Enclosures of Letter to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for India, No.213, dated 27 November 1874: Nos. 3 to 31 of Abstract of Contents, from Foreign Department, Fort William [‎47r] (93/102)

more desperate by the circumstance of the new officials being quite unacquainted
with the " business routine " of this State, the latter therefore are unable to help
them out of their difficulties. Hence they are afraid to complain at all; for
if they do, the Resident does not arrange their matter, and it only exposes
them to the risk of incurring the displeasure 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). officials. People
of this State are quite unacquainted with the English rules and regulations, and
the new officials do always say something about these rules and regulations.
It follows therefore that these persons, with the dint of their authority and the
force of their intelligence, can concoct thousands of schemes of a nature to cause
injury to the people. For it appears that Mr. Dadabhai's mission at this
Court has been that of simply defending the late Dewan Nana Saheb and the
other officials who were implicated in oppressing the people. These people had,
in consequence of their grievances, applied to the Resident for redress. An
enquiry was thereupon ordered to be instituted into their complaints by the
Supreme Government, and Mr. Dadabhai's advent was for the purpose of help
ing to save the aforesaid persons from the consequences of their deeds and to
break down the cause of the complainants. Since Dadabhai has been a Dewan
he has not settled a single case. He has also contemplated to impose the
obnoxious tax of 25 per cent, on the income of the " Hakdari Class " ot people ;
while he has completed a very excellent arrangement of securing thousands of
rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. for himself and his colleagues. It will be plainly seen from this that
he is quite incapable of making satisfactory arrangements in the State so as to
keep the people pleased.
In order to settle differences and make a satisfactory arrangement in the
State, at present it is necessary, and your petitioners trust that Your Excellency
will direct the selection and appointment to the post of Dewan, through the
Resident, of an able and experienced Kamdar, and at the same time one who is
a hereditary servant of the State. He should have the assistance of impartial
and just Kamdars in the administration of the State affairs, and the latter being
respectable residents of this place will hesitate to do anything wrong, their con
duct and reputation being a sufficient " guaranteeand these functionaries
should arrange all differences according to the Resident's wishes, a measure
which will tend to giv-e satisfaction to all the parties concerned and the clamor
will subside. But if Mr. Dadabhai were by dint of his authority to make
any arrangement for the people, as to him seems best, that would never remove
the cause of the dissatisfaction of the people. It will only have the effect of .
exhausting their patience day by day and of annihilating the " Hakdars."
Under such circumstances, your petitioners humbly crave that Your Excel
lency will be pleased to take their case (of extreme hardship) into your con
sideration, and order the Resident to make a speedy arrangement for them.
Your petitioners have enclosed postage stamps for the favor of an answer from
Your Excellency. As your petitioners .are now on the "brink of starvation,"
should there be no prospect .of a speedy arrangement of their huks, they will
be forced, in that event, to have recourse to those measures for securing justice
which their ancestors adopted in past times, for as the proverb runs " It is
better for one to sell his life dearly than to die the miserable death or with one's
head in one's hands occasioned by exhaustion of one's limbs (feet)." Your peti
tioners, however, have thought proper to make a full representation of their case,
in the hope that it will induce Your Excellency to pity, and also -that no blame
may be attached to them, if, in the end, tliey are compelled to adopt such a
course.
(Ashwin Shoodh 9th, Sumbut 1930)=A.D. 1874.
(Sd.) SiKDUJi G ajhe N atha M la and 24 others.
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