In 1773 the East India Company had a monopoly to trade with the Eastern countries for twenty years. This time limit was expiring in 1793. In the last days of Lord Cornwallis's reign, debate began in the British Parliament for the renewal of the Charter Act. The merchants of England agitated against the monopoly of the Company, but due to the cunning of the operators and the war with France, the movement could not succeed. The Board of Control and the Board of Directors constituted a committee to report on the establishment of trade and industries in the past. On 23 February 1793, the Chairman of the Board of Control, Dundas expressed satisfaction with the administration of Indian affairs in the Parliament and demanded that the charter be repeated. By the grace of Prime Ministers Pitt and Dundas, Parliament passed the Act of 1793 without interruption and renewed the Company's Gazette for 20 years. In the words of Pitt, 'This act was passed so peacefully that its example is not found in the history of Parliament.
1793 Key Features of the Charter Act of (Salient features of Charter Act of 1793)
The purpose of this Charter Act was only to strengthen the Company's system. The main feature of this Charter Act was that it incorporated all the important provisions of the earlier Acts. The main features of this act were-
By this act, the company again got the monopoly to trade with the eastern countries for twenty years. To silence the opponents of the Act, other merchants in England had to be allowed to trade up to three thousand tons annually, but this facility was covered by such conditions that other traders could not take advantage of it.
By this charter, regulating the company's economic structure, it was estimated that the company would make a profit of £12,29,241 per year, of which £5 million would go to England. fund and pay off its debts from five million pounds. The remaining dividend will be the profits of the shareholders. Although Britain never received its share of £500,000 per year, the shareholder dividend did increase to 8 to 10 percent.
By this act it was amended to provide that the salaries of the members and employees of the Board of Control shall be paid from Indian income. Although this practice was very unfortunate, but this system continued till the coming into force of the Government of India Act of 1919.
This Charter Act made it mandatory for the appointment of the Governor-General, Governors and Commander-in-Chief to be approved by the Emperor of England. It was no longer necessary for the members of the Board of Control to be privy-consuls. The Governor-General, the Governor, the Commander-in-Chief and the high officials of the Company could not go out of India on leave while in office. This arrangement continued till the passage of a special act related to it by the Parliament in 1925.
The Governor-General in Council was vested with the authority to control and direct the military and civil administration of provincial governments, revenue collection, and matters relating to wars and treaties with Indian princely states. The governance of each province was entrusted to a governor and a council of three members. The members of the Provincial Council could be only those persons who at the time of appointment as an employee of the Company have been working in India for at least 12 years.
The Governor-General and the Governor were empowered to disregard such decisions of their Council, which would in any way affect the peace and security of India and the interests of the British territories. be likely. He did not have the power to overturn the decisions of the Council in matters relating to justice, law and tax. The Commander-in-Chief could not be a member of any Council unless he was specially appointed as a member by the Directors. Prior to this, it was necessary for the chief general to be a member of the council.
In this Act it was provided that when the Governor-General visited a province, the provincial administration would be in the hands of the Governor-General instead of the Governor. The Governor-General shall, during his absence in Bengal, appoint a member of the Council to be the Vice-Chairman of his Council.
The principle of seniority was followed in relation to the employees of the company. If the office of the Governor-General or the Governor becomes vacant, the senior-most member of the Council (except the Commander-in-Chief) shall serve in that office until a permanent appointment to that post is made. Rules were made regarding the promotion of the civilian employees of the company. The powers of the Supreme Court of Calcutta were increased by the act. He got the right to establish a health tax for members of the civil service for peacekeeping, and to prohibit the sale of liquor without a license. Not only this, his naval jurisdiction was extended to the open seas.
The Act reiterated that the Company's expansion and conquest in India was against the policy, prestige and honor of the British nation.
The Council shall appoint the Governor General to any member of the civil service of any Presidency (Bombay or Madras) as 'Judges of the Peace ’ was empowered to appoint a judicial officer. Taking gifts etc. was declared a misdemeanor and an offense and for this, arrangements were made to give harsh punishment to the guilty person.
The Governor General and his council were empowered to appoint scavengers to clean, maintain and repair roads in presidency towns. Now they could also raise the necessary funds for this work by charging a sub-fee for cleanliness in these settlements.
Regulating Act of 1773 and Amended Act of 1781
1793 Evaluation of the Charter Act of ( Evaluation of Charter Act of 1793)
This act had no constitutional significance. Nevertheless, its influence on the Indian Constitution remained for a very long time. Although the talk of not adopting the policy of war and expansion was repeated, but expansionist wars continued due to the ambitions of the British officers who supported the expansionist policy. The main feature of this charter was that by this arrangement was made to pay salaries to the members of the Board of Control from the Indian Treasury, due to which India had to suffer heavy economic loss.