INDIAN BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY, 1915.
Benton, Jhon.
b. 1850; s. of late John Benton; m. 1885, Margaret Forsyth, d. of ex-Provost Dick of Rothes, N.B.; Educ, Aberdeen University, Edinburgh University, Royal Indian Engineering College, Cooper’s Hill (Fellow); Appointed Assistant Engineer, 1873: Executive Engineer, 1881; Superintending Engineer, 1897; Chief Engineer, 1900; Inspector-General of Irrigation, 1905. Address: Simla.
Beresford, John Stuart, C.I.E., (1900): b. 1845; s. of late Thomas Beresford; m. 1872, Elizabeth, d, of late William Quinton. Entered service in P.W.D., India, 1867; Chief Engineer and Secretary to Government, N-W. Provinces and Oudh, 1892; Chief Engineer and Secretary to Chief Commissioner, Central Provinces, 1893-96; Chief Engineer and Secretary to Government of Punjab, Irrigation Branch, 1896-1900; Member of Punjab Legislative Council, 1897-1900; Joint Secretary to the Government of India and Inspector-General of Irrigation, 14 Jan. to 24 July 1898; retired, 1900; is a Member Queen’s University, Ireland; Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers; Fellow, Allahabad University. Publications: Several monographs and reports on engineering subjects. Address: c/o Grindly and Co., 54 Parliament Street, S.W. East India United Service Club.
Berkeley, Major-General James Cavan, C.I.E., (1888), formerly Resident at Gwalior; b. Clifton, 1839; s. of late General Sackville Hamilton Berkeley; m. 1st, Anna Sophia (d. 1886), d. of Capt. G. Middlecoat, Madras Art.; 2nd, Maud, y.d. of W. Tomlinson, F.R.A.S., of York and Sandon, Isle of Wight; Educ: King’s Coll., London; Joined Indian Army, 1857; transferred to Political department, 1882; was successively British Resident at Gwalior (1883), Kashmir (1884), and Nepal Courts (1885), and Agent to the Governor-General at Baroda (1886-7). Address: Priestlands Sherbourne, Dorset. Club: United Service.
Berna, Hon. Srijut Padmanath nominated non-official Member of Council, Assam, 1913. Address: Shillong.
Berwick, T., Bar-at-Law, Lincoln’s Inn; M.R.A.S.; b. Edinburgh, 1826; 4th s. of late William Berwick: m. 1862. Annette d. of R. Howard-Brooke of Castle Howard, co. Wicklow; s. Educ: University of Edinburgh. Advocate, Supreme Court, Ceylon, 1851; Deputy Queen’s Advocate successively for the Southern and Midland Circuits, and for the Island; Solicitor-General, 1851-68; sat on the Benches of Kandy and Colombo and the Supreme Court, 1866 to 1888, when he retired; called to the English Bar with special dispensation, 1861; served on a committee of inquiry into the police force, 1864; was official member of the Municipal Council of Colombo, since its establishment in 1865; sat on the Currency Commission, on whose report silver was substituted for the previous gold standard, and decimal coinage introduced in Ceylon; was largely instrumental in the abolition of legal polyandry and in the improvement of the native marriage laws, and the revival of the ancient village tribunals in Ceylon; retired, 1888: is an ex-Captain of the Ceylon L.I. Volunteers. Publications: A Translation of Voet’s Commentaries on the Pandects (two editions), and various papers in journals. Recreations: foreign travelling, archaeological
