1 SIR JAMES LYALL AT KAPURTHALLA, 627
2 equivalent of six battalions of infantry), were brought in review on the
3 parade-ground under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel H. Melliss, Chief
4 Inspecting Officer, Native States troops; and both His Excellency and
5 His Honour were pleased with the efficiency of the ranks, The material,
6 both as regards men and horses, was admitted on all sides to be excellent,
7 and the physique of all grades fine. Two years previously, as we have
8 observed, the policy of utilizing the military spirit of the native chiefs and
9 developing in their territories an Imperial Service Corps,’ was formally in-
10 augurated by Lord Dufferin, and it is gratifying to see that it has been
11 vigorously pursued by his successor.
12 On Monday, the 24th of November, 1890, His Highness Rdjd Jagat Jit
13 Singh, Rd4j& of Kapurthdll4, having completed his eighteenth year, was
14 formally invested with full powers of administration in his State, by the
15 Honourable Sir James Lyall, Lieutenant-Governor of the Panjéb. A brilli-
16 ant incident of the festivities on the occasion was a banquet given to the
17 distinguished guests on the night of the 24th November. The toast of the
18 Qneen-Empress having been loyally responded to, Sir James Lyall, in pro-
19 posing the Rdja’s health, made an eloquent speech, in which he dwelt, in
20 terms of warm appreciation, on the cordial relations existing between the
21 State and the British Government, and described graphically the gallant
22 and loyal behaviour of the people of the Panjdb towards the paramount
23 Power. Speaking of the late Rajd’s services, His Honour said :-—
24 Ra4jé Ranbhir Siugh’s services to the British Empire in the critical times of the
25 Mutiny were of the most splendid kind. He most promptly and loyally led his army
26 in person to fight in line with the Queen’s troops; and he and his brother, the late
27 Kanwar Bikarma Singh, O.S.I., displayed a personal gallantry in the field woithy of
28 the best Sikh traditions. May our recollections o£ such services never grow cold!
29 How warmly we recognized them at the time can perhaps hardly be realized by those
30 who were not then in India I came to the Panjab in those days, and the feeling be-
31 tween Englishmen and Panjdbis, was then of the most coidial kind. The soldiers
32 of both races had been fighting splendidly side by side, as they have done since in
33 Afghanistan and elsewhere ; and we were proud to be fellow-subjects with them of the
34 same great Kimpire.
35 The allusion made by Sir James Lyall to the mutual respect and good-
36 feeling that prevailed among the people of this province and their rulers
37 in the time of the Mutiny, is an instance of that strong sense of justice and
38 keen appreciation of everything worthy of admiration, which forms one of
39 the essential characteristics of the British nation. Well may our country be
40 proud of those manly acts, deeds of distinguished bravery in the field
41 and of valour prompted by loyalty to the Crown, which have admittedly
42 made the Panjab a model province.
43 The speech of His Honour at the darbdr of investiture was full of sen-
44 ‘timents of kindness and expressions of the profoundest regard for the
45 welfare of the ruling chief, and his illustrious family and the happiness of his
46 subjects. Read in its entirety, it is a series of admonitions, such as an affec-
47 tionate father might give to his son just entering upon active life, and shows
48 what real interest the Government has taken in the advancement of the
49 territory of this chief during the long period of his minority—an interest
50 which has had the result of materially benefiting the State. On the subject
51 of the capabilities of the young chief, Sir James Lyall said in the course
52 of his speech: “It is often said that the period of minority for Rul-
53 ing Chiefs in India is dangerously short, and no doubt there is truth in
54 the remark ; but in your case, Rdjd, I have such confidence in your judg-
55 ment and character, and in the ability and honesty of your excellent staff
56 of State officials, that I feel no apprehension.” His Honour exhorted the
57 Rajd to “recognize the fact, that, without steady perseverance and ate
58 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh fi eLibrary NamdhariEli
59 Investiture of the
60 Rajé of Kapurthallé
61 with the power of ad-
62 ministration.
63 The banquet.
64 Speech of Sir James
65 Lyall,
66 His Honour’s speech
67 at the Darbar of inves-
68 titure,
69 Qrary@ gmail.com