William Digby (writer)
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William Digby (1 May 1849 – 29 September 1904) was a British author, journalist and humanitarian.


Early life and career

William Digby was born in
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, Cambridgeshire on 1 May 1849. He did his apprenticeship with the ''Isle of Ely and Wisbech Advertiser''. He was employed at the ''Sussex Advertiser'' from 1864 to 1871.Riddick, P.256 He was married twice – first to Ellen Amelia Little in 1874 (who died in 1878) and then to Sara Maria Hutchinson in 1879. William Digby moved to the Indian subcontinent in 1871 and worked as a sub-editor in ''
The Ceylon Observer ''The Ceylon Observer'' was an English-language daily newspaper in Sri Lanka published by Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL). It was founded in 1834 as ''The Observer and Commercial Advertiser'' and was published from Colombo. It ceas ...
''.,Martyn, P.277 and as the editor of ''The Madras Times'' in 1877.Kaminsky, P.237 He also worked as the editor of the ''Liverpool and Southport Daily News'' in 1880 and that of the ''Plymouth Daily Western Mercury'' in 1879. He served as senior partner of William Hutchinson and Company in 1887.


Activism and politics

While working in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, Digby was involved in a temperance campaign and another one for abolishing food taxes.William Digby and the Indian Question by Mira Matikkala
/ref>


Famine relief

While working in India, he witnessed the
Great Famine of 1876–78 Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...
and involved himself in relief works. He served as the Honorary Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Famine Relief Fund. He opposed the
laissez faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. A ...
famine relief policies of the Famine Commissioner,
Sir Richard Temple Sir Richard Temple, 1st Baronet (8 March 1826 – 15 March 1902) was a British colonial administrator in 19th-century India, who served as Governor of Bombay from 1877 to 1880. Early life Temple was the son of Richard Temple (1800–1874) and ...
and argued for more Government aid in mitigating the effects of famine. In 1878 he wrote an extensive book about the famine titled ''The Famine Campaign in Southern India.Vol I and Vol II''. For his contribution to the famine relief works, he was made a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (C.I.E) in 1878. The failure of the Government of British India to provide effective famine relief made William Digby an outspoken critic of the British Government's India policy.


Liberal politics

Digby returned to England in 1879 after his first wife's death. In November 1882 he became the first secretary of the
National Liberal Club The National Liberal Club (NLC) is a London private members' club, open to both men and women. It was established by William Ewart Gladstone in 1882 to provide club facilities for Liberal Party campaigners among the newly enlarged electorate f ...
, a post he held till 1887. He advocated full economic and racial equality, then representative Government and eventually Self-Government for the Indians. He published ''Indian Problems for English Consideration'' in 1881. In it, Digby argued that Indian reform was 'a Liberal duty', and defined India as 'a larger Ireland'. Digby was an admirer of
Lord Ripon George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon, (24 October 1827 – 9 July 1909), styled Viscount Goderich from 1833 to 1859 and known as the Earl of Ripon in 1859 and as the Earl de Grey and Ripon from 1859 to 1871, was a British p ...
and published a pamphlet in February 1885 titled ''India for the Indians -and for England'' in defence of Ripon. He contested the 1885 General Election as a
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
candidate from the Paddington North constituency on a platform of legislative reform in India. He lost to
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
candidate
Lionel Louis Cohen Lionel Louis Cohen (1832 – 26 June 1887) was an English financier, politician, and communal worker. He married Esther Moses, daughter of Jacob Henry Moses, in 1856. He served as a trustee and later manager of the London Stock Exchange, and bec ...
by a margin of 685 votes (out of a total 5345 polled).


The Indian Agency

In May 1888 he set up the Indian Political and General Agency in London for the purpose of raising awareness about Indian grievances in the British Parliament and Press. He served as its secretary during 1887–1892. He became a strong advocate of constitutional reform and acted as an unofficial guide to
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
leaders visiting London. He used his political contacts (obtained through his position as the secretary of the
National Liberal Club The National Liberal Club (NLC) is a London private members' club, open to both men and women. It was established by William Ewart Gladstone in 1882 to provide club facilities for Liberal Party campaigners among the newly enlarged electorate f ...
) to raise India's grievances in the British Public sphere. Through his lobbying he was able to get
Charles Bradlaugh Charles Bradlaugh (; 26 September 1833 – 30 January 1891) was an English political activist and atheist. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866, 15 years after George Holyoake had coined the term "secularism" in 1851. In 1880, Brad ...
to attend the Fifth INC Conference held at Bombay in 1889. Bradlaugh also agreed to introduce a bill in British Parliament for establishing legislative councils in India. During this time Digby also worked as the editor of the Congress journal ''India''. Though he was well paid for his efforts, the Congress office bearers in India delayed paying the expenditure for his lobbying efforts. Digby met those expenditures by doing private lobbying for the
Maharaja of Kashmir The Dogra dynasty of Dogra Rajputs from the Shiwalik Himalayas created Jammu and Kashmir when all dynastic kingdoms in India were being absorbed by the East India Company. Events led the Sikh Empire to recognise Jammu as a vassal state in 1820, ...
. As part of his lobbying, he wrote a book titled ''"Condemned Unheard"'' advocating the Kashmiri king's position. This private lobbying and incidents of Digby and Bradlaugh receiving money from the Kashmiri king for presenting petitions to and raising questions in parliament alarmed
Allan Octavian Hume Allan Octavian Hume, CB ICS (4 June 1829 – 31 July 1912) was a British civil servant, political reformer, ornithologist and botanist who worked in British India. He was the founder of the Indian National Congress. A notable ornithologist, Hum ...
. Hume set up the "
British Committee of the Indian National Congress The British Committee of the Indian National congress was established in Britain by the Indian National Congress in 1889. Its purpose was to raise awareness of Indian issues to the public in Britain, to whom the Government of India was responsible ...
" to oversee the Indian Agency's work. The Committee did not want payments to be made to Bradlaugh through its books and completely ended its association with the Indian Agency in 1890. Digby served as the secretary to the British Committee from 1889 to 1892. Digby's continuing private lobbying efforts were a major embarrassment to the Congress and it cut its connections to Digby in September 1892. This ended Digby's association with the Indian National Congress.


1892 election

Digby contested the 1892 General Election as the Liberal candidate from the South Islington parliamentary constituency. He lost to the Conservative candidate
Albert Rollit Sir Albert Kaye Rollit (1842 – 12 August 1922) was a British politician, lawyer, and businessman. Career Born in Hull, he became a solicitor and went on to become president of the Law Society. He later became a shipowner. He was Mayor of Hu ...
by 321 votes.


Death

Digby died on 29 September 1904. Condoling his death, The ''Hindu Organ'' wrote that ''"..his death is a great loss to all eastern subjects of His Majesty"''.
Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
wrote an obituary in the
Indian Opinion The ''Indian Opinion'' was a newspaper established by Indian lawyer and future anti-colonial activist M. K. Gandhi (later known as the Mahatma). The publication was an important tool for the political movement led by Gandhi and the Natal Indian ...
on 29 October 1904 which praised him as follows :
By the death of William Digby CIE, India has lost a champion, whom it will be difficult to replace. His advocacy of the Indian cause was strenuous and well-informed... By his voluminous writings,the late Mr. Digby ever kept the different Indian questions before the public.Gandhi, P.285


Bibliography

* ''The Famine Campaign in Southern India: Madras and Bombay Presidencies and province of Mysore, 1876–1878'', Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (1878) * ''Forty Years of Official and Unofficial Life in an Oriental Crown Colony, being the Life of Sir Richard Morgan'' (1879) * ''Indian Problems for English Consideration'' (1881) * ''India for the Indians — and for England'' (1885) * ''The general election, 1885. India's interest in the British ballot box'' (1885) * ''1857: A friend in need 1887: Friendship forgotten, An episode in Indian Foreign Office Administration'' (1890) * ''Condemned Unheard: The Government of India and H.H. the Maharaja of Kashmir : a Letter to the Rt. Hon. Sir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth'' (1890) * ''Prosperous British India – A Revelation from Official Records'' (1901)


See also

* 'Prosperous' British India *
Political history of Mysore and Coorg (1565–1760) The political history of the region on the Deccan Plateau in west-central peninsular India (Map 1) that was later divided into Princely State of Mysore, Mysore state and History of Kodagu#British rule, Coorg province saw many changes after th ...
*
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* Famine Campaigns in Southern India
Volume 1Volume 2

1857:A friend in need 1887: Friendship forgotten An episode in Indian Foreign Office Administration

Prosperous British India – A Revelation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Digby, William 1849 births 1904 deaths English writers English humanitarians Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Wisbech