Which one of the following British officials was elevated to the position of Governor General after the Regulating Act of 1773?
- (a)Warren Hastings
- (b)Lord North
- (c)Mountstuart Elphinstone
- (d)Philip Francis
Correct — A, Warren Hastings. The Regulating Act of 1773 was Parliament's first attempt to bring the East India Company's Indian administration under some public control, and one of the things it did was to raise the Governor of Bengal to a new office, the Governor-General of Fort William in Bengal, with the Presidencies of Madras and Bombay made subordinate to him in matters of war and peace. Warren Hastings held the Bengal governorship at the time and so became the first holder of the new office, serving until 1785. The Act also gave him a Council of four, in which he could be outvoted and repeatedly was, and set up a Supreme Court at Calcutta which began work in 1774 under Sir Elijah Impey.
- (b)Lord North — Lord North was Prime Minister of Great Britain and the man whose government brought the Regulating Act through Parliament. He never held office in India, and the Act is sometimes called North's Regulating Act for that reason.
- (c)Mountstuart Elphinstone — Mountstuart Elphinstone belongs to the next century — Resident at Poona, then Governor of Bombay from 1819 to 1827, and known for the Elphinstone Code and for schooling in the Bombay Presidency.
- (d)Philip Francis — Philip Francis was appointed to the new Council of four under the same Act and became Hastings's most persistent opponent on it; the two eventually fought a duel. He was a councillor, never the Governor-General.
The Regulating Act of 1773 marks the beginning of parliamentary control over the Company. It created the office of Governor-General of Bengal with a Council of four, subordinated Madras and Bombay to Bengal in defined matters, established a Supreme Court at Calcutta, barred Company servants from private trade and from taking presents, and required the Court of Directors to report revenue, civil and military affairs to the British government. Its defects — a Governor-General who could be outvoted, an unclear relationship between the Supreme Court and the Company's own courts — brought Pitt's India Act of 1784 eleven years later.
The four names are chosen so that each is connected to the Act or the period in a different way, and only one of them held the office. The precise title matters and is a favourite of examiners: 1773 created the Governor-General of Bengal, and it was the Charter Act of 1833 that turned that office into the Governor-General of India. The stem here says simply 'Governor General', so the looser phrasing does not mislead, but the distinction should be carried into any question that names a territory.
- The Regulating Act of 1773 raised the Governor of Bengal to Governor-General of Fort William in Bengal.
- Warren Hastings was the first to hold the new office, from 1774 to 1785.
- The Act gave the Governor-General a Council of four in which he had no veto and could be outvoted.
- A Supreme Court was established at Calcutta and began work in 1774, with Sir Elijah Impey as its first Chief Justice.
- The office became Governor-General of India only under the Charter Act of 1833, first held in that form by Lord William Bentinck.
- Calling Hastings the first Governor-General of India; the 1773 Act made him Governor-General of Bengal.
- Confusing Lord North, who sponsored the Act in Parliament, with an office-holder in India.
- Assuming the Governor-General had a casting vote or veto in his Council under this Act; he did not.
As an Act-to-office pairing, as a chronology of the Charter Acts, or as a which-Act-created-what identification.
By which one of the following Acts was the Governor General of Bengal designated as the Governor General of India?
- (a) The Regulating Act
- (b) The Pitt's India Act
- (c) The Charter Act of 1793
- (d) The Charter Act of 1833
Answer(d) The Charter Act of 1833
The companion fact, and the one that guards against the commonest error here. The Regulating Act created a Governor-General of Bengal; only the Charter Act of 1833 made the office all-India.
Consider the following statements : 1. Warren Hastings was the first Governor General who established a regular police force in India on the British pattern 2. A Supreme Court was established at Calcutta by the Regulating Act, 1773 3. The Indian Penal Code came into effect in the year 1860 Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2
- (b) 2 and 3
- (c) 1 and 3
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(b) 2 and 3
The same Act and the same office-holder, tested through its institutions. The Supreme Court at Calcutta is the other creation of 1773, and separating what Hastings actually did from what is loosely credited to him is the skill being examined.
CDS_GK_2021_I_Q452021Which of the following statements about the Sanyasi and Faqir disturbances/rebellions are correct? 1. Governor-General Warren Hastings faced the persistent Sanyasi and Faqir disturbances in Bengal and Bihar. 2. There were a number of Shaivite Naga Sanyasis who formed into armed bands. 3. Majnu Shah, who led bands into Bengal from 1771, was their prominent leader. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 1, 2 and 3
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1 and 3 only
Answer(b) 1, 2 and 3
The same man in office, seen from the countryside. The earlier session of the same year asked what Warren Hastings was dealing with in Bengal and Bihar; this one asks how he came to be dealing with it.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Supreme Court at Calcutta was established under which one of the following Acts?
- (a)Regulating Act, 1773
- (b)Pitt's India Act, 1784
- (c)Charter Act, 1793
- (d)Charter Act, 1833
Answer(a) Regulating Act, 1773 — the court began work in 1774 with Sir Elijah Impey as Chief Justice.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under the Regulating Act of 1773, the Governor-General of Bengal was assisted by a Council of how many members?
- (a)Three
- (b)Four
- (c)Five
- (d)Six
Answer(b) Four — and because he had no veto, the Governor-General could be and often was outvoted.