Magistrates and Collectors
Magistrates and Collectors were functions undertaken by the middle ranks of the covenanted Civil Service covering the responsibility for the issuance of civil justice and the collection of revenues. Frequently, these two functions were the responsibility of a single person, supported by one or more Assistants.
The Collector (or Collector-Magistrate) was the chief administrative official in the Indian Civil Service of a District or Indian Zillah.
He controlled a small province of several million inhabitants and was personally responsible to the Government for the area.
In this role he acted as magistrate and assigned to subordinates other responsibilities
- some criminal cases / the division of district jurisdiction
- treasury work,
- excise collection,
- measuring and assessing landed estates for taxation,
- control of property belonging to minors, or Wards of Court.
In addition he was head of Police, and controlled the local jail, chaired Municipal Committees & Local Boards for hospitals and schools - especially vernacular schools. He reported on infectious diseases, provided temporary military encampment grounds and provision of rations for the troops. He carried out baptisms when clergy were not available. Where a railway existed, the Public Works Department were also a responsiblity.
External links
District Collector Wikipedia
Sketches Of Social Life In India Details of the role of Collector-Magistrate