TWO TUSKS: A FIGHT BETWEEN THE KING AND RESIDENT

An Elephant died and they fought over Tusks

Early in 1904, the Cochin Police arrested some persons at the Mattancherry market, trying to sell two elephant tusks. They could not explain how they got it. They were charged before the Sub Magistrate of Cochin for possession of Government property, and the Cochin Forest officers put in a claim before the Magistrate for the tusks, since an elephant had been found dead in the Cochin Forests.

The Travancore Forest officers put forth a claim before the Magistrate for the tusks, because, an elephant had died in the Travancore forests too. The accused pleaded that the tusks were those of the Travancore elephant.

We don't know the original elephant, but while the case was proceeding, the Resident of Travancore and Cochin, Gordon Thomson Mackenzie at the instance of the Travancore King, Sri Mulam Thirunal, wrote to the Cochin Dewan, N Pattabhi Rama Rao, that he should look into the matter. The Cochin King, Rama Varma XV, His Abdicated Highness, was furious.

Mackenzie, second from left, with Sri Moolam Thirunal

On which side are you? Travancore or Cochin?One tusk for Travancore, and one for Cochin?

Gordon Thomson Mackenzie was a Resident from 1899 July to November 1904. He is famous in the Church as the person who wrote the classic, Christianity in Travancore in 1901, as a chapter in the Travancore State Manual of V Nagam Aiya. In the preface, written on October 23,1901, Mackenzie thanked Dr E Thurston of Madras for providing information, meaning Thurston is the real father of the work. Edgar Thurston was the author of the monumental work in 7 volumes, Caste and Tribes in Southern India. Thurston (1855-1935), educated in Medicine, lectured Anatomy at Madras Medical College while holding the position of Superintendent, at Madras Museum. His earlier interests were Numismatics and Geology, researching Anthropology and Ethnography when Mackenzie sought his help.
Since Mackenzie had a missionary zeal, two warring Christian groups, Anjuttikkar and Ezhunnuttikkar sent Memorials to him, and according to Nagam Aiya, the Anjuttikkar took the further step of writing to him, not to give "undue importance" to their rival group," in an official document like the State Manual of Travancore".Nagam Aiya, who was assigned to write the first State Manual, was the Settlement Peshkar, in Travancore.

Mackenzie had succeeded F A Nicholson, and here is the assessment of Mackenzie, by Rama Varma, from his Reminiscences:

He was a good-hearted, conscientious, straightforward man with many more good qualities of heart. He was also firm to some extent. But inability and commonsense he was very deficient. He was very fond of making speeches and thought himself a speaker. His speeches were generally irrelevant. He had a low opinion of the education of the people of the place and made very offensive remarks about them, and within a very short time of his taking charge of his exalted office, he became very unpopular with the local public. He had had a very good education, and his brother's officers had given him the name of "educated fool".It was rumoured at the time that he was shunted to the Resident's post because he had no chance of promotion in the regular line. We found him very sympathetic.He supported us in every possible way.As we did not attach much value to the soundness of his advice or opinion, we did not trouble him often for either.

That Mackenzie supported the Cochin Darbar, seems to be an understatement by Rama Varma.

Rajarshi Rama Varma

After an extended tour of Northern India, Rama Varma reached Tripunithura, from Tirupathi, on 22 January 1903. The new Dewan N Pattabhi Rama Rao had taken charge, in his absence in September. The King had a huge liability over the newly opened Ernakulam-Shornur railway line, and steps had to be taken to raise a loan of Rs 10 lakhs. Having secured assurance from the Government of Madras, a formal application was made to Resident Mackenzie, in June 1902. In November, while the King was in Benares, he received a telegram. When he got it, his throat was touched by Dr Subba Rao, since he was feeling rather hoarse, and not expecting it to be from an official,  handed over the telegram to the first prince, to open and read. It was from Mackenzie, on the loan. It said, Lord Curzon's Government refused to sanction the loan but promised to lend a lakh of rupees for expenses in connection with the King's Delhi tour. The tour was expected to cost two lakhs, and Mackenzie, in his telegram, said, two lakhs was excessive. The King records:

 This was more than what I had bargained for. I did not mind the refusal to lend the money as I had more or less anticipated it. But the curt remark of two lakhs being excessive for the Delhi tour implied a charge of my being lavish in spending public funds on my account and it hurt me very much.

As the contents of the telegram became known to others, the King became perplexed. On reaching Delhi, the King discussed the matter with James Thompson, a former Resident, who had been there as a member of the Madras Governor's Council. It was agreed that the King should write to the Dewan asking him to report to the Resident that the original estimate of two lakhs was fair and that the Government of India should not have passed the criticism before calling for details.

On his return, the King wrote to  Dewan Rao, gave detailed particulars of the tour expenses and compared them, with those incurred by his predecessor for his tour to Benares. Rao forwarded a copy to the King, and a long one of his own, to the Resident. The Resident didn't report it to his Government, but wrote to Rao, to advise the King not to press the matter, as he apprehended further trouble if the King persisted. Though Rao agreed with the Resident, the King persisted, his letter was sent by the Resident to Madras, and in June 1903, Mackenzie wrote that the tour expenses were moderate.

Pattabhi Rama Rao

So, in the Tusks case, Mackenzie was informed that it was within the jurisdiction of a judicial tribunal, where Travancore was also represented and that the Executive could not interfere. The Travancore Darbar withdrew from the proceedings before the Magistrate. The Magistrate, after recording evidence, held the tusks confiscated, according to rules.

Mackenzie again repeated his demand that the Dewan should examine the Travancore claim himself. It was again pointed out to him, that it was not a political question, but for the Court to decide. An angry Mackenzie rated Rao severely and wrote to Rama Varma, insinuating that the prestige of Cochin is at stake, because of the grabbing spirit. The King protested at the wild charge recklessly made by Mackenzie, and the Resident wrote to Madras. After some time, the Resident informed the Dewan that he had instructions from Madras, to ask the Dewan to look into the merits of the Travancore claim. Rama Varma wrote to James Thompson, acting Governor of Madras, on how Mackenzie traduced the Darbar. The Madras Government held that Mackenzie's interference was wrong, but the tusks were forwarded to the Travancore Darbar.

Rama Varma writes: I had the satisfaction of having gained an important constitutional point. Mr Mackenzie retired from service soon after.

The King is free to believe he proved a point. He would have been right in his actions if the Magistrate had found the tusks belonged to Cochin. The tusks were forwarded to Travancore because the Magistrate of Cochin found the Travancore claim true. Then what point, Your abdicated Highness, you did prove?

It is easy to guess what the Magistrate found: The culprits poached an elephant in Travancore, removed the tusks, and tried to sell them in Cochin. So, the claim of Cochin that a wild elephant had died in Cochin at that time, was baseless. If the foundation of a case is untrue, where is the constitutional case?

It is evident that the king was waiting for the elephantine rebuff he got the previous year from Mackenzie.

And spending two lakhs on a Delhi tour, in 1902-I leave it to the public imagination.

Dewan Pattabhi Rama Rao was a business partner of the master builder of Madras, Thatikonda Namberumal Chetty, who built the Merry Lodge Palace(now Kerala Varma College) for Rama Varma, at Thrissur, in 1914. The bricks to build the Ripon Building which houses the Madras Corporation, came from kilns owned by Chetty and Rao at Choolaimedu. Nemali Pattabhi Rama Rao Pantalu(born 1862) was born in Cuddapah, joined Madras Revenue Settlement Department in 1882, and was Asst Commissioner during 1895-1902, before becoming Dewan.

Reference:

The Reminiscences and Continuation of the Events till 1915/Rama Varma.

© Ramachandran

See my Post,HIS ABDICATED HIGHNESS:THE COMPLETE STORY