Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, was appointed Governor-General of Fort William (Bengal) and Commander-in-Chief of British India on September 12, 1786. The Cornwallis Code is a set of laws enacted by the East India Company in 1793. The Cornwallis Code is renowned for a number of important provisions. These clauses dealt with governance, law and order, as well as judicial and civil administration. The most well known provision was the 1793 permanent settlement. This act established a revenue collection system that lasted into the twentieth century. This article provides a brief introduction to Lord Cornwallis and the major reforms he instituted.

The Cornwallis Code Key Features

• Cornwallis was responsible for a number of reforms, the most notable of which was the Permanent Revenue Settlement.
• Cornwallis outlawed the receipt of bribes and gifts, halted private trade carried on by Company servants in the names of their family, raised public servant salaries, and promoted only Englishmen to positions of responsibility.
• Cornwallis decreased the number of districts from 25 to 23, dissolved numerous jobs, stripped collectors of their civil justice functions, and made selections based solely on merit.
• He delegated trade-related responsibilities to the trade-board, reduced the number of board members, and selected commission-based representatives.
• For the purpose of ensuring peace and order, Cornwallis erected police posts and appointed police sub-inspectors.
• Lord Cornwallis removed the executive from the judiciary, erased the division between civil and revenue courts, and formed a civil court system, with courts of Munsifs, Registrars, district courts, four province courts, and the Sardar Diwani Adalat at the top.
• Circuit courts in districts and four provincial courts in Patna, Dacca, Murshidabad, and Calcutta were established for criminal trials, with Sardar Nizamat Adalat at the head.
• Civil cases were to be determined by community laws, but criminal cases were to be decided by Muslim laws.
• Furthermore, government officials were held accountable for their conduct, the Governor-General-in-Council was given pardoning powers, and the Cornwallis Code was drafted in 1793.
• Lord Cornwallis' reforms were not without flaws, but they were useful and laid the groundwork for future improvements.

Reforms in Governance

In several areas of government, he implemented the following reforms:

Bengal's Permanent Settlement

• The revenue management was a difficult task, and no permanent decisions were made about it before Lord Cornwallis arrived in India.
• The Directors had authorized Lord Cornwallis to make a settlement with zamindars for a few years after reviewing revenue records from previous years, with the hope of making it permanent in the near future.
• The Permanent Settlement in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa concerned revenue was largely due to the Directors' directives.

Reforms in the Services Sector

• The worst kind of corruption in the civil service was accepting bribes and gifts. Furthermore, the Company's servants engaged in private trade in the name of their relatives, neglecting the Company's trade as a result.
• Cornwallis took some steps to put a halt to the corruption. On the one hand, he outlawed the taking of bribes and gifts, as well as private trade conducted by Company servants in the names of their family.
• On the other hand, he boosted the workers' salary so that they might be free of financial temptations. Furthermore, he made every effort to appoint only Englishmen to positions of responsibility. In the army, an Indian could not ascend higher than the rank of Subedar, and in the civil service, he could not rise higher than the rank of Munsif.

Administrative Restructuring

Lord Cornwallis focused on honesty and tried to cut down on the cost of running the administration. In terms of administration, he implemented the following changes:

• Bengal's district count has been lowered from twenty-five to twenty-three.
• Several redundant positions were eliminated.
• The Collectors' right to administer civil justice was taken away from them. It was either turned over to revenue boards or given over to civil courts.
• When appointing officers to the Services, Cornwallis based his decisions solely on merit.

Reforms in Trade

Private trade was outlawed by Cornwallis. In addition, he took the following steps:

• The Trading Board was given responsibility for the Company's trade.
• The number of Board of Trade members has been lowered.
• Trade agents were hired on a commission basis to purchase and market the Company's products.

Administration of the Police Force

• The rights of the landlords to enforce law and order were taken away by Lord Cornwallis. He created police stations in various locations and stationed police officers under the supervision of Indian sub-inspectors to maintain peace and order in their respective territories.
• Following that, as far as practicable, Indian sub-inspectors were replaced by Englishmen. The magistrates were given the responsibility to supervise their working.

Reforming the Judiciary

Cornwallis aimed to deliver justice to the common people by separating the judiciary from the executive. In this field, he attempted to improve on Warren Hastings' system. He implemented the following reforms:

Courts of Civil Law

• There was no longer a separation between civil litigation and tax disputes.
• The courts were organized into a logical hierarchy. The courts of Munsifs, who were Indians, were at the bottom of the organization. These courts were only allowed to rule on situations involving less than fifty rupees.
• The courts of Indian Registrars sat above the courts of Munsifs, and they could only hear cases involving conflicts worth less than two hundred rupees.
• There were also district courts, which heard appeals from smaller courts and decided issues with the assistance of Indian assessors.
• Above district courts were four provincial courts established at Patna, Dacca, Murshidabad and Calcutta respectively. These courts dealt with original cases and also heard appeals from the lower courts. These courts were placed under three English judges who decided cases with three native assessors.
• The Sadar Diwani Adalat at Calcutta, where cases were determined by the governor-general and members of his council with the help of Chief Qazi, two Muftis, and two Pandits, was at the top of the list.
• An appeal to the King of Britain and his Council may be made on top of that. These courts might also make decisions in instances involving Europeans. Besides, many rules were framed concerning the functioning of these courts.

Criminal Courts

• Under English judges, circuit courts were organized in districts that traveled from one location to another to administer justice.
• Four provincial courts were formed above them in Patna, Dacca, Murshidabad, and Calcutta, respectively. English judges presided over these courts. These courts could award death sentences to a person but with the prior permission of the Sadar Nizamat Adalat.
• The Sadar Nizamat Adalat was established at Calcutta where the cases were decided by the “Governor-general-in-Council”. It was the highest criminal court. However, an appeal against its judgment could be made to the King of Britain and his Council.
• The English judges were aided by native assessors in all of these courts.

Besides the establishment of different courts, some following measures were also passed:

• It was decided that the civil disputes would be decided according to community laws, viz., the cases of the Hindus would be decided by the Hindu laws while the cases of the Muslims would be decided by the Muslim laws.
• The criminal cases would be decided on the basis of Muslim laws.
• The government officials were held responsible for their actions in their official capacity and therefore, cases would be instituted against them in their official capacity.
• The Governor-general-in-Council had the right to pardon or reduce the punishment given to an individual. However, the last appeal for pardon could be made by an individual to the “British King in Council.”
• The Supreme Court also remained there. It, however, decided the cases involving only the Europeans.

Lord Cornwallis

• Lord Cornwallis was a British army officer, administrator, and diplomat who had previously served in the American Revolutionary War. He and his troops had surrendered to the Americans at Yorktown.
• In 1786, he accepted the position of Governor-General of Bengal on the condition that he also be given supreme military command.
• On September 12, he arrived in Calcutta and assumed command.
• The Cornwallis Code, which contained provisions for governing civil, policing, and judiciary administration in British India, was developed under his supervision.
• He established a Hindu Sanskrit College in Benaras, which is now known as the Government Sanskrit College.
• In addition, he established a mint in Calcutta.

Conclusion

Cornwallis implemented reforms in a variety of administrative areas. These reforms were widely viewed as successful, and the Company's administration made no move to modify them for the next twenty years. Lord Cornwallis, on the other hand, was not a reformer. In some circumstances, he followed the directives of the "Court of Directors," but in others, he benefited from Warren Hastings' actions. "He truly raised the superstructure on a foundation set down by Warren Hastings," writes P.E. Roberts. Cornwallis' reforms included a number of severe flaws. His Permanent Settlement clearly hurt peasant interests. Similarly, the introduction of judicial courts by itself did not aid India's common people. Because the system was more expensive, it benefited only the wealthy. It also required lengthy delays, which harmed the poor and disadvantaged.