Asiatic Quarterly Review (Full Title: The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, and Oriental and Colonial Record): Volume XIII, No. 26 [‎516v] (157/238)

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Proceedings of the East Indici A.ssoci<ition.
that must be taken to be a secondary object, if an avowed object at all
The primary object appears to be to provide for the actual physica
necessities of the time and place. No doubt providing for those physical
necessities affords the means of political education, but it is the provision
for the necessities that is the main object, and the political education is
merely incidental. It is very difficult to express one’s self otherwise than
rather vaguely on the subject of the efficiency of municipalities, since they
vary so very much in this respect, as well as in their several conditions
and needs. Take Calcutta, for instance, a city which contains, say,
600,000 inhabitants, besides the inhabitants of the municipalities which
border it. There we have a numerous and highly intelligent European
population, as well as the leaders of native society, even many of those
whose land and estates lie far away; and there are many professional
people—pleaders, doctors, and other educated and intelligent men. So,
obviously, in such a place you have the personnel required for efficient
Commissioners. And beyond doubt in Calcutta an enormous amount of
valuable work has been done during some forty years for which I have
known that city. The people who left it at the time when I first arrived
there would hardly know it now. If you take the country municipalities,
there are some of them which are the headquarters of districts or divisions.
There also you find a certain number, varying in different places, of in
telligent and well-educated people. Again, you find small municipalities
in which you have merely the local inhabitants to depend upon. Amongst
these different classes, again, you find many varieties. Obviously, then,
it is difficult to say broadly whether municipalities are efficient or not. I
think it may be said that some are very efficient; others, the great bulk,
fairly so; and some few are inefficient. In the smaller municipalities
one thing which sometimes tends towards inefficiency in Bengal is the
prevalence occasionally of what they call in Bengal dald-dah, or the party
spirit. Small municipalities, as a rule, are at some distance from the
official headquarters, and they want the guidance that an official chairman
could give them. In judging of municipalities in India, as well as in
forming other judgments regarding India, I cannot help thinking that
sometimes we are apt to raise rather too high a standard. (Hear, hear.)
I think when we see defects—real defects, it is true—we are apt to regard
them as peculiar to the race, or to the place where we find them. We
need go no further than this very great city itself to find serious defects.
For instance, what do we see every day when we travel half a mile ? 1 he
roads half up, and blocks, and stagnation. This is as large a defect in
city administration as one can find even in the worst-managed municipality
in India. The next matter I would notice is Mr. Rogers’ recommenda
tion that encouragement should be given to active and conscientious
members of the municipalities. I quite agree with this. In Bengal the
suggestion has been anticipated to a very considerable extent, for meri
torious service is appreciated and acknowledged. In those remarks which
have been quoted from Sir Mackworth Young, I notice it is said that at
times little interest is shown at municipal elections. I know when I was
in India, whenever there was little or no competition for seats on municipal