Lord Elgin was entertained on Tuesday—his fiftieth birth- day—by the
Northbrook Club. Lord Rosebery, in recalling Lord Elgin's appointment, described the difficulties he had experienced in overcoming the late Viceroy's diffidence. He dwelt on the almost unexampled difficulties which Lord Elgin had successfully encountered ; and compared the Indian frontier to a cactus hedge which Viceroys had always at intervals to sit upon. Lord Elgin, he went on, had "en- deavoured, by holding wisely and well the balance of power and of justice, to make the nations of India feel that they had something to lose in our rule, in our administration, in our civilisation." Finally, he made a vigorous appeal to Lord Elgin not to regard his Viceroyalty as the end, but rather the beginning, of a career ; and with characteristic humour besought him not to attempt to occupy the position of a retired leader. Lord Elgin's reply contained an admirable passage on our relations with the hill tribe. "If," he said, "we were firm and strong, not allowing ourselves to be trifled with, and at the same time imperturbably con- ciliatory, never interfering with native customs unless they were against the dictates of humanity, we might hope that in time closer relations with our neighbours in the hills would be brought about."
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