THE GREAT DELHI DURBAR.

Evening Star, Issue 14784, 27 January 1912, Page 11

THE GREAT DELHI DURBAR.

[Continued from last Thursday's issue.] MOST GORGEOUS~ PAGEANT IN THE WORLD'S HISTORY. —Coronation March.— When the last groups had passed on. the King-Emperor and Queen-Empress ro.'e to their feet, and the massed bands besran the 'Coronation .March.' Turning on either side of their throne's, their MajesJies moved to the rear of the Durbar shamiana, an-' went in procession along the raised platform from the shamiana to th-s Royal pavilion in the centre of the arena. Their Majesties walked in front, hand in hand. followed by the little train-bearers. Over their hbads were borne tho goM-a'vl

-,-arlet umbrellas of state, ana in th.- : .- ■■vain followed Lord and 1/idy Hmdvi-v, Lord Crewe, the O-ike of 'Peck, the Duchess of Devonshire, ar.d other members of their suite. Ascending the steps of the Royal pavilion, (heir Majesties stood in front of the thrones facing the assembled thousand.-'. " It was the climax or a great day. 'lhe golden dome of the pavilion ilarficd in the sun, and high above the thronging tide of life the King-Emperor stood"crowned and robed in state before his people, while by his side; was the Queen-Empress, his ' charming, dignified Consort. The picture that piesented itself was one of imposing grandeur and solemn beauty. The central scene, where the King-Emperor, lifted high above the people, so that nil I lint vast eoneourse, l umbering nigh upon 103,000 souls, mii'ht see him, and the lofty appeal of the music made an impression upon the mind that time cannot elface. The Climax.—

! Tt was the moment of a lifetime, a moment when emotions could scarce contain themselves, when the houls of all present went out in a hurst of loyally and fealty to the Emperor and Empress. Thousands in that great gathering could control their feelings no longer, and tears of pride and joy rose to many eyes at this vision of splendor. For a while we gazed in wonder at the spectacle, and then tho massed bands sounding a summons to the heralds called our attention elsewhere. As tiie roll of drums died away, the sound of silver trumpets pierced the air, and down the central avenue, announcing their arrival with a flourish, came the Heralds with their, trumpets, their Hashing uniforms and their white horses making n picture of moving beauty. They rode to the front of the pavilion, and at the foot of the throne sounded another fanfare. This was the stately preliminary to the leading in English and Urdu of tho Royal Proclamation announcing the solemnity of His Imperial Majesty's Coronation inLondon. The English version was read by the D-lhi Herald, General Peyton, standing in his stirrups. As he did so his voice carried far, but. it must have been impossible for all in that great gathering to hear him. So, too, with the Hon. Ulnar Hyat Khan Tiwana, the Assistant Herald. His voice is high and clear, and wat heard over a wide radius as he gave the Urdu version. —A Mighty Cheer.— After this ceremony the silver trumpets again sounded a f.uiiurc, the National Anthem was once mare pluyed by the massed bands, and the Guards of Honor and the troops in. tho arena presented irms. All around tho spectators of tiiis moving Imperial event rose to their feet, and shouts of '" God Save the King" ascended from thousands of loyal throats. With the. echc?s still ringing iu their ears the artillery posted around began firing a Royal salute by salvos, punctuated by the sharp rattle of musketry as the troops lining the road by which their Majesties had come jired a feu de joie. A prolonged ilourish by the Heralds' trumpeters followed, and Loid Ilardinge, at His .Majesty's command, came to the front of the throne. Walking up the stej* bareheaded, lie received from His Majesty's hand a paper, from which he then read, in loud and clear tones, the text of the Royal declaration. —Close of tho Pageant.— Their Majesties left the pavilion, and ouco again the stately proetssiun moved across the aruaa to tho strains of the beautiful march by Edward German, to the shamiana, where their Majesties again took their seats on their thrones. Sir 11. M'Mahon next obtained permission to close the Durbar, and thereupon tho vast multitude rose and sang 'God Save the Ring. 1 And now the time had come for !he King to depart, and the tumult of trumpets was over. The regal procession, with its glittering escorU of cavalry, passed again before our eyes, the special march composed by Major . Samford, who conducted the massed bands, being played. Leaving tho arena by a way opposite to that by which they had arrived, their .Majesties, to another salute and roar of cheering, proceeded round tho remaining half of the " People's Mound," and out by tho Princes road, through fresh camps of countless other princes, through more cheering crowds, and so to their own tented home. Lord and Lady Hardinge, tho Governors, and the ruling chiefs followed, and soon the surrounding plains were alive with masses of people who had been privileged to witness perhaps tho proudest pageantry that the world had ever soon. Throughout India the day had been observed as a general holiday, the reading of tho proclamation in the towns and villages was received with rejoicing, the poor were fed and clothed, prisoners released or their terms reduced, and prayers offered in mosques and temples for the peace atnd prosperity of tho Empire. —Anglo-Indian Opinion.— Sir Henry Cotton (one of the leaders of tho movement for giving legislative autonomy to India) said: "1 am delighted beyond measure with the news which I have read. It is the happiest announcement I have heard since I left India. The modification of tho partition of Bengal is what tho people of that province have desired for the past six years, and the announcements will give immense gratification to the peoplo of that province. Tho only regret I have in the matter is that tho scheme was not carried out years ago, when the opportunity first presented itself to tho Government. The first-fruits of this momentous proclamation will bo that in place of unrest and discontent we may expect an era of quietudo and peaceful progress, coupled with general feelings of gratitude, which, when strongly expressed, will go a long way towards ensuring good government in a country like India, mo transfer of the capital to Delhi comes as a surprise. Those of us who know India believe that lasting good will come from the change. In rruwiy respects it is a wise decision. It will preserve the continuity of Indian history. The transfer Is one which, 1 think, will appeal to the sentiments both of Hindus and Mohammedans."

Sir Mancheejee Bhownaggrue (a Parsee bunking magnate) said that the KingEmperor's boon that would appeal most to Indians was the gift for educational purposes, as tl.at whs most in record with the wishes of his fellow-countrymen. '' Undoubtedly the most dramatic announcement made is" the transfer of the capital to Delhi," he added. "•This is calculated to affect most powerfully tho imagination of the people of India, as it also tends to remove the notion of old-time rivalry between other presidencies. We still, however, have to learn what is likely to be the general feeling of the populace for this preference given to Delhi, as distinguished from among the other former capitals of reigning dynasties. If the elevation of Bengal to a Governorship is intended to modify the irritation subsisting for yeaTS past an the subject of tho partition of Bengal, it is an act of wise statesmanship on the part of His Majesty."

—Luxurious Quarters.—

On the way to and from the site of the Durbar one had to pass through a large number of magnificent camps, ;jl of whioli posseted dob'girtfu] llower gardens, flight with • wonderful electric ilniminatioiie at right, and all boasting artistic, splendidlydocorated gateways, arches, a:id frontages of oriental design. "No fewer than 153 native princes attended the Durbar, all of whom had set up their own camps'on appointed plots. Besides these there wore 30 separate military camps occupied by lwporial Serrice troops. The caici of tho

native camps was ■undoubtedly that of the young Nizam of Hyderabad, who lias just entered into his heritage as the. ruler of a State, containing over 13,000,000 subjects. As the premier native sovereign of India ha had the grandest palace of them all. His camp was a veritable palace of flowers and fountains—the admiration of the enliro city—and surpassed all the other camps in size" and in the wealth pf its internal decorations. Some idea of the- size- of his entourage may be gathered from the fact that it required eight special trains and then some of his attendants made the journey in motor cars) to convey them from Hyderabad to the ancient capital. The. tamp of the Maharajah of Baroda displayed along its entire front a broad strip of green turf, bordered by sunflowers and marigolds, green and gold being the colors of the Baroda State. The flowers alone :ire said to have ccfit ' 24.000 rupees. In the centre of this long frontage was a magnificent archwuy bearing a loyal inscription, which was always, guarded by a stalwart Lancer of the ' Baroda Army. At night the Baroda camp was at its best. The great entrance arch was then a perfect blaze of colored lumps, and attracted crowds of admirers. At each corner of the camp there was a sheaf of electric flambeaux, and across them hung festoons of brightlined lights. The moot artistic piece of illumination, however, was the archway at the entrance to the Durbar tent, which looked as if it were made of luminous pearls surmounted with a ruby and diamond crown and star. Some 2,000 electric lamps in all were used to adorn this camp, and tjie effect was surpassingly beautiful. .—Silver Thrones.— The Maharajah of Mysore took the Maidans Hotel, the biggest hotel in Delhi, for his private residence, and ever .60 guests Jived thore with him. "For ceremonial purposes a Durbar pavilion was erceu"! in tho Mysore State camp, adjoining the Baroda camp, decorated with blue and yellow and containing two massive silver* thrones. The camp also contained a lovely garden, which was ono of the largest and most beautiful in the encampment, in the Coronation road was the camp of the Maharajah of Jammu and Kashmir. It had a length of 460 ft, and was shut in by a most beautifully-carved and splendidly - po'.ished vclnut open-work screen, with carved walnut temples as guard rooms on oach Hank, while "in the centre of the front two superbly-carved entrance towers, 23ft high, formed* the gateway. The roofs and projections on both the guard Tpoms and tho towers were covered with polished copper, while tho finialf appeared to be of gold. At night the whole frontage was lighted by hundreds of electric lamps, which were concealed in the day, while His Highnobs's coat of arms in colored lights replaced tho carving. Tho whole effect was marvellously beautiful. The Maharajah is reported* to have expressed the hope that His Majesty would consent to take the carved screens described above home with him to England.—Press Association Special.