The British administration in India was long purely that of a military government, and the entire policy necessarily conformed to military necessities. Only towards the middle of the 19th century has the condition of the country permitted its British rulers to throw the energy of the govern ment into the path of peaceful development of its resources. The East India Company had governed the country on the simple terms of cheapness and non-intervention. But India has since taken its character from British rule, and has expressed a more positive policy than before. Great improve ments in the laws have been made ; moreeconomical justice, more extended education, increased irriga tion works, and larger appliances of European capital and energy to the undeveloped resources of the country. The prominent .Secretaries of State for India have been Lord Stanley, Sir Charles Wood (Lord Halifax), Earl de Grey, Vis count Cranborne, Sir Stafford Northcote, Duke of Argyll, Marquis of Salisbury, Marquis of Har tington.
British India since 1860 has been subdivided into local administrations: Assam, Bengal, Bom bay, British Burma, Central Provinces, Madras, N.W. Provinces and Oudh, Panjab. Bernr is temporarily assigned. The Government of India has retained direct control over Ajmir, Berar, the Andaman islands, Nicobar islands, Coorg, the provinces of Central India and Bundelkhand, also over the political relations with Baroda, Hyder abad, Manipur, and Rajputana, and with the princes and tribes on the borders; all these are supervised by a Viceroy and Governor-General in Council. But the presidencies of Madras and Bombay, each with a Governor, Commander-in chief, and a Council composed of officials, are in direct correspondence witr the Secretary of State as well as under the Governor-General. Berar is administered for the nizam of Hyderabad. The provinces are administered by a covenanted civil service, an uncovenanted civil service, and military officers of the staff corps in civil employ. Each pro vince is subdivided into zillahs or districts, under collector-magistrates or deputy collectors and commissioners, with joint, deputy, and assistant magistrates. In the Bengal Presidency, these districts are in most cases grouped into divisions, each under a commissioner, supervised by a revenue board or financial commissioner. In Great Britain, counties average 1000 square miles in extent. In India, the total number of Districts is about 238. They vary greatly in size and number of inhabitants. The average area is 3778 square miles, ranging from 6612 square miles in Madras to 1999 square miles in Oudh.
The average population' is 802,927 souls, similarly ranging from 1,508,219 in Madras to 161,597 in Burma. In Bombay there are two revenue com missioners, between whom the superintendence of the collectorates are divided. These revenue com missioners correspond immediately with Govern ment, and are also police commissioners of their divisions.
Madras, Bombay, and Bengal have each a Legislative Council, as well as a High Court of Judicature. These Councils, as well as the Legis lative Council of the Governor-General, consist of executive members of Government, of two repre sentatives of the . British mercantile community, and two or three representatives of the natives, as extraordinary members. The United North-West ern Provinces and Oudh have a High Court, and the Panjab a Chief Court. The Governor-General's Council for making laws, legislates for all India in general, and for the provinces which have no legis latures of their own, in detail, these provinces being represented by officials: Every Act of the three subordinate councils must receive the sanc tion of the Governor-General before it can become law • and the Secretary of state for India may advise Her Majesty to veto any act of the Go vernor-General s Council.
The following may be accepted as representing the portions of India governed directly by British officials, and those administered indirectly through native chiefs with subsidiary sovereign powers:— British, . . Sq. in. 902,500 Pop. 191,411,434 Feudatory, . . „ 575,263 „ 49,096,627 With the increase of empire, the Governor General's Council had become overburdened with details, and Lord William Bentinck, Sir Charles (Lord) Metcalfe, Lord- Dalhousie, and Mr. Bayley had advised that there should be for all India.
one Governor-General, one Supreme Executive Council, one Legislative Council, and one Com mander-in-Chief, with four subordinate generals under lieutenant-governors, each with a council or board and four lieutenant-generals, and that details should be left to the local governments. These views, somewhat modified, are being gra dually given effect to. In 1853 the Governor General ceased to exercise any more direct supervi sion over Lower Bengal than over the rest of India. In 1874 Assam was separated from Bengal and made into a chief commissionership ; and in 1877 Oudh and the N.W. Provinces were amalgamated, under a lieutenant-governor. In 1882 there is one Commander-in-Chief of all India,who specially attends to the Bengal army and European corps, with Commanders - in - Chief of the Madras and Bombay Presidencies, all of whom have seats in Council.