LORD METCALFE: LIBERATOR of the INDIAN PRESS
Born in Calcutta in 1785, Sir Charles Theophilus, 1st Baron Metcalfe, joined the EIC in 1801 as an administrator. He later became acting Governor General of India from 1835 to 1836, and thereafter Governor General of Canada from 1843 to 1845.
While in office in India, he earned the title “liberator of the Indian Press” in 1835 by passing the Press Act under pressure from Indian social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy. The Press Act repealed a law passed by a previous Governor General that had imposed restrictions on newspapers published in Indian languages. However, the Press Act was in effect only until 1857, when it was repealed at the outbreak of the First War of Indian Independence. The magnificent Metcalfe
Hall was built in Calcutta in his honour between 1840 and 1844 and served as a grand archive of rare manuscripts, books, and journals. It bore the name Calcutta Public Library until its resources were shifted to the National Library after Indian independence in 1947.
After assuming his responsibilities as Governor General of Canada in 1843, Metcalfe rejected the British plan for the forced anglicization of the French-Canadian population and recommended equal status for both English and French languages in the legislature. He favoured making Montreal the capital instead of Kingston and issued a large number of pardons to people who had fought against British rule in the Rebellion of Lower Canada. Rue Metcalfe in Montreal, Ontario’s Metcalfe Township, and Metcalfe Street in Ottawa commemorate this statesman.