£1,000,000 DURBAR.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3200, 22 April 1911, Page 4

£1,000,000 DURBAR.

IMPOSING SCENES FOR INDIAN

CORONATION.

DELHI SPLENDOUR

That a .million sterling is to be spent on the Coronation Durbar in India gives an idea of the magnificent character of the ceremonies that are being aranged and the gorgeousne.-s of the scenes in which the King and Queen wil be -the central figures at Delhi. Everything is to he done on a scale of unexampled splendour, as befits the first visit of a King-Emperor and his Consort to ,the vast territory over which they reign. Although the date of the Durbar is not yet officially announced there Is no doubt that it will be on. December 12 this year. The first intention was to have it in January next but that was abandoned because of the night climate in Delhi in that month and the possibility of rain. The date of December 12 has the advantage of falling before the commencement of the great Mahommedan fast of Mohurrum. It was also untended at first that the ceremony should take place in the fort at Delhi, but that proposal was quickly abandoned, his Majesty deciding that the same site should be used as in 1877 and 1903. UNKNOWN SINCE NAPOLEON’S DAYS. A .gigantic amphitheatre will be constructed for the ceremony. The decorations will be on a lavish scale, and the actual service will include the placing of their crowns on their own heads by ihe King and Quen. Nothing of the kind ha; been seen since Napoleon the Great; placed upon his head the Iron Drawn of Lombardv. A considerable portion of the royal regalia wil be conveyed to India, including both crowns. Their Majesties are selecting^a large suite to ac-ompany them and they wi l travel in a liner special]” chartered for the ocasion with a powerful escort of war vesels. They will proceed to Bombay and from there direct to Delhi. Lora Hardinge. who has received many addresses from all the Indian races expresing joy at the prospect oi the visit of the King, goes to Delhi next monh to discuss the nnal arrangements for the Durbar. He will meet there the committee appointed by his Majesty, of which the president is Sir John Hewett. The location of the camps is to be again between the famous ridge and the canal. There is ample space available there, and the selection of the ground is due to the deire to make the royal camp for the King and Queen one or unparalleled magnificence. Close to it will be the camps of the ruling chiefs and that of the Govenment of India.

90,000 TROOPS IN CAMP. Apart form the actual Durbar there will be other imposing ceremonies. include the arrival and passage cf the King and • v ueen and their departure. There will be processions through the citv. for which the route is net yet settled, but to facilitate movement and inf. —-r-mnnicaticn a circular railway is to he built. It is anticipated that their Majesties will stav in Delhi ten or twelve days, and it is expected that the King will give private audiences to some of the more "important ruling Princes. There is reason to anticipate that an elephant escort of native chiefs will not be a feature of the procession to the amphitheatre, as it was at the Durbar held by Lord Curzon. and_ that the King, accompanied bv the Viceroy and other high officers of State, will proceed to the Durbar, on horseback. Four divisions of infantry and two divisions of cavalry, with a quota of Imperial Service troops, are to be mobilised for the Durbar, and there will be encamped close to Delhi between 80,000 and 90,000 men. After the ceremonies at Delhi have been completed the King will proceed to the Terai, on the Nepal border, for tiger shooting for ten davs or so. and will then visit Calcutta. The royal stay there is not expected to extend beyond three or four days: and it will terminate with the embarkation of the King and Queen for England. Hopes will be cherished in Madras that their Majesties will land for a short visit.

Mr Asquith states that it was thought that the King would be absent on his visit to India probably from the middle of November to about the end of January.