Thoughts on Improving the Government of the British Ter. ritorial Possessions in the East Indies UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES THOUGHTS O N IMPROVING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BRITISH Territorial Pofleffions " IN THE EAST I N D J E IS. r.ai TO/I/SC i'J p-ivti, B'. 'Oreo * Ken // \ Jk\ *^ ,J:* ^ THOUGHTS, &c. ~: ' ^ H E advantages which may arife JL from a proper adminiftration and folid arrangement of the political govern- ment of our territorial pofTeffions in the Earl Indies, have never yet met with that ^confederation from the legiflature which "they deferve. If no other motives can - induce us to think of the very great be- '/ nefhs which may in every view be derived from thence, our prefent exigencies at lead may have that beneficial efFect. Three vaft provinces, full of induftry and wealth, were acquired by Lord Clive's treaty in 1775, yielding 1,650,9007. to the Eaft India Company, independant of a m of 50 lacks, which Were allotted to ujah Dowla, and of Lord Clive's Jag- hire. We have, belides this, the fettle- A 2 meets 354758 [ 4 ] ments upon the coafts of Malabar, and Coromandel. Yet thefe have produced but a very inadequate benefit to this country, and are in danger of becoming lefs and lefs beneficial to us, owing to the want of due attention to the nature of fuch eftabliihments, both with refpect to the power which governs them at home, an4 the conft-itution of their government abroad. The object of thefe few pages is to point out fome of the moil material defects in the adminiftration of our affairs in the Eaft, both at home and abroad, and to propofe the method of amending them ; by which the public will receive much I of that advantage which now falls into the hands of individuals, and thereby becomes rather an evil than an advan- tage. That all conquefts or acquiiitions made by fubjects, either by means of arms or of negociation, belong to the fovereignty of the ftate, to the effect of giving the national council a right to regulate the adminiftration of them, and of giving the public a right to participate in the advan- tages [ 5 ] tages which may be derived from them, is a pofition denied by no fpeculative wri- ter, and is directly affirmed by the law and constitution of Great Britain. Agree- ably to this principle, the legiflature has often adverted to this fubjecl:, but till of late years the extent of its importance feems not to have been underftood, nor has it yet been fo underflood as to fuggefl the fundamental principles, which can alone fecure to us the advantage to be de- rived by fuch acquilitions. The two great foundations of all nati- onal wealth, are agriculture, and com- merce. In Europe the commercial fyftem has had a decided fuperiority over the agricultural, ever fince the difcovery of America, and of the paflage to India by the Cape of Good Hope. A ftrong and immediate attraction of the national capi- tal towards the one, can never operate but at the expence of the other, and to thefe two events is in a great meafure to be af- cribed, the advancement and improvement of commerce, while agriculture has been furprizingly neglected, as the face of every country in Europe will teflify, England itfelf t 6 ] itfelf not excepted. The opening of thofe vaft fources of commercial advantage to the kingdoms of Europe, roufed in a mo- ment every avaricious principle, which lurks in the breafts of ftates, or indivi- duals. Monopolies inftantly fprung up in every nation except the Portuguefe, and general monopolies begot individual mo- nopolies, by much the moil deftruftive of the two. It may not now be the proper time to agitate the great queftion, whether the trade from Britain to India ought to" be carried on by an excluiive company or not, but it is certainly a fit time to exa- mine the principles on which the govern- ment of our dominions in the Eaft ought to be carried on, with as much public ad- vantage as a monopoly can admit of. If the monopoly of this trade {hall continue to be thought nece/Tary, yet the delega- tion of the powers of government needs not for that reafon to be placed in the hands of the monopolifts, but on the con- trary it ought to be taken out of thofe hands, when the territories which have fprung from our trade become objects of too great magnitude, for the fuperinten- dance [ 7 3 dance of any power but that of the legif- lature. The monopolies of the European ftates have been of two forts. The one, ex- cluding all other nations from any com- merce with its foreign dominions, of which the British trade with America may be taken as an example. The other, ex- cluding all their own fubjects, except a favourite company, from any mare in the trade to diftant fettlements, as in the cafe of the Baft India Company. Both of thefe monopolies are attended with very pernici- ous confequences to the fbate which adopts them. It would be foreign to the prefent enquiry, to examine the effects of the for- mer, but the latter fpecies may properly be confidered as expofed to the following obfervations. The eftablimment of an exclufive company puts all the reft of the fubjects at the mercy of that company, with refpect to the price of every com- modity which they import, and limits the extent of the quantity of labour required from this country, to fupply the Eaft, according to the pleafure, or the good or ill conduct of thofe who conduct the mo- nopoly. [ 8 ] nopoly. It is, in the ftricteft fenfe of the word, a monopoly againft our fellow- fubjects. When any man purchafes Eaft India goods, it is obvious that he muft pay, not only the original price of the commodity, together with an exorbitant profit to the company, but that he muft alfo pay a (hare of the wafte occafioned by the frauds and abufe neceflarily connected with fuch an inftitution, and which every man knows have uniformly attended it. The fpirit of monopoly, when left entirely uncontrouled, as in the Dutch Spice Iflands, in a fhort fpace of time produced a compleat defolation and a destruction of the very articles of commerce which thofe iflands produce, in order to perfect the fyftem of monopoly. In the Britifh do- minions, the fame principles have pro- duced effects fimilar in their nature, and differing only in degree. An order that rice mould be eradicated, to make way for a crop of opium, and vice "oerfa, when the mercantile Governor found his intereft in that cruel meafure, is related in the hiftory of our adminiftration in Bengal ; and little doubt can be entertained, but [ 9 1 that We mould have followed the Dutch example throughout, had not the legifla- ture at times interpofed ; which proves to a demonstration the neceffity of eftablim- ing an overruling authority in India, de- rived from the legiflature itfelf, and inde- pendant of the mercantile company. The Englim and the Dutch have made confi- derable conquefts in the Eaft, yet the fpi- rit of monopoly has ever crufhed the fir ft appearances of eftabliflied colonies, in thofe countries. It is very obvious to every attentive mind, that the flourishing condition of foreign porTeffions, with re- fpect to population, manufacture, and a- griculture, muft augment the quantity of labour, in that State which has dominion over them ; and it follows e conver/b, that a diminution of the profperity of thofe pofleflions, proportionably deprefles the quantity of labour which might be pro- duced in return for their commodities, in the governing ftate. Another proportion is equally clear, namely, that in every country, the revenue of the fovereign, or fovereign ftate, muft be derived from that of the people. The greater the number Bl of t 1 ] of that people, the greater will be the furplus of their labour, beyond what fup- plies their own exigencies ; and confe- quently the greater will be the portion which may be fafely allotted to the fove- reign, or fovereign Hate. If this be a de- monfirable or rather a felf-evident truth, and if it be equally demonftrable, though perhaps not equally felf-evident, that ex- clufive companies have a direct tendency to counteract population, commerce, and agriculture, the inference is irrefiftible, that if an exclufive company be unavoid- able, the utmoft degree of care is necef- fary to obviate the ill effects of it as far as poffible, with refpedt to the SOVE- REIGNTY. The directors of the Eafl India Company have evidently the fame intereft in the good government of the Eaft, which the ftate itfelf has ; but the fervants of the company have no intereft whatfoever in its permanent profperity. The directors have therefore in general meant well, in ail their regulations, and have been in a continual ftate of conten- tion with their fervants, endeavouring, as far as lay within the compafs of their I judgment, I " ] judgment," or their powers, to reftrain the ill conduct of their agents in India. But all their efforts have been weak and inade- quate. No country was ever expofed to fuch inordinate rapine by the hands of thofe who had no intereft in its exiftence, beyond the fhort term of their residence there. The powers of the company have fcarce been able to check this rapine, though with the affiftance of the legifla- ture they have in a confiderable degree ac- complifhed that purpofe. But the origo mali lies farther back. The Court of Di- ' reciors, or in other words a committee of merchants, are in the nature of things unfitted for the purpofe of governing that country in which their exclufive mono- poly is exercifed. The firft object with a body of profeffional men, is their profef- fion. Merchandize is the firft object with merchants. Government will only be an acceffbry, a mere fecondary confideration, fubfervient to its principal. To fell very dear, and to purchase cheap by dint of authority and power, will be the natural confequence of this impolitic union of the fnercantile and fovereign characters ; and B a temporary temporary profit will in a great degree take place of lading policy, even among the Directors. The mercantile character is no way fuited to the exercife of autho- rity, nor can they maintain it in any other way than by the afliftance of military force. If this reafoning be well found- ed, the concluilon to be drawn from it will naturally be this ; that a compleat remedy ought to be found, for the imper- fections, of the ad mi nitration of our affairs in India, at home as well as abroad. The Directors of the company are nothing more than a committee of the ftock- holders, chofen from among thernfelves by ballot ; and when they are thus cho- fen, almofl the whole of the government pf the Britilh intereft in India, as well as the trading concerns of the company, is committed to their charge, fubject to the review of the ftock- holders at large. The welfare of twelve millions of people, and the extent and duration of the national advantage to be derived from the trade and territorial revenue of India, reft on this foundation. Nothing furely can be more contrary to every principle of government which [ '3 ] which has been known among men, than that fuch a ftate mould ultimately de- pend upon the votes of a large number of accidental proprietors of ftock, men of all defcriptions and of all nations, who purchafe a mare in its government to-day, and may fell it again to-morrow. It may I believe be fafely aflerted, that the go^ vernment of a diftant Empire was never before placed in a body of men fo fluctu- ating in their nature, and related to the fubj eft-matter of their government by no other tie, than that of getting a tolerable in.terefb for one or two thoufand pounds, That the proprietors of the trading capital mould manage the trade carried on with that capital, may be right and beneficial ; and the obvious inference is, that the de-r liberations of thofe perfons, when afTembled in their corporate capacity, ought to be confined to that fubjecl only. The Eaft India Company mould therefore be re- ftrained in this point, merely to what re- gards their inveftments and dividends; and thefe, it is to be obferved, were the only fubjects, which originally exifted for their determinations. This is fair politi- cal [ 14 J cal ground for retraining them, as It ne- ver can be maintained, that their powers are to he commenfurate to every poffible increafe of the Britifh Empire in thofe parts. This muft be the foundation of all good government in India, viz. that the executive officers there, mould be appointed by the crown, in the fame manner as they are direded by the con- fiitution to be, in our other foreign do- minions $ and no good reafon has ever been given, why a difference fhould be made in this eiTential point, between Afia and America* The argument agaifift this has ufually been drawn from an appre- I> ;nfion of the public danger which would arife, from an over great extcniion of the patronage of the crown. This anfvver however may be given to it, namely, that as that patronage has nearly fet in the Weft, it may rife again in the Eaft, with- out any alteration in the former equili- brium ; and this more general anfwer may alfo be given-, that it is the neceiTa^ ry coniequence of the increafe of empire. If it is an evil, it is the fmaller evil of the tvyo j and the common adage will here give, t is 3 give us a right and folid conclufion, that of two evils we muft chufe the leaft. Reafon and pair, experience (which in po- litics is the furer guide of the two) both concur in fettling this point ; but as It may be doubted by men of democratic perfuaiions, fome other arguments maj have weight in this confideration, derived from the nature of the country itfelf. The great Peninfula of India is a con- quered country, parcelled out among Ma- hometan tyrants, and thofe few native Princes who remain in porTeffion of their original territories. This creates two he- reditary parties. The native princes jaft- ly abhor the Mahometans. They are of a peaceful, laborious, patient character, and a juft and gentle government eflablimed there, they are fenftble would be a com- fort and protection to them. The Ma- hometan princes are humiliated and galled with the thought of being under the fway of a company of merchants, and have turned their eyes towards the crown of thefe realms, ever fince they acquired a knowledge of the nature of the Britifh, government. The caprice of the com- pany's pany's government, added to all the rapine that has attended it, has made it odious to an extreme. All this paves the way to a change beneficial to the public. I fay beneficial, becaufe it would fatisfy and reconcile to us the natives of Indoftan. The politics of thofe princes, are exactly of a nature refulting from fuch a ftate of government as they have hitherto lived under; they confift of intrigue, artifice, fufpicion, and all crafty methods of get- ting materials to guide their conduct, by means of fpies, corruption, &c. and du- plicity becomes of courfe their favourite plan. Fear and jealoufy compel the na- tives, to return to the bowels of the earth the precious metals which were original- ly extracted from them -, yet by a wife condudl thefe might be turned to a better ufe, as fhall hereafter be {hewn. All this and much more has certainly arifen, from an undignified, unfteady, mercantile government carried on by mo- nopolifts ; much of it therefore might be done away, by eftablifhing a national go- vernment there, to which fome late regu- lations have tended. According to the habitual f '7 1 habitual opinion of Afiatics, it is a matter of importance that they mould conlider themfelves as connected with the Supreme Power in that flate to which they are fu- bordinate ; the whole current of their ideas having flowed in that courfe, they will with pleafure bend themfelves in fubjection to officers appointed by the So- vereign who reprefents that ftate; being fully apprifed of the comparative dignity of fuch an appointment, and that of a fuperior appointed under the feal of the company. It will be (hewn too in the fequel, that the number of appointments to be vefled in the crown is but fmall, and fuch as needs not reafonably to be alarming to thole, who have a dread of. increafing the power of that member of our constitution. It will furfice, and am- ply fuffice, if a few of the principal of- ficers are appointed by the crown; for ths government of any diftant country under the ultimate controul of parliament, ought not to be placed in many hands. Taking it then as clear that the territo- rial, poffefiions in India Ihould be deemed (to all purpofes of civil government) a C part r is j part of the Britifh Empire, and as fuch to be governed with the fame view to public benefit that other conquefts and acquifi- tions are ; we are now to confider the ob- jects which moil require a legiflative cor- rection, and the manner in which the civil government ought to be carried on. It feems to be the opinion of all men, that fomething extenfive, permanent, and ra- dical muft now be done, in order to ar- range matters in fuch a manner, as that all poffible affiftance may be derived from that country to aid us in our prefent dif- ficulties, and be a fund for enabling us to bear thofe which may hereafter arife. The expiration of the company's charter, and the decided preponderance of the Bri- tifh influence in India, added to every motive which can arife from a confciouf- nefs of paft neglect, abfolutely require that the conductors of public bufinefs mould advert moil feriouily to this vaffc object. We who live under governments long eftablimed, grounded upon wife principles, and gradually brought to a wonderful degree of perfection, are fo much accuftomed to contemplate thofe princi- [ '9 ] principles in a familiar manner, that we think it trite or pedantic to repeat them : but when we find that thefe principles have never yet been applied to the go- vernment of the Baft, it is plain we re- quire to be reminded of them. One of thefe principles is, that in proportion as a fubordinate territory is well or ill govern- ed, in fuch proportion exactly will it be productive and beneficial to the fuperior ftate. If this be a pofition generally true, with what force does it apply to a country, once crouded with peaceful ma- nufacturers and hulbandmen, whofe pecu- liar characteristic was induftry ? A coun- try which was the cradle of every thing uieful or ornamental that is known among men ; and which, under the thorough re- gulation that might be afforded to it by a Britifh legiflature, would again be reftor- ed to much of its original wealth and fe- licity. But the neglect of this nation has been fuch, that the fubject has become almoft too great for the attention of thofe, in whofe hands the remedy for thefe evils is lodged. The utmoft that can at firft be done in this great national work, is to C 2 fix: [ 20 ] fix right principles, and to eftablifh the main fupports of good government in In~ dia ; to fet wife and able men at the head" of our fettlements, leaving the operation of thofe principles to work its effects in the courfe of time. That period will ar- rive much fooner than the generality of men expert ; for when a gentle, docile, and induftrious people cry out for a good government, and Great Britain is difpof- ed to give it, a few years will firmly efta- blim it, if proper perfons be employed in that great and merciful tafk. Pallia- tive and temporary meafures will do more harm than' good. The people of that country have feen the bad effed: of waver- ing and uncertain fchemes, and have not been induced to increafe the refpecl: which we mould endeavour to acquire from them, by thofe weak and perplexing meafures. The main objects of our attention in endeavouring to perfect the government of India are the four following : i ft. To fecure our influence and the permanency of our eftablifhments there, by placing ourfelves in fuch a light among the princes and powers of that country, * a [ ' ai - ] i as will make it appear beneficial to them- felves to be upon good and friendly terms with us, and confequently will induce them to prefer our interefts, to thofe of any other European nation. 2dly, To revive the internal profperity of the country more immediately belong- ing to ourfelves, by giving to the natives a permanent inducement to induftry, in cultivating the rich and fertile foil of the provinces they inhabit, which will necef- farily be followed by an increafe of manu- facture, and that again by an increafe of revenue. 3dly, To eftablifh fuch a confolidated body of civil government, as mall preclude diftraction, diflention, and that fluctuation of counfels which has been fo pernicious and difgraceful, and by this means to give promptitude and dignity to our proceed* ings there on all occafions. 4thly, To eftabliili a mode of adminif- tering juftice, among the Europeans, and fuch of the natives as may be engaged with Europeans in fuits at law, or who may be guilty of crimes, better adapted to that country than has hitherto been done. I. I. The fecurity which the princes of India will place in the juft and equitable conduct of this nation towards them in time to come, will depend entirely upon the intentions which they mall find ex- prefled in the ads of the Britifh Parlia- ment. The veil is taken from before their eyes ; and they who imagine that the Indian princes do not perfectly under- hand, that the Eaft India Company is the mere creature of a fuperior authority, are very much miftaken. That matter is perfectly underflood, and they are willing to believe that all mifmanagement and oppreffion has arifen from their having only an indirect connection with the fove- reign power of the ftate, and a direSt con- nection with a corporation of merchants, to whom the government of that country has been delivered over ; and they have alfo been made fully to comprehend that this company is the creature of the King and the national council. Thofe perfons who have the moft intimate knowledge of that country will all teftify, that nothing could fo effectually reconcile to us the hearts of thofe Afiatic powers with whom { 23 1 we are connected, as a kind of parliamen- tary faith held out to them for their con- tinuance in their prefent dominions fafe and undifturbed, and the power of tranf- mining them to their poflerity according to the Gentoo or Mahometan practice. This iingle circumftance would make the English nation take root in thofe regions, fo firmly as not to be plucked up by any ftrength to be apprehended from Europe, The eftablimment of a compact British Empire there, with an alTurance on the part of this nation that it mould protect its neighbours, and maintain each in his juft rights, would be a meafure which never yet was thought of as a means of acquiring permanency to any nation in thofe parts, and from every account that can be collected is the great point for which the powers of India moft ardently wim. Were this nation to eftablifh iuch a league, and put itfelf at the head of it, (as it naturally would be) we mould foon have reafon to be fatisfied of having fixed our Empire in the Eafl upon a certain and durable foundation. A time of perfect tranquillity in thofe parts, is the proper time t 24 ] time to "eftablifh this balance of power* and to take that balance into our own rmids, to be held for generations to come. An example will illuftrate this. Hyder AH is confidered as a formidable enemy. Nothing is better known than that he is fuch from provocation and diftruft ; it is alfo well known that he is not without apprehenfion from the Marrattoes. His inclination is to be allied to the Englim, yet that beneficial alliance has never been carried into effect. Thefe two points therefore are eflentially nccefTary to our well-being in India. Firft, that the na- tives of our own territories there mould feel themfelves to live under the autho- rity of the ftate itlelf, and not under an authority fubordinate to that of the ftate. Secondly, that the powers of India with whom we have connections by relations more or lefs near, mould feel themfelves to be allied to the Britim nation, and not to the Eaft India Company only. This will give them a perfect alTurance of their own permanancy, aud will accord with all thofe ideas which prevail in Aiiatic minds. It muft, I mould conceive, be a necefiary confequence t 25 ] confequence of fuch a conduct as this that the Princes of India would find their own intereft in preferving and defending the fyftem here laid down. But in order that the good correfpondence between the Britifh and Indian powers Should be con- ftantly maintained, it will be of great im- portance, that the fuperintending govern- ment of our fet dements mould have pro- per perfons refident as minifters in all the courts of India. The French have conftant- ly obferved this rule, and have given us great difturbance by their attention to it. Very able men have been found among the Company's fervants, and ftill abound, equal to this tafk in point of knowledge, afiiduity, and addrefs. This would teach men the art of conducting public buiinefs, and would recommend them in time-to the moil important offices of the govern- ment. II. The next object of our confederation is the profperity of the natives inhabiting the Britifh fettlements, being that upon which our immediate advantage mult de- pend, and which will be moil effectually D fee u red fecured to us by the meafures touched up- on above. The Britifh dominion in Ben- gal is 600 miles in length, and 300 in breadth ; the extent of our interefts in the Carnatic, and on the coaft of Malabar, has of late years been fo much the fubjedt of public difcuffion, that it is known to every reader with fufficient accuracy ; and every map will point it out. In Bengal the great fource of the Sovereign's revenue is the rent of land; it becomes therefore more peculiarly neceflary to attend to the internal wealth of the coun- try. In this territory however our mif- management has occafioned a very mani- fefl decline in agriculture, in trade with the reft of Alia (from whence fpecie flows) and in the manufacture of the country. Thefe three great fources of wealth mufl be refiored before the fovereign ftate can ex- pect to reap any thing like the advantage which fuch dependencies might from their nature afford. This may be effectuated in a very confiderable degree by one fimple regulation, namely, by abolifhing the de- ductive practice of letting the lands for (hort terms of years ; a practice introduced by by the Mahometan conquerors for the purpofe of periodical plunder and oppref- fion, and adopted by the Britifh after their example. Neither agriculture nor manufactures, which have a reciprocal ^connection and effect on each other, can ever flourifti where there is no permanent property $ and it has become a maxim even in the Spanifh government in their South Ame- rican dominions, according to a late ele- gant hiftorian, that in order to obtain an increafe of people, a furplus of labour, and of every thing dependant upon that furplus, the land ought to be divided in- to moderate mares, the dominion over it made compleat, and the alienation ex- tremely eafy. It would be an aftoniming thing to fee defarts in the fineft foil under heaven, towns and villages abandoned, and the moft wretched poverty prevailing among a people naturally bent to induftry, were not a bad fyftem of internal govern- ment, and the want of a permanent intereft in the land, fully fufficient to account for this melancholy phenomenon. The pernicious practice of letting the lands D 2 far for a fhort fpace of time, gives birth to a regular gradation of tyranny. The great farmers underletting their lands to fmaller tenants, who in the end furnifh all the food for rapine. All political writers have obferved, that there is no effort of legif- lation more arduous, no experiment in politics more uncertain, than an attempt to revive the fpirit of induftry where it has declined. This muft be acknow- ledged to be indifputably true, and the application of it to our own cafe mould be, that every means mould be attempted, to cherifli what remains of that fpirit which in Bengal has advanced very far in its declenfion. In order to obviate fo fatal an evil, the fyftem above-mentioned ought immediately to be abolimed, and the lands ought either to be fold in perpetuity, de- fcendible or devifeable according to the Gentoo or Mahometan practice, or let for very long terms : The effect of this would foon be felt, and there is demonflrable evidence of its good confequences ; for in thofe parts of India which are not fubjedt to a foreign power, and where this is the ufage, the .moft flouriming people are found 3 found. This is a point fo clear in its own nature, that reafoning upon it cannot make it clearer. If that country is conceived by any man to be an exception to the general rule in favour of the permanency of property, the public will at leaft expect to be made acquainted with the grounds, on which that exception is founded. This has never yet been unfolded, nor has the Company ever entertained any ideas of correcting this practice; and unlefs the le- giflature fhall think fit to interpofe, the private interefl of particular officers under the Company will render it perpetual. Reafon, principle, and the hiftory of every other nation concur, in leading us to con- clude that a contrary practice would give new vigour to the agriculture of our ter- ritories, and would even induce the fub- jects of other Mahometan princes to fettle within the Englifh pale. This would draw after it its conflant attendants, in- creafe of population, of manufacture, and of commerce to the other parts of Afia, which laft ought to be encouraged and promoted, by every means that a wife go- vernment can devife; for the quantity of manufacture [ 30 ] manufafture will ever be co-extenfive with the market which invites the fale of it; open a free paflage to more extenfive mar- kets, and every exchangeable commodity will find its way there in abundance. The inveftments would alfo be naturally and necefTarily increafed in quantity, and de- creafed in price. The terms upon which the practice 'al- luded to mould be aboliihed, might be made a means of acquiring a great public Hock. A permanent intereft in the lands of Bengal, &c. would raife, on the moft gentle and equitable terms, ten millions fterling, and continue fubjed to a quit-rent nearly if not fully equal to the prefent re- ferved rent. Much hidden treafure, as was obferved above, would rife again from the bowels of the earth to be given in re- turn for this permanent property, and it would become the intereft of the purchafers to concur in preventing any hoftile at- tempts from the European powers, againft the Britifh provinces. Moderate and e- quitable imports, in the fhape perhaps of an equal and fmall land tax, and of equal and fmall duties on merchandife, (except- ing L 3' 3 ing always grofs articles to be wrought up in man u failures) might fecure a regular addition of income, exclufive of the quit- rents, which would keep pace with the growing profperity and wealth of the country. Alterations in the ftate of any extenfive territory, which are of the mag- nitude and importance of thofe here pro- pofed, muft however be cautioufly and gradually introduced. Wherefore it mould ieem to be advifeable, to try the experi- ment upon a certain portion of the lands, and to be guided by the fuccefs of the ex- periment in that inftance. Should it be attended with the advantages which every principle of found policy leads us to hope, all the benefits above flated will neceflarily follow, and no lofs can accrue from hav- ing made the attempt. The anhual quit- rent would be chearfully and punctually paid ; and confequently thofe painful-ex- pedients would not be neceiTary, without which the rents payable for a fhort and precarious intereft cannot now be recover- ed. A few officers would fuffice to collect it, a few boards to receive it, and much litigation and difpute between the council and [ 3* ] and court of juftice would be prevented. Without fuch an extenfive meafure as this, it is demonftrable by figures that Bengal cannot fupport the heavy balance againft her. A large and perpetual wafte pipe mull drain the refervoir, unlefs the means of influx be opened and kept free. As thefe few pages are confined to ge- neral principles only, founded upon that which is univerfally acknowledged by every one acquainted with that country, a proof of the comparative efflux and in- flux of fpecie into, and out of Bengal, would be tedious and unneceiTary, having already frequently been laid before the public. At a future time, when the prin- ciples themfelves mall have been in the hands of the public, particular points may with more advantage be enlarged upon. III. Having endeavoured to fet forth in a few words the meafures by which our interefts in India are to be placed on a fe- cure footing, both with refpect to the fo- vereign powers there, and the native inha- bitants of the Britifh provinces ; we come now to treat of that form of government abroad, [ 33 ] abroad, which muft eftablilh and preferve this great national work. Separate and unconnected governments are in their nature liable to every objection; a contradictory fyilem of politics may take place in each of them, and has in fadt taken place on many important occafions, and accordingly the late Eaft India aft has confidered them as pernicious. A general fuperintending power ought ever to be eftablifhed in diftant fubordinate territo- ries, and by parity of reafon, it may be concluded, that the executive authority of government, placed in feveral co-ordinate perfons, will be attended with the fame kinds of inconvenience. Party, fadtion, and fluctuation of meafures, have been found to be infeparable from fuch a fyftem, as the late revolution at Madras, and the political hiftory of Bengal during the laft five years, have proved beyond all doubt. Could one man be found equal in point of ability to the talk of governing alone, and fit in point of integrity for fuch a truft, it would be the beft poilible method to a- dopt ; but as many reafons muft imme- diately occur againft that mode, indepen- E dent [ 34 1 dent of the difficulty, or perhaps impoffi- bility of finding fuch an individual, the neareft practicable plan muft be adopted. The precarioufnefs of life in every part of India, renders it necefTary to guard a- gainft its fatal effects.. For this reafon a fucceffion muft be provided in every office political and judicial, and the relidence of the fuperintending government may be re- moved from Calcutta, with great advan- tage to the provinces, and to the conduct of public buiinefs. The coniideration al- fo of the great extent of power which muft unavoidably be placed in the hands of the executive authority there, makes it abfo- lutely neceffary that a flrong check mould be put upon the Governor General ; yet at the fame time it is highly impolitic that this check mould be of fuch a nature as may eventually overpower him. The right medium has never yet been adverted to, the confequence of which has been, that diiTenfions have arifen in the fettlement of Madras, highly prejudicial to the interefts pf this country, and the moft difgraceful contefts and fluctuation of counfels have taken place in Bengal. It is a humiliating 5 coniideration [ 35 ] confideration to think that the form of the government eftablimed there mould admit of fuch degrading animofities, and that public meafures in thofe countries mould in many inftances be decided by the doc- trine of three to two, and feven to lix> as the chances at a gaming table. The indi-~ viduals have a<5ted on all (ides, as men will ever do in fimilar iituations, namely, ac- cording to their private interefts, and as the infatiable love of gain mall direct them. The legiflature at home is alone to blame, which leaves room for fuch a childifh train of politics. The natives may juftly exclaim with the frogs in the fable, " It may be fport to you, but it is " death to us ;" and the Britifh nation at large may, in a great degree, join in that exclamation. The commiffions under which the Go- vernors appointed -by the Company have acted, leave it doubtful among the beft lawyers of the time, what is the precife fituation and power of a Governor. Some conceive him to be a neceffary party in all deliberations, as the mayor of a corpora- tion -, others, that a majority may over- E 2 rule [ 36 ] rule him, exclude him, and even ad: without him, as the Eaft India Company have determined in their late inftruclions to the Governor and Council of Madras, contrary to the opinion delivered very lately from the Bench, on the late trial of the information directed by the Houfe of Commons. On the other hand, it has been contended by a late Governor of Madras, that he had a negative voice in all matters of ftate, under his prefent commiffion : Any one, who will give himfelf the trouble to inveftigate this queftion, will fee that there is fome ground for this va- riety of opinions, arifing from the conti- nuance of that inaccurate form of a com- miffion, which was fufficiently explicit, at a time when the Governor and Council were little more than a committee of mer- chants fuperin tending the Company's trade. From hence it is plain that the nature of a Governor's office muft now be new modelled, and accurately defined by the inftrument of his appointment. The afcertaining of a Counfellor's office will then be no difficult tafk ; but we muft go much deeper. Nothing is more clear in [ 37 ] in theory, than that a general fuperin- tending government is abfolutely necefiary in India, and in practice it has been found to anfvver very falutary purpofes, both a- mong ourfelves, and among the Dutch. It was a favourite idea of the late Lord Clive, who knew that country well, and whofe political fagacity was inferior to no man's, that the relidence of the general government ought not to be at Calcutta, but that it would be placed with more ad- vantage at MUXUDABAD. The benefits which would aVife from this change of the feat of government, are very confiderable : The collectors of the revenue would not then be under the neceffity of coming to the extremity of the province, in order to tranfact their bufinefs, and of leaving their refpective diftri&s during their abfence, in the hands of deputies who fail not to take an advantage of that circumftance, ex- ceedingly injurious and oppreffive to their inferiors. The cabals, intrigues and par- ties prevailing at Calcutta, which is crouded with people of every rank and de- nomination, would in a great degree be prevented, by placing the general govern- ment ,'554758 ment at fome diftance, and every man would not then enter into politics and party, as has been too much the cafe at Calcutta ever fince the Britim nation grew to its prefent height in that coun- try. Another conlideration too ought to have fome effect. The climate of Muxu- dabad is one of the wholfomefl in In- doftan ; a confideration which from every reafon ought to weigh very much, and if no irrefragable argument can be urged a- gainft it, ought to be decifive. Much ad- vantage might alfo arife from placing the great executive authority at a little diftance from the familiarity, which in the nature of things mujft take place between the Governors and their fubjeds, in the great mercantile town of Calcutta; fuch familia- rities being naturally increafed by'a certain feeling of banimment, common to all men who find themfelves fubjected to the fame perils, in a country very diftant from their native land. The city of Muxudabad is but twenty-four hours journey from Cal- cutta; fo that on preffing occafions, the Governor might foon be prefent there, and his difpatches would be little retarded by [ 39 ] by a diftance fo inconiiderable. The Go- vernment General has now very little to do with the mercantile concerns of the Com- pany, as a Board of Trade fuperintends the matter of inveftment ; and this obviates the only objection to Lord Clive's idea, which was, the neceffary attendance of the Go- vernor and Council at Calcutta for that particular purpofe. All thefe reafons, therefore, concur in favour of the Gover- nor's refidence at Muxudabad, viz. The comparative wholefomenefs of the climate, the great convenience to the natives, the abfence from diilipation, party, and fac- tion, and I may add too, the coincidence with the prejudices of the country, in fee- ing the government eftabliilied in the an- cient place of its refidence. The Exche- quer muft of neceffity follow the Supreme Power, but the miniflers of juftice might ftill remain at Calcutta, together with all other Boards and Officers connected with the merchandife of the Company - y and very falutary effects would proceed, in a variety of refpecls, even from the local fe- paration of traffick from politics, The f 40 ] The fubordinate governments of Ma- dras and Bom !'*; ar by the A& 13 Geo. III. c. 63. fubjecled to the Supreme Power, only in matters reflecting peace and war. This is undoubtedly a reftri&ion much too narrow; for it becomes a queftion of nice caiuiftry, what may, or may not be a a matter of peace and war. Thus in the late confufions at Madras, it has been doubted whether the cognifance of that matter did or did not fall within the literal or conftrj&ive terms of the adt of parlia- ment, giving coercive authority to the Su- preme Council : But it is obvious that a Supreme Government ought to be fu- preme in every point. Nothing that is done in any of our fettlements can be in- different to us, or without fome pomble confequences which may materially affedt the general intereft; and as the Supreme Government muft be confidered as a public deputation, intended to regulate the na- tional interefts in the whole of our Eaftern dominions, their authority ought to be without fpecific reftraint or defcription in exerciiing the legal power delegated by the nation. This conliftency in govern- ment ment has ever yet been wanting, and the want of it has been regretted by every writer upon the fubject of our affairs in India, as well as by every individual con- verfant in them ; and having been reme- died in a very beneficial degree by the late act of parliament, we have every reafon to make that part of the government perfect, by following out the imperfect regulations of that act on this fubject, which were wifely intended to be but temporary, and experimental. The powers therefore veft- ed in the Supreme Council being circum- fcribed by no bounds but thofe which the law of the land impofes, and extending to all perfons, and all places, it becomes a very important point to fettle the confti- tution of this fuperintending authority. It was obferved above, that feparated and unconnected governments were in their nature "an impolitic ? inflitution, and that by a fimilar kind of reafoning, equal or nearly equal authority, vefted in feveral perfons, muft alfo be confidered as impoli- tic. Hitherto the authority of the Go- vernfcr, in his capacity of Prefident of the Council, has been confidered by the warm- F eft [ 42 ] eft advocates for the extenfion of his power, as giving him only a cafting vote, and a neceffary feat in all deliberations. In a variety of inftances the Governor of Bengal hasbeenin theminority,and has been wantonly teazed and humiliated by the ma- jority : Different parties have by death or other accidents been triumphant in their turns, and government by that means ihamefully debafed. If it be ever intend- ed that the government of India fhould be carried on with vigour and uniformity, it will be neceliary to inveft the Governor with a power of putting a negative upon the proceedings of his Council, that Coun- cil being always at liberty to minute their proportion when they (hall fee occafion. The praclice of corrupting the Council, which has poifoned the whole fyftetn of Indian government, will by this means be done away, and a fufficient controul will ftill remain upon the Governor, as he will be under the necem'ty of ftating all matters to his council, of hearing every thing dated by them, and of running the hazard of adting againft the opinion of a majority. Any man who ventures to maks fe f 43 1 life of his negative power, muft be very well founded in his judgment; nor can it eafily be fuppofed, that he would differ from them, un-lefs his reafons for fo doing could well ftand the teft of examination , The queflion refolves itfelf into this. Is it a greater evil, that a Governor mould have it in his power to put his negative upon the proceedings of his council, than that the Counfellors mould be co-ordinate with the Governor, fo as that a faclion among themfelves, or a fyftem of corruption* mould enable them to overpower the Go- vernor, and thereby render themfelves ob- jects of bribery, job, and Afiatic intrigue ? Experience has mewn that the latter is the leaft dangerous of the two. The council has ever been the feat of corruption, be- caufe they have had a deliberative voice ia the adminiftration of government, and could compel the Governor to adopt their meafures. If that deliberative voice mould be rendered not binding upon the Gover- nor by means of the negative propofed, the beft and moft difinterefted effects of a council will ftill remain, and the price of a counfellor's vote in the Indian market F a will [ 44 ] will be rendered of little or no value. The nomination to all civil and military offices ought from the fame reafons to be placed in the hands of the Governor, fub- je<5t to a controul from Europe ; for all cabal and intrigue in the councils have mewn themfelves in thefe appointments. The diflentions at Madras afford ample evidence of this. Who mould, or mould not be appointed to fill the higheft fta- tions at Tanjore, was the queftion which brought to light the diffentions in that fettlementj and it has been fufpefted by many (though certainly never judicially proved) that this queftion, apparently trifling, became important to the parties from an undue influence obtained over the majority of the council : Be that as it may, the fad: itfelf is a powerful reafon for diminiming their authority, and giv- ing fome preponderance to that of the Go- vernor. Of late years, accident has often determined in Bengal the hands in which the fupreme authority mould refide; the inferior fervants of the Company have therefore been capricioufly difmiffed from their employments, and their fucceflbrs as t 45 1 as capricioufly difmifled, when chance turned the cafting vote the other way. Can fuch a mode of government be either creditable or beneficial to the public ? Experience is the only fure guide in all political regulations, and that experience tells us, that if a Governor be not invefted with fuch a negative authority as is here propofed, a corrupt or caballing council will never be wanting to rule according to their own interests or caprices*' Such a power being vefted in the Governor, it becomes fo much the more important to conlider of what defcription that Governor ought to be. It is with fome furprife that we now look back upon the practice which obtained till within thefe few years, of raifing the Governors and Counfellors to thofe high ftations merely by rotation. This might be a juft and equitable practice before the acquifition of a great political intereft in that country, becaufe the ma- nagement* of mercantile concerns is in a great degree matter of experience only; but when complicated political interefts of a vaft empire become the fubject-matter *f their truft, very chofen men muft be [ 46 ] be fpecially appointed to undertake that charge. Even lince the paffingof the late aft of parliament, the ancient predilection feems to have continued in favour of gentlemen who have paffed the former part of their lives, and have received their education and habits in that country ; and with refpect to Madras, (where this has been the cafe without exception) a great law officer lately threw out in the court of King's Bench, that fome perfons of that defcription were now bidding for that very government. It is certainly a very illibe- ral thing to fuppofc, that every man who has made his fortune in India is unfit to be trufted with the government. Many able and honeft men have returned from that part of the world, after having ren- dered lignal fervice to their country. Men who by a fpirit of adventure and great per- feverance advance their private fortunes, beginning in an humble ftation, and rifing to a certain degree of rank in the ftate, are intitled to every degree cf refpedl. All the diftindlions of rank in fociety have be- gun in that manner, and the profpeft of arriving at wealth and honours is the great flimulus I 47 ] ftimulus to all fubje&s, born to the ne- ceffity of profecuting fome profeffion in this country. No man of candour there- fore will withhold his approbation of the honours which have been beftowed on gentlemen who have made their fortunes in India, and intitled themfelves to the notice of their Sovereign. At the fame time it muft be confeffed, that great and liberal ideas of government are not moil likely to be acquired, in the progrefs from poverty and infignificance to wealth and power in India. The generality of men are not fo much influenced by the abftradt principles of moral rectitude, as by fome powerful fecondary principles of adtion. One of the moft conliderable of thofe fe- condary principles, is the prefervation of an eftablifhed character, and the fear of difgracing our acquaintance, our friends,, and relations. Men too young to have eftablifhed a fixed reputation in England, and born in the lefs confpicuous ranks of life, if they {hall chance to return to their native country in affluence acquired in In* dia, have then to begin the work of form- ing a reputation at home; but during their reftdence [ 48 ] residence in the Baft, they have not felt the influence of the motives above-men- tioned. They were never deterred from purfuing the favourite object which was early fet before them, by the controul which arifes from the relation they bear to many refpectable connections in Eng- land, and the dread of not acting up to the uniform tenor of their lives in their native climate. Having none other than the habits and ideas prevalent in the feat of their early education, they are principally directed by them. When men of a different defcription have been placed at the head of affairs in India, they have ever been found proof againft the contagi- ous avarice and rapacity, which prevail there. The reafon is plain ; no price can be found adequate to the mortification of returning to England, and finding a character once unexceptionable, perfectly altered, or even rendered difputable. Ac- cordingly, no man has ever ventured to infinuate the fmalleft degree of reflection, upon the integrity of Sirjohn Clavering, and Mr. Monfon, who felt that it was expect- ed of them, in aconfpicuous ftation abroad, to [ 49 ] to fupport the honour of their numerous connections at home, and of relpectable and noble birth. It ought to be the duty of a minifter not to accept of the firft and moft neceffitous volunteer, but to difcover with fome pains men who are bound by all thefe confiderations, and to fecure to them, and their families a handforne indemnity for the profpects which they may relin- quiih in Europe : Nor is it to be imagined that fuch men are not to be found, unlefs we adopt the maxim which is induftrioufly propagated from that country, that there is fo much intricacy and myftery in the affairs of Afia, that a whole life-time is fcarcely adequate to the comprehenfion. of them. This do&rine has been artfully and fuccefsfully inculcated ; and yet we find that a common mare of good under- ftanding, joined to much attention and in- duftry, has enabled fecret and fele<3: com- mittees of the Houfe of Commons, in no long fpace of time, to be more matters of the fubject, than moft men who return from the common routine of bufinefs in the Baft. We find many individuals alfo who are very confiderably verfed in Indian G affairs C 5 ] affairs from converfation, correfpondence, reading, and reflection : And in truth thefe matters have of late years become fo much the fubjedt of public attention, that almoft every one has gained a competent know- ledge of the hiflory, manners, and politics of that country. There can be no doubt, therefore, but that a man of education, with an underftanding turned to public bufinefs, carrying out with him a general knowledge of Eaftern politics, would in a thort time acquire that degree of local knowledge, which would render him ca- pable of executing, with infinite advantage to the public, every meaiure which his good intentions, and the powerful obli- gations impofed by the pride of a clear re- putation, together with the dread of dif- gracing an honourable parentage, could fuggeft to him. For thefe reafons, it is manifeftly a matter of great public confe- quence, to place fome men of reputation and connection, from this country, at once in the higher ftations of the government in India. It is far from being contended, that men of the defcription which has been given, mould entirely exclude all others, but [ 5' I but only to prove that they ought not tobt excluded ; on the contrary, that without a mixture of fuch ingredients there can be no good government in that country. It muft be owned, that the difcovering of the characters here alluded to, is no very eafy tafk, though undoubtedly it may be ef- fectuated. The nature of our free confti- tution, together with the manners which follow from it, and the profpects which it affords, makes it a matter of fome dif- ficulty to find men of ability willing to adventure^ in thofe diftant undertakings j at the fame time this very constitution and thefe manners form a greater number of fubjects adequate to fuch employments, than any others in the world. The field which is opened in England to every de- gree of talents and induftry is very large. The profeffion of arms in the land and fea fervice, demands a great fupply, and the learned profefiions of divinity and law have their refpeciive allurements. The former offers ample emoluments by means of what is vulgarly called in te reft,, and the latter by means of genius and induftry. The number of able fubjects feated in either G 2 Houfe- r 5* i Houfe of Parliament, and who from that fituation are exempted from the neceffity of indulging or cherifhing the fpirit of ad- venture, or expert fo to be, is very large ; and thefe coniiderations mail ftrongly in- fluence every man fo circumftanced, who thinks of abandoning his clofeft connec- tions for a time, and who runs a rifk of falling a facrifice to the climates of the Eaft. Difficult however as the tafk may be, it is certain, that with, fome degree of pains, and proper encouragement fuch men are to be found ; or rather it ihould be faid, that men are to be found in. the Britifh nation, equal to any poilible tafk where honour is to be acquired,; or public fervice to be done, ready to undertake it. In a cafe where fo deep an intereft is at flake, it may reafonably be required of a minifler to confider in his own mind, or to be in- formed from others, of perfons adequate to thefe flations, and to take every means of inducing fuch perfons,, when found,, to bear that part in the public fervice : But inftead of making fuch efforts, it has been ufual to be fatisfied with chufing out of two [ 53 1 two or three volunteer's, who having made one fortune in that country and mif-fpent it in this, are defirous of returning to make a fecond as quickly as poflible. Many perfons fitted in every view to conduct our difrant political interefts, either defpairing of fuccefs in their appli- cations to thofe in power, or who may not have turned their thoughts to that par- ticular object, would, if it were fuggefted to them, readily accept that fervice. The fame induftry ought therefore to be ufed by the minifters in this country as in France, to caft their eyes on the mod pro- per perfons, and propofe fuch employ- ments to thofe whom they mall think the moft virtuous and moft capable. In this refped the French and other nations have fome degree of advantage over us : For as the opportunities of obtaining a mare in the administration of public affairs, are not fo extenfive among them by reafon of the want of legiflative alTemblies, they there- fore have a great furplus of fubje&s, able and willing to ferve the ftate in public ca- pacities, in any corner of the globe, and thofe too men of the beft and moft honour- able [ 54 J able families. The honour of bearing the King's Commiffion is fufficient to induce any fubject in France to forego for the time his comforts and enjoyments ; the objects of his ambition at home being very few, and attainable with great difficulty. For this reafon, the French ambafladors, governors, and foreign agents of every defcription, have been found in almofl e^ery inftance to have been men of very fupe- rior capacity and addrefs, and of thefe there has never been wanting a fucceffion; whereas in England, it has been matter of fome difficulty to find a fucceffion of per- fons fit to conduct the bufinefs of the ftate with ability in the fubordinate foreign de- partments, and who are at the fame time deiirous of being fo employed, or would fubmit to the difgufts which attend all fe- licitations addrefTed to perfons in office. The forward applications of indigent or prefuming perfons, are generally in fuch cafes attended to; and minifters fuffer themfelves to be overcome by the fuperior .mportunity of fome one of many impro- per candidates, and exert their influence in the India Houfe accordingly. But they fhould [ 55 ] recollect that the character which ought to be fent to our foreign dominions, for the purpofe of placing them upon a fecure foundation, and of introducing juft and enlarged principles of government, is exactly oppofed to that of an importunate volunteer. A man of knowledge, cool- nefs, and moderation, will not be a likely perfon to purchafe fuch an appointment at the expence of a follicitation at the Trea- fury, or the India Houfe : Yet fuch is the character fit to be appointed, and fuch a- lone can fave that part of our dominions from becoming detrimental inftead of being highly profitable. It were better too that our Governors in India fhould not be permitted to hold their feats in parliament, as that naturally gives them an additional deiire to return from their ftation ; nor ought they in juftice to enjoy that privilege, if they are nominated by the Crown, when a Governor in our Weft- India fettlements is deprived of it. An Bail India Governor fo nominated, would indeed by anology, or even a found con- ftruction of the difqualifying acts, be con- iidered r 56 ] fidered as incapable of fitting during the continuance of his government. Not many years ago the minifters of Spain found it necefTary toconfider in their own minds, of fome fit perfons to condudt thegoverment of South America, which had hitherto been very ill adminiftered. One man of abilities and integrity, the Mar- quis de Croix, was picked out for this purpofe, who has rendered more elTential fervice to both Old and New Spain, than perhaps any fubjedt that country ever produced. He returned in the year 1772, with great honour to himlelf, his friend?, and relations whom he had left behind him, and with that unfpeakable iatii- faclion of mind which arifes from a confci- oufnefs of having wrought the utmoft degree of good which his fuperior know- ledge, humanity, and parts eminently qua- lified him to do; and what is more re- markable, with a very moderate addition to his fortune, if he made any addition to it whatever. I have dwelt a little the longer upon this particular topic, becaufe it is general- ly conceived that feveral new appoint- 2 ments I 57 1 ments muft foon i take place in that line of public employment : and if this plain fbte of the mifchiefs which may arife from continuing the old fyftem of nomi- nating Governors and Counfellors, mould accidentally chance to be hono.ur.ed with the penafal of any among the principal fervants of the State, it is poffible that it may help to awaken their attention to a matter fo extremely important. The Governor ia each of the three presidencies mould be affifted by a coun- cil, not exceeding four in number j and it is obvious that fome of thofc mould be perfons the moft eminently converfant in the detail of the country bunnefs. The command-er in chief for the time being mould alfo be of this body, but the chief Law Officer need not have a feat at the political Board, but ought however to be coniidered as bound to give his affiftance when required. A council fo conftituted, and fubject to the Governor's vefo, but at the fame time at liberty to record thek own propolitions if negatived, and the grounds of their diflent from thofe of the H -Cover*- Governor, Teems to cpmprife in it all ths advantages of a controul upon the Go- vernor, and at the fame time of extract- ing that fting with which they have in many recent instances fo grievouily anr noyed him, to the great impediment of our national concerns. The councils upon the coafts of Malabar and Coroman- del being in all refpects fubjec~t to the Supreme Council in Bengal, ftrength an4 confiftency will thereby be given to the whole Britifh dominion in India; and thofe deflrudive fcenes which have ex r pofed us to the contemptuous hatred of the natives, and the ridicule of Europe, will probably be prevented, or will at leaft be lefs likely to occur than they 'have been heretofore. IV. It were to little purpofe to eftablilh a well-connected mode of government jn any ilate, or to afcertaii} by laws the permanency of every man's intereft in his lands and goods, unlefs that govern- ment were itfelf controuled, and that permanency of property fecured, by an 2 ui i 59 i Upright adminiftrationof juftice j for this it is, which gives real efFeit to the wifeft regulations that human prudence can in- vent. In this matter the legiflature has felt itfelf under very confiderable difficul- ties : on the one hand, they were fenfible of the great wifdom of the municipal law of England in the protection of private property, and they felt that the merciful nature of the Englifh mode of trial in criminal matters makes it applicable to many cafes; wherefoever they might hap- pen to arifej being founded in the true and univerfal principles of abftradl: juftice; and proceeding upon rules of evidence, fcrupulous and accurate to an extreme; On the other hand it muft be acknow- ledged, that much of that law^ compli- cated and voluminous as it now is, takes its rife from the peculiar nature of the Englim government, and the manners and cufloms of a free people j fo that in many refpe&s no fyftem of municipal law can be more local or more peculiarly a- dapted to the country where it prevails. To tranfplant it, therefore, is a work H 2 of [ 60 I of- great delicacy, and the good or bad effects of that meafure muft entirely de- pend on the judicious manner of apply- ing the principles which govern the laws of one country, to another differing en- tirely in its cuiloms, habits, manners, and iubfiiling regulations. A vaft proportion of the technical fyftem of our law, though highly beneficial to ourfelves, would be intolerable to any other people, and even the principles themfelves ought to be felected by a very liberal under- ilanding, in order to be made applicable to any other people, even in matters of private property. With refpect to crimes, peculiar manners give occafion to a feve- rity in punifhing, very different in diffe- rent focieties, according to their deftructive tendency in each refpective fociety. A moment's confideration will be fufficient to convince any man, that an act done in England, and attended with the forfeiture of life itfelf, need not perhaps be attend- ,ed with any punifhment at Conjiantinople, approaching to that degree of feverity. The crimes which are called mala infe, muft [ 6, ] mull it is true be univerfally confidered as the proper objects of vindictive juflice; but the inferior clafTes, even of fuch crimes, may differ very much as to their pernicious tendency in different flates -, and the mala prohibita are in their nature offences relative to the peculiar fociety by which they are enacted. The great dif- ficulty therefore confifls in the applica- tion of fuch parts only of our law civil and criminal, as may, from its abflract juflice, be applied to cafes arifing in a country differing from our own, and of reflraining the miniflers of juflice from an improvident application of it in other parts. It is impofiible to lay down a precife rule to regulate a judge in this nice determination. That the law of England mould be adminiflered to parties purely Englim is liable to no exception, but, on the contrary, it is the right of Englim fubjects in civil cafes, and is what they have been taught to expect in cri- minal profecutions. The difficulty com- mences when we fuppofe one of the na- tives to be party to a civil fuit, or pri- foner t 62 ] jbner in a criminal proceeding. The jurifdi&ion of the Supreme Court of Juftice eftablifhed at Calcutta by the Act of the 13 G. III. c. 63, is extended, with refpect to the natives, " to all perfons ' who are or have been employed by, or c< fhall then have been directly or in- " directly employed, in the fervice of the " faid united Company, or any of his " Majefty's fubjeds." The number of perlbns who fall within the defcription of being actually employed, or having been formerly employed, in the fervice of Europeans, is very coniiderable, and this defcription was for fome time inter- preted by the Judges to comprehend all perfons connected with the collection of the rents; and alib to fuch of the natives as were impriibned by thofe collectors. Writs of habeas corpus were accordingly granted to public debtors fo impriibned. This was found to affect the public re- venue of the country moil eiTentially, and has at laft been fettled by a fpecies of compromife between the Supreme Coun- cil and "Supreme Court. Some explicit rule [ 6-5 ] fule however is necefiary in this matter, for there are evils to be guarded againft on both fides. The mofl obvious feems to be to withhold the habeas corf us in cafes of imprifonment for non-payment of rent, leaving the party to his remedy when he ftiall have paid it; in which cafe the Judge fhould think it his duty to carry vindictive juflice to -an extreme a- gainft the oppreifor. The collector falls within the defcription of the act of par- liament as a perfon employed in the fer- yice of the Company, and is therefore amenable to the juftice of the Supreme Court, in all cafes where he mall have abufed his authority; and the -King's Attorney General in the fettlement might, jn all fuch cafes, file an information, with leave of the court, againfl the op- preiTor. The line of diftinction, drawn by the act above-mentioned, namely, that a native mufl have fubmitted hi.m- felf by a contrad: in writing to the deter- mination of the Englifh Judges, is very juft and proper : But even then, if a Judge fhall conceive himfelf bound by his oath [ 64 ] oath to adminifler the Englifh law in its full purity, his decifion may not accord with the intention, and habitual meaning of the native party. Much latitude fhould therefore be allowed to any Judge deciding upon a tranfaction arifing in a country, where the laws, habits, reli- gion, and manners, differ totally from thofe of England. He ought, in fuch cafes, to frame his decifions fecundum aquum et bonum, and according to the in- iight he may acquire into the peculiarities of the national ideas, rather than ac- cording to any pofitive fyftem. In cri- minal cafes, the abfurdity or rather cruel- ty of applying doctrines pofitivi juris, without confidering the current ideas of the country in which they are applied, is fo glaring that every man muft per- ceive it. The tragedy of Nundocomar muft immediately prefent itfelf to every one's mind. A native Hindoo, of great rank and opulence, was indicted for a forgery, contrary to a pofitive flatuta paCed in the year 1728, and was con.- idemned and executed for an offence againfl a'gairift that ftatute, committed nine years before, "and which had never been con- fidered in India -as deferving of the laft degree of human punifhment, nor even in Englarrd till within forty years pre- ceding, at which time the frequency of the orrence, and the peculiar danger of it in this country, made it neceflary r6 rank it among the hundred and eleven capital crimes, which a fubjecT: of Eng- land may commit, and for which he may fuffer in the firft or fecond inftance. From what has been faid it will readily c be acknowledged, that difficulties almoft infiiperable occur in the difpenfation of Englifh law to the natives, when they happen to be one of the parties litigant. The moft beneficial inftitution for them would bej to leave the Supreme Court at liberty to adl: rathei^as Arbitrators than as Lawyers^ in all cafes where natives are interefled on the one fide or the other. The court will naturally have a leaning to- wards thofe principles of jurifprudence which are familiar to the Judges ; and at the fame time it will be enabled to give full I fco#e [ 66 ] Icope to all local and equitable Ideas. la all criminal cafes their power of inflicting capital puniiliments ought to be cireum- fcribed by the ancient fimplicity of our own law. Treafon, murder, rape, and wilful burning of houfes, were in an- cient time the only capital offences, and theie would ftill be fully fuflicient in In- dia. All iubordinate crimes are of a magnitude merely relative to the exi- gences of the fociety in which they have beep made capital. Were the parliament of Great Britain now for the riril time to begin th-e formation of a criminal code, it is highly probable that they would not very much exceed the limits here pre- fcribed; a fortiori, when they are to in- troduce a fyllem of criminal law into the Aliatic provinces, they fhould confine the catalogue of capital offences within the narrowed bounds. In all commer- cial countries, it is true, that the crime of forgery becomes a ferious object of coercion ; yet a fpecific punimment, fuch .as one or two years imprifonment, a public difgrace fimilar to the pillory*, a 2 very [ 67 1 very lieavy fine, or a forfeiture of three times the fum, as in the cafe of ufury in England, might have the fame good con- fequences in India, and would be agree- able to the law of all the world. Wre the latitude of determination in all civil cafes which is here propofed, left to the Englifh courts of juftice in India, and the offences to be -capitally punifhed there, limited to thofe four which were alone thought worthy of -death by the humanity of our own anceftors, and were the crime of forgery fubjedted to very fe- vere confequences fhort of death, an Englim court of juftice* governed as far as is poflible by Englifh maxims of law, would be an -eflential blefling to the na- tives of that country. At the fame time that fuch limitations are impofed upon the court with refpedt to the natives in criminal cafes, and fuch latitude given in civil cafes, it is by no means propofed that the law of England mould be admi- niftered to parties purely European dif- ferently from what it is in England : they fire bound to fubmit to it, they are ac*- I 2 acquainted [ 68 ] quainted with it, and revere it, but the cafe is widely different with refpect to the Aliatic fubjects. An appeal from the Supreme Court to his Majefty in council is ellentially neceilary in this cafe, as in .every other of the fame nature, in order to preferve the uniformity and integrity pf the law, to controul the proceedings of inferior courts, and keep them within the line of their duty. As the latitude which muft neceilarily be- given to the Judge is very extenfive, he muft be made proportionably refponfible in all cafes of wilful malverfation. The conftitution of the Court of Juftice in Calcutta has mewn itfelf liable to fome material ob- jections. It coniifis at prefent of four Judges, a number objectionable from its liability to equal divifion, and flill more fo from its being expofed to altercations and conteft, of which the inhabitants of Calcutta have feen the mod indecent examples. Much difcretion muft be af- fumed (if it be not directly given) by any court eftablifhed in that country, and this will of itfelf beget great varia- tions t 69 ] tions in their fentiments : but the moft material defect has been feen in their tendency to party attachments. This has occafioned a perfuafion in niofl men, acquainted with Calcutta, that a fingle Judge with a deputy to affift him, fimilar to the Chancellor and Mader of the Rolls in England, would anfvver the purpofes of juflice in a more effectual manner $ ,and that two perfons acting in limilar capacities might be afforded to Madras. The Superior Judge might be confined to caufes exceeding two hundred pounds in value, except where they were tried by confent before the inferior, from whom an appeal might lie to the Superior Judge in all cafes exceeding one hundred pounds. A fpecies of rivalftiip between the two courts would thus be eftablimed, and they would operate in a degree as a kind of controul upon each other. In criminal cafes they ought to fit together, and the Superior might at all times call the other to his afliftance in civil caufes. The fame institution eftablimed at Ma- dras would be of infinite fervice to that fettlement, [ 7 ] fettlement, as the late disturbances very clearly evince. The interpofition of a ieniible Judge might poffibly have pre- vented the imprifonment of the Gover- nor, and the confequences which have followed from it to all parties, and would undoubtedly have prevented the il- legal and unjuft proceedings of the pre- tended coroner's inquefr,, which no man can read without horror and aftonim- ment. Weftminfter-Hall will not afford four capable men for each of thefe fettle- men ts, who would be difpofed to remove into thofe climates, at the advanced pe- riod of life which is requifite for the cxercife of thefe folemn functions. The candidates for the honours and emolu- ments of that profeffion being in general not men of defperate circumftances, are not much tempted to feek their fortunes in India ; and fuch of them as would naturally attract the attention of thofe to whom it belongs to recommend them, have from that very reafon, well-ground- ed hopes of acquiring a competent fhat'e of [ 7' 1 of employment in their own country. There will always therefore be a fcarcity of Indian Judges; and it is reported that upon the firft eftablifhment of the Su- preme Court of Juftice only five candi- dates prefented themfelves, to fill the four feats ; and as the novelty of that inftitution produced fo fmall a number, it is not to be fuppofed that many per- fons will offer themfelves on future va- cancies. If the Englifh Bar will barely fupply four Judges, and it be thought proper to eftablifa a Court of Juftice at Madras ; it will be nebeffary to divide them in the manner above-mentioned, with a direct appeal from Madras to the Privy Council. The fum at prefent al- lotted to the Supreme Court is 26,000!. a year. This fum might be diftributed between the two fettlements, fo as to afford a very handfome emolument to the chief and fecond Judge of each, by al- lotting 9000!. to the chief Juftice of Ben- gal, 5000!. to his deputy, yoool. to the Chief Juftice of Madras, and 4000!. to the inferior Judge, leaving loool. to the officers of the New Court at Madras. The I 72 ] The fettlement of Bombay is fo narrow, that no necerTity has yet appeared of giving them an expensive Court of Judi- cature. By thefe means, all diilention, altercation, and tendency to party, would ceaie"; and if an expectation of fuccemon were held out to the deputies, it would be an inducement to younger men of merit at the Bar to prefent themfelves for thofe two fubordinate ftations. Both Calcutta and Madras would by this re- gulation be well fu'pplied, by the fame number of- Judges, and at the fame ex- pence that one court only is now filled. It may be thought that fubordinate Judges will not fo eafily be found, when their falary is 5000!. and 4000!. as they will be on the prefent eftabliihment of 6oool. but the great inducement arifing from the hopes of fucceeding immediate- ly to the very high ftation of a Superior Judge, will Simulate more powerfully. than the difference of lalary propofed Would difeoiirage. We have now touched upon the feveral .head? propofed, and have endeavoured to> attract .. attract the reader's attention towards the fundamental points which ought to be fettled, when the new arrangement of the affairs of the Eaft Indies comes under the conilderation of the legiflature. The au- thor's objedt has been to imprefs the reader, whether he be a plain citizen of the State, a Member of Parliament, or Mi- nifter> with a juft fenfe of the vaft extent and importance of the fubject, It has been attempted alfo to (hew; that nothing fhort of a found and enlarged political fyftem, founded and carried on by fome confiderable men, can fave our territory iri the Eaft from being gradually depopu- lated and exhaufted ; and that by the eftablimment of fuch a fyftem, well car- wed on, the advantage to this kingdom would be both great and lading. It is very much feared by the public, that no fuch extended meafures will find their way into the clofets of thofe who are to determine whether the old fyftem is ia fubftance to continue, with flight and partial amendments, or whether Immzdicabile ijulnus fan/? recidendum eft ncparsjincera trahltiir^ K This t 75 ] This apprehenfion arifes from an opinion, that the confideration of thefe affairs re- quires time and leifure, and that few minifters are actuated by abflract princi- ples of policy in the government of fubordinate ftates, but rather by the ne- ceffities of the prefent hour. In the midft of a dangerous and com- plicated war, and much diftracted by the activity of a warm oppofition in Parlia- ment, it is feared that our Minifters will fcarcely be able to afford to this fubject the attention which it deferves, or that they can avoid conceding many points to the Company, very pernicious to India, for the fake of fome temporary profit. Every ground, however, for fufpecting their zeal for the profperity of fubordi- nate kingdoms, feems now to be unge- nerous and unjuft, when we turn our eyes towards the kingdom of Ireland. The fervants of the State will turn their attention with the fame humanity, affi- duity, and true political principles, to- wards the Eaftern dominions. They will recoiled! that fo favourable an oppor- tunity as the prefent never can arife, -to 2 lay C 76 ] lay the foundation of a lucrative, profpe- rous, and permanent intereft in that part of the world; that the true intereft of this kingdom requires our Afiatic terri- tories fliould be rendered as productive to the fuperior State as poffible, confiftenu ly with a view to futurity, which can only be done by confulting the true /- ternal interefts of thefe provinces them- felves. By thefe means the revenue to be derived from their profperity, and their profperity only, muft be greatly augmented, perhaps beyond our moft fanguine expectations -, and might be di- vided between the purfe of the Company, and that of the Nation, as far as refpects the territorial revenue, and the flock to arife from the fale of a long or perpetual intereft in the lands, as Parliament, upon a full examination, ihall think juft and reafonable. FINIS. 27 3 5 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Form L9-32m-8,'58(5876s4)444 UNIVERSITY OFCAL LOS ANGELES MRPAPV liiliMIi A 000017698 2