Military Courts of Request, are held at every station in the army. All European as well as Native Officers, Non-commissioned Officers and Sepoys are subject to them, except such European and non-commissioned officers as are holding staff appointments away from their regiments.
There is a European Court and a Native Court, in which sums of 400 and 200 rupees (£40 and £20) or under, can be respectively sued for. In certain cases, however, in the Native Courts, sums to any amount may be investigated.
The Police Office, is presided over by a Chief Magistrate and two other Magistrates, one of whom is a Native. The Chief Magistrate superintends the River Police; the Senior Magistrate, the Second or Southern Division; and the Junior Magistrate, the First or Northern Division of Calcutta. There is also a Superintendent of Police. The Native Policemen amount to about 1,900, besides a body of Mounted Police who patrol at night. On my second arrival at Calcutta, in August, 1849, I found the police in a much more efficient state than when I left for England, in July, 1846, both as regards number and general usefulness.
The Bengal Civil Fund, entitles the civil servants of the Government to obtain their pension of £1,000 per annum, by paying 4 per cent. out of their salaries. To become entitled to this pension, a civilian must pay up 50,000 rupees (£5,000); it is taken by seniority.
The Bengal Civil Service Annuity Fund, is to grant pensions to the widows and orphans of deceased civil servants, securing to the widow £300 a year, and so much for each child; if she marries, she forfeits the pension for herself, but the children are kept on the Fund. If the widow has a private income of less than £100 a year, she gets the £300; but if above £100 and under £400, the sum is made up to £400 per annum.
The object of the Bengal Military Fund, is to grant pensions to the widows of officers, after the following scale:
| If in India, per mensen. | In England per annum. | |||||
| Rupees | Annas | Pies. | £. | s. | d. | |
| A Colonel's widow draws | 238 | 6 | 5 | 342 | 3 | 9 |
| A Lieut.-Colonel's | 190 | 11 | 6 | 273 | 15 | 0 |
| A Major's | 143 | 0 | 7 | 205 | 6 | 3 |
| A Captain's | 95 | 5 | 9 | 136 | 17 | 6 |
| A Lieutenant's | 71 | 3 | 1 | 102 | 3 | 9 |
| An Ensign's | 56 | 9 | 8 | 81 | 5 | 0 |
Children are allowed so much a year; boys up to a certain age, but girls may be kept on the Fund till they are married. A sick officer, provided he does not possess 5,000 rupees (£500), will obtain 1,200 rupees (£120) passage money. Subalterns when sick, if they do not possess £50 per annum above their pay, will be allowed £50 passage money.
Lord Clive's Fund, established in 1776, is now paid by the Court of Directors, and amounts to half an officer's pay, if not possessing as follow: