The Secretary for India on Friday se'nnight introduced two Bills
for the improvement of Indian administration. They are not bad in their way, but he seems to have yielded to pressure. By the first he takes power to make of Bengal a separate Presi- dency,—to be operative, we suppose, when the present Lieutenant- governor retires,—and enables the Viceroy to override his Council without waiting for their minutes of dissent, minutes which con- sume weeks. By the second, he takes the power of nominating Members of the Indian Councils away from the India -House, vesting it in himself—with the intention, as it would seem, of transferring it to the Viceroy—and changes the term of service for the Home Council from life to a period of twelve years. Any increase to the Viceroy's powers is always wise, and twelve years is quite long enough for men to serve who usually begin after fifty ; but Sir Stafford ought to have had the courage to vest him- self with the power of the parse. As it is, he remains responsible to the country for orders he distinctly disapproves.
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