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23. As regards the remaining proposals, the recurring expenditure will be that involved in the creation of a Governorship for Bengal and a Chief Commissionership for Assam. The pay and allowances, taken together, of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal already exceed the pay of a Governor of Madras or Bombay, and the increase in expenditure when a Governor is appointed, would not, we think, be much beyond that required for the support of a bodyguard and a band. Considerable initial expenditure would be required in connection with the acquisition of land and the construction of buildings for the new Capital of Behar, and, judging from the experience gained in connection with Dacca, we may assume that this will amount to about 50 or 60 lakhs. Some further initial expenditure would be necessary in connection with the summer head-quarters, wherever these may be fixed.
24. Before concluding this despatch we venture to say a few words as regards the need for a very early decision on the proposals we have put forward for Your Lordship's consideration. It is manifest, that, if the transfer of the capital is to be given effect to, the question becomes more difficult the longer that it remains unsolved. The experience of the last two sessions has shown that the present Council Chamber in Government House, Calcutta, fails totally to meet the needs of the enlarged Imperial Legislative Council, and the proposal to acquire a site and to construct a Council Chamber is already under discussion. Once a new Council Chamber is built the position of Calcutta as the Capital of India will be further strengthened and consolidated and, though we are convinced that a transfer will in any case eventually have to be made, it will then be attended by much greater difficulty and still further expense. Similarly, if some modification of the Partition is, as we believe, desirable, the sooner it is effected the better, but we do not see how it can be safely effected with due regard for the dignity of Government as well as for the public opinion of the rest of India and more especially for Mahomedan sentiment, except as part of the larger scheme we have outlined. In the event of these far-reaching proposals being sanctioned by His Majesty's Government, as we trust may be the case, we are of opinion that the presence of His Majesty the King Emperor at Delhi would offer an unique opportunity for a pronouncement of one of the most weighty decisions ever taken since the establishment of British rule in India. The other two proposals embodied in our scheme are not of such great urgency but are consequentially essential and in themselves of great importance. Half measures will be of no avail, and whatever is to be done should be done so as to make a final settlement and to satisfy the claims of all concerned.. The scheme which we have ventured to commend to Your Lordship's favourable consideration is not put forward with-any spirit of opportunism, but in the belief that action on the lines proposed will be a bold stroke of statesmanship which would give unprecedented satisfaction and will for ever associate so unique an event as the visit of the reigning Sovereign to his Indian dominions with a new era in the history of India.
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