The Indian Review. A Monthly Journal

THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT : THE GOVERNOGENERAL OR THE GOVERNOR The Governor of a Colony or State and the Governor-General of a Federation or Union are alike appointed by the Imperial Government technically by the king on the advice of the appropriate minister the Secretary of State for the Colonies. [...] In the Colonies the membership of the Privy Council is purely honorary giving the member the right to the title 'Honorable' and to the special precedence assigned to Privy Councillors not of the Cabinet and to be present when the Governor is sworn in. [...] This union induces the law of pre-emption * which excludes the stranger and by means of which the cautious man is able gradually to absorb the estates of the uncautious: the property is valuable and the assessment not heavy ; the good men keep the bad men up to the mark or are ready to get rid of them by the process of absorption ; the risk is very small compared with the advantage of being mem [...] When custom is removed into the atmosphere of the regular courts it suffers from the change of air." And this may be illustrated by the lessons of experience of the Russian officials who have based the administration of civil justice in their Asiatic Dominions on customs and the tribal system with the help of the mufti and the qazi. [...] At present the preparation of the Riwaj-i-am affords the only existing opportunity other than in the Courts of ascertaining the desires of the people on the subject of their customs but inasmuch as the instructions for the preparation of that document reflect the view of the Courts that custom must be established by precedents popular sentiment being postponed to instances the process is not vi