Salient Features of Charter Act 1833

The charter act is also known as The Saint Helena Act 1833, this act was given by the  Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Statutes Act of 1833 was the result of the British Industrial Revolution. The Act provided that India should act as a market for British mass production on a "laissez-faire" basis. The law replaced the Governor of Bengal with the Governor-General of India. 

Therefore, the Charter Act of 1833 was institutionalized on the basis of the concept of liberalism. This was a bill of the British Parliament to allow the East India Company to rule India for another 20 years. The law legalized the British colonization of India and the company’s landholdings, but it was the “Her Majesty” serving the Indian government. An important point to understand here is that because of this law, the East India Company was deprived of the commercial privileges it had enjoyed so far.

The article focuses on the description of the main features of the charter act of 1833. The article is focused on developing an understanding of the provisions of the charter act and the analysis of the act. The article helps in developing an understanding of the act of 1833. 

Main Features Of The Charter Act Of 1833

The main features of charter act 1833 can be summarized into tghe following points, which are mentioned below. The understanding of the features of this cat will help in generating the basic concept of the act and the impact of the act on Indian history.  The salient features of character act 1833 are as follows.

• The charter act replaced the governor of Bengal with the Governor-General of India. The act granted the governor-general all the civil and military powers. Thus, the bill created an Indian government for the first time, which had power over all British-owned territory in India. Lord William Bendyk was the first governor of India.

• The character act of 1833 deprived the governors of Mumbai and Madras of legislative powers. The Governor of India was given exclusive legislative power for all of British India. An important differentiation between the use of different terms was seen during this period. The laws made under the previous law were called regulations and the laws made under this law were called bills.

• One of the main features of the charter act of 1833 was that it marked the end of the activities of the East India Company as a commercial organization. The East India Company was given the status of an administrative organization. It stipulates that the company’s territory in India shall be “trusted for your majesty, heirs, and successors”.

• The last but one of the main features of charter act 1833 was that the bill attempts to introduce an openly competitive selection system for public servants and stipulates that Indians should not be prohibited from holding any office, position or employment in companies. It is important to note that this provision was rejected after the board of directors objected.

These were the main salient features of the charter act 1833, the jest of the act can be described as the bill which offered a wider space for the British in the Indian government. He ended the business activities of the British India Company and became the administrator of the British royal family to govern India.

Provisions Made Under The Charter Act Of 1833

As we have studied some of the key points of the act of 1833, we can now move to understand the details of the features of the activities mentioned above, which can be alternatively termed as the provisions of the charter act of 1833. It is important to develop a complete understanding of the provision to develop the understanding the vast impact and implications of the changes that were made under this act. 

India as a British colony

The charter act of 1833, legalized the British colonization of India. The company's land ownership was still under its rule but was "entrusted with his majesty, his heirs and successors" to serve the Indian government. It was because of this provision that the country was governed by the Governor-General that answered to the crown of Britain. The Governor-General had the power to amend, repeal or change any laws related to all people and places in the British Indian Territory, whether they are British, foreigners or native Indians. The governor controlled the civil and military affairs of the company in Parliament.

Governor-General of India

As described earlier the Governor-general was the designation invented under the charter act which gave the supreme authority to the Governor-general, let us now look into some of the important points related to this provision. 

The act made the Governor of Bengal the Governor-General of British India, and all financial and administrative powers are concentrated in the hands of the Governing Council. Therefore, according to the Charter Act of 1833, Lord William Bentinck became "the first Governor of British India". 

The membership of the Governor's Council was set at 4 members, and this number was reduced by the Pitt India Act of 1784. However, certain restrictions were placed on the functioning of the fourth member. For example, except for legislative purposes, the fourth member was not entitled to serve as a member of the board of directors. The first fourth council member was Lord Macaulay.

Division of Bengal Presidency

The Charter Act of 1833 stipulated that the Presidency of Bengal was divided into two parts, namely. Presidency of Fort William and Presidency of Agra. It is very important to note that the regulation was later suspended and never took effect.

Indian law Commission

One of the main features of charter act 1833 was the organisation of the Indian law commission. The Act of 1833 was seen as an attempt to codify all Indian laws. As the supreme body, the British Parliament reserved the right to legislate and repeal these bills for the British territory in India. Furthermore, the bill stipulates that all laws enacted in India must be submitted to the British Parliament. To codify the law into a code, the Governor established an Indian Law Commission under the guidance of the Charter Act of 1833.

India's first legal committee was established under the Charter Act of 1833, and Lord Macaulay was appointed chairman. The other members of the committee were British lawyer Cameron, McLeod serving at Madras, William Anderson serving at Mumbai, and Sir William McNaughton who was serving in Calcutta. Sir William McNaughton did not accept this appointment. 

The purpose of the Law Commission was to investigate the jurisdiction, powers, and rules of judicial police agencies, existing forms of judicial procedures, and the nature and operation of various laws. It was instructed that the Law Committee present a report to the Governing Council, which will be presented to the British Parliament.

Indians In The Government Services

The Charter Act of 1833 was the first law to freely admit native Indians to share administrative institutions in the country. According to the law, the number of candidates nominated by the board of directors each year must be four times the number of vacancies, and the officers must be selected through a competition. The Charter Act of 1833 also stipulated that Haileybury College in London should establish a quota for future civil service admissions.  The law noted that merit must be the basis of employment of government services, not origin, colour, religion or race. However, this open competition system has not worked effectively in the near future.

Abloshiment Of Slavery

This is one of the salient features of charter act 1833. The British Parliament abolished slavery in Britain and all its jurisdiction in 1833. The act also ordered the Governor to take measures to alleviate the slavery situation that has existed in India since the time of the Sultanate. The Governor was also ordered to pay attention to the marriage law and the rights and powers of the head of the household when drafting any laws. 

Bishops In India

Due to the growing number of British residents in the country, the bill allowed three bishops in India. The Charter Act of 1833 regulated the establishment of Christian institutions in India.

Significance Of The Charter Act Of 1833

For many reasons, the Charter Act of 1833 was a milestone in India's constitution and political history, after a complete analysis of the act the significance of the law can be summarized into the following points. 

• First, the promotion of the Governor of Bengal to Governor-General of India is an important step towards the consolidation and centralization of the Indian administration. This is the first step in the centralization of power in India.

• Secondly, the end of East India Company as a commercial entity effectively made it the royal trustee in the administrative field.

• Third, the bill established for the first time that indigenous people can freely enter the country for their management. Indians can enter the civil service, but the process was still very difficult.

• Fourth, this measure separates the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General in Council and the Executive Council for the first time. In addition, Lord Macaulay's Legal Committee codified these laws.

In conclusion of the article, the Charter Act of 1833 was a milestone in Indian history, the act has various important political implications that are discussed in the article, this act is also considered as the law that paved the way for the complete colonization of India.