The Development of Self Government in India 1858 1914

T HE UN IVE R S IT Y OF CH ICAGO PRE S SCH ICAGO . ILLINOI S

THE BAKER 6: TAYLOR COMPANYNEW YORK

THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

TOKYO, OSAKA , xro'ro , wxuom, BENDAI

THE MISSION BOOK COMPANY

T H E DEV ELO PMEN T OF SELF

GOVERNMEN T IN IN DIA

1 858— 1 9 1 4

By

CECIL M ERNE PUT NAM CRo ss

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESSCHICAGO, ILLINOIS

PREFATORY NOTE

The conviction that the po l i tica l deve lopment of Ind ia was to be one

of the -mos t impor tant prob lems before the wor ld in the nex t twenty

years,was the primary mo tive in under taking the inves tiga tion of the

deve lopment of se lf-governmen t in Ind ia during the years from the

mutiny to the outbreak of the wor ld-war.

The period s ince 1 9 1 4 has been obscured by the censorship, propa

ganda,and misinforma tion to such an ex tent tha t par tisanship

,which

has no place in such a treatise,has no means of being contro l led or

eva lua ted . This investigation has,therefore

,been confined s tric tly

to deve loping a background for a comprehension of the forces and

movements at work in Ind ia .

Since the war new figures , such as Ghand i,and new me thods or

modifications of me thods,such as non-co-operation and the H indu

Mohammedan entente,have come

,bu t at this da te l i t tle essentia l al tera

tion has been effected in the curren t of events , the ou tcome of which

mus t be awa i ted with anxious concern not only by the Bri tish Empire

bu t by the world at large .

A persona l deb t of gra ti tude is owed to the cour teous au thori ties of

the Universi ty of Chicago.

Library,the Massachuset ts S ta te Library

,

the Co lumb ia Univers i ty Library,and the Library of Congress for the ir

inva luab le assistance in this work ; and a s til l deeper ob l igation for the

inspiration and assistance of the members of the facu l ty of the Uni

versi ty of Chicago .

ADEN,ARAB IA

March 20,1 9 2 2

REFORMS R IPON,1 881—85

X . THE PRESIDENCY CITIES , 1 858—1 9 1 4

THE MORLEY MINTO REFORMS

CITED

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

English rule in India the most colossa l missionary enterprise in historyThe establishment of British rule in India

The East India CompanyFootholds

Madras , 1 639Bombay , 1 66 2Benga l , 1 765

Expansion,centering large ly around Bengal and up the Ganges Val ley

R ivals : Mugh‘

a ls,French , Mahrattas

T he problem encountered by the English in their attempt to Anglicize IndiaThe territoria l immensity of India

T he enormous population

T he climateRace antipathy

The attitude assumed by EnglandThe l ibera l policy—governing for the good of IndiaThe conservative policy —the exploitation of India

The execution of the policiesBlack spots on England’s recordT he good side

The degree of success achievedMaterialMora lThe form of government possibly the most enduring of all the Englishcontributions

The forces enabling England to maintain her supremacyT he divis ions of IndiaM i li tary superiority and precautions

The ”attitude of the natives toward EnglandLack of love for English rulePreference for English over any other foreign domination

T he deve lopment of se lf-government in Ind ia is a drama for the las tact of Which the curta in has not yet risen,

and i t wou ld perhaps bepremature to even asser t tha t the stage has yet been set for it

,a l though

there are s tirrings and no ises tha t seem to ind ica te tha t the scene-shiftersare at the ir work .

2 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF—GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

When the last curtain does final ly fa l l , however , whe ther i t be on a

newna tion or on a new self-govern ing colony of the British Empire,i t

wil l be the final e of one of the most co lossa l miss ionary under takings inhistory

,an a ttempt by a na tion to impose i ts civi l ization on a continent

teeming with a popu lat ion seven fold i ts own in numbers,thousands of

miles d istant,and already equ ipped with highly deve loped

,complex

civil iza tions Which were hoary with an tiqu i ty before the dawn of history

rose upon i ts own ex is tence .

T he deve lopment and continuance of the po l i t ica l dominion over

Ind ia which a lone has made the exper imen t poss ib le has been on the

whole a purb l ind process,made up of oppor tunism

,mingled with an

occas iona l stroke of audacious gen ius . I ts mo t ives have been pre

dominantly commercia l,co lored by the impu lses character is tic of

imperial ism and b lended at t imes W i th lofty ideal ism .

I t is not the purpose of this thesis to trace the growth of the Bri tish

power in Ind ia,bu t certa in of i ts broad features may we l l be brought to

mind . I t began with the opera tions of the Brit ish East Ind ia Company,

a typical char tered trad ing company,which rece ived i ts first charter

from Queen E l izabe th in 1 600 . Steady and strong support from the

Engl ish government and people,in i ts rivalr ies with the Por tuguese

,

Du tch,and la ter with the French

,eventual ly enabled i t to drive them

from the field .

The Company secured i ts first terr i toria l foo thold in 1 639 at Madras,

where Francis Day bu il t Fort St . George . In 1 66 2 Bombay came to

England as part of the dowry of Ca tharine of Braganza,of Por tugal .

Charles II turned i t over to the Company,Which for safety against the

Mahra ttas made i t the wes t coas t base . T he third l eg of the tripod on

which England has bu il t up its supremacy in India was ob ta ined in

1 765, when the Company secured the d iwan i of Bengal .From these three centers

,Madras

,Bombay

,and Calcu tta in Bengal ,

England spread her power out over the country in the years of the

d isso lu t ion of the Mugha l Empire of Delh i,engaging in a dea th struggle

with the French,the Mahrat tas

,and the Sikh s for the esta te . B it by

b i t as necess i ty requ ired or oppor tun i ty offered,Cl ive and his coadju tors

and successors added to theEngl ish terr i tory .

The Ganges Valley,which proved the easiest prey , was the firs t and

mos t pers istently exp loi ted fiel d . Consequen tly , most of the annexa

tions were made to Bengal . Madras took very nearly i ts presen t shape

as a province at the fa l l of Tipu Su l tan in 1 799 . Bombay secured

practica l ly al l of i ts provincial terri tory at the close of the third Mahrat ta

INTRODUCTION

war in 1 81 8 . With these exceptions most of the rest of the acqu ired

areas went to Benga l and resu l ted in i ts governor be ing e levated to a

pos i t ion of supremacy over Bombay,Madras

,and the rest of Ind ia .

The unwie ldiness of i ts bu lk necess i ta ted the erection of parts of i t s

territory into newprovinces,and the crea tion of the governor-generalship

d immed the glory of i ts governor , bu t B enga l reta ined i ts pol it ica l

pre-eminence unti l 1 9 1 1 when the capital was removed to “

De lh i of the

Grea t Mugha l . ”

T he process was not uniform,

'

however . In a l l the provinces large

enclaves and b its of terri tory have continued under the ir na t ive ru lers

who_acknowledged the suzera inty of England

,and who are . contro l led

entire ly by her in their fore ign re la tions,and whose interna l adminis

tration is supervised to a vary ing ex tent by her ofii cial s . These nat ive

s ta te s l ie beyond the scope of a s tudy of the deve lopment of se lfgovernment in British Ind ia . Each has i ts own history

,and for the great

progress which,in cer ta in instances l ike Baroda

,has been made

,England

has been only secondar ily respons ib le through advice and example .

Within, her own terri tor ies i t has been o therwise . T he prob lems of

governmen t have been innumerab le,and the difficul ties enormous,

perhap s insurmountab le,bu t in mee ting them

,Eng land has had a free

hand . Her work is her own . She is ent itled to the cred it for her

successes,bu t must

,on the o ther hand

,bear the b lame for mistakes .

Par ticu larly is this true s ince 1 858 , When the po l i tica l dominion of the

East Ind ia Company was abo l ished and the British government i tse lf

took charge . I t is with tha t da te,then

,tha t we begin our s tudy .

The deve lopment of se lf-government has unti l very recently beenonly one ins ignificant aspec t of the administra tive phase of the work of

England in Ind ia . T o get i t in i ts proper se t ting and perspective , and toapprecia te howgrea t even tha t par t of the work has been

,some rea l iza

tion of the prob lem is necessary even at the r isk of pla ti tudes .T he India I which confronted Eng land was a continent as large as

Europe wes t of theVistu la,and with thirtymill ions more people

,fu l l of an

cient na tions , of grea t ci ties , of varie t ies of civil iza tion ,of armies

,nob il i

t ies,priesthoods

,and o rganiza tions for every conce ivab le purpose from

the Spread of grea t re l ig ions down to systema t ic murder . I twas the b ir thp lace of two of the grea t re l ig ions of the world and the ba t tle ground of

three , or, coun ting Christ iani ty , of perhap s four . Among i ts peoples

re l igious animosi ty sti l l smo ldered with a fury and fana ticism never

I Meredith Townsend ,“Wi ll England Retain India ContemporaryRevi ew,

LII I

795-96 .


equaled in the West . No practice seemed too cruel or degrad ing according to occiden ta l s tandards to be jealously cherished by some Ind iansect as an al l—essential to be defended and preserved even in certa in

ins tances at the cost of l ife i tself .Within i ts confines were twice as many Bengal is as there were

Frenchmen in Europe . The Hindos tanees,properly so ca l led

,out

numbered the whites in the Uni ted S tates in 1 888 . The Mahra ttaswou ld have fil led Spa in . The people of the Punjab with Scinde wouldhave doub led the popu lat ion of Turkey . These were bu t four of themore sa l ien t d ivis ions . As for the who le popu lat ion

,one modern ag itator

sa id,

“If every na tive were to spit in a tank

,there wou ld be enough to

drown every European in India ”;I

or in the words of Lord Curzon,

The Engl ish in Ind ia are indeed l i ttle more than a l i t t le foam on a darkunfa thomed ocean .

”2

The people were of al l imaginab le types . Some were the fighting

races of the north,whose males were as b ig , as brave , and more reckless

oi dea th than those of the white races,and numbered in 1 888 at least

one hundred and twenty mil l ion . At the o ther ex treme were the docile,

depressed,servi le mil l ions of ou tcasts

,and the t imid aboriginals of the

jungles . On the one hand were the intel lectual and cu l tured Brahmins,

on the o ther,the Ghonds and Bhils .

Over fiv e hundred languages were spoken within i ts l imits,compris ing

fourteen major group s . There were tens of mil l ions of peasants whose

hoard ing had made of Ind ia for ages the grea t absorbent of the precious

metals ; tens of mil l ions of peasants bes ide whose poverty fel lahs werer ich

,for when a l l is sa id

,Ind ia has long been

,as far as the masses are

concerned,the poorest of the great countr ies of the world . I ts mill ions

of ar tisans,ranging from the men who have bu il t its wonderfu l pa laces

to those who,nearly naked and a lmost withou t too ls

,do the humb lest

work,have to iled unceas ingly in vain effor ts to escape the famine which

has continued to sta lk through the land .

Such were some of the materia l aspects of the s ituat ion tha t hasconfronted the Engl ish . On the pol i t ical s ide and more specifica l ly

bearing on the development of self-government, Lord Lytton put the

prob lem thus :

I t must,however

,be remembered that the problem undertaken by the

British rulers of India [a political problem more perplexing in its conditionsxErrol l

,

“The Recent Crisis in India

,

”N ineteenth Century Rev iew

, LXII202 .

2 GeorgWegener,A German’s Impressions of India, ibid .

,LXXIII 96 1 .

INTRODUCTION 5

and as regards the results of i ts solution more far-reaching than any whichsince the dissolution of the Pax Ramona , has been undertaken by a conqueringrace] i s the application of the mos t refined principles of European governmentand some of the most artificial institutions of European society to a vastoriental population ,

in whose history , habits , and traditions they had had no

previous existence . Such phrases as “Re ligious Toleration

,

” “Liberty of the

Press,

” “Persona l Freedom of the Subject

,

” “ Social Supremacy of the Law,

”

and others,which in England have long been the mere catchwords of ideas

common to the whole race and deeply impressed upon its character by al l theevents of its history and al l the most cherished reco llections of i ts earlierlife are

,here in India , to the vast mass of our native subjects the mysterious

formulas of a foreign and more or less uncongenial system of administration,

which'

is scarce ly if at al l in telligible to the greater number of those for whosebenefit it is maintained . I t is a fact which when I firs t came to India wasstrongly impressed on my attention by one of India’s wisest and most thoughtful administrators . It is a fact Which there is no disguising

,and i t is also one

which cannot be too constantly or too anxiously recognized,that by enforcing

these institutions we have placed and must permanently ma intain ourselvesat the head of a gradual but gigantic revo lution , the greatest and most momentous social ,moral , and rel igious , as wel l as pol itica l revolution which perhapsthe world has ever witnes sed .

I

Added to al l this was a cl imate which , even when unmixed wi th

al cohol andmodified so far as med ica l science is yet ab le , makes perma

nent settlement forever imposs ib le for a northern white race .

2 The race

prob l em in i ts narrow social sense of racia l ant ipa thywas not of par ticular

impor tance unt il the las t half-century,bu t i t is now s teadily becoming

an increas ing and more menacing difii ci i l ty.

Such were the cond i tions with which England was confronted .

What was the goa l which England set up to gu ide her in dea l ing with

the s i tua tion ,and wha t were the mo tives which impe lled her to seek to

imprint her civi liza t ion on the mill ions of Ind ia ? No aimwas ever he ldvery clearly or stead ily in mind, bu t there seems to have been a conviction

tha t things Engl ish were the bes t in the world and mus t be carr ied

wherever Engl ishmen went in the ir ques t for weal th or power . T o thismajor premise was added the minor

,tha t wha t was good for the Engl ish

man must be good for the na tives and therefore mu st be g iven them .

As Fras er’s Magazine pu t i t in 1 873

I Proceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Governor-Genera l of India, XVII1 76 .

2 Sidney Jones Owen ,The Stability ofOur Indian Empire , ContemporaryRevi ew,

XXXI 495


We have been induced to act thus from the conviction , which is s o strong

among us that it a lmost amounts to a mania , that because these are Englishinstitutions , and have conduced to make England great and prosperous ,therefore they must inevitably have the same effect in India }

S til l far ther in the background were the impe l l ing motives tha tbrought England into Ind ia in the firs t place and stil l keep her there .

Origina l ly i t was the des ire for commercia l ga in tha t lured the ships of

the East Ind ia Company to Sura t and the Malabar Coast . When the

d isorder consequen t on the crumbling of the Mugha l Empire reduced

the profits of leg i tima te trade, the oppor tuni ty for deriv ing even grea terre turns by part icipa ting in the wars of the country and jea lous r ival ry

with the French impe l led the Company to embark on a career of terr i

torial aggrand izement that lasted unt il the Crown assumed con trol , and

may be sa id to have been continued by_

i t down to the present day.

Under the Crown,however

,i t has been ra ther more of a question of

s tay ing and re taining Ind ia in perpetuum as part of the Bri tish Em

pire than of advancing the frontiers .

In regard to this there'

hav e -been,broad ly speaking

,two genera l

classes of arguments and theor ies as to,

the proper -p’

o l icy to pursue .

The firs t has been that of the Liberals : that England,s ince she was in

Ind ia as the governing power , must act as a species of patron sain t togu ide the na tives in the paths of progress

,and that her pol icy should be

framed primarily for the good of Ind ia . T he o ther content ion has beenthat the Engl ish were in Ind ia firs t of al l for the same reason whichbrought their forefa thers there in the firs t p lace— the good of England

and that Ind ian in teres ts were bu t secondary , and to be cons idered only

when conven ien t .

T he jus tification of the one a t t i tude was i ts al tru ism and ideal ism .

The reasons advanced to support the o ther view were : the anarch‘

y andhorrors which wou ld fol low leaving Ind ia to the “

natives,

”and for the

preven tion of which England was ent i tled to remunera tion ; the grea tcommercial profits to be der ived from the commercial explo i tat ion of

the country ; the financial ga ins to be drawn from its government in theform of salaries and pens ions for official s and so ldiers ; i ts va lue as an

out le t for the activity of England’s surp lus you th ; i ts mil itary va lue as

a train ing ground for England ’s army ; and last ly i ts pol i tica l worth as

an importan t element in England’s po l i t ical and internat iona l prestige .

T o secure and ma intain these advantages Ind ia mus t be he ld in close

S,

” “The Functions of Gov ernment in India,Fraser

’s Magazine, LXXXVIII

208.

INTRODUCTKMJ 7

leash by military force,and in consequence the adherents to this type of

theory have opposed a l l concess ions and advoca ted repression .

In the words of Herbert Tay lor in 1 881

Al l self—deception must be cas t aside , with all expression of pharisaica lphil anthropy ; and we must boldly acknowledge what nine out of ten of us

deny with our l ips,though confessing in our hearts , that we are in India

primari ly for our own national good .

I

Mr. M cLean , M .P . ,

2 repeated th is thought in 1 889 when he sa id

Let us have the courage to repudiate the pretence which foreign nationslaugh at

,and which hardly deceives ourse lves , that we keep India merely for

the benefit of the people of that country,and in order to train them for self

government . We keep it for the sake of the interests and the honour of England

,and the onlyform of government by which we can continue to ho ld it in

subjection is that of a despotism .3

On the who le the expressions of the l ibera l view have been the mos tfrequent . For instance

,John Bright in 1 858 sa id :

“You may govern

Ind ia,if you l ike , for the good of England , bu t the good of England mus t

come through the channe l of the good of Ind ia .

”4

Gladstone in his Limehouse speech sa id tha t , Our t ime in Ind iadepended on our s tay there be ing profitabl e to the peop le and ourmaking

them unders tand tha t I t w ill not do for us to t rea t with contemp t

or even with ind ifference the ris ing aspira t ions of this great peop le .

”5

Lord Northbrook in the same ve in sa id : “Never forge t tha t i t is ourdu ty to govern Ind ia not for our own profit and advan tage but for the

benefit of the na t ives of Ind ia ”6

xHerbert Taylor, The Future of India,Contemporary Revi ew

,XXXIX

( 1 88 1 ) , 4 7s- 76 .

3 Voice of India ,VII 302 .

3 See the following articles for additiona l i llustrations of the exp loiter’s v iev

'

vs .

The English in India , Wes tmins ter Revi ew,LXIX (1 8 1 99 et s eq ;

“The Climate

and the Work,Cornhi l l Magazine , VI 244 ; M . E . Grant-Dufi

,

“ India,

Political and Social , ContemporaryRevi ew,XXVI 857

-86 ; H . G . Keene,

“JohnBull’s Eastern Estate ,

” Wes tmins terRevi ew,CXLVII (1 89 357

—66 ; Arthur Sawtell ,India underBritish Rul e ,

”P roceedings of theRoyal Colonia l Insti tute,XXXVII

2 9 1 ; George Chesney,“The Va lue of India to England , N ineteenth Century Revi ew,

II I 2 2 7—38 ; H . Fielding Hall ,

“T he Competition Wallah

,FortnightlyRevi ew,

XCIX 2 79—89 . The soundness of the arguments thus adv anced has at times

been denied . In this connection see the fol lowing art icles : M E . Grant-Dufi,loc . ml ;

Grant Allen ,Why Keep India Contemporary Revi ew,

XXXVIII 544—56 .

4 P arl iamentary Debates,N .S .

,Vol . CLI col . 346 .

5 Ibid ., 4th Ser.

,Vol . II I col . 94 .

6 Bernard Mallet , Thomas George, Earl of Northbrook, p . 1 35 .

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

In 1 892 Mr. McNeal sa id in Parl iament,Engl ishmen or Europeans

ought to leave India if they did not s tay there for the benefit of the

peopl e .

”I

A . G . Leonard in 1 909 repea ted the same thought in the Westminster

Revi ew.

2 He wro te

As a point of honour alone , it is obviously our duty to do nothing in Indiathat wil l earn for us the hatred of her people and the subsequent reproach of

humanity , when in the days that are to follow the history of our re lations with

her shal l come to be written . I t is within our reach on the contrary to makeour administration of India a l iving monument of B ritish greatness and humani ty that wil l earn for Great Britain an enduring and imperishable fameT o arrive at this climax we must not only care for and foster Indian interestsas they were one with ours , but a lso make it our business to develop the

capacities and energies of the people as we develop our own .3

As far as the actual governmen t has gone, i t seems not to havema ttered so very ma ter ia l ly which of the two pol icie s had i ts exponents

in power . On the who le the Libera ls have stood for the more generous

po l icy and the Conserva t ives for the more s elfish . Actua l ly their

behavior has been very much a like . The Libera l Lord R ipon gave a

tremendous impu l se to se lf-government,par ticu larly in rura l tracts

,bu t

he,on the other hand

,abol ished the du ty on co tton

,as the na tives

bel ieved in the in terests of the Lancashire mil ls . I t is true that with theexception of the Ind ian Councils Act of 1 89 2 which inaugura ted the right

of interpe l la tion and en larged the legisla t ive councils,ex tending to them

the e lective principa l and increas ing the ir r ight to d iscuss the budge t,

a l l the ex tensions of se lf-gove rnmen t have been by the Liberals,bu t the

execu tion of the reforms have been carried out by the Conservat iveswith v ery much the same sp iri t . As a ru le the good of England

has in practice been sought by both in what they regarded as the

good of Ind ia .

P arl iamentaryDebdtes , 4th Ser. , Vol . II I (1 89 col 93 .

2 Ma jor A . G . Leonard,

“How to Reform India,

” Wes tmins ter Revi ew,CLXXI

6 2 7—28 .

3 For other elaborations of the liberal attitude see the following : The Engli shl n India

,

” Wes tminster Revi ew,LXIX 203 ;

“ Self—Gov ernment in India ,Briti shQuarterlyRevi ew, XXXVIII 43 2 ; J oumal of the National Indi cmA s s ociation

,1 87 2 , p . 90 ;

“Duties of England to India,Fras er

’s Magazine, LXIV

6 74—7 7 ; A . P . Sinnett

,

“Anglo—Indian Complications, ” Fortnightly Revi ew,XL

409 ; A . Hobhouse ,“Last Words on Mr. Ilbert’s B ill

,

” Contemporary Revi ew,

XLIV 400—401 ; C. H . T . Crosthwaite

,

“The New Spirit in India , Black

wood’s Magazz

’

ne,1 906 , pp . 403

—1 4 .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join


How successful England has been in Angl iciz ing Ind ia cannot beanswered . Oh the ma ter ia l s ide England has performed marvels in theconstruction of a stead i ly growing ne twork of hospita ls

,roads

,transpor

tation and irr igat ion cana ls,rai lways

,and te legraph l ines . She has

g iven Ind ia a pos ta l sys tem . Engl ishmen and Engl ish capita l have,

for the mos t par t, bu i l t and opera ted the cot ton and other factories,

crea ted i ts tea , ju te , ind igo, and rubber plantat ions , and deve loped i tsmines and oil we l ls .

Economica l ly speaking, however , the success and value of thesemeasures is d ispu ted by many of the educa ted na t ives

, perhaps‘

on

accoun t of sent imen ta l b ias . They contend that the expense invo lvedconst itu tes a “ dra in ”

to Eng land tha t has been various ly estimated at

from e ighteen to hundreds of mil l ions of pounds a year,in the form of

sa lar ies,pensions , various home charges , interest on investments , and

s imilar items .

I This i t is cla imed has more than ofiset the benefits

derived from the deve lopmen t p rojects and even those from the pax

Britann ica and the Engl ish administra t ive system . This seems morethan doub tfu l , bu t does der ive some co lor from the fact that Ind ia as a

whole is appa ll ingly poverty and frequently gruesomely famine-str icken .

On the mora l s ide the Engl ish government has been able to do less .

Su t i and Thugi were suppressed , bu t Queen Victor ia’s proclamat ion in

1 858 announced a po l icy of re l ig ious neu tra l i ty which has been strictly

adhered to . In Ind ia the re l ig ious comes so near to being synonymouswith social that i t has been poss ib le for the government to do bu t l i t tle .

T he Engl ish governmen t is only inciden ta l ly respons ible for thetremendous transformat ion now in progress in nat ive thought in Ind ia .

I t is bu t one phase of the menta l rev olu tion in the or ienta l mind through

out the East , and is to be primarily a ttribu ted to the same causes— the

shrinkage of the world by improved means of commun icat ion and the

readjustments necess i tated by new mach ines,new processes

,and new

1 Among the estimates the following are a fewexamples . A Hindu,The Griev

auces of India ,”Dark B lue Magazz

’

ne, I II 3 25 : pounds a year andthe support of Britons . H . M . Hyndman

,B leeding to Death

,

”Nineteenth

Century Revi ew,VIII 1 65 : pounds a year . J. S . Keay,

“T he

Spoliation of India , Nineteenth CenturyRevi ew,XIV 1 88 5, 1 6 : poundsa year in “direct tribute j

’

; pounds a year, total drain . E . Pratt,

“ Indiaand Her Friends ,

” Wes tmins ter Revi ew,CXLVII 646 : pounds a

year. A . Sawtell , op. ci t., p . 290 : pounds a year. Saint Nihal Singh,

Unrest in India ,”Arena

,XXXVIII 604 : pounds annual ly.

Parl iamentaryDebates, 4th Ser. , Vol . III col . 1 06 : pounds annually

for salaries alone .

INTRODUCTION I I

thoughts . England at mos t has only modified i t s l ightly in Ind ia . If

anything she seems to have re tarded it , as compared to the same move

ment in China and Japan .

Wha t Eng land has been ab le to accomplish on the socia l and mora l

s ide has been a lmost ent ire ly through educa t ion . This prob lem of

educa t ing , even in the e lements,the enormous popu la tion has been

a ttacked by the government,the missionaries

,and by the H indus and

Mohammedans themse lves , bu t the progress made has been re la tive ly

ins ignificant . T he surface on ly has been scra tched . Some thou sands of

as keen minds as ex ist anywhere in the wor ld have been g iven un iversi ty

educa tions , some mil l ions have been taught to read and write somelanguage , bu t the hundreds of mil l ions can do ne i ther .

As yet the t ime has been too sho r t to judge as to the permanenceI

and depth of the Engl ish influence e i ther on the ma ter ia l or mora l s ide .

I t seems inconce ivab le tha t Ind ia shou ld ever d iscard England ’s ma ter ia l

contr ibut ion to the deve lopmen t of the coun try , bu t i t wil l be no grea t

marve l if the most endur ing imprint lef t by England on Ind ian l ife wil l

prove to be tha t made by the po l i t ica l mo ld , and the mos t s ignificantwork done by England in Ind ia wil l be found to have been the deve lop

ment of se lf—governmen t in the country and the transplant ing to Ind ia

of Engl ish pol it ica l insti tu tions and ideals .

In Eng land ’s effort to so lve the prob lem of Ang l ic iz ing Ind ia,she

has so far succeeded in ma in ta ining her al l-essen t ial po l it ica l supremacy

large ly through two cond it ions . T he firs t and most important of these

has been the infinite number of d ivis ions and antagon isms— re l ig ious,

racia l,social

,and pol i t ica l—which d ivide Ind ia and which enab led the

East Ind ia Company to estab l ish i ts domin ion by conquer ing the country

in sections and play ing one nat ive un i t off aga inst ano ther .

I t has,s ince the days of the Company

,a lso precluded any un ity on

the par t of the masses . Had England ’s ru le been harsh,doub t less

something of the nature of a un i ted fron t might have been pa tched up ,

and of la te among the upper classes there have been symptoms of an

inchoa te nationa l sentiment which may u l t ima te ly permea te the lower

s tra ta and produce a uni ted Ind ia . As yet , however , the antagonism

of race to race,caste to cas te

,and re l igion to re l ig ion has been far grea ter

than any avers ion to Bri tish ru le . Any tendency to imity has beenfurther checked in al l except the Engl ish-speaking classes by the barrier

of language,which has prevented any rea l comb inat ion be tween groups .

1For some estimates of the reality and permanence o f English achiev ements inIndia

,see : M . E . Grant-Dufi

,op. ci t.

, pp . 866 et s eq . ; G .Wegener,op. ci t

, pp . 960—7 7 .

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF—GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

The second fac tor in England ’s supremacy has been her immensemil itary and materia l superior ity over any force in Ind ia . The Engl isharmy in Ind ia has been ma in tained in the vic ini ty of seventy-fiv e thousand men

,not at firs t g lance a large force to domina te three hundred

mill ions,bu t ample as long as i t is in possess ion of al l the ar ti l lery and

al l the higher offi cers of the supplementary Sepoy forces,and when

backed by a prestige that has never been a l lowed to be marred by an unre

triev ed defeat,and faced by a d isarmed and hope lessly divided popu la tion .

What the a t ti tude of the na t ives toward the Engl ish,the ir work

,

and the ir dominion has been,is exceed ingly difii cu l t to general ize upon .

Very fewEngl ish writers have contended tha t Engl ish ru le was popular.

I

Most seem to have inna te ly the feel ing expressed by W . T . Thornton inthe Cornhi l l Magazine in 1 87 1 , When he wro te

We have only to ask howwe ourselves should like i t ii,the British Islands

happening to become outlying appendages of the new Prussian Empire,no

native-born Briton were suffered to hold a commission in the army or to riseabove a second-class clerkship in the civi l service , or above a county courtjudgeship in the law. Would any or al l of the real and substantial advantagesthat might possibly accompany Prussian annexation—would completestreform of railway mismanagement or fullest security against garrotting or

widest diffusion of intellectual and aesthetic culture—be accepted as com

pens ation for such blockage of a l l careerswhich ordinary ambitionmost afl‘ects P

Would not batfled longings turn rapidly into bitter animosity, engendered

firs t among those ardent spirits by whom opinion is formed and directed and

graduall y accepted by the docile multitudes who think and feel in al l publi c

matters as popular leaders bid them?2

In 1 882 S ir R ichard Temple worked out the fol lowing clas s ification

which probab ly represents the genera l Opinion of the t ime :3

T he actively loyal classes were :

1 . The princes and chiefs of the native states .

2 . The banking , trading , and industria l classes .

3 . The zamindars and landholders of permanently settled estates .

1 For some English estimates of the attitude of the nativ es see : Life in India,

Fraser’

s Magazine, LXXX 346 ; M . Townsend , op. ci t., p . 798 ; Sir H . J. S .

Cotton ,Some Indian Problems , Eas t andWes tMagazi ne, I , No . 2 1 1 98

—1 205 ;

Proceedings of the East Indian Association ,Impen

'

a l and As iatic Quarterly Revi ew,

3d . Ser.

,XXI 355 ; Sir Bampfylde Fuller,

“ Indian Asp irat ions ,”P roceedings

of the Royal Col onia l Ins ti tute, XL 366 . P . Kennedy,

“B itter India ,

”Forum

,

XLII I 1 07 et“S ,

” “ Indian Anarchism,

”Eas t and Wes t Magazine, XII

76 1—6 7

2 W T .Thornton

,

“National Education in India , Comhi l l Magazine, XXIII294 .

3 Sir R ichard Temple , Men and Events of My T ime in Indz’

a, p . 504.

INTRODUCTION 1 3

The passively loya l classes were1 . The peasant proprietors and cultivators .

2 . The laborers .

The mixed classes , of_

which many were loyal but some the reverse , were1 . The educated classes .2 . The native aristocracy in the B ritish territories .

3 . The Hindu and Mohammedan pries thood .

The classes which were excitable or ready formischief were1 . T he fanatics .2 . The hangers-ou of the courts and camps .

3 . The mob .

Oi these classes he be l ieved tha t the pass ive ly loya l , which included

two-thirds of the popu la t ion ,would support the gov ermn ent bu t would

not fight for it .

Whatever the accuracy of S ir R ichard Temple ’s ana lys is may have

been,i t serves in a rough way to ind ica te the general a l ignment of the

classes and show s howdiffi cu l t any genera l izat ion is for al l d ivis ions and

epochs . The immense mass of the popula t ion,as far as those who are

in a pos it ion to know test ify,are in the words of S ir A . C. Lya l l “

emi

nently conservat ive , o therwise good na tured and qu i te will ing to fa l l in

with the whims of the ir incomprehens ib le ru lers [they] are the

most eas i ly governed [people] in the world if you don’t touch the ir

worship,and don

’t tax them griev ous ly.

” I

Certa inly beyond r io t ing at t imes When the i r re l ig ion is mo lested,

they to il and even starve withou t a murmur,much less a r is ing aga inst

the government which in such times labors to provide re l ief . Of la te

years only,has there been man ifested a tendency toward ou tbursts of a

po l i tica l na ture,and these have been confined a lmost withou t exception

to the popu lace of the large cities .

Among the‘ upper classes there have been

,i t wou ld seem

,three

preva iling types of a tt itude . T he first is represented by an art icle in

the J am e J amshed,a G ujara t i da i ly of Bombay

,of October 3 1 , 1 887 .

I t read :

There is no doubt that the natives of India are loya l to the backbone ,and they would not shrink to die

,if needs be for the British

,but if the ruling

race were to sympathize more close ly with the native public , every nativefrom end to end of India would think it would be his sacred duty to fight for

the supremacy of the British rule in India .

2

1 Sir Mortimer Durand , Life of S i r A . C. Lya l l , p . 2 2 7 .

2 Voi ce of Indi a , V 585 .

I 4 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF—GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

The second is a more lukewarm fee l ing , which , while not amoun ting

to out and out avers ion,is d iscontented . T he fol lowing specimen is

from the Amrita Bazar P atrika,a H indu weekly publ ished in Engl ish

,

at Ca lcu t ta . T he da te is November 6,1 884 .

The rough insulting and often bru ta l conduct of many of the ruling racenotoriously tends to alienate the minds of the Indians . But yet that onlyadds sal t to the wound—the wound itsel f being due to some other cause . The

real and substantial reason why the Indians do not fee l friendly towards theEnglish is the unequa l po litica l s tatus of the two . And so long as natives arenot al lowed to share in the admin istration of the country on equa l and important terms with the English

,so long lukewarmness and jealousy would be the

resu l t .

I

The third type of opinion is represented by the aphor ism ,I t wou ld

be be tter for the people of Ind ia to be governed by their own corrupt

countrymen than by the however ange l ic European ‘ leeches .”” 2

In this connect ion there is an importan t d istinction to be noted

between l iking for,or devo tion to

,Engl ish rul e «as such and preference

for i t over aga inst the domina t ion by the czar or o ther represen tat ive of

European imperia l ism .

3 T he fo l lowing selec tions from the native press

of the 1 880’

s are in poin t .

On February 2,1 885, the Indian Nation

,a Ca lcu t ta weekly , sa id

A successful invasion of the country by the Russians would mean to theEngl ish the loss of a certain amount of revenue and a certain number of appointments . T o the Indians it would mean e ither the loss of l ife or the loss of

everything which makes l ife worth l iving The English may afford to

lose India . We cannot afford to exchange English government for Russian .4

T he IndicmM irrer, a Ca lcu t ta da ily , on March 1 0

,1 885, wrote

When the genius of the oriental races frets and chafes under the s ilk enchains of British rule , the mildest despotism on the face of the earth , imagine

what would be their fate under the iron fetters and terrible knout with whichRussia tames her refractory subjects .5

The Swadeshi Mi tram,a Tamu l weekly of Madras

,on January 1 9 , 1 885,

sa id : “ There is no thing more despo tic in Europe than the government

of Russia . We shou ld al l uni te in our prayer to protec t us from the

scourge of Russ ia .

”6

1 Voice of India , II 699 .4 Voice of I ndia ,

III 60 .

2 S . N . Singh , op. ci t., p . 606 .

5 Ibid . , p . 1 07 .

‘ John D . Rees,The Real India

, p . 1 89 .

6 Ibid . , p . 65 .

INTRODUCTION

In genera l the Mohammedans have been be tter reconciled than the

H indus to Engl ish ru le . This d ifference has been genera l ly ascribed to

the backwardness of the Mohammedans and the re la tive fewness of the

educated ind ividua ls among them ,a cond i t ion which l ed them to fol low

the gu idance of Sir Ahmed Khan and fee l tha t the ir best interests were

to make common cause with the Engl ish,as an offse t to the compet i tion

of the H indus . Oh the who le this view is probab ly true,for with the

spread of educa t ion in recent years among the Mohammedans the

d ist inct ion seems to be passing .

Ano ther s ignificant aspec t of the a t t itude of the na tives,is the

persona l fee l ing for the re igning monarch . It has been one of the mos t

impor tant functions of H is Majes ty to issue from his seclusion to dazz lehis Ind ian subjects in to enthusiast ic loya l ty . T he proclama tion of the

roya l t i tle at a grea t durbar in 1 87 7 on the ev e of the Afghan War,

when Ind ia was restless and a lmos t aqu iver,and the Visi t of the King

and Queen to Ind ia,in 1 9 1 1 , to assume the ir t i tles a t the grand durbar

at De lh i are bu t two instances of the King be ing used efiectiv e ly as a

trump card to play upon the pecu l iar or ienta l mental weakness for the

persona l e lement in government .

CHAPTER II

THE TRANSFER OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

The mutiny of 1 858The transfer of the government of India to the Crown

ReasonsPro

,Mr. Bright

Contra , Col one l SykesIndia B il l No . 1

India B ill No . I IIndia B il l No . III

The government established by the act of 1 858In England

The Engl ish e lectorate,the ultimate power

ParliamentThe CabinetThe newsecretary of state for India

His powersThe Council of India

In IndiaThe governor—genera l

Powers and restraintsHis Executive Council

Adminis trationThe secretariat

Provincial administrationTypes of provinces

The presidenciesT he lieutenant-governorshipsThe chief-commissionershipsRegulationNon-regulation

Subprovincia l administrationThe district ofii cerHis functions

ExecutiveJudicial

Other district ofii cial sSubdivisions of the district

MunicipalitiesVi ll ages

LegislationThe Queen

’s Proclamation of 1 858


are more onerous and oppressive than the taxes of any other country in the

world . Industry is neglected to a greater extent probably than is thecase in any other country in the world which has been for any length of timeunder what is termed a civil ized and Christian government .

He asserted tha t Ind ia was too vast a country to be under a trad ingcompany and concluded with a forceful perorat ion on England ’s obligat ion to Ind ia saying :

You may govern India if you l ike for the good of England , but the good ofEngland mus t come through the channel of the good of India The

people of India do not like us but they scarcely know Where to turn ifwe leavethem . They are sheep l iterall y without a shepherd . They are peopl e whom

you have subdued and who have the highest and strongest claims upon you ,

claims which you cannot forget , claims which if you do not act upon, you

may rely upon it that if there be a judgment for nations—as I bel ieve there isas for individua ls

,our children at no distant generation must pay the penal ty

which we have purchased by neglecting our duty to the population of India .

“

T he defenders of the Eas t Ind ia Company were hard pu t to i t for a

defence . John S tuart M il l wro te a paper in behalf of the Company }

A pe ti tion was drawn up and duly presented . I ts contents were large ly

a den ia l of the charges of misgovernment and respons ib i l i ty for the

mut iny . I t lacked any pos i t ive argument for continu ing the ex isting

system of government by the Company .

In Parl iament Co lone l Sykes d id his bes t . H is content ions were

that England shou ld cont inue the Company’s government out of gra t i

tude to i t for add ing such an emp ire to England . For the rest , l ike the

pe tition,his arguments were largely nega tive

,seeking to clear the Com

pany rather than estab l ish a rea l ly s trong case for i ts super ior mer i ts as

a govern ing power .The Company ’s government

,he asserted

,was of the bes t .4 He

contended that the taking over of the government wou ld vio late the

popu lar wishes as expressed by the pe ti tion . If Parl iament were to

contro l,the na t ives would be ob l iged to appea l to i t for redress of griev

ances,and wou ld never be ab le to ob tain i t owing to the pressure of

pub l ic bus iness . T he Company was in no way respons ib le for the

mutiny . I t had fa i led in no po int in efii cient execu tion of i ts du ties .

T he Cour t of D irectors had a lways d iscouraged wars and maintained

the r ights of the people of Ind ia .

1 P arl iamentaryDebates, N . S Vol . CLI col . 335.

9 Ibid .

,cols . 346 , 352 .

3 S ir Courtney Ilbert , The Government of Indi a p . 94.

4 P arl iamentary Debates , 3d . Ser., Vol . CLI ( 1 858) cols . 2 1 7 2—74 .

TRANSFER OF THE GOVERNMENT TO THE CROWN 1 9

The mainspring of the opposi t ion to the transfer of Ind ia to the

contro l of the Crown was really the loss of the patronage i t involved ,bu t the interests affected were not sufii ciently strong to b lock the move

ment .

I Parl iament proceeded to the task of accomplishing the transfer .

The most important provis ions of Palmers ton’

s b ill were a home

admin istra t ion to cons ist of a “ Pres ident and a counci l for the affa irs

of India .

”2 I t was to comprise e ight members nominated by the Crown ,

and qual ified by having been d irectors of the Eas t Ind ia Company , or by

service or res idence in Ind ia . The ir term was to be e ight years,two

re tiring every two years . The b il l passed i ts second read ing by a vo te

of 3 1 8 to 1 73 on February 1 8,1 858 . On February 1 9 , Pa lmers ton was

turned out on the“Consp iracy to Murder B il l .

”80 ended India B il l

No . I .

D israel i now came onto the scene as chancel lor of the exchequer in

Lord Derby ’s min istry,and as he to ld Parl iament

,because S ir

,the vote

of the e ighteenth of February by which the House of Commons recent ly

elected declared by an overwhelming major i ty tha t in the ir opin ion the

gov ernment '

of Ind ia shou ld be transferred from the Eas t India Companyto Her Majesty

,

”3 appeared conclus ive ; he proceeded on March 26,

1 858, to introduce a new governmen t of Ind ia b il l,which rece ived the

designation of Ind ia B il l No . II .

I ts provis ions were as florid as Palmers ton’

s had been s imple .

4

A minister of the Crown with the rank and du t ies of a secre tary of sta te

was to be pres ident of a counci l of Ind ia which was to comprise e ighteen

members . One-half of these were to be nomina ted by the Crown . T he

o ther n ine were to be e lected,fiv e by the citizens of London ,

Manchester,

Liverpoo l, Glasgow ,

and Belfast,and four by ho lders of one thousand

pounds of Eas t Ind ia Company stock,or two thousand pounds of stock

in Ind ian ra i lways or o ther Ind ian pub l ic works,and those who had

been in the service,civil or mil i ta ry

,of the government of Ind ia for ten

years,e i ther in Ind ia or in England .

The r id icu le of the oppos it ion he ld the measure in abeyance unt i lthe Easter recess . When Parl iament reassemb led

,the insecure minis try

tacitly dropped the b i l l and avai led i tse lf of Lord John Russe l ’s suggestion

that owing to the objections ra ised to D israe l i’s measure,the House

shou ld proceed by reso lu tions .

1 C . Redding,

“East Indian Aff airs

,Col burn’

s NewMonthl y Magazine, CXII

2 Sir C . Ilbert,loe. ci t.

3 P arl iamentary Debates , 3d Ser. Vol . CXLIX,col . 8 1 8 .

4 I bid .


Fourteen resolu tions were accord ing ly la id before Parl iamen t . 1 On

April 30 ,1 858, the d iscussion of the firs t was begun

,which read tha t

i t is exped ien t to transfer the governmen t of Ind ia to the Crown .

”2

This was carried . In i ts wake,however

,came the thir teen others . On

May 3 , the second , provid ing for a secre ta ry of sta te for Ind ia,was

passed . Fina l ly,however

,as the d iscussion “ seemed l ikely to drag out

a septenn ial Parl iamen t to the close of i ts na tura l ex istence,the pa tience

of the House of Commons became exhaus ted and leave was given to

bring in a newmeasure , Ind ia Bi ll N0. III .

The newlawwas introduced by Lord E l lenborough on June 1 7 , 1 858 ,

the day on which the six th reso lu tion was final ly agreed to . I t passedi ts firs t reading wi thou t a d ivision

,bu t before i ts second read ing Lord

E l lenborough had resigned in consequence of his d ispa tch censuring LordCann ing’s Oudh Proclama tion . Lord Stanl ey

'

succeeded him as pres iden tof the Board of Con trol

,and took over the d irection of the b i ll . The

second readingwas ca rried on June 2 5, and on Ju ly 8 the b i l l wi th sundryminor amendmen ts was passed . I t was carried through Lords withwhich an agreemen t was final ly reached on July 30, and received the

roya l assent on Augus t 2,1 858. I ts subs tance was promu lga ted by

Lord Canning a t a grea t durbar held at Allahabad on November 1 , 1 858 .

The form of government final ly prescribed af ter al l these vicissi tudesof par ty squabb le was very close ly pa tterned af ter tha t of the old

Company . The s tockho lders were deposed , bu t Parl iament fel l heir to

such functions as they had performed . . The Cour t of D irectors was

a llowed to s ing i ts swan song by naming seven of the fifteen members of

the newCounci l of India,which took the place of the o ld Board of Contro l ,

under the presidency of a secre tary of s ta te for Ind ia . The res t of the

sys tem remained much the same,save in the mat ter of names , and in

many cases especia lly in Ind ia even these were unchanged .

I t is worth whil e,however

,to take a hasty survey of the s i tua tion

crea ted by the lawof 1 858, for i t is impo r tan t to secure as clear and as

Vivid a conception as poss ib l e of the ma in ou tl ines of the governmen tthus es tab l ished for India

,since i t is fundamenta l to a comprehension of

the later deve lopments . 3

1 These fourteen resolutions as laid before Parliament are printed in Parl iamentaryDebates . 3d Ser.

, Vol . CXLIX cols . 2 207—1 0 .

2 Bri ti sh Quarterly Revi ew,XXVIII

,1 99 .

3 The following summary pretends to be no more than an attemp t to furnish as

concise a basis as possible for a study of the subsequent mov ements . It would befutile and unnecessary to attempt to do ov er again the detailed work which SirCourtney Ilbert, in his Government of India , has done so wel l .

TRANSFER OF T HE GOVERNMENT TO THE CROWN 2 1

In theo ry the governmen t es tab lished over Ind ia in 1 858 traced i ts

ul tima te au thori ty to the Bri tish e lectorate,which expressed such

plati tudinous opinions as i t had through the med ium of i ts Parl iamen t ,which as a genera l rule preferred anything e lse to yawn ing through

the annual presen ta tion of the Ind ian budge t .

Actual ly the u l timate au thori ty over the governmen t of Ind ia

devo lved upon the secretary of s ta te in counci l,under the general

oversight of the Cabine t , supplemen ted by a few,as a ru le a very few

,

of the members of Par liamen t who for one reason or ano ther took an

interes t in Ind ia . Parl iamen t did,however

,re ta in some very powerful

checks,which in case of need i t could resor t to . Any orders d irecting the

commencing of hosti l i ties in Ind ia mus t be reported to Parliamen t wi thin

three months or i f i t were not in session within one month af ter i ts return .

No add i tion to the es tablishmen t of secretary of s ta te in counci l,

nor to the salaries of the persons of tha t es tab l ishment , cou ld be made

excep t by order of H is Majes ty in Counci l . Even these orders were to

be laid before bo th houses of Parliamen t wi thin four teen days,or i f not

in session wi thin fourteen days after i ts nex t mee t ing . No expense for

mil i tary opera tions beyond ex terna l fron t iers excep t for preventing or

repel l ing actual invasions of H is Majes ty ’s Ind ian possessions or under

o ther sudden and urgen t necessi ty were to be charged on Ind ian revenues

withou t the consen t of Parliament .Within the firs t fourteen days af ter May 1

,in which Parl iament was

s i t ting, the secretary of s ta te in counci l mus t lay before i t an i temized

accoun t of the financial year preceding , es timates for the yea r to come ,deb ts and resources of the governmen t of Ind ia ,

and a l is t of the es tab l ishmen t of the secre ta ry of s ta te in

'

council .

Moreov er,

Ia l though in actual practice Parl iament was some times a

sleepy guardian of Ind ian interes ts,the feel ing tha t i t might cal l him to

accoun t at any time , cer ta in ly l ed the secre tary of s ta te and his counci lto exercise wi th some s tra i tness

,bo th the specific powers of contro l With

which they were par ticular ly invested and also the genera l power ofsuperin tendence which the Government of Ind ia Act gave them .

Turning to the actual provis ions of the act, i t crea ted a fifth secretaryof s ta te , known as the secretary of s ta te for Ind ia . He and his under

secre taries were to be pa id from the revenues of Ind ia . Hewas to s ign al l

orders and communica tions to the government of India . He was to be

the head of the par t of the Ind ian adminis tra tion loca ted in Englandand the supervisor of tha t in Ind ia .

1 “Constitutiona l Reforms ,”Rarl iamentary P apers , p . 33 . East India

,1 9 1 8.


As a member of the Cab inet he was responsib le to and represented

the supreme power of Parl iamen t . He was to perform al l acts formerl yperformed by the Eas t Ind ia Company Cour t of D irectors

,or Court o f

Proprie tors,e i ther with or withou t the sanction of the Board of Con tro l

,

in re lation to the governmen t or to the revenues and the offi cers and

servants of the Company . He was a lso to wie ld the powers formerly

exercised by the Board of Con tro l . He had to coun ters ign al l warrants

orwritings under H is Majesty’s Roya l S ign Manua l,previous ly coun ter

signed by the presiden t of the Commission for the Affa irs of Ind ia,for

the remova l or dismissa l of persons ho ld ing offi ce,emp loyment

,or com

mission,civi l or mili tary .

Except for new add i tions or increase in sa laries,the secre tary of

state had the power to appo in t,promo te

,or remove any offi cer in his

establ ishmen t , usua l ly known as the India Oth ee . Withou t consul ting

the Court of Ind ia ,the secre tary of s tate might send d irectly al l com

munications formerly issued or received by the Committee of Secrecy of

the Eas t India Company (dating from 1 784) except those requi ring amajori ty vo te of his Council . x In practice these de l ica te transactions

were usua l ly referred to the Po l i tica l and Secre t Committee o i'

the

Council of Ind ia .

The secre tary of statewas made the president of the Council of Ind iawith the power to vote . He received al l dispatches from the governo rgenera l . He cou ld appoin t a member as vice-presiden t in his absence

,

and cou ld remove such appo in tee . He d irected the ho lding of meetings

of the Counci l . H is approva l was required for a l l acts done in hisabsence . He cons ti tu ted committees of the Counci l for the more con

v enient transaction of business .

2 He di rected wha t departmen ts of the

India Office were to be under each of these committees and arranged the

manner of the transaction of business by them .

This Counci l of Ind iawas th e counterpart of the o ld Board of Con tro l .

I ts primary function was to advise the secretary of state . I t was com

posed of fifteen members,eight of whom were to be nominated by the

A majority v ote in the Council of India was required on questions of :approximating rev enues or property ; (2 ) issuing securities for money ; (3 ) sale or

mortgage of property ; (4) contracts ; (5) alterat ion of salaries ; (6) furlough rules ;(7) Indian appointments ; (8) appointment of nativ es of India to oflfi ces reserv ed forthe Indian Civ i l Serv ice ; (9) prov isional appointments to posts on the gov ernorgeneral ’s Council and to reserv ed offices .

2 These committees of the Council of India were ( 1 ) finance ; ( 2 ) politica land secret ; (3) mil itary ; (4) rev enue and statistics ; (5) public works ; (6) stores ;( 7) judicial and public .

TRANSFER OF THE GOVERNMENT TO THE CROWN 23

Crown ,and seven by the members themselv es .

I A majori ty of n ine in

the Council were to be persons who had served or resided at leas t ten

years in Ind ia ,and unless they had been offi cers in the home es tab l ish

ment they mus t not have lef t Ind ia more than ten years prior to their

appoin tmen t . They were to ho ld office during good behavior and were

removab le on ly by a joint address of Par l iament . The members were

disqual ified from si t ting in Parl iament . Their sa lary was to be

pounds,and to be pa id from . the revenues of Ind ia . After ten years’

service on the Counci l,or sooner if over taken by infirmity,

they cou ld

retire on a pension of 500 pounds .

Upon “the secre tary of state in council

,as the law expressed the

comb ination of the secre tary of s ta te for Ind ia ,and his adviso ry body

“the Council of Ind ia

,

” devolved nea r ly a l l of the actual overs ight of

governing Ind ia . Under the d irection of the secre ta ry of s ta te , the Coun

ci l of India was to transact the business of the governmen t of Ind ia in

Eng land and conduc t correspondence . Par ts of the revenues of Ind iawere to be paid in to the Bank of England to the accoun t of the secre tary

of s ta te to be appl ied by the Council for the purposes of the act . The

secre tary of s tate migh t sue or be sued in Ind ia or Eng land as a bodycorporate . All orders proposed by the secre tary of s ta te had to be

submitted to a mee ting of the Counci l or deposi ted in the counci l-room

for seven days before a mee ting of the Counci l unless they were secre t

orders . On certain things already mentioned a majori ty vo te wasrequ ired .

The Counci l of Ind ia2 was intended,however

,to be no more than a

consu l tative body,withou t power of ini tia tive and only a l imited power

of ve to . Each of the committees,into which i twas d ivided by the secre

tary of s ta te,corresponded to and worked in conj unction with one of the

secretaries and depar tments of the permanen t s taff of the Ind ia Ofii ce .

In Ind ia i tsel f few changes were made . Parl iamen t and the Counci lof Ind ia were subs ti tu ted for the Cour t of D irectors and the Board of

Con tro l , and things went on very much as before . In Ind ia thereafter,

however , al l the powers of governmen t were derived in theory from the

Engl ish Parl iamen t . Their foca l poin t was the governor-genera l (commonly cal l ed the Viceroy af ter the Queen

’s Proclama tion of November 1,

1 8 He had formerly been appo inted by the Cour t of D i rectors Wi th

x In the firs t Council of India the ol d Court of Directors were giv en the priv ilegeof nominating sev en of the members but thereafter these sev en were to be chosen bythe Council of India itself .

2 Sir C. I lbert,op. ci t. p . 1 3 7 .


the approva l o f the Crown . Henceforth he was to be appointed by theCrown on the advice of the prime minister . Custom fixed his term at

fiv e years . He was the head of the government and had general overs ight over i ts opera tions .

The governor-genera lwas under several res traints . He mus t repo r tconstan tly and d i ligently to the secre tary of s ta te in council an exactparticu lar of al l advices or in te l l igence and of al l transactions and matterscoming to the knowledge of the governor-genera l in council and rela tingto the government

,commerce

,revenues

,or affa irs of India . Every

measure taken by him had to a lso receive the approva l of a majori ty

of his Execu tive Council,a l though in ca ses of emergency he might over

ride i t .

The function of this Executive Counci l was to assis t the governorgeneral and to check any tendency to despotism on his part . I t cons isted of four members whose advice i t was necessary for him to seek

,

even on the minu tia of rou tine business . I t was the theory tha t the

pub lic business was transacted by the governor-general and h is whole

Council . I Consequen tly,every case had to pass through the hands of

every member . D ispu ted questions were decided by a majori ty vo te,

the governor-genera l having a casting vo te . The resul t was tha t much

of the work was done many times over and more not done at al l . That

the system had worked at al l was due to the compara tive smal lness of

the business in the ear ly days .

The actual work of the adminis tration was d ivided up into depar t

men ts . At the head of each was a secre ta ry,under the oversight of the

governor-genera l in counci l . The departments were2 (1 ) the mili tary ,2 ) foreign affa irs

, 3) the legisla tive, (4) finance , 5) home, (6) revenue .

3

Below the imperial governmen ts were the governmen ts of the

provinces . In 1 858 there were three types of these , the presidencies ,the l ieutenan t-governorships

,and the chief—commissionerships . In the

first ca tegory were Fort S t . George (Madras) and Bombay . They had

governors who enjoyed the privi lege of communica ting di rectly with the

secretary of s tate . Previously they had been appointed by the Cour t of

D i rectors with the approva l of the Crown . Henceforth they were to be

S ir Henry S . Cunningham,Lord Canning, pp. 1 9 2

—93 .

2 Sir W . W . Hunter, Lord Mayo, p . 83 .

3 In later years there were added the following departments : agriculture , publicworks commerce and industry

,education . There were also later special

departments outside but attached to one of the main departments . Among thesewere posts and telegraphs , surv eys , railways , forestry.


These district ofii cers were the pivo ts on which the who le adminis

tration turned . The d istricts varied grea tly in size and popula tion .

The ti tl e of the officer a lso varied . In the regula tion provinces he wasca l led the co l lectorand magis tra te . In the chief-commissionerships he

was known as the depu ty commissioner . The d is tric t officer embod ied

the power of the Engl ish governmen t, as far as the people were concerned ,and i t was to him they looked for redress and aid . He was at once the

principal revenue officer and chief magistra te . This dual capaci ty was

a re l ic apparen tly of the o ld native practice adopted by Cornwa ll is inBenga l , and later applied to the other provinces as they came under

Bri tish rule .

The primary function of the d istrict offi cer was the supervi sion of

the land and land revenues . In this connection the ardor of his laborsvaried according as to whether the sys tem of land tenure with Which he

had to dea l was ryo twari , under which the revenue was pa id bymany thousands of cu l tiva tors

,or zamindari

,under which the revenue

was pa id by a compara tive ly few b ig landowners who sub le t theirhold ings . The d istric t officer a lso had charge of the o ther taxes andsources of revenue . He was expected to keep an overs ight over thegeneral wel l-being of the people and perform the functions of generalfacto tum of the governmen t , superintending in a genera l way pub l icworks , ja il s , san i tation,

and other governmental activi ties . He was

expec ted to make numerous and frequen t reports to his superiors on al l

manner of subjects . I t was upon his shou lders tha t much of the burden

of subsequen t en largemen t of the functions of the government fel l,

both in connection with the enlargement of o ld activi ties and the addi tion

of newones,such as fores try and education .

On -the magisterial side the d istric t officer was respons ible for thepeace of the d istric ts in trus ted to him and the suppression of Crime .

He had a genera l con trol over the working of the po l ice,a lthough the

nominal d irection of this servicewas a d istinct branch of the governmen t .As a crimina l j udge the d is tric t offi cer had the power of imprisoning for

a term up to two years , and of impos ing fines up to rupees . He

a lso supervi sed the work of a l l the other magistra tes of his di s tric t .In the non-regu lation provinces his crimina l jurisdiction was more extensive

,reaching to al l cases not punishab le with dea th . He could inflict

sentences of transportation or imprisonmen t up to seven yea rs . O therwise the functions of the d istrict officers were approx imately the samein al l the provinces .

TRANSFER OF THE GOVERNMENT TO THE CROWN 2 7

In add i tion to the d is tric t ofi‘i cer there were o ther d is tric t ofii cia l s,

more or less under his superv is ion . Chief among these were the superintenden t of pol ice

,the civi l surgeon

,and later the fores t ofii cer.

Below the d is trict were the subd ivisions,under j unio r offi cers .

S ti l l farther down was the Vi l lage ,I the primeva l ins ti tu tion of Ind ia bu t

li tt le al tered by the vicissi tudes of Mugha l , Mahra t ta,or Engl ish ru le .

Each Vi l lage had a number of hered i tary na tive ofii cia l s . The mos timpor tan twas the headman

,usua lly referred to as the patel ,who collected

the revenue and in Madras was a pe t ty magistrate and civi l judge ; the

patwin ,or accoun tan t , in charge of the Vi l lage accounts

,regis ters of

ho ld ings,and records connected with the land revenue ; and the chauki

dar,or wa tchman

,the rura l pol iceman .

Of re la tive ly far less importance in 1 858 than the Vi l lages,bu t from

the po in t of View of la ter deve lopments in se lf—governmen t of ra ther

more s ignificance , were the municipal i ties . These fe l l into two sharplyd istingu ished ca tegories . The firs t comprised the three great presidency

ci ties,Bombay

,Ca lcu t ta

,and Madras . The second included a l l the

sma l ler ci ties and towns . Ci ties and town s existed in Ind ia from remo te

antiqui ty,bu t the form of government under which those of Bri tish

Ind ia have come to be admin is tered is an exo tic impor ta tion d irect fromEng land . I t is one of the grea t examples in his tory of a fore ign socia l

ins ti tu tion successfu l ly transplan ted in to a strange so i l . The Engl ish

mun icipa l systemwas firs t in troduced in to the presidency cities and thencecompara tive ly recently was ex tended to the lesser towns of the provinces .

In 1 6872 James II conferred a signa l favor on the Eas t Ind ia Company

by delega ting to them the power of estab l ishing by charter a corpora tion

and a Mayor ’s Cour t in Madras . The scheme was due to S ir Jos ia

Chi ld,the ce lebra ted governor of the Company

,who regarded i t as the

on ly so lu tion of. the diffi cul t question of town conservancy . The new

civi l governmen t was consti tu ted on the mos t approved Engl ish pat ternwith a mayor

,a ldermen

,and burgesses

,who were empowered to levy

taxes for the bu i ld ing of a gu i ldha l l,a ja i l

,and a schoo lhouse ; for such

fur ther ornamen ts and edifices as sha l l be thought conven ien t for thehonor

,in terest

,ornamen t

,securi ty and de fense

,of the corpora tion and

inhab i tan ts ; and for the paymen t of the sa laries of the mun icipa l offi cer,including a schoo lmas ter .

The mayor and a lderman were made a Cour t of Record with power

to try bo th civi l and crimina l cases . Nor were the o rnamen ta l fea tures1 SirW . W . Hunter, op. cit

, p . 53 .

2 Ibid ., pp . 284

—85.


of municipa l l ife forgo t ten On so lemn occasions the mayor was to

have carried before him two silver maces gi l t,not exceed ing three fee t

and a half in length ; and the Mayor and Aldermen robed in scarle t sergegowns , were to ride on horse-back in the same order as is used by theLord Mayor and Aldermen of London

,having their horses decently

furnished with saddles , brid les , and o ther trimmings .

”

No twiths tanding this pomp and circumstance the people s trenu

ous ly resisted the imposi tion of anything in the na ture of a d irect tax .

The town ha ll , schoo ls , and sewers which were to have been the firs t

work of the new corpora tion could not be undertaken,and the mayor

had to ask for permission to levy an octroz’

du ty on cer tain articles of

consump tion that he might provide the necessary funds for cleansing

the s treets .In 1 7 26 a mayor

’s cour t Wi th aldermen bu t no burgesses was estab

l ished by roya l charter in each of the three presidency towns,mainly

accord ing to the practice al ready existing in Madras ; bu t these cour tswere intended to exercise jud icia l ra ther than adminis trative functions .

The firs t s ta tu tory enforcemen t of municipa l administra tion'

was con

tained in the Char ter Act of 1 793 . Thi s act empowered the governor

general to appoint j ustices of the peace for the presidency towns from

among the Company’s and o ther Bri tish inhab i tan ts . In addi tion to

their jud icial du ties , the justices of the peace were expressly authorized

to provide for scavenging , wa tching and repai rmg the s treets,the

expendi ture on which was to be defrayed by an assessmen t on houses

and lands . Between 1 840 and 1 853 the municipa l cons ti tu tions were

widened and the e lective principle was introduced to a very l imi ted

exten t ; bu t in 1 856 a d ifferen t pol icy preva i led and a l l municipa lfunctions were concentra ted in a body corporate consisting of three

nomina ted and sa laried members .

Outside the presidency town s , Madras,Cal cu tta

,and Bombay

,there

was practical ly no a t tempt at municipa l legis la tion before 1 84 2 .

I In

tha t year an act was passed applicab le only to Benga l,to enab le the

inhab i tants of any place of pub l ic resor t or residence to make be t terprovision for purposes connected with pub l ic health and convenience .

This act was far in advance of i ts times . Based upon the vo luntaryprinciple

,i t could take effect in no place excep t on the appl ica tion of

two-thirds of the householders, and as the taxa tion enforceab le under i t

was of a direct character , the lawnowhere met with popu lar acceptance .

I t was introduced into one town and there the inhab i tants,when ca l led

1 SirW. W. Hunter, op. cit. , p . 286 .

TRANSFER OF THE GOVERNMENT TO THE CROWN 29

upon to pay the tax,no t on ly refused bu t prosecu ted the co l lec tor for

trespass when he a t tempted to levy i t . The next a ttempt at municipa l

legislation for country towns was made in 1 850 and is reserved for

later trea tmen t .

On a par in impor tance with the municipa l i ties , for the purposes of

this s tudy,was the legisla tive function of the governmen t of India .

I

The act of 1 858 made no provision regard ing i t , and the prac tices of the“John Company” passed over into the government of the Crown .

In 1 8582 legisla tive activi ty was confined to the council of the

governor—genera l of Ind ia ,special ly enlarged on such occas ions to twelve

members of whom,however

,se ldom more than seven cou ld be mustered

to the mee tings . Four of the twe lve were nomina ted by the governors

of the four provinces , Benga l , Bombay , Madras,and the Northwes tern

Provinces . Two were j udges,namely the chief j us tice and one of the

puisne j udges of the Supreme Cour t of Ca lcu t ta . This body was in no

degree in tended to be an echo,however fa int

,of the Engl ish Parl iamen t .

Its function was crea ted mere ly to enac t in to lawthe regu la tions brought

before it . The me thod of i ts se lection was anything bu t conducive togiving i t a representa tive character

,bu t none the less i t had deve loped a

d isturb ing propensi ty for turn ing i tse lf into wha t cer tain of the Lords

in Parliament were pleased to ca l l a “pe t ty parody of a Parl iament . ”

1 I bid ., p . 1 29 . T he origin of the legislativ e function in the activ ities o f the

English in India ,was as o l d v irtually as the Company . T he earliest charters

authorized the making of such new laws as were needful and not repugnant to the lawsof England . On the assumption of the diwani by the Company in 1 7 7 2 , a series ofinstructions were promulgated as the basis of administrat ion

,but these were issued

under the authority o f the Mugha l emperor at Delhi , not o f Parliament .In 1 7 73 the Regulating Act empowered the gov ernor-general in council tomake

subject to registration with the Supreme Court and i ts approv aI—

rules and regulat ions for the gov ernment of the settlement of FortW il l iam (Benga l) and i ts subordinatefactories . An act of 1 78 1 authorized the framing of rules without reference to theSupreme Court , but subject to the approv al of the King in counc il . In 1 783 a freshset of regulations for legislation were drawn up by Lord Cornwallis and collected intoa code . Acts o f 1 800 forMadras

,and 1 807 forBombay, and 1 803 for the Northwestern

Prov inces extended to the gov ernor in council of each of those prov inces similarpowers .

T he act of 1 833 withdrew them,howev er

,and v ested the who le legislativ e

authority in the gov ernor-general in council,strengthened by the addition of a lawyer

who was not to be long to the serv ice o f the Company and whose duties were confined

to legislation . It was authorized to legislate for a l l persons , p laces , and courts withinthe territories o f the Company , and ,

subject to the disal lowment of the Court ofD irectors

,i ts acts were to hav e the we ight of acts of Parliament . This embryo legisla

ture was enlarged by the act of 1 853 to the form it possessed in 1 858 .

2 Parl iamentary Debates, 3d Ser.

,Vo l . CLXI co l . 1 687 .

3 Ibid .,CLXII col . 1 1 53 .


One other even t of the year of 1 858, a l though not s trictly a piece o f

l egislation,proved the center of so much d iscussion and agi ta tion in la ter

years that i t mus t be mentioned . This was the Queen’s Proclamation‘

which was pub l ished in Ind ia at a grand durbar at Allahabad on November 1

,announcing the transfer of the

'

gov ernment to the Crown.

Only one clause has been of real s ignificance for the development ofse l f—governmen t . I t was :

And it is Our further will that so far as may be , Our subjects of whateverRace or Creed , be freely and impartially admi tted to Ofli ces in Our Service ,the duties of which they may be qual ified by their education,

ability and

integrity duly to discharge .

2

Differences of opin ion as to the in terpre tation and appl ica tion of thispo l icy have been at the bo t tom of much of the d iscon ten t fel t by many

of the educa ted class and thus have been one of the factors in crea ting ademand among them for se l f-government .

The pre tensions of the Proclama tion to the appe l lation of the Magna

Charta of Ind ia so frequent ly applied to i t res ts on i ts clauses promising

amnes ty to al l except those who had directly taken par t in the murder

of Bri tish subjects,rel igious to lerance for a l l

,and equal oppor tuni ty in

the service of the government for na tives and whites so far as the ir

respective ab i l i ties warran ted .

1 The Proclamation was the formal announcement of the assumption of the

gov ernment of India by the Queen . Incidenta lly it strov e to conci liate the nativ esof Oudh

,who had been thrown into a panic by an il l -phrased proclamation of Lord

Canning which ordered the forfeiture of al l the lands of al l persons guilty of rebellionorwaging war against the Queen or the gov ernment

,or aiding therein . This would

hav emeant the confiscation ofmost of the lands of Oudh , and somethingwas necessaryto reassure the landlords and a l lay the unrest subsequent to the mutiny as far as

possible .

2 Voice of India ,I I 6 7 2 .

C FTER III

THE IND IAN ILS ACT OF 186 1

Reasons for the act of 1 86 1D ifi

’erences between Madras and the imperial government of India over

the income tax

Question as to the val idity of the regulations in the non-regulationprovinces

The precocity of the Legislative CouncilThe provis ions of the act

The Executive Council of the governor—generalThe reorgan ization eff ected by Lord Cann ing

Limitations on the Imperial Legislative CouncilDefinition of i ts powers

Recreation of the legislative counci ls forMadras and BombayRea sons

Admission of natives to the legislative councilsReasons

Gulf created by the mu tinyNeed fel t formeans of ascertaining native opinion

Native opinion of the innovationThe working of the provis ion

Recapitulation of the features of the act of 1 86 1Character and genera l working of the councilsS ignificance of the Indian Council s Act of 1 86 1

The passage of the act of 1 858 and the assumption of the governmen t of Ind ia by the Crown speed i ly

,however

,revea led defects in the

sys tem.

I The unworkab leness of the Executive Council would of

i tself have necessi ta ted some speedy reform . Trouble began over a

varied series of ques tions .

2 In Madras a d ispu te arose be tween the

imperia l governmen t and Sir Charles Treve lyan,governor of tha t

pres idency, as to whe ther Mr. Wilson ’s d is tas teful income tax shou ldbe enforced in tha t province . Bombay too jo ined i ts voice to the

pro tests of Madras . There was a lso difficul ty ov er the law requiring

a l icense even from Europeans to ca rry arms . T o further comp lica te

ma t ters the ind igo plan ters raised a controversy over their re la tions

Constitutional Reforms,P arl iamentary P apers , p . 52 , East India , 1 9 1 8 .

2 S ir Henry S . Cunningham,Earl Canning, pp . 1 82—83 .

3 2 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

with the ryo tswho cu l tiva ted the planta tions for them . A legal wrang leabou t the va l id i ty of the regula tions then being enforced by mere executive au thori ty in the non-regu la tion provinces added ano ther prob lemto those confronting Lord Canning .

I

The climax was reached when the Legisla tive Counci l of the

governor-general,the precoci ty of which had been a growing vexa

tion and hand icap,became presumptuous enough to demand tha t certain

correspondence be tween the secre tary of s ta te and the governor-genera l

of Ind ia should be communica ted to it . Some action became imperative . The explana tion of Sir Charles Wood

,the secretary of s tate

,for

the measure,while lacking in completeness

,is ind ica tive of the genera l

si tuation .

He began by exp laining the guestion of the lega l i ty of the regu lations

,saying :

The history of legislative power in Ind ia IS very short . In 1 7 73 the

governor-genera] in council was empowered to make regulations for the government of India

,and

_

in 1 793 those regu lations were collected into a code byLord Cornwa ll is . Similar regulations were applied in 1 799 and 1 801 toMadrasand Bombay ,

and in 1 803 they were extended to the Northwes tern Provinces .The territory of De lhi

,however

,which was nominally under the sovereignty

of the Grea t Mogul,was admi nistered by officers of the government of India ,

and with such good efiect that in 1 8 1 5, when Lord Hastings acquired certainprovinces , he determined that they should be admin istered in the same wayby commissioners appointed by the government . The same system has beenapplied to the Punjab , Scinde , Pegu ,

and the various acquisitions made inIndia s ince that date . The laws and regulations under which they are administered are framed either by the governor-general in council or by the l ieutenantgovernors or commissioners , as the casemay be , and approved by the governorgeneral . This difii cu l t mode of passing ordinances for the two classes of

provinces constitutes the distinction between the regulation and non-regulationprovinces , the former being those subject to the ol d regulations , and the latterthose which are administered in the somewhat irregular manner , which as Ionce stated commenced in 1 8 1 5 . There is much diff erence of opinion as to

the legality of the regulations adopted under the latter system ,and S ir Barnes

Peacock has declared that they are il lega l unless passed by the legislativecouncil s .2

He nex t took up the di fficul ty consequent upon the supremacy of

the Legis lative Counci l of the governor-genera l at Calcu t ta . In regard

to this he sa id,by the act of 1 833 :

Constitutiona l Reforms,loc. cit.

2 Parl iamentaryDebates , 3d Ser.,Vo l . CLXIII (May

-June , col . 63 7 .

34 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

It was certainly a great mistake that a body of twe lve members shouldhave been established with al l the forms and functions of a parl iament . Theyhave standing orders as numerous as we have ; and their effect has been

,as

Lord Canning stated in one of his dispatches , to impede business , cause delay ,and to induce a counci l , which ought to be regarded as a body for doing practica l work, to assume the debating functions of a parliament . In a letterwhich is among the papers upon the table of the House

,Mr. Grant bears testi

mony to the success which has attended their labours in framing laws ; and

I will quote the words of another able Indian servant to the same effect . He

says : “Ii it be assumed that the enlargement of the Council by the addition

of two judges of the Supreme Court and four councillors of the diff erentpresidencies of India was des igned on ly as a means of improv ing the legislationof the country , the measure must be regarded as a complete success . The

Council has effected a l l that could be expected and may with just pride pointto the statutes of the last seven years as a triumphant proof that the intentionof Parliament has been fulfil l ed .

” 1

I think tha t is a very sa tisfactory proof tha t as far as my inten tions

and wha t I bel ieve were the intentions of the legislature of this country

were concerned,the objects of the change in the pos i tion of the governor

genera l’s counci l,when si tting for legislative purposes

,have been mos t

compl etely fulfi l led . I do not wish to say any thing aga ins t a body the

consti tu tion of which I am abou t to a l ter,bu t I think tha t the general

opinion,bo th in India and England

,condemned the action of the Council

when i t a ttempted to d ischarge functions o ther than those which Ihave mentioned—When i t cons ti tu ted i tself a body

'

for the redress of

grievances and engaged in d iscussions which l ed to no practical resul t .

So much has th is s truck those most competent to form an opinion tha t

I hnd tha t the firs t Vi ce-president,Sir Lawrence Pee l

,expressed a very

decided opinion agains t i t,and says of the Council

,in a shor t memo

randum

It has no jurisdiction in the nature of that of a grand inquest of the nation .

Its functions are purely legislative and are l imited even in that respect . I tis not an Anglo-Indian House of Commons for the redress of grievances torefuse supplies , and so forth .

These obvious objections were pointed out to me by the government of

India last year , and i t was my intention to have introduced a measure uponthe subject in the course of the session .

2 I felt , however, so much difii cul tyin deciding in what shape the measure should be framed that I deferred itsproposal until the present year , and Lord Canning , who was very anxiousthat such a measure should be pressed , consented to defer his departure from

2 P arl iamentary Debates , 3d Ser. , Vol . CLXIII (May—June, cols . 63 7—40.

2 Ibid .

, col . 639 .

THE INDIAN COUNCILS ACT OF 1861 35

India in order that he with his great experience of the country might introducethe change .

l

The Indian Councils Bill of 1 86 1 was much more de ta i led than

that of 1 858 and par took to a very grea t degree of the na ture of a con

s titution which furnished the founda tion of the imperia l government

for the thir ty-one years to fo l low . As such i t meri ts special considera

tion .

2

The act provided tha t the Excutiv e Counci l of the governor

genera l shou ld consis t of fiv e ord inary members,three of whom should

be appoin ted by the secre tary of s ta te in counci l,a majori ty of the

Counci l concurring . They were to have had at leas t ten years ’ service

under the Company or the Crown . The o ther two were to be appointed

by the Crown . One of these twowas to be an Engl ish or Sco tch lawyer ofexperience . The lawmember was a relic of 1 853 and presided over thelegislative depar tment . Cus tom fixed their term at fiv e years . The

secretary of s ta te might appo in t the commander-in-chief as an extraor

dinary member of the Council , and he regu larly d id so .

When the Counci l sa t in ei ther of the provinces , the governor wasenti t led to a sea t as an ex traord inary member . This resul ted in the

governor of Bengal so s i tting for hal f the year while the Counci l wasat Ca l cut ta

,and the l ieu tenan t governor of the Punjab for the res t of

the year whi le i t was at S imla . T he Council was empowered to appoin ta temporary successor to the governor-genera l in ca se of his dea th or

resigna tion . By Section 8,the governor—genera l was given power to

make rules for the conduct of business in his Execu tive Council .Lord Canning made has te to avai l himself of this righ t to remodel

his ponderous,impossible Executive Counci l into the semb lance of a

cab inet in which,ins tead of everyone do ing everything

,each member

was in charge of one or more of the depar tments of the government .3

Ibid . , col . 640 .

2 T he passage of the Indian Councils Act of 1 86 1 through Parliament was as

follows :

June 6 , introduced and read for the first time .

June 1 3 , passed second reading without div ision .

June 28, passed third reading without div ision .

July 1, passed firs t reading in Lords .

July 9 , passed second reading in Lords .

July 2 2, passed third reading in Lords .

August 1 , receiv ed the royal assent , I bid .,Vol s .CLXIII , CLXIV index .

3W . W. Hunter, Lord Mayo, pp . 81 -82 .

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELFLGOVERNMENT IN INDIA

The secre tary was re ta ined and , as a l istener , a t tended the mee tingswhere the aflairs of his depar tmen t were under cons idera tion

,bu t he

was responsibl e to the Counci l member who was the ini tiating member for the department

,respons ibl e for i ts business

,in charge of i ts

measures,and represented i t in the Council

,before which he was bound

to lay a l l important measures .

Under the new a lloca tion of business the governor-general himsel finvariab ly took the ForeignDepar tment

,l eaving the Home

,the Revenue

,

the Financial,the M i li ta ry

,and the Legisla tive depar tments to be

appor tioned among the Counci l . As business increased in la ter yearsand new depar tments were added

,they fe ll to one or the o ther of the

members . In practice the finance member has usual ly held the portfolio for the Finance Departmen t ; the lawmember , for the Legisla t ive ;and the commander-in-chief

,for the M i l i tary Depar tment .

The regu lar meetings were held once a week and as many ex traones as the governor-general deemed neces sary.

I The sess ions werepriva te and informal

,the members being forb idden to rise from thei r

sea ts when they addressed the Council . The language was Engl ish2

a l though Lord Canning proposed to so conduct business as to alloweven Indians un

’

acquain ted with Engl ish to par ticipate .

For the purposes of legisla tion the governor-genera l was to nominate

not less than s ix or more than twelve add i tiona l members,one-hal f of

whom were to be non-ofii cial s . The ir term was to be two years . The

advisabil i ty of abol ishing the Legisla tive Counci l h ad been serious lyconsidered bu t given up . The fol lowing is the explanation of S ir

Charl es Wood

The present constitution of the Council for Legislative Purposes havingfail ed , we have naturally to consider what should be substituted , and in doingso we must advert to the two extreme notions with regard to legislation whichprevail in India . The notion of legislation which is entertained by a native isthat of a chief or sovereign who makes what laws he pleases . He has l ittle orno idea of any distinction between the executive and legislative functions ofgovernment . A native chief wil l assemble his nobles around him in the durbar ,where they freely and frankly express their opinions ; but having informedhimse lf by their commun ications

,he determines by his own will what shall be

“ Constitutional Reforms , P arl iamentary P apers , p . 5 2 , East India, 1 9 1 8 .

2 Howthe required us e of English afiected the nativ es is illustrated by the allegedremark of a Maharajah of the Northwest : “At firs t I found it v ery difficul t but therewas the gov ernor-general who elected me and when he raised his hand I raised mine ,and when he put his hand down ,

I put down mine .

”—Parl iamentary Debates, 4th

Ser. , Vol . III , col . 95 .

THE INDIAN COUNCILS ACT OF 186 1 3 7

done . Among the various proposals which have been made for the government

of India is one that the power of legislation should rest entirely on the executivebut that there should be a consultative body ; that is that the governorgenera l should assembl e from time to time a considerable number of personswhose opinions he should hear and by whose opinions he should not be bound ;and that he should himself consider and decide what measures should beadopted . In the last session of Parliament Lord E llenborough developed a

scheme approaching this in character in the House of Lords,but Hon . gentle

men will s ee,in the dispatches which hav e been laid upon the table

,that both

Lord Canning considers this impos s ibl e and al l the members of his government,

as we ll as the members of the Indian Company , concur in the opin ion that,in

the present'

s tate of feeling in India,it is quite imposs ible to revert to a state of

things in which the executive government a lone legislated for the country .

The opposite extreme is the desire which is natura l to Englishmen whereverthey be— that they should have a representative body to make the laws bywhich they are to be governed . I am sure , however , that everyone who con

siders the condition of India wi l l s ee that it is impossible to constitute such a

body in that country . You cannot possibly assemble at any one place inIndia person s who shal l be the real representatives of the v arious classes ofthe native population of that empire . I t is quite true that when you diminishthe area over which legislation is to extend you diminish the d ifficul ty of sucha plan . In Ceylon

,which is not more extensive than a large collectorate in

India , you have a legis lative body consisting partly of Englishmen and partlyof natives

,and I do not know that government has worked unsuccessful ly

,

but with the extended area with which we have to deal in India i t would bephysically impossibl e to constitute such a body . The natives who are residentin the towns no more represent the resident native population than a highlyeducated native of London

,at the present , represents a highland Chieftain or a

feudal baron of ha lf a dozen centuries ago . T o talk of a native representationis

,therefore

,to talk of that which is s imply and utterly impossible . Then

comes the question to what extent we can have a representation of the Englishsettlers in India . No doubt it would not be d ifficu l t to obtain a representationof the ir interests

,but I must say that of a l l governing or l egislative bodies none

is so dangerous or so mischievous as one which represents a dominant l aceruling ov er an extended nativ e population . A l l experience teaches us thatwhere a dominant race rules another

,the mildest form of government is

despotism.

I

Accordingly the Legi sla tive Counci l was re ta ined , bu t the presumptuousnes s of the previous Council was rigidly guarded aga ins t by givingthe governor-genera l power to make ru les for the conduct of i ts business .

Furthermo re,no bus iness was to be transacted a t i ts mee tings bu t the

1 Ibid .

, 3d Ser.,Vol . CLXIII (M ay

-June,

cols . 640 cl s eq .


consideration and enactment of measures introduced into the Council

for enactmen t . It'

was not lawful for any member to make or the

Counci l to en terta in any motion un less for leave to in troduce somemeasures or having reference to one a l ready introduced .

I t was not lawful for any member to in troduce withou t the previoussanction of the governor-genera l any measure affecting : ( 1 ) the pub l i c

deb t or pub l ic revenues of Ind ia,or by which any charge wou ld be

impo sed on such revenues ; (2 ) rel igion or re l igious rights and usages

of any class of Her Majesty’s subjects in India ; (3) d iscipl ine or the

main tenance of any par t of Her Majes ty’s mi li tary or nava l forces ;

(4) the re la tions of the government wi th foreign princes or s tates .

I

N0 lawwas to be va l id until i t had received the assen t of the governorgenera l or Her Majes ty’s assen t through the secretary of s ta te forInd ia in counci l .

The signa ture of the governor-genera l,or in his absence that of the

temporary pres iden t , was necessary for the va l id i ty of any act . He

was a lso given the power of making a temporary ord inance,no t to rema in

in force for more than s ix mon ths . The reasons for this veto power asgiven by S ir Charles Wood were that :

The natives do not distinguish very cl early between the acts of the govern~

ment itse lf and the acts of those who a pparently constitute it . namely themembers of the Legislative Council ; and in one of Lord Canning’s dispatcheshe points out the mischiefs which have on that account arisen from publicity .

He says that ,‘

s o far as the English settlers are concerned , publicity is adv antageous ; but that if publicity is to continue , care must be taken to prevent

the natives confounding the measures which are adopted with injudiciousspeeches which may be made in the Legislative Council . I feel it

,therefore ,

necessary to strengthen the hand of the government so as to enable them not

only by veto to prevent the passing of a law,but to prevent the introduction

of any bil l which they think calcul ated to excite the minds of the native population ; repeating the caution which I have before given ,

I say i t behooves usto be cautious and careful in our legislation .

2

On the posi tive s ide and subject to these checks , the Counci l wasgiven very ex tensive legis la tive powers . I t was empowered to enact :

laws and regulations for repealing , amending , or a ltering any laws or regul ationsnow in force or hereafter to be in force in Indian territories now under thedominion of Her Majesty and make laws and regulations for al l persons ,

2 Panchanandas Mukherj i,Indi emConsti tutional Documents , 1 7 73- 1 9 1 5 , pp . 1 6 2

et s eq . ; a lso LawJ ournal,XXXIX ( 1 86 1 9 7 .

2 Parl iamentary Debates , 3d Ser.,Vol . CLXIII (May

-June, col . 642 .


whether British or natives,foreigners or others , and for al l courts of justice

whatever,and for all places and thi ngs within the said territories and for al l

servants of the government of India within the dominions of princes and

states in a ll iance with Her Majesty ; and the laws and regul ations so to bemade by the governor-general in counci l shal l control and supersede any lawsand regulations in any wise repugnant there to which shall have been madeprior thereto by governors of the presidencies of Fort St . George and Bombayrespective ly in council , or the governor or lieutenant governor in council of anypresidency or other territory forwhich a council may be appointed , with powerto make laws and regulations under and by virtue of this Act ; provided a lwaysthat the said governor-genera l in council sha ll not have the power of makingany laws or regul ations which shal l repeal or in any way afiect any of the

provis ions of this Act , or certain other acts mentioned by number and name,

orwhich may afi'

ect the authority of Parl iament or the constitution and rightsof the East India Company , or any part of the unwritten laws or constitutionof the Un ited Kingdom of Great B ritain and Ireland

,whereon may depend

in any degree the al legiance of any person to the Crown of the Un ited Kingdom

,or the sovereignty or domin ion of the Crown over any part of the said

territories . 2

The regulations2 in force in the non-regulation provinces weredeclared va l id

,bu t by impl i ca tion i t was provided tha t there should

be no legisla tion thereaf ter in Ind ia except as provided for by i ts s ta tu tes .

The provincial legisla tive counci ls were revived in Madras and Bombay

a long l ines similar to those of the Imperia l Legisla tive Council . 3 The

addi tiona l4 members to be summoned for legis la tive purposes were tonumber from four to eight . Not less than hal f of them were to be

non-ofii cial s . Their terms were to be two years . The counci ls weresubject to the regula tions of their respective governors in the ma t ter

of procedure, j us t as the Imperial Legisla tive Counci l was subjec t tothe governor-genera l .

Withou t the previous consent of the governor i t was not lawful tointroduce any measure affecting the publ ic revenues of the pres idencies .

2 LawJ ournal,XXXIX ( 1 86 1 9 7 ; a lso P . Mukherj l , op. ci t , p . 1 56 .

2 S ir Henry Maine,Proceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Governor—General

of India , VI 20 .

3 In 1 86 2 the gov ernor of Benga l was giv en a legislativ e counci l largely as a resultof the Orissa famine and the maladministration of Sir Cecil Beadon and his Boardof Rev enue . It consisted of four official s and four non-ofii cial s . M . E . Grant Duff ,Life of S ir Henry Maine, pp . 3 7 2

-73 ; also Montgomery Martin

,The Progres s and

P resent S tate of Bri ti sh Indi a , p . 1 78 .

4 LawJ ournal,XXXIX (1 86 1 99 ; also P . Mukherp , op. cit.

, pp . 1 59 et s eq .

Sec . 29 et s eq. of Indian Councils Act of 1 86 1 .


The assen t of the governor-genera l to a l l their laws was necessary fortheir va l id i ty . These provincia l counci ls were to have power to make

,

repea l,or amend al l laws provided they d id not affect the acts of Parl ia

men t in force'

in their presidency . Except wi th the sanction of the

governor-genera l they were a lso not to take in to consideration the

fol lowing classes of. laws , or regu la tions ( 1 ) affecting the pub l ic deb t

of Ind ia or the cus toms du ties,or any o ther tax or du ty now in force

and imposed by au thori ty of the government of India for genera l purposes of such governmen t ; (2 ) regu la ting any of the current co in or

i ssues of any b i l l s , no tes , or o ther paper currency ; 3) regu la ting theconveyance of le t ters by the post-office or messages by the e lectric

te legraph within the presidency ; (4) a ltering in any way the pena l

code of India , as estab lished by act of the governor-genera l in counci l

(No . 42 of (5) affecting rel igion or the re l igious ri tes and usages

of any class of Her Majesty’s subjects in Ind ia ; (6) affecting the d isci

p line or the ma in tenance of_

any part of HerMajesty’s mili tary or nava l

forces ; (7) affecting the rela tions of the governmen t wi th foreign princes

or s tates .

I The governor-genera l was a lso given power to ex tend theseprovincia l legis lative counci ls to Benga l and “

o ther par ts of Ind ia .

Lord Canning himse l f was respons ible for the re-es tab l ishmen t of

the provincia l legisla tive counci ls in Madras and Bombay,where they

had been in abeyance since 1 853 .

“He s trongly fe l t2 that a l though

great benefits had resul ted from the introduction of members in to his

Counci l who possessed a knowledge of loca l i ties— the in teres ts of whichd iffer wide ly in d ifferen t par ts of the coun try— the changes had not

been sufficient,in the firs t place

,to overcome the fee l ing which the o ther

presidencies en ter ta ined aga ins t be ing overridden,as they ca l led i t

,by

the Benga l Council , or, on the o ther hand,to overcome the advan tages

of having a body legisla ting for these presidencies withou t acqua in tancewi th loca l wants and necessi ties .Moreover

,Sir Charles Wood said in discussing the ques tion

It is obviously necessary that these bodies should not be empowered tolegislate on subjects which I may cal l of Indian rather than of loca l importance .

The Indian debt , the customs of the country , the army of India,and other

matters , into the details of which it is not necessary that I should enter , be long

to a class of subjects which the local legislatures wil l be prohibited from enteringupon without the sanction of the governor—general .3

2 Law J ournal,XXXIX ( 1 86 1 99 ; also P . Mukherj i

,op. ci t.

, p . 1 6 2,

Sec . 43 .

2 P arl iamentary Debates, 3d Ser.

,Vol . CLXIII (May

—June,

cols . 643—44 .

3 Ibid .,col . 644 .


was the firs t break in the rigid exclusiveness of the British control ofthe di rection of the po l icy of the governmen t of Bri tish India . Subord ina te and even occasiona l ly offi cial s of higher rank had been na tives

,

2

bu t never before had they been in trus ted with more than the functionsof carrying out the decisions of Engl ish superiors . Now,

for the firs t

time,Indians were to be granted a vo ice in the determina tion of po licy

,

sma l l though i t was .

The concession,however

,seems to have been made pure ly for the

interes ts of governmen t efficiency and with no idea of anyth ing in the

nature of se lf—government . A minute of Sir Bartle Frere,wri tten in

1 860,pu t the reasons in these words :

T he addition of the native e lement has,

“ I think,become necessary owing

to our diminished opportunities of learning through indirect channels wha tthe natives think of our measures

,and how the native community wil l be

afiected by them . I t is useless to speculate on themany causes which have conspired to deprive us of the advantages which our predecessors enjoyed in thisrespect . Oi the fact there can be no doubt and no one will

,I think

,object

to the only obvious means of regaining in part the advantages which we havelost un less he is prepared for the perilous experiment of continuing to l egislateformill ions of people

,with fewmeans of knowi ng , except by rebell ion ,

whetherthe laws suit them or not .

2

Sir Char les Wood,in his speech on the act

,gave some of the more

immedia te incentives when he sa id :

I regret to say that the recent mutiny has aggravated these difli cul ties .

The unl imited confidence which a few years ago was fel t by the Europeanpopulation in the natives of India has given way to feel ings of distrus t .Formerly there was , at a l l events , no feeling of antagonism between the

higher portion of official persons and the great mass of the population . The

latter looked up to the government as to a protector , and if any feeling of

antagonism existed,it existed only between them and those members of the

service or the English settlers who were brought into antagonistic contact withthem . When I heard some time ago that the feeling of antagonismwas extending itself lower among the natives and higher among the officers

, I deeplyregretted it as the most a larming symptom of altered circumstances whichmust obviously tend to increase the dangers of our position . I do not wish

2 P arl i amentary Debates , 3d Ser.

,Vol . CLXI (Feb .

—March,

col . 475 . Both

in Oudh and in the Punjab , Lord Canning had giv en to the nat iv e chiefs large

power, both fiscal and magisterial,which they had administered

,not onlywith great

adv antage,but a lso with a degree of impartiality which might hardly hav e been

expected .

2 “ Constitutional Reforms , P arl iamentaryPapers , XVIII , 5 1 . East India , 1 9 1 8 .

THE INDIAN COUNCILS ACT OF 186 1 43

to dwel l on this matter , but it would be fol ly to shut our eyes to the increas

ing diffi cul ties of our position in India ,and it is an additiona l reason why we

should make the earl iest endeavor to put a l l our institutions on the soundestpossible foundations . I t is notoriously difficul t for any European to makehimse lf intimately acquainted with either the fee lings or opinions of the nativepopulation .

2

I propose that when the governor—genera l’s Council mee ts for the purposeof making laws and regulations , the governor-genera l should summon , in

addition to the ordinary members of the Council , not less than six nor morethan twe lve additional members , of whom one-half a t least sha l l not hold

office under government . These additiona l membersmay be e ither Europeans ,persons of European extraction

,or natives . Lord Canning strongly recom

mends that the Council should hold its meetings in diti erent parts of India ,

for the purpose of obta ining at times the assistance of those native chiefs andnoblemen whose attendance at Calcutta would be impossible or irksome tothemselves . I do not propose that the judges ex officio sha ll have seats in thelegislature ; but I do not preclude the governor-general from summoning oneof their number if he chooses . They were useful members of a body meeting

as a committee for the purpose of discussing and framing laws , but I think i t isinexpedient and incompatible with their functions tha t they should be long to a

body partaking in any degree of a popular character . I propose that thepersons nominated should attend a l l meetings he ld within a year . I f youcompe l the ir attendance for a longer period you render i t very unlikely tha tany natives except those res ident upon the spo t wil l attend the meetings ofthe Council . This also is recommended by Lord Canning . Hon . gentlemenwil l have noticed the great success which has attended the association with us

of the T alookdars of Oudh and the S irdars in the Punjab in the duties of adminis tering the revenue , and Lord Canning has borne testimony to the admirablemanner in which they have performed the ir duties . I bel ieve greater adv antages wil l result from admitting native chiefs to co-operate with us for legis lative purposes , but they wil l no longer fee l , as they ‘have hitherto done

,that

they are excluded from the management of affairs in their own country , andnothing I am persuaded wil l tend more to concil iate to our rule the minds ofnatives of high rank .

2

On the actua l working of the provis ion for the admiss ion of na tives,

Sir Henry Ma ine wro te the fo l lowing in 1 868 :

Nobody who has watched the changes which have occurred during thelast fiv e or six years in the composition of the Legislative Council can fail tohave been struck by the steady deterioration

,in po int both of social rank and

of mental cal ibre , of that native element from which so much was at firs t

2 P arl i amentary Debates, 3d Ser.

,Vol . CLXIII (M ay

-June , cols . 634—35 .

2 Ibid .,cols . 64 2—43 .


expected and to which so much importance is stil l attached at home . Whenthe existing legislature was firs t established it included a sovereign prince

[Maharaja of Patiala] the firs t statesman of the native territories [Raja D inkarRao] and a wea lthy gentleman of an historica l family of much influence withhis countrymen [Raja Deo Narayan Singh] and of singular sagacity . We havenowtwo Bengali gentlemen of whom onewas formany years of his life a government servant and a zami ndar from the Northwes t—al l three very respectablebut none of any extraordinary weight . The result of my experience duringthese fiv e or s ix years is that we cannot get the men we want and that whenwe get them we cannot keep them or have the greatest diffi cu l ty in keepingthem .

His Excel lency the Viceroy has the nominations to the Council entirely inhis hands and i t is to him that application for his sanction to the departure of

native members is addressed . He is aware howmany times and .by whomthe seats in the Council have been decl ined and whether or not the nativemembers exhibit anxiety to get away . I shall be surprised if he has not

observed that there is the utmost re luctance to come and the utmos t hurryto depart and if he does not attribute both to the fear and detestation withwhich the climate of Calcutta is regarded by al l the natives of India not born

in Bengal or indeed in the Vicin ity of Calcutta itself . We have seen a semisovereign chief reduced by these feelings to such a pass that after two or threedays’ stay he slipped away in the night leaving a medica l certificate behind him ,

and I state the impression repeatedly made on myself when I say that the discomfort of those native members who do remain is sometimes quite pitiabl e .

’

2

T o summarize the ma in fea tures of_

the Ind ian Councils Act of

1 86 1,i t restored to the governmen ts of Madras and Bombay the powers

of legislation which the Char ter Act of 1 833 had withdrawn ,bu t with

the impor tan t distinction tha t thenceforth the previous sanction of the

governor-general was made requ isi te for their legis la tion in certain

cases,and tha t al l their acts required the subsequen t approva l of the

governor-genera l in addi tion to tha t of their gov ernor .2 T o th is exten tthe governor—genera l was given d irect and persona l contro l over theexercise of a l l legis lative au thori ty in Ind ia .

The legisla tive council s were restored to Madras and Bombay by

expand ing the execu tive counci ls in the same fashion as the governo rgenera l ’s . The governor-genera l was a l so d irected to estab lish a similarleg is la tive council in Bengal

,which was done in 1 86 2

,and empowered

to do so for the Nor thwes tern Provinces and the Punjab . Thi s was

done in 1 886 and 1 897 respective ly . For purposes of leg is la tion the

2 Grant Duh‘

,op. ci t

, pp . 3 70—7 1 .

2 Constitutional Reforms,P arl iamentaryP apers , pp . 53

—54 . East India, 1 9 1 8 .


governor-genera l ’s Council was reinforced by add i tional members,not

less than s ix nor more than twelve in number,nominated for two years ,

of whom not l ess than ha l f were to be non—official s .

The legislative power of the governor-genera l in counci l was extended

over al l persons,whether Bri tish or Indian

,foreigners or o thers

,within

the Indian terri tories under the dominion of Her Majes ty,over al l

cour ts of j us tice,over a l l p laces and things within the sa id terri tories

,

over a l l Bri tish subjects within the dominion of princes and sta tes in

a l liance with Her Majes ty . The act al so gave lega l force to al l the

misce llaneous rules and orders which had been issued in the newly

acquired terri torities of the Company , known as the non-regula tion

provinces,e i ther by ex tend ing or adapting to them the regulations which

had been made for the older provinces,or frankly

‘

by the execu tive

au thori ty of the governor-general in counci l . 2 The governor-genera lwas given power to make in time of emergency temporary ord inances

which,however

,were not to remain in force more than s ix mon th s .

There was no a t tempt a t demarca ting the j urisd ictions of the centra l

and local legisla tures,excep t tha t in cer ta in ma t ters the governor

general’s sanction had to be ob tained . With this exception the Imperia l

Counci l cou ld l egisla te for the who le of Ind ia and the provincial counci lfor the who le province .

The precoci ty of the exis ting Legis la tive Counci l was rebuked . I thad mode led i ts procedure upon tha t of Parl iamen t and shown wha twas cons idered an inconvenient amoun t of independence by asking

questions abou t,and d iscuss ing the proprie ty of

,the me thods of the

execu tive government . The functions of the new counci l were s tric tly

l imited to legis la tion . They were express ly forb idden to transact anybusiness excep t the considera tion and enactmen t of legisla tive measures ,or to en tertain any mo tion except a mo tion for leave to introduce a

b i ll orhaving reference to a b i ll actua l ly introduced . Andmos t impor tantant of a l l

,na tives were for the firs t time admitted to membership in

the Imperia l Legis la tive Council .Some fea tures of these legis la tive councils es tab l ished in 1 86 1 should

be kept especia l ly in mind . The legis la tive counci ls then es tab l ished

were mere ly committees for the purpose of making laws— committees bymeans of which the execu tive governmen t ob ta ined advice and assis tancein their legis la tion

,and the public derived the advan tage of fu l l pub l i ci ty

,

being assured at every s tage of the law-making process . Although

2 In 1 870 the power of legislating for disturbed or backward tracts by regu lationsmade in Executiv e Council was restored to the gov ernor-general .


the governmen t enacted the laws through i ts Counci l,private legisla tion

being unknown, yet the pub l ic had a right to make i tse l f heard and the

execu tive was bound to defend i ts legis lation . And when the laws wereonce made

,the execu tive was as much bound by them as the pub l ic

,

and the du ty of enforcing them be longed to the cour ts of j us tice . In

later yea rs there was a growing deference to the opinions of impor tan t

classes,even when they conflicted with the conclusions of the govern

ment , and such conclusions were of ten modified to mee t the wishes ofthe non-official members . S ti l l i t wou ld not be wrong to describe the lawsmade in the legis la tive counci l s as in rea l i ty the orders of the governmen t ;bu t the laws were made in a manner which insured pub l ici ty and d iscuss ion

,were enforced by the cour ts and not by the execu tive

,cou ld

not be changed bu t by the same del ibera te and pub l ic processes as tha tby which they were made

,and cou ld be enforced aga ins t the execu tive

in favor of ind ividua ls when occasion required .

The counci ls were not de l ibera tive bod ies wi th respec t to any sub

ject bu t tha t of the immed ia te legisla tion before them . They cou ldnot inquire into grievances

,cal l for info rmation

,or examine the conduc t

of the execu tive . The acts of the adminis tra tion coul d not be impugned ,nor cou ld they be proper ly defended in such assemb l ies except Wi th

reference to the particu la r measure under d iscussion .

As to the genera l working of the act,Lord Curzon sa id in 1 892

'

This system has undoubtedly worked well . I t has justified itself and theanticipations of i ts promoters . Operating to a very large extent through the

agency of special committees composed of experienced persons , i t has proved to

be an effi cient instrument for the ev olution of laws . The publicity which has

attended every stage of its proceedings has had a good eflect . A number of

native gentlemen of intelligence , capacity , and public spirit have been per

suaded to come forward and lend their services to the functions of government ,and undoubtedly the standard of merit in these legislative councils has stood .

high . Indeed , I would venture to say that few better legislative machines ,with regard to the ir efii cacy for the particular object forwhich they were con

structed , are everywhere in existence , nor can better legislation produced by

such bodies be found in any other country .

2

V iewed from the perspective of the who le period of Bri tish dominion

in Ind ia,the Ind ian Councils Act of 1 86 1 closed a chapter .2 I t comple ted

the construction and conso l idation of the mechan ica l framework of the

2 P arl iamentary Debates , 4th Ser.

,Vol . I II col . 55 .

Constitutional Reforms; Parl iamentary P apers , p . 55 . East India , 1 9 1 8 .

THE INDIAN COUNCILS ACT OF 1861

governmen t of India and furnished a founda tion for a genera tion of

Engl ish admin istra tors to build'

on . In the period of which i t marked

the close,the three separa te provinces had come into a common sys tem

and the intervening terri tory brough t directly or ind irectly underBri tish ru le . The legisla tive au thori ty of the governor-genera l in

Council had been asser ted over a l l the prov inces and extended to al l theirinhab i tants . The princip le of recogniz ing local needs and wel comingloca l knowledge had been admitted to the ex ten t of crea ting two loca l

councils,in to which a few non-official s and even Ind ian members had

been admitted for the purpose of advice . The au thori ty and actua l

contro l'

,however

,was as yet jea lou sly re tained in the hands of the

official s .

CHAPTER.

IV

MUNICIPALITIES,1858—68

The inactivity of Parliament after 1 86 1Development in India of municipa l government

The lawof 1 850

ProvisionsExtent of application and working

Municipal developments , 1 860—68The new laws

ReasonsCumbersomeness of the act of 1 850The Sani tary repor t of 1 863

The resolution of Lord Lawrence,September 1 4 , 1 864

The municipa l pol icy of the government—to devise a cheap and efii cient

pol ice and sanitation systemThe acts

The Bengal Vill age Po lice Act of 1 856The Bengal Municipalit ies Act of 1 864The Madras Municipal Act of 1 865The Bombay amendments to act of 1 850, in 1 86 1 , 1 86 2 , and 1 865

Their working in KarachiThe Punjab acts

The Lucknow Municipal Act of 1 864The beginning of municipa l government elsewhere in the PunjabThe Punjab Act of 1 86 7—wide powers granted to the l ieutenantgovernor

Extension of the act to the Centra l Provinces and OudhThe Northwestern Provinces Act of 1 868

Purpose and planMode l—the Punjab act somewhat elaborated

The Bengal Act of 1 868Types of mun icipal acts

1 . M inute and particular provisions as in Bengal2 . Moderate detail as in Northwes tern Provinces

3 . Vague and genera l—the PunjabThe features of the laws of the 1 860

’s—s anitation and police

Obstacles to the acts encountered—lack of capable men ,apathy of public

opin ionGovernment’s be lief in necessity for offi cial guidanceT he working of the acts


to appoin t the necessary servan ts,to appor tion in taxes , ei ther house

assessmen ts or town du ties,to prohib i t nu isances

,and to make necessary

con tracts .

Sir Wil liam Mansfield,commander—in-chief

,speaking on the Nor th

wes tern Provinces Mun icipa li ties Bil l in 1 868,and referring to the

working of the act of 1 850 said :

Lieutenant governors,commissioners

,and magistrates in this country

were generally an imated by the most ardent zeal , but it did sometimes happenthat zeal outran discretion . When there was total irresponsibilitythey had reason to put some check on the actions of the l oca l ofii cial s . Theywere able to quote various instances in which the application of local funds incertain places had been made with a view to ornament and beautify local ities ,sometimes much more to the conven ience of European ladies and gentlementhan of the peopl e who paid the taxes . They had beautiful parks inone place

, and magnificent gardens in another,a l l made out of loca l funds .

Very recently he was stopping for a day in a town of some tenthousand inhabitants

,in which there was a beautifu l newmarket place , a

handsome dispensary,a new square ; a cross erected at the meeting of certain

roads [all done] from loca l funds .

2

Lord Lawrence himse l f admitted this saying,In many places where

undeniab le improvementshad been effected,they had been made more for

the advantage of Europeans than na tives,whereas the greater por tion

of the funds had been pa id by na tives,

”2 bu t ci ted the case of Lahore

where the glacis of the town had been turned in to gardens very muchto the heal th of the town and numerous members of the native com

muni ty had expressed themselves wel l pleased with the resu l ts .

In the Punjab the cri tici sm was tha t i t was found tha t the pro

cedure of the in troduction of the act was too ted ious . Mr. Brandreth ,3

in d iscussing the law in 1 866,d id not regard i t necessary to ask the

consen t of the townspeople for introduction of municipal governmen t ,a l though he d id for me thods of taxa tion . Moreover

,the act made’

no

provision for the police,which the subsequent ActV of 1 86 1 had ordained

shou ld be appoin ted by the l ieu tenan t governor .

The act of 1 850 had been in troduced , however, into four or fiv e

places in the Punjab . In these the commi ttees were composed ei ther

entire ly or in par t of Europeans . They enjoyed,consequent ly, a more

independen t pos i tion than wou ld have o therwise been the case:

2 Proceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Governor-Geneml of India , VII2 1 .

2 Ibid .

, pp . 38—39 .

3 Ibid . ,V 236 .

MUNICIPALITIES , 1858—68 5I

In general the act of 1 850 was cumbersome in opera tion because of

i ts vo lun tary provis ions , and i t would befo re long have been e i ther

amended or repea led . The immed ia te impu lse , however , came from

the repor t of '

the Royal Army Sani tary Commission , pub l ished in 1 863 .

The ofii cia l interes t aroused by i t in sanitary ma t ters man ifes ted i tsel f

ex tens ively in the mun icipa l fiel d .

On the four teen th of September , 1 864 , Lord Lawrence’s government

(see Gazette of Indz'

a Extraordinary) issued a reso lu tion in which i t is sa id

The people of this country are perfectly capable of administering theirown local afiairs . The mun icipal teeling is deeply rooted in them Holding the position we do in India , every view of duty and po licy should induceus to leave as much as possib le of the business of the country to be done by thepeople , by means of funds raised by themselves , and to bonfine ourselves to

doing those things which must be done by the government ; and to influencingand directing in a general way all the movements of the social machine .

2

Acting on this principle the gov ernment'

of Ind ia embarked on a

po l icy which Sir John Lawrence summarized when ,severa l yea rs la te r

in the course of the deba te on the Punjab Municipal Act of 1868,he sa id

For severa l years the government had been urging the adoption of sani taryimprovements and arrangements

,the establishment of hospital s , the cons truc

tion of sarais and a ll those numerous matters which resul t in such great improvements to the country. and benefit to the inhabitants , particularly the poor .T o enable such improvements to be carried out they must give the commi s smners some power to raise funds for the purpose .

2

This po l icy manifes ted i tse l f in a series of laws . The firs t of thesewas the Benga l Municipal Act of It4 prov ided

s a body of seven

Go ldsmid,

“Questions of the Day in India ,

”N ineteenth Century Revi ew,

XIII 74 1 .

2 P roceedings of the Legi s l ative Counci l of the Governor-General of India , VII39

—40

3 For Bengal another act had been passed in 1 856 (No . XX) . It was intended toprov ide for the appointment and maintenance of police chauki dars in Cit ies

,towns ,

stations , suburbs , and bazars .”

Although primarily a po lice measure , and intendedas nothingmore

,itwas extended to include sweepers in some places . Its chief impor

tance,howev er

,was as part of the foundations of the later laws . I t prov ided for

tax lev ies by punchayets of from three to fiv e members appointed by the magistrate ,Ibid .

,XXIII

, 534 .

4 Acts of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Leiutenant Governor of Bengal , 1 864 , Act

III, pp . 2 1 5 et s eq .

5 The municipa l acts for Bengal , Madras,and Bombay were enacted by the

prov incia l legislativ e counci ls,and unfortunately their debates hav e not been av a i l

able . Their prov isions were more e laborate as a rule,but the underlying principles

were the same as for the acts passed by the Imperial Legislativ e Council .


or more mun icipal commissioners,appo inted by the l ieu tenan t governor

of Benga l supp lemented by ex ofii cio members,the commiss ioner of

the d ivision,the magistra te of the d is tric t

,and the execu tive engineer .

Themagistra tewas to be ex ofii cio cha irman . This bodywas to impose theusua l land taxes and town duties . I t was applied in twen ty-fiv e towns . 2

Madras fol lowed Benga l and in 1 865 passed a municipa l act .

2 I twas a new depar ture for tha t province

,bu t in genera l fol lowed the

Benga l law,al though on more e labora te lines . In Madras the body of

commissioners was to number fiv e or more ins tead of seven or more as

in Benga l,bu t they were to be appointed in the same fashion . The

ex ofii cio members were to be the magistra te of the d istrict and the

pub l ic-works ofli cer. The mos t impor tan t d ifference was in the grea terelabora teness with which the Madras mea sure covered the functionsand taxes au thorized

,bu t the d iff erence was in amount of de ta il

,not

in principle

Bombay was con ten t wi th simple amendmen ts of the act of 1 850 .

These were made in and in 1 865. The lat terwas the Bombayexpression of the mun icipal governmen t movement which had al ready

manifested i tse lf in Benga l and was even then ma teria l iz ing in Madras .

Oi the workings of these laws in Karachi,Mr. S tewar t sa id in 1 868 tha t

he had been intimately connected for severa l years with the municipal commissioners of one of the largest towns in the Bombay presidency

,and one in

which municipa l institutions had succeeded better perhaps than in most ,Karachi . Twelve years ago the principle of e lection was applied to Karach iand rules were laid down under which each important guild or fraternity of theinhabitants obtained the right of e lecting its representatives . The resul t wasthat in Karachi there was a maximum of self-government and a minimum of

official interference .4

2Proceedings of the Legis l ative Counci l of the Governor-Geneml of Ih di a , XII

2 Acts of the Legi s lati ve Counci l of the Governor of Madras , 1 865 , Act X , pp . 5 et s eq.

3W . W . Hunter,op. ci t ,

VIII, 365 . T he most important of these amendments

was that of 1 86 2 . Prev iously the functions of the municipalities had been restrictedto the making and repair of public streets , tank s , drains , etc . , and the prev ention of

nuisances . After the act of 1 86 2 i twas lawful for themto spendmoney on dispensaries ,hospitals , schools, and road-watering . By the same act the gov ernment rece iv ed powerto coerce recalcitrant municipalities into carrying out measures urgently needed .

Up to 1 870 the act of 1 850 itself had only been adopted in 96 towns in Bombay, soav erse were the inhabitants of the urban areas to submitting to municipal taxationand control .

4 Proceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Governor-General of Indi a ,VII

MUNICIPALITIES , 1858—68 53

By 1 87 2 there were two hundred and one mun icipal i ties in the Bombay

pres idency .

2

The Imperial Legisla tive Counci l was slower in get ting under waythan the presidency bod ies . In 1 864 a measure to legal ize the ex is t ingmunicipa l i ty of Lucknow2 was made necessary by the act of 1 86 2 , which

was in terpreted as res tric ting the en tire legis la tive function to the

Legislative Council,and inhib i ting fur ther legis la tion by regula tion of

the governor-general in counci l . A forma l enactment was therefore

impera tive .

3 The Lucknow mun icipal committee was to be composed

of the commiss ioner of Lucknow,the inspector-genera l of the po l ice

in Oudh,the civi l surgeon of Lucknow

,and the engineer of Lucknow .

The non—ofli cial members were to be elected under such ru les as to electora te and e lection as the chief commissioner of Oudh might prescribe .

This act and tha t of 1 850 furnished the grea ter par t of the toundation for the measure which the Imperial Legisla t ive Council framed for

the Punjab in 1 867 . In the Punjab,however

,there had

'

been a nove l

effect produced by the repor t of In the early years subsequen t

to i ts annexa tion the Punjab san i ta tion was ca red for by the d is tric t

offi cers wi th good resul ts as far as their immed ia te local i tywas concerned‘ bu t decreasing by the square of the d istance of the ir remo teness .

Fo l lowing the repor t,S ir Rober t Mon tgomery

,

s then lieu tenan t

governor of the Punjab,determined on in troducing municipal com

mittees in almost a l l of the principa l inhab i ted places ” in the Punjab .

H is wish was to give thereby to the people a more d irect interes t inmat ters tha t so nearly concerned them .

He directed tha t these committees shou ld be appointed by the

people themselves .

6 T o a very grea t degree he was actua l ly successfulin this . “ As far as the persons composing the committees wereconcerned they were in fac t e lective bod ies . They were chosen by

members of the d iff erent trades or in s imilar ways from among thetownspeop le themselves .

”

The committees were general ly composed of natives . In a grea tmany cases the officers of the governmen t were not even members of

2 Ibz’

d . , XI , 1 04 .

2 Ibid . ,II

, 49 .

3This law is published in full in Legis lative Acts of the Governor-General of Indiain Counci l , IV , 46 1 et seq. , by W. Theobald . It was No . XVIII o f 1 864 , passedMarch 24, 1 864 .

4Proceedings of the Legi s lative Counci l of the Governor-General of India , V

(r866) , 2 34 l

3 Ibid .,VI 1 1 1 .

6 Ibid .

,V 234 .


the committees and practically the ir en ti re business was carried on byna tives . I t was the consensus of opinion at the time tha t much goodwork was done by the committees, a long the l ines of sani ta tion ,

in d igging we l ls and tanks , es tab l ishing effi cient conservancy systems , s toppingriver encroachmen ts , and draining swamps .

The who le proceed ing ,2 however , was irregu lar and under the IndianCouncils Act of 1 86 1 Wi thou t lega l authori ty . The town speople pa id

the taxes in consequence of the good unders tand ing subsis ting be tweenthem and thei r commi ttees , and even “

the few defau l ters who hadbeen brough t into court , though i t was probab ly through ignorance ,had never been heard of pleading tha t the taxes were i l lega l . ”

I t was impossib le tha t this pa triarcha l sta te of affa irs cou ld las t,

and the l ieu tenan t governor applied for legis la tion on the subject ino rder bo th to legal ize the newmunicipa l i ties and to un i te them with thefewmunicipa l i ties ex is ting under the Towns Act (No . XXVI) of 1 850

and the Lucknow Mun icipa l Act of 1 864 , in to a more un i form sys tem

of mun icipa l government .

The law2as i t final ly issued from the Legis la tive Counci l at Ca lcu t ta

,

gives the impression of anything bu t l iberal i ty,though doub tless as

advanced as the actua l cond i tions warran ted . I t was,speaking broad ly

,

a car te b lanche to the l ieu tenan t governor to es tab l ish wha tever form

of municipa l governmen t he chose , where he chose . The l ieu tenant

governor was au thorized in any town to appoin t e i ther ex officio or

o therwise , or direct the appo intmen t by e lection of any number of

persons,not less than hy e to be members of the municipa l committee .

He might add to reduce the number or remove members at wil l and makesuch rules for the el ections as he sawfit . All the tax measures required

his previous consen t . The firs t ca l l on the municipa l funds was to be

the pol ice . After i ts requ irements were met money might be expended

for conservancy , san i ta tion ,and genera l improvement of the town .

The committee a lso, subject to the approva l and a l tera tion of the lieutenan t governor , might enact the necessary by-laws .Even at tha t early time there were several , especial ly Mr. R iddel l

who objected to al lowing the l ieu tenan t governor so much d iscretion,

bu t i t was fe l t tha t such extensive con trol was necessary to have in

reserve to cover cases where ma tters wen t wrong . T o meet this objec

2 P roceedings of the Legis l ative Counci l of the Governor-Genera l of India,V

235 .

2 Publ ished in full in Legis l ati ve Acts of the Governor—Genera l in Counci l,

W . Theobald , V, 409 , No . XV of 1 86 7 (March 1 1,

MUNICIPALITIES,1858—68 55

tion and tha t to the octroi , however , the opera tion of the act was limi ted

to five years .This Punjab Municipa l i ty Act of 1 867

2 worked ra ther well . By

1 87 1—7 2 there were three hundred and twenty—four town s and places in

the province in which municipa l income was ra ised . Oi these two hadbeen cons ti tu ted under the old municipa l act of 1 850 ,

and one hundred

and twen ty-seven were consti tu ted under the act of 1 867 . One hundred

and n in ty-fiv e were minor towns in which the municipal income was

raised under executive o rders in accordance wi th previous custom .

The chief commissioners of bo th Oudh and the Cen tral Provinces

had applied for the enactmen t of s imilar measures . The chief commis

s ioner of the Central Prov inces2 d id not at the time approve of the act,

bu t a clause was inser ted giving the governor-general in counci l power

to ex tend i ts opera tion to both provinces . This was subsequently done .

In the Cen tra l Provinces3 over twelve municipal i ties were crea ted under

it,and in Oudh i t was applied to a Considerable number of places .

”

Under S ir George Campbe l l,4 the chief commiss ioner

,the lawwas

mos t libera lly applied in the Central Provinces as the fol lowing selec

tions from one of his circulars show . I t provided for the tria l experimenta l ly of the sys tem of election .

I t will not be necessary to record the votes of those who do not choose toattend and vote but the district ofii cers are requested to use their influence toinduce the people to take an interest in the matter and to give their votes .

I t should be our object to insure that all classes may be fairly represented andespecial ly that the laboring classes who cannot easily make themse lves heardmay have those who wi ll speak for them and take care of their interests .I t is not to be expected that the interest fel t in these e lections wil l be

great at firs t , but the chief commi ssioner bel ieves that if the people find theirrepresentatives have a rea l voice in their taxation and mun icipal management

,

an interest will spring up and substantia l se lf—government may be graduallyintroduced . Wherever the committees have not been duly and properlyelected under rul es previously promulgated , e lections will now be held underthese instructions . Where they have been a lready so elected , they will ofcourse hold ofiice for the term for which they were elected .

5

The fo l lowing year ano ther act of the same character as the Punjab

act was passed by the Imperial Legisla tive Council for the Northwes tern

2 Proceedings of the Legi s l ative Comz’

ei l of the Governor-General of Indi a , XXIII2 24 .

2 Ibe'd .

,VI 1 1 0 .

3 Ibid .,XII 1 78 , 208, 2 78 .


Provinces2 at the reques t of their l ieu tenant governor . I t was framed2

to a great extent on the mode l of the Punjab measure . The reasons

advanced for this measure present the municipa l s i tuation of the time

at a l i t tle d ifferen t angle . Mr. Massey in the course o f the deba te on

the b i ll said :

I t was shown that whereas the present municipa l law[ 1 850] required an

application from the people themselves in order to bring it into play,those

reall y concerned were indifferent in the matter . Un less , therefore , the government acted proprio motu there would be no early prospect of anything beingdone towards municipa l improvement .3

Mr. Cockerel l sa id

One of the main objects of the introduction of mun icipa l administrationwas to stimulate the interes ts of the more intell igent portion of the communi tyof the towns , etc .

,to which it was applied in measures which had for their

object the ame lioration of the condition of the people by inviting them to a

share in the loca l administration which devised those measures and carriedthem into operation .

4

There were also the same reasons advanced for i t as for the PunjabAct of 1 867 . Mr.

“

Brandreth pu t them thus :

Now that a regular organiz ed police force with a police superintendent ati ts head has been established in every district , it was surely desirable that thepo lice in large towns should be part of that body

In a matter so obviously necessary as the construction of public works andthe giving effect to useful sanitary measures in towns, i t was surely advisablethat the loca l governments should be empowered to so far take the initiativeas to require the appo intment of municipal commissioners for these purposesand that it should not be required to go through the somewhat absurd formali typrovided by the existing act, which was not we ll suited to the circumstances ofthe country of ca l ling upon the mass of the inhabitants of such towns to decidewhether they would have the act or not .

5

This Nor thwes tern Provinces Municipal i ties Act was appl ied in

some six ty-two towns .6 One effor t was made to require e lection and

Mr. S tewar t proposed the fo l lowing amendment to the Northwes ternProvinces Act whi le i t was under d iscussion in 1 868.

SECTION 7 . As soon as practicable after their appointment the Councilsha ll prepare and submi t for the sanction of the lieutenant governor ru les for

2 Proceedings of the Legis lati ve Counci l of the Governor-Generat of I ndia , VII

2 Ibid .

, p . 1 4 .3 Ibid .

, p . 25 .4 Ibid .

, p . 3 1 .3 Ibid .

, p . 35.

6 Published in full in the Acts of the Governor-Geh eral of India in Counci l , 1 868 .


and certa in maxims of taxa tion were la id down . Among them the

incidence of taxa tion was more modera te than in the third d ivision .

The third group consis ted of the Punjab,the Cen tral Provinces

,Oudh

,

and Bombay,where the mun icipa l laws were a l together of a loose

charac ter ; where there were no l imits and no maxims of taxa tion ;and where the taxa tion was l ef t very much to the d iscre tion of the

execu tive governmen t .In genera l th e municipa l acts of the six ties had two purposes in

view : the provision for the suppor t of an adequa te po lice force and the

creation of an efficient sys tem of sani ta tion res ting on a deve lopedpubl ic sen timen t . They were primarily adminis tra tiv e measures .

Those concerned wi th the passage of the laws were concerned more Wi thpreven ting the octroi

,or tax on ar ticl es en tering towns

,becoming a

trade-fe t tering trans i t du ty, and similar fea tures , than they were with

the idea of deve loping sel f—government .

As adminis tra tive measures on the whole,the laws were less cumbrous

than that of 1 850, though the la t ter amended s til l opera ted in Bombay .

The laws varied to a considerab le degree in the ex ten t to which theydeta i led the san i tary powers of the municipa l commissioners

,and l is ted

the taxes by means of which the committees were to mee t their expenses .In the ma t ter of se lf-government, however , they were very s imilar asfar as the genera l princip le was concerned . There was l i ttle idea of

po l i tica l tra in ing in the measures . They were designed to promo te sani

tation and pub l ic securi ty by enl is ting the assis tance of the natives,and

to some ex ten t to l ighten the financia l burden of the imperia l governmen t . 2 Consequently

,the governmen t was given the power to s tep in

and a l ter as i t sawfit,whenever occasion arose .

In j udging the motives which inspired these laws , however , i t mus t

not be forgo tten tha t there were very serious obs tacles to be encoun tered

in in troducing the laws . During the deba te in 1 868 on the Northwes tern

Provinces Mun icipa l Act,Sir Henry Maine quo ted the l ieu tenan t

governor of those provinces as saying :

There are towns in which the system of a popular election wou ld not conduce to good government . E ither the number of citizens who by their in tel l igence and public spirit are capable of serving is s o limited that there is littleroom for selection if a working committee is to be had , or those whose influence

2 Proceedings of the Legis l ative Council of the Governor-Geh eral of India, VII1 30 . Mr. Minchin went s o far as to say in the course of the debate on the Northwestern Prov inces Mun icipal Act of 1 868 that the chief object a s he took it inencouraging municipal action was to reliev e to some extent imperial taxation bytaxes self—imposed.


must be respected would not act with persons chosen indifferently . E special lyis

.

it necessary on the firs t introduction of a system to conciliate those who are

the leaders of society,and to us e only the material which by education and

natura l ability is most fitted to perform the duties of the post . I t is only tothe care in attending to this that , in not a few instances , the success of theworking of the act is due . Very recently when the act was introduced into theimportant town of Benares

,the l ieutenant governor was anxious that a t l east

a portion of the committees should be e lected by the citizens and suggestedthis to the commi ttee of the leading residents appointed to draw up the rules

,

but the proposa l did not meet with a favorable reception . Those nativegentlemen who were unquestionably the most public spirited and intel ligent inthat large town thought tha t it would be unwise to introduce such a systemuntil the act had been in operation for some time Had the act rigidlyprescribed that on ly by e lection shall the committee be chosen

,i t is not rash

to assert that the result would often have been a failure,not succes s .

I

Sir John Lawrence himse l f took a similar a t ti tude saying

The people on the whole were really indifferent to the subject of municipa land local improvements ; if l eft to themse lves a very great majority of themwould prefer tha t there shou ld be fil th and insa lubrity rather than that theyshould be taxed , but if the initiative were taken in a kindly way by the localoffi cers

,if the leading native citizens were consulted and improv ements were

carried out by degrees , particularly where the local government took the

initiative,the natives would gladly fol low the lead and accept a system of

municipal government which if left to themselves they would real ly oppose .

2

There were,however

,a few expressions of more rad ica l views .

Mr. Taylor in the course of the deba te on the Nor thwestern ProvincesMuni cipa l Act in 1 868 sa id

He believed that the people of this country were as capable of representativegovernment as any other nation in the world . But theywere not as yet , as a

genera l rule , s uffic iently accustomed to the dutie s and responsibil ities itimposed . even in mun icipal affairs admin istered according to our forms

,to be

able to stand a ltogether alone He had always ma inta ined that i tshould be the a im of the government to improve and s trengthen independentmunicipal action to the utmost of i ts power

,to encourage the people to under

take for themse lv es wha t they could do far be tter than the state and by thismeans to deve lop a spiri t of self-re l iance and teach them se lf—gov ernment .He believed that the town and rural population were easily reconciled to localcesses of various descriptions

,even when they were innovations upon popular

ideas and customs,provided these cesses were imposed for definite objects

connected with the ir own interests and the ir own conv enience and we l l—be ing .

And speaking frompersonal experience he could a lso state with confidence that2 Ibid .

, p . 1 28 .

2 Ibid . , p . 39 .


their acquiescence in any wel l-devised measure of taxation for purely loca l andmunicipa l objects was usually very readil y obtained when they were invited

and trusted to take an active part in i ts administration . The loca l

administration and the district offi cers in the diff erent provinces were the bestjudges when a spirit of responsibi lity were suffi ciently matured to admit of thee lection of administratives independently of government control .2

Speaking genera l ly,in actual opera tion the acts of the six ties seem

to have worked as we ll as could be expected . Baron Northbrook in1 873 said of them :

During my recent v is it to the Punjab I received from the lieutenantgovernor and other officers assurances that the nativemembers of the municipalcommittees had performed their duties with great zea l and intel ligence and

had been of great assistance to the government . 2

Speaking s ti l l more genera l ly he said

I have had some opportunities of ascertaining what the present state of

representative mun icipal government is in difierent parts of India , and I amhappy to say that I have had satisfactory evidence that in some parts ofIndia

,at any ra te , representative municipa l institutions have worked wel l ,

The realization of the full advantages of these institutions must of course be amatter of time and will require the education of more than one generation

,but

in Sindh ,the Punjab

,and the Central Provinces I was assured that

,the repre

s entativ e municipa l committees have acted with independence and managedtheir own affairs we ll and satisfactorily . I wish

,therefore

,to s ay that as far

as my knowledge enables me to speak,I bel ieve municipa l representative

institutions have a lready worked we l l in many parts of India , and I am con

v inced that the introduction of representation in the management of loca l

affa irs wil l ultimately prove a great security to the government and an adv an

tage to the people of this country .3

Mr. Bayley during the deba te on the Centra l Provinces b i l l said

the governmen t in every case carefu l ly cons idered “not only the wishes

of the people bu t the po l icy of estab l ishing each in tended municipa l i ty

and that particu lar consti tution which i t was intended to give i t .

”4

In many cases,

5 however,the e lection privi leges were admitted ly a

sham .

6 In the Punjab a Local GovernmentOrder of 1 868 said,Ordinari ly

2 Proceedings of the Legis l ative Counci l of the Governor-Geh eral of India , VII

pp . 1 3 2 et seq .

2 Ibid .,XII 7 1 .

4 Ibz'

d ., pp . 1 86—87 .

3 Ibid ., p . 1 9 7 .

5 Ibid .

,VII 1 25 .

6 I bid ., p . 1 3 1 . M r. Minchin said ,

“It might be said that the whole attempt

to make municipalities e lectiv e was a sham; if he was not afraid of the chargeof cynicism,

he might allowit and say that i t was a beneficial sham.

”

MUNICIPALITIES,1858—68 6 I

a system of appointmen t wil l be preferred to one by popu lar e lection ,

and throughout the circular referred to,which was of grea t length and

wen t into minu te details on a l l poin ts,there was not a word abou t

el ection . H . W . Norman a lso admitted tha t the officia l e lemen t was

very strong in mun icipa l commun i ties,and he be lieved tha t the poorer

classes were o ften very inadequa te ly represented .

I The official s and

richer na tives labored under a s trong tempta tion to endeavor to adorn

the town and were we l l ab le to bear the taxa tion “necessary for

the purpose,bu t he was qui te convinced tha t the people were in genera l

far too poor to be with propriety taxed for such ob jects .

2 Ibid .,XI 607 .

CHAPTER V

MUNICIPAL ITIES,1868—82 (LORD MAYO AND

LORD NORTHBROOK)

Financial decentralization under Lord MayoEconomic causes

FamineDeficits

Lord Mayo’s resolutionEffect of the policy

Madras Act of 1 87 1E lection provis ionsTheir working

In the PunjabIn the Northwestern Provinces and Oudh

Continuation of the policy under Lord NorthbrookT he disa llowed Benga l Municipa l Act of 1 873

The opinions of S ir George Campbell,its author

The Punjab Municipa l Act of 1 873I ts working

The Northwes tern Provinces and Oudh Act of 1 873I ts working

The Centra l Provinces Municipa l Act of 1 873I ts working

T he Bombay Municipa lities Act of 1 873The Burma Mun icipalities Acts of 1 86 1 and 1 874

The Bengal Municipalities Act of 1 876T he obstacles encountered by the actsNative estimate and opinions of municipa l governmentRelative unimportance of the numbers affected by mun icipa l acts

The d isciples of the theory of economic determin ism will find much

of s ignificance in the l ight of subsequen t even ts in the occurrences of the

decade 1 870—80 . In 1 866 occurred the terrib le Orissa2 famine coupled

with the financial cris is of the same year,which nearly ruined the tea

industry in Benga l and resu l ted in the widespread collapse of bus iness

in Bombay . In 1 868—69 fo l lowed the famine in Bundelkhand and upper

H industan,during the course of which Lord Lawrence laid down the

2 SirW . W . Hunter,Imperi al Gazetteer of

i

l h dz'

a,II , 5 1 6 .


princip le tha t the ofiicers of the government would be held personally

respons ib le for taking every poss ible means to aver t dea th by s tarvation .

The resu l ting increase in the financial burden of the government was

very grea t,and the deficit became s tead ily more difficul t to out—maneuver .

Lord Mayo came to the Viceroya l ty in 1 869 . He set abou t reorganiz

ing the finances and inaugura ted a sys tem of provincia l finance whereby

the provinces were to assume par t of the growing burden . In Augus t,

1 869 , Lord Mayo wro te to S ir Henry Durand

I am determined not to have another deficit , even if it leads to the diminution of the army , the reduction of civil es tablishments , and stoppage of publicworks . The longer I look at the things the more I am convinced that ourfinancial position is one of great weakness

,and that our nationa l safety abso

lutely requires that it should be deal t with at once , and in a summary manner .2

Lord Mayo accord ingly resor ted to two expedients,retrenchmen t

and a reform of the financia l sys tem .

2 After an exhaus tive pre l iminary

correspondence with each separa te administration he issued a resolu tion

on the four teen th of December,1 870 ,

which may be cal led the char ter

of the provincial governments of Ind ia . By this documen t,which in

due time rece ived the approva l of the secre tary of s ta te,a fixed yearly

conso l ida ted grant was made to each governmen t to enab le i t to de fray

the cos t of i ts principa l services exclus ive of the army,bu t includ ing

pub l ic works . The gran ts thus made were final for a period usua l ly of

fiv e years and were liab le to reduction on ly in ca se of severe financia l

dis tress happen ing to the supreme government . They be longed abso

lutely to the respective loca l governmen ts . No savings from any one

rever ted to the Imperia l Treasury . Their d is tribu tion was lef t to the

di scre tion of the loca l governmen ts,withou t interference on the par t of

the governor-genera l in counci l .3

2 S irW . W . Hunter,Lord M ayo, p . 1 43 .

2 Ibid ., p . 1 51 .

3 I bid .

, p . 1 40 . Howefiectiv e these measures were can be seen from the followingsummary of their results

The years of defici t (before Lord Mayo ’s arriv a l) were 1 866-6 7—2

,

1 86 7—68 1 868—69 with a total deficit for the three years of

reduced to sterling . T he year of equil ibrium (Lord Mayo’s firs t year) was1 869

—70 (surplus in sterling) . T he years of surplus (after Lord Mayo’s

reforms) were 1 870—7 1 1 87 1

—7 2 1 8 7 2

—73 wi th a

tota l surplus for the three years of reduced to sterling .

—SirW . W . Hunter ,Lord Mayo, p . 1 40 .

T he decentralization plan of Lord Mayo is exhaustiv ely discussed by Sir JohnStrachey in Fth emes

.

and Publ i c Works of India,1 869

-8 1 (London ,especially

chap . ix, pp . 1 3 2

—55 .


In the course of the reso lu tion he sa id in the twen ty—third paragraph

But beyond all this there is a greater and wider object in view . Loca linterests , supervision ,

and care are necessary to success in the managementof funds devoted to education

,sanitation

,medica l charity

,and loca l public

works . The operation of this resolution in its full meaning and integrity wil lafford opportunities for the development of self-government

,for strengthening

municipal institu tions,and for the association of natives and Europeans to a

greater extent than heretofore in the administration of affairs .2

This paragraph,while in thought very simi lar to tha t conta ined in

the reso lu tion of the government of Lord Lawrence in 1 864 , in i ts tone

is more frank in i ts declara tion of po l icy . The mo tive back of bo th,

however,was the same—primarily a desire for administra tive efficiency

ra ther than concession of se l f-governmen t for i ts own sake . In the

one the predommant idea was sani ta tion and pol ice,in the la t ter i twas

financial reform,bu t in bo th the in troduction of the non-offi cial e l emen t

was bu t a means to an end,and only an incidental feature of the whole

scheme . The important d ifference be tween the programs of LordLawrence and of Lord Mayo was in their execu tion .

The efiect of Lord Mayo ’s transforma tion in the financia l sys temfound i ts chief manifesta tion in the opera tion of the laws a lready in

existence,bu t was a lso a t tended by the passage of new acts . Among

these was the Madras Act of This law au thorized the governor

in counci l to appoint not less than three proper ty-owners or professiona l

men or residents of a town to be i ts commissioners for a term of three

years . The co l lector of the dis tric t and the revenue officer of the division

were to be ex officiomembers . Notmore than one-half the members were

to be official s . The in troduction of the system of e lection was lef t in the

d iscretion of the governor in council which was au thorized to enact suchru les as i t saw fit . The usua l taxes on real estate , professions , and

vehicles for the usua l purposes of highway ma intenance and education

were au thor ized , bu t the pol ice were to be provided for by the imperialgovernmen t . Un ti l however

,the e lective system was not applied ,

bu t in tha t year as the resu l t of the agi ta tion over the Madras ci ty act,

2 P . Mukherj i , Indi an Consti tutional Documents , p . 405 ; J. Gol dsmid , Quest ionsof the Day in India ,

”Nineteenth Century Review, XIII 74 1 ; Ev elyn Baring,

“Recent Ev ents in India,

” ibid .

,XIV

, 5 79 .

2 This act is published in full in the Acts of the Governor of Madras in Council ,1 87 1 , Act III .

3 John Crowdy, Our Indian Empire , Briti sh A lmanac and Companion ,

1 878, p . 74.


One of his firs t acts was the d isal lowance of a measure tha t wasprobab ly far in advance of the times bu t was very sugges tive of wha t

was to fo l low . In Sir George Campbe l l,a man of mos t active

mind and fiery energy who was at this time l ieu tenan t governor of

Bengal,had wi th much labor passed through his loca l legisla ture an

amb i tious and carefu l ly e labora ted scheme for rura l municipa l i t ies,a

measure to which he at tached much impor tance . This b i l l Lord Northbrook

,in pursuance of his de termina tion to

“ s top the increase of loca l

taxation as much as he cou ld,

” decided to ve to,having persuaded

himse l f tha t the add i tional taxation invo lved was unnecessary and‘

inadvisab le and tha t the people were not yet fit for a compu lsory ra tefor educa tion or for the proposed reforms of Vil lage governmen t

,and

tha t i t would on ly provoke d iscon tent .In this connection some of S ir George Campbe l l ’s Opinions are wor th

quoting .

2 Wri ting of Bengal in 1 87 1—7 2 , he remarked

His impression was very strong that if educated gentlemen connectedwith various towns in various parts of the country are asked to give theirassistance and time and labour for the public good

,it is clear that we should

entrust them with very considerable powers .Municipal institutions were indigenous to the country and we might

hope that in a country where those institu tions were in full working order longbefore we had them in -the B ritish Isles

,in a country in some respects that of

their birth,such institutions might flourish and rapidly succeed .

Self-governing institutions were a very essential part in the very cons titutions of the A ryan race . He did not agree in the argument that municipalinstitutions must be the precursor of free politica l institutions . He bel ievedthat human reason was s o constituted that wha t was ca lled patriotism and

public spirit were the natura l accompaniments and result of self-government .I f you made a beginning of self—government , public spirit and patriotism

would resu lt . His object [as l ieutenant governor] was to give municipal itiesrea l self—government and not to make them sham institutions [by subordinatingthem to the magistrates] . No effort should be

,

wanting on his part to.

rendermunicipal ities self—governing bodies . He had nothing more at heart , believingthat mun icipa l government is the shape in which a measure of freedommaybest be given to and exercised by the people of this country in the present stageof their nationa l existence .

He would rather s ee -a li ttle done voluntarily by the people themselvesthrough their representatives than a good dea l done under pressure fromabove “ I hold

,

”he said

,

“very earnest views on the subject of loca ls el f—government . I believe it is our duty to educate the people as far as in our

2 B . Mallet,Thomas George, Earl of Northbrook

, p . 88 .

2 “Local Self—Gov ernment in India

,Wes tminster Revi ew

,CXXI 69

-70 .

MUNICIPALITIES,1868—82 6 7

power to govern themselves ; I bel ieve that the power and the habit of selfgovernment must come from below upwards , and that it must come frommunicipal institutions firs t—going upwards to higher and larger institutions .

I should myse lf be wil ling to run the risk of a check in improvements ,feeling that the power of se l f-government is even more important than materialimprovement . ”

If you are gradual ly to bring the people to appreciate the system of se lfgovernment , to lead them to take an interest in their own affairs , they musthave rea l and practical powers in the ir own affairs

,and the greatest power of

al l being taxation,they must have real power in respect to taxation .

In 1 873 Mr. Chapman quo ted him as wri ting

The l ieutenant governor has a lways be lieved that while on the one handthe task of real ly governing India down to the villages and the people is toogreat for the B ritish government

,and on the o ther

,anything like national

po litical freedom is inconsistent with a fore ign rule,we may best supplement

our own deficiencies and give the people that measure of se lf-government andlocal freedom to which both the ir ol d traditions and their modern educational ike point

,by giving to towns and restoring to villages some sort of municipa l

or communa l form of self-government .Some years ago when chief commissioner of the Centra l Provinces he made

a commencement of such a system in Nagpur and other towns . He has had

that object especia lly at heart in these provinces,awaken ing as they are to a

new light under the influence of the education which we have given to so

many of the upper and middle c lasses . Seeing then ,the very various and

confusing nature of the municipa l constitutions heretofore existing,the l ieuten

ant governor has thought it very desirabl e to consolidate and systematize thewhole law on the subject , ranging municipal ities in different classes and prescribing a suitable constitution for each

,in al l of which the e lement of se lf

government might be large ly infused . He has hoped that in this way the

whole subject may come to be better understood , both by the ofii cers of the

government and by the people,and that the gov ernmentmay be enabled gradu

a lly to introduce the privileges and advantages of representative and e lectiveinstitutions . 2

The firs t of the mun icipa l acts passed under Lord Northbrook wasthe one for the Punjab in 1 873 . Oi i t Mr. Barkley said the b il l2

was required not s o much to facilitate the deve lopment of loca l self—governmentin the towns of the Punjab

,the more important of which have possessed it in

some measure since 1 86 2,as to remove doubts as to the extent of the powers of

municipa l bodies which have arisen from the imperfections of the law under

2 P roceedings of the Legi s l ative Counci l of the Governor-Generat of Indi a ,XII

1 82 .

2 l bid .,XXIII 1 90

—9 1 .


which they are at present constituted,and which have placed the committees

in the unenviable position of not knowing accurately what they are lega llycompetent to do and have thus hampered their action in some cases in whichin the interests of the public it would have been desirable to leave themgreaterscope . These defects were probably unavoidable when the existing lawwaspassed , as there had not been suffi cient time to ga in experience of the workingof municipal institutions in the Punjab to admit of the framing of anythingapproaching a complete municipal code

,and much had therefore to be left to

by-laws to be made by the commi ttees themse lves , which can now be moresatisfactorily provided for by substantive enactment .

At the same time as it was thought desirable to give municipa l committeesa more representative character and greater powers of initiative than they hadhitherto possessed , the B il l deal t in greater detail than the existing law2 withthe constitution ofmun icipa l bodies

,and i t a lso became necessary to state more

fully the powers of contro l necessarily reserved to government and its officers .

The preamb le of the new law2explained tha t i t was to provide for

pol ice conservancy, loca l improvemen ts , and education in the towns of

the Punjab,and for levying taxes in them . The committee in each town

was to consis t of not less than fiv e members,who were to be appo inted

in such manner as the loca l governmen t might prescribe . I t .was to

have power to levy ra tes “ subject to any genera l rules or specia l orders

which the governor-genera l in counci l might make from time to time .

”

After provid ing for the pol ice from the municipa l fund the committeeshou ld keep the pub lic stree ts

,roads

,dra ins

,tanks

,and wa ter courses

of their town clean and in repair ; shou ld genera l ly do a l l acts and things

necessary for the construction ,repa ir

,and maintenance of local pub l ic

works of genera l u ti li ty ; and shou ld a lso provide by the es tab l ishmen t

of new school s and a id ing those a lready ex isting “for the promotion of

educa tion .

”In general they were to make provision for promo ting

pub l ic hea l th and safe ty,comfor t and convenience of the municipa l i ty .

The committee a lso had power to make by-laws for: (a) defining ,2 P roceedings of the Legis lative Council of the Governor-General of I ndia , XII

57 . T he act of 1 86 7 had been passed with a time limit of fiv e years becauseof the skepticism felt as to the adv isability of intrusting such broad powers tothe lieutenant gov ernor , and objections raised to the use of the octroi for fearof its economic eff ects . The fiv e years ahnos t elapsed before anyone bethoughthimself of the hy e-year prov ision . In rep ly to a telegram the l ieutenant gov ernorasked blandly that the existing lawbe continued indefinitely. It was continued , butonly for a year to giv e time for the passage of a new law. No t ime was lost and in1 873 a new act was passed . I t was at firs t planned to pass a

'

general consolidationmeasure for the whole north of India

,but the idea was abandoned as not feasible in

viewof the v arying conditions in the different localities .2 Acts of the Governor-General of Indz

’

a in Council,1 873 , Act IV .


prohibi t ing,and aba ting nuisances ; (b) regu lating the de tection and

aba temen t of nuisances ; (e) securing the proper regis tra tion of b irths

and dea ths ; (d) carrying out a l l or any of the purposes of the act .

The ru les 2 promu lga ted under the broad powers conferred by the

act,d ivided the committees into three cla sses , of which the third was

required to have i ts o rders and proceed ings confirmed by the depu tycommiss ioner before they cou ld take effect . Except in a few of the

more importan t mun icipal i ties where a po rtion of the members were

e lected,al l of the members of the mun icipa l committees were nomina ted

in the Punjab .

Though the lawpermitted the committees to be empowered to e lect

their chairmen,the rules enacted by the l ieu tenan t governor in counci l

made the depu ty commissioner cha irman of a l l the municipa l committees

in his d is trict,and not un ti l the early e ighties were a few empowered to

e lect their own .

In 1 8732 there were on ly 1 2 5 municipa l i ties . In 1 874 ,

under thenew act 63 were added . By 1 88 1 3 mun icipa l i t ies had been estab lished

in 1 95 of the 238 ex is ting towns with a popu la tion of over fiv e thousand .

By 1 883 , when the new act resu l ting from Lord R ipon ’s concessions wasunder consideration

,there were 202 municipa l i ties . On ly twe lve had

a popu la tion of over twen ty-fiv e thousand,and three of these were the

great ci ties of De lhi,Laho re

,and Amritsar . Six ty-nine4 per cent of the

ol d municipa l i ties in sma l l towns estab l ished by execu tive order werebrought under this act . In the res t the mun icipa l fo rm of taxation wasreplaced by the ehaukidart system . This revers ion to dependence on

the vil lage punchayets or govern ing counci ls (nomina l ly suppo sed to

consis t of fiv e e lders) was possib le because many municipa l i ties5 in the

Punjab were simply large agricu l tura l vi l lages with l i tt le or no ar tisanpopula tion .

In 1 873 a newmunicipa l act was also passed for the Northwes ternProvinces and Oudh .

6 The chief reason was tha t Oudh,to which the

Punjab act had been extended,was on the verge of be ing withou t a law

because of the expira tion of the one-year ex tens ion of the fiv e-yea rl imi ta tion on the Punjab Act of 1 86 7 . Ins tead of includ ing Oudh withthe Punjab in the new act

,i t was thought to be more similar in fea tures

2 P roceedings of the Legis l ati ve Go lmett of the Governor-Geh era l of India,XXII

52 7 .

2 Ibid .,XXIII 1 9 1 .

3 Ibid .5 Ibid .

, p . 1 9 1 .

4 Ibid ., p . 2 24 .

6 Ibid .,XII

,208 .


to the Northwestern Provinces and i t was therefore included with themin the newact . In i ts provisions this act was similar to the previous onefor the Nor thwestern Provinces . 2

Under the act of there were by 1 883 in the Northwes ternProvinces 1 09 mun icipa l i ties with a to tal popu la tion sl ightly in excess

of three mill ions . Members of the mun icipa l committees were appo inted

in some places by e lection on ly,in o thers by nomina tion only

,and in

o thers again by e lection and nomina tion comb ined . The princip le of

e lection had been pu t in to operation in 73 municipa l i ties . There were

438 ex off icio members,as aga ins t nomina ted or chosen by e lection .

3

An income of Rs was raised by taxa tion,of Which 88 per cent

was derived from octroi duties and the average incidence of taxa tion

per head was 1 2 annas .As for the genera l working of the municipa l i ties

,Mr. Quinton4 in the

course of the debate of the Nor thwes tern Provinces and Oudh Mun icipa lAct of 1 884 , said

Anyone conversant with the conditions of the towns and cities of upperIndia twenty—fiv e years agowho compares itwith their present statemust admitthat the improvement effected by mun icipal administration inmatters afiectingthe public hea lth , safety , and convenience is immense .

I may perhaps be permitted to mention the c ities ofLucknow ,Allahabad

,

and Cawnpore of which I have persona l knowledge , and in the two former ofwhich a considerable portion of my ofli cial life has been spent . These cities

are now distinguished by wide and handsome s treets, excellent roads , com

parativ ely good drainage , which is daily improving , and efficient conservancy ,al l brought about by municipa l commi ttees in whose proceedings some of the

leading and more inte ll igent citizens took an active part .In Lucknow,

my friend Nazim Agha Ali Khan Bahadur,commonly known

as the Aga Sahib , and the late Daroga Waj id Al i , s o conspicuous for his loyalservices to the British government during the mutiny , interested themselvesabove others in municipa l affa irs , and rendered invaluable assistance in munici

pal admin istration .

Simi lar public spirit to that manifested by these gentlemen and otherswas not universal and the system under which the satisfactory results I have

2 Published in full in the Acts of the Governor-General of India in Council , 1 873 ,Act XV (Nov . 2 1

,

2 Proceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Governor~General of India, XXII

3 S ir Ev elyn Baring, Recent Ev ents in India,N ineteenth CenturyRevi ew,

XIV

58 1 .

4 Proceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Governor-Geh eral of India , XXII—50

MUNICIPALITIES,1868—82 7 1

just a lluded to were obtained depended large ly for success in the firs t instanceon the presence on the committees of ex ofi eio members . The number

,how

ever , of non-official residents of towns and cities who evince an intell igentinterest in municipal business has been gradual ly increasing and it i s believedtha t the time has nowcome when the co-operation of official s on mos tmunicipa lboards is no longer needed .

T he expiration of the extension of the fiv e-year l imitation a lso necessitatedsome action in regard to the Central Provinces 2 in which it had been extendedto some dozen towns . I t was final ly decided to introduce a separate act . T he

lawwas model led c losely on the Punjab Act of 1 873 without any importantvariations .

The chief interes t on the law centered abou t a vigorous effor t during

the deba te to secure a promise from the governmen t tha t i t would pass

a genera l law applicab le to a l l Ind ia in place of the separa te measures .

T he proposa l was defea ted on the grounds principa l ly tha t such a law

wou ld be unworkab le even ii,as proposed

,mun icipa l i ties were clas s ified

into groups of s imilar towns , and specia l genera l provisions made foreach type .

The Centra l Provinces Mun icipa l Ac t of 1 87

was drawn in a manner which left much to the discretion of the loca l government in the way of introducing popular e lection of members and leaving thecommittees free from direct official interference . Sir John Morris

,the chief

commissioner , was very favorable to the growth of popular institutions ; so

that when Lord R ipon took up the matter in 1 88 1 he found that the systemof popular election had been established in 60 ou t of 6 1 municipalities in the

Central Provinces .

3

He [Sir John Morris] was able to point to certa in municipa lities as being

especial ly distinguished for exce llent work . Year after year they had beencommended for the energy and good sense displayed in the discharge of theirduties

,for their administrative capacity

,and for the improvements they had

effected . These were notably not the municipalities,where the deputy com

missioner was the source oi. al l activity . The best work was done by

the committees of outlying stations where there is no resident deputy commissioner , or of large stations where his other numerous and arduous dutieshad compe lled him to leave most of the work to the members themse lves .

2 Published in full in the Acts of the Governor—General of Inde’

a in Counci l,1 873 ,

Act XI (July 24 , 1 87 s ee a lso P roceedings of the Legis lati ve Counci l of the GovernorGeneral of I nd ia , XII, 1 7 7—78 .

2 A . H . L . Fraser,“Local Self-Gov ernment in the Central Prov inces of India

,

Fortnightly Revi ew,XLV (M ay

—June , 240 .

3 Sir Ev e lyn Baring gave the figures as 58 out of 6 2 , lot . ci t.


In Bombay a lso,1 87 a new act was passed for the muni cipal i ties .

Its chief fea ture was the eff or t made to adapt the principle of mun icipa lgovernmen t to the province and make i t more popu lar by d ivid ing themun icipa l i ties in to ci ty and town mun icipa l i ties on the basis of population . The d ivid ing l ine was drawn at ten thousand inhabi tan ts . In the

cities this act (VI of 1 873) provided tha t the executive power shou ld bein trusted to the mun icipa l commissioners as a body

,and in town s to a

presiden t,vice-presiden t

,and chairman . This d istinction d id not work

we l l and was abo l ished in the act of 1 884 (No . III) . The act of 1 90 1

(a lso N0. III) , however , res tored i t . The o therchief change inaugura tedby the act of 1 873

2 was in the size of the body of commissioners . The

town municipa l i ties were restricted by a l imi t of twe lve to the numberof non-ofii cia l appoin tees

,who must comprise at least half the member

ship . The e lective franchise was permitted to be gran ted to ci ty and

town municipa l i ties where the res iden ts showed sufficient pub l ic spiri t

to justify the measure . As a mat ter of fact,however

,under none of the

Bombay3 acts was the e lective principle in troduced prior to R ipon ’sreforms

,outs ide of the ci ty of Bombay i tself . In 1 882 the contro l of

loca l e lemen tary educa tion was given to the municipa l i ties .

The year 1 8744 saw mun icipa l governmen t a lso provided for in

Burma . In 1 86 1 a b i l l had been in troduced into the old Imperia lLegisla tive Counci l to extend the Mun icipa l Act of 1 850, and the TownPo lice Act (No . XX) of 1 856 to the towns ofMaulmein

,Rangoon

,Tavoy

,

and Mergu i,in Burma . The measure had

,however

,d ied Wi th the old

Legis lative Counci l .In 1 874

5 a new lawwas fina l ly passed . In general i t was pat terned

after the mode l of the e labora te Benga l Act of 1 873 , which had beend isa l lowed

,bu t i t lacked the radica l features of tha t measure . I t gave

the power of estab l ishing municipa l committees in to the hands of thechief commiss ioner

,subject to pro tes t of the townspeople upon the

pub l ica tion of the no tice of inten tion to introduce the sys tem . The

chief commissioner could,however

,override the pro test . The com

mittees were to consis t of at leas t three members who were subject to

2W . W . Hunter,Imperi al Gazetteer of India , VIII , 365 .

2 This act is published in full in the Bombay Code, 1 880, pp . 430 et s eq.

3 Sir Ev elyn Baring, l oc. ci t.

4 Proceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Cozmei l of the Governor-Geneml of Indz’

a,VII

cols . 2 2 , 2 7 , 3 7 , 38 , 39 . 1 42 , 244, 4 1 0 .

5 This lawis published in full in the Acts of theGovernor—General of Indi a in Counci l ,1 874, Act VII (March 24 ,


to the upkeep of the mun1c1pal estab l ishment . Any ba lance thenrema ining might be expended for (a) the cons truction and improvemen t

of roads,bridges

,embankments

,squares

,gardens

,tanks

,gha ts

,wharves

,

je t ties,we l ls

,channels

,dra ins

,privies

,la trines

,and urina ls ; (b) the

supply of wa ter,and the l ighting and wat ering of roads ; (0) the erection

andma in tenance of offices , po lice s ta tions , and o ther bui ld ings required

for municipa l purposes ; (d) o ther works of pub lic u ti li ty calcula ted topromo te the hea l th

,comfort

,or conven ience of the inhab i tants ; (e) the

construction and repa ir of schoo lhouses and the es tab l ishmen t and

ma intenance of schoo ls,e i ther who l ly or by means of gran ts in a id ; (f

the estab l ishment and ma intenance of hospita ls and dispensaries ; andthe promo tion of vaccina tion . E labora te stipu lations were made for theassessmen t and co l lection of the taxes

,which were l imi ted to two prin

cipal levies—a tax on bui ld ings and one on land ho ld ings- supplemen tedby a tax on carriages

,on horses and o ther anima ls

,a registra tion fee for

carts,to l ls on ferries, bridges , and meta l led roads . The commissioners

were close ly supervised in their accounts . T he e lective principle,how

ever,was as a ma tter of fact only introduced into three muni cipa l i ties

in Bengal outside of Calcut ta .

2

In rea li ty a l l of these municipa l acts of bo th the s ix ties and seventieswere ofii cial con tro l masquerad ing in places under the robes of elections

,

bu t this fact does not by any means imply tha t they were due to i l l ibera li ty on the par t of the Engl ish governmen t . I t is true tha t wi th some few

exceptions the tone of the deba tes does not ind ica te any grea t eagerness

to accord se lf-government as anything more than a sani tary,police

,or

financial measure,and bu t l i t tle more than l ip approva l to the doctrine

of the desirab i l i ty of popu lar con tro l and se lf-government . On the o ther

hand,almos t wi thou t exception ,

they were experienced adminis tra tors

and clear ly conscious of the ob s tacles in the way of the deve lopmen t

of se lt-governmen t . Whatever idea li sm they cher ished was s trictlyconstrained by a rea l iza tion of the actua l cond i tions . They knew the

antipathy of the na tives to change , the ir indifference to san i tat ion ,and

their lack of anything approaching civic spiri t,and the seriousness to

their caste and re l igious cleavages .2

2 S ir Ev elyn Baring, loc. ci t.

2 As M r. Maine said in the course of the debate on the Municipal Act for theNorthwes tern Prov inces in 1 868

He knew little personally of the Northwest but he did know that in some of theNorthwestern cities Hindus and Mohammedans were mixed together and i t was a l l


Wha t the natives themse lves thought of the measure is ind ica ted by

the remarks of the two princes who participa ted in the deba tes . The

Maharaja of Viz inagram sa id ,I do think that wherever the mun icipa l committees have been formed they

have been the means of doing much good , as I can say from my own experiencein my own country in Northern Circars , Benares , Madras and other places .

Nowfor instance in Benares the features of that city are formed in such a waythat it is indeed one of the most difficul t places to introduce municipa l commi ttees and to make those useful and hea lthy rules and reforms for the benefitof that city .

‘

For the las t many years,or I should s ay ever s ince the munici

pal ity has been introduced into Benares , the loca l government has exerteditse lf in a praiseworthy manner but in most of the other places in India thefea tures of the country do not require any amount of such extra labor forestabl ishing municipalities . Now

,my Lord

,general ly speaking the natives

of India have shown and still show to a great extent antipathy,l et that innova

tion be however hea lthy and beneficial to the places where such municipa litiesare proposed to be established , and where such mun icipa li ties have beenestabl ished .

2

The Opinion of Raja Thakua2 was more concise and ind icates a

suggest ive a t ti tude toward the government .

He found from the draft of the B ill in his hands [the Northwestern Provinces Act of 1 873 ] that the taxes and mun icipa l rules and regulations for theconservancy were left subject to the approva l of the loca l government . I fthat were the case , he was convinced that the committee if they were inclinedto do anymischief would not be able to do it because the government,who wasthe protector of the people , would prevent the committee from doing any

mischief .

I t mus t a lso be borne in mind tha t in al l these laws not on ly werethe concessions in theway of na tive con tro l in rea l i ty smal l

,bu t the

”PROPORTION OF MUNICIPAL POPULATION TO THE

TOTAL POPULATION

Benga l (exclusive of Ca lcutta and suburbs)Northwes tern ProvincesOudh .

MadrasPun jabCentra l ProvincesBombay (exclusive of Bombay and Karachi)

that the administrativ e skill and v igor of English offi cials could do to keep peacebetween them.

—Proceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Counei l of the Governor-General of India ,VII 1 2 7

—28 .

2 Ibid . ,XII 2 28 .

2 Ibid .

, p . 2 28 .


proportion of the popu lation which enjoyed even thesewas ins ignificant,as the tab le for 1 873 , on page 75, ind icates .

2

Ano ther and more independen t na tive estima tion of the sinceri ty of

the mun icipa l measures is as fo l lows :2

The theory of the thing is that municipa l administration is synonymouswith self—government

,that the municipality is required to meet certain charges

forwhich it raises its own revenue,and that the fullest discretion being left to

i t for regulating the revenue to be raised,such taxation ought not to be dis

tasteful . The principle inculcated is of course a wholesome one , but v iewedin connection with the actual state of things in the country is but a blind .

The people at present are not prepared for self—government,and in point of

fact there is no self-government among them—except to a very partia l extentin some of the more important metropo litan towns . In al l other places thescheme works wholly as a sham , and is accepted by the people as such havingbeen set up as they say for the express purpose of getting money out of theirpockets on the pretence that they pay it of the ir own accord . Actual ly theydo not pay it willingly . They pay i t simply at the dictation of the official

members of the mun icipal committees , and this is very well known to the

government . S ir George Campbe l l in his taxation report to the government ofIndia mentioned it as a fact that the rate of municipal taxation was higher inthose places where the non—official members took the l argest share in the adminis tration than where the municipal i ty was mainly administered by the officers

of the government . The instances ci ted were those of Ca lcutta,Howrah ,

and Dacca ; but he very well knew that in al l those places the great bulk of

the non-ofli cial members are mere ly cyphers , or as they have since been namedby the loca l press , ap—ke—was ta [that is , voting with the president or chairman]members

,having no opinion of their own apart from that of their president or

leader . This can be recognized as self-government only by giving that expression a very great la titude of meaning .

What this system of so-cal led self-government has l ed to is the impositionof a series of taxes

,tolls

,and imposts which were unknown before , and which

every man—even ev ery member of a municipal corporation—grumbles at .

The visit of the tax-gatherer which is irritating to al l people in all placesis especially so in a country where till now i t was unknown in its frequency ,

The Bengal Municipalities Act has been paraded by its authors as the firs t

instalment of self—government conceded to the people ; but the people are not

thankful for the concession,they smart under the exactions it has introduced ;

and if the long list of possible taxes imposable at the discretion of the munici

pal ities were known ,the alarmwould be yet greater for a ll the self—government

implied by their existence . The question whether the concession of selfgovernment or the fitnes s for it should precede is rather an awkward one to

raise at this moment . A move in the right direction ought a lways to fructify ;but to be in the right direction i t ought to be right minded .

2 P roceedings of the Legis lative Council of the Governor-General of I ndia , VII2 20 .

2 S . Chunder Dutt,Taxation in Ind ia , Fras er

’

s Magazz’

ne,XCIV (July—Deo ,

3 1 6—1 7 .

CHAPTER VI

REFORMS OF LORD R IPON,1881—85

The prel iminaries of Lord R ipon’s reformsDegree of the development of se lf-government in 1 88 1

The restlessness in IndiaFactors

The Suez CanalThe press

Its growthAnti-B ritish tendencies

Education and the appearance of an educated classT he libera l victory and the arrival of Lord R iponConditions confronting Lord R ipon

Deficit

FamineRestlessness

Policy adopted by Lord R ipon—concessions to and guidance of native aspirations

Lord R ipon’s explanation of the occas ion for'

the reformsNecessity of native help in the government

The resolution of May 1 8,1 882

Reception of the proposalsEnglish opinion

Skepticism on the general principleFear of eff ect on the government , especial ly the district officerApprova l and hopes

The year 1 878, in which the Madras act was passed,closes a period

in the deve lopment of self-governmen t in Ind ia . Lytton’

s imb roglioin Afghanistan rang down the cur ta in of an act in Ind ia ’s drama . He

lef t the stage set for a man ifes tation of a new spiri t in the Ind ian government and among the Ind ian peoples .

So far the deve lopment of self—governmen t,as ide from the admission

of selected na tives to the legisla tive counci ls had been in the mun icipa l it ies . In them it was a mat ter of admin istra tive and financial exped iency

unmixed with any considerab le thought of po l i tica l deve lopmen t .Any idea of the Ind ians becoming rea l ly po l i tical factors does not

seem to have existed . There was p lenty of l ip service to the po l i t ical

7 7


po tentia l i ties of Ind ians,bu t when i t came to actual i ties

,the d is trict

ofii cer’

s hand was rea l ly never off the he lm,and usua l ly he was ra ther

in the pos i tion of giving a practical exhib i tion of how to hand le the shipbefore a more or l ess carefu l ly se lected group in the pilo t house .

Thus the po l i tica l even ts of Ind ia and the world at large af ter the

mu tiny had impinged bu t l i ttle upon the municipal i ties,for the na tives

were ignorant of and indifferen t to wha t was transpiring beyond thei rexceed ingly res tric ted horizon .

For some years,however

,powerfu l influences had been at work .

Chief among these was education,and con tribu ting to i t were the press

and the Suez Cana l .The Suez Cana l was comple ted in 1 869 , and i t soon brought Ind ia

within the influence of Europe by enab l ing the officia ls who governedher to re turn more frequen t ly to Europe and by enormously stimula ting

commercia l intercourse . India was thus brought more and more withinthe purv iew of the people of England

,and Engl ish tourists and visi tors

to Ind ia became more and more frequent,especia l ly as the steamship

became more and more perfected .

These firs t stirrings of na tive opmion as expressed by their vernacularpress became increasingly no ticeab le during the seven ties and were not

re l ished by the governmen t . I t was not bel ieved tha t they represen tedin anyway the masses ,

2 bu t the Engl ish ru lers were none the less some

what per turbed,and there was an uneasiness even as far as England ,

where i ts s ignificance was d iscussed to a s light ex ten t .2

2 Thornton,during the debate on the Press Lawof 1 878, said

I can confidently assert that the writers or editors of the disloyal art icles ofwhichwe comp lain no more represent the real feelings of the peop le of India than DoctorKenealymay be said to represent the true sentiments of Englishmen . My experiencei s to the effect that they are for themost part disappo inted ex-employees of the gov ernment

,broken down v akils

,disappointed candidates for gov ernment serv ice or ex-eleves

of gov ernment institutionswho,afterhav ing been educated by the state at an enormous

cost,are indignant because at the c lose of their academical career they hav e not been

presented instanter with a lucrativ e gov ernment appointment .—P roceedings of theLegi s l ati ve Cozmei l of the Governor-General of India , XVII 1 65 .

Maharaja Jol indra Mohan Tagore added his v oice in corroboration,and repu

diated on behalf of the educated nativ e al l sympathy with the scurril ous press .Ibid .

, p . 1 6 7 .

2 T he press was no newfeature in India .

‘

T he firs t paper was the Bengal i Gazette,better known as Hi ckey

’

s Gazette . This was established in 1 780 at Ca lcutta . The

scurrility o f its articles was notorious,attacking ev erything fromWarren Hastings

to themissionaries and youngwomen just arriv ed for the marriagemart . Ah attemptwas final lymade to assassinateM r. Hickey

,and the paper disappeared soon afterward .

The Bengal i Gazette was fo llowed in Nov ember of the same year in which it wasfounded ( 1 8 70) by the Indz

’

ah Gazette and in 1 794 by the Indz’

ah World . Wi lliamDuane ,

REFORMS OF LORD RIPON ,1881-85 79

One of the opinions is sugges tive and s ti l l largely true . I t ran

There are , however , two peculiarities of the country to be considered , if wewould es timate aright the influence of the Indian press , as compared with thatof other countries ; the firs t is

,the enormous number of persons who read [or

get read to them] each copy of an Indian paper ; the second is , the comparativ ely smal l number of indiv iduals among al l these vas t populations whoseopinions

.

are of any pol itical importance as the leaders of the masses . Withregard to the firs t point, i t must be remembered that each copy of an Indian

paper will circulate for a much longer time , and with a much wider range , than

any paper woul d in Europe . T he date of a paper goes for nothing among theHindus

,and it continues to be read as long as it holds together . I t may safe ]y

be said that if as ingle copy reaches a Vil lage , or even a large collection o i’

vi l lages,its contents wil l sooner or later become known to nearly every man

residing in the neighborhood . And with regard to the second point , thevernacular papers are universal ly read by every chief

,and by every high

offi cial and the other great men,in every one of the 460 native states in India ;

they are read by a l l the innumerabl e native employees of our administration ,

by the students and teachers in a l l our thousands of schools and col leges ,and by a very large proportion of the great landed proprietors and rich mer

chants and bankers throughout the country .

These are the classes by whom the vernacular pres s is studied , and whoseopinions it to some extent influences

,as a matter of course ; and i t cannot be

doubted that through these classes i t fil ters down to and largely influences ,for good or for evil

,a very considerable fraction of the masses of the

people .

No echoes of the utterances of the native papers can reach them [theofii cial s ] unl ess sought out in the discharge of sacred duty

,for the vernacular

the Irish-American editor of the latter paper, was summarily arrested and deportedwithout trial . These were a l l Calcutta newspapers and printed in English .

In Bombay the English press began i ts activ ities in 1 789 in the shape of the

BombayHerald . In Madras there were before 1 8 1 7 three Engli sh newspapers .T he v ernacular presswasmuch later in starting . Itwas begun by themissionaries

and almost down to the mut iny confined itself to religious subjects . I t was not , howev er

,unti l the decade 1 870—80 that the activ ities of the nativ e press gav emuch concern

to the gov ernment .It wa s the English press itself that monopolized the attention of the authorities

in the earlier years . Since the repeal in 1 858 by Canning of the emergency gaggingact of the mutiny i t too had been without restraint . G . P . P illai ,

“T he Origin and

Growth of the Press in India,

”Imperial and A s iatic Quarterly Revi ew, 3d Ser.

,VII

1 6—38

2 L . Roper, The Vernacular Press of India,

” Contemporary Revi ew,XXXVII

(Jan .

—June, 46 2

—63 .


press is absolute ly unknown to Englishmen in India except to offi cial s who readit as a matter of duty

,and perhaps to a fewprofessors and missionaries . 2

During the decade of 1 870—80 the vernacular

“

press underwent an

ex tensive deve lopmen t in numbers2 and rad ica l ly a l tered i ts tone .

3

2 L . Roper, op. ci t., p . 468 .

2 The following are a fewfigures i llustrativ e of the growth of the v ernacular pressof India . In North India there were 28 v ernacular papers published in 1 850 in 1 878

there were 9 7 . In Lower Bengal in 1 850 ,1 6 papers ; in 1 878, 39 . There were 4 1

in the Northwes tern Prov inces and 34 in Punjab . In 1 880 therewere in al l India some2 30 nativ e newspapers . Oi these 1 00 were printed in Urdu ; 45 in Marathi ; 40 in

Bengali ; and 30 in Gujarathi . T he largest circulation howev erwas?only T he

total circulation was aboutThe relativ e numbers o f the English and v ernacular papers and the ir distribution

in 1 875 is shown by the fo ll owing table . These figures represent the conditions

Prov ince English Vernacu lar Engl is h andVernacu lar

BombayMadras .

Benga l .Northwestern P

'

rov'

i ncesPunj abOudhCentral Prov incesBurmaSind .

Raq tania

Tota ls

before Lytton’

s v ernacular press act , and a comparison of the totals with those justabov e indicates its efi ect .

—Contem1) orary Revi ew, XXXVII 46 1- 6 2 ; G . P .

Pil lai, op. ci t., p . 34 .

3 0) Sir Ashley Eden ,as lieutenant gov ernor of Bengal ( 1 87 7—82 ) said in Counci l

T he ev il has long been felt by the gov ernment of B enga l,and I believ e by nearly

al l the other loca l gov ernments What gov ernment does object to i s thesedition and gross disloyalty of some o f the v ernacular papers , and their attemptsto sow the seeds of disafiection to the British rule in the minds of ignorant people .

S . M . Mitra,

“Analysis of Indian Unrest , Fortni ghtly Revi ew, XCV 1 45 .

b) S ir R ichard Temple , whose cue it was to describe the Bengali s as loyal , wrotein the Admini s trati on Reports for 1 874—75 and 1 875

—76 of the leanings of the v ernacular

press toward“

po litica l observ ations of an ev i l tendency,

”of the increasing disposi

t ion to complain of ev erything which exists,and he wrote

,after his retirement

This uneasiness and restlessness— al l themore irksome as arising fromno definabl e

cause,and not being susceptible of any specific remedy—found v ent in the v ernacular

press . Of these utterances some were certainly disloya l , or ev en worse , while otherswere merely capt ious , peev ish , fractious , petulant . cited from Sir R . Temp le ,M en and Events of My T ime in Indi a p . 43 2 .

c) Ev en Sir George Campbell , the libera l lieutenant gov ernor of Bengal1 87 1

—74 , wrote ,

“We were a good deal troubled by abusiv e and sometimes seditious


of different races , castes , re ligions , or sects in B ritish India or have been usedas means of intimation or extortion ; and

WHEREAS , Such publications are read by and disseminated amongst largenumbers of ignorant and un intell igent persons and are thus likely to have an

influence which they otherwise would not possess ; and

WHEREAS , I t is accordingly necessary for the maintenance of public tranquil l ity and for the security of HerMajesty ’s subjects and others to confer onthe executive government power to control the printing and circulation of suchpublications .

English’

authorities in maintaining and enhancing the salt tax i s to enable their owncountrymen to import English sa lt into this country and to enri ch them at the costof the nativ es .”

One writer ironically affirms that neither the laws of nature nor the civ il lawsof India prov ide any punishment for those Europeans who kill nativ es . T he lawsof nature ascribe such fatal incidents to destiny and the civ il laws are helpless becauseEuropeans are the dominant race .

” “Al l laws are applicable to nat iv es a lone and

not to Europeans . Europeans are enabled to kill nativ es with perfect impunity .

”

“Oi those diseases which prov e fatal one i s the European plague which is daily spreading ov er the country and for which no remedy has yet been found . We refer to thereadiness of Europeans to assault and sometimes murder nat iv es —Proceedi ngs of the Legi s l ative Counci l of the Governor-General of India ,

XVII 1 49 .

Lord Lytton added the followingOne typica l specimen of the art o f al legorical ca lumny in the S a l ebbo

S amachar which has the largest circulation [about fiv e thousand] of any v ernacularpaper in India , the Macgregor tria l was trav es ted in an article [on December

T he prisoner i s named Mr. Rogue of the factory at Kritantapur [the city of

death] ; the doctor whose ev idence sav es himfrom hanging is Dr. Bri le ; and afterthe conclusion of the mock trial

,the judge

,the doctor, and M r. Rogue dine together

and afterwards go a-huntingBoth in Bengal and in Bombay the worst inferences are generally concealed in

the form of innuendoes,for examp le a mighty and widespread conflagration is

often preceded by common smoke , the English , proud of the power of their bayonets ,tread on the heads o f the whole Indian population and Englishmen are ruling

nativ es ; but the conclusion is wisely left to the imagination .

In another place i t says“Englishmen speak of the decline of the military power and loss of their pres

tage as a nation After declaring that “England has become enerv ated from too

much addict ion to luxury and therefore i s unwilling to encounter Russia in the fie ld,

instances Alexander,Caesar

,and Napo leon Bonaparte as examp les that those who

hav e attained the imperia l dignity hav e come to a disastrous end and prophesiesthe same result will follow the Imperial Assemblage at Delhi . ”

T he Koran o f Bombay : “England has been showing thorough efleminatenes s

from the beginn ing of thiswar,that a sharp communication fromRussia was suffi cient

to cool i ts spirit , that England has nev er been famous for heroism. According topopular belief it owes i ts great Indian Empire more to diplomacy and craftiness thanto brav ery

,goes on to say

’

that England yielding to themere appearance of Russia , herinactiv ity makes the nativ es o f India v ery uneasy about the ir own safety As

soon as Russia gains a footing in India,the English wil l hav e no alternativ e than to

flee for their liv es . ”

Arya Warta fol lows the negativ e p lan.

If we were to write that the Englishmen in India are v ery few,though the natiyes

are no t brav e,butweak and unarmed , yet i f theywish they can blowaway the English

REFORMS OF LORD RIPON , 1881-85

T he scheme of the measure 2 was to permit any d is tric t magis tra te or

commissioner of po l ice in a pres idency town wi th the previous sanction

of the local governmen t to require the prin ter or pub l isher to give bond

that he wou ld not prin t ar ticles tend ing to rouse race feel ing and d is

affection,or use his paper for the purpose of blackmail . 2

ev en by their breath,and so to adv ise the nativ es to unite and driv e the English out

o f the country,this adv ice would be pernicious to us

,

”and

“treasonable .

”

Malwa Akbar of Indor,capital of Mahratta

giv es as a rumor that has perceptibly afiected trade and the moneymarket , that NanaSaheb is about to inv ade India with a Russian army and wil l establish once more thedominions of the Peshwas through the ausp ices of the Czar , Satara ,

Baroda,Nagpur,

Jhansi,etc . being formed into feudatory kingdoms acknowledge the suzerainty of the

PeshwaLater the same paper said

T hemain object o f the English in this country consists inwheedling the peop le outof their money by al l manner of tricks

A belief. has late ly grown up in the minds of nat iv es that nativ e rule has manyadv antages : the Hindus hav e begun to think the Mussulmans to be nativ es . T he

English will not be able to resist the progress of Russian arms in India . Our Englishmilitary ofli cers now think fight ing to be a great s in . pp . 1 78 79 .

2 G . P . Pilla i,op. ci t

, p . 1 6 . In brief,the history o f the censorship o f the press

in India prior to Lord Lytton’

s regime is shown in the following chrono logy

1 780—1 799

—The press in embryonic stage . Regulation largely informal and arbitrary .

1 799—1 8 1 8—Sev e re censorship ,

due in part to the exigencies of wars with France and

nat iv e states .1 8 1 8—1 835—The wars were terminated . T he censorship was re laxed but certa in

restrictions were retained .

1 835—1 857

—Lord Metcalfe in 1 835 remov ed the last restrictions from the press ,giv ing from then on absolute freedom of the press .

1 857—1 878

—Du ring the mutiny a Gagging Act was passed restricting the press , butCanning repea led it in 1 858 again leav ing the press unrestrained untilLord Lytton

’

s act o f 1 878 , which was repealed by Lord R ipon in 1 88 2 .

2 Proceedings of the Legi s l ative Counci l of the Governor-Genera l of India ,XVII

1 83 . The occidenta l finds it somewhat diff icult to appreciate the blackmailprov isions of the law. Lord Lytton thus described the pract ice :

T o nativ es of distinction the publicity of newspaper abuse is probably farmorega lling and intolerable than it is to any class of Europeans , and a nativ e would be v eryunwilling to add to this publicity by go ing into the court and suing hi s libe ller . Casesare also rarely noticed by translators A nativ e gentleman of high positionwriting to u s from Peshwar complained that the editors o f certain v ernacular papershabitually attack the character of innocent peop le who canno t afford to satisfy theircupidity . They force people to subscribe to their papers and write against those whorefuse to comply with their request . Rajas and chiefs dread him [the editor]under the impression that he may write against themas he did aga inst their compeers .They therefore subscribe to his newspapers and assign him an annual s um of money.

T he editor calls ov er each year to each state,receiv es money

,khilats and sumptuous

meals and comes back .

T he pract ice was also used to intimidate nativ e judges and magistrates andafiected nat iv e ofli cers .


The growth of the press was on ly a manifestation of the appearance

of the educa ted class tha t suppo rted and ed i ted the papers . Their

developmen t was a fea ture of the decade of the seven ties . The uni

v ers ities oi 2 Calcu t ta,Bombay

,and Madras had been estab l ished as

examining bod ies for the various co l leges in which the actua l ins tructionwas carried out

,and the graduates

,a lmos t entire ly H indus and largely

Brahmins,had been issuing from their examina tion ha l ls in s tead ily

increasing numbers .

2

Ind ian educa tion is a s tory by i tse lf,bu t a fewof i ts mos t impor tan t

fea tures mus t be considered,for of a l l the influences at work in deve lop

ing sel f—governmen t in Ind ia i t is probab ly the mos t impor tant . By

tradi tion and rel igion the Hindus were inclined to the l i terary type of

education .

3 This tendency was s trengthened by the theory and practiceof Eng land ’s own system of educa tion . As a resu l t

,the requirements

2 “Ripon

’s Edinborough Speech ,Voice of Indi a , III (Dec .

,ii i . In 1 857

the three univ ersities of Calcutta,Madras

,and Bombay were incorporated by act

of the Indian Legislature ; the fourth univ ersity, that of the Punjab , was added tothem in 1 882 . The constitution of these bodies was mainl y modelled on that of theLondon Univ ersity

,and their function is that of examination

,not of instruction . In

the ten years from 1 873—74 to 1 88 2—83 , persons passed the matriculation of

the three older univ ersities .Belowthe univ ersities stood a numerous body of col leges and secondary schools ,

numbering in al l in 1 88 1—82 59 colleges,and schools

,with an attendance of

students in the colleges and pupil s in the secondary schools .At the bottomof the educational ladderwere the primary schools which numbered

in 1 88 1—8 2,

with an attendance of pupils .2 J. Kennedy

,Indian Educational Policy

,

”Impert

'

al and A s iatic QuarterlyRevi ew

, 3d Ser. , XIX 3 . This class,howev er

,was relativ ely but amicroscopic

one . For ages learning in India had been the much—prized priv i lege of the few,a

monopoly of the Brahmins , not the common heritage of the masses .T he educational policy of the gov ernment followed the same groov e , and the

stress had been laid on the higher education,with relativ e neglect of the primary,

partly because of the appalling expense and practical impossibility of the task in a

pov erty—stricken continent with the immensity of population possessed by India ;partly, too ,

because the immediate need of the gov ernment was for the more highlyeducated to aid in the work of administration ; and partly because i t harmoni zed withthe nativ e practice . In fact litt le was done for primary education before 1 87 2 , and

by 1 882 there were only schoolswith pupils in a population of nearlytwo hundred millions .

T he effect of this policywas to create a highly educated but numerically imperceptible intelligentsia

,chafing and restless amid a v ast

,inert

,unaware mass of ill iterates .

3 Both the Hindus and Mohammedans had well-dev eloped and establishedsystems of education . In many cases they did not go beyond the three but

in both there were higher lev els , especially in grammar, rhetoric , logic , theology ,

REFORMS OF LORD RIPON,1881—85 85

for degrees produced men fitted only to be gov ernment clerks,teachers

,

or l awyers . Wes tern educa tion d id not appea l to the Mohammedans

who c lung to the Pers ian language and the Koran . Consequent ly theHindus un ti l recen tly have monopo l ized the educa tion

,and by vir tue

of the requiremen t of a un ivers i ty degree for the higher grades of the

pub l ic service , a lmos t e l imina ted the Mos lems from tha t sphere .

Governmen t service cou ld not,by any means , however , absorb a l l the

ou tpu t of the co l leges,and many were forced

’

to turn to journa l ism for

a l ive lihood or drag out an impecunious d iscontented l ife withou t anypar ticu lar voca tion . Na tura l ly in many cases thei r d isappo in tmen tengendered b i tterness which very of ten became focussed on the governmen t . Thus i t was tha t a class came in to be ing ready to cri ticize

,to

agi ta te,and to lead in any movement aga ins t the Engl ish raj .

2

The sen timen t was s ti ll fur ther intens ified by the subjects whichthe governmen t wi th sub l ime confidence in i ts own cu l ture and

marve l lous recklessness of consequences prescribed for i ts Ind ian

metaphysics , literature , jurisprudence , and science among the Mohammedans,and

among the Hindus in sanscrit , grammar, logic , philosophy, and l aw.

Both systems were priv ate and charity supported , and in this respect in entireaccord with the English practice . Warren Hastings

,howev er

,in 1 782 founded the

Calcutta Madrasa for Mohammedans,and in 1 79 1 the Benares College for Hindus

was established . These and similar institutions were dev oted to oriental languages .T he most powerful single force in dev eloping Indian education along occidental

lines has undoubtedly been the missionaries . Firs t on the fiel d were the Jesuits,but

their system fell away with the decline of Portuga l . The earliest of the Protestantinstitutions were begun by the Baptists . In 1 8 1 8 Cary and his fellows founded theSerampore College . In 1 820 a college was established in Calcutta

,and others followed .

Dr. Duff was a powerful personal factor in the growth of the sectarian colleges .T he impel ling motiv e of the missionaries was religious but i t was powerfully

assisted by the desire of the nat iv es for a knowledge of English as an av enue to lucrat ivegov ernment emp loyment . There soon dev eloped a conflict of claims between Englishand the oriental languages . Macaulay’s minute of 1 835 was largely instrumental indeciding it in fav or of the English language and the Western learning .

T he decisiv e step came in 1 854 , when S ir C . Wood,as president of the board o f

control , issued the famous dispatch outlining the scheme oi,education that in i ts main

features sti ll endures . The Crown reaffi rmed it in 1 859 . Under i ts prov isions in1 857 the univ ersi ties of Calcutta ,

Madras,and Bombay 'were established

,and by

1 86 1 the systemwas in general working order. T he attemp t to westernize India hadbegun .

—W . W . Hunter,Impen

'

al Gazetteer of Indta ,IV

, 4 1 2—1 3 .

2 As the Round Tabl e Quarterly (VIII [Dec .,

P t . 1,2 1 ) put i t : Half the

troubles o i the British in India hav e been caused by their fai lure to find a position of

any real importance in their system for Indians equipped with a sufficiently thoroughWestern education to qualify them for the task of interpreting the mind of the Westto the mind of the East .


subjects . The keen ana ly tica l Brahmin mind cou ld no t be expected todraw conclusions of submission and qu iescence benea th au tocra ticforeign ru le from a s tudy of England’s s truggle for consti tutiona l liber ty .

The effects of this sys tem were soon perceptib le,bu t the governmen t

held on in the spiri t of Sir R ichard Temple,writing in 1 882

,

Some observers may hold that if higher education tends to pol i tical discontent , the government should prudently refrain from imparting i t . But

such View could no t be maintained in the n ineteenth century . Surely it is ourbounden duty to giv e to the natives the benefit of a l l that we know ourselves .I f we admit that there are cases in which pla in dictates of duty. must be followed and re liance placed on providence for the result

,then here is an exampl e

of the strongest kind . Pol itically we are so secure thatwe can afford to be generous in imparting knowledge , even though in some respects disafiection wereto spring up in consequence ; but in fact true loyal ty and contentment in otherand more important respects wi ll thereby be produced or confirmed . At al l

events this is an occasion for putting into practice the maxim “be just and

fear not .

”2

Ma tters2 s tood thus when Lord R ipon came out as Viceroy on the cres t of

the wave of G lads tone ’s Midlothian victory of 1 880 . He was confron tedby the financia l difficul ties crea ted by the expenses of the Afghan im

broglio and a famine in the Northwes tern Provinces ; a na tive press3 which

had assumed a tone tha t had necessi ta ted restra in t ; and a restlessness

among the educa ted na tives,which

,while in no way menacing , compel led

consideration . The cond i tions were r ipe for practica l experimen t in

the appl ica tion of the theor ies of l ibera l ism .

As Lord R ipon,said himse lf la ter in his Edinburgh speech

There are three methods of treating the movement which we have beenconsidering . We may e ither ignore i t orwe may endeavor to resist it

,or we

2 Sir R . Temple , op. cit, p . 504 .

2 R . D . Osborn ,

“ India under Lytton,Contemporary Review,

XXXVI (Sept .Dec . , 573 .

3 Sir R . Temple , op. cit., p . 43 1 . The change in the sp irit of the nativ es was not

confined to the political field . For example , in the religious fie ld there was the BrahmaSamaj . In essence it was an attempt to modernize or perhaps Christianize Hinduismby purifying i t of what the teachings of the West held to be immoral orworse . T he

mov ement centered in Calcutta but its adherents were scattered ov er the prov inces .Its founder and leaderwas RamMohan Roy .

Slower to gain headway but destined to greater dev elopment was the Arya Samajfounded by Swami Dayanand . This mov ement a lso was in its origin religious

,but

unlike the Brahma Samaj,was anti-Christian

,v oicing the cry of back to the Vedahs .

”

I ts later dev elopments assumed a strong political tinge .

—“The Arya Samaj

,Round

Tabl e (Sept . , pp . 6 1 4—36 .

REFORMS OF LORD RIPON ,1881—85

may recogn ize i t and guide it . Of thesemethods the firs t is obviously the mostfoolish . Themovementmay be unacceptable to many persons—itmay involvedanger in the treatment of the natives of India by Europeans , ofii cial or non

ofii cial,and in the bearing of the natives towards them which they regard with

dissatisfaction and disl ike ; but a movement such as this,springing from such

potent causes cannot be got rid of by the simple process of shutting one’s eyes

,

and the pol icy of the fabled ostrich will avail Indian statesmen as l ittle as i t

ever d id that unhapp'

y birdThe conclusive answer to any one who would recommend an attempt to

stop the onward march of thought and aspira tion in India is that it is impossible .

We are thus brought—and I rejoice formy part to think it—to the las t of thethree methods of treating the problem before us . We have to deal with themovement resulting from our own past pol icy and growing in volume and in

force every year . Our task—the greatest task of the Indian Governmenttoday— is to guide and to contro l this stream of progress so that

,moving on with

steady and regulated advance , i t may fertil ize and not des troy,may enrich

and not uproot . 2

Lord R ipon a lso quo ted with approval Sir Eve lyn Earing’s words

The task of the government , and especially of a despoti c government , isbeset with difficul ties of no light kind . T o move too fas t is dangerous ; butto lag behind is more dangerous still . The problem is

,how to dea l with thi s

new—born spirit of progress—poor and superficial in many respects as i t is—s oas to direct it into a right course and to derive from it a l l the benefits which itsdeve lopment is capable of ultimate ly conferring upon the coun try and at the

same time to prevent it from becoming,through blind indifierence or s tupid

repression ,a source of serious political danger .2

In add i tion there were o ther motives contribu ting to de termineLord R ipon’s po licy . He himse lf thus expla ined how he came to

inaugura te the reforms,in rep lying to an address of the Lahore munici

pa l ity,on November 8

,1 882

The main and primary object of the government of India in the stepswhich it is taking at the present time for the development and extension of selfgovernment in this country is to advance and promote the poli tica l and populareducation of the people and to do what may be done under the circumstancesof these times to induce the best and most intell igent men of the communityto come forward and take a share in the management of their own loca l afIairs ,and to guide and aid and train them in the attainment of that importantobject .We have not been l ed to adopt this pol icy at this time in consequence of

any mere inclination of our own,but I can truly s ay that we have been forced

2 Voice of India , I II (Dec .,

v ii—ix .

2 Ibid ., p . V ii .


to adopt it by the circumstances of the times with which we have to deal . We

had last year as you are aware to make arrangements for the renewal of thosequinquenn ial provincial contracts which were originally introduced in the timeof Lord Mayo , and which formed one of the distinguishing features of that greatpolicy of decentra lization which wil l a lways constitute one of the greatestclaims of that distinguished statesman upon the gratitude of India .

Those fiv e-year'

contracts were runn ing ou t and we had to consider uponwhat terms they should be renewed ; and when we came to turn our attentionto that question ,

we thought it our duty to ask whether the time had not cometo apply more fully and to carry out yet further the policy which Lord Mayohad inaugurated , for it must be borne in mind that that pol icy in its full imtention was not on ly of provincia l decentrali zation but that Lord Mayo lookedwith the eye of a statesman to promote a lso the great object of self-government ;and i t seemed to us that we could not better apply the principles which he hadlaid down than by carrying decentralization beyond the stage at which—not I

bel ieve in accordance with his desire , but owing to circumstances which followed his unhappy decease—it had been arrested and to advance it fromdecentralization as between those provincial governments and the localbodies within their jurisdiction .

But when we'

came to look at this problem and to seek for a solution of it ,

we found that it would be essentia l to infuse new life and vigour into these localbodies in which we desired to confer ful ler and more extended powers . 2

Impe l led by these mo tives Lord R ipon’s governmen t issued through

the F inance Departmen t a reso lu tion on September 30,and

October 1 0 addressed le tters to the various provincial governments .

On May 1 8 of the fol lowing year ano ther reso lution was issued,which

has ever s ince been held by the educated na tives in an esteem a lmos t

amoun ting to reverence . I t is perhaps the mos t liberal enunciation of

the po l icy of se lf-governmen t ever made by the governmen t of Ind ia ,

Local Self—Gov ernment in India , Westmins ter Revi ew,CXXI 7 1

-7 2 .

2 About the same time as the resolution of September 30 ,1 88 1

,was issued

,detailed

information was , cal l ed for with respect to the existing municipal system in India .

The result showed thatmunicipal committeeswere in existence inmost of the principaland in a few of the smaller towns

,and that in ev ery prov ince there was legal power

to allow the appointment of members of these committees by election . It appeared ,howev er, that there were great diff erences between the practice prev ailing in difierentprov inces in regard to the e lections . In some the electiv e system had been largelyintroduced . In the Northwestern Prov inces it was in operation in sev enty-three outof eighty-one municipalities , and in the Centra l Prov inces in fifty-eight out of sixtytwo . In others it had been applied to a v ery limited extent . In Bengal

,apart from

Ca lcutta,there were only three e lectiv e municipalities . In Bombay e lection had

been introduced nowhere except in the city of Bombay i tself,where it had worked

v ery successfully . It was difficul t to discov er any reason for these v ariations ofpractice except the varying inclinations of difierent gov ernors and lieutenantgov ernors .— S ir Ev elyn Baring

,

“Recent Ev ents in India

,

”N ineteenth Century

Revi ew,XIV 58 1 .

90 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF~GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

people themselves to undertake as far as may be the management of their ownaffairs

,and to deve lop or create it need be a capacity for self-help in respect of

al l matters that have not for imperia l reasons to be retained in the hands ofthe representatives of government .

7 . I f it be sa id that the experiments hitherto made in this direction havenot been encouraging

,the governor-general in council must avow his bel ief

that the principle has not yet been in any genera l or satisfactory fashion fullyand fairly tried . There is reason to fear tha t previous attempts at loca lself-government have been too often overridden and practica lly crushed bydirect though wel l meant officia l interference . In the few cases where rea lresponsibility has been thrown upon loca l bodies and real power intrusted tothem

,the results have been very gratifying . There is even now a vast

amount of assistance rendered to the administration by honorary magistrates , members of municipa l corporations and other committees

,and there

i s no antecedent improbability in the theory that if non-official auxil iary

agency were more thoroughly organized and more\

fu l ly trusted , there would

be a speedy and marked improvement not only in i ts amount but in its

efficiency .

8 Holding therefore that it is the duty and interest of the rul ing power totake care that the further advance which it is now proposed to make in the

direction of local self—government sha ll be though cautious yet at the sametime rea l and substantial , the governor—genera] in council will proceed to

indicate for the guidance of the provincial administrations,the general prin

ciples upon which , in the judgment of the government of India these measuresshould be shaped . T he subject may for the purposes of the resolution bedivided into two parts—the firs t

,relating to the mode in which local boards

,

whether municipa l or district , should generally be constituted ; and’

the second,

to the degree of control which the government should retain over such bodies ,and the manner in which that control should be exercised .

9 . In regard to the firs t of these points , the governor-genera l in counci lwould observe that he is quite aware of the absurdity of attempting to laydown any hard and fas t rule s which shal l be of universal application in a

country s o vast and in its local circumstances s o varied as British India . I twould be unreasonable to expect that any un iform system of loca l government

could be applied with equa l success in provinces difi'

ering as the Punjab,for

instance , from Madras or Bengal from Burma . A large latitude of application must therefore in every case be left to the loca l authorities . Indeed weare really as yet s o much in the infancy of sel f—government , and have , perhaps ,so li ttle knowledge of the directions in which it would naturally develop itse lf

among the people , that there is a distinct advantage in having difierent schemestried in different places in order to tes t by practica l experience what arrangements are best suited to the ways of thinking , habits , and other idiosyncrasies

of the heterogeneous populations of the empire . But there are nev erthe

less fundamenta l principles which after every allowance has been made for

REFORMS OF LORD RIPON,1881—85 9 1

local peculiarities must be universally followed and frankly adopted if thesystem is to have anywhere a fa ir tria l .

1 0 . The government of India desires , then ,that while maintaining and

extending as far as practicable , the plan of municipa l government in the citiesand towns of each province

,the loca l governmentswill a lso ma intain and extend

throughout the country in every district where intel ligent non—ofii cia l agencycan be found

,a network of loca l boards

,to be charged with definite duties

and intrusted with definite funds . T he governor-genera l in council considersi t very important that the area of jurisdiction a llotted to each board should inno case be too large . I f the plan is to succeed at al l

,it wil l be necessary to

secure among the members both loca l interes t and local knowledge . Experi

ence proves that district commi ttees are as a rule very badly attended by members not actual ly residing in the vicinity of the headquarters s tation . Thosewho do attend have frequently no intimate acquaintance with the wants ofoutlying parts of the district . The consequence is e ither that undue attentionis given to the requirements of the immediate neighborhood of the centra lstation or that the business fa lls entire ly into the hands of the district officer,the committee contenting itself by formal ly indorsing his proposals . Modifyingtherefore to some extent the suggestions made in paragraph 8 of the circularletters of the tenth of October last

,the governor-general in council desires

that the smallest administrative unit—the subdivision,the taluka or the

tahsil—sha ll ordinarily form the maximum area to be placed under a loca lboard . He would not indeed object to even sma ller jurisdictions

,were these

deemed suitable . In some provinces it may be found possible to leave thesesubdivisional boards to their own independent working , arranging for a periodical district council to which de legates from each local board might be sent tosettle such common matters as the ra te of the land cess to be l evied during theyear , a llotment to be made of district funds

,and other questions of genera l

interest . In other provinces again it may be thought best to have a districtboard with controll ing power over the sma ller local boards . But

,whatever

system is followed , the cardinal principle which is essential to the success oflocal se lf-government in any shape is this , that the jurisdiction of the primaryboards must be so l imi ted in area as to insure both loca l knowledge and loca linterest on the part of each of the members .

1 1 . T he mun icipal committees wil l o t course remain the local b oards for

areas included within town limi ts . T he re lations between such mun icipa lboards and the subdivisiona l or district boards within whose jurisdiction

the towns l ie must be carefully settled in each case . In some instances thetown boards wil l be left entire ly independent and apart . In others it may befound des irable to give the rural boards a certain share in the settlement ofquestions of common interest . In others again

,the town boards would be

required to send delegates to the district board or council .1 2 . The loca l boards , both urban and rural

,must everywhere have a large

preponderance of non-offi cial members . In no case ought the oth cial members


to be more than one-third of the who le,un less in places in which the elective

system is fol lowed , when there would be no ground for objecting to an e lectedmember merely on the ground that he was in the service of the government .The governor-general in council is disposed to think that the non—ofii cial members of the boards should hold ofii ce for at least two years after election or

appointment ; but probably the best plan to follow would b e that of the com

pu l sory retirement by rotation of a fixed proportion of members,those retiring

being e ligible to sit again . A detail of this description may,however , fittingly

be left to the local government .1 3 . Members of the boards should be chosen by el ection wherever i t may ,

in the opinion of the loca l governments,be practicable to adopt that system

of choice . The governor-general in council does not require the adoption of

the system of election in al l cases,though that is the system which he hopes

will ul timately prevail throughout the country,and which he wishes to estab

lish now as widely as local circumstances wil l permit . E lection in some formor other should be generally introduced in towns of any considerable size ,but may be extended more cautiously and gradually to the smaller mun icipal ities and to backward rura l tracts

1 7 . Turn ing now to the second division of the subject—the degree of

control to be reta ined by the government over the local boards and the manner

in which that contro l should be exerc ised—the governor-general in counc i lobserves that the true principle to be followed in this matter is tha t the contro ]should be exercised from without rather than fromwithin . The governmentshould revise and check the acts of the loca l bodies but not dictate them .

T he executive authorities should have two powers of control . In the firs t

place their sanction shou ld be required in order to give validity to certainacts such as the rais ing of loans , the imposition of taxes in other than dulyauthorized forms , the a lienation of mun icipa l property , interference with any

matters involving rel igious questions or affecting the public peace,and the

like . [The cases in which such sanction should be insisted upon wou ld have tobe carefully considered by each government and they would at the outset beprobably somewhat numerous , but as the boards ga ined in experience , might

be reduced in number . ] In the second place , the local government shouldhave the power to interfere e ither to s et aside a l together the proceedings ofthe board in particu lar cases , or in the event of gross and continued neglectof any important duty , to suspend the board temporarily , by the appointmentof persons to execute the othee of the board until the neglected duty had beensatisfactorily performed . That being done , the regular system would bere-established , fresh boards being elected or appo inted . This power of absolute supersession would requ ire in every case the consent of the supremegovernment . A simi lar power is reserved to the executive government underseveral English statutes , and , it required in England where local self-governmentis long established and effective , it is not probable that it could be a ltogetherdispensed with in India . I t should be the general function of the executive


non—official members,and keep the official chairman

,where there must be one

,

apart from the possible contentions of opposing parties .The appointmen t of chairmen should always be subject to the approva l

of the local government but need not be a lways made by it . T he governorgeneral in council would be glad to see the boards a llowed in as many casesas possible

,to e l ect each its own chairman . But this matter is one which must

be l eft to the discretion of local governments .

The reception accorded the reso lution of Lord R ipon’s governmen t

was varied .

2 T he governmen ts of Benga l2 and the Nor thwes tern Provinces at once i s sued circulars in compliance with it . Madras referredi t to a committee which brought in a favorab le report . In the Punjab

the new l ieu tenan t governor,Sir C . Aitcheson

,adopted the origina l

program at once .

In Bombay some fric tion developed .

3 I t was not to be expectedtha t a grea t measure l ike Lo rd R ip

’

on’s scheme for the ex tension of loca l

se lf—governmen t would be received Wi th unqua lified approva l by a l l

the d ifferen t loca l admin istra tions . The Bombay governor was a

Conserva tive,and his governmen t , in particu lar , received the proposa ls

of the Viceroy with i l l-disguised avers ion,and in reca l l ing the fact that

the urban and rura l popu la tion of the Bombay pres idency had for manyyears past enjoyed a large share of loca l se lf-governmen t under ac ts of

1 869 and 1 873 , and had made thereby large advances in civi liza tion ,

a t tribu ted to the supreme governmen t an in ten tion to subver t this

system and confer un l imi ted powers upon the loca l bod ies. Lord R ipon’sgovernment

,however

“

,refuted the objections of the Bombay authori ties ,

ma in ly on the tes timony of Bombay officers,and the Bombay govern

men t was persuaded to suppor t i t .

Anglo-Ind ian sentimen t at large was apa the tic or con temptuoustoward the reforms . As A . P . Sinne t t

,writing in the Fortm

’

ghtly Remew

in 1 883 , said

M ost Englishmen in India have but too much reason to d istrust the

efficiency of native zeal when practical business has to be done ; and the

2 Annua l Regi s ter p . 3 20 .

2 Mr. R iv ers Thompson ,the conserv ativ e lieutenant gov ernor of Bengal , said

in a speech made in the Bengal Legislativ e Council :I t i s a measure which the Viceroy i s v ery anxious to s ee established throughout

the country,and which ,

speaking personally for myself, I am strongly anxiousto support as fully as I can . I think , after a rule of a hundred years in India , it wouldrather be a disgrace to us than otherwise itwe should giv e to the people o f this countrya much larger share in the administration of the ir loca l afiairs .

— J. Gol dsmid ,“Ques

t ions o f the Day in India ,”N ineteenth Century Revi ew, XIII 746 .

3 “ India and Our Colonial Empire, Westminster Review, CXIX 299—300 .

REFORMS OF LORD RIPON ,1881-85 95

subordinate ofii cial class , the district otfi cers and their assistants as a bodymaynot unnatura lly have apprehended that any serious attempt to pass over anyof the ir duties to amateur native committees would certainl y end in adminis

trativ e disorder and retrogression ,the blame of which would be apt to recoi l

on them .

At the same time , though coldly received for these reasons , the newpolicywas not genera lly resisted in principle . D ifferences of opinion in connection

with it related to the practicability or expediency of particular measuresaimed at giving it effect ; its genera l propriety was not contested

,and the

state papers which its promulgation evoked hardly include a single importantdocument [except possibly Bombay] that is al together opposed to the recommendations of the supreme government . 2

The same feel ing was expressed in the Ntneteenth Century Review,

in these words

With regard to the question of local se lf—government which is close lyconnected with that of the employment of natives , no one can doubt that itnative commi ttees can be got to undertake particular branches of loca l administration

,and to manage them efficiently,

i t will be a great advantage to a l l

persons concerned .

Many experiments have been made in this direction ,and i t is certainly

desirable that they should continue to be made . From what I have heardfrom specia lly wel l informed persons as to the management of such affairsin the cities of Calcutta and Madras , and in some other towns which havemunicipal committees , I am sceptical as to their effi ciency .

2

Sir Eve lyn Baring,the late Ear l Cromer

,expressed the fol lowing

opin ion of the reforms

If we had wished to look whol ly to the administrative , to the neglect ofthe po litica l aspect of government in India

,we should never have l et loose the

journal is t and the schoolmaster in the country . Lord Ha lifax’s educationa ldispatch of 1 854 especia lly should never have been written . Having for thelast twenty-fiv e years at leas t turned on steam at high pressure , it woul d notnowbe wise to s it on the safety-va lve . I t will sure ly be wiser to be contentwith a relative ly s low rate of progress and to carry the natives with us ratherthan to force on the works of loca l administration without their co—operation .

The former certain ly appears to me to be by far the mos t wise ly conservativepolicy of the two . Local boards and committees may,

in the words of the

2 A . P . Sinnett, “Anglo-Indian Complications and Their Cause

,Fortnightly

Revi ew,XL (July—Dec .

,NS . 34, pp . 408

—9 .

2 J. E . Stephen ,

“ Foundations of the Gov ernment of India , Nineteenth CenturyRevi ew

,XIV 560 .


resolution of May 1 8,1 882

,be very properly and wisely used as instruments

of pol itical and popular education .

2

The profoundes t shock to the admin is trative system given by theloca l se lf-governmen t refo rms was the b low given the d is tric t officer.

For years the work of actua l adminis tra tion had fa l len upon his shoulders,

and i t was fe l t tha t to a very grea t degree a b low at his functions was as troke at the roo ts of Engl ish dominion in Ind ia .

HowLord R ipon2 himse lf Viewed the posi tion of the district officermay be ga thered from a passage in his Lahore addresses :

I believe that there cannot be a greater error than that of thosewho supposethat , by this system ,

the just and legitimate influence of district officers wil l bediminished . I hold

,on the contrary

,that it will be found that that influence

'

wil l be increased . No doubt such a system as this wil l make a ca ll upon thesomewhat different qualities from those which have been brought forwardunder the present system of more direct administration . I should s ay that ,for the future

,we shall require rather the qual ities of the s tatesman than the

qualities of the administrator ; and,for my part

,I think that the qual ities of

the statesman are the higher quali ties of the two ; and though it may be truethat the qualities of statesmanship called forth by a policy of this descriptiondiffer somewhat from those which have been exh ibited in the past , yet I forone cannot doubt that in the guidance , the training and the leading of a greatand intell igent population in times of peace , there are not just as hi gh qual itiesrequired as those which are brought to l ight in days of war and of diplomacy .

Mr. Bark ley,speaking in the Legis la tive Counci l on the same

question,added this view :

I t should not be supposed that the organ ization of the new local bodiesprovided for by this B il l wil l give any immediate re lief to the district officers

or their establi shments . The working of these bodies will for years to comedemand constant vigilance and attention from the district ofiicer whose dutyit wil l be to assist them to an intelligent discharge of their duties , and to givesuch explanation as may be necessary to enable them to understand the extent

and limits of their powers ; and at the same time guard against abuses orneglect of duty on their part .3

Lord R ipon was no t,however

,withou t his suppor ters . Mr. Gibbs ,

speaking on the Cen tra l Provinces b il l said

My opinion of the necessity for loca l selt—government is not an opinion

recently formed or merely formed on the question being brought forward by

2 Sir Ev elyn Baring,

Recent Ev ents in India , Nineteenth Century Revi ew,

XIV 584 .

2 “Local Self—Gov ernment in India, Wes tmins ter Revi ew

,CXXI 8 1—82 .

3 Proceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Governor-General of India , XXII440 .


influence is a ltogether disproportionate to ' the number of the persons whowie ld it or to the pecuniary stake which they have in the country . Withoutpronouncing as to the justice of this view, I think that the present measureaffords a new and va luable guaranty aga ins t the evil complained oi . For

this bil l creates effective mouthpieces for publ ic op 1n1on outside the greattowns

,such as the rural population never possessed before .

2

Opinions in England were noncommitta l . There were numerousarticles dea l ing Wi th the provisions of the proposal s . Wha t few

opinions they expressed were bu t repe ti tions of those voiced in Ind ia .

2 P roceedt'

h gs of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Governor—General of Indi a , XXII

(Sept . 1 2 , 54 2 .

CHAPTER VII

R IPON ’S REFORMS—THE LAWS

D ivisions of the plan of Lord RiponThe deve lopment of existing municipa litiesThe creation of rura l bodies

Continuation of Lord R ipon’s policy by Lord Duff erinThe municipa l actsSummary of the extent of municipa l development prior to Lord Ripon’sreforms

The Northwestern Provinces and Oudh Municipal Act,1 883

The M adras Municipal Act, 1 884'

T he Punjab Municipal Act,1 884

Features of its workingThe Benga l Municipa l Act , 1 884The Burma Municipa l Act . 1 884

The loca l se lf-government acts for rural areasPrevio

’

us practicesLoca l funds committeesSpecimen—the Madras Local Funds Act of 1 87 1T he working of these acts

The Central Provinces Local Self-Government Act,1 883

History of the actPeculiarities of the Central ProvincesReasons for placing official s on the boardsNeed of native help as a reason for the reformUtilization made of existing organizations

T he villageThe school committee

Extent of the application of the act

The act i tselfThe Northwestern Provinces and Oudh Act of 1 883

T he prel iminaries of the actT he reasons and purposes of the act

The act

The Punjab Act of 1 883The reasons and purposes of the actPrecursors of the Punjab act

Ferry and road committeesThe act


The Bombay Act of 1 884Previous bodies— loca l funds committeesThe act

The M adras Act of 1 884The Bengal Act of 1 885

Summary of the plan for loca l self-governmentReasons for the retention of official cha irmenReasons for the non—extension of the e lective principleReasons for the control provisionsNative opinion of the control provisionsNative adulation of R iponEnglish skepticism of the feasibil ity of self—governm’

entThe Burma -Village Act of 1 899

The plan as final ly e labora ted by Lord R ipon comprised two d istinctaspects . The onewas a deve lopment of the popu lar e lemen t in the a lreadyex is ting mun icipa l i ties

,which had a lready made cons iderable progress

in tha t respect . The o ther was the deve lopmen t of popu lar contro lin the rura l areas .Many of the laws

,however

,for the execu tion of the scheme were

not enacted un ti l the Viceroya l ty of Lord Dufierin,1 884

—88 . I t madeno perceptib le d ifference . Dufferin

,addressing the Corpora tion of

Ca lcu tta on D ecember 1 3 , 1 884 , sa id

I f there is one principle more inherent than another in the system of our

Indian administration i t is that of continuity T he Marquis of R iponand his predecessors have prepared the soil , delved , and planted . It will bemy humble duty to watch , water, prune and tra in ,

but it may not be out of

place for me to remind you that the further deve lopment of the principle of

self-government res ts very much in your own hands . 2

The various acts which carried the reso lu tion of 1 882 fina l ly in to at

leas t nomina l eff ect in the mun icipa l i ties and loca l areas of Bri tishInd ia ex tended over the three fo l lowing years . There was no a t tempt

at any ordered program . Each province was dea l t with as i ts localgovernment completed formu la ting i ts opinions and plans .

I t seems tha t greater clearness wi l l be secured by d isregard ing the

chrono logica l order to the exten t of treating the municipa l and rura l

acts as separa te groups .

The firs t of the mun icipa l acts passed in response to the s timulusgiven by Lord R ipon was for the Northwestern Provinces and Oudh .

In in troducing i t Mr. Quinton said

T he resolution of the government of the Northwestern Provinces and

Oudh proposes an extension of loca l self-government in municipal ities

2 Marquis of Duflerin and Av a,Speeches in Indi a , p . 2 6 .


been applied to the municipa lity under Section 4 or Section 5 issue noticesin writing to the persons mentioned in Section 8

,inviting them to mee t at a

time and place specified in the notices for the purpose of preparing and submitting within such further time not exceeding three months from the dateof the meeting as the local governments may fix in this beha lf proposals fordetermin ing the system of representation and e lection to be established inthe municipal ity .

Section 8 provided tha t notices shou ld be issued to

(a) al l honorary magistrates having jurisdiction within the l imits of the mun icipal ity ,

members of existing municipa l committees and panchayats,

(c) members of panchayats , (d) any leading resident of the municipalitywho in the opinion of the magistrate of the district should be a l lowed

to take part in the discussion .

The contro l provis ions au thorized the local governmen t to removeany chairman or vice-cha irman who cou ld not or wou ld not act or

become inso lven t or was convicted of an offense ind icating a defect ofcharacter unfitting him for the posi tion . The commissioner was

empowered to enter and inspect the property or opera tions of the com

mittee and ca l l for such reports and papers as he might th ink fit . In

case of need the local governmen t might suspend or supersede any

de l inquen t board or committee and provide for the performance of i tsfunctions

,and the commissioner or magistra te might veto any resolu

t ion or order l ike ly to lead to any serious breach of the peace .

The Madras Municipal Act 2 of 1 884 consisted of two hundred and

eighty-nine sections . The preamb le of the law made no reference to

se lf—governmen t,merely reciting :

WHEREAS,I t is expedient to make better provision for the organization

and administration of district municipal ities in the presidency of Fort S t .

George , for the conservancy and improvement thereof, for the diti us ion o f

education there in , and for other objects of public utility calculated to promote

the health , comfort , and convenience of the inhabitants of the said municipal it ies ; i t is hereby enacted as fol lows .

The scheme provided by the act crea ted for each municipa l i ty a coun

ci l composed of from twe lve to twenty-four members . T he d ivisiona lrevenue ofii cer was to be an ex officio member . The res t were to be

partly e lected and partly appointed . Cer ta in qual ifications were

required of the counci lors . They were required to be ma les over twenty

hy e years old, and non-ofii cial residents of the municipa l i ty . I t was a lso

2 T he law is published in full in the Madras Code, 4th cd . , II , 1 9 1 5 . Act IVof 1 884 .

RIPON ’S REFORMS—THE LAWS I 03

specified that they mus t not be crimina ls and have no busines s interes ts

in companies contracting with the municipa l i ty . T he officia l s cou ld be

appo inted up to one-four th of the number of the council. T he governo r

in counci l was empowered in each specific case to fix the s ize of the

counci l and de ta i ls of i ts o rgan iza tion .

T he act autho rized the fo l lowing taxes ( 1 ) year ly tax on arts,

professions,trades and ca l l ings

,and on offices and appoin tments ; (2 )

yearly tax on bui ld ings or lands ; (3 ) yearly wa ter and dra inage tax on

bui ld ings ; (4) ha lf-yearly tax on vehicles wi th springs ; 5) ha lf—yearlytax on vehicles withou t springs ; (6) to l ls on vehicles and anima ls

enter ing the municipa l l imi ts ; 7 ) month ly tax on servan ts .

Taxes were to be used for: ( 1 ) the cons truction ,repai r

,and ma in

tenance of s treets,bridges

,and o ther means of commun ica tion ; (2 )

the cons truction and ma intenance of hospita ls,d ispensaries

,lunat ic

asy lums , poorhouses , marke ts , dra ins , sewers , la trines , wa terworks ,tanks

,we l ls

,recrea tion grounds

,gardens

,parks

,the support of doctors

and vaccina tors,the san i tary inspection of towns and vi l lages

,the

regis tra tion of b ir ths and dea ths,the wa tering and l ighting of s tree ts

,

the cleansing of s tree ts,tanks

,we l ls

,dra ins

,sewers

,and la trines

,taking

census ; (3) planting and preserva tion of trees ; (4) the d iffus ion of

educa tion ,construction and ma in tenance of schoo ls ; (5) measures for

hea l th,safe ty or comfor t of the people ; (6 ) payments on loans ; (7 )

sa laries ; (8) expenses provided for by act .

T he con tro l fea tures of the act were practica l ly identica l wi th thos eof the o ther laws of the series . T he governor in counci l was au thorized

to mod ify the o rders of the Counci l or d isso lve or suspend i t in case of

need . T he same power cou ld a lso remove any cha irman for fa i lure toperform the duties of his office . The co l lector of the d is tric t was givenex tens ive supervis ing powers , having the righ t to inspect a l l the ac

tiv ities of the Counci l and ca l l for such repor ts as he wished . In caseof emergency he might a lso perform the necessary acts himse lf .

The Benga l D istric t Municipal i ties Act II of 1 8841 presented the

unique fea ture of going into considerab le more de ta i l as to e lection than

the Madras act .

The size of the mun icipa l counci ls was fixed within the l imi ts of

n ine and thir ty . At leas t two-thirds were to be e lected by ma le residents

over the age of twenty-one , who had pa id their three rupee-tax or he ld aun ivers i ty or med ica l degree . With certa in specified exceptions thecha irmen of the counci ls were to be e lected .

2 T he law is published in full in the Benga l Code, 4th cd .,II

, 7 1 8 et seq . Act IIof 1 884 .

1 04 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF—GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

These rad ica l provis ions were safeguarded by con tro l fea tures verys imilar to those of the o ther acts . The commissioner might suspendthe order of any council if he thought i t l ike ly to cause seri ous troub le .

He was ob liged,however

,to repor t such cases to the loca l governmen t .

The loca l governmen t in turn had the power to suspend or supersedeany incompe tent or reca lci tran t counci l .

For Bombay a lso a newactwas passed,Act II of The pecul iar

fea ture of this act was the provision for mun icipa l d istricts . Munici

pal ities were d ivided in to two classes . One inc luded the ci ties,town s

,

and the ir suburbs . The o ther included vil lages and the ir suburbs or“

two or more of them grouped in to a municipa l dis tric t . The mun icipa l

commissioners were to be in par t appoin ted by the governmen t bu t atleas t one-ha lf were to be e lected . T he commissioners were required

to be ma les over twen ty-one years of age Wi thou t crimina l records andwithou t in terest in any municipa l contracts . Municipal servan ts

,

j udges,and bankrupts were a l so barred . The presiden t was

,however

,

to be a governmen t appoin tee . The powers given the mun icipa l i tieswere practica l ly iden tica l wi th those given in the o ther provinces . The

con tro l fea tures were a lso the same .

In the Punjab2 the act of 1 873 had been so broad ly framed tha t i twou ld have been possib le to give effect to the '

proposal s for the ex tensionof loca l se lf-governmen t in the municipa l i ties of the Punjab

,which the

loca l governmen t had enuncia ted in i ts reso lution (No . 1 7 7 7 ) dated

September 7 , 1 882,by mere ly a l tering the ru les made by the loca l

governmen t .I t was

,however

,deemed bes t to pass a new act in order as far as

possib le to incorpora te in to one act a l l the provisions re la ting to the

mun icipa l i ties .

3 The resul ting lawapproxima ted the e labora te measures

of the presidencies .Among the new and d is tinctive fea tures of the act were the pro

visions giving the loca l governmen t power to frame ru les for the e lection

of such propor tion of members as i t might s ee fit ; the requiremen t tha t

at least two-thirds of the membership of the committees be non-official s ;and accord ing the committee the privi lege of e lecting i ts own pres iden t

a l though subject to the approva l of the loca l governmen t . Unusua l ly

2 T he l aw i s published in full in the Bombay Acts,1 880—1 888. Act I I of 1 884 .

2 Proceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Governor—Geh eml of Indi a , XXII

5 26 .

3 This lawi s publishcd in full in the A cts of theGovernor-General of Indi a i n Counci l .Act XIII of 1 884 .


of d istric t and subord ina te boards to administer the funds raised underthose enactmen ts for communica tions and educa tional purposes . In

Madras the revenue of these boards was in 1 88 1—82 over one—ha lf

mi ll ion sterl ing, of which four-fifths came from ra tes and taxes . The

d istric t road and educa tiona l funds in Bombay aggrega ted abou tThe Nor thwestern Provinces and the Punjab had a lso

d istric t committees admin is tering funds .Before going on to give the main fea tures of the scheme

,i t wil l be

well to briefly indicate wha t i t superseded . The old scheme was notfounded on legis lative enactmen t

,but on executive orders .

2 No thingmore was required to regu la te the procedure of governmen t officers .

This fact is s ignificant as showing tha t the ol d system was emphatical ly

a governmen t sys tem . The depu ty commissioner was d irected to con

vene a committee,consisting of the other governmen t officers of the

d is trict and a few native gent lemen,and to consu l t wi th them abou t

the administration of local funds . He was presen t at al l mee tings ascha irman

,and he ei ther d id a l l the work himse lf or by his subord ina tes

,

or exercised con tro l and guidance at every s tep . The committees werethere on ly to advi se him . If the native gentlemen selected were men of

some ab i li ty and frankness , they might be of service to him in represen tingloca l wan ts and in preven ting any grave and unnecessary vio la tion of

popular prejud ice . But aga ins t the hope of even thisamoun t of assistance

was to be placed the fact tha t advice is not a lways agreeab le and tha tmen

do not care to place themse lves in a d isagreeab le a t ti tude in re la tion to

the au thori ty to whose nomina tion they owe their pos i tion ,and by whose

favor they continue to ho ld it . T o this cause was undoub ted ly due the

genera l unob trusiveness and apa thy oi the native members of the old

Loca l Fund Committee , to Which they owed their uncomplimentary

n ickname of J o hukm,

“Wha tever is ordered .

”For this apa thy they

were not rea l ly to b lame ; i t was the necessary resu l t of the system .

The old sys tem a lso fa i led in tha t the members in no way represented

the d is tric t . The Committee met genera l ly at headquar ters . The

members nomina ted were therefore residents in the headquarters town

or i ts immed ia te Vicin i ty ; an outsider could not be expected to a ttend .

Thus,these gentlemen not only represen ted no electoral consti tuency

,

they d id not even represent the interes ts of the d is trict genera lly . Theyrepresented l i ttle or no thing more than the headquar ters town

,which

was already fu l ly represented in the Mun icipal Committee . I t mus t

2 A . H . L . Fraser, Local Se lf—Gov ernment in the Central Prov inces of India ,Fortnightly Revi ew,

XLV (Jan .

—June,

24 1-4 2 .

RIPON’S REFORMS—THE LAWS 1 07

be admitted that this accounts for the large amoun t of d is trict fundsformer ly spen t on municipal ma t ters . And in any case the resu l t was

tha t a fair ly good deputy commiss ioner , who was in the habi t of travel

l ing abou t his d istric t and mee ting the people frank ly , knew far more

abou t their wan ts than the na tive members of his committee . The

Committee was therefore of very l i tt le practicable assis tance to him .

The in terior of the d istric t was as a ru le neglected,as compared with the

par ts near headquar ters . On ly a fair ly energe tic depu ty commissioner

a ttended to i t at al l ; and he cou ld hard ly be -expected to dea l efficientlyand sa tisfactori ly with the wants of his who le d istric t . I twas this that

formed one of the chief practica l arguments in favor of the new scheme .

An example of the local funds laws is tha t of Madras,

2 Act IV of

1 87 1 . The purpose of the act was s ta ted to be primari ly the raising offunds for roads

,secondari ly for educa tion and pub l ic convenience those

resid ing ou tside of mun icipali ties . The governor in counci l was au thor

ized to appoin t for these ends in any circle a Local Fund Board consisting

of three or more members,owners of land in or residents of the circle .

The co l lector of the d is tric t was to be ex ofli cio member and pres ident .

Not more than one-ha l f the members were to be offi cial s . T he boards

were to con tro l and ma inta in from their funds stree ts,roads

,and

thoroughfares . All schoo l bui ld ings and lands previous ly vested inschoo l committees were to come under i ts ownership . They were alsoto contro l al l hospita ls

,d ispensaries

,and s imilar ins ti tu tions with thei r

equ ipmen t . T o provide the necessary means,the boards were au thor

ized to lev y ra tes on occupied land and houses,and to l ls on carriages

,

car ts,and anima ls .

A contemporary es timate of the re la tions be tween the variouscommittees

,bo th municipa l and rura l

,and the d is trict officer prior to

Lord R ipon’s reforms says

As a matter of fact in some few districts the magistrates, especia lly those

who have a rea l talent for admin istration and are something better than meregrinding machines , have for years past left the ir committees almost entire lyto their independent working

,contenting themse lves with keeping an eye upon

al l that goes on , discussing frankly with them po ints of d ifi‘erence and on lyinterposing effectively when interpos ition is seen to be necessary in publicinterests .2

The firs t of the measures for the rural areas enacted in pursuance ofLord R ipon’s resolution was tha t for the Cen tra l Provinces . In spite

2 Acts of the Legis l ative Counci l of the Governor ofM adras,N0 . IV of 1 87 1 ofMarch 2 .

Local Self-Gov ernment in India, Westminster Revi ew

,CXXI 79 .


of the repeated assertions2 tha t this b i l l was in no way to serve as a

hard-and-fas t mode l for fur ther b i l ls,and tha t i t was passed for the

Centra l Provinces and for them a lone,i t was none .the less in the

ma in features imi ta ted by those which fo l lowed . For this reason i t iswor th while devo ting particu lar a t ten tion to i t . Mr. Crosthwai te thusexplained the his tory of the act .

In the firs t place it wil l be observed that the B ill refers only to the Centra lProvinces , and that we have in framing it had special reference to the character of the people of those provinces , and the present condition of the country .

I was talking—I need not hesitate to mention it in this discree t assemblageto a lady yesterday , and she asked why the government had selected the

Central Provinces , which she considered to be a most backward place,as the

firs t scene for an experiment of this advanced nature , and as perhaps otherpeople may ask the same question I wil l expla in it . Like many other thingsin this world it was rather in the shape of an accident ; it was necessary pure lyfor o ther reasons to put the cesses which have a lways been levied on the landfor loca l purposes in the Central Provinces on a legal basis

,and for that purpose

I was al lowed by the Council in December last to introduce a smal l and at thattime ins ignificant bil l . While we were considering this bill , the government ofIndia published their resolutions of May last on the extension of local se lfgovernment and therefore we took the opportuni ty of embodying such localmeasures as might be necessary for the proper working of that policy in the

present bill . The bill therefore which we now present’

to the Council withthis report difiers in a very grea t degree from the bill formerly published .

2

Regard ing the pecu l iar cond i tions under which this act was to be

applied,Mr. Crosthwa i te sa id :

I t may be said that we have given too much control to the executive , andthat we real ly run the risk of injuring the independence which we wish to giveto the boards . In respect to this point I wish to be distinctly understoodthat we are dealing with the Central Provinces , one of the most backwardprovinces in India

,a coun try in which the communications have been until

a few years back entirely neglected,which consists of forests and mountains

and impassable jungle . T he people of the province are also in a backwardstate . Round Nagpur and Jabalpur they are as advanced probably as any

place in India,but there are large tracts inhabited by the Khonds and other

tribes who are entire ly unfit forpowers such as the bill contemplates . We havetherefore thought it necessary to take power which in the case of the more

advanced province might not be necessary . Then with the same object wehave put in a section which will enable the chief commi ssioner to exempt from

2 Proceedings of the Legi s l ative Counci l of the Governor—Ge-h eral of India , XXI-50

2 Ibid .

, p . 440 .


are based on the supposed inefli ciency or worse of such co-operation when wehave secured i t . We know that a we ll administered native state is quite as

wel l administered as—I bel ieve is really better administered

,so far as popu

larity is a test of good administration,than -our own bes t administered dis

tricts I be lieve,My Lord

,that promise full of hope for the improved

administration of this country is held out to us,if we not only real ly take the

people of this country into our councils,but if we associate them with us in

no niggardly spirit,where circumstances permit us to do so

,in the administra

tion of their own local affairs . I am free to admi t that I do not share theopinion of those who think such a pol icy properly and carefully enforced isful l of danger to the welfare of this country .

2

In framing the de ta i ls of the law,Mr. Cros thwai te said

The firs t thing we had to settle was the constitution of the boards andcouncils . .We began by recognizing the principle that the vil lage is the unit ofal l administration in this part of India . Whether in the management of therevenue

,the police

,or education

,nothing much can be done unless there is an

organization minute and spreading enough to reach and deal with each individua l village . U nder the ancient systemof the country each village managedits own affairs , and al though there is little trace in the Centra l Provinceswhich compared with the other parts of India are distinctly a new countryof those complicated village commun ities which still thrive in Northern India ,

yet the system of village management was unti l a comparative ly recent date

complete . Every village had its headman or patel who without any greaterrights in the land than the other villagers acted as their guide , agent , andleader . By the Mahratta revenue system,

under which the village communitywas jointly responsible for the whole revenue and all details of assessments wereleft to the villagers themselves , the people were forced to act together undertheir headmen and arrange their own affairs .

During the later period of the Mahratta power and in' the earlier yearsof British rule , the headman became a contractor and a farmer of the revenue .

S till he remained a distinct power in the village , and retained somewhat of hisofficial character . Under the terms of our last settlements he has in mostcases become the owner of the land , and if it were not for the provisions of theCentral Provinces Revenue Act which was passed in 1 881

, his position and

duties as headman would be in danger of becoming merged and lost in hisnewer and larger character of land owner .

The provisions of the new revenue act enable the government to selectin every village one of the resident land owners , or if the land owners are

absentees,some suitable resident , to be the mukaddam,

as he has been calledin this act

,or headman of the Village : and this mukaddamboth in the manner

of his appointment and in the duties required of him represents the patel of

forty or fifty years ago as nearly as the change in the relations of the villagers

2 P roceedz’

ngs of the Legis lative Counci l of the Governor-General of India , XXI,445 .

RIPON’S REFORMS —THE LA’

WS 1 1 1

caused by the creation of a proprietary right in the soil wil l permit . Bel ievingthat the scheme of self-government wil l have much greater vitality if it can befounded on some indigenous institution which the people can understand , andare accustomed to

,we decided on tak ing the vil lage and the mukaddam or

headman as the basis of our scheme and building up from this foundation.

2

The fashion in which advan tage was planned to be taken of loca l

cond i tion is a lso i llus trated by the fo l lowing remarks of Mr. Crosthwai te

I apprehend that the Council and the boards wil l work very much throughcommittees . T o attain success this appears to be the bes t plan . There will

‘

be a financial committee , and engineering committee,and a committee for

education .

We have found in the Central Provinces a system of this k ind a lready inforce for the management of schoo ls

,and at the reques t of my friend , Mr.

Colin Browning,the very able director of education in the Centra l Provinces ,

who ina q uiet , unostentatious manner , has done very signal service to thecause of educa tion in that part of India

,we have recognized the existing

school committees and given them a place in the B il l [Sec . As the historyof these committees shows wha t has been done and suggests what can be doneby working through the people themselves [he quotes Mr. Browning] ,

'Every Government School , of whatever kind , whether middle class or

primary , has a school committee . Each school committee consists of not lessthan four members . They are usually nominated by the deputy commissioner .The school committee members are asked to Vis it their school once a monthcollectively and one individua l member chosen by rotation visits

,or should

visit , the school weekly . The school committee members sometimes examinethe boys : but the members are often il literate and unable to examine thescholars . S till they s ee those that are present

,inquire regarding absent boys

,

settle matters of discipl ine and arrange within certain l imits what rates offees scholars shal l pay and what boys shal l be free scholars . The schoolcommittees are especial ly useful in providing suitable accommodation for

their schools and in repairing school houses . Severa l school s have adopted a

certain uniform . This uniform the school committees give to the poorerboys at their own expense . School committees are indispensable for the

proper conduct of schools . They not only represent ourwishes to the people ,but the wishes of the people to us . It i s often by their influence that manyscholars attend school . ”

Mr. B rowning adds that the great u se of school committees is undeniable .

I need on ly add that they are entirely unpa id and that the number of gentlemenserving on these committees is between three and four thousand . This iscertainly a fact tha t affords great encouragement to those interested in the

success of the present measure .

2

2 Ibid .,XXII 8 .

2 Ibid ., pp . 1 1—1 2 .


By this plan several advantages are gained . First,we secure to

the board the advantage of loca l knowledge of all parts of the area under itsjurisdiction . Secondl y , without directly choosing the e lectors

,we obtain a

manageable constituency or electora l body , to which we may be able to leavethe choice ofmembers . Thirdl y

,we get as members of the board the men who

can best aid us in the execution of small loca l works,and fourthl y

,we connect

the boards intimately with every vil lage,and secure the presence in every village

of a personwho is represented on the board,whomay look forward to becoming

a member of the board,and whomay fa irly be expected to aid the board in the

performance of its duties , and in the course of time will I hope come to regardhimself as a part and parce l of the governing body of the country .

2

The main provisions of the law i tself were as fo llows

Preamble . WHEREAS,Provision has been made by the Central Provinces

Land-Revenue Act of 1 88 1,for the appointment of mttkaddams for the severa l

vi llages in the territories administered by the chief commissioner, andWHEREAS

,Provision has been made in the settlement-records of the district

in those territories for the lev y of rates for the maintenance of roads , schools ,and the district post

,and it is proposed that the government sha ll , from time

to time,assign certain sums

,or the income accruing from certain sources

,for

the expenditure on objects tending to promote the welfare and improvementof the inhabitants of each of those districts .I t is hereby enacted as foll owsSECTION 4 . There shall be establ ished for each group of circles a loca l board

having authority over that group,and for each district a district council having

authority over the entire district,except such portions thereof as are for

the time be ing included in the l imits of a mil itary cantonment or of a town

having a municipa l committee .

2

SEC . 5 . The loca l board for a group of circles shal l consist of (a) representative members

,one or more for each circle , being the mukaddams of a village or

vil l ages within that circle ; (b) representatives , one or more , of mercantileclasses or professions resident within the area comprised in the group and

e lected by or appointed on behalf of those classes or professions ; and (e) suchperson or persons

,if any ,

not exceeding in number one-third of the board as

the chief commi ssioner may from time to time appoint .SEC . 6 . T he district council of a dis trict sha ll consist of (a) representatives

of groups of circles within the district , one ormore for each group being amem

her ormembers of and e lected by the loca l board for that group ; (b) representatiy es , one or more , of mercantile classes or professions , resident within the district and elected by or appointed on behalf of those classes or professions ;

2 P roceed ings of the Legis l ative Counci l of the Governor-General of Indz'

a,XXII

9

2 Col l ection of the Acts P as sed by the Govemor-Geh eral of Ih dz'

a in Counci l in 1 883 ,

Act I . Ca lcutta , 1 884 .

1 1 4 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

(3) The commissioner shal l forthwith submit to the chief commissionera report of every case occurring under this section .

SEC . 30 . ( 1 ) In cases of emergency the deputy commissioner may provide for the execution of any work which a district council or localboard is empowered to do .

SEC . 3 2 . ( 1 ) I f a district council or loca l board is not competentthe chief commissioner may with the previous approva l of the governorgenera l in council supersede it .

The nex t in the series of loca l se lf~government measures after theCen tra l Provinces act was tha t for the Northwes tern Provinces and

Oudh . The bes t explanation of this law is that given by Mr. Qu inton .

2

T he object of the B il l is to give effect to the views of the government ofthe Northwes temProvinces andOudh on the subject of loca l self—government , asenunciated in the resolution of that government dated Lucknow fifth of December

,1 882

,and published together with the letter of the Home Department con

y eying the general approva l of the government of India of S ir A lfred Lya ll ’sproposal s in the local and Impertal Gazettes during the month .

T he law at present in force in the Northwestern Provinces and Oudh doesnot admit of these proposals being fully carried out . The levy of rates in theUnited Provinces is authoriz ed by Acts I I I and I V of 1 878 . Those actsprescribe rigidly the proportion in which the rates levied under them are to

be al lotted by the loca l government to each district committee and direct theappointment of district committees for the purpose of assisting in determining how the a llotments shal l be applied and in the supervis ion and control ofthe expenditure of such a l lotments ; but they l eave the appointment of thedistrict committees and the definition of their functions and authority a ltogether in the hands of the loca l government ; they a llow of the members of eachcommittee being s o smal l as s ix,

'

and of one-ha lf of even this number beinggovernment officers ; and they enable the loca l government to divert to generalprovincial objects al l balance of the annua l al lotmen ts remaining unexpended

at the close of each yearDuring the rainy season of last year

,under instruction from the

l ieutenant governor and chief commissioner,district divisional officers put

themse lves in communication with the leading non—ofli cial gentlemen of theirrespective charges including the members ofmunicipal and district committees .Meetings were he ld at tahsils by co llectors or their assistants and at headquarter stations by commissioners . The points on which the governmentwished for information were fully discussed at these meetings and elsewhere ,and the outcome of the meetings and discussions was a mass of reports fill ingmore than three hundred closely printed pages . In August the l ieutenant

2 Proceedings of the Legis l ative Counci l of the Governor-General of Indi a , XXII

4 1 3-1 5

RIPON’S REFORMS—THE LAWS 1 1 5

governor convened a large committee at Naini T al , presided over by the

senior member of the Board of Revenue and having on it as members threecommissioners of divisions

,four district ofli cers , the heads of the pol ice and

educational departments , two offi cers of the secretariat , one of whom—M r.

Woodburn—had been a deputy commissioner of long experience and great

efii ciency in Oudh , and four distinguished native gentlemen , one of themRaja S iva Prasad—a member of this council .

T o this committee were referred for consideration the resolutions of thegovernment of India on the subject of loca l self—government and the orders of

the local government on the subject of those reso lu tions , the reports of thedivisional and district officers to which I have above al luded and a draft billembodying such provisions of Acts I I I and I V of 1 878 and Act XV of 1 873 as

seemed prima facie applicable to the new arrangements . T he report of thiscommi ttee is dated the thirtieth of September and its labours are thus characterized by the local government

,

“T o this Committee Sir A lfred Lyal l i s

much indebted for clear and wel l reasoned conclusions upon al l the principa lmatters referred for del iberation especially upon the methods best adapted for

carrying out the policy of loca l self—government as declared by His Exce llencythe Governor Genera l in Counci l .Then followed the Resolution of the fifth of December recorded by the

local government accepting with certa in modifications most of the recom

mendations of the committee . B il ls were drafted to efiect the necessary legislative changes which when final ly approved of were forwarded to the government of India

,but the Council toward the close of the Ca lcutta session was

so much occupied with more pressing business that there was no time avai lablefor the consideration of those measures and I am on ly .now in a position to

introduce the bil ls as revised by the Legislative Department .T he bill

,

2 My'

Lord,will thus confer on the people of the Northwestern

Provinces and Oudh a substantial though not an unsafe measure o f loca l se lfgovernment . I t is a move and a decided but not a rapid move in that direction .

For a somewhat centralized system of administration of local funds i t es tabl ished local bodies appointed main ly by such a form of e lection as is consideredby those best acquainted with the provisions mos t suitable to their presentcondition , presided over by chairmen of the ir own choice charged with the

performance of definite duties vested with the contro l of their own funds andpossessed of the local knowledge and loca l interest which it is the tendency of

centralized departments in their zeal for improvements sometimes arbitrarilyto overrate . I t is not to be expected that large results will at once be apparent from the passing of this Act or that a population composed chiefly of

peasants and petty landholders engaged in a hard s truggle for existence of

whom not quite 6 per cent have acquired the arts of reading and writing ,will suddenly manifes t a great amount of public spirit , will display an uns elfish

1 Ibid .

, p . 538 .

1 1 6 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF—GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

interest in commercial afiairs and develop a conspicuous genius for admin istration but we may reasonably hope that in these respects a promising start wil lbe made and a steady rate of progress graduall y attained under the guidanceof divisional and district officers second to none in India ,

in sympathy withand knowledge of the agricul tura l classes controll ed by a lieutenant governorwho has so thoroughly familiarized himself with the ideas and principles underlying the structure of Indian society .

The Nor thwestern Provinces and Oudh act2 d iffered in no essentia lsfrom the Cen tra l Provinces . The loca l governmen t was given general

power to fix the size of the loca l boards and the re la tive propor tion of

e lec ted and nomina ted members,with the res triction tha t not more

than one-four th be offi cial s and prescribe the manner of e lection .

The d istrict boards were to be composed of members of the loca lboards or a propor tion of them se lected by e lection as the loca l governmen t might think fit . The powers and functions of the boards werepractica l ly iden tica l wi th those in the Centra l Provinces

,as were a lso

the con trol fea tures .

In the Punjab the loca l governmen t fe l l in readi ly with Lord R ipon’s

proposa ls and issued a reso lu tion in September , 1 882 . In i t occurs thefo l lowing passage :

The object of the whol e proceeding is to educate the people to manage theirown affairs . At the outset it is admi tted that amongst the native communitythe various capacities requisite in public life are for the most part immature ;it is precisely for this reason that a period of public and p olitical training isnecessary . The value of the policy consists in its tendency to create and

develop the capacity for self—he lp . P laced in newpositions of responsibil ity ,the representatives of the people on the loca l boards will become year by yearmore intel ligent

,self—reliant and independent . But these advantages can be

secured on ly if the loca l boards are trusted . Their powers and responsibilitiesmust be a like rea l in proportion ; as if there is any pretence or i llusion abouteither the one or the other , there is an obvious responsibil ity that the wholeundertaking may degenerate into an ofli cious dislocation of existing arrangements . N0 such miscarriage of a generous and enl ightened policy must besuffered to occur in the Punjab . This risk escaped , the government anticipating by wise reforms those legitimate aspirations which a lways gain substance

and strength with the process of instruction , and providing a career for thepeople to open and expand with their growing intel ligence and education ,

wil l avoid many of the dangers inherent in foreign rule . T he scheme , in so

far as i t can be successfully worked , will tend to educate the country in publ icl ife , to re lieve the government of the odium of petty interferences and sma llunpopular acts and to diminish any sense of antagonism between the people

2 This lawis printed in full in the Un itedProvinces Code, 4th cd .

,1 906 , pp . 282—30 1


1 869 . Under this act they were to be pres ided overby the co l lector ofthe d is tric t and to consist of cer ta in d is trict offi cia l s and one i h amdarand s ix local landholders nomina ted by the governmen t . Their functionswere to admin ister the loca l cess . The ta luka (or subd ivisiona l) loca l

funds committees were presided over by the depu ty or assis tan t co l lector .Their primary function was to bring the wan ts of the taluka or subd ivision before the d is tric t committee .

The new law2 provided for the introduction of the e lective princip le,

made de tai l specifications for the powers and du ties of the boards aswe l l as provid ing for their supervision and contro l in practica l ly the

identica l fashion of the preced ing laws of the R ipon series . The pro

por tion of official s and a lso of the e lec tive members was fixed at one

ha lf of the membership . Somewha t e labora te provision was made forclass represen ta tion . On the loca l boards there was to be one member

for each municipal i ty included in i ts area,one for the b ig landowners .

On the d is trict boards there were to be members from each loca l board

of the d is trict , for each mun icipal i ty of over eighteen thousand inhab i t

an ts,and for the b ig landowners . The sources of income

,the powers

,

and the con tro l provisions resemb led those of the o ther laws .

By this law the size of the d is tric t board was fixed at twenty-four,

and the co l lector of the d istrict was made the ex officio cha irman . The

provision for the e lective system was lef t permissive with the governor

in council . The poss ib le e lectora tes provided were the loca l boards,

the panchaya ts , and the tax-payers . The number of offi cial s was

l imi ted to one—four th the membership . T he taxes and the functions

au thorized and the contro l fea tures were l ik e those of the o ther laws .

One unique fea ture was the permission to estab lish panchaya ts for unions

at pe tty vi l lages . These were to consis t of fiv e members of which

the headman was to be one .

Four mon ths la ter than the Bombay act came the Madras measure,

which received the requisi te approva l of the governor-genera l in council

and wen t into eff ect Ju ly 2,

The act crea ted d is tric t boards of

not less than twen ty-four members under the cha irmanship of the

col lector of the d istric t . By specia l au thor ization of the gov ernor in

counci l the members were , however , to be permi tted to e lect the ir own .

The members themse lves might be elected or appointed as the governorgenera l in council might d irect ; Where au thorized the e lected members

were to make up three-four ths of the membership . The e lectora tes were

2 Bombay Code, 3d ed .

,1 90 7 , II , 8 24 . Act I of 1 884 .

2 Madras Code, 4th ed .

,1 9 1 5 , Vol . I .

RIPON ’S REFORMS— THE LAWS 1 1 9

to be the ta luk boards,the panchaya ts

,the tax-payers

,or mere ly the

“ inhab i tan ts . Offi cial s were e l igib le for appo intmen t .

Be low the dis trict boards were to be the ta luk boards,under the

presidency of the revenue officer un less specia l au thoriza tion for the

e lection of the presiden t were to be given by the governor in counci l,

who was a lso empowered to de termine the ir size and propor tion of

members to be e lectedT he taxes authorized as -usua l were 011 lands

,houses

,vehicles

,and

various l icenses for the erection of struc tures . T he functions of the

boards covered the same ca tegory of san i ta tion,po l ice

,and genera l

we lfare activi ties as the o ther laws . The contro l provis ions were

identical .The las t of the R ipon Group of loca l se lf—governmen t measures

was the Benga l act2 which became law on Ju ly 2 2,1 885 . This law

required the creation of the d is tric t boards,bu t lef t the es tab l ishment

of the loca l boards dependen t on the judgment of the l ieu tenan t governor .

The minimum s ize for the d istric t board wa s placed at n ine,for the loca l

board at s ix . The cha irman of the d istrict board was to be e lected .

The e lectora te for the loca l boards was to cons is t of the members of

the union committees , adu l t men who pa id a one-rupee road cess or

possessed an income of two hundred and for ty rupees,a member of

a family some member of which was qua l ified for e lection,he ld a uni

versi ty degree or was a pleader . The qua l ification requ ired of the

members was the paymen t of a fiv e-rupee tax or a taxed income of

one thousand rupees . T o the loca l boards were in trus ted such functions as the l ieu tenan t governor saw fit . The functions of the d is tric tboa rds were prescribed in de ta i l

,bu t practica l ly iden tica l wi th those

of the o ther laws .

In a l l of the var i ous acts,in spi te of varia tions in de ta i ls as to the

kind of taxes to be imposed and the purposes for which they were to

be applied,the rough ou tl ine of the scheme was the same . A t the

bo t tom was the loca l board,some times e lected

,more frequen tly

appoin ted by the governmen t through the d istrict or subd is tric t officer,

except in the cases when i t was a l lowed to e lect i ts cha irman,as in

Benga l .Above i t was the d is tric t board

,composed in some cases of govern

men t appoin tees , and in o thers of members of the loca l boards . As aru le

,the d is tric t boards were under the chairmanship of the d i s tric t

officer,in name a t lea st

,though in many cases the rea l work devo lved

2 T he act is printed in full in the Bengal Code , 4th ed .

,II

, 907 . Act III of 1 885 .


upon the vice-cha irman and in o thers the boards were permitted to

e lect their own cha irman .

The reasons for retaining the d istric t officer in the office of chair

man in many cases was thus expla ined by Mr. Quin ton during the debate

on the Northwestern Provinces and Oudh Loca l Board Act . 2 Regard ing

the appointment of the chairman,the lieutenant governor and the chief com

mi ssioner observe that the question of the chairmanship of the district boardwas the subject of prolonged discussion by the provincia l committee . Theirfinding coincides in principle with the opinions and prepossessions generally

el icited by the district inquiries and recorded in the district and divisiona lreports . Oi the four native members of the Provincia l Committee

,three

strenuously insisted upon the necess ity for maintaining by law the chiefdistrict ofli cer as chairman of the D istrict Board . The fourth—a gentleman

of large property and influence in his own district—he ld a different opinion ,

though itmay be added that whil e he is said to be exceedingly wel l fitted for thechairmanship , he had nevertheless declined the offi ce in his own district on

the grounds of indifferent health , want of le isure , and residence at a distancefrom headquarters ; and the district and divisional reports

,which in the

lieutenant governor’s opinion evince on the part of the writers a most satisfactory disposition to interpret the genuine feeling and wishes of the people ,indicate clearly that the main current of native opinion runs decidedl y towardmaintaining the position of the chief dis trict ofii cer at the head of loca l afiairs ,until some experience in the transaction of public bus iness and the management of committees has been gained by leading members of the native com

munity . I t is beyond doubt expedient that the D istrict Board should be

exempt from ofificial pressure and unnecessary interference ; but the l ieutenantgovernor is confident that in these Provinces al l district officers are thoroughlyprepared to give every facil ity and aid to the policy of the supreme governmentand to promote whatever measures may be adopted for its introduction .

But the middle course recommended by the Commi ttee in the

twel fth paragraph of their report,which course the l ieutenant governor and

chief commissioner have decided ,with a sl ight amendment , to adopt ,will furthertest the wishes of the country and wil l all ow time for opinion to form and

show itself among the dis trict boards themselves . The Committee recom

mended that the district officer sha l l be ex officio chairman of the D istrictBoard , except when the Board on application made to the government by a

majority of the members , receives permission to e lect a non—ofii cial chairmanfrom their own body .

It is manifest that loca l se lf—government meaning a system of administration by the gratuitous exertions of persons best acquainted with the character

2 P roceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Governor-General of India , XXII

4 20.


least advanced people of British India , and I feel that in this circumstance isto be found jus tification for exceptional treatment . 2

Turning to the general princip le of se lf-government,Sayyad Ahmad

Khan wen t on to say :

These clauses reserve to the government the power to appoint members ofthe local boards and the district council s not exceeding one third of the wholenumber . I regard this provision in the B ill with unqual ified satisfaction . Asthis is the firs t occasion on which the subject of local self—government has comebefore the legislature , I cannot avoid expressing a hope that the provision to

which I have al luded is an indication of the policy which the governmentintends to pursue in regard to legislation for other provinces also . Howfar the

government should control the constitution of loca l boards and district counci lsis a matter of principle by no means peculiar to the Central Provinces . I t isindeed a matter that goes to the very root of the entire scheme of local sel fgovernment forWhich the country is indebted to Your Lordship’s administration . T o that noble scheme I am proud to give my hearty though humblesupport

,for I rejoice to feel that I have l iv ed‘ long enough to see the inaugura

tion of the day when India is to learn at the hands of her rulers those principles

of self-help and se lf-government which have giv en birth to representativeinstitutions in E ngland

,and have made her great among the nations of the

world . My Lord , I sincerely bel ieve that al l the intell igent classes throughoutIndia sympathize with the fee lings which I have expressed

,that they feel

grateful to the government for the privileges which the scheme of loca l selfgovernment will confer upon them and that the effect of those privileges will

be to enhance the popularity of the B ritish rule and to inspire feel ings of loya ltyand devotion among the vas t population of Bri tish India . The more real thoseprivileges are , the more beneficial wi ll be the results . Having such Views andfeelings as these , I cannot possibly have sympathy with those who depreciatethe withdrawa l of the government from the direct management of loca l funds

and loca l afiairs , and i t is natural forme to wish as a matter of principle that

the loca l boards and district councils should consist , as far as possible,of

persons whom the voice of the people has e lected as their representatives .

But,My Lord

,I feel that I am not acting inconsistently with my feelings and

views in cordial ly supporting these provisions of this B il l which reserve tothe government the power of appointing one-third of the members of the loca lboards and district councils . I am convinced that no part of India has yet

arrived at the stage when the system of representation can be adopted in itsful lest scope, even in regard to local affairs . The principle of self-governmentby means of representative institutions is perhaps the greatest and noblestlesson which the beneficence of England wil l teach India . But in borrowingfrom England the system of representative institutions it is of the greatest

2 P roceedings of the Legi s lati ve Counci l of the Governor-Geh eral of I ndia, XXII1 6 .

RIPON ’S REFORMS—THE LAWS 1 23

importance to remember those socio-po l itical matters in which India is distinguishabl e fromEngland . The presen t socio-politica l condition of India i sthe outcome of the history of centuries of despotism and misrule

,of the domi

nancy of race over race,of rel igion over religion . The traditions and feelings

of the people and the ir present economic and po litica l condition are in a vastmeasure influenced and regulated by the history of the past ; and the humaniz

ing effects of the B ritish rule have not yet demoli shed the remembrance of thedays of strife and discord which preceded the peace brought to India by theB ritish supremacy . India ,

a continent in itse lf,is inhabited by vast popul a

tions of different races and diff erent creeds ; the rigor of religious institutionshas kept even neighbors apart ; the system of caste is sti ll dominant and power

ful . In one and the same district the population may consist of various creeds

and nationali ties , and whilst one section of the popula tion commands weal th

and commerce , the othermay possess learn ing and influence . One sectionmaybe numericall y larger than the other , and the standard of enlightenment which

one section of the community has reached may be far higher than that atta inedby the rest of the population . One community may be ful ly al ive to the

importance of securing representation on the loca l boards and district council s,

whilst the other may be wholly indifferent to such matters . Under thesecircumstances it is hardl y possible to deny that the introduction of representative in stitutions in I ndia wil l be attended with considerabl e diffi cul ty and

socio—pol itical risks . In a country l ike England,where the distinctions of

race no longer exist , where the differences of sectarianism in rel igious mattershave been mitigated by the advance of toleration ,

the matter does not presentsuch diffi culties . The commun ity of race and creed makes the English peopleone and the same nation and the advance of education has rendered smal lerdifferences wholl y ins ignificant in matters connected with the welfare of the

country at large .

T he system of representation by e lection in countries where thepopulation is composed of one race and one creed is no doubt the bestsystem that can be adopted . But

,My Lord

,in a country like India where

caste distinctions stil l flouri sh,where there i s no fusion of the various races

,

where religious distinctions are still Violent , where education in i ts modernsense has not made an equal or proportionate progress among al l the sectionsof the population,

I am convinced that the introduction of the principle of

e lection pure and simple for representation of various interests on the loca lboards and the dis trict councils would be attended by evil s of greater s ignificance than pure ly economic considerations . So long as differences of raceand creed and the distinctions of caste form an important element in the sociopo li tica l life of India , and influence her inhabitants in matters connected withthe adminis tration and we lfare oi

‘

the country at large,the system of e lection

pure and s imple cannot be safely adopted . T he larger community wouldtota lly override the interests of the sma ller community

,and the ignorant

public would hold the government responsible for introducing measures which


might make the differences of race and creed more violent than ever . [Forthis reason] I

,a s incere admirer of the representative system

,have

given my cordia l support to such provisions of this B ill as appear to mil itateagainst a system of election pure and simple . The government in reservingto itsel f the power of appointing one-third of the members of the local boardsand district council s is adopting the only measure which can be adopted toguarantee the success of loca l self-government by securing andmaintaining thatdue and just balance in the representations of the various sections of theIndian population which the system of election pure and simple would failto achieve .

2

In al l of the acts the provisions for con tro l by the government were

a lmost identica l . 2 The annua l budge t es timate of income and expendi

ture mus t be approved by the deputy commissioner,commissioner

,or

governor as the case might be , and no expend i ture not therein provided

for cou ld af terward be incurred withou t his sanction . T he l imi ts of

authori ty in de ta i led expend i ture were a lso clear ly la id down . Besidesthis

,the d istric t officer or the depu ty commiss ioner had power to super

vise the proceed ings of every loca l body,a copy of the record of Which

must be submitted to him without de lay . He might inspect any work

and ca l l for any documen t , and he received fu l l accoun ts and statementsprescribed by ru le . He was thus able easi ly to keep himse lf informed of

a l l tha t was going on . He had the power to suspend the execu tion of

the orders of any local body , and in cases of emergency to take al l

necessary action himse lf which he was to repor t to higher au thori ty ;and the local governmen t had power to provide for the performance of

duties neg lected by the d is trict counci l,and might even set as ide a

counci l or board or remove any of i ts members in case of incompetence,

defau l t , or abuse of powers . Final ly,the act d id not apply to any

d is tric t un ti l i t had been specia l ly ex tended by the local government .D iscussing these contro l provisions

,Mr. Crosthwa i te sa id :

T he control sections of the B ill are perhaps the only part of the measurewhich has evoked any hostil e criticism. They are thought by some writersin the public press to be too strong and to be inconsistent with the freedomor independence of local bodies .I t is said by one writer that the loca l boards and district counci ls wil l

thus be absolute ly at the mercy of the deputy commissioner . I t wil l be impossible for them to do anything against his wishes . ”

I do not think that the gentleman who brought this accusation couldhave understood this portion of the Bill . T he deputy commissioner has a

very limited power of interference .

2 Proceedings of the Legisl ative Counci l of the Governor—General of Ind ia , XXII1 8—20 .

2 A . H . L . Fraser, op. ci t., pp . 243

—44 .


We qui te agree with the Anglo-Indian press tha t Lord R ipon hasbeen a fa i lure as a governor-genera l . The Anglo-Indians claim for tha t

post qual ifications such as might fos ter the brute force of a governingrace and pu t down al l the finer fee l ings of the hear t . Although

Lord R ipon has done very li tt le for the peop le of this country,al though

s ince March las t H is Lordship has been s i tting id le at Simla

yet had i t not been for the presence of Lord R ipon in the country thepeople wou ld have rece ived wi th qui te ano ther fee l ing the advance of

Russia to our fron tiers than they actual ly have done .

The S ahas,the English weekly at Allahabad

,wro te

,October 2 2

In a country like India where the ruling race actuated by race jealousyand forgetting that the conquered natives are the descendants of the sametime-honoured old Aryans

,who were al so the ir ancestors

,strenuous ly oppose

every government scheme that has for its object the material advancement ofnative India . Lord R ipon found the obstacles too great . 2

The Hindu P atri ot,an Engl ish weekly of Ca lcut ta

,on December 1

,

1 884 , wrote :

The retiring Viceroy was ful l of good intentions , but His Exce l lency fai ledto carry them out in any important respect itwe except the repeal of the GaggingAct and the beginni ng that has been made of the scheme for e lection formunici

pal ities and local boards He has made a few showy concessions to thenatives and given them some shadowof advantage ; but no act of any magnitude has been successful ly carried out during the last four years and a ha lf .There is nothing of any magnitude which we can appeal to as of substantia land permanent value bequeathed to us by Lord Ripong and no thing wil l beleft which our children and our children’s children wil l be able grateful ly toassociate with the name of Lord R ipon . On the other hand , though HisLordship has

,during his Viceroya lty been most vehemently condemned by his

countrymen,both offi cial and non-official , as their enemy and denounced in

every possible and imaginable form here and in Great Britain, yet he wil l beremembered by posterity as the special benefactor of the English commercia linterests in India and the K ing John of the East , securing e ternal freedom of

British-born subjects from the jurisdiction of native magistrates .

2

The S ahachar,a Benga l i weekly of Ca lcut ta

,December 1 7 , 1 884 ,

wro te : “ Those who asser t tha t such a ru ler is a cause of danger to the

empire are not fit to rema in in human socie ty ; they ought to be loca ted

in the luna tic asylum .

”3

Lord R ipon’s tour of the country before leaving India was a success ion of demons tra tions .4 Ha l f the popu lation of Ca lcu tta turned ou t

2 Voice of Ind ia , II , 65 1 .3 Ibid. , p . 75 2 .

2 Ibi d .

, p . 739 .

4 Ibid .

, p . 744 .

RIPON’S REFORMS—THE LAWS 1 2 7

in to the s tation sheds and peop le came from remo te vil lages and sta tions

to participa te with hymns,flags , flowers , odes , and hurrahs . In Bombay

there were not ices,bunting

,and a grea t ill umina tion .

2 At A l ighur

Co l lege the Tami am of the Viceroy was carried by the respectable and

leading members of the native communi ty on the ir shou lders .

We l l-informed Engl ish opinion on the who le was from the ou tse t

skeptica l,if not cyn ica l

,as to the rea l i ty of the reforms . The fo l low

ing is a specimen

What India really asks for as the goal of her ambitions is self-governmentthat is to say,

that not mere ly executive but legis lativ e'

and financia l powershould be vested in native hands . At present the legislative authority of

each presidency resides in the governor in council,and there is no systemwhat

ever of popular representation,even of the most limited kind . The councils

are composed who lly of nominees and,except in a very smal l measure

,of

English ofii cial nominees,and their functions are l imited to consultation and

advice , for they are without any real power of initiative or even of veto . In

each of these councils a fewnatives have been given p laces,but they are

'

in no

sense representatives of the people,being

,on the contrary

,nominees of the

government,chosen special ly for the ir subservience to the ideas of the govern

ment of the day ; and their independence is effectually debarred by the furthercheck that their appointment i s for three years only

,and reversible at the end

of such period by the simple will of the governor . Al l the o ther membersand they form the large majority—are English

,civil

,or military officers

,who

look to appointments on the council s as the prizes of the ir service,and who

usual ly represent the quintescence of official ideas . Lord R ipon,indeed

,took

pains to get together men of a l ibera l sort in his own Supreme Council ; but asa rule those who enjoy this position are anxious only to secure reappointmentat the end of their three years ’ term . Thus

,instead of representing the ideas

current among the native classes from which they spring,they serve only as an

echo or chorus to the governor or to the permanent official s who sway thegovernor .2

The applica tion of the princip les of se lf-government embod ied in

the laws inaugura ted by Lord R ipon were very much complica ted bypractica l diffi cul ties . Mr. Hun ter ’s comments made in 1 89 2 are s ignificant :

The extension of local se l f-government to India is a question that can belooked at frommany po ints of view. The educated natives and the ir European friends advocate the e stablishment of municipalities and local boards ,both as affording training grounds for learning the duties and responsibilities

2 Ibid ., p . 749 .

England’s P lace in India, Fortnightly Revi ew

,XLIII (Jan .

—June,

393—94


of administration and as the necessary sequel of the English pol itica l axiom“no taxation without representation .

”

The taxpayer looks upon such schemes as a fresh method of raising moneyfromhim . The trained English administrator is ap t to disparage the practicalresults— resul ts which he could have accomplished more speedi ly and morethoroughly on his own authority .

The government of India bears a l l these cons i derations in mind . It hasinsisted on the creation of municipalities and local boards , but it protects thetaxpayer by limiting the amoun t of local taxation and it checks extravagantor perverse administration by close supervision and

,when needful

,by inter

ference .

2

The actua l working of a l l the municipa l acts was very much the

same in al l the provinces . The governmen t of Ind ia and the provincia l

governmen ts have pub l ished annua l reviews of the working of municipa l

and rura l se lf-government . Aside from the varia tions in the bewi ldering series of figures , there are certa in genera l iza tions that apply to

them a l l .

The number of municipa l i ties varies . I t has been as high as 764

( 1 899) but recen tly has manifested a tendency to decline,dropping to

7 1 7 in 1 909 . The popu lation l iving in the municipa l i ties numbers only

be tween six teen and seven teen mill ions or about 7 per cen t of the total .

Bombay usua l ly has the greatest propor tion and A ssam the lowes t .

The who le number of members of the municipa l committees is over

ten thousand,abou t ha lf of whom are elected . Oi the rema inder abou t

1 5 per cen t are usua l ly ex officio and 35 per cen t nomina ted by the

government . T he provinces vary in the propor tion of e lected members .

In Burma for the year 1 906 on ly 1 3 per cen t of the members were

e lected ou tside of Rangoon ,and there were none in Bri tish 'Baluchis tan

and the Northwes tern Frontier Province . The non~official s at times ,as in Bombay in 1 906

—7 , have been 9 1 per cen t of the committee member

ship and are usua l ly abou t three-four ths of the membership . Over 80

per cen t of the members are usua l ly natives .

The mun icipa l i ties3 vary grea tly and are of very unequa l meri t in

judgmen t of the governmen t . No genera l iza tion is possib le as to the

relative deve lopmen t of the d ifferent provinces . In a l l of them a pro7

portion tha t varies from year to year of the mun icipa li ties are superseded

for efficiency,a larger number as a ru le are commended , and the vast

majori ty mere ly ra ted as satisfacto ry .

2 W . W . Hunter, Bombay, 1 885—1 890, p . 4 29 .

2 The Hindu ,September 1 7 , 1 908, p . 2 3, col . 1 .

3Madras General Municipal Revi ew, 1 899-1 904, p . 3 , 1 902 .


At the o ther extreme are“

the views represented by Sir MacworthYoung, l ieu tenan t governor of the Punjab , who said

The people rarely manifest any interest in the e lection of thei r representativ es

,and the e lected representatives rare ly represent the real interests of

their constituents . If any position on the Board is coveted it is that of thenominated , not of the e lected members The absence of a wholesomepublic spirit in the rural community lies at the root of this failure and untilthis want is supplied

,loca l self—government in the rural tracts of the

Punjab will be more or less of a farce .

2

So i t goes,one party blaming the at ti tude of the government for

the shortcomings of the loca l bod ies,the o ther b laming the people for

thei r lack of in teres t .The mos t au thori ta tive and probab ly the bes t genera l summary of

the working of loca l s'

elf—government is the fo l lowing from the Parl iamentary repo r t of 1 9 1 8

We have seen already that the hopes entertained of these bodies have notin the past been fulfil l ed . The avowed policy of directing the growth of localse lf—government from without rather than fromwithin has on the whole beensacrificed to the need for results ; and with the best intentions the presence ofan ofii cial e lement on the boards has been pro longed beyond the point 'at

which it would merely have afforded very necessary help,up to a point at which

it has impeded the growth of initiative and responsibil ity .

Municipal practice varies between prov inces : some have gone farther inthe direction of e lected majorities , others in the directionof e lected chairmen :Bengal has gone far in both directions . But

,over much of the country urban

sel f—government in the smal ler towns stil l depends large ly on official supportand guidance . The e lected members of the boards appear to have diffi cul ty infacing the disfavor aroused by a raising of the rates

,or a purification of the

e lectoral ro ll , or drastic sanitary improvements , unless they fee l that thedistrict offi cer is behind them,

and even when he is not a member of the board

he is general ly armed with powers of inspection and advice .

In rural areas where people are less educated and less practiced in affa irs andwhere the interests involved are difius ed over large areas instead of being con

centrated under their eyes every day,the boards are constituted on a less popu

lar basis . Usual ly from three-quarters to one-ha lt the members of the districtboards are e lected , and the e lectorate represents anyth ing from ten to two

per thousand of the rural population . The Decentra lization Commission

advise that the district officer should continue to preside over the district board

2 A . Rogers,“The Progress of the Municipal Idea in India ,

” Imperial and

As iatic Quarterly Review, 3d Ser. , XIII 2 75 .

RIPON ’S REFORMS— THE LAWS 1 3 1

because they did not wish to cut him off from the district interests,andwere

anxious to retain his administrative experience ; and up till now the CentralProvinces are the one province in which marked headway has been made inthe direction of choosing the chairman by e lection .

Genera lly speaking,therefore

,we may say that while within town areas

e lected town councils contro l the administration of the ir roads , schoo ls , drainage , conservancy , lighting , and the like . the district officer is stil l at hand as a

s timulus and a mentor ; and in the more backward district boards he stil l playsan important part , because as chairman he directs the executiv e agency of theboard . Rura l education

,dispensaries

,sanitation

,country roads

,bridges

,

water-supply,drainage

,tree planting

,veterinary work . pounds , ferries , sarais ,

and the l ike are al l matters which to a great extent he stil l administers,not

primarily as a servant of the gov ernment but in behalf o i,indeed in some

provinces as the formerly e lected president of,a popular body ; and the com

missioner above him exercises considerable supervision over the boards ’

proceedings . 2

The reforms of Lord R ipon do no t mark the end of municipa l legis la

tion in Ind ia,bu t they do close the sto ry of the es tab l ishmen t of loca l

se lf—governmen t in Ind ia .

2 In mos t of the provinces the laws for the

rura l areas sti l l s tood at the ou tbreak of the wor ld-war,though s l ightly

modified in de tai ls by la ter minor amendmen ts necessi ta ted by growth

in size and the deve lopmen t of new cond i tions of l ife . T he municipa l

laws had suffered more severe ly,bu t even they sti l l remained on the

sta tu te books as the fundamen ta l mun icipa l law. T he mos t ex tens ive

a l tera tions had been made in B enga l and Madras . In o ther of the

provinces i t had been thought simpler to pass new acts incorpo ra ting

the new de ta i ls ins tead of amend ing the o ld . The resul t had in eflect

been the same . T o a l l in ten ts and purposes the laws of the 1 88o’

s

s ti l l stood,as far as the provisions for se lf-governmen t were concerned .

The ir provisions had been found e las tic enough to accommoda te suchprogress as had been made .

Constitutiona l Reforms,

P arl iamentary P apers , pp . 1 03—4 . East India

,

2 What may be regarded a s a possible exception to the statement that there wereno important changes made in the prov isions for municipa l or rura l se lf-gov ernmenti s the Lower Burma Vi llage Act of 1 889 which made prov isions for a v i llage and po licesystem inwhat is in many respects the most distincti v e of the prov inces . T he prov i

sions tor se lf-gov ernment were,howev er

,v ery slight . In fact the law and its later

amendments were nothing more than po lice measures which authorized the deputycommissioner to appoint a headman for each v illage

,who was bound to perform certain

police functions .

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IN IND IA

The following tab le indica tes the laws mod ifying or replacing themeasures of Lord R ipon .

Prov ince Munic ipa l Acts Loca l Area Acts

Bengal

Bombay

Burma

Centra l Prov inces

Madras

Pun jab

United Prov inces(Northwes tern)

' T he forego ing Burma acts are not real ly se l f—gov ernment mea sures inthat they conta in no priv i leges for popu lar contro l .


Congress,which has played one of the lead ing roles in the stead i ly increas

ing agi ta tion of the ensuing years,affording vo luble ou tlet to d isconten t

and some thing of a traini ng ground for po l i tica l agi tators,and in recen t

years for pol i tical leaders .

The Congress2 was bego tten by the spiri t of the times and i ts vi ta li tyind ica tes tha t i t has satisfied a wan t . The roots of the movemen t aretraceab le u l timate ly to racial d ifference and the res tlessness of a subju

gated people,however l ight may be the yoke . There were

,of course

,

in add i tion many secondary and contribu ting influences at work .

There was the rancor2 of the educa ted id le misfits and,more imme

diately, the savage b i t terness aroused by the I lber t b i l l ,3 which sought

to give the na tive magistra tes jurisd iction over Europeans ; the cynica ld is trus t engendered by the repea l of the cot ton du ties

,be lieved to be in

the in teres t of the Lancashire mills ;'

and the d isappoin ted despai r athaving the age l imi t s teadi ly reduced for admiss ion to the examina tion

in England whereby entrance to the highe r grades of the civi l service

only cou ld be ga ined , thereby vir tua l lyclosing i t to Ind ians -laboringunder the hand icap of a foreign language .

4

On the o ther hand , the movement was aided and inspired by Engl ish

l ibera l ism represented by Mr. A . O . Hume who was one of the origina l

promoters of the movemen t and un ti l 1 897 i ts genera l secretary . The

Bri tish governmen t also was by no means antagonis tic at the ou tset,

think ing tha t i t wou ld afford a valuab le safety va lve and source of

ind ispensab le information regard ing na tive opin ion . Las tly,the spread

of the Engl ish language i tsel f supplied the common med ium of com

munication which had hither to been lacking .

2 Round Tabl e, December, 1 9 1 7 , p . 2 7 .

2 Fortnightly Revi ew,XL 4 1 0

—1 1 .

3 Loe . ci t. The purpose of the Ilbert Jurisdiction Bi ll was to confer on nativ emagistrates powers which would put them on precise ly the same lev e l with theirEuropean co ll eagues . It aroused a tremendous excitement and race feeling ro

'seexceedingly high before it was final ly v irtually abandoned . The name was takenfromMr. Ilbert who was in charge of the measure .

4 During the fii ty years from 1 855 to 1 906 there had been s ix changes in the agelimi t ranging from 1 7 to 1 9 in 1 878 to 2 2 to 2 4 in 1 906 . They were as fo llows

Ag e L imit to OpenYears Examination1 855

—57 1 8—23

1 860—65 1 8—2 21 866—781 878

—9 1 1 7

—1 91 89 2

—95 2 1—23

H.T . Prinsep,“The Indian Civ il Serv ice , N ineteenth Century Review

, LXXIII699

THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS 1 35

I t was with this background and these impulses tha t a group headed

by Mr. Hume of the Ind ian Civi l Service and Surendranath Bannerjeaissued in March of 1 885 the fo l lowing ca l l to ho ld a mee ting of represem

tativ es from al l parts of Ind ia a t the then coming Chris tmas .

A Conference of the Indian National Un ion will be he ld at Poona fromthe twenty-fifth to the thirty-firs t , December , 1 885 . The conference willbe composed of delegates , leading politicians well acquainted with the Englishlanguage , from al l parts of Bengal , Bombay , and Madras presidencies .

The direct objects of the conference will be : ( 1 ) to enable al l the mostearnest laborers in the cause of the nation to become persona l ly known to each

other ; (2 ) to discuss and decide upon the pol i tica l operations to be undertakenduring the ensuing year .

wil l form the germ of a native parliament andi f prgfiel

—Eonducted wil l constitute in a few years an unanswerable reply to

the assertion that India is stil l whol ly unfit for any form of representativeinstitutions . T he firs t conference wi l l decide whether the next sha ll be againheld at Poona or whether , fo llowing the precedent of the British Assoc iation ,

the conference shall be he ld year by year at diff erent important centers .This year the conference be ing in Poona , Mr. Chipo lonkar and o thers of the

Sarv ajanik Sabha have consented to form a reception commi ttee in whosebands wi l l rest the whole of the loca l arrangements . T he Peshwah’

s gardennear the Parbati Hill wil l be utilized both as a place of meeting [it containsa fine hall , like the garden ,

the property of the Sabah] and a residence forthe delegates , each of whom wi ll be there prov ided W ith suitable quarters .

Much importance i s attached to this since , when all thus res ide together for aweek , far greater opportunities for friendly intercourse will be afforded than if

the de legates were [as at the time of the late Bombay demonstration] scatteredabout in dozens of private lodging-houses al l over the town .

Delegates are expected to find the ir own way to and from Poona,but

from the time they reach the Poona ra ilway station unti l they again leave i teverything that they can need : carriage accommodation , food , etc .

, will beprovided for them gratuitous ly .

The cost thus incurred wi l l be defrayed from the reception fund,which the

Poona Association most l iberall y ofiers to provide in the firs t instance,but to

whi ch al l de legates whose means warrant their incurring this further expensewi ll be at l iberty to contribute any sum they please . Any unutilized balance

of such donations wil l be carried forward as a nucleus for next year’s receptionfund .

It is bel ieved that exclusive of our Poona friends the Bombay pres idencyincluding S indh and the Berars wil l furnish about twenty delegates , Madrasand Lower Bengal each about the same number, and the Northwes tem Prov

inces , Oudh ,and the Punjab about ha lf this number.2

2 Proceedings of the Ftrs t Ind ian Nottonal Congres s , Bombay, 1 885 , 2d cd ., Madras,

1 905, p . iii .


An outbreak of cho lera in Poona2 caused the mee ting place to beshif ted to Bombay . Seventy-twou selt-se lected de lega tes responded to

the ca l l . Mr. Bonnerjee was e lected president . His inaugura l address

defined the purposes of the Congress as fo l lows

a) The promotion of persona l intimacy and friendship amongst al l themore earnest workers in our country’s cause in the various parts of the empire .

b) The eradication by direct friendly personal intercourse of al l possiblerace , creed , or provincial prejudices amongst al l lovers of our country , and thefuller development and consolidation of those sentiments of national unitythat had their origin in their beloved Lord R ipon’s memorable reign .

c) T he authoritative record after this had been el icited by the fullestdiscussion of the matured opin ions of the educated classes in India on someof the more important and pressing of the socia l questions of the day.

d) The determination of the lines upon and the methods by which during

the next twelve months i t is desirable for native pol iticians to labor in the

public interest . 2

T he Congress adopted a series of n ine reso lu tions ; Inasmuch as

they were the firs t and were so close ly fo l lowed by those of the fo l lowing,

years they serve as good specimens of the Congress Reso lu tions . ”

They fo l low

I . That this Congress earnestly recommends that the promised inquiryinto the working of the Indian administration here and in England should beintrusted to a roya l commission, the people of India being adequate ly repre

sented thereon and evidence taken both in India and in England .

II . That this Congress considers the abo lition of the Council of thesecretary of state for India as at present constituted the necessary prel iminary

to al l other reforms .

2 Proceedings of the Firs t Indian National Congres s , Bombay, 1 885 , 2d ed .,

Madras,1 905, p . 9

2 What the press thought of the mov ement is i llustrated by these excerptsNative Opinion ,

an Anglo-Marathi weekly of Bombay on January 3 , 1 886 , saidAn experiment o f v ery great s ignificance to the political future of India was

carried out in Bombay during the last week v ery successfully .

— Voiee of India,IV

46 .

Indu Prakash, the Anglo Marathi paper of Bombay, on January 4 , 1 886 , wroteOn the whole the three days’ record o f work is such as the organi zers of

the Congress may we ll be proud o i . What the practica l outcome of al l this laborwi ll be it is not possible to say,

but we cannot be v ery sanguine about i t . Nev erthe

less the Congress cannot but be looked upon as an ev ent o f the highest s ignificanceand i f it will not bring on any immediate adv ancement of our priv i leges it will notfail to yi e ld many collatera l adv antages [We are ripe for such NationalCongresses ormay bemade so by their constantmeeting ] such congressesmust becomea regular annua l institution .

~

p . 49 .

Amri ta Bazar P atrika , an English weekly of Calcutta , on January 7 , 1 886 , saidBombay held a National Congress the other day. We always object to giv ing

big names to small things . We wish we had a National Congress . p . 50.


requested with the he lp of s imilar bodies and other agencies within their respect siv e provinces to adopt such measures as they may consider calculated toadvance the settlement of the various questions dealt with in these resolutions . 2

Section IX provided for the nex t mee ting of the Congress at Ca lcut ta,

December 2 8,1 886 .

I t is no tewor thy tha t these reso lu tions eschew social questions andconfine themselves close ly to po l i tica l grievances . This pol icy has beens trictly adhered to , principa l ly because of the fear of s tirring into irrecon

cilabl e flame any more an imosi ties than cou ld be helped . I t has a lsobeen charged tha t this avoidance of a l l bu t poli tica l issues has been due

to a hypocri tica l d isinclina tion to mo les t the socia l ulcers of the Ind iansystem while agi tating agains t the Engl ish po l i tica l dominion . Thisis by no means fa ir , for the samemen and the same classes have suppor ted

the various social re form associa tions and organiza tions,especia l ly the

Ind ian Na tiona l Socia l Conference which frequently holds i ts sessions inclose proximity terri toria l ly and tempora l ly with the po l i tica l Congress .

2

From the Bombay beginn ing the Congress grew rapid ly,3 at the nex t

session at Ca lcu t ta there were 4 1 2 de legates , and the year after at

Bombay , 607 . The numbers have s ince fluctuated grea tly according to

the propor tion of de legates a l lowed . The hi ghes t number of delegates

was tha t of 1 889 at Bombay just prior to the reduction in the proportion

of represen ta tion because of the prob lem of furn ishing entértainment .

As a ru le the de legates number in the vicini ty of four hundred,bu t the

visi tors reach eight thousand or more .

For years4 there was no forma l provision whatever for elections,

and even nowunder the consti tu tion of 1 908 i t is at mos t a more or lessinforma l

,

designa tion by loca l bod ies of one description or another . In

many cases i t has been s imply a ques tion of who cou ld be found wi ll ing

to undergo the to i l and expense of the journey to the sess ions .

No a t tempt has been made to d ivide the country into equa l e lectora ld is tricts . Un ti l 1 890 there was no a t tempt to res trict the number of

2 Proceedings of the F irs t Indian National Congres s , 2d . cd ., pp . 1

—2 .

2 Regarding the question of discussing social questions , NativeOpinion, the AngloMarathi weekly of Bombay on September 4 , 1 887 , expressed the genera l opinion,“The last Congress acted v ery wise ly in de liberately not taking up socia l questions .These are not national , but sectarian and are likely to raise much bad bloodto introduce them [would be a mistake] as fata l as introducing religious topics intosuch assemblies .”—Voice of Indz

’

a , V 453 .

3 Parl iamentary Debates , 4th Ser., Vol . I II col . .7 1 .

4 R . S . Watson,“ Indian National Congresses,

” Contemporary Review, LIV

9 1—9 2 .


de lega tes sent by any particu lar loca l i ty . Where the inhab i tants of

any town were interested in the ma t ter they he ld a mee ting to e lect

represen tatives ; where any associa tion chose to do so,i t he ld a genera l

meeting of i ts members wi th a s imilar object . The associa tion might

be large or smal l ; the pub l ic meeting in one p lace might be a t tended by

hundreds,in another by thousands . No a t tempt was made to force or

formula te the represen tation ; i t was a l l a l lowed to deve lop in i ts ownway, and thus to be a representa tion of those actua l ly interes ted inthe ma t ters to be d iscussed .

Inthe beginning2 therewas no wri tten cons ti tu tion,and as ide from

the s tanding Congress Committee inaugura ted in 1 8862 the Congress

was conducted accord ing to cus tom and unwri tten rules un ti l Apri l,1 908,

when a wri tten consti tu tionwas adopted at a mee ting of the ConventionCommittee held at Allahabad , as the resu l t of the tumu l tuous d isruptionof the Congress at the Sura t sess ion in 1 907 and the agi ta tion for a

writ ten cons ti tu tion conducted by the more progress ive and rad ical

e lement .

The sessions3 of the Congress have been he ld annually in one or

ano ther of the grea t ci ties of Ind ia . Ca lcu t ta,Madras

,Bombay

,and

2 Bombay Gazette (weekly) , July 20,1 908 , p . 3 , co l . 1 .

2 Report of the I ndian Nationa l Congres s , 1 887 , p . 9 .

3 The following i s a summary of the sessions of the Congress during the years1 885

- 1 9 1 4 .

De legates Pres ident

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o




0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o



o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o





0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

W. C . BonnerjeeDadabhai Naoron (Pars i )Budrudin Tyabj i (Mah )Mr. George Yu le (Eng )S irWi l l iamWedderburn (Eng . )Pherozshah MehtaP . Ananda CharluW . C . BonnerjeeDadaba i Naoro j i (Pars iAlfred Webb , M .P . (Eng . )Surendranath BanerjeeRahimtul la Mohammad Syani (Mah . )C. Sankara NayarAnanda Mohun BoseRomesh Chunder DuttS ir Narayan ChandararkarDenshawEdul jee WachaSurendra Nath BanerjeeLal Mohan Gho seS irHenry Cotton (Eng . )M r. G . K . Gokha l iDadabha ii Naorj i (Pars i . )Dr. Ras h Behari Ghos hDr. Ras h Behari Gho s hMadan Mahan Ma lavyeaSirWi l l iamWedderburn (Eng . )B is han Narayan Dar

Rao BahadurMugho lkar

Nawab Syed Muhammad (Mab. )Bhupendra Nath Masu


Allahabad have been the favori tes . The expenses have from the s tar tbeen borne

,aside from a tax on the de legates

,by volun tary contributions

,

2

ei ther of the delega tes themse lves or by subscrip tion in the places

represen ted .

2 They have come from the humb les t coo l ies as we l l as

from Rajahs . Perhaps no o ther fact affords s tronger proo f of the ho ldthe Congress has

,un less i t be the crowds and the toi lsome d istances

trave l led by some .

The expenses are not l ight . In many cases there has been the cos tof the bui ldi ng of a ha l l to accommoda te the mee tings of the Congress .

There has a lways been the cos t of en ter ta in ing the de legates .

Food,servants

,l ights

,furniture

,medical treatment and accommodation

genera l ly, in every case suitable to the creed,caste

,and class of the severa l

delegates had to be provided—a task not on ly invo lving much expense butlooking to the extraordinary differences in habits and customs that prevailamong the people , demanded an incredible amount of foresight and organization .

3

T o a l l this mus t be added the cost of repor ting,prin ting

,and d istribu ting

a verba tim a ccoun t of the proceedings of the Congress .

The speeches of the Congress are made and i ts business conducted

in Engl ish . There have been from time to time,occas iona l suggestions

that some one or ano ther of the various languages of India wou ld be

more su i tab le for an Ind ian ga thering,bu t wi thou t resu l t . As a ru le

these proposa ls are made for the adoption of the par ticu lar tongue of

the person who advocates the change . As a ma t ter of fact,so far

Engl ish,inasmuch as i ts acqu isi tion is necessari ly invo lved in a l l higher

educa tion,furnishes a l ingua franca for the educated classes who make

up the Congress .4

2 R . S . Watson,op. ci t , p . 9 1 .

2 Report of the Indian National Congres s , 1 887 , p . 1 1 .

3 R . S . Watson,op. at , p . 6 1 .

4 Some of the broader v iews o f the vernacular side of the language question are

represented by the following quotations .The Mahratta , the English weekly of Poona of September 4 , 1 887 , saidT he proceedings of the last two Congresses were carried on in English and itmay

be necessary to pursue the same course until a l ingua franca for India grows up ; butthere i s no reason why a commencement should not be made . The propositionsmust be framed in Hindu—a language which can be understood in most parts of theempire and must be put to the meet ing in that language .

The Ind i cm Speetator, an English weekly in Bombay, on Nov ember 2 7 , 1 887 , saidWe think it is a lso a mistake to insist upon English a lone being used by the

speakers . With one or two competent interpreters it would be possible to h earsome of the best v iews on problems of the day by indigenous thinkers —Vozee of I11d ,

VI 452-56 2 .

THE DEVELOPMENT D F SELF—‘

GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

Parsis , H indus , Mohammedans,Sikhs

,and na tive Christians are among

the delega tes ; Broad ly speaking,however

,the Congress is predomi

nantly Hindu and confined to the educated classes (the microscopic

minori ty ”

) which means in the majori ty of cases the Brahmins2 whoa lways have a plura l i ty “

of the de lega tes .

Wha tever the rea l meri ts of the cla ims of the Congress to speak forInd ia , there is no doub t tha t inasmuch as the irs is practica l ly the on lyvoice ra ised i t is genera l ly and uncri tica l ly taken as representing thedemands

'

of Ind ia . Since the b i rth of the All India Moslem League,

the Congress has been ob l iged tod ivide the honors,bu t in so far as their

expressions of opin ion coincide,to tha t exten t is their au thori ty strength

ened . Certain ly the governmen t does no t pre tend to disregard or ignorethem . There have been bu t fewmeasures passed since the inaugura tionof the Congress movemen t Which have been of a po l i tica l na ture

,bu t

those fewbear unmis takab ly the earmarks of the Congress .

The deba tes in Par liamen t thoroughly bear out the s ta temen t of Mr.

M cNeil l tha t “The four princip les nowembod ied in the Bill [the Ind ian

Counci ls Act of 1 892 ] are ma in ly due to the Ind ian Na tiona l Congress .

” 2

I t wou ld be id le to pre tend tha t the Mor ley-M in to reforms of 1 907—9

were uninfluenced by the expressions of opin ion in the Congress and

by i ts leaders .At the s tar t3 the governmen t d id not d iscourage the Congress move

ment . Lord Dufferin in the Ca lcu tta session of 1 886 gave a garden par ty

2 See “List of Delegates in Appendixes to the Annual Reports of the Congres s .

The Congress leaders hav e not by anymeans been al l Brahmins , howe ver . Thereare many—certainly a p lurali ty o f the Brahmins—among the castes represented at

the sessions of the Congress . For instance , men like Mr. Ti lak of Poona, the editor

of the K es ari and leader of the radicals ; Mr. Gokha le , one of the leading moderates ;and Mr .W . C . Bonnerjee , the president of the firs t Congress ; andM r. B . Chatterjee ,his partner in starting the Bengal ee, as well as M r. Surendra Nath Bannerjea , whobecame the owner of that paper in 1 878 are a l l Brahmins .

On the other hand,there are many among the leaders of the Congress who are

not Brahmins . Oi these there may be mentioned the Ghose fami ly, the proprietorsand editors of the Amri ta Bazar P atri ka , Mr. K . G . Gupta , the firs t Hindu on the

Council of India ; Romesh Dutt, the Hindu on the Decentralization Commi ssion ;Mr. Sinha

,the firs t nativ e member of the Executiv e Council of the gov ernor-general

of India ; Mr. BipimChandra Pa l ; Mr. Krishna Varma ; Mr. Jogendra Nath Bose ,the editor of the Bangabas i , the firs t paper prosecuted for sedition ( 1 89 1 ) Aj it Singhand Lajapat Rai , the deportees of 1 907 ; and Arabinda Ghose .

—S . M . Mitra Analysisof Indian Unrest

,

”Fortnightly Review,

XCV 1 46—1 47 .

2 P arl iamentary Debates , 4th Ser.,Vol . III col . 93 .

3 Voice of India, V 4 .


to the de lega tes,met some twen ty of them at a priva te in terview ,

and

ta lk ed with the president,Dadabhai Naoroj i , separa te ly . In 1 890

2 Lord

Lansdowne took the s tep of removing the in terd ict on the at tendance of

members of the civil service as vis i tors and specta tors .

The governmen twas not , however , prepared for the vigorous press ing

by the Congress for the fulfil lment of i ts program ,and the ofli cial a t ti tude

speed i ly changed to one of to lerant suspicion,if not of antagonism .

In a ce lebra ted speech at Ca lcu t ta on November 1,1 888

,Lord Dufierin

sa id af ter a descrip tion of the re la tive fewness of the educa ted. orCongress

e lement in the population of Ind ia :

How could any reasonable man imagine that the ‘B ritish governmentwould be content to al low this microseopic rninority to contro l the adminis

tration of that majestic and multiform empire for whose safety and welfarethey are respons ible in the eyes of God and before the face of civilization ?It appears to me a groundless contention that it represents the people of India .

I s it not evident that large sections of the communi ty are already becominga larmed at the thought of such se lf—constituted bodies interposing betweenthemse lves a nd the august impartia lity of English rule P2

In 1 9043 Lord Curzon d isplayed the same a t ti tude by refus ing to

receive the reso lu tion of the Congress at the hands of i ts pres iden t , SirHenry Co tton ,

though for his own sake he expressed wil lingness to meet

him personal ly,and insis ted tha t the cus tom of send ing the messages to

the governmen t be fo l lowed .

In 1 907 even the l ibera l John Morley wro te the fo l lowing

A prominent cause of the unrest among the educated Hindus is the IndianNational Congress movement . This association was s tarted in 1 885, and

has he ld an annual meeting ever since in various parts of India . While i t hasgiven the loyal an opportunity. of discussing the needs of India and of expressingthe ir pol itical aspirations

,it has also served as a center for the disaffected and

the tendency has increased for the tone of the latter to dominate the proceedings of the whol e . The members are practica lly sel f—e lected and include al l

who have time,money

,and inclination to trave l to the annual place of meeting

and who are in no sense the authoritative representative s of eventhe educatedclass . If the Congress had devoted its energies to social ame l ioration ,

to

female education ,to the extension of e lementary education among the masses ,

to the deve lopment of trade and commerce,much good might have been

effected . I ts aims , unfortunate ly , have been almost exclusive ly s et uponweakening the very government which has secured peace and growing prosper

2 Parl i amentary Debates , 4th Ser.

, Vol . III col . 73 .

2 I bid .,col . 90 .

3 Bombay Gazette (weekly) , January 1 4 , 1 905, p . 4 , col . 1 .


i ty for al l India . The repeal of the Arms Act,which the Congress advocates

,

would multiply beyond measure crimes of violence,whether due to robbery

,

to private hate,or to political conspiracy .

2

Engl ish opinion of the Ind ian Na tiona l Congress has been much thesame throughou t . The Libera ls have mildly approved

,the Rad ical s

have applauded,and participa ted

,and the Conserva tives have frowned

with suspicion . Mr. Samue l Smi th represen ts the l ibera l opinion saying :

For several years great representative assemblies have been he ld in Indiaunder the name of the Indian National Congress . Every one who has readthe proceedings of that body will a llow that for wisdom

,moderation ,

and

loyalty,they would do credit to this Parli ament itse lf

,or to any legislative

assembly in the world . Now,S ir

,this National Indian Congress is a very

great po litical factor,a factor of the firs t magnitude ; it cannot be ignored .

It has raised in the most moderate and constitutiona l manner serious demands,and the principal of these—i t may be said to l ie at the basis of al l the othersis one for elective representation in the great councils of India . Tha t is aloya l and constitutional demand which we must deal with sympathetical lyif we wish to retain the good will of the large body of the people of India .

Unl ess we do so,we are preparing for ourselves a time of trouble in India,

when seditious agitation may take the place of constitutional action .

2

The more radica l view is represented by the fo l lowing contemporary

Engl ish es tima te of the Congress in 1 885

The importance of the mee ting cannot be estimated by the numbers who

attended it . It must be the firs t time that an a ttemp t has been made to

obtain united pol itica l action from the various races and rel igions whichmake up the people of our great Indian dependency . I t was the beginning of a

movement which our generation will not s ee the end oi , but which must befraught with momentous consequences for England and India a like . Whetherthey shal l prove a like happy for bo th lands or shal l be disastrous to e ither or to

both depends upon the wisdom,patience

,and forbearance , which are mutually

practised .3

In the same tone is a lso the fo l lowing of 1 886

Now,this Congress is tomymind one of themost extraordinary occurrences

that are to be found during the period of British rule in India . Many maydisl ike it

,but it would be the merest fo lly to underrate i ts profound importance .

I t is like the handwriting on the wal l of Belshazzar’s pa lace . I t shows that thetime has passed when the paternal despotism we have hitherto maintained in

India could satisfy the new l ife and the newdesires which the English language

S igns of the Times in India ,Edinburgh Review,

CCVI (July—Oct . ,29 2 .

2 P arl iamentary Debates , 4th Ser. , Vo l . I co ls . 82—83 .

3 R . S . Watson,op. cit , pp . 89

—90 .


Brahmins do not represent India, but merely B rahminism,

which is a verydifferent thing . Before the comparative“ freedom which has fol lowed ou the

imposition of English rule,the Brahmins were the hereditary priests and

judges and law-makers of the land,and a l l the castes below them they ruled

with a rod of iron [It is] just at the time too When they are

clamoring for the abolishment of s o-ca ll ed “ castes at home,that certain

inconsistent Glads tonians are he lping forward with a l l the ir might and main a

movement to rive t once more the chains of Brahminism upon the he lots ofIndia , by handing over to that sect supreme contro l of the civil and jud icia ladministration . This in plain words is what the Congress demands woul dmean if complied with—the resumption by the Brahminical caste of the controlof the law and its administration

,and the administration of that l aw in the

interests of Brahminism,and not of the Indian people as a whole .

2

One of the interes ting minor and abortive deve lopments of the spiri ttha t produced the Congress was a movemen t

,during the la t ter ha lf of

the eighties and firs t ha lf of the n ineties,on the par t of Ind ians to seek

sea ts in Parl iamen t .The firs t a t tempt was tha t of Lal Mohan Ghose

,

2an educa ted

Benga li,la ter the presiden t of the Madras Congress of 1 903 . The

Liberals of Deptford chose him as their cand ida te in the genera l e lection

of 1 885 . He was bea ten to or a majori ty of 36 7 vo tes .

La l Mohan Ghose tried aga in in the genera l e lection of 1 886 in

company wi th Dadabai Naoroji , a Pars i of Bombay,“ The Grand O ld

Man of Ind ia,

of the period of la ter agi ta tion . Deptford Libera lsaga in nominated M r. Ghose

,and Mr. Naoroji stood for the Libera ls in

Holburs . Both were beaten .

Mr. Naoroji made ano ther trial 3 _in the genera l e lection of 1 892 and

was e lected by the Glads tonians of Cen tra l F insbury, by a majori ty of

three,over Capta in Pen ton . As ide from a gracefu l speech on the occa

sion of the deba tes on the address to the Crown ,Mr. Naoroj i played bu t

l i tt le par t,large ly no doub t because the Ind ian Counci ls Act of 1 89 2 had

re turned Parl iamen t to i ts somno lence as far as Ind ia was concerned .

Mr. Naoroj i ended the movemen t . The course of even ts turned

the po l i tica l aspira tions to Ind ia i tse lf , where , if glory was less , the newly

consti tu ted Provincia l Legis la tive and the Imperia l Legis lative Counci ls

afforded a cheaper and more prominen t prospect of success . Engli sh

opinion too was none too favorab le to the practice .

2 Engl i sh Opinion on India , N .S .,II ( 1 893 354 55. Brahmins, the Congress

and the Radicals, The Bradford Dai ly Organ, February 6 , -1 894 .

2 Voice of India , IV 300—30 1 .

3 London T imes , July 30, 1 89 2 , p . 9 , co l . 4 ; ibid .,July 2 2

,1 89 2 , p . 7 , col . 2 .


W . H . Gregory wro te in the Ni h eteenth Century in 1 886

There is onematter for congratulation , and tha t is the s igna l defeat of thosenatives of India whose ambition fired them with the desire of entering the

English Parliament . The time may come when India and our colon ies maysend representatives to England with mutua l advantage , but how that is tobe efiected is still in the uncertain future . We do not require Indians to throwthemselves in to our politica l s truggles and to pronounce their opinions eitheron home questions or our foreign po licy , ne ither is it advisable that Indian

affa irs should be made the foo tba ll as it were of party conflict .

2

The ques tion of whether the Congress fa i thfu l ly represen ts the view

of Ind ia is of the same piece with the ques tion as to howfar the educa ted

c lasses of India can be regarded as represen ta tive of Ind ia and en ti t led

to speak for the masses .

Nei ther the census reports on the one hand nor the po l i tica l l i tera ture ,on the o ther

,are

-re l iab le gauges . I t is probab ly,for the presen t gene ra

tion,an imposs ib i l i ty to see the educa ted classes in the i r r ight re lat ions

to the res t of the coun try .

The assumption tha t the interes t of the ryo t mus t be confided to

officia l hands is s trenuous ly den ied by modern educated Ind ians .

2

They claim tha t the European officia l must,by his lack of imagina tion

and compara tive lack of ski l l in tongues,be grave ly hand icapped in

in terpreting the thoughts and des ires of an As ia tic people .

Aga inst this i t is a rgued tha t,in the l imi ted spread of educat ion

,

the endurance of cas te exclusiveness and of usages sanctioned by cas te,

and in the records of some loca l bod ies,may be found reasons which

suggest tha t the po l i t ica l ly minded classes s tand apart from it and in

advance of the ord inary life of the country and have no right to speak for

the inar ticula te mill ions whose wan ts are exceed ingly few and whose

l imited horizon encompasses none of the po l i tica l demands vocifera ted

by the Congress . And there is much co lor for the Eng l ish conserva tive

asser tions3 tha t

the Congress party4 is not only very smal l in proportion but it is not even

representative of the people as a whole . T he nativ e aristocracy s tands a loof

2 W . H . Gregory,“Loyalty of the Indian Mohammedans

,N ineteenth Century

Revi ew,XX 889 .

2 “ Constitutiona l Reforms,P arl i amentary P apers , p . 1 1 6 . East India ,

1 9 1 8 .

3 A . Sawa te l l,The Po litica l Situa tion in India

,P roceedings of the Roya l Col oni a l

I h s ti tute, XXXVII ( 1 905 2 96 .

4 In 1 89 2 Sir R ichard Temple ev en went s o far as to say in Parliament regardingthe Congress party,

“They hav e no influence at a l l among the masses of the peop le .

They are looked upon as semi-foreigners with perhaps few of their merits . They are

not popular.

' —P arl iamentary Debates , 4th Ser.,Vo l . III co l . 1 00 .


from its activities,and the masses of the people are necessarily indifferent .

“ Young India ”as it manifests itself in the Congress propaganda is pursuing

aims in which the vast majority of the people feel no concern . The Indianpeople as a whole ask on ly to be governed not to govern themselves . Theyare sil ent and unmoved by this superficial wave of what has been termedpolitical unrest . They form the mile-and—mile depth of the ca lm water ofthe ocean of Hindu humanity which the surface waves can never stir intoaction .

Aga ins t these views the educated Ind ians contend tha t

there can be . no greater m1s take than to imagine that the influence of thisclass [educated] in the country is proportional only to its numbers . In the

firs t place,these men constitute what may be cal led the brain of the com

munity . They do the thinking , not on ly for themse lves but also for theirignorant brethren .

Moreover , theirs is the Indian press—both English and vernacular

and the vernacular press shapes the thoughts and sways the feelings not onlyof the fifteen mill ion “ literates in vernacul ars ” whom it reaches directly , buta lso many more mill ions who come indirectly under its influence . And what

ever public opinion exists in the country reflects a lmost entire ly the views of

the educated classes .The official s sometimes look to old historic families which in more turbulen t

times supplied leaders to the country to exert a riva l influence ; but they have

now lost the ir former hold on the publ ic mind , because in these days of peace

and of transition,rusty broken swords cannot compete with ideas in impor

tance and power . The influence of the educated classes with their countrymen is thus already very great and is bound every day to grow greater and

greater .2

2 G . K . Gokahle , Se lf—Gov ernment for India , Imperial and As iatic QuarterlyReview

, 3d Ser.

,XXII 235 .


to the propo sal s of tha t body and the measures final ly adopted . At the

very firs t session of the Ind ian Na tional Congress ( 1 885) the third resolution in the l is t urged a reform of the legisla tive counci ls .

K . T . Toland,of the Bombay Legisla tive Council

,in speaking on the

reso lu tion ,

2asser ted tha t the Punjab and the Nor thwes tern Provinces

and Oudh ought to have legis lative counci ls , and the others ought to bereformed in the ma t ter of appo in tmen ts . His pra ise of R ipon for cal l ing

Babu Kris todas Pa ] and Mr. Pyari Mohan Mukerj i ind ica tes tha t thetype of member advoca ted was the educa ted ra ther than princes andlarge landowners . He urged that at leas t one-ha l f of the members

shou ld be el ected . He wen t on to suggest as consti tuencies mun icipa l

corpora tions , chambers of commerce , the un iversi ties , well-estab l ished

po l i tical associa tions , and the rural and mun i cipa l boards . He also

advocated an ex tension of the budge t d iscussion to more than the new

measures of taxa tion to which Lord Northbrook had res tricted i t . He

proposed the right of in terpel lation as we l l as giving the governmen t an

opportun i ty for qu ieting d isconten t by explana tions and afford ing mean s

of drawing a t tention to abuses . He sa id,moreover

,in important cases

there was needed a right to send protes ts to the House of Commons .

S . S . Iyer,of the Madras Legis la tive Counci l

,a lso in the F irs t Ind ian

Nationa l Congress on the same reso lution,sa id

The actual working of these councils is enve loped -in somewhat of a mystery and to one outside of i t it is a puzz le howi t is that the non-ofii cial membersare so little able to do good of any kind I t was not til l I myself becamea member of the Madras Council that I s aw how unjustly our friends in the

Councilwere censured in themaj01 ity of instances and what littl e influence theypossessed in the Council either for good or for evil . The misfortune isthat these non-ofli cial members are not allowed to feel any responsibility , andeven if one of them assume it , no opportunity is given them to render them

selves useful .2

He wen t on to say they never possessed a representa tive character andwere so worked as to render them by no means efficient even as exponen ts

of offi cial opinion .

The functions of these councils are l imited to registering the decrees of theexecutive government and stamp them with legislative sanction .

I am sceptica l whether any material good wil l result from these councils ,so long 85 the present system of the executive settling beforehand for a ll practica l purposes and in an irrevocable manner the principle of al l measures thatare introduced in to these councils is mainta ined .

2 P roceedings of the Indi an Nationa l Congres s , 1 885, p . 28 .

2 Ibid . , pp . 3 1 , 3 2 .


There was,he sa id

,no difficul ty in ge t t ing suggestions adopted i f

they re lated only to de tai ls,and he concluded :

I must do the government justice to say that not on ly are they anxious

to hear non-officia l opinion but they a lso try to adopt it as far as possibleconsistent with the principle of the measure .

I t shou ld not be over looked,however

,tha t in the same year

,1 885 ,

Lord Rober t Churchi l l in introducing the Indian budge t2 promised a fu l l

admin is tra tive reform of Ind ia,a fact which shows that the Ind ian

governmen t had i tse lf perce ived the need for readjustmen t . I t wou ldseem

,however

,tha t the Congress at leas t ind ica ted the channe l through

which the purpose of the governmen t shou ld take i ts expression .

The reform proposa ls were given the ir firs t ten ta tive pub l ic form

when,in 1 887 at Cal cu tta ,

Lord Dufferin de l ivered a speech on the occa

s ion of the Queen ’s Jub i lee expressing the desirab ili ty of recons ti tu t ing

the legis la tive councils and en larging the ir functions .

He sen t home in November,

1 888,a d ispa tch conta in ing more

definite proposa ls for which he sa id

I do not mean that votes should be taken in regard to the various items ofthe budget or that the heads of expenditure should be submi tted in detail forthe examination of the Council but simply tha t an opportun ity should be

‘given for a full,free

,and thorough criticism and examina tion of the financial

pol icy of the government . Some such change as this would,I think

,be as

beneficial to the Indian administration as i t would be in accordance with thewishes of the European and native mercantile world of India . At present thegovernment is exposed to every kind ofmisapprehension and misrepresentationin regard to the figures and the s tatement of their results . Were the matter tobe gone in to thoroughly and exhaustive ly on the occasion I suggest by independen t critics who

,however anxious to detect a flaw and prove the govern

ment wrong . would be masters of the ir subject and cognisant of the intricaciesof Indian administration

,the result would bemore advantageous to the financial

reputation of the Indian government as wel l as more conducive to improveher financial system than the perfunctory debates of the House of Commonsand the imperfect criticism of Indian finance s by some English newspapers . 2

Lord Lansdowne took up the function of the Viceroya l ty in 1 888 .

He proceeded to consu l t the loca l governmen ts with resul ts which hethus formu lated z3

Our commun ications with the loca l governments disclosed a certainamount of variety of opinion

,a lthough the divergence was within compara


,Vo l . II I co l . 94 .

2 Ibid .

,co ls . 55—56 .

3 P roceedings of the Legis lative Counci l of the Governor-Genera l of India , XXXII1 02-3


tiv e ly narrow limits He found a complete consensus of opin ion on the

part of al l loca l governments consul ted in favour of the view that the council smight with advantage be enl arged and that it was desirable to increase theirauthority and to give them a constitution under which they woul d be able toafford to the provincial governments a larger measure of assistance and support .There was another point upon which the consensus of opinion of the local

governments was equa lly noticeable . I t was fe l t by all of them that what wasdesirable was to improve the present council s rather than to attempt to putin their place bodies comprising a large number of persons and possessing theattributes of parl iamentary assembl ies of the European type .

These proposa ls were finally formulated into a bill which ultimatelybecame the Indian Council s Act of 1 89 2 . I t experienced

,however , a checkered

career . It2 was introduced in the firs t instance in the House of Lords inI t was then read a second time

,and went through the ordea l of a committee .

At the suggestion of Lord Northbrook and Lord Herschel l,certain amendments

were made in the bill , to which the Lords agreed and passed it on to the Commons , where , however , the pressure of business prevented it from being passedthrough either in that year or in 1 89 1 , a lthough on Jul y 2 1

,1 890 ,

i t a lmos tcame up on the orders of the day. I t was dropped on August 5.

The fol lowing are the importan t sections of the Ind ian Counci ls

Act of

I . T he number of additiona l members of Council nominated by thegovernor-general under the provisions of Section 1 0 of the Indian Council sAct

,1 86 1 , shal l be such as to him may seem from time to time expedient ,

but shall not be l ess than ten nor more than sixteen,and the number of addi

2 P arl iamentary Debates, 3d Ser.

, Vol . CCCXLVII, 1 89 1 , co ls . 36 1 , 1 996 .

2 The noteworthy ev ent in connectionwith the course of the bi ll during the sessionof 1 890was the introduct ion on February 1 2 o f an amendment bi ll by Mr. Bradlaugh .

As was to be expected from i ts authorship ,it wa s a radical measure prov iding for a

much larger e lectorate andmore extensiv e powers for the councils than the gov ernmentb ill . Mr. Bradlaugh introduced a similar bill in the next session but his deathterminated whatev er slim prospects his ideals had of being realized

,or ev en seriously

considered when the Indian Councils Act fina l ly reached the stage of actua l debate in1 89 2 . I t is to be noted

,howev er

,that both of Mr. Brad laugh

’

s bi lls were basedto a considerable extent on the recommendations of the special commi ttee of the

Congress —P arl iamentary Debates , pas s im,1 890, 1 89 1 ; ,

Report of the Indz'

an National

Congres s , 1 89 1—93 , Appendix II , p . liii .3 February 9 : Lord Cross presented the bill ; read firs t time . February 1 5

read second time ; both Liberals and Conserv ativ es unite to press the bill . February1 9 : bill reported . February 2 2 : read third time and sent to Commons . February 2 2 :

read firs t time in Commons . March 2 8 : read second time and committee . April1 1 : committee reported . April 2 5 : committee reported . May 6 : committeereported . May 2 6 : read third time and passed . June 2 0 : roya l assent .

—Parl iamentary Debates , 4th Ser.

, Vol . I See Index .

4 P . Mukherj i , Ind ian Cons titutional Documents , 1 7 73—1 91 5 , pp . 1 84—88 .


mos t impor tan t provis ions dea l t wi th the three main aspects of the

changes . . Regard ing the composi tion of the bod ies i t was prescribedtha t not more than s ix of the add i tiona l members of the Legisla tiveCounci l shou ld be offi cial s . One each of four sea ts in tha t body was tobe fil led respective ly by the nomina tions by a majori ty vo te of the

Legis la tive Counci ls of Madras,Bombay

,Benga l

,the Nor thwestern

Provinces,and Oudh

,and one by the Ca lcu tta Chamber of Commerce .

The rema ining seats were to be fi l l ed by the governor-general at hisd iscretion .

The second section of the regu lations la id down the procedure forthe d iscussion of the budge t . The financial sta tement was to be prin ted

and expla ined every year . Any member was thereupon a t l iber ty tooffer such observa tions as he chose

,and the financial member had the

right of reply .

The third group of ru les ordained the l imi tations set on the right ofin terpel la tion. At least six days’ notice in wri ting was required in each

case,un less the governor-genera l made an exception. The interroga tions

were to be framed as simple requests for informa tion and argumen ta tivehypo the tica l or defama tory forms were proscribed . The governorgeneral migh t d isa l low any question withou t giving any reason . No

d iscussion of the answer was permi tted .

As ind ica ted,there were three ou ts tand ing elemen ts in the reforms

accomplished by the Ind ia Counci ls Act of 1 892 and the regulations

framed under them . They were ( 1 ) the en largemen t of the legis la tivecounci ls

,Wi th a taci t proviso for the introduction of the e lective principl e

where feas ib le ; (2 ) the ex tension of the budge t discussion to include the

annual budge t,and not mere ly newmeasures of taxa tion ; 3) the gran t

ing of the right of in terpe l lation to a limited ex tent . 2

The intention of the sta tu te of 1 86 1 was tha t local counci ls gradual ly

be estab l ished in al l the provinces of Ind ia . As a mat ter of fact,however

,

i t had been found poss ib le to es tab l ish a loca l legisla ture on ly in four .

In add i tion to Madras and Bombay,B engal had been given a legisla tive

counci l in 1 86 2 and the Nor thwes tern Provinces in 1 886 . The resu l t

was tha t any new lawor ru le which was requ ired for any province o therthan Madras

,Bombay

,Bengal

,and the Nor thwes tern Provinces had

s ti l l to be sanctioned by the Supreme Legis lative Counci l s i tting usual ly

three or four months in the year , and a lmos t exclusive ly at Ca lcu t ta .

The act of 1 8922 made the fol lowing changes in the Supreme and

Provincial Counci ls . The Supreme Legis lative Council consisted , in

2 Parl iamentary Debates , 4th Ser.

, Vol . III cols . 6 1—6 2 .

2 Ibid .

,Loc. ci t.


add i tion to the ex-ofii cio members who numbered seven,of a minimum

of s ix and a max imum of twe lve nomina ted members of whom ha l f mus t

be non-officia l . The b i l l raised the min imum to ten and the maximum

to six teen . In the Madras and Bombay counci ls formerly cons is ting

( independen tly of thei r four ex-officio members) of a minimum of four

and a max imum of e ight nomina ted members of whom ha lf were non

officia l,the min imum was ra ised to e ight and the max imum to twenty .

In the Northwes tern Provinces the number was n ine,of which one

third were a lso non—officia l,and under the b i l l the number was ra ised to

fifteen . The object of these add i t ions,as Lo rd Curzon s ta ted i t in

Par l iamen t,was by ex tend ing the area of the section in each case to add

to the s trength and represen ta tive character of the counci ls .

He made a comparison with Mr. Bradlaugh’

s b i l l saying

T he late M r. Bradlaugh ,who at different times introduced two bills

deal ing with the reform of the Indian councils into this House, p roposed in

those measures to swe l l the numbers on these councils to quite impracticableand unmanageable proportions . Under his firs t bil l the ir totals would haveamounted to more than 2 60 and under the second to more than 2 30 . I t is

within the knowledge of everyone who is acquainted with India that the numberof persons who are competent and wil ling to take part in the functions of thesecouncils is nothing like adequate to supply the extravagant expectations ofthose bills . 2

I t was upon the ques tion of the in troduction of the e lective prin

cip l e , however , tha t the rea l con troversy over the b i l l raged . Lord

Curzon thus s ta ted the governmen t ’s opinion and expecta tions . He sa id :

Every year the number of native gentlemen in India who are bo th qual i

fied and willing to take part in the work of government is increasing,and every

year the advantage of their co-operation increases in the same ratio . Moreespecial ly in the case of the provincia l counc ils

,it has been found that more

effective means are needed oi re-enforcing native and non-officia l opinion .

The government be lieve that this moderate addition which they propose tothe numbers wil l have the effect which I contemplate

,and at the same time

that i t wil l be compatible with effi ciency . This House does no t need to be

to ld by me that the efficiency of a de l iberative body is not necessarily commensurate with its numerical strength . We have instances in this country of publicbodie s prevented fromworking we l l in consequence of the large number of theirmembers . Over-large bodies do not necessari ly work we ll . They do no t

promote economica l administration but are ap t to diffuse the ir force in v agueand vapid talk , and if this be true of de liberative bodies in England

,it is more

true of de liberative bodies in a country like India . I ho ld in fact that it would

2 [ bid col . 6 2 .


be better that competent men sha ll be left outside than that incompetent menshould be included . Nowwe will look at the question of how these additiona lmembers are to be appointed . I notice that the “honorable member for NorthManchester [Mr. Schwann] has placed on the paper an amendment declaringthat no reform of the Indian councils which does not embody the e lectiveprinciple will prove satisfactory . But in reply I should like to point out thatour bill does not exclude some such principle , be the method e lection or selection,

or de legation ,or whatever be the particular phrase that you desire to

employ 2

Under this act it would be in the power of the Viceroy to invite representative bodies in India to e lect or se lect or delegate representatives of themse lvesand of their opinions to be nominated to those Houses and thus by slow degrees

,

by tentative measures , and in a matter like this,measures cannot be otherwise

than tentative , we may perhaps approximate in some way to the idea l whichthe honorable member from North Manchester has in view . Wi th respect

to the character of such bodies and associations as those to which I haveal luded , I may mention onl y as indicating what may be possible , such bodiesas the we ll-known association of the zamindars of Bengal

, the chambers ofcommerce of India

,the municipal ities of the great cities , the universities

,

the British India Association ,and perhaps even more important than any,

the

various great re ligious denominations in that country . I bel ieve that theHouse wil l ho ld that this method of dealing with the question is a wise method

,

since it l eaves the initiative to those who are necessarily best acquainted withthe matter and does not lay down any hard-and—fast rule by which they mayhnd themse lves unfortunate ly bound . I cannot myse lf conceive anythingmore unfortunate than that this House should draw up and send ou t to Indiaa cast-iron e lective scheme within the four wa l ls of which the governmentwould find i tself confined , and which , if i t proved at some future period inadequate or unsuitable , it would be impossible to alter without coming back tothis House and experiencing al l the obstacles and de lays of parliamentaryprocedure in this country .

2

The honorable member3 [Mr. Schwann] for instance is anxious to have thee lective principle more clearly defined and more systematical ly enforced

, and

he has placed an amendment on the paper , in which he asks the House tosignify its Opinion that no reform of the Indian councils which does not embodythe elect ive principle will be satisfactory to the Indian people or wi ll be compatibl e with the good government of India . I venture to say,

Sir,that this

amendment is vitiated by a twofo ld fal lacy, for, while in the firs t place thehonorable member afiects to speak on behalf of the Indian people

,he at

the same time entire ly ignores the primary conditions of Indian life . When thehonorable member assumes in this House to be the mouthpiece of the people ofIndia , I must emphatically decline to accept his credentials in that capacity .

2 P arl iamentary Debates , 4th Ser. , Vol . III cols . 6 2—63 .

2 Ibid .,col . 64 .

3 Ibid ., cols . 65—66 .

1 58 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT Il\.

l INDIA

English language,of commerce

,of educa tion

,of a free press , and the

r igh t of free mee ting .

He d i la ted at some length on the Congress,mun icipa l i ties

,etc .

,as

evidence tha t Ind ia was ready t or and en ti tled to the e lective system .

G lads tone , however , fol lowed Mr. Schwann and poured oi l on the

troubled waters by saying :

I desire to put on the speeches that we have heard on the B ill,not the most

hostile but the least hostile and least controversial construction to which theyare susceptible . Now

,S ir, while the language of the B il l canno t be said to

embody the elective principle,it i s in its language very pecul iar indeed .

Unless it was intended to leave room for some pecu liarities not as yet

introduced in the‘

Indian system in the appointment of the members of theIndian councils under this B il l

,it would have been a very singular form of

speech to provide not simply that the governor-general might nominate,but

that he might make regulations as to the conditions under which such nominations or any of them might be made , either by himse lf or by the governorgeneral in council .

[Lord Curzon’

s speech] appeared to me , I confess , to distinctly embodywhat is not very different from the assertion of my honorable friend in hisamendment , except as to this important point—that the under secretary proposes to leave everything to the judgment

,the discretion

,and the responsibil ity

of the governor-general of India and the author ities in India .

2

Mr. G lads tone2 wen t on to approve the gran ting of d iscre tion as to

form,bu t regre t ted the omiss ion of a s tatemen t of princip les . Com

menting on Mr. Schwann’s speech,he sa id :

But mere ly intel lectual education which does not touch the morals , manners

,or habits of a people cannot change their character or give them that

sobriety and robustness of disposition which is essential to the smooth and

even working of representative institutions .

After some further b icker ing the amendmen t was final ly withdrawn ,3

bu t wi th a fee l ing on the par t of some which was expressed by the Ear l

of Kimber ly in these words :

I ambound to say that I and some of our friends woul d have preferred thatthe possibility of e lection being one of the modes of presenting these persons tobe nominated by the Council was more explicitly recognized in the B il l than

i t is ; but at the same time , I very we l l know the difficul ties which there maybe in carrying through a bil l of this kind . I regard it as essential ly a tentative

2 P arl i amentary Debates , 4th Ser. , Vol . II I col . 79 .

2 Ibid .,cols.79—84 .

3 Ib id .

, co l . 1 3 1 .


measure . and being so I am quite willing to we lcome it , a lthough it opens thedoor

,perhaps

,in a very slight manner apparently on the face of it . What we

really desire is that in this matter the government of India should be able to

exercise the ir own discre tion on the spot as to the extent to which they maythink i t wise to advance in the direction that is desired .

2

Curzon was fa i thful to his promise and on June 30 ,1 89 2 , wro te to

the governmen t of Ind ia

I t appears to me probable , neverthe less , that the diffusion in the more

advanced provinces of education and en lightened public spirit and the recent

organization of loca l self—government may have provided in some instancesways and means of which the government may appropriate ly av ail themselvesin determin ing the character that sha ll be given to the representation of the

Views of the different races,classes . and loca lities . Where corporations have

been established with defin ite powers upon a recogn ized administrative bas isor where associations have been formed upon a substantial community of

legitimate interests , professional , commercial , or territoria l , Your Exce l lencyand the local governor may find convenience or advantage in consulting from

time to time such bodies and in entertain ing at your discretion an expression

of the ir views and recommendations with regard to the se lection of membersin whose qual ifications they may be disposed to confide .

2

In Ind ia,Lord Lansdowne received the proposa ls in the same spiri t .

He,on the occas ion of in troducing the new regu la tions

,sa id

I should like at this s tage to dwel l upon the fact that the government of

India,ever since I have had the honor of being connected with it , while it has

in sisted upon the ultimate responsibility of the government for these nominations has constantly urged that any bill which might be passed should renderit possible for the governor—genera l and for the heads of the loca l governmentsto have recourse to the advice of what forwan t of any more convenient expression I wi ll describe as “ suitable constituencies ” 'I will venture to quote to the Council an extract from a dispatch sent

home by u s as long ago as the twenty-fourth of D ecember,1 889 ,

in which weplaced on record

_

our opin ion that it would be “wel l that the measure about tobe laid before Parliamen t should not control

,should not abso lute ly prec lude

u s from resort to some form of election where the loca l conditions are such as

to justify a bel ief that it might be safely and advantageously adopted .

”

We went on to say that“we should have been glad it the B i l l had reserved

to us authority to make rules from time to time for the appo intment of additional members

,by nomination or otherwise ”

and we should have considered

2 Ibid .

,co l . 4 1 5 .

2 P roceedings of the Legis lative Counci l of the Governor-Genera l of India,XXXII

1 04

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IN IND IA

it sufficient if the consent of Your Lordship in Council had been made a condition precedent to the val idity of such rules . Such an enactment would haveprovided for the gradua l and tentative introduction of a carefully guardedmode of electing additiona l members .Upon a careful review of thewhole matter and of the contents of the Act

,

as well as of the circumstances under which it had been introduced and passedinto law, i t appeared to u s that the mandate under which we were ca l led uponto act might be summarized in the four following propositions

1 . I t is not expected of us that we shal l attempt to create in I ndia a

complete or symmetrica l system of representation .

2 . It is expected of u s that we sha l l make a bonafide endeavour to render

t“the legislative councils more representative of the diff erent sections of the

?ndian community than they are at present .

3 . For this purposewe are at l iberty to make us e of the machinery of e lection wherever there is a fair prospect that it will produce satisfactory resul ts .

4 . A lthough we may to this extent apply the elective principle,it is to be

clearly understood that the ultimate selection of al l additiona l members restswith the government and not with the electors . The functions of the latterwill be that of recommendation only

,but oi

.

recommendation entitled to thegreatest weight and not likely to be disregarded except in cases of the clearestnecessity .

I think the firs t observation which it would occur to anyone to make wouldbe that

,given legislative bodies of the dimensions prescribed for us or of any

dimensions approaching to those laid down in the Act it would be a ltogetherhope less to attempt the introduction of a representative system in the s ensein which the words are understood in western communities . How

,for instance

,

would it be possible in a province like that of Bengal with a population of

seventy mil l ions , to al lot a handful of seats at our disposal so as to divide thecountry e ither in respect of geographical areas or in respect of the differentcommunities which inhabit it, in such a manner as to distribute the representation equitably or tomake it rea lly eff ectua l ? And I ambound to admi t that tothe best of my be lief even those who are credited with opinions of the mostadvanced typ e upon Indian political questions have carefully guarded themselves against being supposed to cla im for the people of India any system of

representation close ly initiating the parliamentary system of Western Europe .

We are met,moreov er,

'

with this difficu l ty,that in many parts of India

any system of election is entire ly foreign to the fee lings and habits of the

people , and that were we to have recourse to such a sys tem, , the real ly repre

sentativ e men woul d probably not come forward under itI t is in this l ight that the question has been considered and discussed by

us with the local governments . We do not be l ieve that the seats placed at

our disposal can be distributed according to strict numerica l proportion or

upon a symmetrical and uniform system. We do not be lieve , to u se Mr.

Gladstone’s words,that under the Act “ large and imposing ” resul ts are to


the discretion of the Viceroy with regard to the sources fromwhich the remaining four might be obtained

,should be interfered with as little as possible .

There may be found in those provinces which do not possess legislative council s certain classes and sections of the community so far accustomed to col

l ectiv e action in the promotion of their common interests that they would be

qual ified to unite in submitting a recommendation in respect of any seat whichthe governor-genera l may desire to fil l up from a particular province

,and we

have been in communication with the governments of these provinces uponthis subject . It is

,however

,clear that whatever arrangements may be made

with this object shoul d be as e lastic as possible . We might,for example

,find

from time to time that the consideration of some particular measure requiresthe presence in this Council of a member special ly conversant wi th the subjector with the territories which the contemplated legislation will effect

,and this

contingency must certainly be provided for in the case of those provinceswhich have no local legislatures

,and for which such legislation as is required

must be undertaken in the Council of the governor-general . We do not,

therefore , in the case of these proy inces s ee any necessity for such detailedrules for the submission of recommendation as have been proposed for theloca l counci ls . We shall

,however

,endeavour as faras possible in the event of

a member being required for this Council from any of the four provinces nothaving local council s to give that member , by resorting as far as possible to thesystem of recommendations

,a more representative character than would attach

to him if he were arbitrarily selected by the head of the government .“I have now explained , as far as is necessary , the procedurewhich wil l be

fo llowed in giving effect to both portions of the Indian Counci ls Act . I t isnot unlikely that our proposa ls will disappoint the expecta tions of those whowould gladl y see us trave l farther and faster along the pa th of reform. We

claim ,however

,for the changes which we have been instrumenta l in procuring

that they will beyond al l ques tion greatly increase the usefulness and the

authority of these legislative bodies . We are able to show tha t the number of

additional members has been materia lly increased ; that we have considerablywidened the functions of the councils by the admi ssion of the right of interpellation and the discussion of the financial statement ; and final ly , that weshal l no longer rely on nomination pure and s impl e for the selection of addi

tional members . These are al l substantia l steps in advance . I hope the

government of India wil l have the assistance of al l concerned in carrying out

the rules in such a way as to secure in the most effectua l manner the

objects with which they have been framed . It is highly probable thatexperience wil l suggest improvements in matters of detai l , and I need not sayin so far as we are not bound by the limits indicated in the Act , we shall beglad to consider the rules as to some extent experimental and tentative , and

that we sha ll welcome any suggestions which may be offered to us for the

purpose of making them work as satisfactoril y as possible .

”2

2 Proceed ings of the Legi s lati ve Counci l of the Governor-Genera l of Indz'

a , XXXII1 05

—1 1 .


In a speech at the close of his Viceroyalty,Lord Lansdowne said that

i t wou ld

be impossible to overrate the importance of infusing newl ife into these councilsboth by enlarging their functions fi nd by modifying their constitution so as to

include within them a certain number of members owing their appointmentsto the recommendation of other bodies rather than to nomination by the

government .2

The parting words tha t he addressed to the Imperia l Counci l were :2

I earnestly trust that this Council strengthened as it has lately been bythe extension of its functions and by the addition3 to its ranks of a large numberof representative members

,some of whom will owe

[

their presence to therecommendation of their fe llow—citizens

,will enjoy an ever increasing share

2 G . W . Forrest,The Adminis tration of Lansdowne, 1 888—1 894, p . 2 5 .

2 Lee . ci t.

3“Adv isory and Legislativ e Councils

,P arl iamentary P apers , East India ,

I 36 et s eq . In summary form the composition of the v arious legislativ ecouncils under the regulations as final ly issued was as follows

Imperial Legis lat iv e Counc i lEx ofli cio : the l ieutenant gov ernor of Benga l (or the Punjab when ses s ions were at S imla ) ; thecommander in chief ; the members o f the Execut iv e Counci l . Tota lAdd it iona l : nominated members

,no t more than 6 to be ofii cia ls .

Elected members , by Legis lat iv e Counci ls of Madras , Bombay , Bengal , and the United Prov inces .

By Calcutta Chamber of Commerce .

Benga lNominated members , not more than 1 0 to be ofl‘icia l s . To ta lElected members , 1 each by the Corporat ion of Ca lcutta , the Univ ers ity , Landho lder’

s As soc iat ion,

Chambers o f Commerce,and the munic ipa l it ies (in rotat ion ) . T ota l

2 by the d istrict boards (in rotat ion)BombayEx ofii cio : members of the Execut i ve Counc i l and the adv ocate-genera l . TotalAdd it ional : nominated , not more than 9 to be official s .

Elected , 1 each by the Corpo rat ion of Bombay,the munic ipa l it ies Bombay Univ ers ity , Bombay

Chamber of Commerce

2 each by the d istrict boards and the zamindars of Sind , with the Sardars o f the Deccan .

BurmaOfii cial s , nominatedNon-ofii cial s

,nominated .

MadrasEx ofii cio : members of the Execut iv e Counc i l and the adv ocate-genera l 3

Add it ional : nominated no t more than 9 to be official s . 1 to be a zamindar pay ing rupeespashkas h .

E lected : 1 each by the Corporat ion of Madras,the Un iv ers ity of Madras

,and the Chamber of

4 by the munic ipa l it ies and d istrict boardsPunjabNominated : official s .

Nominated : non-ofii cial s

United Prov incesNominated : not more than 7 to be ofi‘ic ial s .

Elected : 2 each by groups of munic ipa l it ies and by groups o f d istrict boards1 each by the Univ ers ity of Al lahabad and by the Upper Ind ia Chamber of Commerce

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

1 64 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ~SELF-GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

of public confidence,that it will conduct its deliberations with wisdom

,dignity

,

and moderation ,and that it wil l prove to be a new source of stability and

usefulness to the institutions of this country .

As to the actua l working of these e lectora l provis ions,even the

Governmen t‘

o i Ind ia Circu lar ” of Augus t 24 , 1 907 , admitted :

In the case of provincia l councils it is admitted that the results have not

jus tified the expectations formed . The district boards in particular haveconspicuously failed to fu lfi l l the expectation that they would represent thelanded interest . Out of 54 members e lected by them to the provincial councils

,

only 1 0 have been l andholders,while 36 have been barris ters and pleaders .

Similarly out of 43 members el ected by the district mun icipal ities , 40 have beenbar

'

risters and pleaders and only 2 landholders . Something has been doneby nomination to remedy these defects ; but ou t of the 338 non-ofii cial members who have been appointed

,whether by election or nomination ,

to the

provincia l councils since e lection was introduced in 1 893 , as many as 1 23 , or 36

per cent , have been lawyers and on ly 7 7 , or 2 2 per cent , landowners . I t is thusapparent that the elective system has given to the lega l profession a prominence in the provincia l councils to which it is not entitled , while i t has signal lyfail ed to represent other important elements of the community . These shortcomings are reflected in the Legislative Council of the governor-genera l , whereof the non-official members nominated or e lected since 1 893 , 2 7 , or 40 per cent ,have been lawyers or schoolmasters , while the landholders have numberedonly 1 6

,or per cent , and the mercantile community has been represented

by 1 7 , or 2 5 per cent . 2

The governmen t of Ind ia d ispa tch of 1 908 expressed the same V iew,

saying

T he question of the direct representation of interests on the ImperialLegislative Council was not ra ised at the time of the passage of the IndianCouncils Act of 1 892 as i t was beli eved that the non-official members of theprovincial councils

,as reconstituted under the regulations , would form a

suffi ciently wide e lectorate for the Supreme Council . This e lectorate , how

ever , while i t worked advantageously in the case of the middle—educated class ,did not afford proportionate representation to the other interests concerned .

Oi the non-ofii cial members e lected to the Imperial Council since 1 893 , 45 per

cent be longed to the professional middle class , the landholders obtained 2 7 per

cent of the seats and the Mohammedans only 1 2 per cent , while the Indian

mercantile community,a large and increasingly important body , had no

representative at a l l . 2

2 P . Mukherj i,Gov ernment of India Circular, Indt

’

an Cons titutional Documents ,1 7 73

—1 9 1 5 (Aug . 24 , p . 2 1 8 .

2 “Adv isory Legislativ e Councils , P arl iamentary P apers , East India , ID ispatch from gov ernment of India to secretary of state .


Lord Lansdowne was more impressed with the provision . He said

The right to criticise the financial administration of government is one of

which it is impossible to overestimate the va lue and I have never concealedmy opinion that it was improper as we ll as illogica l that the fight should befrequently denied mere ly upon the technical ground that no bill upon which a

financial debate could be originated happened to be before the Council . The

right to discuss and to criticise , is one which should be either altogether with

/held or al together conceded . The present arrangement under which it hasbeen exercised one year and held in abeyance the next is a ltogether indefensible .

These financial discussions will now take place with regularity and not upon

sufierance and I fee l no doubt that both the public and the government ofIndia will ga in ,

the one by the wider knowledge and insight into public afiairswhich it wil l obtain ,

the other by the increased opportunity which will begiven to it of explaining its position and defending its policy .

2

As to the actual budge t d iscussions,the official estimate in 1 907

was that

the discussive and unfruitful character of the budget debates,both in the

Imperia l and Provincial Councils , has ,on many occasions formed the subject

of comment and criticism. The government of India entirely recognizes the

defects_of the practice which prevails under the existing regulations

I ”

These compel a member of council to include‘

wi thit Tih l imh s hT a single

1 ,speech al l the observations he has to offer on any of the numerous subjects thatnaturall y present themselves in an annual review of the administration of the

revenue of India .

2

The las t feature of the reforms of 1 892 was tha t in troducing theprivi lege of interpe l la tion . Regard ing i t Lo rd Lansdowne said :

Their functions have , until now, with the sol itary exception to be found

in those occas ional discussions of the budget which I have just mentioned , beenvery strictly and narrowly limited to those of assisting the government ofIndia in the work of legislation . They have been absolutely precluded from

asking for information or inquiring into matters of public interest . In adv is ing

HerMajesty’s government to all ow us to exceed these l imits,we fee l that we

have taken a very serious and far-reaching step . We have taken it under adeep sense of the responsib ility which we. have assumed ; we are ful ly awarethat we are efiecting a radical change in the character of these legislatures ;but we are profoundly convinced that the time has come when it is desirable

to bring them into closer touch with the res t of the community and that the

2 Proceedings of the Legi s lati ve Counci l of the Governor-Generat of Indt'

a, XXXII

(Feb . 2, 46 .

2 P . Mukherj i , Gov ernment o f India Circular, Indian Cons ti tutional Documents , 1 7 73—1 9 15 , 1 907 , pp . 2 2 7

—28 .


reformwhich we are about to introduce is one which wil l be for the advantageof the government as we l l as of the people of this country .

2

Lord Curzon was a l i t t le more de ta i led in his explanation . He sa id

It is desirable in the firs t place in the interest of the government , which isat the present moment without the means of making known i ts policy

,or of

answering criticism or animadversions or of silencing calumny,and which

has frequently suffered from protracted misapprehension ,which it has been

powerles s to remove ; and it is a lso desirable in the interests of the public , whoin the absence of correct ofi‘i cial information ,

are apt to be mis led , and to entertain erroneous ideas , but who ,

within the limits dictated by the judgmentof the responsible authorities

,wi ll henceforward have opportunities of mak ing

,themselves acqua inted with the real facts . I hope this liberty may provide a

wise and necessary outlet in India for fee lings which are now apt to smo lderbe low the surface because there are no public means for their expression ,

butwhich might be al layed it time ly information were given from the right

quarter .2

The on ly ques tion ra ised was rela tive to the crea tion of a tabooed

lis t . Lord Lansdowne said of it :

We had to consider whe ther it was desirable to specify certain subjectswith regard to which ques tions should be inadmissible . I t is obvious thatthere are some matters with regard to which no government can a llow itse lf

to be publicly interpe llated , such matters , for example , as military preparationsat a time when hostilities are in progress , or in contemplation ,

or matters of

financial policy involving the premature disclosure of information affecting

the market .T he conclus ion to which we came was that it was better at a l l events in

the early days of the newprocedure not to commit ourselves to any specifica

tions of subjects . The impropriety of a question may be due quite as much tothe time and circumstances under which it is asked as to the subject-matter ,and a lthough we be lieve that experience may poss ibly enable us to lay downthe rules of the kind suggested , we are of the opinion that for the present itwil l be desirable to content ourselves with taking power for the president todisal low a question upon the ground that it cannot be answered consistentlywith public interests . The reformed councils will , I have no doubt

,show a

proper appreciation of the l imits within which the right of interpe l lation can

be exercised without injury to public interes ts and I have every hope that itwill very rarely be found necessary to resort to the veto of the president . Imay add that in this case also the rule adopted is similar to that in force inthe House of Commons .

2 Proceedings of the Legi s lative Counci l of the Governor-General of India,XXXII

(Feb . 2 , 48 .

2 Parl iamentary Debates , 4th Ser.

, Vol . III col . 6 1 .

1 68 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT IN IND IA

The rules as to questions asked in the loca l legislatures were conceived inthe same spirit , but they contained two special and important restrictions .Under the firs t of these , members of council s were precluded from askingquestions with regard to matters or branches of the administration other thanthose under the control of the loca l government . The second restriction wasthis

,that in matters which are

,or have been , the subject of controversy

between the governor-general in council or the secretary of state and the loca lgovernment , no question should be asked except as to matters of fact

,while

the answers must be confined to a statement of the facts .

2

This privi lege of asking questions thus granted was bu t sparingly

exercised .

In shor t,as a whole

,the Ind ian Counci l s Act of 1 89 2 showed the

influence of the Congress propaganda .

I t was an attempt at compromise between the offi cial view of the council sas pocket legislatures and the educated Indian view of them as embryo parliaments . I t marks a definite parting of the ways , the firs t milestone on a roadleading eventual ly to politica l deadlock and a strangling of executive government . While no eti orts were made to en large the boundaries of the educatedclass

,to provide them with any training in

'

respons ibil ity government , or tol ay the foundations of a future e lectorate to control them , the Act deliberatelyattempted to dally with the elective idea .

2

One other event3 of the 1 890’

s mus t be men tioned in connection wi th

the deve lopmen t of self—governmen t in Ind ia . In 1 897 a legisla tivecounci l was es tab l ished in the Punjab , thir ty-s ix years af ter the pass ing

of the Indian Counci ls Act which had d istinctly contemp lated the

establishment of such a counci l, bu t had lef t the se lection of the time to

the governor-genera l in counci l . The s trong opinion expressed by S irJames Lya l l in 1 89 1 was the decid ing factor in the be lated action . H is

reasons were concise ly expressed as fo l lows : (a) tha t there was a genera lfee l ing among the educa ted classes in favo r of the measure ; (b) tha t afree d iscuss ion of the measures of the governmen t , especial ly in regard

to financia l ma t ters , wou ld be prol ific and useful ; and (e) that pro

v incia l legis la tion of which there was considerab le need would be

promo ted .

2 Proceedings of the Legi s l ative Gottheit of the Governor-General of Indz'

a,XXXII

47 .

2 Round Table, VIII , No . 1 (Dec ., 3 2 .

3 Sir Mackworth Young,The Progress of the Punjab, ” Imperial and As iatic

Quarterly Revi ew, 3d Ser.,XIX 63

—64 .

CHAPTER X

THE PRESIDENCY CITIES,1858—1914

Characteristics of the presidency citiesS iz ePreponderance of European influence

The governments of the presidency cities in 1 858

Later developmentsCalcuttaAct of 1 863Act of 1 876Act of 1 889Act of 1 899

MadrasAct of 1 865Act of 1 86 7Act of 1 89 2Act of 1 904

BombayAct of 1 865Act of 1 87 2Act of 1 888

As ide from the fewmunicipa l and local boards acts and amendments ,the las t fewyears of the n ine teen th century were phenomena l ly quie t .

The Congress con tinued i ts sessions and annua l ly passed reso lu tions ,but on the whole there was l i t tle other man ifes ta tion of poli tica l l ife .

Probably the mos t impor tant event from the viewpoint of selfgovernmen t was the reactionary municipal act passed for Ca lcu t ta

in 1 899 to replace tha t of 1 888. In this connection i t wi l l be wel l to

look briefly a t the developmen t not only of Ca lcu t ta bu t i ts two sis ters,

Madras and Bombay .

The presidency ci ties,Bombay

,Calcu t ta

,and Madras

,are in a

d istinct class,and s ince the es tabl ishment of provincia l legislative

councils in 1 86 1 special acts have invariab ly been passed in the legis la

tive counci ls of their respective presidencies for their government .The s ize and pecu l iar character of the pres idency ci ties as semi

European ized commercial centers have pu t them in a ca tegory withbu t l i ttle in common wi th the other towns and ci ties of India . For

1 70

THE PRESIDENCY CITIES , 1858—1914 1 7 1

this reason,in many ways the presidency ci ties have less s ignificance

in the deve lopmen t of se lf-gov ernmen t than the d is tric t mun icipal i ties .

They are less Ind ian than the other ci ties,and large though they are

,

their popu la tions are re la tive ly ins ignificant in the vas t mass of Ind ia .

On the o ther hand,the pres idency ci ties have been the inte l lectua l

and commercia l cen ters of Ind ia,and their examples have had grea t

influence on the lesser towns . On this account they canno t be en ti re ly

over looked .

At the time 2 when the governmen t of Ind ia was transferred to the

crown in 1 858 , a l l three of the pres idency ci ties were governed by a

body corpora te,cons is ting of three nomina ted members in whom al l

the municipal functions were concen tra ted . Up to tha t time the govern

men t of these ci ties had been de termined by the legis la tion enacted by

the Legis lative Counci l of the governo r-genera l . In 1 86 1 came the

Indian Counci ls Act crea ting provincial legis la tive council s for the three

presidencies,Benga l

,Bombay

,and Madras . Thencefor th each ci ty

had i ts own ind ividual deve lopmen t,with i ts laws enacted for i t by i ts

own council . The iso la tion was by no means compl e te,however

,and

al l were influenced by the legis la tion passed for the o thers . Tbus the

e lective sys tem which was introduced in to Bombay in 1 87 2 was copied

by Ca lcu t ta in 1 876 , and Madras in 1 878 . I t was the same wi th o ther

features .

Ca lcu t ta was the firs t of the trio to ava i l i tse lf of the newprovincial

legis la tive counci ls . In 1 863 a municipa l act was passed for i t by the

B engal Council . By i t2 the municipa l functions were inves ted in a

body corpora te composed of al l the j us tices oi the peace res iden t in

Ca lcu t ta . One of them was to be appo inted cha irman by the l ieu tenan tgovernor of Bengal“. The la t ter was a lso to appoin t an aud i tor . The

confirmation of the l ieu tenan t governor was required for a l l by-laws .

The income of the mun icipa l i ty was to be der ived from ra tes on houses

and lands,a l icense tax on carriages and an ima l s and on professions

and trades . The expend i tures were to provide l ighting for the st ree ts,

a wa ter supply,and for the drainage of the town . T he j usti ces were

given con tro l over the regis tra tion of b irths and dea ths,and the census .

By by-laws they migh t regu la te the genera l sani ta tion of the city

,

con tro l l ing nuisances,s laughter-houses

,and burial grounds . The con

tro l of a l l mun icipa l proper ty and funds was ves ted in the corpora tion .

2 S irW . W . Hunter, Imperia l Gazetteer of India,IV

,2 85 .

2 Published in full in the Acts of the Li eutenant Governor of Benga l in Counci l ,Act VI of 1 863 , pp . 7 1 et s eq .


Thir teen years la ter,in 1 876 , a newlawwas enacted , which fol lowing

the example of the Bombay Act of 1 87 2 in troduced a sys tem of e lection .

Sir R ichard Temple , who more than any other one man was responsib lefor the enactmen t of the law of 1 876 for Ca lcu t ta , concise ly pu t thereasons for the act and summarized i ts working in these words :

The constitution of the mun icipality was not popular, the members of the

corporation being al l appointed by the government, the tax-paying citizens

were becoming generall y dis satisfied with the arrangement . In fact an edu

cated middle class had arisen which objected to the exclusive power heretoforepertain ing to the upper class and desired to have a voice and share in the

urban adminis tration . A bil l was therefore passed through the LegislativeCouncil whereby only one-third of the members were to be appointed bygovernment , and the remainder elected by the rate payers . This measure was ,as might be expected , displeas ing to the upper classes among the natives , andeven to the Europeans who apprehended that with so great a numerical preponderance of native voters none but natives would be e lected . The government , however , having the power of appointing one-third of the members wasthereby enabled to secure a due proportion of Europeans in the municipality .

At firs t the rate payers seemed hardly to comprehend the l ibera lity of the concession which had been made to them , being care less in exercising their newfranchise . The candidates e lected often failed to give practical attention to

progressive measures for the improvement of the place . Subsequently,how

ever,there must have arisen that benefit which cannot fail to arise from

the natives having some power over and interes t in their municipa l affairs .The moral effect too must be beneficial in forming their national characterand making them fee l jointly responsible with the government for the improvement of their city which comprises so many interests .2

The act of 1 8762 vested the mun icipa l functions in a body of seven ty

two commissioners,Wi th a chairman and vi ce-chairman . The members

were required to be ma le residen ts of Ca lcu t ta who had a t tained the age

of twenty-one . Cand ida tes were requ ired to have pa id a tax of at leas t

one hundred rupees . For ty-eigh t of the members were to be elec ted,

and twen ty—four to be nomina ted by the governmen t,supposedly in

such a way as to secure representation for classes and minori ties which

fai led to ob tain due recogni t ion in the elections .

The e lectorate was composed of ma l e residents who had at tained

the age of twenty-one and had pa id taxes aggrega ting twenty-hy e

rupees . The chai rman was to be appointed by the loca l governmen t .

2 Sir R . Temple , M eh and Events of My T ime in Ind t'

a, p . 4 24 .

2 Published in full in the Acts of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal in Counci l ,Act IV of 1 876 , pp . 63 et s eq.


affairs of the municipa lity in the interest of the rate payers without fear offavor and heedless of offi cial frowns . 2

This seems to have proved gal l ing to the authori ties,and in 1 896 Sir

Al exander MacKenz ie del ivered his famous speech whi le laying thefounda tion s tone of the newdrainage works at En tal ly .

Gross mismanagemen t was charged . Regard ing i t,Mr. R i tchie

at one time municipal chairman,said

,in 1 888

The citiz ens of Calcutta were given practical ly complete powers of selfgovernment on the model of a modern English borough

,the chief distinction

being that an ofii cial chairman was nominated and appointed by the government . There is a consensus of we ll-informed opin ion tha t the powers givenwere mi sused

,and that the government of the city fel l below the standard of

any decently governed European town . The system was an improvementon what went before

,and under it a few hard working and rea lly valuable

municipal councilors were deve loped . But these were not able to control thecapriciousness and instability of the main body of the council , with the resultthat the Calcutta town councilors were constantly at variance with theirexecutive officers ; they forni ed no ideals of what was wanted ; they coveredthemselves with ridicule by impracticable proposal s and instead of afiording

driving power acted simply as a brake , and l imited themselves to supplyingthe very minimum of the measures required by European public opinion forthe metropol is of India . Things came to such a pass that some ten years agotheir powers had to be very materia lly curtailed in the interes ts of sanitationand decent civic existence .

2

Sir W . W . Hun ter a lso sa id of i t

The administration of Calcutta under its municipal act of 1 876 and 1 888

was not very successful The commissioners interfered with the execu

tive,and although some large schemes for the improvement of the city were

carried through,parts of it were a llowed to remain in a very insani tary condi

tion and municipal business was neglected in several other directions . Thesedangers were brought prominently to notice when plague firs t threatenedthe city . Specia l etl ort was then made to improve sanitation and it wasdetermined in order to secure better administration in the future to alter the

municipal constitution .3

Wha tever the tru th of the contentions , in 1 899 , under the efficient

régime of Lord Curzon,a lawwas enacted over the objections of S ir

John Wedderburn . The feature4 of the act which cu t the number of

2 Bengal ee, August 2 , 1 9 1 6 , p . 4 , col . 2 . Cited from Goode ,Municipal Calcutta .

2 G . R itchie,

“ Constitutiona l and Administrativ e Changes in India , Imperial

and As iatic Quarterly Rev iew, 3d Ser. , XXVIII 80 .

3 Sir W . W . Hunter, op. ci t , IV, 295 .4 Bengal ee, May 2

,1 9 1 2 , p . col . 1 .

THE PRESIDENCY CITIES, 1858

- 1914 1 75

elected members from fifty to twen ty-fiv e was s trenuous ly objected to .

On September 1,

as a protes t aga ins t the Ca lcu t ta muni cipal

b i l l then under considera tion,twenty-eight municipa l commissioners of

the corporation wen t so far to res ign after one of the s torms and some2

of the mos t influential decl ined to engage thereafter in the adminis tration of the newact.

The law i tsel f,3 was an elabora te measure consis ting of 652 sec

tions bu t aside from cu tting the number of elected members down

from fifty to twenty-fiv e and crea ting a genera l or s teering committee to do the work which the larger body could not a t tend to

,

presen ted few no teworthy fea tures . The genera l committee featurewas copied from Bombay . I ts members were chosen

,four by the

elected members of the corpora tion,four by the members represen ting

the commercia l communi ty,and four by the local governmen t . As

under the previous act,fifteen members were to be appoin ted by the loca l

government,four by the Benga l Chamber of Commerce

,four by the

Ca lcu t ta Trades Asso ciation and two by the commissioners for the por tof Calcut ta . The to tal membership was thus reduced from seventytwo to fifty

-two . The . cha irman was to be appoin ted by the loca lgovernmen t . The electora l qual ification requirements remained subs tantial ly the same

,as d id the powers , functions , sources of revenue .

4

Madras was two years behind Ca lcu t ta in beginning i ts series of

al terations . The form of mun icipal governmen t was bequea thed i tby the East Ind ia Company . The firs t act passed for the ci ty by the

Madra s Legisla tive Council came in 1 86 I t provided : for a municipalgovernmen t composed of s ix commi ssi oners

,three paid

,appointed by

the governor in counci l,and three unpaid , also selected by the governor

in counci l,from the residen ts of Madras for a term of three years . The

presiden t was to be one of the six,designa ted by the governor . The

2 Ibid .,July 1 5, 1 9 1 6 , p . 4 , co l . 1 .

2 Ibid .

,August 2 , 1 9 1 6 , p . 4 , col . 2 . Rev iewing Goode , Municipal Ca lcutta .

3 Bengal Code, IV ed . ,Vo l . III

, pp . 2 1 9 et s eq .

4 A deputy chairman was also created,who prov ed to be somewhat of a fifth

whee l to the coach . He was originally intended to be an engineer and the persona lassistant of the chairman in bui lding and other Operations . The idea was ultimate lygiv en up and no qual ification attached to the ofii ce by statute , with the result that amember of the civ il serv ice was in practice a lways appointed . In practice he alsoserv ed in the place of the chairmanwhen the latterwas absent .

—Bengal ee, October 9 ,1 909 , p . 5 , col . 1 .

3 See Acts of the Governor of Madras in Counci l Act IX ,of 1 865, for the

complete law.


usua l taxes on houses,vehicles

,animals

,profess ions

,and bui ld ings were

au thorized . These ra tes were to be expended for the po l ice and con

serv ancy . There were no unusua l fea tures in these respects .

Two years la ter,in 1 867 , a fresh act was passed for the ci ty of

Madras .

2 This act d ivided the city of Madras in to eight d ivisions a ndauthorized the governmen t to appo int four commiss ioners as representat iy es of each d ivis ion . Their term was three years

,subject to remova l

for misconduct . The en tire execu tive power was ves ted in an ofli cer

appoin ted by the governmen t cal l ed the pres iden t of the Board of

Commissioners . The usua l taxes were au thorized to be expended as

in the o ther ci ties for the genera l conservancy and improvement of

the ci ty .

An amendmen t by Act V of March 1 5, au thorized the ex tension

of the use of the ci ty funds to education and empowered the governmen t

to take measures to provide for the,

e lection of a certa in number of

municipal commissions When i t deemed i t advisab le .

As a resu l t of the Ca l cut ta agi ta tion of 1 876 , similar demands were

pu t forward in Madras .

3 The governmen t yielded and in 1 788 a new

act authorized the appoin tment of commissioners by e lection as vacanciesmight occur

,un ti l ha l f the numbers should be e lected by the rate

payers .

The Htndu,at the time a tri-weekly Engl ish paper of Madras

,sa id

on December 24 , 1 884 , regard ing this act

I t is unreasonable to expect the ordinary public to consider and discussmun1c1pal questions as long as they and their representatives are allowedlittle voice in the management of the mun icipal ity itself and as the ir repre

s entations have been so frequently unheeded as they have been made to

government,their attitude has sunk into that of passive discontent sustained

by a,

sense of high handed exercise of the arbitrary power of government .

Ne ither the Bombay nor the Calcutta municipali ty pays its president theenormous salary that Madras is made to pay , yet when compared to the othertwo cities M adras is nothing in point of affl uent revenue . What is worse , the

president and vice-president are made the masters of the corporation insteadof i ts servants . The president of the Bombay municipality has , if we are

informed correctly,no voice in the de liberations of the Town Council , which

corresponds to our standing committee here , and which chooses its own presi

2 For complete law, s ee Madras Code, I s t ed .

,1 876 , pp . 305 et s eq . Act LX

of 1 86 7 .

2 M adras Code,1 876 cd .

,Ca lcutta , p .

3 John Crowdy,“Our Indian Empire , Bri ti sh A lmanac and Compani on ,

1 878 , p . 74 .


When the Crown 2 took over the governmen t of Ind ia in 1 858,

Bombay l ike the other presidency ci ties was under the managemen t of

a board of three commiss ioners,functioning under Act XIV of 1 856

and Act XXV of 1 858 . Hea l th cond i t ions in the ci ty were so horrib letha t the governor

,S ir Bar tle Frere

,fina l ly o rdered a de ta iled repor t .

I t was submitted by Dr. Le i th on February 29 , 1 864 . I t proved so

a larming tha t a governmen t resolu tion fo l lowed on May 2,1 864 , and in

due time Act II of 1 865 found i ts place on the Bombay s ta tu te books .

The new lawwen t in to force on Ju ly 1,1 865, the i l l-omened

“ b lackday of Bombay financial his tory . In form i t was very s imilar to theCa lcu tta act of two years before

,and in par t no doub twas based as far as

deta il s were concerned on the Engl ish heal th act of 1 855. The lis t of

activi ties and pub l ic works covered by the lawwere essentia l ly the sameas t hose in the Ca lcu t ta act . They included water supply

,dra inage ,

conservancy,pub lic hea l th

,

' marke ts , s laughter-houses, weights and

measures,pub l ic works

,pub l ic trafii c

,bu i ld ings

,pol ice

,l ighting

,trade .

l icenses,pub l ic nuisances

,vi ta l s ta tistics

,fines

,pena l t ies

,finances

,and

powers of borrowing .

The entire execu tive power and responsib il i ty for the purposes of the

act were ves ted in one commiss ioner ins tead of three . He was appo intedby the governor in council for a term of three years

,andwas to be e l igib le

for reappointment provided tha t he shou ld a lways be removab le from

office by the governor in counci l for misconduct or neglect or incapaci ty

to perform his du ty,at the recommenda tion of not less than two

thirds of the j us tices of the peace present at a specia l general meeting

of the“ j us tices .”H is ti tle was “mun icipa l commissioner for the ci ty

of Bombay .

” H is sa lary was to be rupees .

Back of the mun icipa l commiss ioner were the jus tices of the peace ,to whom was in trus ted the government of the ci ty in the ma tters of

de l ibera tion and legis lation . At the time , they numbered abou t one

hundred . They were in no sense an elected body . Many of them

paid ra tes bu t none were supposed to represen t the ra te-payers d irectly .

They were a l l governmen t nominees . Their mee tings were quar terly,and the quorum requ ired was seven . In a way,

loca l self-governmen t

was undoub ted ly es tab l ished,bu t at tha t da te the government hard ly

expected tha t a dozen of the j ustices wou ld find the l eisure or possess

the necessary spiri t of se l f-sacrifice to a t tend the quarterly meetings

and supervise the work of the chief executive . In practice , however ,a large number d id attend

,especia l ly during the régime of Sir

'

Bartle

2 D . E . Wacha,The Ri s e and Growth of Bombay Munieipal Government, p . 80.

THE PRESIDENCY CITIES , 1858—1914 1 79

Frere . Among the prominent ind ividuals were Sir Wil l iam Mansfield,

Mr. Walter Cassels,and Mr. Juggonath Sunkersett .

2

The act of 1 865worked wel l as faras efii ciencywen t , and a marvellous

transformation was effected in the san i tary cond i tion of the ci ty , bu t

the expense invo lved was the principa l cause of the rad ical change made

in 1 87 2 . The immed ia te occas ion of this Act III of 1 87 2 was the

financial ex travagance of Mr. Crawford,resu l ting in the scandal of

1 870—7 1 when the municipal ity was forced to declare i tsel f bankrupt .

2

The declara tion roused the ra te-payers . Pub lic meetings were he ld .

The press became active .

The governmen t final ly yielded grudging ly to the popular movemen t

headed by Mr Forbes and Mr. Mangaldas Nathoobhoy and Mr.

Nowr031 Furdoon and o thers . Mr. Tucker was in charge of the b i l l and

fought the rad ica ls s tubborn ly . The b i l l as i t final ly wen t on to the

s ta tu te books crea ted a corporation of s ixty-four members , e lected by

those paying taxes of over fifty rupees per annum . An efi'

ort to Vir tua llyex tend the franchise to al l Europeans by gran ting i t to al l Who paid a

whee l tax was defea ted . The Corpora tion was to choose an adv isory

council of twelve persons known as the Town Council . The righ t of

appointing the cha irman was reserved by the governmen t . The govern

men t a lso re ta ined the power to appoin t the commissioner,in whom a l l

the execu tive power and respons ib i l i ty was in trus ted . The mos t tha tthe governmen t wou ld concede was tha t he should be removab le by the

vote of for ty members at a specia l genera l mee ting of the corpora tion .

H is term was three years and he was e l igib l e for reappo intment .The actua l municipa l governmen t was ves ted in a

“Mun icipa lCorporation ”

of s ixty—four members . Oi these s ixty-four,thir ty-two

were to be e lected by the ra te-payers,six teen by the j us tices

,and the

remaining s ixteen were to be appoin ted by the governmen t . 3 The

qual ifications requi red for members were tha t they be ra te-payers ,twenty-fiv e years ol d

,whose taxes amoun ted to thirty rupees a year ,

orwho were justices of the peace or fe l lows of the universi ty . As usua l

they were required to have clean criminal records,and to be wi thou t

in teres t in municipal con tracts .The mos t important feature of the law

,and the one which was

subsequently copied by both Ca lcu t ta and Madras,was the crea tion of

2 Ibid . , p . 20 .

2 Ibid ., p . 3 1 .

3 The act (No . III of 1 87 2 ) i s published in full in the Bombay Code, cd . of 1 880,

pp . 3 1 0 et s eq .


a steering committee of twe lve members . This body bore the ti tle of“Town Council ,

”and was se lected from the fu l l corpora tion

,eight by

e lection from among and by the corporation and four appoin ted fromthe same body by the governmen t .

T he execu tive power was vested in a commissioner se lected by thegovernmen t . The usua l taxes on lands

,bui ld ings

,and vehicles were

au thorized , toge ther wi th town du ties and a tax on fire-insurancecompan ies . The money thus ra ised was to be expended for promotingthe pub l ic hea l th

,safe ty ins truction

,and conven ience . Each of these

headings was covered in de tail,bu t the provisions presen t nothing

d ifferen t from those of the o ther laws .

The nex t impor tan t change in the form of government of Bombayci ty came in 1 888 . The act of tha t year was a be la ted echo of the tumu l tof Lord R ipon ’s reforms . The reso lu tion of his governmen t da ted May

1 8,1 882

, proposed an ex tension of financial decen tra l iza tion whereby

cer ta in i tems of receip ts and expend i tures such as primary educa tion,

med ica l rel ief,pol ice

,etc .

,were to be made over to municipa l and local

boards }r Correspondence was begun with the governmen t of Bombayre la tive to the ma t ter . On January 1 0

,1 883 , a reso lu tion was moved

by Mr. Vishawanath Narayan Mandil ik and seconded by Mr. P . M .

Mehta,in the corporation that

this Corporation humbly offers its respectful thanks to His Excel lency ,the Viceroy , for his noble efforts to systematize and properly direct the measures for the extension and consolidation of loca l se lf—government in Indiaand expresses the earnest hope that in the bills now under consideration the

municipal laws of Bombay passed by the governments of Sir Seymour Fitz

gera ld and Sir Philip Wodehouse may be further amended by investing therepresentatives of the city with a larger and more substantial share in the

administration of the ir own affairs .

Negotia tions proceeded regard ing the transfer of provincia l receip ts .

On March 2,1 883 , the Town Counci l appoin ted a committee to confer

wi th the mun icipal commissioner rela tive there to . I t repor ted but theCorporation was not satisfied with the financia l proposals and askedmore extensive powers of se l f—governmen t . A new committee was

appoin ted to consider wha t departments of admin is tra tion the mun ici

pa l i ty shou ld ask for. I t repor ted Augus t 1 1,1 883” Among other

things i t proposed tha t the Corpora tion should be increased from s ixtyfour to seven ty-two

,selected as fo l lows :2 thirty-six by the ra te-payers ;

2 D . E . Wacha,The Ri s e and Growth of BombayMunieipa l Government, p . 29 2 .

2 Ibid .

, p . 295 .

CHAPTER XI

THE MORLEY-MINTO REFORMS

Rus sof j apanes e War—a new era inaugurated in IndiaManifestation of the new spirit—unrestCauses of unrest

Example of JapanEducationTreatment of Indians in other colonies

Partiality shown BoersPlagueFamineRace fee lingCurzon

’

s reformsPartition of Bengal

Attitude of the government of Lord Minto—minute of 1 906

Progress of the movementCleavages in native opinion

Extremists and moderatesThe Congress split

Formation of the All—India Moslem LeagueGovernment reform circular , August 24 , 1 907The Council of India Act, 1 907—admission of two natives to the Councilof India

The course of the agitationSongsSpeechesArticlesViolence

Effect of the agitation on the pol icy of the governmentRepressive measures

Seditious Meetings Act , 1 908Explosives Substance Act , 1 908Newspapers’ Incitement to Offences Act, 1 908Act to prohibit associations dangerous to public peace , 1 908

Further concessionsAdmission of an Indian to the Executive Council _

oi the ViceroyThe Indian Councils Act

g

oi 1 909

Regulations under it

THE MORLEY-MINTO REFORMS 1 83

Its main featuresExtension of budget discuss ion resolutions

Extension of interpellation- supplementary questionsThe working of these two features

Thenon—hfi'

mial majority inthe_

enlarged_ prq v incial councils

The official bl oc in the Imperia l CouncilThe working of these two features

Special e lectorates for the Mohammedans

The dropping of the advisory council schemeAuthorization for provincial executive council

Attitude toward the reformsEnglishNative

Reasons for failure

The year 1 904 and the Russo-Japanese War s tand as the water-shed

be tween the old and the new in the po l i tica l l ife of Ind ia .

2 The Japanese

victory seemed to be the de tona tor tha t set off a series of pol i tica l

explosions in the Oriental world which had been s lowly preparing s ince

the Abyss inians crushed the I tal ians at Adowah . In 1 906 Persia roused

i tse lf to an ephemera l cons ti tutional régime . Turkey began to experience

the s tirrings of the young Turks which resul ted in the revo lu tion of

Symptoms of unres t began to agi tate Egypt and Algeria .

In India,as H . P . Mody expressed i t :

T he success of the Island Empire of the East has opened up a vista of

glorious possibilities . I t has shattered the ol d time belief in the unvu lnerabil ityof Western might and power . Men gaped with astonishment when they saw

a power which had dominated the councils of Europe crumble into dust beforethe vigorous arm of a nation of patriots . This stirred into activity the Eastthat was slowly awakening from her slumbers . What Japan has done Indiacan do—thus men argued . T he wish is often father to the thought and whatmenwish to bel ieve they accept without critica l examination . Thus the successof Japan has created a spirit of emulation in the breast of every Indian patriot . 2

Many of the causes for the res tlessness in Ind ia were of long s tand ing,

and the feel ing i tse lf was by no means new. I t had been more or less in

evidence since Lord Lytton’

s term,and even before . The new fea ture

was the numbers invo lved .

The educationa l sys tem had con tinued to turn out annua l ly i tsthousands

,3 a certa in percen tage of whom invariab ly were crowded out in

2 Sir A . C. Lyal l , in Introduction to Chiro l’s Unres t in Indz'

a,IX .

2 H . P . Mody, The P ol itical Future of Ind ia , p . 7 2 .

3 The extent o f the advance that had taken place in the dev elopment of

the educated classes can hardly be judged by statistica l tests , but itmay be mentioned


the s truggle for governmen t posi tions and in consequence cherished a

varying degree of vindi ctiveness aga inst the government . All of them,

says Rees in his Rea l India,

2 “ imb ibed sedi tion wi th their dai ly lessons .I t wou ld be hard for s tudents of any race to s tudy the s truggle forEngl ish consti tu tiona l l iber ty wi thou t fee l ing irked at an a l ien ru le .

The miracle is tha t England has not had to face far more difficul tiesthan she has .

”

Mr. Crosthwa i te describes the si tuationwi th these words

That England was bound to educate the people of India,l et the conse

quences be what they might , is admitted by most men . I f you teacha man English you cannot prevent him from reading , and if he reads a fewpages of Engl ish history or a fewof Scott’s or Thackeray’s works it is enoughto s et him thinking and comparing his lot with that of the others . If youdo not l ike this kind of spirit , said a native school master some thirteen yearsago , do not l et them read about K ing John and the Magna Charta .

No greater praise can be given England’s administration than the passivityif nothing more of thousands of those who have been educated at her hands .2

The trea tmen t of Indians in o ther co lonies contribu ted to this

feel ing .

3 The resentmen t was cherished parti cular ly agains t the South

African co lonies . In Na ta ],Eas t Indians might be impor ted as inden

tured laborers,bu t those remaining after the exp iration of their terms

were subject to a three-pound po ll tax. No immigra tion was a llowed

except to those speaking a European language . In the Transvaal af ter

1 885 they were subject to a three—pound fee as traders and cou ld not

ho ld land registered in their own names . They were classed as natives

that within the preceding twenty years the number of scholars studying English hadrisen from to whilst the number o f students passing the annua lmatriculation examination of the Indian Univ ersities had increased from in

1 886 to in 1 905, and the number of Bache lors of Art from 708 in the formeryear to in the latter . During this period higher education had penetrated tocircles which a generation ago had hardly been affected by its influence .

In addition , thousands of students had begun to seek the univ ersities of England ,Germany, France , and the United States . After the Russo-Japanese War Japanbecame another center .

P . Mukherj i , Gov ernment of India Circula r, Indz'

an Cons ti tutional Documents ,1 7 73

—1 9 1 5 (Aug . 24 , pp . 2 1 1—1 3 . S . N . Sing, “ India’s Coming Greatness,”

Arena, XXXIX 403 .

2 J. D . Rees,The Real India

, p . 1 6 1 .

2 C. H . T . Crosthwaite,

“T he New Spirit, B l ackwood’

s Magazine, CLXXX(Sept . , 408

-9 .

3 L . W . Hitch,

“T he Burden of the British Indian in South Africa ,

” Imperial

and A s iatic Quarterly Review, 3d Ser.,XXIII, 75-76 .


One of the firs t man i festa tions of the change in tone came at the

Congress of 1 904 when the venerab le Dadabhai Naoroji said :“The rising genera tion of Ind ians may not be ab le to exercise tha t

pa tience which we of the passing and pas t genera tion have shown,

”x

and asser ted tha t a spiri t of discon tent and dissa tisfaction was Widelyspread among the Ind ians in India .

The tru th of Dadabhai Naoroji’s sta temen t does not seem to have

been rea l ized .

2 In par t i t was obscured by the fact that Lord Curzon

was approaching the comp letion of his twelve labors and the Anglo-Ind iancommuni ty shared to a great ex ten t the irri tation which they hadproduced .

The spark tha t star ted a series of passionate protests and was theprecursor u l timately of an o rgan ized program of Vio lence was the par ti

J tion of Bengal,one of the last of Lord Curzon’

s adminis tra tive reforms .A large area of Eastern Benga l was separated from the original province

and added to Assam,which in turnwas ra ised to the grade of a l ieutenant

governorship under the ti tle of Eastern Bengal and Assam .

The Bangal is3 who were by far the mos t numerous and the mos t

advanced of the races aff ected,were d ivided be tween two separa te

adminis tra tions,and they resented the ob l i terations of the o ld historic

prov ince of Benga l Proper by an artificia l arrangemen t,Which appeared

to have been designed with the single idea of adminis tra tive con

v enience . A section of the Benga l is a l so enter ta ined the bel ief tha t thisscheme of admin istra tionwas in rea l i ty intended to destroy their predomi

nance in the Lower Provinces,and that i t had been carried through on

the principle divide et impera; and this belief helped to swel l the tide of

resen tment .The mo tive4 for parti tion may have been merely adminis trative bu t

many found i t diffi cul t to be lieve that i t was never regarded by Lord

Curzon as a possible way of weakening the po l i tica l influence of the

Bengal is,or as a means of benefiting the large Mohammedan popula tion

of Eastern Benga l . Benga l H indus persuaded themse lves that parti tion

was a po li tica l move on the par t of the governmen t a imed at them .

In Eas tern Bengal and Assam the H indus be l ieved tha t i t was a plo t

hatched in favor of the Mohammedans,and hence the gradual s tirring

2 Bombay Gazette (Dec . 24, p . 1 1 , co l . 1 .

2 Engl i shman, March 1 6,1 905, p . 1 0 co l . 4 ; p . 1 1 , co] . 4 .

3 “The Changes in India and After, Dubl in ReviewCL (Jan .

—Apri l, 290 .

4 A . E . R .,

“ Some Indian Problems, Imperial and A s iatic Quarterly Revi ew,

3d Ser.,XXVI (July—Oct .

, 7 7 .


up of the racial fee l ing in Eas tern Bengal . This feel ing was aggravatedand made dangerous by the bel ief of the H indus that government sided

with the Mohammedans . The na tive press asser ted that governmen t

ofii cial s even encouraged and abe t ted any vio lence on the par t of Moham

medans toward H indus . The known and well-tes ted impartia li ty of

the Engl ish was of smal l avail agains t the wild sta tements and rumors .The governmen t argumen t was tha t

this so-ca lled Partition of Bengal was rendered necessary by the overwhe lming burden thrown upon the Bengal government through the ad

ministrative needs of an unwieldy and densely populated province . Even as

reduced in size the province of Bengal covers square miles with a

population of fifty-four millions of people , or an area miles greater than

Great Britain and I reland ; and a population greater by twe lve millions .These facts alone are suffi cient to show the unreasonableness of the factiousopposition raised by s o many of the excitable educated Bengal i H indus , prominent among whom were Calcutta lawyers who feared that many of the lega lcases that had hitherto come to them would be transferred to the courts atthe headquarters of the enlarged province .

2

The par ti tion was announced on July 2 0,

Ou Augus t 7 , 1 905,a meeting was he ld at

_

the Ca lcu t ta Town Ha l l in”pro tes t I t was at

this meeting tha t the swadeshi Movement rece ived i ts origina l impe tus .T

“ ; —oIn name i t s ignified the promo tion of indigenous commerce and manufacturers . When no heed was given to the pro tests in the press and on

the pla tform,and the parti tion du ly wen t in to effect on October 1 6

,1 905,

the Swadeshi Movemen t took on more and more of a poli tical aspect,

rapid ly deve loping in to a boyco t t of serious d imensions . In October3

there had been swadeshi rio ts at Ca l cu t ta,Where merchan ts were d is

covered pa lming ofi'

European goods as Ind ian,and at Poona

,where a

bonfire was made of European goods . After the parti tion went into

force the Benga l is wen t in to mourn ing and inaugura ted the practice of

keeping “ Par ti tion Day”

as an annua l day of mourning .

4 Threethousand men went out on a demonstra tion strike in Ca lcut ta . There

was also a demonstration in Bombay . Schoo lboys were par ticu larly

active in enforcing the boyco t t .

2 John Morley,“ Signs of the Times in India

,Edinburgh Review,

CCVI (JulyOct .

,294 .

0

2 Sir Dona ld Robertson, Some Reflections on Modern India , Proceedings ofthe Roya l Col onial Ins tt

’

tute, XXXVIII ( 1 906 p . 36 .

3 Bombay Gazette, October 1 4 , 1 905, p . 9 , col . 3 .

4 Ibid . ,October 2 1

,1 905, p . 1 1

, col . 3 ; p . 1 2, col . 1 .


On the pos i tive s ide there were some a t tempts at s tar ting native

owned and -opera ted industries of one kind or another to supply domesti cdemand . Mos t of these came to grief

,bu t some survived permanently

after the occas ion for them los t some of i ts stimu lus by the repeal of

the parti tion as one of the boons gran ted by the king at the durbar

of 1 91 1 .

There were,throughou t the two Bengals

,many areas in which the

anti-British par ty estab l ished a reign of terror ;2 where the po t ter

,

washerman ,and barber were afra id to serve those denounced as not

complying Wi th boyco t t idea ls ; where the man wearing clothes of Bri tish

manufacture was l iab le to have them torn from his back ; and where

the dealer in impor ted cloth , sa l t , or sugar was liab le to have his goodsdes troyed and his shop set on fire . The police records of the two B engals

for four years were fil led with cases of this nature,and the number of

cases reported was probab ly on ly a sma l l propor tion of the to ta l . T he

di scon ten t speed i ly spread into the Punjab and the Mahra t ta country,

especial ly Poona , which had for some time been a center for the res tless

spiri ts of Ind ia .

On November 2 5, 1 905, Lord M into landed in Bombay to succeedLord Curzon as Viceroy . He perceived the si tua tion and s et to work to

devise reforms . In his own words :

When I took up the reins of government as Viceroyin the late autumn of

1 905, al l Asiawas marve lling at the victories of Japan over a European powertheir etIects were far reaching—new possibilities seemed to spring into exist

emeeh —there were indications of popular demands in China ,in Persia

,in Egypt

,

and in Turkey , there was an awakening of the Eastern world , and though tooutward appearances India was quiet , in the sense that there was at thatmoment no visible acute political agitation

,she had not escaped the general

infection ,and before I had been in the country a year I shared the view of

my col leagues that beneath a seemingly calm surfacé‘there existed a mass ofsmothered politica l discontent , much of which was thoroughly jus tifiabl e and

due to causes which we were called upon to examine . We heartily recognized

the loyalty of the masses of the people of India, and we were not preparedto suppress new but not unnatural aspirations without examination . You

cannot sit on a safety-valve no matter how round the boiler may be . Some

“hing had to be-done and we decided to increase the powers and expand thescope of the Act of

2 H . C. Streatfield ,“A Bengal Civ i lian’s View of the Indian Deportation,

Nineteenth Century Revi ew,LXVI (July-Dec. , 20.

2 Proeeedz'

ngs of the Legi s lative Counci l of the Governor-General of India, XLVIII

(Jan. 25, 48.


It is curious to s ee from that report how similar conditions and argumentswere then to what they are now

, with the one great exception that we havenowto deal with a further growth of nearly twenty years of increasing pol iticalaspirations .

“But though increased representation is still the popular cry itwas in 1 888

,

other demands , or rather suggestions , are shaping thems elyes out of a foreshadowed metamorphosis . We are told of a council of an Indianmember of the viceroy’s Executive Council , of an Indian member of the s ecretary of state’s Council

,and in addition to the older claims put forward on

behalf of increased representation on the legislative council s,we are asked to

consider new procedure as to presentation of the budget to the viceroy’sLegislative Council

,a prolongation of the budget debate

,and further oppor

tunity for financial discussion . As to possib il ities such as these,I woul d be

grateful for the opinion of the committee I hope to appoint , l imiting myselffor the presen t to only one opinion

,that in any proposal for the increase of

it is absolutely necessary to guard the 11115511811 1 interestsexisting in the country as expressed i n paragraph 7 , page 3 , of the report of

. Sir Charles A itchison’s commi ttee

,v iz (a) the interests of the hereditary

nobility and landed classes who have a great permanent stake in the country ;'

(b) the interests of the trading , professional , and agricultural classes ; (6) theinterests of the planting and commercial European communi ty ; and (d) theinterests of stable and effective administration .

“The subjects I should propose to refer to the committee are : (a) a council

of princes , and if this is not possible , might they_ b_

e represented on the viceroy’sf eg is lativ e Council ; (b) an Indian member of the .viceroy’s Council ; (e) increased 1 epres entation on the Legislative Council of the Viceroy and of loca lgovernments ; (d) prolongation of the budget debate , procedure as to presentation of the budget

,and powers of moving amendments .

“This minute is circulated for the information of members of the Counci lfrom whom I sha ll be glad to receive any suggestions or expressions of opinionwhich they may desire to make and which wil l be communicated to the committee . When the commi ttee has reported , their report wil l be laid beforethe Council for full consideration .

”

That note e licited valuable opinions and was fully discussed in Counci land

,though

,as you are aware , its suggestions were not accepted in their

entirety by the government of India , it laid the foundation of the firs t schemeof reform they submitted to the secretary of state .

2

As the d iscon ten t grew s tronger andmore general,wide d ivergencies

of opinion began to appear . Gradua l ly they coal lesced in to two types

of thought,which came to be characteriz ed as the moderates and extrem

is ts . One bel ieved tha t the bes t prospects of Ind ia lay in a gradua lw

2 Proceedings of the Legis l ative Council of the Governor General of Indta,XLVIII

(Jan . 2 5. 49—50

THE MORLEY aM INTO REFORMS 1 9 1

constitu tiona l acquisi tion of success ive privi leges from the Engl ishgovernment

,until u l t ima te ly Ind ia shou ld become a new se l f—governing

co lony of the British Empire . The o ther was anti-Bri tish through and

through and sought the entire expul sion of Eng land as soon as po ss ible

from Ind ia . I t was usua l ly preferred tha t i t be without V io lence,bu t

England mus t be made to go at any cos t .In the Congress group itsel f the same cleavage of thought began to

d eve lop early in and the two factions,the moderates and the

extremis tgf began to take form . This became eviden t some mon ths

before the Congress of 1 906 at Cal cu t ta . The fight cen tered on the

presidency . Babu Bhupendranath Boss , secre tary of the Peop le’sAssocia tion and leader of the modera tes

,final ly secured the office for

Dadabhai Naoroji , ins tead of Tilak,the cand ida te of the extremis ts

under the leadership of B ipin Chandra Pa l .“ The Grand O ld Man of Ind ia ’s ” pres tige succeeded in ho ld ing the

factions toge ther,bu t the tone of the sessions was such as to lead the

Engl i shman to say : The Congress had been captured by the ex trem

is ts .

” 2 The s trugg le came to a cl imax the fo l lowing year when in

December,at the Sura t sess ion

,the modera tes of the Congress had a

despera te ba t tle with the ex tremists over the con tro l of the Congress,

which final ly ended in a free-for-a l l fight .

Mos t s ignificant of a l l , in 1 906 the Mohammedans abrupt ly abandoned their po l icy of po l i tica l inactivi ty . There were severa l reasonsfor this . The number of educated among them had tremendous ly

increased . Syad Ahmed Khan was dead . Po l i tics were in the air as

never before in Ind ia . Moreover,they had grown a larmed and fe l t

compe l led to engage in po l i tica l l ife to pro tect their interests from the

Hindus .

Early in December ( 1 906) the Nawab of Dacca issued a circu lar tothe principa l Mohammedans of Ind ia de ta i l ing a scheme for the formation of a

“Mos lem Al l-Ind ia Confederacy,

”the chief ob jects of which

were to be

to support , whenever possible , al l measures emanating from the governmentand to protect the cause and advance the interes ts of our co-religionists throughout the country , to controvert the growing influence of the so-call ed IndianNationa l Congress , which has a tendency to mis interpret and subvert Britishrule in India , or which might lead to that deplorable s ituation ,

and to enableour young men of education

,who for want of such an association have joined

2 Engl i shman ,December 2 7 , 1 906 , p . 1 4 .


the Congress camp , to find scope , according to their fitnes s and abil ity, for

publ ic life .

2

In the circular the Nawab went on to say

There is , I believe , some disincl ination to state our objects and reasonsin this bold and blun t manner

,as it will

,it is contended:arouse the ire and

anger of our Hindu brethren . But I think the time has come when we mustno longer mince matters , and if we really desire to serve our H indu brethrenand wish them to be a sure and safe support to the British rule , we must notstand upon sentiment—it is a mere sentiment that is causing such havoc andmisery in the matter of the present partition of Bengal—and the questionthat we as Mohammedans must honestly discuss and decide is

,whether the

policy now openl y declared by those who are termed: is one

conducive to the maintenance of the B ritish Raj , and i i , as we must hold , itis not

,we must then consider whe ther those gentlemen forming the extremist

party do or do not form part and parce l of the Indian National Congress,and

un less the Congress in open and public assembly and by a resolution dissociatesitse lf with the views of this party , we Mohammedans cannot countenance or

be associated with the Congress . We are sorry,but we cannot deny that this

so—call ed Indian National Congress has become a potent voice in the councilsof the country

,but we must

,therefore

,as loyal and tru

_

Raj, do our utmost to controvert and thwart thatattained when we find it working for the destruction of

The circu lar—which concluded with an appeal to al l Mohammedans

who in tended going to the Educa tional Conference at Dacca to go ful ly

au thorized to discuss the scheme de ta i led at a special po l i tical conference ,and to others to commun icate their Views in writing to the NawabMohsin-ul-mulk—met with a good deal of cri ticism on account of the

hosti l i ty to the Indian Na tiona l Congress which i t advoca ted .

At the Educa tiona l Conference2 a mo tion was carried unanimously

for the forma tion of an“Al l—India Mos lem League ”

to promote among'

the Mohammedans of India feel ings of loyalty to the Bri tish governmen t

Iand to remove any misconceptions that may arise as to the intentions of

with regard to any of the measures ; to pro tect and to

advance the pol i tical rights and in terests of the Mohammedans of India

and respectful ly to represen t their needs and aspira tions to governmen t

and to prevent_ the rise among the Mohammedansma S

of hosti li ty toward other communi ties withou t prejud ice to the o ther

objects of the League . A s trong Provisiona l Committee was formed

2 Edward E . Lang, The All -India Moslem League, Comtemporezyj evi ew,

fiXCII (July—Dec .

, 345—46 .

2 Ibid ., p . 344 .


?would have made i t possib le to appoint two na tives of India to the

Counci l wi thou t more ado . I t seemed bes t,however

,to Viscoun t

Morley to secure more formal approval from Parl iament,and effect some

o ther al tera tions which seemed desirab le in the Counci l . Accord ingly

he in troduced a brief measure which was ra i lroaded through Parliamen tduring the closing hours of the session of 1 907 .

In his explana tion of the b i l l,Viscoun t Morley merely sa id tha t

,

When the government of India was transferred to the government of theCrown

,the number of the members of the Council was fixed at fifteen ,

but since then for various reasons with which he need not trouble the House ,the number had been reduced to twe lve . Under present circumstances ithad seemed to the government perfectly cl ear that it was des irable to havelarger room for the representation of various interests which were becomingmore and more important . Therefore they asked the House to increase thenumber of members of Council from twe lve to fourteen . The secretary of

state would not be obliged to appoint fourteen members but the Council mustnever consist of less than ten members .2

He then went on to dea l Wi th the requiremen ts,that at the time of

appointmen t a member mus t not have been absent from Ind ia more

than fiv e years,ins tead of twenty-fiv e

,and the reduction of the salary

from pounds to pounds . The chief cri ticisms were those

by Mr. A . J. Balfour , who objected to the reduction of pay, and Mr.

C. J. O’

Donnel l,who said

,

“There was noth ing he regardedgrea ter fea r than the introduction of na tive members into the

tary of s ta te ’s Council un less they were sure they were represem

men .

”2

The b i l l con tained no_ _

reference to natives oi,

Ind ia . ViscountMorley

,in speaking on

fl

Mr. Laidlaw’g amendment to inser t “ tha t of

the members of the Counci l two sha l l be natives of Ind ia and two o thers

of not less than ten years’ residencies in Ind ia who have not been in the

service of the governmen t ,”s a id :

The Amendment proposed to do the very thing that al l wise statesmanshipforbid them to do, namely to set up racial s tandards . There ought to be no

statutory recognition of the diff erences of race al l our civil ising processesdepend upon softening those difierences s o far as they could do . On thatground he was unwilling to recognise in a statute such a word as race .

3

The amendmen t was wi thdrawn .

“

r2 P arl iamentary Debates , 4th Ser.

, Vol . CLXXIX cols . 1 6 73—74 .

2 Ibid . , col . 1 6 76 .

3 Ibid . , cols . 1 979—80.

THE MORLEY-VIINTO REFORMS 1 95

The b i l l 2 passed in to lawwi th a general hope tha t was expressed by

Lord Ampthi l l,

2 when he sa id '

It is a step ,a very decided step in the direction of meeting the hopes and

wishes of those classes in India who ,taught and inspired by ourselves to aim at

pol itical progress on Western l ines,aspire to take a greater share in the govern

ment of India . and to exercise a larger influence on tha t government .3

Viscoun t Morley los t no time in ava i l ing himse lf of the approval“

implied in the act . He himse lf thus described his nominees :

The firs t native members of this Council are ( 1 ) a Hindu , Mr. Krishna ,

Gobinda Gupta,who i s a member of the Bengal Civ il Service of thirty—tour

years’ standing,and a member of the Board of R evenue ; and (2 ) a Moham

medan,Mr. Saiyid Husain Bilgrami , a distinguished servant of the Nizam

of Hyderabad,who has for many years been director of public instruction in

that state,andwho has also been a member of the viceroy’s Legislative Council .

Both these gentl emen are experienced administrators , and their admission to

the Council of India should prove an undoubted benefit .4

Na tive Opinion was not enthus iastic . The Hindu,of Madras ,

represen ted i t when i t said ed i toria l ly of the se lection made tha t i t came

more or less as a surprise,as they had not been men tioned before , and

their cla ims were not par ticu lar ly s trong .

s I t specu la ted whe ther R . C.

Du t t’s associa tion with the Congress had cos t him the place .

2 T he Counci l of India Act of 1 907 was v ery brief consisting of but fiv e sections .A summary fo llows :

1 .

“The Counci l of India shall consist of such number of members not less than

ten and not more than fourteen a s the Secretary of State may from time to timedetermine .

”

2 . In Section 1 0 of the Gov ernment o f India Act of 1 858 the ten years’l imit

'

within

which a membermust at the time of hi s nomination hav e been in India was changedto fiv e .

3 . In Section 1 3 of the same act the sa lary prov ision of pounds was reducedto pounds .

4 . In Section 2 of the Gov ernment of India Act of 1 858, the term of othee was

changed from ten to sev en years .5 . The Council of India Act of 1 876 and Council of India Reduction Act of

1 889 are hereby repea led .

”

2 T he chrono logy of the Council of India B ill,1 907 , was : In Commons , it was

read the firs t time on July 2 5 ; second time on August 5 ; third time on August 6 .

In Lords it was read the firs t time on August 7 ; second time on August 1 5 ; thirdt ime on August 26 . It recei v ed the roya l assent on August 28 .


,Vo l . CLXXX co l . 1 565.

4 J. Morley, Signs of the Times in India , ”Edinburgh Review,

CCVI 305 .

5 Hindu,September 5 , 1 907 , p . col . 3 .


The agi tation was in no degree checked by the Council of Ind iareform or the scheme presented by the minu te of Lord M in to

,bo th of

which came at approxima te ly the same time . As a matter of fact theya ttracted l i t tle a t tention . La ter in 1 907 Mr. Gokhale

,speaking in the

Imperial Legis la tive Counci l,sa id of the minu te :

If the honorable member expected that the publication of the governmentscheme of August las t would a l lay the discontent in the country in any degree ,he was bound to be disappointed . The scheme is neither large nor genergus

and_

in some respects is not a scheme of reform at al l . D isappointment hasintens ified theprevailing feel ing of discontent . As though this was not enoughthe language employed in explaining the proposals is in some places unnecessarily oflens iv e to certain classes . 2

In Ind ia during 1 907 the si tua tion grew s tead i ly worse .

2 Vio lencehad begun before the circular was issued or the Council of Ind ia b i l l

passed when serious r io ts suddenly broke out in. . Rawal Pind i in the

Punjab,where there was general d isconten t at the land revenue assess

ments and cond i tions imposed on cana l co lon ies . In connection wi th

these,Lajapa t Rai and Aj i t S ingh were arb i trari ly deported to Manda lay

under an old act of 1 8 1 8. La ter in 1 907 serious riots occurred in Cal

cutta,when the po l ice tried to break up a mee ting and were beaten by

rio ters . Inquiry was boyco t ted by natives and p roduced no resul t .

On December 6,1 907 , an a t tempt was made to b low up the l ieu tenan t

governor ’s train . On December 23 Mr. Allen,a magis tra te of Dacca

,

was shot bu t not kil led,while going from the tra in to the boat at Goal

undo,by a Benga l i who escaped . In March

,1 908, Mr. H ickinbo tham

,

a miss ionary,was sho t bu t not kil led by a Benga l i whi le wa lking .

BipimChandra Pal toured Madras,which had hither to been qu iet .

In the Tinneve l ly d istr ic t he was arrested bu t re leased on appea l . A

mee ting to celebrate the even t was prohibi ted bu t he ld . The leaders

were arrested . The town and d is tric t rose , but were pu t down by troops .

On April 30, 1 908, at Mozufferpore in Benga l , a ca rriage with two

Engl ish lad ies was b lown to pieces by a bomb intended for the j udge,

Mr. Kingsford . Two s tuden ts were responsib le . One,Khudra Ram

Bose,was arres ted . The o ther sho t himse l f . Bose was executed . Ou

June 2 2,a tra in near Kankinarah s ta tion was he ld up by a red lan tern

and a bomb thrown into a second-class compartment, resulting in serious

2 Proceedings of the Legi s lati ve Counci l of the Governor-General of India, XLVI

(Nov . 1, 45

2 “T he Writing on the Wa ll

,Blackwoods Magazine, Vol . CCVIII , September,

1 908, et s eq.


as to whether i t was an invoca tion to Mother Ka li,

the goddess ofdea th and des truction

,or a glorification of the

“Mo therland .

” Wha t

ever i ts rea l mean ing the phrasewas adop ted as a slogan“

in the agi ta tion .

Speeches2 became more and more b i t ter . P lays,

2 books,and ar ticles3

poured from the press . Every conceivable me thod was resor ted to inorder to spread the cu l t of Swaraj or se l f—government , which became thecry of the rad icals . Vo lun teers ” were organized large ly among the

2 The following extracts from the reported speech of Mr. Subramania Siv e ,deliv ered before an audience of people on February 23 , 1 908, at Tuticorin illustrate the character of some of the speeches .

“ Sev enteen thousand firearms were stolen from Fort Will iam. T he magistrateof Dacca was shot dead . The rulers could not detect these . While i t is so it i s amere trick to s ay that England exists for protecting the nativ es of India .

”

“Every year they take India’s money from India

,and leav e behind currency

note paper .”

“If the nativ es of India should shut up a l l their gates, the foreign gov ernment

would suffer.”

If fiv e crores of us sacrifice ourse lv es annually we wi l l certainly win Swaraj .

The well-to-do men among the nativ es of India are kind to their servants,whereas English merchants are v ery sev ere .

”

“ Japan won a v ictory ov er Russia as Japan was prepared to sacrifice twentythousand souls .”

“There will be no Swaraj wi thout the shedding of blood .

So a l l the Indians should ov ercome a l l the difii cul ties which might beset

If Indians whether strong orweak come forward bo ldly the foreign gov ernmentwill collapse , and Swaraj wi ll be established .

”

2 J. D . Rees , The Real India , p . 1 75 .

3 a) The following are extracts ill ustrativ e of the type of article and speech thatcharacterized the mov ement . The first i s a part of the articles in the Kes arz

’

forwhich

Mr. Tilak was arrested and conv icted .

“The authorities hav e spread the false report that the bombs of the Bengalisare subv ersiv e of society. There is as wide a difference between the bombs in Europedesiring to destroy society, and the bombs in Bengal as between earth and heav en .

There is an excess of patriotism a t the roots of the bombs in Benga l , while the bombsin Europe are the product of hatred for s elfish mi l lionaires . The Bengal i s arenot anarchists but they hav e been brought to use the weapons of anarchists , thatis a l l .

”

T he article went on to say that newdesires and new ambitions hav e arisenamong the people and are gathering strength ev ery day,

”that the English were

militarily weaker than the Mohammedan conquerors had been,and that the knowl

edge of how to manufacture bombs could not be taken away from the peop le .

—Bombay Gazette, July 4 , 1 908 , p . 1 2 , col . 1 .

b) Mr. Adamson in urging the press law cited the fol lowing articles from an

extra edition of the Yugantar, as a flagrant example . One referred to the partitionof Bengal and sa id , “

T he ruthless knife of the butcher has severed in twain the


s tuden ts and boys .

2 They were active,ushering at the sess ions of the

Congress,assis ting pi lgrims

,and ma inta ining order at the grea t re ligious

fes tiva ls . They were the mili tant e lemen t of the movemen t,and were

the enforcing power back of the boycot t . Attempts were made to

seduce the army .

The governmentwas driven tomeasures of repress ion . A Regula tionof Mee tings Ord inance was hurried in to Opera tion in May,

1 907 , and as

soon as possib le pu t into the form of a Prevention of Sed i tious Mee tings

Act . 2 This provi ded in Section 4 ( 1 ) tha t

no public meeting for the furtherance of discussion of any subject likelyto cause disturbance or public excitement or of any po litica l subject or forthe exhibition or distribution of any writing or printed matter relating to any

subject shall be he ld in any proclaimed area .

By Sec tion 5 i t was ordered tha t the

district magistrate or the commissioner of po lice , as the case may be , may at

any time by order in writing , of which public notice shal l forthwith be

given ,prohibit any public meeting in a procla imed area

,if in his opinion such

meeting is like ly to promote sedition or to cause a disturbance of the publictranquillity .

throbbing body of the motherland and makes frantic appea ls to a l l sons of the soil tocombine and av enge the atrocity .

Another adv ised the Benga lis to resort to red as the co lor of re venge and to singthe hymn of retaliation : “

A hundred heads for one head to av enge the murder ofthe motherland .

Another stated that a huge sacrificial fire should be l it up and fed not with gheebut with blood .

Another adv ocates that Indians should make use of blacksmiths’ too ls, lathes ,and slings and stones to ov ermatch the enemies of their country.

Another said that “if by boycott we can gain our desires we can only be said

to postpone for the present our reso lv e to shed blood .

”

Another said , if we desire independence we should be ready to be massacredby our rulers so that their sword may become blunt .

”

Another exhorted men to die after ki lling, as therein the glory o f dying wouldbe enhanced .

Another urged the sacrifice of life for liberty, for“i s it not a fact that Ka li will

not be propitiated without bloodAnother adv ocated the methods of nihi lists and the use of bombs . —~Proeeedings

of the Legi s lati ve Counci l of the Governor-General of Indz'

a,XLVII (June 8 , 1 1 .

c) T he seditious publications were not confined to India . Among others thegov ernment later prohibited the introduction into India of J us tz

’

ce, the Gael ic

Ameri can ,and the Indian S ociol ogi s t. D . Rees , The Real Indz

'

a, p . 1 66 .

2

J. D . Rees , op. ci t. , pp . 1 78—79 .

2 Acts of the Governor-General of Indta in Counci l (Nov . 1 , Act VI of 1 907 .


The act was passed in October and was to apply to such parts ofInd ia as the governmen t might procla im i t in . As a ma tter of fact

,

2

i t was proclaimed November 1,1 907 , in Eastern Bengal and Assam

a lone,and there bu t in the distric t of Bakarganj

,bu t on January 1 3 ,

1 9 1 0,i t was ex tended to Bombay

,Benga l

,and the Uni ted Provinces .

I t was,however

,used very sparingly . In 1 9 1 1 i t was replaced by a new

act of practica l ly the same provisions .I ts eff ect was described in these words

There is now almost a lu ll in politica l life in a lmos t every part of India .

Whatever be the case in presidency towns,though even there one does not

hear of meetings for discussion of public questions as much as before , in the

districts it looks as if al l public life had ceased . The local authorities werenever in favour of politica l movements even when the Act was not in existenceNow they are decidedly against them and no one ventures to convene a meeting likely to irritate them . In some cases meetings for social and re ligiousreform have also come under the ban . They are not held for fear of incurringthe official displeasure .

2

The effect rea lly,however

,was apparen tly to drive the d iscon ten t

underground . The Vio lence grew worse . As a resu l t of the bomb

exp los ions and discoveries, an Explosive Subs tances Act was passed on

June 8,

I t provided pena l ties up to transportation for twentyyears

,or imprisonmen t up to seven years

,plus a fine for a t tempting to

cause an explosion or for making or keeping explosives wi th inten t to

endanger l ife or proper ty .

Ou the same day as the passage of the Explos ive Subs tances Act,

December 1 1,1 908, an act for the prevention of inci tements to murder

and o ther offences in newspapers was passed,4 permi tting a magis tra te

under the au thori ty of the local governmen t to confiscate any paper

as wel l as the press which prin ted i t, that in his opinion conta ined

any inci temen t to murder or any offence aga ins t the Explos ive Sub

s tances Act .

On D ecember 1 1,1 908, s ti l l another actwas passed to provide for the

more speedy trial of cer ta in offences,principal ly po l i tica l vio lence , and

for the prohibi tion of associations dangerous to the pub l ic peace .

5

2 Proceedings of the Legi s l ative Counci l of the Governor-Geneml of India, XLIX439

2 An Indian Thinker,

“Liberty of Speech and Thought in India , Eas t and

Wes tMagazz'

h e, IX (July—Dec ., 96 2 .

3 P roceedings of the Legi s l ati ve Counci l of the Governor-General of India, XLVII,2 ; Acts of the Governor-General of Ind ia in Counci l , 1 908, Act VI , pp . 394 et s eq.

4 Ibid . ,Act VIII .

3 Ibid . ,Act XIV .


opinions on the proposals in a lengthy d ispa tch to the d

gov ernment ofInd ia . The fo llowing February he brought in the Indian CouncilsAct of 1909, and in due time after some slight amendmen ts i t passed

into law.

In the mids t of the deba te on this b ill Viscoun t Morley pu t intoeffect the second of hi s measures

,th

_e_

appointment _

of a na tive u mberCounci l of the Viceroy . This reform had been one of

those proposed by Lord M into in his minu te of 1 906 . In_

many respegtsi t

,was the mos t revolutionary of al l the reforms . The ExechtiveCouncil

of the Viceroy corresponded in i ts functions very closely to the Engl ish

Cab inet . The admiss ion of a na tive to i t was equivalent to storming

oné'

o'

f the ma in strongho lds of the bureaucracy . It,however

,required

no authorization from Parliament .Viscount Morley sa id on this subject

If this B il l were rejected by Parl iament it woul d be a great and grievousdisaster to peace and contentment in India

,but it would not prevent the

secretary of state the next morning from advising His Majesty to appoint anIndian member . The members of the viceroy’s Executive Council are

appo inted by the Crown .

2

Viscoun t Morley los t no time acting on this s tatement . Withou t

wai ting for the passage of the Ind ian Councils Act,in March

,

he appointed Mr. A . P .

_

S_

inha3\o be the lega l member of the Execu tive

Counci l of the Vi ceroy . Mr:STnha was one of the mos t successful of thelawyers of Benga l , and in every way qual ified to fil l the place . The

selection was genera l ly app lauded . The Hindu,of Madras

,summarized

the genera l fee ling, when i t sa id , The Ind ian pub l ic wi ll receive wi th

fee l ings of profound satisfaction and deep grati tude the news of the

appoin tment by H is Majesty the King of the Hon . Mr. S . P . Sinha as

the lega l member of the governor-general ’s Counci l .

Fiv e mon ths af ter the appo intment ofMr. S inha,the Indian Counci ls

Act of 1 9094 rece ived the royal assent . I t was the las t of the Morley

2 Parl iamentary Debates , Lords , Vol . I (Feb . 1 6—May 26 , co ls . 1 2 2—23 .

2 Ibid .,Commons , Vol . I II col . 29 .

3 Mr. S inha only retained the position for one year. He resigned in 1 9 1 0 to

attend to his persona l affairs . His place was taken by_

Mr. Saiypd _ Al i@m,a

Mohammedan, a fact which may hav e had some connect ion wi th his selection .

Mr. Sinha was a Hindu, though not a Brahmin.

—Bengal ee, October 29, 1 9 1 0, p . 5 ,

cols . 2—3 .

4 The act is published in full in P . Mukherj i , op. ci t , pp . 202-7 .

THE MORLEY-MINTO REFORMS 203

M in to reforms .

2 I t provided tha t legisla tive councils exis ting or

subsequen tly crea ted ins tead of consisting en tire ly ofappointed membersshould al so include members e lected under regu lations to be framed under

the act . A maximum limi t was placed on the numbe r of add i tiona l

members in each counci l,varying from s ix ty in the case of the Imperial

Counci l to thirty_

for the Punjab , 8 11 15 5 11 11 11 future counci ls .

In the case of the counci ls of Madth s and Bombay,there were to be

four ord inary members,at leas t two of which shou ld have served the

Crown in Ind ia for twe lve years . The governor in each case was given

aeas ting vo te , and the governor-genera l in counci l wi th the approval of

the secre tary of s tate in council had the power to“crea te new legisla tive

counci ls and prescribe the necessary regu la tions for e lections .The s ixty add i tiona l members2 of the Imperia l Legisla tive Counci l

under the regu lat ions were to consis t ofwtwenty-fiv e e lected and thir ty

fiv e nominated by the gov ernment . Oi the la t ter not more than twen ty

eight were to be ofiicial s . Tb ree were to be selected,one from the Ind ian

Commercia l Commun i ty,one from the Mohammedan communi ty of the

Punjab,and one from the landho lders of the Punjab .

The mos t importan t provisions were those specifying the e lectora tes

because the securing of sui tab le e lectora l bod ies has been the grea t s tufnb l ing b lock of a l l se li-governmen t effor ts in Ind ia . The non-ofii cia l

add i tional members of the d ifferent provincia l counci ls were to e lect e leven

oithe twen ty five . Oi these,Madras

,Bombay

,Benga l

,and the

w

Un i tedProvinces chose two each ; the Punjab

,Burma

,and Eas tern B enga l

one each . T he d is tric t counci ls in the Cen tra l Provinces elected one .

The landho lders of Madras,Bombay

,Benga l

,the Un i ted Provinces

,

Eas tern Bengal and Assam,and the Cen tra l Provinces each e lected one

,

or s ix in al l . The Mohammedans of Madras,Bombay

,Benga l

,the

Uni ted Provinces,and Eas tern Benga l and Assam

,each chose one

,

making hy e in a l l . T he Benga l and the Bombay Chambers of Commerce

elected one each .

E lected members were required to be ma le Bri tish subjects withclear crimina l and bankruptcy records . Debarred lawyers and d ismissed

2 T he fo llowing i s the chrono logy of the passage o f the Indian Councils Act of

1 909 through Parliament .In the House of Lords : firs t reading

,February 2 7 , 1 909 ; second reading , February

2 4 , 1 909 ; third reading, March 1 1,1 909 . In the House of Commons : second read

ing April 1 , 1 909 ; third reading,April 26 , 1 909 . Amendments of Lords concurred

on May 1 9 . Royal assent on May 2 5 , 1 909 .

—P arl i amentaryDebates,1 909 . See Index .

2 “Executiv e and Legislativ e Councils

,

”P arl iamentary P apers , East India

1 909 , Nov .

‘

2,Sec . 1 4 , p . 1 ;

“Re v ised Regulations ,

”1 9 1 2 , p . 33 7 .


pub l ic servan ts , and persons undesirab le in the eyes’

of the governorgenera l in counci l were declared ineligible . The only requiremen t forthe vo ters was tha t they be men tal ly compe ten t adul t ma les .

The regu la tions were firs t issued on November 1 5, 1 909 . Theywere revised in 1 9 1 2 , bu t the changes then effected were very nearly a l l

in un impor tan t deta i ls . The mos t impor tan t were the resul t of therepeal of the parti tion of Benga l

,the creation of a new legis la tive counci l

in Bihar and Orissa , and the al tera tions made in the legisla tive councils

of Benga l and Assam . In 1 9 1 2 a l l off icia ls were a lso disqua l ified for le lection .

The mos t importan t fea tures of the Ind ian Counci ls Act of 1 909

and the regu la tions promu lga ted thereunder were (1 ) the ex tension of V

the right to d iscuss the budge t , and the concession of the right to introduce reso lu tions ; 2 (2 ) the ex tension of the right of in terpel la tion to

include supplemen tary questions ; (3) the _ _i_

l on-official _ _majori ty on the

provincia l counci ls ; (4) the offi cial majori ty or bl oc in the Imperia lLegisla tive Council ; 5) the Mohammedan minori ty represen tationprovisions ; (6) the dropping of the proposed advisory councils ; (7 ) the

au thoriza tion of execu tive counci ls in o ther provinces than Madras andBombay .

Wha t was genera l ly regarded as the mos t revo lutionary of the

concessions was the right to move resolu tions in[

the coun_

cils,both for

mat ters of genera l interes t and in connection with the budge t discg ss ion .

This reform was a developmen t of (d) of Lord M in to’s original proposa ls ,

which read : (d) Pro longation of the budge t deba te . Procedure as to

presen ta tion of the budge t,and powers of moving amendments .

”

The bes t exp lana tion of the purposes back of the reform is con ta ined

in Sections 57 , 58, and 59 of the governmen t of Ind ia reform dispatch

of 1 908 . I t says

SECTION 57 . By the act of 1 86 1 under which the present legislativebodies were constituted discussionwas confined to legislative proposals actuall ybefore the counci l in the form of bill s . In 1 89 2 this limitation was relaxed

2 Under the regulations framed for the carrying out of this prov ision the discussionof genera l matters was permitted on any subject not in the list proscribed by theact o f 1 86 1 , or afiecting the relations with foreign gov ernments, or the nativ e states ,or cases pending in the courts .

Any resolution on a general subject could be introduced but a l l of themwererequired to be clearly phrased specific recommendations , without arguments , inferences , ironica l expressions , or defamatory statements , and must not refer to any indiv idua l except in his officia l capacity.

—“Executiv e and Legislativ e Councils .

”Pub

l ished in full in P arl iamentary P apers , East India , Vol . X No . 24, p . 7 .


forbids them , except with the previous sanction of the governor-general,

“to

make regulations or to take into consideration any l aw or regulation relatingto the public debt , customs . and imperia l taxes , coin ,

bills,and notes ; post

office , and telegraph ; a ltering the pena l code ; religion ; army and navy,

patents or copyright ; fore ign relations . That proposal was not adopted at

the time , and may have been premature in the conditions which then existed,

at the least it had the high authority of the members of the committee .

SEC . 59 . The discussion of administrative questions can,however , onl y

be permi tted subject to certain rules and restrictions which must be laid down .

We do not fee l ourselves in a position at the present stage to make exhaustiveenumeration of these and we anticipate that as has been the case in the Houseof Commons , actual experience will lead to framing of standing orders designedto meet the exigencies of debate .

2

Lord Morley s imply approved these proposa ls in these words :2

SECTION 3 1 . Specia l importance attaches to rules as to the discussion of

the imperia l budget,and I recognize with much satisfaction the liberality of

the proposals that you have placed before me . The changes3 under this headconstitute a notable step in the direction of giving to the representatives ofIndian opinion a part in the mos t important operation of the po litical year .

Close ly re la ted to the reform in the mat ter of reso lu tions was theex tension of the right of in terpe l lation to include the asking of Supp le

2 P . Mukherj i,op. ett. , pp . 2 55 et s eq.

2 Ibid .

, p . 2 79 .

3 The regulations to carry out the prov ision regarding the di scussion of the budgetforbade the discussion of the fo l lowing heads :

A . Rev enue : stamps, customs , assessed taxes , tribute from nativ e states, courts,army

,marine

, mil itary works .—Al l purely prov incial rev enue and rev enue accruing fromdiv ided heads in the prov inces possessing legislativ e councils .

B . Expenditure : assignments and compensations, interest on the debt , ecclesiastical , territorial and political pensions , state rai lways

,ma jor works

,interest on the

debt , army, marine , mi li tary works, specia l defenses, a ll statutory charges . —Al lpurely prov incia l expenditure and expenditure accruing under div ided heads in

prov inces possessing legislativ e councils .In addition ,

a l l discussion of fore ign relations and relations with the nativ e states,and al l matters under adjudication in the courts was forbidden .

In regard to resolutions it was required that they be in the form of specific recom

mendations to the gov ernment , clearly phrased and without arguments , inferences ,or ironica l or defama tory statements . They were also forbidden to challenge theaccuracy of the figures in the financial statement, and required to be relev ant to somestatement therein . A two days’ notice was required for a l l resolutions , and the

president might disallowany he deemed contrary to the public interests .The regulations are published in ful l in

“Executiv e and Legislativ e Councils,

Parl iamentary P apers , East India , X 1 .

THE MORLEY-MINTO REFORMS

men tary questions . Lord Morley said of i t in his d ispa tch to the

governmen t of Ind ia of November 2 7 ,

SECTION 30 . In respect of rules on the asking of questions 2 I have come tothe conclusion that subject to such res trictions as may be found requisite inpractice and to the existing genera l powers of the president , the asking of

suppl ementary questionsmet by formal replies must inevitably tend to becomeunreal and ineflectiv e

,and in an assembly in which under proper safeguards

free discussion and debate is permitted and encouraged there can be no efficientreason for prohibiting that method of el iciting information and expressingindirectly the opinion and wishes of the questioners .

Regarding the working of the resolu tion and interpe l lation changes

the Parliamen tary Committee of 1 9 1 8 made the fo llowing es tima te :

The fact that nearly twice as many ques tions were asked in 1 9 1 7 as in 1 9 1 1

shows that serious value is attached to the right of interrogation . Supplementary questions can at present be asked only by the author of the originalques tion ; they have not been numerous but there is a desire to extend theright of putting them to any member of the Council . At the same time itcannot be said that the right of interrogation has been abused though therehas been a tendency to ask for information which could be ascertained frompublished reports , to require e laborate statistica l information which is of nopractical value , and also to ask questions which would appropriately be put inlocal councils .

The right to move resolutions on matters of genera l importance and on

the financial statement was conceded in 1 909 . T he view taken at the timethat this concession was perhaps the most important of al l the changes hasbeen justified by experience . In al l 1 68 resolutions were moved in the councilup to the end of the year 1 9 1 7 ; of these 24 were accepted by government ,68 were withdrawn , and 76 were rejected e ither with or without a division .

These figures by thems elves do not give a true impression of the rea l efiectof the resolutions . In some cases the mover withdraws a reso lution becausehe i s convinced by the government reply tha t his proposa l is unsound ; but

2 Bengal ee, December 1 8, 1 908, p . 7 , cols . 1—6 ; P . Mukherj i , also , op. cit. , p . 2 79 .

2 The regula tions governing the asking of questions forbade interrogations aboutforeign relations or dea lings wi th the nativ e states or any matter under adjudica tionin the courts . Al l questions were required to be framed as mere requests for information, and could not be of excessiv e length or conta in arguments , inferences , ironica linferences , or defamatory statements or refer to anything but the ofificia l characterof the persons concerned . Hypo thetica l questions or expressions of opinion wereforbidden . In regard to matters under controv ersy with the secretary of state onlyquestions as to fact were permi tted . Two days’ notice wa s required . Any questionmight be disa llowed by the president on the grounds of publi c interest . —Parl iamentary P apers , East India , X 2 et s eq; P . Mukherj i , op. ci t.


i t more often happens that a resolution is withdrawn because , though thegovernment may for some technical or financial reasons not be able to acceptthe resolution in the form in which or at the time when it is moved

,the spokes

men of the government have indicated that its attitude towards the mover’sobject is favorable . Again , many resolutions have been rejected either inpursuance of some settled po licy or else because the government fel t i t unwiseto accept themwithout inquiry ; but the discussions have l ed to t e-examinationof the questions in issue

,and at times to an ultimate change of policy as

happened indeed in the case of compulsory education,and the treatment of

persons dea lt with under the Defence of India Act,which were both questions

on which opinion was a live and active . A rough clas s ification of the resolutions shows that some 73 can be described as fructuous . 2

In the provincial councils,

2 the right of in terpel la tion has na turally

been used more freely than in the Indian Legislative Council . In the

Uni ted Provinces Council the number of ques tions rose from 2 1 8 in 1 9 1 0

to 458 in 1 9 1 6 , and in Benga l the increase has also been remarkable .

In Madras we unders tand the number of questions has been even

grea ter . One local governmen t estima tes tha t 20 per cen t of the questions asked in the Counci l re la te to information al ready pub l ished

,and

a genera l tendency to ask for unfrui tful statis tics is reported . On the

other hand,questions have of ten served the purpose of reso lutions in

eli ci ting a sta temen t of the government’s pol icy,and i t is

,we believe

,

genera l ly recognized by modern opinion tha t the government endeavorsto answer reasonab le inquiries with reasonab le fu l lness .

In the provincia l counci ls a lso

there is abundant evidence that the right to move resolutions is valued ;and that the number of resolutions withdrawn when the government hasindicated its benevolent intentions towards , though not its immediate acceptance oi , the proposal s suggests that the power has been used in moderation .

There is a marked difference,however

,between provinces as to the number

of resolutions moved ; and in some council s the chief activity is confined to a

small group of members . I t is clear that the provincia l governments do

attach weight to resolutions and exert themse lves if possible to defeat thosewhich they are not prepared to accept . Not many resolutions have been

carried agains t the government,and when a resolution is carried , the govern

ment if i t decides that it cannot give effect to the wishes of the council usuallypublishes its reasons for so deciding . But the effect of the resolution is byno means confined to those which are carried against or accepted by the

Constitutional Reforms , P arl iamentaryPapers , East India , 1 9 1 8, pp . 79 80.

2 Ibid ., p . 83 .


on the par t of the provincia l bodies,the l ieutenan t governor of the

province and the governor-general were both equipped wi th a ve to and

in case of need the la t ter had the official majori ty which was

(Footnote cont inued from page 209 )C. 26 elected members

1 by the Corporat ion of Ca lcutta1 by the Un iv ers ity of Ca lcutta6 5 ) by the munic ipa l commiss ioners6 (5) by the d istrict and loca l boards5 (4 ) by the landho lders4 (5 ) by the Mohammedan community'

2 by the Benga l Chamber o f Commerce1 by the Ca lcutta Trades Associat ion1 (0) by the mun ic ipa l commi s s ioners of Chittagong1 (0) by the Chittagong port commis s ioners1 (0) by the tea p lant ing community

BombayA . 2 1 nominated by the gov ernor of whom not more than 1 4 were to be officialsB . 2 experts nominated in case of need for specific measuresC. 2 1 e lected as fo llows :

1 by the Corporat ion of Bombay1 by the Univ ers ity of Bombay1 by the sardars of the Deccanr by the sardars o i Gujaret1 by the Jag idars and zamindars of Sind4 by the mun ic ipal ities4 by the d istrict and loca l boards4 by the Mohammedan community1 by the Ind ian commerc ial community1 by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce1 by the Karachi Chamber o f Commerce1 by the M i l lowners Assoc iation of Bombay

Bombay and Ahmedabad,a lternate ly

BurmaA. 1 4 members nominated by the gov ernor, not more than 6 of whomwere to be off i c ials

4 from the Burmese populat ion1 from the Ind ian pépu lation1 from the Chinese populat ion

B . 2 experts nominated in case of need for specific measuresC. 1 member e lected by the Burma Chamber of CommerceEastern Benga l and Assam (As sam)A . 2 2 (1 3 ) members nominated by the lieutenant gov ernor (chief commis s ioner) notmore than I 7 (0) of

whomwere to be ofli cial s , 1 non-ofii cial from the Ind ian commerc ia l communityB . 2 experts to be nominated in case of need for specific measures

C. 1 8 ( 1 1 As sam) to be e lected1 (0) by the commis s ioners of the port of Chittagong3 (2 ) by the munic ipa l commis s ioners5 (2 ) by the d istrict and local boards2 (0) by the landho lders4 (2 ) by the Mohammedan community2 (3 ) by the tea interests1 (0) by the jute interests

MadrasA . 2 5 nominated by the gov ernor, ofwhomnotmore than 1 6were to be offi cia l s , 1 was to be a.non-oflicia l

from the Indian communityB . 2 experts to be nominated in case of need for spec ific measures

(Footnote cont inued on page 2 1 1 )

THE MORLEY-MINTO REFORMS 2 1 1

in the paramount Imperial Legisla tive Council to carry any necessary

measure over the heads of a recalci trant prov incial body.

I i‘

The concession of the non—otfi cial majori ty,even in the prov incia l

legisla tive council s,was a reversa l of the proposals of the governmen t

of Ind ia con ta ined in i ts reform circul ar of Augus t 24 , 1 907 , which sa id :

The principle of a standing majority is accepted by the government asan entire ly legitimate and necessary consequence of the nature of the paramount power in India , and so far as they know it has never been disputed byany section of Indian opinion that does not dispute the legitimacy of the

paramount power itse lf . That is not an open question ,and if two men are

not able to wie ld a scepter it is idl e to dissemble that fact in constructingpo litical machinery .

2

(Footnote cont inued from page 2 1 0)C. 1 9 elected as fo l lows

1 by the Corporat ion of Madras1 by the Univ ers ity of Madras8 (Q) by the munic ipal counc i ls , di s trict and taluk boards2 by the zamindars2 (3 ) by the landho lders and other than zamindars2 by the Mohammedan community1 by the Madras Chamber of Commerce1 by the Madras Trades As soc iat ion1 by the p lant ing community

PunjabA . 1 9 nominated by the l ieutenant gov ernor, of whomnot more than 1 0 were to be officials

B . 2 experts nominated in case of need for specific measuresC. 5 (8) e lected as fo llows

1 by the Un iv ers ity of the Punjab3 by the Munic ipa l and Cantonment Commi ttees1 by the Punjab Chamber of Commerce(3 ) by the dis trict boards

Agra and Oudha

A . 26 nominated by the l ieutenant gov ernor, ofwhomnot more than 20 were to be official sB . 2 experts to be nominated in case of need for spec ific measuresC . 20 e lected as fo l lows :

1 by the Univ ers ity of Al lahabad4 by the mun ic ipa l boards8 (9 ) by the d istrict boards2 by the landho lders4 by the Mohammedan community1 by the Upper India Chamber of Commerce

B ihar and OrissaA . 1 9 nominated by the l ieutenant gov ernor, of whom not more than 1 5 were to be ofli cials

B 1 expert to be nominated in case of need for a spec ific measure

C. 2 1 e lected as fo l lows :5 by the munic ipa l commis s ioners5 by the district boards5 by the landho lders4 by the Mohammedans1 by the mining community1 by the p lant ing communityP arl iamentary Debates , Commons , Vol . III col . 557 .

3 P . Mukherj i, op. ci t. , p . 2 1 9 .


An official majori ty in the provincial councils to be crea ted byappointment in case of need was a lso contemp la ted by the governmentof India d ispa tch of October 1

,1 908 . In reference to this proposal

Viscoun t Morley in his reply said

I see formidable drawbacks that have certa inly not escaped Your Excell eney to the expedient which you propose , and I cannot regard with favor the

power of calling into play an official majority while seeming to dispensewith it . I amunable to persuade myself that to import a number of gentlemento vote down something upon which they may or may not have heard thearguments will prove satisfactory . T o secure the required relations I am

convinced that a permanent ofii cial majority in the Imperial LegislativeCouncil is absolutely necessary

,and this must outweigh the grave disadvantages

that induce u s to dispense with it in the provincial legislatures . I t need notbe in any sense an overwhelming majority and this Your Exce l lency does notseek ; but it must be substantia l , as i t is certainly desirable that the governorgeneral should be removed from the conflict of the div is ion test , and that thefate of any measure or resolution should not rest on his vote alone .

’

Viscoun t Morley thus expressed his reasons for conced ing the

non—ofii cial majori ty in the provincial councils .

The firs t question therefore is the necessity of maintaining in these council s .

the majority of offi cial s . We have before us , to begin ,the leading

fact that in the important province of Bombay there is in the Council as at

present composed no official majority , and that the Bombay government evenin the smal ler of its alternative schemes presented to Your Excellency inCouncil is willing to dispense with such a majority . Considering the character of the legislation ordinarily coming before a provincia l council , is it notpossible with due representation given to the various classes and interests inthe community to do without a majority of official s ? After careful consideration I have come to the conclusion that in provincial councils such a majoritymay be dispensed with provided that a substantial ofii cial majority is permauently maintained in the Imperial Legislative Council .

I do not conceal from myself the risks in such an arrangement . The

non—ofi‘i cial majority may press legislation of a character disapproved by the

executive governments . This should be met by the exercise of the power towithhold assent possessed by the head of the government . Then a lthoughthe local legislature is vested with power to make laws for the peace and goodgovernment of the territories constituting the provinces , still the range of

subjects is considerably narrowed by the statutory exclusions now in force .

Thus,for example

,the local legislature may not without the previous sanction

of the governor-general make or take into consideration any l awaff ecting the

public debt of India , or the customs duties or any other tax or duty for the

P . Mukherj i , op. ci l ., p . 2 7 7 .


Upon the Indian members of the legislative councils the effect is franklyirritating . It prejudices in their View the position of the official members whoform the bloc. Indian members may share in a debate in which ‘ the majorityof speakers and in their eyes the weight of the argument are arrayed againstthe government . The government

,having on ly one view to present , often

contents itself with doing so through a s ingle mouthpiece . But when'

a

decision is taken the silent ofiicial phalanx effectively carries the governmentmeasure orvotes down the private members ’ resolution . The Indian members ’

views are therefore rare ly placed on record as the opinion of the Councilbecause the Council ’s decision is in the majority of cases the decision of the

government . We may add that most governments dislik e the us e of the

ofii cial bloc, and that most of the men who compose it dislike the positionin which they find themselves . The fact that Indian ofii cial s in the councilsare rare and that the fewEnglish non-ofii cial members as a rule vote with thegovernment helps , not merely to exacerbate the cleavage but to give it anunamiable character . It tends to stimulate the discussion of racia l questions

,

and to give an edge to the debate . But above all , the ofli cial solidarity natura lly s tifles any differences that exist between Indian e lected members anddrives them to a league against government into which the nominated Indianmembers also tend to enter .

88 . These factors contribute to the unreality of the proceedings . ’Becausethe number of e lected members is small and the issue is often known beforehand

,the debates lack l ife unl ess feel ings are aroused or interests are directly

affected ; and because the government has to a great extent control led theproceedings , the councils have not felt the need of deve loping any corporate

opin ions which woul d have the effect of rais ing the standard of individualperformance . Nevertheless the qual ity of the speeches on both sides isimproving ; and there is less reading than formerly of manuscripts preparedwithout reference to the debate ; less repetition of points a lready dealt withand disposed oi . Experience of the occasions when government has withdrawn from the discussion and left natural cleavages of Opinion to declarethemselves

,shows howmuch greater vitality may be infused into the council

work in the future , if the ofii cial bloc be withdrawn .

I

Comparing the provincial and the imperia l council s i t went on

to say

Certain differences be tween the Indian and the provincial councils are

already apparent . Both the e lected and official members in the provincialcouncil s are in closer touch with the subject-matter of discussion ; many of

the elected members have activities which bring them in contact with theofficial members outs ide of the Council , and thereby closer relations are

established ; and because distances are smal ler the meetings of the councilsare more evenl y distributed throughout the year , and of shorter duration

1 “ Constitutiona l Reforms, P arl iamentary P apers , East India , 1 9 1 8, pp . 73—74 .

THE MORLEY-MINTO REFORMS 2 1 5

than in the Indian Legislative Council , with the resul t that the pressure uponthe fewofii cial members on whom the ch ief bus iness falls IS probably fe lt lessheavil y than in the government of India .

The main point of difference , however , is of course the fact that in al l the

provincia l council s there is a non-ofii cial majority and in Bengal a smal le lected majority . Bu t the fact that the absentees are more numerous amongthe non-official than among the ofii cial members tends to impair the effectivenessof the non-ofii cial majority . I t cannot be said , however , that the introductionof government bil ls has been general ly hindered by the prospect of opposition ,

a l though there have , we understand , been occasions when a local governmenthas been deterred from attempting legislation which it desired . As in the

government of India the po licy has generally been to anticipate oppositionto particular provisions by modifying a draft bil l in the light of objectionsraised in the opinions received I

Nowhere has there been much private members legislation . In the

Bombay.

Counci l only one bill out of s ix has passed , but we understand thatmost of the others were reasonable attempts to deal with important problems .In the United Provinces non-ofii cial members carried bills agains t adulterationand opium gambling . A private bill to s top juvenile smoking is before a selectcommittee in the Punjab and a private b ill deal ing with compulsory education inB ihar and Orissa . These same two topics are at present the subject of twoprivate bil ls in Bengal . 2 Only fiv e private bill s have been passed bythe Imperial Legislative Council s ince 1 9 10 .

Viewed as representa tive bod ies,the recons ti tu ted legisla tive councils

proved far from satisfactory . The parliamen tary repor t says of thisaspect :

83 . No one can deny that as an embodiment of the representative principle the present electoral system has great defects . The chief of these are

the very restricted nature of the present franchise,and

,except in the con

s tituencies composed of the members of some special class or community,the

lack of any real connection between the primary voter and the member whosits in the councils . In the Indian Legislative Council there are eighteenmembers whoare elected to speak for sectional interes ts , and n ine who maybe said to represent , however remotely , the Views of the people as a whole .

So far as can be stated the larges t constituency which returns a memberdirectly to the Indian Legislative Council does not exceed 650 persons ; and

most of the constituencies are decidedl y smal ler .The constituencies which return the n ine representatives of the people at

large are composed of the non-ofii cial members of the various prov incia llegislative councils , and the average number of voters in these electora l bodiesis only twenty-two , while in one case the actual number is n ine . In the case

r Ibid . , pp . 81—82 .

2 Ibid., p . 79 .


of the provincial councils themselves , there is the same division of membersbetween those who are directly e lected to represent special interests and thosewho are e lected indirectly as the representatives of the general population .

For the latter the members of municipal and local boards e ither act as e lectorsor e lse choose e lectoral de lega tes to make the e lection ; but in neither case dothe constituencies exceed a fewhundred persons . I f we ignore the small cl assconstituencies , then , loca l bodies which in a l imited sense may be taken as

standing for the people at large,enjoy the best representation and return

members for every e lectors . Then come the landholders with repre

s entativ es for every electors,and then the Mohammedans with mem

bers per e lectors .A minor but still noteworthy result of the present e lectoral system is the

large percentage of members of the legal profession who succeed at e lections .If we look at the constitution of the Indian Legislative Council after the e lections of 1 909 , 1 9 1 2 , and 1 9 1 6 , we s ee that the percentage of lawyers amongthe non-official e lected members was 3 7 , 2 6 , and 33 respectiv ely.

I

The concession of specia l e lectora tes to the Mohammedans may besaid to have assumed i ts firs t tangib le propor tions in October

,1 906 ,

when a delega tion of Mohammedans from the newly organ ized Al l-Ind iaMos lem League wa i ted upon Lord M in to at Simla , and presented to him

an address which is probab ly the bes t s ingle s tatemen t made of the

Mohammedan case .

I t began by reci ting that i t was presented by nobles,jaghirdars

,

Taluqdars , lawyers , zamindars , merchan ts , and otherswho represented alarge body of the Mohammedan subjects of H is Majes ty

,the King

Emperor . I t continued :

We ful ly real ize and appreciate the benefits conferred by British rule on

the teeming mil lions belonging to the divers races,and professing divers

re ligions , who form the popul ation of the vast continent of India,and have

every reason to be grateful for the peace , security , personal freedom,and l iberty

of worship that we now enjoy .

Further,from the wise and enlightened character of the government we

have every reasonable ground for anticipating that these benefits wi ll beprogressive and that India wil l in the future occupy an increas ingly importantposition in the community of nations .2

They then po inted out tha t the Mohammedans numbered s ixty-twomillions or be tween one-fifth and one-fourth of the popu lation of Bri ti sh

Constitutiona l Reforms,P arl iamentary Papers , East India, 1 9 1 8, pp . 7o

—7 1 ,

secs . 83—84 .

9 Edward E . Lang,op. cit. , p . 349 ; also Bombay Gazette, October 6 , 1 906 , p . 1 5 .


other hand of representative men has,in the absence of any reliable method

of ascertain ing the direction of popular choice,been far from easy .

x

They expressed themselves aggrieved tha t Mohammedan j udges hadnot been more frequen tly appoin ted to the high cour ts

,and the Chief

Court of Jud icature . They poin ted out that on ly three Mohammedanshad been ra ised to these ofii ces since the creation of the courts

,and tha t

at tha t time there were none . Moreover,the same d iscrimination had

existed in the case of the senates and the syndicates of the Ind ianun iversi ties .

In regard to Mohammedan representation in the legis lative chambersthey sugges ted tha t in the provincial counci ls

as in the case of municipa lities and district boards the proportion of Mohammedan representatives entitled to a seat shoul d be determined and declaredwith due regard to the important consideration which we have ventured topo int out in paragraph 5 of this address and that important landowners ,lawyers

,merchants and representatives of other important interests

,the

Mohammedan members of district boards and municipalities,the Moham

medan graduates of un iversities of a certain standing,s ay fiv e years

,should be

formed into e lectoral coll eges and be anthorized in accordance with such rulesas Your Excellency’s government may be pleased to prescribe in that behalf ,to return the number of members that may be declared to be e ligible .

With regard to the Imperial Legislative Counci l whereon the representation of Mohammedan interests is a matter of vita l importance , we crave leaveto suggest ( 1 ) that in the cadre of the Council the proportion of Mohammedanrepresentatives should be determined on the basis of the numerical strength ofthe community , and that in any case the Mohammedan representatives shouldnever be an ineffectual minority ; (2 ) that as far as possible the appo intmentby e lection shoul d be given preference over nomination

,that for the purpose

of choosing Mohammedan members,Mohammedan landowners

,lawyers

,

merchan ts,and representatives of other important interests of a status to be

subsequently determined by Your Excel lency’s government,Mohammedan

members of the provincial councils , and Mohammedan Fellows of universitiesshoul d be invested with such procedure as may be prescribed by Your Excell ency

’s government in that behalf.

In the course of his rep ly to the depu ta tion,af ter assuring them that

the points they had raised were before the committee appoin ted to

consider the question of representation ,Lord M into sa id :

In respect to the political importance of your community and the serviceit has rendered the empire

,I am entirely in accord with you I make no

attempt to indicate by what means the representation of communities can be

Bombay Gazette, October 6 , 1 906 , p . 1 5, co ls . 1—3 .

THE MORLEY—MINTO REFORM S 2 1 9

obtained,but I am firml y convinced as I believe you to be , that any electora l

representation in India would be doomed to mischievous failure which aimedat granting a personal enfranchisement regardl ess o f the be liefs and traditionsof the commun ities composing the populations of the continent . The greatmass of the people of India have no knowledge of representative ins titutions .

I

He concluded by promising tha t the rights of the Mohammedans would

be respected.

After the Ind ian Councils Act of 1 909 was we l l under way,ano ther

depu tation of Mohammedans wa i ted upon Lord Morley in London,on

January 2 7 , They presen ted their case to him . Viscoun t

Mor ley’s reply was similar in tone to tha t of Lord M into ’s,three years

before .

Speaking in Parl iament regard ing this deputation he said

The Mohammedans demand three things . I had the pleasure of receivinga deputation from them and I know very we ll what is in their minds . Theydemand the e lection of their own representatives to these councils in a l l the

stages , just as in Cyprus , where I think the Mohammedans vote by themse lves . a

They have n ine votes and the non-Mohammedans have three or the otherway around . So in Bohemia where the Germans vote alone

,and have their\

own register . Therefore we are not without a precedent and a paralle l forj

the idea of a separate register .Secondly

,they want a number of seats in excess of the ir numerica l strength .

Those two demands we are quite ready and intend to mee t in ful l . There isa third demand

,that

,if there is a Hindu on the viceroy ’s Executive Council ,

there should be two Indian members on the viceroy ’s Council and thatone should be a Mohammedan . We ll , as I told them and as I te ll Your Lordships

,I s ee no chance whatever of meeting the ir views in that way to any

extent at a l l .3

In add i tion to the arguments advanced by the Mohammedans,

there may have been ano ther mo tive which influenced the Britishgovernmen t to gran t the Mohammedans specia l representa tion . The

Mos lem commun i ty had for over a generation refrained as a body frompo l i tical activi ty of any sor t and now tha t the All-Ind ia Mos lem League

had fina l ly been formed , the contras t in the tone assumed by i ts leadersand the ir expression of loya l ty to the Engl ish government

,as compared

with the a tti tude of the H indus,was remarkab le .

I t may we l l be tha t there was some feel ing of gra ti tude and apprecia

tion of their suppor t in the readiness wi th which the specia l represen ta tion

1 Bombay Gazette, October 6 , 1 906 , p . 1 6, col . 1 .

2 Benga l ee , February 1 8,1 909 , p . 7 , co l . 3 .

3 P arl iamentary Debates,Lords

, Vo l . I (Feb . 2 6,

cols . 1 2 1—2 2 .


was conceded . Perhaps too i t was to encourage them in the ir loya l ty,

and keep them from making common cause wi th the Hindus by cas tinga bone of con ten tion be tween them

,thus bringing them closer to the

Bri tish raj .

This,however , is surmise . I t was

,neverthe less

,suspected by the

H indus and doub tless was what the ed i tor of the Benga l ee had in mindwhen he wro te to the effect tha t “

the government have been not

a l together d isinclined to favour the Mohammedan cause e i ther for

po l i tical reasons,or from i gnorance of the futi li ty of the arguments urged

by the Mohammedans for special fav ours .

” I

In opposi tion to the concess ion,the chief arguments were tha t if the

Mohammedans were given specia l represen tation,fa irness would require

tha t other minori ties like the native Christians and S ikhs be givenspecia l represen ta tion l ikewise , and tha t religion was not a sound bas isfor a governmen t which professed re l igious neu tra l i ty to base an

electora te on .

2

The case was thus summariz ed by the governmen t of Ind ia in i tsd ispa tch of October 1 , 1 908.

All local governments approve of the proposals for the specia l representation of Mohammedans which were made in our letter of August 24 , 1 907 .

These proposals are , as a rule , adversely criticised by the Hindus , who regardthem as an attempt to s et one religion against the other, and thus to create a

counterpoise to the influence of the educated middle class . Some Hindus ,however, recognize the expediency of giving special representation to the

Mohammedan community , and the Bombay Presidency A ssociation,while

they object strongly to the creation of a special Mohammedan e lectorate,make

provision in their scheme of a council for the e lection of two members by theMohammedan community . Notwithstanding the ir formal protest against theprinciple of rel igious representation the Association doubtless real izes that theIndian Mohammedans are much more than a religious body . They form in

fact an absolutely separate commun ity , distinct by marriage, food , custom,

and claiming in many cases to belong to a different race from the Hindus .3

I t then went on to give the fol lowing exp lanation for the allo tment

of sea ts as finally made

The firs t question is howmany seats should be al lotted to theMohammedancommunity . After carefully considering the demands of the Mohammedansthemselves and views expressed by the Hindus we think that the claims of the

Hindu ,July 8, 1 909 , p . 1 9 , col . 1 .

2 Bombay Gazette, September 26,1 908, p . 23 , col . 1 .

3 P . Mukherj i, op. cit.,

“ReformD ispatch, 1 908 , pp . 2 50 et s eq.; also “

Adv isoryand Legislativ e Councils,

”Parl iamentary Papers , East India , 1 908.


made use of where e lectorates cannot be formed ; that nomination by government should be resorted to where neither of the firs t two methods is practicable .

I t will be for the loca l government to determine in consultation with the leadersof the Mohammedan community which plan should be adopted .

The scheme of an advisory counci l was conta ined in Lord M into’soriginal minu te

,and persisted in by the governmen t of Ind ia unti l

,at

the ins tance of Viscount Morley,i t was dropped . H is reasons cover the

s i tua tion . He wro te :

The original proposa l of an Imperial Advisory Council was based on the

interesting and attractive idea of associating rul ing chiefs and territorialm a

magnates of British India in guardianship of common and imperiai ifi res ts ,

and as a means of promoting more intimate relations among component partsof the Indian Empire . The general opinion of those whose assent and co

operation would be indispensable had proved adverse , and Your Excel lency inCouncil nowconsiders that the project should for the present not be proceededwith . You stil l favor an Imperia l Council composed only of ruling chiefs .Lord Lytton made an experiment in this direction but it remained withoutsuccessful resul t . Lord Curzon afterwards proposed to create a council com

posed of princes contributing Imperial Service Troops,and del iberating on

that subject exclusively . Opinion pronounced this a lso to be unfruitfu l andineffectual in practice . Your Excel lency ’s project is narrower than the firs t

of these two expedients , and wider than the second . I confess that , whileentirely appreciating and sympathizing with your object , I judge the practica ldifficul ties in the way of such a council assembling under satisfactory conditions to be considerable—expense precedence , housing , for instance , even ifthere be no others . Yet if not definitely constituted with a view to assembly ,it could possess l ittle or no real ity . I t would obviously be a mistake to pushthe project

,unless it commands the clear assent and approval of those whose

presence in the council would be essential to its success , and the opin ionsexpressed in the replies with which you have furnished me lead me to doubtwhether that condition can be secured . But in case Your Excel lency sti ll

of the Legislativ e Council , Fe l lows of the univ ersity, trustees of the Anglo-OrientalCol lege , title-holders , pensioners .

Eas tern B enga l and A s sam.

—The Mohammedan e lectorate was composed of

title-holders, proprietors of lands paying 750 rupees in rev enue or 1 80 rupees in land

cess, payers of income taxes on rupees , and pensioners .P unj ab.

—There were no prov isions for special electorates for Mohammedans inthe Punjab , for the Prov incial Legislativ e Council . The Mohammedans were not

sufficiently organized to furnish a basis for an e lectorate andwere sufii ciently numerousthere to better look out for themselv es . On the Imperia l Legislativ e Counci l theirinterests were sure of representation by the reserv ation for them o f one of the

appointed . Executiv e and Legislativ e CouncilsRegulations , P arl iamentaryP apers ,East India

,1 909 , p . 75 .

THE MORLEY-MINTO REFORM‘

S 2 23

favors this proposal , which is in itself attractive , I do not wish to expressdissent at this stage , and if after consultation with the leading chiefs , you are

able to dev ise a scheme that is at once acceptable to them and workable inpractice

,I amnot incl ined to place any obstacle in the way of a full and fair

trial . And inany event the doubt I have expressed must not be taken as

discouraging consul tation with individua l chiefs , according to existing practice ,fornobody with any part to play in Indian government can doubt themanifoldadvantages of stil l further develop ing not only amicable but confidential

relations of this kind with the loya l rulers in Indian states , possessed as theyare of such peculiar authority and experience .

x

The prov is ion au thoriz ing the estab l ishmen t of executive counci ls

l n the provinces was an addenda of Viscount Mor ley . He wro te

concerning i t

39 . The suggestion for the es tablishment of executive counci ls for l ieutenant governors

,as Your Exce llency is aware , is not new [It] was

much discussed in obedience to the orders of the secretary of state in 1 868 ,

by men of the highest authority on Indian questions , and I do not conce ivethat after al l the consideration given to the subjects then and s ince , furtherconsul tations could be expected to bring any new argument of weigh t and

substance into view .

40 . I t has sometimes been argued that the creation of executive councilsin the major provinces would necessari ly carry with it , as in Bombay and

Madras,the appointment in each case of a governor from home . This would

indeed be a large departure‘ from the present system of administration ,almost

amounting to the confusion and overthrow of that system,reposing as it does

upon the presence , at the head of the highest administrative posts , of ofli cerstrained and experienced in the complex requirements and div ers ified dutiesof the Indian government . I take for granted , therefore , that the head of

the province will be , as now,a member of the Indian Civi l Service appointed

in such mode as the lawprescribes .I propose , therefore , to ask for power to create executive council s ir

time to time as may be found expedient . In this connection we cannot ignthe necessity of securing that a constitutional change , designed both to

strengthen the authority and to l ighten the labors of the head of the province ,shal l not impair the prompt exercise of executive power . I t will , therefore ,be necessary to consider most careful ly what degree of authority over themembers of his council in case of dissent should be ves ted in the head of a

province in which an executive council may be called into being .

It was recognized by Parliament more than a century ago that the governors of Madras and Bombay shoul d be vested with a discretionary powerof overruling these councils “

in cases of high importance and essential ly affect

P . Mukherj l , Indian Cons ti tutional Documents , 1 7 73—1 9 1 5 , p . 2 68.

2 24 THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-GOVERNMEITT IN INDIA

ing the public interest and welfare . A power no less than this wil l obviouslybe required in the provinces in which a council may come to be associated wi ththe head of ' the executive

,and I shal l be glad if you will favor me with your

vi ews upon its definition . Your Excellency will readily understand that theu se of such a power

,while not to be evaded in the special cases for which it is

designed , is not intended for part of the ordina ry mechanism of government .Rather , in the language of the historical dispatch of 1 834 ,

it is my belief that ina punctual

,constant

,and even fastidious adherence to your ordinary rules of

practice, you wil l find the best security , not only for the efficiency , and also

for the dispatch of your legislative proceedings .

I

In Ind ia among the educa ted classes i f the Morley-M into reforms

were not received withwi ld enthusiasm,they were certainly on the who le

accepted as being a l l that cou ld be expected at the time . A depu ta tion

wa i ted upon Lord M into?)a few days after the arrival of Viscoun tMorley’s d ispa tch of November 2 7 , 1 908 . I t was composed of bo thHindus and the Mohammedans

,and came to express their gra ti tude for

the reforms .A few days la ter the Congress in session at Madras a lso expressed

[ through i ts presiden t ,Mr. Gokha le,their thanks to the home governmen t

and the governmen t of India . Almos t at the same time the Mos lemLeague met at Amri tsar

,and were warm in their approva l of the new

measures,though they found fau l t with the amount of representa tion

conceded and o ther i tems . By no means al l,even of the so-cal led

modera tes,were of such a mind , bu t most seem to have fel t much the

way the ed i tor of the'

Bengal ee d id , when he wro te :

We have come to the de liberate conclus ion whichwe invite our countrymen

to accept , that it [the reforms] represents an honest effort to introduce thebeginnings of parliamentary procedure in matters of loca l administration .

We have not indeed got al l we wanted . We asked for more and we shal lcontinue to press for more . But we are thankful for what we have got and

we are strengthened in the hope that we shall get more if we fol low persistently and without flinching those constitutional methods in which we have

explicit confidence .

3

54; Engl ish opinion was on the whole a lso dub ious . Sir B . Ful ler wrote

in1 9 1 0:

As regards the recent Indian Council reforms , there is no friend of Indiabut sympathizes with endeavors to educate the people in the art of government

Bengal ee, December 1 8, 1 908, p . 8, col . 1 ; also P . Mukherp ,op. ci t , pp . 283

3 P arl iamentary Debates , Lords , Vol . I cols . 1 1 3—1 4 .

3 Bengalee, December 1 9 , 1 908, p . 5, col . 1 .


insufficient safety-valve . While,therefore

,inside the council s there are

signs of harden ing opposition and the weariness which comes of sterile efforts ,outside the councils the tide of feel ing was rising more quick ly .

’

For a shorttime after their inception the Morley-Minto reforms threatened to diminishthe importance of the Indian National Congress and the MoslemLeague . Itseemed as if the council s where elected members took a share in the business ofgovernment must be a more effective instrument for po litical purposes thanmere self-constituted gatherings . But with the disil lusionment about thereformed councils the popular conventions , where speakers were free to attackthe government and give vent to their own aspirations untrammel led by rulesof business or the prospect of a reply , naturally regained their ascendancy ,and the l ine taken by prominent speakers in them has been to Belittle the

util ity of the councils , if not to denounce them as a cynical and calculated sham.

x

Constitutiona l Reforms , Parl iamentary Papers , East India , 1 9 1 8, pp . 85—86 .

CHAPTER XII

THE FUTURE

The events 1 909—1 4The extent of the seditious movementThe durbar of 1 9 1 1 and its boons

The repeal of the partition of BengalMinor events

T he abortive Council of India ActThe concess ion of the Legislative Council in the Central ProvincesThe Indian Councils Act of 1 9 1 5The Public Service Commission

The Morley-Minto reforms,the las t rea l concessions prior to the war

The degree of success achieved in deve loping se lf-gov emment in India sl ightReasons for the lack of successAims of the concessions

The reduction of the burden of administration ,not the training

of natives to govern themselvesThe securing of the native point of viewT he quieting of the unrest

Lukewarmness of the official s toward the development of selfgovernmentImmersion in businessReluctance to promote a po licy possibly leading to the expulsionof England from India

Distrust of ability of nativesT he immensity of the task

The a lterations actually efi'

ected since 1 86 1

In EnglandThe admi ssion of two natives to the Council of India

In IndiaThe admission of one native to the Executive Council of the ViceroyThe creation of local and mun icipal boardsT he

,creation and enlargement of legislative counci ls

Probability of further concess ions to the extent of Canada ,Australia

,or South

Africa

Permanency of English rule in IndiaImpossibility of solving the racial difli cul tyImpossibility of keeping India under subjection by force

2 2 7


The reforms of 1 909 were not so le ly re l ied on to quie t the s i tua tion .

A new,more e labora te

,and far more s tringen t press lawI was passed

through the Imperial Legis la tive Counci l on February 9 , 1 9 1 0 . Nor

d id the reforms of 1 909 effect any ma terial d iminu tion of the campa ignof Vio lence . Gang and ind ividua l murders con tinued

,and there was

evidence of a genera l conspiracy .

A l e t ter of March 1 4 , 1 9 1 0, from Sir H . S tuar t,of Bengal

,secre tary

to the governmen t of Ind ia Home Depar tment,to the chief secretary

to the governmen t of B enga l,gives an ofii cial es tima te of the sed i t ious

movemen t of which the fo l lowing are taken as expressing the genera l

a t ti tude of the government :

The chief of the causes of sedition is the extent of disaff ection toward theBritish government which now undoubtedly exists in many parts of India .

Nowhere is any considerable portion of the population imbued with that spirit .It is confined with a fewnegligible exceptions to the literate middle classes . I tis not the expression of revolt against excessive taxation or oppressive laws .It may have some slight economic basis but in the main it is an intel lectua lsentiment and not founded on anymaterial grievances though those engagedin sedulously propagating the nationalist views are quick to seize on any

ephemeral circumstances of that character to advance their cause .

We have then a party,smal l in numbers

,but of considerable influence

and inspired by convictions strongly and even fanaticall y held who are opposedto the continuance of B ritish rule . This party may be broadl y divided intotwo classes though the l ine of division is not a sharp one nor of a permanentcharacter .

The firs t class consis ts of those who desire autonomy but seek to obtaini t by such methods as passive resistance and the continual sapping of the

foundations of loyalty by means of attacks in the press , on the platform and

on more private occasions . The members of this branch of the party of disafiection are not ordinarily prepared to advocate a resort to -violence thoughmany of them secretly sympathize with outrage and as sass ination

‘

and all

alike are unwill ing to assist in the suppression of po litical crime .

The second class comprises those who advocate and practice the methodsof terrorism

,directed not only against public servants , European and Indian ,

but also against al l persons who come forward and assis t the cause of justicewith information or ev idence . This class consists for the mos t part of youthswho are still at schoo l or college and of young men who have not long passedthat period of their l ives . These active revo lutionaries are most prominent inBengal , East Bengal , and Bombay . Their movement has spread to the

Central Provinces and Berar and to the Punjab and is found even in some of

Col lection of the Acts Pas s ed by the Governor-General of Indi a in Counci l , 1 9 10,Act I .

THE DEVELOPMENT OF/SELF-GOVERNMENT IN INDIA

By far the mos t importan t of these concessions was the repeal ofViscount Morley’s “

accomplished Fact,

”the parti tion of Benga l .

Even i t,however

,produced no lasting eff ect . An a l l bu t successful

a t tempt on the l ife of Baron Hard inge was made in December of thefo l lowing year when a bomb was thrown down into the howdah of his

e lephant as hewas making the triumphal s ta te en try into the newcapita l,

De lh i .

The boons of 1 9 1 1 were the las t po l i tica l even ts of importance beforethe ou tbreak of the war. In 1 9 1 2

—1 4 came the vis i t of the Royal Pub l i c

Service Commission ,which beyond a vo luminous repor t was withou t

resu l t . In 1 9 1 4 there was an a t tempt to pass a new measure mod i

tyi ng the Council of Ind ia which was dropped ; the concession of a

l egislative counci l in the Centra l Provinces was under cons idera tion,

and the firs t s tages of the conso lida ting Indian Counci ls Act of 1 9 1 5

were under way ; bu t there were no deve lopments of importance in

the field of sel f-government . The war stopped for the time be ingfurther developmen ts unti l the Parliamen tary Commi tteewi th i ts

—rad i-n

cal p roposa ls , Which ripened in to the Legislation of 1 9 1 8 , embodyingwhat

‘

was frank ly in tended to be s teps toward a rea l native contro l of

provincia l governmen t .

The reforms brought to pass during the Viceroya l ty of Lord M in towere

,therefore

,the las t ma terial a l tera tions eflected in the s tructure of

the government of Ind ia before the outbreak'

of the war. Viewed as a

who le .the changes effected s ince 1 858 were far from revo lu tionary and

considering tha t two generations had passed , indicated no s tartl ingsuccess in the deve lopmen t of se lf—government . The process had indeedbeen a hal ting one

,and apparen tly in spi te of occas ional instances of

men like Lord R ipon there was before the war l i ttle and certainly no

persisten t,clearly formula ted purpose of making India a self—governing

country . England was more concerned wi th l ightening the burden of

administration by passing some of the labor off on to native shoulders .

The reforms in the field of provincia l and imperia l gove rnmen t were

also actuated by the desire of securing the native po int of view . The

later reforms too seem to have been more or less concess ions to soo theunres t and vio lence . Engli sh official s as a ru le have been too immersed

in the labo r of operating the immense machine of governmen t to devo te

any very serious effor t to wha t seemed to them to be fantas tic ideal s .

They a t hear t probab ly were lukewarm,to say the leas t , in promo ting a

poli cy which u l tima te ly might l ead to the expu lsion of Eng land fromInd ia . Most of them fe l t bo th from actua l experience and hearsay a

THE FUTURE 23 1

profound d istrust of the capab i li t ies of the na tives to conduct a s table

or eff icien t government . The ta sk has been big and on the whole thespiri t was lacking which was necessary in Vi ew of the difficul ties , to

accomp l ish any materia l achievemen t in the developmen t of selfgovernmen t in Ind ia . In view of these facts i t is not surprising tha t

England has done so l i t tle in the way of developing self-gove rnment in

India . I t may be wel l , however , to summarize the principal changes

efiected during these two-score years .

In England the Bri tish e lectora te and Parliamen t in theo ry s til l

rema in supreme and the la t ter body has d isplayed on the who le an

increasing in teres t in the affa irs of the “ Brightes t jewel of the King’s

Crown .

”The secre ta ry of s ta te and his functions have remained practi

cal ly unchanged . His Council,however

,has rece ived the add i tion of

two na tive members .

In India the framework of adminis tra tion was bu t li tt le changed .

The supreme au thori ty to al l in ten ts and purposes was s til l the Viceroy

nd his Council . The on ly break in this exclus iv e European circle was

the admission of one native to this select body . In the prov inces the

functions of the governors and their subord ina tes,al though somewha t

enlarged,were essen tial ly the same . In sp i te of much ta lk abou t the

separation of execu tive and j ud icial functions the ma inspring of the

government of Ind ia,the di s tric t officers

,sti ll continued to carry on

the real work of adminis tra tion in the same old way.

The on ly qual ifica tion necessary to this s tatement is in the case of

the municipal i ties and loca l boards,which were practica l ly newcreations

s ince 1 858. I t was among them tha t the progress of na tive Indians

toward control of Ind ia firs t began,and i t is among them tha t they have

achieved the grea tes t degree of success in assuming par t of the work of

admin istra tion .

Oi la ter origin ,bu t recently of more spectacular growth , were the

legisla tive councils,bo th imperia l and provincia l . The enla rgemen ts of

membership and powers effected in 1 909 brought to a head the inev i t

ab le collision be tween the responsib i l i ty to Parl iamen t , which Englandinsists upon

,and

~ _respo_

nsib ili ty to Indiamel ectorates , which from i tsvery essence the concession of na tive members e lected to express opinions

on legisla tive measures invo lved . Up to the war the deadlock wasbroken by the vetoes of the governors and the Vi ceroy

,and the ofli cia l

majori ty in the Imperial Council . Fur ther s teps cou ld not long be

de layed . England has a lready been compe lled to abandon the pos i tion

that_ the legisla tive councils were in no way embryo parl iamen ts . I t


seems not un l ikely tha t she wil l be compel led to concede sti l l more,and

i t is difii cul t to see howany final stop can bemade shor t of the u l t imaterenuncia tion of the au thori ty of Parl iamen t

,at l east to the ex ten t that

i t has a lready been renounced in the cases of Canada,Sou th Africa

,

and Aus tral ia .

The prob lem stil l before England is the same which Sir A . C Lyal lpu t in to these words

I am always thinking of the probable fortunes of our empire , and trying

to conceive i t possible to civil ize and convert an enormous nation by the

mechanical processes of the present times by establishing schools and miss ionary

'

societies . A lso hav ing '

civ il ized them and taught them the advantageof liberty and the use of European sciences

,how are we to keep them under

u s and to persuade them that it is for their good that we hold al l the highofii ces of government PI

I t is a l so something more . I t has become more and more a racial

question . Will England be ab le to crea te in Ind ia a sen timen t s trong

enough to keep Ind ia within the ’empire when i t a ttains i ts fu l l sta ture

as a nation ? If England succeeds i t wi l l be the grea tes t achievemen t

in history . Two factors wil l probab ly decide the issue . One iswhe therthe ind ividua l -Engl ishmen of this genera tion lay as ide the antipa thy to

a dark skin and brusque assumption of superiori ty tha t seems to ga l l

the educa ted native so much,and second

,whe ther England hand les the

si tua tion in such a way tha t i t becomes necessary for her to resort tomili tary force to maintain her supremacy . If England fai ls to do the

one or does the o ther,her days in Ind ia are numbered . In o ther words

can England accomplish the apparen tly imposs ib le ?This is not ignoring or min imiz ing the devotion displayed and

immense ass istance rendered to England by India during the war,

2

nor giving undue weigh t to the Ghadr conspiracy,the Mop lah ris ing

,

the widespread d isorder in the Punjab and Bengal,and the fact that the

loya l ty d isplayed was mos t noteworthy on the par t of the princes of the

na tive s tates whose thrones res t entire ly on the con tinua tion of Bri tishsupremacy . There is bu t one enigma . Was i t a case of loyal ty to

England and the empire,or an unh esi ta ting preference for Engli sh as

agains t German domina tion ? We shal l soon know . Ind ia is slowlyreaching her majori ty as a na tion in consciousnes s .

I No more s ig

2 M . Durand,Life of A . C. Lyal l , p . 89 .

2 “ Constitutional Reforms, P arl iamentary P apers , East India , 1 9 1 8, p . 1 9 .

3 Ib id . , p . 1 3 1 .

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1 850

(Annually .)Acts of the Legis lative Counci l of the Governor of Madras . Madras

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(Annually .)Acts of the Legi s lati ve Counci l of the Lieutenant Governor of Benga l . Calcutta,

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Col burn’s NewMonthlyMagazz

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—73 .

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF—GOVERNMENT IN IND IA

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Resolutions Reviewing the Reports on the Working of the Municz'

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Adv isory council , 1 90, 2 2 2Al lyghur .Mohammedan Univ ersity, 1 4 1Assam,

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,84 , 1 34

E lectiv e principle , 89—9 2 , 1 1 8 , 1 55, 1 64

Electorates,1 1 8

,1 1 9 , 1 63 , 203 , 209

Executiv e Council,24 , 35, 202

Executiv e counci ls , prov incial , 2 23Explosiv e Substances Act , 1 908, 200

Gladstone , 86 , 1 58Gov ernment of India ,

2 2—29 , 1 6 1—6 7 ,1 93

- 24

Hindus,85, 1 4 2

Hume,A . O . ,

1 34

Incitement to Murder Act , 1 908, 200Indian Councils Act , 1 86 1 , 35 , 44Indian Counci ls Act , 1 89 2 , 8, 49 , 1 49—69Indian Counci ls Act , 1 909 ,

204

Interpella tion ,1 54, 1 66 , 204 , 207

Lansdowne , Lord , 1 5 1 , 1 59 , 1 63 , 1 66Lawrence

,Sir John

, 59

League , Moslem,1 9 2

—93

Legislation,2 8

,29 , 38, 2 1 3

Legislativ e Council,impe ria l , 3 2—34 , 43 ,

—1 4

Legislativ e counci ls, prov incial , 40, 1 6 7 ,

Lyall,Sir A . C. ,

1 3

Lytton,Lord

, 7 7

Madras,2, 52 , 64 , 1 02

,1 07 , 1 1 8

,1 70 ,

Mohammedans,85 , 1 4 1 , 1 9 1

Mohammedans , specia l representation,

2 1 6- 2 2

Maine,Sir Henry

, 4 1 , 43 , 57 , 58

Ma jority, official , 204 , 209 , 2 1 2Mayo

,Lord

,63

- 65

M ilitary position ,1 2

Minto,Lord

,1 89

Minute of 1 906 , 1 89—90Morley

,Viscount

,1 93

—95 , 20 1

—2,207 ,

2 23—24

Municipali ties , 2 7 , 49—76

Naoroji , Dadabhai,1 46 , 1 9 1

Nativ e representation , 3 7 , 1 55—6 2

Nawah of Dacca,1 9 1

—93

Northbrook,Lord

, 7

Northwestern Prov inces, 49 , 55, 70 ,

1 00,

1 1 4

Oudh,2 5, 70


Parli ament—Indian representation, 1 46Partition of Bengal

,1 86—88

,230

Population ,2

Palmerston,Viscount

,1 9

Policy o f England , 5, 1 8Presidencies , 25Presidency cities , 2 7 , 1 70—8 1Press

,nativ e

, 78, 1 98

Proc lamation , Queen’s, 30

Prov inces , 2 5Punjab

,2 5, 55, 6 7 , 1 04 , 1 1 4 , 1 68

Regulation of Meetings Ordinance , 1 907 ,1199

Re l igion, 4

Repression ,200

PRINTED IN THE U .S .A.

Resolution of 1 881 , 88—94

Resolutions,204 ,

Ripon ,Lord, 7 7 , 86—1 3 2

Rura l self-gov ernm‘

ent,1 05

—1 9

Sayyed Ahmed Khan,1 2 1

,1 4 1

Secretary of state,23

South Africa,1 84

- 85

Suez Canal, 78

Taxation, 73 , 74, 1 03 , 1 07 , 1 1 2 ,

Temple , Sir Richard, 1 2 , 86

Vi llage,2 7

Violence,1 96

—200

Wood, SirC. , 3 2 , 38, 40,4 2

The Development of Self Government in India 1858 1914

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