounter in Burma arose from an attempt of the Indian Government to effect the conquest of that kingdom in too economical a manner, or, to use a vulgar expression, * on the aheap.* Such an idea is entirely unfounded. There may 1888.] THE ANNEXATION OF BURMA. 231 have been mistakes, but they did not arise from that source. On the contrary, the Government of India has never, from first to last, refused the local authorities of Burma a single requisition, whether for money, for troops, for civil officers, or for police, which they have ever submitted to us. (Cheers.) Nay more, we encouraged them from time to time to make further demands on us in every one of these respects. With regard to the strength of the original force, it must be remem- bered that the expedition to Mandalay was essentially a riverine expedition, and that the number of troops that could be despatched upon it was limited by the riverine transport at our disposal. Though the means of transport afforded us by the existence of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company were very considerable, they had to be strained to the utmost extent. Happily, they were amply suf- ficient for the immediate purpose in view, as was shown by the surrender of the Burmese army, the capture of the king, and the occupation of his capital in the course of a fortnight. (Applause.) The very day that Mandalay was taken we telegraphed to both our civil and military representatives to inquire whether or not the additional reinforcements which we had ready to start in support should be sent off ; but both the civil and the military authorities considered that the forces at their disposal were sufficient for all immediate requirements. The difficulties which sub- sequently occurred were not difficulties which could be over- come by the application of mere brute force as represented by numbers. They were inherent in the very nature of the case, the enormous extent of the country, its complete dis- organization, the absence of all roads, and the vastness and impracticability of the jungles. Impediments like these could not be successfully dealt with at once, especially as the rainy season soon intervened to hamper our endeavours. Roads had to be cut, telegraphic communications established, military posts constructed, and a hundred other preliminary arrange- ments introduced. Above all, a military police had to be organized, for the Government of India does not keep on hand, as a grocer does pepper, a ready-made supply of military 232 SPEECHES. [1888. police for casual emergencies. Such a body, who are the real restorers of order, have to be painfully and laboriously enlisted and drilled. In spite of all these difficulties, as Sir Alec Wilson has stated, within a little more than two years and a half, we have succeeded not only in tranquillizing the country but in furnishing it forth with all the appliances of a civilized state. (Cheers.) All the big dacoit bands have been dispersed, and their leaders disposed of. Crime in Lower Burma is now less than it was before the war, and even the return of the dry season has not shown any perceptible recurrence of it in Upper Burma. It is true that, during the winter we shall have to punish some of the wild mountain tribes, both in the north and in the west, who have been raiding Burmese villages and head- hunting on Burmese territory. But these troubles are as common to the borders of India as they are to those of Burma. If we remember that, when Lord Dalhousie took possession of Pegu though he undoubtedly displayed in everything he undertook the greatest vigour and energy, and though Pegu was only a sixth of the size of the country that we have recently dominated it took him seven or eight years to reduce it to reasonable submission, I think we may be satisfied with the result. (Loud applause.) Indeed, it was only the other day that I was reading a life of Lord Minto, who mentions incidentally that in his time whole districts within twenty miles of Calcutta were at the mercy of dacoits, and this after the English had been more than fifty years in the occupation of Bengal ; while, even in our own days, large bands of robbers in Central India are baffling all the efforts of the Indore Government to put an end to their depredations. The fact is dacoity is a peculiar sort of crime, and one far more difficult to deal with than even the organized opposition of regular armies. I have been led to dilate more fully upon this subject than I had intended ; but I have felt it my duty to do so, not so much in the interests of the Indian administration as from a desire to vindicate the conduct of those eminent civil and military officers who, in the teeth of a great deal of mis- apprehension, have been carrying out with exceptional ability, and with acknowledged success, their responsible and thank- 1888.] INDIAN NATIONALITIES. 233 less duties. (Cheers.) And now, gentlemen, what else am I to say to yon ? As a rule, I do not think it is a desirable thing for the Viceroy of India to make speeches. I have carefully avoided doing so as much as possible ; but perhaps, as I am so near the day of my dissolution, I may be permitted to utter a few words of warning and advice to those to whose affairs I have been giving such unremitting attention for so long a period. You will understand, therefore, that it is not so much the Viceroy that is addressing you as a departing, pale, and attenuated shade, or rather, shall we say, some in- telligent traveller who has come to India for three months, with the intention of writing an encyclopedic work on its Government and its people, and who is therefore able to speak in a spirit of infallibility denied to us lesser men. (Laughter.) Well then, gentlemen, what is India? It is an empire equal in size, if Russia be excluded, to the entire continent of Europe, with a population of 250 million souls. This popu- lation is composed of a large number of distinct nationalities, professing various religions, practising diverse rites, speaking different languages the Census Report says there are 106 different Indian tongues not dialects, mind you of which 18 are spoken by more than a million persons and many of these nationalities are still further separated from each other by dis- cordant prejudices, by conflicting social usages, and even anta- gonistic material interests. Perhaps the most patent peculiarity of our Indian " cosmos " is its division into two mighty political communities the Hindus numbering 190 millions, and the Mahomedans, a nation of 50 millions whose distinctive cha- racteristics, whether religious, social, or ethnological, it is of course unnecessary for me to refer to before such an audience as the present. But to these two great divisions must be added a host of minor nationalities though minor is a mis- leading term, since most of them may be numbered by millions who, though some are included in the two broader categories I have mentioned, are as completely differentiated from each other as are the Hindus from the Mahomedans. Such are the Sikhs, with their warlike habits and traditions, and their theocratic enthusiasm; the Rohillas, tlio Pathans, the Assamese, 234 SPEECHES. [1888. the Biluchees, and the other wild and martial tribes on our frontiers ; the hillmen dwelling in the folds of the Himalayas ; our subjects in Burma, Mongol in race and Buddhist in reli- gion ; the Khonds, Mairs, and Bheels, and other non- Aryan peoples in the centre and south of India ; and the enterprising Parsees, with their rapidly developing manufactures and com- mercial interests. Again, amongst these numerous com- munities may be found at one and the same moment all the various stages of civilization through which mankind has passed from the pre-historic ages to the present day. At one end of the scale we have the naked savage hillman, with his stone weapons, his head-hunting, his polyandrous habits, and his childish superstitions ; and at the other, the Europeanized native gentleman, with his refinement and polish, his literary culture, his Western philosophy, and his advanced political ideas ; while between the two lie, layer upon layer, or in close juxtaposition, wandering communities, with their flocks of goats and moving tents ; collections of undisciplined warriors, with their blood feuds, their clan organization and loose tribal government ; feudal chiefs and barons, with their picturesque retainers, their seignorial jurisdiction, and their mediaeval modes of life ; and modernized country gentlemen, and enter- prising merchants and manufacturers, with their well-managed estates and prosperous enterprises. Besides all these, who are under our direct administration, the Government of India is required to exercise a certain amount of supervision over the one hundred and seventeen native states, with their princely rulers, their autocratic executives, their independent juris- dictions, and their fifty millions of inhabitants. The mere enumeration of these diversified elements must suggest to the most unimaginative mind a picture of as complicated a social and political organization as ever tasked human ingenuity to govern and administer. (Loud applause.) But, even within British India in the narrower sense of the term, we have not reached the limits of our accountability, for we are bound to provide for the safety and welfare not only of Her Majesty's Hindu, Mahomedan, and other native subjects, but also of the large East Indian community, of 1MHH.] SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT. 235 the indigenous Christian Churches, of the important planting and manufacturing interests which are scattered over the face of the country, as also to secure the property and lives of all the British residents in India, men, women, and children, whether employed in the service of the Government or pursuing independent avocations in the midst of the alien and semi-civilized multitudes whose peaceable and orderly behaviour cannot, under all circumstances, be implicitly relied on. (Cheers.) To these obligations must also be added the duty of watching over the enormous commercial interests of the mother country, represented by a guaranteed capital of over two hundred and twenty millions of pounds sterling, which, to the great benefit of India, has been either lent to the State or sunk in Indian railways and similar enterprises ; for it would be criminal to ignore the responsibility of the Govern- ment towards those who have sunk large sums of money in the development of Indian resources on the faith of official guaran- tees, or who have invested their capital in the Indian funds at the invitation of the Imperial Indian authorities. The same considerations apply with almost equal force to that further vast amount of capital which is employed by private British enterprise in manufactures, in tea planting, and in the indigo, jute, and similar industries, on the assumption that English rule and English justice will remain dominant in India. (Loud applause.) If, again, we turn our eyes outwards, it will be found that our external obligations are hardly less onerous and imperative than those confronting us from within. India has a land frontier of nearly 6000 miles, and a seaboard of about 9000 miles. On the east she is conterminous with Siam and China, on the north with Thibet, Bhootan, and Nepaul, and on the west she marches, at all events diplomatically, with Kussia. On her coast are many rich and prosperous seaports Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Kurachee, .Rangoon and every year we are made more painfully aware to how serious an extent our con- tiguity with foreign nations, whether civilized or uncivilized, and the complications arising both out of Eastern and Western politics, may expose us to attack. Every day we feel more keenly the necessity of walking both warily and wisely in 236 SPEECHES. [1888. respect of our international relations, and of taking those precautions, however onerous or expensive, which are in- cumbent on every nation that finds itself in contact with enterprising military monarchies or rival maritime powers. (Cheers.) It is then for the outward protection and for the internal control it is for the welfare, good government, and progress of this congeries of nations, religions, tribes, and communities, with the tremendous latent forces and dis- ruptive potentialities which they contain, that the Government of India is answerable ; and it is in reference to the ever- shifting and multiplying requirements of this complicated political organization that it has been called upon from time to time to shape and modify its system of administration. In the earlier stages of England's connection with India, and even after the force of circumstances had transmuted the East India Company of merchants into an Imperial Executive, the igno- rance and the disorganization of the peninsula consequent upon the anarchy which followed the collapse of the Mahomedan regime necessitated the maintenance of a strong uncompro- mising despotism, with the view of bringing order out of chaos, and a systematized administration out of the confusion and law- lessness which were then universally prevalent. But such principles of government, however necessary, have never been congenial to the instincts or habits of the English people. (Applause.) As soon as the circumstances of the case permitted, successive statesmen, both at home and in India itself, em- ployed themselves from time to time in softening the severity of the system under which our dominion was originally estab- lished, and strenuous efforts were repeatedly made, not only to extend to Her Majesty's subjects in India the same civil rights and privileges which are enjoyed by Her Majesty's subjects at home, but to admit them, as far as was possible, to a share in the management of their own affairs. (Cheers.) The proof of this is plainly written in our recent history. It is seen in our legal codes, which secure to all Her Majesty's subjects, without distinction of race or creed or class, equality before the law. (Cheers.) It is found in the establishment of local legislative councils a quarter of a century ago, wherein a certain number 1888.] NATIVE ASPIRATIONS. 237 of leading natives were associated with the Government in en- acting measures suitable to local wants. It lies at the basis of the great principle of decentralized finance, which has prepared the way for the establishment of increased local responsibility. It received a most important development in the municipal legislation of Lord Northbrook's administration. It took a still fuller and more perfect expression during the administration of my distinguished predecessor, in the Municipal and Local Boards Acts ; and it has acquired a further illustration in the recommendation of the Public Service Commission, recently sent home by the Government of India, in accordance with which more than a hundred offices hitherto reserved to the Covenanted Service would be thrown open to the Provincial Service, and thus placed within the reach of our native fellow- subjects in India. (Applause.) And now, gentlemen, some in- telligent, loyal, patriotic, and well-meaning men are desirous of taking, I will not say a further step in advance, but a very big jump into the unknown by the application to India of democratic methods of government, and the adoption of a parliamentary system, which England herself has only reached by slow degrees and through the discipline of many centuries of preparation. (Cheers.) The ideal authoritatively suggested, as I understand, is the creation of a representative body or bodies in which the official element shall be in a minority, who shall have what is called the power of the purse, and who, through this instrumentality, shall be able to bring the British executive into subjection to their will. The organization of battalions of native militia and volunteers for the internal and external defence of the country is the next arrangement sug- gested, and the first practical result to be obtained would be the reduction of the British army to one half its present num- bers. Well, gentlemen, I am afraid that the people of England will not readily be brought to the acceptance of this programme, or to allow such an assembly, or a number of such assemblies, either to interfere with its armies, or to fetter and circumscribe the liberty of action either of the provincial governments or of the Supreme Executive. (Applause.) In the first place, the scheme is eminently unconstitutional ; for the essence of con- 238 SPEECHES. [1888. stitutional government is that responsibility and power should be committed to the same hands. The idea of irresponsible councils, whose members could arrest the march of Indian legislation, or nullify the policy of the British executive in India, without being liable to be called to account for their acts in a way in which an opposition can be called to account in a constitutional country, must be regarded as an imprac- ticable anomaly. (Applause.) Indeed, so obviously impossible would be the application of any such system in the circumstances of the case, that I do not believe it has been seriously advocated by any native statesman of the slightest weight or importance. I have come into contact, during the last four years, with, I imagine, almost all the most distinguished persons in Jndia. I have talked with most of them upon these matters, and I have never heard a suggestion from one of them in the sense I have mentioned. (Cheers.) But if no native statesman of weight or importance, capable of appreciating the true interests of England and of India, is found to defend this programme, who are those who do ? Who and what are the persons who seek to assume such great powers to tempt the fate of Phaeton, and to sit in the chariot of the Sun ? (Applause.) Well, they are gentlemen of whom I desire to speak with the greatest courtesy and kindness, for they are, most of them, the product of the system of educa- tion which we ourselves have carried on during the last thirty years. But thirty years is a very short time in which to educe a self-governing nation from its primordial elements. At all events, let us measure the extent of educated assistance upon which we could call at this moment ; let us examine the degree of proficiency which the educated classes of India have attained and the relation of their numbers to the rest of the population. Out of the whole population of British India, which may be put at 200 millions in round numbers, not more than five or six per cent, can read and write, while less than one per cent, has any knowledge of English. Thus, the overwhelming mass of the people, perhaps one hundred and ninety out of the two hundred millions, are still steeped in ignorance, and of the ten or twelve millions who have acquired education, three-fourths have attained to merely the most elementary knowledge. 1888.] THE NATIONAL CONGRESS. 239 In our recent review of the progress of education, it was pointed out that ninety-four and a half per cent, of those attending our schools and colleges were in the primary stage, while the progress made in English education can be mea- sured by the fact that the number of students who have graduated at the universities since their establishment in 1857 that is, during the course of the last thirty-one years is under eight thousand. During the last twenty-five years probably not more than half a million students have passed out of our schools with a good knowledge of English, and per- haps a million more with a smattering of it. Consequently, it may be said that, out of a population of 200 millions, there are only a very few thousands who may be considered to possess adequate qualifications, so far as education and an acquaintance with Western ideas or even Eastern learning are concerned, for taking an intelligent view of those intricate and complicated economic and political questions affecting the destinies of so many millions of men which are almost daily being presented for the consideration of the Government of India. (Applause.) I would ask, then, how any reasonable man could imagine that the British Government would be content to allow this micro- scopic minority to control their administration of that majestic and multiform empire for whose safety and welfare they are responsible in the eyes of God and before the face of civili- zation ? (Cheers.) It has been stated that this minority re- presents a large and growing class. I am glad to think that it represents a growing class, and I feel very sure that, as time goes on, it is not only the class that will grow, but also the in- formation and experience of its members. At present, however, it appears to me a groundless contention that it represents the people of India. If they had been really representatives of the people of India that is to say, of the voiceless millions in- stead of seeking to circumscribe the incidence of the income tax, as they desired to do, they would probably have received a mandate to decuple it. (Laughter.) Indeed, is it not evident that large sections of the community are already becoming alarmed at the thought of such self-constituted bodies inter- posing between themselves and the august impartiality of Eng- SPEECHES. [1888. lish rule ? These persons ought to know that in the present condition of India there can be no real or effective representa- tion of the people, with their enormous numbers, their multi- farious interests, and their tesselated nationalities. They ought to see that all the strength, power, and intelligence of the British Government are applied to the prevention of one race, of one interest, of one class, of one religion, dominating another ; and they ought to feel that in their peculiar position there can be no greater blessing to the country than the existence of an external, dispassionate, and immutable authority, whose watch- word is Justice, and who alone possesses both the power and the will to weld the rights and status of each separate element of the empire into a peaceful, co-ordinated, and harmonious unity. (Loud cheers.) When the Congress was first started, I watched its operations with interest and curiosity, and I hoped that in certain fields of useful activity it might render valuable assistance to the Government. I was aware that there were many social topics connected with the habits and customs of the people which were of unquestionable utility, but with which it was either undesirable for the Govern- ment to interfere, or which it was beyond their power to influence or control. For instance, where is there a population whose rise in the scale of social comfort and prosperity is more checked and impeded by excessive and useless expenditure on the occasion of marriages and other similar ceremonies than that of India ? Or in what country is the peasant more hampered in the pursuit of his agricultural industry, than is the Hindu or Mahomedan ryot, by chronic indebtedness to the money- lenders? Where is there a more crying need for sanitary reform than amongst those who insist upon bathing in the tanks from which they obtain their drinking-water, and where millions of men, women, and children die yearly, or, what is even worse, become the victims of chronic debility, disease, and racial deterioration, from preventible causes ? What system could be named more calculated to cause greater searchings of the heart than some of the domestic arrangements so ruthlessly insisted upon by Hindu society ? Above all, what land is ex- posed to such imminent danger by the overflow of the popula- DANGERS AND REMEDIES. 241 tion of large districts and territories whose inhabitants are yearly multiplying beyond the number which the soil is capable of sustaining? To this last topic I am especially anxious to call the attention of every lover of his country. The danger has long since been signalized by European writers, especially by that most acute of all observers, the late Sir Henry Maine ; and it was almost the first subject that attracted my attention when I came to India. Perhaps the widespread misery which I had witnessed in Ireland, produced by similar conditions, had quickened my observation. (Applause.) I first of all commissioned Sir William Hunter to take the matter up, and after his departure the task of dealing with it was con- fided to Sir Edward Buck. A committee met at Delhi, and at the same time provisional reports were called for from various governments on the general condition of the people. The short resolution in which the general tendency of these reports and the lessons to be derived from them are contained, has, I understand, been denounced as an endeavour of the Government to impart a rose-coloured view to the situation. All I can say is that in ordering the inquiry my object was to obtain the means of awaking public opinion in India to the gravity and danger of our position, rather than to lull it into fancied security, and any one who can derive much satisfaction from the result must be either of a very sanguine or a very callous temperament ; for although it has been clearly demonstrated that those who represent the poorer classes of India as univer- sally living in a chronic state of semi-starvation and inanition, grossly exaggerate, and that the condition of these classes has been steadily improving, it is undoubtedly the case that in certain districts, whose inhabitants are to be numbered by mil- lions, the means of sustenance provided by the soil are inadequate for the support of those who live upon it. When we reflect that, in the most thickly populated districts of Europe, there are only from 400 to 500 persons to the square mile, whereas in the localities I am referring to they exceed 700 and even 800 to the square mile, we shall be better able to appreciate the reality of the danger. Well, then, gentlemen, for such a state of things there are only two remedies the expansion of B 242 SPEECHES. [1888. manufacturing industries, and emigration. But it is not in the power of the Government of itself to apply either of these remedies. (Applause.) By removing, restrictions on trade, and by the multiplication of roads, railways, and the facilities of conveyance, we can foster manufacturing and mercantile activity, which we are doing ; but the actual creation of manu- facturing centres must be the work of private enterprise. (Cheers.) To the same imperfect degree, and principally by the same means, the Government can promote emigration. (Cheers.) It can let or sell land under favourable conditions to would-be settlers. It can indicate the places where popula- tion is superabundant, and where ' comparatively unoccupied tracts are to be found ; but it can neither prohibit by law im- prudent marriages, nor compel the inhabitants of a village in any particular locality to transfer themselves to another. But what the Government cannot do, the gentlemen to whom I am referring might very usefully employ themselves in doing. They know the ways and habits of the people ; they know the nature of their occupations ; they know their needs ; and as they themselves come from different parts of India, they know where labour is scarce, where land is plentiful, and where the new comers could be best accommodated either as cultivators or as coolies. By carefully examining the elements of the problem, they might put themselves into a position to place at the dis- posal of the Government both useful information and advice. (Loud applause.) Again, with regard to sanitation. And by sanitation I do not mean the inopportune and injudicious worrying and harrying of our villagers into the adoption of uncongenial ways and habits, or the forcing upon them of the latest principles of Western hygiene, but a gradual patient pro- cess similar to that which has banished cholera, jail fever, and many other ills from England during the course of the present century, and which consists in placing pure water within the reach of the people, and in indoctrinating them with those simple rules which add as much to the comfort as they do to the decency of domestic life. The Government has recently given its serious attention to this subject, and has laid down the lines upon which, in its opinion, sanitary reform should be 1888.] TECHNICAL EDUCATION. 243 applied to our towns and villages. It has given sanitation a local habitation and a name in every great division of the empire ; and it has arranged for the establishment of respon- sible central agencies from one end of the country to the other, who will be in close communication with all the local authorities within their respective jurisdictions. But, after all, the most earnest endeavours both of the Supreme and of the Provincial Governments will be of little avail, unless seconded by the intelligent co-operation of the educated native classes. (Ap- plause.) So again with regard to technical education. The Government of India may recommend to the local govern- ments the policy and the arrangements which it considers to be suited for the establishment and spread of this useful and necessary branch of instruction, and the local governments may improve upon those suggestions, or may apply them with the utmost zeal and wisdom ; but it is the educated classes those who are most intimately acquainted with the internal economy of the homes of India and the natural aptitudes of their in- habitants who alone can give energy and vitality to the movement. Well, gentlemen, as I have already observed, when the Congress was first started, it seemed to me that such a body, if they directed their attention with patriotic zeal to the consideration of these and cognate subjects, as similar Con- gresses do in England, might prove of assistance to the Govern- ment and of great use to their fellow-citizens ; and I cannot help expressing my regret that they should seem to consider such momentous topics, concerning as they do the welfare of millions of their fellow-subjects, as beneath their notice, and that they should have concerned themselves instead with matters in regard to which their assistance is likely to be less profitable to us. (Applause.) It is a still greater matter of regret to me that the members of the Congress should have become answerable for the distribution as their officials have boasted amongst thousands and thousands of ignorant and credulous men of publications animated by a very question- able spirit, and whose manifest aim is to excite the hatred of the people against the public servants of the Crown in this country. (Cheers.) Such proceedings as these no Government R 2 244 SPEECHES. [1888. could regard with indifference, nor can they fail to inspire it with misgivings, at all events with regard to the wisdom of those who have so offended. Nor is the silly threat of one of the chief officers the principal secretary, I believe of the Con- gress, that he and his Congress friends hold in their hands the keys not only of a popular insurrection but of a military revolt, calculated to restore our confidence in their discretion, even when accompanied by the assurance that they do not intend for the present to put these keys into the locks. (Loud applause.) But, gentlemen, though I have thought it my duty in these plain terms to point out what I consider the misapprehension of the Congress party as to the proper direction in which their energies should be employed, I do not at all wish to imply that I view with anything but favour and sympathy the desire of the educated classes of India to be more largely associated with us in the conduct of the affairs of their country. Such an ambi- tion is not only very natural, but very worthy, provided due regard be had to the circumstances of the country and to the conditions under which the British administration in India discharges its duties. (Applause.) In the speech which I de- livered at Calcutta on the occasion of Her Majesty's jubilee, I used the following expression : " Wide and broad, indeed, are the new fields in which the Government of India is called upon to labour, but no longer, as of aforetime, need it labour alone. Within the period we are reviewing, education has done its work, and we are surrounded on all sides by native gentlemen of great attainments and intelligence, from whose hearty, loyal, and honest co-operation we may hope to derive the greatest benefit. In fact, to an administration so peculiarly situated as ours, their advice, assistance, and solidarity are essential to the successful exercise of its functions. Nor do I regard with any other feelings than those of approval and good-will their natural ambition to be more extensively associated with their English rulers in the administration of their own domestic affairs ; and glad and happy should I be if, during my sojourn amongst them, circumstances permitted me to extend and to place upon a wider and more logical footing the political status which was so wisely given a generation ago by that great states- 1888.] NATIVE PROBLEMS. 2-45 man, Lord Halifax, to such Indian, gentlemen as by their in- fluence, their acquirements, and the confidence they inspired in their fellow-countrymen, were marked out as useful adjuncts to our Legislative Councils." To every word which I then spoke I continue to adhere (cheers) ; but surely the sensible men of the country cannot imagine that even the most moderate constitutional changes can be effected in such a system as ours by a stroke of the pen, or without the most anxious delibera- tions, as well as careful discussions in Parliament. (Applause.) If ever a political organization has existed where caution is necessary in dealing with those problems which affect the ad- justment of the administrative machine, and where haste and precipitancy are liable to produce deplorable results, it is that which holds together our complex Indian Empire ; and the man who stretches forth his hand towards the ark, even with the best intentions, may well dread lest his arm should shrivel up to the shoulder. But growth and development are the rule of the world's history, and from the proofs I have already given of the way in which English statesmanship has perpetually striven gradually to adapt our methods of government in India to the expanding intelligence and capacities of the educated classes amongst our Indian subjects, it may be confidently expected that the legitimate and reasonable aspirations of the responsible heads of native society, whether Hindu or Mahomedan, will in due time receive legitimate satisfaction. (Cheers.) The more we enlarge the surface of our contact with the educated and intelligent public opinion of India, the better ; and although I hold it absolutely necessary, not merely for the maintenance of our own power, but for the good government of the country, and for the general content of all classes, and especially of the people at large, that England should never abdicate her supreme control of public affairs, or delegate to a minority or to a class the duty of providing for the welfare of the diversified com- munities over which she rules, I am not the less convinced that we could, with advantage, draw more largely than we have hitherto done on native intelligence and native assistance in the discharge of our duties. (Loud applause.) I have had ample opportunities of gauging and appreciating to its full 246 SPEECHES. [1888. extent the measure of good sense, of practical wisdom, and of experience which is possessed by the leading men of India, both among the great nobles on the one hand, and amongst the leisured and professional classes on the other, and I have now submitted officially to the home authorities some personal sug- gestions in harmony with the foregoing views. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, I have sometimes seen in the newspapers formidable indictments drawn up against the British administration in India. I do not now refer to them for the purpose of contro- verting the charges which they formulated, but they have cer- tainly indicated one blemish which the Government of India frankly recognises and had already begun to deal with; namely, the present constitution of the police. There are un- doubtedly great defects in this branch of the public service. It is, however, by no means an easy matter to deal with. The difficulty lies in the low morale prevailing in the classes from which alone the police can be drawn, in the supineness and ignorance of the people themselves, and, still more, the additional expenditure which would be entailed by any really effective amelioration of the force. (Applause.) Again, with regard to the separation of judicial and executive offices in the early stage of the service and in the lower grades. This is a counsel of perfection to which we are ready to subscribe, though the reform suggested, where it has not been carried into effect and it has been largely effected is by no means so simple a proceeding as many people suppose. And here also we have a question of money. With regard to both these sub- jects, however, I have to make one observation. The evils complained of are not of recent date : they existed long before my time, and had they been as intolerable as is now stated, they would have been remedied while the existence of surplus funds rendered this practicable ; but, as this was not done, it is fair to argue that, even admitting that there is room for im- provement in both the above respects, we can afford to consult times and seasons in carrying these improvements into effect. (Applause.) Be that, however, as it may, I confess I always lay down these incriminating documents with a feeling of relief at finding that more serious shortcomings cannot be alleged 1888.] CHARGES AGAINST BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 247 against us. (Cheers.) When I consider the difficulties of our task, the imperfection of the instruments through which we must necessarily work, the multiplicity of the interests with which we have to deal, the liability of our most careful calcula- tions to be overset by material accidents over which we have no command, the complexity and centrifugal might of the forces we are called upon to harmonize and co-ordinate, the extra- ordinary tendency in the East for two and two to make five, and the imperfection which stamps the conduct of all human affairs, my wonder is that our miscarriages should not have been infinitely multiplied. In reading these criticisms I am re- minded of a story of a young man who afterwards became a very powerful public speaker. On his first appearance on the hustings he was so embarrassed by the novel circumstances of his situation that he made but an indifferent attempt at a speech ; but when some one in the crowd ill-naturedly jeered at him, he cried out, " You just come up here and do it yourself you won't find it so easy," which pertinent observation at once won for him the sympathy of his audience. (Loud laughter.) At all events, we have the satisfaction of knowing that there is another side to the picture ; for in these diatribes, to use Sir Auckland Colvin's eloquent words, " of the India of to-day as we know it ; of India under education ; of India compelled, in the interests of the weaker masses, to submit to impartial justice ; of India brought together by road and rail ; of India entering into the first-class commercial markets of the world ; of India of religious toleration ; of India assured, for terms of years unknown in less fortunate Europe, of profound and unbroken peace ; of India of the free press ; of India finally taught for the first time that the end and aim of rule is the welfare of the people and not the personal aggrandisement of the sovereign " he might have added of India that within the last twenty- eight years has accumulated 110 millions of gold and 218 millions of silver, " we fail to find a syllable of recognition." (Cheers.) At all events, gentlemen, you may be sure that whatever our sins, whether of omission or of commission, the English Government in India will continue faithfully, cou- rageously, and in the fear of God to endeavour to discharge its 248 SPEECHES. [1888. duties, to amend whatever may be amiss, and still further to improve the good which already exists, indifferent to praise or blame, and as unresentful of the hard things occasionally said of us by those for whose sake we are labouring, as we shall always be grateful for the appreciation of those and they are the great majority of our Indian fellow-subjects who have the intelligence to understand and the generosity to acknowledge what we have done for them. (Loud applause.) And now, gentlemen, it only remains for me to thank you not only for your hospitality and for the friendly reception you have jjiven to the mention of Lady Dufferin's name and my own, but for the patience with which you have listened to this somewhat lengthy speech. It is a great regret to me to think that I am looking round for the last time upon so many friendly and familiar faces. In another week I shall have discharged my trust, and transferred my great office to the hands of one of England's most capable statesmen, a nobleman in the prime of life, and already distinguished for his sound judgment, his moderation, his wisdom, and the industry with which he applies himself to public affairs. That he will by the intelligence, the impartiality, and the sympathetic character of his rule gain and maintain the good- will and the confidence both of Her Majesty's native and English subjects in India, I have not the slightest doubt, and this conviction to a great extent consoles me for my regret in quitting your service. Gentlemen, I again thank you from the very bottom of my heart for all your kind- ness and goodness. (Loud and long continued cheers.) ADDRESS FROM THE NATIVE LADIES OF BENGAL. On Tuesday afternoon, the 4th December, 1888, the purda-nashin ladies of Bengal presented a valedictory address to Her Excellency the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava at Government House. The greatest privacy was observed in receiving the ladies, all male visitors being excluded. There were nearly seven hundred native ladies present, there being hardly standing room in the Throne-room, where the address was presented and the reception took place. Among those who formed the deputation were several Burmese ladies, some of the costumes worn being very picturesque. Lady Bayley and a large 1888.] NATIVE LADIES OF BENGAL. 249 company of European ladies received the members of the deputation and conducted them to the Throne-room, where, after the usual formalities of introduction were over, Lady Bayley, on behalf of the deputation, read the following address : To Her Excellency the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, C.I. MAY IT PLEASE YOUB EXCELLENCY, We venture to address you on the occasion of your leaving India with our most heartfelt expression of gratitude for the inestimable boon which you have conferred on the women of India by your unwearying labour and watchful care on their behalf during the four years you have been among us. A memorable attempt has been made to alleviate the fearful amount of female suffering which prevails in India through the want of competent medical attendance, and it is under your auspices that a National Association has been formed for supplying female medical aid to women in all the provinces of the empire. The work of this Association, with which we are happy to feel that Your Excellency's name will always be associated, has now been successfully conducted through the difficulties which beset the early life of all similar institutions ; and we are indulging in no hyper- bole of speech when we say that it is through your sympathy with suffering, your devotion to the weak and helpless, your wisdom and enthusiasm, which has inspired others to charitable deeds, that the gratifying results already attained are to be attributed. You are now able to quit the scene of your labours with a serene conviction that the amelioration of the condition of the women of India, the cause which you have so much at heart, is a reality and not a dream ; that it is a project which will not die with your departure, but is vigorous and instinct with life ; and that your successors will take up the torch of further improvement and carry it on again to those who will follow after them with increasing lustre. We who now venture to address you on behalf of the women of India give utterance to the sentiments of all our sex when we assure you of our respect, affection, and admiration. To you and your illustrious consort we tender our thanks. We shall never be forgetful of your goodness, and we are sure of this also, that in whatever lot your life may henceforth be cast, your thoughts and interests and generous wishes will always be for the welfare of the women of India. We respectfully bes that on your return to England you will convey to her gracious Majesty the Queen-Empress our humble and grateful appreciation of the active interest she has been pleased to take in the work of the National Association, and of the encouragement she has afforded to the labourers in the movement by her august patronage. We bid you now a regretful farewell, and fervently hope that under God's providence you may evermore enjoy happiness and prosperity. Her Excellency the Marchioness of Uufferin and Ava in reply said : MY FRIENDS, It is indeed difficult for me to tell you how deeply I feel the kind words of your address. I am quite sure that no one in the fulfilment of a plain duty has ever received so great a reward as I have, in the sympathy and appreciation 250 SPEECHES. [1888. of those for whom I have tried to do something, and in the rapid progress and success of the work I undertook. That work is founded upon love and common sense, and built upon such sure foundations it cannot fail. If it has been my happy privilege to draw attention to the remediable sufferings and to the wants of the women of India, it is the quick response to that appeal emanating from the hearts and minds of their countrymen which has made the amelioration of their lot a reality and not a dream. I thank you also for your kind allusion to the Viceroy. You can readily understand that without his personal sympathy and encouragement and his hearty interest in the work of the National Association I my- self could have done nothing ; nor must I omit to acknowledge here the friendly aid and consideration my plans have always received from the Government of India. I shall have no greater pleasure in returning to England than that of conveying to Her Majesty the Queen-Empress your expressions of loyalty and gratitude, and in assuring Her Majesty of the stability and the vitality of the work in which she has taken so great and active an interest. Again I thank you with all my heart for your kindness to myself, and I pray that every year that passes may add to the happiness, may diminish the suffering, and may improve the condition of the women of India. FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE MARCHIONESS OF DUFFERIN AND AVA. A deputation from the Public Health Society waited on Wednesday after- noon, the 7th December, on Her Excellency the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, to present her with a farewell address. The address, which was read by Mr. Simmons, honorary secretary, was as follows : MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY, We, the President, Vice-President, and Members of the Council of the Public Health Society, on behalf of the society, venture to approach Your Excellency on the eve of your departure from India, to tender to Your Excellency an expression of our appreciation of the great work it has under Providence fallen to your lot to perform for the women of this empire. And before dealing directly with the object of this adilress, we would ask permission to convey to Your Excellency and to your riuble husband our sincere and heartfelt congratulations upon the honours 1888.] PUBLIC HEALTH SOCIETY. 251 conferred upon him by our most Gracious Sovereign in return for service to the State, the single-heartedness and devotion of which no one can know so well as you who have had the proud and wifely pleasure to share his cares and labours, and to grace his reward. Your Excellency, to a body devoted to the spread of sanitary knowledge, and to the extension of all measures tending to increase the comfort and secure the health of the people, such as the society we have the honour to represent, it is a source of peculiar satisfaction to bear testimony to the beneficent character of the institution you have provided in our midst, to the excellency of its methods of working, and to the promising and encouraging measure of success which has already attended its operations. The National Association for supplying female medical aid to the women of India has met a want long acknowledged and severely felt. It net only offers but affords help of the most valuable kind in quarters where help is most needed and has hitherto been most difficult to render. It is a boon to the women of India, for the gift of which future generations will hold your name in reverence, only to be measured by the affection which now surrounds you, and which, while lamenting the public loss caused by your departure from India, pours around your departing pathway the blessings and prayers of many nations for your future welfare, honour, and happiness. But valuable as the society which bears your name may be for the direct benefits it confers, it is equally valuable for the indirect impetus it gives to the improvement of the position of Indian women by the stimulus it affords for their education, and the outlet it furnishes for their energies, abilities, and talents. To Your Excellency it has been vouchsafed not only to accomplish a great work in a worthy and effective manner, but to see gathered in the first-fruits of your labours, rich in promise of future usefulness to those you have so willingly and so unstintingly served, and of a distinct and powerful influence for good on all that tends to promote the welfare of the people of India. In taking leave ot Your Excellency, we are but repeating the sentiment which fills the hearts of millions of our fellow-subjects, when we say that we know we are parting from one of the truest, most disinterested, and most sincere friends this land and people have ever known, and we pray that the deep affection and respect you have evoked for yourself in every part of India may in the time to come be to you a precious solace, and a source of hope and happiness. We are, Your Excellency, with every expression of the most sincere and affectionate respect and admiration, Your Excellency's most obedient and most faithful servants. Her Excellency in reply said : GENTLEMEN, I thank you most sincerely for the kind address you have presented to me, and for the assurance you give me of your appreciation of the work of the National Association. That association has for its object the relief of suffering and the amelioration of the physical condition of the women of India; and having given considerable attention to this matter, I can heartily sympathise with the efforts of a 252 SPEECHES. [1888. society such as yours, which devotes itself to the improvement of the sanitary condition of the dwellings in this great city, and to the removal of the many preventible causes which produce disease and death. By the undoubted success of the movement in which I have been specially interested ; by the eager way in which female hospitals and dispensaries are filled, and female doctors and trained nurses are employed wherever we have been able to establish them ; by the good which even a few sanitary primers and useful rules have been able to effect ; and, I may add, by the extraordinary kindness shown to me personally in return for the little I have been able to do towards promoting the objects of the association, it is abundantly proved that every effort made to increase the comfort and to secure the health of the people is warmly appreciated and gratefully acknowledged by them ; and I feel sure that such considerations as these must be as great an encouragement to you in your work as they have been to us in ours. Again I thank you, gentlemen, for the very kind expressions of your address. FAREWELL ADDRKSS FROM THE CALCUTTA MUNICIPALITY. On Friday afternoon, the 8th December, the Municipal Commissioners of Calcutta presented a farewell address to Lord Dufferin at Government House. The Commissioners were received by His Excellency in the Throne-room. The address was presented in a handsome silver casket, and was read by Sir Henry Harrison, the chairman. His Excellency in reply said : GENTLEMEN, I beg to thank you very heartily for the friendly terms in which you are pleased to congratulate me on the satisfactory auspices under which my term of office in India has concluded, and on the honour which has been con- ferred upon me by Her Majesty the Queen-Empress. I am also very sensible of the indulgent spirit in which you allude to my humble endeavours to contribute my small part to the general advancement of the people of India, and more especially to promote the welfare of the citizens of Calcutta. Our resi- 1888.] LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT. 253 clence in Calcutta has always been most agreeable to myself and to Lady Dufferin, both as regards the climate, the life and colour which pervade your city, the important interests of which it is the centre, and, above all, on account of the many personal friends we have met among its inhabitants, whether English or native. We have never passed along your streets without receiving at the hands of the crowds that frequent them, not only that respect which you have always been ready to pay to the Representative of the Queen-Empress, but many marks of personal favour and consideration. Above all things, we shall never forget the liberal and enthusiastic manner in which all classes, high and low, rich and poor, converted your city into a realm of fairy splendour on the occasion of the Queen's jubilee. It is needless for me to say that I have watched the proceedings of your corporation, both in its deliberative and executive capacity, with the greatest interest and attention, and I esteem it a privilege to have been present at one of your discussions, which exhibited how successfully the art of orderly debate has been transferred from the West to the East. From the first moment that I landed in India, I have always shown myself a friend of local self- government, and anxious to give full play and every advantage to the working of those municipal institutions which my illustrious predecessor so liberally enlarged. It was not, of course, to be expected that a plant so foreign to an Oriental atmosphere should nourish with equal vigour and persistence in the great variety of soils over which it has been distributed ; but, though even now, after four years' residence in India, I can only claim a very superficial knowledge of the country, I think I am justified in saying that local self-government is everywhere alive, and that in many districts it is green and flourishing ; while the special Legislative Acts of the Govern- ment to which you refer prove, I hope to your satisfaction, that I have fulfilled my promise to foster its growth to the best of my ability. In bidding you good-bye, I trust you will not think it out of place that I should exhort you to continue with energy and perseverance those sanitary reforms upon which you have courageously embarked. The sanitation of a 254 SPEECHES. [1888. great city is not a very popular undertaking ; its processes are impeded by long-established prejudices as well as by inveterate customs and habit; nor even are its benefits very readily recognised. It has great obstacles to contend with in Europe, though now it is fortunately triumphant along the line. Though it may be many a long year, or perhaps many decades, before any very considerable impression may be made upon the evils with which you are contending, you must not despair. There never was a truer saying than that cleanliness is akin to godliness, and a city that knows how to set its house in order, to adorn its thoroughfares, to garnish its chambers, and to clothe itself in robes of spotless purity, may well claim to be the imperial metropolis of the East. In conclusion, I beg to convey to you my deep sense of your generosity in recog- nising in such warm and cordial terms the efforts of Lady Dufferin in the service of the women of India. The very fact that the exertions of a single woman should have led to the inauguration of this great movement to the introduction into India of a considerable number of female doctors ; to the establishment at almost all the centres of population of female medical schools, in which already the native ladies are exhibiting remarkable proficiency in the studies they have undertaken ; to the erection of hospitals for female patients ; to the multiplication of female wards in those which already exist from one end of the country to the other ; and, above all, the tender, graceful, and grateful expression of thanks which Lady Dufferin has received not only from public bodies, municipal corporations, and political associations, but from hundreds and hundreds of princesses and the great ladies of India, as well as from their humbler sisters is inexpressibly gratifying, for it shows how, even in the unchanging East, where improvement is too readily supposed to knock vainly at the gates of cast-iron tradition, if only sympathy, kindness, and practical good sense inspire the effort, the doors fly open and joyfully admit the train of blessings that follow the advance of all sound, well-considered, and rational progress. 1888.] CORPORATION OF SO MS AY. 255 REPLY TO AN ADDRESS FROM THE MUNICIPAL CORPORA- TION OF BOMBAY. On the 12th of December, 1888, Lord Dufferin arrived in Bombay on his way to Rome at the close of the term of his Viceroyalty. In the railway station at Bombay, he was presented with an address from the Municipal Corporation of Bombay, to which he replied as follows : MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN, I am very sensible of your kindness in thus welcoming me again to your noble city a city which, I am happy to think, has been continually increasing in splendour, in prosperity, and in wealth, under the joint auspices of your Governor's conscientious, wise, and painstaking administration, and the intelligent counsels of the municipal corporation. The solicitude of the Government of India, as you are aware, is in no sense confined to the limits of any particular province or city of the empire. It watches with impartial interest over the welfare of the whole peninsula, and we have always considered it a fortunate circumstance when it has been within our power, either directly or indirectly, to embark on any line of policy which was consonant to the wishes or conducive to the well-being of the loyal and enter- prising population of Bombay. It is a great satisfaction to me to know that the intelligent classes of this part of India comprehend the obligation of providing for the security of the north-west frontier. India is so large a place that the nature and force of those considerations which impose upon the Government any special line of action at one extremity of the empire are scarcely appreciated or understood by those who live under different conditions at the other ; but I think you may rest assured that the rulers of the country will never enter upon any expenditure of a warlike character, whether with the view of being prepared against possible contingencies of a serious character, or of repelling casual incursions of hostile tribes or of other enemies, except with extreme reluc- tance, and under the pressure of absolute necessity. In con- clusion, allow me to thank you for the kind reference you have made to my wife's endeavours to improve the condition of the women of India. The encomium you have passed upon her 256 SPEECHES. [1888. cannot fail to be most gratifying to her feelings, and I at all events am at liberty to say that it is richly deserved ; for, not only will she have done an immense amount of actual good in the present, but she will have shown what a powerful engine sympathy, common-sense, and judicious management can prove in overcoming or turning those special impediments to pro- gress which are peculiar to the soil of India. In bidding you good-bye, I beg again to express to you my earnest wishes for the prosperity and welfare of your city and of its inhabitants, as well as of the magnificent and powerful province of which it is the capital. (Cheers.) REPLY TO THE FAREWELL ADDRESS OF THE BOMBAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. On the 13th of December Lord Dufferin was presented with a farewell address from the Chamber of Commerce of Bombay. In reply His Lordship, who spoke with considerable feeling, said : GENTLEMEN, I am afraid I stand before you rather in the position of a defaulter. I have to confess to you that I have been quite unable to frame a written reply to your address. According to the conventional usage, it is necessary that the answer to such a document should in some way re-echo the paragraphs of the address itself, but when I came to take my pen in hand, I found that you had referred to the various phases of my administration in so generous and so kind a spirit that it became utterly impossible for me to write a word that could in any sense satisfy myself. I therefore thought that the best thing I could do would be to throw myself on your indulgence, and in a few brief words, coming directly from my heart, to tell you, with all the earnestness of which my nature is capable, how grateful I am for the terms in which you have spoken of me. I assure you that I have never received an address during the long period of my service in the course of which I have received many addresses which has given me greater pleasure ; and if ever hereafter I shall be called upon to defend 1888.] BOMBAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 2~>~ my acts as a Viceroy of India, I do not know what better defence I can proffer than by simply submitting the para- graphs which have just been read. They will remain in my family as a proof of the reward which any one who endeavours faithfully and honestly to do his duty meets with at the hands of his countrymen. The only further reference which I will make to anything you have written is to assure you that my Government and myself have always considered it a matter of the greatest importance that, before embarking upon any con- siderable act affecting either commerce or the general com- mercial welfare of the community, we should take the utmost advantage of the experience and knowledge of business pos- sessed by the leading commercial men of the various centres of the population in this country. Among the members of the Supreme Legislative Council there is none more able than the gentleman who sits there by the right of his commercial and financial experience, and I am sure it will not have escaped your observation that during the last session I ran some little risk, and overstepped the usual practice, by taking the advantage of a technical excuse to allow the budget to be discussed in the Legislative Council, when under ordinary circumstances we should have been precluded by the regulations of business from so doing. In my own personal opinion there would ensue the very greatest advantage could such a practice be continued. However, gentlemen, I will not enter further upon the topics which I am sorry to say are no longer within my jurisdiction. I will simply conclude by again thanking you for your great kind- ness, and by asking you to accept, in lieu of the written reply to which you are properly entitled, a souvenir of one whose last day in India will have been gladdened by the kind words you have said to him. 258 SPEECHES. [1888. SPEECH AT THE BYCULLA CLUB, BOMBAY. On the evening of the 13th December, 1888, Lord Dufferin was entertained at dinner by the members of the Byculla Club, Bombay. In reply to the toast of his health, which was proposed by Mr. Justice Bayley, his Lordship spoke as follows : YOUR EXCELLENCY, YOUR KOYAL HIGHNESS, MR. PRESI- DENT, AND GENTLEMEN, I am very sensible of the honour you have conferred upon me by inviting me to this banquet, and I am still more grateful for the kind manner in which you have received the mention of my name, which has been brought to your notice in such eloquent and flattering terms by your chairman, Judge Bayley. (Cheers.) But, alas ! when I shall have adequately thanked you for your hospitality, I feel that I have come to the end of my tether. I have made so many speeches lately that I stand before you in the position of a soldier called upon to fire a salute, but who has already expended all his gunpowder. (Laughter and cheers.) I have not even so much as a cartridge left in my pouch. (Laughter.) Nay, I am no longer even a commissioned officer, and am liable to be strung up as a franc-tireur if I begin discharging rhetorical fireworks in your midst. (Laughter.-) Even were it otherwise, your younger sister for it is in that light I understand that Calcutta is very properly considered on this side of India has cheated you of your birthright. (Laughter.) Following a very ancient example, she came and beguiled me with a savoury dish in the form of a haggis * (laughter), and has stolen your blessing that is to say, if you consider a political speech of an hour and a half a blessing after dinner, which it certainly is not to the person who has to deliver it. (Laughter.) For all that, I am glad of this oppor- tunity of correcting a palpable mis-statement which crept inadvertently into my St. Andrew's deliverance, and which is now misleading the public of India. It was a gross error of figures ; but, however humiliating, as an honest man I am bound to correct it. I then stated that in the East two and two * Alluding to the bcotch dinner at Calcutta on St. Andrew's Day. 1888.] THOUGHTS ON ARRIVING IN AND LEAVING INDIA. 259 have a tendency to make five. I have now had time to square my private accounts, and I find that, as far as the rupee is concerned, so far from two and two making five, the very reverse is 'the case, and that they only make three. (Loud laughter.) But though, gentlemen, I am precluded, as I have said, owing to want of ammunition, and for other reasons, from inflicting on you a political discourse, I must at least try to make you understand how glad I am to find myself again beneath your hospitable roof. Probably, of all the variegated scenes that pass in succession before the eyes of an Indian Viceroy during the four or five years that he remains in this country full of colour and picturesque splendour as they all are the one which is the most ineffaceable, which makes the deepest impression upon both his physical and mental vision, is that which presents itself to his gaze when he first sights your historic shores. (Cheers.) Having traversed many thousand miles of barren ocean, he suddenly finds himself secure within the arms of one of the most magnificent harbours of the East. Standing on the threshold of his new life, about to assume a weight of cares and responsibilities such as is imposed on the shoulders of no other public man in the world, he looks abroad with a feeling of awe upon the new realms he is called on to govern. A display of military pomp, greater even than that which surrounds the monarchs of Europe, accentuates the solemnity of his landing, and when he passes through the thoroughfares of your city, ennobled by buildings which any Western capital might envy (cheers), he sees on every side, crowding every window and balcony, and thronging every street, lane, and alley, such innumerable multitudes of men and women gazing at him with earnest and expectant eyes, that he shrinks appalled at the thought that it is for the safety and welfare of these thousands, and for other thousands, nay, millions, similar to these yes, almost for their daily food that he, with his limited experience and finite capacities, has become answerable to his Sovereign and to the people of England. (Applause.) The thoughts which pass through his mind, gentlemen, on that occasion are never forgotten, and would be sufficient almost to overwhelm him were it not that s 2 260 SPEECHES. [1888. the kindly greetings, the loyal addresses, the encouraging promises of support and of indulgent recognition which at once begin to pour in upon him from your rulers, your citizens, and your corporate and other associated bodies, re- invigorate his spirits, and give him the assurance that, after all, his lines are cast in pleasant places, and that his future work will lie in the midst of a kindly and sympathetic com- munity, while it is shared and lightened by a public Civil Service that has neither its like nor its equal in the world. (Loud cheers.) But, perhaps, only second to these profound impressions are those which he experiences at the end of his term, when he finds himself again amongst you on the eve of bidding good-bye to those who so warmly welcomed him on his first arrival. (Applause.) Between the two events, though comprising after all but a short period of time, if merely counted by years, there stretches what in its retrospect almost seems a lifetime so full has it been of varied experiences, of continuous anxiety, and of unremitting effort. The vague and only half-surmised troubles and difficulties which rose to his imagination then have since translated themselves into harassing realities. The labour, the worry, the need for constant vigilance, which he anticipated would be great, he has found infinitely more constant and, imperative than any- thing known to his previous experience, while, in addition to the cares inseparable from the ordinary work of administra- tion, many an unexpected crisis, thunderbolts out of a clear sky, occasioned by circumstances which could not have been foreseen or controlled, have been superadded to task his patience, his endurance, his courage, and his skill to the utmost. (Loud applause.) Well, then, gentlemen, happy is the man who, however conscious he may be that he has fallen short of his own ideal, that he has failed in some measure to accomplish all the good he might have desired, or completely to remedy the evils with which circumstances called upon him to contend happy is the man, I say, who, coming back to you at the end of his term, receives at the hands of those who originally welcomed him such hearty greetings as you and my other friends in this part of the world, both English and native, 1888.] LORD BEAY. 261 have been pleased to accord to me. (Loud cheers.) And still happier is he if his conscience does not forbid him to hope that your favourable verdict will perhaps receive the imprimatur of history ; for it is the future alone that can disclose the effect of a ruler's actions, or gauge the breadth and depth of the foundations he may have laid for further improvement. (Applause.) As regards the present, I think it may be fairly said that I have handed over India to my successor without a cloud on the horizon for we may consider the Thibetan difficulty as settled, the Chinese Amban having arrived at Binchingong to-day (applause) with her princes and people contented ; with her finances in spite of Burma, Sikkirn, and the Black Mountain in a state of equilibrium unless, indeed, the coming harvest should prove exceptionally short and with no internal questions on hand which cannot readily be solved by that patience, firmness, and sympathetic sagacity which no one possesses in a greater measure than the present Viceroy. (Cheers.) I hope I have also done something towards enabling India to read her own thoughts, to discrimi- nate between vain dreams and possible realities, and to com- prehend that which she really wants as distinguished from that which she neither needs nor wants, and which cannot be given to her. (Applause.) Nor, gentlemen, have I been unmindful of your own immediate interests. The fortifications ol your city have been set on foot thanks to the energy of Lord Keay, who never ceases to trouble the tranquillity of our Simla Olympus whenever your interests are at stake (applause) \\ith as much expedition as the extraordinary faculty which able engineers possess of differing from one another will allow. (Laughter.) The works have already made considerable pro- gress, and when the whole scheme has been developed and properly supplemented by torpedo fields, by suitably armed warships, and by a body of marine fencibles, you will be able to sleep in your beds in greater peace than the inhabitants of half a hundred towns in the mother country. (Loud applause.) Nor have I failed to recognise the importance of adequate railway communication between the Western Gate of India and its sister capital of Bengal, to the mutual advantage of 262 SPEECHES. [1888. both cities and of either province. (Applause.) Under these circumstances, gentlemen, I trust I am not called upon, like Caesar, to put aside the parting wreath of approval which you have so generously offered to me. (Loud cheers.) Gentlemen, all governors and viceroys arrive on your shores with their heads jubilant and erect upon their shoulders ; but, alas ! it is always a question whether they may not return in the guise of St. Denis, decapitated by public opinion either here or at home. Well, gentlemen, you have been pleased to declare that my head remains as safely set in its place as when I first saw you. (Applause.) If it has been turned in the meantime, it has been turned by the universal kindness and good-will which I have received in all parts of India, and at the hands of every section of its inhabitants. Had it been turned by the ladies, that is an accident to which all Irishmen are subject. (Laughter.) Turned it certainly will be when I leave your shores turned towards you with grateful thanks, with many a fond regret, and, as long as I live, with a still constant regard to your interests and welfare. (Renewed cheering.) (203 ) SPEECH AT BANQUET IN THE MANSION HOUSE. On the 29th of May, Lord Dufferin was presented with the freedom of the City of London ; and in the evening was entertained at dinner in the Mansion House by the Lord Mayor, the Rijjht Hon. James Whitehead. In reply to the toast of his health, his Lordship spoke as follows : MY LORD MAYOR, MY LORDS, LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN, In rising to return thanks to you, my Lord Mayor, for the flattering terms in which you have proposed my health, and to you, my lords and gentlemen, for the friendly manner in which you have received it, it is needless for me to express my deep sense of the honour which has been done me. After six- teen years of continuous service in distant parts of the empire and at foreign Courts, to return home and to find such a welcome awaiting one at the hands of the most powerful corporation in the world, and of those distinguished persons whom I see around me, is more than enough to gratify the fondest ambition and to make the recipient sensible that he is being rewarded far beyond his desert. This feeling is very much enhanced when I remember what famous and heroic men the builders, the champions, and the benefactors of the British Empire have stood where I am standing and received at your hands similar proofs of your favour. But, whatever misgivings I may entertain as to my personal right to have my name inscribed on your city's roll of fame, I draw a special encouragement from the fact that, having been called upon to act in three distinct capacities as a colonial governor, as a diplomatic representative, and as an Indian ruler in granting me these honours you are honouring the services with whom I have been connected, to whom I owe so much, and whose assistance has enabled me to gain your approbation. (Cheers.) During the period of my tenure of office in Canada a country I shall never cease to regard with gratitude and affection the 264 SPEECHES. [1889. affairs of the Dominion were conducted, as you are aware, through the instrumentality of responsible ministers ; and, if my administration was successful, it is due to the patriotism, the wisdom, and the statesmanship of those eminent men one of whom, Sir Charles Tupper, I am happy to see here to-night (cheers) to whom the Parliament of Canada had confided the interests of the country. Again, in diplomacy, it is only those who are the ostensible heads of missions who can be fully conscious of the degree to which they are indebted for their success to the zeal, acumen, and tact of the members of the corps who are associated with them in the discharge of their delicate duties. But if this is the case in diplomacy and in colonial government, it is even more strikingly exhibited in the administration of Indian affairs. In common parlance, and in accordance with the language of ancient tradition, every act of the Indian Government, and every characteristic of its policy, is regarded as the outcome and the product of the Viceroy's personal initiative and will. And this un- doubtedly is as it should be ; for he, and he alone, is responsible for whatever is done in India. The minutest details of business come within his purview ; every executive act requires his assent ; it is he that finally pronounces on the frequently divergent vJews of the departments and between the competing suggestions of his colleagues, while he holds in reserve the absolute right of overruling his Council. Consequently, what- ever may have been the genesis of this or that line of action, it is the Viceroy, and the Viceroy alone, who is properly held answerable by his countrymen, whether things go well or whether they go ill ; nor, in the event of their going ill, have I ever heard of the principle being disputed. (Laughter.) But, for all that, it will be readily understood that no Viceroy, however arbitrary or self-reliant, however determined to im- press his personal volition on the conduct of affairs, would be able to direct the movements of so vast and complicated a machine as that which regulates the destinies of 300,000,000 of our fellow-subjects in India, unless enlightened, aided, and advised by the most remarkable body of men that have ever laboured for the good of their country in any part of the 1889.] ASSISTANCE FROM INDIAN OFFICIALS. 265 world (cheers) I mean the Civil Service of the Crown in India. Indeed, I may say, once for all, without disparagement to the accepted standard of public industry in England, that I did not know what hard work really meant until I witnessed the unremitting and almost inconceivable severity of the grind to which our Indian civil servants, and I will add our military employes, so zealously devote themselves. If, there- fore, gentlemen, during the past four years things have on the whole gone well in India, the chief credit is due to a number of able and disinterested personages, who have been content to labour in what, from the force of circumstances, are spheres and positions which, for the most part, escape the attention of the British public, indifferent to their own fame, despising the snares of notoriety, provided only that the honour and the moral and material interests of the British Empire shall extend and flourish. (Loud cheers.) If, for instance, my Lord Mayor, the north-western frontier of India and our Indian seaports have been fortified and secured, it is thanks to the professional skill of Sir Donald Stewart (cheers), Sir Frederick Roberts (cheers), General Chesney, General Newmarch, Colonel Sandford, Colonel Nicholson, and the able engineers employed upon that business. If Quetta has become an unassailable bulwark, it is because Sir Frederick Roberts' practised eye discerned the strategical advantages of that position. (Cheers.) If the conquest and reorganization of Burma have been successfully accomplished in spite of difficulties the extent of which no one in this country can adequately appreciate, you are indebted for these results to such men as General Prendergast, General White, Sir Charles Bernard, and Sir Charles Crosthwaite, and those who have risked and lost, as alas ! so many have done, their health and even their lives in the carrying out of this great task. (Cheers.) If our relations with the native princes of India have never been on a more friendly footing ; if we have succeeded in maintaining amicable and confidential intercourse with the Amir of Afghanistan a potentate of great force of character and of strong determin- ation whose advancement to his present position was accom- plished through the skill and discrimination of Sir Lepel 266 SPEECHES. [1889. Griffin (cheers) ; and if the general friendliness of our neighbours, and especially of China, has been strengthened and enhanced, it is because in regulating its foreign policy the Government of India was enabled to rely for counsel and advice upon its Foreign Secretary, Sir Mortimer Durand. (Cheers.) If the army has undergone a marked improvement in its organization and in every branch and department of its several services, again we have to thank Sir Frederick Eoberts, General Newmarch, General Chesney, and Colonel Collen. If a mobilization scheme has been initiated and a system of reserves introduced and successfully established, the principal credit is due in the one case to General Chesney, and in the other to Colonel Collen, and the committee who assisted them. (Cheers.) If, in spite of the considerable expenditure into which we were forced by the war in Burma and the troubles in the Black Mountain and on the border of Thibet, by the increase to our army, by the Russian scare, by the fortification of our frontier and of our seaports, and if, above all, in spite of the depreciation of silver, we were able to arrive at equilibrium at the end of the last financial year, with the prospect of a surplus for the coming year, so remarkable an achievement must be attributed to the financial skill of Sir Auckland Colvin, Mr. Westland, Sir David Barbour, and Mr. Sinkinson. (Cheers.) If large measures of land and other legislation of a most important character have been most successfully passed, and if the internal and domestic machinery of government has worked smoothly and harmoniously, it is owing to the wisdom and statesmanship of such men as Sir Alfred Lyall, Sir Stuart Bayley, and Mr. Ilbert, who took such a leading part in the passing of the Oude and Bengal Tenancy Bill ; as Sir James Peile, Mr. A. Mackenzie, and Mr. A. P. Macdonnell. (Cheers.) ,If our legal codes have been improved and our legislative Acts well drawn, it is because that task was discharged by Mr. Scoble and Mr. Harvey James. If the revenue system is undergoing a steady improvement and it is constantly showing more favourable figures it is due to the judgment and fruitful initiative of Sir Edward Buck. If our railway system in India, whether designed for commercial purposes, for the 1889.] GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. mitigation of famine, or in view of military ends, has been steadily extended, if the Indus has been successfully bridged at Sukkur, the Ganges at Benares, and the Hooghly near Barrackpore, and if the formidable Amran range was pierced, it is because the singular energy of Sir Theodore Hope has been ably seconded by the exertions of Colonel Trevor, Colonel Filgate, Colonel Conway Gordon, Colonel Pemberton, General Stan ton, Sir Gilbert Moles worth, Mr. Robertson, Sir Alexander Eendel, Sir Bradford Leslie, Sir James Browne, Mr. Walton, and Mr. O'Callaghan. (Cheers.) If great economies are being introduced throughout the entire machinery of adminis- tration, the result is due to Sir Charles Elliott and his col- leagues; and, in a like manner, we are indebted for the thorough investigation which has recently taken place into the whole status and condition of the Civil Service to Sir Charles Aitchison and the mixed commission over which he presided. If the late Viceroy of India has survived the labours of his office, and lives to dine with the present Lord Mayor of London, it is because he had in Sir Donald Wallace an incomparable private secretary, who relieved him of half his labours (cheers), who enjoyed everybody's confidence, who completely effaced himself and worked eighteen hours a day. (Laughter.) In fact, my lord, when I come to think of the hundreds and hundreds of persons through whose instrumen- tality, and thanks to whose unselfish and unrecognised exertions it is that I am occupying the proud position that I do to-night, I am afraid I should unfold so long a catalogue of names, both European and native, as would outrun your patience and the forbearance of this audience. In any event, my lord, it is a great satisfaction to me to have this opportunity of publicly repeating in England the grateful acknowledgments I had the pleasure of recording in their regard before I left Calcutta. (Cheers.) Nor is it altogether undesirable that the English public, so sedulously occupied as they naturally are with their own domestic concerns and the course of home and European politics, should be occasionally reminded by a competent witness like myself that away beyond the Indian Ocean, under alien suns, in a trying climate, amid homes in 268 SPEECHES. [1889. which the laughter of children is never heard, a select body of our fellow-countrymen are engaged in discharging duties of whose onerous nature people at home can have but a very im- perfect conception (cheers), and in dealing with administrative and political problems, compared with which those for the most part occupying the attention of the House of Commons are the merest child's play. (Laughter and cheers.) Nor, in referring to the labours of the European section of Her Majesty's servants in India, ought we to leave out of account the extent and degree to which those labours are supplemented and rendered fruitful by the assistance and co-operation of their native coadjutors. Indeed, it will probably be a surprise to most of those I am addressing when they learn that the whole covenanted Civil Service of the Queen in India com- prises something less than 1000 individuals, while the uncovenanted Civil Service includes nearly 120,000 native members, many of them, especially among the higher ranks of the judiciary, being persons of great capacity, learning, and probity, while all of them, as a body, may be regarded as eminently expert, industrious, and loyal. (Cheers.) And now, my lords and gentlemen, in reference to this epithet "loyal" which has instinctively escaped my lips, I hope it will be understood as in no sense intended as a discriminating appellation, for I do not hesitate to state my conviction that the entire population of India is loyal to the throne and person of Her Majesty, and to the modes of administration of their English rulers. (Cheers.) I do not mean to say that we English are beloved or are even popular in India, nor is there any reason why we should expect to be so ; not only are we the representatives of a foreign domination, not only are we aliens in race and religion, but the peculiar habits and views of our Hindu fellow-subjects, the unwillingness of a large majority to eat and drink with persons of a different caste from themselves, their refusal to allow their ladies to mingle in our society, naturally prevent the rise and growth of that genial harmony and good fellowship whose happy influences none know so well how to apply on similar occasions as you, my Lord Mayor, and the hospitable companies of the 1889.] LOYALTY OF INDIA. 2(59 city of London. (Laughter and cheers.) But, though destitute of what may be called any strong sentimental element, the loyalty of India is based upon a far surer founda- tion ; namely, that of self-interest. I believe that, leaving out of account the absolutely ignorant, some fanatical sects, the discontented sections of society which are to be found in all communities, and individuals with a personal grievance, but including those who vituperate us in the newspapers, there is not a subject of the Queen in India, whether prince, or land- holder, or merchant, or artisan, or cultivator, who is not pretty well convinced that English administration gives him what he would get neither in an independent India nor in an India under the rule of any other power ; namely, peace, security, justice, a free press, education, an enormous share in the Government appointments, a native magistracy, the conserva- tion of the native dynasties as independent states, local self- government, the prospect of the gradual liberalization of our methods of administration, the supervision of the House of Commons, and a consciousness that English public opinion is always on the alert to notice any abuse of authority, and to temper the severity of that authoritative regime through which alone the vast congeries of nationalities, religions, and races inhabiting the peninsula can be effectually governed. (Cheers.) In fact, I have returned from India with a far deeper impression of the strength of our position, and of the solid character of our dominion, whether in relation to internal or external influences, than ever I had before. (Cheers.) Instead of diminishing, I believe that the moral ascendency exercised by Englishmen in the East is becoming more and more powerful, whilst the inventions of modern science, as exhibited in the extension of our railways, the acceleration of all means of communication, the shortening of the distances between London and Bombay and Australia and Calcutta, the improvement in artillery and arms of precision, the expansion of our trade and commerce with our Indian Empire, and the general infusion of English civilization, are extending and deepening the impression. (Cheers.) Nor have we less reason, I think, to congratulate ourselves on the general condition of affairs which 270 SPEECHES. [1880. prevails along the extensive frontiers of our Eastern empire. On quitting Bombay I was able with perfect accuracy to say that I left India without a cloud on the horizon, though I did not say that there might not be many a one below it. In establishing and extending our Indian possessions, as from generation after generation we have been compelled to do, we have given many hostages to fortune, but, even now, after six months have passed since I uttered the auspication, nothing has occurred in any degree to blot or obscure the prospect. The interior of the province of Burma having been pretty completely dominated and pacified, the next task was to teach the wild tribes inhabiting the hills to discontinue their head- hunting raids and predatory expeditions into the plains, and, thanks to the energy of my successor, this object seems to have been successfully accomplished both on the west, on the north, and on the east, and I am happy to observe that there is a prospect of a direct land route being opened up between the valley of the Ganges and the valley of the Irrawaddy. (Cheers.) On the North West our relations with the Amir of Afghanistan continue to be of a most satisfactory nature. The absurd rumours propagated by the press as to the hostile intentions of the Amir against Russia, which were never for a moment credited by the Russian Government, have been shown to be completely imaginary, the Amir himself acknowledging that he had nothing to complain of in the conduct of the Russian officials, and that his only desire is to remain at peace within his own borders. And in reference to this point I desire to seize this opportunity of publicly recognising the loyal and honourable manner in which the Government of Russia has observed and maintained its obliga- tions arising out of the Afghan Demarcation Convention. (Cheers.) Before assuming the Viceroyalty I ventured to prophesy that this would be the case, for I had the utmost confidence in the wisdom and moderation of the Russian Foreign Minister, and, above all, in the high sense of honour and conscientiousness of His Majesty the Emperor. (Cheers.) As you are aware, on two separate occasions the Amir of Afghanistan found himself in great embarrassment and 1889.] RUSSIA AND CHINA. 271 difficulty, owing at one time to the very serious insurrection of the Ghilzais and other tribes, and afterwards in consequence of the rebellion of his powerful relative Ishak Khan, the Governor of Balkh. There is no doubt that had the Eussian Government condescended to falsify its engagements and to intrigue against Abdurrahman Khan, the affairs of Afghanistan might have been thrown into the utmost confusion a circum- stance which could not have failed to be productive of the most critical complications as between ourselves and Kussia ; for I hold it to be an essential principle that under no con- ceivable circumstance would it be compatible, either with the good faith of the contracting powers or the safety of the empire, that the agreement come to by us with Eussia on behalf of the Amir, in regard to the northern boundary of Afghanistan, should ever be modified or ignored. (Cheers.) Any further approach of a great foreign military power towards the confines of India would entail upon the latter country such an intoler- able amount of expense in the shape of additional fortifications and other measures of defence, as would become absolutely intolerable, and would be less preferable than any other alternative, however serious. Nor, in thus expressing my acknowledgments to the Government of St. Petersburg for their loyal and friendly attitude, must I fail to render a similar tribute to another great imperial administration I mean that of His Majesty the Emperor of China. (Cheers.) Had the Chinese chosen to do so, they might, at the outset of our expedition to Burma, have greatly increased and complicated the difficulties of our task. (Hear, hear.) But I have great pleasure in bearing my testimony to the energetic and effectual manner in which the Chinese Government and the Viceroy of Yunnan have saved us from the endless worry and torment to which the French have been so unhappily exposed in Tonquin, by the operations of the Black Flags and Chinese freebooters. And now, my Lord Mayor, my lords, and gentle- men, I do not see that I have any right to intrude any further upon the kind attention of this company. In again thanking you for the honour you have done me, perhaps I may be per- mitted in Lady Dufferin's name to convey to you her heartfelt 272 SPEECHES. [1889. thanks for the kind and sympathetic manner in which you have alluded to her work in India, and which I, as an impartial witness, say cannot be overrated. (Cheers.) In saying that I am deeply grateful for these proofs of your favour, I am only expressing what I believe to be the dominant sentiment which inspires all those who, like myself, are called upon to serve our Queen and country outside of Great Britain. Removed as we are from the turmoil of party politics and the acerbities of party controversy, our thoughts and faculties are naturally more directed to the contemplation of the empire as a whole, and to devoting ourselves to its consolidated interests. To our fond imagination, in whatever distant lands we may be serving, amid all our troubles and anxieties, England rises to our view, as she did to the men of Cressy, like a living presence, a sceptred isle amid inviolate seas, a dear and honoured mistress, the mother of a race which it may truly be said has done as much as any other for the general moral and material happiness of mankind, and which has done more than any other to spread abroad the benefits of ordered liberty and constitutional government, which has learnt the secret of gradually interweaving the new material of progress into the outworn tissues of ancient civilizations, and of recon- ciling every diversity of barbarous tribe to the discipline of a properly regulated existence, whose beneficent and peaceful commercial flag illumines every sea, and pavilions every shore, whose language is already destined, ere the close of this century, to be spoken by a greater number of millions than any other tongue, and the chief necessity for whose prosperity and welfare is the continuance of universal peace, and the spread of amity and good-will among the nations. (Loud cheers.) Indeed, without such an ideal to stimulate and encourage them, their work would prove very unthankful to hundreds and hundreds of able and high-minded men who are wearing themselves out in the service of their country abroad, inasmuch as the one thought that sustains them in all their trials and temptations, when struggling with the depres- sion occasioned by sickness, overwork, and debilitating climates, is the thought that they are making a good fight for the 1889.] THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 273 honour and welfare of England and her imperial renown, and that, in a greater or less degree, they are earning the approval of those of their countrymen who, like you, my Lord Mayor, and you, my lords and gentlemen, with so much superabundant kindness and generosity, have been pleased to testify to-night your approval of the humble endeavours to do his duty of one among the many thousands of your servants to whom the approbation of their fellow Englishmen is their greatest reward. (Loud cheers.) 274 SPEECHES. [1889. SPEECH AT BANQUET IN THE ULSTEE HALL, BELFAST. On September the 19th, 1889, Lord Dufferin was entertained at dinner in the Ulster Hall, Belfast, by the inhabitants of that City and of the neigh- bouring Counties, on the occasion of his return from India. In reply to the toast of his health, which was proposed by Mr. Charles C. Connor, mayor of Bel last, his Lordship spoke as follows : MR. MAYOR, MY LORDS, AND GENTLEMEN, Although I have had the good fortune, during a long and varied term of official employment, to be frequently called upon to return thanks for the kindly way in which my name has been men- tioned at public entertainments, I can say with the utmost sincerity that I never felt it more difficult to reply in an adequate manner to the toast of my health than on the present occasion ; for, as a rule, those who have hitherto been my hosts have sought rather to pay respect to the dignity of my office, or to the august Sovereign whom I was representing, or to the principles of government which my conduct of affairs embodied and enforced, than to give expression to their personal regard and sympathy. But in this magnificent demonstration, in the cheers which have greeted the flattering and eloquent utterances of the Mayor, what is principally brought home to me is the fact that I am surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of my life-long friends (hear, hear) by those who first en- couraged my youthful and halting endeavours to be of some use to the country, and who have never missed an opportunity of manifesting the indulgent interest they have taken in my career, and of testifying to the world at large their general approval of my conduct. (Cheers.) And I assure you, gentle- men, I have found that the privilege of being able to display your imprimatur has been of no small practical benefit ; for, whenever I have proceeded to discharge my official functions in the midst of strange communities who knew little of my 1889.] ILLUSTRIOUS ULSTER MEN. 275 character and antecedents, the fact of my bringing good credentials from Ulster was in itself sufficient to ensure me a favourable reception and an auspicious start. (Cheers.) But, although I. am aware that private friendship and neighbourly good- will, and the natural indulgence you feel for one whom you have long known, have been the principal agents in bringing you here to-night, I may perhaps venture to hope that another sentiment of a more general character has added to the numbers of this assembly ; namely, the desire of Irishmen to make a fellow-countryman feel that they are pleased at one of their own race and land having been able, without discredit, to take a considerable part in administering the affairs of the mighty British Empire, and to add another proof to the far more convincing ones so many of her sons have already given, that Ireland is as capable of producing men well fitted to undertake the great duties of the State as either of the sister countries. (Cheers.) At all events, gentlemen, I can assure you that at each successive stage of my career, at every fresh mark of my Sovereign's and of the country's approval, this thought has never been absent from my mind. (Hear, hear.) To do credit to Ireland, and to prove myself not unworthy of the native strain from which I am descended, has been the constant object of my ambition. (Hear, hear.) But in under- taking the government of India a more special anxiety forced itself upon my attention the desire that if I could not emulate the merit for I knew that would be impossible I might at all events follow in the footsteps of those illustrious Ulster- men to whom India owes so much, and to whom England is chiefly indebted, during the most terrible season of trial that has ever overtaken her, for the preservation of her Indian Empire. (Hear, hear.) Though my labours and difficulties can in no sense be compared with theirs, yet to be allowed, through the indulgence of my fellow-countrymen, to occupy a humble niche in the temple of honour which enshrines the memory of the Lawrences (cheers) the Montgomerys (cheers) the Nicholsons (cheers) the Gillespies (cheers) and many another North of Ireland hero, would indeed be an ample reward. Nor, were this favour to be conceded to me, T 2 270 SPEECHES. [1889. need those I am addressing fear that the cycle of distinguished Indo-Irishmen would be closed. Without disparagement to either of the sister kingdoms, I can say with perfect truth that both Ireland as a whole and Ulster as a province have imported a vast amount of ability, industry, and valour into the Indian civil and military services. (Hear, hear.) Why, gentlemen, to whom at this very moment has been entrusted as Viceroy the supreme conduct of Indian affairs ? Is it not to a great Kerry nobleman, the Marquis of Lansdowne? (Cheers.) Who is governing thirty millions of Indian subjects in Madras with exceptional success and ability ? Why, a Burke of Mayo, Lord Connemara. (Cheers.) Who is it that now commands the armies of the Queen in India with the universal acceptation both of the public and of the Government ? Is it not a Waterford hero, the victor of Candahar, Sir Frederick Roberts ? (Cheers.) And who is it that is in command of the army of Bombay ? The Duke of Connaught. (Cheers.) Who, again, has succeeded in what, considering the difficulties of the task, was a marvellously short period, in reducing Burma to submission, or, what was even more troublesome, the hill tribes that surround Burma ? Has it not been Sir George White (cheers) a most distinguished soldier, of whom his native Antrim may well be proud ? (Hear, hear.) And, not to multiply further instances, who is the able financier that has contrived, in spite of the treacherous, debilitated, and ever-depreciating rupee, to evolve a surplus out of an impending deficit? Has it not been Sir David Barbour (cheers) whom we are entitled to claim as a Belfast man ? (Eenewed cheering.) No, my lords and gentlemen and in saying this I feel that I am not trenching upon any burning political question the British Empire could never get on without us Irishmen. (Cheers and laughter.) In the same way that too much decorum in individuals superinduces fatty degeneration of the heart, so the vitality of the British Empire would stagnate and become sluggish unless mer- curialized by our livelier and more sunny temperament. (Cheers.) Not only our Indian but our colonial empire plainly shows that Irishmen have a positive genius for governing, if 1889.] THE CHANGELESS EAST. 277 not themselves (loud laughter) at all events other people ; and nowhere is this heroic talent more beneficently apparent than in the case of the Irish ladies (loud cheers) and the reason for this is not far to seek. Being extremely sensitive ourselves, and having a keen desire for sympathy, our lively imagination enables us more or less to put ourselves into the places of other people ; to divine their thoughts, and to under- stand their wants and wishes, and this is the first quality requisite in those who are called upon to administer the affairs of an imperial dependency, or to rule over either kindred or alien populations. (Hear, hear.) But I freely confess that, of all the nationalities with which I have come into contact, the Indian races .are those whose inner thoughts and modes of regarding the problems of life are the most difficult to discern. The inheritors of a civilization far older than our own, and the adherents of a religion whose subtle principles as held by their best thinkers it is almost impossible for a European under- standing to analyze, our efforts to harmonize our intellectual methods with theirs, or to regard the economy of existence from the same point of view, end only too frequently in com- plete and sometimes comic failure. I will give you an instance of this. On one occasion the kind-hearted wife of some great official was attracted by the singular brightness and intelligence of the young lad who acted as her punkah boy. Thinking it a pity that so hopeful a youth should pass his whole existence in pulling day and night at a rope, she suggested to him one day that his prospects would be much improved if he would allow her to start him on some more promising career. For a long time the little fellow could not understand her meaning, or what was intended by a more promising career. When at last he grasped the import of her benevolent intentions, he rebuked her in the following terms : " What for me change ? I punkah puller, my father punkah puller, his father punkah puller ; all my ancestors for thousand years punkah pullers ; and the god from whom we are descended was punkah puller to Vishnu. Punkah puller to ladyship very good position." (Laughter.) Here, gentlemen, you have a specimen of the changeless East bound in the fetters of caste so unlike the 278 SPEECHES. [1889. seething, surging struggles of the entities in a modern European community, yet a system not without its compensations. But, though occasionally discomfited in this manner in our en- deavours to ameliorate the condition of our Indian fellow- subjects, the English people may be fully content with the reflection that the history of the world does not exhibit a more splendid example of the way in which the material and moral condition of a vast congeries of nationalities may be elevated and improved than that which is manifested throughout the length and breadth of our Eastern Empire. Kingdoms and principalities which for hundreds of years had been continually devastated by successive wars and internecine conflicts now lie peaceful and secure in amicable juxtaposition. A justice which formerly was never known in India, and is not now known in any Oriental Government under the sun, protects alike the rights and property of the poorest peasant and the wealthiest zemindar. Extensive lines of railway and the Indian population have an extraordinary aptitude for travelling not only unite all the great centres of population and of industry, but have in a great measure penetrated all those districts which were once the theatres of the most disastrous famines, whose severity in future they will, at all events, mitigate. Universities, colleges, and schools offering free education to the entire population are to be found in every town nay, almost in every village and hamlet. (Hear, hear.) British manufacturing energy and enterprise have not only supplied millions with cheap clothes and all the necessaries of life, but have taught them in their turn to establish in their own land rival looms and industries, while, above all, the standards of moral obligation which prevail in the West have vindicated their authority and planted their sanctions both in the courts of justice and in the counting-houses of Hindostan. (Cheers.) But, gentlemen, when once he is set going, an Indian official is apt to become only too garrulous in recounting his Indian reminiscences; nor is it desirable that an ex- Viceroy should become too discursive on Indian affairs. Rather let me turn and congratulate you, Mr. Mayor, and all those merchant princes I see around me, who themselves and 1889.3 DESERVED APPLAUSE. 279 their ancestors have created the North of Ireland as we now see it, on the splendid progress which has been made in Belfast and throughout the entire neighbourhood during these last few years. Although even to a resident the rate of progress which has taken place must have appeared very rapid, to one who, like myself, revisits this city after a considerable lapse of time, the change is simply marvellous ; and well may we all be proud that a place which not so long ago was a place of comparatively small account, and was certainly not a county town, should now rank as the third commercial city in the United Kingdom. (Cheers.) All honour to those great organizers of enterprise and industry, the real paladins of the modern world, who have worked this wondrous change a change both in its commercial, in its social, and in its political consequences of the greatest moment to the British Empire. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, to receive a wreath of laurel at the hands of so great a city is an honour of which any man might be proud ; and the memory of this night, of the kindness you have shown me, and of the supreme favour with which you have rewarded my humble endeavours to do my duty, will never be forgotten either by me or by my remotest descendant. (Loud cheers.) The mayor having proposed the health of the Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, Lord Dufferin in response said : MR. MAYOR, MY LORDS, AND GENTLEMEN, Although I have already trespassed at considerable length on your atten- tion (no, no) I feel that you will be indulgent to a natural desire which animates me to be the interpreter to you of the deep gratitude which my wife experiences at the honour you have done her (Cheers.) It is indeed a very great honour for a lady to have been mentioned in such pleasing and kindly terms as those which have been adopted by Mr. Houston, but at the same time, as I am speaking on behalf of another and not of myself, I have no hesitation in saying that what has fallen from him and what has elicited your applause is richly deserved. (Cheers.) Words would fail me to describe the assistance I have derived in my public life from the happiness 280 SPEECHES. 11889. of having had, I. will not say such a wife or such a companion, but such a colleague. (Cheers.) She ruled supreme indoors, and she has shared a considerable proportion of my authority outside. (Cheers.) And with regard to India, however humi- liating the confession may be, I am bound to say that if there is one thing more certain than another, it is that the memory of Lady Dufferin, and of her goodness, and the beneficent results of her labours, will still live and flourish after the very fact of my ever having set foot in the peninsula will have been forgotten. (Cheers.) I only wish, gentlemen, that Lady Dufferin was beside me, in order that she might have replied in an adequate manner to your kindness. (Cheers.) You must, however, be pleased to accept my very imperfect expres- sion of thanks on her behalf. (Loud cheers.) Lord Dufl'erin, again rising, said: MY LOEDS AND GENTLEMEN, It is my pleasant duty to propose a toast, and that is " The health of the Mayor of the city of Belfast." (Cheers.) And I may say that the erection of Belfast into a city has been merely an act of common justice. (Cheers.) I trust that the time may not be far distant when perhaps I may have the good fortune to propose the health of the Lord Mayor of Belfast. (Hear, hear.) Certainly, on returning to England, I perceive a very remarkable change in one respect. It appears to me that the vitality of our municipal life in the United Kingdom has been very much enlarged and stimulated, that each great city of Ireland and England and Scotland is more and more assuming an indi- vidualized existence, and creating certain characteristics proper to itself. This principle, I think, will in time be so largely developed that the chief cities of England will come to assume the kind of existence which rendered the cities of Italy in the middle ages so remarkable, so prosperous the patrons of art, the homes of architecture, and the centres of commerce. (Hear, hear.) At all events, I am certain of this, that the edict has already gone forth that the voice of Belfast is in future destined to exercise the very greatest influence upon the commercial, the social, and the political life of the British 1889.] MAYOR OF BELFAST. 281 Empire. (Cheers.) I ain glad to think that- a community to use a vulgar American expression so level-headed (laughter) so apt in business, possessing much determination and such calm good sense, should be in a position to make their influence extensively felt. (Cheers.) I have to express my personal obligations to the mayor for the kind and agreeable manner in which he has presided at this entertain- ment. (Cheers.) And perhaps, I may be permitted to add that, although it has been rather trying to me for the last two hours to sit opposite the date 1855, at the same time, amidst the many graceful marks of kindness I have received in various parts of the world, I do not remember one which has touched me so deeply, and which has been so grateful to my feelings, as the cornice * which runs round the foot of this balcony. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, I give you the health of the mayor. * An embroidered inscription had been run round the whole hall, with the dates and places of Lord Dufferin's successive posts. 282 SPEECHES. [1889. SPEECH AT A DINNER GIVEN BY THE LONDON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. On October 30th, 1889, the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava was entertained at dinner by the London Chamber of Commerce in the Hotel Me'tropole. In reply to the toast of his health, which was proposed by Sir John Lubbock, M.P., the president of the chamber, his Lordship spoke as follows : SIE JOHN LUBBOCK, MY LOEDS, AND GENTLEMEN, In rising to return thanks for the signal honour conferred upon me by this magnificent entertainment, I wish, in the first place, to express my extreme regret that a severe illness should have prevented me from placing myself at the disposal of the Chamber of Commerce on the date which had been originally settled, though the fact that you, Sir John, and your colleagues have been pleased to renew your invitation and to give me another chance of presenting myself before you greatly enhances the burden of my gratitude. (Hear, hear.) In the next, I desire to convey to you my warmest acknowledgments for the in- dulgent terms in which you have been pleased to propose my health, and to the august company which I see around me for the friendly spirit in which they have received the mention of my name. But however sensible I may be of so much kind- ness, I cannot help feeling that a higher and a wider interest than that of mere good-will to an indvidual has drawn together this distinguished concourse, and that in to-night's celebration is indicated the wise appreciation entertained, not merely by the London Chamber of Commerce, but by the representatives of the many great English interests I see around me, of the enormous benefit derived by the people of this country from / their commercial relations with our Indian Empire (hear, hear) and consequently of the supreme necessity of main- taining to all time dominant and unimpaired England's ascen- dancy and dominion over her Eastern possessions. (Cheers.) I am aware that statistics, however important, are a somewhat 1889.] ENGLAND'S TBADE WITH INDIA. 283 ungracious element in an after-dinner speech ; but inasmuch as during a period of four years a great portion of my thoughts and attention were directed to commercial questions, I may be forgiven if I at least call your attention to the fact that during the past year our trade with our Indian Empire was larger than our trade with any other country in the world, with the exception of the United States, amounting to no less a sum than 64 millions of pounds sterling. (Cheers.) If, again, we merely confine our attention to a comparison of our exports to India with our exports to other countries, we shall find that the same statement holds good ; namely, that the exports of Great Britain to India are greater than those to any other country in the world except the United States, amounting as, they do to 34 millions of pounds, whereas our exports to France do not exceed 24 millions, and to Germany 27 millions. (Hear, hear.) In fact, India's trade with the United Kingdom is nearly one-tenth of the value of the total British trade with the whole world. (Cheers.) Now, I think it is clearly evident that this remarkable and mutually beneficent commercial in- tercourse between the two countries may be regarded as the direct consequence and result of the stable condition of the political relationship in which they stand to one another ; for, IT" we compare the figures I have quoted with the figures which give the measure of our business dealings with another great Oriental community, the population of which exceeds that of India by many millions I mean China an extraordinary disparity will disclose itself; for, whereas England's trade with India amounts, as I have said, to 64 millions of pounds, with China and Hong Kong it only reaches 17 millions. But not only do we derive the benefit from our Indian Empire indicated by the volume of our trade ; it must also be remem- bered that India performs the function of a great storehouse and an opportune and fortunate reserve whenever any of our usual customers are unable to supply us with those exports upon which the prosperity of our trade and the welfare of our people intimately depend. (Cheers.) Thus, in years when Kussia could spare comparatively little wheat, as in 1884 and 1885, India sent us 600,000 tons of that most necessary article, 284 SPEECHES. [1889. and by so doing undoubtedly mitigated the universal distress occasioned by a rise in the price of bread which would have inevitably supervened. (Hear, hear.) Again, in the time of the cotton famine, India, in response to Lancashire's demands, increased her raw cotton exports from 1| million cwt. in 1860 to a total of 5 million cwt. in 1866. (Cheers.) That to Lan- cashire India is an invaluable customer is a well-known fact ; but any one who has the interests of the two countries at heart cannot do amiss in bringing such facts within the purview of the English people. (Cheers.) In 1888 she took 21 millions sterling of our cotton goods and yarns out of a total value of 72 million pounds' worth exported to all countries, whereas China only took 6 million pounds* worth, Germany 2^ million pounds' worth, and the United States two million pounds' worth. (Hear, hear.) Again, if we take another great section of British export, such as hardware, machinery, and metals, we find that out of a total export of 36 millions to all countries, India in 1888, took 5| million pounds' worth, whereas we only sent three million pounds' worth to France, If million pounds' worth to Russia, and three-quarters of a million pounds' worth ta China. (Hear, hear.) These figures, I think, should be enough to convince the least receptive understanding what a fatal blow it would be to our commercial prosperity were cir- cumstances ever to close, either completely or partially, the Indian ports to the trade of Great Britain, and how deeply the manufacturing population of Lancashire, and not only of Lan- cashire, but of every centre of industry in Great Britain and Ireland, is interested in the well-being and expanding prosperity of our Indian fellow-subjects. (Cheers.) Indeed, it would not be too much to say that if any serious disaster ever overtook our Indian Empire, or if our political relations with the penin- sula of Hindostan were to be even partially disturbed, there is not a cottage in Great Britain at all events, in the manu- facturing districts which would not be made to feel the disastrous consequences of such an intolerable calamity. (Cheers.) But, gentlemen, however satisfactory may be the present condition of our commercial relations with India, I am convinced that they will prove capable of indefinite 1889.] CASHMERE. 285 expansion, especially if once the British investor could be induced to regard India as a favourable field for independent railway enterprise. (Cheers.) The Government of India un- doubtedly has done and is doing every year a great deal in this direction, both by itself entering upon the construction of important lines, and by giving guarantees to private com- panies ; but its action in both directions is necessarily limited, and it seems to me the time has come when unassisted private enterprise should step in to supplement and perfect the arti- ficial exertions of the Government. (Cheers.) Were India only covered with a network of railways corresponding to its powers of production, and to the requirements of its popu- lation, the present volume both of our import and of our export trade, considerable as it is, would undoubtedly be greatly augmented. (Hear, hear.) And not only is this true of India proper, but I believe that a similar commercial ex- pansion is upon the eve of being developed in Burma (cheers) and before no very distant date I prophesy that our chief means of communication with China will be either through the north or east of Burma. (Cheers.) And now, my lords and gentlemen, having trespassed upon your attention with these somewhat dry, though not unimportant, observations, I would willingly sit down ; but I should be glad to take this opportunity of correcting a very wrong impression which, though by no means universal, yet has undoubtedly prevailed in some quarters in relation to the recent policy of the Indian executive with reference to the ruler of Cashmere. I do so the more readily as what has recently occurred is but the natural consequence of what happened during the course of my own Viceroyalty. As you are probably aware, the personal administrative functions exercised by the Maharaja of Cash- mere were a little while ago considerably restricted, and the action of the Government of India in his regard has been criticised as an arbitrary and unjustifiable interference with the authority of a native prince, and as an indication of a desire to undermine and infringe the rights and jurisdiction enjoyed by Her Majesty's great Indian feudatories over their own immediate subjects. Now, my lords and gentlemen, let 286 SPEECHES. [1889. me assure you once for all that if there is one line of policy which would be utterly distasteful and abhorrent to the Government of India, and which would be completely foreign to all those principles by which its conduct is guided, it would be an attempt to minimize or belittle the personal prestige, or to interfere with the regulated independence of the princes of India. The tendency both of the wishes, instincts, and accepted traditions of the Government of India is entirely in the opposite direction (cheers) and I can assert, without fear of contradiction, that at no moment of their history have the princes of India had greater faith in the good-will, benevolence, and generosity of feeling of the supreme Govern- ment than at the present moment. (Cheers.) But, my lords and gentlemen, the case of the Maharaja of Cashmere was a very peculiar one. You all know how important is the situ- ation occupied by Cashmere on our north-western frontier, and how absolutely necessary it is that the people of Cashmere should be prosperous and contented. During the later years of his father's government, who, when I arrived in the country, had already been attacked by a mortal disease, the affairs of the State had fallen into great confusion, and its prosperity into still greater decay ; but in spite of these untoward cir- cumstances, which certainly called for remedial measures, it did not appear to me opportune or desirable to trouble the fast-closing span of the dying prince's life by any harsh remonstrances. (Hear, hear.) When, however, the new heir ascended the throne, I took the earliest opportunity of meeting him, and did my best to make him comprehend both the nature of the great responsibilities to which he had been called, as well as the earnest desire both of myself and my colleagues to assist him in performing them. Though the young prince appeared both amiable and tractable, it was very evident that not only was he entirely devoid of expe- rience, but that his limited, or shall we say his undeveloped abilities, scarcely fitted him for the position he occupied. This was undoubtedly a very grave source of anxiety, for a glance at the map will make it understood how important it is that the affairs of Cashmere should be administered by a 1889.] THE PRINCES OF INDIA. 287 strong, wise, and loyal ruler. Still, so loth were we to inter- fere with a native government that we allowed the new ruler without let or hindrance to enter upon the free and unimpeded discharge of his full powers. The results, however, of this forbearance had proved anything but satisfactory even before I left India, and the subsequent conduct, or rather want of conduct and of ordinary intelligence of the young Maharaja has left my successor no other alternative than that which he has adopted (hear, hear) for, however anxious and deter- mined the Government may be to abstain from all unnecessary inteference with the heads of the several States in India, and indeed to remain passive even when their conduct of affairs falls very far short of the desired standard, still there is a point of misconduct and maladministration implying as it does the permanent ruin of the finances of the State, and the consequent misery and oppression of its people beyond which absolutely bad government cannot be permitted. (Cheers.) This point had not only been reached, but had been passed in the case of the Maharaja of Cashmere ; but, at all events, we had the satisfaction of knowing that the incident in question was an exceptional one, for, although in every category of human beings certain unworthy members may be found, I have no hesitation in saying that, as a body, the present generation of the princes of India will compare favourably, both as regards their intelligence, their activity, and their desire to do their duty even with the general run of the sovereigns of Europe. (Cheers.) It would, of course, be in- vidious for me to cite instances of individual names ; but were it not for that consideration, I could mention half-a-dozen young and promising rulers, each one of whom is actuated by the most earnest desire to do his duty, and is as equally dis- tinguished by the purity and high moral character of his domestic life as by his industry, his intelligence, and his public spirit. (Hear, hear.) Indeed, not only are we anxious and thankful to be able to transfer a considerable portion of the enormous burden of our administrative respon- sibilities upon the ruling princes of India, but the whole tendency of the Indian Government is to decentralize as much 288 SPEECHES. [1889. as it can, and to interfere as little as possible either with the native states or with the provincial governments in the management of their own affairs. (Hear, hear.) And here, before concluding, I may perhaps be allowed to express my very great gratitude for the invariable assistance and loyal support I derived during the whole term of my office from the various Governors and Lieutenant-Governors who shared and lightened my responsibilities to Sir M. E. Grant-Duff, to Sir James Fergusson, to Lord Connemara, to Lord Reay, to Sir 0. U. Aitchison, to Sir Alfred Lyall, and Sir A. Rivers Thompson. (Cheers.) No one could have received more loyal support or kinder sympathy than I did from these gentle- men ; and although, of course, I did not come so directly into contact with those distinguished civil servants who assisted them with their counsels, I am well aware that they as richly deserved my thanks, as those who immediately served under the Government of India, and to whom I endeavoured to pay a fitting tribute when I last addressed a London audience. (Cheers.) Each and all of them are engaged in very onerous and burdensome duties, of which their fellow-countrymen in England have a very inadequate idea. (Loud cheers.) And now, gentlemen, it only remains for me again to thank for your kind reception and for the attention with which you have listened to these very imperfect observations. I assure you it will be a great satisfaction to everybody in India, both natives and Europeans, that so influential a body as the London Chamber of Commerce should have been pleased to show their interest in Indian affairs by the honour they have conferred upon one of its Viceroys. (Loud cheers.) LONDON: HUNTED BY WII.I.IAM CI.OWKM AND SONS, LJMITKD, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. ALBEMARLE STREET, January, 1890. MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF NEW BOOKS AND FORTHCOMING WORKS. Our Viceregal Life in India : BEING A SELECTION FROM MY JOURNAL DURING THE YEARS 18848. By THE MARCHIONESS OF DUFFERIN AND AVA. Fourth Thousand. With Portrait iSr 3 Map. 2 Vols. Crown Sw. 2$s. "Throughout the book Lady Dufferin is bright, lively, and entertaining." Spectator. " All who understand and sympathise with Indian life will hasten to read these two pleasant volumes. 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DTJ CHAILLU, Author of " Explorations in Equatorial Africa," " Land of the Midnight Sun," &c. With 1360 Illustrations. 2 Vols. 8vo. 42$. " The ' Land of the Midnight Sun,' important and entertaining as it was, turns out to have been a mere popular forerunner to this monument of scholarlike study and indefatigable observation. The ' Viking Age' represents the result of enthusiastic toil, prolonged over eight years. No one who examines the volumes can doubt that the result justifies the sacrifice." Standard. " Mr. du Chaillu has been eight years preparing these volumes, and we are glad to bear testimony to the fact that his labour has not been in vain. In a variety of instances we have compared his translations with the Icelandic text, and in each case have found him trust- worthy." Saturday Review. " Mr. du Chaillu has popularised an exceedingly difficult and yet most fascinating subject. His arguments are very convincingly set out. 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