SPEECHES IN INDIA 307

PATNA.

Address from Bihar Landholders Association, and

the Pradhan Bhumahar Brahman Sabha llth December 1922

Lord Reading's Reply

I thank you very warmly for your kind address of welcome
to me, and which you have extended also to Her Excellency.
I assure you that it is a source of great pleasure to me to pay
even this brief visit to the capital of the Province of Bihar and
Orissa, for on historical, religious and other grounds, this province
appeals to the imagination with no common interest. History
has taught us about the old civilizations and empires that held
sway here. Within your boundaries pilgrims flock to sacred
places such as Budh Gaya and Jugaunath, which are so closely
associated with two of the dominating religious systems of the
East. Patna holds a special interest for the British as one of
the early trading outposts of the great English Company
which grew to fame in Calcutta. Though Patna suffered an
inevitable decline in trade when railways took the place of
rivers as the great arteries of commerce, its ancient importance
and prestige has now revived since its rebirth by His Majesty's
command as the metropolis of a new Province. Bihar and
Orissa have another additional interest in being the first
British Indian Province of which an Indian was appointed to
hold charge as Governor under the Governor-General and the
Crown. Lastly, as the home of coal and iron and mineral
wealth this Province will attract increasing attention in the
future.

The life of your young Province has not been without its
difficulties. Before its creation you relied on Calcutta and
Bengal for all large provincial institutions, such as universities,
medical, engineering, and other technical colleges. Bihar and
Orissa has now had to attempt to create all these necessary
and beneficent institutions afresh. There has'in consequence
(in spite of the fact that the Central Government take no con-
tributions to control Revenue from the Province) been a serious
disproportion between your finances and your needs. I deeply
sympathize with your difficulties and with your feeling of dis-
appointment that'lack of funds is retarding progress and denies
to you amenities and advantages which more fortunate neigh-
bours enjoy. But I feel confident that, with care and vigilance,
and with co-operation between all classes under the able guidance
of your Governor, you will be empowered to advance, and by