Page:Twelve men of Bengal in the nineteenth century (1910).djvu/111

Rh either as personal legal adviser or successful pleader in the highest court of judicature, to assist the Commissioner in his early communications with those classes, was precisely what was required to allay fears which were daily gaining ground and strength—fears that the Government was bent on general and indiscriminate vengeance for the attrocities committed in other parts of India. There is no calculating what might have been the danger or mischief of a spread of the belief among a credulous and timid population. The fear was at once allayed by Amir Ali's advent and not only has the real justice of the Government been made apparent to the native mind but its vast power and resources, not half understood or believed by the people were made real and credible to all." The appointment was further approved by the Court of Directors in a Despatch of August 1858, wherein the opinion was expressed that "the Lieutenant Governor had shown good and sufficient reason for it and the excellent service rendered by Munshi Amir Ali is the best justification of the government in selecting him for the important office which he held in Patna."

In recognition of the services he had rendered, Amir Ali was created a Khan Bahadur in 1864 and in the following year he was appointed a member of the Bengal Legislative Council. He was also an Honorary Magistrate at Alipore and a Justice of