Wo have bad in our little world a very important coup d'état, and one that will probably have an important effect all over India. At first a change of Ministry in a native State does not sound a very serious matter. It is only when we cast a retrospective glance on the affairs of this State, remembering that this is the first and most important native State in India, that we can read the sign of the times. Glancing back one hundred years, we see that the Prime Ministers in Hyderabad were all-powerful and practically 0 rulers of =the State, the izam merely taking a nominal interest in matters of administration. The Minister, as long as the British interests were properly served, was always sure of the support of the British Resident, but his was the onerous task of pleasing his master the Nizam and at the same time not coming into collision with the wishes of the Resident as representing the British Government. Chundoo Lal, who was then Minister, succeeded in doing both success fully for some 40 years, but then owing to some disagreement between himself and the Resident he had to retire. It was then found that he had left the State heavily in debt to the British Government. For some time the Nizam took over charge of matters himself, but not having been brought up to take any active part in that administration, he was at a loss to know what to do, and matters went on steadily from bad to worse. There was a constant change of Ministers, and finally the State Became so hear Ived that it had to cede to the British Government some of its most fertile and most prosperous provinces as security for the debt of 50 lakhs, incurred to the British Government, and as security for the payment of certain con-fingents it was bound by treaty to maintain. At this critical moment a strong man fortunately came forward and threw him-felt into thio task of saving the State from ruin. Sir Sarlar Jung was to the State of Hyderabad what Bismarck was to Germany. He ruled so well as Prime Minister that soon the debt was remitted and some of the provinces restored, the British Government still retaining the Berars, which they still administer, returning to H.H. all surplus revenue that is not required for administrative purposes. The late Nizam, who somewhat resented the strong hand of the Minister—which seemed to hold himself as it were in a grip of iron—tried to depose the Minister Sir Salar Jung, but was unsuccessful, as the Minister was strongly supported in all he did by the Resident. Finally the Nizam died, and during the long minority of the present Nizam, Sir Salar Jung became more powerful than ever. We have, seen so far that the Prime Ministers and the Nizam were constantly vying with each other, the former's practical power and influence colliding with H, H.'s power and hereditary prestige, and consequently circumstances between them, as between all powerful rivals, were always more or less strained. Three years, however, after the present Nizam was installed, 1884, Sir Osman Joh became Prime Minister—a man who though honourable and upright, was not strong enough to hold his own, and was practically ruled by his own Secretary, who was a narrow-minded and prejudiced man. One by one, the supporters of Sir Osman Joh managed to displease H. H. or the Resident, and were banished from the State. The Nizam took Very little more than @ nominal interest in matters, but when Sir Osman, robbed of all his supporters, finally fell,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.