PRINCE AT MANDALAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17985, 10 January 1922, Page 5

PRINCE AT MANDALAY.

LOYAIi BORDER TRIBES.

WEIRD NATIVE PAGEANTRY.

NOVEL RACE MEETING. By Teheraph-Preßß rESoristion-Copyright. A. and N.Z. DELE, Jau. a The Prince of Wales has returned to Rangoon after a brief but interesting visit to Upper Burma. The tour was not marred by the slightest evidence of political agitation. Energetic action by the authorities on the eve of the Prince's arrival in Burma prevented any repetition of the Calcutta boycott. A few judiciout warnings and arrests with exemplary sentences prevented anything in the shapo of an anti-British movement, attempts to foster which, however, were made by the younger Buddhist priests and an association known as the Young Hen's Buddhist Association, which, though not wholly of a political character, aimed at throwing cold water on the welcome to the Prince. The pageant provided for the entertainment of the Prince at Mandalay by chiefs of the Shan States was remarkably picturesque and weird. It was illustrative of the manners and customs of these far distant and wild, though intensely loyal States. Many of the tribesmen, who had never been out of the wilderness before, were startled by the motor-cars and other city sights. The chiefs were highly pleased with the Prince's appreciation and the attention he paid them. One of the items on the programme was a race meeting. The contestants were heavy hullock teams, driven at full speed by eici'.ed Bunnans, the finishes providing as much enthusiasm and wagering as Derby Day. The official functions were on a lavish scale. Describing the Prince of Wales' reception at Rangoon, Sir Herbert RusseU, Reuter's special correspondent, wrote :— " The Prince of Wales arrived at Rangoon at daylight by the Dufferin, from Bombay. The city was richly decorated, the main streets being spanned by ten golden pandals (arbours) surmounted by many exquisite pagodas. The various communities were represented by groups along the route, and offered a welcome with quaint songs and picturesque symbols. The immense crowds were everywhere characteristically impassive but unmistakably friendly. The Prince received an address of welcome and visited the University, where the women students presented him with bouquets. He saw a big gathering of former service men in Dalhousie Park. The whole scene was like one vivid kine-macc-lour panorama in this wonderful 'city of silk.'"