BRITISH POLICY 453 the Council, and the conditions of installation agreed to by the Sultan elect, the following day, the 22nd of March, was appointed for the installation.

The details of the ceremony were determined in consultation with the proper Mohammedan authorities, and it was arranged that, in sign of the acceptance of the sovereignty of Great Britain by Sokoto, the Sultan, who had never hitherto received a gift of investiture, should, like the lesser emirs, receive a gown and turban from the hands of the representative of the King of England. These were to represent the insignia of office, which up to the present day it had been the custom for Sokoto alone to present on installation to his subordinate emirs. The installation ceremony was performed with some pomp. The troops, with guns and Maxims mounted, were drawn up on three sides of a hollow square. An immense crowd of natives was assembled. On the arrival of the High Commissioner on the spot he was received with a royal salute. A carpet was spread for the emir and for his principal officers of state. The High Commissioner then made a speech in the same sense as that of the document which has been quoted. When he came to the statement that the British Government would in no way interfere with the exercise of the Mohammedan religion, that all men were free to worship God as they pleased, a deep and most impressive murmur of satisfaction broke from the crowd. On the conclusion of the speech the High Commissioner called upon the Sultan to say if he fully understood and accepted the conditions of his installation. The Sultan replied that he understood and that he accepted them. The High Commissioner then proclaimed him Sarikin Muslimin and Sultan of Sokoto, and the gown and turban were presented to him as the insignia of office. The High Commissioner shook hands publicly with the Sultan, and gave permission for the royal trumpets, which can only be sounded for a duly appointed and accepted emir, to be blown. A