Dictionary of Indian Biography/Wyllie, John William Shaw
WYLLIE, JOHN WILLIAM SHAW (1835–1870)
I.C.S. : son of General Sir W. Wyllie, K.C.B. : born at Poona, Oct. 6, 1835 : educated at the Edinburgh Academy and Cheltenham : resigned a scholarship won at Lincoln College and gained one at Trinity College, Oxford : after open competition for the Indian Civil Service, went to Bombay in 1856. He joined the Political Department in Kattiawar, 1858–60 : transferred to Oudh, and was made Assistant Secretary to Sir George Yule, the Chief Commissioner. In 1862 he joined the Government of India Secretariat in the Foreign Department, and, with short periods spent in other Departments, remained there till 1867, acting once for three months as Foreign Secretary. While on furlough in 1868, he gave up, on the advice of his uncle, Sir W. Hutt, his Indian career and stood as a Liberal for the city of Hereford. He was elected, but was unseated for technical bribery by his agent. He was made C.S.I. in 1869 and died in Paris, March 15, 1870. He was a brilliant writer, and much esteemed for his personal qualities. His essays on the External Policy of India were edited by Sir W. W. Hunter (q.v.). The best known are those on "The Foreign Policy of Lord Lawrence," "Masterly Inactivity," and "Mischievous Activity," from the Edinburgh and Fortnightly Reviews: he wrote also in other Journals on political questions.