242 INDEPENDENT PEESIDENCIES. 



good government must," says Mr Brightj 

 " be neglected by the Governor-General of 

 India, however wise, capable, and honest he 

 may be in the performance of his duties, 

 because the duties laid upon him are such as 

 no man now living, or who ever lived, can 

 or could jDroperly sustain." Mr Bright 



would have India divided into five separate 

 Presidencies, the governments of which should 

 be perfectly equal in rank and salary, and 

 completely independent of each other. The 

 duties of each government should be strictly 

 confined to its own Presidency ; and each 

 government should correspond direct with 

 the Secretary of State for India. The army 

 of each Presidency to be kept distinct, as 

 at present. The wisdom of this arrange- 

 ment has been fully proved during the late 

 insurrection, for had the armies of Madras 

 and Bombay been incorporated with that of 

 Bengal, as was proposed some years back, 

 it is pretty certain that the mutiny would 

 have extended throughout all three. That 

 far-seeing statesman, Sir Thomas Munro, per- 

 haps contemplated the possibility of such an 

 event, when he so strenuously opposed the 



