Political and Secret Department - Committee, Court and Council Minutes

The series consists of (1) Minutes of the Secret Court of Directors 1784-1858; (2) Minutes of the Secret Committee of the Court 1778-1858; (3) Minutes of the Secret Committee of Correspondence 1813-1834; (4) Minutes of the Secret Commercial Committee 1813-1834; (5) Political Minutes of the Political and Military Committee of the Court of Directors 1836-1858; (6) Minutes of the Political Committee of the Council of India 1858-1867.

(1) Political and Secret Home Correspondence and Correspondence with India [IOR/L/PS/2-6, 14]; (2) Minutes of the EIC Court of Directors [IOR/B]; (3) Records of the Committee of Correspondence [IOR/D]; (4) Home Miscellaneous Series [IOR/H]; (5) Minutes and Memoranda of the Council of India [IOR/C]. For a partial index see IOR/Z/L/PS/1 Index to Political Committee Records 1836-58.

Unrestricted

Before 1778 secret committees were intermittently appointed by the Court of Directors to safeguard the Company's shipping and, especially in time of war, to have overall control of the Company's political, military and naval affairs. A regular Committee of Secrecy was first set up by resolution of the Court of Directors of 27 March 1778 and this was followed in 1784 by the creation of a statutory Secret Committee (Act 24 Geo.III, c 25), whose main responsibility was to dispatch to the Company's Governments in India the secret orders of the Board of Control relating to war, peace and diplomacy, and to deliver to the Board the replies from India regarding the same (the Board of Control was the Government body set up in 1784 to supervise the East India Company). The Statutory Committee was not affected by the reforms of 1834 but continued to perform its formal functions down to 1858, though it was now of less importance than formerly. The Secret Committee of Correspondence dealt with secret matters coming before the Committee of Correspondence. The Secret Commercial Committee first appointed in 1815 handled all commercial questions requiring secrecy and submitted annual reports regarding the same - it consisted of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman and three other Directors one each from the Committees of Correspondence, Buying and Warehouses, and Shipping. The Political and Military Committee was one of the three new committees which replaced the old committee system in 1834 following the cessation of the Company's trading activities - it dealt with all political and military questions including the correspondence with India in these departments. In 1858 the administration of India was transferred from the East India Company to the Secretary of State for India in Council. The Council of India, the statutory body which advised and to some extent controlled the Secretary of State, was divided into several standing committees one of which was the Political Committee. The Poltical Committee started life as part of a joint Poltical and Military Committee but became a separate body in November 1859 - as its name indicates it dealt with all political matters.