1 The Ambal4 darbar.
2 Sher Ali acknow-
3 ledged sovereign of
4 Afghanistan,
5 Yet the Government
6 of India were averse
7 to meddling in the
8 domestic broils of the
9 Afghans,
10 The visit of His
11 Royal Highness the
12 Duke of Edinburgh,
13 1870,
14 His Royal Highness
15 at Delhi,
16 Arrival in Lahore,
17 Opening of the
18 Soldiers’ Workshop
19 Exhibition,|Miin Mir.
20 His Royal Highness
21 at Amritsar,
22 Departure,
23 Impressions of the’
24 Royal visit,
25 The munificence dis-
26 played by the Chiefs of
27 the Panjab on the
28 Occasion,
29 The beneficent
30 measures introduced
31 by Sir Donald MeLeod,
32 592 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB.
33 of March, the Viceroy received the Amir at a public darbdér at Ambdla, .
34 which was attended by officers, feudatory chiefs and native gentry. Sher
35 Ali was recognised as Amir of Afghanistan, and received, besides presents
36 of great intrinsic value, the promise of a money’ subsidy of twelve lakhs
37 of rupees per annum, Following the policy of his predecessor, Lord Mayo
38 assured the Amfr that the British Government looked upon him as the
39 lawful as well as the de facto sovereign.of Afghanistan, and, while it had no
40 wish to see a new competitor attempting to deprive him of his power, it
41 would on no account allow itself to be involved in domestic feuds and civil
42 broils in that country. After a week of reviews, soirees and other enter-
43 tainments, the Amir returned to Kabul, having previously telegraphed to
44 Her Majesty the Queen his gratification at the splendour and hospitality
45 of his reception.
46 In February 1870, the Panjab was honoured by a visit from His Royal
47 Highness Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of Her
48 Majesty Queen Victoria. A reception worthy of a Royal visitor was
49 accorded to him, and the occasion was marked by splendid festivities, re-
50 joicings and demonstrations of personal loyalty to the crown. His Royal
51 Highness reached Delhi on the 5th of February, when the city’ was
52 brilliantly illuminated. On the 7th he received an address of welcome
53 from the inhabitants, and visited the fort, palace and grand mosque, and
54 the position of the British army during the siege of Delhi in 1857. The
55 following day he visited the ruins at the Kutab and the tomb of Huméyun,
56 and reached Lahore on the 9th. Here His Royal Highness was received
57 by the Lieutenant-Governor, the civil and military authorities and the
58 principal feudatories and chiefs of the province, viz., the Maharaja of Jammu
59 and Kdshmir, the Mahardjd& of Patidlé, the Nawdb of Bahawalpur, the
60 Rajds of Jhind, Nabhdé, Kapurthald and others, all of whom gave the
61 illustrious visitor a most hearty welcome.
62 During His Royal Highness’ stay at Léshore, he received addresses from-
63 the European and Native residents, paid a State visit to the city, fort and
64 palace, accompanied by the princes, rdjd4s and nawdbs and the civil and mili-
65 tary authorities, and opened the Soldiers’ Workshop Exhibition at Midn Mir,
66 There was a grand review of troops at Midn Mir, a provincial ball at the
67 Montgomery Hall, and a conversazione at Government House. On_ the
68 12th, His Royal Highness proceeded to Amritsar, where he received an
69 address from the inhabitants, and visited the Sikh temple and the sacred
70 tank, which were profusely illuminated in honour of his visit. Next morning
71 His Royal Highness proceeded to Sahdranpur.
72 The enthusiasm which prevailed on the occasion of his visit among all
73 classes of people, Europeans and natives, was great, and his address, courtesy
74 and affable demeanour, won for him the esteem and admiration of all. The
75 moral effect of the visit on the people can hardly be overrated. Their
76 hearts were gladdened by the sight of the son of their most august and
77 gracious sovereign. They now beheld with their own eyes the person of
78 a prince of the Royal blood of England, and their thoughts were concen-
79 trated on the blessings extended to them by the benign rule of the Queen
80 of England. Scholarships and fellowships to be called after His Royal
81 Highness were founded in connection with the Panjab University College,
82 by the Nawab of Bé&hdwalpur, the Mahardjd of Patidlé and the Rdjds of
83 Jhind and Nabhéd, to commemorate his visit to the Panjab.
84 _ Sir Donald Mcheod carried out with vigour the policy inaugurated by
85 his predecessors, of developing the resources of the Panjdb by constructing
86 Sri Sache fatpeSirtie rabwAry He took ayaaetiwricinienge dmditecgpiture of