INDIA 609 



was the Durbar on December i2th, in an immense amphitheatre constructed for the 

 purpose, within which the King and Queen in their royal robes received the homage of 

 the ruling chiefs and their coronation was proclaimed to the assembled people. Among 

 the boons then announced were a grant of 50 lakhs (333,006) for education, half a 

 month's pay to all soldiers and subordinate officials, and the admission of Indian soldiers 

 t& the Victoria Cross. But what caused these to be ignored was the further announce- 

 ment, altogether unexpected, that Delhi would henceforth be the capital of India in 

 substitution for Calcutta, and that Bengal would be reunited under a governor-in- 

 council. From December i6th to 2Qth the King went for a hunting trip to Nepal, 

 where the Maharaja-minister welcomed him in person, and many tigers and rhinoceros 

 were shot, while the Queen visited Agra and several cities of Rajputana. After meeting 

 again near Patna they arrived at Calcutta on December 3oth, and stayed there for nine 

 days. Apart from the exuberant loyalty of the people, the most interesting incident was 

 the historic pageant organised to represent the two festivals of the Hindu Dashara and 

 the Mahommedan Nauroz. The return journey to Bombay was broken for an hour at 

 Nagpur, and the " Medina " sailed on January 10, 1912, stopping at Port Sudan in the Red 

 Sea and at Malta. The intention and the result of the Royal tour could not be better 

 expressed than in the words which the King evidently uttered from his heart on leaving 

 Bombay: 



"It is a matter of intense satisfaction to me to realise how all classes and creeds have 

 joined together in the true-hearted welcome which has been so universally accorded to us. 

 Is it not possible that the same unity and concord may in the future govern the daily rela- 

 tions of their public and private lives? The attainment of this would indeed be a happy 

 outcome of our visit to India. To you .... I deliver this our loving message of farewell 

 to the Indian Empire." 



What may be taken as a reply was sent by the Viceroy to the Prime Minister on the 

 day of the King's arrival in England: 



"The Princes and people of India desire to take the opportunity afforded by the conclu- 

 sion of the Royal visit to convey to the great English nation an expression of their cordial 

 goodwill and fellowship. . . . Their Imperial Majesties, by their gracious demeanour, their 

 unfailing sympathy and their deep solicitude for the welfare of all classes, have drawn closer 

 the bonds that unite England to India. . . . We are confident that the great and historic 

 event marks the beginning of a new era, ensuring greater happiness, prosperity and prog- 

 ress to the people of India under the aegis of the Crown." 



Domestic Affairs. The legislative council of the Viceroy, on which an official major- 

 ity is required by the regulations, contains 60 " additional " members, besides those of 

 the executive council or cabinet. Of these, 25 are elected by various representative 

 bodies. For example, the non-official members of each of the provincial legislative 

 councils, the Mahommedan community and the landholders in the larger provinces, and 

 the chambers of commerce of Bengal and Bombay each have at least one representative. 

 In the result, among these elected members, in 1912 there were 12 Hindus, 9 Mahom- 

 medans, two Englishmen, one Parsi, and one Buddhist from Burma. Of 35 nominated 

 members, 26 were officials; and the remainder included two Hindus and two Mahomme- 

 dans, and a representative of the domiciled Anglo-Indian community. , 



Undoubtedly the most conspicuous among the Indian members, alike for his knowl- 

 edge of affairs, his eloquence, and his moderation, has been Mr. Gopal Krishna Gokhale, 

 C.I.E. (b. 1866), one of the two representatives of the Bombay council. He is a Chit- 

 pavan Brahman from Poona, where he was for some years professor at the Fergusson 

 College, and where he recently founded a society, called the Servants of India, for the 

 study of social and economical questions and for their propagation by missionary effort. 

 He has paid several visits to England, the latest in 1912; and in October 1912 he went to 

 South Africa to examine on the spot the vexed question of the exclusion of Indian immi- 

 grants and to promote a conciliatory settlement. 



The first Indian member to be admitted to the Viceroy's executive council was Mr. 

 Satyendra Prasanna Sinha (b. 1864), a Hindu barrister, who had previously officiated 

 as advocate-general for Bengal. He was appointed legal member in April 1909, and 

 on his retirement in November 1910 he was succeeded by Syed Ali Imam, a Mahom- 



