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.
