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ITHOUT going into the historical development of it, the administration of the East India Company may be

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conveniently described as follows :

I. The Court of Proprietors

It was “composed of the shareholders of the East India stock to a certain amount, who elect from their own body by ballot a certain number of representatives (twenty-four) to whom the proprietory confide the planning and carrying into effect whatever measures may be deemed most conducive to the interests of India and England, reserving to themselves a surveillance and limited control over the proceedings of the delegated authority.”

The requirements of a seat and a vote in this Court were as follows :

A proprietor of £ 500 stock was entitled to a seat in this Court.

A proprietor of £ 1,000 stock was entitled to one vote.

A proprietor of £ 3,000 stock was entitled to two votes.

A proprietor of £ 6,000 stock was entitled to three votes.

A proprietor from £ 10,000 to £ 1,00,000 and upward stock was entitled to four votes.

Besides this, the stock must have been held for at least one year before voting. There was no voting by proxy and minors were ruled as incapable of voting.

The voters counted Lords, Commoners, women, clergy, and officers civil and military, both of the king and the company.

The sessions of the Court were quarterly—March, June, September, December. Nine qualified proprietors were quite sufficient to ask for a special session of the Court. The speaker was ex-officio the chairman who presided at the session, brought forward all motions requiring the sanction of the Court, and laid before the members the accounts of the Company’s transactions.

The Court was authorized—

(1) To elect qualified persons to constitute what is known as the Court of Directors.

(2) To declare the dividends on the capital stock of the company within certain parliamentary restrictions.