Dictionary of Indian Biography/Dalhousie, James Andrew Brown-Ramsay, first Marquis of
DALHOUSIE, JAMES ANDREW BROWN-RAMSAY, FIRST MARQUIS OF (1812–1860)
Governor-General : third son of the ninth Earl, C. in C. in India (q.v.) : born April 22, 1812 : educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford : M.P. for Haddingtonshire, 1837 : succeeded his father, March, 1838 : Vice-President of the Board of Trade in Peel's administration, 1843 : Privy Councillor, 1843 : President of the Board and in the Cabinet, 1845 : declined a seat in the Cabinet offered him in July, 1846, by Lord John Russell, who appointed him Governor-General of India in 1847 : assumed office, Jan. 12, 1848. After the rebellion of Mulraj at Multan, the second Sikh war broke out : Dalhousie went up to the Panjab-Satlaj frontier and supervised the operations : annexed the Panjab in March, 1849 : was made a Marquis : made Sir Henry Lawrence President of the Board of administration, and, in 1853, made Sir John Lawrence Chief Commissioner of the Panjab : his controversy with Sir C. J. Napier, the C. in C, regarding certain new regulations affecting the grant to the Sepoys of compensation for dearness of provisions, led to the latter's resignation. Dalhousie's internal administration of the country was thorough and comprehensive : he introduced and laid down a system for the construction of railways; joined the provinces by telegraphs; organized the imperial postal system; created the Departments of Public works. Jails, Forests, Survey, and Education; dealt with the strength and composition of the Army in India; reorganized and expanded the Legislative Council; created a separate Lieutenant-Governorship of Lower Bengal (to relieve the Governor-General of his direct personal charge of that Province) : he declared war on the King of Burma in 1852, and supervised it himself, visiting the country and annexing Pegu : made treaties with the Khan of Kelat and Amir of Afghanistan : the Berars were assigned for the payment of the Hyderabad debts. Dalhousie has been blamed for the annexation of Satara, Nagpur, Tanjore, Jhansi, Oudh, for reducing the title of the Nawab of the Carnatic to Prince of Arcot, for terminating the ex-Peshwa's pension the fact is, that where annexations were effected, according to the doctrine of lapse, i.e. on the failure of natural heirs, that policy was not Dalhousie's, but a policy which had been previously declared and acted upon and was, in each case, sanctioned by higher authority : in the case of Oudh, he personally was opposed to annexation, but his Council advocated it and the authorities in England ordered it, on account of the continued maladministration by the King, after repeated warnings : Dalhousie restricted the application of the doctrine of lapse to cases of Hindu dependent states. He was also blamed for weakening the European Army in India : in fact, he had protested against reduction of the English Army in India for the Crimean and Persian wars, and had given full attention to military affairs : he abolished numerous Boards and established responsible Departments in their places : his despatches were not attended to at the India House, and he was never able to defend himself and his administration. He suffered from ill-health, during the prolongation of his appointment in India, and was too ill after his retirement, on Feb. 29, 1856, to defend his policy : and the English Governments failed to support him. Thus the outbreak of the mutiny was unjustly attributed to his alleged policy in respect of annexation, neglect of military matters, and the reduced strength of the English Army in India. His assailants have been amply refuted by his later biographers, especially in Sir W. Lee Warner's Life of the Marquis of Dalhousie, 1904. The death, from exhaustion after sea-sickness, of Lady Dalhousie in 1853, in sight of England, affected him deeply. Always a very hard worker, he sought distraction in "work, work,"' and in his public duties. His final minute of Feb. 28, 1856, contains a summary of his administration. He was masterful in character and impatient of opposition. "In the three words, conquest, consolidation and development, his work may be summed up" (Sir W. W. Hunter). He stands out as "the great Proconsul" of modern times. After retirement he held no office but that of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, 1852–60. He died Dec. 19, 1860. His statue is in Calcutta, where the Dalhousie Institute was erected in his memory.