APPENDIX V
ETAWAH'S DEBT TO MR. HUME
{From the "Leader," of Allahabad, August 31, 1912)
Few people unconnected with Etawah can understand what Mr. Hume's name means in this city and district.
A brief narration of facts pertaining to his administration of ithe district will be an interesting reading and remind many of the name and glory he had already won as an able and sympathetic administrator long, long before he figured as a political leader.
The history of Etawah is inseparably associated with his name, and his memory will ever be cherished in the grateful hearts of its residents. He was a young man hardly twenty- six when he was put in charge of the responsible and onerous duties of the collector and magistrate of the dis- trict. A born administrator, endowed with a clear foresight, strong personality, determined will, undaunted courage, God-fearing, and indefatigable, he soon made his influence felt throughout the district and came to be respected and loved by the rich and poor alike. Peace, progress and reform followed his administration. There was " nothing but hopefulness and peace " in Etawah, when suddenly the Mutiny broke out. The condition of the district preceding the dark days of the Mutiny is thus very vividly described by Mr. Hume in his characteristic lucid and forcible style : —
"Never apparently had the prospects of the district been r so cheering ; crime was, and had been for the previous two years, steadily decreasing ; the revenue flowed in without the necessity of recourse to a single coercive process ; public libraries and numerous schools gave rich promise of future progress ; new lines of communication were being rapidly opened out, the railroad was fast opening ; the great canal, with its daily multiplying branches, steadily diffused fertility, through an ever-widening area, and all classes of the community, though not of course without their minor grievances, were on the whole singularly happy and con- tented. Suddenly the Mutiny burst upon us, effacing apparently in a day the labour of years" (p. 148 of the Gazetteer). With the spread of the Mutiny in the neighbour- ing district the situation here became extremely critical. Mr. Hume's energetic measures, wise counsel, determined attitude, with which the history of the district is replete, dispersed and quieted down the rebels; and "in a few days the most perfect order was restored." During his tem- porary absence which the subsequent circumstances and his own " prostration with cholera " had forced upon him, he "kept up a continuous correspondence with the Indian officials and the well-disposed zemindars, communicating news and orders, deciding all difficult points referred to him, and endeavouring by proclamations and letters to keep alive every feeling of loyalty to the State." And even those who were rebelliously inclined were kept within bound by letters from Mr. Hume. He had been as anxious to return as his loyal and faithful officials and zemindars were to have him back. On his way back he learnt that no detachment had been, as was ordered by the Government, left behind by Brigadier Walpole, but "nothing daunted, Mr. Hume and his escort pushed on and reoccupied the station." His gallant dash at Anant Ram, the action at Harchandpore and numerous other skirmishes are still described in glowing terms. These point to his having been at the early age of twenty-eight as good a general and as great a statesman as any country might well be proud of. On July 2, 1858, Mr. Hume again fell ill and had to be relieved. That very day the rebel Raja whom he had already crushed before again raised his head. A period of unrest followed when he rejoined from leave and restored peace. This is a very striking example of his strong per- sonality. A glance at the history of the period forcibly reminds one of another prominent trait of his character — his judicious selection of men and his unbounded confidence in their loyalty. Raja Lachman Singh, then a kumar, Munshis Debi Prasad, Ishwari Prasad, Ram Bakhsh, tehsildars, and Munshi Shiam Bihari Lai, Kotwal, among the officials, and Rao Jaswant Rao, K. Zar Singh of Par- tabner, L. Laik Singh of Marchandpore, Lai Chatur Singh of Sahar, Rao Jawahar Singh of Barhpura, the Raja of Malajani, the Bagpais of Lukhna, the Tewaris of Kudarkat, the rais of Takah and Babu Ajudhia Prasad of Etawah, all Hindus, were his faithful allies and were conspicuous for their loyalty. To each and all mutineers and loyalists he had but one reply — '* It may be months, it may be years, but sooner or later the English Government will get the upper hand and every man will eat the fruit of his deeds." Memorable words indeed ! They reveal intense sympathy and true loyalty. The two feelings are very happily blended, each overlapping the other. We leave Mr. Hume to describe with just pride the result of his just and wise policy and its moral effect upon those who came under the spell of his magnetic personality. " From the very day," he wrote, " I first at the borders of the district received the congratulatory visits of hundreds of our well-wishers, I gave it to be generally understood that I had no feelings of animosity to gratify. . . . The enemies of order had, even in the worst of times, always been in a minority, numerically speaking, but from the time that my intentions became generally known they certainly on the mainland parganas (excluding Auriya) scarcely exceeded i per cent, of the population. In this lay our strength, any surprise by the ill-affected and their mutineer friends was impossible ; every move, every accession of strength, was reported at once from a dozen different quarters ; men — nay whole communities — who had been plundering, were, instead of being goaded into rebellion, led to return to their peaceful pursuits and to submit to arbitration the adjustment of the costs of their transgression." The Gazetteer sums up Mr. Hume's career in the following telling words : '* Few districts in the province can compare with Etawah for the loyalty of its inhabitants during the great rebellion. This was owing to the kindly feeling entertained towards Mr. Hume by the majority of the people and to the persevering efforts made by him to keep alive those feelings. ... To Mr. Hume nearly all the credit is due. Etawah owes much to that distinguished officer, Mr. A. O. Hume, C.B., for many years collector of the district. It was largely owing to his influence that the Mutiny disturbances left so slight a mark upon it, and his name still lingers gratefully in the memories of the people."
The Mutiny over, Mr. Hume devoted his untiring energy primarily towards the extension of education. Seven tahsil schools were opened. More than two hundred and fifty village schools were recognized and aid began to be given from the public funds. Hume High School, the chief school of the district, was raised by him to the status of a superior Zilla school. The structure of the school building is architecturally interesting. It consists of a fine hall supported in the centre by an enormous arch, and flanked on either side by two high and spacious rooms. Running round the entire building are long and roomy corridors. The original building before the extensions on the north and the south sides was in the form of an H. The entire cost of construction amounted to Rs. 34,000, out of which Rs. 24,000 were subscribed by Mr. Hume himself and the residents of the district. As long as he was collector of the district Mr. Hume paid a monthly subscription of Rs. 30 towards its support, but on leaving the district he presented it with a donation of Rs. 7200, invested in Government paper, calculated to yield from interest an amount equal to the monthly subscription he had paid till then. From the sum annually accruing four scholarships of Rs. 6 per mensem each are awarded to the four best boys of the middle section under fourteen years of age, for proficiency either in English or mathematics. In addition to this Mr. Hume made a separate endowment of Rs. 1200 for an annual prize to be given to the youngest boy who passed me entrance examination.
The first medical institution built in Etawah was built in 1856 by Mr. A. O. Hume.
Old Etawah lies among or at the head of the ravines, and the newer portions of the city stretch backwards to the north. Several nalas intersect the site of the town. Owing to the uneven nature of the ground, communication between the old and the new quarters was difficult before the time of Mr. Hume. But by means of cuttings,, embankments and bridges he made fine broad metalled roads, and rendered communication at all times easy or practicable. He made so many good roads that even after forty- five years of his leaving Etawah, with all the municipal and district boards' arrangements, only very few roads have been constructed since.
In the centre of the city is Humeganj. Formerly the place was an unsightly and uneven piece of waste ground infested with wild beasts, but it was levelled and drained by Mr. Hume and it now forms the site of imposing public buildings and a handsome market-place also called the Humeganj, the principal grain and cotton market which is lined with handsome shops, remarkable for their fine brickwork arches. To the west of the grain market is Hume's Serai, which is entered by a handsome gateway resembling a triumphal arch. The imposing building of the Tehsili, the American Mission Church, which is now used as municipal office, the vegetable market, Hume High School, the Kotwali, the old Munsifi and the town school and the hospital, all stand upon the site and will ever remain a living monument of Mr. Hume and his work in Etawah. He also erected a baradari on the debris of Somersah's fortress and constructed a road leading to it, which is now out of order. The handsome residence of the collector and the small building used as a club were also built by him in the peculiar style of architecture which characteriz«9>' Mr. Hume's constructions. It was not only the city vw received his attention^ but the whole district bears tesiiiii^- to his kind and loving regards and the real improvenn^ effected by him. There is also a Humeganj in Phayi, Another Humeganj, consisting of a large, well-kept sq<-. with a central metalled roadway and masonry shops, ad Auriya.
I leave it to you and your readers to see for yourst what claims Etawah has on the proposed Provincial H Memorial, and how far it would be in the fitness of th to perpetuate his memory at a place where he is ahead much respected. The educative effect of such a mem< on the residents of Etawah and of the neighbouring disti would be immense. These places are admittedly still linj ing behind in the onward march. They ought to receive attention from those whose main study is to see that n lags behind. If the suggestion is favourably countenan other details would be easily forthcoming.