Excerpt from The Book of History, Vol. 4: A History of All Nations From the Earliest Times to the Present, With Over 8000 Illustrations
By the end of October, 1858, military operations had almost ceased; peace and order were fast taking the place of confusion and violence, and the transfer of government from the Company to the Crown, with Lord Canning as first Viceroy, had been completed. Anarchy was, of course, still rife in outlying districts; marauders were here and there prowling about at large; fugitive bodies of mutineers showed more or less cohesion. Public business throughout the North-west Provinces and Oudh, with some parts of Bengal and the Punjab, had been so completely disorganised that many months would have to pass before the civil power could assert itself to the full. But the great cities of Delhi, Agra, Cawnpore, Allahabad, were held in force; the populace knew that rebellion had missed its mark; while the native chiefs, almost without exception, had been splendidly loyal. Lord Canning was, therefore, able to gather up the tangled threads of government and to ponder constructive measures that in no very long time were to tranquillise the country and give uniformity of rule throughout its vast area.
Among his earliest acts was the issue of a proclamation drawn up by the Ministry in England, and revised by Her Majesty, whereby an amnesty was granted "to all offenders, save and except those who have been, or shall be, convicted of having directly taken part in the murder of British subjects... To those who have willingly given asylum to murderers, knowing them to be such, or who may have acted as leaders or instigators in the Revolt, their lives alone can be guaranteed... To all others in Arms against the Government, We hereby promise unconditional pardon, amnesty, and oblivion of all Offences against Ourselves, Our Crown and Dignity, on their return to their homes and peaceful pursuits..." Impartial protection of the law, freedom from interference with religious belief, admission to all offices for which qualification might be proved, protection of the rights of the native princes, and other boons to the people at large, were graciously authorised.
Among those to whom leniency was to be extended were the turbulent landowners, or talukdars, of Oudh. On the final capture of Lucknow, the proclamation by the Viceroy, previously mentioned, had in its first draft confiscated their estates, though, upon Outram's remonstrance, a clause had been inserted which gave hopes that something less than the full pound of flesh would be exacted, if only complete submission were promptly rendered. On a visit to Lucknow, Lord Canning assembled the chief of these barons, as they have been styled, and, accepting their profession of repentance, restored to them the possession of their forfeited fiefs, with a permanent and hereditary proprietary title - an act of grace which has since that time borne fruit in their active loyalty and the orderly control of their vassals; while it at once gave rest to the most dangerously disaffected portion of the country, and was welcome evidence to the remainder that vindictive retribution does not always fall upon the conquered. But while Lord Canning's worst anxieties were now at an end, and the calm courage with which he confronted all difficulties had its reward in the assurance of a security far greater than had prevailed before the rebellion, the task before him was one of vast magnitude.
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