An Act for effecting an engagement with the East India Company, and for the better Government of His Majesty's Indian Territories, till the Thirtieth Day of April One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
TheGovernment of India Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 85), sometimes called theEast India Company Act 1833 or theCharter Act 1833, was anAct of theParliament of the United Kingdom, later retitled as theSaint Helena Act 1833. It extended the royal charter granted to theEast India Company for an additional twenty years, and restructured the governance of British India.
It ended the commercial activities of theBritish East India Company and made it a purely administrative body. In particular, the company lost its monopoly on trade with China and other parts of the Far East.
While ending its commercial mandate, the act extended the East India Company's charter by 20 years. This meant that other provisions of the original Elizabethan charter, including the right to raise armies, wage war, and rule conquered territories, were perpetuated.
It redesignated theGovernor-General of Bengal as theGovernor-General of India. For the first time, the government run by him was referred to as the 'Government of India.' His council is now known as the 'India Council'.Lord William Bentinck became the first Governor-General of India at the end of 1833.[1]
The "Governor-General in Council" was given exclusive legislative powers, that is the right to proclaim laws which would be enforced as the law of the land across the whole of British India.
Thus, the act deprived the governors ofBombay andMadras of the legislative powers which they had enjoyed until then.
The act attempted to introduce a system of open competitions for the selection of civil servants. However, this provision was negated after opposition from the Court of Directors who continued to hold the privilege of appointing company officials.
The act categorically stated that no native of India should be disabled from holding any place, office, or employment, by reason of his religion.
Control of the island ofSaint Helena was transferred from the East India Company to the Crown.[2]
112 Saint Helena vested in the crown. The island of St Helena, and all forts, factories, public edifices, and hereditaments whatsoever in the said island, and all stores and property thereon fit or used for the service of the government thereof, shall be vested in his Majesty, and the said island shall be governed by such orders as his Majesty in council shall from time to time issue in that behalf.
Whenshort titles were authorised for British legislation by theShort Titles Act 1896, the act was titled as theGovernment of India Act 1833.[5] However, following the repeal of most of its provisions other than those dealing with Saint Helena, it was given a new short title by theStatute Law Revision Act 1948, as theSaint Helena Act 1833.[6] As the main provision of the act was to extend the East India Company's charter, it is sometimes referred to as theCharter Act 1833, although this is not an official short title.[7][8]
^The citation of this act by this short title was authorised by section 1 of, and schedule 1 to, theShort Titles Act 1896. Due to the repeal of those provisions, it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
