A

SEMINAR REPORT
ON
Revenue, Administrative and Judicial Reforms of Lord William Bentinck

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Bachelor

Degree in History

Lakhimpur Kendriya Mahavidyalaya

2020-21
Submitted To: Dr Nageshree Narah Ayengia
Department of History

Submitted By
Sahir Raunaque Hussain
BA 5th Semester, Subject: History (Major)
Roll No. 126
Paper Code: 501

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 INTRODUCTION
Lord William Bentinck assumed the office of the Governor- General in
1828. Born in 1774 he commenced his career as a soldier and later at the
young age of twenty two he became a Member of Parliament. He was
appointed the Governor of Madras in 1803. He supported Sir Thomas
Munroe on revenue administration. The Vellore Mutiny of 1806 had
resulted in Bentinck’s recall.
However, his appointment again to the higher office as Governor-
General shows his real greatness. As Governor-General, Bentinck had
initiated an era of progress and reforms. He was undoubtedly the first
Governor-General of British India who acted on the dictum that “the
welfare of the subject peoples was a main, perhaps the primary, duty of
the British in India.

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 Reforms by Lord Bentinck

Administrative Reforms : Lord William Bentinck reversed the policy

of Lord Cornwallis with regard to the employment of Indians in the
service of the English East India Company. Cornwallis had no faith in
Indians and consequently insisted upon the employment of Europeans.
It was found that it was very expensive to employ Europeans while
Indians could be employed on much cheaper wages. Indians were
available for clerical jobs on account of the spread of English
language. Bentinck introduced three grades of Indian judges and the
highest of them called Sadar Amins were given a salary of Rs. 750.
The employment of Indians removed one of their grievances. This new
policy was in accordance with the principle laid down in the Charter
Act of 1833.and That Act laid down that"no native of India nor any
natural born subject of His Majesty should be disabled from holding
any place, office of employment by reason of his religion, place, of
birth, descent or colour." William Bentinck followed the lines
suggested by Sir Charles Metcalfe, viz., "native functionaries in the
first instance of all departments. The European superintendents,
uniting the local powers of judicature, police and revenue in all their
branches, through the districts over which they preside;
Commissioners over them and . Board over them communicating with
and subject to the immediate control of the Government." William
Bentinck appointed a Board of Revenue at Allahabad for the North-
Western Province.

Revenue Reforms : William Bentinck appointed two committees to

inquire into the expenditure on civil and military affairs of the
Company and make recommendations for its reduction. The
committees went into the whole matter and made their
recommendations. Accepting their recommendations, William
Bentinck abolished many down the allowances and reduced the salaries
of the civil servants. case of the military establishment, much could
not be attempted. How- ever, he halved the Bhatta allowances paid to
the military personal. Even before William Bentinck, the Directors of
the English Company had tried to reduce the allowances but they had
failed. Now, they ordered William Bentinck to reduce the Bhatta
immediately. Consequently, in November 1828 an order was issued by
which the Bhatta was required by fifty per cent at all stations within
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four hundred miles of Calcutta. There was a lot of agitation against the
Governor-General who was openly insult- ed and condemned by the
Anglo-Indian press. In spite of this opposition, William Bentinck stuck
to his guns and ultimately the opposition died sinecure jobs, cut In the
out. He abolished the Provincial Courts of Appeal and Circuit. Accord-
iug to Bentinck, these courts served as "resting places for those
members af the services who were deemed unfit for higher
responsibilities." A lot of saving was made from this account.
An attempt was made to increase the revenues of the Company by
regulating the opium trade. Bentinck evolved the system of licences
for the direct conveyance of opium from Malwa to Bombay and
thereby added to the revenues of the Company. Even before the
assumption of Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa by the Company,
grants of revenue-free lands had-been made to individuals and
institutions. The English Company also confirmed those grants. A
Regulation of 1793 and another of 1819 empowered the Collectors to
examine the validity of the grants. There was a suspicion that many
grants were fictitious and illegal. A Regulation of 1828 directed the
Col- lectors to look into the legality or otherwise of those grants.
Special Com- missioners were appointed to hear appeals from the
decisions of the Col- lectors. The parties concerned pleaded that they
could not produce their documents on account of the passage of time.
The Government did not accept this plea and consequently many
revenue-free lands were resumed by the Government. This resulted in
a lot of discontentment among the people, but William Bentinck was
able to add to the revenues of the Company.

Judicial Reforms: The judicial system of the Company suffered from

three evils, viz., delay, expense and uncertainty, Calcutta had be- come
too distant for the newly-acquired territories. In the work of judicial
reforms, Bentinck was assisted by Sir Charles Metcalfe, Butterworth
Bayley and Holt Mackenzie. In 1829, William Bentinck abolished the
Provincial Courts of Appeal and Circuit. These courts were not doing
their work Their work enthusiastically. Their work was falling in
arrears. These judges did not acquire sufficient knowledge and
acquintance with the people of the country. They failed to protect the
people from the oppression of the police. The under- trials were made
to live in prison for months before their cases were heard and disposed
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of. No wonder William Bentinck decided to abolish these However, he
appointed Commissioners of Revenue and Circuits. The Bengal
Presidency was divided into twenty divisions and a Commissioner was
appointed for each division. These Commissioners were required to
perform the same duties which were formerly performed by the judges
of the Provincial Courts of Appeal and Circuit. The Commissioners
were also given the duty of supervising the Collectors of Revenue and
However, these Commissioners were themselves were placed under the
control of the Sadar Nizamat Adalat and Boara of Revenue for their
criminal and revenue functions respectively. In 1829, a Regulation
provided that the magistrates were to have the power of awarding
punishment of two years' imprisonment with lab our. Appeals were to
be taken to the Commissioners. A Regulation of 1831 provided for the
summary disposal of cases re- Collectors were given the power to
decide those cases. summarily. Their decisions were to be final. Those
could be reversed only by means of regular suits in civil courts.

William Bentinck abolished the use of Persian as court language and

ordered the use of vernacular for that purpose. This was a great boon
to litigants who could express their grievances in their language.

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 Conclusion
Lord William Bentinck was one of the most successful Governor-generals who
came to India. It is undeniable that he achieved far more popularity and fame than
could be achieved by any one of his predecessor. His beneficent reforms which he
conceived in enlighten and humanitarian spirit has earned for him a high place in
Indian History and he deserves the everlasting gratitude of the Indian people.

Reference & Bibliography

 SC Raychoudhary: History of Modern India

 Bipin Chandra: History of Modern India

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_William_Bentinck