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The
Regulating Act (1773)
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Although
both the shareholders of the English East India Company and the British
Government gained, the position of the people of Bengal became most unhappy.
The people were the victims of famine and the corruption of the servants of the
company. According to Lecy, “Never before had navies experienced a tyranny
which was at once so skillful, so searching and so strong. Whole districts which
had been populous and flourishing were at last utterly depopulated, and it was
noticed that on the appearance of a party of English merchants the villages
were at once deserted and the shops shut, and the roads thronged with
panic-stricken fugitives.” According to Chathan, “India teems with
inequities so rank as smell to earth and heaven.” The things were so rotten
that in April 1772 was appointed a select Committee of 31 members to inquire
into the affairs of the East India Company. In August of the same year, the
English East India Company asked for a loan from the British Government. The Parliament
appointed a select committee to examine the affairs of the Company and submit
its report. The committee submitted to final report in May 1773. It was then
that the parliament passed the Regulating Act of 1773.
There were
other causes also which were responsible for the passing of the Regulating Act.
Educated public opinion in England through the press and the floor of
Parliament began to ask for control by the State over the political activities
of the English East India Company. The factors which influenced public opinion
were the abuses of the Company’s rule in India and the attempts made by the ‘Nobobs’
to dominate English society. The British country-gentry not only hated the ’Nobobs’
but also felt jealous of them. Moreover, thee were rival parliamentary
interests which clashed over the question of India. They were primarily
interested in the rise and fall of ministries whose fate depended considerably on
the support of the Directors of the English East India Company who had their
interests in the House of Commons. Regulation and control by the State during
the period 1773-1784 was due largely to the manipulation of the political
machine.
(1) The Regulating Act gave the right of vote for
the election of Directors of the Company to shareholders holding stock worth
1000 pound for 12 months preceding the date of election. Formerly, Directors
were elected for one year but the Act provided that in future they were to be
elected for 4 years. However, one-fourth of them were to retire every yer. The Directors
were required to submit copies of letters and advice received from the governor-General-in-Council.
Copies of letters relating to revenue were to be sent to the Treasury and those
relating to civil and military affairs were to be sent to one of the
Secretaries of State. Governor-General of Bengal and the Governor of Bombay and
Madrasa were required to pay due obedience to the orders of the Directors and
also Keep them constantly informed of all the matters affecting of the
interests of the Company.
(2) Provision
was made for a Governor-General of Bengal and his Council of 4 members. They were
vested with “the whole civil and military Government of the said Presidency,
and also the ordering, management and government of territorial acquisitions
and revenues in the kingdom of Bihar Bengal and Orissa. Warren Hastings was
appointed the first Governor-General of Bengal and Clavering, Monsan, Philip
Francis and Barewell were appointed the members of his council. Members of the
Council were to hold office for 5 years and they could not be removed except by
Crown on the representation of the Directors. Governor-General of Bengal was
required to carry on the work according to the majority opinion of this
Council. He could not over-rule the majority view of this Council. However, he
was given a casting vote in the case of a tie. Governor-General was also given
the power of superintending and controlling the Presidencies of Madras and
Bombay. However, in case of emergency and direct orders from the Directors in
London, Presidencies of Madras and Bombay were not to act according to the orders
of the Governor-General of Bengal.
(3) Governor-in-Council of Bombay and Madras were required to pay due obedience to the orders of
Governor-General of Bengal. They were required to submit to the
Governor-General-in-Council advice and intelligence on transactions and matters
relating to the government, revenues and interests of the Company. They were
required to forward all rules and regulations framed by them to the Governor-General-in-Council,
or did not perform their duties properly, they could be suspended by the
Governor-General-in-Council.
(4) Governor-General-in-Council
was given the power to make rules, ordinance and regulations for the good order
and civil government of Company’s settlement at Fort William and factories and
places subordinate to it. These rules and regulations were not to be against
the laws of England and were required to be registered with the Supreme Court. These
could be disallowed by the king-in-council within two years.
(5) The Regulating
Act provided for a Supreme Court with a Chief justice and three puisne judges.
Sir Elijah Impey was appointed the Chief Justice. The Supreme Court was given
the power to try civil, criminal, admiralty cases. It was to be a Court of
Record and Court of Oyer and Terminer and Gaol delivery in and for the town of
Calcutta, Fort William and other factories subordinate to it. The jurisdiction
of the Supreme Court was to extend to all the British subjects residing in
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. It was empowered to try all cases of complaints
against any of His Majesty’s subjects for crimes or oppressions. It was to try
suits, complaints or actions against any person in the employment of the
Company or His Majesty’s subjects. It was given both original and appellate
jurisdiction. Cases were to be tried by means of a jury.
(6) The Regulating
Act prohibited the receiving of presents and bribes by the servants of the
Company. “No person holding or exercising any civil or Military office under
the Crown shall accept, receive or take directly or indirectly any present,
gift, donation, gratuity or reward, pecuniary or otherwise.” It was made clear
that the offenders were to make double payment and were liable to be transported
to England.
(7) No British
subject was to charge interest at a higher than 12 per cent. If the
Governor-General, governor, Member of the Council, a judge of Supreme Court or
any other servant of the Company committed any offence he was liable to be
tried and punished by the king’s Bench in England. The act also settled the
salaries of the Governor-General, governor, Chief Justice and other Judges. Thus,
Governor-General was to get 25000 Pound annually. Every member of the Council
was given 10000 pound a year. The annual salary of the Chief Justice was fixed
at 8000 pound and that of an ordinary judge 6000 pound.
It is
universally admitted that the Regulating Act had many shortcomings –
(1) A serious
defect of the Regulating Act was that it did not define clearly the exact
jurisdiction and powers of the Governor-General, the members of his council and
the Supreme Court. Whether the omission was deliberate or unintentional, there
was a lot of conflict. The relations between the Governor-General and the
Supreme Court were never happy. The result was that they always pulled in
different directions.
(2) The Supreme
Court claimed to serve writs on the inhabitants of the country and make them
appear before itself. Warren Hastings resisted this claim of the Supreme Court.
In the case of Cassijurah, the Sheriff and the officers accompanying him were
prevented by a company of Sepoys from executing a writ against the Raja. These
sepoys maintained that they were merely acting under the orders of the Governor-General.
(3) Supreme Court
claimed to have jurisdiction over the collectors of revenue of the Company for
the wrongs done by them in their official capacity. It also claimed to try
judicial officers of the Company for similar wrongs. It refused to recognize the
jurisdiction of the provincial or country courts. It released a district
treasurer who was imprisoned on a charge of embezzlement and remarked thus: “We
know not what your Provincial Chief and the Council are: you might just as well
have said that he was confined by the king of Fairies.” Warren Hastings tried
to remove this conflict by appointing Sir Elijah Impey as the judge of the
Sadar Diwani Adalat. However, this arrangement did not last long because Impey
was called back home. The Regulating Act did not specify as to which law was to
be applied by the Supreme Court. It was a moot point as to whether the Hindu
law, Mohammedan law, Christian law or the English law was to be applied. It was
also not made clear as to whether the law of the defendant was to be applied or
that of the plaintiff in case the two professed different religions. As a
matter of fact, the judges of the Supreme Court knew only the English law and
applied the same practically in every case. Evidently, this had very
unfortunate results.
(4) The Regulating
Act did not contain any answer to many questions. It was not clearly defined as
to who the servants of the English East India Company were and what actually
constituted employment under the Company. A question could be asked as to
whether farmers of revenue could be considered as servants of the Company.
(5) The Regulating
Act made the position of the governor-General very weak. As a matter of fact he
was merely at the mercy of the majority of the members of his council. We are
told that for 6 years there was a big struggle between the Governor General and
the members of his Council. He was outvoted and over-ruled and on many
occasions had to follow a policy which he did not approve of. It was only after
the death of Monson and Clavering that Warren Hastings was able to manage his
Council. Previous to this, his position was so hard that at one time he
actually instructed his agent in London to tender his resignation to the Directors.
(6) The raising
of the qualifications of the voter from 500 to 1000 pound converted the Court
of Director into an oligarchy. About 1246 holders of stock were disfranchised. “The
whole of the regulations, concerning the Court and proprietors, relied upon two
principles, which have proved fallacious, namely, that small numbers were a
security against faction and disorder and that integrity of conduct would
follow the greater property.”
(7) The control of Bengal over Madras and Bombay
was not effective.
(8) According
to Pouten Rouse, “The object of the Act was good, but the system that it
established was imperfect.”
(9) According
to the Report on Indian constitutional Reforms of 1918, the Regulating Act, “created
a Governor-General who was powerless before his own council and an executive
that was powerless before a Supreme Court, itself immune from all
responsibility for peace and welfare of the country- a system that was made workable by the genius and fortitude of one great man.”
(10) The Regulating
Act made a bold attempt at securing good Government in the Company’s territory
in India without the Crown’s directly assuming the responsibility for the same.
The Regulating
Act was the first of a long series of acts passed by Parliament to change and
regulate the Government of India. It made a beginning in the system of a
written constitution for British India. The right of the Parliament to
interfere into the affairs of the company and to legislate for the possessions
was recognized. It is a landmark in the transfer of power from the company to
Parliament. The Act established a collegiate rule in place of “one-man rule.” It
recognized the political functions of the Company. According to Lyall, “The
system of administration set up by the Act of 1773 embodied the first attempt at
giving some definite and recognizable form to the vague and arbitrary ruler ship that had developed upon the Company. From that time forward, the outline of
Anglo-Indian Government was gradually filled in.”
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