The next few days were passed mostly in the performance of official duties, spare intervals being taken up in visiting places of interest previously passed over from want of time. Our journey and observations made during it supplied subject alike for official and for ordinary talk, giving zest to forecasts variously expressed in regard to the probable issue of events which may follow upon the death or deposition of the king. The prevailing view was that Government will place upon the throne the legitimate heir, and having done so will carry on administration by means of a Commission. In such an event, it is anticipated that Burmah will be one of the best fields for British energy and capital, that communication will be opened up, and resources of the country developed.
CHAPTER XXXVI
1875–1880. MADRAS PRESIDENCY
Return to Madras—Death of Lord Hobart—Lord Pigot’s tomb and story—Interregnum—Duke of Buckingham—H.R.H. the Prince of Wales—Commanders-in-Chief—Famine—A relief camp—Ootacamund—Fever among British troops—Thebaw—Affghanistan—Sir N. Chamberlain as Envoy—Young soldiers versus old—Suggested scheme—Medical system—Inspection tours—New barracks—Calicut—Cannanore—Maliaporam—Bangalore—Bellary—Secunderabad—“Confidential” reports—Indication of illness—“New brooms”—Official demeanour—In the hills—Pleasant recollections—Back at Portsmouth—Finale.
We embark on the Mecca. A week passes; we land at Madras, bearing with us pleasant recollections of friendly hospitality received during our now bygone “Trip to Burmah.”[335]
The death of Lord Hobart,[336] Governor of the Presidency, was an event regretted by those of us who had come to know his amiable though retiring character, and much sympathy was expressed towards the widowed Lady Hobart on her bereavement. The remains of the deceased were carried to the tomb with all the pomp and ceremony due to the high office he had occupied, and estimation in which he was generally held, the coffin committed to the tomb in St. Mary’s Church, Fort St. George.
While clearing out a place for the purpose, the workmen came upon the coffin of Lord Pigot, whose death took place in 1776, and whose place of burial, if not intentionally concealed, had long since ceased to be remembered. The story of his death was thus resuscitated, and reference made to history relating how the Council deposed him, how he was arrested by the Commander-in-Chief, placed in confinement, and there forcibly kept during eight months, at the end of which he died. No wonder that this audacious proceeding on the part of the chief actors in the drama produced astonishment and indignation at home.
An interregnum followed, during which the senior member of Council[337] became head of the Government, the headquarters of which, together with those of the Commander-in-Chief, were shortly thereafter transferred to Ootacamund, where they remained until the following “cold” season, as it is called in Madras.
In the latter part of the year arrived His Grace the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, appointed Governor. On the occasion of his landing, together with his daughters, the three Ladies Grenville, there was an immense gathering at the pier to receive the distinguished party. The assemblage comprised His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, staff, high military officers, and heads of departments, a guard of honour, Government and municipal officers, representatives of the native princes and nobility, and, in addition, a large concourse of the community.[338]