The Queen’s Proclamation
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Proclamation by the
The RIGHT HONORABLE THE GOVERNOR GENERAL OF INDIA
FOREIGN DEPARTMENT, ALLAHABAD, 1st NOVEMBER 1858
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN, having declared that it is Her gracious Pleasure to take upon Herself the Government of the British Territories in INDIA, the Viceroy and Governor General hereby notifies that from this Day all Acts of the Government of INDA will be done in the name of the Queen alone.
From this Day all Men of every Race and Class who under the administration of the HONORABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY have joined to uphold the Honor and Power of England will be Servants of the Queen alone.
The Governor General summons them, once and all, each in his degree, and according to his opportunity, and with his whole hearted strength, to aid in fulfilling the Will and Pleasure of the Queen, as set forth in Her Royal Proclamation.
From the many Millions of Her Majesty’s Native Subjects in INDIA, the Governor General will now and at all times exact loyal Obedience to the Call which, in words full of Benevolence and Mercy, their SOVEREIGN has made upon their Allegiance and Faithfulness.
By Order of the Right Hon’ble Governor General of India
G.F. EDMONSTONE,
Secretary to the Governor of India,
With the Governor General.
ALLAHABAD, MONDAY, 1st NOVEMBER 1858.
The RIGHT HONORABLE THE GOVERNOR GENERAL has received the Commands of Her Majesty the QUEEN to make known the following gracious PROCLAMATION of HER MAJESTY to the PRINCES, the CHIEFS and the PEOPLE of INDIA
PROCLAMATION by the Queen in Council
TO THE PRINCES, CHIEFS AND PEOPLE OF INDIA
VICTORIA,
by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the Colonies and Dependencies thereof in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australasia, Queen, Defender of the Faith.
Whereas, for divers weighty reasons, We have resolved, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in Parliament assembled, to take upon Ourselves the Government of the Territories in India heretofore administered in trust for Us by the HONORABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY:
Now, therefore, We do by these Presents notify and declare that, by the advice ‘and consent aforesaid, We have taken upon Ourselves the said Government; and We hereby call upon all Our Subjects within the said Territories to be faithful, and to bear true Allegiance to Us, Our Heirs, and Successors, and to submit themselves to the authority of those whom We may hereafter, from time to time, see fit to appoint to administer the Government of Our said Territories, in Our name and on Our behalf;
And We, reposing especial trust and confidence in the loyalty, ability, and judgment of Our right trusty and well beloved Cousin and Councillor, Charles John Viscount Canning, do hereby constitute and appoint him, the said Viscount Canning, to be Our first Viceroy and Governor-General in and over Our said Territories, and to administer the Government thereof in Our name, and generally to
act in Our name and on Our behalf, subject to such Orders and Regulations as he shall, from time to time, receive from Us through one of Our Principal Secretaries of State:
And We do hereby confirm in their several Offices, Civil and Military, all Persons now employed in the Service of the Honorable East India Company, subject to Our future pleasure, and to such Laws and Regulations as may hereafter be enacted.
We hereby announce to the Native Princes of India that all Treaties and Engagements made with them by or under the authority of the Honorable East India Company are by Us accepted, and will be scrupulously maintained; and We look for the like observance on their part.
We desire no extension of Our present territorial Possessions; and while We will permit no aggression upon Our Dominions or Our Rights, to be attempted with impunity, We shall sanction no encroachment on those of others. We shall respect the Rights, Dignity, and Honour of Native Princes as Our own; and We desire that they, as well as Our own Subjects, should enjoy that Prosperity and that social Advancement which can only be secured by internal Peace and good Government.
We hold Ourselves bound to the Natives of Our Indian Territories by the same obligations of Duty which bind Us to all Our other Subjects; and those Obligations, by the Blessing of Almighty God, We shall faithfully and conscientiously fulfil.
Firmly relying Ourselves on the truth of Christianity, and acknowledging with gratitude the solace of Religion, We disclaim alike the Right and the Desire to impose our Convictions on any of Our Subjects. We declare it to be Our Royal Will and Pleasure that none be in any wise favored, none molested or disquieted by reason of their Religious Faith or Observances; but that all shall alike enjoy the equal and impartial protection of the Law: and We do strictly charge and enjoin all those who may be in authority under Us, that they abstain from all interference with the Religious Belief or Worship of any of Our Subjects, on pain of Our highest Displeasure.
And it is Our further Will that, so far as may be, Our Subjects, of whatever Race or Creed, be freely and impartially admitted to Offices in Our Service, the Duties of which they may be qualified, by their education, ability, and integrity, duly to discharge.
We know, and respect, the feelings of attachment with which the Natives of India regard the Lands inherited by them from their Ancestors; and We desire to protect them in all Rights connected therewith, subject to the equitable demands of the State; and We will that generally, in framing and administering the Law, due regard be paid to the ancient Rights, Usages, and Customs of India.
We deeply lament the evils and misery which have been brought upon India by the acts of ambitious Men, who have deceived their Countrymen, by false reports, and led them into open Rebellion. Our Power has been shewn by the Suppression of that Rebellion in the field; We desire to shew Our Mercy, by pardoning the Offences of those who have been thus misled, but who desire to return to the path of Duty.
Already in one Province, with a view to stop the further effusion of blood, and to hasten the Pacification of Our Indian Dominions, Our Viceroy and Governor-General has held out the expectation of Pardon, on certain terms, to the great
majority of those who, in the late unhappy Disturbances, have been guilty of Offences against our Government, and has declared the Punishment which will be inflicted on those whose Crimes place them beyond the reach of forgiveness. We approve and confirm the said act of Our Viceroy and Governor-General, and do further announce and proclaim as follows :
Our Clemency will be extended to all Offenders, save and except those who have been, or shall be, convicted of having directly taken part in the Murder of British Subjects. With regard to such, the Demands of Justice forbid the exercise of Mercy.
To those who have willingly given asylum to Murderers, knowing them to be such, or who may have acted as leaders or instigators in Revolt, their lives alone can be guaranteed; but in apportioning the Penalty due to such Persons, full consideration will be given to the circumstances under which they have been induced to throw off their allegiance ; and large indulgence will be shewn to those whose Crimes may appear to have originated in too credulous acceptance of the false reports circulated by designing Men.
To all others in Arms against the Government, We hereby promise unconditional Pardon, Amnesty, and Oblivion of all Offence against Ourselves, Our Crown and Dignity, on their return to their homes and peaceful pursuits.
It is Our Royal Pleasure that these Terms of Grace and Amnesty should be extended to all those who comply with their Conditions before the First Day of January next.
When, by the Blessing of Providence, internal Tranquillity shall be restored, it is Our earnest Desire to stimulate the peaceful Industry of India, to promote Works of Public Utility and Improvement, and to administer its Government for the benefit of all Our Subjects resident therein. In their Prosperity will be Our Strength ; in their Contentment Our Security ; and in their Gratitude Our best Reward. And may the God of all Power grant to Us, and to those in authority under Us, Strength to carry out these Our Wishes for the good of Our People.
Sources:
Keay, John. The Honourable Company : A History of the English East India Company. London : HarperCollins, 1991
Nolan, E.H. The History of the British Empire in India and the East. London : James S. Virtue, 1860
Sen, Surendra Nath. Eighteen Fifty-Seven. Delhi: Publications Division, 1957.
Sengupta, Suparna. “The Sovereign Exception: Interpreting ‘British Subjects’ in the Queen’s Amnesty of 1858.” Social Scientist 46, nos. 5–6 (2018): 21–38. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26530802.
Sewell, Robert. The Analytical History of India: From the Earliest Times to the Abolition of the Honourable East India Company in 1858. London: W.H. Allen & Co., 1870
Links:
https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/queen-victoria-proclamation-1858
https://southasianbritain.org/events/queen-victorias-proclamation
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