Page:Allan Octavian Hume, C.B.; Father of the Indian National Congress.djvu/39

 tion of his work and character : "To much administrative ability, and great powers of sustained exertion, he adds a cordial interest in the prosperity of his District, and the welfare of its people, and sacrifices all personal considerations to the conscientious discharge of his duty." Again, in Government Resolution of 8th March 1861 it was recorded that "The Lieutenant-Governor has derived much satisfaction from his visit to the District of Etawah, and desires to place on record his acknowledgment of the ability, energy, and judgment with which its administration is conducted by Mr. Hume."

With so distinguished a record as a District Administrator, it is not surprising that Mr. Hume was selected to be the head of one of the great centralized departments ; and in July 1867 he was appointed Commissioner of Customs for the North-West Provinces. In this capacity his principal achievement was the gradual abolition of the vast Customs barrier, 2500 miles long, which had hitherto been kept up to protect the Government salt monopoly by excluding the cheap salt produced in the Rajputana States. This grotesque fortification, guarded along its whole length like the Great Wall of China, extended west to east across the continent of India, from Attock on the Upper Indus to near Cuttack on the Bay of Bengal. It was the source of wasteful expense, corruption, and great inconvenience to the public ; and the proposal for its abolition was of long standing, having received the approval of successive Governors-General ; but action had been always postponed because of the difficulties connected with the negotiation of a series of treaties with numerous Native