THE PRINCE OF WALES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20088, 27 October 1928, Page 10

THE PRINCE OF WALES.

(END OF INDIAN TOU3J,

A TRIUMPHAL MARCH.

GREAT WAKE OF LOYALTY.

A STRENUOUS ITINERARY-

JBV WALTER AND LEONARD TOWN SEND.

(All Richts Reserved.) No. XLIII. 'At Lucknow great anxiety was felt both for the success of the tour and for the personal safety of the Prince of Wales. Lucknow has always been a hotbed of sedition and conspiracy, and already it had been declared in certain quarters that deliberate plans had been mado to spoil the Royal visit. Rumours had reached tho Prince's ears, but nevertheless ho insisted upon carrying out his programme to tho letter. His arrival at Lucknow was greeted by a mixture of loyalty and passive indifference, tho majority of the bazaars and shops being closed by special order, as in Bombay. Tho Prince was received by tho Governor and various other high officials, and it was noticeable as tho day progressed that enthusiasm for his presence increased instead of diminished, oven in fhoso quarters where, earlier in tho day, there had been sullen silence. Another triumph for tho Prince was when, at the Gaekwar of Baroda's party ,in his honour, Hindus of every casto mingled together in a united attempt to •*<elcomo tho Prince. Those who know their India will realise to tho full exactly what this almost unprecedented occurrence meant. Banquet Follows Banquet. 'All India set itself out to give the Princo a good time. Banquets followed banquets, with dances to follow. At each stage of his journey tho Royal visitor accumulated presents and souvenirs, and theso became so numerous that they could not bo carried on tho Royal train, and had, therefore, to bo despatched to Bombay for shipment in the Renown. It was, of course, impossible for tho Princo to refuso these gifts, which ranged from an elephant to a diamond encrusted sword. Not since tho visit of tho Prince s father had India been swept with such a wave of loyalty to the British " Raj." For soi 10 timo under the subtle poison of Ghandi India had been in the throes of a political whirlpool. With tho visit of the Princo this was practically stilled, and unconsciously the tour dealt tho Ghandi cause a death blow, from which it has never recovered. Tho Prince's reception at Benares was 11, great contrast to that of Lucknow and 'Allahabad; at which latter placo feeling was so high against him that hardly a soul was seen in tho streets from tho beginning lo the end of his stay of just over tho clock-round. Tho Priuce was not dismayed. Prince Shoots His First Tiger. 'A moro sensitive man might have suffered remorse or anger, but Princo Edward regarded it only as a spur to greater endeavour to win tho people over to Britain. At Bonare3 tho young Prince was greeted loyally by the crowds who waited to seo this marvellous Englishman. Dense masses followed him to tho building of tho Hindu University, which tho Prince had consented to open officially. At the ceremony the degreo of Doctor of Letters was bestowed upon him. Tho Princo has always had a great interest in modern education —not for itself, but for what fields it can open out to youth. Quito recently the Prince subscribed £SOO toward a fund for providing facilities for teaching natural science in tho school of Christ's Hospital. It was while in India that tho Prince shot his firs* tiger. Immediately after the termination of his engagements in Benares the Prince was the guest of Maharaja Sir Chandra Shurnshero Jtyig at a biggaino hunt in Nepal. Then, his short holiday over, tho Prince visited in turn Patna, Bihax and Orissa before proceeding to historical Calcutta. Calcutta was a success! After attending the India New Year procession the Prince was xiniiblo to get away owing to tho enthusiaSii of tho crowds. After Calcutta ho journeyed to Burma on board the R.I.M S. Dufferin. The happy Burmese greeted hirn enthusiastically, and arranged a special comic pageant for him of mock elephants, lions, tigers, giraffes, nnd goats. Thrones of Tuxquoiso and Gold. At Madras tho Princo received a Royal reception before putting in some busy hours at Bangalore, Mysore, Krish-Naraia-sagra (a name that greatly amused the Prince), Hyderabad, where the Nizam gave in his honour perhaps tho most magnificent banquet throughout tho tour. Tho Princo pronounced Bhopal a good fi spot." Tho Begum of Bhopal Is tho only woman ruler in Asia, and tho Princo paid a warm tribute to her services to tho womon of her country. At tho durbar the Prince and the Begum sat upon thrones of turquoiso and gold in a white inarblo hall. Gwalior gavo the Princo a warm greeting, and then befoi'o visiting Delhi he stayed at Agra to seo the immortal Taj Mahal. In tho course of one his speeches at Delhi the Pn/ice of Wales gave a rather mordant opinion of some tourists: "There are, I believe, somo persons who come from England, and after spending even fewer weoks than I havo in this country givo theiir v.tJuablo views and impressions about India to tho public. You must not expect mo to-night to disturb their monopoly; I am content for tho present to remain a reverent stnden.t of the many wondorful things which tho book of India has lo unfold." Among the Indian Princes _ who welcomed tho Princo was Ranjit Sinhji, tho cricketer, whose opinion of the Prince was: "Tho lovable, the tactful, tho experienced ambassador of fellow-feeling and friendship between all the scattered parts r>i the Empire." Tho Prince had been studying Hindustani during his tour, and managed a little speech in this language when ho presented colours to tho 16th Rajputs. A Surprise to Agitators. Delhi thoroughly exhausted tho Prince, so that when tho timo camo for him to visit Lahore he was advised to cancel this part of the tour. His answer cannot be given hotter than by explaining that he bad a magnificent reception there, to the great wonder of the agitators. Ho visited an Indian fair while in the neighbourhood of Lahoro. Over 20.000 people were present, and it is a significant fact that at the inercy of this mob, as tho Princo* of Wales undoubtedly was, thero was not one hostile sign during the whole of the day! Pesharwar, the Khyber Pass, Rawal Pindi, Rapurthala—all were visited, and then the Princo reached Karachi, where ho boarded the Renown f O , Colombo. the Indian tour had been an arduous one, but the Prince had still another visit to make. He proceeded to Japan, to bo received with the greatest possible welcome. During his short stay in this Oriental land the Prince mado a firm Iriorul of tho Princo Repent. When the Prince reached homo it was with the knowledge that he had completed an almost impossible task, for. singlehauded, he had truly knit India a thousand times more firmly to Britain, CCa be continued daily.)