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'Baroda Enquiry Commission Report, 1874' [138r] (280/502)
The record is made up of 1 volume (249 folios). It was created in 1 Nov 1873-14 Feb 1874. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
q J
7
Thus tlie several attempts on the part of the
Durbar
A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family).
,
1st, to deny Sadak Ali's imprisonment by them;
2nd, to establish the fact that the injury occurred to his arm before his arrest
by them; and
3rdj their preparation of false evidence by means of " the Police officers of the
station,"
so completely expose their deliberate and intentional in this matter as
to render them utterly unworthy of credit in regard to it, and I therefore trust
that the Commission may be pleased to give the poor man Sadak Ali the full
benefit of this damaging evidence against the
Durbar
A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family).
.
I would respectfully submit, for the consideration of the Commission, that
the conduct of the
Durbar
A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family).
is highly aggravated by the fact of their having heard
the solemn injunctions which the Commission laid upon every witness who ap
peared before it to speak the truth, and the warning of what the consequence
would be if he gave false evidence.
One or two
Durbar
A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family).
sen - ants that Sadak Ali called to prove the fact of his
imprisonment, were the first persons who gave hearsay evidence to the effect that
Sadak Ali's arm had been injured by a camel at Ahmedabad. This evidence was
subsequently .shown to be false by the Register Book, which apart from the false
entry, proved that Sadak Ali had no injury or mark on his arm when he went
into prison on the 22nd April as those persons swore he had. Moreover, Dr.
Seward's evidence proved that there was no reason to believe that Sadak Ali's
arm had been broken by the bite of a camel; on the contrary, that had the arm
been broken in that way, there would have been evident signs of it.
In the marginal note to Case 38, Schedule IL, this case is one of those cited
by me in the proof of my general charge against the Gaekwar Government, that
" under the present system of administration no reliance can, as a rule, be placed
upon
Durbar
A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family).
official statements, in matters affecting the administration of public
justice."
When I wrote that, I referred, so far as this case is concerned, to the flat
denial of the imprisonment made in the yad of 15th August 1872, but I had no
idea that such additional proof of the charge as has come to light in the presence
of the Commission would have been afforded.
Precis of the Petition of Seiad Sadak Ali, dated 11th November 1872.
1. When I went to Balvantrao Raholkar to demand my dues, my contract
was cancelled, and he told me to pass a document to the effect that I had received
all my pay, and that 1 would not complain to the British Government. I refused
to comply with this demand. 1 was consequently imprisoned, handcuffed, and
beaten. The result was the breakage of my arm.
2. I demand the price of 4 camels given to one Ismal Bapu.
3. The people owe me about Rs. 1,000 or 1,500. The account is with a
Bania
Merchant of Indian extraction.
, who may be asked for it.
4. I pray for the removal of the attachment over the camels, shigram,
&c., in consequence of my not paying more than Rs. 400 to one Balvantrao Pim-
plekar.
5. I request the restoration of one camel, which is with theThakor of
Miagam.
6. I solicit a receipt from one Jetha Parekh, who is in charge of eight pagas
for the surplus equipment of camels, which he took away.
A verbal answer was given to the petitioner by the Resident on the 16th
November 1872, viz., that his petition was returned.
About this item
- Content
Report of the Baroda Enquiry Commission on the administration of the government of Malharrao, Gaekwar of Baroda. The Commission comprised Richard John Meade (President), Edward William Ravenscroft, Mumtazul Dowlah Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Faiz Ali Khan, Colonel Alfred Thomas Etheridge and Thomas Duncan Mackenzie (Secretary).
The report comprises a letter from the members of the Baroda Enquiry Commission to the Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department presenting their report on the results of the proceedings and submitting copies of correspondence, reports and statements relative to the enquiry (ff 5-19):
Appendix A, Part I
- Schedules I-III: Complaints and grievances against the Gaekwar's Government from individuals and groups (ff 21-78).
- Appendix B, Schedules I-III: Cases of complaint and grievance which the commission did not look into during the enquiry (ff 79-81).
- Appendix C: Letter from Colonel Richard John Meade, President, Special Commission of Enquiry on Baroda Affairs, to Colonel Robert Phayre, Resident at Baroda, 1 November 1873 (ff 82-83).
- Appendix D: Translation of an amended notice issued by the Resident to complainants desirous of appearing before the Baroda Enquiry Commission (ff 84-85).
- Appendix E: Schedules presented to the Commission along with Colonel Phayre's introductory statement regarding them. (ff 86-131).
- Appendix F: Letter No. 1128 of 1873 from Colonel Phayre to the President, Baroda Commission regarding the cases already submitted to the Commission, the List of undisposed petitions to be attended to by the Resident which could be used as additional cases if required and the statements that he had yet to make on cases under enquiry by the Commission (ff 132-133).
- Appendix G, Schedule I: Statements from witnesses with cross examination statements from the Durbar A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family). on behalf of the Gaekwar and statements from the Resident as to the accuracy of the information provided (ff 134-229).
Appendix Part II (ff 231-245)
- Letter from James Braithwaite Peile, Acting Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kattywar [Kathiawar] to T D Mackenzie, Secretary, Baroda Commission, 13 December 1873 regarding papers requested by the Commission and informing them that the outstanding paper will be forwarded as soon as they are received. Enclosed with the letter are a memorandum from Peile for reconstitution of His Highness the Gaekwar's Contingent in Kattywar, 13 December 1873 and Rule for the guidance of the Officers and Kamdars appointed to the Contingent of Horse of His Highness the Gaekwar, serving in the various Tributary Mahals according to treaty.
- Letter from Peile to Mackenzie, 6 January 1874, forwarding a report and returns received from Colonel Walker, Superintendent to the Gaekwar's Contingent in Kattywar and stating that he does not concur with the Colonel's opinion. Enclosed with this letter is a letter from Colonel Chamberlen William Walker, 30 December 1873, providing the information on the Contingent requested by the Commission and enclosing an extract of the Contingents annual report for 1871 and a statement of the men within the Contingent on duty under officials paid by Talukdars etc, 06 March 1872.
- Letters from John Whaley Watson, Acting Political Superintendent Pahlanpur [Palanpur], Captain Henry Nicholas Reeves, Acting Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Rewa Kanta [Rewa Kantha] and Major Philip Harrison Le Geyt, Acting Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Mahi Kanta [Mahi Kantha] to the secretary of the Baroda Commission 19 December 1873 to 9 January 1874 reporting on the Gaekwar's contingents serving within their districts and commenting on numbers of men, pay and conditions. The letters all refer to enclosed returns, but only the return for Mahi Kanta is included in the report.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (249 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main sequence of foliation consists of a small pencil number in the top front right hand corner of each folio enclosed in a circle.
There is also an original sequence of foliation which consists of larger pencil numbers also in the top front right hand corner of folios, however the sequence is not consistent and some of the numbers may be filing references rather than foliation numbers.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F126/78
- Title
- 'Baroda Enquiry Commission Report, 1874'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:248v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence