384 



INDIA. 



among them admirers of Lord Beaconsfield and Mr. 

 Gladstone, and the intensity of feeling is so great that 

 \ve have heard instances of high words among them 

 on this account. 



Generally, the natives were inclined to favor 

 the Liberal party. The news of the result of the 

 elections was unpleasantly received by the Eng- 

 lish residents, for it was accompanied by a re- 

 port that Lord Hartington had intimated that one 

 of the first acts of the new administration would 

 be to withdraw the troops from Afghanistan. 

 The unpleasant impression wore away after au- 

 thentic reports of the declarations of the Liberal 

 leaders were received, showing that the new ad- 

 ministration would not make an abrupt change 

 of policy with reference to Afghanistan. Lord 

 Lytton offered his resignation as Viceroy of 

 India immediately on hearing of the result of 

 the elections, and it was received at the british 

 India Office early in April. He afterward went 

 to Simla, and remained there, still performing 

 the duties of a Viceroy till the new Viceroy 

 arrived. In the constitution of the new Brit- 

 ish Government, the Marquis of Hartington 

 was appointed Secretary of State for India, and 

 the Marquis of Ripon was appointed Governor- 

 General of India. The Marquis of Ripon had 

 served in Mr. Gladstone's former Cabinet as 

 Under-Secretary, and afterward as Secretary 

 of State for India, and. had approved himself in 

 both positions a capable administrator and an 

 energetic man. Some surprise was expressed 

 at his appointment, on account of his being a 

 Roman Catholic, because there had never been 

 a Roman Catholic Viceroy in India, and ob- 

 jections were made to it at first in England on 

 the same ground; but these were dispelled un- 

 der the recognition of the fitness of his lord- 

 ship in other respects for the position, and of 

 the fact that the religions question could not 

 be mixed in any of the relations of his office. 

 The new Viceroy arrived at Calcutta, May 31st. 

 On the next day he received an address from 

 the Corporation of Bombay, in reply to which 

 he expressed his desire to contribute to the 

 prosperity of India, and said that it would be 

 his utmost endeavor to bring the Afghan war 

 to an early and honorable conclusion, in the 

 hope that with returning peace the Govern- 

 ment of India might again devote itself to works 

 of internal improvement. On his way to Simla 

 he stopped to have a private interview with 

 the Halkar of Khandata. He arrived at Simla, 

 June 7th, was entertained at a state dinner by 

 Lord Lytton, the retiring Viceroy, and at once 

 assumed office. One of his first official acts 

 was to issue an order for the discontinuance of 

 work on Sundays in all the departments of the 

 Government. The Viceroy left Simla in the 

 latter part of October for Lahore, where he 

 arrived November 10th. On the 13th he re- 

 viewed bodies of about ten thousand troops, 

 among which were included several regiments 

 that had returned from Afghanistan. At the 

 end of the review he made a long speech in 

 which he passed a eulogium on the conduct ot 



the troops during the campaign in which they 

 had been engaged, and at the close of it an- 

 nounced that her Majesty had been pleased to 

 grant, in addition to the Afghan medal, six 

 clasps for Ali Musjid, Peiwar Kotal, Charasiab, 

 Cabool, Ahmed Khel, and Candahar, and a spe- 

 cial decoration of a bronze star for those who 

 had taken part in General Roberts's march 

 to Candahar. On the 15th he invested Gen- 

 erals Stewart and Maude with the insignia of 

 the Bath, and held a grand durbar, which was 

 attended by the chiefs of the Punjaub. In his 

 address on this occasion, the Viceroy expressed 

 his satisfaction at the signs of prosperity and 

 progress in the Punjaub, and pointed out that 

 no such durbar as the present had been held 

 since that held by Lord Lawrence in 1864. It 

 would be his endeavor to walk in the footsteps 

 and apply the principles of that officer ; he 

 could not give a better assurance than this dec- 

 laration of his earnest desire to promote the 

 prosperity and welfare of the people. A grand 

 durbar was held at Jacobahad on the 18th, 

 when the Khan of Kelat and the Nawab of 

 Bhawulpoor were invested with the Grand 

 Cross of the Star of India. The Viceroy reached 

 Kurrachee, November 22d, and inspected the 

 harbor and breakwaters on the next day. The 

 municipality and Chamber of Commerce pre- 

 sented addresses to him, strongly urging the 

 completion of railway communication with the 

 Punjaub, by bridging the Indus, and represent- 

 ing the necessity of harbor improvements and 

 increased postal facilities. At Poonah, on the 

 2d of December, Lord Ripon said that it was 

 the intention of the Government to base its 

 educational policy on the dispatch of 1854, 

 which he characterized as the charter of Indian 

 education, and added that, in dealing with this 

 question, due regard would be shown for the 

 changed conditions which had been brought 

 about by the progress of the age. He hoped 

 that more would be done for the education of 

 the masses. In reference to the native states, 

 the Government intended to adhere to the proc- 

 lamation issued on the 1st of November, 1858, 

 by Lord Canning, declaring the Queen's su- 

 premacy throughout India, and to continue to 

 recognize the powers defined and granted under 

 it. It was to the advantage, not only of the 

 native princes, but also of Great Britain, that 

 native states should continue to exist. India 

 wanted peace and rest, in order to devote it- 

 self to the improvement of its agriculture and 

 commerce. Lord Ripon was attacked with a 

 fever during his tour, which caused much anx- 

 iety for a time, and an apprehension that he 

 would be obliged to return to England. He, 

 however, became convalescent during Decem- 

 ber, and was able to retain his office. 



The budget was laid before the Legislative 

 Council of Calcutta, February 25th, by Sir John 

 Strachey, who considered the results highly 

 favorable. He represented that the accounts 

 of the financial year 1878-'79 showed a surplus 

 of 2,044,000, and those of the year 1879-'80 



