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 CHAPTER X

Administrative Reforms; Conclusion; Lord Hastings' Work in India

Besides the many changes, reconstituting fundamentally British rule in India, which marked the period 1813-23, reforms were also introduced in the domestic administration of the country that cannot be altogether passed over. The East India Company had been from time to time subjected to certain alterations in the Royal Charter which controlled its rights and defined its duties in the territories that were assigned to its management. In 1813 a new Charter was granted to which allusion has been incidentally made in the Fourth Chapter of this volume ; before granting it, however, a searching inquiry had been held into the whole of the Company's administration; and as the conclusion arrived at was that the Judicial and Revenue systems were capable of improvement, it was proposed to reform them as soon as possible. Lord Hastings was not the man to delay useful work of this nature, and his natural desire to remove grievances as well as his indomitable energy both urged him to correct abuses