ment, and the leading provisions in the proposed bill. He trusted that the decision of parliament, whatever it might be, would be speedy. The commissioners were unwilling longer to remain in a state of inactivity as to the most important part of their duty,namely, the adjudication of claims. He had every reason to believe that many of the claimants were in the greatest state of pecuniary embarrassment; their claims, therefore, should as soon as possible be brought to a decision; that, if solid, the parties might possess the means of relieving their distress; and, if unfounded, they might be taught no longer to depend upon an unsubstantial resource, or lean upon a broken reed.

Mr. W. Keene could not help remarking, that in looking over the list of claimants he saw a number of names of persons bearing high situations in India, and who perhaps had no strong claims on the humanity and equity of the company in this instance. He must also observe, that although in 1784 this country claimed no right of participation in the surplus revenue of the company, yet from the year 1793 the public had a claim of half a million annually, which it had never received; and, on the contrary, it was now stated, that a million was due from the

public to the company. This might be a consideration in the discussion of the measure proposed. On the 16th Mr. Francis moved for an account of all moneys which have been paid to the private creditors of the nabob of the Carnatic, since the passing of the act of the 24th of his present majesty; and also for an account of the several debts now dute or demandable from the said nabob. Reverting

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to the subject to which he wa about to attract the notice of the house, the hon. member remarked, upon the equivocal character of these frequent claims upon the nabob of Arcot. A great deal of such claims had been already paid. After the payment of several millions (five or six), it was naturally supposed that no more debts were to be heard of. But still some pretended creditors started up. If such pretensions were attended to, he really believed that the whole revenue of the Carnatic would be insufficient to answer them; and if not, then they must come upon this country. He therefore cau tioned the house to pause upon a transaction, of the character of which scarcely any one who heard him could be wholly ignorant; for every one must remember some thing of the nabob of Arcot's debts; it was a tolerably notorious topic. That distinguished statesman Mr. Burke had many years since very properly stated his opinion, that a combination of evidence served to show that sums had been distributed for a course of years, in the name of the old nabeb of Arcot, to the servants of the East India company, in a most scandalous manner, and that there was strong reason to suspect that most part of the debts demanded were only fictitious. And that great orator showed that, even if these debts were really due, they were, from their amount, calculated to excite alarm, as the affairs of the company were so distressed as to be unequal to their liquidation. This the house would recollect was in the year 1784, when the situa tion of the India company was al most prosperity itself, compared to what it is at present. But even then, as Mr. Burke remarked, the company's

Company's servants were in affluence, while the company itself was very much embarrassed. Yet although such was the case, although the company's servants were possessed of no less than ten millions, still their claims of three millions of debt upon our subsidiary princes were paid off by order of the board of control, against the strongest remonstrances from the court of directors, seconded by the opinion of lord Macartney. This served to show what might be done through the interest of individuals, notwithstanding this distress of the company's affairs; and as bearing very closely upon the present question, he requested gentlemen to look at the speech of Mr. Burke, to which he referred, and which, independently of its relevancy upon this occasion, must be read with pleasure by every man of taste; for certainly, among all the productions of ancient and modern eloquence, nothing could be found worthy to be put in comparison with it. The hon. gentleman, adverting to the bill in progress through the house, observed, that it was not accompanied by any specification whatever, of the amount or nature of the debts to which it was meant to apply. This specification it was his wish to obtain. Seeing that so many millions had been already paid on this score, and that, the more these claims were paid, the more they seemed to grow, he desired at once to ascertain their precise extent: that knowledge attained, questions would then arise, whether such claims were made by bond fide creditors or not; whether any, and which of them, should be paid; whether, in a word, under all the circumstances, that money should be granted to such claimants which

ought to be applied to the support of our army and navy? That no equitable demands were to be found among those brought forward, he was not prepared to say. But, before any were acceded to, the house should be made acquainted with the whole amount. It would be unsafe to proceed with out such knowledge; for, if a com paratively small sum were at first granted, it would be difficult to say how far the house might be led, upon the principle of that grant. It might not be known when to stop, and therefore he thought it best to make a stand in limine.

On the 20th of May, Mr Hob. house moved the second reading of the bill for securing the payment of the nabob of Arcot's debts; upon which, Mr. W. Keene begged to call the attention of the house to the statute by which the charter was renewed.

Every gentleman at that time did expect, and the public had a right to expect, that the time of participating in the revenues of India would have arrived before this. This charter was a sort of deed or partnership between the country and the company; but although the country had hitherto acted the part of a sleeping partner, yet it most clearly possessed the right of examining into the affairs of the concern, and investigating the causes which had prevented it from receiving that participation to which it naturally appeared to be entitled. When an object of that nature came before the house, it was necessary to look very narrowly into the causes which prevented this parti cipation. In this point of view, he hoped the chancellor of the ex chequer would bestow his attention to this subject, as, in the present difficulties of the country, it was a serious loss, in a financial point of

view, to be kept from that participation in the revenues of India to which the country appeared entitled. In India, we had claims upon the government which were suffered to grow and accumulate for forty or fifty years, and which, after that lapse of time, burst upon the house all at once. The first set of debts of the nabob, although enormously great, had been already paid, and the debts now brought forward were those which had been kept in the back ground for a considerable time. Most of them had arrived to their present magnitude, from great and usurious interest given contrary to law. He befieved, that of the debts now claimed, amounting to 5,600,000l., there was not more than 500,000% honestly and fairly contracted. The honourable member then took a review of the nature of some of the debts claimed: he desired the clerk to read a report respecting the conduct of John Macpherson, esq. afterwards governor-general of Bengal, while he was at Madras, in the year 1767. This report charged Mr. Macpherson with entering into negotiations hostile to the company, and of having gained an undue influence over the nabob.

Mr. Johnstone rose with some de

gree of warmth. He said, that he had not originally intended to speak upon the question, but could not sit silent when he heard the character of a most respectable friend of his, and to whom he owed many obligations (sir John Macpherson), aspersed in this manner. He thought it was extraordinary that the honourable gentleman should have chosen to go near forty years back for transactions, with which to charge sir John Macpherson. As to the reports on which he grounded his accusation, there

were some reports, and that which had been read was one, which de served no more credit than the reveries of Robinson Crusoe. The sense that was entertained by the country of the conduct and services of that gentleman, was directly opposite to the statement in that report. Long subsequent to those į transactions, he had been made governor of Bengal, and had intro duced savings, or reductions, to the amount of twelve hundred thousand pounds. He wished all other governors of Bengal had done as much good. His majesty had shown his sense of his services, by creating him a baronet. As to what had been done forty years ago, it was a little hard to go so far back. If at that time he was perfectly unemployed by the company, he had a right to accept employment from the nabob.

After several other members had spoken, the debate was adjourned, and the second reading of the bill did not take place till the 7th of July. On the 11th, the bill was read a third time and passed in the house of commons. In the house of peers, it went through all its stages without discussion, and on the 21st it received the royal assent.

On the 21st of April lord Archibald Hamilton rose, in consequence of the notice he had previously given, of a motion for a paper containing the opinion of the court of directors relative to the transactions in India during the administration of lord Wellesley. His object in moving for this paper was, to make it a ground of charge against the late board of control, and the noble lord who presided there. If it appeared afterwards that the proceedings of that board had been just and proper, nobody could be more ready to acknowledge

his error than he would be: but unless he was very much mistaken in deed, it would turn out that there were good grounds of charge a gainst them. The noble lord had, year after year, gone on stating that the affairs of India were in a condition of the highest prosperity. The directors now said they had been on the brink of ruin. One or other must be mistaken; and his object was, to ascertain which statement was correct, and to whom the evils that had fallen upon India were to be attributed, supposing that the opinion of the directors was well founded. He was inclined to be lieve, that they were to be attributed to the board of control, or to the noble lord himself (Castlereagh), who in that case must, one would suppose, be tormented by all those feelings of bitter remorse which the cruelties committed in India, and the calamities which would follow the difficulties they had occasioned, must naturally excite. A dispatch had been signed by the secret committee, approving of the treaty with the nabob of Oude; yet it would appear that they had not approved of this, but reprobated it in the strongest manner. One object was to turn the attention of the house to the unhappy situation of the directors under the bill of 1784, which forced thern to sign what they abhorred. If the sentiments of an honourable gentleman (Mr. Francis), who had turned his attention much to Indian affairs, had been adopted, we should not have seen this absurd anomaly of a government, which was neither responsible nor efficient. It was proper to see the contrast between the real sentiments of the directors and those to be found in the papers to which they gave their signatures. He concluded by moving for the

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proposed dispatch of the directors, the letter of the board of control refusing that dispatch, and the reply to the letter.

Mr. Huddleston observed, that with regard to these papers, the facts were, that the directors were anxious to show that, notwithstanding the signatures of the secre: committee, their opinions were not favourable to the transactions in India under lord Wellesley. This was his view in moving for the papers; from particular circumstances he had postponed his motion, till, finding that the papers had been produced to the proprietors of East India stock, and the affair made sufficiently public, he thought it unnecessary to persist. But he supported the motion, however, on the grounds that every paper ought to be produced, that could be produced without injury to the public, since the public attention had been now so much directed to this sub. ject.

Mr. secretary Fox declared, that it was with regret he heard that such a motion as the present was to be made, and more especially that it was to be made by two persons for whom he had a great respect (Mr Huddleston and Mr. Thornton). But the pain which he felt was not a little increased, when he found it was to be made by the noble lord near him (Hamilton), for whom he had the highest esteem, whose personal regard he would wish to conciliate, and with whom he would always desire to cultivate a political connection; for to him that noble lord's ideas respecting the constitution, and his sentiments on political subjects in general, appeared to rest on prin ciples so just, and well founded, that it gave him the greatest con cern to differ from him, even in the Q application

application of these principles to any particular point. But he thought that the present question cught to be considered with a view to the judicial inquiry about to come before the house, and therefore our attention ought to be directed to justice alone. Now, reviewing the matter in this light, he could not reconcile it to his mind that the papers called for by his noble friend were not manifestly and grossly unjust. His noble friend seemed to admit, that it would be improper to produce them as a ground of crimination against my lord Wellesley, and he was glad that he coincided with him even thus far; but let us consider whether they would not operate against him in an unjust and oppressive manner. First, he might contend that these papers were not strictly official; but suppose they were, was the character of a man under accusation to be weighed down even by official papers? Look at the common judicial proceedings of the country, with which every person must be more or less acquainted; would it be endured that the general opinion should be stated as a ground of crimination against a person on trial? Nay, would not the publication of any thing like this against his character be a reason for putting off the trial, instead of being admitted as evidence before a jury? Now to apply this to the present case; whose opinions were they calling for? Those of the court of directors. But they, by law, could only communicate their opinions to the board of control; though, certainly, he did not mean to say that this was a good law. This, however, was at present the only way in which they could give their opinion; and when they were obliged to sign a thing which they

strongly disapproved, their only remedy was that which was open to all in such a situation, namely, an application to parliament. But, besides, what were these directors? They were the persons supposed to be most conversant with the affairs of India; and, both on account of their knowledge of the subject, and their respectability as a body, justly considered as a high authority.So much the worse. The higher their authority, so much the worse would it be to produce these papers when a man is under accusation. This was so clear, on every well founded principle of jurisprudence, that he was amazed that it could escape the attention of any person, nor could he except in particular circumstances. Now, in this case, there were some particular circumstances. The first was, the anomalous situation of the directorsthey were bound to execute the commands of others. In every other department, when any thing was proposed to a person which appeared to him of the most mischievous tendency, he might refuse to sign it; but they were by law bound to sign, whether they approved or not, and their condition was more aromalous than that of any class of men in Europe, even under the most despotic government. In the most absolute state in Europe, perhaps, the king has been unable to find any minister about him, who would countersign his own order, and he was under the necessity of sending for a minister from a distance to do it. But the directors could never refuse to sign any thing offered to them by the board of control. The only remedy they had, when they found that the board of control insisted upon measures which to them appeared of the most dangero is ten