Why Fat Kings Were So Popular.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 30 October 1914, Page 8

Why Fat Kings Were So Popular.

There was for generations a custom in India of weighing the king, or ruler, in gold, and giving that gold to the poor. The custom prevails to-day in some parts of India, and King CJeorge V. of England would have been weighed during his visit there, in keeping with the custom, had he been an ordinary Eastern monarch. Perhaps this weighing in gold was because most Indian rulers were extremely fat gentlemen. At any rate, it was the fat monarchs who were the most popular in the olden days, for on Lhe "weighing days" every additional pound of king meant so many more rupees for the poor. A Maharajah who was recently crowned seated himself in one of the gold pans of the balance, while into the other was thrown gold coin until royalty rose in the scales. The Mahrarajah, by an unwritten law, did not become legally chief until he had been weighed in this manner. In olden times the custom prevailed of throwing- the money into the air and letting the people scramble for whatever part of it missed the scales, but this resulted in disorder and frequent loss of life, and, moreover, defeated the object in view, as the strong and well-fed usually prvailed over those more in need of the benefit. After this a commission of functionaries was named to divide the gold among the poor of the country districts after the monarch had been weighed. This custom of weighing .monarchs is not so extravagant as it may appear to be. In an ordinary case it was calculated that £30,000 in gold would be devoted to the weighing and the expenses of the entertainment, but that is not to say that the expense was necessarily de- ! termined by the bulk of the monarch. As much more may be ad- | ded to the fund as any number of I persons desire to give. However, | the native Indian potentates are usually heavy enough to satisfy all demands. j