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[JRFF 6.1 (2016) 49–67] ISSN (Print) 1757–2460 ISSN (Online) 1757–2479 James Burnes

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[JRFF 6.1 (2016) 49–67] ISSN (Print) 1757–2460 ISSN (Online) 1757–2479 James Burnes [JRFF 6.1 (2016) 49–67] ISSN (print) 1757–2460 http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/jrff.31864 ISSN (online) 1757–2479 James Burnes (1801–1862): Scottish Freemason and Empire Builder Simon Deschamps1 Université Toulouse—Jean Jaurès, France Email: [email protected] Abstract James Burnes (1801–1862) was one of the most charismatic and polarizing figures of nineteenth century Scottish freemasonry. He is best remembered for his work on the history of the Knight Templars and as the primary mover of the first Indian lodge specifically designed to welcome native candidates. In the Indian presidency of Bombay, he became an enthusiastic promoter of freemasonry and a zealous political agent defending British colonial interests wherever his travels took him. Although much has been written about his masonic career in India, there is no extensive biography of James Burnes, or at least no satisfactory attempt at a biographical approach that would seek to situate his masonic career within the more general frame of his career as a soldier and empire-builder. This study is therefore meant both as biographical approach that seeks to attempt to offer a more accurate insight into the life and works of this fascinating character, and as an insight into the intricate relationship between freemasonry and imperialism. Keywords: British Empire, India, freemasonry, biography. Introduction It has sometimes been claimed by colonial historians that the Indian Empire was conquered by Irish soldiers for the benefit of Scottish merchants.2 This theory is particularly interesting because it emphasizes the distinctive role played by the Scottish as empire builders, which had long been ignored. And it is true that there were many Scots amongst the employees of the 1. Simon Deschamps is Associate Professor of British Studies at the Université Toulouse—Jean Jaurès, France. He is a member of the research group Cultures Anglo-Saxonnes (EA 801). 2. Nadine André, “Alexander Burnes, un héritier des Lumières écossaises dans le sous-continent indien à l’âge des réformes”, Etudes Ecossaises [online] 14 (2001): 33. © Equinox Publishing Ltd 2017. 50 Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism British East India Company, which received a royal charter in 1600 and came to rule over large areas of India. James Burnes (1801–1862) was one of them. The story of his life and masonic career, especially in British India, has been told elsewhere, most notably by Robert Freke Gould in his Military Lodges: The Apron and the Sword of Freemasonry under Arms, but never extensively.3 Besides, most of the biographical material dedicated to James Burnes offers a flattering portrait of him. According to Gould, there was ‘nothing more remarkable than the absolutely unique position which he attained in the Craft within less than three years’.4 Gould’s comment also points to the fact that most biographies insist on his masonic achievements, while very few offer an insight into both his career as a soldier and his career as a mason, and fewer still have focused on how they intertwined to form an essential component of empire-building within the Indian subcontinent. James Burnes played a significant part in the political history of the presidency of Bombay, and a most decisive role in the masonic history of that same presidency. His name is not absent from the existing historical accounts of British India but has often been eclipsed by that of his younger brother, Alexander Burnes (1805–1841), also known as ‘Sekunder’ Burnes by those who admired his exploratory work of the Bokhara (one of the major cities of what is today Uzbekistan). It is therefore high time that James Burnes be given the historical attention he deserves. Early Years and Medical Training Born on 12 February 1801, James Burnes grew up in Montrose, a small coastal town in the East of Scotland, half way between Dundee and Aberdeen. His father, James Burnes (1780–1852) was the local provost, and his mother Elizabeth was the daughter of the chief magistrate of that same city. In Memoirs of Alexander Burnes, George Buist also brings to the attention of the reader that James Burnes senior played an active part in the agricultural and municipal improvements of the eastern district of the county. In fact, he seems to have been one of the leading local public figures. Interestingly enough, he was also related to the great Scottish poet Robert Burns, insofar as his grandfather was the elder brother of William Burnes (Burns), the father of the Scottish poet.5 James Burnes senior had five sons, of which James was the oldest. 3. Robert Freke Gould, Military Lodges: The Apron and the Sword of Freemasonry under Arms (Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 2003), 53. 4. Freke Gould, Military Lodges, 196. 5. Nigel Leask, Robert Burnes and Pastoral (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010), 35. © Equinox Publishing Ltd 2017. Deschamps James Burnes (1801–1862) 51 James began his education in Montrose Academy, and was then sent to Edinburgh University where he studied medicine, before undertaking his medical training in St. Thomas’ Hospital in London. Once the time came to seek a position, the choice of India was as obvious as it was for most surgeons with a middle-class background who sought recognition and fast promotion. India and the East India Company service then offered more career prospects than England and Scotland could ever provide. Besides, James’ father was acquainted with Joseph Hume (1777–1855), the Scottish doctor and radical MP, whom he had met on the benches of the Montrose Academy.6 Hume had studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and joined the naval services of the East India Company as a physician. On his return from India, Hume had made a name for himself and purchased a seat in parliament for Weymouth in 1812. By then he had gained significant influence over the Court of Proprietors, the governing body of the East India Company.7 This may explain why James Burnes senior turned to Joseph Hume for help in getting Alexander employment in the East India Company.8 Although it cannot be ascertained for certain, it is quite likely that Hume put in a good word for James too. James was then 20 years-old while his brother Alexander was 16. The patronage of Joseph Hume may explain how they were able to obtain employment in the East India Company the same year, leading them to embark for Bombay together in the summer of 1821.9 From Indian Medical Service to Political Agent James and Alexander arrived in Bombay in October 1821. Both were to join the army, the first as a medical officer and the second as a cadet in the Infantry.10 To be more precise, James had signed up as an assistant surgeon and took on several minor positions of the Indian Medical Service (IMS). For some time, he served in the artillery of Matoonga (a locality of Bombay), then in the convalescent hospital of Severndroog (a fortress between Bombay and Goa), in the Madras infantry, and finally in 6. Craig Murray, Sikunder Burnes: Master of the Great Game (Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd, 2016), 11. 7. Ronald K. Huch; Paul R. Ziegler, Joseph Hume: The People’s MP (Philadelphia, PA: The American Philosophical Society, 1985), 3–4. 8. Stanley Lane-Poole, ‘Burnes, James (1801–1862)’, rev. James Mills, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2005. 9. Katherine Prior, ‘Burnes, Sir Alexander (1805–1841)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008. 10. Robert Freke Gould, ‘Dr. James Burnes, 1801–1862’, Ars Quatuor Coronatorum 13 (1900): 44. © Equinox Publishing Ltd 2017. 52 Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism the 24th regiment in Bombay. His mission in most of the cantonments he was active in consisted of keeping cholera at check, a rather dangerous task, especially when bearing in mind that most of his predecessors died from that very disease.11 In 1825, James Burnes’ career as a surgeon took a decisive turn when he won the position of surgeon to the Residency of Kutch, which had been made available the same year by Governor- General Mountstuart Elphinstone (1779–1859), another Scotsman and empire builder.12 One of the prerequisites for holding the position he was given was the mastery of native languages, which obviously means that Burnes had a good knowledge of them, although it was not unusual for surgeons operating in India to know some of the vernaculars. It should also be mentioned that his brother Alexander, who joined him one year later as assistant to the Resident of Kutch, Sir Henry Pottinger (1789– 1856), also mastered Hindustani and Persian.13 The same year, James Burnes volunteered in the British expeditionary force that fought back the Sindhian forces, which had devastated Kutch despite the treaty signed with the Ameers of Sindh (a princely state in the north of India), which effectively made it a British dependency. Despite the increased tension with the British colonial administration, the Ameers solicited James Burnes two years later, in October 1827, on account of his being ‘the most skilful of all physicians’, and the best suited to attend the alleged sickness of Meer Ali Murad Talpur, the most powerful ruler of Sindh.14 The Political Department, founded in 1783 with the aim of promoting British interests within the Indian princely courts, was unsurprisingly supportive of Burnes’ potential visit to the court of Sindh, especially as the Ameers portrayed him in their invitation as the ‘cementer of the bonds of amity between the two governments’.15 In his correspondence with the Political Department, Sir Henry Pottinger later recalled how James Burnes was entertained by the Ameers in a traditional state durbar with all the formality of an 11.
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