New-York tribune., 1908-02-08
IN UPRIGHT JUDGE.
The Story of an Engishman an
India.

BOMBAY IN THE DAYS OF GEORGE ". Me-
moirs of Sir Edward West BY F. Dawtrey
Drewitt, NJ A, NJ D. Svo. PIP. 36s- LongInars.
This is the story of the labors in Bombay of
a most righteous judge. of who of the
noblest type of Englishman. who practised.
even he taught. duty. truth, honor. and
mercy. Edward West had in his veins some
of the best Of the fighting blood of his country;
he a of high attainments. Fellow
OF his college at oxford and barriste- of
distinction. A brother Judge has said that
quality pre-eminen. In him disinterested-
ness His mind set on the highest OBJ
jects. It could not therefore stoop to low gains
nor be contaminated by the baseness which
always attends appetite for them" His
work on ''Extents" is a standard ana helped
greatly. il is said TO reform abuses in the
Court of Exchequer. Reforming energy was
badly needed in the Orien: in the last th1rtJ
years of the rule of the East India Company,
and the Kings Judge sent by government to
enforce English justice and fair dealing on the
powerful John Company" had no easy task.
Perhaps the home government would support
his efforts perhaps it wouldn't; and he worked
against an almost irresistible tide of hatred
insult and deception. Mr.. Drewitt's picture
Of the situation is drawn from documents:
Every year it becomes more difficult for US to
realize the conquered but ungoverned lndia or inc
early part of the last century-the India through
which bands OF professional assasss J'9a oYen men
some leaving orphan children behind theIn d s0l1
mere children themselves, were burned aIVe on1es @
the of the English magisra&e & wne NM Snin ohe
district police officer looked on ana eaions te dvided
her Jewels 1t is difficult 10 imaslne an IanV ta ~
were making their final attempt to keep ous 1SIi4m
countrymen and to escape GriIcIsrsi pg OF aas
re newspaper editors whom they dislliied.sn lh ti
in which LEGAL gGDeTnodT der Gon0 in cher Of the King
troops If should attempt to enforce eG VIA aes
Of the newly annexed States We're coliecLedi Us
torture in whose unheathX, prisons @ ent n in chains
FRA n antbs herded with convicted criminals and
ThGse l1F5ie Or ne 4ezPseted 1Si2a eo Gould
The exiled Englshman in the India or tnose bont
WI with con5 S have found little relief from the hea fsT5
the 1oHSer T that the hurried making Of none
became the aim Of many; aIq 1d,an {1,sr ii''e
was taken for the conquered lnulah'
The average Company's law court we are toiu'
,-os almost useless; the magistrates were IN
- -,-onortion of cases inferior mer-the
a-.a.;ost doIts.' Sir T. Colebrooke has calieo
"a wore often the tools Of scoundrelly
- oa7cials The shaking of the pagoda Tree
- +,,o most active industry among those con-
ors who happened 10 be neither dolts HUI
,+ Ae for that official shaking OF the Tree
oa,ctad for the benefit of the COMPANY
ebareho1ders it was merciless There is a s'fih-
;r, sentence quoted from a letter Nli''ei ~ ~
r a 1894 after the Burmese war IN
-,ox,artv and universal wretchedneSS tiiiS Cum
1,as retrograded one hundred years o''lis " "
unity of CIR collections in hare money "hi'--
" I'.,.,,ov,oo IF the immense sums taken out
of the country and sent home after the "ar '4,e
- devils really have not the means OF 1ino-
p'o - Government, wrote Sir J. Macl1in-
-'-e, g T,orobav .is too needy to listen to any
-, 60, mitigating the fate or their sub
-. oil that they can get is nor enough io'
-, We have . . a people pesgaFed oS
.,.,-,or,+,op" Sir James stephen mas toio Us
MT the Company q corporation anu us ~
inc servants both civil and ml'ldtE' sNc ~
,oeed 10 regard the sovereignty "L liiUiA o.
;vota nroperty'-how unconnfortaDi7'
-. ~r.,,st have been the position of judge OF
tta Izinr's Court who was expected 10 pe1i ""'
;,rarfiaI Justice against an HIi'a"i7 anu "
ruthless engine. to act as cHe'A o'' 'i.0
pany and refuge ioi I'0
,reseion and extoruon! e+
west was the last Recorder ana tle III
- T,+;c. If the Supreme Court of BOMBAY
- ,..rv- bitterness that the agents OF li'9
(-,,,,zr could pour into his cup was hiS aiS
nv was blocked by petty devices ne Was GU
s,artly vilified and misrepresented' q man u
60 sars,.iveness, he suffered from slights OF q
,t.r,v mean sort The Companys Governor
-. rct dirty particular es 10 the Hieaiis ii'
- - worry the high official who was not TO
=, o,,ed bv any argument but that or Justice
=, ,,,ew IL and who maintained that "hat
.r.1rv wrong could not be politically
-. THE period of Vests work in BOMBAY
g. NOT long-he left England in 1S22 and nc
80 a., Ioona III 1S2S-but in those brief years
,-o.,na known as "the friend OF the op-
sos the supporter of the weak the inileX-
-, administrator of justice without regard 10
- caste or condition" No other English
-, ever lived in India to whom the natives
80 more reverence, trust and afeciion' ana
,,,ora has been none who more truly deserved IL.
n 7;ed of q fever, accelerated probably by the
.ri,,.. nature of his experiences and the WIG
10 he'd gone out with him from England as a
,.,,, made bride six years before, followed MN
=, 1ass than month afterward, and was buried
taei6e him with their little dead son In her
s Husband and wife were welded lovers to
tho end and there is heart-wrenching pitflos
=, ,ba, nortion Of Lady Vests journal that de-
.cr.bes their parting. other extracts from her
Seminal are included in this volume and from
,ba,o we gather some interesting II not very
,,leasing impressions Of the social life or the
z,,elish in Iadia in the years 1s22-2S. In one
it is a piteous recorG-~death was con-
tinualIy coming into her pages. In that most |
irving climate. without ou!nine WITHOUT Ice.
fever ran in the allen resident course OF very
few hours and repeatedly we note the deaths |