Pitts India Act 1784
The Pitts India Act of 1784 somewhat amended at various times, established the system of dual control of India by the government of Great Britain and the British East India Company. These changes continued till 1858.
The first major regulation in this act was the relationship of the company to the British government. With the Pitts India Act of 1784, East India Company's political functions were differentiated from its commercial activities.
Board of Control:
In political matters, the company which was till now working as somewhat sovereign was made directly subordinate to the British government.
- To enable this, a Board of Commissioners was created, which was called Board of Control.
- 6 people viz. the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State, and four Privy Councilors, nominated by the King were the members of this Board of Control.
- The Secretary of the State was entitled as the President of the Board of Control. This Board of control was empowered to control all matters of civil or military government or revenues.
- The board was given full access to the company's records. It had the powers to send Governors to India and full authority to alter them.
Result of Creation of Board of Control:
- The Pitts India Act 1734 actually provided for a joint government of the company and British crown in India. So now, the fate of India People would decide the company and the British Government (indirectly).
- The Company was to be represented by the Court of Directors and the Crown was represented by the Board of Control.
Impact on Governor General-in Council
The Governor General's council was now reduced to 3 members, one of whom was to be the commander-in-chief of the King's army in India.
- The Governor General was given the right of casting vote, in case the members present in a meeting of the council shall any time be equally divided in opinion.
- The Governors of Presidencies of Bombay and Madras were deprived of their independent powers and Calcutta was given greater powers in matters of war, revenue, and diplomacy, thus Calcutta becoming in effect, the capital of Company possessions in India.
The Governor General Council was now under indirect control of the British Government through the Board of Control. There was also a secret committee of the 3 directors, which had to transmit the orders of the Board to India. This Secret Committee was to work as a link between the Board of control and the Court of Directors.
Disclosing of Property:
All civil and military officers of the East India Company were ordered to provide the Court of Directors a full inventory of their property in India and in Britain within two months of their joining their posts. Severe punishment was provisioned for corrupt officials.
Why Pitts India Act 1784 failed?
The act was deemed a failure. This was because; very soon it became apparent that the boundaries between government control and the company's powers were nebulous and highly subjective. The British Government felt obliged to respond to humanitarian calls for better treatment of local peoples in British-occupied territories. The Board of control was alleged for nepotism. The act was a naive one, it divided the responsibility between the Board of Control, Court of Directors and the Governor General in Council but again , no boundaries could be fixed as they matter was subjective and not objective.