The Prince of Wales returned safely from his Indian tour
on Thursday, and was warmly welcomed in Portsmouth and London by great crowds. The tour has undoubtedly increased the Prince's popularity, and has certainly as a grand State pageant been a success. Whether it has been equally successful as a political stroke remains to be seen. The almost entire absence of any accounts of native opinion on the subject is note- worthy, as is the want of any expression of his personal views by the Prince himself. Not a single authentic sentence of his has yet been reported, except the formal, though cordial letter to Lord Northbrook. We are told that the Prince was inundated during his tour with petitions, none of which, of course, can be granted ; and that many Native Princes are coming over, in hope of obtaining some long-coveted concession. Sir Salar Jung, the Minister of the Nizam's Territories, is on his way already, his object being to obtain the restoration of the Ceded Districts of Berar, pledged to the British Government on conditions which, he says, have been fulfilled.
