Sir Charles George Todhunter (16 February 1869 – 1 March 1949) was a British

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in British India. Todhunter was of New Zealand background and educated in England at Aldenham School and King's College, Cambridge. He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1888 and was assigned to the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. He was Deputy Commissioner for salt, ''abkari'' ( excise duties) and

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

, and then Secretary of the Board of Revenue. He was then responsible for the reorganisation of customs and excise arrangements in much of India and was then appointed Director-General of Excise and Salt of the Government of India. Returning to Madras, he was successively a member of the Board of Revenue, Chief Secretary to the Government, and a member of the Governor's Executive Council. From 1924 he was president of the Indian Taxation Inquiry Committee. On his retirement from the ICS he became private secretary to the Maharaja of Mysore, holding the post for sixteen years until the maharaja's death in 1940, when he settled down on his farm in the Kenjari district of Mysore State. He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI) in the 1920 New Year Honours and Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) in the

1921 Birthday Honours The 1921 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were ...

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References

*Obituary, '' The Times'', 7 March 1949 {{DEFAULTSORT:Todhunter, Charles 1869 births 1949 deaths New Zealand expatriates in India People educated at Aldenham School Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Indian Civil Service (British India) officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India New Zealand knights People of the Kingdom of Mysore