' 'Voice ; or an r to the Speech of the Right Honourable ! f r . Secretary upon ~ast-Indla Affairs UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES WARNING VOICED OR, AN ANSWER to Mr. FOX's SPEECH. c * '* WARNING VOICE; OR AN ANSWER TO THE SPEECH O F The Right Honourable Mr. Secretary FOX, UPON EAST-INDIA AFFAIRS, On TUESDAY the i8th of November, 1783. And he fheweth him all the Kingdoms of the EAST, and the Glory of them: And faith unto him, all thefe Things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worfhip me. St. MATTHEW, Chap. IV. Awake, arife, or be for ever fallen ! MILTON, B. r. LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. M. ncc. i.xxxnj. -**~ *tf- fe**: DEDICATION. To the PROPRIETORS of EAST-INDIA STOCK-. publication, which I here prefcnt to you, is founded upon the ide^i exprefled by Mr, T. Pitf, in the Houfe of Commons, on o T hurfday laft, of a Warning Voice, which may ~~ refound to the remoteft corners of the kingdom, and proclaim abroad the confequences of the " Bill brought forward by Mr. Fox, for new- j modeling the government of the Eaft-Indies. I feel, in common with every Britifh fubjeCT, the milchiefs with which that Bill is big ; the fhock it gives to publcc faith; the danger to - which it expofes our conftitution. You, gen- J tlemen, are doubly interefted ; you are to fuf- | fer a two-fold wrong ; as individuals pofleffing property, and as citizens of a free country : fhe robbery of your eftate is to be made the means of invading, your liberty : you are plun- dered 35489.'? Jv.T.v;1 in private to be opprefled in public : in aggravation of your perlonal lofies, you are to fee them employed in the deftruction of the conftitution ; and with the further mortifying r.*-fle6t:ion, that the enormity of the rapine is to give {lability and fecurity to the plunderers. The leader to this attack is a perfon equally extraordinary : the Member for Weilminfter, the reprefentative of a great part of you in par- li.iment ; he who a few days was fince known by the name of the Man of the People ; whom we have to often it-en mounted 'upon a wooden ftage in the, public ftreets, warning the populace of the danger to which the conftitution was ex- pofed by the daily accefiions of Crown in- flnence ; , bidding them beware of the wily arts of minifters ; and routing them to the pre- fervation of their rights and liberties. And vr.r it is this very man, who by a hafty bill, in the leafon of a thin 'attendance, makes the profligate atfempt of robbing you individually of the former, 'and in common with the whole nation of the latter. Yon will wait the '.decition with temper ; but, I hope, not -without every exertion, which may affift your caufe, and the caufe of the Public. Thote among you, who are Di- vccl'ors, muft feel you rfelves critically cirCum- franced : your inclinations as private men, and as honeft citizens can guide you but one way ; but; the threats of prolcription from this new Eaftern Eaftern heptarchy may pofiibly drive you the other. Yet I will ftill hope, notwithstanding the ambiguous conduct of fome, that you have not cherimed in your bofom vipers who will deftroy you ; and that, in fo choleri and felecl: a body, there do not exift perfons capable of felling their eminence among you, becaule precarious, for an underling fituation in the new government, becaufe they may be told it will be perpetual. I mould have addrefled this to you through the medium of news-papers ; but they arc moftly become fuch corrupt tools of power, fuch peniioners of the Treafury, that I cannot truft them with giving a fair copy of any thing, which does not flatter their prefent mafteis. The freedom of the prefs is flated by J)e l*ol;m as the great bulwark of our liberties ; the iiiDpreffion of that, whether by force or corruption, is one ftep towards their deftruc- ricn ; and if we may judge from the complexion of this Bill, the other ileps arc not far be- I am, Gentlemen, With great refpe6i, Your mofl obedient, Humble fcrvaut, The AUTHOR. Nov. 24,' 1783. WARNING VOICE; OR, AN ANSWER to Mr. FOX's SPEECH, SIR, I HAVE liftened with great attention to the Right Honourable Secretary, who opened the debate of this day. I have heard him lay down a fyftem, and have heard him ftate the grounds, upon which that fyftem is founded. He has fub- mitted to you the debt of the Eaft-India Company, the reports of the Eaft-India Committees, the unconilitutional powers of the Court of Proprie- tors, and the mifconduct ot Mr. Haftings , and upon thefe particulars he would ground a motion, which is to transfer the government of India from the Company to certain CommiGloners nominated by a majority of this Houfe, or in plain words by his Majefty's Minuter. It would naturally be expect, d, that the grounds ftated for fo new and decifive a meafure, mould be juft, lolid, and incontrovertible ; and that the fyftem mould B refills relult from them by a fair r.nd natural deduction. Let us examine the extent of the evils ; we may then judge with candour of the expediency of the remedy. The Right Honourable Secretary has dated the debt of the Company^ after the proper deductions, to amount to the fum of eight millions. But he has carefully avoided the mention of their property in their European and Afiatic warehoufes, or that now at fea, which alone pays off one half of this pre- tended debt ; a debt, which, even according to the groffeit exaggeration, is ftill, in the words of an honourable Governor, a very trifling mortgage on a very large eftate. The information, to which the Right Honourable Secretary appeals, is derived from the reports of the Kail-India Committees. But have not thofe reports been charged with grofs rr:ifrcprefentation, with wil- ful omiffions, with notorious prejudice and parti- ality ? And has not an honourable gentleman en- gaged to prove it at the Bar of this Houfe ? Is i* not notorious upon reading over the names, that the gentlemen of moft refpedtability and character ab- fented themfelves ? And have you not been informed this night, of a refpeftable member of that Com- mittee, who after having attended fome time, retired from the bufmeis in difguft at the manner of their proceeding ? The Proprietors have been reprefented as poffef- fing an improper controul over the Directors, inaf- much as they were able to fupercede their order for the recal of Mr. Haftings. If this controul is inor- dinate, it will be eafy to temperate it : but let the means be gentle and rational. Let us not madly drive ( 3 ) drive the diforder from the extremities into the vitals : let us not, f jr the fake of curing a limb, be the de- ftrudion of the whole frame. The Right Honourable Secretary has proceeded, to exhibit many heavy charges againft Mr. Haflings ; but a reply is unneceiTary, till they become better fubftantiated. An Honourable Governor has engaged to difprove them by bringing evidence to the Bar ; and furely fuch evidence will be more fatisfactory than the Right Honourable Secretary's random af- fertions, or than the partial and malignant inferences drawn from thofe reports, which have fanctioned by an ex parts evidence a libel on your abfent officers. Upon grounds, thus fupported, does the Right Honourable Secretary propoie to abrogate the Char- ter of the Eaft-India Company, in open violation of public faith -, and to take the government into his own hands for the term of five years, by nominating feven CommifTioners, and eight Am" ftant-Commiffion- ers, and through them the innumerable fubordinate officers * of that department. The Right Honourable Secretary has pointed with the moft animated eloquence the boundlefs extent of Eaft-India patronage ; to which, were it to be ufed in influence over this Houfe, the influence of the Crowh in its moft enormous and alarming ftate, he tells us, is nothing. He has faid, that it has already (wallowed up the Court of Proprietors, a much larger body of men than we are, and has warned us molt earneftly of the danger of its extending itfelf to this Houfe. To guard againft this danger he would have * The eftabiilhments of India amount to 2,000,000 and the offices are upwards of five hundred in number. B 2 US us wreft this patronage from the hands of the prefent pofiefibrs, and place it IN THE HANDS OF THE MINISTER ! ! ! The influence of the Crown has been voted dan- erous by this Houfe : and the Right Honourable ecretary tells us, that the boundlefs patronage of the Eaft is infinitely morefo. Will then the admira- ble logic of that gentleman pretend to prove to us, that our only fafety lies in their conjunction ? We are in danger of being fwallowed up by Eaft-inclia Governors : lhall we fly from them into the jaws of miniflcrs ? We run the rifle of being devoured by foreign plunderers: is there no alternative, but ierving ourlelves up as a mefs to the gluttonous appe- tites of domeftic robbers ? AH the inftances, all the pictures, which the Right Honourable Secretary has drawn, cf the dangerous influence of Governors- General over the Proprietors, and over members of this Houfe, ought to dare him in the face, when he makes fuch a propofal ! To what purpofe will it be, that we have projected fo many reforms, and compieated fome, if this fud- den torrent is to lay wade the harveft of our la- bours ? We have expelled Contractors, disfranchifed Revenue Officers, and regulated a Civil Lift, only half in value to the patronage here propofed : mea- fures perfectly nugatory, if at the fame moment that we fend a few influenced men out at one door, we let in this mob, of Eaft-India placemen at another. We have heard talk of the influence of Sir Robert Walpole, and we have ourfelves talked of the .influence of the noble Lord in the blue rib- band. But even in the zenith of their influence, it will have nothing compared to what will be ( 5 ) b^ that of the Right Honourable Secretary. I can already imagine him exercifing the privilege to which his boldnefs afpires, of nominating the perfons through whom he is to govern India. It is pofTible, indeed, that he may nominate to thefe fituations men of ftrici and unimpeachable integrity, men incapable of bias from the pofieffion of place and power : but it is alfo pofTible that he may nominate another defcription of perfons ; perfon?, to whom neither youth brings moclefty, nor age wifdom ; a ftrange medley of unfledged gamefters and grey-headed Jpendthrifts. Through them he will dirccl: his ap- pointments , through them he will iflTue his man- dates , in one word, Sir, he will be King of India ! This will be the final left grievance : when poffefTed of a patronage, capable of fuch influence in this Houfe, it will be impoffible that he Ihould remain on the common level of a fubject. And though another may continue to wear the crown, to hold the fceptrc, to ktep his ftate, and repeat the fpeech that is made for him, yet the Minifter will have a Ib ve reign ty of his own, imperium in imperio, independent of this titular monarch, independent of the people, and dependent folely upon the corrupt votes of his par- liamentary tributaries. It is true that he has con- fented to leave the nomination to vacancies in one board to the Crown, and in another to the Eaft-India Proprietors. But to future contingencies of this kind he may well be indifferent ; the firft nominations will anfwer his ends, and having fecured them, it is truly generous of him to make the Crown his heirs in one cafe, and the Proprietors in the other. And as for removal, you will obferve, that it can only hap- pen by addrefs of that Parliament whom he propoies as the inilruments of his ambition. The ( 6 ) The Right Hon. Secretary has faid, that he does not ftir this matter : the matter ftirs itfelf. Let me afkhim, Sir, does corruption itir itfelf? does breach of faith ftir itfelf? does defpotifm ftir itfrlf ? (for they are ail contained in this Bill) No, Sir, 'it re- quires an active and a powerful hand thus to ftir them, and the work carries with it a plain object. By means of them, Sir, he may rivet thofe fetters which he has already caft around the Throne ; by means of them he may root himfelf in that fimation, which public diftruft might render precarious : a fituation in which, when thus eftablimed, there is not the power that can remove him : he may ever after laugh at public cenfure, and bid defiance to royal difapprobation. But it may be faid, Sir, that if he carries this quef- tion, it will be clear that the voice of his country, through the medium of their reprefentatives, is with him. By no means ! He may carry this queftion by the anticipation of that influence, which the bill is to eftablim. He may fay to one fet of men, J mould this Bill pafs, you fhall be the Commiffion- ers ; to another fet of men you mall be the Afliftant- CommifficncTs ; to a third let you mall nominate to the great offices in India ; and to a fourth fet, (the moft overcoming language of all) you, gentlemen, have young families, have nephews, have coufins, who muft be provided for : '' hey mall fupercede in their employments the fons and coufins of that com- pany of ftockholders, whofe rights we are invading, \vhofe charter we are abolifhing. I fay, that by fuch means he may prevail, but I cannot induce myfelf to think he will. I fee too much virtue ftill in this X This mode of canvaffing for votes for this bill has, as I have fince uuderftood, been actually practiced. Houfe, ( 7 ) Houfe, too many perfons who have not yet aban- doned the engagement they Hood under to the Pub- lic, to think fuch a meafure probable. I can ima- gine that man anfwering, " I love fituations of "powr and emolument, but I love my country more." I can hear that man reply, " Right Honourable Sir, " my children and my connections are dear to me, " but the chartered rights of the land are far dearer." I can fee them all fpurning at the tempter's offer of riches and power and great glory, when inconfiftent with the fafety of their rights and liberties. In offers and temptations like thefe perhaps the recefs has been taken up ; and it was certainly a rea- fon of policy for postponing the meafure till after the recefs, that the 1< ight Honourable Secretary might have leilure for thefe arrangements. Whether he has been fucceisful or no, I cannot pretend to fay; but it is plain that he does not chufe to reft his hopes on thefe grounds alone, fince he has called in the af- fiftance of a further ftratagem, notorious for being praftifcd by weak and defperate minifters, but always reprobated as neither decent, nor parliamentary. This motion, indifputably the moft important that has been propofed during his Majefty's reign, is brought on at a time, when Parliament is known to be thinly attended, and is to be hurried to the fecond reading in the fpace of nine days, before which time it is barely poffible for gentlemen to come to town, and it is certainly impoffible for them to give this bill a de- cent review, andconfideration. Accordingly, fome may vote for it inconfiderately, without looking forward to the confequences. Some, I mean, who, having ufually fupported his Majefty's government, may fupport them on this occafion, as if it were a mere government quef- tion. When the bill is paffed, and irrevocable, per- haps fuch gentlemen may then open their eyes may be jbc awakened by the preffure of thofe- confequenccs, which inevitably follow from it ; the mock of public faith, and fall of public liberty. They may then amufe themfelves with moving " that the influence *' of the Crown has increafed, is increafmg, and " ought to be dimifhed ;" but the Right Honourable Secretary will walk into the lobby followed by his Afiatic penfioners, {I cure in his power, and in per- fect deriiion of their nugatory motions. But though it will be the influence of the Crown, while the Right Honourable Secretary continues in office, yet as his original nominees 'are by their ex- preis constitution to continue for five years, it fol- lows, that if he mould relinquish his fituation before the expiration of that term, that fuch nominees, in- ftead of remaining a ihvngth to government, will commence members of his faction. They 'will be his body-guards, his ja'nifaries, whom he will carry with him togarrifon that/0r//v/}, which, I prefume, he will again erect to harrals the country, when lie has ceafed to opprefs it. Yet for the fuccefs of this new' government he does not pretend to anfwer. He ftates the whole as an experiment ; he would have us rob men of what we have already fold them, as an experiment ! he would have us truft him with a power unknown to the constitution, as an experiment. He would have us commit to his mercy our mod facred right and liberties, as an experiment ! an experiment too, which in all human probability will fail of what it holds out to us. It places the efficient government of a country at 6000 miles diitance from the coun- try itielf : it implies, as he himlelf ftates, the fre- quent necefilty of difobedience of orders, a charge which he has previouQy brought with io much de- cency '( ? T tency againft Mr. Haftings. And by* admitting the hecefiity, leaves fuch diibbediertce always in" the power of thofe, who are able to 'invent good reafons, that is, to give a falfe colouring to their circumftances and lituation. We do not attempt to govern Ireland, feparated only by a narrow channel ; and it has been feen tliat we could not govern America at the diftance of lefs than 3000 miles ; .{hall we then attempt to govern India at above twice that diftance ? \ In a word, Sir, the conduct of the Right Honour* able Secretary feems to be this. He grounds mea- fures that are dangerous upon premifes that. are falfe s he fets out, like modern warriors, with publilhing an infamous manifefto, and proceeds to trample over charters to a direct afiault upon the conftitution : and this to effect what purpoie ? The purpofe of eita- bliihing a .weak government here, in lieu of a firm one abroad: and of fetting up the counfels of mert, who are raw, and perhaps inefficient, againft the deliberative wifdom of an experienced Company, who have hitherto governed that part of the worlii with firmncfs at leait, and ccrtainiy with little bad effect to the Britifh confticution. . When I fay that this bill affaulrs.tTie conftitution, i ufe a temperate exprefiion. I mould not exceed my own opinion, if I iVtd that the conftimrion would be over-thrown by it. I will appeal to your breaft, Sir, you are more than commonly interefted in this queftion, and it would be difgraceful to obferve that impurtiality at preient, which is ib becoming your lituation on other occafions. On this depends whether- -you are to prefide over a body of virtuous representatives, virtuous in the majority at leaft, or over a Mock Parliament, the creatures of that Right Honourable Mover, that candidate for Eaftern em- C pire. 354893 pire. Had not you rather, Sir, (for I am fure I had) fee the Right Honourable Secretary enter the Houfe with an armed band, and bid them " take " away that bawble" * than enter with his mercenary hoft of Afiatic penfioners, to dictate to us what we ihall think, and what we mall enact : thus leaving us the parade of liberty, at the time that his word is to conititute the legislature. The man, who declares open hoflilities, is a fair character, compared to him who carries on a fmothered war againft our liberties ; which we are in that cafe doomed to fee deftroyed, though tied up from avenging ourfelves upon the deftroyer. I am not without my feelings for the Company ; for I think that we are acting the part of tyrants, not of protectors. We are robbing bees of their honey, the produce of their fummer's induftry, and offer them inftead a poor mixture of our own, to fupport them during the winter. But fympathy for the Conv pany is but a trifling part of what ought to engage the hearts of Englifhmen. Our foreign pofTefiions have always been reckoned dangerous to liberty ; by circumftances peculiarly fortunate India has not yet been fo : it is the bufmefs of Englifhmen to guard againft the poflibility. Let me then conjure this Houfe not to adopt this e< palliative ," not to adopt this " emollient," this " * comprnmife" this " half-meafure" as the Right Honourable Secretary fo candidly, fo decently (tiles it. Let us remember that no individual, that no chartered company hold their property under a tenure more facred than that, which by repeated acts, and * The words of Oliver Cromwell, when he ordered his fol- diers to take away the mace, and turn the members out of t4ie Houfe of Commons. by repeated charters has been fecured to this Com- pany. To the infidious temper, who fhews us the glory of the Eaft, that we may worfhip him, let us ieverally reply " get thee behind me :" let us mew him that we are not yet become corrupt, and abomi- nable-, but that there ftill remain thofe, who, amidft all trials, preferve inriolate their religious regard for the con ftitution. FINIS. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY! Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 10m-7,'70(N8464s8)-Z-53 UNIVERSITY OF AT LOS AN LIB!