DURBAR MAGNIFICENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 126, 18 November 1911, Page 2 (Supplement)

DURBAR MAGNIFICENCE.

INDIA'S CHKAT PREPARATIONS. Since the issue of the Koyal Proclaniiitiuii (in March il last, in which the King-Emperor declared hi.s Royal intention -to hold at Delhi on the'twelfth day of December, 11)11, an Imperial Durliar for the purpose of making known the solemnity of the Coronation," the preparations have heeu completed for carrying out. on a scale of uiiparalhdcd magnificence one of the richest and most sumptuous scrim of pageants in the gorgeous history of Hindustan. The draft programme for the Royal tour, from the departure of the P. and 0. liner Medina from Portsmouth early in Novenilier (o tlie final ceremonies in Calcutta in January, has now been drawn up at the India Ollice. The .Medina sailed during the week under the eoniniaml of Rear-Admiral Sir Colin Keppel. and escorted by the cruisers Defence. Natal. Cochrane'and Argyll. A large retinue will accompany their Majesties, including most of the ollieials <>f the Rovnl Household, Lord Crewe (Secretary of State for India), and possibly Lord Roberts. In all forty suites of rooms are being provided 'on the Medina, the King's apartments being on the port, side of iln- forward spar deck, ami those for the (,)ueen on the starboard side.

One or two interesting functions will mark the passage through the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. There will be an assembly of warships of the Mcditeranean command at Gibraltar and Malta to greet the Royal travellers. In the Suez Canal it is also probable that the Khedive and Lord iKtehener will go on board the Median to pay their respects to his Majesty.

THE DELHI CELEBRATIONS, liomtiay will be reached early in December, and the first important event jjof the tour nil! be the welcome given to the King-Emperor on hi.s landing. Xo time will, however, be lost on the journey northwards, for the State entry into the ancient capital of the Moguls is fixed for December 7. This will be one ot the most imposing ceremonies connected with the Durbar celebrations Their Majesties will detrain at. the new station of Selingarh, where in the surrounding camp will be assembled all the Ruling Princes and ofTicial representatives of even- province. State and agency in India.

Ills Majesty, according to the otlk-ial arrangements, will himself rid.* through the -Sharli Danvaza." or the KJ T ,£ S (•ate. an historic passage used onlv by tli<> great Mosul Kmpcrors. Lord Hard'. mge. tin- Viceroy, and tho members of In* Council will receive the King-Em-feror at the Yort. the inner fortilied citadel which, till the mutinv. was the residence of the Kniperors and the home t'f till' dazzling Peacock throne, one of tlit' wonders of the Eastern world. Here. also, on the most historic around hi all India, -on the edge of that plain nf Pa input on which empire has more than once been lost and won.' 1 the Kin"Kmperor will ascend his throne, and will receive the homage of the rulers of over two hundred millions of his subjects.

_ "If on earth there be a paradise, it, is this, it is this!" is the proud inscription on the riehly-guilded. lacquered and mhiid marble walls, and the scene that will unfold it self-as. in Macanlay's phrases, "the turbans and the flowi'ii" robes, the spears ami the silver maces", the elephants with their canopies of state, the gorgeous palanquin of the prince, and the closed litter of the noble ,a '!- v • ■ • • from the halls where suitors laid gold and perfumes at the feet of sovereigns." pass "before his Majesty will indeed be one of splendid magnificence. °

THE GREAT CAMP. Tlii' festivities at Delhi will extend over a week, and the programme include*: Receptions of native rulers and high Government officials, State banquets, a great, military review, a military tournament, polo and hockey tournament", and an imposing State procession on the occasion of the people's tele day. The illuminations, decorations, and fireworks displays are to be seen on a scale never before attempted in India, and a prominent feature of the celebrations will be the part the children will take in the festivities

Some idea of the magnificence of the nrrangciiienls may be gathered from the following details of the Durbar ''•"»!>- In all there are 4711 camps, and the ground covered exceeds 2o square mile-, accommodation being provided for ";':'■ -""•'"" "I'lc ri'lie whole of tins vast -pace has been specially levcl''■'l «»<l prepared, drainage and' water *»|>ply -wens and electric light instali:""'" I'li'l ilown. and every part of the camp ■- connected by light railways -\ large centdal market and three subsidiary markets h ; ,ve been erected for 'I"; '"['ply of food and other necessaries at ordinary prices, and in one way and another an army of over Iflfl.tKlf) „„,,, lll,v '' h kl 'pl busily employed for the pa-t -ix months.

'" •'"' I'l-e-ence of the ruling chiefs ■'"»' tin- high ollieials ol every province. Mate and Agency, from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean, and from the border- of llaluchisian to the Hay of lien-.-:al. the Durbar itself will take place on ''■■ ember 12. To attempt lo describe Unit brilliant, ceremony would prove an impossible task. Without doubt it will '"' one of the most gorgeous and magnificent spectacles ever witnessed in the gorgeous Ka-f. The chief event of the <l>y will be the reading by the Kin<'h.nipcror of a Royal proclamation. i„ "Inch _ u is expected that certain boons or "concessions" will bo made '" Hi" Indian people, in the form of some remission of taxation, release of I'i'is rs. and so on.

Simultaneously (]| ( . Royal prcK-liitim-tion will In- read i„ ( , V( '. rY t mvn . UI(I village ihroiijtlKiiii. India. In ~ "resolution" ju-t issued liv Iho flovcrnicnt it i- slated tlmt. ii is (hi. w i>li of Hi,. (|„- vmior-1:,.»,.nl tluit. the <ren.-ral holiday -Ih.uM l,c concentrated mi the 12tli-'-"li'iil Mini,, formal celebration of fliis ""'"I 1 "' <'<-i.im„ii should. as far as practic- :,|,,''• '"' l"'l'l i" every village of Hi,. 1 »i'li=iii Empire." With this object if '- directed thai th,- Tioyal prnclamatinn. ""'"'"l' ""ill hi- communicated to every ] " r " ] vovrniiiieiit. and administration, -hall he publicly n .a,| |,y (ho )„..„] llian ot even- villa_re. and "thai a portrait of li'- Maj.-ly shall he supplied to the '"'■"'ler "l' '-ivrv prorliiinaliiiii in each village, win, should he directed to evll.il,i,, i il '" ll!l ' P'-'M'l" Mssenihled at the

further, the tlovernnr-fleneral (rusts -ihiil the leedin? of ||„. poor, athletic -ports. enl,.|-:aimncnls (l) school children, di-splavs of lireworks. ~(,.., W in i„, eiieonra'ied hv local irencrositr, so that jl ■lelilMliolN will he of s„eh :1 nature .1- to hrine; honie j; far as possible to every subject of his Majesty. ynnn>r. old. rah and poor. throniflioiif. the country, the -rent event „f the first personal visit of a Kin-.' Emperor and of his consort to his Indian Empire in order to announce io his Tnilian snhjeets the solemnity of his Coronat ion." At every local diirlinr, by cnnimaTid of his Excellency the Viceroy and f!o----veriinrOneral in Council, certifieal.es are to he presented in the name of the Kinfr Emperor to native Tndian ;?cntlenien who have rendered any conspicuous public service. A salute' of 101 guns will also be fired wherever possible, and

tin' order ha* been given Unit all the ( iovcrnuient and public buildings !!:ri!ii<fln»iit India shall tie illuminated. « An investiture on the 14111 :ind a. large conferment of honors will tiring tin: Delhi programme to a elose. Then the King-Kinperor goes tiger-shooting to Nepal, and the Queen proceeds to Agra.

The musical arrangements for the durbar ceremonies are worthy of the importance of the occasion. Under the command of I.icut.-Colonel Somerville, head of the Royal Military School of Music, and Major A. .1. Strettou, M.V.0., .Musical Director of the School, there will be a massed hand made up of seventeen bands from each British cavalry regiment in India, with 11 musicians of every regiment of infantry. British and Indian, I CALCUTTA'S WELCOME. After his hunting trip in Nepal, the King, accompanied by the Queen, goes to Calcutta, where the splendors of the Delhi Durbar will be repeated. According to the ollicial programme sanctioned by the Bengal Government, their Majesties will arrive at llowrah station at the beginning of January, and then proceed to I'rinceps Chat on one of the vessels of the Port Commisisoners. escorted by a flotilla of ferry steamers manned by the, Port Defence Volunteers. At I'rinceps Chat there will be a brilliant reception by the Government, and the Calcutta Corporation will present an address. Their Majesties will then drive in procession to Covcrnment House, attended by an imposing escort, through streets which will be most gorgeously decorated and lined by 23,000 school children, each of whom will be provided with a Hag designed by the Maharajah of Tagore, containing the Star of India and other devices on a. light hlue ground. On the day following their arrival their Majesties will hold a court, which is expected to he one of the most brilliant functions of the tour, and the oilier chief features of the programme of festivities are a. huge children's treat and the Pageant. Four lakhs of rupees have been subscribed for the. entertainment of the children and decorations and illuminations.

lint the great, thing here is (he Pageant. which Mr. Frank Laseelles is going out to organise. A huge ampitheatre lias lioi-ii erected, and Hip scpiips that will In- witnessed will rank amongst the most dazzling ever spen in the Orient. The period of history covered will extend from the (he seventeenth century liapk to the remote past. The procession alone will lie four miles lonjj. and will include 200 elephants, and as many camels and drnmedaries. and there will be no fewer than 0000 performers, all atlired in the most picturesque costumes of Indian history. The celebrations at Delhi. Calcutta and Pioinbav will be on a more elaborate scale than anywhere else, but throughout the length and breadth of Tmlia every little community is making a united and enthusiastic effort to make (he day (lie most memorable of their lives.

KlXCrs PALACE AFLOAT. The P. and 0. Company's 'tew liner Medina, in which the King and Queen are travelling to India for the Durbar, >vith her white hull bordered with Royal blue, and cream-colored funnels, presents the appearance of a huge yacht, and may be described as a floating palace. Tloth the King and Queen have given a great deal of time and consideration to their own apartments as well as to those set apart for the members of their suite, having selected the carpets, curtains and furnishings themselves. The color schemes throughout are of delicate shades, and will contrast strongly with the regal splendor and magnificence with which they will be surrounded in the course of many functions that will be given in their honor in Delhi.

At the forward end of the vessel, on the -par deck, are two suites of cabins exclusively for the use of their Majesties, each comprising a. sitting-room measuring about 22ft by 1 Oft. a bedroom about 10ft. bv 18ft. and a bathroom about 12ft by 18ft. QUEEN'S APAIU'M UXTS. On the starboard side is the one to be occupied by her Majesty the Queen, and this lias simple, refined panelling, which is painted white throughout. The furniture in the sitting-room is of satinwood finely inlaid, and comprises specially designed writing tables, book-cases, cabinet, etc., with various settees and easy chairs upholstered and covered in green and white-striped silk. The port and door curtains are of silk of the si»! color and design as the coverings, and the carpel, is of heavy pile, with a border of shades of green to harmonise with Ihe coverings of the furniture.

The bedroom, which has a communicating door from the sitting-room, and has also a- separate door into the corridor, is carpeted en suite with the sittingroom, and the fitments include wardrobes, chests of drawers, etc.. in inlaid satiuwood similar lo that in the other room, A large metal bed is lixed in this room. The upholstery and curtains are in pretty cretonne. Tu the dressing-room all ached to the suite, in which all fitments and furniture are painted white, the carpet, curtains and coverings match those in the bedroom. There is a swinging cot lixed in this room to be used in rough weather.

On the port side is the sttite of rooms to be used bv the King. These are very similar io those for the Queen, but the carpet and upholstery are carried out in shades of blue instead of green. The furniture in the sitting-room is mahogany, inlaiil. with writing-tables, bookease and occasional tables, also settees and easy chairs of an eminently comfortable design covered in blue silk. The curtains arc made to match, and the carpet is a very heavy pile with a small design in blue. The bedroom which adjoins is titled with a wardrobe, chest of drawers, etc.. in satiuwood. inlaid, and near the port is fixed an electro-plated swing col for rough-weather use. The dressing-table is on suite, and these two rooms are upholstered in blue and white trellis cretonne, with carpets and curtains to match. MUSIC-TiOOM A\T> DIVAX. P.clw i. these two TJoyal suites of cabins is the main corridor and staircase, which leads to a music-room and divan. This corridor and staircase is covered with a pile carpet, in lioyal blue color, and an interesting feature is made of the small vestibule by lifting if with writing tables and easy chairs. l-'roin I hi- corridor you enter (he dining saloon, which i~ a handsome apartment, just aft of (he lloval suiles. It has one long centre fable, which can be divided into

There are also six circular fables near the ports, which is considered the best place in the boat, for fhis voyage, as one gels as much fresh air in (his position as po-siblo going through the lied Sea. Armchairs are fitted to all Ihe fables, in satiuwood. with coverings of cream linen, with Uoyal blue Irimmings The Wilton carpet in (his room is royal blue in color, and on (his are placed handsome Persian rugs. The window curl a ins are of cream linen, similar to the coverings, braided and fringed with blue. The music-room and divan is on the hurricane deck. The panelling here is in light oak. and the furniture consists of very comfortable settees and easy chairs, and small occasional tables fitted where necessary. The floor is laid with a grey

pile varpet, of trellis design, and all the Mllees are covered in pali' blue silU, with curtains to the. windows and-doors of the same material, which gives a very light and delicate cell'ct to the room. There are two rough-weather cabins 'midships l which have been specially lit-' ted up for the K'ing and Queen, and here the moving of the. vessel will not he felt so much as in their cabins forward should the weather prove violent. These cabins are upholstered and decorated in a similar manner to their other apartments.

On the promenade deck is the smokeroom, round which are fixed angle settees covered in linen piped with Hoyal blue, Then) tiro many chairs and writing tables fitted round (his room, which will doubtless he very popular on the voyage. The carpet is of plain blue, with Oriental rugs similar to the dining saloon.

In addition., to the apartments which will he used exclusively by their Majesties there are, also six large, writing rooms fitted up for the Royal household, and special cabins have also been prepared for the ladies and gcntleuion in waiting, about H) in number.