PRINCE’S TOUR

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 March 1922, Page 6

PRINCE’S TOUR

THE CLOSING STAGES. (Australian rod N.Z. Cable Association.) Rted- 9 a.m. DELHI, March 9. The visit of the Prince of Wales lo Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Northern Aimy, was the last important' function of the four months’ tour. He arrived after spending the greater pari of the day at Taxila, an early Buddhist settlement. To-morrow lie. Mill present, the Victoria Cross to .1 Sikh private for bravery in Wazuristan. He ’eaves Pindin on Saturday, steps Sunday at Kapurthala and s] ends three hours on Monday at Debradun, and then at Gtijranla, unliving ati Karachi on March 17th. He embarks on the Renown, arriving at Colombo on March 21st. lie had an unusually interesting time at Malakand yesterday. A twenty four hours’ truce was declared in honour of the visit, by the waning tubes <4 Dir and Swat, both tribesmen coming in to see him, the Dir tribesmen having to. pass through Swat terrii jry. I he 1 Til re climbed to the top of the last .British outpost overlooking the independent territory. and saw the rival towers in Swat- and Dir, which art' tiie centre of the present, local wor. Tiie truce expired alter the departure of the Prince, leaving the representatives of Dir confronted with the diflicult problem of returning to their fort safely through enemv country. VISIT TO JAPAN. In preparation for the nation’s reception of the Prince of Wales, 10,000.000 Japanese children are rehearsing daily the British National Anthem. As the New York “Sun” puts it, “they are going to spring it on the, Prince of Wales, wherever he goes in Japan. School children will Tie lined up along the roahoad tracks and city streets wherever the English Crown Prince travels, singing the song they have been practising for months.” Japanese court circles (says the “Sun”) are ruled most rigidly by formula of undeviating and extremely elaborate character. There has been a great deal of speculation and wonderment how Hirohito could mill around in Japan with his visitor as democratically as the Prince of Wales did with IrTn in England. If President Harding were to put on minstrel clothes and turn handsprings up and down Pennsylvania Avenue it could not seem as undignified to the most sober American as informal appearances of the Emperor before the people would be to the Japanese court circle. With the people it’s another story. They’re all for being able to have a look at Hirohito now and then, buy picture postcards of him, even cheer him a little when he passes. The Prince of Wales will have several palaces at his disposal in Japan, to say nothing of private railroad trains and elaborate oflicial escorts everywhere. His coining will he hard, however, on all the “dangerous malcontents. They'll be put in gaol in advance, probably, just for safety’s sake. The. police are preparing for more than ordinary piecautions to guard against individual fanatics.