Evidence of Fenian organisation extending from St Petersburg to Madrid; furlough rules; proposal to send home Lt Cole to study castings and construction of museum.
Fenian plotting; negotiations with Orissa Irrigation Company; feeling in its favour in England; Northcote against giving it guarantee but favours offering loan for completion of Orissa works on certain conditions including handing over Bihar works; asks which classes of cultivator will benefit fr...
[Refers to Lawrence's letter of 1 January]; views on publication of discussions among members of Govt of India; suggests Governor-General alone should sign despatches; this would avoid despatches containing conflicting views and thereby strengthen Secretary of State's hand in supporting Governor-...
Suggests government loans to save landowners from falling into hands of money-lenders; undesirability of old families being forced to sell up and land coming into hands of absentee capitalists as is said to have happened in Orissa; this will be bad for ryots, and leave class of potentially disaff...
Col Herbert's claims for advancement and/or CB; Maharaja of Mysore's suggestion that Gen Haines should be guardian of his heir, and Lawrence's wish for young University man from England; need for pension system for uncovenanted civil servants and justification for giving better terms to Europeans...
Reports of famine in Madras – Northcote suggests appointment of Special Famine Commissioner; slow progress of negotiations with Orissa Irrigation Company whose Directors make inadmissible counter-proposals; possible motion in Commons for Committee on best mode of prosecuting irrigation works.
Decision to purchase Queen's statue and question where to place it; request from Baillie Cochrane (MP) for judgeship or pension for his cousin James Cochrane.