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In my last chapter I gave a description of Mysore and its waterfalls. In the present chapter I purpose very briefly remarking on its history, government, and representative assembly, and shall conclude by contrasting the last with the so-called National Indian Congress.

In his Report of December, 1804, the Acting Resident of Mysore, Colonel Mark Wilks, observed that "the territories composing the present dominion of His Highness the Rajah of Mysore had, from the remotest periods of tradition, been held by a number of polygars and petty Rajahs, whose possessions were incessantly enlarged, diminished, or alienated, by a series of revolutions which it would perhaps be impossible to trace, and unprofitable to describe," and it is interesting to note how little, at that time, seems to have been known about the history of the kingdoms we conquered. But all doubts as to the early history of Mysore have now been removed, and the reader will find in Mr. Rice's admirable gazetteer of Mysore a minute history of the country accompanied by coloured maps which show at a glance the numerous transitions which the territories now comprised under the head of Mysore have undergone in former times, but as I think that it would certainly be unprofitable to describe these transitions here I shall content myself with a bare enumeration of those leading facts which are necessary for a general comprehension of the situation. All, then, that the reader requires to know is, that a line of Hindoo Rajahs which once reigned over a very limited portion of Mysore gradually acquired about half of it; that a descendant of their line was set aside by the Mahometan usurper Hyder Ali (an able soldier of fortune, who had risen to the chief command of the army); that he conquered the remainder of the present territory and ruled it from 1761 to 1782; and that after his death he was succeeded by his son Sultan Tippoo, who on May 4th, 1799, lost his life at Seringapatam, and with it all the territories acquired by his father, thereby fulfilling what Hyder Ali said when he observed to his son one day, "I was born to win and you were born to lose an empire." The subsequent history of the province is soon told. After the fall of Seringapatam it was resolved to place a descendant of the old Hindoo line on the throne, and Krishna Rajah Wodeyar—then about five years old, became Maharajah of Mysore, with Purnaiya (formerly prime minister of Tippoo) as Dewan and Regent, and Colonel (afterwards Sir Barry) Close as Resident, while Colonel Arthur Wellesley (afterwards Duke of Wellington) commanded the division. Under the new Government all at first went well, and in 1804 the Governor-General declared that during the past five years "the affairs of the Government of Mysore had been conducted with a degree of regularity, wisdom, discretion and justice unparalleled in any native state in India." But, unfortunately for himself and his subjects, the Maharajah, in 1811, began to rule, and Purnaiya, the able prime minister, retired, and soon afterwards died. Then followed a long period of misgovernment, which culminated in the insurrection of 1830, to put down which the aid of British troops had to be called in. A formal inquiry was then made by the British Government, and the result of this was that it was determined to transfer the entire administration to British officers, and put the Maharajah on an allowance for his personal expenditure. At first two commissioners were appointed to administer the government, but this was found to be inconvenient, and in April, 1834, Colonel (afterwards Sir Mark) Cubbon was appointed as sole commissioner for the province. He occupied the post till February, 1861, when he retired, and when on his way home died at Suez at about seventy-seven years of age, having spent the whole of the previous years of the century in India. He was succeeded by other able commissioners, and nothing of any political importance happened in the province till June, 1865, when the Maharajah adopted as his heir a scion of one of the leading families of his house. It was for some time doubtful whether the Government would recognize the adoption, as, after the death of the Maharajah, it had been generally assumed that the province would be annexed, but in April, 1867, the Home Government decided that it should be recognized, and on September 23rd, 1868, six months after the death of Krishna Rajah, his adopted son, Chama Rajendra Wodeyar Bahadur, at that time between five and six years old, was duly installed at Mysore, and it was then decided that the country should remain under British administration till the Maharajah came of age. His Highness attained his majority at the age of eighteen, on the 5th of March, 1881, and was formally installed on the throne on the 25th of that month, and thus the province, after having been directly administered by the British for almost exactly fifty years, was handed over, not as we shall afterwards see, to native rule, but to native administration.

And here a rather interesting question naturally arises. How was such a change—one quite unique in the history of India—received by the inhabitants of the country? So far as the planters (of whom I am one of the oldest, having settled in the province in 1855) are concerned, I do not think they have been in the slightest degree affected. They were all well satisfied with the English administration, and I think they are equally well satisfied with the present native administration. In fact, there is no change perceptible, except that the criminal administration, has somewhat fallen off, and it certainly has been occasionally found that an answer from a native official sometimes resembles death—you think it is never coming and then it comes when least expected. But I must confess that, as regards answers to communications, I have heard of similar complaints made by the former Mysore Government against the Supreme Government, and of a like complaint made by the latter against the Home Government. But, though the change was regarded with indifference by the settlers in the province, and was indeed of obvious advantage to them, as there is no income-tax, and the finances are flourishing, it was not at all acceptable to the native population in general, and the native officials were quite aware that the new administration was not popular. I made frequent inquiries as to the cause of this, not only from natives in my own neighbourhood, but from those I met when travelling by easy stages from the Gairsoppa Falls in the north-western corner of the province to my estates in Southern Mysore, and found that the universal complaint was that there was a want of Daryápti, or active inquiry into grievances, and one of my old native neighbours was loud in his praises of the palmy days of Sir Mark Cubbon. I confess, however, that though there may have been some grounds for complaint as regards "inquiry," owing to the greater zeal and personal activity of Englishmen, I do not think that there were any real grounds for dissatisfaction, and feel sure that the unpopularity of the new administration was owing partly to the fact of the country, at the time of the rendition, not being in a very prosperous condition, partly to the strong conservative instincts of the natives, and partly, perhaps, to their being under some apprehension that the abuses of the old native government might possibly be revived. But, however that may be, from inquiries made when last in India, and especially from the absence of any reference to the subject in the many conversations I had with natives of all classes, I believe that the unpopularity of the new administration, which at first undoubtedly existed, has now quite passed away.

It may be as well to mention here that, though the administration is now a native one, there are still, in the Mysore service, about thirty-five Englishmen in the various departments of the State, and that the most friendly relations exist between them and the native officials. I feel sure, too, that the value of an admixture of Englishmen in the administration is fully recognized by the native officials. As regards brain power they equal Englishmen, and indeed are often superior to them, but the classes from which the native officials are mainly drawn are, as a rule, deficient in that physical vigour which is required for executive work, as one of the native officials, who himself was an exception to the rule, once told me, "and therefore," he added, "we must have an admixture of natives and Europeans in the service." I must, however, observe that, though his remark is true as regards the Brahminical classes from which the officials are mainly taken, I think it probable that, when education spreads, there will ultimately be found amongst the hardy peasantry of Mysore a fair proportion of individuals who will have a sufficient degree of physical vigour for executive work. In confirmation of the remark I have made as to the want of executive vigour on the part of native officials, a defect which would be equally apparent in us were our energy not kept up by fresh importations from home, I may mention that, under the new regime, there has been a distinct falling off in the up-keep of roads, and in the detection of crime.

In connection with this subject I may make a passing remark on a point which has not hitherto been noticed, so far as I am aware, by previous writers. It has constantly been asserted by natives that we have not kept faith with them as regards opening to them many appointments in the public service which are at present reserved for Englishmen. I would call attention to the fact that one of the passages so often quoted contains really no general promise of employment. This passage—taken from a clause in the East India Act, passed in Parliament, 1833—merely says "That no native of the said territories, nor any natural born subject of his majesty resident therein, shall by reason only of his religion, place of birth, descent, colour, or any of them, be disabled from holding any place, office, or employment under the said company." "By reason only." Yes, but this does not bar disqualification for other reasons, as for instance the want of physical vigour to which I have alluded. Then mark the careful limitation contained in the often quoted passage from the Queen's proclamation of 1858, which sets forth that "It is our further will, that, as far as may be, our subjects, of whatever race or creed, be freely and impartially admitted to office in our service, the duties of which they may be qualified, by their education, ability and integrity, duly to discharge." But natives have not, generally speaking, the ability to discharge executive duties requiring much physical vigour, and no one is more ready to admit that than the best among the natives. But besides executive efficiency there is the fact that the mere sight of the zeal, energy, and general interest in progress exhibited by the English is to the natives around them an education worth all the book instruction we have imported into India. We cannot have too much of this leavening element, and the effects of it are everywhere apparent. It is extremely striking in the coffee districts, where many native planters have been, much improved as regards go, and a desire to adopt improvements, since Europeans have settled more freely amongst them.

But it is time now to turn to the subject of the constitution of Mysore—a subject which, I need hardly say, is of the greatest practical importance to those who hold, or may think of acquiring, property in the province.

The Instrument of Transfer, then, as it is officially called, by which Mysore was made over to native administration on the 25th of March, 1881, begins by declaring the installation of the Maharajah and his power to rule under certain general conditions, which are—(1) That the Maharajah and those who are to succeed him in the manner hereinafter provided, are to hold possession of and administer the province as long as they fulfil the conditions laid down in the Instrument of Transfer; that (2) the succession should devolve on the Maharajah's lineal descendant, whether by blood or adoption, except in the case of disqualification through manifest unfitness to rule; and that (3) the Maharajah and his successors shall at all times remain faithful in allegiance and subordination to the British Crown, and perform all the duties which, in virtue of such allegiance and subordination, may be demanded of them. Then follow clauses with reference to the subsidy to be paid to the British Government for protecting and defending the province, military stipulations, foreign relations, coinage, railways and telegraphs, and extradition, and as regards the last, it is declared that plenary jurisdiction over European British subjects in Mysore shall continue to be invested in the Governor-General in Council, and that the Maharajah of Mysore shall only exercise such jurisdiction in respect to European British subjects as may from time to time be delegated to him by the Viceroy. Then with reference to "Laws and Settlements," it is declared that those in existence at the time of the transfer must be maintained, and that the Maharajah of Mysore "shall not repeal or modify such laws, or pass any laws or rules inconsistent therewith," and that no material change in the system of administration as established previous to the date of the transfer shall be made without the consent of the Viceroy. And finally, under this head, it is declared that all title-deeds granted, and all settlements of land revenues in force on March 25th, 1881 (the date of the transfer), shall be maintained, excepting so far as they may be rescinded or modified either by a competent court of law or with the consent of the Governor-General in Council. Lastly, under the heading of "British Relations," it is declared that "the Maharajah of Mysore shall at all times conform to such advice as the Governor-General in Council may offer him with a view to the management of the finances, the settlement and collection of the revenues, the imposition of taxes, the administration of justice, the extension of commerce, the encouragement of trade, agriculture, and industry, and any other objects connected with His Highness's interests, the happiness of his subjects, and his relations to the British Government." And, "In the event of the breach or non-observance of any of the foregoing conditions," the Governor-General may resume possession of Mysore and administer it as he thinks fit. Such, then, is a brief summary of the Constitution of Mysore; and it is most necessary to dwell on it with some degree of minuteness in order to show those Englishmen who are interested in Mysore, or who may be desirous of settling there, that they and their possessions in that country are as practically under British rule as they would be in any part of British India.

I have previously pointed out that there is no income-tax in Mysore. I have also alluded to the fact that, as the finances are in a flourishing condition, and, beyond the subsidy annually levied, are free from any obligation to contribute to the general expenditure of British India, there are ample and certain means available for developing the resources of the country. And that these means shall be devoted to that end exclusively, I would call particular attention to the fact that it has been laid down by the British Government that, after deducting the amount set apart annually for the personal expenses of the Maharajah, the remaining revenues of the province are to be spent on public purposes only, under a regular system of an annual budget appropriation, and the proper accounting for such expenditure. So that, taking all the circumstances into consideration, it is clear that the settlers in Mysore have advantages over any other settlers in India. The taxes they pay on their lands are fixed and most moderate in amount, they have every security that capital can enjoy, and they are living in a country which, after an ample expenditure on public works of all kinds, has an ample annual surplus. But, besides those circumstances, the settlers in the province, and the inhabitants as well, have another advantage which must by no means be lost sight of, for Mysore has a Representative Assembly, which sits once a year, and which affords a ready means for publicly ventilating any grievance, or making known any want which may be felt by the community; and as there is no institution exactly like it in the world, I propose to describe the constitution of the Assembly and its proceedings with some degree of minuteness.

The Mysore Representative Assembly, then, which was originated by Mr. Rungacharlu, the first Prime Minister of Mysore, was inaugurated on the 25th of August, 1881, or about five months after the accession of the Maharajah, by the following notification:

"His Highness the Maharajah is desirous that the views and objects which his Government has in view in the measures adopted for the administration of the Province should be better known and appreciated by the people for whose benefit they are intended, and he is of opinion that a beginning towards the attainment of that object may he made by an annual meeting of the representative landholders and merchants from all parts of the Province, before whom the Dewan will place the results of the past year's administration, and a programme of what is intended to be carried out in the coming year. Such an arrangement, by bringing the people into immediate connection with the Government, would serve to remove from their minds any misapprehension as regards the views and action of the Government, and would convince them that the interests of the Government are identical with those of the people.

"The annual meeting will be conveniently held at Mysore immediately after the close of the Dassara festival, which occasion will offer an additional inducement to those invited to attend the meeting. For the present the Local Fund Boards of the several districts will be asked to select from amongst themselves and others of the district the persons who are to be deputed to represent their respective districts at the meeting. In order to represent the landed interests of all the Talooks (counties), as well as the interests of trade, there should be sent one or two cultivating landholders from each Talook, possessed of general influence and information amongst the people, and three or four leading merchants for the district generally. A list of them should be sent beforehand to this office, in order to arrange for their accommodation in Mysore. They may be allowed a small sum from the local funds to meet the actual expenses of their travelling."

The Assembly thus constituted was, as will have been perceived at a glance, a purely consultative body, and had no power whatever except (and a highly important exception it is) that of publicly stating to the rulers of the country all the grievances and wants of the people. The only institution that I can hear of that at all resembles it is the Egyptian General Assembly of the Legislative Council, but that, though a consultative, and not at all a law-making body, has the power of putting a veto on any new tax proposed by the Government. In constitution, too, it differs widely from the Mysore Assembly, as the ministers have seats in it, while in Mysore no Government official can be a member of the Assembly. I may mention here that the Egyptian Assembly was initiated by Lord Dufferin in May, 1883, and I would refer those interested in the creation of representative institutions to his Report, No. 6 (1883), and to the Report on Egypt, No. 3 (1892), by Sir Evelyn Baring (now Lord Cromer), both being Blue Books presented to the Houses of Parliament. It is interesting to note here that whereas Lord Dufferin took the first step in the direction of representative institutions by uniting, in the same assembly, Government officials, and members elected on the broad basis of manhood suffrage, the native statesman began by carefully excluding the officials, and allowing only the middle and upper classes to have anything to do with the Assembly.

The first meeting of the Mysore Representative Assembly took place on October 7th, 1881, when 144 members attended. The Dewan first of all read the annual report on the administration of the province, and after that the members were called up in succession and asked to state their grievances and wants. At the end of the session the Dewan's annual statement, or report, and an account of the proceedings of the Assembly, are printed in English and in Kanarese.

The Assembly, as we have seen, consisted of members partly appointed by the Local Fund Boards, and partly of members nominated through the agency of Government officials, but at the conclusion of the Dewan's address of October 28th, 1890, an important change in the constitution of the Assembly was announced, and a new body of rules was issued. By these all members were in future to be elected, and the qualifications entitling a man to vote for, or be elected a member for a county (talook), were (1) the payment of land revenues, a house and shop tax to the amount specified in the schedule^[11] for each county; (2) the ownership of land to the value of 500 rupees a year, accompanied with residence in the county; and (3) any resident in a county who is a graduate of any Indian university is declared to be a duly qualified person. Those so qualified were to meet on a certain day, of which a month's notice was to be given, and elect members from amongst themselves. 212 members from the counties were to be thus elected. The cities of Bangalore and Mysore return four members each, and these must either pay a house or shop tax of twenty-four rupees, or be a graduate of any Indian university; the nine Local Fund Boards return two members each; the eighty-nine municipalities one for each municipality, and associations representing approved public interests, and of not less than 100 members, and also associations of smaller numbers, but recognized by Government—as for instance the Planters' Associations—may depute one member each, and the total of all the members is estimated at 351. By Rule 6 it is declared that "As the object of the Assembly is to elicit non-official public opinion, no person holding a salaried appointment under Government shall vote for, or be returned as, a member of the Assembly." By Rule 7, each member is to prepare and forward to the deputy commissioner a memo describing seriatim the representations and suggestions he may desire to make at the meeting of the Assembly; and by Rule 9 the memoranda are to be forwarded, with the deputy-commissioner's remarks, to the Chief Secretary to Government. By Rule 10 all the members are to hold a formal meeting at Mysore not less than three days before the meeting of the Assembly, and should they decide at this preliminary meeting to bring forward at the Assembly any subjects not mentioned in the memoranda previously sent in by members, a supplemental list of such subjects must be sent in to the Chief Secretary.

When announcing the adoption of these new rules, the Dewan alluded to the fact that the constitution now given did not insure a full popular representation, and stated that numerous practical difficulties stood in the way of widening the representation. Finally he concluded by observing that, "It is His Highness' sincere hope that the privilege he has now been pleased to grant will be exercised to the fullest extent, and in the most beneficial manner possible, and that it will be so appreciated by all as to enable His Highness gradually to enlarge the circle of electors, so as to give wider effect to the principle of representation in the constitution of this Assembly."

To this, the first elected Assembly that ever sat in India, I was returned as representative of the South Mysore Planters' Association. On the 11th I proceeded to the city of Mysore, and on the 12th of October, 1891, attended the preliminary meeting of members, which was held in the Rungacharlu Memorial Hall—a fine building with a large hall, which has a wide daïs at one end, and a, very wide gallery running along three sides of the hall. The meeting was held at 8 a.m. in the body of the hall, where I found that a considerable body of people, who I presume were mostly representatives, were present. The hall was arranged with benches, very much as most modern churches are, and just below the daïs was a long table with chairs on one side of it. It was proposed that I, the only European present, should take the chair, and I accordingly did so, being supported on either hand by two members who had a fluent command of English, and what was of more importance to me, of Kanarese, for, though I had a colloquial knowledge of that language, I had not such a command of it as was necessary for satisfactory public speaking. I accordingly read out in English (which a certain number of the audience knew) each, measure I proposed, and then informed the audience in Kanarese that one of the members would explain the subject in that language, and I found that this arrangement answered all practical purposes. The following measures had been drawn up by me previously in Bangalore after consultation with some leading members of the Assembly, and were printed and circulated amongst the members present, and it may not be uninteresting to give some of them here.

The first point taken up related to measures for the prevention of famine, and, after some discussion, four proposals were unanimously agreed to, all of them for the promotion of the digging of wells either by private enterprise or through the agency of the State. The next point related to fuel and fodder reserves, which it was agreed should be established on the lands of all villages, or near all villages, wherever land suitable for the purpose could be found. We then turned to a bill I had laid on the table with reference to advances to labourers—an important and difficult subject—when it was agreed that it should be referred to the Planters' Association for consideration. An amendment on the waste land rules for planting trees for timber and fuel was then considered and agreed to. After this it was resolved that a Government agricultural chemist Ought to be appointed, who would be competent to advise on agricultural practice, cattle disease, etc., and give lectures on such subjects. We then took up the subject of British interference with proposed irrigation works in Mysore, and resolved that the Mysoreans should be allowed to have the full use of the water of Mysore for irrigation purposes, and be free from any interference as long as the water, or what is left of it, is returned to its original channel. The subject of extradition was next considered, when the representatives resolved that (1) complete reciprocity should be granted between British and Mysore territory as regards warrants, and (2) that British jurisdiction over railways in Mysore should be given up, or at least as regards all matters of theft. It was next decided that at the close of the session the representatives should continue in office till new members were elected. After this it was agreed that Government agricultural banks should be introduced. Then the representatives, having sat for about four hours, adjourned till the following day.

On the 13th we met again accordingly at 8 a.m., and on this occasion sat in the gallery, which was quite wide enough to accommodate the members. It was proposed that I should take the chair, and I did so, and opened the proceedings by introducing rules to regulate the discussion. These were that the introducer of a proposed measure should be allowed ten, and a discusser five minutes; that no one should interrupt or rise to speak before the previous speaker had sat down, and that a discusser could only be heard once. These rules were agreed to, and I found the last two of great advantage in managing the proceedings. The first two, I was glad to find, were hardly necessary, as anything in the shape of the British, or, worse still, the Irish wind-bag, did not appear to exist amongst the members.

The next subject taken up was that of organization, and on the assumption that the Government would grant our prayer that the present members should not be dismissed at the end of the session, but should continue to be representatives till their successors were elected, it was resolved that there should be a standing central committee of the Assembly, and also district and county committees, and it was agreed that the first should consist of twenty-two members—for Bangalore and Mysore city six members each, one from each district, and one from each coffee planters' association. Seven members to constitute a quorum. The district committees were to consist of one from each county, and two from the head-quarters of the district, five being a quorum, and the county committees of three members. We then agreed to the members who were to form the central committee and district committees, and, after that, that the Maharajah should be formally thanked for his action on his part as regards the Assembly, and that it should be prayed that the measures now asked for might be granted. And finally, it was arranged that the standing central committee should draw up an address to the Maharajah, embodying the views and wishes of the representatives.

The meeting terminated at about 11 a.m., and immediately afterwards the central committee sat upstairs in a room at an angle of the building, when I was appointed chairman. We first took up the question of funds, and I suggested that each member of the Assembly should subscribe one rupee. This was agreed to, and I at once put a rupee on the table, and presently there were about fifteen added, and a list was made out of those who had paid. We then agreed that an address should be presented to the Maharajah after the termination of the meetings of the Assembly, and afterwards it was arranged that Mr. C. Rangiengar, B.A., Advocate, Mysore, should be secretary to the central committee, spend the funds at his discretion for printing and advertising, and render an account once a year.

The next day was a dies non as regards the Representative Assembly, but by no means so as regards the Rungacharlu Hall, which at eight in the morning presented a most interesting appearance, being filled with a large assemblage of native ladies who had met together to witness the giving of the prizes to the lady students of the Maharanee's College. The Maharajah presided on the occasion. Besides prizes for educational proficiency, there were others for music and singing, and the winners of these played and sang on a platform below, on one side of the daïs. One of the musicians, a tastefully-dressed young lady of thirteen, was a granddaughter of Mr. Rungacharlu, the first Prime Minister of Mysore. One of the prize-takers was a widow—plainly dressed as widows should be—and as she came forward there was a loud clapping of hands from the women spectators in the gallery. I found, on inquiry, that the reason of this demonstration was that she had lately given a lecture which had been much appreciated by the students. I have no space to give an account of the proceedings, though I hope to do so on some future occasion, and can only say that a more interesting and picturesque assemblage it would be difficult to imagine.

On the day following, October 15th, the Assembly was formally opened at twelve, when the Dewan presided at a table on the raised platform. He was backed and flanked by the principal European and native officers of State, while on his right sat Sir Harry Prendergast, V.C., the Resident at the Court of Mysore. The English representatives, five in all, one of them representing the gold mining interests of the province, had seats on the platform, and so had as many representatives as there was room for. The remainder occupied the body of the hall. The Dewan then opened the tenth annual meeting of the Representative Assembly of Mysore, by reading the already printed annual administration Report of the Province, and it may not be uninteresting to quote the opening sentences of it: