Page:Twelve men of Bengal in the nineteenth century (1910).djvu/223

Rh testifies how great was the affection and respect that he inspired. After his death the estate soon became insolvent and his brother was forced to mortgage Lots I, II, III to Maharaja Durga Charan Law who quickly saw the great possibilities the estate offered if judiciously and econominally managed. Here was an immense tract of feritlefertile [sic] land already under cultivation with all the initial difficulties of labour and reclamation overcome. The Morrels, carried away by the initial success of their enterprise, had launched out into many unnecessary entravagances and the Maharaja with his keen business instinct only awaited the opportunity of getting possession of the estate to reduce it to order and make of it a splendid property. Unable to satisfy his creditors, William, the last survivor of the three brothers, was finally forced to sell the whole estate in 1878 and in the following year Durga Charan Law purchased all four Lots. Under his management Morrelgunj soon entered upon another period of prosperity. Under a capable manager he introduced order and control, greatly developing the properties, making roads, excavating tanks, cutting canals, establishing hats, building schools and establishing a charitable Dispensary. Practically everything in Morrelgunj is still done by the Maharaja's sons. The Dispensary and the schools are still maintained entirely at their expense, while their tenants look to them for almost all their needs. It possesses a thriving