Page:Dictionary of National Biography, Second Supplement, volume 1.djvu/114

 had boon aroused by the increase of imperial and local taxation; and it was in the teeth of much expert opinion 'that he decided on the non-renewal of the income-tax, the disallowance of the Bengal municipalities bill, and the modification of certain local imposts. Finance indeed he took under his special charge, and exercised a rigid and effective control over expenditure on public works, civil and military, with the result that during his four years' administration there was a surplus of ordinary revenue over expenditure of not less than a million sterling without the imposition of new taxation, notwithstanding an expenditure of 6,306,673l. for famine, which had been charged against revenue.

The Bengal famine was the most noteworthy occurrence of Northbrook's vice-royalty, for not only was it the worst famine which had arisen in India for at least a hundred years, but it was the first in which the state was able, by vast but well-designed measures of relief, to save the lives of the population. These measures, taken under the direct supervision of the viceroy, who for eighteen months hardly left Calcutta, were (wrote Sir Evelyn Baring, afterwards Lord Cromer, then private secretary to Northbrook, his second cousin) 'fully successful'; and 'The Times' gave expression to the general feeling, when it stated that to Lord Northbrook belonged the high honour of commanding one of the greatest and noblest campaigns ever fought in India. As in his financial measures, so on this occasion he showed his strength of character by resisting the universal outcry for regulating prices, stopping the operations of private traders, and preventing the export of rice.

The only other incident which aroused much excitement or controversy was the deposition in 1875 of the Gaekwar of Baroda following upon the rare procedure of a commission of investigation, partly British and partly native, in connection with his alleged attempt to poison the resident, Colonel (afterwards Sir Robert) Phayre [q. v.] and the subsequent restoration of the native administration of the state in pursuance of the non-annexation policy always cordially adhered to by Lord Northbrook.

The close of Lord Northbrook's term was marked by a certain amount of friction between the government of India and Lord Salisbury [q. v. Suppl. II], who had taken the place of the duke of Argyll as secretary of state for India upon the fall of Gladstone's administration in 1874. Lord Salisbury, contrary to Northbrook's views and wishes, was inclined to exercise a more vigilant control from home than his predecessor. The increasing use of the telegraph was in fact beginning to revolutionise the relations between the two governments. On the question of Afghanistan, Lord Salisbury, influenced by the Russophobist views of Sir Bartle Frere [q. v.] and Sir Henry Rawlinson [q. v.], put forward a proposal in his despatch of 22 Jan. 1875 for placing British agents at Herat and possibly at Kandahar, for the purpose of supplying the British government with information. Lord Northbrook, who deprecated the alarmist views put forward from home, and was firmly opposed to anything like external aggression, more especially in the direction of Afghanistan, remained as usual open-minded as to this suggestion until he had satisfied himself by careful inquiries from the best qualified sources; he finally came to the conclusion that the proposed action would be impolitic except with the full consent of the Ameer, which he had reason to believe would not be given. No further steps were taken in this direction, until Lord Lytton [q. v.] succeeded Lord Northbrook as viceroy. Meanwhile another question, that connected with the tariff and the cotton duties, led to a more serious collision of opinion, in which Lord Northbrook, though a convinced freetrader in principle, stood out as a champion of Indian interests against the pressure from Lord Salisbury and the home government in favour of a remission of the duties against Lancashire goods. By this time Lord Northbrook had decided on private grounds to resign his office, and he only remained in India until the conclusion of the visit of King Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, in the winter of 1875-6, a fitting climax to his viceroyalty. He left India on 15 April 1876.

The distinguishing mark of Lord Northbrook's rule was, apart from his administrative capacity, his determination to guide himself by the wishes of the population at large so far as he could ascertain them. His genuine feeling for the natives, to whom his strict impartiality and the sympathy which underlay his reserve strongly appealed, procured him the title of 'The just Northbrook.'

An earldom was conferred on him in recognition of his work in India on 10 June 1876. On his return home, Lord Northbrook's first care, having inherited a large fortune, a house in Hamilton Place, and