§ MR. WEIRTo ask the Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that Bapu Raghunath, who, at the date of his death in 1837, and for several years thereto, held office as Dewan of Dhar, received, in recognition of his services and fidelity to the British Government, a grant of property in the State of Dhar, in perpetuity to himself and descendants; is he aware that a sixth part of this grant, viz., the Jahagir of Ramchandra Rao, one of the six sons of the above named, was confiscated in November, 1857, at which time he was Dewan of Dhar; and will he explain why this confiscation has been held by the Government of India to preclude Krishna Rao Raghunath, who is the son of a younger 1343 brother of Ramchandra Rao, from any title to the estate bestowed on his grandfather.
(Answer.) The hon. Member's Question enters into some details upon which I have no precise information, but the main facts are as follows: Certain property belonging to Ramchandra Rao, in the Native State of Dhar, outside British India, was forfeited owing to his complicity in the Mutiny. Part of the property so confiscated reverted to the State of Dhar, and another part was assigned to the State of Bhopal. In 1879, a question was raised as to the restitution of some of the property to a brother of Ramchandra, and the Government of India agreed that it was impossible to restore the confiscated estates to the family, but that the Dhar State might, if it pleased, make provision for the support of the family of its former Minister. I cannot undertake to interfere with the discretion of the Native State further in the matter.—(India Office.)