HOW INDIA IS GOVERNED

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXIII, Issue 16034, 14 September 1912, Page 5

HOW INDIA IS GOVERNED

THE SYSTEM EXPLAINED. A ‘WONDERFUL RECORD. (By REV FREDERICK STRESS.) India is ostensibly governed by a Viceroy -with his subordinate officials, but really by the British people. Thoro is a sort of “ House that Jack built. The British people elect Parliament; Parliament controls the Cabinet; the Cabinet controls tho . Secretary of State; tho Secretary the Viceroy; tho Viceroy tho Lieutenant-Governors; die Lieutenant-Governors tho Divisional Commissioners; tho Divisional Commissioners tins District Officers; and the District Officers tho people of India. Tlio Secretary of State, who is always a member of tho Cabinet, is assisted by a Parliamentary Under-Secretary and a Council of ten to fifteen members, who advise him on matters of Indian policy and administration. The Executive Government is administered by tho Viceroy in Council acting under tho control of the Secretary of_ State. Tho Executive Council is practically a Cabinet, and tho larger Legislative Council a House of Parliament, only that it is much smaller, being composed of only sixty-eight members, and much leS3 powerful. No measures can be introduced without the approval of tho Executive, and the Viceroy can veto any oc its decisions. Tho country is divided into ten provinces, of which Bengal, Madras and Bombay get their .Governors from Britain instead of from tho Civil Service, and these Governors in turn have Councils to advise and assist them. Tho term of office is five years. Other provinces aro governed by Lieutenant-Governors or Chief Commissioners. Theso high officials rule over communities equal in number to a European State. Beneath them aro tho collectors, who each have charge of a largo district, being responsible for the collection of th.o revenue, acting as magistrates, superintending police gaols, education, sanitation, etc. Theso district officers aro, indeed, responsible ror almost everything that happens, and are the backbone of the Administration. Then come deputy-collectors, assistant magistrates, etc. CAPABLE OFFICIALS. I met n number of these important officials and found them, almost without exception well-educated, capable men ;• courteous and hospitable. My impression is that in India wo have the finest bony of Civil servants in the world; and what they have done for India is perfectly wonderful. Aggression, violence, murder, continual warfare within, frequent invasions from without, tryanny and oppression of every kind, these constitute- the history of India before British rule was established- The Moghul Empire was crumbling away; all the splendid achievements of the Indian peoples, temples, cities, accumulated wealth were in jeopardy. Amidst tho fierco strife of conflicting interests, the passionate opposition oT divers races and religions, universal disaster was threatened. War, fapiine, pestilence, were always threatening. Nadir Shall alone slow 150,000 men in Delhi. Aurangcob for fifty years always had armies in tho field. Highway robbery, violence and murder were of daily occurrence. Even lie who cultivated the land had to do so armed. Tliuggism and Dacoity flourished almost unchecked. Murder was a religious act likely to please the goddess Browanoo. There were no roads, railways, canals; few schools- Now order, freedom, and security are to bo found everywhere. Good roads have been constructed; canals built for navigation and irrigateion purposes; postage and telegraphic services instituted; schools and colleges founded ; hospitals and dispensaries built; sanitation improved; agriculturalists assisted, religious tolerance guaranteed; tho wealth and pro. sperit-y of tho country enormously increased. Tho railways, with a mileage of 32,000 miles (more than that of Franco and Austria) are the cheapest in the world; as is also tho postal service. A farthing will convey you and i your luggage a mile, will send a inessage from one end of India to tho | other. Above all, 'justice is administered | to poor and rich, Natives and Euro- ; p-cans alike— not without great difficulty, as 1 shall show later on, but stiUas far as tbs British are concerned tho scales are held impartially. IGNORANT CRITICS. I think this is a wonderful record. Famino and plague, too, which used • to carry off millions, aro being successj fully fought, and whenever necessary ‘ food and medical assistance aro pro- ! vided. The efforts made by some cf 1 the district officers in this connection | have been heroic, health and strength ' being unsparingly sacrificed for thopur- | pose. No man. who knows anything of i tho past history of India and cf its ! present condition can help feeling proud I of what has been accomplished. I have i little sympathy with the frequent criticisms and questions raised by some of tlio ultra-radical members in the British House of Commons. They are nearly always-ignorant and for tho most part unfair, but they are telegraphed all over Indio, where they encourage discontent, and, on the other hand, discourage and hamper the Administration. After travelling six months _ in India and noting many of theso criticisms, I have come to the conclusion that- the House of Commons for the most paid knows very little about India, and that the less it interferes with tho Administration tho better. There aro hundreds of capable, experienced and conscientious men on the spot, and theso may well be trusted under tho supervision of the Viceroy and tho Secretary cf State to manage Indian affairs wisely. THE NATIVE OFFICIALS. I have referred above to the British officials who are at tho head of the great departments and services of the State, but below those there is an army of nat-ivo officials—judges, magistrates, postmasters, station masters, etc. There is an err-cnecas supposition, encouraged by agitators, that India is wholly governed by Englishmen. This is an entitro mist ake, as although, and quite rightly, most of the principal administrative posts are thus held, the large majority ox offices are held by natives, who thus have a very real share in t-lie Government. During the last few years, indeed, hundreds of offices, iormorly held by Europeans, have been given to natives, with a consequent loss of efficiency. How ignorant and inefficient many of these native officials are is almost, as I knew from experience, past belief. There aro 750 municinalities in India, composed almost entirely cf natives. Tho intention was to encourage the cities to govern themselves; but, as a matter of fact, municipal government has so far proved a serious failure. Corruption is common. To get the Town Council to <io anything, members must in some form or other be bribed. Few eases of improvement are considered upon their merits, and. the condition of some portions of the cities is disgraceful. Even in European countries 1 imluenco” is a potent factor: one can imagine, then, how essential it is in tho Orient. l' n tho smaller Councils things are better, for a. Civil servant representing tho Government presides and insists upon things being done. The policy pursued is to educate iho natives for Government positions, tho latter -depending mainly upon educational tests. But I am convinced that for tho more important offices the natives, with few exceptions, aro quito unfitted. Intellectually they aro clever, and readily absorb European "learning. Bat even after he has taken a university degree tho Indian is still an Oriental, hates sanitary regulations, is afraid of tho anger and revenge of interested parties,, is seldom freo. from

bias, and, I regret to say, is not proof against corruption. When one knows how universal bribery in some form or other is in tlio East, ono cannot ho surprised that officials are frequently guiity of it. It is in the blood, in the air—everywhere recognised and practised, and it will ho a long time before even tlio educated classes'can come to feel as Europeans do with regard to it. For the higher offices in civil administration, it is not scholars that are needed so much as gentlemen of good physique, unimpeachablo integrity, determination, strength of will, commonsense and tact, and few natives possess these'qualities. They can successfully compete with Europeans in languages and mathematics, but in those intellectual and moral qualities that fit mci for government they aro wofully deficient. LAW AND JUSTICE. In. olden times extortion and oppression flourished unchecked. Immunity from robbery and theft had to be purchased by a kind of tax paid to the criminal classes, or by affording them shelter. Even high officials did this. The people had little hone of obtaining justice. If they offended their rulers, or, what amounted to the same thing, offended someone who could influence the ruler, their heads were cut off in a jiffy or they were trampled to death under tho hoofs of elephants. If accused by a wealthy or powerful man, tho only way of escape was by bribery. Now tilings aro vastly different. Courts of law have been set up all over the country, accessible to the poorest, and as far as the British are concerned every effort is made to secure erpial justice for rich and poor. Tho native knows perfectly well that tho British Magistrate is incorruptible. I wish as much could bo said of the native police and magistracy. Tho Government appoints tho best men available, but it is notoriously difficult to find men that cannot bo bribed. Natives cannot believe that another native is unbribable, nor does native opinion condemn corruption. It is all a part of tho game. Any measure that can obtain a favourable verdict is regarded as justifiable, and even commendable. A case is adjourned again and again on somo pretext or ocher; then a hint reaches the suitor that if ho will agree to this or that the case will ho heard and settled at once, and in most cases the consideration is given. Even where it is well known that a native Magistrate or Judge is corrupt, it is almost impossible to get witnesses to prove a case of. bribery. If a native lose 3 his case, it is not on account of any objection on his port to offer a bribe, but because of his inability or unwillingness to offer a sufficiently largo one, larger, that is to say, than that offered by the other I would not, of course, bs understood as suggesting that all ■ Native magistrates are venal, but that a considerable number aro so, both European and Natives aver, and I have no reason to doubt. To the Native mind there is no shame in tiiG matter, and tho majority would probably prefer to have a magistracy that could be bribed. Litigation is a kind of war; each side uses any and every, means to. obtain tba victory and considers it quito legitimate to do so. And, strange to say, the loser even though he believes ho was in the right and that corrupt influences were against him, usually takes his defeat with great equanimity. Ho did his best to win, but the fates were against him; why worry? So fond of litigation i 3 the Indian that he would probably lose rather than not fight at all, and in. any case has had tiro interest and excitement of tho contest. POLICE CORRUPTION. And if the magistracy is so often open to corruption, one may imagine the state of tho police. All kinds of gratuitous services aro demanded by them, and 1! myself have seen them again take articles from street. sellers without payment. An inquiry in 1903 showed that in the lower ranks tho police were ill paid and . extremely ignorant, and therefore easily open to corruption. In many casos, too, hero is little doubt that they aro very tyrannical, and occasionally torture is used. Whether in India or Europe, authority placed in tho hands, of lew classes, uneducated men, is liable to bo abused. One man complained that ho was ploughing his field by the road through tho jungle when a policeman carao by. The latter wanted a guide and companion and insisted that tjio farmer should go with him. He. would not even allow him to place his bullocks in safety. When tho poor man returned ho found that one bullock had been killed by a tiger, whilst the other had broken its ropo3 and fled, being eventually auctioned at a distant pound. Where tho. police believe an honest man to be guilty, they sometimes compel him to make a false confession in tho hppo of getting off lightly. A case is given by a writer of a young lady who, on leaving her room hurriedly, knocked clown a table and vase. Sho raised tho table and ran up to dress for dinner, intending to tell her mother later on. When sho came down ono of tho servants had already been induced to falsely acknowledge that it was sho who had broken the vaso! A man having a grudge against another man has been known to go to the police and charge him with a murder lie himself has committed. Even where police aud magistrate aro honest, it is not easy to get at tho truth. Each side will bribe as many witnesses as possible, and men can bo hired to swear anything for a few pence. Supposing a litigant’s cause to be right, ho will still try to help his case by foul means. No ono cares very much whether the witnesses aro speaking the truth. It is very much a counting of heads.. Tlie one idea of tho barrister is to win his ease, and the Court passes judgment on tho evidence presented, even though in many instances the real facts might with little difficulty bo ascertained. In cases where a Brahmin is concerned the difficulty of administering justice is still greater. It is difficult to got anv kind of verdict against him, and if ho'has committed a murder, no Hindu jury would convict him, as to cause the death of a Brahmin would bo regarded as an infinitely awful and unpardonable sin. , I have dealt with this subject at some length in order to show tho great difficulties with which the British administration in India has to deal. Tho British officials and magistrates aro | known to be incorruptible; hinny of tlio native judges and magisrates aro doubtless honest also. But there is such an utter disregard of truth, and the native mind is so accustomed to a system of bribery that tho adminisration of juctio is exceedingly difficult. , Still, things aro better than they were J in olden times, and they era improv- | ing. Magistrates and police proved to bo corrupt are removed ; a better class of men is becoming available; and with tho spread of education and increasing influenco of Christianity tho standard of truth and justice is slowly but surely being raised.