Letter from John Braithwaite Hardy to an unknown recipient

Content

Letter containing Jacob's observations on news from the British papers including his concerns over the plans to establish a 'state church' (Church of England) in India.

Also discussed are Lord Palmerston's policies towards the Indian Empire, which Jacob believes will bring the entire empire to ruin and the different ways in which the Native Indian Army could have been organised.

Enclosed with this letter are two letters to Henry Bartle Frere and one to Henry Green:

• Letter from John Jacob to Bartle Frere, 2 March 1858 regarding the British Government's focus on the recent Persian war and the need to improve and strengthen the Indian frontiers. The letter also discusses the military station at Shikapoor [Shikarpur] being closed; suggestions for the arrangement of the Police force; the appointment of native officers to the Sind Irregular Horse and political arrangements in Kandahar [Candahar]
• Letter from John Jacob to Bartle Frere, 3 March 1858, regarding a case of plunder in Punjab and the Assistant Commissioner in Mittenkote's [Mithankot] attempts to thwart William Lockyer Merewether's work with the local hillmen there. The letter also asks Frere to write to Sir John Lawrence regarding the problem of plundering by local tribes and proposes a ban on non army personnel owning and bearing arms.
• Letter from Henry Green to John Jacob, 5 March 1858, regarding the officer's position in Kandahar and the potential benefits of a frontier political officer at Quetta. The letter also discusses the present danger from Gunjaram.

Extent and format

16 folios

It is part of

'private letters from [John] Jacob, [Sir Henry] Green and [Sir William] Merewether while I was in England'

617 images

Ref: Mss Eur F126/1

Arrangement

The contents of the letter run horizontally recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. to verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. down the folios and then return to the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of the first folio (f. 45) which has been turned horizontally and the contents written along the tops and down the edges of the folios until the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of the second folio (f. 46).

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Letter

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

Mss Eur F126/1, ff 45-60

History of this record

Date(s)

12 Mar 1858 (CE, Gregorian)

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Letter from John Braithwaite Hardy to an unknown recipient, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F126/1, ff 45-60, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024079755.0x00000a> [accessed 31 March 2025]

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