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Letter from Colonel Sir Lewis Pelly, Baroda to His Lordship Lord Northbrook, Viceroy of India [5v] (10/10)
The record is made up of 5 folios. It was created in 13 Dec 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.
( 10 )
Sir R. Meade, in favoring me with a private note, writes—
" I have never looked for any good from the existing arrangements at
" Baroda, and the whole character of our system and relations there appeared
" to me to be very different from my experience of these matters at the other
" Chief Courts with which I have had to do."
My observation and experience lead me to share in this opinion. Had
Baroda formed one of a congeries of States under an Agent Governor-General
of Central India or Rajpootana, the mere force of routine and system, con
trolled and guided by steady maxims of policy from the foreign Office, would
have rendered the present state of affairs here almost impossible. The present
Gaekwar would never have been removed from his prison to the guddee—his
extravagance and pretensions would have been checked—our minute interfer
ence would not have raised false hopes and distracted the State—no Commission
would have come here to find itself in something very like a quandary—the
action of Government would not have been hesitating, as that of a local Gov
ernment subject to the judgment of a Supreme Government must always be
liable to become—and an officer trained in the Quarter-Master-General's
Department, and inexperienced in our Native Courts, would not have been
sent here.
LEWIS FELLY.
About this item
- Content
Letter submitting an unofficial résumé of the condition that he has found affairs at Baroda to be in.
The letter discusses the Gaekwar's (Malharrao) reaction to the khureeta An important letter usually sent in an elaborate textile pouch, dispatched as part of the royal or diplomatic correspondence of rulers and elites. issued by the Viceroy and Pelly's subsequent appointment and his willingness to be bound by the Viceroy's advice; letters drawn up between Pelly and the Gaekwar's minister in which he promises to accede to all the instructions issued by the Viceroy in July 1874; and additional requests made by the Viceroy during private audiences with Pelly.
These additional requests included asking Pelly to carefully examine the finances of his territory; to examine the condition of land revenue and satisfy himself as to the causes of recent resistance on the part of agriculturalists; and that care be taken in regard to religious claims when reforms to finance were being made.
The letter summarises Pelly's enquiries and findings under several headings: Finance, Revenue, Sirdars Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. , Soucars, Police, and Proclamations before providing a résumé of the question of reformation of the finances of the state.
Pelly's résumé includes his assessment of the total incomes of the state; the need for Government to reassess their outlays based on these assessments; the need to limit expenditure; the attitudes of the agriculturalists towards 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). ; the disputes between the Gaekwar and the Sirdars Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. ; and the need for policy towards and relations with Baroda state to be defined by the Government of India.
- Extent and format
- 5 folios
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Letter from Colonel Sir Lewis Pelly, Baroda to His Lordship Lord Northbrook, Viceroy of India [5v] (10/10), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F126/83, ff 1-5, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023467455.0x00000b> [accessed 6 August 2026]
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F126/83, ff 1-5
- Title
- Letter from Colonel Sir Lewis Pelly, Baroda to His Lordship Lord Northbrook, Viceroy of India
- Pages
- 1r:5v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence