'A man,' he said, 'who has succeeded in establishing municipal institutions, which have always been in every country in the world the basis of civil government, and the first germ of civilisation, is entitled to the highest praise. I believe by his wise rule and regulations he has induced numbers of the Natives to take an active part in the administration of their municipal affairs, and has by that means laid the foundation of a future which should be most beneficial.' In his own great measure of provincial finance and local government, which I have detailed in Chapter VI, Lord Mayo had the same end in view. 'The operation of this Resolution,' he inserted with his own hand in the orders of Government, 'in its full meaning and integrity will afford opportunities for the development of self-government, for strengthening Municipal Institutions, and for the association of Natives and Europeans, to a greater extent than heretofore, in the administration of affairs.' He {185} summed up his main purpose in the following memorable words:--'The object in view being the instruction of many peoples and races in a good system of administration.' Space precludes me from entering upon the legislative work of Lord Mayo. That work was voluminous, and of a most searching character. But it was practically conducted by the two eminent jurists, Sir Henry Maine and Sir Fitzjames Stephen, who held in succession the office of Law Member of Council during Lord Mayo's Viceroyalty. It has, moreover, been narrated by Sir Fitzjames Stephen himself, in full detail, in my larger _Life of Lord Mayo_. * * * * * * * In the foregoing pages many will miss a familiar feature of the Earl of Mayo's Viceroyalty. In India, hospitality forms one of the public duties of the governing race--a duty which they discharge, some laboriously, all to the best of their ability. The splendid hospitalities of Lord Mayo to all ranks and all races, amounted to an additional source of strength to the British Rule. He regarded it a proud privilege that it fell to his lot to present, for the first time, a son of the English Sovereign to the people and Princes of India. His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh's progress touched chords in the oriental imagination which had lain mute since the overthrow of the Delhi throne, and called forth an outburst of loyalty such as had never before been awakened in the history of our rule. It was the seal of peace; an {186} act of oblivion for the struggle which placed India under the Crown, and for the painful memories which that struggle left behind.