those of the legislative council of the governor-general. They cannot make any law affecting any Act of Parliament for the time being in force in the province, and may not, without the previous sanction of the governor-general, make or take into consideration any law

(a) affecting the public debt of India, or the customs duties, or any other tax or duty for the time being in force and imposed by the authority of the Governor-General in Council for the general purposes of the Government of India; or

(b) regulating any of the current coin, or the issuing of any bills, notes, or other paper currency; or

(c) regulating the conveyance of letters by the post office or messages by the electric telegraph within the province; or

(d) altering the Indian Penal Code; or

(e) affecting the religion or religious rites or usages of any class of His Majesty's subjects in India; or

(f) affecting the discipline or maintenance of any part of His Majesty's naval or military forces; or

(g) regulating patents or copyright; or

(h) affecting the relations of the Government with foreign princes or States 1.

Until 1892 their powers were much restricted by their inability to alter any Act of the Governor-General in Council, but under a provision of the Indian Councils Act, 1892, the local legislature of any province may, with the previous sanction of the governor-general, repeal or amend as to that province any law or regulation made by any other authority in India 2.

Acts passed by a local legislature in India require the assent of the governor-general, and are subject to disallowance by the Crown in the same manner as Acts of the governor-general's legislative council 2. The restrictions on 2 Ibid. 78.

1 Digest, s. 76.

the subjects of discussion at that council also apply to meetings of the local legislatures 1.

No precise line of demarcation is drawn between the subjects which are reserved to the control of the local legislatures respectively 2. In practice, however, the governorgeneral's council confines itself to legislation which is either for provinces having no local legislatures of their own, or on matters which are beyond the competency of the local legislatures, or on branches of the law which require to be dealt with on uniform principles throughout British India. Under this last head fall the so-called Indian codes, including the Penal Code, the Codes of Civil and Criminal Procedure, the Succession Act, the Evidence Act, the Contract Act, the Specific Relief Act, the Negotiable Instruments Act, the Transfer of Property Act, the Trusts Act, and the Easements Act.

The law administered by the courts of British India consists, Indian so far as it is enacted law, of—

(1) Such Acts of Parliament as extend, expressly or by implication, to British India 3.

(2) The regulations made by the Governments of Madras, Bengal, and Bombay before the coming into operation of the Government of India Act, 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV, c. 85) 4.

1 Digest, s. 77.

2 As to the relations between the governor-general's council and local legislatures, see Minutes by Sir H. S. Maine, No. 69.

3 See the Statutes relating to India, published by the Indian Legislative Department in 1899.

* The Bengal Regulations passed before 1793 were in that year collected and passed by Lord Cornwallis in the shape of a revised code. 675 Regulations were passed between 1793 and 1834, both inclusive, but of these only eightynine are now wholly or partly in force. Such of them as are still in force are to be found in the volumes of the Bengal Code published by the Indian Legislative Department.

Of the 251 Madras Regulations, twenty-eight are still wholly or partly in force, and are to be found in the Madras Code.

The Bombay Regulations were revised and consolidated by Mountstuart Elphinstone in 1827. Twenty Bombay Regulations are still wholly or partly in force, and are to be found in the Bombay Code.

Law.

(3) The Acts passed by the Governor-General in Council under the Government of India Act, 1833, and subsequent statutes 1.

(4) The Acts passed by the local legislatures of Madras, Bombay, Bengal, the North-Western Provinces and Oudh (now the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh), the Punjab, Burma and Eastern Bengal and Assam, since their constitution under the Indian Councils Act, 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 67) 2.

(5) The Regulations made by the governor-general under the Government of India Act, 1870 (33 Vict. c. 3)3. (6) The Ordinances, if any, made by the governor-general under s. 23 of the Indian Councils Act, 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 67), and for the time being in force +.

To these may be added—

(7) Orders in Council made by the King in Council and applying to India 5.

(8) Statutory rules made under the authority of English Acts 6.

(9) Rules, orders, regulations, by-laws, and notifications made under the authority of Indian Acts 7.

1 Revised editions of these Acts, omitting repealed matter, have been published by the Indian Legislative Department. Such of them as relate only to particular provinces are to be found in the 'Codes' for these provinces published by the Legislative Department.

2 These Acts are to be found in the volumes of Codes' mentioned above. 3 A Chronological Table of and Index to these five classes of enactments have been compiled by the Indian Legislative Departments.

* See Digest, s. 69.

See e. g. the Order in Council confirming the Extradition (India) Act, 1895 (IX of 1895), Statutory Rules and Orders Revised, v. 297; the Zanzibar Order in Council of 1897, which gives an appeal from the British Court in Zanzibar to the Bombay High Court, Statutory Rules and Orders Revised, v. 87; and the Indian (Foreign Jurisdiction) Order in Council, 1902, printed below, p. 388.

6 e. g. the rules made under s. 8 of the Indian Councils Act, 1891 (Digest, s. 43), and under ss. 1 & 2 of the Indian Councils Act, 1892 (Digest, ss. 60, 64).

7 Lists of such of these as have been made under general Acts have been published by the Legislative Department. There are also some lists and collections of rules made under local Acts.

(10) Rules, laws, and regulations made by the governorgeneral or the Governor-General in Council for nonregulation provinces before 1861, and confirmed by s. 25 of the Indian Councils Act, 1861 1.

These enactments are supplemented by such portions of the Hindu, Mahomedan, and other native laws and customs as are still in force, and by such rules or principles of European, mainly English, law as have been applied to the country, either under the direction to act in accordance with justice, equity, and good conscience, or in other ways, and as have not been superseded by Indian codification.

Native law has been wholly superseded, as to criminal law and procedure and as to civil procedure, by the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Codes of Criminal and Civil Procedure, the Evidence Act, and other enactments, and has been largely superseded as to other matters by Anglo-Indian legislation, but still regulates, as personal law, most matters relating to family law and to the law of succession and inheritance among Hindus, Mahomedans, and other natives of the country 2.

3

service of

The East India Company Act, 1793 (33 Geo. III, c. 52), The civil reserved to members of the covenanted civil service the India. principal civil offices in India under the rank of member of council. Appointments to this service were made in England by the Court of Directors.

The Government of India Act, 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c. 95), threw these appointments open to competition among naturalborn subjects of Her Majesty, and this system was maintained by the Act of 1858, which transferred the government of India to the Crown 4. The first regulations for the competi

1 See above, p. 102. Probably most, if not all, of this body of laws has expired or been superseded.

2 See below, Chapter iv.

3 So called from the covenants into which the superior servants of the East India Company were required to enter, and by which they were bound not to trade, not to receive presents, to subscribe for pensions, and so forth. Members of the civil service of India are still required to enter into similar covenants before receiving their appointments.

* See Digest, s. 92.¦

tive examinations were framed by Lord Macaulay's committee in 1854, and have since been modified from time to time. Under the existing rules the limits of age for candidates are from twenty-one to twenty-three. Successful candidates remain on probation for one year, and then have to pass an examination in subjects specially connected with their future duties. If they pass, they receive their appointments from the Secretary of State. Probationers are encouraged by a special allowance of £100 to pass their probationary year at a University or College approved by the Secretary of State.

The Indian Civil Service Act, 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 54), whilst validating certain irregular appointments which had been made in the past, expressly reserved in the future to members of the covenanted service all the more important civil posts under the rank of member of council in the regulation provinces. The schedule of reserved posts, which is still in force1, does not apply to non-regulation provinces, such as the Punjab, Oudh, the Central Provinces, and Burma, where the higher civil posts may be, and in practice often are, filled by military officers belonging to the Indian Army, and others.

An Act of 1870 (33 Vict. c. 3), after reciting that it is expedient that additional facilities should be given for the employment of natives of India, of proved merit and ability, in the civil service of Her Majesty in India,' authorized the appointment of any native of India to any office, place, or employment in the civil service in India, without reference to any statutory restriction, but subject to rules to be made by the Governor-General in Council with the sanction of the Secretary of State in Council 2.

Little was done under this Act until rules for regulating appointments under it were made during Lord Lytton's government in 1879. The intention was that about a sixth of the posts reserved by law to the covenanted civil service should be filled by natives of India appointed under these rules; and for the purpose of giving gradual effect to this Digest, s. 93. 2 Ibid. 94.