The Press.
London, England, 1853-05-28 00:00:00

IRE PRESS

ing to the instuttions and practice of the
North-Western Proiiikees, so conspicuous in
all the civil servants of the Agra liovenunent,
it is undoubtedly the umest résumé of the
British-Indian system that :as yet appeared.
It would be impossible to F. our readers
un neeurate idea of the contents of /twila as
it May Be " within the limits at our younnhial.
The volume comprises 4:18 pages of clos.,
reading ; every division of the subject is care-
fully entered into ; every detail is provided
for ; it is like the " working drawing " of an
arehitect, where everything is planned, mea-
sured, and calculated ; in fact, the work must
be carefully read to be properly appreciated.
We must, therefore, confine ourselves to a
notice of the most salient points of Mr. Camp-
bell's Hellenic, trusting to be able to return at
some future period to a nearer examination of

its details.
The author has divided his work into eight
chapters. viz.— 1. Home Government. 2.
Indian Government. 8. Our Political Rela-
tions. 4. The Civil Administration. 4. The
Civil Service. 6. Military Establishments.
7. Finance. H. Mona and Material Impmve-
ment. At the present moment the first two
chapters claim our chief attention, since the
investigation of the parliamentary committees
has been as yet confined to the first head
under which they divided the important sub-
ject referred to them, viz.—" The authorities
and agencies for administering the Govern-
ment of India at home and in India respec-
tively." The home Goventment, us at present
constituted, meets with Mr. Campbell's almost
unqualified disapproval. Not that he objects
to the part taken by the Minister of the
Crown, or by the Court of Directors, but to
the baneful results of irresponsibility. "It is
certain," says our author, " that in such
unfortunate instances as Afghanistan and
Seinde the directors have always held views
which in the tind turned out to be just." The
grand error of the present double Goventment
is, not so much the despotic power possessed
by the Crown Minister, although that might
doubtless be limited with advantage, but the
placing such power in the hands of one man
who is independent and irresponsible, and
almost always incompetent. The Afghan
war, with its disastrous expenditure of blood
and money, was, until the other day, the pro-
duction of an anonymous author. No one was
responsible for it. Some laid it at the door in
Cannon-row, whilst others persisted in attri-
buting it to the Court of Directors. It was
not till Lord Broughton, who, whatever he
may now know, was probably at the time un-
aware of the distinction between a Bengali
and a Bauchi, stood boldly forward and said,
" I did it," that the world knew that that folly,
fault, and crime, unsurpassed in the annals of
history, was the act of a single irresponsible
minister whose sole Otani for excuse and par-
don must be that " he knew not what he did."
Mr. Campbell's project for the home Govern-
ment is as follows :-
1. The title of the Court of Directors to he changed to
that of "Senate of the Indies," the present twenty-four
directors to he the first senators.
The commercial constitution and rules of the Court
to lie at the mune time altogether altered.
3. A minister of Indian affairs, holding office at the
pleasure of the Crown, to be ex-officio president of the
Senate, and chairman of the political committee.
4. To the next twelve vacancies, other than vacancies by
rotation, notninati s shall lie DIA& as they occur by the
Crown, in a efonsp; (refire, front among persons who have
served the tiovernment in India for not less than ten
~.seer, who have filled certain superior offices (to be after-
wards partienlarimed) for not less than two years—who
have lwen absent from India, or retired from the Kerviee,
not mom than tell yeara—whose age lbws 1114 exceed sixty
years—and who on retirement have titan declared to be
emeriti either by the Senate or by the Intliant Supreme
Government. The present Solid(' And eX4 iovernors-
General to have the power of granting such certificates to
persons already retired. The certificates to state that
the Ireeipient has done remarkably good service to the
state in a superior office, and is well fitted for farther
important service. The existing Senate must accept
Saud elect the person nominated by the Crown within one
month, or the Crown must proceed to a fresh 1111 l nination.
These senators to hold office fin life (subject to following
provision), and future vacancies ill their 11111111 MT 10 he
supplied Lv sintilnr 1111 l tinat• . To lie It able on
address of 'Rouses of Patiianomt. A reasonable retiring
pension to lie provided after long service, and senators to
be pensioned on attaining the age of seventy years, unless
Houses of Parliament address the Crown in their favour.
rt. The remaining seats to be tilled by elect as at
present (with the propesa addition of resident fuud-

SATURDAY,

holders to the constituency); the senators to hold office
for the years, to go out by rotation, and to be immediately
re eligible, provided that their age at time of re-election
does not exceed seventy years.
O. The Senate to elect among themselves six Com-
mittees, " " Home and General," " Finance,"
"Judicial,' " Military and Naval," and " Moral and Mate.
rial Improvement," and every director to belong to at
least tone committee ; also to elect a vice-president, who
shall be ex-officio chairman of the home and general
connuittec, and four chairmen of the remaining four com-
mittees (the president being ex-ottleio chairman of the
Pditical ) ; all these offices to be held for five years, and
the tiolders to be re-eligible.
7. 'The proceedings of the political committee to be,
if the peesident consider it necessary, secret, and orders
to be in that ease despatched and received without consult-
ing the getworsl Senate. In ease of difference of opinion,
the president U. have the power of acting on his own respon-
sibility after receiving the opinion of the members ; but, if
a majority of the •ttee protest, the president must
obtain the concorrence and signature of the first Lord
of the Treasury and two Seeretaties of State.
N. All despatches received trout India to be referred to,
and all measures to be first discussed in, the committees
to whose department they belong. The committees to pre-
pare despatches or drafts of proposed resoluf , which
drafts (being other than secret despatches) shall be ready
• for the inspection of all senators the day before a general
Senate is held. Committee% shall also prepare drafts ou
such subjects as the president shall order.
9. A general Senate to be held weekly. Each chairman to
produce the drafts which have been submitted fur inspec.
tion the day before, and the said drafts to be accepted,
rejected. tor remitted with instructions, with or without
comment. Measures proposed in full Senate to be re-
ferred for report of committee.
10. The president may either assent at the time, or
retain the draft for tone week for his consideration, and
then may either assent, or veto in the name of the Crown,
or may alter the draft for recorded reasons. If the Senate
protest against alteration, the president must obtain the
signatures of three ministers, as in rule 7.
11. Two to be a quorum of each committee, and eight
of the general Senate. Senate to have power to regulate
leave of absence, etc., of members, so that the quorum be
made up ; and provided also that any member absent
for more than half the year, or not attending regularly
during the other half, is to have no pay or patronage for

that year.
Iu the exercise of all patronage, and in making
all appointments, the president to have a power of veto as
in everything else, but no power of substituting another
name; and also to have no power of increasing or inserting
grants of money.
13. Either the Crown or the Senate may at any time
dismiss any servant at home or abroad; hut in case of dis-
missal of a Govenwr•tienend by the Senate without the
sanction of the Crown, a concurrent vote of three-fourths
of the whole number shall be necessary.
14. Each director to receive I►OlK. per annum, and a
limited share of patronage to be subsequently proposed.
Vice-president to have 1,500/., and chairmen of coin
mittees l,►lool.
The title of " Senate of the Indies" is rather
fanciful, but there is much that is good in the
general plan. As it seems to us, however, too
much power is placed in the hands of the
Crown ; the certificates—the election by the
senators of the nominees of the Crown—would
soon become matters of course, and the minis-
ter of the day would without difficulty secure
such a preponderating influence in the Senate
as might at any peculiar crisis outbalance the
votes of its most experienced and unprejudiced
members, and prove utterly destructive to our
interests in India. Mr. Campbell objects
strongly to the employment of persons who
have not resided in India, but we think he is
scarcely justified in saying that no man " who
has never• breathed an Asiatic atmosphere can
really comprehend Asiatic maners, Asiatic
feelings, and Asiatic business." No doubt
Mill erred egregiously when he put forward,
amongst his qualifications for writing a history
of India, the fact that he had never visited the
country, and that he knew little or nothing of
the native languaFes. Professor Wilson says,
with his usual mildness, " His arguments are
ingenious ; they will carry conviction but to
few...* It is, however, equally certain that
there are many Europeans who have never
been in India, but who have attentively studied
the languages, literature, and history of the
East, and arc, perhaps, more competent to
comprehend Asiatic manners, feelings, and
fitets than two-thirds of the Company's
Indian servants. With regard to Asiatic
business, we believe it to be perfectly
true that very few of the officials in Leadenhall-
street have ever been in India; but we also
feel assured that in no establishment in the
world is there so perfecta practical knowledge of
eliminating. understanding, and collating the
facts stated in the documents forwarded as is
found to exist at the India-house. We can-
not object, however, to Mr. Campbell's sugges-

• Mar* " llistury of vilitett by Wiloon. Preface, pageli.