CALLED TO A THRONE

Hokitika Guardian, 14 December 1929, Page 8

CALLED TO A THRONE

WILD SCENES IN AFGHAN PALACE. / KABUL, October 19. Nadir Khan, whose proclamation as King of Afghanistan was reported in a previous dispatch, made his solemn entry into the capital on Wednesday, after waiting two days outside the gates. He rode in' on horseback, preceded by military bands, by tribesmen, and by warriors who danced and sang. In the throne room of the Hooted palace, which had been hastily repaired, he gave thanks for his victory over the enemies of his country, who had ruined and dishonoured Afghanistan. Various notables and the Grand Mullah expressed the intense gratitude of the nation, and exhorted Nadir Khan to accept the burden of the throne. Nadir Khan, after emphasising the precarious state of his health, replied that an Assembly to be held soon must decide on the choice of another King, to whom he would accord his fullest support, and ho begged the foreign diplomats present to aid him in tliis choice. The notables, however, insisted on his accepting the throne, and the warlike tribesmen, waving their rifles in the air, shouted: “Unless Nadir Khan is King we will leave!” Nadir Khan then agreed, and the warriors broke into a wild outburst of enthusiasm. Addressing the expectant crowd from a balcony, Nadir Khan then made this simple declaration; “(Since the people appoint me, I accept. I shall not be the King, lmt the servant, of the tribesmen and of the country.” Ho them knelt in prayer, while the thundering of cannon, and the blare of trumpets celebrated throughout Kabul the accession of the now King.