Sir Cecil Beadon, (1816 – 18 July 1880) was an English administrator in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, serving as

lieutenant-governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

from 1862 to 1866, when he was relieved of the post after a commission of inquiry, which was critical of his handling of the

Orissa famine of 1866 The Orissa famine of 1866 affected the east coast of India from Madras northwards, an area covering 180,000 miles and containing a population of 47,500,000; the impact of the famine, however, was greatest in the region of Orissa, now Odisha, whi ...

Life

He was the youngest son of Richard Beadon (1779–1858), and grandson of

Richard Beadon Richard Beadon (15 April 1737 – 21 April 1824) was Master of Jesus College, Cambridge 1781–1789 and later Vice-Chancellor of the University, Bishop of Gloucester and Bishop of Bath and Wells. Life Beadon was born at Pinkworthy in Devon, so ...

, the

bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...

His mother, Annabella Ashe née à Court (1781–1866) was the daughter of Sir William à Court 1st Baronet à Court of Heytesbury; and sister of

William à Court, 1st Baron Heytesbury William à Court, 1st Baron Heytesbury GCB PC (11 July 1779 – 31 May 1860), known as Sir William à Court, 2nd Baronet, from 1817 to 1828, was an English diplomat and Conservative politician. Background and education Heytesbury was the elde ...

. Cecil was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into th ...

. At the age of eighteen he was presented with an appointment to the Bengal civil service, which had been placed by the court of directors at the disposal of his uncle Lord Heytesbury, nominated as

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

in 1835 (by

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Excheque ...

, but the nomination was cancelled by the fall of Peel's administration). Reaching India in 1836, Beadon spent time in district offices administration, and was serving as magistrate of

Murshidabad Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district. Duri ...

when in 1843 he was appointed under-secretary to the government of Bengal. From that time his promotion was rapid. After filling posts in the revenue administration, he was selected in 1850 by

James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), also known as Lord Dalhousie, styled Lord Ramsay until 1838 and known as The Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman and co ...

to represent the Bengal presidency on a commission on the postal system. He then held in succession the posts of secretary to the government of Bengal, secretary to the government of India in the home department, foreign secretary, member of the council of the governor-general (1860–2), and finally that of lieutenant-governor of Bengal (1862–6). He was backed by three Governors-General, Hardinge, Dalhousie who consulted him on internal administration, and Canning. During most of the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, Beadon was home secretary. In Bengal, measures Beadon implemented in the

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

tea trade were held to have caused a slump, and the mission of Ashley Eden to

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...

went badly, and was followed by the

Bhutan war The Duar War (or Anglo-Bhutan War) was a war fought between British India and Bhutan in 1864–1865. It has been the only military conflict between the two states since 1774. Background Across the nineteenth century, British India commissione ...

. The

found him absent from

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

for health reasons. The Governor-General, Sir John Lawrence did not overrule Beadon's view of the famine. The report of a commission of inquiry on the handling of the famine was unfavourable to Beadon, who left India and returned to England. He died on 18 July 1880 in his sixty-fifth year.

Orissa Famine

During the

Orissa Famine of 1866 The Orissa famine of 1866 affected the east coast of India from Madras northwards, an area covering 180,000 miles and containing a population of 47,500,000; the impact of the famine, however, was greatest in the region of Orissa, now Odisha, whi ...

, he did nothing to alleviate deaths from famine, as he was concerned about tampering with the natural laws of economics. He remarked that "Such visitations of providence as these no government can do much either to prevent or alleviate," and that if he attempted to alleviate deaths from famine, he would consider himself "no better than a

dacoit Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloquial ...

or thief." He maintained this viewpoint in spite of the fact that India exported over 200 million pounds of rice to Britain during the period of famine.

Family

In 1837 he married firstly Harriet Sneyd (1818–1855) daughter of Major Ralph Henry Sneyd (1784–1840) of the Bengal cavalry, with whom he had ten children; and in 1860 he married secondly Agnes Stendale (1836–1906), daughter of William Handley Sterndale (1791–1866) and sister of Robert Armitage Sterndale, with whom he had ten more. Children by Harriet Sneyd: *Col Cecil Beadon (1838–1913) who married Elinor Augusta Flora Plowden (1846–1886), a sister of Sir Henry Meredyth Plowden *Col Richard Beadon (1839–1884) who married Elinor Louisa Cooper Sterndale (1846–1907) a younger sister of his step-mother Agnes *Henry Sneyd Beadon (1842-1890) who married Elizabeth Ellen Boddam (1849–1928), a great-granddaughter of Rawson Hart Boddam *Edward Sneyd Beadon (1846–1933) who married Edith Rachel Edwards (1851–1883) *William à Court Beadon (1847–1917) who married Emily Florence Dixon (1863–?) *Rev Hyde Elphinstone Beadon (1851–1855) *Harold Archibald Beadon (1853–1921) *three children who died young born in 1842, 1844 and 1850 Children by Agnes Stendale: *Helen Beadon (1861–1933) married Sir Henry Meredyth Plowden (1840–1920) *Philip Canning Beadon (1863–1864), born and died an infant in India *Lt Col Guy Cecil Beadon (1864–1915) married Olive Coates (1870–?) *Isabel Margaret Beadon (1867–1930) married Colonel William Graham Waugh McClintock (1846–1924) *Lt Col Arthur Eyre Beadon (1869–1945) married Marjory Armytage Blunt (1878–1962) *Agnes Imogen Beadon (1870–1964) married Judge Sir Arthur Hay Stewart Reid (1851–1930), Hilda Stewart Reid (1898–1982) was their daughter. *Eirene Beadon (1872–1897) married George William Dyson (1864–1922) *Capt Lancelot Richmond Beadon (1876–1922) married Hilda Marian née Raper (1880–1953) *Violet Beadon (1879–1949) married Archibald Campbell MA (1877–1963), Judge of the High Court of Lahore

Life

Orissa Famine

Family

See also

References

Further reading