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Title: Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler: A Master Governor in British India (1890–1928)

Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler: A Master Governor in British India (1890–1928)

A Record of His Contribution Towards the Development of Modern India

by Michael Fenwick Macnamara (Author)
©2024 Monographs XVIII, 482 Pages
History & Political Science

Summary

The British Indian Civil Service was a small elite, which administered and governed a vast population. From their number were drawn the Governors of the various provinces. Relatively little work has been completed to explore the role these officials had in maintaining the British Indian Empire. Butler, in particular rose through the ranks of the ICS rapidly, becoming the second youngest to be promoted as Foreign Secretary and the youngest to be appointed a Governor. He was mooted as Viceroy. This book is drawn from Butler’s papers, held in the British Library, which have been edited to provide a chronological history of Butler’s personal life and of his exceptional official career. We are thus enabled to explore, not only his life in India at the personal level but to assess his input into British policy making across a wide spectrum. Most important areas include Land Settlement, Famine Relief, Foreign Policy, including towards the Princely States, Infrastructure, Industry, Agriculture, Education, Sanitation, and in response to Indian/Burmese Nationalism. An analysis of British intentions towards India is thus available. No similar or biographical work with respect to Butler has been completed.

Table Of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • About the author
  • About the book
  • This eBook can be cited
  • Contents
  • List of Photographs
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1 Early Years, 1880–1889
  • 1880–1889
  • Elstree School
  • Harrow School
  • Visit to Germany
  • Preparation for and Success in the ICS Exam
  • Balliol College and the Indian Institute, Oxford
  • Chapter 2 India: Allahabad, Sitapur, Naini Tal, Lucknow, Calcutta and Simla, 1890–1907
  • 1890–1907
  • Curzon Viceroy; Arrives in Bombay
  • Assistant Collector and Magistrate of Allahabad
  • Junior Secretary of the Board of Revenue, Allahabad
  • Assistant Settlement Officer, Sitapur
  • Marriage to Florence Wright
  • Joint Secretary to the Board of Revenue, Naini Tal
  • Butler Influences Opinion Through Pioneer
  • Curzon Durbar
  • Secretary to Famine Commission
  • Meeting Lord Curzon at Naini Tal
  • Famine Commission Report Issued and Preparation of the Revised Indian Famine Code
  • Declines Position as Financial Secretary to the Provincial Government
  • Awarded CIE for Famine Work
  • Appointed Director of Agriculture in the Government of the United Provinces
  • Publication of Oudh Policy – Identifies Importance of Landed Aristocracy and Liberal Doctrine
  • Meeting with Lord Minto
  • Secretary of the Royal Commission Upon Decentralization, Calcutta
  • Appointed Foreign Secretary Age 39
  • Chapter 3 Calcutta, Delhi and Simla, 1908–1910
  • 1908–1910
  • Minto Viceroy; Foreign Secretary
  • Deals with Zakka Khel Insurgency
  • Works with Lord Kitchener on Afghan Border Instability
  • First Letter to Emma Griffin
  • Morley–Minto Reforms
  • Develops Policy Towards Sedition and Security
  • Develops Laissez Faire Policy Towards British Influence on Internal Affairs of Princely States
  • Develops Policy Towards China
  • Butler Meets Exiled Dalai Lama
  • Takes Leave in England and Meets King George V and the Prime Minister
  • Recommended to Head Education Department
  • Chapter 4 Calcutta, Delhi and Simla, 1911–1915
  • 1911–1915
  • Hardinge Viceroy; Education Member of the Viceroy’s Council
  • Emphasis on Technical, Primary and Female Education and Teacher Training and Free Elementary Education
  • King George V Tours India and Announces Move of Capital to New Delhi
  • Butler Knighted (KCIE)
  • Consideration of Universities at Dacca, Rangoon, Patna, Nagpur, Aligarh and Benares
  • Involvement in Establishment and City Planning of New Delhi
  • Vice President of Imperial Legislative Council
  • Establishment of the Imperial Delhi Gymkhana Club and its First President
  • Appointment as Lieutenant Governor of Burma
  • Butler’s Wife has a Complete Nervous Breakdown and Returns to England
  • Account of Gallipoli Landing
  • Chapter 5 Burma: Rangoon, Maymyo and Mandalay, 1915–1917
  • 1915–1917
  • Chelmsford Viceroy; Takes up Post as Lieutenant Governor of Burma
  • Visit to Indian Nationalist on Death Row
  • First Tour of Burma – Minerals, Wolfram and Oil
  • Thoughts on Tertiary Education in India and Burma
  • Butler’s Burma Policy Including University at Rangoon and School of Forestry Research
  • Underlying Philosophy and Attitude to India and Burma
  • Imperial Spirit Initiatives
  • Attitude towards Constitutional (Montford) Reform
  • Importance of Railways to Burma and India
  • Identifies Japan as a Threat
  • Ideas on Military Reform
  • Butler’s Reference to British as Alien
  • Appointment of Burmans to Senior Positions
  • Naming of Fish: ‘Channa Harcourtbutleri
  • Meaning of Home Rule
  • Chapter 6 The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh: Lucknow, Naini Tal, Cawnpore and Allahabad, 1918–1922
  • 1918–1922
  • Reading Viceroy; Takes up Post as Lieutenant Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
  • Effective Refusal to Provide Viceroy with Views on Reform Package
  • Does not Believe Pan-Islamism Exists
  • Focus on Agricultural, Industrial and Educational Development
  • First Appointment of an Indian as Chief Secretary
  • Does Not Believe in Democracy
  • Disapproves of O’Dwyer’s Actions in the Punjab
  • Thinks Hunter Commission a Blunder
  • Observation on the Future of Islam
  • Appointed First Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
  • Believes There Should be an Apology for Jallianwala Bagh
  • Oudh Rent Act
  • Lays Foundation Stone of Lucknow University
  • Attitude towards Gandhi
  • Opens Legislative Council at Lucknow and Allahabad University Bill
  • Takes a Hardline on Security and with Respect to Nehru and Gandhi
  • Appointed Governor of Burma to Introduce Montagu Chelmsford Reforms There
  • Awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature and Laws from Lucknow and Allahabad Universities
  • Chapter 7 Burma: Rangoon, Maymyo and Mandalay, 1923–1927
  • 1923–1927
  • Irwin as Viceroy; Appointed Knight Grand Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE)
  • Main task in Burma to Implement Dyarchy
  • View on Nationalism in Burma
  • Publishes “A Big Game Shoot in Upper Burma”
  • Burma Policy
  • Reading’s Visit to Burma
  • Use of Calomel as a Purgative
  • Working of Reforms and Dyarchy
  • View of Religion
  • Against Repression or Reactionary Methods
  • Expedition to Abolish Naga Slavery and Human Sacrifice
  • Heinemann Offers to Publish Account of Naga Slavery and Butler Autobiography
  • Butler’s Achievements in Burma Since Arrival
  • Butler as a Friend of Motilal Nehru
  • Butler’s Mother Dies
  • Butler Thinks Princes are Best Allies
  • Supports Parliamentary Commission
  • Irwin and Butler Support Muslim–Hindu Unity
  • Appointed Chair of Indian States Committee
  • Departs Burma
  • Chapter 8 After India and Later Years
  • 1928–1938
  • Willingdon Viceroy; Indian States Committee Work and Report
  • Honorary Doctorate at Oxford: Member of the Governing Body of the School of Oriental Studies and India
  • View of British Achievements in India and of Nationalism
  • Visit to the United States and New York – Addresses English-Speaking Union
  • Butler and Willingdon, as Viceroys, Continue Correspondence
  • Publishes “India Insistent”
  • Appointed to Boards, Including P&O
  • Death, Funeral and Memorial Service at St. Margaret’s Westminster
  • Reflections on Sir Harcourt’s Life and Achievements
  • Appendix A British orders, decorations, titles and awards referenced in this work
  • Appendix B Sir Harcourt Butler’s obituary
  • Appendix C List of publications referencing Sir Harcourt Butler
  • Appendix D Instrument of Instructions issued to governors
  • Appendix E Preamble to The Consolidated Government of India Act, 1919
  • Bibliography

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. The German National
Library lists this publication in the German National Bibliography; detailed bibliographic data is
available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Macnamara, Michael Fenwick, author.

Title: Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, a master governor in British India
(1890-1928) : a record of his contribution towards the development of
modern India / Michael Fenwick Macnamara.

Description: Oxford ; Bern ; Berlin ; Bruxelles ; New York ; Wien : Peter
Lang, [2024] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2024031305 (print) | LCCN 2024031306 (ebook) | ISBN
9781803746586 (paperback) | ISBN 9781803746593 (ebook) | ISBN
9781803746609 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Butler, Harcourt, 1869-1938. | Indian Civil
Service--Officials and employees--Biography. |
Governors--India--Biography. | India--History--British occupation,
1765-1947--Biography. | Great Britain--Colonies--Administration. |
India--Politics and government. | Burma--Politics and government.

Classification: LCC DS479.1.B87 M33 2024 (print) | LCC DS479.1.B87
(ebook) | DDC 954.03/092 [B]--dc23/eng/20241009

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024031305

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024031306

Cover image: Sir Harcourt Butler, portrait. Courtesy of the British Library.
Cover design by Peter Lang Group AG

ISBN 978-1-80374-658-6 (print)
ISBN 978-1-80374-659-3 (ePDF)
ISBN 978-1-80374-660-9 (ePub)
DOI 10.3726/ b22157

© 2024 Peter Lang Group AG, Lausanne
Published by Peter Lang Pvt Ltd, Chennai
info@peterlang.com – www.peterlang.com

Michael Fenwick Macnamara has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this Work.

All rights reserved.
All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of
the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution.
This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing
in electronic retrieval systems.

This publication has been peer reviewed.

About the author

Michael Fenwick Macnamara retired as a senior official from the Australian Civil Service in 2005 and has since been engaged in the pursuit of British Indian history, with a focus on the senior administrators of the Indian Civil Service.

A PhD in British Indian history, he is a member of the Kipling Society and of the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia.

About the book

The British Indian Civil Service was a small elite, which administered and governed a vast population. From their number were drawn the Governors of the various provinces. Relatively little work has been completed to explore the role these officials had in maintaining the British Indian Empire. Butler, in particular rose through the ranks of the ICS rapidly, becoming the second youngest to be promoted as Foreign Secretary and the youngest to be appointed a Governor. He was mooted as Viceroy. This book is drawn from Butler’s papers, held in the British Library, which have been edited to provide a chronological history of Butler’s personal life and of his exceptional official career. We are thus enabled to explore, not only his life in India at the personal level but to assess his input into British policy making across a wide spectrum. Most important areas include Land Settlement, Famine Relief, Foreign Policy, including towards the Princely States, Infrastructure, Industry, Agriculture, Education, Sanitation, and in response to Indian/Burmese Nationalism. An analysis of British intentions towards India is thus available. No similar or biographical work with respect to Butler has been completed.

This eBook can be cited

This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.

Contents

List of Photographs

Preface

Introduction

CHAPTER 1
Early Years, 1880–1889

1880–1889

Elstree School

Harrow School

Visit to Germany

Preparation for and Success in the ICS Exam

Balliol College and the Indian Institute, Oxford

CHAPTER 2
India: Allahabad, Sitapur, Naini Tal, Lucknow, Calcutta and Simla, 1890–1907

1890–1907

Curzon Viceroy; Arrives in Bombay

Assistant Collector and Magistrate of Allahabad

Junior Secretary of the Board of Revenue, Allahabad

Assistant Settlement Officer, Sitapur

Marriage to Florence Wright

Joint Secretary to the Board of Revenue, Naini Tal

Butler Influences Opinion Through Pioneer

Curzon Durbar

Secretary to Famine Commission

Meeting Lord Curzon at Naini Tal

Famine Commission Report Issued and Preparation of the Revised Indian Famine Code

Declines Position as Financial Secretary to the Provincial Government

Awarded CIE for Famine Work

Appointed Director of Agriculture in the Government of the United Provinces

Publication of Oudh Policy – Identifies Importance of Landed Aristocracy and Liberal Doctrine

Meeting with Lord Minto

Secretary of the Royal Commission Upon Decentralization, Calcutta

Appointed Foreign Secretary Age 39

CHAPTER 3
Calcutta, Delhi and Simla, 1908–1910

1908–1910

Minto Viceroy; Foreign Secretary

Deals with Zakka Khel Insurgency

Works with Lord Kitchener on Afghan Border Instability

First Letter to Emma Griffin

Morley–Minto Reforms

Develops Policy Towards Sedition and Security

Develops Laissez Faire Policy Towards British Influence on Internal Affairs of Princely States

Develops Policy Towards China

Butler Meets Exiled Dalai Lama

Takes Leave in England and Meets King George V and the Prime Minister

Recommended to Head Education Department

CHAPTER 4
Calcutta, Delhi and Simla, 1911–1915

1911–1915

Hardinge Viceroy; Education Member of the Viceroy’s Council

Emphasis on Technical, Primary and Female Education and Teacher Training and Free Elementary Education

King George V Tours India and Announces Move of Capital to New Delhi

Butler Knighted (KCIE)

Consideration of Universities at Dacca, Rangoon, Patna, Nagpur, Aligarh and Benares

Involvement in Establishment and City Planning of New Delhi

Vice President of Imperial Legislative Council

Establishment of the Imperial Delhi Gymkhana Club and its First President

Appointment as Lieutenant Governor of Burma

Butler’s Wife has a Complete Nervous Breakdown and Returns to England

Account of Gallipoli Landing

CHAPTER 5
Burma: Rangoon, Maymyo and Mandalay, 1915–1917

1915–1917

Chelmsford Viceroy; Takes up Post as Lieutenant Governor of Burma

Visit to Indian Nationalist on Death Row

First Tour of Burma – Minerals, Wolfram and Oil

Thoughts on Tertiary Education in India and Burma

Butler’s Burma Policy Including University at Rangoon and School of Forestry Research

Underlying Philosophy and Attitude to India and Burma

Imperial Spirit Initiatives

Attitude towards Constitutional (Montford) Reform

Importance of Railways to Burma and India

Identifies Japan as a Threat

Ideas on Military Reform

Butler’s Reference to British as Alien

Appointment of Burmans to Senior Positions

Naming of Fish: ‘Channa Harcourtbutleri

Meaning of Home Rule

CHAPTER 6
The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh: Lucknow, Naini Tal, Cawnpore and Allahabad, 1918–1922

1918–1922

Reading Viceroy; Takes up Post as Lieutenant Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh

Effective Refusal to Provide Viceroy with Views on Reform Package

Does not Believe Pan-Islamism Exists

Focus on Agricultural, Industrial and Educational Development

First Appointment of an Indian as Chief Secretary

Does Not Believe in Democracy

Disapproves of O’Dwyer’s Actions in the Punjab

Thinks Hunter Commission a Blunder

Observation on the Future of Islam

Appointed First Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh

Believes There Should be an Apology for Jallianwala Bagh

Oudh Rent Act

Lays Foundation Stone of Lucknow University

Attitude towards Gandhi

Opens Legislative Council at Lucknow and Allahabad University Bill

Takes a Hardline on Security and with Respect to Nehru and Gandhi

Appointed Governor of Burma to Introduce Montagu Chelmsford Reforms There

Awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature and Laws from Lucknow and Allahabad Universities

CHAPTER 7
Burma: Rangoon, Maymyo and Mandalay, 1923–1927

1923–1927

Irwin as Viceroy; Appointed Knight Grand Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE)

Main task in Burma to Implement Dyarchy

View on Nationalism in Burma

Publishes “A Big Game Shoot in Upper Burma”

Burma Policy

Reading’s Visit to Burma

Use of Calomel as a Purgative

Working of Reforms and Dyarchy

View of Religion

Against Repression or Reactionary Methods

Expedition to Abolish Naga Slavery and Human Sacrifice

Heinemann Offers to Publish Account of Naga Slavery and Butler Autobiography

Butler’s Achievements in Burma Since Arrival

Butler as a Friend of Motilal Nehru

Butler’s Mother Dies

Butler Thinks Princes are Best Allies

Supports Parliamentary Commission

Irwin and Butler Support Muslim–Hindu Unity

Appointed Chair of Indian States Committee

Departs Burma

CHAPTER 8
After India and Later Years

1928–1938

Willingdon Viceroy; Indian States Committee Work and Report

Honorary Doctorate at Oxford: Member of the Governing Body of the School of Oriental Studies and India

View of British Achievements in India and of Nationalism

Visit to the United States and New York – Addresses English-Speaking Union

Butler and Willingdon, as Viceroys, Continue Correspondence

Publishes “India Insistent”

Appointed to Boards, Including P&O

Death, Funeral and Memorial Service at St. Margaret’s Westminster

Biographical notes

Michael Fenwick Macnamara (Author)

Michael Fenwick Macnamara retired as a senior official from the Australian Civil Service in 2005 and has since been engaged in the pursuit of British Indian history, with a focus on the senior administrators of the Indian Civil Service. A PhD in British Indian history, he is a member of the Kipling Society and of the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia.

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Title: Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler: A Master Governor in British India (1890–1928)