| Description | William thinks this is his fourth letter to John's [?] one. He is writing on New Year's Day and he has been making an inventory of his things to sell. He has his promotion 'with a little pat of butter on it'. He was angry at not being confirmed as officiating Magistrate at Shahabad and he is to be Magistrate and Collector at Nuddea in consequence of his 'excellent service'. He explains why he values this promotion, but thinks that the union of the two office, Magistrate and Collector, is a retrograde step. Magistrates who have been passed over in the new system are 'jealous as dogs over a bone'. Like William, Grant is also against the scheme but there are orders from home to combine the offices, leaving the details to those in India. The new post will be difficult, since at 27 years, William is himself still a 'boy Magistrate'. Nuddea is a district where planters have set up many factories and have carried out the usual amount of oppression. Magistrates have been acting in a partial maner, favouring Europeans over Indians. The Mutiny shook the faith of many Magistrates in Indian honesty and many judges think themselves justified in supporting Europeans in any event. A few are influenced by the 'howl' when a European is punished. This has happened to William, but he cares little about it. Nuddea is very lax, with officials shutting their eyes to offences committed by planters. Grant has called for reports on the propriety of retaining some of them in the service, vowing to see justice done between planters and Indians. The planters have published a denial of charges laid against them and there is much bad blood. William lists four points he will bear in mind in such dealings. He thinks that John [?] will not see native public opinion so easily in the Punjab. In a postscript, William comments that the letter appears to suggest that he will 'pound the planters', and that is his intention, but not more so than their adversaries. In looking at his own cases, he finds that he has punished Indians more often than Europeans; but he does not believe that although Europeans are often right, they are always right. |