INDIAN ACT OF HOMAGE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 28 August 1924, Page 8

INDIAN ACT OF HOMAGE.

KINGS AND QUEENS AT

WEMBLEY

GARLANDS OF FLOWERS

PICTURESQUE NATIVES CUSTOMS AND DRESS.

LONDON, May 15. Royal weather combined with a great crowd to give thp King and Queen, King Eerdmand ol : Rumania and Queen Mane, who were accompanied by Prince Henry, a Royal welcome to Wembley yesterday morning. The visit being a private one, as distinct from a State function, the Royal party arlived by motor-car instead of in State coaches. They were welcomed bv the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Stevenson, Colonel the Hon, Sir James Allen, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Henry McMahon, and Lieut.-Gen. Sir Travers Clarke.

It was too much to expect that •‘privacy’’ would be maintained when the party reached the grounds. The intended visit had been publicly announced, and if the administration hadn’t done so before, they must realise at length the value of publicity, because by noon as many people had passed through the turnstiles as in the whole of any previous day. Obviously for tens of thousansd of folk the knowledge that they would be able to see and to cheer their King and Queen, and to welcome as well the "Sovereigns of a war-allied nation, was a factor that decided whether or not they would visit the Exhibition.

Through the Palaces of Industry and Engineering their iMajesties were escorted- towards the Indian pavilion, a magnificent picture standing mirrored in the waters at the head of the lake. The pressure of the crowds was immense about the entrance to the pavilion, where the Royal party was received by the High Commissioner for India, Lady Dalai, Dewan Badahur, T. Vijayaraghavcacliarya, and Mr. F. A. M. Vincent. Those who were able to see witnessed a charming novel ceremony. Lady Dalai decorated each of their majesties in turn with a necklet of choicest lilies of the valley and carnations — ‘‘garlands of welcome and good omen” —according to true Indian fashion. Upon the two Royal ladies the effect was particularly becoming, and they wore them not only throughout their tour of the Indian building, fiut long after. The visitors made an hour’s tour of thg Indian section, and were much struck with the beauty of the exhibits. The two Queens handled admiringly the lovely gold brocades and the Kashmir embroideries. There were pauses at the Mysore stand, where from the profusion of wonderful carvings Queen Marie selected a little ivory statuette of Krishna, which she asked might be sent to her at Buckingham Palace. The metal work of Jaipur and the chased vases and bowls of Bikanir claimed attention, and the jungle exhibit to which the King-Emperor contributed wag- much admired. Queen Mary purchased a hand-painted Indian box at one stand. In the Madras court the King talked with a little group of juvenile Indian actors at the Chow Chow, or native play, one of the boys, dressed as a antive prince, inviting his Majesty to attend a performance one day. The King smiled his thanks and accepted. In the;section representing the State of Patiala the Visitors paused before a stuffed wild. pig with a spear plunged in its side. King George was informed,that' this was the first “spear” made by the Prince of Wales when he" was on a- sporting tour in the State. Drawn up in the courtyard ivere the native bandsmen of Punjab and Baluchistan Regiment, line, stalwart men, smartly uniformed in khaki, with scarlet sashes and dark blue turbans. At one stall the High Commissioner for India pointed out a’ display of chutney. The Queen remarked • “I don’t like it, but the King does.” From India, the party went by electric car (or “Raildok”) to Burma. Here four ornate golden sunshades, held aloft by bearers in native dress, shaded the Royal party as they passed fponf the elaborately hand-carved bridge house to the door of the wonderful Burmese pavilion—a. gem among Wembley buildings. The rubies pn> duced from the only ruby mine in the world, and some beautiful wood exhibits are the chief features of the tour of Burma. In the grounds the fascinating Chin lon players were balancing with curious dexterity the balls used m their game of jugglery, and natives in brightly coloured cotton garments gieeted the visitors by striking massive deep-toned bells with firmly-grip-ped antlers. The reception was delightfully realistic.

CHEAT SHOW OF TULIPS. From Burma the Koval party, watch, ed by a crowd that was ever inereasiug, passed on to the horticultural section. The rain of the past few days had made a great expanse of turf a joy to the eye, and in the hriliant sunshine 40,000 tulips of vivid red were on view, in addition to a great wealth of other flowers. Sir L. Waver, director of the United Kingdom exhibits, met the Royal party at the entrance to the hortieultnidl section, and presented the Queen of Rumania with a. bouquet of sweet peas of vivid orange flame, grown in the grounds. THE HONG KONG SECTION. ' In the street of Hong Kong the King of Rumania saw an earthenware pot and was curious to know what it contained. He was told that it was ginger, and immediately afterwards a sample was offered to him. He tasted it, and immediately let it be known that he liked it immensely. “I like it so much," he said, “that I would like to have a. pot.” King Ferdinand turned round to acquaint the other members of the Royal party of his discovery, but found they had gone on. He hurried to them, and they returned, and the incident ended in each member of the party, ordering a jar of ginger. The Royal party walked through the famous Chinese restaurant, music in the original tempo of the celestial country was being dispensed, and watched the silk spinners at work in a shop near by. Souvenirs of the visit, in the shape of a silk shawl for Queen Marie, a jade pendant- for the Queen, and a model in silver of a temple and a sampan for King George and King Ferdinand were graciously accepted. TREASURES OF THE TROPICS. At- the striking Ceylon temple the King and Queen were charmed by the ivory carvings with their gold" and jewelled mountings. King George and Queen .Marie both handled the world’s biggest sapphire, a magnificent gem some 2m long and Kin wide, reputed to he worth £16.00!). There wore smaller sapphires displayed, one worth £lO.000, and a- superb cat’s eye valued at -2000. Each Queen purchased bracelets of star sapphires. Charming souvenirs, in the- shape of gold-mounted tortoiseshell boxes, were accepted by Their Majesties, while the two nion-

archs took away with them charming models in brass of the Ceylon catamaran.

At the British Guiana pavilion the Royal party inspected the many interesting products of a colony which lias a rich era of development before it. Their Majesties spent some time watching the diamond diggings.

FOREST OF PAPER. When they came to Newfoundland and looked at the model oP tlie Daily Mail paper-works there and at the great rolls of paper on which this is printed, the : King was most interested and wondered how the loss of trees felled for the paper was ever made up, and was told it was not necessary to reafforest, for in Newfoundland there was such continuous self-propagation of the trees. The King of Ruamania looked at the paper rolls and said: •‘There’s a forest there,” with a laugh, and Queen Mary must have the models of sleighs and dog-teams made at Grenfell’s settlement, of Labrador.

King George was most jovial about the fine exhibit of cod-liver oil, and recalled how it was given to him as a boy with orange wine to mask the taste, and said it was best described as nutritious.

Queen Marie insisted that the King should sign his name in the book with her own gold fountain pen, and the King banished convention and confessed that he missed the help of his glasses. And so to Fiji, where were different exhibits, but the loyal greeting and the same kind, friendly Roval party.

On the steps of the British Government pavilion, at .the end of their morning s tour, Their Majesties were received, in the presence of a great crowd, by Mr. J. H. Thomas (Colonial Secretary) and Mr. W. Lunn (Parliamentary Secretary ,for the Department of Overseas Trade). Luncheon, was taken in the pavilion, and after other visits of a private nature the Royal paity drove the Amusement Park and left soon after 3 o’clock. The wav .was lined by cheering workmen and girls from booths in pierrot and revue costumes and vendors of Felix, and all the people in the switchback standing up against order to see the King and Queen. The cars were only able to, go at a fast walk, and girls from Lyons’s fluttered round like flocks of magpies, crying, “Isn’t she lovely?” as Queen Marie smiled at them and Queen Mary raised her hand in a little salute close to her grea.t .•sapphire and diamond earrings. And so the Royal visitors left, but the tens of thousands of people who had come to see “the Royalties” remained to “do” the Exhibition, and there was a record crowd at night, when the first of a series of firework displays .was given in the Stadium.

ROYAL APPRECIATION. The following message_was conveyed to Lord Stevenson, chairman of the board of the British Empire Exhibition, before the Royal party left: “Their Majesties the King and Queen of Rumania are delighted with the opportunity of seeing this wonderful Exhibition, which contains so many examples selected from the great British Empire. They were much touched by the warmth of their welcome by the Exhibition authorities, the visitors, and .the exhibitors, .and great success to the British Empire Exhibition.” The day was the finest that London has known since the Exhibtion opened, summer haying developed on the wings of a midnight thunderstorm. The summer heat coming through the glass roof of the Indian Palace led the king to remark to the native officer orderly accompanying them: “This is certainly more like Indian weather than when I was here last!” King George wore a grey lounge suit and a black bowler hat while King Ferdinand was in conventia] morning dress fvith a white flower m his buttonhole. The Queens, on the other hand, looked refreshingly cool. Queen Mary wore a pale grev georgette frock, trimmed with steel beads."and a grey toque to match. Queen Marie a very charming personality,'was all in white, wearing a three-piece gabardine costume with a white hat trimmed with green.