Life in Bengal

The Collective Musings of Edward Furthing, Assistant to Governor-General Lord William Bentinck

[lifeinbengal]

This is the self-collective musings of Edward Christopher Furthing, the former assistant to Lord William Bentinck, who served as Governor-General of Bengal, then India, from 1828 to 1835. As I recall my term of employment with Lord Bentinck, on this morning after his departure from our earthly realm, I have found myself pulling a few selected observations for viewing in this collection. These are presented for your viewing pleasure in chronological order from top to bottom. I hope you, dear reader, can enjoy and appreciate the reflections I have presented here today regarding my partnership with an extraordinary man.

Edward Christopher Furthing

Calcutta, India

June 18th, 1839

[lifeinbengal]

Arrival in Bengal

The year is 1828, and I am on my way to India. My name is Edward Christopher Furthing and I am to be the assistant to Lord William Bentinck. I had only heard of him in myth, as his accomplishments were incredibly impressive for a man his age. For instance, he served several years as the governor of Madras at the young age of 29! And I had also heard of his exploits in Napoleonic Italy during the war. But as of a few days prior to my penning of this, I am now in the employment of the Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William.

As his assistant I am of course privy to the goals he has for the country as he maintains his position. Under the instruction of the company, he is to rectify the immense financial deficiencies that the country has seen in the past few years. He seems to have his own ideas as to how to reach those goals, although I must admit that some of them leave me a bit concerned... 

For one, he has conversed with me the idea of increasing government finances by cutting the wages of similar military forces. While I cannot deny that that would be an incredible boon for the vaults of the Company, I nonetheless cannot vanquish my own worries that this course of action may lead to backlash upon the Governor-General. 

However, my role is to serve the governor not to critique his methods. I suppose we shall see what results will come by whatever decisions he makes....

Included in this entry is a portrait of Lord Bentinck himself, as painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence. As one views this depiction of him in his relative youth (having been painted around a decade prior to this writing), one must wonder what changes he holds for the region of his governance.

[lifeinbengal]

A Horrific Practice

The year is 1829, and Lord Bentinck has no doubt saved countless lives.

In this country exists a monstrous practice known as Sati.  I shudder even to think of the concept, but apparently it is common practice for the wife of a deceased man, now widowed, to join him in the passage of death, by sitting upon the pyre in which his body is burned. With this, not one but two lives are thrown away in an instant, a tradition which almost avoids all common sense. I have included a depiction below so that one can properly take in the horrors of this concept...

 Of course, Lord Bentinck saw no reason to let such a barbarous practice go on any longer under his governance, and saw to its end expeditiously.

It is all thanks to Regulation XVII, which he presented this December in order to completely outlaw and criminalize this heinous act, that many a sane man can rest easier. Upon presenting this regulation to Mr. William Carey for translation into the native language, I witnessed myself as the man leapt to his feet in his haste to publish it: "should I not hesitate even a moment to deliver this regulation, yet another woman's life may yet be spared!"  It was all quite dramatic and exciting, giving a sort of deserved heroics to the otherwise mundane tasks of legislation!

Curiously enough, there is some who sought to discourage Lord Bentinck from presenting the circulation.  I personally cannot imagine how anyone could stand against such a noble cause as his! However, their reasoning was that they feared the natives would react harshly to having their "customs" (an impossible as they are to conceive as such) be restricted in this way.  While I can respect  their desire to remain in good relations with the natives, I cannot help but wonder if this is a step too far. There is such a thing as proper decorum, but at the sake of countless lives...?

As a humorous aside, I have also attached to this entry the portrait of Mr. William Carey, who delighted us with his theatrics. I hope in seeing him, one will be able to imagine the sight that we saw that day!

[lifeinbengal]

Home in the Governor’s House

The year is 1832. The natives call it the Raj Bhavan. 

I would like to dwell upon the history of the house, as it is quite impressive in its own right. Prior to this century, the company Governors of this region resided in a home which was acquired through rent, which was then known as Buckingham House. I believe it was former Governor-General Wellesley who enacted the order for a more grand estate to be built and serve the residential purposes of those who would follow in his position. I have been told that the financing of this endeavor came to no small sum: an astounding £63,000! (Although, one would be hard-pressed to claim that the funds were misspent, once they see the results with their own eyes.)

With copious time and labor, the dream of Marquess Wellesley had come to fruition, and the Governor's House was prepared, in all its immaculate glory, for the arrival of Lord Bentinck and myself.  I do not believe myself to be inappropriate in calling it one of the jewels of Calcutta and how fittingly so, I have heard the city marveled at as the "Saint Petersburg of the East". 

Enclosed here is an engraving of the Governor's House itself.  The carvings were masterfully crafted by a man named Robert Havell Jr., who included it in his works regarding the city of Calcutta, just over a decade ago. Though I spend everyday performing my duties in this estate, in looking at this artwork I am so sweetly reminded so bittersweetly of my homeland, Britain. The expansion of the Company into this country is no recent thing, and yet it is the things like the architecture of our home country being pulled unto the unnatural locale of India that brings me pause. Almost as if one could run their fingers along the seams of the union and find the disjointed cracks...

[lifeinbengal]

Governor-General of India

The year is 1833, and thanks to the St Helena Act,  I have acquired a new job title.  No longer am I the assistant to the Governor-General of Bengal. No, my Lord Bentinck is no longer in control of Bengal, but of India!  The hand of my dear Britain's Parliament has struck down the control of the East India Company over the country. Now the country is firmly under the control of my homeland, and as a result Lord Bentinck's position is now attached to a new legislative body. Now, under the grace of parliament he maintains his role on a much larger scale.  

I can only imagine what changes are on the horizon. However, let it be known that have no doubt that Lord Bentinck will be able to maintain the the grace he has carried throughout his employment so far.

I have included in this entry a handful of drawings of Lord Bentinck, as done by Mr. James Atkinson just the other day. Mr. Atkinson was at one point a prolific editor of this country's Calcutta Gazette, and had several interactions with Lord Bentinck once the man became a benefactor of the paper. Shortly after our arrival to Bengal, the two men seemed to have had a falling out, and Mr. Atkinson's enacted a swift departure from the country (whether or not those two events were related, I have never known...). 

However, now Mr. Atkinson has returned to resume his position as Surgeon for the country, and paid Lord Bentinck a rather tepid social visit. It was during this visit that presented the lord with this collection of impressive sketches he amassed during their conversation over tea. (I had seen other evidence of his artistic talent, but this is quite impressive!)

I have never been a man to make emotional assumptions, but if this drawing is any indication, their relationship may very well be on the mend.

[lifeinbengal]

A Monumental Act

The year is 1835, and the English Education Act has become law. I've worked closely with Lord Bentinck as he's collected his thoughts on this subject- that of native education. If one could consider legislative debates to be a battlefield, Lord Bentinck felt that our are showing was as weak as an army's could possibly be.

Previously, it was the desire and instruction of the company to denote a particularly stipend towards the education of the Native Indian population. Generally speaking, the effort was to encourage the sciences among the citizens of our territories. Study of the languages was not as important (at least in the eyes of the Company), and typically left what few funds were available to be diverted towards the education of the Indian language. 

Lord Bentinck found issue with this at two points: one, the allocation of funds was nowhere near enough to properly educate the populist. Two, he felt that they should be a higher emphasis on the education of the queen's English in the region. With that interpretation in mind, Lord Bentinck was able to take his case to the Council of India and, with deft argumentation, the English Education Act was passed.  Our allotted stipends for the cause increased greatly, and the direction was firmly acknowledged to be in the education of English throughout the country of India.

I have included in this entry a depiction of the Medical College, Bengal.  In my opinion, it is no less than the perfect physical embodiment of Lord Bentinck's efforts in this arena. It represents the true effort of the Governor-General to shape the lives of his citizens for the better. Truly, his time as Governor-General has led to a period of bounty for all of India.