ustice, equity, and good
conscience.' Certain doubts existed as to the precise legal character of
these orders. Their validity had been confirmed by the Act of 1861, but
for the future all legislation was to be carried on by the councils. The
laws were less numerous and complex than might be inferred from this
enumeration. Some were temporary in their nature and others repealed
previous legislation. The first thing to be done was to ascertain what
laws were actually operative; to repeal the useless and obsolete; and
confirm others which, though useful, might be of doubtful validity. It
would then become possible to consolidate and codify; so that for every
subject there might be a single enactment, and for every province a
single body of laws. Much had been already accomplished in this
direction under Lord Lawrence when Maine was the legal member of
Council; and preparations had been made for carrying the process
further.

The measures in which Fitzjames was more or less concerned were made
necessary by these conditions. The old Bengal regulations, made from
1793 to 1834, are said to have been 'eminently practical and useful.'
But they were made from time to time with a view to particular cases;
and their language presupposed familiarity with a variety of facts, as
to the position and mutual relations of the different members of the
service, and so forth, which were constantly changing as the Company
developed, acquired new functions, and redistributed the duties of its
subordinates. Such a process naturally left room for gaps in the system
which might reveal themselves with awkward results at critical moments.
Thus it turned out in the course of investigations made by the
legislative department that nearly every criminal trial which had taken
place in Bengal and the North-western Provinces since 1831 had been
irregular. The result was that 'people had gone on being hung,
transported, and imprisoned illegally for a period of probably nearly
forty years.' No substantial injury had resulted, but as legal
proceedings multiplied it was possible that awkward questions might be
raised. An Act was therefore passed in a day (May 12, 1871) sanctioning
the system which had actually grown up, and confirming the previous
Acts. Another illustration of the intricacy of the existing system was
given by the law as to the Civil Courts in Bengal. To discover what was
the constitution of these courts you would have, says Fitzjames (Feb.