India, Past and Present, historical, social and political ... Illustrated, etc

Front matter

Frontispiece. Maclure, Macdonald & Co., Glasgow. WATSON'S HOTEL, BOMBAY; THE HARBOUR; ISLAND OF ELEPHANTA IN THE DISTANCE. INDIA PAST AND PRESENT Ifoistorfcal, Social, anfc political BY JAMES SAMjJELSON Of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law AUTHOR OF " ROUMANIA PAST AND PRESENT," "BULGARIA PAST AND PRESENT," ETC. ILLUSTRATED WITH A RAILWAY MAP OF INDIA; WOODCUTS; ' AND COLLOTYPE VIEWS, PORTRAITS, ARCHÆOLOGICAL AND ETHNOLOGICAL SUBJECTS, FROM FORTY PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOURNE AND SHEPHERD, CALCUTTA, &c.;'LALA DEEN DAY AL OF INDORE S. HORMUSJEE, BOMBAY; MADAME SCARAMANGA, BOMBAY; AND OTHER WELL-KNOWN PROFESSIONAL AND AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS Post Tenebras Lux LONDON TRUBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL 1890 [All rights reserved] j?wffl* BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON

Preface

. The object of a preface is usually threefold — to announce the plan of the work to wliich it is prefixed, to apologise for short comings, and to express indebtedness for help received. Iu laying before my readers a sketch of the past history and present condition of the Indian people, I have endeavoured, as far as the altered circumstances would permit, to follow the plan of my former works on the Danubian States, which seems to have met with approval. As the subject of this treatise is, however, much more important and extensive, I have felt it to be due to my readers not to rely on my own judgment only in the recommendation of works of reference ; and, in addition to the treatises and parliamentary papers named in the footnotes to the text, there will be found at the end of the volume a Bibliography, which has been prepared expressly for this work by Sir William W. Hunter, K.C.S.I., whose wide literary experience and knowledge of Indian subjects are a sufficient guarantee for its comprehensive and useful character.1 The second and third chapters contain references to the debated questions of the Descent of Man and the cradle of the Aryan race ; and although I have laid before my readers a few striking facts in connection with those subjects which have come under my notice during the preparation of this work, and have stated the impressions they have made upon my mind, I wish it to be clearly understood that I have done so in no 1 In the text, J. Wilson's work on " Indian Caste " is inadvertently omitted in note on p. 38- f,

PREFACE.

. VI spirit of assertion or dogmatism, but rather by way of sugges tion for further inquiry. The locality or localities which were the habitat of the early ancestors of the modern races of man kind will probably be defined only when the major problem of the Descent of Man is solved, for if it should be clearly shown that he is descended from some lower form, the region (or, if there should prove to be more than one ancestral form, the regions) which produced that form will naturally be the centre from whence the various races were distributed over the globe. At the same time researches into the languages, anatomy, &c, of living races will aid in the solution of the problem, and in so far the philological controversy referred to in the text demands the close attention of biologists, and of the students of history in its broadest sense.

In stating that my whole time and thoughts during a recent visit to India were employed in mastering, as far as possible, the material, social, and political problems which are agitating the community, and in correcting erroneous impressions neces sarily formed by persons who seek to acquire knowledge at second-hand, I trust that I shall have sufficiently explained why so little reference is here made to many of the charming features of Indian life and scenery which have enlivened the works of other writers on the country. The perfection of its fauna and flora, especially the latter; of its flowering plants, as, for example, the beautiful mauve bougainvillea, which attains sickly proportions in our hot-houses, but in India clusters like ivy over every point of vantage ; its bright scarlet poinsettia ; its palms and plantains ; its banyans and tamarisks which line the splendid roads; the snows ofthe Himalayas; the picturesque costumes and interesting occupations of the natives — for an account of all of these the reader is referred to works, of which there are many, devoted to such subjects.

All I have been able to do, after reviewing the past history of the country, has been to describe a few of its institutions as they appear in working order, and to point out the influence they seem likely

PREFACE.

. VII to exercise upon its future destiny and its relations to our selves. In this regard I have made little or no reference to our recently acquired territory in Burma, on which it is too soon to form a judgment of any value. If my work should command attention, and meet with any thing like approval, the reader must refer the merit to the numerous kind friends in India and at home without whose assistance I could never have completed my task, and to whom I now acknowledge my deep obligations. To give the names of all would be impossible — of a few, invidious ; but to one in particular, namely, to Professor Max Muller, whose guidance in that part of my subject of which he is a master has been invaluable to me, I owe and feel bound to give special thanks. Unless the book is consigned to oblivion unread — a fate that no writer likes to contemplate — the controversial nature of the subjects of which it treats will necessarily expose it, and probably its author, to hostile and unfriendly criticism ; but although a pretty long experience has taught me to regard such literary contingencies with equanimity, I would express the earnest hope that, whatever may be thought of my ignorance or lack of judgment, I may be credited with the desire to state every case fairly and honestly ; for I have done so without personal feeling or conscious bias, and my sole object has been to serve the cause of progress in our great dependency. JAMES SAMUELSON. Claughton, Birkenhead, November 18S9. CONTENTS.

Part I. Historical And Ethnological

CHAP. PAGI--. I. A BRIEF PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF INDIAN HISTORY 1 II. THE ABORIGINES OF INDIA . . . . . .II III. THE INDO-ARYANS — MODERN IDOL-WORSHIP . . .23 IV. THE WOMEN OF INDIA, PAST AND PRESENT ... 46 V. THE PERSIANS AND THE MODERN PARSEES THE GREEKS AND THE SCYTHIANS IN INDIA . . .. . 65 VI. THE BUDDHIST SUPREMACY IN INDIA . . . -79 VII. THE MOHAMMEDAN CONQUEST OF INDIA ... 88 VIII. THE INDIA OF THE MUGHALS A COMPARISON . . IOI IX. THE EUROPEANS IN INDIA . . . . . . I15 X. EARLY BRITISH RULE IN INDIA CLIVE AND WARREN HASTINGS . . . . . . . 132 XI. THE BRITISH SUPREMACY IN INDIA . . . 152

Part II. India To-day

XII. AGRICULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL . . . . -171 XIII. EDUCATIONAL . . . . . . - . . I92 XIV. MEDICAL LADY DUFFERIN'S FUND . . . .212 XV. THEOLOGICAL — MISSIONARY . . . . . .221 X CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE XVI. JUDICIAL CRIMINAL ....... 242 XVII. MATERIAL SOCIAL 255 XVIII. EDITORIAL . , . . . . . . . 280 XIX. MUNICIPAL ......... 292 XX. POLITICAL THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS . . . 308 XXI. POLITICAL TE-E INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (continued) — lord dufferin's recomendations . . .324 XXII. IMPERIAL INDIA . . . . . . . -337 XXIII. RETROSPECT THE FUTURE OF INDIA CONCLUSION. . 347 APPENDICES. A- — BIBLIOGRAPHY, BY SIR W. W. HUNTER, K.C.S.I., ETC. . . 361 B. — TENURES OF LAND IN INDIA '. . . . . .375 INDEX . . . , . . . . -377 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. COLLOTYPE PLATES. No. Description op Plate. Photographs by ' Watson's Hotel, Bombay ; the Har-) Lala Deen Day al, hour; Island of Elephanta . .) of Indore Frontispiece To face page I. Some Indian Types : — > Mongol (Bhutia Man) . .

Bourne and ahep- \ Negrito (Andamanese) . . ,,_-,, ( herd, Calcutta } \-i Indo-Aryan (Native Prince) . . , I and Bombay . I Aboriginal (Andamanese) . ' Aboriginal (Toda Girl) . II. Group of Lamas of Tibet . . .-> TODA Man (after Marshall, by permission) . . . - 17 ANDAMANESE; Boy holding bow with Bourne and Shcptoes ; whitewashed WTomen . ./ herd. III. Group of Afridis of the Khyber) PASS i Di"° ' • 26 {Fortress of Jamrud, S.E. Entrances to Khyber Pass . . . . | Tower of Silence (with Vultures), j Bombay J r E. Tourtin, Paris. A 1 Sir William W. Hunter, K.C.S.I., &c.J Kingsbury and I '[ Professor MAX MtiLLER . . .1 Nottcutt, Lonj J y <lon . . J LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. From To face No. Description of Plate. Photographs by paoe .Mausoleum of Akbar, Sikandra.^ ourne and Shcp. , VI J neal'ASra I herd. ■} 54 1 Panch Mahal (5 palaces), Fathpur Ditto ) v Sikri, near Agra . • • ■' VII.

Temple dedicated to Phallic Wor- X 65 SHIP, showing Persepolitan style . ) ' S. HormusjeeA Bombay . . I ynl ( B. M. MALABARI, Bombay . . \ H. Bishop,Ch&m. . 1 Rev. Dr. Forman, Lahore . . . bersburg>Penn. 7. sylvania . IX. Græco-Bactrian Coins :— 1. Of Demetrius (son of Euthedemus I -W.N. Samuekon 73 2. Of Euthedemus II. . 3. Of Hermæus . . . •_ X. A Scythian King, from Belief in [the Lahore Museum 7& XI. The Adoration of Buddha, from Relief in the Lahore Museum 82 _. ,, ( Bourne and Shep- ) XII. The Kutub Minar, near Delhi . .{ \ 89 (. herd . ■ ■ ) r Ruins of Babar's Mosque at Ajod- -\ xm, HYA I 90 View of the Taj-Mahal, Agra, from V the River Jumna .... Lala Deen Day al J XIV. The Ta j -Mahal,°Agra, Main Build- •) Bourne and Shep- ) ing f herd . . , XV. The Jama Masjid at Delhi . . Ditto . . 97 {Jahangir's Mausoleum at Lahore "j Madame Scara-\ Fretwork on a Mausoleum at I manga, Bom- J- 1 10 Agra J hay . .

J l The Kashmir Gate at Delhi . . Lala Deen Dayal\ XVII. < The Ruins of the Residency, Bourne and Shep- V 160 ' Lucknow herd. . .) LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. XIII DESCRIPTION OF PLATE. pH0T0G^'s BT XVIII. The Memorial Well, Cawnpur . Lala Deen Day ed 164 Baroda College and High School Ditto XIX. I The Chandni Chowk, Main Native t Bourne and Shep- > 207 ( Street, Delhi \ herd . .) XX. Priests of the Monkey Temple, Ajodhya 224 XXI. Members of the Thief Caste, ( Bourne and Shep- \ Delhi ( herd . . .) XXII. Facsimile of First Page of a 1 „ [ W. N. Samuelson 2S6 Native Indian Newspaper . 1 , The Indian National Congress :— -, {Bourne and Shepherd. . XXIIlJ w. C Bonnerjee, Esq., Middle V \ 30S r Ultto . Temple (Ex-President) . . > Hon. Dadabhai Naoroji (Ex-Pre- <F. Baum, Old sident) .... I Bond Street . .

WOODCUTS IN TEXT. Coin of the Emperor Jahangir On page 93 Thomson and Mylne's Improved Sugar-Mill . . . ,, 176 Native Indian Plough and Drill combined . . . ,, 17S Hanuman from a Daub Sold in the Bazaars . . ,, 224 MAP. Railway Map of India, showing British Territory Coloured To face page part I. HISTORICAL AND ETHNOLOGICAL.

Chapter I

A BRIEF PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF INDIAN HISTORY. The Indo-Aryan immigration into India — The aborigines — Controversies concerning the origin, and the unity or plurality of the human race — Origin of caste — The ancient Persians and the modern Parsees in India — Buddha and the Buddhist supremacy — The invasion of Alexander the Great and the Græco-Bactrian rule — The Scythians in India — The Mohammedan conquest and the Mughal dynasty — Number of Mohammedans in India — The Europeans in India — The Portuguese — The Dutch — The French — The conflict between the French and English — Decadence of French rule — Number of Portuguese, Dutch, and French in India to-day — The British in India — Their early adventurers and settlements — The East India Company — Clive and Warren Hastings — Extension of British influence and territory under their rule — Contests with the Marathas — With the Nawabs of Mysore — Fall of the Marathas and annexation of their territory — Semi-independent princes of India — Relations with and conquest of Burma — Conquest and annexation of Sind, of Nagpur, of the Punjab, of Oudh — The East India Company and the "Regulating Act" — The Board of Control — The last Sepoy mutiny (1S57) and transference of the government to the Crown — The "Memorandum" ofthe moribund Company — Recent "Memorandum" of the India Office — Dual constitution of the government of India — Proclamation of the " Empress " — Growing desire for constitutional rule — " Imperium et libertas " — Number of British rulers, and of British-born subjects in India.

At some period antecedent to the fourteenth century before the Christian era there immigrated into the north-west of Hindustan, through one or other of the passes of the Hindu Kush mountains, a tribe of wanderers who are usually known as the fndo-Aryans, and who formed part of the great Aryan nation, of which the ancient Persians, as well as the tribes who were the ancestors of most of the European peoples of to-day, are believed to have been branches. At the outset, however, it is necessary to qualify this statement by adding that, according to the opinions of certain recent philologists, it is doubtful A whether the European races migrated from Asia, or whether they are of European origin ; and this question will be carefully considered hereafter, being one of great interest in connection with tlie problem of the unity or plurality of the human race.

The same remarks apply to the origin and ancestry of other existing Indian races. The Indo-Aryans, who were a com paratively fair-skinned race, found in the north-west of Hindu stan, and wherever they spread themselves, a people of darker hue, less civilised than themselves, who are described in their sacred traditions, the Vedas, &c, as godless savages, and whom they either conquered by force of arms, or in some parts settled amongst and subjected without the necessity of resorting to violence. Whether or not these " Dasyus " or " Nishadas," as the conquering immigrants called them, were the aborigines of India is uncertain ; but a comparison of the accounts that are given of them in the Vedas with the Indian " aborigines " of to-day, shows conclusively that some of them must have been possessed of a very low bodily and mental organisation — indeed, that they were a more debased type of beings than what is now called " mankind."

This view will be found to be supported by certain traditions of still existing races. Speaking generally, the descendants of the Indo- Aryan im migrants constitute the priestly and higher castes of to-day, whilst the descendants of the " aborigines " either rank as the lowest or Sudra caste, or belong to no caste at all. As far back as about 520 years B.C., Hindustan was invaded and partly conquered by the Persians under Darius, and relics have been found which serve to show that, for a time at least, they secured a firm foothold in the country. A second im migration of Persians into Hindustan occurred many centuries after Christ, this time of fugitives from the Mohammedan power, and those Persians are recognised as their ancestors by the Parsees, of whom there are about 85,000 in India at the present time.

Before the arrival of Darius, however, an internal change had taken place in Hindustan which materially affected the character and destinies of the nation ; this is called the Bud dhist supremacy. So far as we can judge, the early Aryans worshipped either one supreme deity under divers forms, or a number of deities who were believed to preside over different realms of nature ; but whatever may have been the character of their deities, their heaven bore some resemblance to the Scandinavian Walhalla, and the gods set the example of deep carousing to their worshippers. At first the patriarchs of the tribe fulfilled the duties of the priesthood, but in' the course of time a professional priesthood was established, which was, or ought to have been ascetic, and no doubt some of the Brahmins were true anchorites.

About the year 623 B.C., the prophet of royal birth, variously known as Gautama, Sakya Muni, and Buddha, made his appearance in that part of India now called Oudh, and his ministry lasted from the attainment of his manhood until 543 B.C., when he died, leaving behind him numerous disciples who spread his doctrines throughout India, converting many chiefs and rulers, and the great mass of the common people. The Buddhist faith, of which the forms and ceremonies probably served as models for mediæval and modern Christianity, retained a powerful hold upon the Indian people for many centuries, and then, although it waned in India, it spread through Tibet and China, where it has continued to be the state religion. There are now in India proper not over 170,000 Buddhists, although, according to the last census, there were more than three millions in British Burma.

In the year 327 B.C., the Greeks invaded India under Alex ander the Great, and although the conqueror's stay was not of long duration, his generals or successors established them selves there, and one important dynasty, of which marked traces remain, was founded in the north-west, and is known as the Græco-Bactrian rule. During the period ranging from about IOO B.C. to 500 A.D., incursions into Hindustan of the mysterious people called the Scythians took place, this time undoubtedly from Central Asia, and the names of Scythian rulers are met with who have left permanent records in inscriptions, in relief figures, and in the formation of councils for the maintenance and dissemination of the Buddhist faith, which they had adopted. SURVEY OF INDIAN HISTORY. The most important of all foreign dominations, however, except the British, was undoubtedly the Mohammedan rule.

Although the Prophet was bom in the year 569 a.d., and during his lifetime and after his death (632 a.d.) his faith was rapidly extending in the three known continents of the old world, it was not until about 1000 a.d. that his followers, under Mahmud of Gazni, carried their victorious arms into Hin dustan, and even then five centuries elapsed before the dynasty of the Mughals (or Moguls) was founded by Babar, one of the descendants of Tamerlane, who made an inroad into the country in 1398 a.d. From that time forward the Mohammedans ex tended their sway, first in every direction north of the Vindhya Hills, and then southward over the greater part of what is known as the Dekhan. The Mughal power reached its zenith during the reigns of the four successive emperors — Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurungzeb, whose capitals were in turn Agra and Delhi ; but after the death of the last-named in 1707, it declined rapidly; and although the dynasty continued to exist in name down to the deposition of Bahadur, after the last Sepoy mutiny (1858), India was in reality a prey to anarchy, being split up into smaller states which were either governed or misgoverned by native princes, some Mohammedans, others Hindoos, and it was colonised in turn and partially overrun by the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Erench, and the English.

Each of those European nations at first established peaceable settle ments on the coast, and then extended its territories inland by intrigue or by force of arms. There are at present in India about fifty millions of Mohammedans, constituting about one fifth of the entire population. The Portuguese may be said to have been dominant over a part of India during the whole of the sixteenth century. Their best known heroes or leaders were Vasco da Gama, Alfonso da Albuquerque, and Francisco da Almeida; their capital and chief settlement was, and is still Goa, on the west coast, and their permanent influence has been religious rather than political, as they founded missionary stations which still exist, not only on the coast, but in various places in the interior. The Portuo-uese population in India numbers about 480,000, besides half-castes.

SURVEY OF INDIAN HISTORY. The Dutch, who at one time enjoyed .entire supremacy in the Eastern seas, also exercised considerable influence in India for about a century — between 1652 and 1759 A.D. — when Clive attacked and captured their capital (Chinsurah, in Bengal), and only restored it to them on condition that they should confine their operations to their own immediate settlements. There are not a hundred Dutchmen left in India, and they have in no way left their mark in the history of the empire. The career of the French was far more brilliant and eventful, and at one time their power and influence extended over nearly the whole of Southern India, the chief seat of their government being Pondichery, near Madras. Pondichery was founded in 1675 by Francois Martin, and he, with his successors, Governor Dupleix, Admiral Labourdonnais, Governor Dumas, General Bussy, and Governor Lally, succeeded in bringing directly under French rule, or under the protection of the arms of France, the greater part of the Carnatic, the provinces of Mysore and Haidarabad, the district on the east coast known as the Nor thern Circars, and indeed nearly the whole viceroyalty of the Dekhan, of which the Emperor at Delhi was the nominal suzerain.

The British were their chief rivals, and the conflicts between the two nationalities were carried on in alliance with the native princes. At one time the French would capture Madras, at another the English would invest Pondichery. To a great extent the native rulers were puppets in the hands of the Europeans, who elevated or deposed them as it suited their own interests. Now the French, then the British, succeeded in raising their proteges to vacant thrones, as in the case of Mozuffer Jung and Chunda Sahib, who were raised to the viceroyalty of the Dekhan and the rulership of the Carnatic by Dupleix, or in that of Mohammed Ali, whom the British placed at the head of affairs in the latter province. As it was in British India, so also the French territories were ruled from home by a trading concern, the " Compagnie des Indes," and the want of judgment and foresight of the directors of the French company led them to recall their ablest representatives just at a period when their services were the most greatly needed in the colony.

The exploits and eventual fall and dis grace of Dupleix and Lally will be treated more fully hereafter ; here it is only necessary to say that, owing to mismanagement, incapacity, and jealousy, the French power in India fell as rapidly as it had risen. Their capital, Pondichery, was taken by the English under Coote in 1761, after he had made Lally, the governor, prisoner at Wandewash. Chandernagar (Chan dernagore), in Bengal, had already been captured by Admiral Watson in 1757; and although subsequent to these disasters the French carried on intrigues, and gave secret aid to the enemies of this country for a considerable period, their actual preponderance in India terminated with the surrender of their capital, which was taken and retaken several times, and finally restored to them in 181 5.

It is still held by them, along with a few unimportant settlements and trading-stations, and there are now in all about 273,000 French subjects in India. The history of the British connection with India, from the time when we first secured a foothold in that country down to the present day, has been to a great extent one of conquest and annexation. At first, it is true, our bold adventurers, beginning with Captain Hawkins in 1608, carried on a peaceful trade with the natives on various parts of the coast, but as we have already seen, they soon found themselves in conflict with other European nationalities, and formed alliances, sometimes defen sive, at others aggressive, with the native princes. The first East India Company was established in 1600, but several rival concerns were subsequently founded, and those were eventu ally amalgamated with the original Company into one powerful corporation in the year 1709.

The operations of the British, at first commercial and after wards military and political, were directed from three centres, namely, from Madras which subsequently became the capital of the Presidency of the same name ; from Surat first, and then, in the reign of Charles II., from Bomba}'', which was the chief town of the Bombay Presidency ; and from Hughli, whence the seat of authority was transferred to Calcutta in 16S6. The settlements in Bengal were, however, at first subsidiary to SURVEY OF INDIAN HISTORY. the other two Presidencies. Through the conquests and nego tiations of Clive, who was twice governor, in 1758 and 1765, and of Warren Hastings, the first governor-general, in 1774, the British possessions in India were very largely extended, and on the retirement of the latter they included the whole of Bengal, with Orissa and Behar, the territory of Benares, the Circars, Madras and a small adjacent territory, along with part of Mysore (but virtually the whole of the Carnatic), Bombay, and the island of Salsette.

Short notices of the careers of Clive and Warren Hastings will be given in another chapter, and full justice will be done to their great achievements ; but it may be mentioned here that their extensions of territory were often accompanied by acts discreditable alike to them selves and to the British nation. They extorted money from native rulers for the East India Company and for themselves in consideration of the aid which they gave to the first-named in their internecine feuds, and in fulfilment of disreputable com pacts which they made with those princes, they lent them the armed forces of this country to plunder and devastate unoffend ing states. Warren Hastings more especially laid himself open to this charge, and both were unscrupulous in making and violating treaties. On the other hand, they laid the founda tions of a rule which, it is to be hoped, will eventually prove an unmixed blessing to the people of India, and which was at least a marked improvement upon the harsh despotism of many preceding centuries.

The chief enemies with whom the founders of the British Empire in India had to deal were the French, of whose rise and fall preliminary mention has been made. Other powers with whom they came into conflict were the Marathas, having their head-quarters at Poona ; the Viceroys of the Dekhan and the Nawab of Mysore, Haidar Ali, and his son Tipu Sahib, who made inroads into British ter ritory. The last-named was finally conquered during the governorship of Lord Wellesley, elder brother of the great Duke of Wellington, and the greater portion of his possessions was partitioned between the Nizam of Haidarabad and ourselves, whilst an indigent boy, a descendant of the old Hindu family which had been dispossessed by Haidar Ali, was advanced to the throne of the remaining territory. The Nizam of Haidarabad just mentioned remains a semi-independent ruler to the present day, but the Marathas, who long continued to harass the British, were completely subjugated in 18 17, when the possessions of their leader, the " Peishwa," were annexed to the Bombay Presidency, whilst another part of their domi nions went to form a portion of the Central Provinces.

Some of the descendants of the Marathas, Sindia of Gwalior, Holkar of Indore, the Gaekwar of Baroda, &c, remain semi-independent rulers of considerable states, advised and controlled by British " residents " acting under the supreme government. In 1824, the Burmese having invaded India, the British declared war against them, and one portion of their territory after another was acquired, until, in 1886, the king Theebau was deposed, and the whole country was permanently annexed. In 1 844, after a war of two years' duration, Sind was annexed to our possessions in India ; and a little later the Punjab was added. Other smaller states, such as Nagpur, were brought under subjection ; and finally, during the regime of Lord Dal housie, in consequence of the misgovernment of its rulers, the last of whom was deposed, the kingdom of Oudh was incor porated with our Empire.

The whole government of India was long under the charge of the East India Company, and its servants exercised almost absolute control there. In 1773, the Company having been compelled to apply to the Government of the day for a loan, an inquiry was instituted into Indian affairs, and Lord North's " Eegulating Act " was passed, which provided for the appointment of a Governor-General (Warren Hastings being the first), assisted by four councillors. Not long afterwards, in 1784, Parliament interfered still further in the government of the country, and Pitt's " India Bill " was passed, establishing the Board of Control. The Board consisted of six privy councillors nominated by the King, the Chief Secretaries of State, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Crown took the control of civil and military affairs in India, and the power of recalling the Governor-General.

After the annexation of Oudh, the great Sepoy mutiny broke out, and when it was suppressed, the last important change occurred in the rulership of India, namely, the cancelling of the East India Company's charter and the complete transference of the supreme authority to the Crown and Imperial Parliament. About that time (1858), the East India Company published a " Memorandum of the Improvements in the Administration of India," showing what progress had been made in the country during the thirty years preceding, and it may be mentioned parenthetically that the India Office has just (February 1889) issued a similar document treating of the advance made in the intervening period. This memorandum will receive the attention which it deserves in the second part of the present treatise. The Government of India now consists of two branches.