Administrative System of the Marathas c18.s14.18

c18.s14.18

It shows how much attention was paid even to minute details. Two points in this document demand our special notice. We find here the peculiar custom of paying for ten or eleven months, while a full year's service was demanded from the officer in question. The practice was, however, not peculiar to the civil departments only, but was followed with equal persistency in the army, navy and the forts. The second point is the allowance granted for the Kamavisdar's palanquin. It should not be compared with the travelling allowance of modern days, or with the allowance granted for the Governor's household. In those days, palanquin and sunshades were granted to officers of special merit in recognition of their public service, as the British Indian government confers titles like Rai Bahadur or Khan Bahadur on distinguished public servants. All such honours were accompanied by suitable grants for their proper upkeep, because the Peshwa was anxious that his officers should not find their hard-won honours burdensome.