| Description | William gives an account of his promotion to the office of Magistrate and Collector of Nuddea [Nadia] in Lower Bengal, which is considered a favour. William did not ask for it and could do nothing other than thank the Lieutenant Governor for it. Lushington wrote that it was in recognition of his excellent services in Shahabad. The two offices combined is a new system and the workload a heavy one; he has sent a more detailed note to Johnny [John Herschel], stating that it is against his own notion of government. He believes that the new post owes much to his conduct in cases where Europeans have been involved and Grant has been issuing reproofs to some of the officials of Nuddea. William is unsure when he will start, likely the middle of the month. He will be near old friends and within six hours of Calcutta [Kolkata]. He relates his activities at Christmas, at Sasseram, giving an account of the musical Morgan family, Captain Harvey a young veteran of the Crimea, and others. William notes his own interests in the concertina and in Horace. He hopes to have English letters soon, with good accounts of Looey [Margaret Louisa Herschel]. He is glad that a stand is being taken at home against 'the pretensions of the European population of India'. He thinks that settlers should be encouraged, but without favours in the distribution of land. Men should not be exempted from the control of the law, and to plunder, which is the present position in India. William gives an example of how an Indian was detained unlawfully but would not bring a charge against the European concerned, so sure was he that any defence would have been accepted as true and the case dismissed. William discusses the justice system and notes that the villagers of Nuddea have petitioned the government directly on the subject. The post just in informs William that he may have to officiate as Magistrate for a month or two as the resident Collector is thinking of leaving the country altogether, and his wishes may be met to an extent. |