PRESS ACCOUNTS - TWO GREAT DURBARS AT QUETTA—THE DURBAR OF 1893 HELD BY SIR JAMES BROWNE—HIS SPEECH—LORD ELGIN'S SPEECH AT THE DURBAR OF 1893—INSTALLATION OF THE KHAN OF KHELAT AS GRAND COMMANDER OF THE ORDER OF THE INDIAN EMPIRE.

WE have reserved the full account of the urbar when the new Khan of Khelat was ’ installed at Quetta; which was reported in the Press as follows:

“The installation of H.H. Mir Mahmud Khan as Beglar Begi and Khan of Khelat took place at the Gymkhana ground at Quetta, the capital of Beloochistan, on Friday, November 10th, 1893, when a grand durbar was held by Sir James Browne, Agent to the Governor-General, and the Khan was installed in a most impressive manner, with all the accessories of military pomp and grandeur.

“On either side of the street bisecting the platform were seated on the right the Sarawan Sardars and followers, while on the left the Jhallawan Sardars and followers.

“The assemblage of the European populace and their families, together with the innumerable Sardars of various tribes, and, the semicircle of villagers and others who were in swarms on the north side, the formidable array of the garrison, all blended into a scene of one vast expanse of the greatest contrast, yet an imposing sight of ceremony. . . . The Khan arrived about 11.30 a.m., accompanied by his brother and Major Temple, the Political Agent of Khelat, and escorted by a bodyguard twenty-four strong. He was received at the arch by Major Gaisford, Political Agent, Quetta, and Captain Stratton, First Assistant to the Agent Governor-General, who accompanied him to the edge of the carpet, where he dismounted and was met by H. S. Barnes, Esq., C.S., the Revenue Commissioner, who conducted him to his seat, a Guard of Honourpresenting arms and the band of the Prince of Wales’ Grenadiers playing.

“At 11.45 a.m. General Sir James Browne arrived accompanied by General Luck, escorted by their respective staffs and a detachment of cavalry. They were received at the edge of the platform by the Khan in company with Mr. Barnes, amid the usual salutes. After a slight pause, Sir Tames rose, and first thanking the ladies and gentlemen for the trouble they had taken in coming and thus showing the interest they felt in matters concerning the natives in this country, he addressed the Khan and the assemblage in Hindustani as follows:

Amir Mahmud Khan, Khan of Khelat, Beglar Begi and Wali of Khelat, Sardars of the Jirgah, Maliks, etc, You have assembled together on an auspicious day, viz. Friday, to witness a scene—the installation of the Khan—which but very few of those assembled here have ever witnessed before: an event which is the closing phase of the policy which has been hitherto followed—an episode whicn will not be forgotten by the spectators present as long as they live, and will be talked of hereafter long after all here have passed away.

“I would remind you that Mir Mahmud Khan has for some time past been recognised as Khan by the Government in England, by the Government in India, by myself, and by the Sardars of the country both Jnallawan and Sarawan. I have to assure you that it would not have been possible, whether the present ceremony had taken place or not, for the Government to have retraced its steps in any case. The Government, as well as the Sardars of the Jirgah, have already taken the important step, in the interests of Beloochistan at large, of electing Mir Mahmud Khan as the Khan of Khelat, and neither the one nor the other could have retrogressed. On the present occasion, both in accordance with the immemorial custom of not only this, but many other nations, and also to make assurance doubly sure, Mir Mahmud Khan is about to be formally and publicly installed as Khan of Khelat, by myself as representative of the British Government—an event which has never before taken place in the annals of Beloochistan.

“The occurrences which have led up to and rendered necessary the course of action whicn is terminating in the present climax is too fresh in your minds to need more than a passing reference on my part Moreover, Sardars of Sarawan and Jhallawan, you were yourselves sharers and advisers in the course which has been taken, and which was as a matter of fact inevitable. You will bear in mind that the events which led to the necessity for the present installation were not sought by the British Government, but were forced on us. It will always be a source of great regret to me all my life that I have been the unwilling instrument for carrying out a course of policy whicn was not dictated by any personal feeling or desire to introduce changes into Beloochistan. What has taken place was done solely and entirely in the ’e of this country at large, and interests of the people for the public benefit.

“Khan Sahib Wali of Khelat, I have to remind you of the high position which you have inherited as of right from your ancestors, and which it is my most earnest hope you will worthily fill, both with credit to yourself and with advantage to those who have been placed under you. You should primarily bear in mind all that is conveyed in the old-time motto, “marde az martaba khud majbar ast"—noblesse oblige. A man of high rank ana lofty position is compelled to act with generosity and a keen sense of honour in order to maintain his self-respect as well as the regard of a whole nation. Of necessity you must do justice to yourself, to obtain the praise not of self-seekers and flatterers, but the disinterested praise of the great majority. By this alone can you escape the sense of shame attendant on the scorn and contumely which will inevitably follow if you act unjustly and dishonourably that you may benefit yourself or fill your treasury. Noblesse oblige—your position binds you and compels you to act honourably.

“There is not, nor can there ever be, any real advantage obtainable from merely hoarding and filling your treasury with money extracted by oppression and tyranny from the hands of ryats, hardened by honest industry; what matters it if your treasury be empty, if your bazaars be full ? When your streets are crowded, the revenue will of itself pour into your treasury in a ceaseless flood. It will not be necessary to oppress men in order to obtain it; it will be readily and willingly paid without the exercise of force. Far better is it to spend wisely for the benefit of the country than to hoard and benefit neither yourself nor others, and in addition lose the respect and regard in which others will hold you. Just as neither heat nor benefit is obtainable from firewood until it is consumed, so neither pleasure nor happiness is obtainable from money until it is spent. Do not think that because the working-man or the Government servant puts by money, therefore you should. The former saves money while he is earning it because he knows that the time must come when he cannot earn it. Your case is different. Your revenue is not for a term of years, but for the term of your life.    It will not fail you because you have grown old. Money is a seed, which may bring forth twofold or tenfold.

“He who scatters gold will gather a golden harvest; but he who withholds his hand from the seed, from him will the harvest be withheld. Do not imagine that I am calling upon you to do what we do not do ourselves. Do not suppose that because the British Government spends generously it has a great hoard of money saved up and lying in the treasuries of the country. The Government has no money saved up whatever. It is enabled to spend because its revenue is immense, owing to the general sense of security and peace which pervades whole nations under the aegis of England. We do not want to hoard money—we can always get it, and it flows in because the land is cultivated, the people at rest, and the bazaars are full. So little is noarded money a necessity that every civilised Government throughout the world is carried on by debt. However, I am not impressing on you the advisability of borrowing, but only the uselessness of objectlessly hoarding. There is one point to which I would specially call your attention—you must differentiate between your private fortune and the money which comes to you and which has to be spent for the public advantage. You must ever bear in mind that the State is not a mere mine out of which to dig money. A portion no doubt belongs to you, but a large share is in reality the right of the public, and should be employed on affairs which have to be taken up by Government because the public could not satisfactorily undertake them, such as roads, canals, the post, and a variety of other desiderata too numerous to mention. As Khan of Khelat you have undoubted rights—I have no wish to deprive you of them—but so also you have obligations, and you cannot divest yourself of them. Remember, moreover, that the greater your rights are the greater your obligations will be. If you claim the one, you must accept the other. You can no more have the rights only than you can have the pleasures of life only, such as taste, hearing, sight, etc., without the pains to which all flesh is heir without exception. Tne one is a natural concomitant of the other. Neither you nor I, nor the united force of all mankind, can alter such natural laws as those of rights and obligations. When money has accumulated it can no doubt be spent in a manner which for the time being may be pleasant, but which in the long run will not be beneficial either to the spender or to his reputation. A young man with unlimited money has no doubt temptations which I feel sure in your case will not be given way to.

“Above all, Khan Sahib, I have to remind you that the road of tyranny, of oppression, of injustice, is the road which leads to your own downfall and ruin. As Khan you should provide yourself with carefully selected subordinates. The British Government do not attempt to govern with a few men whose trustworthiness is a matter of doubt. Your country is large. Your employees constitute your eyes and your ears. Without them you can neither see nor near. A ruler without information is as a man in the dark. It matters little what his individual acuteness may be; it matters little to what pitch he may have been trained; it will matter little what care he may have taken or to what pains he may have put himself: without reliable and correct information, obtainable only from his subordinates, he is as a blind man groping in the dark, who knows and can know little of whither he may be going. The ultimate destination of the misguided blind who surrender the guidance of their destinies to those who cannot see is too much a matter of proverbial notoriety to need either explanation or allusion from me.

“Sardars of the Jirgah and others, remember that if the Khan has his rights and obligations so also have you. Many of you are leaders of great tribes. As your positions are important so also is your influence far and ever wide and spread. Many cases are constantly in your hands for decision.

“You the Sardars should remember that there are two sides to a question and that for years past enmity has existed between yourselves and the Khan. An admirable opportunity is now afforded you of burying all feelings of animosity. You should let bygones be bygones. You should endeavour on both sides to forget the traditional enmity which has hitherto so unfortunately existed.

“Should any difference hereafter arise, a court of arbitration will always be at hand, which both Khan and Sardars will be able to regard with confidence, as being unbiassed and ready to do justice on the evidence before it. In the reign of Nasir Khan the Great the greatest enmity in council existed between the Khan and the Sardars, and it should be the object of the Sardars to place all their experience, and the wisdom gained from age and knowledge, at the service of tne Khan. To embarrass him will not benefit either party.

“It is the wish of the British Government, and it has moreover been agreed to by the Khan, that the Jhallawan Sardars should be in as nearly the same position as possible as that enjoyed by tne Sarawan ardars. The Jhallawan Sardars have already had an exceptionally good opportunity of showing that they could further the wishes of the British Government. They have however hitherto foolishly refused to partake of the hospitality and kindness which it was our intention to extend to them, if they do not by their action, or inaction, prevent us from doing so.

“You should all remember that it is not my object in any sense to interfere with the ancient customs and laws of this state, as long as they are neither barbarous nor cruel. Indeed, I regard the maintenance of ancient usages as highly beneficial, and altogether advisable. Without changing your customs, you can graft on to them what is found, to be most advisable and useful amongst the customs of other nations. You are all aware that the stones of good apricots and plums (alu bokhara) will not produce the best fruit if sown in the ground. It is necessary to take a bud or a graft from a good tree and make it grow on another root, before the best fruit is obtainable. So also before the best result will be obtained from the Belooch and Brahui nation, a carefully selected portion of what is best in the laws of other nations will have to be assimilated; while the general body of the laws and customs is allowed to remain unchanged. The English have knowledge and experience which the Beloochees have not got. Whereas Belooch customs are no doubt in many ways better suited to the habits and customs of the Beloochees themselves, they should endeavour to take all that would benefit them from the English laws and customs and adopt them to the old Belooch stock.

“Mir Mahmud Khan and Sardars, you should endeavour to strive not merely for your own ends, but also for the benefit of the mass. Let no man, either Khan, or Sardar, or subject, believe that he can ever satisfy himself by striving for himself alone, at the cost of pain to others. True happiness consists in securing the welfare of others. Do not think that what I have said is the accidental expression in words of fortuitous ideas and thoughts. I have thought carefully and spoken advisedly, in accordance with a proverb whicn may be paraphrased thus: “ The Maker made man with two eyes, and two ears, and but one tongue, that he look twice and listen twice ere he speaks once.”

“A word or two more and I shall have done. There is an Arabic saying which reminds men that the world is but a bridge—“pass ye by it, ye cannot remain on it, the rest is unseen.” Some day your time for leaving it will come. Do not believe then that your happiness will then consist in remembering that your treasury has been full—you cannot carry it away— or that you extracted value out of the hands of toilwom labourers, or that you killed this person, or made away with that individual. If you as Khan of Khelat have made good use of the opportunities fate may have thrown in your way, your pleasure will consist in remembering that you were in a position of the highest responsibility, and that you used it as a solemn trust from an unseen existing power, in bettering the lot of your subjects and others less fortunate than yourself Do not imagine that because outrages may have been inflicted by rulers in times gone by, it is expedient or even possible to perpetrate them now. From the beginning of time to the present day the world has been a moving tide of change—indeed, there is no necessity to look back very far to assure yourself of this ; the time of an ordinary life affords quite sufficient experience. The wise ruler is he who accommodates his action to the feelings and beliefs of the time in which he lives. You cannot necessarily act now as you might have acted—and acted successfully— 200 years ago. Your surroundings have greatly changed from what they once were. You also must change with them. Indeed, recent events have shown that it would now be impossible to act in the Khelat state in the manner in which action was taken even so short a time as one year back. The Government of Khelat as now constituted is like a building which is based upon a rock, that rock being the power of an empire whose rule extends over half the world. It is my duty to warn all that it is the set and deliberate purpose of the British Government that Mir Mahmud Khan should be maintained and supported in his position as long as he is worthy of it Further, that any one contesting or opposing this determination will have to deal with the whole might of the greatest empire in the world—assuredly such a one will ensure his own destruction sooner or later. It is my duty to say this. It is, however, with pleasure that I remind you that H.M. the Queen looks without doubt or fear on the Khan, and on the Sardars ot Beloochistan, as being; the loyal defenders of her sovereignty on the frontier.

“‘Mir Mahmud Khan, now under the eyes of the British officers here present, in the presence of the leading Sardars of Beloochistan, in the hearing of your subjects, servants, the tribesmen and others, by the mandate of the Viceroy, under the orders of Government, I as Agent Governor-General and Chief Commissioner and representative of British authority, publicly proclaim you, Mir Mahmud Khan, to be Beglar Begi and Wali of Khelat.’

“The Khan briefly replied to Sir James in Hindustani as follows:

“I am very thankful to you, Sir James Browne, and also to His Excellency the Viceroy, for the kind treatment I have received at your hands. I can assure you that I will act righteously and uprightly, and will endeavour, to the best of my ability, to do good deeds which will please the British Government.’ He then asked his Mustaufi to read the following on his behalf as an answer to Sir James’s speech :

“Officers, gentlemen, and Sardars,—To-day is that auspicious occasion on which by the mandate of Her Majesty the Queen Empress, and on behalf of His Excellency the Viceroy and Govemor-Generalj General Sir James Browne has declared me Wall of my State. For this I tender my heartfelt thanks to Sir James, and through him to Her Majesty the Queen Empress and His Excellency the Viceroy. I have not taken the reins of the administration of my State in my own hands. I can assure you that to the best of my ability I will endeavour to act upon the kindly advice which Sir James has given me in your presence. I will treat my subjects with justice and kindness, and will always be a faithful ally to the British Government. The British Government too will, 1 beg, help me in all matters concerning my State. I will devote myself to make my country flourish and in bettering the position of my people.

"I reiterate my cordial thanks to General Sir James Browne, ana I hope that the friendly relations which now exist between my State and the British Government will remain for ever unchanged.’

“At the conclusion of this khilats worth 25,000 rupees, including a diamond sirpech worth Rs. 10,000, were presented to the Khan. The Belooch Sardars, led by Sir James, loudly called out ‘ Mubarak baad' to the Khan: and thus ended this special durbar.”

Next year, however, a new Viceroy, Lord Elgin, who had come to India in the interval, visited Quetta and held a durbar of his own; and as his address dealt almost entirely with the Khelat state and not the rule of British Beloochistan, the account of the proceedings on that occasion will now be given. The following is the Press account of the ceremony:—

“The grand durbar, which had been eagerly looked forward to by the people of this province, came off this afternoon as arranged, with all the pomp and circumstance of a State ceremonial, and attracted large crowds of the native public, who began to collect on the racecourse long before two o’clock. Everything that could be done to lend a gay and festive appearance to the grandstand was carried out with much taste by the responsible officials. A couple of triumphal arches, hung with yellow silk, and supporting the Star of India in the centre, were erected about two hundred yards on either side of the grandstand, the intervening space being marked off with vari-coloured Venetian masts with festoons of flags between. The dais, upon which were placed the viceregal throne and handsome silver-mounted chairs for His Highness the Khan and the Commander-in-chief, was richly carpeted with gold Kashmiri work upon a red ground. The middle and upper tiers of the stand were occupied by ladies and other visitors, while a special box was railed off for the countess, and the highest tier accommodated such members of the European and Parsi communities as had obtained tickets. Below the dais, and to the right of it, were seated in consecutive order the superior native Government officials, Sarawans, Jhallawans, Quetta Sardars and Maliks, Pesheen Sardars and Maliks, Khojak Sardars and Maliks, the municipality and minor officials. To the left were the officials of His Highness the Khan and the Jam, and Thul Chotiali and Zhob Sardars and Maliks. Inside the oval formed by the course the whole of the troops in garrison were massed facing the stand, the infantry in the centre, the heavy batteries to the right and left, and the mountain battery and Sappers and Miners in the rear. The 7th Bombay Lancers lined the road from the Residency to the course.

“The first important personage to arrive was the Jam of Lus Beyla, who was accompanied by Captain Stratton, the newly appointed Political Agent for South-eastern Beloochistan. Next followed the Commander-in-chief and Mrs. Luck, who in turn were followed by the Countess of Elgin and Miss Browne, and in quick succession came Sir James . Browne, Captain Manners Smith, His Highness the Khan of Khelat with his younger brother Mir Bahram Khan, accompanied by Major Temple. Punctually at 3.13 His Excellency the Viceroy, in the robes of the Grand Master of the Indian Empire, was driven up in a State carriage and four with outriders, accompanied by the Secretary of the Order, Mr. Cuningham, Foreign Secretary and an aide-de-camp. When His Excellency’s carriage came in sight tne artillery fired thirty-one guns, and when nearing the stand the troops gave the royal salute, the band playing the National Anthem.

“His Excellency having taken his seat, Sir James Browne stepped forward and introduced the Khan, and addressing the Viceroy gave a brief historical sketch of Beloochistan and its people during# the last decade, dwelling with a high eulogium upon the services of Sir Robert Sanaeman, the Agent of the Governor-General. He went on to draw a vivid picture of Beloochistan before the advent of that distinguished statesman, and having explained to His Excellency the different clans and tribes represented by the Chiefs and Maliks sitting before him, concluded with a fitting acknowledgment of the aid he had received during his term of office from the officials of the Agency.

“The Foreign Secretary then stepped forward and read Her Majesty’s warrant directing His Excellency to confer upon His Highness the Khan of Khelat the insignia of Grand Commander of the Indian

Empire, to which Her Majesty has been pleased to appoint him. His Highness was then conducted to the left of the dais by the Secretary and Under Secretary of the Foreign Departments, who invested him with the robe ana sash of the Order and fixed the star to his left breast, and presented him to His Excellency, who put the collar of the Order round his neck. The assembly having taken their seats, after standing during the reading of the royal warrant, the Grand Master, remaining seated, spoke as follows:

“Your Highness, Chiefs and Sardars of the Khelat State and the Beloochistan Agency,—Nearly five years have passed since my predecessor met you here. By the inexorable laws of human existence such a period must bring in its train many changes, whether or good or evil, and I could not expect to find myself here under circumstances precisely similar to those of Lord Lansdowne’s visit. To one of those changes, which I know every one here deplores, I should like to allude at the outset. Lord Lansdowne described the officer standing at his side as one " who has the confidence of the Government of India, and whose name will for all time be honourably connected with this portion of the Indian Empire’ I had not the privilege of the acquaintance 01 Sir Robert Sandeman, but there are some cases in which the record is plain beyond dispute. There can be no doubt that by Sir Robert Sandeman’s premature death the Government of India lost an officer to whose indomitable courage and perseverance they owed much, and the people of Beloochistan a friend whose knowledge of them and trust in them they recognised by returning to him the largest measure of confidence. I have been glad to observe in Quetta many signs that his name is fresh in your remembrance. 1 am glad to learn that the more permanent tribute to his memoir which you contemplate will take a form that wifi bear testimony to nis belief in and respect for your native institutions. I shall be more glad to see and hear evidence of increasing prosperity in Quetta and Beloochistan, because we can, in my opinion, find no better means of honouring him than by carrying on his life’s work. I must also unite with you in lamenting the deaths of Sir Assad Khan, Chief of the Sarawans, and Sardar Shingul Khan, Chief of Zhob. They were men from whom the Government had received much assistance, cut short by their untimely deaths.

“'Turning from these melancholy topics to the history of the district, I find here too changes which the progress of events has made inevitable. 1 do not intend to recapitulate the circumstances which resulted in Your Highness beingcalled upon to assume the Government of Khelat. They will no doubt be fresh in the memory of my hearers. Although the time has as yet been short, it has been necessary for Your Highness to come to some decisions of importance for the welfare of your State, and I rejoice to be assured by Sir James Browne, than whom Your Highness has no warmer friend, that you, in the policy you have adopted, have shown that you have a due sense of tne responsibilities of vour position. We, the British Government, look to Your Highness so to administer the affairs of Khelat that peace, good order, and contentment may prevail within its borders. That is the return which we have a right to claim for the protection which we can secure to you from outside aggression, and which we are now making more definite by the demarcation of the frontier. We seek not to interfere with the local administration. It is our settled policy to pay all the respect we can, here and elsewhere, to the laws and usages, religious and social, to which the people are accustomed. Rightly administered they will best supply the needs of the people, and it is for Your Highness, with the advice and assistance of your chiefs and counsellers, to see that it cannot be laid to your charge that they have failed through want of energy or good-will on your part.

“Your Highness, Chiefs and Sardars, I do npt think I can use a more powerful argument than ask you to look around. There must be men here present who can remember this prospect before us when it showed neither house, nor tree, nor cultivated field. The material prosperity, which we can almost see growing around us, can be yours if you choose to take it. It is the duty of a ruler to make a good use of the resources of his State. If they are not used properly, or if they are not used at all for the purposes of public utility, depend upon it not only will the resources of the State decay, but the difficulties of managing the State will increase; but if they are wisely expended, they will return to you a hundredfold. The railway has opened up to you the markets of the world. It is for you to step in and reap the profits. You have a country which can supply fruit and other agricultural produce, which is well fitted for the breeding of horses, and whose mineral resources are undeveloped. It is with much satisfaction that I have heard that Your Highness, by your gracious treatment of the Jhallawans, has shown your readiness to encourage those who will lay aside ancient feuds and live a peaceable life. It has also been wisely determined to construct a road to Khelat, for nothing will better help the development of your country than additions made to the facilities for travel. Your Highness knows well that in the representative of the British Government you have an adviser of great experience, who has deserved your confidence, and I counsel you to take advantage of his assistance, and if the services of officers trained in works of any description be required, so as to enable you to construct them most economically and to the best advantage, there will be no difficulty in putting them at your disposal.

“Your Highness, Chiefs ana Sardars, I have thought it incumbent on me to speak to you words of counsel on this occasion. It is, I think, an occasion of some importance to the future of Beloochistan. I rejoice that, coming here as I do, on the earliest possible opportunity, I am able to see the germs of a prosperous future for this country. I rejoice that it is my privilege to convey to Your Highness, by means of the ceremony in which we have just taken part, the assurance that Her Majesty the Queen-Empress sympathises with and appreciates the efforts which Your Highness is making to develop the prosperity of your territory and its inhabitants. I trust that the encouragement thus given by Her Majesty will stimulate Your Highness to persevere in the course of progress, and ifj as is most likely, my visit is not repeated, that my successor, when he follows me, will be able to congratulate you on the realisation of the hopes which I have ventured to foreshadow.

"Chiefs and Sardars, knowing the loyalty which has animated you in the past, I cannot but think that in the honour now done to His Highness you will feel you have a share. I call upon you to recollect it. His Highness may have a hold of the reins, but he will need willing hands to help him in his work. See that you do not fail him. And to those here

Present, who are more directly subject to British rule, would only add that the Government of India, while it cannot tolerate or permit disorder, is ready and willing to recognise and reward true and loyal service. I must bid you farewell. I shall carry with me deeply engraven in my memory the scene now before me, ana the interest which it inspires in me for the people of Beloochistan will animate me with a desire to remain your firm friend in time to come.’

“This speech having been translated to His Highness and the chiefs by Mirza Abdulla, Mir Munshi to the Agency, khilats were offered by the Khan of Khelat, the Jam of Lus Beyla and the principal chiefs and Sardars, who were afterwards presented to His Excellency by the political agents of their respective districts—those from Khelat t>y Major Temple, those from Quetta and Pesheen by Colonel Gaisford, and those from Zhob and Thul Cnotiali by Captain Archer —after which His Excellency left the durbar under a royal salute, accompanied by the Foreign Secretary and an aide-de-camp; the various chiefs and high Government officers following in the same order they arrived. A conspicuous figure in the assembly was the far-famed Mr. Bux, decked in his dress and sword of honour, his breast decorated with the Kabul mission medal of 1893, who in his own line has contributed materially to the pleasure of the viceregal visit.

“Their Excellencies the Viceroy and the Countess of Elgin and the Commander-in-chief patronised the club theatre in the evening, where a variety entertainment, followed by the comediettaThe Duchess of Bayswater and Co., was given by the Quetta amateurs, who well sustained their reputation on the occasion. After dark a few of the highest peaks on the hills round Quetta were bright with bonfires, and the effect was pretty.

“To-morrow morning His Excellency the Viceroy leaves with a portion of his staff by the Bolan route in charge of Mr. Hodson, the Engineer-in-chief, who will show his lordship all the interesting points of this interesting line, which it is estimated will be ready in a couple of years. The countess proceeds by special train vid Hurnai to await Lord Elgin’s arrival at Sibi, while His Excellency the Commander-in-chief goes by ordinary mail to Hyderabad and Karachi, so that in a few hours Quetta will be deprived of the distinguished visitors whose arrival and stay here have been talked of for months gone by. Much credit is due to Mr. Richie and Mr. Hawkes, the district locomotive and traffic superintendents, for the care and assiduity with which tney have studied the comfort of their excellencies during their journeys, and to Mr. McNally, station-master at Quetta, for his untiring attentions and excellent platform arrangements.”