Lord Curzon made on September 4th an effective speech in
Council on the magnificent Durbar which is to be held on January 1st, 1903, at Delhi. At this ceremonial all the Princes of India, and, we hope, the magnates of our own provinces, which include four times the population of the feudatory States, are to be present, the object being a sort of universal recognition of Edward VII. as Emperor of India. The Viceroy reckoned the expenditure at three millions of rupees, say £200,000, and defended it as tending to bring together Princes, people, and great administrators for an exchange of ideas. The King would be unable to be present, as would the Prince of Wales, but his Majesty would be repre- sented by the Duke of Connaught. The fear of famine was over, the rains, though rather late, having fallen heavily throughout India, and the expense might be lessened by the subsequent sale of the improvised buildings. The expense seems great, being double the sum originally voted by Parliament for the ceremony in London, and the absence of the Prince of Wales will rather diminish the splendour of the show ; but we think, on the whole, the Viceroy has decided rightly. There are two arguments for the outlay on which he did not dwell, but which, to our mind, are final. The people, if consulted by plebiscite, would certainly vote for the display, and it will break that "leaden monotony" of rule of which their more thoughtful leaders complain. We have been com- pelled to destroy much of the interestingness of Indian life, and anything which repairs that defect of our rule increases its acceptability.
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