Lord Ripon is said, in a telegram from Lahore of
November 15th, to have addressed to a Durbar of Punjab Chiefs a speech which " was a manifesto." Unfortunately, the compiler of the bull letin occupies himself with rubbish about the " brilliancy of the gathering," as if he were addressing an audience of upholsterers or Lord Lyttons, and does not tell us what the Viceroy said. It is just possible to gather from his sketch that Lord Ripon said clearly that he intended to follow " the Lawrence policy," which would, if stated in any detail, be equivalent to a manifesto of the highest importance. We can only hope that this impres- sion is correct, for then Lord Ripon will give up worrying about Afghanistan, will withdraw the British army from Candahar, and will reduce the department of Foreign Affairs to its normal and proper attitude,—that of a depart- ment which collects interesting information from beyond
a perfectly secure frontier, about tribes in whom we have only a scientific interest. He will set himself to the reduction of expenses, the remedy of peasants' grievances, and the reorganisation of the Native Army, until it shall be once more a movable force, ready to go anywhere and do anything. He will even, perchance, if fortunate, render it possible for Englishmen to forget India for a while, and to pursue their own policy without reference to the chatter of native bazaars. The soldier must carry his knapsack always, but it is when he can forget it on the march that it is well adjusted.
