Vincent Arthur Smith

“ The man who likes a quiet life probably will prefer the dignified, if monotonous, duties of the Bench, and, as a matter of course, will become a District and Sessions Judge, with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, subject to the control of the High Court of his province. If he is exceptionally able or lucky, or, still better, is both, he will himself obtain a seat in a High Court, have a good time, and ultimately retire with an extra pension.
But the young officer who is active, energetic, and ambitious will generally incline to choose the more exacting tasks of the executive line. ”

“ It is therefore unsafe to venture on any general statement affirming that after so many years' service a civilian may expect so much pay or such and such rank.
I am perhaps justified in saying that for the first five years of his service, especially if married, he will be a poor man, that when of ten years' standing he will be fairly well off, and that after twenty years' service he should be drawing in the ordinary line not less than £1800 a year. Of course, if an officer is a favourite of fortune, he may do very much better. ”

“ In the long hours of a day in the hot weather, when the offices happen to be closed, and nothing disturbs the deadly silence of the darkened house, when tobacco ceases to charm, and the delights of long drinks must be chastened with discretion—the man with a hobby may still be content and rejoice in the quiet which bores to death his idle comrade. ”

“ It is true that we cannot all become Lieutenant-Governors, but every young man who enters the Service should work the better for knowing that he has as good a chance as anyone else of attaining the highest rank, and that, even if he should miss that prize, there are many valuable and honourable appointments which await officers who possess the double qualification of seniority and merit. ”

“ With the exception of a very few High Court Judges of long service as such, every civilian, irrespective of his rank or pay at the date of retirement, draws the same pension, £1000 a year.
He may claim this allowance when he has completed twenty-five years' service, including twenty-one years' Indian service, but not a day sooner. No intermediate pensions are allowed, except to certified invalids; and an invalid pension cannot exceed £450 a year. He may hold on for ten years longer, but not a day more; and the extra service earns no extra pension. ”

“ All Trinity men feel a justifiable pride in claiming as a son of their Alma Mater Sir James Digges La Touche, K.C.S.I., who now worthily holds the honoured position of Lieutenant-Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Galway can regard with equal satisfaction the career of the Right Honourable Sir Antony MacDonnell, G.C.S.I., the predecessor of Sir James La Touche in that high office, who, after thirty-six years of arduous Eastern service, has sufficient energy left to tackle the thorny problems which beset the path of the rulers of Ireland. ”

“ Although, nowadays, no member of the Indian Civil Service is or can become a clerk, in the olden days all its members began their career as clerks or 'writers.' As everybody knows, the Empire of India is the unexpected result of the trading operations of the East India Company, which received its first charter from Queen Elizabeth on the last day of the year 1600. ”

“ From the day he joins the Service until he retires, the civilian has to contribute four per cent, of his salary, be it great or small, towards the cost of his pension. A result of this arrangement is that the lucky officer who has enjoyed high pay for many years defrays probably the greater part of the charge for his pension, while the retiring allowance of the man who has had bad luck and comparatively small pay must be mostly provided by the State. ”

“ The details of the pecuniary emoluments and liabilities of the Service which have been given do not afford much support to the notion, which is, I believe, commonly held, that the young civilian, with nothing beyond his pay, can well afford to marry at the outset of his career, even before he sails for India. An income varying between the limits of £320 and £400 a year for the first three or four years of service may be enough for one person, but it is not always adequate for two or more ”

“ Let the hobby be what it may—beetles, coins, postage-stamps, or anything—a man should see that he has one, and not be happy until he gets it.
People tell me that nowadays our best Irish students seldom turn their thoughts to India, and that they prefer very small things at home to all that the East can offer. ”

“ The Indian Empire is a vast ethnological and linguistic museum, stored with an infinite treasure of materials for the study of the science of man in all its branches. [8] The history and antiquities of the country offer an illimitable field for investigation ”

“ I venture to recommend it, not merely because, on the whole, it pays much better than most professions, but because it offers to an able and ambitious young man an honourable and manly career, giving full scope for the exercise of the strongest character and the highest intellectual power, and holding out promise of eminent distinction. The most valuable prizes and the most honourable distinctions of the Service are freely open to all qualified competitors ”

“ I venture to think that they are mistaken, and am persuaded that a young man who has brains enough to succeed in the 'open competition' will usually do better for himself, and live a fuller and more interesting life, by going to India, than he could expect to have if he remained at home. ”

“ The pecuniary attractions of the Service lie, not in the rates of salary during an officer's early years, which are extremely moderate, but in the certainty of a good income after fifteen or twenty years' service, the assurance of a decent pension after twenty-five years, and the practical certainty of high and lucrative appointments for all officers who are able to hold on and avoid premature retirement. ”

“ A hundred years ago, when the organisation of the Service was inchoate and incomplete, no provision was made for family pensions. When an officer died prematurely—a common accident in those days—it was the practice to circulate an appeal to his brother officers for charitable subscriptions for the benefit of his widow and children. ”

“ The feeling of brotherhood and good-fellowship which arises so naturally in the hearts of a small society of Europeans set in the midst of a vast multitude of Orientals, cannot be matched at home, and is a very precious possession. ”

“ In his magisterial capacity, he is empowered and required to try, sitting by himself, all offences except those of the most heinous kinds, and may sentence an offender to two years' hard labour and a fine of a thousand rupees. He investigates the more heinous cases which he is not empowered to try, and, if necessary, commits the accused persons to a higher Court. As a revenue officer, he deals with many intricate matters concerning the land, such as boundary disputes, the determination of fair rents, and so forth, as may be required by the law prevailing in the province where he serves. ”

“ From Madras, and the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, where prospects seem to be particularly unpromising, complaints are beginning to be heard; but I have not yet heard of similar growls from other provinces. Much inequality in advancement is to be ascribed to individual fitness, luck, or opportunity. ”

“ A few years ago the Service in all provinces was permitted to suffer such diminution in numbers that there were not men enough to go round, and youngsters of three and four years' service were acting as chief magistrates of districts. Latterly, the rate of recruitment has been increased; and promotion is now comparatively slow in every province. ”

“ Although no separate fund now exists, and everything depends upon the pleasure of the Secretary of State, the pensions continue to be provided on the same principles as formerly, but on a less liberal scale. Every member of the Service, married or unmarried, is still bound by covenant to subscribe. ”

“ The call of duty may summon him to hunt down a gang of brigands, defend a fort, lay out a cholera camp, frame the Imperial Budget, or do many other things not specially provided for in his early education; but, whatever may befall, he will never be asked to perform the routine duties of an office clerk. ”

“ He begins on 400 rupees a month (£320 a year) , which is raised to 450 rupees (£360 a year) when he passes the Lower Standard Departmental examination, and to 500 rupees a month, or £400 a year, when he passes the Higher Standard and becomes a first-class magistrate. This second step should be attained in two years. [5]
From this point onwards the emoluments of different officers equal in standing may diverge widely. Each provincial government has its own staff; and, as a rule, an officer remains for all his service in the province to which he was originally attached. ”