?tter. ..to the Court of 
 Directors of the ^ast-Indla Cora 
 any... with a Postscrint 
 
 By 
 
 Warren Hastings 
 
 University of California 
 Southern Regional 
 Library
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 LETTER 
 
 FROM THE HONOURABLE 
 
 Warren Mailings, Efq. 
 
 GOVERNOR , GENERAL OF BENGAL, 
 
 TO THE HONOURABLE THE 
 
 COURT OF DIRECTORS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 EAST-INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 Dated from Lucnow, April 30. 
 
 WITH A 
 
 POSTSCRIPT, 
 
 Dated May 13, 1784. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for J. DEBRETT, oppofite Burlington-Houfr, 
 Piccadilly.
 
 TO THE HONOURABLE 
 
 COURT of DIRECTORS 
 
 OF THE HONOURABLE 
 
 j 
 
 United EAST INDIA COMPANY, 
 
 C J 
 
 O 
 
 Lucknowy dptil 30, 1784. 
 HONOURABLE SIR$. 
 
 1HAVE judged it incumbent upon me 
 to make trial of every practicable Chance 
 of conveying to you the earlieft Intelligence 
 of my Arrival at the Place from which this 
 Letter is dated, and of the firft Effeds pro- 
 duced by the Accommodation, which took 
 Place, by the Refolution of the Governor Ge- 
 neral and Council, paffed on the gift of De- 
 *cember lafl, and already notified to you by the! 
 A fue- 
 
 354905
 
 ( * ) 
 
 fucceflive Difpatches of your Ships. I fhall 
 begin the Thread of my Report from that 
 Date. 
 
 I foon after found that the State of this 
 Country was fo difordered in its Revenue, 
 and Adminiftration, and the Credit and In- 
 fluence of the Nabob himfclf, fo much 
 ihaken ty the Effefts of the late Ufurpation 
 of his Authority, and the Contefts which at- 
 tended it, as to require the Acceffion of an 
 extraneous Aid, to reftore the Powers, and 
 Conftitution of his -Government ; and I was 
 ftrongly, and repeatedly urged, to repair hither 
 in Perfon for that Purpofe. 
 
 Thefe Inflances, though declared to be 
 conformable to the wifhes of the Nabob Vi- 
 zier, his Family and Minifters, having been 
 privately conveyed to me, I reprefented them 
 as fuch to the Board on the 2Oth of January, 
 and offered my Services to go to Lucknow, 
 whenever the Nabob Vizier Ihould require it, 
 which I knew from undoubted Authority he 
 would, with his Anfwer to the Notification 
 formally made to him, of the Refolution of 
 the 3 i ft of December, 
 
 My
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 My Reafons for thus anticipating the Oc- 
 cafion were many : the diftradted State of 
 Affairs, which every Sufpenfion of a Day 
 would aggravate ; the Seafon of the Collec- 
 tions, requiring the Application of early Ex- 
 ertions for their Security ; and my own infirm 
 State of Health, which was not equal to fuf- 
 tain fo long a Journey, if protracted to the 
 Commencement of the Hot Winds. 
 
 My Offer was accepted by a conditional 
 Declaration on the Part of Mr. Wheler, and 
 I made inftant Preparations for the Journey. 
 
 On the 1 4th of February the Nabob's In- 
 vitation arrived ; I repeated my Propofal, the 
 fame Authority decided its Acceptance, and 
 on the i yth I took my Leave of the Board, 
 and departed from Calcutta, with a feverc 
 Indifpofition, which had feized me fome time 
 preceding, then hanging on me ; happily, the 
 Change of Air effected Jjny fpeedy Cure, and 
 on the zyth Ult. I arrived at this Place in a 
 State of Health fo confirmed, as to promife 
 an un remitted Attention to the very impor* 
 tant Objects of my Commiffion. 
 
 t- . : tt 
 
 A t On
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 On my way, I had the alarming Perfpec- 
 tive of a Soil fo completely exhauftcd of its 
 natural Moifture, by the Failure of one entire 
 Seafon of the periodical Rains, that except 
 the Fields of Grain, which had been kept in 
 Vegetation by the uncommon Labor of the 
 Hufbandmen, and were {till clothed with a 
 luxuriant Produce, or retained the Stubble of 
 the recent Harveft, the Plains exhibited an 
 Appearance of Barrennefs, fo dreary, that even 
 the Roots of its former Herbage no longer 
 exifted, and the deep Ravines, and Beds of 
 Rivers, which I patted, threw up Clouds of 
 Dull from their Channels. Thefe arc not 
 Circumftanccs of trivial Obfervation, nor are 
 they confined to the Lands of thefe Provin- 
 ces ; every Region of Hindoftan has felt the 
 fame angry Viiitation, and another Year of 
 equal Drought, which is not to be expected 
 in the Courfe of natural Events, would put it 
 out of the Reach of human Wifdom to pre- 
 vent, or retrieve the <readful Calamity which 
 muft attend it. 
 
 Yet fuch is my Reliance on the Gratitude 
 and unbounded Confidence of the Nabob, 
 and his Miniflers, that I dare promife, even 
 
 tf
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 at this immature Period, under every Circum* 
 ftance, but the dreadful one which I have 
 above fuppofed, and which I have flated as 
 improbable, a fuccefsful Progrefs and Ter^ 
 mination of the Meafure which I have begun, 
 equal to any Expectations which may liave 
 been formed of it, however fanguine, if I am 
 not counteracted, and my Operations im- 
 peded, by Orders which I may not refift, and 
 am allowed to remain to the Time deflined 
 for their Perfection ; nor mall it be a com- 
 mon Obftruction which fliall reftrain me ; 
 for I pofTefs fuch inherent Advantages as I 
 truft will prove fuperior to every Species of 
 Oppofition, but the laft Extremity of it. In- 
 deed if fuch Springs' as give the common 
 Movements to popular Opinion, could influ- 
 ence my Proceedings, I have already experi- 
 enced them in two Inftances, one of which, I 
 believe to have had the fpecial Service lam 
 engaged in for its Object, and the other, the 
 general Ruin of my Authority. 
 
 I allude, firft, to a Report fabricat^- at 
 Fort St. George, of the Arrival of a Ship of 
 War at Bombay, with the authentic Intelli- 
 gence of my Difmiffion with Difgrace from
 
 < 6 ) 
 
 my Office, which I received at the Inftant 
 that I was fetting my Foot on the Shore at 
 Nuddeah, for the Commencement of my 
 Journey; and fecondly, to a Paper tranfrnhted 
 to me by a refpe&ed Authority from Cal- 
 cutta, containing Strictures on my former 
 Deputation, faid to be Part of a Report of 
 the felecl: Committee of the Houfe of Com- 
 mons, which unhappily apply to every Pur- 
 pofe of this, and which declare (with Horror 
 I repeat it) a Right inverted in the Com- 
 mander in Chief of the Army, to oppofe the 
 Power delegated by the Government itfclf to 
 its firft executive Member, and to affert that 
 Right by an Appeal- to the Army for its 
 ultimate Decifion upon it. The Words of 
 the Report (if it be fuch) to which I allude* 
 are'thefe : 
 
 " By thefe Inftructions" (that is the In- 
 ftructions fent by the Court of Directors to 
 Bengal in the Year 1774 and 1778) " it ap- 
 " pears, that the Governor General was po- 
 " fitively reftrained from the Exerciie of any 
 " military Power whatfoever beyond the Gar- 
 " riibn and Fortrefs of Fort William; fo 
 " that the Delegation and Exercife of all 
 
 ** military
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 ** military Power beyond the Limits fo de- 
 " fcribed, was a direct and pofitive Difo- 
 " bedience of the Orders of the Court of 
 " Direttors." 
 
 " Difobedience of Orders on a Point fo 
 " delicate and important as that of vvrefting 
 " the Military Command from the Official 
 " Military Officer, who was invefted with 
 " that Authority by the Orders of the Di- 
 " rectors, might have been productive of 
 " Confequences extremely prejudicial to the 
 " Service ; if the Commander in Chief had 
 " aflerted the Right invefted in himfelf, a 
 " Contention for executive Power might pof- 
 " fibly have been the Confequence, and the 
 f Army, which in India is fo peculiarly con- 
 " ftituted, as to require not only exacl: Di- 
 " fcipline, but the moft perfect Subordina- 
 *' tion, in Order to infure Obedience, muft 
 " have ultimately decided where that Obe- 
 " dience was due." 
 
 I dare not examine a Doctrine affirmed 
 to be of fo facred an authority; yet I may 
 humbly fuggeft that it never was, nor could 
 hare been intended to be applied to the actual 
 
 Com-
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 Commander in Chief, whofe Command was 
 originally constituted by the Governor Gene- 
 ral and Council themfelves, and therefore 
 could not be rendered fuperior to, and inde- 
 pendent of the Powers veiled in the Governor 
 General and Council, by an Ad: of Parlia- 
 ment pafied before its Exiftence; nor included 
 in any Inftrudtions of the Court of Directors, 
 alfo framed at a more ancient Period, if even 
 at a later ; and a Senfe of National Duty fupe- 
 rior to every Confideration of perfonal Safety, 
 or the Reverence which is due to high Office, 
 impels me to denounce, and to date the Fall 
 of the Britim Empire in India from the Inftant 
 that it (hall be decidedly declared, or under- 
 flood, that any Commander in Chief of the 
 Army, be his Title or Rank what it will, is, 
 or may be, by any conflrudtive Power, inde- 
 pendent of the Government under which the 
 wlfdom of Parliament hath hitherto placed 
 the Army ferving in thefe Provinces, and 
 every Member of it, in an implicit, and abfo- 
 lute Subjection to its Authority. 
 
 God forbid, that any future Pizarros, and 
 Almagros, fhould difgrace the Annals of your 
 Dominion, or mark the Traces of its Decline, 
 
 with
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 Vvith the Blood of your Servants, and Soldier^ 
 but the Conteft \vill probably be of fhort Du- 
 ration ; and happy will it be for the Interefls 
 of Humanity, if fuch mall bethelflue, though 
 dreadful to our own, whatever Period of Time 
 may clofe it* 
 
 Let me add, nor let my Words be uttered 
 in vain, that whenever the fatal Blow (hall be 
 {truck, or from whatever Hand it fhall proceed^ 
 its Effect will be, not a gradual Decay, but 
 inftantaneous Ruin, for your Exigence hangs 
 on the Thread of Opinion, which the Touch 
 of Chance may break, and even that Source, 
 which ought to flow with the Principles of its 
 Duration^ will, if productive of the fame dele* 
 terious Streams, which have been lately feen 
 to iffue from it, prove the Caufe of its Dif- 
 iblution* 
 
 I am not fnyfelf apprehenfive of any evil 
 Confequence, . from the partial, and limited 
 Command, which I pofle'fs over your Army^ 
 in its tending to provoke a Competition; 
 for in the firft Place, I will never put it to the 
 Iffue of a Trial ; and in the feeond, were the 
 Board to permit the Commander in Chief to 
 B come
 
 come into this Quarter, which is not likely, 
 I confidently hope, that before he could arrive, 
 this Province will have been fo regulated as 
 not to require any foreign Aid for its internal 
 Protection, nor of Courfe any Exercife of the 
 Powers which I pofiefs, and which he might 
 deerr^himfelf warranted to refift. 
 
 I proceed to repeat the Effects which have 
 been produced to this Time, from the late Ac- 
 commodation, and the Objects to which Hook, 
 for the final Iffue of it. 
 
 Before my Departure from Calcutta I ap- 
 plied through a private Channel to the acting 
 Minifter, to advance an immediate Supply of 
 Money to your Paymafter General at Luck- 
 now, for the Subfiftence of the Troops fta- 
 tioned in thefe Provinces, who were then many 
 Months in Arrears, and fliffered much addi- 
 tional Diftrefs, from the Scarcity and Dear- 
 nefs of Grain. He inftantly raifed the Sum of 
 ten Lacks of Rupees, which proved a critical, 
 and effectual Relief. 
 
 Since my Arrival, he has made other Pay- 
 ments to a confiderable Amount. Thefc are 
 
 par-
 
 particularized in the enclofed Account No. i. 
 in which I have included for your early Infor- 
 mation all the Payments made in Liquidation 
 of the Honourable Company's Debt, in the 
 Courfe of the prefent Fuflelee Year, to which 
 all Accounts of the Revenue are by old Cuf- 
 tom adjufted, and which commences on the 
 nth of September, to the prefent Time.* 
 
 To this I have joined another Account 
 No. 2, Hating the prcrbable Claims of the 
 Company upon the Nabob Vizier, from the 
 Beginning of the prefent to the End of the 
 next Fuflelee Year, or to the End of Septem- 
 ber 1785. 
 
 On both thefe Accounts I fliall offer a few 
 neceflary Remarks. Firft on No. i. The 
 
 * From the nth of September, 1783, to 
 the 3 1 ft of January, 1784., received by 
 Mr. Briftow, current Rupees 18,57,873 185,787 
 
 From the 31(1 of January to the 3Oth of 
 April, 1784, received by Mr. Wombweli 
 current Rupees 44,97,795 450,000 
 
 Total 63 5, 787 
 82 firft
 
 flrft Sum of fixteen Lacks of Rupees ftatcd a< 
 the Amount of Mr. Briftow's Receipts, is 
 taken from his own Account in the Pofleflion 
 of Mr. Wombvvell the Accomptant for this 
 Station, but differs materially from that which 
 has been drawn by the Nabob's Officers, and 
 I have referred it to the Board for Adjuftment 
 with Mr. Briftow, who alone can explain the 
 Difference. 
 
 The fecond Article is the regular Produce 
 of the current Revenue : I was early careful 
 to guard the Minifter againft the Ufe of vio- 
 lent Mealures to anticipate the Periods of 
 Collection, for the Purpofe of giving an often- 
 fible Credit to the prefent Syftem, by fwelling 
 the Amount of the Payments, made in Confe- 
 quence of it, although the Exigencies of your 
 State, induced me to prels him to contribute 
 what he could for their Relief, without adding 
 to the Diftreffes of his own, for the Country 
 not bear it. 
 
 The third Article was obtained by my own 
 Suggeftion from Almafs Ally Cavvn, who 
 Complied chearfully and without Hefitation, 
 
 con-
 
 ( '3 ) 
 
 considering it as an Evidence feafonably of- 
 fered for the general Refutation of the Char- 
 ges of Perfidy, and Difloyalty, which have 
 been too laborioufly urged againft him, and 
 carried at one Time to an Excefs which had 
 nearly driven him to abandon the Country, for 
 the Prefervation of his Life and Honor, and 
 thus to give a Colour, to the Charges them- 
 felves. 
 
 It would fcarce merit your Attention to be 
 informed, that I have inverted a Part of this 
 Supply in Bills of Exchange payable to the 
 Governor General and Council in Calcutta, 
 to the Amount of Five Lacks of Calcutta 
 Siccas ; but as it is connected with an Ar- 
 rangement which may prove a future Advan- 
 tage to your Interefts, in the Reduction of the 
 Hoondyan, or Exchange, from fixteen per 
 Cent, to five and a half, at which it is my De- 
 termination to fix it. 
 
 I have recommended to the Board to ap- 
 propriate the Whole of this Article as a Fund 
 for the Payment of the Intereft on your 
 Bonds, which had fuffered fomething in their 
 Credit, and current Value, from the Sufpenfion 
 
 of
 
 ( '4 ) 
 
 of the Payment of Intereft fome Months be- 
 fore I left Calcutta. 
 
 The laft Article is the Balance of the Sum 
 due from Fyzoola Cawn, by the Treaty made 
 between htm and the Nabob Vizier through 
 the Agency of Major Palmer on the i6th of 
 February, 1783. Two Lacks of this Amount 
 are now in regular Courfe of Payment ; the 
 remaining three are not due by Stipulation till 
 the next Scafon called Khereef, which is a 
 Period included between the Middle of Sep- 
 tember and the Middle of February. Some 
 Days after my Arrival, I intimated to his 
 Vackcel, my Wifli to have both Payments im- 
 mediately concluded, and his Matter gave 
 immediate Orders for it. 
 
 To this Inftancc of Refpedt for your Go- 
 vernment, he has added another, in the De- 
 putation of his Son to Lucknow, to confirm 
 the Aflurance of his Attachment to the Com- 
 pany, and Britifli Nation. 
 
 What further Sums may be cleared in the 
 Courfe of this Year, of which the mod pro- 
 ductive Part is already part, I cannot fay; 
 
 but
 
 but it is my Hope, that a confiderable Part 
 of the Nabob's Debt will be liquidated, and 
 the Difcharge of the Remainder enfured by 
 the Engagements of creditable Bankers, fo 
 that it may be wholly cleared within the 
 Courfe of the enfuing Year, 
 
 The Account No. 2 is an Eftimate formed 
 on the actual Expence; but will be confi- 
 derably reduced, if my future Profpefts and 
 Obje&s mail be anfwcrablc to my prefent 
 Expectations . To thefe I proceed. 
 
 Firft. My firft Wifh is to realize the 
 Amount of your Demands on tfce Nabob of 
 Owde to the End of the next Fuflelee Year, 
 and to obtain ample Securities for it, before 
 I depart from him. 
 
 Second. My next Care will be to induce 
 the Nabob's Minilters to appoint Bodies of 
 regular Troops for the Support of his Col- 
 lections, and the internal Defence of his 
 Country. This will preclude the Neceffity 
 of calling for the Aid of our Troops, and I 
 hope may prove the Means of relealing him 
 from the extraordinary, and undefined Sub- 
 
 fidy,
 
 ( '6 ) 
 
 fidy, which he now pays for the great Detach- 
 ment employed under the Command of Sir 
 John Gumming in Rohilcund, and the Re- 
 giments which have been occafionally de- 
 manded, and remain fcattered over other 
 Parts of his Dominions ; and of confining 
 our Defence, and the Nabob Vizier's Pay- 
 ments, to the Brigade ftationed at Cawnpore, 
 and to the Subfidy paid by Treaty, for its 
 Expence. 
 
 Third. My laft and ultimate Hope is, 
 that when thefe Objects are attained, your 
 Wifdom will put a final Period to the ruin- 
 ous, and difreputable Syftem of Interference, 
 whether avowed, or fecret, in the Affairs of the 
 Nabob of Owde, and withdraw for ever, the 
 Influence by which it was maintained. 
 
 This Country has no Inlets of Trade by 
 which it can fupply the Iffues which are 
 made from it ; for excepting the Factory at 
 Tonda, which fubfilb by a Contract making 
 Part of your Invcftmenf, and the Produce of 
 Opium, and Saltpetre, which is not confider- 
 able, I do not know any other Articles of 
 Commerce from which it could derive any 
 
 Re-
 
 Returns. Therefore, every Rupee which is 
 drawn from its Circulation into your Trea- 
 fury, mufl accelerate the Period at which its 
 Ability muft ceafe to pay, even the ftipulated 
 Subfidy. By the Continuance of this Fund, 
 you maintain an Acceffion of more than ont 
 Half to the military Eftabtijkment required for 
 the Defence of jour own Dominions, without 
 any Charge on your own Income ; and you 
 oppofe a wide and powerful Frontier to your 
 eventual Enemies, 
 
 That Force will continue to be an effectual 
 "Safeguard to the Country, which will fuffer 
 nothing by its Maintenance, becaufe the Spe- 
 cie thus applied will of Courfe flow back in-* 
 to its Circulation ; and it is a Tribute which 
 it ought gladly to pay, for its whole Wealth 
 would not in any other Way, yield an ade* 
 quate Mode of Protection. 
 
 Few are the Advocates of the national In* 
 terefls, and their Voice \vill be faintly heard 
 amid the numerous and loud Exclamations of 
 private Rapacity; but I humbly aflume to 
 rank myfelf with the former, and to allure 
 you, that if you feek for a permanent and 
 C pro*
 
 profitable Syftem of Connexion with this 
 Country, you mult confine your Claims up- 
 on it to the Line I have recommended. 
 
 If you tranfgrefs it, you may extend the 
 Diftribution of Patronage, and add to the 
 Fortunes of Individuals, and the nominal 
 Riches of Great Britain ; but your own Inte- 
 refts will fuffcr by it, and the Ruin of a great 
 and once flourishing Nation will be recorded 
 as the Work of your Adminiftration, with an 
 cverlafting Reproach on the Biitifh Name. 
 
 To this Reafoning I lhall join the Obli-^ 
 gallons of Juftice and good Faith, which cut 
 off every Pretext for your exercifing any 
 Power or Authority in this Country, while 
 the Sovereign of it fulfils the Engagements 
 which he contracted with you. 
 
 I have the Honor to be 
 
 With the mod profound Refpcct, 
 
 HONORABLE SIRS, 
 Your mod obedient 
 
 And mod faithful Servant, 
 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 PS.
 
 ( '9 ) 
 
 PS. May 13, 1784. This Letter, though 
 purpofely and declaredly written for inftant 
 Difpatch, has been detained by the fudden 
 Appearance of an uncommon Phenomenon, 
 which though in itfelf fimple and unimpor- 
 tant, derived a Magnitude, like the lefs or- 
 dinary Events of the Phyfical World, viewed 
 through the Medium of Superftition, from its 
 Operation on the Opinions of Mankind. On 
 the Night of the nth of laft Month, the 
 Prince Jewan Bukht, who has long held the 
 principal and moft adtive Part in the little 
 that remained of the Adminiflration of the 
 King, Shah Allum, and is his eldeft Son, 
 being about thirty-fix Years of Age, fled from 
 the Capital, attended only by his Mother's 
 Brother and another Perfon ; and rapidly paf- 
 fing the Bounds of his Father's Dominions, 
 efcaped far beyond the Reach of Purfuit, be- 
 fore his Abfence was difcovered ; nor was the 
 firft Direction of his Flight known for fome 
 Days. The King fent circular Orders to 
 every Quarter, that he might be apprehended 
 and fent back to the Prefence- The Nabob 
 Vifier and myfelf received Phirmauns (or Let- 
 ters to that Effedt, and in the fame Terms* 
 We waited three Days to learn the Courfe of 
 C * his
 
 Ills Route, and as foon as it appeared proba* 
 ble that it lay towards this Place, we addreffed 
 the Prince feparately to inform him of the 
 Commands which had been received, the 
 Mortification which thefe would impoie upon 
 us of with-holding from him the Duties of 
 Refpect, if it was his Intention to come this 
 Way, and he perfifted in it, and therefore in- 
 treating him not to come. Anfwers were 
 written to the King, with Information of the 
 Part we had thus taken, and the utmoft we 
 could take in Obedience to his Commands : 
 the Prince in Reply, difclaimed any Defign, 
 or Object, but fuch as were dictated by the 
 moft devoted Attachment and Zeal for his 
 Father's Interefts, dempnftrated by his chuf- 
 ing for his Retreat the Place where the Vizier 
 of the Empire, and the Chief of the Eng- 
 lifh Nation refided, who were known to be 
 incapable of abetting him in a different Con- 
 duct from that which he profeffed, and de- 
 claring that he would proceed at all Events, 
 trufling his Deftiny to the Conviction which 
 muft follow the Integrity of his Intentions. 
 At the fame Time, I received a Letter from 
 Major Browne, in which he related a private 
 Conference to which he had been admitted by 
 
 the
 
 the King, and in which his Majefty had ex* 
 preiTed his Pleafure at hearing that his Son 
 had chofen Lucfenow For his Retreat, where 
 he would be fafe from the Confequences 
 which were to have been apprehended, had 
 he thrown himfelf into other Hands : and his 
 Majefly enjoined Major Browne, with Repe- 
 tition and Emphafis, to write fo to me. It 
 was accordingly reiblved, to receive the Prince, 
 and of Courfe to pay him all the Honors of 
 his rank, which by the Conftitution of Hin- 
 doftan, were the fame as thofe which were 
 paid to the King himfelf; and this Determi- 
 nation was inftantly tranfmitted to the King, 
 with our Reafons for iu In Conformity to 
 this Plan, I accompanied the Nabob Vizier 
 on the yth Inftant to the Prince's Encamp- 
 ment, at the Diftance of about eighteen Miles 
 from LucknovV ; and we paid him together 
 the cuftomary Forms of Obeifance. On the 
 9th he entered Lucknow, attended by the 
 Nabob Vizier, myfelf declining, in Oppofkion 
 to the Defire of both, to bear any principal 
 Part in the Ceremony, though I could not re- 
 fufe at the Prince's Inftance, to appear in it* 
 which I did, following him on Horfeback as 
 a mere attendant ; and on the fame obvious 
 
 Motives,
 
 Motives, the Prince having defined to be ac- 
 commodated in a Houfe near to my own, I 
 refigncd to him, that which I then occupied, 
 and took immediate Poffcffion of one of the 
 Nabob's, which he had originally provided 
 and prepared for my reception, within the 
 Compafs of his own Palace, and immediately 
 adjoining to that which he lived in. I have 
 been minute in detailing thefe little Particu- 
 larities, bccaufe little as they are in them- 
 felves, they arc not fuch in their Effects. The 
 meaneft Circumftances of fuch an Interview 
 will be circulated to every Durbar in Hindof- 
 tan, and conftrued the Prognoftic of future 
 Events, and in that Infpcdtion may give 
 Birth to them. It was my Duty therefore 
 to avoid every Appearance which might be 
 received as a Symptom of Encouragement, 
 by exceeding the Limits of my prefcnt Re- 
 lation to the Nabob Vizier, as his Gueft, and 
 to raife his Confequence, my own and that 
 of the Nation which I reprefent ; being inde- 
 pendent of external Shew. I have the Satis- 
 faction to know, that in this Line I have 
 pleafed both. 
 
 The
 
 C *3 ) 
 
 The Nabob conducted the Prince to hi* 
 Capital, feated on the fame Elephant behind 
 him, and attended him to the Houfe appointed 
 for his Accommodation. I paid my Refpefts 
 to him there early on the Morning of the loth, 
 and had the Honour of a long Converfatiort 
 with him, in which he explained to me all the 
 Motives of his Vifit, and painted the wretched 
 Condition of his Father, which had been the 
 primary Caufe of it, in fuch Strength of Co- 
 louring, qualified with fo modeil a Dignity in 
 every Occafion of Reference to himfelf, and 
 fuch a Delicacy of Expreflion, where he 
 touched upon thofe Circumftances of the 
 Royal Sufferings, as might tend to the Dimi- 
 nution of his perfonal Character ; as exceed 
 my Powers of Language to do them Juftice 
 in the Recital of them. 
 
 I (hall beg leave to deliver the abridged 
 Account of what paffed in the Words of a 
 Letter, which I immediately wrote on my 
 Return to my own Quarters, and with the 
 Impreffion of it recent on my Memory, and 
 difpatched the fame Day to Mr. Wheler for 
 his private Information, and that of the other 
 Members of the Board, 
 
 The 

 
 " The Sum was that his Father was a mere 
 " paffive Inftrument in the Hands of others, 
 " and that he had undertaken this Journey at 
 " the Peril of his Head, becaufe it afforded 
 " the only Chance he had of a Relief to the 
 " King, or a Reftoration of the Dominion of 
 " his Houfe ; that if he could be the Inftru- 
 t( ment of Effecting this, he wiihed for no- 
 " thing for himfelf but the Credit of it, and 
 " a Conviction in his Father's Mind of his 
 " having ferved him with Duty, Zeal and 
 " Fidelity. He oblerved that, diftrefled as 
 ** the Royal Family was, he himfelf enjoyed 
 ** a Comparative State of Comfort, poflefling 
 " a Jagheer, Horfes, Elephants, a Portion of 
 " Splendor, and domeftic Eafe and Pieafure ; 
 " that he had voluntarily made a Sacrifice of 
 " thefe Advantages, and given his Perfon to 
 " Fatigue and Diftrefs, and his Life to the 
 " Hazard of the Obvious Confcquences of 
 " his Flight, that he might attempt the 
 " greateft poflible Service for his Father, in 
 " which if he failed, he would either return 
 ' on his Majefty's Command, which, he faid, 
 " impreffcd him with fuch Awe, that he 
 " doubted his Ability, even at this Diftance, 
 " to refift it ; or ke would go to Calcutta, 
 
 and
 
 " and there folicit a Paflage in a Ship td 
 " England ; for he underftood the Voyage 
 " was but Five Months, and if it was longer^ 
 " he could bear the Fatigues which others 
 " bore, and accommodate himfelf to any 
 " Situation of Life> whiclrit became him to 
 tf accept as a Lot, and to fubmit to it. He 
 " faid, I was not to exped from his Father 
 " any other Letters than fuch as I had already 
 " received, and fuch as were confonant to the 
 " wiflies of thofe who were about his Perfon ; 
 " but that he knew his Father's real Senti* 
 '* mentsi which were of a very different kind^ 
 " and I might eafily believe that the King 
 " muft in his Heart, be pleafed with a Con* 
 " duft, which could be attributed to no other 
 " Motive, than that of Fidelity and Attach* 
 " ment, and which could not be produdtivd 
 " of ill, if it failed of the Means of Deliver* 
 *' ance, from his Diftrefles. He painted the 
 " Situation of 'the King's Family, in flrong 
 " and affedting Colours. The whole of 
 " what he faid on this Subject may be com* 
 " prized in a few Words. In the Courfe 
 " of the laft Twelvemonth the whole Income" 
 " which he had received for the Subfitfence 
 " of fo large a domeftic Eftablilhment, from 
 D "a Ter-
 
 " a Territory of fome Extent, and from the 
 " Rights of an Empire, which once yielded 
 " many Crores (I think he faid fix) fcarcc 
 " amounted to a Lack and fifty Thoufancl 
 " Rupees. It was natural, he faid, for thofe 
 " -by whofe Power the Sultanur, fuch as if 
 " was, was fupported, to endeavour to rail!* 
 " themfelves to the independent Poflcffion of 
 " it; and to that he could fubmit ; but it 
 " was the Condition of VafTalage and Mean- 
 " ncfs to which the Servants of the King had 
 ** reduced him by degrading him into a mere 
 " Inftrument of their intercftcd and fordid 
 " Defigns, that he regretted ; and this was 
 * f fuch a Condition as neither his Pride, nor 
 '* the Senfe of Duty would allow him to view 
 " with Forbearance. It would be impoffible 
 " to follow this Difcourfe through every 
 ' f Branch of it, though connected ; I have 
 lt haftily written it, as it occurred to my 
 " Memory, and may have ufed Repetition s 
 " which did not appear in its Original Deli- 
 (< very. My Reply ought to be confined to 
 " its Subftance. I told him that our Go- 
 " vernment had juft obtained Relief, from a 
 " Srate of univerfal Warfare, and required a 
 " Term of Repofc; that our Whole Nation 
 
 '* was
 
 ** was weary of War, and dreaded the Re- 
 " newal of it ; it would be equally alarmed 
 " at any Movement, of which it could not 
 " immediately fee the Iffue or Progrefs, but 
 " which might eventually tend to create new 
 " Hoftilities ; that I came hither with a li- 
 " mited Authority, and could not, if I chofe 
 " it, engage in a Bufinefs of this Nature with- 
 " out the Concurrence of my Colleagues in 
 " Office, who I believed, would be averfe to 
 " it; that the Country of Owde was in a 
 " difordered State, and the Nabob incapable 
 " of joining immediately in fuch a Plan, and 
 " that my fole Buiinefs here, was to affift 
 " him with the Power and Influence of our 
 " Government, in retrieving his Affairs, 
 " which I hoped a few Months would effect, 
 " and enable him to perform the Duties of 
 " Loyalty to his Sovereign . In the mean 
 " time the Prince's Relidence in this Place, 
 " though he fat ftill and inactive, would be 
 " of fome ufe ; it would be a Check on the 
 " People at Delhy, who would not dare to 
 " proceed to further Extremities, but find it 
 " their Intereft and Policy to make their 
 < Court to the King, while there was an 
 Appearance or Poffibility of his Caufe 
 P 2 <( being
 
 <* being efpoufed from this Quarter, with fo 
 *' powerful a San&ion for it ; that J would 
 * reprefent his Situation to the joint Members 
 " of my own Government, and wait their Deter- 
 " mination. In the mean time I advifed him 
 " to make Advances to Madajee Scindia, 
 " both becaufe our Government was in inti- 
 " mate, and fworn Connexion with him, and 
 " becaufe he was the effectual Head of the 
 < Marattah State : befides,! feared his taking 
 " the other Side of the Queflion, unlefs he 
 < e was early prevented. This is all that ma- 
 << tcrially pafled betwixt us." 
 
 It will be proper to add that no Perfon was 
 either prefent, or within hearing during this 
 Conference, and that I have yet only made a 
 private Communication of it to the other 
 Members of the Board, as there are many 
 Circumftances related in it which ought not 
 to be expofed to the riik of being publickly 
 Jcnown. 
 
 Major Browne who is your Refident at the 
 Court of Delhy, left it on the id Inftant, by 
 the King's Command, on the exprefs Errand 
 pf recondu&ing the Prince to Court x and to 
 
 give
 
 give him an AfTurance of Pardon for his paft 
 Tranfgreflion. 
 
 What may be the final Iffue or even the 
 progreffive Events of this Vifit, I cannot con- 
 jecture, the Scene is too Novel to be judged 
 by any Comparifon, of fuch as have fallen 
 within the Compafs of my Experience. 
 I can only promife my mod watchful Care, 
 that it may not lead to any Confequences, 
 which may involve your Interefts, interfere 
 with the Oeconomy of my prefent plan, or 
 difturb the Tranquility of your PofTeffions. 
 
 I am ftrongly tempted to mention, and I 
 hope not improperly, one Trait of the 
 Prince's Character, which has fallen within 
 my own imperfect Obfervation. When he 
 arrived at the Place where the firft Honors 
 where paid him, on his approach to Lucnoiv, 
 he was devoid of almoft every necefiary of 
 Life, and had fcarce a Change of Raiment for 
 his own ufe : nor was his Situation with 
 Refpect to the means of Expence, imme- 
 diately improved on his Arrival at the Place 
 of his appointed Refidence at the City. To 
 his own Diilreffes he appeared infenfible, or 
 
 affected
 
 affected a Spirit of Self-dependence, which 
 raifed him above the Confederation of them ; 
 but he privately hinted to the Gentleman, 
 who was appointed by the Nabob Vizier, 
 and myfelf, to attend on him on our joint 
 Behalf, that the King, his Father, was in fuch 
 a State of Wretchcdnefs, that any Supply of 
 Money, however fmall, would be an Accept- 
 able Gift; even at the Inftant in which I am 
 writing, I receive an additional Evidence of 
 the fame Difpofition, which whether it be real 
 Benevolence, or let it it flow from whatever 
 Source, is at leaft commendable, in a Report 
 made to me by the fame Channel, which is 
 that of my Perfian Interpreter Captain Scotr, 
 who is juft returned from the Prince, to 
 whom the Nabob Vizier had lent him with 
 a Supply of 15,000 Rupees for his private 
 Expence; and I fhall ufe his own Words 
 written immediately in my Frefence for the 
 Recital of it. 
 
 3i'Ji bzd has t ViiJ 
 
 " His Highnefs received the Money with 
 " many Expreflions of Thanks, butobferved, 
 " that while he knew his Father daily expe- 
 " rienced the greateft Diftrefles, he thought 
 " it unlawful for him to enjoy the Luxuries 
 
 of
 
 C 3" ) 
 
 cf of Life ; that he wilhed therefore, the Go- 
 " vernor and Nabob Vizier would remit the 
 " Money to the Nabob Mirza, for his Majefty's 
 Ufe. His Highnefs obferved alfo, that he 
 " at prefent, from the Attention of the Eng- 
 " lifh and Nabob Vizier, had many Super- 
 " fluities, which he fhould difpatch to his 
 " Majefty in a few Days." 
 
 WARREN HASTINGS. 
 
 ... .. 
 
 AMONGST the various Charges brought 
 againft Mr. Haftings, by Mr. Fox, 
 Mr. Burke, and their Friends in the late 
 Houfe of Commons, and by Lord Carlifle in 
 the Houfe of Lords, during the Progrefs of 
 the India Bill of the laft Year, there was not 
 one fo forcibly urged, as the following : that 
 Mr. Haftings had treated the Nabob Vizier 
 of Owde with Cruelty and Injuftice. In the 
 ingenious Novel publilhed by Mr. Dodfley, 
 under the Title of Mr. Burke's Speech, we 
 are told, " that the Vizier is reduced to Sla- 
 **, very, and Indigence; that the Natives of 
 
 " In-
 
 " Indoftan have confpired for our Deftfuc- 
 " tion, as a Nation in which no other could 
 " put any Truft, and who were the declared 
 " Enemies of the human Species." Mr. 
 Fox with one Dafti of his Pen, ftruck out the 
 Sum 0^789,828, the Balance due to the 
 Eaft India Company from the Vizier. One 
 Gentleman in the Houle of Commons, Mr* 
 Orde, who had been an active Member of the 
 fecret Committee, oppofed to the Blaze of 
 Eloquence with which Mr. Fox had over- 
 whelmed the Houfe, a plain and fimple Fact, 
 " That whatever the DiftreflTes of the Vizier 
 " might have been, Mr. Haftings was not 
 " accountable for them. He had contended, 
 " and juftly, that the Treaty concluded by 
 himfelfwtth Sujah Dowlah,continucdbind- 
 " ing between the Ehgiifli and his Succeflbr. 
 " It was the Majority of the Supreme Councij 
 " who broke that Treaty, and are of courfe 
 C accountable for what has fince happened."' 
 In Order to prove that Mr; Orde was per- 1 
 fcctly right, though the Voice of Reafon and 
 of Truth could not then be heard, the fol- 
 lowing Facts are fubmitted to the Confidera* 
 tion of the Public.
 
 In the Year 1764, Sujah Dowlah the 
 Father of the prefent Nabob Vizier of Owde, 
 invaded the Province of Bahar, but was de- 
 feated by the Englifh at the Battle of Buxar, 
 Having been driven out of the greateft Part 
 of his Dominions in the Courfe of the Cam- 
 -.paign, he furrendered his Perfon to General 
 Carnac in May 1765. Lord Clive, a few 
 Months after this Event, concluded a Treaty 
 of Peace with him, by which he recovered 
 his Dominions, and entered into a Uriel: Al- 
 liance with the Englifh. From this Period, 
 till the Year 1770, a third of our Military 
 Force, was ftationed in his Dominions, or at 
 Allahabad, and paid by the Extraction of 
 Specie from Bengal. When Mr. Haftings 
 fucceeded to the Government of Bengal in 
 April 1772, his i j lan was, to confine our Re- 
 fources and our Expences within the Banks^ 
 of the Caramnafla ; but in confequence of 
 Meafures entered into, previous to his Arrival in 
 Bengal, a Brigade of our Troops was ordered 
 by Sir Robert Barker, to march to the Aflift- 
 ance of Sujah Doulah, in Order to repel the 
 Maratta Invafion of Rohilcund. The 
 Treaty concluded between Mr. Haftings 
 aud Sujah Dowlah in September 1773, con- 
 lifted
 
 Cfted of three material articles: The firft is, 
 that as the King Shah Allum (one Year pre- 
 vious to Mr. Haftings's Arrival had quitted 
 our Protection, and granted Sunnuds to the 
 Marattas for the Provinces of Carah and Al- 
 lahabad, which were cxprcfsly afligned to 
 him for the Support of his Dignity, we ced- 
 ed thefe Provinces to the Vizier, in confide- 
 ration of his paying 50 Lacks of Rupee* to 
 the Company. The Second, that when a 
 Brigade of our Troops aCted in conjunction 
 with his Forces, his lixcellency might defray 
 the whole Expence, which was fixed at two 
 Lacks and 10,000 Rupees a Month. The 
 Third, that if the Rohillas did not comply with 
 the Conditions of the Treaty, to which the 
 Englifh were Guarantees, \ve were to affi.fl 
 Sujah Dowlah, in taking Pofieffion of their 
 Country. This was at the Time a Secret 
 Article ; but the firft Propofition on the Sub- 
 ject was made by Sir Robert Barker in the 
 Month of March 1773. No Attempt was 
 made by Mr. Mailings, or his Council to en- 
 croach upon the Independence of Sujah 
 Dowlah, or to interfere with him in the Ma- 
 nagement of his Country ; but on his Death 
 in February 1775, the Majority of the Su- 
 preme
 
 prtme Council determined to pay no * '* Re- 
 " gard to the Bonds of Treaty by which they 
 *' were connected with his Father. They 
 " confidered them as a mere perfonal Obli- 
 " gation, and avowedly directed the Line 
 <c of their Conduct towards the Son, by a 
 " View of drawing from it the greateft poffi- 
 " ble Benefit to the Company's Affairs ; ha- 
 " ving determined that the fpecific Condi - 
 " tions of their former Alliance with the 
 *' Vizier expired with him." " A Treaty 
 " was agreed to between the Nabob and Mr. 
 <{ Briftow on the 2ift of May 1775, and 
 " confirmed by the Governor General and 
 " Council on the 6th of June following, by 
 " which the Provinces of Corah and Allaha- 
 " bad were guaranteed to the Nabob, and 
 " the flipulated Subfidy for the Service of 
 " the Brigade, was increafed to Two Lacks, 
 " Sixty Thoufand Rupees per Month. But 
 " the great Point of Advantage which the 
 " Company derived from this Treaty, was 
 " the Sovereignty, and Pofleflion in Per- 
 " petuity of the Diftrifts under Rajah Cheyt 
 " Sing." 
 . * 5th Report Secret Committee, ftc. Page 96. 
 
 E 2 The
 
 c 36- y 
 
 " The Advantages, and honourable Sti* 
 " pulations acquired to the Company by this 
 " Treaty, are earneftly pointed out in their 
 " joint Minute, by MefTrs. Clavering, Mon- 
 " Ton and Francis -, and they claimed great 
 " Merit with the Directors, on Account of 
 *' this Meafure, which they declared to be 
 " flri6lly, and exclufively their own, in De- 
 " fpite of the Oppofition given to it by the 
 " Governor General and Mr. Barwcll. It is 
 " however to be obferved, that the Governor 
 " General, in his Remarks upon thefe bene- 
 " ficial Reprefentations, perfifled in his pro- 
 " phetic Apprehenfions, that the Conditions- 
 ' of the Treaty could never be fulfilled, 
 " and therefore ought not to be deemed ad- 
 " vantageousj neither did he think it ho- 
 " nourable to have extorted from the Nabob> 
 a Conccffions inconfiftcnt uitb their former Trca- 
 " tics, to which the Neceffity of his Situation 
 '* alone obliged him, however unwillingly, 
 " to fubmit." 
 
 In the Month of December, 1775, the 
 Nabob Vizier applied for Britim Officers 
 to command his Troops, The Requisition 
 was complied with; but in the Month of 
 July, 1777, Mr. Haftings propofed, that 
 
 the
 
 C 37 > 
 
 the Regiments in the Vizier's Service, fhould' 
 be put upon the fame Eftablifhment with our 
 wn Army ; for this he affigned Reafons, 
 which are incontrovertible, and the Vizier 
 aflented to the R^quifidon. In the Year 
 1779, the Vizier complained very heavily,. 
 of the Injury which his Country faftainedy 
 from the expenfive Eftablifhments kept up in. 
 it ; and it was then that he wrote the Letter, 
 which Mr. Fox read in the Houfe of Com- 
 mons : Lord Sandwich, in the Houfe o 
 Lords : and Mr. Dodfley has publiihed, as> 
 Fart of an ingenious Romance, entitled Mr. 
 Burke's Speech. When this Letter was re- 
 ceived by the Supreme Council, Mr. Francis* 
 in ftrong Terms defended the Propriety c 
 the Vizier's claim, and lamented that our Go- 
 vernment was reduced to a Situation, in which/ 
 it was compelled to renounce the Principles 
 of Juftice and good Faith, or to incur the' 
 Hazard of Ruin. Mr, Haftings on the other 
 Hand contended, * " that the Syftem which, 
 ** has created our prefent Neceflities, belongs- 
 '* to the Adminiftration which formed the 
 " exifting Treaty with AiToph ul Dowlah 
 IC The Treaty which was concluded with the 
 Committee,, Appendix t lothKeport, No. 7, 
 u Nabob.' 
 
 85490
 
 ( 3* > 
 
 " Nabob Sujah Dowlah, placed him oti the 
 " mofl refpeclable Footing, as the Sovereign 
 ft of an independent State, and left all his 
 " Rights untouched ; and the Duration of 
 *' his Alliance with the Company, depend- 
 " ed yet more upon the reciprocal and equal 
 " Advantages which it held out to both Par- 
 " tics, than on the Formality of a written 
 " Compact. This Treaty was broken on his 
 et Death, and a new one, conftrucled on far 
 ct different Principles, was made with his 
 " Son. and Succeflbr, by which the letter 
 * fc eventually and neceflfarily beca ne .1 VaffaJ 
 *' of the Company ; and their Interefls bound - 
 46 by fiich ftrong, intricate Tics, as mult 
 *' lender it dangerous at any Time to fcparate 
 * s them, and Jatal to botli at fac/i a Time as 
 " t/.is." N'o Man who knew the State of 
 India at that Period, could doubt ihe Pro- 
 priety of this Remark. We were at War 
 vitii France, and the Marattas. The Vizier 
 had no Bodies of regular Troops to ftutiori in 
 his Country, if our Battalions had then been 
 withdrawn. \Ve could not at that Moment 
 diflv.nd them ; and our own Funds were in- 
 fufficient for their fupport. This rea lotting 
 bad Weight with Mr. Francis ; and the 
 
 Troops
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 Troops were continued. In September, 1781, 
 Mr. Haftings concluded a Treaty with the 
 Vizier, by one Article of which all the Troops 
 under Britifti Officers were withdrawn from 
 his Country, the regular Brigade excepted, nor 
 were any Regiments to be fent in future, unlefs 
 at the exprefs Requifkion of the Vizier, in 
 which Cafe he was to pay a fpecific Sum fqr 
 their Diiburfements. The civil Eftabhfh- 
 ment remained as heretofore. From September, 
 1781, to December, 1783, there werecontt- 
 nuai complaints from the Vizier and the Bri- 
 tilh Refident, the former complaining of the 
 Refidents Interference, in his domeftic Con- 
 cerns; and the letter, of the general Diforder 
 and Mal-adminiflration of his Excellency's 
 Government. Mr. Haftings propofed the 
 Abolition of the Refidency of Owde altoge- 
 ther, and offered to proceed himfelf to 
 Lucknow to afiift the Vizier, in regulat- 
 ing his Country ; and in order to re- 
 ceive the Ballances that have been pro- 
 nounced defperate. The Succefs of Mr. 
 Haftings's Deputation is already detailed. 
 From the 3ift of January to the 3Oth of 
 April, 1784' 450,000!. was received. When 
 the Letter was written, the lateil Intelligence 
 
 Mr.
 
 ( 40 ) 
 
 Mr. Haftings had received from EnglaticU 
 *vas, that Mr. Fox's Bill had been read twice 
 an the Houfe of Commons, and carried fo far, 
 4>y a Majority of Two to One ; yet in fuch a 
 Light did the Meafure appear to Mr. Haft- 
 ings, that although he expreffes the utmoft 
 Indifference, for the event of 'it, as it might 
 affeft himfelf, he obferves in a Letter to a 
 Gentleman in London, received a few Days 
 ago " I have received your Letter of No- 
 " vember laft, with the News of the fccond 
 *' Reading of Mr. Fox's Bill. I will not be- 
 " lieve it can pafs. It is a Profligacy beyond 
 " Example." &c. &c. It will doubtlefs be a 
 Subject of Wonder to future ages, that a 
 Miniftry formed of Men who had Joft Ame- 
 rica and the Weft Indies, either by the weak 
 and indecifive Meafures of one of its compe- 
 nent Parts, or the intemperate, unceafing op- 
 pofition of the other, ftiould combine for the 
 Purpofe of difgracing the Man who had 
 preferved the Empire of Afia, committed to 
 hisCaie, and under whofe Aufpices, Con- 
 <quefts had been made from our European 
 by the ceffion of which veiy im- 
 portant
 
 jtortant Territories were fecured to Great 
 Britain in the Weftern World. 
 
 However the firft Ground may have been 
 changed, every Man of common Obfervation 
 muft know, that Mr. Fox originally urged the 
 Neceffity of a Bill for the Regulation of India, 
 on account of the Mifmanagement of Mr. 
 Haftings, " who diffipated the Revenues of 
 " Bengal, difobeyed the Orders of the Com- 
 * : pany, and opprefled Thirty Millions of Peo- 
 " pie/* Thefe Topics flightly touched upon by 
 Mr. Fox, were confiderably detailed by Mr. 
 Burke, in the Novel publifhed by Mr. Dodf- 
 ley. If Gentlemen will have the Curiofity to 
 read this Performance, and Mr. Fox's Speeches, 
 while his Bill was in the late Houfe of Com- 
 mons, and compare them with the aclual 
 State of the Company, they will perceive how 
 grofsly the Coalition Miniftry were mifin- 
 formed as to the Affairs of Jndia. Every 
 Statement of Tranfaftions of a former Date, 
 which was made by the laft Adminift ration, 
 has been proved erroneous. Every Predic- 
 tion is falfified by the Events. * Lord Ma- 
 
 * The Speeches of Mr. Fox, Mr. Buike, Mr. Gre- 
 gory, Sir Henry Fletcher, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 F cartney
 
 ( 4* ) 
 
 cartney has not been fufpended, nor was he at 
 any Time in Danger of fharing the Fate of 
 Lord Pigot. The Maratta Peace has not 
 turned out a mere Truce, the feparate Treaty 
 with Madajee Sindia has not involved us in, 
 a War with Tippoo Sultaun, nor will it 
 plunge this Nation into a War with France. 
 The Debts due from the Nabob Vizier 
 of Oude, the Nabob of the Carnatic, and the 
 Raja of Tanjore, are recoverable without the 
 Britifh Government being reduced to the 
 cruel Neceffity of aiding them in Wars on 
 their innocent People. The Difobedience of 
 Orders, which, though fo Joudly proclaimed, 
 is confined to the Cafes of Mr. Briftow, and 
 Mr. Fowke, has been fo fully explained, that 
 no Man of common Underftanding can cen- 
 fure Mr. Halt ings on that Head; yet it was 
 laft Year affigned as one of the firfl Reafons 
 for violating the Britifh Conftitution ; and to 
 all thefe were added, that moft curious of all 
 Arguments, That the Eaft India Company 
 was compofed of the Servants of the Servants 
 in India. It required all the Ingenuity of 
 Mr. Burke, to fupport fo extraordinary a 
 Prepofition; but it is fully contradifted by 
 
 Fads.
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 Fafts, Any Man who reads the Lift of 
 Stockholders will find, that of the 1400 qua- 
 lified Proprietors, there are not more than 
 100 who have been in India, and of thefe 
 many are conne&ed with the late Admini- 
 ilration. 
 
 Without entering further into Detail, let 
 us oppofe our aftual Situation in India, to 
 what the late Administration ftated it to be, 
 when they brought in their Bill of Confifca- 
 tion. Peace is univerfally reftored, and we 
 have not an Army in the Field, in any quarter 
 of Indoftan. The Bengal Detachment which 
 had fervedvvith fo much Glory in Guzzerat, 
 arrived on the Banks of the Jumna, the 3d 
 of February, and the fix youngeft Regi- 
 ments of Sepoys in Bengal were difbanded in 
 confequence of their Return. The Bengal 
 Detachment under Colonel Pearce, which had 
 been fo highly diftinguifhed in the Carnatic, 
 was arrived on the ift of May, at Mafu- 
 lipatnam on its return to Bengal, and would 
 be in the Neighbourhood of Calcutta in Au- 
 guft. A further Reduction of the Army was 
 then to take place. All the Corps in Bengal 
 F 2 had
 
 C 44 ) 
 
 had been reduced to a Peace Eftablimment 
 And every Sepoy Regiment from 1000 to 
 780 Rank and File. Reductions had alfo 
 been made both at Madrafs and Bombay, to 
 a confiderable Amount. The enormous 
 Expences which are naturally attendant 
 upon a State of War had ceafed ; and the 
 People of England, who heretofore have 
 been led away, by the interefted Mif- 
 reprefentations of Parliamentary Orators, 
 will, at a future Period, recollect this ftriking 
 Fa&, That while Great Britain contracted 
 a Debt of One Hundred Millions, in an 
 unfortunate, and calamitous War, loft thir- 
 teen Colonies in America, feveral Iflands in 
 the Well Indies, Minorca in Europe ; and 
 at leaft One Hundred Thoufand of her 
 Soldiers and Sailors ; the Government of 
 India^ not only preferved the Brkifh Empire 
 entire in that Quarter of the Globe, but ac- 
 tually conquered every Settlement belonging 
 to France, and Holland, in Indoftan ; and 
 concluded a feparate Peace with the Marattas, 
 before Tranquility was reftored to Europe ; 
 and after performing thefe fplendid Services, 
 the Debts of the Company in India, do not 
 
 equal
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 equal at the prefent Moment, one Year of 
 their net Revenues. 
 
 No Man who recollects the many extraor- 
 dinary Events, which followed the Change of 
 Adminiftration in March 1782, will be fur- 
 prized, that at that Period the Caufe, and 
 Conduct of Mr. Haftings fhould have been 
 mifreprefented, and that a Majority of Forty 
 Three Members of the late Houfe of Com- 
 mons fhould have voted it neceflary to recal 
 him, becaufe in the Opinion of fome of his 
 Majefty's Minifters, he had forfeited the 
 Confidence of the Natives of India. The 
 fame Men recalled Lord Rodney, at a moft 
 critical Moment, although he had been more 
 fuccefsful, and had added more Ships of the 
 Enemy to the Britifh Navy, than any one 
 Officer in his Majefty's Service. 
 
 Whatever the Opinions of the Gentlemen 
 who voted for the Removal of Mr. Haftings, 
 might have been at that Period, it is an Infuh 
 to common Senfe, to fuppofe, there is any 
 Man coverfant in the Affairs of India, who 
 will now affert, that Mr. Haftings has for- 
 feited
 
 ( 4S ) 
 
 felted the Confidence of the Native Princes 
 of Indoftan. It was his Misfortune in 
 
 1782, to be oppofed by a Miniftry, 
 who were in general very little verfed in 
 the Affairs of India. Even at a Period 
 much later, Mr. Francis declared in his 
 Place, in the Houfe of Commons, that he 
 believed he was the only Member who had 
 read all the Reports of the Committees. This 
 was going too far perhaps, but it is a notori- 
 ous Fa6l, that in 1782, the Rockingham 
 Party drew all their Information from Mr. 
 Burke, who has told the Public in his Ro- 
 mance J, " That if he has learnt any good 
 " Leffons, he learnt them from Mr. Francis; 
 " from whofc Materials, even thofe who 
 " have lead acknowledged it, have fpoken 
 " as from a Brief." How far it was con- 
 fident with Juftice; or Reafon, that a Man 
 who has ferved his Country, and the Eaft 
 India Company, above thirty-four Years, in 
 Offices of the firft Importance in India, fhould 
 be condemned upon the Reprefentations of 
 
 | See Mr. Burke's Speech, of the zd of December, 
 
 1783, primed by Dodfley. 
 
 his
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 his political Enemies, the People of England 
 have determined, and it ought to operate fo far 
 as a Warning to thofe refpeclable Men, who 
 are called the f'ockingham Party in this King- 
 dom, as to prevent them in future from be- 
 ing led away by the Prejudices and Paflions 
 of Men, whofe Talents are inferior to their 
 own. 
 
 F I N 1 S.
 
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