In his will of April 1586, City of London mercer Peter Symonds made a number of charitable bequests. Amongst these was a yearly sum to provide raisins as a Good Friday treat for children from Christ's Hospital school.
Symonds stipulated that on Good Friday, for ever, 60 children from Christ's Hospital should attend a morning service at All Hallows Church in Lombard Street. There they would receive 30 shillings for the school. In addition the sum of 3s 4d was to be spent on 'good' raisins. Each Blue Coat boy was to be given a 60th share of these raisins wrapped in paper. Symonds wrote that 'although this gifte maie be thoughte very frivolous yet my minde and meaning being hidden maie notwithstanding be performed, praying God to make all those children happie members in this commonwealthe'.
Sing for a penny, and chant for a plum'.
This ceremony took place for over 300 years. Then the Charity Commissioners put an end to the custom by repurposing the funds. The last distribution of Symonds' gift took place in 1891 when each boy was also given a bun, an orange, and an Easter card.
A file in the collections of the Board of Control, part of the India Office Records, gives some brief but fascinating details of those living in the former Indian Princely State of Colaba which had come under British control in the 1840s. On annexing the territory from the ruling Angria family, British officials faced the responsibility for the financial maintenance of members of the Angria family, their dependants, and those who had loyally served the Colaba State.
The file contains lists of persons who had received a pension under the previous rulers and those newly recommended for a life pension due to their past service. The recommendations were submitted to the Bombay Government by I M Davies, Political Superintendent of Colaba.
• Luxumon bin Baboo Meetbhowkur, aged 13: This boy's father was accidentally blown from a gun at the marriage of one of the Chief's daughters in March 1840. His son was pensioned, and was in the receipt of 2½ rupees monthly when the State was attached.
• Tsanag Dubboo, alias Dzomaee, aged 70: Widow of an old servant in the 'Armarr', or department of vessels. Has received an allowance for many years, in consequence of the death of her son caused by falling off the Flag Staff in the Fort of Colaba.
• Annundrow bin Crishnarow Dhoolup, aged 36: A great grandson of the famous Mahratta Admiral, Dhoolup. Received a pension from the Chief, Raghojee Angria in 1836/37. He resides at Viziadroog and is a very respectable person.
• Wasdeo Babjee Pitkur, Pooranick, aged 70: A servant of the late State, of upwards of 40 years standing. He accompanied Baboorow Angria in Hindustan from 1805 to 1812 and has since resided at Alibagh, where he was entrusted with the duties of Officer of the Adawlut. Under the Political Superintendent he has been employed in the same capacity and is one of the Assessors of the Superintendent's Court. He enjoyed a liberal maintenance under the late State.
• Appajee Bajee, aged 75: Served as a Puntojee, or teacher, in the Chief's family for upwards of 40 years. He has for some years past been dependent upon the charity of the Ranees. It is recommended that a pension of 5 rupees per mensem be assigned to him.
• Manajee bin Luxman Lar, aged 45: An old Shingara, or horn blower. He lost his eye sight from smallpox and was 8 years employed in the Artificer's shop as bellowsman. He received in that employment 8 annas per mensem and 1½ maund of bhat. Being very destitute I beg to recommend that he be allowed a pension of 1½ rupees per mensem during his life.
• Sheik Ismael Gohundaz, aged 100: An old sepoy who has served the State upwards of 70 years. He is still borne upon the books as a sepoy of Saughurgur Fort where he has been for upwards of 40 years. I beg to recommend that a pension of 3½ rupees per mensem be allowed to him during the remainder of his life.
In submitting his recommendations, Davies assured the Bombay Government that he had been as frugal as he had been able to suggest.
One of the joys of cataloguing an archive is that you never know what you might find. At the beginning of this new tax year, we take a look at an unusual item found in the papers of Charles Canning, Governor General and Viceroy of India.
It can't be common to find a document in favour of taxation, let alone a poem singing the praises of a new Income Tax. It becomes an even more astonishing find when that poem is written in Bengali and the author is identified as a fourteen year old schoolboy. The poem and its translation are found amongst letters written to Governor General Charles Canning by Sir Henry Bartle Frere, Member of the Council of India. It was originally sent to Frere by the Scottish missionary Dr Alexander Duff. Duff had founded the General Assembly's Institution, later the Free Church Institution in 1830, with the aim of offering English language based education to middle and upper class Indians. The Free Church Institution was affiliated with the University of Calcutta soon after its establishment in 1857.
Frere writes that the poem's author, Bejoy Nath Roy is "rather famous in the School of the Free Kirk Institute as a writer of occasional poems" and that the boy's Master was "struck by the singular subject he had chosen". According to the translation, Bejoy Nath Roy writes "The Government wet with the dew of mercy incurred debt only for the good of India" ... "Let no-one grudge therefore to pay the tax". He uses the metaphor of the Government as a physician curing the nation, and having affected a cure, demands payment for services rendered.
What happened in India in 1860 to inspire such words? The country had spent the years 1857 and 1858 in the turmoil of the uprising known as the Indian Mutiny. Indian finances had been in a parlous state even before the rebellion, but with the need for extra military expenditure, the deficit increased. The economist James Wilson was appointed as a financial member of Council of India in 1859. His plans to reform India's financial structures included a new Income Tax, as well as an adjustment to Customs Duties, a License Tax for traders, and a new paper currency. Wilson's plans caused consternation in some quarters. Sir Charles Trevelyan's outright hostility to the tax led to his recall back to England. And the extent of the dreaded Income Tax? A two percent levy on incomes between 200 and 500 rupees, and four percent above that. In little over a year, and with the support of the Governor General, Wilson managed to lay the foundations of improved financial planning, budgeting and auditing, so much so that India's deficit had been reversed by 1862-63. Wilson did not see it, he died of dysentery in August 1860.
The poem is a snapshot, shedding light on an unusual poetic subject. Perhaps though it says less about attitudes to taxation and more gives us a glimpse of the 19th century Western education system within India, whereby particular attitudes towards the British and British administration were promulgated within schools.
And if anyone is aware what happened to aspiring poet Bejoy Nath Roy, please do let us know.
We recently acquired a little book with strong ties to Cornish trade and smuggling in the 18th century. Money of England, reduced into money of Portugal was printed in the sea port of Falmouth, Cornwall, in 1787. It is a pocket-sized book of tables and calculations of the rates of exchange between Portugal and England, together with conversion tables for measures of cloth, wine and corn, and weights – indispensable for the merchants and sailors involved in Falmouth's lucrative trade network, clandestine or otherwise, wanting a fair price for their goods.
"Falmouth is well built, has abundance of shipping belonging to it, is full of rich merchants, and has a flourishing and increasing trade. I say 'increasing,' because by the late setting up the English packets between this port and Lisbon, there is a new commerce between Portugal and this town carried on to a very great value. It is true, part of this trade was founded in a clandestine commerce carried on by the said packets at Lisbon, where, being the king's ships, and claiming the privilege of not being searched or visited by the Custom House officers, they found means to carry off great quantities of British manufactures, which they sold on board to the Portuguese merchants, and they conveyed them on shore, as it is supposed, without paying custom. But the Government there getting intelligence of it … that trade has been effectually stopped. But the Falmouth merchants, having by this means gotten a taste of the Portuguese trade, have maintained it ever since in ships of their own".
The Falmouth-Lisbon Packet Service described by Defoe started operation in 1689. It was an early postal service that carried mail on packet ships from country to country. There were other packet stations on the south and east coasts and, together, they ran important routes across the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and through Northern Europe. The packet crews furtively traded goods on their own account, duty-free, on the side, making the packet service risky but potentially lucrative work. Even when the government got wind of this practice and stamped it out, the smuggling continued using privately owned boats. Portuguese gold bars and coin were particular favourites, and often found their way up to London. This little pocket book would have been a handy guide for converting measures of smuggled goods, and calculating the exchange rate between currencies.
The last page has an advertisement for Elizabeth Elliot, bookseller, stationer and printer. Elizabeth was the widow of the printer Philip Elliot and, together, their business was responsible for ten out of the 24 early printed books with Falmouth imprints that survive today. Elizabeth's shop sold an eclectic range of "books in all languages and all manner of bindings; stationary/wares of all sorts; mathematical instruments; violins, German and common flutes, and fifes, music, music-books and music-paper; the late Sir John Hill's medicines, by appointment of Lady Hill; Wash-Balls, lavender-water, eau de luce, &c. &c.". Elizabeth took over the shop in 1787 and printed this book of tables, an English grammar for "young beginners", two sermons, a book of spiritual songs and a satirical poem about slavery.
Here's a second instalment in the life of John Thompson born in Antwerp on the tenth day of Floreal, Year Twelve.
Thompson was appointed as ensign in the East India Company's Bombay Army on 27 March 1821 and arrived in India in August that year. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in the European Regiment on 10 June 1822. An uneventful spell of ten years' service passed.
However on 22 April 1831 the commanding officer of the regiment suddenly ordered an immediate inspection of the money bags and account books of each company. Thompson was paymaster of his company but was unable to attend the audit as he was unwell. He ordered his Pay Sergeant to make out the men's accounts and to insert a debt of 707 rupees owed by Thompson.
Later that day, Thompson was arrested. He tendered money to pay the debt but this was refused. On 9 June 1831 he appeared at a Court Martial held in camp near Deesa charged with embezzlement.
Thompson was charged for conduct unbecoming the character of an officer and a gentleman in having embezzled monies entrusted to him for the payment of the men of the 6th Company under his charge. The Court found Thompson guilty of embezzlement but without intent to defraud. It acquitted him of ungentlemanlike conduct. He was sentenced to be dismissed from East India Company service and was ordered to make good the deficiency. The verdict was accompanied by a unanimous appeal for mercy as the members of the Court felt that the punishment they were compelled to award was disproportionate to the degree of offence committed.
Major General J S Barns, Commander of the Forces, confirmed the punishment but put on record his marked disapprobation of the Court's finding that the embezzlement of public money was not conduct unbecoming the character of a gentleman. Thompson was struck off the strength and ordered to take passage to England.
In November 1832 Thompson wrote to the Company Directors in London asking to be restored to the service. On 29 January 1833 his request was rejected. But the Company decided to grant him an annual allowance of £50 because of the Court Martial recommendation for mercy, the strength of testimonials produced by Thompson, and his distressed situation.
When John Thompson's father William made his will on 8 December 1832, he directed his trustees to apply funds from his estate to support and maintain his son John for life. John's share of another bequest in the will was to be held in trust for him, rather then paid directly as was the case with his three brothers. William Thompson was clearly concerned to protect his son from further financial mishaps.
East India Company records series IOR/B and IOR/D are now available as a digital resource.
In July 1947 the India Independence Act decreed that the dominions of India and Pakistan would be created on 15 August 1947. British officers of the Indian Army faced the termination of their careers and had to consider their future as civilians. The Journal of the United Service Institution of India published an article by 'G.B.S.' entitled 'You can't keep a good man down!' offering practical advice to this group of men.
From listening to casual conversations, 'G.B.S.' believed many officers were taking a pessimistic view of their chance in civil life. Official advice was well-intentioned but unhelpful as it tended mainly to suggest jobs which retired soldiers would probably not get.
Determination was said to be the key to success. Retiring officers should calculate their liabilities and assets. On the minus side was their concentration on soldiering and the need to learn a completely new trade. But there were several things on the plus side. Officers would have some capital and a pension. The majority would be aged between 30 and 45 and so would have a reasonable expectation of 20-35 years of active life ahead of them. They would have a good knowledge of men and the world.
Individual officers might have additional assets: language qualifications, private capital, or a particular skill or interest. One ex-Indian Army officer who was an expert on insects had secured a job with an organisation studying crop pests, whilst another interested in philately owned a stamp shop in Piccadilly.
'G.B.S.' advised his readers to tap into the 'Old Boy Network' and not be ashamed to use every contact they had. It took time to find a job even in a big city like London. He suggested that officers should go to live in London for at least three months, but preferably six, making and following up contacts six days a week. They should press on with acquiring qualifications if necessary, funding this by using some of their compensation money.
Many officers dreamed of owning a farm. 'G.B.S.' warned that this was a technical profession requiring qualifications and capital of at £10,000 in addition to the Army pension. Those attracted to life in the colonies or dominions should realise that the problems of getting a job there was no different.
The article ended by concluding that officers who had had reasonable careers ahead of them in the Indian Army could and would secure good jobs at home if they set about it in the right way and did not 'take too great counsel' of their fears. 'Let us, therefore, go home with the thought in our minds (though we won't broadcast this to our prospective employers) that the problem is not "Will I get a job?" but "Which job shall I do?"'.
Thin dogs and domestic animals, expensive grain, and unemployed men wandering in search of employment 'careless of their children and old dependants' were signs of local scarcity in danger of developing into a famine situation, according to Moonshi Ishree Pershad, Rai Bahadoor, Deputy Collector of Muzaffarpur in North India. His testimony in response to set questions from the 1878 Bengal Famine Commission was unusual in giving an Indian's perspective, and paints a more intimate picture of village life than that given by the majority of the British respondents. According to Moonshi Ishree Pershad, in times of scarcity loans became difficult to obtain, the number of beggars increased, private charity was over-burdened and crimes against property gradually increased.
In rural India, the people likely to be worst affected by serious crop failure were the panch pamania who attended to secular ceremonies, including births and weddings, together with artisans such as potters and weavers, and of course labourers and cultivators.
This information was provided as part of his response to the Bengal Famine Commission's set questions about the condition of the country and people, relief during the earliest stages of distress, famine relief and prevention.
Moonshi Ishree Pershad's comments were informed by his experience of relief works in 1874 when the winter rice crop failed following a lack of rain and one seventh of the population was in receipt of support.
In late December 1829 the Shah of Persia arrived with an army outside the walls of the city of Shiraz, his intention being to collect around 280,000 Tomans (some £21 million in present-day terms) in tax and provisions from Ḥosayn-ʿAlī Mīrzā, the Prince Governor of Fars.
Britain's Agent at Shiraz, Mīrzā ʿAlī Akbar, reported directly to the Resident in the Gulf in Bushire. In a series of letters he reported the Shah's arrival at Shiraz in vivid detail, describing how the Prince Governor had ordered the city's gardens and citadel to be cleared for the Shah's reception, and the illumination of the bazaar for three nights.
Extract of a letter from the British Agent at Shiraz, December 1829. IOR/R/15/1/54, pp 5-8.
On December 30 the Shah arrived, and over the course of the next five days collected 200,000 Tomans, mostly through 'advances from the merchants and the gold ornaments, jewels and shawls of His Royal Highness [Ḥosayn-ʿAlī Mīrzā] and wives'. As the days went on, the demands for payment were unrelenting, and Ḥosayn-ʿAlī Mīrzā became increasingly desperate. 'Under the form of a loan [he] takes money from everyone he can,' wrote Mīrzā ʿAlī Akbar. The demands made by the collectors became increasingly preposterous. 'Yesterday they took an additional 1,000 Tomans from His Royal Highness to purchase materials for dying His Majesty's beard' and '[Ḥosayn-ʿAlī Mīrzā] has to play at draughts every night with the Shah […] One evening he lost as much as 400 Tomans'.
Extract of a letter from the British Agent at Shiraz, 4 January 1830. IOR/R/15/1/54, pp 14-17.
Meanwhile, in the streets and surrounding countryside, the Shah's army had to keep themselves fed, housed and occupied. The supply and price of provisions were severely affected: 'barley and straw are only to be got by force' and 'meat is very scarce and dear'. Meanwhile, the visitors sat about and amused themselves with 'bear baiting, bullfighting, tiger fighting, spear playing and wrestling'.
Extract of a letter from the British Agent at Shiraz, 17 January 1830. IOR/R/15/1/54, pp 35-37.
The reasons underlying the Shah's demands are not specified in Mīrzā ʿAlī Akbar's reports, though the British Agent did note that he had learnt from a 'confidential person' that the Shah and the Crown Prince Abbas Mīrzā wanted to 'reduce the power of the Prince of Fars'. Another likely reason is the Shah's need to raise funds to pay off the huge indemnity of twenty million silver roubles (there were roughly six roubles to the pound at the time, equating to approximately £130 million in present-day terms) demanded by the Russian Government under the terms of the 1828 Treaty of Turkmanchai.