Enclosure of letter to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for India, No.25, from the Foreign Department, Fort William [‎156r] (1/6)

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No. 293P., dated Fort William, 28th January 1875.
From— C. U. Aitchison , Esq., C.S.I., Secy, to the Govt, of India, Foreign Dept.,
To—C. Gonne , Esq., Secretary to the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. , Political Dept.
I am directed by His Excellency the Viceroy and Governor-General in
Council to acknowledge receipt of your letter No. 7549, dated 14th December
1874, on the subject of the removal of Colonel Phayre from the appointment
of Resident at Baroda, which would have been replied to sooner had not the
course of affairs at Baroda subsequent to its receipt made it expedient in the
opinion of the Governor-General in Council to postpone an answer.
2. His Excellency the Governor of Bombay in Council has expressed his
opinion " that a change in the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. at Baroda was expedient, if not ab
solutely needful;" that the Bombay Government were fully alive to the incidents
of Colonel Phayre's position; and that, notwithstanding that the Viceroy in a
letter to the Gaekwar had expressed full confidence" in Colonel Phayre, they
would have removed him " if any other appointment of equal worth had been
at their disposal" to offer him. His Excellency the Governor in Council, it is
further stated, would have taken this step " from the conviction that the very
qualities which made Colonel Phayre an effective instrument for the exposure
of the gross mismanagement of the Baroda State were ill adapted to the more
delicate task of proffering advice to the Prince whose malpractices he had
dragged to light."
3. But His Excellency the Governor in Council, w r hile expressing these
views, protests against the time and manner of Colonel Phayre's removal by the
Government of India, on the grounds that as the announcement of it followed
upon the receipt of a letter from the Gaekwar in which Colonel Phayre's removal
was formally asked for, and upon an attempt to take his life by poison, it is likely
to be connected in the minds of Native Chiefs with one or other of these inci
dents, and to be viewed as a proof of weakness; that it will have an injurious
effect on the political service, and deter officers from exposing abuses in Native
States; that as Colonel Phayre's personal character was well known in July
last, when the orders of Government on the report of the Commission were
issued, the change should have been made then; and that the orders are
unjustly severe towards Colonel Phayre.
4. His Excellency the Governor-General in Council regrets that, in con
sequence of this protest, the necessity is imposed upon him of reverting to
matters which it w T as hoped were disposed of by my letter No. 2563P., dated
25th November last, and of pointing out that the time and manner of Colonel
Phayre's removal were rendered necessary by the acts of that officer himself,
the inadequate manner in which they w r ere dealt with by the Bombay Govern
ment, and the omission of the Bombay Government to keep the Government of
India informed of their proceedings and those of Colonel Phayre.
5. From the conduct of Colonel Phayre previous to the appointment of
the Commission, the Governor-General in Council had entertained considerable
doubts whether he possessed the discretion, conciliatory bearing, and appreciation
of the questions he had to deal with, which were necessary for effectually meeting
the difficulties before him. It was believed, how T ever, that Colonel Phayre pos
sessed the confidence of the Bombay Government; and the Governor-General
in Council considered that the report of the Commission and the clear and
precise instructions of Government thereon made his course plain and unmis-
takcable and left no opening for the injudicious exercise of discretion and no
room for misunderstanding on his part. Under these altered circumstances there
appeared to the Governor-General in Council no sufficient reason for withdrawing
his confidence from Colonel Phayre, especially at a time when such a course would
certainly have been misunderstood by the Gaekwar, and have added considerably
to the difficulties at Baroda. The Government of India having arrived at this
decision, it was obviously necessary to inform the Gaekwar that Colonel Phayre
possessed the full confidence of Government.