45 
night and day time, there sometimes being a margin of 40 
degrees. In the hot weather a maximum of 120 degrees in the 
shade was reached, and to go out of a cool house was like stepping 
into an open furnace, but the extreme dryness of the atmosphere 
made the heat quite endurable. Later in the year the monsoon 
winds brought moisture, and it was then that Kipling’s picture of 
Lahore in his sketch ‘‘ The City of Dreadful Night” was true 
to life. ‘Towards the end of September the nights became cooler, 
and life was endurable once more. The population of the Pun- 
jaub was split up into two irreconcilable religious divisions, the 
Hindoos and Mohammedans, the Hindoos forming 37 per cent. of 
the population, and the Mohammedans 55 per cent. the remainder 
being Sikhs, Parsees, Europeans, etc. Friendships between the 
two main races of the province were extremely rare, and one of 
the great difficulties of administration lay in that direction, A 
- lack of straightforwardness was a common trait of the whole 
population, they seemed to desire to live in an atmosphere of 
intrigues and half-lights, and wire-pulling. They had an absolute 
trust in influence and recommendation to obtain everything. 
The system of commission was universal, and just as lack of 
straightforwardness slipped into lying, so the system of commission 
developed into bribery. He had come in contact with the Pun- 
jaub villagers and had not neglected to know the native gentleman 
with family pride, and he could not but think that in their 
intercourse with each other and with Europeans the natives of the 
Punjaub compared, class for class, by no means unfavourably 
with ourselves. (Cheers.) 
The lower estimation in which women were held was shown in 
their seclusion, and it was a fact that the higher one went in 
Indian society, the more were the women imprisoned. Though 
many educated native gentlemen acknowledged that such a cus- 
tom was an anachronism under the ‘‘ pax Britannica,” they 
dared not give their women more liberty while in India. Perhaps 
the Sikhs’ most conspicious characteristics were their rejection of 
tobacco, and their custom of never cutting their hair either on 
head or chin. At one time, the Sikhs had the Punjaub almost 
completely under their sway, but anarchy followed, and the 
Government was obliged to interfere. Since their inclusion in 
the Empire, the loyalty and bravery of the Sikhs had become 
household words, and an Anglo-Indian General desired no better 
troops. 
The lecture was illustrated by a series of slides showing the 
course of the rivers, the types of life, and the chief cities. 
A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the Lecturer on the 
motion of Mr. J. 8. Sutcliffe, seconded by Mr. J. Lancaster, and 
supported by Mr. J. W. Thompson, J.P. 
