pass
measures unsuitable, according to the Indian Government, to the
conditions of the country.

I have now mentioned, I think, the most important measures in which
Fitzjames was concerned, whether as having framed the original draft or
simply as officially responsible for the work of others. He had, of
course, more or less share in many other Acts, some of much importance.
Little more than a month after his arrival he had to introduce a bill
upon Hindoo wills; and, in speaking on the occasion, elaborately
discussed its relation to Hindoo theories as to property, and especially
as to the right of creating perpetuities. This speech appears to have
made a very strong impression upon his hearers. In the last months of
his residence he had charge of a bill upon oaths and declarations, which
suggests some curious points of casuistry. What, for example, is to be
done in regard to people who believe that they will be damned if their
sworn statements are inaccurate, unintentionally or otherwise, and who,
inferring that damnation is tolerably certain, argue that they may as
well tell a big lie as a small one? How, again, is a European to
appreciate the value of an oath made upon a cow's tail or a tiger's
skin? I will not go into such discussions, noting only that he seems to
have been profoundly interested in them all.

Fitzjames, of course, served upon many committees, and had to attend to
the current business of his office. In the last three or four months of
his stay, the larger measures which I have mentioned were finally passed
into law. The Punjab Land Revenue Act was passed on October 30, 1871;
the Evidence Act on March 12, 1872; the Native Marriages Act on March
19; the Punjab Laws on March 26; the Contract Act on April 9; and the
Criminal Procedure Act on April 16. In proposing the passage of the
Contract Act he took occasion to give his view of the result which had
so far been reached in the direction of codifying the Indian laws. It
might be said, in a summary way, that consolidation was nearly
satisfactory in regard to 'current legislation,' that is, legislation
required with a view to particular cases. In regard to 'procedure,' the
process of codification was complete, with two or three exceptions. It
would be complete when the code of civil procedure had been re-enacted;
when the revenue procedure in the Central Provinces had been regulated,
and another measure or two passed. Finally, the 'substantive law'
inclu