The Indian Viceroy.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 9 August 1910, Page 4

The Indian Viceroy.

AN APPRECIATION OF SIR CHAS. HARDINGE.

(Daily Mail.)

•Sir Charles Hardinge, who succeeds l/ord Alinto as Governor-ileii-eral of India, is a_n admirable type of the permanent official who administers (lie British lOnipire. Some people and members of the House ol Commons particularly-(imagine we are governed, from Westminster As a matter of fact we are governed from Whitehall, and in a large measure by men whose names jjever appear in a division list and rarely in a newspaper. Sir Carles Jlard'ingc is of this class of unelocted rulers who through all the changes anil chances of politics preserve the character ;i||d continuity of our public policy. Ili.s duties as Permanent Undersecretary at the Foreign Office may lie compared with those of the navigating olliecr in a battleship. To him are entrusted the sailing orders the charts, aj|d the sterling "•'"'• lie must know the position of every shoal and overy sunken reef in the 0.-eans, the force and direction of the currents, and all the vagaries f) l ' the weather. FAMOI'S IX INDIA.

Tilio ])ew Viceroy is not of those who liikp credit for the virtues of their ancestors. Yet he belongs to a family that has done much for the State and whose name has been made famous in Tn/ua by the veteran soldiior Sir Henry (afterwards Lord) Hardinge, who, after losing his hand ij| the Peninsular War, u'ns chosen hy the Mast fiidia Company for the struggle with the great Sikh nation- Sir Charles Hardinge. will go to India n° stranger in name or in roputjition. For thirty years he has boon building a reputation in diplomacy and ndmirjjstration. beginning as attache in 1880 lie had the fortune to attract the n f >tit'C of Lord. Dufl'erin. who made him his private secretary wliile Ambassador i\\ Constantinople.

From that day hi* advancement has been steady, and every step has been marked by the display of character and achievements that justified, his progress towards the highest office in the gift of the Crown- The record of his diplomatic appointments is a miniature gazetteer of the, world, and he may claim to bo.familiar with the East as well as with the West, for he served in Persia and in Turkey at a time when Oriental methods were more popular than parliamentary institutions. Great gifts and GHKAT OPPORTUNITIES

count for little without the talent for employing them. Sir Charles Hardinge has the three qualifications. His experience is wide us hii; temper is serene. He has imagination enough to. conceive great pmjects and combinations and solid judgment an<l unfailing penetration to give them more than visiopary splendor. His courage is not mere contempt for censure, and he cannot b>? _ accused of that precipitancy which the vulgar mistake for tlio preisions of genius. What he sees he sees clearly and without the bias of prejudice, and. what he holds lie holds with tenacity. He i.s cool and resourceful in success as in difficulties, and has a talent {or temporising which enthusiasm or indiscretion may count as a weakness. To these qualities he adds the attraction of a distinguished appearance and of charming manners, nj\d the are of concealing hi sadvajjtages while discovering them enough to command respect for his judgment and sympathy with his purpose.

IvTNG KDWARD'S COMPANION. These qualities won I"* ,1 " >' Charles Hardinge the confidence of King Edward, who attached him to his suite in his visit to the Continent in 1903. His late Majesty's anxiety to ensure the peace of the world by cultivating friendly relations among the Powers was .shared by his Minister Plenipotentiary. Tn the following year Sir Charles Hardinge was despatched as Ambassador to St. Petersburg and had an opportunity of giving effect to the desires of liis Sovereign. His task was difficult and deiicate. for during the war with Japan Il n.V overtures would have been open to .suspicion of weakness or of treachery. Sir Charles Hardinge not only survived the terrible ordeal of the Dogger Bank, when our sunken fishing smacks seemed destined to become in reality ships of war, but sueeeded in laying the foundations of an enduring fricrls'sip with Russia, the effect of whi/h is visible in the Far East and in the Middle. East. The retirement of Lord Sanderson brought Sir Charles Hardinge again to the

FORKfGN OFFICE, where his great experience and wise caution have found many opponinities for display. His judgment and discretion commended him to Sir Fdward Grey, the Foreign Minister, who shares with his Permanent Secretary Walpole's distrust of elaborate schemes of foreign policy and his hatred of complicated engagements. King Edward looked to him at all times for advice and assistance, and made him a companion in all his official visits to the Continental Sovereigns. These missions as the representative of the Foreign Office excited in Radical minds a suspicion that Sir Charles Hardinge was usurping the functions of a responsible Minister of the Crown, but no sensible or well-in-formed person S^ o heed to suoh a protest. It was recognised that Sir Charles Hardinge's experience of affairs and his skill i'n the management of men could not fail to be of service to his Majesty in his interviews with the German Emperor, the Emperor of Austria., the Czar, and the President of the French Republic. This confidence was more than justified, and the work of Sh' Charles Hardinge at the Foreign Office' inspires the hope that he may be .not less successful in the great task that awaits him in India.