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THE ADMINISTRATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MARQUIS OF LAl^SDOWNE 
 
 AS 
 
 VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA, 
 
 1888-1894. 
 
 Bt GEOEGE W. EORREST, B.A., 
 
 n 
 
 DlBECtOB OP BEC0BD3 TO THE GOVBBNUBNt OB IND1;L, 
 
 CALCUTTA: 
 
 OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, INDIA. 
 
 1894. 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Legislation 16 
 
 Factory Act . 17 
 
 Age of Consent Act , , 17 
 
 Restrictions in the Jury system in Bengal • , , • , 19 
 
 The Anti-Cow-killing Movement 20 
 
 Legislative Conncils 23 
 
 Changes in the functions of the Legislative Councils , , . 23 
 
 Ditto constitution of the Legislative Councils . , .25 
 
 Electoral system introduced into the Legislative Councils , , 25 
 
 Provincial services ......... 26 
 
 Military . . , 26 
 
 Aholition of the Presidential Army system .... 26 
 
 Madras and Bombay Armies Act 27 
 
 The Indian Staff Corps 27 
 
 Class Regiments ......... 28 
 
 Recruitment of warlike classes ...... 29 
 
 Volunteer Corps 30 
 
 Improvement in the position of the Native and European Soldier . 30 
 
 Imperial Troops 31 
 
 Mobilisation of the Army ..••... 32 
 
 Defences of the Empire 34 
 
 Finance 35 
 
 Currency ...•• .35 
 
 Indian Currency Association 36 
 
 International Congress ..•••... 37 
 
 Committee to enquire into the Indian Currency . . . , 37 
 
 Measures proposed by Government . ..... 37 
 
 Report of the Committee 87 
 
 Closing of the Indian Mints (Act VIII of 1893) .... 38 
 
 Conversion of the 4i per cent. Loan. Issue oi 3^ \ier cent. Loan . 39 
 
 Foreign Policy : Feudatory Chiefs , 39 
 
 Tour of 1889 40 
 
 Quetta 40 
 
 Tonrofl890 42 
 
 Patiala 42 
 
 Nabha 42 
 
 The Rajputana States, Alwar 42 
 
 Ajmere .,..••••.•• 42 
 
 Oodeypore 43 
 
 Jodhpore ......••.. 43 
 
 Jeypore ..,..••••..43 
 
 Durbar at Agra ..*••.... .44 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Tour of 1891 .. ^ ........ 44 
 
 Kashmir 44 
 
 Gwalior •.•.,..,., .45 
 
 Bbopal , 45 
 
 Tour of 1892 46 
 
 Hyderabad . • . . , 4g 
 
 Mysore 4g 
 
 Tour of 1893 , 47 
 
 Burma ,- 47 
 
 Maudalay 47 
 
 Bhumo •••...»,, ,48 
 
 Manipur . . •...•.,., 49 
 
 Khelat ... . , 5I 
 
 Foreign Policy: Independent Principalities and External 
 
 Powers , , , K^i 
 
 Lnshais •••••.,.., 53 
 
 Chi"8 53 
 
 The Shan States 54 
 
 Karens 54 
 
 Kaehins ^ ^ 54 
 
 Burma-Chinese Frontier 55 
 
 Sikkim , , 55 
 
 Gilgit 55 
 
 Hunza and Nagar « , , 55 
 
 Capture of Nilt 56 
 
 Chitral •.••...... 57 
 
 Afghanistan • . 57 
 
 Mission to Afghanistan . ....... 59 
 
THE ADMINISTRATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE 
 
 AS 
 
 VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 
 1888-1894, 
 
 r\N the third of December 1888, the Marquis of 
 ^^ Lansdowne, who had been appointed to succeed the 
 Marquis of Dufferin and Ava as Governor- General and 
 Viceroy of India, landed at Bombay. The leading inhabit- 
 ants of the city — European as well as Native — had 
 assembled at the pier to give him a welcome suited to his 
 dignity, and the Municipal Corporation presented him 
 with an address. After staying three days in the capital 
 of Western India, spending his time in making himself 
 acquainted with the people and the city, and in visiting its 
 many noble institutions for the promotion of literature, 
 science and art. Lord Lansdowne proceeded to Calcutta. 
 On the ninth of December His Lordship took over charge 
 of the Indian Empire. Numerous addresses of congratula- 
 tion were tendered to him, and, in replying to the 
 representatives of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, 
 he expressed an earnest hope that, during his term of 
 
2 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 office, peace and safety might be vouchsafed to the land, 
 and " that those who are concerned in its Government 
 may find it within their power to address themselves, 
 unimpeded by external or internal complications, to 
 the task of wise and prudent legislation for the domestic 
 advantage of the people, and to the introduction of such 
 improvements in the machinery by which your public 
 affairs are administered as may from time to time be 
 required by the altering circumstances of .the country 
 and its people." 
 
 It is impossible to give more than a bare outline 
 of the changes and improvements which have been 
 effected and the measures which have been taken during 
 the past four years for the domestic advantage of the 
 people. 
 
 A guiding principle of Lord Lansdowne's internal 
 policy was the promotion of a systematic enquiry into 
 the facts and circumstances of the Empire. He realized 
 as keenly as any of his predecessors that a knowledge of 
 the country and its people is the foundation of all sound 
 administration. The Imperial Census of India for 1891, 
 in which he took a personal interest, furnished a mass 
 of information regarding the Indian population, their 
 religious and social customs, and the economic conditions 
 under which they live, the importance of which, to the 
 man of science and the administrator, it would be 
 difficult to exaggerate. A careful consideration of the 
 statistical data which have been gathered with so much 
 labour leads to the conclusion that the soil of India, as a 
 whole, still suffices for the wants of the population, and 
 that the present rate of increase does not press too 
 heavily upon the means of subsistence. 
 
 An Imperial Census taken once in ten years is, how- 
 ever, neither a complete nor a continuous source of in- 
 formation, and Lord Lansdowne therefore gave his 
 vigorous support to the organization by the Imperial 
 Department of llevenue and Agriculture of a wide and 
 searching scheme for the investigation of the conditions 
 
^5* VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA* 3 
 
 and circumstances of each district or agricultural tract 
 throughout the Empire. The Imperial Department of imperial 
 Revenue and Agriculture was created in pursuance of ^fXv^enue^ 
 the recommendation of the Eamine Commission appoint- *nd Agriuui- 
 ed in 1881 to organize and direct Departments of Agri- 
 culture in the different Provinces of the Empire, and. to 
 control the administration of land revenue. Provincial 
 Departments have been formed, and local machinery 
 has been organized in every part of India for collecting 
 statistical facts regarding the produce of land, the forms 
 of tenure on which it is held, the circumstances of its 
 cultivation, and the condition of each agricultural tract. 
 This has been secured by the development of the indige- 
 nous system of maintaining maps and records in each 
 village, which experience has shown is the only sure 
 foundation for a system of agricultural enquiry and 
 of sound land revenue administration. The measure 
 has entailed the education and control throughout the 
 Provinces of the Empire of some hundreds of thousands 
 of village accountants, and, begun under Lord Dufferin, 
 the work has received a strong impetus under Lord 
 Lansdowne's administration in the extension of the system 
 to all Provinces in India in which it had not previously 
 been introduced. More than this, it has been applied, 
 under Lord Lansdowne's personal advice, to the large and 
 important Native State of Gwalior in the hope that it 
 will be extended to other States under Native rule. 
 
 During the past four years serious endeavours have Ao-ricultural 
 been made to utilise the facts and figures which have ^t^^^^^^cs. 
 been collected from the village records and other sources. 
 Registers in which statistical results are collated and 
 reviewed in an intelligent manner have been drawn up in 
 every administrative circle of about two hundred square 
 miles, from which officers of Government can at once as- 
 certain the progress or decline of the agricultural tract 
 and the condition of its agricultural population. Eight 
 substantial volumes containing a complete and detailed 
 compilation of all the facts and statistics connected 
 
 A 2 
 
4 ^^^ ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 with economic products have, in the last year of Lord 
 Lansdowne's Viceroyalty, been published. Two series of 
 ofl&cial bulletins dealing with agricultural and economic 
 products have also, within the last two years, been found- 
 ed, and in these, all important facts and statistics derived 
 from the investigation of the current year are published 
 month by month. Measures have also been taken to 
 secure, supply and publish in a useful form the results 
 supplied by the Departments of Eorests, Survey, Inland 
 Trade, Geology, Meteorology, Veterinary Science and 
 Agricultural Chemistry. 
 The The Agricultural Chemist's Department, which has 
 
 ChJmkt^'r''^ been established, will cover more ground than is implied 
 Department, in the term Agricultural Chemistry. It will be respon- 
 sible for collating and disseminating information on the 
 subject of agricultural operations throughout India, 
 and for directing agricultural experiment on a sound 
 and continuous system. In pursuance of the policy that 
 the establishment of a scientific system of enquiry was 
 an essential feature of all administrative reform, the 
 Veterinary first duty assigned to the Veterinary Department, which 
 epai ment. ^^^ ^^^ been founded, was to make a survey of all the 
 facts and circumstances relating. to the cattle or stock 
 of the country and the diseases to wliich they are 
 subject in different localities. The agricultural wealth 
 of the country is enormously affected by the number 
 of cattle swept off every year by the different epidemics. 
 Bacterioloc^i- j^or the prevention of such epidemics a Bacteriological 
 ment. Department was founded subordinate to the Veterinary 
 
 Department, designed to supply vaccine for the more 
 destructive epidemics, especially rinderpest, which alone 
 is estimated yearly to destroy many millions of cattle. 
 Geological The Goological Department has long existed, but its 
 epartmeu . ^^^^ j^^g hitherto been conducted almost entirely on a 
 purely scientific basis, practical search for metals and 
 minerals of economic value having been in great measure 
 neglected. During the administration of Lord Lans- 
 downe, the energies of the department have, however, 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 5 
 
 been directed to an examination into tlie great but 
 little developed mineral wealth of the country. Special 
 researches have been conducted by officers of the 
 Geological Department with a view to ascertaining 
 the commercial capabilities of the coal-fields at Eab 
 and Mohpani in the Central Provinces, at Kalimpong 
 and Daltonganj in Bengal, in Hazara and the Salt 
 Range in the Punjab, in Baluchistan, in the Khasia, 
 Jaintia and Garo Hills in Assam, and at Mergui and 
 Chindwin in Burma ; borings have been made for 
 petroleum in various parts of the I^aluchistan Agency, 
 and it is said that oil will be found in paying quantities 
 at Sukkur. Arrangements for the demarcation and lease 
 of the valuable wells at Yenangyaung in Upper Burma 
 have been concluded. Special enquiries have been 
 concluded in Madras into the iron ores of the Salem and 
 Karnul districts, the corundum of Salem, the steatite 
 of Karnul and the gold of Anantapur, Bellary, and 
 Cuddapah. The copper ores of Sikkim and the tin 
 resources of Tenasserim have also received careful at- 
 tention from the officers of the Geological Department. 
 The Botanical officers of the country, whose operations 
 have hitherto been confined to small local areas, have 
 been utilised for the establishment of a complete Bota- 
 nical survey and their attention directed to practical 
 questions connected with agriculture. Various measures 
 have been adopted both for the improvement of the 
 productions of India and for the introduction of new 
 products. The Government of Lord Lansdowne has, 
 however, laid down the important principle that it is 
 unwise to attempt to introduce broadcast throughout 
 the land new and presumed agricultural improvements 
 until education of a more effective character has been 
 more widely spread among the agricultural classes. 
 
 A primary object of collecting and collating in appro- Land 
 priate registers facts and statistics for each district of ^^^'®""^' 
 every Province is the formation of a complete and simple 
 basis for the assessment of the land revenue which mainly 
 
6 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD ZANSDOWNE 
 
 determines tlie economic condition of nearly the whole 
 population. Lord Lansdowne accepted the view that 
 the right of the State to a specified share of the produce 
 of the land is established by long continued custom and 
 by the historical precedents of many centuries, and that, 
 in maintaining this right, the State acts as the represen- 
 tative of the whole tax-paying community of the Empire 
 whose interests it is its bounden duty to guard and to 
 protect from encroachment. But while careful to secure 
 the interests of the public from encroachment, it has been 
 recognised by the Government of Lord Lansdowne that 
 it is of the highest importance to the people that the 
 assessment on land should be moderate, and that the State 
 should in every way endeavour to promote measures 
 which would relieve indebted and distressed land-owners. 
 The development of the policy which would on the one 
 hand secure the rights and interests of the tax-paying 
 community, and on the other Vee]) the agricultural 
 classes which pay the land revenue from distress and 
 embarrassment was, however, a work which Lord Lans- 
 downe felt could be no more than commenced by his 
 own hand. It was a task of such great magnitude that 
 he could but lay its foundation. He saw, as many 
 engaged in the administration of the land had seen 
 before him, that the chief error of the past had been in the 
 departure made from the long-established princijiles of 
 native administration by substituting an absolutely rigid 
 system of collecting the land revenue for a system 
 which was supremely elastic ; and by conferring upon the 
 occupiers and holders of agricultural lands a new and 
 unaccustomed freedom to part with their lands by 
 transfer and sale. This view has recently received strong 
 confirmation in important reports submitted to Lord 
 Lansdowne from Bombay, the Punjab, and the Central 
 Provinces. They have indicated that defects in the land 
 revenue system might be a primary cause of agricultural 
 impoverishment, and that the unrestricted power of 
 transfer which had been suddenly conferred upon land- 
 
/S VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 7 
 
 holders and cultivators by past adminLstrations was 
 amongst the most prominent of these defects. 
 
 The growing poverty and indebtedness of the agri- Deccan 
 cultural population of certain districts of the Deccan and ufiieTAct? 
 the transfer of the land from them to the trading and 
 money-lending classes of Hindu society long ago attracted 
 the attention of the Government of India, and the Deccan 
 Agricultural Relief Act, XVII of 1879, was passed to 
 meet these evils. The working of the Act has been care- 
 fully watched by the Government of India and, in order 
 to thoroughly investigate its effect and to determine 
 whether its principles could be applied to other provinces 
 of the Empire, a Special Commission was appointed under Deccan 
 the orders of Lord Lansdowne. The Commission were °°^°^^^^'^"' 
 instructed to give their attention to the working of the 
 system of land administration as well as the defects in 
 the special enactment on which they were primarily re- 
 quired to report. Their report has been received and the 
 outlines on which legislation for the amendment of the 
 Deccan Act are to be carried out have been decided upon. 
 The larger questions affecting revenue administration and 
 the policy of land transfer in respect of which their opin- 
 ion is substantially in accordance with the views indi- 
 cated by Lord Lansdowne still remain for consideration. 
 
 The measures which have been discussed are in them- irrigation 
 selves effectual means for improving the economic condi- ^^^i^^X^ 
 tion of the people, but Irrigation Works and Railways 
 are the two great instruments for directly developing the 
 productive resources of the country. By giving him 
 a. perennial supply of water, the peasant has been 
 enabled to cultivate fields which had lain barren for 
 centuries, while railways enable him to find a market 
 for his surplus produce. During the Viceroyalty of 
 the Marquis of Lansdowne, the area of actual irrigation 
 has been increased from 7,806,203 to 9,684,143, or an 
 increase of 1,877,940 acres. The annual capital outlay 
 has been about 73^ lakhs. Erom the year 1888 to the 
 end of 1893, 3,694 additional miles of railway have 
 
8 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 been sanctioned, and 3,959 miles of new lines have been 
 opened for traffic. It is possible to mention only some 
 of the more important. The East Coast Railway will 
 open up an enormous tract of country which has 
 hitherto been cut off from communication with the outer 
 world. An equally important work, the Godra-Rutlam 
 Railway, will ultimately afford a more direct and easy 
 means of conveyance between Western India and Delhi 
 and the North-Western Provinces. The Lucknow-Rae 
 Bareli-Benares line will give access to the rich products 
 of one of the most fertile tracts in Upper India, and form 
 a link in the double track of rapid communication with 
 the North-West Erontier. The Mushkaf-Bolan will 
 render our frontier communications more complete. 
 The Bareilly-Rampur-Moradabad is worthy of note, not 
 only on account of the benefits it will confer, but because 
 it mainly owes its existence to the public spirit of the 
 Native State of Rampur, which has lent a large por- 
 tion of the capital required to construct it. The Assam- 
 Bengal line will develop the resources of the fertile valley 
 of Assam, where so much European capital is invested, 
 and connect it with the sea. The Mu Valley line will 
 bring the Province of Upper Burma within the reach of 
 civilization. 
 
 By the construction of railways and works of irri- 
 gation the recurrence of famines may be rendered less 
 frequent, but it is impossible for the Government 
 to place every province of the Empire in a position 
 of absolute safety. All that Government can do is to 
 mitigate as far as possible the suiTering which must ensue 
 from a failure of the harvest, and the attention of Lord 
 Lansdowne's government has therefore been directed to 
 the perfecting of the system of famine relief, which had 
 been commenced under Lord Ripon and Lord DufPerin. 
 The Provincial Eamine Codes w^ere put to a severe test on 
 the occurrence of scarcity in G an jam in 1888, and in 
 several provinces in 1891-92, and though, on the whole, 
 they proved satisfactory, many defects were brought to 
 
AS VICEROY A AD GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. g 
 
 light, and the Government, therefore, determined to 
 undertake a complete revision of the Code. This has 
 been done, and under Lord Lansdowne's directions full 
 and final instructions have been issued in accordance 
 with which a revised code is now being prepared in 
 each province for the approval of the Government of 
 India. 
 
 Another matter on which the well-being of the agri- Sanitation. 
 cultural population very greatly depends has received a 
 large measure of consideration, but to improve the 
 sanitation of a large continent must be the slow work of 
 education and of time. Old customs and the tradition of 
 ages have to be destroyed. A too precipitate and viol- 
 ent attempt to improve rural sanitation might lead to 
 widespread discontent. As Lord Lansdowne stated, in 
 his reply to the Public Health Society for Calcutta, 
 sanitary problems in India "must be approached with 
 the utmost tact, patience and forbearance." " The path 
 of the sanitary reformer brings him face to face, some- 
 times with natural indifference begotten of ignorance, 
 sometimes with what appear at first sight to be preju- 
 dices and superstitions, but which, on closer examination, 
 prove to have their foundations deep in the customs and 
 traditional habits of portions of the human race." His 
 Excellency added : " In regard to the distribution of the 
 work to be done, I will venture to say that our great 
 object should be to stimulate local efforts, and, if possi- 
 ble, to render the people themselves alive to the ad- 
 vantages of sanitary reform." In pursuance of this 
 policy Provincial Sanitary Boards have been constituted 
 in the different provinces, and measures of village 
 sanitation have been carried out in each part of India. 
 It is impossible to give details of these measures, Water- Works, 
 but of all the sanitary improvements which have 
 been made, none will more greatly add to the comfort, 
 convenience and health of the people than the system 
 of water- works, which has been introduced during the 
 Yiceroyalty of Lord Lansdowne. 
 
lO THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 At Agra, conspicuous for the mighty relics of tho 
 Moghal Empire, at Benares, the holy city which draws 
 crowds of pilgrims from every quarter of India, at 
 Allahabad, where a multitude of devotees yearly flock to 
 pray at the junction of the Ganges and the Jumna, at 
 Lucknow, the capital of Oudh, and at Cawnpore, the 
 industrial centre of Northern India, new water-works 
 have been constructed which are the means of bringing to 
 these cities health, comfort, and the almost innumerable 
 blessings which a pure water-supply afPords. 
 Extension of Por the further protection of the health of the people 
 vaccination g^^^j^^jj^p^g \^<^yq also been made in different parts of the 
 distribution Empire to extend vaccination, and measures have been 
 qumme. ^^|^^^ ^^ placc quiniue within their easy reach through the 
 Medical aid agency of the Post Office. The great and useful movement 
 Education of ^ 0^ supplying medical aid and education to the women 
 women. of India, which was commenced by Lady Dufferin, has 
 been greatly advanced under the guidance of Lady 
 Lansdowne. The investments in the Eund which bears 
 Lady Dufferin' s name have been increased from 10 to about 
 17 lakhs, and 27 hospitals and dispensaries which were in 
 existence at the close of her presidency have risen to 
 60, twelve of which have been built and are supported 
 by Native princes. The number of patients has risen to 
 550,000, the highest number yet recorded. The progress 
 has been most marked, for the number in 1889 was 
 280,000 and in 1890, 403,030. Similar progress has been 
 made in the number of female students under instruction 
 at the different medical schools, which was 270 during 
 the past year. The number in 1888 was 127 ; in 1889, 
 192 ; in 1890, 204 ; a steady and progressive increase, 
 which must grow greater as education is more widely 
 spread among the population of India. 
 Education. During the Yiceroyalty of Lord Lansdowne a consi- 
 
 derable advance has been made towards meeting the edu- 
 cational wants of the lowest classes. The most hopeful 
 evidence of the educational advancement of the millions 
 of India is the fact that there has been a large decrease 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. I I 
 
 in the proportion of scholars, both boys and girls, 
 in those institutions where printed books are not read, 
 and a corresponding increase in those primary schools 
 where printed books are used. The number of primary 
 schools has increased during the past four years by 
 8,022, and the number of scholars by 323,673. The pro- 
 gress made in Secondary Education, or the education 
 which leads from the village school to the college course, 
 has been equally satisfactory. The number of schools 
 has increased by 355, and the number of scholars by 
 44,201. In Higher or University Education the advance 
 has been most marked. There has been an increase of 
 15 Arts and 12 Professional colleges, and the number 
 of scholars has advanced by 4,221 in the former and by 
 555 in the latter. It is gratifying to note that the reve- 
 nue derived from fees has increased by the large amount 
 of more than 23J lakhs. This shows that the people 
 are gradually learning to appreciate the value of 
 education, and to rely more upon their own resources 
 and less on the State and the generosity of others. 
 
 There is also ample testimony that an inroad has Female 
 begun to be made upon native prejudices, even in the 
 department of female education, and that substantial 
 progress is being made in its diffusion. During the past 
 five years the number of girls reading in primary 
 schools has increased from 214,206 to 270,802 or by 
 26*5 per cent. In the secondary stage an equally satis- 
 factory progress is reported. And the fact that 13 
 females have graduated as Bachelors of Arts, and one 
 has taken the degree of Master of Arts, shows that the 
 women of India are capable of taking advantage of the 
 highest grade of instruction in general literature and 
 science. 
 
 A short time after his arrival in India Lord Lans- Technical 
 downe, in the course of his first address, as Chancellor of ^<^^^^^^o"- 
 the Calcutta University, to the annual Convocation for 
 the purpose of conferring degrees, called attention to 
 the need of adapting our educational system to the 
 
1 2 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 practical requirements of tlie country. His Lordship 
 said :~" There seems, for example, to be growing up in 
 several parts of the Empire a wide- spread feeling that 
 the existing system, whilst conferring great benefits, is 
 too exclusively literary, and that we should endeavour 
 to supply our students with a training which would serve 
 their purpose in the event of their ultimately electing to 
 adopt a profession in which literary attainments were not 
 indispensable. I am informed that this feeling has found 
 expression in a growing sympathy for the establishment of 
 technical schools as a supplementary branch of education. 
 Even in the bosom of the University, this feeling, I am 
 told, already exists, but it is checl<ed by a not unnatural 
 apprehension that any change, even of a supplementary 
 kind, in the existing curriculum would endanger the 
 interests of that purely literary culture which will, 
 I hope, never cease to be associated in our minds 
 with University education. To find some means of ob- 
 taining the desired advantage, without encountering 
 the evil results which are feared, ought not to be a 
 problem of insuperable difiiculty, and I would com- 
 mend it to the careful consideration of the University 
 authorities." Lord Lansdowne clearly discerned that 
 the first step towards the solution of the problem was 
 the diffusion and improvement of the lower depart- 
 ments of education. As has been shown, a considerable 
 advance has been made during the past five years towards 
 meeting the educational wants of the lowest classes, 
 and measures have also been taken for giving a much 
 wider range and greater practical utility to the studies 
 carried on in the middle class schools. In all the pro- 
 vinces of the empire the teaching of drawing is now 
 encouraged in these schools, and in some it has been 
 made a compulsory part of the school training. In 
 the Presidency of Bombay in 1887 the number of 
 students in the drawing classes was I56OO5 besides 
 students of the School of Art. Eive years later, the num- 
 ber of scholars learning drawing in schools for general 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. I 3 
 
 education had increased to 11 , 190. In 1890 Art Work- 
 shops were added to the Bombay Art School for teach- 
 ing wood-carving, pottery, art metal work, embroidery, 
 enamelling— subjects which are truly Indian in their 
 treatment. The plan which has been adopted as being 
 most effectual in resuscitating and fostering the artistic 
 processes which are now on the wane is to procure the 
 best native workman in his own special branch, giving 
 him an atelier attached to the school of art fitted up in 
 accordance with his special requirements. He is paid a 
 salary in addition to profits on sale-proceeds for teaching 
 a certain number of students who show an aptitude for 
 his special craft. Two years after the Art Workshops 
 were established they contained 86 apprentices, 19 work- 
 ing in gold and silver, 18 weaving carpets, 26 learning 
 wood-carving, and 23 working in copper, brass and iron. 
 The Principal reports "that each maistree is allowed 
 perfectly free action in liis own workshop as regards 
 the selection of tools and materials he employs ; and 
 that no interference of any kind is made that would 
 tend to disturb the traditional modes of working 
 peculiar to each craft beyond the insistance that the 
 work executed shall be of the best, and that the orna^ 
 mentation shall be, as far as it is possible to be in this 
 age when art is cosmopolitan, Indian." To the Madras 
 School of Art workshops have been also attached, in which 
 apprentices are taught carpentry and wood- carving, 
 lacquer work, goldsmith's and silversmith's work, pottery, 
 painting and carpet weaving. The very best native 
 workmen have been obtained and placed in charge of 
 the shops. The Lahore School of Art closely follows 
 the Madras School of Art on a smaller scale. In the 
 Calcutta School of Art the students are trained as skilled 
 general draughtsmen, engineering draughtsmen, archi- 
 tects, wood engravers, and lithographers. Modelling 
 has also been practised in the school, and recently a 
 series of life-size figures of typical Indian races has been 
 executed by the students for the Imperial Institute. 
 
H 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 Higlier 
 Education. 
 
 University 
 
 Electoral 
 
 Eeform. 
 
 The teacliing of science lias been carried on Avith equal 
 vigour. The elements of physical science are taught 
 in most of the English and Vernacular Schools, and 
 all the important institutions have been supplied with 
 the necessary apparatus. Sanitation has also been made 
 a compulsory subject in many of the schools in the 
 different provinces of the Empire. Industrial Schools 
 have been established and agricultural classes attached to 
 some of the high schools. Tlu-oughout the Empire a 
 satisfactory commencement of technical education has 
 been made, but it can never be placed on a wide and 
 popular basis until it is ascertained by scientific in- 
 vestigation what improvements in oriental arts and trades 
 are possible, and the people are made capable by a wider 
 diffusion of education of availing themselves of these 
 improvements. 
 
 While Lord Lansdowne has been anxious that State 
 education in India should rest on the broad basis of the 
 primary schools, and that secondary education should 
 adopt a more flexible course of study, which will enable it 
 to send forth men capable of advancing the manufactures 
 and commerce of the country, he has al^o recognised the 
 value of higher education, of which the first and indispen- 
 sable aim must be the cultivation of the mind. As 
 Chancellor of the University of Calcutta, His Excellency 
 has addressed himself to the important problems which 
 its continuous development during the past thirty years 
 has called forth. Holding the opinion that the time had 
 come when the University should be more closely allied 
 with the intellects and aspkations of the men on whom 
 it had conferred its degrees, and that its scholars should 
 have a fuller share of the responsibility which attaches to 
 membership of a great intellectual corporation, Lord 
 Lansdowne, as Chancellor of the University, conferred 
 upon those who have taken the degree of Bachelor of 
 Arts the privilege of selecting yearly a certain number 
 of the Eellows. This electoral experiment has been 
 justified by the academic rank and fitness of the men 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. I 5 
 
 whom the graduates have chosen, and the Governors of 
 Bombay and Madras have bestowed a like privilege 
 on the graduates of the Universities over which they 
 respectively preside. 
 
 During the past four years, the formation of the imperial 
 Imperial Library has been the first step towards supply- '^ ^^'^^* 
 ing an urgent administrative and intellectual want. At 
 the capital of the Empire there has hitherto been no in- 
 stitution in which the administrator or student could find 
 important standard works in any single branch of 
 knowledge. The Government possessed departmental 
 libraries, but, owing to the want of proper catalogues, it 
 was not known what books they contained. About sixty 
 thousand volumes, gathered from these different Depart- 
 mental Libraries, have been brought under one roof, 
 arranged and made available to the public. A catalogue 
 of the Imperial Library is in course of preparation. 
 It is no unreasonable expectation that, in the course of 
 time, by the generosity of benefactors and a judicious 
 expenditure of State money, the Imperial Library, 
 founded during the Viceroyalty of Lord Lansdowne, will 
 not be unworthy to rank with those great storehouses of 
 learning which it is the privilege of Europe to possess. 
 
 Simultaneously with the exertions which have been iir:peiial 
 made during these years to found an Imperial Library, i^<^<^®^^ ^ffi<^«- 
 active means have been taken to form an Imperial 
 Hecord OflS.ce for the care, superintendence and pre- 
 servation of the ancient records of the Government 
 of India. The attention of the Government of Lord 
 Lansdowne being directed to the neglected state of 
 the records and the necessity for some plan for con- 
 serving them and rendering them available for historical 
 research, it was resolved to obtain the sanction of the 
 Secretary of State to the appointment of a special officer 
 to organize a Central Record Office. The sanction having 
 been obtained, an Imperial Record Office has, during the 
 past four years, been established, and the records of the 
 Government of India systematically arranged in one 
 
l6 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 general repository. Indexes, catalogues and calendars 
 are in course of preparation, which will make available} 
 to those who are now engaged in the task of administra- 
 tion, the experience of the able and eminent men who 
 have preceded them, and will afford the student every 
 facility for studying those original documents from 
 which alone can be traced the history of the growth of 
 our Indian Empire. 
 Admiiiistia- The measures which have been taken to directly ad- 
 justice, vance the material and moral progress of the people 
 have been strengthened by corresponding measures 
 for the improvement of the administration of justice, on 
 which their security and contentment so greatly depend. 
 The difficulty of administering criminal justice in India 
 arises from the character and habits of the people. Their 
 passive and timid natures make them unwilling to take 
 an active part in bringing criminals to justice, and the 
 Police. great power which must be entrusted to the police is 
 
 fraught with considerable danger. Measures have been 
 taken, during the administration of Lord Lansdowne, to 
 reform what has hitherto remained the most faulty part 
 of our system in India. The police force of every pro- 
 vince has been reorganized, and the position of the 
 subordinate police has been generally improved. 
 Prison The subject of jail discipline and management, which 
 
 iscip ine. ^^^ commanded the deepest interest in England during 
 the past century, has received the earnest attention of 
 the Government of India. A conference of officers ex- 
 perienced in the administration of prisons was convened, 
 and their report satisfied the Government of India that 
 great divergencies existed in all matters of jail administra- 
 tion in the different Provinces of the Empire. A Bill 
 has, therefore, been introduced into the Imperial Legisla- 
 tive Council, the main object of which is to restrict the 
 discretion and to define the authority of prison officers 
 in all Provinces in regard to punishments, and thereby 
 to produce uniformity in prison discipline. 
 Legislation. A fuU discussiou of the Legislation of the Govern- 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 
 
 n 
 
 ment of India during the past four years lies beyond the 
 scope of this review. It has embraced a great variety of 
 subjects, and has effected many amendments of the law. 
 Three Acts, however, may be selected from the crowd on 
 account of their benevolence : I. — The Government of Factory Aot. 
 India feeling that they were called upon to take pre- 
 cautions for the protection of the operatives of India 
 beyond those which already had a place in the Statute 
 Book, an Act was passed, which restricted the hours during 
 which women could be employed to eleven a day, and 
 limited the hours of children to half-time, and in both 
 cases provided a sufficient interval of rest. It also se- 
 cured to the whole of the factory hands of India a weekly 
 holiday. II.— Soon after the arrival of Lord Lans- 
 downe an Act, the initiative of which was in a great 
 measure due to himself, was passed, under which persons 
 convicted of various kinds of cruelty to dumb brutes 
 were rendered liable to certain kinds of punishment. 
 Other Acts, local and general, having similar objects, were 
 already in operation, but the Act of 1890 was a much 
 more comprehensive measure than any which preceded 
 it, and particularly in this respect that, whereas the ear- 
 lier Acts were framed only for the protection of draught 
 animals, the Act of 1890 contains a clause in which the 
 word " animal " is defined as including "any domestic 
 or captured animal." This Act, which it was left to the 
 discretion of the Local Governments to bring into effect, 
 has been largely resorted to in the different Prov- 
 inces of the Empire. III. — The Age of Consent Act Age of 
 removed a noted evil, which was a just cause of national ^^^^^^ ^°** 
 reproach. The existing criminal law protected young 
 girls, whether married or unmarried, up to the age 
 of ten. The new Act raised the limit within which 
 protection is ensured to twelve. In the course of 
 the discussion which took place in the Legislative 
 Council on the Bill, Lord Lansdowne once more laid 
 down the important principle that it is impossible for 
 a civilized Government to respect the customs and 
 
1 8 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSBOWNE 
 
 prejudices of any section of the native community wlien 
 they are inconsistent with the principles of humanity, 
 morality and reason. Eeplying to the argument that 
 the measure was contrary to the terms of the Queen's 
 Proclamation of 1858, His Lordship said — '^ Now 
 with regard to this contention let me say at once that 
 no Government of India has yet admitted, and that 
 no Government of India will, I hope, ever he found 
 to admit that the Queen's Proclamation, to which this 
 appeal is made, is capahle of any such interpretation 
 as that which has been placed upon it by those who 
 used this argument. If that interpretation is to cover 
 the case now under discussion, we must read the 
 Queen's Proclamation as a contract that, whenever 
 the requirements of public morality, or of the public 
 welfare, moral or material, are found to be in conflict 
 with the alleged requirements of any of the various 
 religions prevailing in this country, religion is to pre- 
 vail, and considerations affecting public health, public 
 morality, and the general comfort and convenience of the 
 Queen's subjects are to become of no account. The con- 
 tention is, on the face of it, a preposterous one. Such 
 a contract would have been absolutely retrograde and out 
 of place in the Great Charter issued in 1858 by one of 
 the most humane and enlightened sovereigns who has 
 ever ruled over the nations of the earth." Lord Lans- 
 downe proceeded to point out that the pledges contained 
 in the Queen's Proclamation must be read with the 
 important reservation " that in all cases where demands, 
 preferred in the name of religion would lead to practices 
 inconsistent with individual safety and the public peace, 
 and condemned by every system of law and morality in 
 the world, it is religion and not morality which must give 
 way." In passing the Age of Consent Bill the Govern- 
 ment of India merely acted on the principle which, 
 as Lord Lansdowne stated, had been invariably ob- 
 served by the Government and which in past times 
 has been put in practice in its legislature for the removal 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 
 
 19 
 
 of certain abuses which brought dishonour on the people, 
 who practised them and the power which tolerated 
 them. The Government, which has rescued infants 
 from the Ganges, widows from the flames, and the 
 child- wife from the miseries of perpetual widowhood, 
 has now offered protection to immature children, who 
 were too often the victims of cruel ill-usage, which 
 sometimes ended in death. 
 
 Another important measure of reform also occupied Restrictions 
 the a.ttention of the Government of India. It was brought sygtem*^?^ 
 to their notice by the Local Government with which bengal, 
 tinder the law, as it stands, it rests to declare what 
 offences shall be triable by jury in the Mofussil, and the 
 Judges who are answerable for the administration of 
 justice, that in certain districts of Bengal, where the 
 jury system had been on its trial for a considerable 
 period of time, a jury could not be relied upon to con- 
 vict in cases involving a capital sentence notwithstand- 
 ing the weight of evidence. It is true that in such 
 cases the law allows a dissenting Judge to refer the 
 jury's verdict for final decision by the High Court ; but 
 this safeguard was found to work . capriciously. The 
 Judge often hesitated to refer the case in spite of his 
 own strong opinion, and the High Court had taken 
 divergent views as to their right to interfere with the 
 verdict. The Government of India, after a careful con- 
 sideration of the arguments laid before them, came to 
 the conclusion that if the jury system is ever to become 
 in India a real and effective part of the machinery of 
 the administration of justice, it must be reformed. As a 
 first step towards a comprehensive reform, and in order 
 that the system of trial by jury in Bengal should bo 
 made uniform with the system which prevails in other 
 Provinces of the Empire, the Government of India con- 
 sented to the proposal of the Government of Bengal, 
 that certain offences in the districts in which the jury 
 system prevailed should be removed from the cognisance 
 of a jury. When the system of trial by jury was intro- 
 
 b2 
 
20 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE ■ 
 
 duced into the Nortli-West Provinces, these same offences 
 were also excluded from the cognisance of a jury, and, in 
 the Presidency of Madras, the class of offences triable by 
 jury has always been strictly confined to certain offences 
 against property, of which theft is an element. But the 
 restrictions imposed by the Bengal Government on 
 trial by jury in certain districts of the Provinces were un- 
 fortunately regarded, without sufficient foundation for 
 the belief, as an attempt to abolish trial by jury, and led 
 to public opinion being greatly disturbed. The Govern- 
 ment of India, taking into consideration the state of 
 feeling in Bengal, and holding the opinion that the first 
 steps towards a reform affecting the administration of 
 justice throughout India must be tentative and capable 
 of being varied, determined to appoint a Commission to 
 thoroughly investigate the subject. They felt that a re- 
 presentative Commission would command the confidence 
 of all classes of the community, and they trusted that 
 their report would be a guide in enabling them to 
 extend, without defeating justice, the system of trial by 
 jury to all parts of the Empire which do not now 
 enjoy the privilege. As the Report of the Commission 
 dealt with the jury system in the whole of India, 
 the Government of India concurred in the proposal of 
 the Government of Bengal, that the changes made in 
 the list of offences triable by jury should be withdrawn, 
 pending the consideration of the report and the drafting 
 of a comprehensive scheme of reform. The opinion of 
 the Local Governments and Judges of the High Court 
 have been invited on the Beport of the Commission. 
 The Anti- A movement closely connected with the social and 
 
 Movemeitf ^^^^^ prejudices of Hindu society has deeply engaged 
 the attention of Government. Some years ago societies, 
 with the object of preserving from unnecessary cruelty 
 or harm the cow, which is regarded with veneration 
 and affection by all orthodox Hindus, were organised. 
 Preachers were sent by these societies throughout the 
 different Provinces of the Empire to inculcate the duty 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA, 21 
 
 of treating cattle with kindness and of providing an 
 asylum for sick and infirm animals. A movement, the 
 original object of which was both lawful and laudable, 
 however began in course of time to be converted into a 
 social and spiritual despotism. The societies which were 
 at the beginning voluntary associations assumed the orga- 
 nization of a league. Contributions were made com- 
 pulsory on all Hindus under the terrible penalty of 
 exclusion from caste, and agents were appointed to col- 
 lect them. By boycotting and intimidation attempts were 
 made to enforce the rules of the societies. Hot-headed 
 religious propagandists and crafty political agitators 
 roused the irregular and impulsive passions of a docile, 
 industrious but ignorant and fanatical people. Religious 
 passion created a desire to entirely suppress the slaughter 
 of kine for food or sacrificial purposes and to effect this 
 suppression by coercive and violent measures. The Ma- 
 homedans resented any attempt made to interfere with 
 their customary ritual, and an increased bitterness of 
 feeling arose between the two great religious denomi- 
 nations, which produced fatal effects. For three days 
 Bombay, the second city of the Empire, was a prey to 
 anarchy, and riots resulting in serious loss of life took place 
 in Bengal and the North- Western Provinces. By the 
 prompt and vigorous action of the authorities the dis- 
 turbances were suppressed, and Lord Lansdowne, in his 
 reply to an address from the Municipal Board of Agra, 
 proclaimed in the plainest language that the Government 
 of India has no intention of permitting these exhibitions 
 of lawlessness to be renewed. His Lordship said : '* Our 
 policy is one of strict neutrality and toleration, but 
 that toleration does not extend to disorder and crime, 
 and, whoever is at the head of affairs in India, depend 
 upon it that disorder and crime will be put down with 
 a strong and fearless hand." The Viceroy proceeded to 
 point out that the Government of India is under a 
 two-fold obligation. *'"We owe it," Lord Lansdowne said, 
 "to the whole community, British and Indian, to 
 
22 thE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 secure the public safety, and to protect the persons and 
 property of the Queen's subjects from injury and 
 interference. We are also bound to secure to both the 
 great religious denominations freedom from molestation 
 or persecution in the exercise of their religious obser- 
 vances. The law secures to the Mahomedans the right 
 of following the ritual which has been customary for 
 them and for their forefathers; while it secures to 
 the Hindus protection from outrage and insult, 
 and, for this reason, forbids the slaughter of cattle with 
 unnecessary publicity, or in such a manner as to occa- 
 sion wanton and malicious annoyance to their feelings. 
 Let both sides understand clearly that no lawless or 
 aggressive conduct, on their part, will induce us to depart 
 by an inch from this just and honourable policy. Do 
 not let it be supposed that the slaughter of kine for the 
 purpose of sacrifice, or for food, will ever be put a stop 
 to : we shall protect the religions of both sides alike, and 
 we shall punish, according to the law, any act which 
 wantonly outrages the religious feelings of any section of 
 the community. Let it also be clearly understood that we 
 shall not permit any disturbance of the peace, and that, 
 whenever violence is exhibited, we shall not be afraid to 
 put it down by force." Lord Lansdowne, though prepared 
 to put down violence by force and determined to punish 
 acts of fanaticism according to the law, " strongly depre- 
 cated,'' to use his own words, " any extensive or radical 
 changes in the law until it has been demonstrated that 
 the existing law is powerless to deal with these evils." " I 
 would infinitely prefer," His Lordship added, " to rely 
 upon the good sense and moderation of the people them- 
 selves and upon vigorous and determined executive action, 
 based upon the law as it now exists, than upon special 
 legislation, and I am not without hopes that both sides 
 have now realized the folly of their conduct, and will 
 join us in discouraging similar exhibitions of sectional 
 hatred and lawlessness." In pursuance of this policy, 
 the acknowledged leaders of the people have been 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF iNDlA. 23 
 
 invited to form conciliation committees for the 
 various disturbed villages with a view to adjust their 
 differences, to ascertain and record the customs with 
 regard to the slaughter of kine and to adhere to them 
 in the future without, on the one hand, giving unneces- 
 sary offence to the Hindus or, on the other, interfering 
 with the liberty of Mahomedans. A great success has 
 crowned these measures, and it does not appear over 
 sanguine to estimate that in a short time there will be 
 a cessation of the existing bitter feeling between the 
 two great religious denominations^ 
 
 By the Indian Councils Act of 1861 the functions of LegisiatWe 
 the Legislative Councils were strictly and narrowly ®^^*^^®' 
 limited to those of assisting the Government of India 
 in the work of legislation. They were absolutely pre- 
 cluded from asking for information or enquiring into 
 matters of interest, and even regarding the question of 
 finance, which is the foundation of all regular Govern- 
 ment; they were precluded from entering into any 
 discussion unless financial legislation of some kind 
 was proposed. During the quarter of a century which 
 preceded the administration of Lord Lansdowne, the 
 Budget had been discussed in Council only upon 
 twelve occasions, while in the remaining years no such 
 discussion had been allowed to take place. His Excel- 
 lency never concealed his opinion, " that it was improper 
 as well as illogical ' ' that the right to discuss the finan- 
 cial policy of Government should be frequently denied 
 merely upon a technical ground. " The right to discuss 
 and to criticise," His Excellency stated, " is one which 
 should be either altogether withheld or altogether con- 
 ceded. The previous arrangement, under which it has 
 been exercised one year, and held in abeyance the next, 
 is altogether indefensible." By the new Indian Coun- 
 cils Act, 1892, which was pressed upon the attention of 
 the Imperial Parliament by the Government of Lord thT^f unctions 
 Lansdowne, the right to discuss questions of financial ^ *^® . 
 policy has been altogether conceded. " These financial Co?nc?i.^^^ 
 
24 T^HE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOIVNE 
 
 discussions," His Excellency said in a speech which 
 he made regarding the Act, " will now take place 
 with regularity, and not upon sufferance, and I feel 
 no douht that hoth the public and the Government of 
 India will gain, the one by the keener knowledge 
 and insight into public affairs which it will obtain, the 
 other by the increased opportunity which will be given 
 to it of explaining its position and defending its 
 policy." 
 
 The new Indian Councils Act gave the Members of 
 the Legislative Councils not only the right of financial 
 discussion but also of interpellation. Rules of a simple 
 and brief nature for the exercise of these valuable 
 privileges have been framed. The rules for the discus- 
 sion of the financial Budget lay down (i) that the 
 statement shall be explained in Council every year, 
 and a printed copy given to each Member ; (iij after 
 the explanation has been made each Member shall be 
 at liberty to offer any observation he may wish to make 
 on the statement ; and that (iii) the Einancial Member 
 shall have the right of reply, and the discussion shall be 
 closed by the President making such observations, if 
 any, as he may consider necessary. With reference to 
 the asking of questions the rule has been passed that 
 at least six days' notice shall ordinarily be given in 
 writing of any questions which an Honourable Member 
 intends to ask; but that the President may, if he 
 thinks fit, allow a question to be asked with shorter 
 notice, should the circumstance demand it. The 
 Government of India has also laid down that questions 
 must be so framed as to be merely requests for in- 
 formation, and must not be put in an argumentative 
 or hypothetical form, or in defamatory language. No 
 discussion is allowed in respect of an answer given 
 to a question. These two restrictions are substantially 
 identical with those under which questions may be 
 put to Her Majesty's Government in the British House 
 of Commons. 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 2$ 
 
 The new Act has introduced changes not only Changes in 
 in the functions of the Legislative Councils, but also tion of the 
 in their constitution. It has provided for a s^^" cofnont!^^ 
 stantial increase in the number of Additional Mem- 
 bers, and has conferred upon the Governor- General 
 in Council the power of making regulations as to 
 the conditions under which such members shall be 
 nominated. The Government of Lord Lansdowne, when 
 the measure was under the consideration of the Secretary 
 of State and Her Majesty's Government, while it insisted 
 upon the ultimate responsibility of the Government for 
 these nominations, constantly urged that any Bill which 
 might be passed, should render it possible for the Gov- 
 ernor-General and for the heads of Local Governments 
 to have recourse to the advice of suitable constituencies. 
 The Government of India have freely availed themselves 
 of the power thus conferred upon them, and have 
 framed regulations by which the number of non- official 
 members has been materially increased, and thus the 
 first steps have been taken towards introducing the 
 electoral system into the institutions of India. The 
 privilege of selecting and recommending members for the 
 Imperial Legislative Council has been bestowed on the Electoral 
 Local Legislatures of the four provinces having Local StroSiced 
 Councils, and upon the Bengal Chamber of Commerce, ^g^igjatiye 
 A like privilege has been bestowed upon the Corporation Councils, 
 of Calcutta, the Senate of the University of Calcutta, the 
 Trade Associations, and the groups of Municipal Corpora- 
 tions and District Boards with regard to the selection and 
 recommendation of members for the Bengal Legislative 
 Council. Rules conceived in the same liberal spirit have 
 been drawn up for Madras, Bombay and the North - 
 "West Provinces and Oudh. As Lord Lansdowne said in 
 the speech which signalised the close of his Viceroyalty, 
 it would " be impossible to overrate the importance of 
 infusing new life into these Councils both by enlarging 
 their functions and by so modifying their constitution 
 as to include within them a certain number of members 
 
26 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 owing their appointment to the recommendation of other 
 bodies rather than to nomination by the Government." 
 There is no part of the scheme for which Lord Lansdowne 
 has a greater personal responsibility than that in which 
 this principle is admitted, and all who desire the success 
 of a measure which is in accordance with England's 
 policy will share in the hope and trust expressed by 
 him in the parting words which he addressed to the 
 Imperial Council : '* I earnestly trust that this Council, 
 strengthened as it has lately been by the extension 
 of its functions, and by the addition to its ranks of a 
 larger number of representative members, some of 
 whom will owe their presence to the recommendation of 
 their fellow-citizens, will enjoy an ever-increasing share 
 of public confidence, that it will conduct its delibera- 
 tions with wisdom, dignity and moderation, and that it 
 will prove to be a new source of stability and usefulness 
 to the institutions of this country." 
 
 During the past five years a considerable advance 
 has been made not only in inviting the Natives of India 
 to participate more freely in the legislation of the 
 country, but in associating them with the administra- 
 tion. Ninety- three offices, which hitherto have only been 
 held by members of the Covenanted Civil Service, have 
 been declared open to members of the different Provincial 
 Services, and rules for the constitution and improvement 
 of the status of the Provincial and Subordinate Services 
 have been settled by the Government of India in com- 
 munication with the Local Governments and Administra- 
 tions. 
 
 If the Civil administration has occupied the best 
 attention of Government, and changes and improvements 
 have been made to adapt it to the needs of the people, 
 the military administration has also received its full 
 share of consideration and amendment. 
 
 The Presidential system of the Armies in India had, 
 tki^ray"" owing to the changes which have taken place, become 
 system. ^-^^ anomaly, and a reform was demanded both on the 
 
 Provincial 
 Services. 
 
 Military. 
 
 Abolition of 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERl^OR-GENERAL OF INDtA. 27 
 
 grounds of economy and efficiency. The Army Organisa- 
 tion Commission of 1879 had strongly condemned the 
 continuance of this obsolete system, and the Government 
 of India frequently brought the matter to the notice of the 
 Secretary of State and Her Majesty's Government. Dur- 
 ing the administration of Lord Dufi'erin, the Government 
 of India recommended that there should be four armies, 
 viz.^ the Punjab, Hindustan, Bombay, and Madras Armies, 
 that Baluchistan and Sind should form part of the Bom- 
 bay Command, and that Burma should continue to be 
 joined to Madras. When Lord Lansdowne assumed the 
 reins of office, the subject received his earliest attention, 
 and in 1892 the expediency of abolishing the Presiden- 
 tial Army system was again urged upon the Secretary of 
 State. As Her Majesty's Government approved of the 
 reform, a Bill was brought forward and passed by Parlia- 
 ment for giving effect to the proposals of the Government 
 of India. When the Madras and Bombay Armies Act Madras and 
 of 1893 comes into operation, the offices of Commander- ArmieTAct. 
 in- Chief of the Porces in the Presidencies of Madras and 
 Bombay, respectively, will be abolished, and the officers 
 holding the offices of Commanders-in-Chief of the Porces 
 in the Presidencies of Madras and Bombay will cease to 
 be Members of the Council of the Governors of Madras 
 and Bombay respectively. The Military control and 
 authority exerciseable by the Governors in Council of 
 the Presidencies of Madras and Bombay will cease to be 
 exercised by the Governors, and will be exerciseable by the 
 Governor- General of India in Council. In future there 
 will be one Army for the whole of India organized in 
 four large commands— Madras, Bombay, Bengal, and 
 the North-West Provinces and Punjab. These will be 
 commanded by Lieutenant- Generals under the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief. The Bengal Army will not cease to 
 exist, but will be divided for administrative purposes 
 into two commands. 
 
 The maintenance of three separate staff corps also The Indian 
 involved much that was anomalous and inconvenient, ^^ ^^^^' 
 
'68 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LOUD LANSDOWNE 
 
 and the Government of India in J 890 recommended tliat 
 the Bengal, Madras, and Bombay Staff Corps should be 
 amalgamated, and the designation " Staff Corps " changed 
 to that of "Her Majesty's Indian Army.'' The amal- 
 gamation of the three Staff Corps under the designa- 
 tion of " The Indian Staff Corps " was approved and 
 notified in the Eoyal Warrant, dated 28th January 
 1891. 
 Class The question of class regiments, that is, the bringing 
 
 egiinen s. ^Qg^^j^gj. of q^q particular class or caste into a regiment 
 instead of its organisation by class companies, or in a 
 " general mixture," is a subject which has been greatly 
 discussed for many years. The general consensus of 
 opinion among regimental ofl&cers is that the class system 
 is the best for fighting efficiency ; next in order of favor 
 comes the class company arrangement, and last of all the 
 general mixture. It is obvious, however, that it would be 
 difficult, as indeed it is undesirable, to apply any one 
 system to the whole native army of India, composed as it 
 is of men drawn from so many different races and profess- 
 ing different creeds. Thus, while in the Madras Army it 
 might be perfectly safe to constitute class regiments com- 
 posed of Tamils, Telugus, Pariahs, and people like the 
 Moplahs or Coorgs, it might be impolitic and inexpedient 
 to introduce a similar measure in other parts of India. 
 Some of the best regiments in the Punjab are class 
 regiments. On the other hand, there are many good 
 regiments which are class company regiments; but 
 the latest development has been the reconstitution 
 of 16 battalions of Hindustani regiments into class regi- 
 ments of Brahmins, Ha j puts, Jats, Mahomedans, and 
 Gurkhas. The purely military advantages are un- 
 doubtedly on the side of class regiments ; the comfort and 
 welfare of the men are more assured in such regiments 
 than in class company regiments ; there is greater esprit 
 de corps ; and promotions can be more satisfactorily 
 arranged. On the other hand, while from a political 
 point of view it may be said that the Government know 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA, 29 
 
 exactly what regiments they can employ in cer- 
 tain situations and how far such regiments can be 
 used in particular parts of the country during parti- 
 cular disturbances, it may be quite true that a 
 class regiment may be more rapidly infected by 
 movements among people of their own class or creed, 
 and there may be more difficulty in officers obtaining 
 information as to what is going on in a class regiment 
 than in a class company regiment, where there are so 
 many different interests and jealousies. On the whole, 
 it may be said that, while there is no real danger in 
 applying the class regiment system to a considerable 
 portion of the army in India, it would be impolitic to 
 constitute the whole army on this system. 
 
 Por some years past the policy of the Government of Recruitment 
 India has been to improve the material of which the IiJsqq! ^ 
 army is composed, by substituting men of warlike races 
 for those drawn from countries, the inhabitants of which 
 under the civilizing development of British rule have 
 gradually applied themselves in the course of years to 
 peaceful instead of to martial pursuits. It is obvious, how- 
 ever, that this policy cannot be carried beyond a certain 
 point, as although from a military point of view it may 
 be desirable to have the finest soldiers that India can pro- 
 duce, political considerations forbid confidence being ' 
 reposed entirely on one particular class or race, and the 
 difficulty is to form a force in which no particular race 
 shall be of preponderant strength. In the Bengal 
 army, during Lord Lansdowne's administration, several 
 infantry regiments have been reformed of northern 
 races only, while in the Madras army seven battalions of 
 infantry have been reconstituted by transforming bat- 
 talions of military police composed of Gurkhas, Sikhs, 
 Punjabis and other hardy and valiant races into local 
 battalions for service in Burma. In the same way in 
 the Bombay army some of the less efficient classes have 
 been replaced by the more warlike tribes of northern 
 India, by converting two of the regiments into local 
 
30 . THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 corps for service in Baluchistan. But, in addition to 
 these measures, the general improvement of the Madras 
 and Bombay armies has been undertaken, the directions 
 in which a change for the better will be made being in 
 the system of recruiting, and the obtaining of the raw 
 material, and possibly in forming class company re- 
 giments—a system which has answered very well in the 
 Bengal army — instead of what is known as the " general 
 mixture" system. But these proposals are as yet some- 
 what undefined, and much has to be done before they 
 can be carried into effect. The general result, however, 
 of the substitution of better material for the less efficient 
 classes, is to render the army a more perfect fighting 
 machine, to obtain the desired result of being able to 
 employ any portion of the army on any service, and to 
 arrange its constituent parts so that when the field army 
 is withdrawn the classes constituting the remaining 
 garrison of India will fairly balance each other and none 
 will be pre-eminently powerful. 
 Voinntoers The question of increasing and rendering more 
 
 ^'^^* efficient the auxiliary branch of the army has received 
 
 the best attention of Government. Two Committees 
 of representative Volunteer officers were appointed 
 to consider and report on various important questions 
 connected with the subject. Their recommendations 
 were forwarded to the Government of India, but, owing 
 to the want of funds, some of the more important of 
 them only have been sanctioned. 
 Improvement The position of the native soldier has been in many 
 positfon of ways improved. The system of granting lands to Native 
 and^**^^^ officers has been placed on a satisfactory footing, and the 
 European schcmc for the employment of pensioned Native soldiers 
 ^ ^^^' has been greatly developed. The condition of the 
 British soldier has also received liberal improvement. 
 Por many years past, libraries, recreation rooms, 
 workshops, gardens, and cricket grounds have been 
 established ; but it was not till 1887 that at the instance 
 and under the guidance of Lord Roberts, then Com- 
 
AS VICEROY AISTD GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 3 1 
 
 mander-in- Chief in India, a further development was 
 made by bringing together the various regimental clubs 
 and forming them into what are now called regimental 
 institutes. The aim and object of these institutes was 
 to improve the social condition of the soldier and to 
 reduce intemperance by the provision of such rea- 
 sonable comfort and physical as well as mental re- 
 creation as to make them a centre of attraction and so 
 lessen the habit of seeking entertainment elsewhere. 
 The plan has been carried out in nearly every regiment 
 stationed in India, and has proved most successful. 
 
 If much has been done to increase the efficiency and imperial 
 organization of our Native Army, a similar progress ^^°^^' 
 has been made towards improving the training and 
 equipment of the troops which loyal Peudatory States have 
 placed under the discipline of English officers in order 
 that they may be competent to take their place in the 
 defence of the Indian Empire. It was at the close of his 
 administration that Lord DufFerin announced his inten- 
 tion " of asking those Chiefs who have specially good 
 fighting material in their armies to raise a portion of 
 these armies to such a pitch of general efficiency as will 
 make them fit to go into action side by side with 
 Imperial troops." Lord Dufferin's speech was followed 
 by large offers from the principal Native States of all 
 parts of India, but the policy of the Government of Lord 
 Lansdowne has been ^^on no account to accept assistance 
 of this kind from the Eeudatory States, except in cases 
 where there is the clearest possible evidence to show 
 first, that the Huler of the State in question is honestly 
 and sincerely desirous of placing his troops at our dis- 
 posal, and esteems it an honour to have these troops 
 brought into a line with those of the Imperial Govern- 
 ment ; secondly, that such service will not impose too 
 heavy a burden on the State, and that there is to be 
 found amongst its people a genuine loyal desire to accept 
 such service ; and thirdly, that there exists in the troops 
 themselves that military spirit so conspicuous in some of 
 
32 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 the races of India, which has given to our Native 
 Armies some of the finest fighting material in the world. 
 The essence of the whole scheme is that there should be 
 no compulsion in the matter, and that only those States 
 should be singled out, which are not only willing but 
 anxious to bear their part with us in defending the 
 Empire in the hour of need !" la pursuance of the 
 policy laid down by Lord Lansdowne, the organiza- 
 tion of the Imperial troops was first begun in the Pun- 
 jab States, Kashmir and TJlwar, and afterwards ex- 
 tended to the other Eajput States and Gwalior. 
 The movement now also embraces the States of Bhopal, 
 Rampur, Mysore, Hyderabad, Indore, and Kathiawar. 
 There are at present under training 8,348 cavalry, 
 8,887 infantry, 300 artillery, comprising the 1st and 2nd 
 Kashmir Battery, 150 Sirmour sappers, 500 Bikaneer 
 Camel Corps, and I' 50 men belonging to the excellent 
 transport corps in Jeypur and Gwalior. During the 
 past five years the Imperial troops have reached a 
 high state of efSiciency, The discipline, both in the 
 field on the Gilgit frontier and in British territory when 
 brigaded with our troops at camps of exercise, has been 
 found admirable. During the manoeuvres of the winter of 
 1892-93 most of the Imperial Service troops came under 
 the inspection of Lord Roberts and the General Officers 
 Commanding the various camps of exercise assembled 
 in India. The reports received from the ex- Commander- 
 in-Chief and all General Officers concerning the Imperial 
 Service troops has been highly satisfactory, and a place 
 has been allotted to them in the plans for mobilisa- 
 tion. 
 Mobilisation The wholc army of India consists of about 180,000 
 e rmy. ^^^^y^ troops, including the reserves and Imperial Ser- 
 vice forces, and about 100,000 British troops and 
 volunteers, making a grand total of 280,000 men. The 
 object of the plan of mobilisation which was initiated in 
 1886, and has since been steadily persevered with, was to 
 lay down certain standards of organisation for service 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 33 
 
 within or beyond the frontiers of India, or beyond sea ; 
 to prepare plans of movement in various directions for a 
 certain portion of the army which could be withdrawn 
 for field service, and to elaborate the innumerable details 
 which are necessary to complete a plan of this kind. 
 Mobilisation in India is a thousand-fold more difficult 
 than mobilisation in a European continental country, 
 because the troops forming the army cannot be distri- 
 buted territorially in equal proportions throughout the 
 Empire of India ; they cannot be located within certain 
 small areas, but reliefs have to take place over great 
 distances, and sanitary, military, and political consider- 
 ations rather than the mere facilities for mobilisation 
 govern the distribution of the troops. Notwithstanding 
 these difficulties steady progress has been made so that 
 about one-fourth or, say, 70,000 men of the army of India 
 could be put in motion for field service in India or 
 beyond it without confusion and with reasonable regu- 
 larity and despatch. Large quantities of transport, 
 equipment and stores have been collected at various 
 strategic points ; all the corps composing this field 
 army are annually warned and receive their equipment 
 i:or active service or know exactly where to obtain it. 
 The staff and army departments are told off, and 
 precise regulations have been adopted in every branch 
 of the service ; railway time-tables for the movement 
 of this large body of men over long distances have 
 been prepared ; the stations from which the troops 
 would be withdrawn to form the field army are all 
 fixed, and although it can hardly be said that every 
 provision necessary to enable the whole force to 
 march has been made, it may yet be safely asserted 
 that the preparations have so far advanced that, by the 
 time the first two divisions have moved off, the remain- 
 ing divisions would be nearly ready to take the field. In 
 fact, it may be said that the policy of preparation has suc- 
 cessfully replaced the want of forethought which has in 
 earlier years marked the militarv administration in India. 
 
34 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSD&WNE 
 
 Defences of In 1880 the permanent Defence Committee was 
 inpir . £^^j^g^ ^Q consider the question of the coast and inland 
 defences of India, which had for many years past been 
 the subject of a discussion not very fruitful of results. 
 But two years elapsed before steps were taken to re-orga- 
 nise the sub -marine mining defences of the ports, and it 
 was not until 1885 that the question of the coast and 
 frontier defences of India was taken up in earnest. The 
 approach of a great European military power towards 
 the frontier of the Empire, and the complications that 
 ensued between that Power and Afghanistan, determined 
 the Government of India and Her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment to create and carry out a plan for the defence of 
 the ports and frontiers of India. During the last eight 
 or nine years a great deal has been done to render the 
 harbours of India safe and its frontiers secure. Changes 
 of opinion have taken place as to the particular measures 
 to be adopted, but the broad facts remain that not 
 only have the important ports of Karachi, Bombay, 
 Calcutta, and Rangoon been completely defended, 
 their fortifications adequately armed, and a defence 
 squadron created, but on the north-west frontier the 
 main lines of approach to India have been safeguarded 
 by the completion of the defences covering Quetta 
 against an advance by the western line of approach. 
 The second line, including the great bridge heads on 
 the Indus at Sukkur and at Attock, has also been con- 
 structed, and the defences of the important strategic 
 centre of Bawal Pindi barring an advance through the 
 Punjab to the fertile plains of Hindustan, have been so 
 far completed that they could at any time be finished 
 with comparative promptitude. Bawal Pindi and Mul- 
 tan constitute what may be called the third line of de- 
 fence, and a careful and detailed plan of defence for 
 Multan has been prepared. The right flank of the 
 position is rendered secure not only by the natural diffi- 
 culty of the country, but by the measures which have 
 been undertaken for its safety, and by the preparation 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 35 
 
 of plans of defence which can be carried out whenever 
 the time approaches for active measures to be under- 
 taken. The fortified positions at Landi Kotal and at 
 Jamrud at the head and debouche of the Khaibar Pass, 
 respectively, afford suflScient points d'appui upon which 
 additional works would be constructed upon the occur- 
 rence of any emergency. 
 
 To ensure the internal peace of a continent, to guard Finance, 
 its frontier from foreign aggression, to develop the re- 
 sources of the land by works of public improvement, 
 to meet the ever-increasing requirements of Government 
 as civilisation advances, from a revenue which fluctuates 
 from causes over which the administration has no con- 
 trol, has been the difficult task which has awaited Lord 
 Lansdowne and his immediate predecessors. When Lord 
 Lansdowne received charge of the Empire, the four 
 years from 1884-85 to 1887-88 had left deficits aggregat- 
 ing Ex. 5 millions. The last Budget of Lord Dufferin's 
 administration disclosed a small surplus of about 
 Bx. 37,000. The first three years of Lord Lansdowne's 
 administration showed a surplus aggregating Ex. 6f 
 millions. The close of the year 1892-93, however, re- 
 vealed a deficit of Ex. 1 million, and the Budget of 
 1893-94 as originally framed disclosed a deficit of over a 
 million and a half. The cause of the deficits lay largely 
 in the increasing burden of the Home charges due 
 to the continued fall in the value of silver, and Lord Currency. 
 Lansdowne was thus called upon to deal with a recurring 
 and growing deficit, the prevention of which was beyond 
 the power of Government. In the early part of 1892, 
 His Lordship's attention was called by the Bengal Cham- 
 ber of Commerce to the inconvenience and impediments 
 to trade caused by the great and increasing fluctuations 
 in the gold value of silver and the heavy fall in the 
 exchange value of the rupee. The Chamber urged that 
 as the United States had invited the Powers to another 
 Conference for the purpose of considering the monetary 
 question, the Government of India should take advan- 
 
 c2 
 
36 T^^^ ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANS DOWNS 
 
 tage of the opportunity to promote an international 
 agreement for the free coinage of gold and silver at a 
 fixed ratio, and that failing any such agreement, steps 
 should be taken to have the question of a gold standard 
 for India carefully and seriously considered by com- 
 petent authorities. The views expressed by the Bengal 
 Chamber of Commerce were in accord with those which, 
 owing to the state of the finances and the trade of the 
 country, had presented themselves to Lord Lansdowne and 
 his Council. In March 1892, the Secretary of State was 
 addressed by the Government of India on the subject, 
 and it was suggested that any proposals that might be put 
 forward by the United States or any other Government 
 for the holding of an International Conference should 
 meet with the strongest support. In June 1892, the 
 Government of India further suggested that if it became 
 evident that an International Conference was unlikely to 
 arrive at a satisfactory conclusion, and if a direct agree- 
 ment between India and the United States was found to 
 be unattainable, the Indian mints should be closed to 
 the unrestricted coinage of silver for the public, and 
 arrangements made to introduce a gold standard. 
 Indian The suggestions put forward in the foregoing des- 
 
 AssocSn. patches were in accord with public opinion in India. 
 The rapid fall in the value of silver had led to the for- 
 mation of the Indian Currency Association for the pur- 
 pose of agitating for a reform of the Indian Currency. 
 The members of the Association belonged to all sections 
 of the community and local branches were formed at 
 all important centres of trade. Prom the Currency 
 Association and its branches, from the Chambers of Com- 
 merce at Bombay and Karachi, and from other important 
 commercial bodies, the Government received earnest 
 representations regarding the injury caused to trade 
 by the constant fluctuation of the gold value of the rupee 
 and the essential need of steps being taken to remedy 
 the evil. The Association also presented a memorial to 
 the House of Commons, praying that if the International 
 
AS VICEROY AtCD GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA, 37 
 
 Conference to which the United States had invited the 
 other Governments should fail, the Government of India 
 should be allowed a free hand for the readjustment of its 
 Currency system by the adoption of a gold standard. 
 
 On the 22nd of November 1892 the International Con- lutemational 
 ference met at Brussels and separated on the 17th of ®"^'®®** 
 Pecember, without having come to any agreement. It 
 was proposed that they should reassemble on the 30th of 
 May if the Governments referred to should agree to the 
 proposition. 
 
 Before the International Conference had met at ^®^^^^\®®^*^ 
 
 enquire into 
 
 Brussels, Her Majesty's Government had decided to ap- the Indian 
 
 point a Committee, presided over by the Lord Chancellor, ^^^®"^y* 
 
 to consider the proposals of the Government of India 
 
 for the adoption of a gold standard for India, in case it 
 
 was impossible to secure the international adoption of 
 
 the double standard. The proposals made by the Gov- Measm-es 
 
 , p T T proposed by 
 
 ernment oi India were — Govemmeiit. 
 
 (1) the stoppage by legislative enactment of the 
 
 unrestricted coinage of silver at the Indian 
 mints; and 
 
 (2) the grant of power to the Government of India 
 
 to declare by notification that sovereigns 
 were legal tender in India at a rate not ex- 
 ceeding Is. 6(i. per rupee. 
 It was not proposed that the mints should be opened 
 to the free coinage of gold as soon as they were closed to 
 silver, or that a ratio should be declared at once between 
 gold and the rupee ; but it was intended that the effect of 
 closing the mints should be watched for some time, and, 
 if it should be found that the rate of exchange was rising 
 to an undesirable extent, that the Government should 
 check the rise by declaring the sovereign to be legal tender 
 at a certain rate. The highest rate which it was proposed 
 the Government of India were to be authorized to declare 
 under any circumstances was Is. 6d. per rupee. 
 
 On the 31st of May, by which date it had become Report of the 
 
 •^ "^ Committee. 
 
 manliest that there was little probability of the Inter- 
 
38 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 national Conference again meeting, the Committee sub- 
 mitted their report. They came to the unanimous 
 conclusion that, considering the serious evils with which 
 the Government of India might at any time be con- 
 fronted if matters were left as they were, they could not 
 advise the Secretary of State for India to overrule 
 the proposals for the closing of the mints and the adop- 
 tion of a gold standard. The Committee, however, con- 
 sidered that the following modifications of the proposals 
 of the Government of India were advisable. " The closing 
 of the mints against the free coinage of silver should be 
 accompanied by an announcement that, though closed to 
 the public, they will be used by the Government for the 
 coinage of rupees in exchange for gold at a ratio to be 
 then fixed, say Is. M, per rupee ; and that at the Govern- 
 ment treasuries gold will be received in satisfaction of 
 public dues at the same ratio." The Government of 
 India accepted those modifications, and. Her Majesty's 
 Government approving of them, sanction was given for 
 immediate steps being taken to give effect to the scheme. 
 Closing of On the 26th June 189e3 a Bill providing for the closing 
 
 Mfnt"^^^'^ of the Indian mints to the unrestricted coinage of silver 
 (j^ot yill of for the public was introduced in the Legislative Council 
 of the Governor- General and passed into law the same 
 day. Executive orders were issued simultaneously pro- 
 viding (1) for the receipt of gold coin and gold bullion 
 at the mints in exchange for rupees at a ratio of Is. 4r/. 
 per rupee ; (2) for the receipt of sovereigns and half- 
 sovereigns of current weight at treasuries in payment of 
 Government dues at the rate of fifteen rupees for a 
 sovereign and seven and-a-half rupees for a half-sove- 
 reign ; and (3) for the issue of currency notes in Calcutta 
 and Bombay in exchange for gold coin or gold bullion at 
 the rate of one rupee for \s. ^d. 
 
 Gold has not for the present been made a legal tender, 
 and the intention to take power to declare sovereigns 
 legal tender at any rate not exceeding Is. Qd. per rupee 
 has been abandoned. The making of gold legal tender 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 39 
 
 and the ratio of exchange as compared with the rupee 
 at which gold shall be made legal tender will be settled 
 hereafter in the light of future experience. Sufficient 
 time has not elapsed since the Bill became law to warrant 
 any fruitful discussion as to the effects of these moment- 
 ous measures on the trade or finances of India. 
 
 The closing of the Indian mints to the free coinage of 
 silver is the prominent feature in the financial adminis- 
 tration of Lord Lansdowne. There are, however, other 
 important measures which deserve to be commemorated. 
 The conversion of the outstanding 4^ per cent, loan into Conversion 
 the 4 per cent, loan afforded substantial relief to the ^ent. Loan!*' 
 straitened finances. The experiment in 1893 of raisino^ i^sne of 3| 
 a loan at the rate of 3^ per cent, has, though made at a Loan. 
 time when the conditions were not favourable, proved so 
 substantial a success that it may be treated, as it was 
 intended by the Government, as the precursor of a 
 general conversion of the 4 per cent, to the lower rates. 
 
 This summary having noted the chief measures which Foreign 
 have been taken during the past five years for the p^^^^^' 
 improvement of the administrative machinery, the deve- 
 lopment of the country and the strengthening of its 
 military power and defences, may fairly close with a 
 brief sketch of the foreign policy of the Government 
 of India during the same period. The Indian Foreign 
 Office, which is under the special charge of the Viceroy, 
 is entrusted with the duty of directing our diplomatic 
 relations, — first, with all the dependent Princes and 
 Chiefs of India, and, secondly, with all neighbouring 
 Foreign Powers beyond the limits of Hindustan. 
 
 The general principles which have guided Lord Feudatory 
 Lansdowne in his dealings with the Feudatory Chiefs ^^^®*^* 
 is best illustrated by an extract from a speech which he 
 delivered at a banquet given in his honour at Hyderabad : 
 " I have always recognized," His Excellency said, " the 
 advantages of the arrangement under which a consider- 
 able portion of the Indian Empire continues to be 
 governed by its hereditary rulers, and to be subject to 
 
40 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 forms of administration, differing, to a considerable 
 extent, from our own, but inspired by our proximity 
 and stimulated by our example. No one would be more 
 averse than I should be to any changes in our relations 
 with the Native States inconsistent with the measure of 
 local autonomy which they now enjoy. It is because I 
 entertain these feelings so strongly that I am anxious to 
 see the government of these States carried out upon sound 
 principles, and in such a manner as to place it beyond 
 the power of any one to say that the Government of 
 India, in arresting, as it has striven to arrest, the process 
 by which the greater part of the territories of India were 
 passing under the direct rule of the Crown, showed itself 
 unmindful of the welfare of the millions of people who 
 still remain outside the limits of British India." By 
 advice and by example Lord Lansdowne has striven to 
 impose upon the Native Chiefs the duty of being 
 ever careful to promote the welfare of their subjects, and 
 in order that by friendly intercourse he might gain their 
 friendship and influence their action, he has visited the 
 capitals of the leading States and welcomed all to the 
 capital of the Empire. 
 Tour of 1889. ^^ ^^6 course of his tour in 1889, Lord Lansdowne 
 Durbar at visited Quctta, and was the first Viceroy to receive at 
 a public Durbar the Khan of Khelat, the Jam of Las 
 Bela and a number of the Chiefs and Sardars of Balu- 
 chistan. When the formal ceremonies observed on such 
 occasion had been completed. Lord Lansdowne delivered 
 an address in which he briefly sketched the results of 
 the Treaty which had been executed in 1876 by Lord 
 Lytton, the then Viceroy, and the Khan of Khelat. 
 ''They are of a nature " said Lord Lansdowne, "which 
 must, I believe, be entkely satisfactory to all concerned 
 and not least to Your Highness. The Bolan Pass has 
 become a safe and peaceable highway, and Your High- 
 ness' s wise action in subsequently consenting to the 
 commutation of the transit dues formerly levied upon all 
 commodities conveyed through the Pass has given a 
 
^5 VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 4 1 
 
 further stimulus to commerce. The heavy cost of this 
 arrangement was cheerfully borne by the British Gov- 
 ernment in the general interest. 
 
 " I believe I am within the mark when I say that 
 there is not a chief or a trader in this part of the country 
 whose wealth has not greatly increased in consequence 
 of these salutary changes, while the mass of the people, 
 released from the dangers and anxieties of internal 
 disputes, have experienced a general and marked 
 advance in well-being and prosperity." 
 
 " Other roads besides that through the Bolan Pass 
 have been opened up, and your country has been thrown 
 into direct connection with the commercial enterprise of 
 the Indian Empire." 
 
 Lord Lansdowne closed his address by a few words to 
 those Khans. Arbabs, and other chiefs present, who had 
 so lately become subjects of Her Majesty the Queen- 
 Empress of India. "Hardly ten years," the Viceroy 
 said, " have elapsed since the districts of Pishin, Sibi, 
 and Thai Chotiali first came into British possession 
 during the war with Afghanistan. Since then these 
 districts have been formally declared to form part of 
 British India; while more lately the Kakar country 
 and Khetran Valleys have come under our administra- 
 tion. During these- years you have had ample oppor- 
 tunity of judging what British rule means. You will, 
 I hope, have learnt that this is founded on justice, that 
 the British Government neither exacts heavy taxes nor 
 interferes with your private affairs, that it has no wish to 
 meddle with your religion, and that it desires to respect 
 your ancient customs, so far as it is possible to respect 
 them without injustice to individuals. The British Gov- 
 ernment desires to see its subjects prosperous, contented, 
 and happy." The Government has shown its confidence 
 in these new subjects belonging to wild and warlike 
 races by having resort to their co-operation whenever 
 circumstances permitted. " Your local levies," said Lord 
 Lansdowne, " have been employed for the purpose of 
 
42 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 Tour of 
 1890. 
 
 Patiala. 
 
 Nabha. 
 
 The Rajpu- 
 tana States. 
 Alwar. 
 
 Ajmere. 
 
 maintaining order, and your jirgas for the performance 
 of the ordinary duties of civil administration. In return 
 for these benefits the Government expect from you 
 loyal and faithful service. Such service has, I am glad 
 to know, been rendered by many of you in the past, and 
 I feel convinced that you will not fail to render it again 
 should the opportunity be given to you. Of one thing 
 you may be sure — that the British Government is strong 
 and powerful, and that it does not forget those who have 
 deserved well at its hands." 
 
 During the next autumn season Lord Lansdowne 
 made a tour through the Punjab and Eajput States. 
 His Excellency first visited the Patiala State and placed 
 upon the throne the young Maharaja, whose grandfather 
 was so loyal to the Empire in the dark days of the 
 mutiny. After leaving Patiala the Viceroy paid a 
 visit to Nabha, one of the Cis-Sutlej States, whose chief 
 also showed distinguished loyalty at the time of the 
 mutiny. The Viceroy then proceeded to see some of 
 the more important of the Rajput States, At Alwar, 
 which lies under the lee of its hill fort, the Viceroy found 
 the affairs of the State had been carefully administered. 
 Proceeding to Ajmere, one of the most picturesque towns 
 in India, His Excellency distributed the prizes to the 
 students at Mayo College, which bears witness " to the 
 discernment of the British Statesman whose name will, 
 I hope, always remain connected with the College, and 
 to the munificent liberality of the great Bajput Houses 
 to whose generous contributions the College owes these 
 splendid buildings, and the endowment upon which it 
 depends." In the course of his speech at the distribu- 
 tion of the prizes. His Excellency said : " No educational 
 establishment in India is, in my eyes, more interesting or 
 remarkable than this. It is an attempt to engraft upon 
 the old aristocratic society of Bajputana a form of 
 education adapted to the requirements of that society, 
 but to a large extent derived from, and improved by, that 
 of which we Englishmen are so justly proud— I mean 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA, 43 
 
 the kind of education which the flower of our English 
 youth receives at the great public schools." Prom 
 Ajmere the Viceroy proceeded to Oodeypore, the capital Oodeypore. 
 of a State " which has always been regarded as holding a 
 foremost position among the Rajput States of India." 
 Here His Excellency opened the Victoria Hall built to 
 commemorate the Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen- 
 Empress. At a banquet given in the Palace His Excel- 
 lency made special mention of the generosity which the 
 Chief has shown to all useful institutions, " of which, 
 whether within the limits of his State or without them, 
 he has been a most liberal supporter." Early in Novem- 
 ber the Viceroy arrived at Jodhpore, a fenced city in the jodhpore. 
 desert, and inspected the Imperial Troops. He congratu- 
 lated His Highness and his brother Sir Pertab Singh on 
 their devotion to military matters not having prevented 
 them from bestowing a close attention upon other ques- 
 tions concerning the welfare and prosperity of the State. 
 "The finances of the State, the condition of which 
 must at one time have occasioned Your Highness some 
 uneasiness, have been placed in order. Crime and out- 
 lawry have, I understand, been put down, and Your 
 Highness's Durbar has bestowed much attention upon 
 the wise project for colonising the criminal tribes. 
 Courts of justice have been established, not only at the 
 capital, but throughout the State, and are working under 
 well-considered arrangements and rules. Nor can I 
 omit a reference to the reforms which have been made 
 in the Customs Department of the State, reforms by 
 means of which many vexatious and unremunerative 
 duties have been abolished, whilst on other articles they 
 have been reduced." 
 
 After leaving Jodhpore the Viceroy proceeded toJeypore. 
 Jeypore, the largest of the Rajput capitals, where 
 he laid the foundation of the twenty- seventh new 
 hospital which has been founded in the State in re- 
 cent years, and distributed the prizes at the Maharaja's 
 College. "The Jeypore State," His Excellency said. 
 
44 ^^^ ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 " has many things to be proud of : it is proud of its large 
 population, the beauty of its capital city and of the 
 many improvements which have been carried out with- 
 in it ; but there is no subject with regard to which the 
 Jeypore State has more right to feel that it occupies a 
 prominent position than the subject of education." 
 The tour was brought to a close by a visit to Agra, 
 
 Durbar at where a Durbar was held for the Chiefs and Indian 
 
 ^^^' gentlemen of the North- Western Provinces. Many 
 
 of the Rajput Chiefs were present. At the close of 
 his address the Viceroy acknowledged the personal 
 courtesy to himself and the loyalty to the British Em- 
 pire displayed by all the ruling Chiefs of Rajputana 
 whom he had met in his tour. " The feelings which 
 they have professed are, I am sure, founded upon 
 a deep conviction that the treatment which they have 
 experienced at the hands of the British Government 
 is such as to justify their entire confidence. They 
 are aware that we desire to offer them all the support 
 and encouragement which we can give, to avoid any 
 encroaehment upon their rights, and to maintain their 
 territories intact, and their dignity unsullied." 
 
 Tour of 1891. The third autumn tour of Lord Lansdowne was 
 arranged to include a visit to the Native States of 
 Kashmir, Gwalior, Bhopal, and Indore. Almost from 
 
 Kashmir. the time of his arrival in India the affairs of Kashmir 
 had constantly engaged the thoughts of the Viceroy. 
 Early in 1889 the Maharaja tendered his resignation of 
 all active participation in the State, and the administra- 
 tion was placed in the hands of a Council consisting of the 
 Maharaja's brothers and certain officials selected from 
 the Indian Services. During the year 1890 the Council 
 effected some substantial reforms. The Viceroy desirous 
 of satisfying himself upon the spot of the extent of 
 these reforms, and whether any measures could be 
 taken towards restoring, to a certain extent, the powers 
 of the Maharaja, accepted the invitation of His High- 
 ness to visit the State. While at Srinagar His Excel- 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 45 
 
 lency announced to the Maharaja that some of the powers 
 which he had resigned would be restored to him, and His 
 Highness became President of the Council. The State 
 has, during the past two years, been making steady 
 progress towards order and efficient administration. 
 
 Prom Kashmir Lord Lansdowne proceeded to the Gwaiior. 
 great Mahratta State of Gwaiior and there made the 
 acquaintance of the young Maharaja Sindhia. The 
 administration of the State during the minority of His 
 Highness has been in the hands of a Council, and 
 during the past five years a new and scientific system of 
 revenue survey has made considerable progress, works 
 of public improvement have been constructed, the 
 number of schools increased and dispensaries established. 
 In April 1893 the Maharaja was placed in charge of the 
 Palace Department, and he has since been recently 
 entrusted with the management of a district, so as to 
 afford him an opportunity of gaining an insight into the 
 work of administration. 
 
 After staying a short time at Gwaiior, Lord Lans-Bhopai. 
 downe went to Bhopal, and at a State banquet given in 
 his honour, His Excellency congratulated Her Highness 
 the Begam, who was present, on the conspicuous success 
 of her administration. His Excellency said '^ she has 
 shown herself to be a wise and sagacious ruler, and sho 
 has contributed largely towards the welfare of the State 
 by her generous support of many very good and useful 
 works. She has assisted liberally in the development of 
 the railway system of this part of India ; she has con- 
 structed roads, built hospitals, secured for the people of 
 Bhopal an invaluable supply of good water ; and only 
 to-day she has intimated to me her desire that the Gov- 
 ernment of India should take 'advantage of an offer 
 which she had made some time ago to place a part of 
 the military forces of her State at the disposal of the 
 Government for the purpose of Imperial defence." The 
 third tour of Lord Lansdowne was brought to a close by 
 a visit to Indore. 
 
4^5 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANS DOW NE 
 
 Tour of 1892. During liis fourth autumn tour the Viceroy paid a visit 
 Hyderabad, to the important Mussalman State of Hyderabad, wliieh 
 has an area of 100,000 square miles and a population 
 considerably more than double that of the whole of 
 Australia, and of that of the vast dominion of Canada. 
 During his stay at his capital. Lord Lansdowne advised 
 the Nizam "to look carefully to his finances," and to 
 turn his attention towards reducing the number of 
 the badly trained irregular troops, which are a heavy 
 burden on the exchequer of the State. After S23ending 
 a few days at Hyderabad, Lord Lansdowne proceeded to 
 Mysore. Mysore, the State which eleven years ago Her Majesty's 
 Government, after administering it for half a century, 
 determined to replace in the charge of an India ruler. 
 The step was a most momentous one, but it has been 
 justified by the able administration of the present Ruler. 
 "He has proved himself," said Lord Lansdowne at 
 Mysore, " an intelligent and upright Ruler, who has, from 
 the commencement of his reign, shown himself alive to 
 the duties of his position. His Highness has received 
 an education which has enabled him to profit by the 
 culture and wider political ideas of the West, but he has 
 not lost touch with his own people, or forfeited their confi- 
 dence; and there is probably no State in India where 
 ruler and ruled are on more satisfactory terms, or in 
 which the great principle, upon which His Highness has 
 insisted, that government should be for the happiness of 
 the governed, receives a greater measure of practical recog- 
 nition." During the administration of His Highness the 
 Maharaja much progress has been made in the construc- 
 tion of irrigation works, and on the Mysore State Railway 
 alone he has spent no less than 150 lakhs of rupees. " In 
 many other directions," to quote the words of Lord Lans- 
 downe, "His Highness the Maharaja has shown himself 
 mindful of the best interests of the people committed to 
 his charge. Good progress has been made with the 
 important work of revenue settlement, which was only 
 half completed when His Highness succeeded ; new roads 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 47 
 
 have been constructed ; hospitals and dispensaries have 
 been opened ; attention has been paid to the improvement 
 of the breeds of cattle; the enterprise of the miner and the 
 planter have been encouraged. Last, but not least, the 
 State has liberally encouraged educational institutions ; 
 and I may refer with special interest to the schools for 
 girls, with which the name of Her Highness the Maharani 
 will always be honourably connected." 
 
 The last tour made by Lord Lansdowne was to Tom- of 1893. 
 Burma — a province of the Empire whose pacification Burma. 
 and administration he had closely watched from the 
 commencement of his Viceroyalty. At Rangoon he 
 held a Durbar for the presenting of native titles and 
 the reception of addresses. After the Durbar was de- 
 clared to be closed, His Excellency unveiled a memorial 
 to the members of the Civil Administration who lost 
 their lives during the early years of the annexation of 
 Upper Burma. Thirty-three names are inscribed on the 
 monument. " You will find among them," said Lord 
 Lansdowne, " side by side, the names of Englishmen, of 
 natives of India, and of natives of this country. It is 
 a melancholy satisfaction to think that, upon an occasion 
 of this kind, we should be able to do equal honour to 
 the representatives of the three races. May this recog- 
 nition of the good ser\rice which they rendered be an 
 incentive to all the Queen's subjects in Burma, without 
 distinction of race or creed, to live, and, if necessary, 
 to die for the sake of the Empire of which, I believe, 
 the Province is proud to form a part.'' 
 
 Erom Rangoon the Viceroy proceeded to Man- Mandalay. 
 dalay, where a Durbar was held in the Audience Hall 
 of the Palace, at which certain native gentlemen on 
 whom distinctions had been conferred were decorated, 
 and a memorial from certain residents at Mandalay was 
 received. In the speech in which he addressed the Durbar 
 His Excellency made mention of the measures which 
 had been taken since the annexation to increase the 
 welfare and comfort of the people. He drew attention 
 
Bhamo. 
 
 48 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 to the important fact that " all the great dacoit gangs 
 which infested the province at the time of annexation, 
 and which continued their depredations in the earlier 
 years of our rule, have been disturbed and suppressed." 
 
 Erom Mandalay Lord Lansdowne proceeded by river 
 to Bhamo. The day after his arrival a Durbar was held 
 on the upper deck of the Chief Commissioner's barge. 
 An address of welcome from the Burmese inhabitants of 
 Bhamo and a memorial setting forth the wants and 
 grievances of the Chinese residents were presented. In 
 his reply to the latter His Excellency said : ** There are 
 two reasons for which the British Government desires to 
 treat the Chinese traders with justice and consideration. 
 One is that they belong to a great nation — the Chinese 
 nation — with which the British Government has friendly 
 relations, and between which and the British Govern- 
 ment there is no ill-will whatever. Besides this, the 
 British Government recognises that the Chinese traders 
 are a very industrious and useful class, and that they 
 deserve what encouragement we can give them because 
 of the services which they render to the public in pro- 
 moting the interests of commerce. I would beg them, 
 therefore, to dismiss from their minds the idea that there 
 is any desire on our part to oppress them, or to give 
 them any but the fairest and most just treatment in 
 Bhamo.'' 
 
 The Chinese deputation having retired, the leading 
 Kachin chiefs j)i*esent in Bhamo were introduced to 
 the Viceroy. At the conclusion of the presentation. 
 His Excellency delivered a speech, which was trans- 
 lated into their language. His Excellency said: "I 
 wish you to know that the Government of India has 
 no desire to interfere with your private affairs, but that 
 wherever our administration extends, crime and disorder 
 must be suppressed. There must be no attacks on 
 caravans ; there must be no dacoities, or raids on villages 
 in the plains ; there must be no resistance to the lawful 
 authority of the officers jolaced over you ; in respect of 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 4^ 
 
 tliese matters there must be no doubt in your minds. 
 We have no desire to harass the Kachins, to drive them 
 from their hills, or to oppress them ; on the con- 
 trary, so long as the lawful orders given to you are 
 obeyed, you will be more secure than you have ever been 
 in the enjoyment of all your just rights and privileges ; 
 you will be permitted to hve in peace and to cultivate 
 your taungyas in the hills ; you will be able to come 
 freely into the towns and villages to trade and to obtain 
 the necessaries of life ; and if you desire to do so, you 
 will be permitted to settle on the plain, and will be 
 given lands for cultivation." 
 
 In the speeches which His Excellency the Viceroy Manipur. 
 has made during his tours through the Native States, 
 the principle has been laid down that while the British 
 Government is anxious to continue the protected sove- 
 reignty of the Native States, and is in no way desirous 
 to interfere with their internal administration, it can- 
 not tolerate anarchy, and is bound to insist that the 
 government be conducted for the interest and good of 
 the people. During the past five years the Government 
 of India has twice been compelled to give effect to these 
 principles, but though it has been forced to interfere with 
 the administration of the States, it has taken the utmost 
 care to preserve their autonomy. 
 
 In September 1890, in the small hill State of Mani- 
 pur, situated on the borders of Assam, the reigning 
 chief was deposed by his brother the Senapati or Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, a cruel scoundrel who had been in 
 exile for two years for one of his brutal murders, and a 
 Uegent placed on the throne. As the Maharaja had 
 proved a weak and incompetent ruler, the Government 
 of India came to the conclusion that it would be to the 
 interest of the State to acknowledge the Ilegent, but 
 that the Senapati to whom the revolution was due, 
 should be sent into exile. To have allowed him to enjoy 
 the fruit of his rebellion would have been an acknow- 
 ledgment that the British Government tolerated anarchy 
 in Native States. The Government of India ordered 
 
50 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 the Chief Commissioner of Assam to proceed to Manipnr 
 to carry out the decision, and he was directed to take 
 with him a sufficient force to overawe the conspirators. 
 On the 7th of March 1891, the Chief Commissioner, with 
 an escort of 400 men, started for Manipur. On arriving 
 within a stage of the capital, he was met by the Political 
 Agent, and a long conference took place between them. 
 They then settled that a Durbar should be held to announce 
 the intention of the Government of India to place the 
 Begent on the throne, and to call upon him, as ruler of 
 Manipur, to banish the Senapati. It was also determined, 
 as the Senapati was known to be a most violent and 
 dangerous man, to arrest him in case he declined to sub- 
 mit to the decision of Government. The Chief Commis- 
 sioner on his arrival at Manipur ordered the Durbar to 
 be held. The Senapati refused to attend, and the attempt 
 made on the 24th of March 1 891 to arrest him in his 
 palace was resisted by the Manipuris, and led to open 
 hostilities. The fighting continued till sunset, when the 
 British troops were withdrawn into the grounds of the 
 Besidency, which had already been attacked by the 
 rebels. In the course of the evening the Chief Commis- 
 sioner and a few British officers were inveigled, on the 
 pretence of a conference, into the palace, and were treach- 
 erously assassinated. These cruel and foul murders were 
 swiftly avenged. British troops at once occupied the 
 country, and took possession of the capital. The Sena- 
 pati and five others who took a prominent part in the 
 murders of the English officers were tried, found guilty, 
 sentenced to death, and executed. A punitive fine was 
 inflicted on the State, but it was determined not to annex 
 Manipur. A child, a member of the ruling family, 
 was raised to the chiefship. During his minority 
 the administration of the State is conducted by a 
 Political Besident, and considerable progress has been 
 made in introducing a more civilised and efficient 
 government. Measures have been taken to abolish 
 slavery, and the system of forced labom' is no longer 
 permitted. 
 
.45 VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 5 I 
 
 Another instance in which the Government of Kheiat. 
 India has during the past five years been compelled to 
 interfere in the government of a feudatory State has been 
 that of Kheiat. At the end of 1892 His Highness the 
 Khan of Kheiat had, in order to avenge the loss of some 
 money which had been stolen from his treasury, caused 
 five women and a man to be put to death, and two other 
 men to be mutilated in a most brutal manner. In the fol- 
 lowing March His Highness barbarously put to death his 
 Wazir and the Wazk's father and son. He also threw into 
 prison the heirs of the ^azir. When the news reached 
 the Agent of the Governor- General as to what had 
 taken place, he called upon the Khan to surrender 
 the prisoners and to proceed to Quetta to explain his con- 
 duct. The request was complied with, and an enquiry 
 was held into the facts of the case. The Khan defended 
 his conduct by stating that the Wazir had attempted to - 
 shoot him, and he had in consequence, as a punishment, 
 put him to death as well as his son and his father. The 
 son was a lad of about nineteen years of age, and the 
 father, a bed-ridden and helpless cripple, had reached the 
 patriarchal age of ninety-four. The Sardars of the 
 State, on being consulted with regard to the conduct of 
 the Khan, recommended that he should be deposed, and 
 the Khanship bestowed on his son. The Khan, knowing 
 how strong the feeling against him was in the State, 
 voluntarily tendered his resignation, which was accepted 
 by the Supreme Government. His son has been duly 
 recognised as Khan of Kheiat. 
 
 The independent principalities and powers beyond Foreign 
 the bounds of Hindustan, which come within the purview ^ ^^^' 
 of the Viceroy of India, extend from the Arabian 
 Sea to the little known dependencies of Burma lying 
 beyond the Salween river. To consolidate our friend- 
 ship with the independent kingdoms, to define our sphere 
 of influence over the petty States and wild tribes that 
 border our Empire, and to distinctly demarcate the bound- 
 aries which separate us from our neighbours, have been 
 
52 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 important features in the external policy of Lord 
 Lansdowne, and much has been accomplished during 
 the past five years in all these directions. As Lord 
 Lansdowne stated in the address to the Calcutta 
 Chamber of Commerce which signalised the close of 
 his administration, we can no longer afford to be 
 indifferent to what passes within the territory of 
 petty chiefs on our border. " Bussia on the one side," 
 Prance on the other, and China on the third, have 
 steadily advanced. Eussia has of late displayed much 
 activity in the extension of her Asiatic Railway system, 
 in establishing advanced frontier posts, and in claiming 
 hitherto unclaimed tracts in close proximity to the 
 Passes of the Hindu- Kush. Prance, on the other side, 
 has, as we all know, moved forward to the Mekong, and 
 is now separated from, us by the very flimsy barrier which 
 the so-called (buffer) State will provide. China has 
 made considerable advances. Nor have we altogether 
 stood still, for on the eastern side of British India the 
 annexation of Upper Burma has completely altered our 
 position, and has given us a new interest in the Chin- 
 Lushai country, which has become an enclave in 
 British territory, and territorial claims extending up to, 
 and even beyond, the Biver Mekong, the left bank of 
 which has, as we know, lately passed under the control 
 of a great European Power. 
 
 Is it not obvious that, under these circumstances, 
 our interest in the intervening country is enormously in- 
 creased? In political geography, Nature abhors a 
 vacuum, and if one thing is certain, it is that, under 
 present circumstances, any spaces left vacant upon our 
 Indian frontiers will be filled up by others if we do not 
 step in to fill them up ourselves. And thus it has come 
 to pass that districts which we could afford to regard 
 with indifference as " no-man's land," or as border 
 Alsatias, with which we need have no concern, have 
 suddenly become of vital importance to us as forming 
 part of the marches of the Empire." 
 
AS VICEROY AND COVER NO R^-'OBNERAL OF INDIA, 
 
 S3 
 
 Under these circumstances there has grown up the 
 idea of that which is conveniently described as "a 
 sphere of influence," — "^'a sphere, that is, within which 
 we shall not attempt to administer the country our- 
 selves, but within which we shall not allow any aggres- 
 sion from outside." Lord Lansdowne laid down the 
 following principal conditions as necessary in dealing 
 with the tribes and petty States that fall within the 
 limits of such a sphere of influence. Pirst, that within 
 that sphere, we should ourselves hold direct relations 
 with the tribes, but allow them to hold relations with 
 no other powers; secondly, that we should reserve to 
 ourselves the right of free access and the right of 
 making roads, and, if necessary, posts for the protec- 
 tion of those roads; thirdly, that we should respect 
 the independence of the tribes, and not attempt to in- 
 terfere in the management of their internal affairs or to 
 bring them within the operation of our Courts and 
 Codes. ''The policy is," His Lordship said, " I believe, the 
 right one under the political circumstances which now 
 confront us, and it is less likely in the long run to involve 
 us in trouble and expense than the old policy of pu- 
 nitive expeditions, followed by a precipitate and com- 
 plete withdrawal, a policy which Lord Lytton very 
 aptly described in a speech delivered in Council, as 
 one of alternate vengeance and inaction." 
 
 The policy thus laid down by Lord Lansdowne has 
 been carried out with considerable success both on the 
 Western and Eastern sides of the Empire. On the East- 
 ern frontier the large enclave of hilly country lying 
 between Assam, Chittagong and Burma, and inhabited 
 by the Lushais and other barbarous tribes who fre- Lushais. 
 quently raided on the neighbouring districts, has been 
 brought into subjection and roads through it have been 
 opened up. Beyond the east of the Lushai tract 
 lies the land occupied by the Chins, a savage and bar- chins. 
 barous race over whom the Burmese exercised 
 no control and who had long been accustomed to 
 
54 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 Kachins. 
 
 raid the adjacent plains. The Government of India 
 determined to put an end to their attacks. A 
 force was sent which occupied their liills, and consider- 
 able progress has been made in exploring the country and 
 settling the tribes. In the autumn of 1893, however, a 
 sudden and treacherous outbreak occurred in the north. 
 A considerable force of troops was sent to subdue it, 
 and the northern tribes have now been, to a great 
 extent, disarmed. The whole of the Chin Hills have now 
 been placed under the control of a Political Officer. 
 Beyond the eastern frontier of Burma are the Shan States, 
 the main group of which lies to the east of the Irawadi, 
 but separated from it by certain districts of Burma proper. 
 The chiefs of the Cis-Salween States have been granted 
 Sanads which secure to them, subject to simple conditions 
 as to the payment of tribute and the due recognition of 
 British authority, the right of administering these terri- 
 tories in accordance with Shan customs and the privilege 
 of nominating their successors. On the south of the 
 Southern Shan States lies the country of the Karens, of 
 whom there are two main divisions, the Karen-ne or Eed 
 Karens, and the Karen-byu or White Karens. In the year 
 1888 one of the Karen chiefs attacked the Shan States, 
 and early in the following year a force was sent against 
 him which took possession of his capital. The chief fled 
 and shortly afterwards died. The following year, his 
 nephew was appointed chief in his place. Negotiations 
 have been conducted with reference to a settlement of 
 the boundary between the Burmese Shan States and 
 Siam. The tract of country lying round the upper 
 waters of the Chindwin and the Irawadi and situated north 
 of Upper Burma is mainly occupied by a T\dld race of 
 mountaineers known in Burma as Kachins and in Assam 
 as Singphos. The Kachins are split up into a very large 
 number of tribes and clans which are again sub- 
 divided into an infinite number of potty chiefships and 
 communities. The question of the general policy to be 
 adopted towards the Kachins has occupied the careful 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. J- 
 
 attention of Government, and Lord Lansdowne took 
 advantage of his tour in Burma to discuss the question 
 in detail with the local authorities. His Excellency 
 was also able to take advantage of local knowledge 
 with regard to two other matters which had long occupied 
 his attention — the delimitation of the frontier between 
 Burma and China, the negotiations regarding which are Burmo- 
 now entering on the final stage, and the conditions of Frontier, 
 frontier trade between the two countries. During the 
 administration of His Excellency the negotiations 
 between the Government of India and the Chinese Gov- 
 ernment with reference to Sikkim have been brought Sikkim. 
 to a satisfactory conclusion. The boundary between 
 Sikkim and Tibet has been defined, our exclusive control 
 over Sikkim recognized and regulations made as to the 
 frontier trade. Many marked changes and improve- 
 ments have been made in the internal administration of 
 Sikkim. Perfect tranquillity prevails in the State, the 
 revenue is steadily increasing, bridges have been built, 
 and roads which were so greatly needed have been con- 
 structed. 
 
 The settlement of the boundary of the Empire from Giiglt. 
 Burma in the far South to beyond Kashmir in the far 
 North has occupied the attention of Lord Lansdowne. 
 A few months after His Excellency had assumed the 
 Viceroyalty, an officer had, owing to a disturbance 
 having arisen in the State, to be sent to Gilgit, the 
 frontier province of Kashmir. His report revealed that 
 the weakness and corruption of the Kashmir officials en- 
 tailed a great loss of life and a vast waste of the State 
 funds, and it was determined to establish a British 
 Agency at Gilgit. TSe arrangement, however, was 
 opposed by the neighbouring tribes, and they began to 
 plot against it, the most prominent among them be- 
 longing to Hunza and Nagar, the two States which 
 occupy the valleys draining into the upper portion of 
 the Kan jar or Hunza rivers, which flow into the Gilgit 
 river, two miles below Gilgit fort. Thirty miles from the 
 
j6 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 junction of the Hunza valley witli tlie Gil git valley is 
 situated the Eort of Chalt, the furthest outpost of 
 Kashmir in that direction. Thirty miles above Chalt 
 are the villages of Hunza and Nagar, the first on the 
 right, the second on the left bank of the river, the re- 
 spective capitals of the two little States. The predatory 
 tribes of Hunza and Nagar have for centuries been the 
 terror of all the people between Afghanistan and 
 Yarkand. Erom their almost inaccessible defiles they 
 have been in the habit of making frequent raids on their 
 neighbours, and plundering the rich caravans on their way 
 from India to Central Asia. All prisoners of any commer- 
 cial value — men, women, and children — captured in these 
 raids were driven across the mountains to be sold as slaves. 
 In the autumn of 1891, the Hunza and Nagar chiefs 
 gathered together their fighting men, and marched upon 
 Chalt. The British Agent, Colonel Durand, on hearing of 
 their intention, made a forced march to the front, and rein- 
 forced the garrison. The tribesmen, disconcerted by this 
 prompt step, withdrew to their own country. The aspect 
 of affairs was, however, so threatening that the Govern- 
 ment of India despatched 200 Gurkhas, two guns 
 of a Native Mountain Battery and a Gatling to Gilgit. 
 The Agent's staff was also strengthened by fom^teen 
 officers. An unsettled feeling continued to prevail 
 amongst the tribesmen, and news was received that 
 both Hunza and Nagar were again preparing to 
 attack Chalt. Colonel Durand, on hearing the intelli- 
 gence, made a rapid march to that fort, and sent a 
 message to the tribes requiring them to desist from 
 their opposition. They refused to accede to his 
 request, and their refusal was couched in most 
 insolent terms. Negotiations having thus broken 
 down. Colonel Durand crossed the frontier with a force 
 of about 900 men, of whom 200 were British Native 
 troops, and the remainder belonged to the Kashmir Army. 
 The day after the frontier was crossed, the strong fort 
 of Nilt, situated on a position of great natural strength 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVER NOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 
 
 57 
 
 was carried with great dash and determination by a 
 well considered and wisely planned attack. An advance 
 was made on Nagar and Hunza, and both cities were 
 occupied without further resistance. A half-brother of 
 the ex- chief was nominated to the Hunza chief ship, and 
 matters speedily settled down in the two States. - 
 
 The possession of the Gilgit Valley affords us a direct Chitral ^ 
 communication through Kashmir territory to the valley 
 of Chitral which commands some of the lowest and 
 easiest passes across the Hindoo Koosh, and affords a 
 convenient road to India from Bokhara md Badak Shan. 
 Chitral, the capital of the protected State, itself is situated 
 at the junction of Several valleys leading to these passes 
 and commanding them all. In August 1892 Aman- 
 ul-Mulk, the old mehtar or chief of Chitral, a most able 
 and sagacious ruler, died suddenly while holding a Durbar. 
 Sardar Nizam-ul-Mulk, his eldest son, after some reverses 
 of fortune established himself as chief of the State. Early 
 next year Dr. Eobertson and Captain Younghusband 
 crossed the Thandar Pass, and after a most trying march 
 owing to the intense cold reached Chitral. Lord Lans- 
 downe having decided that recent events did not call 
 for any departure from the policy which had hitherto been 
 adopted with regard to Chitral, Dr Robertson on behalf 
 of the Government of India publicly recognised Nizam- 
 ul-Mulk as mehtar and his territory is to continue under 
 the suzerainty of the Kashmir State. With a view, how- 
 ever, to safeguard the interests of the paramount power, 
 an English officer is for a time at least to reside in the 
 State. The independence of Chitral against Afghanistan 
 has been guaranteed by the recent settlement which 
 has been effected with the Amir. 
 
 At no part of the frontier of the Indian Empire has Afghanistan. 
 more satisfactory progress been made in establishing a 
 sphere of influence than at the point where the English 
 Government are brought into contact with the dominion 
 of the Amir of Afghanistan. The absence of well-defined 
 limits was in the past a fruitful source of misunderstand- 
 
58 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 ing both with Afghanistan and with the intervening 
 tribes, and a grave obstacle to the cultivation of the inti- 
 mate relations with onr Afghan ally which Lord Lans- 
 downe so earnestly desired. The difficulties which arose 
 with regard to the settlement of frontier questions with 
 His Highness seriously impaired the continuous efforts 
 of the Viceroy " to convince him of our good-will 
 towards him, and of our intentions to fulfil scrupulously 
 our treaty engagements to him." As Lord Lansdowne 
 stated in his parting speech at Calcutta — " Until this 
 winter all the conditions were calculated to lead to mis- 
 conceptions and strained relations. You had, on the one 
 side, the British Government, actuated by a strong desire 
 to secure peace upon its marches, and to keep open the 
 great avenues by which they are traversed ; you had, on 
 the other side, an Eastern Huler, jealous of external 
 influence, conscious of his own strength, the inheritor of 
 a throne to which there have always clung the dim, but 
 glorious, traditions of a suzerainty including the whole 
 of the Muhammadan tribes of the Punjab frontier. To 
 give such a Ruler a kingdom without properly defined 
 boundaries, was to court difficulties and misunderstand- 
 ings, and we have had a plentiful crop of them. Could 
 we be surprised if, under such circumstances, the tribes, 
 not knowing whether to look to the Amir, or to us, 
 sometimes turned to Kabul, and sometimes to the Punjab 
 Government, or to the Baluchistan Agency? Was it 
 strange that, in the presence of such a state of things, the 
 trade routes were harried, and raids, followed by bootless 
 reprisals, perpetrated upon British territory, or that 
 every troublesome outlaw and intriguing pretender to 
 the Chiefship of a border State should, whenever it 
 suited him to set us at defiance, represent himself as 
 enjoying the special protection of the Euler of Islam ; or 
 was it unnatural that the Amir should regard with a 
 suspicious eye the extension of our railways and the 
 piercing of the great mountain barriers which screened 
 his possessions from our own "? 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 59 
 
 There is every reason to hope that all these heart- Mission to 
 burnings and jealousies are at an end owing to the " 
 amicable settlement effected by Sir Mortimer Durand, 
 the Chief of the friendly mission sent to Kabul at the close 
 of the Viceroyalty of Lord Lansdowne. When Lord 
 Lansdowne arrived in India, a Kabul mission had just 
 been countermanded. The Amir was occupied in dealing 
 with a dangerous rebellion, which at the time seemed to 
 threaten the integrity of his possessions. Its suppression 
 required his presence on the remote frontier of Afghan 
 Turkistan, and during the first two years of Lord Lans- 
 downe's Viceroyalty he was absent from Kabul and 
 entirely engrossed with the serious task he had taken in 
 hand. When the Amir returned to Kabul, the attention 
 of His Highness was drawn to several outstanding ques- 
 tions in which he as well as the Government of India 
 were concerned, but his health was impaired and his 
 mind was occupied by complications in his own territory, 
 and he was therefore unable to give to them the consi- 
 deration they deserved. In July 1892, the Viceroy 
 wrote to the Amir again drawing his attention to the 
 questions which remained to be settled, and announcing 
 tiie intention of the Government of India to depute Lord 
 Roberts to Jelalabad to confer with His Highness on 
 these important subjects. The Amir expressed his plea- 
 sure at the proposal, but owing to the troubles which had 
 arisen in the mountainous region known as the Hazara 
 country, and the state of his health, he was unable to fix 
 a date for the reception of Lord Roberts' mission. At 
 the beginning of last year, however, His Highness having 
 restored order in his dominions and his health having 
 greatly improved, expressed his readiness to receive a 
 mission. As Lord Roberts had left India, Sir Mortimer 
 Durand, Eoreign Secretary to the Government of India, 
 w^as chosen to be the British Commissioner, and it was 
 decided that no escort should accompany him, but 
 that the protection of the mission should be entirely 
 left to the troops of the Amir. On the 18th of Septem- 
 
6o THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 ber 1893, His Highness having intimated that all 
 arrangements for their reception were complete, the 
 mission party assemhled at Landi Kotal, the frontier 
 post of the Khyber Rifles. 
 
 Two days afterwards at dawn the mission reached Landi 
 Khana, the frontier post in Afghan territory where they 
 were met by General Ghulam Haidar Khan (of the tribe 
 of Charkhi), the Amir's Sipah Salar or Commander-in- 
 Chief, who was accompanied by an escort of Afghan 
 cavalry. During the march to Kabul the camp was 
 well guarded by the Amir's troops, the most cordial 
 relations were established between the British Commis- 
 sioner and his Commander-in-Chief, and the whole 
 mission were treated by his orders with lavish hospitality. 
 On the morning of the 2nd of October, the mission 
 made their entry in state into Kabul. Three days after 
 their arrival a formal but most cordial reception was 
 granted to them by the Euler of Afghanistan. On 
 subsequent occasions the British Commissioner was 
 admitted to more private interviews with the Amir when 
 business was discussed. The question regarding the 
 north-east Prontier having been debated and settled in a 
 satisfactory manner, the British Commissioner brought 
 forward the other questions in which the Amir and the 
 Government of India were concerned. Sir Mortimer 
 Durand enlarged on the identity of the interests of the 
 Amir with those of the English Government, and he 
 pressed upon His Highness the necessity of a frontier set- 
 tlement. During the negotiations the Amir evinced the 
 strongest desire to arrive at an honourable agreement, and 
 his confidence having been won by the tact, patience and 
 sincerity of the British Commissioner, all difficulties were 
 surmounted, and a most satisfactory agreement was signed. 
 The settlement defined the respective spheres of influence 
 of the two countries. His Highness the Amir bound him- 
 self not to interfere in any way for the future with the 
 Bajauris, Afridis, Waziris, and other frontier tribes, and 
 agreed that the frontier line should hereafter be laid down 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 6 1 
 
 in detail and demarcated, wherever such demarcation was 
 practicable and desirable, by joint British and Afghan 
 Commissioners. The British Commissioner on the other 
 hand consented to the Amir retaining Asmar, and the 
 valley above it as far as Chandak which is now occupied by 
 the Afghans, His Highness agreeing that he would at no 
 time exercise interference in Swat, Bajaur or Chitral, 
 including the Arnawai or Bashgal valley. The British 
 Government also agreed to leave to the Amir the tract 
 known as Bermal in the north-western part of the Waziri 
 country. As a token of their appreciation of the good- will 
 displayed by His Highness, and the friendly spirit in which 
 he entered into the negotiations, the British Government 
 have consented not only to raise no objection to the pur- 
 chase and import by His Highness of munitions of war, 
 but have promised to grant him some assistance in this 
 respect, and the Government of India have engaged to 
 increase the annual subsidy of twelve lakhs granted to 
 His Highness by the sum of six lakhs of rupees a 
 year. 
 
 After the negotiations had been concluded and the 
 treaty signed, the Amir received the members of the 
 mission at a Durbar in the stately Durbar hall situated 
 in the grounds of the Arq. The hall was crowded with 
 the nobles of the State, and after the members of the 
 mission had been presented to His Highness, the Amir 
 made a speech in which he declared his entire satisfaction 
 with the terms of the agreement, and his firm conviction 
 that the interests of Great Britain and Afghanistan were 
 identical. The remarks of the Amir were received with 
 w^arm approval, and at the close of the speech, an address, 
 bearing the seal of the leading men of his kingdom. 
 Was presented to His Highness which he proceeded to 
 read to the assembly. It expressed their gratitude for 
 what His Highness had done during his reign for Af- 
 ghanistan and the confidence his subjects had in him 
 as their ruler and protector. They could only repay 
 their debt to him by their unswerving obedience, and 
 
62 THE ADMINISTRATION OF LORD LANSDOWNE 
 
 this tliey would always render to him. Any settlement 
 at which His Highness should arrive they agreed to abide 
 by. Then Sir Mortimer Durand addressed the Amir. After 
 reciprocating the expressions of satisfaction and confidence 
 which had fallen from the Amir the British Commis- 
 sioner warmly thanked His Highness for the splendid 
 hospitality shown to the mission. In a few graceful 
 words, the Amir acknowledged the speech of the envoy, 
 and the Durbar was brought to a close. 
 
 On the 14th of November, Sir Mortimer Durand 
 was admitted to a private interview with the Amir 
 at which his sons and a few important persons were 
 present. Matters relating to trade were chiefly dis- 
 cussed. His Highness stated his kingdom was not at 
 present ripe for a commercial treaty, but he spoke 
 warmly in support of the establishment of a regular 
 " Amad Baft " (coming and going) between Afghanistan 
 and India which, he said, would confound any common 
 enemy. Throughout the discussion the Amir treated 
 Sir Mortimer Durand with marked courtesy, and at 
 its close he expressed a hope that he might see him 
 again in Kabul. The following day the Amir bade fare- 
 well to the mission, expressed his pleasure at having 
 the opportunity of again seeing Sir Mortimer Durand, 
 and wished him a long and prosperous life. His 
 Highness sent warm messages of greeting to His Ex- 
 cellency the Viceroy, and asked the British Commissioner 
 to assure Her Majesty the Queen-Empress of his 
 attachment. After their farewell visit to the Amir, the 
 British mission left the capital under a salute of twenty- 
 one guns. Thus terminated our latest embassy to Kabul. 
 The diflficulties and misunderstandings of years have 
 been removed, and our relations with Afghanistan have 
 been put on the most satisfactory footing. "I believe," 
 said Lord Lansdowne in his farewell address to the 
 citizens of the capital of the Empire, " that my successor 
 will find in His Highness the Amir, who has, during 
 the recent negotiations, evinced the strongest desire 
 
AS VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. 6^ 
 
 to arrive at an honourable settlement, and to remove 
 all causes of ill-will between his Government and ours, 
 a firm ally and a friendly neighbour, well content to 
 abide honourably by the contract to which he has lately 
 become a party." 
 
 The preceding review of the administration of India 
 during the Yiceroyalty of Lord Lansdowne cannot more 
 properly terminate than with this interesting event in 
 the history of India. The summary is only a simple 
 recital of the chief measures which have been taken 
 towards securing the peace of the Empire and the good 
 of its subjects. The summary, however imperfect, is 
 sufficient to demonstrate that the achievements of the 
 Government have been neither few nor unimportant. 
 The relations between the Government of India and the 
 great States, which are our neighbours, have been placed 
 on a closer and more solid basis ; the wild tribes on our 
 borders have been taught that crime and disorder will not 
 be tolerated ; the loyalty of the feudatory chiefs has been 
 strengthened by friendly intercourse ; the Empire has 
 been made secure from foreign attack by the construc- 
 tion of important military works and improvements in 
 our military system. Measures have been taken for 
 developing the material welfare of the land, and changes 
 and improvements effected for advancing the moral and 
 social position of the people. The educated classes have 
 been admitted to a larger participation in the higher 
 functions of administration, and, by introducing the 
 electoral system into the Universities and the Legislative 
 Council, an advance has been made towards placing 
 the institutions of India on a liberal basis without injiur- 
 ing the stability and integrity of the Empire. 
 
xnions oi tk^ ^xtBs 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE LETTERS, DESPATCHES,. 
 AND OTHER STATE PAPERS 
 
 PBESERVED IN 
 
 THE MILITARY DEPARTMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 OF INDIA, 1857—58. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 G. W. FORREST, B.A. 
 
 V^ 
 
 % 
 
 " Mr. Forrest, the Director of Records to the Government of India, has isBued a 
 volume of Military Selections of great interest. It consists of the Mutiny papers 
 preserved in the Military Department in Calcutta. We hope to notice adequately 
 this carefully-prepared work at an early date. Although Mr. Forrest travels over 
 well-trodden ground, his patience and accuracy have succeeded in presenting, in a 
 new light, several important facts connected with the Mutiny. His introductory 
 chapter is, as usual with him, an admirable piece of impartial historical narrative. 
 At present we have only space to welcome his work without attempting even to 
 summarise its contents."— Kmes' first notice. 
 
 " Mr. Forrest has performed a public service, an important although a painful 
 service, by the publication of the Mutiny papers preserved in the Military Depart- 
 ment." — Times' second notice. 
 
 " Not only has Mr. Forrest, while indulging in no padding and no fire-works, 
 clothed the skeleton of his abstract with the flesh and blood of a ' live ' and 
 interested as well as interesting story, but he has managed at the same time to 
 articulate and display that skeleton so clearly, that the reader has no difficulty in 
 recognising the connection of all the proceedings recounted later under the legal and 
 professional verbiage of courts-martial and despatches." — The Saturday Review. 
 
 l^H 
 
 ** Mr. Forrest's book consists mainly of a selection from the military archives of 
 those papers which exhibit clearly the causes and circumstances of this extra- 
 ordinary revolt; showing how it began with premonitory symptoms of mutiny 
 among the troops in Lower Bengal, seemed for the moment to have subsided under 
 vigorous repression, but soon exploded into murderous insurrection at Meerut and 
 Delhi. Then follow the official documents recording in detail the vicissitudes of that 
 brief but fierce campaign, which broke the neck of rebellion by the storm of the 
 Imperial city. To the student of Anglo-Indian history, to all who love graphic 
 particulars of great transactions, to those who desire to know not only what was 
 done but how it was done, these papers will be very welcome and very interesting. 
 More : Mr. Forrest has given an introduction, wherein the whole story is told in 
 clear and vivid style, accurately and comprehensively ; with the sympathetic 
 
66 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 animation of one who describes a sharp and stubborn contest, yet without the fervid 
 exuberance, whether of praise or of pathos, that has been indulged in by certain 
 (otherwise excellent) writers upon the event." — The National Observer. 
 
 "The narrative in this volume is one of profound and absorbing interest. We 
 say the narrative, because, after all, it is the introductory chapter by Mr. Forrest, 
 rather than the despatches and other documents which fill the greater part of the 
 volume, that will be most attractive to the general reader . And what a narrative 
 it is ! * * * * * * It is this splendid story of which we have the 
 full account in Mr. Forrest's volume, told not only in the graphic narrative of the 
 editor, but in the contemporary despatches of the chief actors in the memorable 
 drama. After reading the narrative, one turns with renewed admiration to the 
 documents on which it is based, only to find ourselves called upon to admire afresh 
 the stern simplicity of these records, the conspicuous absence of anything like self- 
 praise or hysterical exaggeration. Clearly it was only the men who could do such 
 deeds who were capable of writing of them with such studied calmness and self- 
 restraint."— T^te Speaker. 
 
 •• By a few words Mr. Forrest often illustrates the steady discipline and stern 
 resolve of the English soldier."— Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 "The papers now issued comprise all the military records from the first outbreak 
 of disaffection to the siege and storming of Delhi by the English troops. The editor 
 contributes an admirable introduction summarising the despatches."— r/ie West- 
 minster Gazette. 
 
 iKi 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE LETTERS, DESPATCHES, 
 AND OTHER STATE PAPERS 
 
 PEE8EEVED IN THE 
 
 FOREIGN DEPARTMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT 
 OF INDIA, 1772—1785. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 G. W. FORREST, B.A. 
 
 ' It is impossible to exaggerate the historical value and importance of the three 
 volumes of Selections." — Times' first notice. 
 
 •' Mr. Forrest, by the publication of these three volumes of records, has, for the 
 first time, converted the acquittal of Warren Hastings by the House of Lords into 
 a complete historical discharge of the high crimes and misdemeanours of which 
 he stood impeached."— Times' second notice. 
 
 *' In publishing the Proceedings of the Secret Select Committee of the Bengal 
 Council from 1772 to 1785, Mr. Forrest enables us to trace the whole course of 
 Hastings' Indian Administration from the day when he took his seat as Governor of 
 Bengal to the day when he resigned the oflBce of Governor General # * # 
 More light was needed to dispel the mist that still hung around a great man's 
 memory. The light now turned upon it from Calcutta reveals the full extent of the 
 injustice done to Hastings, both in his lifetime and since his death. These Bengal 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. Sj 
 
 Slate papers deal the death-blow to the group of legends invented by Philip Francis 
 for the use of Burke, and brought into order, and more lasting currency, by Ma- 
 caulay * * * In a masterly introduction of a hundred pages, Mr. Forrest 
 condenses the political history of the thirteen years during which Hastings governed 
 Bengal. His narrative bristles with references, and with quotations, not only from 
 the State papers, but from every known authority of any yreight."—Athen(sum. 
 
 "A highly important work, giving for the first time the real history of the 
 governorship of Warren Hastings from the ofl&cial documents, which had previously 
 been unavailable to refute Maoaulay's caricature of the subject. Mr. Forrest has 
 done what the accused statesman was unable to do, and has furnished a vindication, 
 which, however tardy, is absolutely complete, so far at least as the scope of the 
 Selections has extended. The Editor has included a vast number of State papers 
 extending from 1772, the year in which Hastings became Governor of Bengal, to 
 1785, when he left India. Together with the Editor's excellent introduction, the 
 matter fills three large volumes, which will be found interesting alike to the India 
 specialist and the general student of history.'*— ilcademy. 
 
 ** Introduction and documents together form a most valuable addition to the store 
 of learning on which the future historian of the period will have to draw. We rejoice 
 that Mr. Forrest's skill and industry have rescued these invaluable records from the 
 perilous interment of a public Record Room." — Saturday Review^ 
 
 *' The reader will therefore be grateful to Professor Forrest for the lucid and 
 masterly introduction in which he relates the history of the period covered by the 
 Selections. In performing this task it was impossible for him to avoid constant 
 reference to the attacks made both at the time and afterwards on every act of 
 Hastings' career. He is careful, however, not to allow the personality of that much- 
 badgered ruler to overshadow the exciting incidents of his times. With rare skill 
 and perfect fairness he reviews the whole period, and while showing the relation of 
 the men to the events, it is to the events rather than to the men that he directs our 
 attention. It is this attitude that constitutes the special value of the introduction, 
 for after all what concerns us moderns in these selections is not so much the 
 character of the men as that of the measures by which the British Empire in India 
 was established.*' — Pioneer. 
 
 ** It is these proceedings that supply the vindication of the illustrious man who 
 was so much maligned while these papers remained unpublished. He himself said 
 that if these official documents were given to the world, his defence would be 
 strengthened. The Directors at that time did not think it fit to grant this request. 
 But now the work has been done, and Hastings' vindication has been made complete. 
 Every future historian will have to take account of these volumes ; and to them 
 Professor Forrest has, as Editor, prefixed a valuable introduction, in which he clearly 
 states the case, and refutes the charges with the aid of the documents published 
 in the body of the work." — Times of India. 
 
 **Mr. G. W. Forrest h as made another valuable and interesting contribution to 
 the store of material of Indian history in the Hastings' papers, which have just 
 been published at Calcutta by authority of the Government of India. The papers 
 extend from 1772, the year in which Warren Hastings became Governor of Bengal, 
 to the 1st of February 17S5, the day on which he resigned the office of Governor 
 General. They thus cover a momentous period in the history of British rule in 
 India — a period abounding in wars and negotiations and intrigues, and in conflicts 
 in Council more embittered even than those in the open field. Here the story of the 
 Eohilla Campaign, which Macaulay has told with highly embellished vindictiveness, 
 may be read in the dispassionate simplicity of original documents. More light— if 
 
68 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS, 
 
 more light were needed after Sir James Stephen's elaborate investigation of the 
 whole affair— is thrown upon the story of Nundeomar and of Hastings' relation to 
 that high-placed malefactor. Hastings' conflicts and misunderstandings with the 
 Governments of Bombay and Madras are represented in the dry light of papers for 
 the most part new even to the historical student. The story of the Benares rebellion, 
 as well as that story of the Begums of Oudh upon which Burke lavished all the 
 resources of his brilliant but cruel rhetoric, are told at length, not as lucidly perhaps 
 as Macaulay has told them, but in a way nevertheless which carries with it all the 
 living interest of first-hand testimony, and which will mislead no one who knows 
 how to weigh historical evidence. They are all oflBcial papers, it is true, but all of 
 them relate to events by which modern India has been moulded and built up, and 
 they are eminently readable. Of Mr. Forrest's performance of duty entrusted to 
 him by Government, nothing but praise need be said. So far as we have seen in a 
 necessarily rapid survey of the three volumes, the selection has been made with 
 great care and judgment, the whole of the papers printed having a direct and im- 
 portant bearing upon the leading events of Hastings' administration. And there 
 are few of them which will not make excellent reading themselves, apart from their 
 value as m4moires pour servir. In an introduction of just one hundred pages Mr. 
 Forrest surveys the whole of the field covered by his three volumes. The IntroduC' 
 Hon is all that it ought to be. It is a piece of clear, crisp, and concise writing, in 
 which the Editor keeps closely to his subject, avoiding the temptation, which must 
 often have been strong, to tell himself the story which could properly be told only 
 by the papers with which he was dealing."— J5om&ai/ Qazette. 
 
 IRa 
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF WARREN HASTINGS, 177'^— 1785, 
 REVIEWED AND ILLUSTRATED 
 
 FBOM 
 
 ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS 
 
 BY 
 
 G. W. FOUUEST, B.A. 
 
 '* Another work of capital importance to all students of the history of British India 
 is the Administration of Warren Hastings, 1772 — 1785, Reviewed and Illustrated from 
 Original Documents by G. W. Forrest, b.a. (Calcutta, OflBce of the Superintendent 
 of Government Printing, India). This is a reprint in a single volume of the Intro- 
 duction prefixed to the three folio volumes of " Letters, Despatches, and other State 
 papers, preserved in the Foreign Department of the Government of India, 1771—1785," 
 which were printed by ofl&cial authority and edited by Mr. Forrest. This important 
 publication has already been fully noticed in our columns, and its unrivalled value 
 as a contribution to the authentic history of Warren Hastings and his administra- 
 tion has been universally recognized."— T^e Times. 
 
 " A few words of especial praise were reserved for the * Masterly ' Introduction 
 in which Professor Forrest worked up his new materials into a full review of Hastings' 
 political career as Governor of Bengal and Governor-General. This introduction he 
 has now reprinted in a separate volume of 317 pages octavo, followed by an appendix 
 of fifty pages and an index of thirty-six. In its present form we may heartily 
 commend it to all those readers— and there must be many such— who, ' though they 
 have not the leisure to study official writings, take an interest in the great ruler 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 6g 
 
 who, by his genius and courage, raised the Company from being a body of merchants 
 and adventurers into the most powerful state in the politics of India.' " — The 
 A thenceum. 
 
 " Mr. Forrest has done well to reprint his introduction to Ithei State papers bearing 
 on the career of Warren Hastings. He has succeeded in showing conclusively that 
 Macaulay was completely misled by Mill, and that the celebrated Essay on Hastings 
 must be regarded as an eloquent piece of romance, so far as several of its main 
 features are concerned."— T?ie Manchester Guardian, 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE STATE PAPERS 
 
 PRESERVED IN THE 
 
 BOMBAY SECEETAEIAT (HOME SEEIES). 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 G. W. FOEREST, B.A. 
 
 " The two volumes now before us deal with the great Company's domestic aflFairs 
 in India from 1630 to 1788, the year before Tippoo provoked the wrath of Cornwallis 
 by his attack upon Travancore. * In the letters and narratives of the chief actors we 
 have here related,' says the able Editor, ' the earliest domestic history of our Indian 
 Empire. In these volumes we can trace the gradual change in the servants of the 
 Company from factors to soldiers and rulers of men.* They show us how the 
 modest little factory founded at Surat in 1614 proved to be the germ of a dominion 
 nearly as large and populous as all Europe. 
 
 In an introduction of fifty-two pages Mr. Forrest provides an excellent historical 
 Summary of the period embraced in these two volumes. 
 
 # » * » » • # 
 
 The Editor's share in the production of these volumes cannot be too highly 
 praised * * *."—Athenceum, 9th June 1888. 
 
 " The Selection has been uniformly judicious. The editing is careful, and if 
 there is a repetition here and there this will enable the student of manners and 
 customs to be quite certain that he does not depend on an isolated fact, and on 
 a single row of figures for any adornments and illustrations of history." — Saturday 
 Review. 
 
 *' They contain an immense amount of curious and valuable information, not 
 only about the commercial and political affairs of the East India Company, but 
 also on the subjects of the mode of life followed by Englishmen resident in the 
 country and of their relations with the natives. * * * These volumes contain 
 much new material towards the history of the East India Company which is sure 
 to be written sooner or later, now that our latest investigations of the manuscript 
 records still happily existing both in London and in India are establishing the in- 
 completeness and frequent inaccuracy of the hitherto accepted standard work— 
 Bruce's Annals. Among those who have brought this hidden wealth of knowledge 
 to light no one deserves more credit than Mr. Forrest." — Asiatic Quarterly 
 Review. 
 
 " These extracts will show that Mr. Forrest's Selections are full of interest and 
 historical value."— Tiwi^s. 
 
 " The last volume dealt with the Mahrattas from the time of Shivaji to their 
 defeat at Assaye. The two volumes we now receive belong to the "Home Series," 
 and are even more interesting, for they comprise all the important documents 
 
yo OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 regarding the internal administration of the Bombay Presidency, from the founda- 
 tion of the Factory at Surat to Wellington's great victory, which made the English 
 masters of India. In these documents, which have been transcribed and printed 
 with the greatest care, we can, as the Editor says, trace the gradual change in the 
 Company's servants from factors to soldiers and statesmen, while we have the 
 domestic history of the Indian Empire in the very words and quaint spelling of the 
 men who made it. It is quite impossible in one short article to present any real 
 idea of a great book that fills a thousand large quarto pages. But the volumes are 
 well indexed, and with the help of index and Professor Forrest's very admirable 
 introduction we will try to give a short account of the beginnings of Bombay."— 
 Times of India, 6th October 1887. 
 
 *' What is wanting in all such books, and especially for the comfort of the 
 ordinary reader, a thread connecting and explaining the great variety of incident, 
 is supplied by Professor Forrest in an introduction, where the events that happened 
 are described in a style concise but picturesque, interesting but accurate." — 
 Pioneer, 5th December 1887. 
 
 ** The two most recent volumes which form the first and second in the Home 
 Series are, in their way, quite as important as the collection of papers relating to 
 the Mahrattas which Mr. Forrest brought out a couple of years since."— JSom^ai/ 
 Qazette, 21st January 1888, 
 
 \ 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM THE STATE PAPERS 
 
 PRESERVED IN THE 
 
 BOMBAY SECRETAKFAT (MAHRATTA SERIES). 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 G. W. FORREST, B.A. 
 
 *'In a quarto volume of more than seven hundred pages, Mr. Forrest, of the 
 Deccan College and the Bombay University, has brought together the first fruits of 
 his researches among the mass of records preserved in the Bombay Secretariat. By 
 means of these records he has traced anew ' the history of the Mahrattas from their 
 founder Shivaji, who welded a few tribes into a great nation, to their defeat by the 
 matchless genius of Wellington.' The documents which form the bulk of the 
 volume record, in fact, our dealings with the Mahrattas from 1739 to 1803— that is, 
 from the siege of Bassein to the Battle of Assaye. 
 
 So carefully has he discharged it to the smallest detail that there is hardly a 
 misprint noticeable in the whole volume. 
 
 In his "Short Historical Introduction" of thirty-four quarto pages, Professor 
 Forrest has eltracted the pith and essence of the raw material contained in the 
 body of the book. This clear, lively, and connected narrative of the Company's 
 dealings with the Mahrattas during sixty eventful years shows how skilfully, with 
 how much care and judgment, the editor has discharged his difficult task. Only 
 those who have waded through the original records can fully appreciate the skill and 
 labour bestowed on a summary which may be read with interest and advantage by 
 many who might not choose to explore further. Among the new matter reserved 
 for this opening essay is the letter in which Lieutenant Pruen, of the Bombay 
 Marine, describes in sober, official language, an exploit rivalling that of Sir Richard 
 Grenville on board the Revenge." — Athenceum. 
 
 "A considerable portion of these State papers is rather the source of history than 
 history itself. But Mr. Forrest has written a preliminary chapter in which he 
 connects one event with another, and gives to the whole work something of unity, 
 consistency, and design. « * * But arguments on this and other suggestive 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 7» 
 
 topics should be studied carefully in Mr. Forrest's valuable contribution by those 
 who wish for something better than a mere superficial sketch of early empire in India 
 and a spiteful caricature of the character and aims of its founders."— /Saturday Be- 
 view. 
 
 *' Mr. Forrest has performed his part of the labour of producing these records in a 
 readable form with great skill and equal success. The series promises to occupy an 
 important position among the historical 'pieces justificatives of India, and we shall 
 look forward with pleasant anticipations to the appearance of the successors of this 
 volume." — Asiatic Quarterly Review. 
 
 " Here, in a handy form, we have all the original documents illustrating the 
 Mahratta period in the conquest of India. Professor Forrest has done his work 
 admirably. The documents are carefully edited, and the introduction is a model of 
 concise, yet spirited writing." — Times of India. 
 
 " Professor Forrest's Selections from the State papers in the Bombay Secretariat 
 are so arranged that they form an excellent history of the Mahratta confederacy 
 from its first consolidation under Shivaji to the Battle of Assaye. The plan followed 
 is similar to that chosen by Carlyle in his edition of Cromwell's Letters and 
 Speeches. The story is told as much as possible by ' the letters and narratives 
 of the chief actors.' But it is always difficult to give a perfectly intelligible and 
 connected history out of original documents alone, and in the present case the 
 difficulty of so doing would have been intensified by the fact that the Editor had to 
 confine his selections for the most part to such documents as had never before been 
 published. But from the circumstances of the case the documents selected for 
 publication would, without a commentary, have been only partially intelligible to 
 the ordinary reader. To supply this want the Editor has given in his introduction 
 a graphic sketch of Mahratta history by which the letters quoted in the body, of the 
 work are bound together into a connected whole, so that the work will not only be 
 a storehouse of materials ready for future historians to use, but is itself an interest- 
 ing and readable account of one of the most important periods of the history of 
 Western India."— Pioneer. 
 
 *' The substantial quarto which Mr. Forrest has just brought out under the 
 auspices of the Government of Bombay represents painstaking and continuous work, 
 which every future historian of the growth of British Eule in Western India will 
 heartily appreciate. Mr. Forrest, as a mere glance at his book will show, must have 
 made courageous flights into the realm of "Dry-as-Dust " before producing a col- 
 lection of papers of such abiding historical interest as these. For in work of this 
 kind the worker's merit is only half shown by what he puts in print ; one must think 
 of the ponderous files of manuscript which the careful Editor has rejected before 
 one can quite appreciate the industry and selective judgment shown in the printed 
 pages.*' — Bombay Gazette. 
 
 OFFICIAL WRITINGS OF 
 MOUNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE, 
 
 SOME TIME GOVERNOR OF BOMBAY. 
 
 EDITED, WITH A MEMOIE, BY 
 
 G. W. FORREST, B.A. 
 LONDON: BENTLEY & SON. BOMBAY: THACKEE & Co., Limited. 
 
 Price R13-4. 
 
 ♦ 
 ,(^ # # Professor Forrest's volume contains reprints of those clear and 
 far-seeing State papers which were compiled by Mr. Elphinstone to inform his 
 
72 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 superiors or to explain his methods of government. They are "by no means prolix, 
 and the style is most happy. An admirable mean between official exactness and 
 simple unaffected narrative. The spirited little memoir which Professor Forrest 
 has prefixed to his volume is highly appreciative of Mr. Elphinstone's character, 
 and efficiently serves its purpose of placing an outline of his life before the reader." 
 '-'Quarterly Review. 
 
 ««» « # Mr. Forrest's Selections illustrate the life very well indeed."— 
 Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 « « » » The chief State papers by Mountstuart Elphinstone which Mr. 
 Forrest has collected and published are the well-known Minute on Education 
 written in 1824, a narrative of the events which led to the equally well-known con- 
 flict with the Peishwah, while Elphinstone was at Poona, and a report on the 
 territories conquered from him. * * « But these papers are still models of 
 clear, unrhetorical statement. Elphinstone was in most respects, as we have 
 already said, an example to Anglo-Indian officials ; in none was he more so than in his 
 attitude towards the native populations of Hindostan, which these papers place in 
 pleasant light." — Spectator. 
 
 C. P. 0.— No. 30 P. 8. to v.— 18.«-94.— 350. 
 
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