Patiala the Great War : a breif History of the services of the premier Punjab state

· 1923 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1THE BRIGHTON MEMORIAL

2ness, my Lords, ladies and gentlemen; a ceremony such as

3that in which we participated this morning calls up many

4vivid and some poignant memories; and I should have been

5uite content to have quietly returned to London without

6urther speech-making. But it gives me pleasure to acknow-

7ledge your generous hospitality to-day, and to express grati-

8tude on behalf of fellow subscribers as well as myself for the

9kind terms in which the toast has been proposed and the way

10in which it has been received. ‘The references made to the war

11services of myself and my State are gratifying as showing that

12amid the preoccupations of engrossing affairs in this country

13you do not forget the wider fields of Empire. It is not for me

14to appraise the Patiala contribution. All I can suitably say is

15that the aim I had in view, and which I strove to inculcate upon

16my subjects (and the whole Sikh community) was to maintain

17the traditions associated with the Sikhs generally since their

18incorporation within the Empire and of Patiala in particular.

19(Applause.) They are traditions of unstinted, whole-hearted

20service to the British ‘Throne whenever it is threatened or

21assailed within or without. (Applause.) If I had not done my

22utmost, and encouraged my people to do their utmost, in the

23Great War, I should have been unworthy of the ancestor who

24in the Mutiny gave invaluable help to the British, hardly-

25pressed as they were, pending the arrival of reinforcements;

26and also unworthy of my illustrious father, who fought on the

27North-West Frontier again and again for the cause of British

28and Indian security. (Loud applause.) I would add that a

29spirit of helpfulness as between India and this country can

30find ample avenues in peace no less than in war. (Hear, hear.)

31Though your chief industry is that of giving health and pleas-

32ure to countless visitors, there are substantial business enter-

33prises carried on in and around Brighton; and I trust that your

34unemployment problem is not so severe as in many other large

35towns in this country. I hope it may be possible for India,

36shown by the Railway Committee to be so badly and urgently

37in need of railway equipment, to place substantial orders with

38British firms which will help to assuage the wave of unem-

397/7