Indian people. Directed by this principle he was the last man likely to starve the army or to oppose any well-considered scheme of military improvement. "These are not days," he said in one of his earliest budget speeches, "when the military strength of any empire is likely to be reduced. There are two great duties of Imperial statesmanship in India. The first is to make all these millions of people, if possible, happier, more contented, more prosperous; the second is to keep them and their property safe." And again, a year later: "The army is required to make India safe, and it cannot be said that India is safe. . . . No one can say that while the whole world has been busy with military reform we in India have stood still." There we may leave this branch of our subject, confident that it has been shown that neither by word nor deed has Lord Curzon in this, any more than in any other respect, been found unmindful of his trust.

..

There is one subject to which some allusion must be made because, in the view of the casual observer, it has figured with undue prominence in the course of Lord Curzon's administration. We allude to cases of assaults on natives by Europeans-in some instances by British soldiers, in one or two by planters and others. In two only of such cases did the Government of India take any prominent action; but it is indisputable that the Viceroy's well-known views on the sub

ject, and the issue of stricter rules than previously in regard to such cases, resulted in a course of action by local authorities which was not always judicious, and which was always attributed by the uninformed to the direct interference of the supreme Government. Lord Curzon, in referring publicly to this difficult and delicate subject, said that the Government of India wished to maintain an attitude of strict impartiality. "Our one desire," he declared, "is to draw closer the bonds of friendly feeling that should unite the two races." No one can doubt for a moment the genuineness of this sentiment, or dispute the rectitude and the nobility of his endeavour thus "to hold the scales even." Unfortunately, however, as has been seen, the subordinate authorities, in excess of zeal and with want of judgment, more than once committed errors for which Lord Curzon personally had to bear the blame; moreover, in one of the cases in which the Government of India prominently interfered, they were not well advised; and in the only other instance in which the Viceroy took any personal action there was so much room for doubt with regard to the correctness of his view that it would certainly have been better had he adopted a less decided course. These untoward circumstances combined to bring about a result far different from that which Lord Curzon had stated to be the desire of the Government, and for the moment they

caused him to incur such odium amongst certain classes of his countrymen as to obscure temporarily the lustre of what he had achieved for India and the Empire. But the shadow was only a passing one. The bitterness occasioned by the incidents in question has already almost disappeared, and among no section of the British population of India has the resignation of the Viceroy been more genuinely deplored and regretted than by the educated classes in the army of India. A recent writer in 'The Times' declared that Lord Curzon was not a popular Viceroy. Had he written two years ago his statement could not have been at the moment disputed, but the further lapse of time has enabled men to learn more clearly to appreciate the character of the statesman who for nearly seven years has governed India with so vigorous and so firm a hand. Every one whose opinion is worth having likes to feel that the ship of state is being steered by a master hand, a mariner trained to meet the dangers of storm and shoal. Every one who has the good of the country and of the empire at heart would rather have a real ruler at the head of affairs than a mere figurehead. So it is that Lord Curzon has come to be appreciated more at his true worth. His countrymen in India, and all the best - balanced and most level-headed natives of that country, see in him a man of commanding ability, with great possibilities open to him at home, who devoted five of the

best years of his life to serving our eastern dependency with all the vigour of his intellect and with an enthusiasm which has overtaxed the powers of a physique never too robust; they see, too, that in spite of enfeebled health and private anxieties, he has been willing to return once more to the exacting duties of his great post in response to the solicitations of the Imperial Government, and because he saw that there was still work for him to do in India; they see all this, and because they understand something of what it means Lord Curzon leaves India, having earned what is better than mere popularity-namely, the respect and gratitude of those over whom he has ruled, and best of all, the enthusiastic admiration of those who have worked nearest to him and who know him best.

In the foregoing pages not all, or nearly all, of the measures inaugurated or matured by Lord Curzon during his Viceroyalty have been touched upon. No mention, for instance, has been made of one of the greatest of all the changes-the partition of Bengal, because the arguments for and against it are numerous, but in almost every case they are matters of theory, the justice of which time alone can decide. For similar reasons controversial points connected. with other questions have also been avoided. A critical review of the individual achievements of Lord Curzon cannot be attempted for years to come with any semblance of finality or

Indian people. Directed by this principle he was the last man likely to starve the army or to oppose any well-considered scheme of military improvement. "These are not days," he said in one of his earliest budget speeches, "when the military strength of any empire is likely to be reduced.

There are two great duties of Imperial statesmanship in India. The first is to make all these millions of people, if possible, happier, more contented, more prosperous; the second is to keep them and their property safe." And again, a year later: "The army is required to make India safe, and it cannot be said that India is safe. . . . No one can say that while the whole world has been busy with military reform we in India have stood still." There we may leave this branch of our subject, confident that it has been shown that neither by word nor deed has Lord Curzon in this, any more than in any other respect, I been found unmindful of his trust.

There is one subject to which some allusion must be made because, in the view of the casual observer, it has figured with undue prominence in the course of Lord Curzon's administration. We allude to cases of assaults on natives by Europeans-in some instances by British soldiers, in one or two by planters and others. In two only of such cases did the Government of India take any prominent action; but it is indisputable that the Viceroy's well-known views on the sub

ject, and the issue of stricter rules than previously in regard to such cases, resulted in a course of action by local authorities which was not always judicious, and which was always attributed by the uninformed to the direct interference of the supreme Government. Lord Curzon, in referring publicly to this difficult and delicate subject, said that the Government of India wished to maintain an attitude of strict impartiality. "Our one desire," he declared, "is to draw closer the bonds of friendly feeling that should unite the two races." No one can doubt for a moment the genuineness of this sentiment, or dispute the rectitude and the nobility of his endeavour thus "to hold the scales even." Unfortunately, however, as has been seen, the subordinate authorities, in excess of zeal and with want of judgment, more than once committed errors for which Lord Curzon personally had to bear the blame; moreover, in one of the cases in which the Government of India prominently interfered, they were not well advised; and in the only other instance in which the Viceroy took any personal action there was so much room for doubt with regard to the correctness of his view that it would certainly have been better had he adopted a less decided course. These untoward circumstances combined to bring about a result far different from that which Lord Curzon had stated to be the desire of the Government, and for the moment they