Legal education the candidate for judicial employment were promoted to the now abolished office of of civil ser- registrar to a civil and sessions' judge. vants. The experiment of collecting the young civilians at the presidency with a view to their attending law classes, may be tried at first upon a limited scale. It may be notified that any young gentlemen who are anxious to qualify themselves for judicial employment may apply to be stationed at the presidency for the purpose of attending law classes, and that those who produce satisfactory certificates shall have a preferential claim to be employed in the judicial branch. Mr. Howard's very handsome offer to afford every assistance in his power in carrying out this experiment may be accepted, and the thanks of the Government conveyed to him for it. The foundations of a complete law library for the use of the law school should be laid at once. Mr. Howard may be requested to favour us with a list of such books as would be required in the first instance. The library would be increased, as the want of additional books of reference, &c., was felt. The Chief Secretary has suggested that Mr. Howard's report should be sent to Mr. Le Geyt, the Bombay member of the Legislative Council, for such observations as he may desire to make. This course appears the more advisable, as Mr. Le Geyt is stated to be engaged in maturing a scheme for the same purpose. His experience of the working of the judicial system in this presidency will, no doubt, assist him in this, and he will also remember that the legal education which is now attainable by natives at this presidency, and which will soon produce a great change in the character of the native bar, requires that a corresponding improvement should take place in the training of our Mofussil judges. No. 8,040.-Minute by Mr. Reeves. ELPHINSTONE. 4th November 1859. I fear I may be thought to have detained these papers somewhat longer than necessary, but, as my sole desire has been to give them due consideration, I trust that no inconvenience will result. Mr. Howard's proposals are the following: Two years' study of law are to be required from young men designed for the judicial branch of the Civil Service, of which, one year is to be passed in England after appointment, consequent on the competitive examination; and no young man is to be permitted to come out to India until he has passed a strict examination, to which he should be subjected at the end of the year. Mr. Howard would excuse a candidate for the judicial department from this year's study, provided he can pass the required examination without it. The examination is to be held in London. The other year or a longer period of study is to be spent in India, and is to be followed again by examination. And, after this, the judicial candidate is to be attached to the office of a judge, for the purpose of acquiring a practical knowledge of his duty. 2. Concurring generally in these proposals, I am of opinion that the course of legal study should be made compulsory on all candidates for civil employment in this country. I would point to the great extent of judicial work performed by magistrates, collectors, and political agents; to all these officers the knowledge of sound principles of law, insisted on by Mr. Howard, appears to me to be essentially necessary to ensure the satisfactory performance of their duty; in addition to which, it will afford to young civilians the most admirable mental discipline, it will furnish them with a power of selfimprovement that cannot fail to produce men capable of coping with questions of any kind. 3. I agree with the Right Honourable President in considering that Mr. Howard's views on the nature and course of legal study to be pursued in England should, as suggested by that gentleman himself, be submitted to Sir Richard Bethell. In discussing this part of the subject, Mr. Howard seems to me to reason with great force, as well as with characteristic zeal. 4. I have received from Mr. Anderson, the Judicial Secretary, a suggestion which I consider of great practical value. He remarked that Lord Macaulay's scheme for the preparation of civilians for India was not adopted in its integrity by the Home Government, and that it may now be taken advantage of to a further extent. His Lordship, it will be remembered, intended, first, a competitive examination; secondly, a two years course of study, with an examination at the end of it, which was to determine the rank of the candidates for employment. Mr. Anderson's opinion, and I concur in it, is this; that although it would be unfair and undesirable to rank the students, even supposing them to be specially designed for judicial duties, according to the result of the examination in law, yet there ought to be some incentive to the acquisition of something more than a minimum of legal knowledge. He therefore proposes that the marks obtained in the competitive examination should be carried on to the one in law, and that the aggregate result should decide the rank of future civilians. 5. Mr. Howard's remarks at paragraph 60 of his letter are perfectly true. Young civilians too generally loiter away their time for the first year or two after arriving in this country; we are not allowed to make any official use of them, and the study of the vernacular languages is effected by a few months' cramming. The present proposals will at once Legal education terminate this evil; for newly arrived civilians will, under Mr. Howard's recommendation, of civil serfind their time well and fully occupied. They will be required to study the Indian vants. languages and jurisprudence “pari passu." 6. The course of study in this country should embrace such branches of law as are likely to be of the most practical service, and the elements of property law, the law of contracts, and the law of evidence, appear judiciously recommended by Mr. Howard. The lectures, also, on systems of Indian law, as well as the private study which he proposes, are, I conceive, equally well chosen, as already remarked. I would make these studies compulsory on all young civilians who may be hereafter appointed. I quite approve of the examination which Mr. Howard would hold in this country, as a test of the civilian's fitness for entering upon the active duties of his profession. The test may be usefully combined with our departmental examinations, which are susceptible of much improvement. It would, in fact, supersede a great portion of them. 7. I differ from Mr. Howard as to the employment of civilians, at the conclusion of the course of study in India. Practice as "auscultators," I cannot conceive to be advisable. Where a system of law full of technicalities and difficulties has to be encountered, and a highly artificial state of society exists, such practice I can easily suppose to be necessary; but that is not the case here. Our law is of the simplest kind; the state of society is wholly inartificial; there are no legal details of any difficulty to overcome; but it is of vital importance that a candidate for public employment, whether he wishes to be a judge, collector and magistrate, or political agent, should become thoroughly well acquainted with the manners and customs of the people, as well as with our revenue and police systems; and I contend, with much confidence, that this cannot be effected in any manner so well as by active service as assistant collector and magistrate, or of a political agent. I may, indeed, assert, that the object cannot possibly be effected in any other manner. As assistant collector and magistrate, the young civilian will have his time well occupied in deciding numerous cases of a simple kind, both civil and criminal, and in preparing others of a grave and important character for the judgment of higher authority, and his powers, discretionary and legal, will be increased with his experience. This affords all the judicial practice that is necessary in this country, while the acquirement of that knowledge of the native character, and the institutions of the country, which is essential to the formation of a good judge or a good magistrate, is secured in the fullest possible degree. 8. Another consideration which must have weight is this, that we cannot afford to throw away a well qualified available civilian, and the employment of our young men as "aus"cultators" would virtually amount to the loss of their services for a given time. 9. After serving for a given number of years, say five, as an assistant collector and magistrate, I would appoint any young civilian who might deliberately make choice of the judicial department, as assistant judge. I observe that the Right Honourable President is disposed to revive the office of registrar, and I see that Mr. Le Geyt has included that office in his bill for the judicial machinery of this presidency; but I regard this as a step backwards. The very name of this abolished office is fanciful and unmeaning. No one unacquainted with the secret would have supposed that the registrars formerly held any judicial powers, or that they did anything but register deeds and draw fees for so doing. I think it far better to retain the intelligible and appropriate name of assistant judge. There can be no question that a young man who has passed the competitive examination in England, and gone through the course of two years or two years and a half study chalked out by Mr. Howard, and additionally employed himself as assistant collector and magistrate for five years, will be amply qualified to take his seat as a judge, and that he will do credit to Government; such an officer should be made the most of; he should be employed as a judge, and with this office he should receive the title and dignity of judge, and not be designated by a title which conveys no meaning but that of an amateur. 10. I fully concur in the proposal of the Right Honourable the President for giving immediate effect to Mr. Howard's offer to aid some of our junior civilians in the study of law; but I venture to suggest that the study should be made compulsory on all those who can be spared, and I believe these are not a few. A course of six months' application, or longer if possible, with some stimulus to exertion in the way of promise of promotion in the event of industry and proficiency, could not fail to be of immense benefit to those young men. 11. I further coincide in his lordship's desire that a complete law library should be provided without loss of time. 12. I have only one remark more to make; the Chief Secretary has suggested that he has reason to believe that Mr. Le Geyt, member of the Legislative Council, is engaged in the consideration of a scheme for attaining the object which this Government had in view in referring to Mr. Howard, and, therefore, that the report from Mr. Howard, and former proceedings, should be handed over to Mr. Le Geyt, for his remarks; and the Right Honourable President is disposed to adopt this course. I trust, however, I shall be pardoned for objecting to anything calculated to delay the transmission of Mr. Howard's very able and excellent report to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for consideration. Mr. Howard's report is complete and convincing; and without meaning the slightest disrespect to Mr. Le Geyt, I feel assured that no information can be expected from him that will add anything to the opinions of that gentleman and Sir Richard Bethell, on the all-important point of the legal study. It is manifest that a part of the study must be in England, and part in India. And it is equally clear that the Secretary of State will, with the report of Mr. Howard before him, and the further opinion of Sir Richard Legal education Bethell, be placed in possession of information that will go far to enable him to come to of civil ser- an early decision on the question of English study, if not on the whole question. Any vants. young men who come out to this country without the qualifications which it is now desired to give them, must enter this country at a great disadvantage; the sooner, therefore, the Secretary of State can be induced to prevent their coming out under such disqualification the better. I think, therefore, that the proceedings should be sent home at once. Copies of the papers can be sent to Mr. Le Geyt, for his remarks, which, as they will only affect the employment of young men in this country, may very safely be left for future consideration. No. 8,041.-Minute by the Governor. H. W. REEVES. I am glad to find that there is so much coincidence of opinion between my honourable colleagues and myself on the subject of Mr. Howard's valuable memorandum. I did not intend that its transmission to the Secretary of State should be delayed, but, as I understood that a Bill for providing that young civilians intended for judicial employment should have some legal training (sic), and as this Bill might be brought forward before we could receive an answer from the Secretary of State, I thought it was desirable that the member of the Legislative Council for Bombay should be placed in possession of Mr. Howard's plan; and I thought it also desirable that it should be canvassed, and that we should be placed in possession of any objections which may be urged against it by those who are about to legislate on the subject. The only points upon which there is any degree of difference of opinion between my honourable colleague, Mr. Reeves, and myself, are upon the revival of the office of registrar, and the immediate compulsory attendance of all junior civilians at the proposed law classes. With respect to the first, I think it is of no great consequence whether a young judicial officer is called a registrar or an assistant judge. There are already two grades of assistant judges, those at detached stations, and those who are at the Zillah Adawlut. If the judicial service is to be in future more separated from the revenue and magisterial branch than it has hitherto been, it will be necessary to multiply the latter class of assistant judges, and to have one attached to every Zillah court. This would be reverting to the old practice, and it seemed to me that it would be as well to revert to the old designation, which marked the difference of rank between the apprentice judge and the master more clearly than the present one; but, as I said before, I attach no particular importance to the name. With regard to the compulsory attendance of junior civil servants upon the law lectures, I think that it will be advisable to wait until we know that the proposed course of study is approved by the Secretary of State. We must also consider how far this arrangement is to have retrospective effect. It is not desirable that a large number of young men should be brought down to the presidency at the same time. The effect of ordering all young civilians who have not passed their first departmental examination, for instance, to attend the law classes, would be to congregate a large number of them at the presidency. By making it optional in the first instance (not restricting it to those who have not passed the first departmental examination), we shall probably secure the attendance of all those who are likely to take an interest in the study of law, while we avoid the dangers which are to be apprehended from the other course. If, however, a sufficient number of volunteers to form a law class is not forthcoming, I should not object to order a certain number of young men, say, a dozen at a time, to attend a course of legal study. No. 8,042.-Minute by Mr. Malet. ELPHINSTONE. 5th November 1859. The only important difference of opinion that appears at present to exist is, whether it would be better to revert to the old appointment of registrar, or to continue that of assistant judge. I believe that the exigencies of business led to the supersession of the old appointment by that which at present exists. Young men who have been some time in the country are appointed assistant judges, and are immediately able to relieve the judge of an important portion of the work of the Zillah; at first, of course, they take the minor cases, gradually progressing, until, as assistant judges for detached stations, they become practically independent judges. It seems to me that, with the education now contemplated, this course is better calculated to train men for the highest judicial functions than that of appointing them registrars, where their judicial talent would not be practically exercised to the same extent, and where, from having less to do, they would probably become the personal assistants of the judges, or be made prosecutors, or be employed in some other mode, not so practically useful as at present. I quite concur with the Right Honourable President, that these papers should be sent to the legislative member for Bombay, for the reasons stated; but I hope that they may be sent to the Secretary of State for India without loss of time, as the matter is of great importance, and of very urgent pressure. No. 8,043.-Minute by Mr. Reeves. A. MALET. 5th November 1859. The question of the office of registrar and assistant judge will, I doubt not, receive full consideration when it again comes before this Government. I think the Judicial and Revenue Secretaries should ascertain what young civilians are Legal education available, for taking advantage of Mr. Howard's proposal for giving them legal instruction of civil serin Bombay. I have only to add my hope that these proceedings may be forwarded to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State by the next mail. The Right Honourable President has, I observe, addressed the envelope containing these papers to Mr. Anderson, and I am under the impression that, as the discussion belongs to the judicial department, a transfer ought to have been made accordingly at the outset. I propose that a transfer be made now. H. W. REEVES. No. 8,044. Further Minute by the Governor, subscribed to by Mr. Reeves. 7th November 1859. I have already said that I think it is not important whether young gentlemen, on their first appointment to the judicial department, are called registrars or assistant judges. I preferred the former as the less pretentious designation, and because there are already two classes of assistant judges-those who are at detached stations, and those who are at the same station as the judge. I do not think that any amount of study can absolutely qualify a young man for high judicial functions. Some experience must be gained in subordinate capacity. The designation of this probationary grade is of comparatively little consequence. Registrar is something between auscultator and assistant judge. I entirely agree that the papers should be sent home by the next mail. They should be transferred, as proposed, to the judicial department. ELPHINSTONE. No. 8,045.-The Secretary to the Government of Bombay to the Secretary to the Government of India. SIR, I AM directed by the Right Honourable the From the Director of Public Instruction, 6th September, No. 1904. Memorandum by the Chief Secretary, 9th September 1859. Minute by the Governor, 10th September. Letter to the Director of Public Instruction, From the Director of Public Instruction, 17th October, No. 2394. Memorandum by the Chief Secretary, 20th October. Minute by the Governor, subscribed to by Mr. Malet, 21st October. Ditto by Mr. Reeves. 4th November. Further Minute by the Governor, without date. Nov. 26, 1859.-No. 76 (Judicial). Governor in Council to forward to you, for submission to the Government of India, copies of the proceedings quoted in the margin, on the subject of a proposal to provide a course of legal study for civilians designed for the judicial branch of the service. 2. The opinion of the Bombay Govern- 3. These papers have also been for- H. L. ANDERSON, vants. ENCLOSURE II. EXTRACT from the PROCEEDINGS of the Honourable the DEPUTY GOVERNOR of BENGAL in the GENERAL DEPARTMENT, dated the 19th November 1851. Read the following letters : From the commissioner and superintendent of police, Cuttack, dated 19th August 1851, From the superintendent of police, lower provinces, dated 27th August 1851, No. 1872 From the officiating superintendent of police, Chittagong, dated 15th September 1851, From the register, Sudder Court, dated 23rd September 1851, No. 1017. From the officiating secretary, Board of Revenue, dated 21st October 1851, No. 518. RESOLUTION. The deputy governor of Bengal, having taken into consideration the papers now read, in connexion with all the papers previously recorded relating to the examinations of assistants, observes that all the authorities who have been consulted are unanimous in approval of the principle and of the leading features of the proposed measure. He is pleased to resolve that the following rules, in which the greater part of the suggestions of detail made in the several communications now read have been adopted, so far as concerns the qualification of assistants for holding the full powers of a joint magistrate and deputy collector, be passed in relation to this subject. Legal education of civil ser vants. RULES. I. Half-yearly examinations of assistants. A half-yearly examination of assistants liable under these rules to examination shall be held in each division in the months of June and December of each year. The examinations shall be held at the station which is the head-quarters of the commissioner of the division, or at any other station in the division which that officer on each occasion may appoint. II. Two qualifying standards. At these half-yearly examinations there shall be two standards of qualification, according to one or other of which the assistants shall be examined. An assistant must be examined and found qualified according to the first standard before he will be vested by Government with the special revenue powers, described in section XXI., regulation VIII., of 1831, or the special judicial powers described in clause 3, section II., regulation 3, of 1821. An assistant who has been found at some previous examination qualified according to the first standard, must be found qualified according to the second standard before he will be considered by Government capable of holding the full powers of a joint magistrate, or the full powers of a deputy collector. III. Effect of passing by each standard. An assistant who has passed according to the first standard of examination, and who has been six months at a station as an assistant, will usually be vested with the special powers when recommended for such powers in the usual manner. But an assistant, though passed according to the second standard, will not be vested with full powers until he shall have been at least one year exercising the special powers of an assistant in the judicial department. IV. Assistants with full powers must pass. From and after the examination to be held in June 1852 the Government will promote to a joint magistracy and deputy collectorate of the second grade, no assistant of those who have been already vested with full powers who shall not have been examined under these rules, and found qualified according to the second standard. All assistants now holding full powers, who may pass at or before that examination, will retain their claims to priority of promotion, under ordinary circumstances, according to the dates of their becoming respectively qualified for the public service. But all assistants, whether now holding full powers or not, passing at any subseqent examination, will be promoted to the next grade, under ordinary circumstances, in the order of their passing the examination now prescribed, according to the second standard of qualification. V. Assistants who have been examined in the revenue branch must pass. An examination in the revenue branch, held under the orders now in force, though it may have been passed with credit, will not exempt an assistant from passing the examination in the judicial and revenue branches, according to the second standard of qualification required by the present rules. But it will exempt an assistant from the necessity of passing previously, according to the first standard of qualification required by the present rules. VI. What assistants are to be examined. All assistants who have not passed according to the first standard of qualification fixed by present rules, and who have been more than six months at their stations as assistants, shall be subjected to half-yearly examination, and all assistants who have passed according to that standard, but have not passed according to the second standard, and who have been more than two years at their stations as assistants, shall be subjected to halfyearly examination. All other assistants who have not passed according to the second standard of qualification may be examined at any half-yearly examination, with the special permission of the commissioner of their division previously obtained. Assistants examined under these rules will draw the usual travelling allowance to and from their respective stations. VII. Central Examination Committee. The Government of Bengal will constitute a committee in Calcutta, to be called the Central Examination Committee, by whose instructions the commissioners shall be guided, and with whom they shall correspond on all matters connected with these half-yearly examinations. The Central Examination Committee will consist of one judge of the Sudder Court, who shall be president thereof, and of one member of the Board of Revenue, both nominated by Government; also the register of the Sudder Court, the senior secretary of the Board of Revenue, and such other members as the Government from time to time may appoint. A secretary to the committee will be nominated by Government. VIII. Duty of the Central Examination Committee. It shall be the duty of the Central Examination Committee to fix on every occasion the half-yearly examination days, which shall be the same for every division under this Government; but the station at which the examination is to be held shall always be left to the determination of the commissioner. It shall be the duty of the same committee to prepare beforehand for each examination sets of questions to be put to the assistants under examination, a sufficient number of copies of each of which sets shall be forwarded to each commissioner in a sealed packet, not to be opened until the moment of examination. The Central Examination Committee, from time to time, shall lay down such rules as may appear to them best for the guidance of the Divisional Committees, in order to insure a fair and uniform method of fixing the degree of attainment upon each point of examination which the several assistants examined may reach. ( |