Bad language: The role of english, Persian and other esoteric tongues in the dismissal of Sir Edward Colebrooke as resident of Delhi in 1829

Modern Asian Studies

Volumn 35, Issue 1, 2001, Pages 75-112

  Prior, Katherine ^a   Brennan, Lance ^a   Haines, Robin ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0041869556     PISSN: 0026749X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0026749X01003614     Document Type: Review

References (148)

1. We are grateful to the Australian Research Council for funding the research for this paper, which is an interim production in a larger project to write a biography of Charles Trevelyan. We are also grateful to Dr Lesley Gordon, Special Collections Librarian at the Robinson Library, University of Newcastle, UK, and the Trevelyan Family Trustees for their assistance and permission in allowing us to use and cite from the papers of Sir Charles Edward Trevelyan held at the Robinson Library. Comments from C. A. Bayly, Nigel Chancellor and Robert Travers have been especially welcome and helpful.
2. Sir J. E. Colebrooke to W. Ewer & C. Macsween, Commrs, 2 Oct. 1829, Oriental and India Office Collections of the British Library (hereafter OIOC), F/4/1201, pp. 901-2.
3. See, for example, 'Sketches of the Indian Community - The Civil Service', Alexander's East India Magazine, No. 1 (Vol. I, Dec. 1830), 21-4; also 'On the Company's Civil Service', ibid., No. 17 (Vol. III, April 1832), 374-9.
4. See, for example, 'Sketches of the Indian Community - The Civil Service', Alexander's East India Magazine, No. 1 (Vol. I, Dec. 1830), 21-4; also 'On the Company's Civil Service', ibid., No. 17 (Vol. III, April 1832), 374-9.
5. Government Gazette, 10 March 1832. 'Case of Sir Edward Colebrooke, Bart.', Alexander's East India Magazine, No. 23 (Vol. IV, Oct 1832), 346-58, and No. 24 (Vol. IV, Nov. 1832), 445-53. Lady Colebrooke's comment on those charges connected with the Delhi Residency, in which her name has been maliciously introduced, CET 91, Charles Edward Trevelyan Papers, Robinson Library, University of Newcastle, UK, cited with the permission of the Trevelyan Family Trustees (hereafter 'Newcastle CET').
6. Government Gazette, 10 March 1832. 'Case of Sir Edward Colebrooke, Bart.', Alexander's East India Magazine, No. 23 (Vol. IV, Oct 1832), 346-58, and No. 24 (Vol. IV, Nov. 1832), 445-53. Lady Colebrooke's comment on those charges connected with the Delhi Residency, in which her name has been maliciously introduced, CET 91, Charles Edward Trevelyan Papers, Robinson Library, University of Newcastle, UK, cited with the permission of the Trevelyan Family Trustees (hereafter 'Newcastle CET').
7. Government Gazette, 10 March 1832. 'Case of Sir Edward Colebrooke, Bart.', Alexander's East India Magazine, No. 23 (Vol. IV, Oct 1832), 346-58, and No. 24 (Vol. IV, Nov. 1832), 445-53. Lady Colebrooke's comment on those charges connected with the Delhi Residency, in which her name has been maliciously introduced, CET 91, Charles Edward Trevelyan Papers, Robinson Library, University of Newcastle, UK, cited with the permission of the Trevelyan Family Trustees (hereafter 'Newcastle CET').
8. Percival Spear, Twilight of the Mughals: Studies in Late Mughal Delhi (Karachi, 1973; first published 1951), pp. 169-70. Since Spear's article, two members of the Trevelyan family have written on the affair: Humphry Trevelyan in The India We Left (London, 1972), and Raleigh Trevelyan in The Golden Oriole (London, 1987), pp. 139-48. Both are succinct and amusing accounts which understandably concentrate on the effect of the episode on Trevelyan's career.
9. Percival Spear, Twilight of the Mughals: Studies in Late Mughal Delhi (Karachi, 1973; first published 1951), pp. 169-70. Since Spear's article, two members of the Trevelyan family have written on the affair: Humphry Trevelyan in The India We Left (London, 1972), and Raleigh Trevelyan in The Golden Oriole (London, 1987), pp. 139-48. Both are succinct and amusing accounts which understandably concentrate on the effect of the episode on Trevelyan's career.
10. Percival Spear, Twilight of the Mughals: Studies in Late Mughal Delhi (Karachi, 1973; first published 1951), pp. 169-70. Since Spear's article, two members of the Trevelyan family have written on the affair: Humphry Trevelyan in The India We Left (London, 1972), and Raleigh Trevelyan in The Golden Oriole (London, 1987), pp. 139-48. Both are succinct and amusing accounts which understandably concentrate on the effect of the episode on Trevelyan's career.
11. The original official correspondence is scattered throughout the consultations of the Bengal Government in the Political Department but copies were brought together in London to form a convenient set of Board's Collections: F/4/1200-1203 (containing collection nos. 30914A-E) and F/4/1371 (containing collection no. 54009) - all of which are now preserved in the OIOC.
12. H. M. Elliot to William Fraser, Delhi, 2 Aug. 1829, OIOC F/4/1200 p. 525.
13. Victor Jacquemont, Letter from India; describing a journey in the British Dominions of India, Tibet, Lahore, and Cashmere, during the Years 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831 (2 vols, London, 1834), I, 203.
14. Marshall, East Indian Fortunes: The British in Bengal in the Eighteenth Century (Oxford, 1976), pp. 189-208.
15. Sir T. E. Colebrooke, Life of H.T. Colebrooke (3 vols, London, 1873), I, 15-16.
16. Colebrooke had at least three illegitimate children by one or more Indian women: Mary (b.1804), Edward (b.1807) and Henry (b.1813). All three were baptised at Cawnpore in January 1815. OIOC, Bengal Ecclesiastical Records, N/1/ 9, f. 196. There was nothing unusual in this. His brother Henry had several illegitimate children as did his cousin, the Surveyor-General Robert Hyde Colebrooke.
17. Memorandum on the services of Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Bt, OIOC, Personal Records, O/6/16, pp. 563-4. Spear, Twilight of the Mughals, p. 177. Evidence of Wm. Henry Trant, East India Company's Affairs, Evidence Vol. III, Revenue (PP, House of Commons, Vol. XI, Session 1831-32), pp. 168-9.
18. Memorandum on the services of Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Bt, OIOC, Personal Records, O/6/16, pp. 563-4. Spear, Twilight of the Mughals, p. 177. Evidence of Wm. Henry Trant, East India Company's Affairs, Evidence Vol. III, Revenue (PP, House of Commons, Vol. XI, Session 1831-32), pp. 168-9.
19. Memorandum on the services of Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Bt, OIOC, Personal Records, O/6/16, pp. 563-4. Spear, Twilight of the Mughals, p. 177. Evidence of Wm. Henry Trant, East India Company's Affairs, Evidence Vol. III, Revenue (PP, House of Commons, Vol. XI, Session 1831-32), pp. 168-9.
20. Memoirs of H. T. Prinsep, OIOC, Mss. Eur. C 97/2, p. 69.
21. OIOC, Bengal Ecclesiastical Records, N/1/11, f.262; Madras Ecclesiastical Records, N/2/11, f.61; OIOC, Court Minutes, B/142, 12 Feb. 1806, p. 1124; J. Penry Lewis, List of Inscriptions on Tombstones and Monuments in Ceylon (Colombo, 1913), p. 443.
22. OIOC, Bengal Ecclesiastical Records, N/1/11, f.262; Madras Ecclesiastical Records, N/2/11, f.61; OIOC, Court Minutes, B/142, 12 Feb. 1806, p. 1124; J. Penry Lewis, List of Inscriptions on Tombstones and Monuments in Ceylon (Colombo, 1913), p. 443.
23. OIOC, Bengal Ecclesiastical Records, N/1/11, f.262; Madras Ecclesiastical Records, N/2/11, f.61; OIOC, Court Minutes, B/142, 12 Feb. 1806, p. 1124; J. Penry Lewis, List of Inscriptions on Tombstones and Monuments in Ceylon (Colombo, 1913), p. 443.
24. References under the heading 'Colebrooke' in the Index to Court Minutes, OIOC, Z/B/26, 1823, references to pages 41, 178, 235, 265; also Z/B/31, 1825-26, references to pages 325, 345, 367, 438, 469, 727, 756. Memorandum on the services of Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Bt, OIOC, Personal Records, O/6/16, pp. 576-7
25. References under the heading 'Colebrooke' in the Index to Court Minutes, OIOC, Z/B/26, 1823, references to pages 41, 178, 235, 265; also Z/B/31, 1825-26, references to pages 325, 345, 367, 438, 469, 727, 756. Memorandum on the services of Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Bt, OIOC, Personal Records, O/6/16, pp. 576-7.
26. References under the heading 'Colebrooke' in the Index to Court Minutes, OIOC, Z/B/26, 1823, references to pages 41, 178, 235, 265; also Z/B/31, 1825-26, references to pages 325, 345, 367, 438, 469, 727, 756. Memorandum on the services of Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Bt, OIOC, Personal Records, O/6/16, pp. 576-7.
27. Samuel Sneade Brown, Home Letters, Written from India between the Years 1828 & 1841 (London, 1878), pp. 11, 27-8.
28. Janet Dunbar (ed.), Tigers, Durbars and Kings: Fanny Eden's Indian Journals, 1837-38 (London, 1988), p. 80. George Eden, Earl of Auckland, was Governor-General of India from 1836 until 1842.
29. C. E. Trevelyan to W. Ewer & C. Macsween, Commrs, 20 Oct. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1201, p. 957.
30. Appendix to the 5th Charge, OIOC, F/4/1202, pp. 1319-52.
31. Appendix to the 8th Charge, ibid., pp. 1411-78.
32. Appendix to the 6th Charge, ibid., pp. 1353-80.
33. Further deposition of Ramjeevun, OIOC, F/4/1200, p. 274. Nawab Shams-ud-din Khan of Firozpur had actually wanted to buy Sir Charles's bed, but he was diddled out of it by Ram Gopal and sent a cheap copy instead. Whether it was sought so keenly because of Metcalfe's aura or simply because it induced a good night's sleep, the bed certainly brought luck to its possessor. Ram Gopal escaped the Colebrooke affair scot-free while in 1835 Shams-ud-din met a sticky end on the gallows for the murder of William Fraser.
34. Appendix to the 4th Charge, OIOC, F/4/1202, pp. 1225-318.
35. C. E. Trevelyan to W. Ewer & C. Macsween, Commrs, 20 Oct. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1201, p. 984.
36. Augustus Prinsep had written the bulk of this romance, an inter-racial love-triangle, before his death in 1830. His brother Thoby wrote the last five or six chapters of it and published it in 1834. Thoby was not responsible for the initial characterization of the eponymous babu but he may have been the person who chose the title. Memoirs of H. T. Prinsep, p. 164.
37. Ram Gopal's testimonials, OIOC, F/4/1202, pp. 1250-4.
38. Transcript of evidence of Ram Chunder Kranie, 11 Sept. 1829, ibid., p. 1264.
39. Govt Resolution in Pol. Dept, 29 Dec. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1203, pp. 2059-140 (Seventeenth Charge).
40. 'To a friend in England', Government Gazette, 29 Aug. 1822, quoted in David Kopf, British Orientalism and the Bengal Renaissance (Berkeley, 1969), p. 228. In London too there were complaints about the ease with which young civilians were compromised. Borrowing against their future salaries, the students of Fort William College were reputedly led into: 'a course of dissipation and debt, which generally clung to them many years afterward, rendered them dependent upon, and subject to, the sinister influence of wealthy Natives, their creditors; surrounded them with the relatives and friends of such Natives, as officers and servants, and rendered their officers, in spite of them, the scene of bribery, extortion and venality of every kind'. 'Sketches of the Indian Community - The Civil Service', Alexander's East India Magazine, No. 1 (Vol. I, Dec. 1830), 23-4.
41. 'To a friend in England', Government Gazette, 29 Aug. 1822, quoted in David Kopf, British Orientalism and the Bengal Renaissance (Berkeley, 1969), p. 228. In London too there were complaints about the ease with which young civilians were compromised. Borrowing against their future salaries, the students of Fort William College were reputedly led into: 'a course of dissipation and debt, which generally clung to them many years afterward, rendered them dependent upon, and subject to, the sinister influence of wealthy Natives, their creditors; surrounded them with the relatives and friends of such Natives, as officers and servants, and rendered their officers, in spite of them, the scene of bribery, extortion and venality of every kind'. 'Sketches of the Indian Community - The Civil Service', Alexander's East India Magazine, No. 1 (Vol. I, Dec. 1830), 23-4.
42. 'To a friend in England', Government Gazette, 29 Aug. 1822, quoted in David Kopf, British Orientalism and the Bengal Renaissance (Berkeley, 1969), p. 228. In London too there were complaints about the ease with which young civilians were compromised. Borrowing against their future salaries, the students of Fort William College were reputedly led into: 'a course of dissipation and debt, which generally clung to them many years afterward, rendered them dependent upon, and subject to, the sinister influence of wealthy Natives, their creditors; surrounded them with the relatives and friends of such Natives, as officers and servants, and rendered their officers, in spite of them, the scene of bribery, extortion and venality of every kind'. 'Sketches of the Indian Community - The Civil Service', Alexander's East India Magazine, No. 1 (Vol. I, Dec. 1830), 23-4.
43. R. Cavendish, Supt. & Pol. Agent Ajmere, to Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, 23 May 1829, OIOC, F/4/1200, pp. 143-4.
44. Deposition of Ramjeewun, Bengali Sirkar, 20 May 1829, ibid., pp. 255-9. Deposition of Ram Ruttun Baboo, 31 May 1829, ibid., pp. 297-307.
45. Deposition of Ramjeewun, Bengali Sirkar, 20 May 1829, ibid., pp. 255-9. Deposition of Ram Ruttun Baboo, 31 May 1829, ibid., pp. 297-307.
46. Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, to C. E. Trevelyan, undated, ibid., pp. 341-2. Same to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 29 May 1829, ibid., pp. 133-4. Same to same, 3 June 1829, ibid., pp. 149-51.
47. Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, to C. E. Trevelyan, undated, ibid., pp. 341-2. Same to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 29 May 1829, ibid., pp. 133-4. Same to same, 3 June 1829, ibid., pp. 149-51.
48. Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, to C. E. Trevelyan, undated, ibid., pp. 341-2. Same to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 29 May 1829, ibid., pp. 133-4. Same to same, 3 June 1829, ibid., pp. 149-51.
49. C. E. Trevelyan to Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, 27 May 1829, ibid., p. 341. Same to same, 29 May 1829, ibid., p. 342.
50. C. E. Trevelyan to Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, 27 May 1829, ibid., p. 341. Same to same, 29 May 1829, ibid., p. 342.
51. Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 16 June 1829, ibid., pp. 165-6.
52. Same to same, 16 June 1829, ibid., p. 163.
53. G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, to Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, 12 June 1829, ibid., pp. 137-41.
54. Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 29 June 1829, ibid., pp. 201-3. Same to same, 1 July 1829, ibid., pp. 221-2, and enclosures, pp. 223-31. For a discussion of these statements see the section below entitled 'Esoteric English'.
55. Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 29 June 1829, ibid., pp. 201-3. Same to same, 1 July 1829, ibid., pp. 221-2, and enclosures, pp. 223-31. For a discussion of these statements see the section below entitled 'Esoteric English'.
56. C. E. Trevelyan to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 30 June 1829, ibid., pp. 333-5.
57. Under pressure, Colebrooke attacked everyone who did not side publicly with him, with the result that gradually more people swung around to Trevelyan's side. Colebrooke branded Thomas Metcalfe an enemy when he ruled that there was not enough evidence to prosecute Bakhtawar Singh on Colebrooke's trumped-up charges - at which point Colebrooke took over the prosecution himself. He also attacked the subordinate political agents who had answered Trevelyan's requests for information about Ram Copal's activities. Most had done so without realizing that they were implicating Colebrooke, but Abraham Lockett, formerly the political agent at Bhartpur, relished the chance to say how his job had been rendered impossible by the intrigues of Ram Gopal and Lady Colebrooke. Col. A. Lockett, Offg Resdt Lucknow, to W. Ewer & C. Macsween, Commrs, 15 Nov. 1829, OIOC, F/4/ 1202, pp. 1214-24. At Ajmere Richard Cavendish so distrusted Colebrooke that he insisted that all their correspondence be forwarded to Calcutta for the government to judge of the propriety of his behaviour. R. Cavendish, Supt. & Pol. Agent Ajmere, to Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, 15 June 1829 (two letters), OIOC, F/4/1200, pp. 193-9.
58. Brown, Home Letters, p. 27.
59. G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, to Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, 17 July 1829, OIOC, F/4/1200, pp. 351-2. Same to William Fraser, 17 July 1829, ibid., pp. 353-4.
60. G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, to Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, 17 July 1829, OIOC, F/4/1200, pp. 351-2. Same to William Fraser, 17 July 1829, ibid., pp. 353-4.
61. C. E. Trevelyan to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 2 Aug. 1829, and enclosure, ibid., pp. 481-2.
62. W. Fraser to C. E. Trevelyan, 2 Aug. 1829, ibid., p. 486.
63. Ibid., p. 487.
64. C. E. Trevelyan to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 3 Aug. 1829, ibid., pp. 483-5.
65. G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, to W. Fraser, Offg. Resdt Delhi, 21 Aug. 1829, ibid., pp. 489-95. Fraser subsequently regained the commissionership on pleading that he had acted purely out of kindness for Colebrooke and also that Colebrooke had withheld certain government orders from him.
66. Memorandum on the services of Mr John Deane, OIOC, Personal Records, O/6/7, p. 268. Also O/6/12, pp. 675-9.
67. Transcript of evidence of Ram Jewan, OIOC, F/4/1202, p. 1136.
68. Précis of evidence of J. F. Van Ristell given on 11 Sept. 1829, ibid., pp. 1248-50.
69. Transcript of evidence of Ram Jewan, ibid., p. 1136. These accounts included records of cash nazrs Colebrooke accepted from Indian callers and the all-important kitchen accounts; unsurprisingly, the inquiry found that Colebrooke had been siphoning off a considerable amount of the government's generous table allowance. W. Ewer & C. Macsween to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 4 Dec. 1829, OIOC, F/ 4/1203, p. 2016.
70. Transcript of evidence of Ram Jewan, ibid., p. 1136. These accounts included records of cash nazrs Colebrooke accepted from Indian callers and the all-important kitchen accounts; unsurprisingly, the inquiry found that Colebrooke had been siphoning off a considerable amount of the government's generous table allowance. W. Ewer & C. Macsween to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 4 Dec. 1829, OIOC, F/ 4/1203, p. 2016.
71. Further evidence of Baboo Ram Jeewun, OIOC, F/4/1200, pp. 275-7, 279.
72. Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 2 July 1829, ibid., p. 237. King of Delhi to Actg Magte Delhi, no date, OIOC, F/4/1201, pp. 1068-9.
73. This magnificently epigrammatic slur appears in a minute by H. T. Prinsep, dated 20 May 1835, OIOC, India Public Cons, P/186/68, 3 June 1835, No. 8, but versions of it exist in many Orientalist statements.
74. This was made explicit in the rules governing entry to the new, Western-style, Calcutta Medical School, which forbade the use of caste or religion as criteria for selecting the students. OIOC, India Public Cons, P/186/66, 7 Mar. 1835, No. 20. The Hindu College, founded in 1816 by Calcutta merchants with a thirst for European literature and science, theoretically admitted students of all castes, but the Sanskrit College, a government initiative founded in 1823, was limited to Brahman students only.
75. C. E. Trevelyan to W. Ewer & C. Macsween, Commrs, 20 Oct. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1201, pp. 982-4.
76. Afterwards Trevelyan got Bakhtawar Singh a modest pension of Rs 100 a month but it was only half what he, Trevelyan, thought he deserved and he had to fight hard even for that. Board's Collection 55110: 'Grant to Buktawar Sing of a Pension of Rupees 100 per mensem', OIOC, F/4/1380, pp. 1-47.
77. Translation of a copy an arzee from Sirdar Dussoundah Singh, Chief of Hullahar, dated 11 June 1829, and presented through his agent Golshere Khan, OIOC, F/4/1200, pp. 223-8.
78. Deposition of Naraen Das and See Gopaul, Canoongoes of Pulwul, 21 May 1829, ibid., pp. 259-67.
79. Translation of a copy of an arzee from Shi Gopal, Son of Narain Doss, Canoongoe of Pergunnah Pulwul, 17 June 1829, ibid., pp. 228-31.
80. Appendix to the 3rd charge, OIOC, F/4/1202, p. 1131.
81. Sir J. E. Colebrooke, Resdt Delhi, to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 16 July 1829, and enclosures, OIOC, F/4/1200, pp. 407-12.
82. Ibid., p. 407. Sir J. E. Colebrooke to W. Ewer & C. Macsween, Commrs, 16 Nov. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1202, p. 1808.
83. Ibid., p. 407. Sir J. E. Colebrooke to W. Ewer & C. Macsween, Commrs, 16 Nov. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1202, p. 1808.
84. For a summary of the Orientalists' position, see J. C. C. Sutherland, Sec. to General Committee of Public Instruction, to H. T. Prinsep, Sec. to Govt in Public Dept, No. 2094, 22 Jan. 1835, OIOC, India Public Cons, P/186/66, 7 March 1835, No. 14, esp. ff. 263-4.
85. John Tytler to T. B. Macaulay, 26 Jan. 1835, OIOC, H. H. Wilson Collection, Mss. Eur. E 301/2, f. 104.
86. Minute by T. B. Macaulay, 2 Feb. 1835, OIOC, India Public Cons, P/186/66, 7 March 1835, No. 15, f. 273.
87. Deposition of Naraen Das and See Gopal, Canoongoes of Pulwul, 21 May 1829, OIOC, F/4/1200, p. 265.
88. Further deposition of Ramjeevun, ibid., p. 273.
89. R. Ross, Offg Pol. Agent Bhartpur, to W. Ewer & C. Macsween, Commrs, 26 Sept. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1201, pp. 745-8. Same to F. Hawkins, Offg Resdt Delhi, 6 Oct. 1829, ibid., pp. 715-22.
90. R. Ross, Offg Pol. Agent Bhartpur, to W. Ewer & C. Macsween, Commrs, 26 Sept. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1201, pp. 745-8. Same to F. Hawkins, Offg Resdt Delhi, 6 Oct. 1829, ibid., pp. 715-22.
91. Captain Paton, Asst. Lucknow Residency, to W. H. Macnaghten, Sec. to Govt in Pol. Dept, 24 Dec. 1834, Hallward Library, University of Nottingham, Duke of Portland Family Papers (hereafter 'Portland MSS'), PwJf No. 2108.
92. Memorial of the Managers of the Hindoo College, Parents and Guardians of Students of English and Such Students, Calcutta, 6 Feb. 1835, OIOC, India Public Cons, P/186/66, 10 Feb. 1835, No. 28, paras. 3-4.
93. Evidence of James Mill, East India Company's Affairs, Evidence Vol. I, Public (PP, House of Commons, Vol. IX, Session 1831-32), pp. 54-7.
94. Alexander's East India Magazine, No. 4 (Vol. I, March 1831), 403.
95. For one of Trevelyan's most optimistic statements of these views see his: Papers originally published at Calcutta in 1834 and 1836, on the application of the Roman Letters to the Languages of Asia (London, 1858), esp. pp. 1-24. Trevelyan's enthusiasm for forging an Indian 'nation' within the imperial family was akin to Bentinck's thinking. See John Rosselli, Lord William Bentinck: The Making of a Liberal Imperialist, 1774-1839 (London, 1974), pp. 180-9.
96. For one of Trevelyan's most optimistic statements of these views see his: Papers originally published at Calcutta in 1834 and 1836, on the application of the Roman Letters to the Languages of Asia (London, 1858), esp. pp. 1-24. Trevelyan's enthusiasm for forging an Indian 'nation' within the imperial family was akin to Bentinck's thinking. See John Rosselli, Lord William Bentinck: The Making of a Liberal Imperialist, 1774-1839 (London, 1974), pp. 180-9.
97. C. E. Trevelyan to W. Ewer & C. Macsween, Commrs, 20 Oct. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1201, p. 992.
98. Same to same, 20 Aug. 1829, ibid., pp. 766-7.
99. Same to same, 20 Oct. 1829, ibid., p. 949.
100. Sir J. E. Colebrooke to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt Delhi, 24 Aug. 1829, ibid., pp. 631-7.
101. Translate of a Petition presented to the Commissioners by the Sahookars of the City of Dehlee, 24 Aug. 1829, ibid., p. 904. There are two translations of this petition the one quoted here which was produced under Charles Macsween's auspices and one translated by Colebrooke himself, which can be found at ibid., pp. 641-4. The tone of the two translations is identical and the wording virtually so. For the earlier bankers' petition, dated 23 Aug. 1829, see ibid., pp. 905-7.
102. Translate of a Petition presented to the Commissioners by the Sahookars of the City of Dehlee, 24 Aug. 1829, ibid., p. 904. There are two translations of this petition the one quoted here which was produced under Charles Macsween's auspices and one translated by Colebrooke himself, which can be found at ibid., pp. 641-4. The tone of the two translations is identical and the wording virtually so. For the earlier bankers' petition, dated 23 Aug. 1829, see ibid., pp. 905-7.
103. Translate of a Petition presented to the Commissioners by the Sahookars of the City of Dehlee, 24 Aug. 1829, ibid., p. 904. There are two translations of this petition the one quoted here which was produced under Charles Macsween's auspices and one translated by Colebrooke himself, which can be found at ibid., pp. 641-4. The tone of the two translations is identical and the wording virtually so. For the earlier bankers' petition, dated 23 Aug. 1829, see ibid., pp. 905-7.
104. Petition of Bukhtawar Singh to the Judge & Magistrate of Delhi, July 1829, OIOC, F/4/1200, pp. 348-50.
105. Gauri Viswanathan, Masks of Conquest: Literary Study and British Rule in India (London, 1990), esp. pp. 11-12.
106. Eugene Irschick has explored at much greater length and sophistication the complicity of Indians and Britons in the creation of a particular vision of Indian history and culture in his Dialogue and History: Construction South India, 1795-1895 (Berkeley and London, 1994). See esp. pp. 6-10.
107. Sir J. E. Colebrooke to W. Ewer & C. Macsween, Commrs, 2 Oct. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1201, p. 886.
108. W. Ewer & C. Macsween to T. T. Metcalfe, Magte Delhi, 24 Aug. 1829, ibid., pp. 787-8. Same to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 6 Oct. 1829, ibid., pp. 877-9.
109. W. Ewer & C. Macsween to T. T. Metcalfe, Magte Delhi, 24 Aug. 1829, ibid., pp. 787-8. Same to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 6 Oct. 1829, ibid., pp. 877-9.
110. W. Ewer & C. Macsween to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 4 Dec. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1203, pp. 2005-20.
111. Ironically the affair rumbled on for several years, bringing Trevelyan and William Fraser into conflict again in 1833, and culminating in Fraser's assassination by a killer hired by Shams-ud-din Khan. Spear, Twilight of the Mughals, pp. 182-90.
112. Political Despatch No. 15 from Court of Directors to Governor-General in Council, 24 Nov. 1830, OIOC, F/4/1371, ff. 26C-26F.
113. Govt Resolution in Pol. Dept, 29 Dec. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1203, p. 2139.
114. C. E. Trevelyan to Mrs G. Trevelyan, 1 February 1830, Newcastle CET 3.
115. Enclosure in Sir J. E. Colebrooke to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, May 1830, OIOC, F/4/1371, pp. 207-8. See also: same to same, May 1830, ibid., pp. 163-4, and enclosure, pp. 164-219.
116. Enclosure in Sir J. E. Colebrooke to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, May 1830, OIOC, F/4/1371, pp. 207-8. See also: same to same, May 1830, ibid., pp. 163-4, and enclosure, pp. 164-219.
117. In retirement Thoby Prinsep argued that the desire to meddle had been Bentinck's greatest flaw. Memoirs of H. T. Prinsep, pp. 131-3.
118. Brown, Home Letters, p. 32. See pp. 112-15, 199-200, for his 'Trevelyanesque' opinions on education, religion and improvement.
119. Enclosure in Sir J. E. Colebrooke to G. Swinton, Chief. Sec. to Govt, May 1830, OIOC, F/4/1371, p. 301. Also, enclosure in same to same, May 1830, ibid., p. 208.
120. Enclosure in Sir J. E. Colebrooke to G. Swinton, Chief. Sec. to Govt, May 1830, OIOC, F/4/1371, p. 301. Also, enclosure in same to same, May 1830, ibid., p. 208.
121. Narayani Gupta, Delhi between Two Empires, 1803-1931 (Delhi, 1981), p. 17.
122. J. F. Hilliker, 'Charles Edward Trevelyan as an Educational Reformer in India 1827-1838', Canadian Journal of History, IX (1974), 275-91, esp. pp. 279-82. Gupta, Delhi between Two Empires, p. 6.
123. J. F. Hilliker, 'Charles Edward Trevelyan as an Educational Reformer in India 1827-1838', Canadian Journal of History, IX (1974), 275-91, esp. pp. 279-82. Gupta, Delhi between Two Empires, p. 6.
124. For a good example of this see the exchange between the Arabic scholar John Tytler and T. B. Macaulay in early 1835, where each bolsters his argument with illustrations variously drawn from Spanish, Russian, American and early-modern English history. John Tytler to T. B. Macaulay, 26 Jan. 1835, and T. B. Macaulay to John Tytler, 28 Jan. 1835, OIOC, H.H. Wilson Collection, Mss. Eur. E 301/2, ff. 103-14.
125. Minute by T. B. Macaulay, 2 Feb. 1835, OIOC, India Public Cons, P/186/66, 7 March 1835, No. 15 (f. 274).
126. John Rosselli is one of the few to have resisted the rhetoric. See his Lord William Bentinck, p. 214.
127. On this point see J. F. Hilliker's articles, 'Trevelyan and the Reform of Indian Education'. Indo-British Review, VI (1974), 69-78, and 'Charles Edward Trevelyan as an Educational Reformer'. There is an extensive literature on who should take the most credit for the Anglicists' victory. Two of the the formative articles are: Percival Spear, 'Bentinck and Education', Cambridge Historical Journal, VI (1938), 78-101, and Kenneth A. Ballhatchet, 'The Home Government and Bentinck's Educational Policy'. Cambridge Historical Journal, X (1951), 224-9. John Clive provides one of the most readable summaries of the education debate, especially strong on the Anglicists and the timing of Bentinck's decision to back them, in his Thomas Babington Macaulay: The Shaping of the Historian (London, 1973), pp. 342-426.
128. On this point see J. F. Hilliker's articles, 'Trevelyan and the Reform of Indian Education'. Indo-British Review, VI (1974), 69-78, and 'Charles Edward Trevelyan as an Educational Reformer'. There is an extensive literature on who should take the most credit for the Anglicists' victory. Two of the the formative articles are: Percival Spear, 'Bentinck and Education', Cambridge Historical Journal, VI (1938), 78-101, and Kenneth A. Ballhatchet, 'The Home Government and Bentinck's Educational Policy'. Cambridge Historical Journal, X (1951), 224-9. John Clive provides one of the most readable summaries of the education debate, especially strong on the Anglicists and the timing of Bentinck's decision to back them, in his Thomas Babington Macaulay: The Shaping of the Historian (London, 1973), pp. 342-426.
129. On this point see J. F. Hilliker's articles, 'Trevelyan and the Reform of Indian Education'. Indo-British Review, VI (1974), 69-78, and 'Charles Edward Trevelyan as an Educational Reformer'. There is an extensive literature on who should take the most credit for the Anglicists' victory. Two of the the formative articles are: Percival Spear, 'Bentinck and Education', Cambridge Historical Journal, VI (1938), 78-101, and Kenneth A. Ballhatchet, 'The Home Government and Bentinck's Educational Policy'. Cambridge Historical Journal, X (1951), 224-9. John Clive provides one of the most readable summaries of the education debate, especially strong on the Anglicists and the timing of Bentinck's decision to back them, in his Thomas Babington Macaulay: The Shaping of the Historian (London, 1973), pp. 342-426.
130. On this point see J. F. Hilliker's articles, 'Trevelyan and the Reform of Indian Education'. Indo-British Review, VI (1974), 69-78, and 'Charles Edward Trevelyan as an Educational Reformer'. There is an extensive literature on who should take the most credit for the Anglicists' victory. Two of the the formative articles are: Percival Spear, 'Bentinck and Education', Cambridge Historical Journal, VI (1938), 78-101, and Kenneth A. Ballhatchet, 'The Home Government and Bentinck's Educational Policy'. Cambridge Historical Journal, X (1951), 224-9. John Clive provides one of the most readable summaries of the education debate, especially strong on the Anglicists and the timing of Bentinck's decision to back them, in his Thomas Babington Macaulay: The Shaping of the Historian (London, 1973), pp. 342-426.
131. See, for example, C. E. Trevelyan to Lord W. Bentinck, 30 April 1834, Portland MSS, PwJf No. 2105.
132. Spear, Twilight of the Mughals, p. 175. For the Ricketts' case, see Board's Collection 55994: 'Proceedings relating to the case of Mr. Ricketts late Resident of Lucknow', OIOC, F/4/1418, pp. 1105-416.
133. Spear, Twilight of the Mughals, p. 175. For the Ricketts' case, see Board's Collection 55994: 'Proceedings relating to the case of Mr. Ricketts late Resident of Lucknow', OIOC, F/4/1418, pp. 1105-416.
134. Witnesses before the Select Committee on East India Affairs in 1832 were repeatedly questioned on the level of debt civilians incurred when at Fort William College and the number of years they could be expected to carry the debt for. See, for example, Evidence of John Sullivan, East India Company's Affairs, Evidence Vol. I, Public (PP, House of Commons, Vol. IX, Session 1831-32), pp. 60-4; also in same volume: Appendix L, 'Education of Civil Servants', pp. 580-790. For the various stages in the decline of the College see Kopf, British Orientalism, pp. 226-35.
135. Witnesses before the Select Committee on East India Affairs in 1832 were repeatedly questioned on the level of debt civilians incurred when at Fort William College and the number of years they could be expected to carry the debt for. See, for example, Evidence of John Sullivan, East India Company's Affairs, Evidence Vol. I, Public (PP, House of Commons, Vol. IX, Session 1831-32), pp. 60-4; also in same volume: Appendix L, 'Education of Civil Servants', pp. 580-790. For the various stages in the decline of the College see Kopf, British Orientalism, pp. 226-35.
136. Witnesses before the Select Committee on East India Affairs in 1832 were repeatedly questioned on the level of debt civilians incurred when at Fort William College and the number of years they could be expected to carry the debt for. See, for example, Evidence of John Sullivan, East India Company's Affairs, Evidence Vol. I, Public (PP, House of Commons, Vol. IX, Session 1831-32), pp. 60-4; also in same volume: Appendix L, 'Education of Civil Servants', pp. 580-790. For the various stages in the decline of the College see Kopf, British Orientalism, pp. 226-35.
137. James Prinsep's eloquent and attractive appeal for this approach appears in his minute announcing his resignation from the General Committee of Public Instruction, 30 April 1835, OIOC, India Public Cons, P/186/68, 1 July 1835, No. 12.
138. It is no coincidence that a great Orientalist like Thoby Prinsep opposed Bentinck's plan to increase Indian posts in the judicial service. The more Indians employed, the greater the need to function in a language amenable to easy European supervision, viz., either English or a vernacular like Bengali. Paradoxically, therefore, a superb linguist like Prinsep found himself arguing that even a green civilian of imperfect language skills was preferable to an Indian judge. Rosselli, Lord William Bentinck, pp. 202, 203. For Bentinck's attitudes to native agency see ibid., pp. 201-8.
139. It is no coincidence that a great Orientalist like Thoby Prinsep opposed Bentinck's plan to increase Indian posts in the judicial service. The more Indians employed, the greater the need to function in a language amenable to easy European supervision, viz., either English or a vernacular like Bengali. Paradoxically, therefore, a superb linguist like Prinsep found himself arguing that even a green civilian of imperfect language skills was preferable to an Indian judge. Rosselli, Lord William Bentinck, pp. 202, 203. For Bentinck's attitudes to native agency see ibid., pp. 201-8.
140. Thoby Prinsep recalled that, much against Colebrooke's wishes, Lord Hastings decided against a permanent settlement for the Ceded and Conquered Provinces when he saw evidence on tour of extraordinary discrepancies which existed in settlements from one patch of land to the next. It is probable that Holt Mackenzie's sudden conversion to theoretically-based settlement sprang from the same realization. Officially, 'native officers' were blamed for the inconsistency of the settlements, but this may have been a view that was fast fading by 1832 when the Select Committee of East Indian Affairs heard evidence of Colebrooke's 'malversation'. Memoirs of H. T. Prinsep, pp. 76-7. Above fn. 14.
141. Transript of evidence of Ram Chunder Kranie, 11 Sept. 1829, OIOC, F/4/ 1202, p. 1271. Transcript of deposition of Mutta Sing, Residency Jummadar, 12 Sept. 1829, ibid., pp. 1277-9.
142. Transript of evidence of Ram Chunder Kranie, 11 Sept. 1829, OIOC, F/4/ 1202, p. 1271. Transcript of deposition of Mutta Sing, Residency Jummadar, 12 Sept. 1829, ibid., pp. 1277-9.
143. Katherine Prior, 'The British Administration of Hinduism in North India, 1780-1900', Cambridge Ph.D. Dissertation, 1990, pp. 100-2, 108, n. 58.
144. Précis of evidence of J. F. Van Ristell, Head Clerk in the Residency Office, OIOC, F/4/1202, pp. 1246-7.
145. Further evidence of Baboo Ram Jeewun, OIOC, F/4/1200, pp. 277-8. W. Ewer and C. Macsween to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 4 Dec. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1203, p. 2018.
146. Further evidence of Baboo Ram Jeewun, OIOC, F/4/1200, pp. 277-8. W. Ewer and C. Macsween to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 4 Dec. 1829, OIOC, F/4/1203, p. 2018.
147. Memoir of William Prinsep, OIOC, Mss. Eur, D1160/1, pp. 323-5.
148. In Ram Copal's trial which took place after his own dismissal Colebrooke swore that the signatures on Ram Rattan's mukhtarnamas which Ram Gopal had allegedly forged were definitely his own. This contradicted the statement he had made at his own trial but it was sufficient nevertheless to acquit Ram Gopal. W. Ewer & C. Macsween to G. Swinton, Chief Sec. to Govt, 19 Feb. 1830, OIOC, F/4/ 1371, p. 271, and enclosures.