DS ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. crO. <^Plo?&e> t^f&feA&nJ WrHwnuty r/ '/oa/Z/f, J*j-;~ Jl/bnsiU, ^W JLc./J 7 ^/- Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/angloindianworthOOmorrrich SIR THOMAS MUNRO. ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. BY HENRY MORRIS, II (Madras C. S, Retired.) Author of " A Manual of the Godavsry District" 8fc. FIRST EDITION, THREE THOUSAND COPIES. MADRAS: THE CHRISTIAN VERNACULAR EDUCATION SOCIETY. 1890. y H / rf COlTTElsTTS. Sie Thomas Muneo Sie John Malcolm .... Loed Metcalfe Hon. Mountstuaet Elphinstone Hon. James Thomason ... Sie Henry Laweence Sir James Outram Sie Donald F. McLeod Sir Baetle Feeee Page 1 19 35 51 67 85 103 123 141 :Nf v ^ PHEN3 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. SIR THOMAS MUNRO: THE FRIEND OF THE RYOT. Tbomas Munro, one of the soundest of the early Anglo- Indian statesmen and the best friend of the Indian ryot, was born at Glasgow in Scotland on May 27, 1761. He was the son of a merchant of that city, who was at one time in easy circumstances, but who subsequently, owing to failures in business, was reduced to comparative poverty. Thomas was an athletic, good-tempered, pleasing boy ; and at an early age, while in a mercantile office, showed his perseverance and aptitude for acquiring languages by learning Spanish in order to read the celebrated Spanish story, Don Quixote, in the original. Receiving a cadet- ship in the East India Company's service, he left Scotland, and landed at Madras on January 15, 1780. The period at which Mr. Munro arrived in India was the most critical that had yet occurred in the history of the English in this country. Hyder Ali Khan, the able and powerful ruler of Mysore, was threatening to invade the Carnatic, avowedly with the object of expelling the English from it. The Government of Madras exhibited the most unaccountable apathy, and were making no preparations for defence. Still worse, the individual members of the Gov- ernment were quarrelling among themselves. There were indeed English garrisons at Wandiwash, Vellore, and Arcot, and a detachment under Colonel Baillie was in the Northern Circars beyond the Kistna; but there was no adequate provision for meeting the threatened invasion. A few months after Mr. Munro's arrival, Hyder Ali's threat became a reality. It seemed to come suddenly. The 512718 2 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. blaze of villages set on fire by his advancing troops were seen from St. Thomas's Mount. Frightened country- people flocked into Madras to take shelter under the guns of Fort St. George. The Government then awoke from their fancied security ; but the preparations for defence were made hurriedly, and proved insufficient. The Com- mander-in-Chief took the command of a force which was assembled at Conjeveram, where young Munro was ordered to join the camp. Colonel Baillie's detachment was re- called from the Kistna, and, in an attempt to join the head-quarters, was defeated by Hyder Ali, who interposed his army between the two forces, and prevented them from joining. The Commander-in-Chief of the English army retired to the immediate neighbourhood of Madras. On hearing of these disasters, Sir Eyre Coote, the Com- mander-in-Chief of Bengal, hastened from Calcutta to Madras, where he took command of the army destined for service in the field. During the delay that elapsed while the necessary preparations were being made, Hyder Ali was everywhere triumphant in the Carnatic, the scat- tered garrisons of Madura, Wandiwash, Vellore, and other places merely holding their own against his attacks. When Sir Eyre Coote commenced his campaign, Mr. Munro served with a sepoy battalion, and was present at the decisive battle of Porto Novo, and almost every engagement of importance that took place during the war. Hyder Ali was completely defeated and driven out of the Carnatic. For five years Mr. Munro was employed on garrison duty in various parts of the country, and for two years he served under Captain, afterwards Colonel, Bead, in the Intelligence Department. He was engaged in most of the military operations in the war with Tippoo Sultan, who had suc- ceeded his father in the sovereignty of Mysore, which ended in 1792 in the subjugation of that monarch, and in the cession of certain territory, including the Baramahal and Dindigal, to the East India Company. When peace was declared in March 1792, the two sons of Tippoo Sultan were delivered up as hostages, and were taken SIE THOMAS MUNEO. 3 to Madras, and Mr. Munro accompanied the detachment which escorted them thither. We have hitherto been considering Mr. MirDro as a military officer. He was now about to quit the exciting and adventurous life of a soldier for a time, and to enter on civil employ ; and it is not using too strong language to say that he proved himself to be the very best civilian that India had yet seen. One of the provinces then ceded to the Company was the Baramahal, or the twelve districts. It comprised the northern half of the present district of Salem, and part of North Arcot, being a continuation of the table-land of Mysore and the Dekkan, and being be- tween two and three thousand feet above the level of the sea. It was a beautiful and pleasant country, being diver- sified here and there by hills of considerable height and loveliness. The administration of the districts hitherto held in Southern India had not been a success; and, on the occupation of the newly acquired territory, Lord Corn- wallis, the G-overnor-Greneral, who had himself conducted the campaign against Tippoo, and who was then at Madras, determined to place it under carefully selected military officers, the services of competent civilians acquainted with the languages and habits of the people not being available. Captain Eead was chosen for this duty, with the title of Superintendent of Revenue in the Baramahal, with three assistants under him, one of whom was Mr. Munro. Mr. Munro threw himself heartily into his new work, and became thoroughly attached to the district. His head- quarters were at Dharmapuri, and there he made a pleasant garden, and to that place his thoughts frequently turned with affection in after-life and amid other scenes. But he was sel- dom there. He was constantly moving about his district in tents. Even so late as May, when the hot weather was at its height, we find him writing to his mother from his tent. He seems thoroughly to have enjoyed the scenery of this fair country. " It is a romantic country," he wrote when leaving it, " and every tree and mountain has some charm which attaches me to them. I began some years ago to 4 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. make a garden near Dharmapuri, sheltered on one side by a lofty range of mountains, and on the other by an aged grove of mangoes. When I happened to be at Dharma- puri, I always spent at least an hour every day in this spot ; and to quit it now goes as much to my heart as for- saking my old friends. " Years afterwards, on revisiting this district to which he was so much endeared, he wrote, " the natural beauty of the place is enough to make any one partial to it. There is nothing to be compared to it in England, and, what you will think higher praise, nor in Scotland." He lived among the people. He made himself entirely accessible to them ; permitted them to join him in his walks ; and listened patiently to their long stories about their crops, their affairs, and their privations. The ryots in that part of Salem spoke Telugu, and, though it is never distinctly stated in his biography that he spoke Tamil or Telugu, he must have been able to converse with them ; because he himself listened to their petitions and complaints without the intervention of gumastas or peons. He spoke Hindustani fluently. His mode of living was of the simp- lest description. " I have dined to-day," he mentions in one of his letters, " on porridge made of half ground flour instead of oatmeal ; and I shall most likely dine to-morrow on plantain fritters." In the same letter he says : — " I go from village to village, settling the rents of the inhabitants; and this is so tedious and teasing a business, that it leaves room for nothing else — for I have no hour in the day that I can call my own. At this moment, while I am writing, there are a dozen people talking around me : it is now twelve o'clock, and they have been coming and going in parties ever since seven in the morning. One has a long story of a debt of thirty years' standing, contracted by his father. Another tells me that his brother made away with his property, when he was absent during the war ; and a third tells me that he cannot afford to pay his usual rent, because his wife is dead, who used to do more work than his best bullock." SIR THOMAS MUNRO. The Bdramahal was just recovering from the calamity of war. The people knew nothing of the English Govern- ment and its officers, and therefore the settlement of the revenue required the most judicious and delicate handling. The system, if it can be so called, of Hyder and Tippoo had been of the roughest description. The revenue was farmed out to certain responsible persons, from whom the ruling power expected great returns, and whose peculations im- poverished the people. The great aim of Colonel Read and his assistants was to accustom the ryots to a moderate, but steady, assessment. The system that was adopted after careful consideration and trial was the Ryotwari system, by which the Collector on behalf of the Government dealt with each individual cultivator. This system was gradually introduced into the district; and, as it received the hearty support of Mr. Munro, both at this time, and when he was called upon to fill higher and more influential positions, it was extended to other districts, and became the principal revenue system throughout the Madras Presidency. Under this system the condition of each individual ryot is most favourable. There is an annual inquiry regarding each holding, but " there is no annual settlement of the rate of assessment. All that is inquired into is the extent of each ryot's holding, and this is rendered necessary by the option which is conceded to the ryot to give up, or diminish, or extend his holding from year to year. Every registered holder of land is recognized as its proprietor, and pays the revenue assessed upon his holding direct to Government. He is at liberty to sublet his property, or to transfer it by gift, sale, or mortgage. He cannot be ejected by Govern- ment so long as he pays the fixed assessment, and he has the option of annually increasing his holding provided that there is other land available, or of diminishing it or entirely abandoning it. The ryot under this system is virtually a proprietor with a simple and perfect title, and has all the benefits of a perpetual lease, without its responsibility. " We have here given this simple description from official sources so that the reader may more fully understand what 6 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES- is the exact system which was introduced into the Barama- hal, and which afterwards received the mature approval of Mr. Munro when he had longer experience of it. Accord- ing to his estimate there were at that time about 600,000 inhabitants, of whom from 45 to 50,000 were ryots. The rent of the middling class of farmer was from ten to twenty pagodas a year. During Colonel Read's administration the whole district was completely surveyed, and the revenue settled ; and it speaks well for the way in which he and his assistants laboured that in the last year of Mr. Munro's stay, the whole revenue was collected within the year with- out difficulty and without a single rupee being outstanding. The time of his residence in the Baramahal was now draw- ing to a close. It had been a time of hard and unremitting labour, constant intercourse with the people, and thorough devotion to duty ; and in after years he always looked back with pleasure on what he called those " seven very happy years." The work of Captain Munro in the Baramahal and his residence there were, to his great regret, shortened by the final campaign against Tippoo Sultan. A corps was organized in this part of the country principally with the purpose of supplying the grand army with provisions. It was placed under the command of Colonel Read, and Captain Munro served with it until the fall of Serin gapatam, when a Commission was appointed to prepare the treaties requisite on the conclusion of the war. His friend Captain, afterwards Sir John, Malcolm, and he acted as the joint secretaries to this Commission. By the partition treaty then framed between the English, the Mahrattas, and the Nizam, the province of Canara on the western coast was assigned to the English Government; and Captain Munro, whose capacity had already been fully tested, was entrusted with the difficult task of bringing it into order and introducing into it good government. His own strong desire was to return to his old district, where he hoped to succeed Colonel Read, who had gone elsewhere ; but, at the call of duty, he cheerfully consented to put aside his own wishes, SIR THOMAS MUNRO. 7 aud proceeded to Canara. There, for sixteen months, he was engaged in thorough hard work, during which, to use his own phrase, he had not even time to think. He was not very happy there, because the country, the climate, and the people were so very different from everything to which he had lately been accustomed. But work tended to sustain his spirits. Public business seldom occupied him less than ten hours a day, and sometimes twelve or thirteen. He was never alone, except when asleep or at meals. He was constantly out in tents. " I am convinced/' he wrote at this time, u that the people of this country, by my spending all my time among them under the fly of a marquee, are already better British subjects than they would have been in twenty years, had I lived in a house on the sea-shore." He was much disheartened, however, sometimes by his movements being impeded by the heavy rains, which last a long time on that coast. Canara is a wild and rugged strip of territory. The greater portion of it is below the ghauts, and being inter- sected by numerous rivers, is extremely damp and muggy. The part above the ghauts is wooded, fertile, and possess- ing a comparatively cool and pleasant climate. It was at that time inhabited by a turbulent people, who, having been severely fleeced by Hyder and Tippoo's officers, were not in the humour to submit tamely to the authority of the Company. During the few months of Major Munro's admin- istration, however, they completely yielded to the charm and fascination of his manner, and became peaceable and orderly subjects. The land was regarded as the private pos- session of the holders, and most of Major Munro's work con- sisted in deciding claims for laud, which had seldom been the case in the Baramahal. The settlement of the revenue was made with the landowners, not directly with the ryots, and, in this respect, he followed the plan which he desired always to uphold, that no sudden changes should be made in the ancient tenure of land, so that he did not feel himself at liberty to introduce what he himself considered the best system of revenue, namely, the ryotwari. 8 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. A personal memoir demands an account of some of the details of the daily life of its subject, and therefore a brief sketch of Major Munro's mode of living while engaged in the arduous work of a Collector may appropriately be given here. It is taken from the time when he was at his head- quarter station ; but, as can well be imagined, it did not vary much, when he was out in the district in tents. He slept on a rattan cot with a carpet and a pillow placed on it. He rose at daybreak. On leaving his room, he walked in the open air bare-headed, conversing with the people who had gathered together to speak to him. After an early breakfast he gave verbal instructions to his assistants, wrote his letters, and then proceeded to his cutcherry, where he remained till half -past four transacting the usual routine of public business. He then dressed, and, while so em- ployed, one of his assistants read aloud either the letters just received or some amusing book. At five he had dinner, and amused himself in various ways until eight. Then came his night cutcherry, which frequently lasted till midnight. He was remarkably primitive and rather eccen- tric in his costume. He was dressed in the fashion which was prevalent twenty years before, when he was engaged in the campaign under Sir Eyre Coote. He still wore a cue that is, a tail of hair on the back of his head, which, in the absence of a proper fastening, he sometimes tied with a piece of red tape. He was not a shikari, but was very fond of athletic exercises, such as quoits and fives ; and, when he was unable to obtain these favourite amusements, he sometimes even diverted himself by throwing stones. " When I joined him on one occasion," wrote one of his assistants, "I perceived a stone in his hand, and enquired what he meant to do with it. ( I am just waiting/ he answered, ' till all the Brahmins go away, that I may have a good throw at that dog upon the wall.' " At last> after, having been instrumental in reducing the district of Canara to order, Major Munro's desire to leave it was fulfilled, and the next seven years were spent in doing the same good service in the Ceded Districts. In the first SIR THOMAS MUNRO. 9 year of the present century, the Nizam, being unable to fulfil his engagements with the English Government, ceded to it the tract of country now representing the districts of Bellary, Anantapore, Cuddapah, Kurnool, and the Pal- nad. He was appointed Principal Collector of the Ceded Districts with four Collectors under him, he himself retain- ing the southern part of Bellary or Anantapore. The country over which he was now called upon to rule is the very reverse of Canara. It is an arid, rocky, and almost treeless tract. The culturable soil is chiefly black cotton. It is very fertile in the parts immediately under tanks and other artificial means of irrigation ; but the greater part of it is dry and hilly. It was at that time studded with hill forts, some of considerable strength. It had for genera- tions been the battle-field between Mussulman and Hindu ; and it was then overrun by several petty poligars, who had set the Nizam's Government at defiance, and what revenue there was had been collected by plundering and violence. The following pithy sentences give a clear de- scription of the rule which was about to be displaced : il The ten years of Mogul Government in Cuddapah has been almost as destructive as so many years of war; and this last year, a mutinous, unpaid army was turned loose during the sowing season, to collect their pay from the villages. They drove off and sold the cattle, extorted money by torture from every man who fell into their hands, and plundered the houses and shops of those who fled ; by which means the usual cultivation has been greatly diminished." A drought had, moreover, recently occurred. Altogether, the Ceded Districts were in a truly pitiable condition. Major Munro set about the work of ameliora- tion with characteristic vigour. He reduced the power and curbed the license of the poligars and minor rajahs. He introduced law and order in a distracted country. He constantly moved about in tents. Wherever he went, he mixed with the people unattended and unarmed. He thus inspired confidence. The country became peaceable and the people contented. The revenue was collected 10 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. easily, and, when t( the Colonel Doragaru," as the ryots generally called him, left on a well-merited furlough to England, his administration of the Ceded Districts received the cordial approbation of Government. Colonel Munro had now rendered twenty-seven years of continuous service in India, and he felt that it was time to return for a season to his native land. His pleasure in revisiting the haunts of his youth in Scotland were clouded by missing his mother, who had died the year before, and by observing the sad infirmities which old age had brought upon his father. He was six years at home, most of his time being spent in Loudon, where be was of service in giving evidence before the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Indian Affairs which was then sitting. The expiration of the Charter of the East India Company was drawing near, and Parliament was making a careful in- vestigation into the whole subject of Indian administration. Colonel Munro's evidence was much valued, and his opin- ions carried great weight. The impression left upon the authorities was so favourable that he was appointed the head of a Commission to inquire into the administration of justice in the Presidency of Madras. Accordingly, Colonel Munro once more returned to India, arriving at Madras on September 16, 18] 4. He did not return alone. A few weeks before his departure, he mar- ried Miss Jane Campbell, the daughter of a Scotch gentle- man of property, a lady of sweet and pleasing disposition and manner, who, for many years, was much beloved by the inhabitants of Madras. The first few months of Colonel Munro's second sojourn in India were chiefly spent in col- lecting evidence on the subject of his mission. His only colleague was Mr. Stratton, one of the Judges of the Sudder Adawlut. The principal defects in the system then pre- vailing were the sharp distinction between the revenue and the judicial departments, the Collectors having no magis- terial powers, while the Judges had no revenue experience, and were never really brought into contact with the people ; and the entire exclusion of qualified Hindus or Muham- SIB THOMAS MUNRO. 11 madans from positions of dignity and trust. The Com- mission suggested certain alterations and reforms in the principles and modes of procedure, that were embodied in the Madras Code of Regulations, which were in use for many years until most of them were superseded by the Penal and Civil Codes now universally employed in the English territories in India. Colonel Munro met with considerable opposition in this matter, particularly from those in authority, who, almost to a man, were too much, attached to the existing system to abandon it readily. This uphill work was interrupted by the Mahratta war of 1817-18. As the armies to be employed in this campaign were being prepared for service, Colonel Munro, with all his military predilections returning in full force, requested that he might be permitted to join the army, and be entrusted with a com- mand. There was some hesitation at first in complying with his request; but, at length, he was appointed, in both a civil and a military capacity, to bring into subjection Dharwar and other districts bordering on the Madras Presidency, which had recently been ceded by the Peshwa. Leaving his family at Bangalore, he quickly proceeded to the scene of his new duties. He had the satisfaction, with a most inadequate force, to defend the Madras Presidency from invasion, and to perform the difficult task of inducing the people not only to withhold payment of their rents, to their former rulers, but to repel the attacks of the Mahrattas. The events of this brief, but spirited, campaign, by which Colonel Munro most materially assisted the greater operations of the grand army, are thus described by his old friend, Sir John Malcolm : — u Insulated in an enemy's country, with no military means whatever, he forms the plan of subdu- ing the country, expelling the army by which it is occu- pied, and collecting the revenues that are due to the enemy, through the means of the inhabitants themselves, aided and supported by a few irregular infantry, whom he invites from the neighbouring provinces for that purpose. His plan, which is at once simple and great, is successful to a degree, that a mind like his could alone have anticipated. 12 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. The country comes into his hands by the most legitimate of all modes, the zealous efforts of the natives to place them- selves under his rule ; and to enjoy the benefits of a Govern- ment, which, when administered by a man like him, is one of the best in the world." The Canarese ryots of this southern Mahratta territory had heard of his fame from their fellow-countrymen in Bellary ; and therefore, to use the words of Canning, "the population which he subjugated by arms, he managed with such address, equity, and wisdom, that he established an empire over their hearts and feelings." Wearied and worn, enfeebled in health by the exertions of this trying campaign, which had told even on his her- culean frame, General Munro, accompanied by his wife, returned to England at the conclusion of the war. They started in January 1819 ; but they had not been there long, when he was appointed Governor of the Presidency in which he had spent so many years of hard and unremitting toil. They landed again at Madras June 8, 1820, and he held the high position to which he had been so deservedly advanced until the day of his death just seven years after- wards. A full account of his beneficent rule cannot be given here ; but a very good impression will be gained of the manner in which he performed the important duties confided to his charge, if a brief account is given of his daily life as Governor, of the principles that actuated his measures, and of the personal contact that he managed to maintain with the people at large. Throughout every duty, he endeavoured to act on his own maxim that "the superintending influence of a Governor should be felt in every corner of his province." He was now Sir Thomas Munro, having, before he left England, been created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. The mode in which Sir Thomas Munro arranged his daily work will prove the extreme conscientiousness with which he endeavoured to dischange his high duties as Governor ; and a comparison of the following state- ment with the account of his work some twenty years SIR THOMAS MUNEO. 13 before will show that he worked as hard when he was Governor, as he did when he was only a Collector. Of course some little variation would be made in the daily- round, according as to whether he was at Madras or in camp during one of his frequent up-country tours. He rose at day-break, and took a ride or walk for two or three hours. On certain mornings he walked in one well-known direction, and was ready to listen to any one who might wish to speak to him. On these occasions he was unattend- ed, except, perhaps, by a peon or some old revenue servant. The people nocked to meet him, and he personally received their petitions, and promised to attend to them himself. Breakfast was at eight, and after it he had interviews with such European officers as might wish to consult him. At half past nine he withdrew to his study, where he re- mained immersed in business till four, which was his din- ner hour. On certain days he had to attend the public business in the Council Chamber. After dinner he took a drive with Lady Munro, and then returned to transact more business until eight, when he joined the family circle, and, except when there was company, an aid-de-camp or some other person whom he might request read aloud. He was particularly fond of hearing the debates in the British Parliament, which he liked to follow, or a novel of Sir Walter Scott, an author who always delighted him. We shall now state briefly some of the principles on which he conducted his government, as they will serve to show how great was the anxiety he felt for the people com- mitted to his charge. He was most desirous of employ- ing Hindus and Muhammadans in all appointments where their services could be available. He prepared a scheme for the instruction of such and training them for the pub- lic service. He was also anxious that all employed in that service should be adequately remunerated, and re- ceive a sufficient pension when incapacitated by sickness or old age. He was very strong on the point of not permitting them to hold land in the districts where they were serv- ing, so that the temptation of being privy to the sale of 14 ANGLO-INDIAN WOETHIES. land which they wished to purchase might be entirely re- moved. He was very desirous that the junior civilians should always begin their service in the revenue depart- ment, in order that they might be brought into closer con- tact with the people, and acquire an affection for them by becoming acquainted with the affairs of their daily life. For the same reason he always spoke strongly on the necessity of their acquiring a thorough knowledge of the Vernacular languages. After he had been some four or five years occupied as Governor, the climate and the strain of continuous labour began to tell upon Sir Thomas Munro. " I am like an over-worked horse and require a little rest" he wrote. He had, of late, experienced much happiness in his domestic life. Two sons had been born to him, Lady Munro and he had, however, been obliged to undergo the trial which is sure to come on all Anglo-Indians in having to part with their children for a season, and latterly he had to bear the additional trial of parting from Lady Munro on account of ill-health. Twice he sent in his resignation, which the authorities in England were loath to accept. On the first occasion he remained in office because the first Burmese War had broken out, in which the army of Madras took its full share, and the experience of the Governor of Madras was needed to render assistance to the Government of India. The second time his resignation was proffered, it was accepted ; but an unwarrantable delay was made in appointing his successor. In order to make himself fully acquainted with every part of his province, Sir Thomas Munro made lengthened tours up-country. He enjoyed none of these tours so much as those through his old charges — the Baramahal and the Ceded Districts. The end came when he was in camp, travelling through the latter. He had started at the end of May 1827, and had reached Gooty on July 4. There was a good deal of cholera, but he had seen much of it, and showed no apprehension of danger now. The camp, however, was attacked, and several sepoys be- SIR THOMAS MUNRO. 15 longing to the Governor's guard died. On the morning of the 6th Sir Thomas Munro started for a ten miles' march in excellent spirits and apparently in good health. On the way he conversed freely with some of the ryots whom he met, warmly expressing his pleasure at hearing of the recent improvement reported in their crops. Soon after reaching the village of Pattikonda he adjourned to the audience tent ; but, while in the very midst of transacting business with the Collector, he was suddenly taken ill. At first no apprehension was felt ; but he rapidly sank. During his illness, he showed his usual consideration for others, and requested the friends who had gathered in his tent to leave it, remarking, " It is not fair to keep you in an infected chamber." About three o'clock he felt a little better, and, with a sweet smile, said to those around, " It is almost worthwhile being ill, in order to be so kindly nursed.'' This improvement was only transient, and at half-past nine he fell asleep. He was buried at Gooty next day in the little cemetery beneath the rugged hill fortress. Thus, in the midst of the work in which he pre-eminent- ly excelled, in the old district where he had spent so many happy and useful days, " the father of the people," as he had affectionately been called, died among his people. Perhaps, there was no one of our Anglo-Indian statesmen who more thoroughly identified himself with the people of India, and especially with the ryots, than Sir Thomas Munro. No one more fully felt with them and for them. He was also thoroughly imbued with the idea of duty. Self-interest seemed never to step before duty. The aim of his life was to advance the good of the Hindus themselves, which he regard- ed as so thoroughly identified with the interests of the Eng- lish in India that they could not be separated. He was open and honest as the day. Whether writing the description of a battle as a subaltern or an elaborate minute as a Governor, he simply stated facts as they were without exaggeration or embellishment. He appeared to some to be rather hard and stern ; but this impression may have been made by the infirmity of deafness, with which he was afflicted in early 16 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. life, and which troubled him even to the last. This possi- bly gave him an abstracted, and apparently haughty manner. It is stated by his biographer that he was a truly religious man, that he never permitted a day to pass without setting aside some portion of it for devotional exercises, and that be was a diligent student of Scripture. To none are the inhabitants of Southern India more deeply indebted than to Sir Thomas Munro, to whom more than to any one else can appropriately be awarded the honourable designation, " the friend of the Indian ryot." SIR JOHN MALCOL1I. SIE JOHN MALCOLM: THE UBIQUITOUS DIPLOMATIST. " JEquam memento rebus in arduis Servare mentem." — Horace. " Remember to keep an evenly balanced mind in the midst of difficul- ties." The distinguished diplomatist, Sir John Malcolm, is a good example of a high-spirited, but thoughtless youth, who afterwards attained, by his own ability and exertion, a very eminent position. Born of parents in reduced cir- cumstances in a farm house on the banks of the Esk in Scotland on May 2, 1769, he received a cadetship, while still quite a lad, and landed at Madras in April, 1783. He was, in fact, only fourteen years of age when he commenced his military career. He long retained his youthful appear- ance, and, when sent on his first separate command, as officer in charge of a detachment of British soldiers, to escort some prisoners who had been exchanged on their way to the frontier of the English territory during the war with Tippoo Sahib, he was met by Major Dallas who was escorting them through the dominion of Tippoo. The Major, as he drew near, seeing a bright, rosy youth, riding a rough pony, asked him where was the commanding officer. " I am the commanding officer," replied young Malcolm, rising in his saddle, much to his companion's amusement. Still better, he retained his youthful elasticity of spirits and joyousness of manner, which served to cheer and uphold him in times of anxiety and in hours of polit- ical perplexity and embarrassment. The first years of his Indian life were spent in the ordi- nary routine of military service. He was idle and extra- vagant. He got into debt ; but, feeling repentant and ashamed, he stinted and starved himself rather than incur 20 ANGLO-INDIAN WOETHIES. additional liabilities. He then set to work in real earnest to overcome the deficiencies in his early education, and he soon mastered Hindustani and Persian, which afterwards proved most useful in obtaining promotion. He also diligently appli- ed himself to the study of Indian history, and especially of the principles on which the government of the English empire in India had been founded, and in which he subse- quently proved a consummate master. The first appoint- ment for which he applied was given to another. He was just half-an-hour too late. He was so vexed at this that, on his return to his tent, he threw himself on his cot and burst into tears. The* successful officer was murdered on his first appearance at the Court to which he had been appointed ; and Mr. Malcolm, who often mentioned the circumstance in after years, regarded it as the Providential ruling of One who had reserved him for greater things. His first appointment was Persian interpreter to the de- tachment serving with the Nizam's troops before Seringa- patam in 1792 ; but ill-health soon compelled him to return to Europe, and thus the first portion of his Indian career came to a premature close. In the cold season of 1795 Mr. Malcolm returned to Madras, and was appointed Military Secretary to the Commander-in- Chief. In 1797 Lord Mornington, afterwards the Marquis Wellesley, the great Governor-General, stayed for a time at Madras on his way to Calcutta, and Captain Malcolm was introduced to him. Pleased with some reports on the rela- tions between the English Government and the Indian States, which Captain Malcolm had presented to him, the Governor-General gave him the appointment of assistant to the Eesident at the Nizam's Court at Hyderabad. This was a critical period in the history of British India. War with Tippoo Sahib was imminent. The conduct of the Nizam in the approaching conflict was all-important, and it was well-known that the French had then obtained a commanding influence at his Court. French officers of dis- tinction were in command of several battalions of his troops, and had brought them into a state of admirable SIR JOHN MALCOLM. 21 efficiency and discipline. They were drilled under the colours of Republican France and the cap of liberty. Revolutionary France was to help the thorough tyrant Tippoo in his designs against the English. The Government of India determined to put an end to this state of affairs by one bold stroke. English battalions were at hand, and the Resident, with the consent of the Nizam, was preparing to use them for this purpose. Just at the opportune moment, however, some of the French sepoys mutinied, and a riot being expected, Captain Malcolm was sent to quell the tumult. The mutinous sepoys were about to treat him in the way in which they were treating their own officers, when some of them who had once served in his own regi- ment, and remembered sundry kindnesses received at his hands, recognized him, and, lifting him on their heads, bore him to a place of safety. The French corps were after- wards disbanded without a conflict, and Captain Malcolm was despatched to present their colours as a trophy to the G-overnor- General. Still more stirring events were rapidly approaching. The final war with Tippoo soon followed. The French troops being out of the way, the Nizam threw in his lot with the English, and became one of their most devoted allies. A contingent was sent from Hyderabad, and Captain Malcolm was appointed to accompany it as political officer. The British subsidiary force, composed entirely of sepoys, march- ed with the Nizam's contingent ; and it was considered advisable to add to this force a European regiment. The regiment selected was the Thirty-third, commanded by Colonel Arthur Wellesley, afterwards the celebrated Duke of Wellington, between whom and Captain Malcolm a firm and lasting intimacy was then begun. The siege and capture of Seringapatam followed in rapid succession. The death of Tippoo during that memorable siege, left the coun- try of Mysore at the mercy of the conquerors. The parti- tion and settlement of the country were arranged by a Commission consisting of a few distinguished officers, the two friends Captain Malcolm and Captain Munro, acting 22 ANGLO-INDIAN WOETHIES. jointly as Secretaries to the Commission. Two carefully prepared treaties were the result of its labours. Captain Malcolm's next employment was an embassy to the Court of Persia. The principal object of this mission was to enlist the sympathies and the policy of the Shah of Persia in favour of England, and in opposition to the in- trigues of the French at his Court. He succeeded in estab- lishing most amicable relations between the Indian Govern- ment and the Shah, and he left behind him a most favour- able impression of the nation which he represented, he himself being in the eyes of the Persians,' a veritable " Kustam," or hero, on account of his attractive manner, noble appearance, and conciliatory but resolute demeanour. The Governor-General, fully approving of the manner in which Captain Malcolm had conducted these negotiations, summoned him to Calcutta for conference on his return to India. For a time he acted as the Governor-General' s Private Secretary, and so ingratiated himself into his confi- dence that, to use Sir J. W. Kaye's words, " whenever any difficulty arose, it occurred to Lord Wellesley at once to send Malcolm to set it right." However this might have been, it is the fact that, during the next few years, Captain Malcolm travelled much, and seemed to be doing service everywhere. At one time he was sent to Madras to settle certain delicate personal matters among the high officials there ; he then hastened to Bombay to conduct pacific nego- tiations with the Shah of Persia in consequence of the Persian Ambassador having been shot during an affray ; soon he was at Madras again in order to take up his new appointment as Eesident of Mysore ; he then posted to the camp of the Commander-in-Chief of Madras at Hurryhur, war having meanwhile been proclaimed against the Mahrattas ; thence he pushed on to the headquarters of his friend, General Wellesley, and he rendered good service in assisting to place the Peshwa, Baji Bow on the throne at Poona. Just at this juncture ill-health compelled him to proceed for change to Bombay, causing him, to his great chagrin, to miss the decisive victory of Assay e. SIR JOHN MALCOLM. Z6 He was not long absent, however, but was soon back again in camp, helping to cheer and enliven his brother-officers by his happy flow of spirits. He had a joke for every one, whether European, Mussulman, or Hindu; and it is said that no one left his society without a smile upon his face. Early in the year 1804, Captain Malcolm was busy negoti- ating the treaty with Scindia. Even in the midst of the anxiety incident to this duty, his unfailing spirits buoyed him up, even though he was still struggling against ill- health. On one occasion, at a durbar, which was being conducted with the utmost formality and decorum, a thunder-storm burst over the durbar tent, and rain and hail fell in torrents, drenching one of the British officers, which made the young Maharajah laugh heartily, and the durbar broke up amid general hilarity and a scramble for hail-stones, which created such amusement that both sides parted in high good humour, cordially delighting in the prospect of the restoration of peace. It was, however, a time of the heaviest anxiety to Major Malcolm. The negotiation of the treaty of peace with the Maharajah Scindia devolved entirely on him. He was completely cut off from communication with the Governor- General, and was thus thrown on his own resources. But Major Malcolm was a confident and self-reliant man. His idea of duty, like that of every true man, was that " a man who flies from responsibility in public affairs is like a soldier who quits the rank in action." The treaties which he then prepared did not at first meet with the full ap- probation of the Governor-General ; but Major Malcolm afterwards had the satisfaction not only of learning that Lord Wellesley fully approved of these treaties, but that he complimented him on the manner in which they had been conducted. Soon afterwards, however, a sharp conflict of opinion ensued between the Governor-General and himself regarding the disposal of the strong fortress of Gwalior, which Major Malcolm maintained ought to be delivered up to Scindia, contrary to the Governor-General's opinion. Whether he was right or wrong regarding this 24 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. subject, he was courageous enough to give his own opinion very clearly to the one on whom all his hopes of promotion depended; and the correspondence elicited from him the following noble sentiment that states the true principle on which the stability of the English Empire in India securely rests. Nothing could shake his convictions, he wrote, " first, because there is some room for doubt on the subject, and if we determine a case of a disputable nature in our favour because we have power, we shall give a blow to our faith that will, in my opinion, be more injurious to our interests than the loss of fifty provinces. What has taken us through this last war with such unexampled success ? First, no doubt, the gallantry of our armies ; but secondly — and hardly secondly — our reputation for good faith. These people do not understand the laws of nations, and it is im- possible to make them comprehend a thousand refinements which are understood and practised in Europe. They will never be reconciled to the idea that a treaty should be negotiated upon one principle and fulfilled on another." Eventually, Gwalior and the territory of Grohud were trans- ferred to Scindia. Irritated as this controversy rendered Lord Wellesley, his kindliness towards Colonel Malcolm was not abated, and he subsequently wrote to him, " although these discussions have given me great pain, they have not in any degree impaired my friendship and regard for you, or my general confidence and esteem." The next three or four years of Colonel Malcolm's career were full of further incident and life. Recent events had told upon his health, and he was compelled to seek refresh- ment in a visit to the east coast, and he went to Vizaga- patam and Ganjam ; his health being somewhat restored, he proceeded to Mysore to resume his appointment as Resident. He had scarcely settled down with the intention of preparing his History of Persia, for which he had collect- ed the materials while on the embassy to that country, than he was again summoned to Calcutta for further conference with Lord Wellesley on affairs connected with the Mahratta campaign ; and he was, as the result of this interview, sent SIR JOHN MALCOLM. 25 to join the camp of Lord Lake, then opposed to Holkar, who had fled into the Punjab. He accompanied the army thither. He negotiated at this time the final treaty with Scindia, and, peace having been restored, he returned once more to the position he had all along held in name, the Eesidency of Mysore. Not long after his return, Colonel Malcolm's life was sweetened by marriage. On July 4, 1807, he was united to Charlotte, the daughter of Colonel Alexander Campbell, afterwards Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army. To this amiable lady he was devotedly attached, and they lived together for many years in happy and affectionate companionship. This event did not, however, add to the tranquillity of Colonel Malcolm's life, though it did to his happiness. He was still to be employed actively in the service of the state. But the events of the next five years need not be followed even cursorily, as they were connect- ed with a second embassy to Persia, the object of which was only indirectly concerned with the history and the politics of India. Notwithstanding various intrigues against him, he was finally successful in the negotiations con- fided to his charge by the Governor-General, Lord Minto. Between two visits to Persia, he had been sent in an entire- ly different direction, that is to say, to Masulipatam, where he was commissioned to inquire into certain grievances of some of the officers of the Madras Army. In the year 1812 General and Mrs. Malcolm returned to England. Leaving his family near London, he went, for a time, to Scotland, where he revisited the haunts of his child- hood in Dumfries-shire. It was the source of great grief to him that his parents had died during his absence, and he solaced himself by hearing them praised. "Visited," he wrote in his journal, " visited the graves of my parents, and heard the noblest praise of them from the aged, the infirm, and the poor that they had aided and supported ; to whom the aid and support of the family are still given." General Malcolm was absent from India on this occasion four years. The principal events of this period were the honour of 26 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. Knighthood and the bestowal of the Knight Companionship of the Order of the Bath, so that he will henceforward be called Sir John Malcolm, and the publication of his History of Persia, which was most favourably received by the literary world. Sir John Malcolm, leaving his wife and children behind, returned to India in the year 1816, and reached Madras, March 17, 1817. He found himself at once in the very midst of the excitement of Indian politics and of the antici- pation of war. Armies from each Presidency were con- verging on the predatory force of the celebrated Pindari freebooter, Cheetoo ; and at the same time, each of the great Mahratta states was on the eve of declaring war against the English Government. Sir John Malcolm was just the man required for the crisis. He thoroughly under- stood the Mahratta character; he knew the history, the politics, and the aspirations of each Mahratta court ; and he was personally acquainted with most of the Mahratta chiefs. Not long after his arrival at Madras, he received a letter from the Earl of Moira, afterwards the Marquis of Hastings, who was then G-overnor-G-eneral, inviting him to Calcutta for the purpose of hearing his counsel at that particular juncture. After a few weeks there, during which the Governor-General took him into his confidence, he returned to South India in a half political, half military capacity. As the Agent of the Governor- General he was empowered to enter into negotia- tions with the Mahratta chiefs, and as Brigadier-General, he was to accompany the advanced force. In the former capacity, he visited the several Residencies of Mysore, Hyderabad, Poona, and Nagpore. At Poona he took counsel with his friend Mr. Mountstuart Elphinstone, and he did his best to influence thePeshwa, whom lie knew well and with whom he had negotiated former treaties. If any man could have arrested Baji Row in his unwarrantable plans, it would have been Sir John Malcolm ; but that prince was too infatuated with his projects against the English Government to recede. As soon as war was de- SIE JOHN MALCOLM. 27 clared, Sir John Malcolm assumed command of one of the divisions of the grand army under the supreme command of Sir Thomas Hislop. The brunt of the battle of Mahid- porefell on his division, and he led it with singular courage and devotion, freely exposing himself to danger. But though he gallantly distinguished himself in action, he will be best remembered in India as an able civil administrator. When looking forward to the campaign, he had expressed the sanguine hope that the main object of the war was to give peace and prosperity to a miserable people and a wasted country. The principal negotiations with the de- feated sovereigns, Baji Row aud Holkar, were conducted by him, and a large portion of the conquered territories was placed under his administration. The next three years of his life were spent in the pacifi- cation and government of Malwa. This was thoroughly congenial work. He made himself accessible to all. High and low were made welcome to his presence. " I wish I had you here for a week," he wrote to one of his friends, " to show you my nawabs, rajahs, Bheel chiefs, potails, and ryots. My room is a thoroughfare from morning to night. No moonshees, dewans, dubashees, or even chobdars, but char darwdzah Tcolah (the four doors open), that the inhab- itants of these countries may learn what our principles are at the fountain-head. Of the result of my efforts I will not speak. Suffice it to say, that from the highest ruler to the lowest robber, from the palace in the city to the shed in the deepest recess of the mountain forest, your friend Malcolm Sahib is a welcome and familiar guest, and is as much pleas- ed with firing arrows and eating roots with the latter, as at the fine durbars and sumptuous feasts of the former." Of course, he had the usual attendants and assistants about him ; but, he wrote, " they step aside when any one, from a rajah to a ryot, pronounces my name, with the expression of a wish to see me either from a motive of respect, curi- osity, or business. No business, however urgent, no meal, however hungry I am, is allowed to prevent the instant access of any human being, however humble. He is heard 28 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. and answered, either at the moment or at an hour appointed by myself. First impressions are of too much importance to be hazarded by leaving applications to the common routine of moonshees, &c." This was bis own account of his labours. Another extract must be given from a letter of an officer on his staff. " Nobody that I ever saw or heard of can get over the same quantity of business in the same quantity of time that he does ; and bis reputation stands so very high with the people that his being personally concern- ed in any arrangements goes further in satisfying them than I believe would the interference of any other man upon earth. When we crossed the Nerbudda in 1817, the state of Malwa was scarcely to be described. It was a country without a government, a state without revenue, an army without pay ; consequently, a peasantry without protection from the villanies of the troops of their own sovereign, or the depredators who chose to plunder them. We now see around us a state, though at present reduced in respect of revenue, yet respectable ; and perhaps, the finest country in India again weariug the face of cheerful industry ; the in- habitants, assured of protection, returning to their villages, and looking forward with confidence to better times. This is Sir John Malcolm's work, and a most glorious work it has been. For whatever time his fame may last in Europe, Malcolm Sahib will be remembered in Malwa as long as regular government exists, of which he has again laid the foundation." He delighted in helping to civilize the wild hill race, the Bheels, many of whom inhabited Malwa. He was a great shikari, and there were plenty of tigers about. The tigers he shot : the Bheels he made his friends. For years afterwards his name was used as a charm by this primitive people, and the names of Malcolm and Malwa are inseparably united. In the year 1821 Sir John Malcolm quitted the work in which he was deeply interested, and set his face towards England, whither he returned through Egypt, which was not then the highway to India, and the continent of Europe, arriving in April, 1822. He was rejoiced once more to SIR JOHN MALCOLM. 29 join his wife and family. His was not the temperament, however, to settle down in his native land, and he was, after a time, eagerly anxious for farther employment. In 1827 he was appoiuted Governor of Bombay in succession to his friend Mr. Elphinstone. He served as Governor only three years ; but they were most uneventful. The times were happily tranquil ; there were few matters of urgent importance to occupy his attention ; and the only fact worthy of record was that he endeavoured to make himself as accessible to all who desired to see him while Governor as he had been when Commissioner of Malwa. " I have a public breakfast," he wrote, describing his daily routine as Governor, " on six days of the week, and one council day. Every one comes that likes. It is a social levee, without formality or distinction. I am down half an hour before breakfast, and stay as long after it. Every human being who desires it, from writer to judge, from cadet to general, has his turn at the Governor. At half- past ten I am in my own room, have no visitors, and am given up to business. I have four or five good riding horses, and leave the door every morning at a quarter to five, returning a little after seven, having always gone nine or ten miles, sometimes more. I drink no wine, and live very moderately. The business is considerable ; but it is always greatest at the commencement." It must be stated that he was not popular as a Governor, and, with the common perversity of human nature, having obtained the object of his ambition, he was anxious to leave it, and looked forward to a speedy return to England, where he hoped to serve India more effectually in the Imperial Parliament than in executive work in Bombay or elsewhere. Sir John Malcolm finally retired from the service in 1831, when he was sixty-two years of age, after forty-eight years spent in hard work for his country in India. He took a house on Wimbledon Common, seven miles from London, which was at a convenient distance, enabling him to go backwards and forwards with ease, being with his family and yet attending to his duties in the great city. Some 30 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. years before, the Duke of Wellington had advised him to go into Parliament, and now that he had retired from the Indian service, he followed this advice, hoping that it would open to him a fresh career in which he could serve his country. He entered Parliament as member for Laun- ceston in the county of Cornwall. Those were days of great political excitement, during which the Reform Bill was past. He belonged to the Tory party, which was then very unpopular ; and he did not distinguish himself in the House of Commons. He warmly opposed the Reform Bill, which was, however, past in the following year, and, among other places, Launceston was disfranchised, and he lost his seat. He did not enter Parliament again. He pur- chased a small estate in Berkshire, and amused himself by building a house after his own plans. He also busied him- self in literary pursuits. He was anxious to finish his Life of Lord Glive, and to begin a new work on the Government of India, in which he could give expression to his ideas of the principles that the experience of so many years had impressed upon him. The time for the renewal of the Charter of the East India Company was drawing near, and he took a great interest in the discussion regarding it. He made a long and fervent speech at the old India House in Leadenhall Street, moving the adoption of certain resolu- tions in favour of the East India Company accepting the governing power over this country without the commercial advantages and privileges which they had hitherto enjoyed. This was the last public utterance of one of the Company's most able servants. He was seized with influenza, a disease which that year was very prevalent in England. It weak- ened him much, but he persisted in' going to the India House to watch the course of the debate. In this weak- ened condition he was attacked by paralysis, and, after a few weeks of lingering illness, he died on May 30, 1833. We have thus briefly given an account of a very re- markable career. Frank, outspoken, honest, but rather boisterous and noisy, Sir John Malcolm was a good spe- cimen of those eminent men who created the great In- SIR JOHN MALCOLM. 31 dian Empire. He was equally genial and pleasant with Muhammadans and Hindus as he was with his fellow- countrymen ; but the grand lesson to be learned from his life is what every English statesman who has to deal with the politics of India should lay especially to heart, — namely, the superlative value of scrupulous good faith in every act and in every treaty. His writings, and especially his Polit- ical History of India, insist strongly and persistently on this point ; and they contain so many wise and sound maxims on the intercourse of Englishmen with the people of this land that a selection from them used invariably to be placed in the hands of every young civilian on his land- ing on the shores of India. There is no doubt as to the transparent honesty of Sir John Malcolm's own character. The Hindu and Muham- madan princes with whom he had to carry on negotiations felt that he was a man to be thoroughly trusted, and this was the secret of his success. They were perfectly aware that, while he himself said what he meant, he was not one who could be overreached. Nothing like chicanery or de- ceit could be attempted with him, because he was thoroughly acquainted with the Oriental character, and knew that the best way of meeting any attempt at underhand dealing was to oppose to it the straightforward and direct policy of an English statesman. He was not only respected by Hindu princes, but beloved by Hindu ryots and the people at large. He had a sympathy with them and a geniality towards them that attracted their affection. It is said that l< if a timely joke would answer his purpose better than a Government regulation, he made the joke and left the code on the shelf." By this happy temper he disarmed discon- tent and drew towards himself, and through himself to the British Government, the hearts of his people. In his domestic character Sir John Malcolm seems to have been most loveable. He was a very affectionate son and brother j the closer and tenderer relationship of hus- band and father was of the purest character ; and he was a firm and constant friend. His friendship with such men 32 ANGLO-INDIAN WOETHIES. as the Duke of Wellington, Elphinstone, Metcalfe, and Munro showed that his sterling qualities were appreciated by some of the first Indian statesmen of that time, while the confidence reposed in him by the Marquis Wellesley and the other Grovernors-Greneral under whom he served, shows that they thoroughly valued the faithful service and devotion which he had so freely rendered to his own nation and to his adopted country. On greater and higher matters he was, as so many of his countrymen are, too reticent. He was, however, most scrupulous with regard to his religious duties. He was very particular in his observance of the Christian Sabbath day, on which he always put aside his ordinary literary work, and generally employed himself in turning the Scrip- tures into verse. We think that a fitting close of this brief sketch will be an extract from his biography by Sir John William Kaye, who thus summarizes the Christian aspect of his character : — " He had derived in early youth, from religious parents, lessons of Christian doctrine and principles of Christian conduct, which, although it was not his wont to make parade of these things, he held in solemn remembrance throughout the whole of his career. He had ever the highest respect for the truths of the Christian Church ; and he lived in a state of incessant gratitude and thanksgiving to the benign Creator, whose good gifts had descended so copiously upon him. The sentiment of reverence was, indeed, as strong within him as that of love. He lived in charity with all men, and he walked humbly with his God." LORD METCALFE. LORD METCALFE: THE LIBERATOR OF THE INDIAN PRESS. " All that rulers can do is to merit dominion by promoting the happi- ness of those under them." Charles Theophilus Metcalfe was born at Calcutta on January 30, 1785. He was the second son of an officer in the Bengal Army, who, retiring early from the service, became a Director of the East India Company, a member of Parliament, and a baronet of the United Kingdom. Having thus the power to bestow what were then con- sidered very lucrative appointments, he sent his eldest son as a writer to China, and the subject of this memoir in the same capacity to Bengal. Charles Metcalfe was educated at Eton, where he was a studious boy, delighting more in his books than in athletic sports and games, and he attracted the attention and regard of Dr. Goodall, then master of the house in which he boarded, who subsequently became head-master and provost of that celebrated College. He left Eton at the early age of fifteen, and before he became sixteen he had sailed for India. Mr. Metcalfe landed at Calcutta on January 3, 1801. Lord Wellesley was at that time G-overnor-G-eneral. A short while previously, the Court of Directors had taken into serious consideration the carelessness and extravagance of their Civil Servants in India, and they had written a thoughtful despatch on the desecration of the Christian Sabbath day, the general disregard of religion, and the luxury of living in Bengal. " It is," they wrote with wise prescience, " on the qualities of our servants that the safety of the British possessions in India essentially depends — on their virtue, their intelligence, their laborious application, their vigilance, and their public spirit. We have seen, and do still with pleasure see, honourable examples of all these ; 36 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. we are anxious to preserve and increase such examples, and therefore cannot contemplate without alarm the ex- cessive growth of fashionable amusements and show, the tendency of which is to enervate the mind and impair its nobler qualities — to introduce a hurtful emulation in expense, to set up false standards of merit, and to beget an aversion to serious occupation." As one remedy of this evil, Lord Wellesley conceived the idea of establishing a College at Calcutta, through which all young civilians were to pass, and in which they were to study the languages and law of the country and the regulations of the Government, so as to render them better fitted for their future duties. Charles Metcalfe was the first student admitted into this new College. The young civilian applied himself diligently to his studies, but sorely against the grain. He was very home- sick, and before he had been a year in India, he wrote home, entreating his father to obtain him an appointment in some public office in London. Before he received his father's reply, encouraging him to persevere, he was in better spirits, having been appointed assistant to Colonel Collins, then Eesident at the Court of Dowlut Row Scindia at Oojein, and an old friend of his father's. The long palanquin journey from Calcutta in the cold season did him good, and restored the buoyancy of his spirits. He did not, however, remain long at Oojein. Colonel Collins and he did not get on well together, and he resigned his appoint- ment. By September of the same year he was back again in Calcutta. Soon after his return thither, Mr. Metcalfe was appoint- ed an assistant in the office of the Chief Secretary to Gov- ernment, and in the following April he received a similar appointment, but one which was really a stepping-stone to influence and power hereafter. He was made an assist- ant in the office of the Governor-General himself. It was the idea of Lord Wellesley that a certain number of the most promising young civilians should be trained under his own superintendence, and thus become familiar with his LORD METCALFE. 37 own views regarding Indian politics so that they might be prepared to carry them into effect when subsequently ap- pointed to high positions in various parts of the country. Being young, enthusiastic, and easily influenced, they be- came cordially attached to Lord Wellesley himself, and thorough believers in the wisdom of his policy and plans. It was the eve of the great Mahratta war. The armies of Colonel Arthur Wellesley and General Lake were approach- ing the territories of the reigning Mahratta sovereigns. The political events that led to this memorable war were drawing to an end ; and a careful training extending over a year and a half under the eye of the chief actor in these events was invaluable. When war was declared, Mr. Metcalfe, then scarcely nineteen years of age, was appointed Political Assistant to General Lake, the Com- mander-in-Chief, being, in fact, the representative of the Governor-General at the head-quarters of the army. The bluff old soldier in command was by no means pleased at the idea of the youthful civilian being sent into his camp, and regarded him more in the character of a hindrance and a spy than as a help. This feeling naturally extended to his officers, and it was made very plain that Mr. Metcalfe was looked upon as if he were out of his proper position. Evidently feeling this treatment, he quietly resolved to show that he was not deficient in soldierly qualities ; and when a breach was effected in the walls of the fortress of Deeg, to which the General had laid siege soon after he had arrived in the camp, he volunteered to accompany the storming party, and he was one of the first to enter the fort. This gallant conduct completely altered the opinion of the brave old General, who ever after called him his " little stormer." Mr. Metcalfe's duties at this time were to correspond with the native authorities, to enter into negotiation with the enemy, when practicable, and to communicate with the Government on all matters of importance. The chief enemy to whom General Lake was opposed, was Holkar, an active Mahratta chief who boasted of what he called " the empire 38 ANGLO-INDIAN WOETHIES. of his saddle." Mr. Metcalfe accompanied the frequent expe- ditions after him, and, when he was fairly brought to bay, conducted the negotiation with him in person. He was admit- ted into the Mahratta's durbar tent, and the account he gave of this interview is so graphic and picturesque that it deserves to be quoted. Holkar had fled before the British troops ini^o the Punjab, and the interview between the young English civilian and the Mahratta chief was held on the banks of the Sutlej. By the side of Holkar was Ameer Khan, a celebrated Pafchan mercenary, who had acquired the favour of both Scindia and Holkar, and who after- wards proved a most troublesome opponent to the British Government. " Ek-chushm-oo-doula's appearance, (the One-eyed, a nick- name for Holkar)," wrote Mr. Metcalfe to a friend, "is very grave, his countenance expressive, his manners and conversation easy. The same countenance, however, which was strongly expressive .of joy when I saw him, would look very black under the influence of rage or any dark passions. A little lap-dog was on his musnud — a strange play-fellow for Holkar. The jewels on his neck were invaluably rich. All his chiefs were present. Ameer Khan is a blackguard in his looks, and affected, on the occasion of my reception, to be particularly fierce by rubbing his coat over with gunpowder, and assuming in every way the air of a common soldier. But for his proximity to Holkar, he would have passed for one. I consider his behaviour to have been affectation. He had the impudence to ask from me my name, which must have been known to him ; and his conduct was so evidently designed to bring himself into notice that I felt gratification in disappointing the unknown impudent, and, answering plainly to his question,. I turned from him, and continued a good-humoured conversation with Holkar and Bhas Buskur." At the conclusion of peace, Mr. Metcalfe was appointed assistant to the Resident at Delhi. He had been there two years, when he was sent on a most important embassy to the Punjab. An uneasy feeling had arisen in the minds of LORD METCALFE. 39 those in authority at Calcutta with regard to French in- trigues in several Oriental Courts, and it was determined to despatch embassies to some of the potentates concerned with the object or! counteracting them. While Colonel Malcolm was commissioned to proceed for this purpose to Teheran and Mr. Mountstuart Elphinstone to Peshawar, Mr. Metcalfe was sent to the court of the Maharajah Runjeet Singh. The negotiations were protracted and tedious. He conducted his part of the proceedings with a singular combination of firmness, patience, and prudence. He en- deavoured to impress on the mind of the great ruler of the Punjab the advantage he would acquire by taking his part in frustrating the anticipated advance of the French through Persia and Afghanistan ; but Runjeet Singh was shrewd enough to perceive that the advantage would not be wholly on his side. He eventually consented, however, to enter into a treaty of general friendship and alliance with the English Government. After the conclusion of this treaty to the entire satisfac- tion of the Government, Lord Minto, who was then Gov- ernor-General, invited Mr. Metcalfe to Calcutta, and took him in his suite to Madras. After a brief stay at the Court of Scindia as Resident, Mr. Metcalfe was appointed Resident at Delhi, where, for some seven years and more, he did most excellent service to the state. At the early age of twenty-six, he had attained one of the highest and most influential positions in India. His duties were both political and administrative. He was brought into contact not only with the nominal Emperor of Delhi, but with the sovereigns of the adjoining states, and the extensive terri- tory around Delhi was under his management as the repre- sentative of the British Government. During the period of his administration the second great Mahratta war took place ; and, although he took no immediate part in it, he contributed materially to its success by the negotiations which he conducted with the neighbouring states, and by preserving tranquillity in the country over which he had direct control. His principal achievement during the war 40 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. was bringing to terms the Pathan freebooter Ameer Khan, of whom mention has already been made. As the main object of these sketches is to show the beneficial effect of British rule on the people themselves, an outline is given of the principles on which Mr. Metcalfe conducted the administration of the territory entrusted to his charge. There is no doubt that the prosperity of the country and the happiness of the people improved in a marked degree under his thoughtful administration. The revenue system was based on the village settlement. Agreements were made between the Government and the headmen or Zemindars of each village ; but the settlements were only for brief periods, and Mr. Metcalfe was anxious that they should be made for periods of longer duration. " Settlements should be made," he wrote, " for periods of ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, or a hundred years — the longer, perhaps, the better. At all events, the periods should be sufficiently long to admit of considerable profitbeing made by the cultivators from their own labour and enterprise. This is the very essence of the system." He then describes the advantage which these long settlements are calculated to bestow : — " In exchange for insecurity, it is in the power of Government to confer security. Instead of wealth law- lessly acquired by opposition to the Government, and hastily spent to avoid plunder, we may confer the power of acquiring solid, legitimate, and lasting wealth, which shall be cherished, applauded, and upheld by the Government, and which shall be a source of consequence in the eyes of the people, and of flattering distinction on the part of the rulers. Then, instead of dissatisfied and disaffected land- holders truly complaining that we have injured them by diminishing their consequence and their profits, we may expect to have landholders bound to us by the strongest ties of self-interest, and acknowledging, from irresistible conviction, the incomparable benefits of our rule." It is satisfactory to state that the system thus warmly advo- cated by Mr. Metcalfe contained the principles on which the entire settlement of the North- West Provinces was LORD METCALFE. 41 subsequently based. We think it well to quote the follow- ing noble sentiments, which, though immediately applica- ble to his opinions on the settlement of the land revenue, refer equally to the whole subject of British rule in India : — " There may be those who would argue that it is injudi- cious to establish a system which, by exciting a free and independent character, may possibly lead, at a future period, to dangerous consequences. But supposing the remote possibility of these evil consequences, that would not be a sufficient reason for withholding any advantage from our subjects; but how unworthy it would be of a liberal Government to give weight to such objections. The world is governed by an irresistible Power, which giveth and taketh away dominion ; and vain would be the impotent prudence of men against the operations of its almighty influence. All that rulers can do is to merit dominion by promoting the happiness of those under them. If we perform our duty in this respect, the gratitude of India and the admiration of the world will accompany our name throughout all ages, whatever may be the revolutions of f uturity ; but if we withhold blessings from our subjects from a selfish apprehension of possible danger at a remote period, we shall merit that reverse which time has possibly in store for us, and shall fall with the mingled hatred and contempt — the hisses and execration, of mankind." Side by side with these just and generous sentiments, we quote Mr. Metcalfe's opinion regarding another question which, in the present day, is much discussed, namely, the Abkari Tax. " A diminution in this branch of revenue," he said, " is not much to be regretted. There is no danger of a permanent or serious loss as long as people drink spirituous liquors ; and any decrease of revenue proceeding from a dimi- nution of consumption would be a cause of joy rather than of regret." He also strongly advocated the reconstruction of the Delhi Canal, showing how much he was impressed by the enormous benefits likely to be derived from well- considered schemes of irrigation. " It is supposed," he wrote, " that the produce of the canal would, in a very 42 ANGLO-INDIAN WOKTHIES. short time, repay the expense of bringing it into order; and it is certain that the restoration of this beneficial work would be productive of a great increase of revenue to Government, and a great increase of comfort, wealth, and health to the inhabitants of the territory and city of Delhi.' ' A final quotation regarding this period of his Indian service gives a summary of the benefits which he had helped to confer on the people during his administra- tion. " Capital punishment," he said, " was discouraged, and finally abolished. Swords and other implements of intestine warfare, to which the people were prone, were turned into ploughshares, nob figuratively alone, but lite- rally also ; villagers being made to give up their arms, which were returned to them in the shape of agricultural implements. Suttees were prohibited. The rights of Government were better maintained than in other pro- vinces, by not being subjected to the irreversible decisions of its judicial servants, with no certain laws for their guid- ance and control. The rights of the people were better preserved, by the maintenance of the village constitutions, and by avoiding those pernicious sales of lands for arrears of revenue, which, in other provinces, have tended so much to destroy the hereditary rights of the mass of the agricul- tural community." Notwithstanding the eminence of his position and the be- neficial nature of his employment, it appears from his letters at this time, that Mr. Metcalfe was in a very morbid and rather discontented frame of mind. Being of a most loving and affectionate disposition, he felt keenly the absence from his relatives and home, and this feeling tended to make him unsociable and depressed. Notwithstanding his own ideas regarding himself, his friends found him the reverse of what he called himself — " unsociable and morose." Courteous in manner, hospitable, and generous, he made the Residency at Delhi the centre of attraction to a host of friends. The place was endeared to him by many new friendships ; and, contrary to the feelings expressed when writing to England, he afterwards regarded his stay there LORD METCALFE. 43 with the happiest recollections. The time had now come for him to leave. He was summoned at the end of 1818, by Lord Hastings, then Governor-General, to occupy the position of Political Secretary to Government, and he at once proceeded to Calcutta to assume charge of this very important office. He did not relish the work, however, and he was glad after a few months to find himself free. He was appointed Resident at the Court of His Highness the Nizam at Hyderabad. This was a position quite after his own heart. The representative of the British Government at the Court of the Nizam was one of the most influential offices in India. The rank of the Nizam as one of the fore- most reigning sovereigns demanded that the greatest pru- dence and care should be exercised in all the relations of Government with him, and the administration of the exten- sive territory under his dominion was always a subject of the closest concern to the Government of India. Both polit- ical and domestic considerations required that relations with the Nizam should be cordial and friendly, while at the same time, the keenest vigilance should be exercised. Mr. Metcalfe left Calcutta in the second week of November, 1820, and was received by the Nizam in state on the 25th of that month. He found the internal administration of the country in the most distracted condition. The Government had been involved in pecuniary transactions to such an extent that the finances were reduced to the lowest ebb. This led to oppression and injustice in the collection of the revenue, and the very first subject to which he was obliged to direct his attention was the lessening of the burden cast upon the shoulders of the people. As a remedy for this over- taxation, he divided the country into certain portions, and commissioned his own assistants and some of the most trustworthy of the Nizam's officials to travel about, for the purpose of regulating and checking the collection of the revenue. He was very careful lest this policy should be regarded as having the slightest tendency towards the introduction of British rule. It was entirely in the interests of the Nizam himself. " These officers should 44 ANGLO-INDIAN WOETHIES. take no part," lie wrote, " in the collection of the revenues, nor in the general administration of the country. They should not have any peculiar official designation founded on their duties, lest it should be considered as a partial intro- duction of our rule ; and if, at any time, there should be a reasonable ground of hope that a district could be managed safely without such a check, I should think it a duty to withdraw the officer from that district, though I have no expectation, I confess, that such is likely to be the case. This appears to me to be the only way of preserving the Nizam's Government in all its parts entire, with the addi- tion of the check of European integrity, which can at any time be removed without damaging any other part of the edifice, if at any time it can be dispensed with. If the Nizam's officers were allowed to go on without some such check, it would soon end, I think, in our being com- pelled to take the country entirely into our own hands." The principal subject, however, that characterized Mr. Metcalfe's official career at Hyderabad was the determined effort he made to relieve the Nizam from debt. The money had been chiefly lent at exorbitant interest by an English firm of bankers and merchants connected with both Cal- cutta and Hyderabad, the members of which were in good position in society, and acquainted with the highest officials as well as with himself. The conflict on this subject was long and bitter. It occasioned him much anxiety, and brought upon him much obloquy. For a season it created a breach in the friendship between the Governor-General and himself. It is not necessary to enter into details, and it is sufficient to state that the loans made to the Nizam's Government had tended to invest with political influence persons who had no official authority. The evil was eventually suppressed ; but the controversy not only weighed heavily on Mr. Metcalfe's mind, but affected his health. It was so distasteful to him in every way that nothing would have induced him to undertake it except a strong sense of duty, which was always paramount with him. Notwithstanding this unpleasant official controversy, LORD METCALFE. 45 he seems to have thoroughly enjoyed his position and sur- roundings at Hyderabad ; and when he was summoned to perform fresh duties for the State elsewhere, he was as reluctant to leave Hyderabad as he had been to quit Delhi. While Resident there, he inherited the title of baronet. His father had died in the year 1814, and his elder brother had also died leaving only one daughter, so that the title descended to him as the second son, and he was henceforward known as Sir Charles Metcalfe. Duties similar to those he had formerly performed were now before him. He had been, succeeded at Delhi by his old friend Sir David Ochterlony. That most gallant officer had, in the opinion of the Government, acted in certain negotiations, with precipitancy and want of caution, which had brought on a war with the Rajah of Bhurtpore ;and Sir Charles Metcalfe was re-appointed to his old post as Resi- dent of Delhi. Preparations were at the time being made for the siege of the strong fortress of Bhurtpore, which, in General Lake's campaign some twenty years before, had successfully resisted an assault of the English army, and which was now very naturally regarded by the people as impregnable. Lord Combermere, the Commander-in-Chief, commanded the army destined for this service, and, Decem- ber 6th, 1825, Sir Charles joined his camp. The old mili- tary ardour was unextinguished, and, diplomacy having failed, he was one of those who entered the fort with the victorious army. This famous fortress fell on January 18, 1826, and the idea of any stronghold being impregnable by British arms was thoroughly exploded. Sir Charles Met- calfe had afterwards the pleasure of placing on the throne the young Rajah whose uncle had been unlawfully defend- ing Bhurtpore. In the following year Sir Charles Metcalfe obtained a seat in the Council at Calcutta ; and there he became a great friend of Lord William Bentinck, who succeeded Lord Amherst as Governor-General. Indeed, so highly did he estimate his services that, when the time of his tenure of office in the Supreme Council was drawing to an end, he 46 ANGLO-INDIAN WOETHIES. wrote to the President of the Board of Control requesting that the usual term, which was five years, might be ex- tended. " Sir Charles Metcalfe," he said, " will be a great loss to me. He quite ranks with Sir Thomas Munro, Sir John Malcolm, and Mr. Elphinstone." According to this urgent request, Sir Charles's time in Council was prolonged, . and soon afterwards he was appointed Governor of a new Presidency with the head-quarters at Agra, which was subsequently changed into a Lieutenant-Governorship of the North-West Provinces. He had scarcely assumed charge of his Government, when he received the intelligence that Lord William Bentinck was obliged, owing to ill-health, to return to England, and he was summoned to Calcutta to undertake the Government of India during the interval that must elapse before the arrival of another Governor- General. Sir Charles Metcalfe was Provisional Governor-General for nearly two years. His tenure of this high office was rendered memorable by the passing of an Act giving free- dom to the Press in India. This event caused considerable controversy at the time, and it did not meet with the ap- proval of the Court of Directors ; but it remained uncancel- led, and, under it, the Indian Press has since been allowed perfect liberty, except in times of strong political excitement and danger. It would be out of place to discuss in this brief memoir the wide question of the propriety of the policy by which the Press was emancipated, and it will suffice if we quote some of the sentiments that actuated Sir Charles Metcalfe in coming to this decision, as they clearly indicate the affection he bore to the people of India, and his great desire for their highest welfare. Referring to those who regarded the liberty of the Press with doubt, he wrote : — " If their argument be that the spread of knowledge may eventually be fatal to our rule in India, I close with them on that point, and maintain that, whatever may be the consequence, it is our duty to communicate the benefits of knowledge. If India could be preserved as a part of the British Empire only by keeping its inhabitants LOED METCALFE. 47 in a state of ignorance, our domination would be a curse to the country, and ought to cease. But I see more ground for just apprehension in ignorance itself. I look to the increase of knowledge with a hope that it may strengthen our Empire ; that it may remove prejudices, soften asperities, and substitute a rational conviction of the benefits of our Government; that it may unite the people and their rulers in sympathy, and that the differences which separate them may be gradually lessened, and ultimately annihilated. Whatever, however, be the will of Almighty Providence respecting the future Government of India, it is clearly our duty as long as the charge be confided to our hands, to execute the trust to the best of our ability for the good of the people." In March 1836, Lord Auckland, who had meanwhile been appointed Governor- General, assumed charge of the Government at Calcutta; and Sir Charles Metcalfe returned to the North- West Provinces, not as Governor, as had origi- nally been proposed, but as Lieutenant-Governor. He did this in the discharge of what he considered a public duty; but, as he was under the impression that he had lost the confidence of the Court of Directors, he did not remain there long, and in February 1838, he returned to his native land after an unbroken service of 37 years, most of which were spent in some of the most influential positions in the state. Sir Charles Metcalfe naturally looked forward to a period of refreshment and repose. His services were, however, required elsewhere. The patience and tact which he had exhibited in the East were to be utilized in the West. He was first sent by the Government of the Queen to the West Indies as Governor of Jamaica, where strong race animosi- ties had arisen between the coloured and the white popula- tion ; and he was subsequently appointed Governor-General of Canada, in which Colony party faction ran high, and in- cipient disaffection to the mother country had appeared. The only circumstance connected with Sir Charles Metcalfe's services out of India that requires to be mentioned here is the personal one that, during these years of political 48 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. anxiety and arduous labour, he was suffering from a fatal disease. Before leaving Calcutta, symptoms of cancer in the cheek had been developed, and it is most touching to read how patiently he bore this terrible malady, which at last affected both his eyesight and his speech ; but he accepted these high offices from an irresistible sense of duty, and he remained at his post, faithful even to the last, so long as it seemed that duty to his sovereign required him to stay. The Colonial Minister, writing to him near the close of his Government in Canada, said, " The Queen is aware that your devotion to her service has led you, amidst physical suffering beneath which ordinary men would have given way to remain at your post till the last possible moment ; and she highly estimates this proof of your public-spirit." To mark her appreciation of his services, she created him a peer of the realm. Lord Metcalfe returned to England only to die. A small estate had been purchased for him near Basingstoke in Hampshire. His last months were spent there in the society of one of his sisters. Quietly and courageously, with tirm faith and trust in God, he looked forward to the end of his earthly life. His death was singularly beauti- ful and sweet. Reticent and reserved, as many true Chris- tians are, on the most cherished feelings of the heart, his faith shone out clearly at the close of his career. He had a firm hold on the great central doctrine of the Gospel — atonement by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. " He had long known the way'' of salvation, wrote his biographer, " and if, as the grave opened to receive him, he was some- times cheered by the thought of the hungry whom he had fed ; the naked whom he had clothed, and the houseless whom he had sheltered, he did not, on that account, lean for support on his own merits," but on those of Christ. Blinded by his malady, he was unable to read the sacred Scriptures, but his sister daily read aloud passages con- taining the assurance of forgiveness to all believers, and solaced him by playing on the harp, in which he delighted. LORD METCALFE. 49 The last sounds that reached him were these harmonious strains, and the last words he was heard to whisper were, " How sweet those sounds are!" Soon after he peacefully sank to rest with a calm smile on his long tortured and dis- figured face. Thus gently fell asleep one of the brightest ornaments of the Indiau Civil Service. Trained under a great ruler, the Marquis Wellesley, in what he himself called " the school of virtue, integrity, and honour/' he early manifested a singular aptitude for governing men. He was peculiarly distinguished for devotion to duty, fearlessness of conduct, honesty of purpose. His chief failing was an over-sen- sitiveness to the opinion of others, especially of those who, like the Court of Directors, were placed over him in author- ity ; but the fear of man never caused him to swerve a hair's breadth from the direct path of public probity. Above all he had an enduring patience which enabled him eventually to carry his opinions into practice. The abiding principle underlying all his character and conduct, was trust in God and grateful thankfulness for all His gracious dealings towards him, which induced a continual cheerfulness of temper and manner. " If I am really the happy man you suppose me to be," he wrote to a friend at a time of peculiar trial and strain, " I will tell you, as far as I know myself, the secret of my happiness. I live in a state of fervent and incessant gratitude to God for the favours and mercies which I have experienced throughout my life. The feeling is so strong that it often overflows in tears, and is so rooted that I do not think any misfortune could shake it. It leads to constant devotion and firm content; and, though I am not free from those vexations and distur- bances to which the weak temper of man is subject, I am guarded by that feeling against any lasting depression." THE HON. MOUNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE. THE HON. MOUNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE: THE ACCOMPLISHED SCHOLAR. " Cause caused it." It is the custom for English families of position to have a short sentence as their family motto so as to distinguish them from other families, and to serve as a principle of conduct. The motto of: the Scottish family of Elphinstone is the brief phrase — " Cause caused it." It means that the great Sovereign of all, God, the first great Cause, raised the family and caused it to prosper, thus expressing its obliga- tion to Him and its intention to follow His guidance. Towards the close of the last century a member of this family entered the Honorable East India Company's Civil Service, and became one of its most distinguished adminis- trators. His name was Mountstuart Elphinstone. He was a younger son of a Scottish peer of that name, and was born in the year 1779. Receiving his appointment at the early age of sixteen, he reached Calcutta in January 1796, when Sir John Shore, afterwards Lord Teignmouth, was Governor-General of India. He was soon brought into contact with the dangers and vicissitudes which then char- acterized Indian life. He had been in India just three years, and was assistant to the magistrate of Benares, when one of those incidents took place that, in this country, from time to time, unexpectedly and suddenly occur. Vizier Ali, the dethroned Nawab of Oude, who had been detained in Benares under nominal restraint, attacked the Resi- dency, and would have massacred all the European inhabi- tants, if his followers had not been kept at bay by the singular courage of the judge of Benares, who defended his house with a spear until assistance could be obtained. Mr. Elphinstone and a youthful friend escaped on horse- back, though closely followed by Vizier Ali's troopers. 52 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. Just about this time Lord Wellesley became Governor- General, and an eventful period of diplomacy and war was about to commence. In South India, Tippoo Sahib, the powerful ruler of Mysore, was effectually conquered ; and, iu Central India, the various Mahratta sovereigns were com- ing into collision with the increasing power of England. In 1801 Mr. Elphinstone was appointed assistant to Colonel Close, the Resident at Poona, and he was thus brought into the very midst of the political excitement which was prevalent in that region. The Mahratta princes were at variance with each other. Scindia and Holkar, the most powerful of them, attacked Baji Row, the Peshwa, with whom the English had entered into alliance. During the campaign that ensued, Mr. Elphin- stone took a prominent part. Captain Malcolm, who had been entrusted with the conduct of the Political nego- tiations in Berar, had been compelled, much to his own disappointment, to take sick leave to Bombay ; and Mr. Elphinstone was appointed to take his place. In this capa- city, he rode at the side of Colonel Arthur Wellesley, after- wards the celebrated Duke of Wellington, who commanded one of the English armies in the field, during the brilliant battle of Assaye (Sept. 23, 1803). Though a civilian by profession, he was so calm and self-possessed in action, and exhibited so plainly the qualities requisite in military affairs, that Colonel Wellesley remarked that he had evi- dently mistaken his calling and had been born a soldier. At the end of the campaign Colonel Wellesley expressed his great satisfaction at the manner in which Mr. Elphinstone had conducted the necessary negotiations with the Mahratta statesmen. " He is well versed in the language," wrote that eminent commander, " has experience and knowledge of the Mahratta powers and their relations with each other, and with the British Government and its allies. He has been present in all the actions which have been fought in this quarter during the war, and in all the sieges. He is ac- quainted with every transaction that has taken place, and with my sentiments on all subjects." THE HON. MODNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE. 53 At the end of the campaign Mr. Elphinstone was ap- pointed Resident at Nagpore, where his duties were to re- present British interests at the court of the Rajah of Berar. He remained there during the uneventful period that en- sued. Though an athletic man and very fond of field-sports whenever opportunity for them offered, he was eminently a student and man of letters. Having left his native land when still very young, he keenly felt the deficiencies of his early education, and set resolutely to work to apply the only available remedy. His proficiency in Oriental learn- ing aud his subsequent achievements in literature, show how large an amount of success attended his efforts in this respect. In the midst, therefore, of the comparative leisure of this period of his life, he gave himself assiduously to study. This did not last very long. Early in the year 1809, Mr. Elphinstone was selected by the Government of India to be the head of an embassy to the court of the Amir of Kabul. The mission did not proceed further than Peshawar, where the Amir was then staying, and the suc- cess in the object of the negotiations does not appear to have been very great. An apprehension had been entertained by the Government, that, as the French, with whom the English were then waging war, were intriguing in Persia, an invasion of India through Persia and Afghan- istan might be contemplated ; and it was desired that a treaty should be entered into with the Amir to prevent such a combination, and, at the same time, it was intended to conclude a treaty with the Shah of Persia with the same object. The treaty with the Shah was entered into ; but internal dissensions in Afghanistan prevented the Amir from entertaining the English proposals. Mr. Elphinstone, however, turned to good advantage the opportunities he then obtained for gaining trustworthy information regard- ing the people and the history of Afghanistan. He after- wards embodied this information in a book which was most favourably received in Eugland, and laid the foundation of his literary fame. 54 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. Mr. Elphinstone remained the following year at Cal- cutta; but his services as a diplomatist were so highly- appreciated that in 1811, he received the very influential appointment of Resident at Poona. The first five years of his stay there were uneventful, and his duties con- sisted chiefly in carefully watching the course of events. He had abundant time, however, for literary occupation, principally connected with the ancient history and literature of India. But stirring events were coming. The Pindaris were about to pour down on every defenceless part of Northern and Central India. The Mahratta princes, Scindia, Holkar, the Rajah of Berar at Nagpore, and the Peshwa at Poona, were preparing to attack the English territories. Mr. Elphinstone had to deal with the last, and our attention must, at present, be concentrated on the events at his court. Ifc had been the policy of the Indian Government to uphold the authority of the Peshwa against the other Mahratta sovereigns, who had slighted or impugned it. He was, however, a most unsatisfactory character to deal with, — weak in understanding and deceit- ful in negotiation, and, at the same time, deficient in the courage which the Mahratta chieftains usually possessed. He was completely under the influence of a worthless and mischievous minister, named Trimbakji, who had endeared himself to him by professions of boundless devotion towards him, expressing himself willing to commit any atrocity on his behalf, even to the killing of a cow. He was guilty of a far greater crime. He caused an ambassador from the Guicowar of Baroda, a Brahmin of the highest birth and position, to be treacherously assassinated. This was a social and political crime of such magnitude that the Government could not overlook it. Mr. Elphinstone made the demand that Trimbakji should be surrendered, with which the Peshwa was reluctantly obliged to comply. The guilty favourite was accordingly delivered up, and placed in con- finement in Tanna, a fort in the island of Salsette. He was not there long. A Mahratta disguised as a horsekeeper, entered the service of the commandant of the fort, and con- THE HON. MOUNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE. OO trived to effect his escape. For many months he could not be found, and it was strongly suspected that he was con- cealed in the neighbourhood of Poona with the connivance of the Peshwa himself. His proximity to the capital made itself felt by continual intrigues and constant excitement. There was no doubt that the Peshwa, though outwardly friendly, was preparing to join the other Mahratta sover- eigns in war against the English Government. The policy enjoined on Mr. Elphinstone was to endeavour to preserve peace and to stave off hostilities as long as he possibly could, while the British forces were busy elsewhere. He performed this task with quiet heroism and firmness. No one, when visiting the Residency, could have guessed that anything out of the common was going on ; but everything that was being done at the Peshwa' s court was accurately known and carefully watched. Mahratta troops were being brought into the city of Poona ; overtures were made to the British sepoys, tempting them from their fidelity ; attempts were made to corrupt the officials at the Residency, and even the English officers. The weary months wore on, and the final collision could not be far distant. Mr. Elphinstone, dignified in manner, yet vigilant and ever on the alert, became anxious for reinforcements to the slender English force in the cantonment near Poona. The first Bombay European Regiment was on its way thither. He wrote to hasten its advance ; and, directly it arrived, he ordered the cantonment to be removed to a more convenient position at Kirki. This looked like a retreat, and the in- habitants of Poona, especially the military portion of them, became openly insolent and aggressive. In a few days, the rupture occurred. On November 5, 1816, the Residency was attacked, and Mr. Elphinstone, with his companions, had only just time to leave it before it was destroyed by fire, and with it his valuable documents, which proved an irreparable loss. He repaired to the English camp at Kirki. The whole Mahratta army was pouring out of Poona to attack the small, but compact, English force. The sight was described by Mr. Elphinstone himself as 56 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. most impressive. The earth resounded with the tramp o£ armed men, as they rushed forward, waving flags, brand- ishing spears, and blowing trumpets. The Resident, dropping his character as a civilian, and almost assuming command of the English army, met them with firmness. Quiet discipline prevailed, and very soon the Peshwa's army, discomfited and dispirited, took refuge behind the walls of Poona. In a few days General Smith arrived with further rein- forcements. The Peshwa's unwieldy army fled at the first advance, and the city of Poona was at the mercy of the English. Mr. Elphinstone's first desire was to protect the city, and to see that no outrage of any kind should occur on its occupation. Nothing could be better than the conduct of the victorious troops. Baji Bow, the Peshwa, fled. Negotiations were entered into with him through Sir John Malcolm. He himself received an ample allowance from the Government of India, and his territories were added to the English possessions. Once more Mr. Elphinstone laid down the sword and took up the pen. He was appointed Commissioner of the Poona territories. Before leaving this portion of his life, we quote the following eulogy on his conduct during these military operations 'which fell from Mr. Canning, one of the most eloquent and grace- ful orators among English statesmen : — " Mr. Elphinstone, — a name distinguished in the literature as well as the politics of the East, exhibited, on that trying occasion, military courage and skill which, though valuable accessor- ies to diplomatic talents, we are not entitled to require as necessary qualifications for civil employment. On that, and not on that occasion only, but on many others in the course of this singular campaign, Mr. Elphinstone displayed talents and resources which would have rendered him no mean General in a country where Generals are of no mean excellence and reputation." We may add that he had in view the welfare of the people of India quite as much as the glory of England. If Pindari hordes and Mahratta armies had been suffered to overrun Central India with THE HON. MOUNTSTUAET ELPHINSTONE. 57 impunity, a time of misery and rapine would have ensued which would have rendered desolate almost every Hindu peasant's home. While Sir John Malcolm was appointed to govern the province of Malwa, Mr. Elphinstone's task was to adminis- ter the country round Poona. He entered on the work of pacification with hearty good-will, and with the real love of a true Anglo-Indian statesman for the people themselves. The grand principle on which he undertook this congenial duty was to make no sudden changes, but honestly to endea- vour to rebuild the fabric of government on the old foun- dation, introducing changes only when absolutely necessary, and then fitting them into the time-honoured principles of the ancient tenure of land, and of a simple administration of justice suited to the primitive habits of the people. It has been well said that " half a century and more ago our statesmen, in a ceded or conquered country, held it to be their first duty to learn thoroughly the manner in which the people of India had governed themselves, before pre- scribing the manner of governing for them." One point on which Mr. Elphinstone was very strong, was to prevent the destruction of the old Mahratta families. He was most careful to inquire into the tenures on which the higher classes held their estates, and to deal with them both justly and generously. The ancient landowners were retained in possession of their jaghirs, especially where the title to them had been held from the time of the Moghul Emperors or of the Mahratta sovereigns. Acting on this principle, he recommended the restoration of some of the conquered territories to the family of Sivaji, the founder of the Mahratta dynasty; and, the Governor- General having given his consent, one of the descendants of this great Mahratta chief, was placed in possession of a considerable tract of country as the Rajah of Satara. The national feeling of the Mahratta people was pleased at this graceful concession. It is stated that it was Mr. Elphinstone's "desire to establish the new system of government in all things, as 58 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. much as possible, in conformity with the genius of the people." There was wisdom, as well as kindness, in this policy ; and in his wish thus to gratify the feelings of the people lay the true secret of his success, and it secured the foundation not only of the affection with which his memory has since been regarded, but also of the stability of the government. Good government always depends on the confidence of the people governed. Mr. Elphinstone was particularly anxious that these principles should be extend- ed not only to the system for the collection of the revenue, but also to the administration of justice. No one could have been more alive to the defects of the swift and rough style of the Mahratta judicial procedure, and yet he depre- cated the too sudden introduction of the surer, but more cumbrous, system of English judicial forms. He determin- ed, therefore, to interfere as little as possible with former usages, and to trust to time for the introduction of neces- sary reforms. "■ The plan I have proposed," he wrote, " has many obvious and palpable defects, and many more will, no doubt, appear when its operations are fully observ- ed. It has this advantage that it leaves unimpaired the institutions, the opinions, and the feelings that have hitherto kept the community together ; and that, as its fault is meddling too little, it may be gradually remedied by interfering when urgently required. An opposite plan, if it fails, fails entirely ; it has destroyed everything that could supply its place, and, when it sinks, the whole frame of society sinks with it. This plan has another advantage likewise, that if it does not provide complete instructions for the decision of suits, it keeps clear of the causes that produce litigation. It makes no great changes in the laws, and it leads to no revolution in the state of property. The established practice, also, though it be worse than another proposed in its room, will be less grievous to the people, who have accommodated themselves to the present defects, and are scarcely aware of their existence; while every fault in a new system, and perhaps many things that are not faults, would be severely felt for want of this THE HON. MOUNTSTDART ELPHINSTONE. 59 adaptation." These particulars have been given to show what a wise, prudent, and thoughtful administrator Mr. Elphinstone was, and the touchstone of his entire policy was that "he had studied all classes of the people, and had tried to think and to feel with them." He knew better than most men that the Hindus have a peculiar dislike and dread of violent changes; and, by humouring their just prejudices, he carried them with him, and induced them to feel easy, happy, and contented during the introduction of English rule. Though ruling, however, with a gentle hand, Mr. Elphinstone could be stern and inexorable when occasion needed. So great a change in the administration as we have been describing was, of course, provocative of plots and intrigues among the upper classes of a notoriously intrigu- ing people ; and, when a conspiracy was brought to light, which was intended to result in the massacre of all the Europeans in Poona, and in the restoration of the Peshwa to power, the authors of it were severely punished. The country, however, remained tranquil, and his own fame as an administrator was placed on even a firmer and surer basis than it had been before. In the year 1819 the Government of Bombay became vacant, and, with unanimous approval, Mr. Elphinstone was selected to fill that important post. The time during which he was Governor of Bombay was peculiarly tran- quil. He was not called on to manage the affairs of state during a period of political excitement such as he had him- self past through during the days of Mahratta turmoil and intrigue ; but, nevertheless, he contrived to leave behind him an imperishable name as an able and a beneficent ruler, for, as it has been justly said, "he made for himself an enduring place in the hearts of the people." Eeginald Heber, then Bishop of Calcutta, was particularly struck, while on a visit to Bombay, with the admirable administra- tion of Mr. Elphinstone. " His policy," wrote that sweet and saintly man, "appeared to me peculiarly wise and liberal, and he is evidently attached to, and thinks well of, 60 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. the country and its inhabitants. His public measures, in their general tendency, evince a steady wish to improve their preseut condition. No Government in India pays so much attention to schools and pnblic institutions for edu- cation. In none are the taxes lighter, and in the adminis- tration of justice to the people in their own languages, in the establishment of punchayats, in the degree in which he employs the people in official situations, and the counten- ance aud familiarity which he extends to all the personages of rank who approach him, he seems to have reduced to practice almost all the reforms which had struck me as most required in the system of Government pursued in those provinces of our Eastern Empire which I had previously visited. His popularity appears little less remarkable than his talents and acquirements." The principal subject to which Mr. Elphinstone devoted his attention, while Governor of Bombay, was education. But little had then been done in the direction of the care- ful and systematic education of the people. Mr. Elphin- stone encouraged them in their own efforts, and promised them the stimulus of Government assistance. In fact, he was one of the first English statesmen to perceive and to act upon the principle that Government aid to individual exertion was necessary for the development of a really national system of education. The inhabitants of Bombay were prepared to follow his guidance, and the well-known munificence of some of their citizens founded the Elphin- stone College in memory of their beloved Governor, and their descendants are to this day among the truest advo- cates of popular education. Mr. Elphinstone also applied his energies to legislative aud judicial reform, and he appointed a commission under his old friend, Mr. William Erskine, to prepare a code of regulations, which, for many years, formed the law under which that part of the English territories were administer- ed. It need scarcely be said that, under one who had shown himself so careful not to go counter to Hindu feel- ing, the new threads were most beautifully interwoven THE HON. MOUNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE. 61 amidst the old woof. To prove this assertion, we quote a passage from a letter to a civilian, high in authority in Bengal, in which, referring to the tenure of land, and his anxiety to safeguard the rights of landowners, he writes, "a, regulation is now in progress, specifying all those tenures, from the simple right of occupancy up to the Meerasee, which approaches to the character of free- hold property; this regulation will protect the holder of land under such tenure from any encroachment either on the part of the Government or of the person representing the Government, whether Jagheerdar, Zemindar, or Inam- dar. This regulation will stand good whether we farm our villages to particular individuals or families (as in Hindustan), a plan attended with many advantages; whe- ther we keep up (or introduce) the Byotwar plan; or whether (which is least likely of all) we introduce the Bengal plan of large Zemindaries." As Governor, Mr. Elphinstone's habits were very plain and simple. Whether he was at Bombay itself or on a tour up-country, he rose at daybreak, and took a ride for about an hour and a half. He always breakfasted in public, after which he was ready to receive any one who might desire to speak to him. He then retired for some time, and was engaged in the business of the state. After luncheon, he lay down to sleep for a short time, and afterwards read some classical book in Latin or Greek. Dinner was at eight, and he rose to retire at ten going to rest soon after. He frequently travelled through the Presidency of Bombay, and during the tenure of his office as Governor, he visited each district in it twice. While on his tours, there was always a Shikari in his camp ; and, when news of game was brought, a holiday would be announced, and a day or two devoted to sport. He was of a bright and happy tempera- ment, and, even to the end of his residence in India, he retained much of the elasticity of spirits, as well as the outward appearance, of youth. " But in the midst of many striking excellencies," wrote one of his secretaries, "that which placed him far above all the great men I have heard 62 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. of, was his forgetfulness of self and thoughtfulness for others." Mr. Elphinstone was Governor of Bombay for eight years. He was succeeded by his old friend and companion in public labour, Sir John Malcolm ; and, when he left India, he carried with him the admiration and esteem of the entire community. Several meetings were convened with the object of expressing the feelings of regret with which the various sections of society in Bombay regarded his de- parture, and several forms of memorial were projected to show this in a substantial manner. The most useful of them were professorships in various subjects, to be known as the Elphinstone Professorships. The only extract from the addresses then presented to him which we consider it appropriate to make, is from the address of the Hindu community, the first signature to which is that of the Rajah of Satara, as it is one which, making allowance for a little pardonable exaggeration, accurately represented the feel- ings of the people for whose welfare he had so long laboured, and whose words gave him considerable satisfac- tion. " Until you became Commissioner of the Deccan and Governor of Bombay," they said, " never had we been able to appreciate correctly the invaluable benefits which the British dominion is calculated to produce throughout the whole of India. But having beheld with admiration for so long a period the affable and encouraging manners, the freedom from prejudice, the consideration at all times evinced for the interests and welfare of the people of this country, the regard shown to their ancient customs and laws, the constant endeavours to extend amongst them the inestimable advantages of intellectual and moral improve- ment, the commanding abilities applied to ensure per- manent ameliorations in the condition of all classes, and to promote their prosperity on the soundest principles, we have been led to consider the British influence and govern- ment as the most competent and desirable blessing which the Supreme Being could have bestowed on our native land." THE HON. MOUNT3TUART ELPHINSTONE. 63 On leaving Bombay, Mr. Elphinstone did not return direct to England ; but gratified a desire he had long enter- tained by travelling through lands that have been rendered memorable in sacred and historical literature. He spent two years in visiting Egypt, the Holy Land, Italy, and Greece; and he did not reach England till the spring of 1829. He was then only fifty years old, and it might have been expected that he would have sought further official occupation in the service of his country ; but long residence in a hot climate had affected his health, and he felt that lie was not justified in rendering what could on this account be little more than broken service. He was twice offered the exalted position of Governor-General of India ; but, be- ing apprehensive that he might break down and that the interests of the public might thereby suffer, he declined it on account of his health, though he deeply felt the honour that had been conferred upon him by this double offer. During the greater portion of the thirty years that elaps- ed after his retirement from service, he resided at Hook- wood, a pleasant house in Limpsfield, which is a quiet vil- lage situated in a beautiful part of the country on the bor- ders of Surrey and of Kent. He was chiefly occupied in literary labour. While in India, he had carefully collected valuable material for writing its history. In 1841 his History of India during the Hindu and Muhammadan periods was published, and it received the cordial approval of scholars. Since its publication it has been the standard work on that portion of Indian history, and has past through several editions, the latest of which has been edited by Professor Cowell, of Cambridge. Mr. Elphinstone was frequently consulted by the author- ities on all Indian affairs. Though living in retirement, he was not permitted to fall into oblivion. He was a keen and critical observer of the current events of Indian poli- tics ; and, when he compared the principles on which the policy of the day was founded with those which actuated himself and such friends as Malcolm, Metcalfe, and Munro, the contrast was not always favourable to the more modern 64 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. ideas. During the last few years of his life, his eyesight failed, and, when no member of his family resided with him, he was obliged to secure the services of a hired reader. Though living in retirement, he was always pleas- ed to see friends, but he generally preferred that they should visit him one at a time. He survived to hear of the great Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, and the sad events that accompanied it evoked his deepest sympathy. His last written utterances were occupied in giving his opinion regarding the arrangements for the Government of India which were rendered necessary by what had then occurred. After a serene and happy old age, retaining his mental faculties to the last, he died, in his eightieth year, on December 21, 1859, at Hook wood, amidst the pleasant Surrey hills. Thus fell asleep one of the soundest and most thoughtful of Indian statesmen. Singularly modest and diffident of his own powers, and most retiring in manner, he was as firm and self-controlled in action as he was sagacious in counsel. Western India owes to him the foundations of the stability and tranquillity which has characterized it in later years, while Hindus and Muhammadans alike have received from him a thoroughly just and discriminating record of the history of their country during its most eventful and spirit-stirring periods. THE HON. JAMES THOMASON. THE HON. JAMES THOMASON: THE ACCOMPLISHED CHRISTIAN GENTLEMAN "The principal object of every Government is the happiness of the governed." Sir William Jones. In the early years of the present century there was in Calcutta a little company of attached Christian friends, whose principal object was the spread of the Gospel among the people of India. The best known among them were Daniel Corrie, David Brown, and Thomas Thomason. They were all intimate friends of one, the lustre of whose name shines brighter even than theirs in the annals of Christian Missions in India ; we mean, Henry Martyn, who, however, during his sojourn in India, was not often at Calcutta. James Thomason, the subject of the following brief memoir, was the son of the Reverend Thomas Thomason, one of the above-mentioned group of friends. He was born, on May 3, 1804, at Shelf ord, a pretty little village near Cambridge, where his father was the clergyman. When he was four years old, his father was appointed to a chaplaincy at Cal- cutta, and took him to India. On the voyage the vessel was wrecked, and the passengers were, with some difficulty and after much privation, providentially rescued. At the rather advanced age of ten, James Thomason was sent to England, where he was entrusted to the care of the Rev. Charles Simeon, the intimate friend of his father, a devoted man of God, who had long lived at Cambridge, where he had been of the greatest service in stirring up religious activity and life among the members of the great University there. In fact, no man has, perhaps, ever been the instrument, under God, of infusing more spiritual life among the young students at Cambridge. He was un- married, but he took the tenderest care of the boy who had 68 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. thus been entrusted to his charge. As was naturally to be expected, he was rather fussy and fidgetty regarding the ordinary details of everyday life ; but Mr. Thomason owed a very great deal to the careful training he received from this eminent servant of God just at the very time that his youthful mind was most plastic and impressive. In after years this intimacy was the source of the greatest pleas- ure and satisfaction to both. After the younger man had left for India, the venerable Simeon wrote as follows regarding him, showing that his affection for him still remained undimmed : " I delight to hear such blessed tidings of dear James. We bear him in sweet remembrance, and most affectionately long for his welfare in every possi- ble view." The fact of his being kept in India longer than English children usually are, was prejudicial to his health, and rendered him backward in his studies. He was always rather delicate in constitution, which may be attributed to this cause ; and, according to the common phrase in Eng- land, he outgrew his strength. He was tall and stooping in his gait, and, in later years, he had an accident at Agra, which caused him to limp the last five or six years of his life. We mention this here, because, although the mental deficiency occasioned by a late sojourn in India was overcome, the physical weakness was not entirely removed. After remaining a few years at school and at a private tutor's, James Thomason, having received a civil appoint- ment, went to the East India Company's College at Hailey- bury, where he distinguished himself for diligence in his studies and for uprightness of conduct. He rejoined his father at Calcutta on September 19, 1822. He was reported as qualified for the public service in June of the following year, and was appointed Assistant Eegistrar of the Court of Sudder Adawlut at Calcutta in December. From the time he left College he assiduously applied himself to the study of Muhammadan Law, to which he had taken a great liking ; and the examiners, in awarding him an honorarium for proficiency in this subject, passed a very high eulogium on THE HON. JAMES THOMASON. 69 his attainments both in it and in the Persian language. In 1826 he was appointed acting Judge of the Jungle Mehals. He was, however, compelled, after a very brief term of service, to return to England in the following year owing to ill-health. After a pleasant furlough in his native land of two years' duration, he came back again to Calcutta, where he landed a second time on November 13, 1828. During his stay in England, he became attached to Miss Maynard Eliza Grant, the eldest daughter of Mr. J. W. Grant, of his own service, better known in Scotland as the Laird of Elchies near Elgin. He was married to her on February 18, 1829, and they lived together in happy union of heart for rather more than ten years. After his marriage, he remained some three years in Calcutta in various offices, chiefly connected with the Secretariat. He was thus gaining an intimate acquaintance with the principles of the Indian Government and with the official discharge of ministerial duty; but it was certainly fortunate for the country that he did not remain for any lengthened period at the capital, as he would thereby have lost the know- ledge of the people and of their habits and wants which can only be thoroughly obtained by immediate contact with them in the practical work of a revenue officer. During this time he served on the General Committee of Public Instruction which had been then formed in Calcutta, and in which he first acquired his interest in the education of the people that afterwards grew into his own more extended schemes in this direction. He performed the responsible duties of the Secretariat so well that, on his leaving, Sir Charles Metcalfe, who was the Vice-President in Council, publicly gave him the cordial approbation and thanks of the Government. On September 18, 1832, Mr. Thomason was appointed Collector of Azamgarh, a district in the Benares division bordering on Oude. This district is situated in the valley of the Ganges on a gently sloping plain, through which flows the river Gogra on its way from the Himalayas to the Gan- 70 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. ges. It is almost completely level, and its principal feature is its numerous tanks and jhils. In those days it was rather larger than at present, a new district having subse- quently been formed out of it. It was quite an agri- cultural district, eighty per cent, of its inhabitants being cultivators, and the chief crop was paddy. It had been acquired by treaty from the Nawab of Oude in 1801, some thirty years before Mr. Thomason went there, and, with the exception of one pargunna which had been permanently assessed, it was under the same loose and undefined land settlement as the rest of the North Western Provinces. The Revenue Survey was about to be introduced, to be followed by a careful assessment of revenue, so that Mr. Thomason had before him abundance of congenial work, which would give him much experience in the multifarious duties of a Collector, and bring him in continual contact with the people. His head-quarters were at the town of Azamgarh, the capital of the district, on the banks of the river Tons, eighty-one miles north of Benares; and here he had a happy and a hospitable home for the next four years and a half. To this time he always looked back in after years with pleasurable remembrance. Mr. Thomason threw himself heartily into the duties preparatory to the new settlement and assessment. He was constantly out in the district, and it was his happi- ness to be supported and considerably helped by men like Mr., afterwards Sir, Robert Montgomery and Mr. Henry Carre Tucker, who afterwards earned for themselves dis- tinguished places among our Anglo-Indian administrators. Carefully prepared instructions were drawn up for the guidance of his European assistants and of his Tahsildars and other officials with a view to the great work of survey and assessment. Disputes regarding the boundaries of villages and individual holdings had to be adjusted, and abundant opportunities were given him of observing the wants and wishes of the simple agricultural folk committed to his charge. He was always more the Collector than the Magistrate, although both offices were combined in his ap- THE HON. JAMES THOMASON. 71 pointment. The assessment, when it was at last fixed, was higher than the standard which was adopted in later times ; but the increased prosperity of the district and the increase of cultivation in it proved that it was equitable and fair. His Settlement Report, when completed, met with the full approbation of Government, and the Board of Revenue, in submitting it, expressed " their sense of obligation to Mr. Thomason, who had heartily entered into their views, per- fectly comprehended their plans, and carried them into execution with great skill and judgment." Mr. Thomason's services, the value of which had been brought into prominent relief by the ability of his adminis- tration of Azamgarh, were highly appreciated not only by Sir Charles Metcalfe, then Lieutenant-Governor of the North- Western Provinces, but also by Lord Auckland, the Governor-General. The latter writing to the former about this time, mentioned him in the following compli- mentary terms : " Mr. Thomason, whom I have wanted for the Law Commission, whom Mangles wants for every Com- missionership that is vacant, and whom you probably want for much else." But he was no place-hunter. He sought for no higher appointment, and evidently refused some that were offered him, and stuck faithfully to Azamgarh until the arduous duties of the settlement were concluded. It may here be mentioned that Sir Charles Metcalfe, while he approved of the great principles on which the settlement of the whole North- Western Provinces was based, was of opinion that there was too great a desire for accurate sur- vey, or, as he jocularly expressed it, for "looking at every- thing through a theodolite." He was a strong advocate for the maintenance of the Village-communities ; but, while protecting them from external aggression, would have left their internal arrangements as much as possible to them- selves. Recognizing, however, Mr. Thomason's ability and zeal, he selected him, in March, 1837, to act as Secre- tary to the Government of the North- Western Provinces in the Judicial and Revenue Departments. Within a year, however, Mr. Thomason was obliged by domestic 72 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. affliction to proceed to England again. To his great sorrow his dearly-loved wife became so ill that it was ab- solutely necessary for her to leave the depressing climate of India, and he accompanied her, on a short leave, to Calcutta in order that he might see her safely on board ship. The state of her health was, however, so precarious and the medical attendant was so apprehensive of the effect which the shock of separation from him might have upon her that, without leave from Government and without any adequate provision for the voyage, he accompanied her first to the Sandheads, then to the Cape, and finally to England, at the imminent risk of losing his appointment ; but he felt that his first duty was to his wife, never more tenderly loved than in the time of her sickness and sorrow. On the circumstances, so touching and so peculiar, being placed before them, the East India Directors at once con- doned his having come home without leave, and permitted him to return to duty. He had scarcely left England than the delicate wife, unequal to bear the strain and shock of his departure, died on November 8, 1839. On his reaching India, whither the news of his great loss must have followed him, Mr. Thomason received the per- manent appointment of Secretary to the Government of the North- Western Provinces in which he had previously been acting. His promotion was now very rapid ; but we cannot help imagining that the pleasure of promotion and useful employment must have been marred by the recollec- tion that she who had before shared it was with him to share and enjoy it no longer. For a time he was an extra Member of the Board of Eevenue ; he then joined Lord Ellenborouglr's Committee of Finance j for a few months he performed the responsible duties of Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, for which purpose he proceeded to Calcutta, and, in this capacity, accompanied Lord Ellenborough on a tour to the North- West ; and, finally, on December 12, 1843, he was appointed Lieutenant-Gover- nor of the North- Western Provinces. It was in this most responsible office, which he held for ten years, that his THE HON. JAMES THOMASON. 73 fame was consummated, and he left a deep impression for good on the country of his adoption. The seat of G-overnment during Mr. Thomason's ad- ministration was at the beautiful city of Agra. It had been removed thither from Allahabad in 1835, and was again transferred to Allahabad in 1858. In this grand historical town Mr. Thomason resided the greater part of the year ; but he was no stay-at-home, official Gover- nor, and feeling that the best way to know the officers who were serving under him, and to become thoroughly acquainted with the country, was to become intimate with every district, he made an extensive tour every year. These tours were carefully planned some months before they were undertaken, so that the provincial offi- cials knew beforehand when he was coming, and every detail of the Lieutenant- Governor's march was previously arranged. He thus spent the cold season under canvass, and had the opportunity of personal intercourse with every one of his subordinates in turn. Very enjoyable must have been these official tours. We have not space to describe them here, but an admirably graphic description of them is given by Sir William Muir in his sketch of Mr. Thomason's life, evidently drawn from personal experience. He closes his account with the following words, which show the im- mense advantage of personal intercourse between a Gover- nor and those working under him : — " An incidental ad- vantage, but one of peculiar value was the acquaintance imparted by such intimate converse, with the qualifications and abilities of every officer subordinate to the Govern- ment. With unexpected rapidity the Lieutenant-Governor would perceive the weak point of a case or line of pro- cedure ; and the officer, if not thoroughly master of his work, would find himself foiled by one whom he counted upon as a stranger to his business, but who turned out to be more thoroughly acquainted with its details than himself. The earnest worker and the aspiring subordinate were recognized and encouraged. The former would be incited to prosecute, with redoubled energy, some occupation of 74 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. his own devising, or for which his chief perceived in him a peculiar aptitude and taste. Here the reins would be loosened, and a generous spur given to the willing labourer. To the latter, some special sphere of industry or research would be suggested — perhaps, the inquiry into an interesting custom or tenure brought to notice in the circuit : he would be invited probably to embody his investigation when completed, and to state his views and conclusions in a written form j and the impulse thus given to talent and application would prove, perhaps, the starting point of a useful, if not distinguished, career." Mr. Thomason was, in these extended tours, accessible to all sections of the community, and was ready to hear Hindu and Muhammadan on all matters which they might desire to bring to his notice. He was prompt in the despatch of business. His habit was to rise very early, and to get through his ordinary routine work as soon as possible in the day in order that he might be free to converse with his guests at breakfast without pressure or restraint. The daily business was despatched at once, but, of course, all matters of greater con- cern involving important principles were kept for more careful consideration and disposed of after consultation and correspondence with those best fitted to give their opinions upon them. The great secret of the success obtained by Mr. Thomason' s administration lay in his faculty of discrim- inating character, and of using each person in the sphere for which he was best adapted. We have already mention- ed two of his assistants in the district of Azamgarh who subsequently distinguished themselves. Lord Lawrence and Sir Donald McLeod were two of his favourite subordi- nates, when he was Lieutenant-Governor, and we may attri- bute to him not only the prosperity of the North- Western Provinces which were under his immediate rule, but also the successful introduction into the newly acquired province of the Punjab of the principles and the practice learned under him in the older territory. The makers of the Pun- jab were trained under his supervision and under his kindly influence. THE HON. JAMES THOMASON. 75 Mr. Thomason " quietly regulated every detail of the Government " writes one who served under him. He com- pleted the village settlement ; he carefully extended use- ful and beneficent public works, founding an Engineering- College, and helping on the great work of the Ganges Canal ; he fostered the medical training of native doctors ; and, above all, and we regard it as the crowning achieve- ment of his administration, he founded a complete system of indigenous and vernacular education, designed entirely for the good of the people themselves. It is proposed now to dwell a little more at large on the several features of Mr. Thomason' s very beneficent admin- istration, fruitful, as we have shown it to be not only in its immediate results, but in the application of its princi- ples to other provinces. The first point to be mentioned is the Revenue Settlement of the Provinces. It has already been seen how Mr. Thomason- was entrusted with the intro- duction of both survey and settlement into the district of Azamgarh, we have now to consider its application to the whole Province, where it was completed during Mr. Thomason' s time. From time immemorial land in these upper territories of India was held by the village communi- ties, though there were, here and there, large landowners, who possessed extensive estates. On the country passing under British rule, however, a clumsy endeavour was made by inexperienced officials, fresh from the older province of Bengal to force the much-belauded Permanent Settlement into a country to which, having been under an entirely different system, or rather lack of system, it was totally unsuited. The eyes of the Government of India were at length opened to the absurdity of this endeavour. A vigorous effort was made to put things straight, and the grand system of the settlement of the North- Western Provinces was prepared by the genius of Mr. R. M. Bird and his very able coadjutors. The characteristic of the tenure adopted was "cultivation in severalty with joint responsibility." That is, the Government settlement of the revenue was made with the head man of each village, 76 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. while each individual cultivator was responsible for his own holding. This is called the village system, from its recog- nizing the very ancient institutions of the village communi- ties. One cordial point on which Mr. Bird strongly insist- ed, was that the assessment must be light ; and the result will best be stated in the words of one who, about that period, travelled right through the land. " You must re- member," he says, " that country when it was inhabited by a wild and lawless set of people, whom no one could manage. Now it is thickly inhabited and well cultivated, and the most peaceful that could possibly be. This is the effect of firm rule and a light assessment. The consequence is, that land which before was worthless now bears a high value, and a people who were before lawless now yield implicit obedience to the laws. It is a cheap Government of which the strength consists in low taxation." This section may appropriately end with a quotation from a work published by Sir J. W. Kaye in the last year of Mr. Thomason' s life and government. " There is a freshness, a vigour, a healthy, robust youth, apparent everywhere in the administration of these provinces. I do not believe that there is in the world a more conscientious and more laborious class of civil functionaries than those who, under one of the best men and ablest administrators who have ever devoted their lives to the service of the people of India, are now bearing the burden and heat of the day, in serious, toilsome efforts to make the yoke of foreign conquest sit lightly on the native subjects of the British crown. What Thomason and his associates have done for Upper India can only be fairly appreciated by those who know what was the state of these Provinces fifty, or even twenty, years ago." Mr. Thomason encouraged the preparation of handbooks for the use of Revenue officials under his control. He wrote portions of them himself, and proceeded some way in the compilation of a Code of Revenue Procedure. In one of these useful handbooks entitled " Directions to Collec- tors/ 'hints are given regarding the treatment of their subordinates, and two or three extracts are given from it to THE HON. JAMES THOMASON. 77 show the tender solicitude he, in common with all the great administrators of India, felt for the kind and gentle- manlike treatment of the Hindus and Muhummadans with whom he came in contact. "Every effort," he wrote, u should be made to render the performance of their duties as little burdensome to them as possible. The officer who keeps them long in attendance at his house, or who requires that they perform their ordinary duties in court in a pain- ful standing position, cannot derive from them that degree of assistance which would otherwise be rendered. He should so dispose his own time, and make his own official arrangements, as may conduce to their comfort, and make their work light." " Great care should be taken to main- tain the respectability of the Tahsildars. They should always be received and treated with consideration. Reproof, when necessary, should be given privately rather than publicly ; and, so long as they are allowed to retain office, they should be treated with the confidence and respect which are due to their high station." One more quotation from Sir J. W. Kaye is given : — " The Lieutenant-Governor is one of the most accessible of men, and his subordinates emulate the courtesy and openness of his demeanour." The Department of Public Works received Mr. Thoma- son's close attention. He had very much of the Engineer Officer in his cast of mind. The greatest care was bestowed on the roads of the Province ; encamping grounds for march- ing troops were carefully marked off, and every facility given by providing bazaars, water, and grass ; he threw himself heartily into the prosecution of irrigation works, which he knew would abundantly repay all the money that might be expended upon them, and he especially urged on the completion of the greatest engineering feat in Upper India, namely, the Ganges Canal ; and he conferred a vast benefit on the country by founding an Engineering College at Roorkee, for the training of all branches in the Depart- ment of Public Works. This last admirable institution was entirely his own creation. The last particular in which the genius of the Lieutenant- 78 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. Governor left its impress on the Province and the country, is the one on which his fame in future years will, we believe, principally rest. It was a thoughtfully planned system of in- digenous and vernacular education. It was introduced gradu- ally with his characteristic caution. The idea was, not to found, here and there, foreign schools, however good, from which the people might naturally shrink with apprehensive prejudice; but boldly to use the schools of the people them- selves and improve them establishing in each tahsil a model school of a superior kind. "The conception of utilizing the indigenous teachers and training them was," says Dr. Cust, one of Mr. Thompson's own officers, "a master stroke. In Lower Bengal the Government, with a flourish, started some hundred brand new schools. Thomason im- proved and rendered effective, several hundred old ones. Of course we took the system with us to the Punjab, and had it from the beginning ; but Thomason was its founder." Mr. Thomason' s admirable idea was admirably carried out by the late H. S. Reid ; and only two months before the death of the former, he brought the whole scheme before the Government of India, requesting sanction to its intro- duction throughout the whole Province at an annual cost of two lakhs of rupees. In giving this sanction to a scheme, which " experience has shown to be capable of producing such rich and early fruit," the Governor-General added these touching words, " while I cannot refrain from re- cording anew my deep regret that the ear which would have heard this welcome sanction given with so much joy, is now dull in death, I desire to add the expression of my feeling that, even though Mr. Thomason had left no other memorial of his public life behind him this system of general vernacular education, which is all his own, would have sufficed to build up for him a noble and abiding monument of his earthly career." We feel that this truly benevolent scheme was the precursor of the gigantic strides that have since been made in popular edu- cation in India. The Court of Directors so fully appreciated Mr. Thoma- THE HON. JAMES THOMASON. 79 son's services that they recommended him for the appoint- ment of Governor of Madras, which was about to become vacant, and an intimation to this effect had been sent to him j but, before it reached him, his most successful career was suddenly, and, as it appears to us in our shortsighted- ness, prematurely brought to a close. His health had been for some time failing, but no dangerous symptoms appeared until Sunday, September 25th, 1853, and on the morning of the following Tuesday lie fell asleep. He was at the time at Bareilty, staying with one of his daughters, Mrs. Hay. He had, during his whole service, been a consistent Christian, and, just before his death, he expressed the sentiment that, notwithstanding his deficiencies and un- worthiness, he was not afraid to die. Brought up in the clear light of the Christian faith, first under his honoured father, and then under the experienced guidance of the venerable Simeon, he early gave his heart to God, and his was no outside religion intended merely for sacred seasons and duties, but it influenced his whole life and penetrated to every daily duty. As Lieutenant-Governor his quiet, pure, and steady example gave a tone to the conduct and character of his whole administration ; and the only objec- tion which we have seen attributed to his conduct of business consisted in his having been unconsciously influ- enced by propossession in favour of those who professed to share his own deep religious principles, even though they did not exhibit such marked intellectual abilities as others. It has also been remarked that he was too desirous to stand well with every one, owing to the marked disinclina- tion to give personal offence ; but, on the other side, it should be clearly stated that he did not suffer moral delin- quency to pass unrebuked. On one occasion, an official who had unwittingly done something inconsistent with the strict rule of honourable conduct, received from the Lieu- tenant-Governor a rebuke so severe that he declared it scarcely possible for him to hold up his head again. While firmly maintaining his own principles as to the truth of the Christian religion and his belief as to its ultimate SO ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. triumph, he was scrupulously careful not to hurt the feel- ings of others. He felt bound, as a high official of the Government, not to obtrude his private opinions on public occasions and into official matters. He was, in a word, most careful to distinguish between actions done in a public, and those done in a private, capacity. He would not even admit the books of the Calcutta Christian Book Society into the depot of the Curator of Government School Books, or permit religious works to be exhibited by the side of secular school-books in the Government shops or by the Government colporteurs. On the other hand, while still endeavouring to maintain this spirit of scrupulous justice and fairness, he made an interest in all missionary effort popular among English officials, and gave a high tone of genuine piety to all who had the happiness to serve under him. " He quietly set the example," says Dr. Oust, " and the men of my generation followed it j and, when the Panjab was annexed, we took the spirit with us, and there was no one to oppose us." He took the liveliest interest in mission work, and followed individual cases with the tenderest solicitude. He contributed liberally towards the support of those who were devoting their lives to the ex- tension of the kingdom of Christ ; and he was equally generous towards those who were in indigence and want, giving away more than a tenth part of his income ; but what he did in this way could never be rightly estimated as he was careful to follow the cardinal principle of Christi- an giving — that it should be done in secret and in silence. Mr. Thomason had carefully studied the proofs of the Christian faith, and had not adopted it simply because he was born a Christian. He always spoke as one who had seriously reflected on the main difficulties that were urged against it, and allowed them all their due weight, and yet found preponderating evidence in favour of it. He was always careful to observe the weekly rest of the Lord's Day. On that sacred day he laid aside all the cares and anxieties of State, and found refreshment in the quiet observance of religious duties. When he was in camp, THE HON. JAMES THOMASON. 81 and tlius absent from a place of Christian worship, he always summoned his retinue for service in the public tent, where he himself conducted the worship of the English Church. It has already been stated how very careful he was not to wound the feelings of the higher among his Hindu and Muhammadan subordinates, and he was quite as anxious to uphold the rights of even the poorest culti- vator. We have the pleasure to give two anecdotes to illustrate this gentle trait in his character by one who was closely connected with him. " I was with him," writes General G-eorge Hutchinson, " on an elephant, some time, I think, in 1847, when we were out in camp, taking a quiet ride through the country. He was most careful on such occasions, when the young crops were com- ing up, not to take the elephant where it could injure the crops by its feet or by its trunk ; and he allowed only one or two sowars to follow him. Suddenly we saw a young civilian coming towards us on an elephant, tearing across the fields regardless of the crops. Mr. Thomason's distress and his dignified rebuke to the thoughtless young civilian, I can never forget." " I was once with him," says the same writer, " on a march from Simla to Kotghar. At the latter place, while we were at dinner, a relative who was on a shooting ex- pedition, and in hot pursuit of bears, suddenly appeared, and both impetuously and imperatively demanded Mr. Thomason's help to give him coolies to beat the jungle. Mr. Thomason gave instructions which ensured the coolies being given, but prevented all coercion, showing again the same anxious consideration for the rights and feelings of the people." Such was the kind consideration, even in the smallest matters, of this truly amiable and consistent Christian statesman. Perfectly impartial and just, so far as imper- fect human nature can be, devoted to duty, and sincerely desirous for the good of all around him, his early removal, for he was scarcely fifty when he died, seems to have been 6 82 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. a real misfortune to the country. It is said that his death was indirectly induced by a weakened constitution, which he did not, and would not, attempt to restore by going year by year to the Hills, as is now the universal constant practice. India owes much to the noble example and the fragrant memory of so good a friend and ruler as James Thomason, Lieutenant-Governor of the North Western Provinces. SIR HENRY LAWRENCE. SIR HENRY LAWRENCE: HENRY LAWRENCE, WHO TRIED TO DO HIS DUTY. • He, through the heat of conflict, keeps the law, In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw ; Or if an unexpected call succeed, Come when it will, is equal to the need." Wordsworth. Tee above lines are taken from Wordsworth's charming little poem on The Character of the Happy Warrior, which was always an especial favourite of Sir Henry Lawrence, the subject of the following sketch, and on which he endeav- oured to model his own cbaracter and life. He was the fourth surviving son of Colonel Alexander Lawrence, who, when a young lieutenant, led one of the storming parties at the memorable siege of Seringapatam. He was born at Matura in the island of Ceylon on June 28, 1806, and was laughingly called by his excellent mother " her Matura diamond" with reference to these precious stones, which were found in that locality. He was chiefly educated at Foyle College in the city of Derry, a town in the north of Ireland, celebrated for its noble defence in 1689 and he afterwards went to Addiscombe, the East India Company's Military College, where he obtained an appointment in the Bengal Artillery. He did not distinguish himself at either place ; but, in after-life, feeling keenly the disadvan- tage of deficient learning, he set himself to work with the object of remedying this defect. He arrived at Calcutta February 21, 1823. After two or three years spent at the Artillery head- quarters at Dum-Dum near Calcutta, Lieutenant Lawrence was ordered to accompany a force which was sent into 86 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. . Arrakan during the first Burmese War. A severe march through a damp and unhealthy country told upon him se- verely, and, having caught jungle fever, he was obliged to go away on medical certificate, and eventually returned to England to recruit his health. He thoroughly enjoyed his stay in his native land, but he was wise enough not to allow it to pass entirely in idleness and inaction. Among other studies, he occupied himself in learning to survey, be- lieving that the knowledge of this useful and practical science would subsequently prove of great benefit to him ; and, with this object in view, he joined the Trigonometrical Survey in the north of Ireland. Possessing a most affec- tionate heart, he felt acutely the second parting from his relatives and friends, when the time came for his re- turn to India, which country he reached on February 9, 3830. His brother John, afterwards Lord Lawrence, Gov- ernor-General of India, who was then going out in the Civil Service, accompanied him. Directly Lieutenant Lawrence reached India, he went up- country, and serving with his regiment, he led a very quiet and retired life. Though not naturally a linguist, he applied himself diligently to the study of Hindustani and Persian, and in two years he passed the examination for Interpreter, which entitled him to employment on the staff. Another reason for leading a retired life was the generous and filial desire to save money for his mother's use during the even- ing of her days. His study of surveying was now to be turned to practical account. His elder brother George being at Simla, where the Governor- General, Lord William Bentinck, was then staying, preferred the request that he might be appointed to the Revenue Survey, which had re- cently been established under Mr. R. M. Bird, and he was appointed one of that gentleman's assistants in the North- West Provinces in February, 1833. The next five years were a time of strenuous and unremitting labour. He threw himself into the discharge of his official duties heart and soul. No work could be more important than that in which he was engaged. It was a survey of the land, for SIR HENRY LAWRENCE. 87 the guidance of the Revenue officers of Government, so that a fair and equitable rent might be demanded from the culti- vators of the soil, and that the errors in the settlement accounts might be ascertained and rectified. The fields in every village were to be measured, the nature and capa- bilities of the soil were to be estimated, and the whole laid down in clear and serviceable maps. This work brought Lieutenant Lawrence into direct contact with the people. It gave him an opportunity of which he fully availed himself, of ascertaining the wants and feelings and prejudices of the ryots themselves. It gave him an insight into the best side of their character, and enabled him to sympathize with them and to help them. In fact, it brought him closer to them, and taught him to understand them better than years spent in mere office work and official routine. He lived among them. For some eight months out of the twelve he was out in tents, and so enthusiastic was he in his work that he excited the displea- sure of his fellow-assistants by urging them to more ardu- ous labour than they desired. He closely inspected the work of his subordinates ; and being of an impetuous dis- position and of rather a fiery temper, he kept them to it with characteristic thoroughness. His mode of punishing perfunctory and imperfect work was sometimes as amusing as it was effective. The following is an instance of such treatment: — "A native surveyor who refused to go back some ten miles to revise a serious error that had been dis- covered in his work, was laid upon a native bed, and carried by bearers to the spot, where he was turned out to rectify his error. The man was obstinate, refused to re-observe his angles, and returned to camp. Henry Lawrence ordered him up into a mango tree, where he kept the recusant, guarded by two Burkundazes with drawn swords, until hunger charged the mind and temper of the surveyor. The man ultimately proved an excellent worker." Bough and ready treatment this of a rough and ready man. Anxious for the good of the people, he fully learned the value of light and easy settlements, and one of the primary 88 ANGLO-INDIAN WOETHIES. objects which he set before himself was to make the com- munications between the different parts of the country- complete. " Push on your roads," he was wont to say ; " open out your district. The farmer, the soldier, the policeman, the traveller, the merchant — all want roads. Cut roads in every direction." The extent of his work was as great as its quality was good. During the five years of his life as a surveyor, he surveyed a large portion of Moradabad, all Futtegarh, a great part of Gorruckpore, and was engaged on the Allahabad district when summoned to another sphere. While engaged in this important and deeply interesting work, an important event in CaptainLawrence's life occurred. On August 21, 1887, he was married to his cousin, Miss Honoria Marshall, to whom he had for some years been most tenderly attached. Henceforward he formed one of the numerous company of English gentlemen in India who endeavour to show to the people, by the purity and the sanctity oil married life, the beautiful example of a happy Christian home. Mrs. Lawrence was one in a thousand. She was a thoughtful, intellectual, and thoroughly godly woman ; and she took her place at her husband's side, fully resolved to be, by the help of God, in every respect a true solace and support to him in all his arduous duties. Whenever she was able, Mrs. Lawrence accompanied her husband in his tours through the country, and shared with him all the little privations and vicissitudes of a life in tents. It is pleasant to know something of the personal appearance of those about whom we are reading ; and this is an appropriate place to give a picture of Captain Law- rence at the period of his life when a man is in his prime. The portrait will not be the less accurate and acceptable, because it is drawn by one who loved him so well as his honoured wife. " Henry is the head of a large establish- ment for surveying," she wrote to a friend; "his assist- ants are encamped at different points in the district, and he goes from place to place, exercising general super- intendence. Hitherto I have accompanied him everywhere, SIR HENRY LAWRENCE. 89 and have seldom been separated from him. It is a great happiness that his work does not take him away daring the day. We sit in the same tent, and even though I may not interrupt him by speaking, I can sit by him, following my own occupations, while he works at his maps and plans. He is rather tall, very thin and sallow, and has altogether an appearance of worse health than he really has. Dark hair, waxing scanty now, high forehead, very pro- jecting eyebrows, sunken eyes, long nose, thin cheeks, and no whiskers. Very active and alert in his habits, but very unmethodical. As to dress and externals, perfectly careless, and would walk out with a piece of carpet about his shoul- ders as readily as with a coat." He was evidently very spare in figure ; but he must have had an iron constitution. A few years later, he said that he could do what few Englishmen in such a climate as India could do with im- punity, namely, ride from eighty to a hundred miles at a stretch, and work from twelve to fourteen hours a day. These happy years, to which Captain and Mrs. Lawrence always looked back with pleasurable remembrance, past rapidly away. No more rides in the clear, crisp morning air, accompanied by peons and surveyors. No more days spent in consultation with the simple villagers, or in tents strewed with papers and plans. The melancholy war with Afghanistan had begun. The army of the Indus was collecting in Upper India ; and, at Captain Lawrence's own earnest request, he was permitted to join his battery of artillery at Kurnaul ; but it was not employed, and, again at his own request, he obtained, in January 1839, the appointment of assistant to Mr. George Clerk, the Governor- General's Agent on the North- West frontier. Ferozepore, a strip of territory, containing about a hundred square miles, on the south bank of the Sutlej, was placed under his charge. Here Mrs. Lawrence and he remained for the next three years. Three more eventful years, had never occurred in the history of British Iudia. Afghanis- tan was invaded and occupied by British forces, and then came what seems to us now the terrible retribution for an 90 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. unjust war. Ferozepore was situated on the direct line of communication between that country and India ; and Cap- tain Lawrence was fully occupied in obtaining and forward- ing supplies, in furnishing passing regiments with what they needed, and in keeping up the means of communi- cation with the advanced force. In his own immediate charge he was the civil officer as well as political, and every department was under his control. He rebuilt the town, and improved the district. He made himself acquainted with his Sikh neighbours on both sides of the Sutlej, and employ- ed himself, among other duties, in acquiring an extensive and accurate knowledge of the Sikh polity and kingdom. During the very eventful year 1842, when the prestige of the British forces was trembling in the balance after the terrible disasters in Afghanistan, Captain Lawrence was busily employed in negotiations with the Sikh chiefs, and in helping to obtain supplies for the avenging army under General Pollock. He was ordered to Peshawar, where he took a considerable part in subduing the rising spirit of mutiny which had shown itself in the British sepoy army. The services of his superior, Mr. George Clerk, at Lahore, and his at Peshawar were successful in keeping the very doubtful alliances with the Sikhs from becoming a mere nullity and delusion. When General Pollock's army ad- vanced through the Khyber Pass, he accompanied it, and he went with the Sikh contingent to Jellalabad, which, during the war, had been most gallantly defended by a small Eng- lish force under General Sale. While negotiations with the Afghans were being conducted, his elder brother George, who had been a captive at Kabul, and had been sent to Jellalabad to take part in them, was in honour bound to return to captivity. All the chivalrous affection of Henry Lawrence shone out at this juncture, and he generously offered to take his brother's place, and to return in his stead. His brother, however, would not listen for a moment to this noble offer ; but he was eventually released. When the victorious army returned to India, Henry Lawrence reverted to his former political employ. SIR HENRY LAWRENCE. 91 In December 1843 Major Lawrence was appointed resi- dent at the court of Nepaul. The condition of that king- dom was then one of sad intestine trouble. It required the presence of a Resident who, while refraining from interfer- ence in the actual government of the country, would quietly watch the progress of events, and be ready to give his counsel and advice when really required, and to guard Brit- ish interests. There was to be observed in Nepaul the curious anomaly of a corrupt and troubled court, but a peaceful and prosperous people. Major Lawrence himself describes the state of affairs in the following words : — <{ It is only justice to the Goorkhas to say that, bad as is their foreign and Durbar policy, they are the best masters I have seen in India. Neither in the Terai nor in the Hills, have I witnessed or heard of a single act of oppression, and a happier peasantry I have nowhere seen." The duties of a Resident at such a Court as Nepaul then was, are admirably sketched by that sagacious Indian adminis- trator, Mr. Thomason. " Your duties at Nepaul," he wrote, " will be twofold, namely, to watch any movements which may be injurious to us, and to offer counsel in all State matters in which we may not be concerned, whenever such counsel is sought, or is likely to be successful and useful. In the first duty you will have to keep the mean between too great confidence and too ready suspicion. The duty of advice is the most important which it falls to a Resident to perform. Most perfect openness and honesty I believe to be the first requisite. Evenness of temper, courtesy of demeanour, the absence of dictation or obtrus- iveness, are qualities which naturally suggest themselves to the mind of all. The Government would be ill-represented if every available opportunity were not used to prompt to that which is good, and to deter from that which is evil ; to express abhorrence of acts of cruelty, perfidy, injustice ; to give full approbation of all that is benevolent, honest, high-minded, and just. The main object is to identify one- self with the real and best interests of the State. When they feel that such is really the case, and that the object is 92 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. worked out in a kind, conciliatory, and single-minded man- ner, considerable influence will probably be obtained. But all must be open and above board. " Major Lawrence endeavoured his utmost to carry out in the best way these friendly counsels, which he highly prized. The comparative leisure ensured him by this appointment afforded Major Lawrence a valuable opportunity for literary- labour, of which he took ample advantage. He employed it in omniverous reading, turning the light of his studies especially on current Indian politics and affairs. He wrote frequently for the newspapers, and particularly for the Calcutta Review, which had recently been started ; and in all his literary work he was assisted and encouraged by Mrs. Lawrence. He had acquired a rough and rugged, but forcible, style of composition, which, like his own personal character, required to be softened, sweetened, and polished, and this part of the work was performed by Mrs. Lawrence, whose intellectual and literary skill was great, and who delighted in turning it to the best account in his service. " So, when not interrupted by ill health, as sometimes happened," wrote Sir J. W. Kaye, who then edited the Calcutta Review, (C these two worked on happily together, in their Nepaul home ; and seldom or never did a week pass without bringing me, as I laboured on in Calcutta, a bulky packet of manuscript from one or other — or both. - " During their residence in Nepaul, Major and Mrs. Law- rence brought to perfection a plan for the benefit of the children of Europeau soldiers in India, which they had long contemplated. Some years before, while they were sitting together on the slope of the Sonawar hills overlook- ing Kussowlee, whither they had gone for his health, they had formed the resolve to erect there a sanatorium for this purpose ; and the long considered scheme was at this time commenced. Their hearts had yearned over the sad condi- tion of soldiers' children. The climate of India, always adverse to the constitution of Europeans, even under the most favourable circumstances, is peculiarly unsuited to children ; and, in addition to this, the surroundings to SIR HENRY LAWRENCE. 93 which children are liable in barracks, are most objection- able. The idea, therefore, of establishing an Asylum for them in the cool atmosphere of the Hills, which is not unlike the climate of Eugland, was a very happy one ; and, when there was added to this sound instruction based on the sacred teaching of the Christian Scriptures, on which Henry Lawrence particularly insisted, the benefit of such an institution was increased a hundredfold. The scheme at first encountered opposition in influential quarters ; but it was ere long taken up warmly by Government, and a beginning was made at Kussowlee, on the inner range of the Himalayas. Major and Mrs. Lawrence supported it with lavish generosity. This beneficent scheme has since been considerably extended, and there are now similar Asylums in other localities, notably at a beautiful spot near Ootacamund in what Lord Tennyson calls " the sweet, half-English Neilgherry air.'" They all bear the honoured name of Lawrence, and they form the most appropriate memorial to two of the best friends of India and of the English soldier in India. At the end of 1845 the first Sikh war occurred. When Major Lawrence heard this intelligence, he was accompany- ing Mrs. Lawrence, who had been seriously ill, to Calcutta. In the fiercely contested battle of Ferozeshah, Major Broadfoot, the Governor-General's Agent, was killed, and Sir Henry, afterwards Lord, Hardinge at once summoned Major Lawrence to occupy the vacant post, as his previous services in and near the Punjab had afforded him exceptional knowledge of the politics and the character of the Sikhs. In less than fonr-and-twenty hours he obeyed the summons. Leaving Mrs. Lawrence to go to Calcutta by herself, he hastened to Ferozepore, where he took charge of the appointment to which he had already been gazetted. He came into the very heart of the war. He was present at the final victory of Sobraon. A few days afterwards Lahore, the capital, was occupied. The Governor-General was strongly opposed to annexation. The Sikh Govern- ment was to be continued under English supervision. 94 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. The young Maharajah Dhuleep Sing, then only five years old, was formally installed as sovereign, and his mother was made his guardian. The kingdom of Cash- mere was sold to the powerful chieftain Ghoolab Sing as indemnity for the expenses of the war, and only a strip of territory, namely the Jullundar Doab, between the Sutlej and the Chenab, was incorporated in the English dominions. This arrangement did not last long. It was discovered that the Maharani was intriguing against the Government, and therefore she was removed from her high position, and the Government of the newly conquered country was placed in the hands of a council consisting of eight Sikh sirdars acting under Colonel Lawrence, who had been appointed Resident of Lahore. The chief authority, of course subordi- nate to the Government of India, in fact almost kingly power, was in Colonel Lawrence's hands. The singular wisdom and prudence with which he exercised it, received the marked approbation of Lord Hardinge. But a long residence in India and the exciting events of the last few months had told on even his iron constitution, and he was compelled to go to England for the sake of his health. He accompanied his old friend and chief, Lord Hardinge, and reached London in March, 1848. He was soon afterwards created by the Queen a Knight Commander of the Bath, and is to be henceforth known as Sir Henry Lawrence. While recruiting his health in England, Sir Henry heard the news of a sudden outbreak in the Punjab. Mulraj, the chief of Multan, had risen in rebellion, and, in a short time, the whole of the Punjab was in a blaze. At once Sir Henry Lawrence, who was full of anxiety to be on the spot, requested permission to return, and in November, Lady Lawrence and he were once more on their way to India. He reached the Punjab just in time to share some of the anxieties and the excitement of the final campaign. The victory of Gujrat gave the complete command of the coun- try to the English, and the Governor-General, Lord Dal- housie, decided on the annexation of it as the only means of ensuring its tranquillity, and on this and other subjects SIE HENRY LAWRENCE. 95 he was brought into direct antagonism to the well-known opinion of Sir Henry Lawrence, who was still opposed to this extreme measure. On March 29, 1849, the memor- able proclamation by which the Punjab past under the direct government of England was published, and the government of the new province was placed under a Commission consisting of Sir Henry Lawrence as President, and of two civilians, his brother John, afterwards Lord, Lawrence, and Mr. Mansel, who was soon succeeded by Mr. Robert Montgomery. The political department was principally under Sir Henry, while revenue affairs were chiefly left to his brother, and the judicial department to Mr. Mansel. An admirable staff of selected Indian officers was placed at their disposal. The Punjab was constituted what was then well-known as a M non-regulation province,' 5 and it was most efficiently worked. Sir Henry Lawrence constantly moved about the province. He was trusted and loved by the Sikhs themselves ; and it is very much owing to the tact with which the delicate transition from their own government to that of England was effected by him, that they were converted into such firm and faithful adherents to the British Raj that, when, in a very few years, the fate of the Empire in India trembled in the balance, their loyalty considerably tended to turn the scale. The Punjab became quite a model province. Most of the praise for this is usually attributed to Lord Lawrence ; but the foundations of it were laid by the sympathetic policy and winning demeanour of his brother. The Commission, however, did not work well, and the Governor-General resolved to place the province at the first favourable opportunity under a single officer as Chief Com- missioner, with a Revenue and a Judicial Commissioner under him. This is, perhaps, the saddest episode in Sir Henry Lawrence's life. There is no doubt that, on many important questions, he differed from his brother. The result was that both sent in their resignation, and Lord Dalhousie accepted Sir Henry's, appointing his brother as the new Chief Commissioner. Lord Dalhousie, in writing to him 96 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. privately on the subject, told him that the Government had fully determined to place a thoroughly trained and experienced civilian, at the head of the province, add- ing these words — " All the world unites in acknowledg- ing the merits of Sir Thomas Munro. I cannot, there- fore, illustrated better the strength of my own convic- tion on this head than by saying that if Sir Thomas Munro were now President of your Board, I should still hold the opinion I have expressed regarding the office of Chief Com- missioner." These sentiments sadly mortified Sir Henry Lawrence, He justly felt that he had abundance of experi- ence of civil administration. " I have held," he said, " every sort of civil post during the last twenty-one years, and have trained myself by hard work and by putting my own shoulder to the wheel. Six years I was a Revenue Surveyor, doing all the most difficult work of a Settlement Officer. For four years I was a District Officer, Judge, Magistrate, and Collector, without assistance of any kind. For six years I have been a Chief Judge and Commissioner of Appeal in revenue matters," But the sentence which cut deepest was the one referring to Sir Thomas Munro, as he frequently recurred to it afterwards. Sir Henry Lawrence's resignation having been accepted, he was appointed the Governor-General's Agent in Raj- putana, a high position in which he had the supervision over eighteen Rajput States. He left Lahore in January, 1853, and assumed charge of his new office at Ajmere. Rajputana was the ancestral country of some of the most chivalrous of the Hindu Kshatriya princes. They had, in former years, been distinguished for their courage, high principle, and generosity ; but they had, in too many instances, sadly degeuerated. " There is little, if any, truth or honesty in them," he wrote, " and not much mauli- ness. Every principality is more or less in trouble. The princes encroach on the thakoors, and the latter on their sovereigns. The feudal system, as it is called, is rotten to the core." He did much, however, to enlist their sympathies for better things, and to attract their affection to himself. SIR HENRY LAWRENCE. 97 He Lad scarcely been a year in Rajputana, when he ex- perienced the poignant sorrow of losing his noble and devoted wife, who had for so many years been the earthly joy and solace of his life. She died at Mount Aboo, one of the loveliest spots in India, on January 15, 1854. She died, as she had lived, a firm believer in Christ and in the truths of His consolatory religion, and was laid to rest " in sure and certain hope" of everlasting life in the presence of the Saviour whom she had always loved and served. Sir Henry's services in Rajputana principally consisted in carefully watching the course of events at the Rajput courts, and in tendering his counsel where needed. The chief points to which he directed his attention were suttee and infanticide, which were sadly prevalent, and the im- provement of prison discipline ; but, notwithstanding the interest occasioned by his duties, he was anxious to leave that locality. His health thoroughly broke down, and he was anxious to return once more to hi3 own native land. This was not to be, however : a few more months of harder work than ever, and a hundredfold more anxiety — and then final rest was to come. The terrible year, 1857, had begun. Lord Dalhousie had left, and Lord Canning was Governor-Greneral. Early in the year he offered the appointment of Chief Commissioner of Oude to Sir Henry Lawrence. Ill as he was, Sir Henry was quite invigorated by this offer. " I am quite at your lordship's service," he wrote in reply, " and will cancel my leave and move to Lucknow at a day's notice. " He reached that city on March 20, a time of great perplexity and danger. The province of Oude had recently been annexed. Whether the policy be right or wrong, Lord Dalhousie's remedy for bad government was to take the misruled territory under British protection in the interests of the people themselves. But Oude was the home of many of the Brahmin sepoys in the Bengal army ; and, when the mutiny began, the greater part of the peasantry sympathized with, them, so that Oude became one of the most fiercely contest- ed seats of conflict. Sir Henry Lawrence had, in a measure, 7 98 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. foreseen the rebellion, and when he arrived at Lucknow and was made aware of the feeling there, he at once set to work to prepare for the storm, and it was due to his sagacity and foresight that provisions and stores were laid in, and the Residency at Lucknow was placed in a state of defence ; in fact, had it not been for his foresight, defence would have been impossible. The memorable siege of Lucknow was, perhaps, one of the finest feats of war either in ancient or in modern times. An account of it does not, however, come within the scope of this memoir, and we have to speak only of the first few days of the siege, because they alone refer to the life of Sir Henry Lawrence. For some little time after the outbreak at Meerut and Delhi, the stream of disaffection was stemmed at Lucknow ; but, on the last day of June, the revolted regiments drew so threateningly near the city that some of the small force of English were sent out against them. The Oude artillery, which had hitherto been faithful, went over to the enemy, and the tiny European contingent was fairly overwhelmed. The siege of Lucknow really began immediately after this defeat. The garrison consisted of 927 Europeans, and 765 sepoys. A hearty word of praise should be given, in passing, to these faithful sepoys, who, amidst the strongest tempta- tions, remained, true to their salt. The first attacks were most severe ; but Sir Henry Lawrence was indefatigable in his exertions. His own quarters were in an upper room at the Residency, which he had selected because it was in a commanding position for directing the defence. A shell burst in this room on July 1, while he and his Secretary were transacting business together, but neither was injured. He was urged to quit this room, and to occupy some more protected place. He was, however, loathe to leave it, but promised to do so on the following day. The morning of the next day, July 2, broke. He was busy during the earlier hours in inspecting the defences and other matters. At eight he and his nephew, George, thoroughly exhausted by the heat and the morning's work, SIR HENRY LAWRENCE. 99 were lying on their cots a little distance apart. Colonel Wilson, the Deputy Adjutant-General, was reading an order to him for correction, and a cooly was seated on the floor pulling the punka. Suddenly a shell fell in the room and burst, wounding Sir Henry severely in the thigh. He was at once removed to the doctor's house, and there tenderly nursed. The first question he asked was, " How long have I got to live ?" The reply was " about forty- eight hours." Calmly and quietly he prepared for death, mindful to the last of others rather than himself. He gave some thoughtful instructions regarding the continuance of the defence. One thing he particularly enforced — " Let every man die at his post; but never make terms. God help the poor women and children. " During this time of weakness his mind frequently recurred to his favour- ite scheme, the Lawrence Asylum. One of his first acts after his wounds had been dressed was to partake of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and peculiarly touch- ing is the picture of this solemn communion service amidst the horrors of the siege. He expressed a firm trust in the Saviour's complete and full atonement. He died about eight o'clock on the morning of the 4th. Thus died Sir Henry Lawrence, one of the noblest and tru- est among our Indian heroes. He was a thorough Christian, Converted at Calcutta in the early days of his service, more deeply convinced of the grand truths of Christianity in his later years, and united to one who was truly his example and stay in the Christian life, he grew in grace as he increased in years. His was no faith put on at the last, but it influenced his whole life. The following words express the desire of his heart : — " Lord, bring home to my heart the reality of thy perfect Godhead and per- fect humanity, and, above all, of my need of a Saviour, of my utter inability to do aught that is right in my own strength. Make me humble, reasonable, contented, thank- ful, just, and considerate. May I not fear man or man's opinions, but remember that Thou knowest my motives and my thoughts; and that Thou art to be my Judge," 100 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. One bright feature in his character was his spirit of for- giveness. He was always ready to forgive those who had offended him or whom he imagined he had offended. He was ambitious with a noble ambition ; but, at the same time, he was too keenly sensitive regarding the estimation in which he was held by others, and especially by those in authority. He was, even to the last, under the impres- sion that his services were not sufficiently appreciated ; but they were in reality so much thought of by the Court of Directors that, in ignorance of his death, they con- sidered him the fittest person to succeed to the high office of Governor-General in case of the retirement or death of Lord Canning. Sir Henry Lawrence was no courtier, and sometimes expressed himself in a very curt and straightforward manner, when confronted by any mean or dishonourable conduct. No one was, however, more kindly in manner towards Hindus, Moslems, and Sikhs ; and nothing stirred his generous spirit more than hardness exhibited towards those who were suffering reverse from the fortune of war or other circumstances. Such in his many-sided character was this truly great and good man, simple in heart, sometimes rugged in manner, but always kind, sympathetic, and noble, and yet so humble that, at his special request, all that was placed over his grave was the brief, but touching, record : — " Here lies Henry Lawrence, who tried to do his duty." * I . It SIR JAMES OTJTRAM. SIR JAMES OUTRAM: THE BAYARD OF INDIA. " Sans peur et sans reproche." Old French Motto. Without fear and without reproach. The following story was told by Sir Charles Napier at a banquet given in honour of Major Outram on the occasion of his leaving the province of Scinde in 1842 : — " In the fourteenth century there was in the French army a Knight renowned for deeds of gallantry in war, and wisdom in council ; indeed, so deservedly famous was he, that by general acclamation he was called the Knight sans peur et sans reproche. The name of this Knight, you may all know, was the Chevalier Bayard. Gentlemen, I give you the " Bayard of India, sans peur et sans reproche, Major James Outram, of the Bombay Army." From that time to this, the subject of the following brief sketch has always honourably been known as " the Bayard of India." James Outram was born on January 29, 1803, atButterly in Derbyshire, where his father had founded some exten- sive iron- works. His father died when he was still an infant ; but his mother, who was a lady of remarkable in- tellectual power, lived to a great age, dying, in fact, only a few days before her illustrious son. There is little to relate concerning his school-boy days. He was an athletic youth, generous and high-spirited, but little inclined to study. At an early age, he received a cadetship in the service of the Honourable East India Company, and he arrived at Bombay on August 15, 1819. He served for some time as a regimental officer, being appointed in due course as Adjutant of his Corps, and being much distin- guished for his prowess in hunting and other field-sports. 104 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. The ten years from 1825 to 1835 were those in which he was brought into closest contact with the people, and he won his first official distinction in the Bheel country, among a wild race which had hitherto been regarded as thoroughly lawless and uncivilized. The Bheels are an aboriginal people, who principally inhabited the hill-country in Khan- desh, to the north-east of Bombay. It was annexed to the dominions of British India after the downfall of the Peshwa in 1818. The Bheels then were about 55,000 in number. Some of them had taken to agriculture, but the greater num- ber were simply marauders. They inhabited the rocky ranges in that part of the country, where, protected by the strength of their position, " they have since dwelt, subsisting partly on their own industry, but more generally on the plunder of the rich landholders in their vicinity, considering depre- dation on the inhabitants of the plain as a sort of privilege, and a tax upon all persons passing through the country of their occupation as a national right." Though small in stature, they were strong and wiry, and possessed the martial qualities of courage and endurance, which rendered them, when civilized, admirably fitted for service in the army. Since the close of the great Mahratta war, there had been ample opportunities for these hardy mountaineers to subsist on plunder and rapine. It was said that, at the time of the annexation of the country, " fifty notorious leaders infested this once flourishing ' garden of the west/ and their every command wa& implicitly obeyed by upwards of five thousand ruthless followers, whose delight alone consisted in the murderous foray, and whose subsistence depended entirely on the fruits of their spoil. Smarting also under the repeatedly broken pledges of the former native Government,, and rendered savage from the whole- sale slaughter of their- families and relations, the Bheels were more than usually subspicious of a new Government of foreigners, and less than ever inclined to submit to the bonds of order and restraint." In the year 1825 the Government determined to establish an agency in the Bheel country. The north-western por- SIR JAMES OUTRAM. 105 tion, in the Satpura hills, was assigned to Lieutenant Out- ram, and he was entrusted with the duty of raising a Bheel corps of Light Infantry. Mr. Mountstuart Elphinstone, a statesman of great capacity and of keen insight into the character of the people, was then Governor of Bombay. He was most anxious to try the effect of conciliation upon this rough and untutored race, and he desired to carry out a policy of reclamation rather than one of extermination. The officers appointed to the new agency, and especially Lieutenant Outram, threw themselves heartily into this humane and friendly design. He endeavoured to found the proposed corps by himself living among the people, enter- ing into their simple modes of life, and joining in their adventurous pursuits. An expedition conducted with the regular troops was made among them, and several of them were captured. Lieutenant Outram formed the project of founding a corps through the medium of these captives, some were released to bring in the relatives of the rest, on the pledge that they all should be set at liberty. " I thus effected," to use his own words, " an intercourse with some of the leading Naiks, went alone with them into their jungles, and gained their confidence by liv- ing unguarded among them, until I persuaded five of the most adventurous to risk their fortunes with me, which small beginning I considered ensured ultimate success." The first recruits were very shy, but they gradually gained confidence. On one occasion Lieutenant Outram was stay- ing at the very place where, only eleven years before, some Bheels had been enticed, by some of the Peshwa's officers, and then cruelly massacred. Some of those who were with him naturally imagined that a similar trick was about to be played upon them. Fifteen of the more timid fled on the first alarm. " The moment I heard of the rumour," he wrote, u I ordered the Bheels to assemble, and was promptly obeyed. I explained to them how much disappointed I had reason to be in men who, notwithstanding the confid- ence I placed in them, sleeping under their words every night (having none but a Bheel guard at my residence), 106 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. still continued to harbour suspicions of me. The feeling with which they answered me was so gratifying that I do not regret the cause which brought it forth. They immediate- ly went after the fugitives, and returned with eight in the evening." He employed those who remained steadfast to him in putting down dacoity. He liberally rewarded them. He obtained the pardon of two of their most notorious lead- ers, who had voluntarily submitted themselves ; and, by thus exercising clemency, he won their confidence and esteem. Marching with some of his new recruits, he went with them to one of the head-quarters of the regular troops, and induced the latter to fraternize with them. In fact, he succeeded in gathering round him a compact corps of orderly and soldierlike men, who became de- votedly attached to him and to the Government whom he served. The quality which most completely enlisted the sympathies of these children of the forests and the hills, was his pro- ficiency in sport. Lieutenant Outramwas a thorough shikari. He delighted in dangerous sport, not only for its own sake, but because he considered it part of his duty to show his subordinates an example of courage and endurance. The great majority of the Bheels were sportsmen by nature and by habit. Tigers, many of them man-eaters, abounded in the hills; and the unsophisticated people readily yielded their admiration and gave their help to one who was a master in the exciting adventures of the chase. Lieutenant Outram had a favourite elephant named Hyder, which he frequently used in his shooting expeditions, but he more frequently went after the tigers on foot. On one occasion a tiger was discovered by the side of a hill in a thicket of prickly pear. He had with him one European comrade, who fired at the animal and missed, when it sprang forward with a roar and seized Lieutenant Outram. Both rolled down the side of the hill. Being released from its claws for a moment, he calmly drew his pistol and killed the animal. The Bheels who were with him, on seeing their chief injured, uttered a loud lamentation, but he quieted SIR JAMES OUTRAM. 107 them with the simple remark, " What do I care for the clawing of a cat !" — a speech which was never forgotten, and was long used as a byword among them. On another occasion a tiger was found in a densely wooded ravine. Lieutenant Outram at once proceeded thither on foot, rifle in hand. It was impossible to catch sight of the animal owing to the thickness of the jungle, and he was unable to see the end of the gorge where it was likely to emerge. He therefore climbed a tree the branches of which overhung the ravine, and his attendants, tying their turbans and waistbands together, made a rope which they bound beneath his arms, and he was thereby lowered, dangling in the air right over the gorge. He was thus enabled to see clearly, and, as the tiger came out he obtained an excellent shot and killed it. When he was drawn up again into the tree, he laughingly turned to his trusty Bheels, and exclaimed, "You have suspended me like a thief from the tree, but — I killed the tiger If? On two occasions at least he attacked a tiger on foot, armed only with a spear. One evening he had been at a party where the conversation had been about tiger-hunt- ing, and a story had been told of one having been speared from horseback. Determined not to be outdone at his favourite sport, he resolved to attack one on foot armed in the same simple fashion. He was seen the following morn- ing very busily employed in sharpening a favourite Mahratti spear ; and taking it with him, he descended from the howdah of his elephant, as he approached the place where a tiger had been discovered. The animal was track- ed to a den which had two entrances. Stopping up one of these with bushes, Outram stationed himself, spear in hand, at the other. "There he stood," wrote an eye-witness, " spear in hand, like a gladiator in the arena of a Roman amphitheatre, ready for the throwing open of the wild beast's cage. The bushes were set fire to, and the tiger, by no means relishing the smoke, came puffing and blowing like a porpoise, every five or six seconds, to get a little fresh air j but scenting the elephant, he was always 108 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. fain to retreat again. At last there was a low angry growl, and a scuffling rustle in the passage. The tiger sprang out, and down descended the long lance into his neck, just behind the right ear. With one stroke of his paw, he smashed the spear close to its head. There was a pretty business. The tiger one step below, with the steel sticking in his neck, had gathered his huge hind quarters below him for a desperate spring ; and my friend, armed after the fashion of the South Sea Islanders, standing on a little mound, breathing defiance and brandishing his bamboo on high — odds by far too overpowering ; so, to bring things a little more to equality, I threw in a couple of balls, which turned the scale." He was afterwards killed with further shots. "Had the spear not been directed with the most cool self-possession, so as to arrest the progress of the tiger, and give me a slight chance of hitting," adds the writer, " there would have been an end of one whose like we shall seldom see again ; at best it was the happy accomplishment of a very rash vow." By deeds of prowess such as these, as well as by acts of kindliness, Captain Outram attracted to himself the hearts of this rude people, and for years after he had left them they dwelt with delight on the recollection of them. But his ten years' residence among them was drawing to its close. His faculty of conciliating a primitive people was appreciated by the Government of Bombay, and he was removed to another sphere of duty where similar services were required. This was the Mahi Kanta in Gujarat, a tract of country nominally under the Government of the Gaikawar of Baroda. It was chiefly inhabited by a wild race called the Ktilis ; but all the inhabitants under some turbulent chief, had made it very difficult for the Gaikawar' s officials to collect the tribute due. The Government of Bombay were most anxious to try the effect of kindness and conciliation, and Captain Outram was deputed to carry out this new policy. Force was at first imperatively required ; but, while the Government of Bombay did not altogether approve of the military measures he adopted, they ex- SIR JAMES OUTRAM. 109 pressed their satisfaction at the result of his conciliatory administration. After he had ensured the submission of the refractory leaders, he settled down to the hard work of official life, which proved no agreeable contrast to the free life in the jungles which he had enjoyed among the Bheels. Before he went to the Mahi Kanta, however, another great change had been effected in his life. In December, 1835, he was married at Bombay to his cousin, Miss Margaret Anderson, to whom he had for some time been engaged. The exigencies of the service required that he should leave his bride soon after their marriage; but she joined him at Ahmedabad in the following May. Ill health compelled her to return to England not long afterwards. More stirring times were now at hand. In 1838 an army was assembled for the purpose of restoring the exiled Amir of Afghanistan, Shah Sujah, to his throne, and Captain Outram sought permission to join it in his military capacity. He was accordingly appointed Aid-de-Camp to Sir John Keane, the Commander-in-Chief. Proceeding to Bombay, he embarked on November 21, 1838, with the Commander-in-Chief and his staff, for the mouth of the Indus on his way through Scinde to Afghanistan. The next few years of his life were full of military stir and service. This is not the place to give an abstract of the history of the first Afghan war, and only a brief outline can be given of Captain Outram 5 s share in it. This consisted chiefly in negotiating for supplies for the Bombay column on its upward march through Scinde and Beluchis- tan ; in commanding a party sent in pursuit of the fugitive Amir, Dost Muhammad Khan, as the English army was approaching Kabul ; and in helping to tranquillize the turbu- lent country between Kabul and Kandahar. He was present at the capture of Khelat ; and, disguised as a Muhammadau, he carried the intelligence of this important event by a rugged and difficult route to Somian Bunder in the incred- ibly short time of eight days, thus outstripping even the usually swift bazaar news. Soon after his return to Bombay, Major Outram was ap- 110 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. pointed Political Agent in Lower Scinde, and he took charge of his office there in January 1840. The political position throughout Scinde was peculiarly critical during the three years of Major Outram's service in that country. The gov- ernment was in the hands of certain powerful Amirs, who were closely related, and who were sadly opposed to each other by family prejudices and jealousies, which ultimately proved fatal to their power. The march of the English army through their country to Afghanistan was scarcely tolerated, but fear kept them from any overt acts of hosti- lity. When news of the reverses in Afghanistan were received, the attitude of the Amirs very naturally became suspicious and inimical. Major Outram went among them as their friend. He certainly acquired their confidence in a marvellous manner j and it may, perhaps, be truthfully asserted that if the conduct of affairs had entirely been en- trusted to him, the final issue would have been very differ- ent to what it really was. It is sufficient to observe that, while he was thoroughly loyal in his obedience to his supe- rior officers, he was consistently opposed to the policy that was adopted, and to the mode of treatment to which the Amirs of Scinde were subjected. The first year of Major Outram' s residence in Scinde was comparatively tranquil. In August 1841, the negotiations throughout the whole of the country came under his control, the health of the Political Agent in Upper Scinde having given way before the terribly hot and trying climate. But though so great a responsibility was placed upon him, he was encouraged by the knowledge that he had the confi- dence and approbation of Lord Auckland, the Governor- General, who, writing with reference to a certain course of policy which he had adopted, said : " It is generous and bold. I am always disposed to turn to the judgment of those in whom I place such confidence as I place in you." At the end of 1841 came the disasters in Afghanistan. The English forces there were almost annihilated, and only one garrison, — that in the fort of Jellalabad — gallantly held out. The year 1842 was one of continuous and heavy strain to Major SIR JAMES OUTRAM. Ill Outram. Serving in a border-land, through which supplies and reinforcements had to pass, the responsibility of for- warding supplies and of pacifying the Amirs of Scinde rested in a great measure upon him. When, however, two avenging armies had been assembled at Peshawar and at Quetta, it was considered advisable by the Government of India to place General Nott, who commanded the army at the latter place, in full political, as well as military, authority over Scinde. Major Outram felt acutely this transfer of authority from himself ; but he cheerfully and loyally threw himself into the task of forwarding the policy of action and advance. Just about this time, he very firmly advo- cated the restoration of the province of Shah to the youth- ful Khan of Khelat, from whose father it had been taken. This measure, however, did not meet with the approval of Lord Ellenborough, the new Governor-General, although it had been virtually sanctioned by his predecessor, and Major Outram felt very keenly the way in which it had been received. As soon as the column under General Nott had past through Beluchistan, Major Outram left Quetta, and hastened southward to report himself to Sir Charles Napier, who had recently been empowered to assume supreme power in Scinde; and, not long afterwards, he obtained leave to proceed to Bombay with the object of returning to England on furlough. Major Outram was not, however, able immediately to set his face homeward. Soon after reaching Bombay, he received an order from Government to join Sir Charles Napier as Commissioner for arranging a treaty which was about to be placed before the Amirs of Scinde. At once setting aside personal considerations, he responded to the call of public duty. When, early in January, 1843, he joined Sir Charles Napier, the latter was in the field ad- vancing against the Amirs of Upper Scinde. Major Outram used his best endeavours to induce the aged chief, Mir Rustam, to yield, but they were frustrated by the under- hand intrigues of Rustam's brother, Ali Murad. The fort of Imamghar, the residence of the Amir, was abandoned 112 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. and destroyed by the advancing army. After these opera- tions, Major Outram was sent to Hyderabad to conduct the negotiations there, and he went with the sincere desire of effecting an amicable settlement. He was nearly suc- cessful in persuading the Amirs of Hyderabad to sign the treaty that had been proposed to them by the British Government ; but the temper of the towns-people had been provoked by what they considered the unjust and high-hand- ed proceedings of the Commander-in-Chief, and an attack was made on the Residency in overwhelming force. After a courageous defence, the small party under Major Outram withdrew on board two little steamers that were lying in the river Indus, near which Hyderabad is situated j and left the capital, to join the army under Sir Charles Napier at Mea- nee. Two days after the attack on the Residency, the celebrated battle of Meanee was fought, in which the Beluchis behaved most bravely, but were defeated (Febru- ary 17, 1843). Major Outram was not present at it, as he had been sent to destroy a forest in the neighbourhood, which it was imagined might afford the enemy a convenient refuge. He was, however, entrusted with the despatches announcing the victory of Meanee ; and, soon after his reaching Bombay, he left for England. Major Outram was thoroughly opposed to the policy which finally led to the conquest and annexation of Scinde, and he practically marked his disapproval of it by declining to accept his share of the prize-money which was awarded to the victo- rious army. For many years afterwards he was engaged in a literary controversy on the subject, and we think it may safely be asserted that the verdict of history has been pronounced in his favour. Major Outram had, after four and twenty years' con- tinuous service in India, fully merited his leave. He rejoin- ed his wife, who had long been absent from him, in May, 1843, in England. He did not enjoy his repose very long. There were rumours of hostilities in India, and he at once volunteered his services. On his arrival at Bombay, Colo- nel Outram heard of war having been proclaimed against SIR JAMES OUTRAM. 113 the Mahrattas. No appointment was given to him, how- ever, requiring service in the field. He was placed in political and civil charge of Nimar, a district near Indore, but he remained there only six months, and returned to Bombay with the intention of again going to England. Disturbances arising in the South Mahratta country, he went thither first as a volunteer and then in command, and received the thanks of the Government for the energy and military skill with which he had subdued the rebellion in Kolapore. In May 1845, Colonel Outram was appointed Resident of Sattara. He was there just two years. Mrs. Outram joined him, and his stay there was, perhaps, the most pleasant time he had enjoyed during his long residence in India. In May, 1847, he was transferred to Baroda, and his service there was, on the contrary, the most anxious and irksome period of all. He was not engaged against an enemy in the field, or in combating a policy of which he disapproved ; but he was brought face to face with a gigan- tic system of corruption, against which his honest and transparent character heartily revolted. This was a system of bribery known in that part of the country as " Khalpat." It was peculiarly virulent in Baroda. Colonel Outram's vigorous endeavour to suppress it, brought him not only into collision with the Gaikawar of Baroda, at whose court he was Resident, but also with the Grovernment of Bombay, which disapproved of the measures he adopted. On resigning his appointment, he returned to England, where he brought the whole subject before the Court of Directors, and the result of his appeal to them was his restoration to office by the Governor-General, who had meanwhile placed Baroda under the direct control of the Government of India. He returned for a time to Baroda, where he had the satisfaction of seeing the course he had advocated pursued, and the persons whom he had sus- pected dismissed by the Gaikawar. He was afterwards appointed Resident of Aden, where he remained only six months. 8 114 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. In December, 1854, Colonel Outram received from Lord Dalhousie, then Governor- General of India, the highest diplomatic position he conld attain, namely, that of Resi- dent of Lucknow. The kingdom of Oude was at that time in a most lamentable condition. The reigning Nawab was a confirmed profligate, and incapable of attending to the affairs of State. His ministers and courtiers were corrupt to the core. He was himself in the power of buffoons, poetasters, and actors. The people groaned under the worst form of oppression. This was the more serious, as the East India Company's possessions adjoined Oude on three sides, and most of the sepoys in the Bengal army were recruited there. General Outranks first duty was to make inquiries into the actual condition of affairs, and to present a report upon it to the Governor-General. He reached Lucknow on December 5, and was received by the Nawab with a profusion of Oriental splendour. He gave him the most careful and earnest advice ; but all his remonstrances were unavailing, and the report he felt compelled to give to the Governor-General was of the darkest and most gloomy character. He was, however, strongly opposed to the last resort, which seemed inevita- ble, namely, the annexation of the country ; and even the Governor-General, in the despatch he addressed to the Court of Directors, while he advocated a new and stringent treaty being entered into, stated plainly, " I, for my part, do not advise that the province of Oude should be declared to be British territory." After anxious consideration, however, the Court determined that there could be no other remedy, and in January, 1856, it was decreed that Oude should be annexed. It fell to General Outranks lot to perform the painful duty of acquainting the Nawab with this determination, and the scene at the durbar in which he endeavoured to persuade him to sign the treaty making over his territory to the British Government was peculiarly touching. The Nawab placed his turban in the Resident's lap, and entreated him to have compassion on him. But the limits of forbearance had been reached, and the SIR JAMES ODTEAM. 115 Resident's orders must be obeyed. The province past, at that time, peacefully into the possession of the English Government. The press of work on General Outram, now appointed Chief-Commissioner of the newly acquired territory, was crushing, and under the severe tension of this anxiety and strain, his health again gave way. One of Lord Dalhousie's last acts before leaving India was to congratulate him on receiving the honour of a Knight Commandership of the Bath ; but, soon after Lord Canning had assumed the onerous duties of Governor-General, Sir James Outram was obliged to resign his appointment as Chief Commissioner, and that distinguished officer, Sir Henry Lawrence, was appointed as his successor. He re- turned to England for the benefit of his health in May, 1856. Sir James Outram was not destined long to enjoy the quiet and rest of retirement. At the commencement of the fol- lowing year, war was declared against Persia, and the com- mand of the army proceeding thither was offered to him. This offer acted on his mind like a powerful tonic. He de- clared that he was ready to start at a moment's notice. A description of the Persian war as it was waged out of India, is beyond our immediate purpose ; and so we shall content ourselves with stating that it was brief and decisive. No sooner had it been brought to a successful issue, than the services of the commander and of his army were urgently demanded in India. The great Sepoy Rebellion had broken out, and every loyal man was required in this country. Directly Sir James Outram reached India, he hasten- ed to Calcutta to place himself at the disposal of the Governor-General. He arrived there on July 31, 1857, and was immediately placed in command of all the divisions of the army between Calcutta and Lucknow, and, Sir Henry Lawrence having been killed in the siege, he was also appointed the chief civil officer in Oude. The position of affairs was exceedingly critical. The garrison at Lucknow was gallantly holding out, but was surrounded by the mu- 116 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. tinous regiments in Oude, who were supported by what may appropriately be called a national uprising in that country. General Havelock had made a vigorous effort to relieve Lucknow, having literally fought his way up inch by inch ; but had been compelled to fall back on Cawnpore. Sir James Outram hastened to join him there with rein- forcements ; and, recollecting the unparalleled exertions which General Havelock had already made, he determined, with the generosity and chivalry that formed so conspi- cuous a feature in his character, that he would relinquish the command of the relieving army, and allow General Havelock to reap the glory of the enterprise, himself serving under him as a volunteer. On September 19, the united force crossed from Cawnpore into Oude. By the 23rd it had reached the Alam Bagh near Lucknow. Halting a day to recruit its strength, it advanced towards the Resi- dency on the further side of the town. Clearing the bridge over the river at Char Bagh, the troops made a bend towards the right, and, through a perfect hurricane of shot, reached the Residency. The beleagured garrison, after a desperate defence of three months, was relieved, or rather reinforced, for it soon became very plain that the relieving force was merely an addition to the garrison, and that the siege was destined to be renewed with even greater pertinacity than before. Sir James Outram now assumed the chief command. Resolutely he braced himself to the arduous task, and the last stage of the celebrated defence was as stubbornly contested as the first. On November 9, Sir Colin Campbell, the new Comman- der-in-Chief, advanced from Cawnpore for the final relief of Lucknow. In rapid succession the different points intervening between the garrison and him were captured. The Alam Bagh, where a detachment of Outranks force had been detained, was relieved ; the Dilkusha, a pleasure garden of the late Nawab, was occupied; next day, the great building of the La Martiniere was taken; and, on November 17, the three Generals met, and Lucknow was effectually relieved. Six busy days succeeded. The enemy SIR JAMES OUTRAM. 117 swarmed on every side, and the garrison, including the sick, the wounded, the women, and the children, had to be with- drawn. This was done by one of the most delicate and beauti- ful feats of modern warfare. The most perfect arrangements were made to prevent any one being injured by even a stray musket-shot. All the defences, from the Residency to the Dilkusha, were in Sir Colin Campbell's possession. A vigorous bombardment was opened on the enemy's chief position, and, while he was expecting an assault, at mid- night on the 22nd, the garrison was withdrawn, and thread- ing their way through the tortuous lanes of the city between the long lines of English soldiers, past into perfect safety. The enemy had been so completely deceived that he continued to fire on the old positions many hours after they had been abandoned. " The movement of retreat," to quote the Commander-in-Chiefs own despatch, " was admirably executed. Each exterior line came gradu- ally retiring through its supports, till at length nothing remained but the last line of infantry and guns with which I was myself to crush the enemy, if he had dared to follow up the picquets. It was my endeavour that nothing should be left to chance." The arrangements for the evacuation of the Residency were left to Sir James Outram, and were admirably carried out. He wanted to be the last man deliberately to leave, but gracefully yielded his claim to one who had commanded there even longer than he. After this beautiful manoeuvre had been effected, and all the sick and infirm had been placed in safety at Cawnpore, Sir Colin Campbell left Lucknow in order to pursue the enemy in another direction, before continuing further operations in Oude. He resolved, however, to maintain a firm position in the very heart of the province by leaving a sufficient force at the Alam Bagh to keep the city of Lucknow in check. Sir James Outram was appointed to the command of this force. Nobly did the little garrison perform its duty under its noble commander. By his tact iind forethought this position was maintained against ever 118 ANGLO-INDIAN WOETHIES. increasing foes until, in the following March, the Comman- der-in-Chief was prepared to return for the final capture of Lucknow. On the first day of that month, Sir Colin Campbell reached the Alam Bagh with his splendid force of 20,000 disciplined troops and 180 guns. The command of a portion of this army was given to Sir James Outram, and he retained it until, on March 19, the city of Lucknow was fully taken. His last act as Chief Commissioner of Oude was to issue Lord Canning's famous Proclamation ; but, believing that it was too severe, he obtained permis- sion to accompany it with a circular of his own. This we quote because it exhibits in a peculiarly clear light the feelings of clemency and kindness which he entertained towards the misguided people — " The Chief Commissioner of Oude, in sending you this proclamation, wishes to in- form you that if you at once come in, ready to obey his orders, none of your lands will be confiscated, and your claims to lands held by you prior to annexation will be reheard." This was his last service in Oude. He had been appointed Military Member of the Govern or-General's Council, and was succeeded as Chief Commissioner of Oude by Mr., afterwards Sir, Eobert Montgomery. On April 4, 1858, he left Lucknow, and finally quitted India on July 20, 1860. Sir James Outram returned to his native land in sadly shattered health. There was something very touching in the fact that, though the highest honours a grateful country could bestow were showered upon him, he was so feeble and broken in health, he could not thoroughly enjoy them. He fully appreciated, however, the kindness that had be- stowed them. He felt that they were given to him less on account of his own individual merits than because he was a representative of the great service to which he had the honour to belong. On one occasion, when a testimonial was pre- sented to him by several friends including Lord Palmers- SIR JAMES OUTEAM. 119 ton, then the Prime Minister of England, he expressed the secret of the attachment which bound him to India in words that it would be unpardonable to omit, as they express clearly the sentiments of so many of the truest friends of India : " If to anything in myself I owe such success as I may have attained," he said, "it is mainly to this — that throughout my career I have loved the people of India, re- garded their country as my home, and made their weal my first object. And though my last service in the field was against the comrades of my old associates, the madness of a moment has not obliterated from my mind the fidelity of a century, and I can still love and still believe." The last two years were but a protracted struggle with suffering. He was not able even to go to Scotland to see his aged mother once more, the journey being too much for him. Alleviation was sought by going to a milder climate than that of England in the winter. He first went to Nice and then to Pau, in the South of France. " A little past one o'clock on the morning of March 11, 1863, he died, sitting in his arm-chair, without a struggle — his face unmoved — his hands resting as if in sleep." A few days later his mortal remains were placed in the beautiful old Abbey Church of Westminster, where some of the best and noblest heroes of England are laid. This brief account will serve to show how very simple- minded and generous was the character of Sir James Outram. He will be best recollected in India among the Bheels and in Scinde, as the affectionate friend of the former and the just sympathizer with the Amirs of the latter. In Eng- land he will, perhaps, be better remembered as the skilful general and the chivalrous commander, who, putting aside all personal considerations, gracefully served as a volun- teer under his junior officer, lest that officer should be deprived of the honour of the victory for which he had been so long contending. There are two fine monuments of him — 120 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. one on the Thames Embankment in London ; the other on the Maidan in Calcutta. The former bears only one word as inscription — " Outram." The latter bears the follow- ing summary of his deeds, with which we conclude : — " His life was given to India : in early manhood he reclaimed wild races by winning their hearts. Ghazni, Khelat, the Indian Caucasus, witnessed the daring deeds of his prime : Persia brought to sue for peace, Lucknow relieved, defended, and recovered, were fields of his later glories. Faithful servant of England : large minded and kindly ruler of her subjects : in all the true knight." SIR DONALD MCLEOD. SIR DONALD P, MCLEOD: A TRUE FRIEND OF INDIA. " Christian things done in a Christian way will never alienate the heathen. " Lord Lawrence. The life of Sir Donald McLeod was that of a thorough Christian. He was one of those who, quietly aud simply, did Christian things in a Christian way, and the result was that Hindu, Muhammadan, aud Sikh admired and respected him. His father was an officer in that distin- guished corps, the Bengal Engineers, and he was born at Calcutta, May 6, 1810. When a little fellow only five years of age, he was sent from India to the old home of the family in the Highlands of Scotland, where he was trained during his early years by his grandfather and by two of his aunts. He was, a little later on, sent successively to two schools in the neighbourhood of London, and finally, while still young, he went to Haileybury, the East Iudia Company's College near Hertford, where he was the contemporary of his staunch friend, Lord Lawrence, who, after his death, wrote of him in the following affectionate terms: — "McLeod, when at College, gave full promise of what he turned out in after-life. He was then a most genial, pleasant, and disinterested friend. He possessed excellent abilities, and had received a good education. He worked steadily, and took high honours." Mr. McLeod reached Calcutta on December 10, 1828, when he was little more than eighteen, and he set to work at once, with the diligence and energy that had character- ized him at Haileybury, in acquiring the necessary know- ledge of Sanskrit and Bengali. His first appointment was Assistant Collector and Magistrate at Monghyr, an import- 124 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. ant town and district on the Ganges, to the north-west of Calcutta. While pursuing his official duties in this district, an event occurred which had an influence over his whole life, and whicli gave indeed the key-note to all his thoughts, words, and actions up to the very last moment of his existence on earth. This event, all important as it was to him, was one which would not ordinarily be regarded by most of the world around. It was his conversion to God. Though Mr. McLeod had been born of Christian parents, and had outwardly appeared an amiable, a genial, and an unselfish man, anxious to please others, and con- sistent in his behaviour, yet he was inwardly dispirited and distressed, and the cheerfulness of temper for which he was subsequently distinguished, was entirely wanting. While he was at Monghyr, he attended the ministry of a humble and devoted servant of God, a Baptist Missionary at that station. His own description of this change of heart will now be given, as we wish to draw the particular attention of our readers to one sentence in it, which seems to convey accurately the meaning and object of true conversion, that is, the completion or the filling up of the real character and being of a responsible human creature. u For about the last six months/' he wrote, "I have felt a change to have been effected in my spirit, towards which I have been gradually inclining for the last three years. This change I have for a long time had a strange conviction must at some time take place in my nature, as I felt it to be necessary to complete the being that God intended me to be." He thus describes the effect of this joyful change ou him in the discharge of the ordinary duties of daily life : — " I have attained a confidence and tranquillity in regard to my worldly duties, from which the weaknesses of my character formerly debarred me ; and I have now been freed from despondency and gloominess of spirits, to which for the previous five years I was continually a martyr." One more quotation from Mr. McLeod's letters of this period is given, in order to show the source whence, in most difficult scenes and in most dangerous times, he derived the calm SIR DONALD I, MXLEOD. 125 courage and self-reliance which enabled him to act promptly and correctly. u Prayer," he says, " which was formerly an irksome duty seldom performed, has now become, I may say, almost the only pure pleasure I enjoy. I resort to it in the morning, not only as the most delightful, but as the most necessary act of the day ; for without it I should have no peace, no power ; and during the remainder of the day, whatever of difficulty or of annoyance presents itself, my mind flies up to its Creator, and is at rest. The result of this is that I am never harassed for any length of time by anticipations of evil, nor fear of cousequences, and am able, (which formerly I was not) to obey the direction of our Saviour, ' Not to fear what man can do unto me.' My aspect now is consequently always more or less cheerful, which is certainly a visible change. " We have dwelt on this memorable event in Mr. McLeod's career, the turning of his heart towards God and deliberate acceptance of His service, because it cast its sweet and gentle radiance over his whole life. In the year 1831, Mr. McLeod was appointed to the department for the suppression of Thuggee, which, under the superintendence of Colonel Sleeman, had recently been created by Lord William Bentinck, then Governor-General of India. His head-quarters were at Saugor. In the early days of this new department, vigorous efforts were success- fully made to extirpate this abominable crime. The exist- ence of it had given an indescribable terror to travel, especially in Northern and Central India, and the extirpa- tion of it has proved one of the chief benefits of the English rule in India. It was, however, less to Mr. McLeod's taste than the more direct administration of the country to which he had hitherto been accustomed, and it was with pleasure that he heard of his being transferred to officiate as Collector or Commissioner of Seoni, a district in the Saugor and Ner- budda Territories. These territories were ceded to the English Government at the conclusion of the great Pindari and Mahratta war in 1818, and are now in the Central Prov- 126 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. inces of India. The district of Seoni is situated between Jubbulpore and Nagpore. The highlands of the Satpura range, to the South of the noble river Nerbudda, and the source of that river is to be found at a beautiful spot in the east of the district, some 5,000 feet above the level of the sea, which is one of the sacred localities of the Hindus. Some parts of this district are luxuriantly fertile, and the lovely slopes of the mountains are clad with soft green pasturage, admirably adapted for cattle. These hills are inhabited by the Gonds, who are a simple-minded aborigin- al race, in whom Mr. McLeod took the deepest interest. He took a great fancy to the district and the people. He had been there scarcely a year when he wrote that he had determined to cast in his lot entirely with them. " I look upon my lot as fixed in this country — a land of wondrous interest, albeit at present sunk in the darkness of night. My hopes, my fears, my sorrows, and my joys are, in a great measure, concentrated in this land, where I contem- plate leaving a heritage to my posterity. Most humbly would I offer my thanksgiving to God that I am enabled to form such a resolve without estranging myself from the land of my fathers, for which my affection only increases with the increase of my interest in the people amongst whom I have been sent." After three years' service in this beautiful part of the country, Mr. McLeod returned to Saugor, on this occasion in charge of the district. He had declined this appoint- ment, still wishing to remain among the Gronds, to whom he had become so peculiarly attached ; but he was loyally ready to obey orders, and in accordance with them, proceeded to Saugor. He had also declined no less than four appointments in other parts of the country, all of them being more advantageous from a pecuniary point of view. His reason for this was his love for the people, and it deserves to be recorded to shew the disinterested views of this genuinely simple-minded man, and as an example to other young civilians. "I have deemed it prudent to decline these offers," he said, "and to maintain my position in that SIR DONALD F. MCLEOD. 127 part of the country iu which an acquaintance of seven years has inspired me with a deep interest ; while I have attain- ed a much more considerable intimacy with the people, their manners, &c, than I can possibly possess as regards any other part. Further, I have long been satisfied that our system of procedure and our policy generally towards the people in those parts of the Company's dominions which have been longer in our possession, are characterised by a degree of harshness which contrast unfavourably with the more mild and beneficent system which prevails in this part; and this consideration has had, I believe, the most important share in determining me, if possible, to pass the whole of my Indian career in these Nerbudda territories." Mr. McLeod looked forward, however, to the appoint- ment of Principal Assistant Commissioner of Jubbulpore, to which his former district of Seoni was subordinate, and, in 1840, his desire was gratified. While at Jubbulpore he was able to carry into effect a plan which had gradually been formed in his mind of commencing a Christian Mission among the Gonds. He had long felt that the simple habits of this primitive race afforded an admirable field for Chris- tian effort, and he had for some time past, endeavoured to enlist the sympathy and cooperation of Christian people at Calcutta and elsewhere in this cherished project. He had written a long and interesting article on this subject in the Calcutta Christian Observer, in which he endeavoured to prove that the best plan was to start an agricultural mission settlement among them. As no Missionary Society was willing to take up this idea, he acted upon it himself, and applied to the well-known Pastor Gossner, of Berlin, who sent out to him a little company of German artisans and husbandmen to work among the Gonds. They were placed under the superintendence of the Rev. J. Loesch, who had been previously labouring in Canara. They arrived at Jubbulpore in 1841, and soon proceeded to the highlands, making their central station at the village of Karangiya, near the source of the Nerbudda. They lived in a very primitive style, and laboured with their own hands in build- 128 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. ing their little bungalows, saying, when remonstrated with that they had come to India not to be ministered unto, but to minister. Mr. McLeod, who himself bore all the ex- penses of the mission, paid a visit to the spot, and was de- lighted with what appeared to be the happy commencement of favourable mission work among the Gonds in an almost European climate. A few weeks later, however, this pleas- ing prospect was over-clouded. During Mr. McLeod's absence from Jubbulpore through ill-health, all but two of this self-denying company were carried off by cholera, and the mission had to be abandoned. The two survivors wero tenderly cared for, during Mr. McLeod's absence, by his friends, and eventually removed to Nagpore, where Mr. McLeod maintained them as long as they were able to labour in the cause of Christ. Though this particular mission had thus, in the providence of God, to be abandoned, his interest in the spiritual welfare of the Gonds was not in vain. The principle which he sought to uphold has now been general- ly accepted. It is acknowledged that the aboriginal races of India form a peculiarly favourable field for Christian effort, and missions have been established among the Gonds and other kindred tribes. The time had now come when Mr. McLeod was to leave the territory, which he so much liked, and the people whom he so sincerely loved. The events of 1842 and 1843 in Afghanistan had deeply stirred all India, and disturbances had arisen in Saugor and Bandelkand. The new Governor- General, Lord Ellenborough, was under the impression that these were primarily due to defects in the administration of these provinces, and he gave direction for their complete organization. This necessitated the removal of some of the officers who were serving in them, and among whom was Mr. McLeod. There is no doubt that if he keenly felt his leaving the people, they also were grieved at his departure. His memory is cherished among them to the present day. He was transferred to the North-Western Provinces, where Mr. James Thomason, the Lieutenant-Governor, appointed him Collector and Magistrate of Benares, and always SIK DONALD P. MCLEOD. 129 regarded him as one of his most valued subordinates. There was indeed a striking affinity of mind and thought between these two good and able men. Mr. McLeod was six years in authority at Benares, during which he effected great improvements in the municipal and police arrangements of that famous city, and was enabled to secure a per- ceptible diminution in crime. His services there were unhappily interrupted by a severe illness, and he was compelled in 1845, after seventeen years' continuous resi- dence in India, to go for change of air and scene to the Cape of Good Hope. He there lived with one of his sisters and her husband, and thoroughly enjoyed the rest and re- laxation and literary leisure which this holiday afforded him. Quite restored to health by the invigorating climate, he returned to his work at Benares in the beginning of 1847. After two years' further hard and conscientious labour in the sacred city of the Hindu, he was selected to occupy a high official position in a perfectly different part of India to any in which he had hitherto served. The famous province of the Panjab had recently become a portion of the British territories. The Jallandar division had been occupied after the first Panjab war, and Mr. McLeod' s friend, Mr. John Lawrence, was its first Commis- sioner, but, on the annexation of the entire province, Mr. Lawrence was transferred to a seat on the Board of Government, and Mr. McLeod was selected to succeed him in the Jallandar division. Mr. McLeod served in this divis- ion as Commissioner for five years, and it is only stating the truth in a few words, when we say that, in that time, he thoroughly endeared himself to all, whether European or Sikh. Two officers, who afterwards became very dis- tinguished men, were Deputy Commissioners under him, namely, Sir Herbert Edwardes and Sir Douglas Forsyth. While diligent in administering the affairs of the division, he seems to have given his attention more particularly to 9 130 ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES. the subjects of education and of public works. In the for- mer he so deeply interested himself that he was mentioned by name, with that of Mr. Montgomery, in a despatch from the Court of Directors, in which the warmest thanks of the Court were given to them and other officers in the Pan jab for their exertions. " That those gentlemen," it was added, " have, amidst their other arduous and more pressing duties, been able to direct so large a portion of their attention to the promotion of education, affords to us fresh evidence of their energy and zeal, and of their desire to identify them- selves with the feelings and interests of the people commit- ted to their charge." While interesting himself heartily in the matter of edu- cation, Mr. McLeod was also in a position to exercise what must have been an hereditary predilection, namely, the taste for engineering. His principal achievement in this direction was the construction of an admirable road from Jallandar to Kangra, the two largest bridges in which were built under his immediate supervision. It will be pleasing to place on record, while we are endeavouring to realize Mr. McLeod' s quiet, but useful life in Jallandar, the impression regarding him which was made on his assistant, Sir Herbert Edwardes, after he had been living with him for a time. " He is a rare and excellent character," wrote Sir Herbert to a rela- tive in England, one whose life is one even career of duty to Grod and man, and whose mind and heart do not appar- ently contain one selfish thought. He is by nature bless- ed with at once the best of intellects and the kindest of dis- positions ; and an industry of study, stimulated by the desire to be useful, has given him a range of knowledge on all subjects bearing upon the welfare of the people of India, such as I do not know that I ever saw equalled. Yet few people hear of him, and in the noisy world the ripple of his gentle stream of goodness is altogether drowned." When Sir Herbert Edwardes left Jallandar, Mr. McLeod spoke SIR DONALD F. MCLEOD. 131 highly of his services there; and, in thanking him for the kind words he had used, Sir Herbert expressed in a sen- tence the reason why he had so highly appreciated them.