10. The Surgeon-General.

11. A representative Member elected by each District Board, whether he is a Member of such District

Board or not.

II. The Council will consider and pass the Annual Budgets forwarded by the District and Municipal Boards and review Annual Reports. The Council shall have power to alter and modify the Budgets, as the majority of its Members may decide.

III. The Council shall also prescribe the forms in which the Budgets are to be submitted and determine what items constitute major heads and what minor heads.

V. BHASHYAM IYENGAR,

President,

Madras Native Association

APPENDIX A.

RESOLUTION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, On Local Self-Government, dated Simla, 18th May 1882.

THE Governor-General in Council in the Resolution of the Financial Department, dated the 30th September 1881, set out, for the information of the Local Governments, the principles upon which it was proposed to revise the agreements then in force for the administration of the Provincial Services, and to establish the decentralised system of finance on a uniform and extended basis. It was explained that intimately connected with this general scheme for the decentralisation of finance was the very important question of developing local self-government. Considerable progress in the direction had, it was admitted, been made since 1870. A large income from local rates and cesses had been secured, and in some provinces the management of this income had been freely entrusted to local bodies. Municipalities had also increased in number and usefulness. But there was still, it was remarked, a greater inequality of progress in different parts of the country than varying local circumstances seemed to warrant. In many places services admirably adapted for local management were reserved in the hands of the central administration, while everywhere heavy charges were levied on Municipalities in connection with the Police, over which they had necessarily no executive control.

Paragraph 11 of the Resolution went on to say: "His Excellency the Governor-General in Council is therefore of opinion that the time has now arrived when further practical development may be afforded to the intentions of Lord Mayo's Government, and that the Provincial agreements should no longer exclude from all consideration the mass of taxation under Local and Municipal management, together with the similar resources still retained in Provincial control, and ignore the question of local self-government. The Provincial Government, while being now largely endowed from Imperial sources, may well, in their turn, hand over to local self-government considerable revenues, at present kept in their own hands, but similar in kind to many which have long been 'locally' managed with success by Committees, partly composed of non-official members and subject only to a general remedial control reserved to the State by the Legislature. At the same time, such items should be generally made local as the people are most likely to be able to understand the use of and to administer well. His Excellency would therefore invite the Local Governments to undertake a careful scrutiny of Provincial, Local,

and Municipal accounts, with the view of ascertaining (1) what items of receipt and charge can be transferred from Provincial' to 'Local' heads, for administration by Committees comprising non-official and, wherever possible, elected members, and what items alreadyLocal,' but not so administered, might suitably be so; (2) what re-distribution of items is desirable, in order to lay on Local and Municipal bodies those which are best understood and appreciated by the people; (3) what measures, legislative or otherwise, are necessary to ensure more local self-government. Incidentally to the scrutiny they will probably notice, and might carefully consider (4) ways of equalising Local and Municipal taxation throughout the Empire, checking severe or unsuitable imposts, and favouring forms most in accordance with popular opinion or sentiment. The Government of India have already made some preliminary enquiries in the same direction, the results of which will shortly be communicated to the several Local Governments for consideration in conjunction with their own."

2. Accordingly on the 10th October 1881 letters were addressed to the various Local Governments indicating those branches of expenditure which appeared to the Government of India most suited for local control, and inviting each Government to examine any other heads of accounts which might seem to cover items capable of transfer to such control. It was pointed out that it was not the intention of the Government of India that the proposed transfer of the control of expenditure of a specially local character to local bodies should involve any addi tion to existing local burdens; and it was, therefore, shown tơ be necessary to arrange for the simultaneous transfer of receipts sufficient to meet any net balance of additional expenditure which in any instances might arise. The receipts to be thus transferred should, it was suggested, be such as to afford a prospect that, by careful administration, with all the advantages due to local sympathy, experience and watchfulness, they would be susceptible of reasonable increase. In cases where larger assignment of funds were required, the receipts from pounds, or a share of the assessed taxes collected within the jurisdiction of local body, were indicated as suitable sources of revenue to be made But on this, as on other points, a wide discretion was left to the Local Governments.

over.

3. As regards the character of the local bodies to whom those powers of control and administration were to be entrusted; it was remarked that already in most parts of British India there were in existence Municipal Committees whose powers might in many cases be advantageously extended, and District Committees for various purposes, which might very well be consolidated into single homogeneous working bodies, with ancillary Subordinate Committees for each tahsil or sub-division of the district. It was suggested that the Magistrate and Collector should be President of the District Committee, and the Assistant or Deputy Magistrate

in charge of the sub-division, President of the Subordinate Committees; but in each case the local bodies should, it was said, comprise persons not in the service of Government, and elected or nominated, as might seem best, in a proportion of not less than from one-half to two-thirds of the whole numbers. For the satisfactory development of this plan, it was admitted that legislation would probably be necessary in most provinces, and the Local Governments were invited in their replies to explain the general outlines which such legislation should follow. În regard to this it was said

Special attention will be required in settling the relations between the various local bodies and the officers of the general Administration, and in providing for a certain measure of control and inspection on the part of Government. It would be hopeless to expect any real development of self-government, if the local bodies were subject to check and interference in matters of detail; and the respective powers of Government and of the various local bodies should be clearly and distinctly defined by statute, so that there may be as little risk of friction and misunderstanding as possible. Within the limits to be laid down in each case, however, the Governor-General in Council is anxious that the fullest possible liberty of action should be given to local bodies."

4. The policy thus enunciated by the Government of India has, on the whole, been loyally, and in some cases cordially, accepted by the Local Governments, several of which have already drawn up schemes for giving effect to it, and have submitted these for the information of the Government of India. The Governor-General in Council desires to acknowledge the care and thought with which some of these schemes have been worked out. Upon each the Government of India will communicate hereafter its views in detail to the Local Government concerned. Meantime, however, it will be convenient that the Governor-General in Council should explain somewhat more fully than he has hitherto done the general mode in which he would wish to see effect given to the principle of local self-government throughout British India outside the Presidency Towns. This is the more necessary, as further considerations of the subject and examination of the schemes prepared for the different Provinces have suggested the propriety of certain modifications of the plan sketched out in the Circular letters of the 10th October last,

5. At the outset, the Governor-General in Council must explain that, in advocating the extension of local self-government, and the adoption of this principle in the management of many branches of local affairs, he does not suppose that the work will be in the first instance better done than if it remained in the sole hands of the Government district officers. It is not, primarily, with a view to improvement in administration that this measure is put forward and supported. It is chiefly desirable as an instru