MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 305 



Mr. Sullivan's arguments in favor of radical changes in the CHAP, xn 

 administration, which were opposed by the other Civilian Member 

 of Council, Mr. Bird, were not to prevail in Lord Elphinstone's 

 time, but just before his resignation the question of reannexation 

 came up again, and by the irony of fate, on the motion of Mr. 

 Charles May Lushington, Member of Council, a near relative of 

 Mr. Stephen Rumbold Lushington, who was responsible for the 

 transfer to Malabar. He ably represented the anomalous position 

 of the Nilagiri administration, remarking that, although the Staif 

 Officer had been appointed Joint Magistrate with jurisdiction over 

 the whole tract, he was virtually subordinate to no Magistrate, and 

 was permitted by an order in Council to try in one district offences 

 committed in another. He writes : 



" From the hill just above Ootacamund the sadr station of Coimba- 

 tore may be seen, but instead of allowing any of our revenue subjects 

 aggrieved by the acts of the revenue officers at Ootacamund to proceed 

 and lay their grievances before the Collector of a station they can 

 see from their own doors, they are forced, by the present order of 

 things, to go to a country inimical to their health and habits, and to 

 travel through a dense feverish jungle upwards of 160 miles, being 

 nearly four times the distance they would have to go for redress were 

 Ootacamund placed under the authority of the Coimbatore Collectorate." 



But Government is a slowly moving machine, and the only point 

 gained was the referring of the subject with other matters apper- 

 taining to the Hills, for the decision of the Court of Directors, it 

 being held that the powers of Joint Magistrate and District 

 Munsif, recently conferred on the Staff Officer, met the most 

 salient objections of Mr. Sullivan. 



But the Marquis of Tweed dale, who assumed office on the Marquis of 

 24th September 1842, resolved immediately to adopt Mr. q^^^^^^^^^'J^^^^^ 

 Sullivan's proposal, and, on St. Valentine's day, 1843, ordered Retransfer of 

 the retransfer to Coimbatore of the eastern portion of the Hills, tbe second 



p , portion of the 



or rather the portion of them which formerly belonged to it, leav- Hills to 



ing to Malabar the jurisdiction over the tract west of the Paikare Coiuibatore, 



river, the position of the two districts previous to the year 1830.^ 



The Collector of Malabar, however, was admonished to provide 



for the education of the T6das within his range in accordance 



with the instructions of the Honorable Court of Directors, who, 



in their despatch, 14th December 1842, had expressed regret 



that the attempts of the Madras Government to introduce 



education and civilization among the Todawars had hitherto 



been unsuccessful, but trusted '' from the interest taken in the 



matter by the local officers " that no means, when available, 



' The Nellambur R4ja was at the time mooting claims to the country west 

 of this river. 



39 



