UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES LETTERS TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE HENRY DUN DAS, ON HIS AS THE MINISTER OF INDIA . . . . , LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. DEBRETT, OPPOSITE BURLINGTON- HOUSE, PICCADILLY. 1792. 9 d 8 2 6 . . 1 \ CO' LETTERS, &c. X LETTER I. S I R, s HP JL HE important events which have hap- CO * pened in India in the laft year, naturally ex- o_ * cite the public attention, and we may expect that a confiderable portion of the approaching Seffion will be Ipent in debates upon the paft and prefent ftate of that country. A concife and candid examination of the S conduct of^his Majefty's India Minifters may A ^ be 301087 [ 4 3 be of fome fcrvice to thofe who neither wifli to condemn nor to applaud without a caufe. I have impofed this talk upon myfelf", and will endeavour, at leaft, fairly and honeflly to execute it. I do not impute the part that Mr. Pitt and yourfelf have taken in the prefent war, either to avarice, to rapacity, or to a defire of extend- ing the patronage of office ; thofe who bring fuch charges againfl you, at as abfurdly and as unjuftly towards you, as you have ated in many instances towards Mr. Haftings. 'But I affirm it as a fact, capable of clear and incontrovertible proof, and from which, when Mr. Fox brings the fubjecl: forward, there can be no defence in argument, what- ever there may be in number s> that in the ori- gin of the war, in its continuance, and in the pro- [ 5 ] profejjed objeft to be attained by it, if complete fuccefs mould be the refult of it, you have departed from every principle that you your- felf laid down, as the true and only principles^ by which India ought to be governed, either when you were Lord Advocate of Scotland in the Adminiftration of Lord North, and Chairman of the India Committee, as Treafu- rer of the Navy under Lord Shelburne, ojr as the uncontrouled Minifter of India, for the laft feven years under Mr. Pitt's Bill* I affirm it alfo to be a clear and incontro- vertible facl:, that there is not a principle, which you voted to impeach Mr. Hailings for having avowed or a&ed upon, during his Adminiftration, that you have not carried infinitely beyond what you accufed him of car- rying it, fince the commencement of the prefent war. Three Three very remarkable instances have oc- curred in a fhort period, in which grofs and wanton injuftice has been feverely punished. The unprovoked and faithlefs conduct of the late Government of France to Great Britain during the American war has utterly deftroyed the Monarchy of that country. In return for the fupport which Oppofi- tton gave for many years to all the follies and abfurdities of Mr. Burke, that Senator con- trived to render the Oppofition unpopular throughout the country, precifely at the moment when the Ruffian armament left the fupporters of Mr. Pitt without an argument to urge in his behalf, and had even infpired his opponents with the hopes of overturning his Adminiftration. The t 7 ] The prefent war in India has compelled Mr. Pitt and yourfelf to throw off that maik of deception which you had affumed, in order to wound Mr. Raftings the deeper, to give your entire approbation to meafures infinitely ftronger than the jlrongejl of tbofe, which were deemed criminal in him to adopt, and to carry your ideas of conqueft and extent of dominion in India, far beyond any that you accufed him of having entertained. I propofe, in the courfe of my correfpon- dence, to rake a concife review of the prin- cipal meafures of your admlniftration ; I fay your adminijlration, becaufe although his Ma- jefty has appointed fix India Commiffioners, you have been hitherto looked upon as the fole India Minifter, poffeffing the fulleft con- fidence of Mr. Pitt, who enjoyed, and was, therefore, enabled, to confer upon you the i fulleft fulleft confidence of his Sovereign, and both Houfes of Parliament. It was after a very arduous ftruggle, with a very powerful party, that you fucceeded to your minifterial office, nor did any man, at any period enter into office, under fo many and fuch great advantages as you did in Au- guft 1784, when Mr. Pitt's fyftem obtained the fanction of the Leiflature. India had been reftored to univerfal peace, in defpite of the meafures which you had taken to prevent it, when no refponfibility was annexed to your fituation. Hoflilities with the Marattas had actually ceafed in October 1781, though Mr. Dun- das's refolutions prevented the final ratifica- tion of peace with thofe {rates until February [ 9 ] j 783. Peace with France was proclaimed in June 1783, and with Tippoo Sultan in March 1784. Bengal and its dependencies produced an annual revenue of above five millions fterling. Of this revenue and of fuch refources as could be procured on the Carnatic and at Bombay, you had the entire difpofaL Before I proceed to confider the ufe which you have made of the refources, which you have impeached another perfon for procuring $ it may be ufeful to trace the fteps by which you afcended to your prefent rank. The Minifter, who had not been able to guard his country from a ruinous war with America, France, Spain, and Holland, thought it very extraordinary that an invafion of the B Car- t 3 Carnatic by Hyder Ally Cawn was not pre- vented, and you were appointed the Chair- man of a Committee, instituted by the Houfe of Commons, to inquire into the caufe of that invafion. This naturally led to a review of the whole political fyftem of India, com- prehending in it every important al of the Administration of Mr. Haftings. After your labours were fmifhed, and they are contained in fix voluminous Reports, you affe&ed to feel fuch an abhorrence for the political conduct of Mr. Haftings, that the very critical and dangerous fituation of India in 1 782, could not induce you to refrain from moving the moft extraordinary feries of Re- folutions (confidering what you have Jincs done as a MJnifter} that have ever appeared. i Iain I am not of rank enough to fay what the -.Lord Chancellor did in the lafh Seffion, " that " they will remain an eternal monument of " Parliamentary folly and abfurdity;" but this I will fay, that they will remain an eter- nal monument of the inconfiftency of Mr. Dundas, fince, with complete power dele- gated to you by the law, you have, in no one in/lance, adhered to thofe Refolutions ; but, on the contrary, you have perfijled in every fyjlcm which thofe Refolutions condemn, and have neglected to redrefs a fmgle grievance, affirmed by thofe Refolutions to exlfl. The firft important meafure of your AcJ-- miniftration, which has been flrongly con- demned, was your arrangement for liqui- dating the debts of the Nabob of Arcot and the Rajah of Tanjore. B 2 Mr. Mr. Fox brought this fubject before Parlia- ment, and your conduct was condemned by Mr. Burke in fuch terms, as could not poffi- bly be ufed with impunity by a Gentleman to a Gentleman, and had never before been ap- plied, even by a difappointed Patriot to a fuc- cefsful Minifler. In order to delude the public into an opinion that he acted from conviction, Mr. Burke, eight months after he abufed you in Parlia- ment, fent his abufe into the world in the form of a pamphlet. Who that reflects ferioufly upon this cir- cumftance, can in future put the flighteft confidence in the honour of a public man ? Would it have been thought within poJJlblUty^ a very few years ago, that a difference with his Party, in a matter which concerns not us, (houl4 t .13 I fhould have furnifhed Mr. Burke with a plea for throwing himfelf into the arms of Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas ? Or that they would have received, with fo much cordiality, the man who had held them forth to the world as the moft corrupt and contemptible of hu- man beings, who had folemnly, and in the face of his country declared, " that all the *' acts and monuments in the records ofpe- " culation, the confolidated corruption of ages , " the patterns of exemplary plunder in the he- " roic times of Roman Iniquity, never equalled " the gigantic corruption of a fingle acY* done by yourfelf and Mr. Pitt ? " That in- '* cited by no public advantage, impelled by no " public necefjity, in a ftrain of the mojl wan- " ton perfidy 'which has ever Jlained the annals " of mankind, you had delivered over to plun- " der, tmprifonment, exile, and death itfelf, *' the unhappy and deluded fouls, who, un- ' taught t u ] " taught by any former example, were ftill " weak enough to put their truft in Englifh 'faith ?" My reafon for clofing my firft letter with this quotation is, to imprefs honejl men with an opinion that no credit ought to be given to aflertions, let them come from what quarter they will, it unaccompanied by proofs ; and if Mr. Burke mould be your Advocate^ in the enfuing Seffion, which is by no means improbable, I wifh to let the public know what opinion he entertained of your profli- gacy, a very fhort time ago. ASIATICUS. Dec. 25, 1791. LET* [ '5 J LETTER II. SIR, JLJLS I have undertaken to point out your mconfijlencies, it will be neceflary to mew in how many inftances you have adopted the plans of Mr. Haftings, as a Minifter, and condemned them, as a Member of Parlia- ment. In the latter capacity, you have proclaimed to the world that certain important advan- tages fecured to this country by the late Go- vernor General, were obtained by exactions, grinding and opprej/ive, by injujlice, and bjr flagrant breach of faith, In [ "5 ] In your Minijlerial charafter you have an- nually taken credit for every increafe of re- fburce, thus fraudulently and fcandaloujly ob- tained^ and though enjoined by a poftive tatv to redrefs all wrongs^ committed by Britim fubjets in India, you have not in a Jingle in- Jlance, afforded redrefs, thereby holding up the Britim Nation to the contempt and de- rifion of all Europe. You have, in fact, followed the example of the Spanim Corregidor, who punimed a robber for dealing a thoufand doubloons, but at the fame time put the money into his own pocket. I flate this on a fuppofition that the complaints of wrongs having been done by Mr. Haftings, are founded in truth. My own opinion is, that the complaints were not well founded ; in that cafe, the nation has nothing to anfwer for ; but it is im- poffiblc [ '7 ] poffible to reconcile to confiftency, or to any j man's fenfe of juftice, the conduct of the Minifter of India. This will afford an ample field for dif- cuffion to the Hiftorian, the Philofopher, and the Moralift, when the politics and the parties of the prefent day mall ceafe. \ Mr. Fox and yourfelf differed in many points relative to India, but on three very material heads, you were fully agreed fome years ago. . The firft, that the honour and jujlice of this country were concerned, in procuring redrefs for all wrongs committed by Britifli fubje&s in India. The fecond, that all offenftve wars, for the purpofe of conqueft, and extent of dominion^ Jhould be abfolutely prohibited In future. C The [ '8 ] The third, that Mr. Haftings fliould be immediately recalled to Great Britain. What Mr. Fox would have done, I know not, for he loft his office, and failed in his India plan at the fame time. You have been above feven years the Mi- nifter of India What you have done, / know, and in thefe three eflential points, you have totally departed from your own pro- feflions. When Mr. Pitt's Bill placed complete power, and complete refponfibility in your hands, in Auguft 1784, Mr. Haftings was the Governor General of Bengal >his con- tinuance or his removal abfolutely depended upon you for the veto of the Proprietors had been annulled by the Legiflature. You '9 ] You had moved a feries of Refolutions againft him in 1782, in which all his political ads were condemned, commencing with the floppage of the King's tribute in 1772, and doling with the grant of a fum of money to the Maratfas, and the expulfion of Cheyt Sing, in 1781. When the Houfe, upon your motion, had voted all thefe Refolutions, you moved, " That Warren Haftings, Efq. having in " fundry inftances acted in a manner repug- " nant to the honour and policy of this nation, " and thereby brought great calamities on " Indict^ and enormous ex fences on the Eaft " India Company, it was the duty of the 44 Directors of the faid Company to purfue " all legal and effectual means to remove him " from his ojfice, and to recal him to Great C 2 Prima t ] Prima facte, we would fuppofe that a man who would form a pretence to any fort of confiftency, would not allow Mr. Haftings to remain for a moment t in India, after having given fuch a character of him, and after he not only had the power to remove him, but was deeply refponfible for continuing him in office. But the whole tranfa&ion fairly explained, would do you credit, if your fubfequent con- . duel: had not convinced me, that you have never acted upon any fixed principles of juf- tice, as an India Minifter. One of the firft a&s of your adminiftration was to empower the Directors to tranfmit tor Mr. Haftings thofe thanks which his con- ftituents had voted in the preceding year, and which Lord Sydney had prohibited thern [ ai J them from fending to him,. Thefe were accompanied by the unanimous thanks of the Court of Directors, with your name, fgned in approbation, before they were fent ; and tQ, fhew that it is impoffible to mpve a ftep without involving you in a frefli inconfif- tency, the thanks were particularly given to him, for his fince you be- came the India Minifter, entitles you, in my humble opinion, to the approbation of every fair and candid man ; but in order to judge impartially of your conduct, I muft flate the circumftances under which you fueceeded to to the management of the Britifh Empire in India. It had moil unfortunately been the fafliion for fome time prior to that period . to defcribe the countries under our influence, as nar- rated, opprefled, and totally ruined. You had given into this folly in a certain degree, but the writers of the Select Committee Reports went ftill farther, and Mr. Burke, while the Bills of Mr. Fox and Mr. Pitt were before the Houfe, never fpoke of Bengal, but as of a country ruined beyond the pof- fibility of redemption ; we were fuppoied, by him, to have harrafTed, and murdered the natives, not by hundreds, but by millions. Mr. Francis, who from the rank he had held in India, could neither fpeak, nor write without effect, had faid to the Directors, at i the t 3' ] the clofe of 1 78 1 , " It is my -tnoftferious opt- " nton, that you will never again have an in- " veftment purchafed with any favings from " the revenues of Bengal." Thefe reprefentations always appeared to me like the ravings of madmen, for I had crofled the kingdom, of Bengal in almofl every direction in the courfe of fifteen years,, and had gone through the province of Be- nares, and the Vizier's dominions, without feeing any of thofe marks of mifery and wretchednefs, which made fo confpicuous a figure in the Committee Reports ; I did, therefore, venture to fay, the firft time I had the honour to fpeak in Parliament, that Ben- gal would yield from the various refources of its Government, upon the reftoration of peace, a nett furplus revenue to Great Bri- tain, of one million, five hundred thoufand pounds ; jxnmds ; but though you are, as I am, a. fan* guine man, yet you would not, nor would any other Member, hazard the fame opinion at that time. I made this calculation upon an idea moft undoubtedly that you would very foon difco- ver, as a Minljler y the follies of your opinions, as a Member of 'Parliament ; that you would not be di{pofed to furrender a Jingle advantage that Mr. Raftings had procured ; and my idea was a juft one. You have continued the Salt Monopoly, the Opium Monopoly, the Mode of Letting Lands to Farmers, when Zemindars refufe to give the rent that Government demands. You have continued to receive the Additional Revenue from Benares, and the Increafed Subfidy from Oude ; and the refult is, that my [ 33 ) my prediction was much more than verified in three years^ and the furplus is now above two millions Jlerling a year. The Refolutions of a Houfe of Commons have not the force of law ; but where a Mem- ber moves them, profeffing too that he means they mould be as a warning, and a guide, to an inferior body, one would naturally con- clude that he would himfelf be influenced by them. In the year 1782, the Houfe of Com- mons refolved, unanimoujly, upon your motion, " That the fimple grounds on which the " Britim Government ought to have endea- " voured to eftablifli an influence fuperior " to other European Powers, mould be, the ' maintenance of an inviolable character for E " mo* r 34 ] " moderation, good faith, and Jcrupulom re* " gar d to treaty. " That the ftoppage of the King's tribute, 66 and the fale of Corah and Allahabad to " the Vizier, were contrary to policy and " good faith, and that fuch wife and praffii- " cable methods fhould be adopted In future, " as may tend to redeem the national honour ', " and recover the attachment and confidence of " the Princes of India" What attention have you, as a Mhqfttr, paid to this Refolution, or to any other that you moved in 1782 ? Have you redeemed the National Honour, by paying to the King the arrears of his tri- bute ? Have you paid him one rupee of the current tribute, to which he was annually en- f 35 ] entitled, iince you became a Minifler ? On the contrary, you exprefled a very ferious alarm, when Mr. Haflings merely exerted his influence in favour of the old Monarch. In what a fuperior light does Mr. Haflings appear to you, in every thing that relates to the Emperor of Indoflan ! ! Mr. Haflings affirmed fairly and openly, in 1773, that by quitting the protection of the Englifh, and ceding Corah and Allaha- bad to the Marattas, the King had forfeited his own right to thofe Provinces, and to his tribute in future. The Provinces he, there- fore, fold to Sujah Dowlah, and withheld the payment of the tribute until he received the fentiments of the Directors, who would not flir a flep in fuch a buftnefs without the knowledge of the Minifler. Both tranfaclions E 2 were [ 36 ] were approved, and Mr. Haftings was ordered to difcontinue any farther payment of tribute. You declared, in 1 782, that the conduct of Mr. Haftings, and of the Company, in this tranfaclion, was contrary to policy and good faith ; you farther faid, and fo did Parliament, that fuch ivife and fra5ilcable methods mould be taken in future, as may redeem the national honour. Jf thefe expreffions mean any thing, they muft mean, that we mould, at leaft, pay the King his tribute in future ; yet, with more than two millions a year furplus revenue, you have not paid him a cowrie : he has been the fport of fortune, and after having been tortu- red by a favage, was deprived of his eyes, in a manner too fhocking to be related. The man who thinks that we a&ed to- wards the King in a manner contrary to po- licy 37 ] Iky and good faith, muft impute his early mif- fortunes to the Company, and to Lord North, and the more grievous calamities of his later days to Mr. Dundas. Your opinion and mine, I fancy, are the fame, and that you are now as fenfible, as I always was, of the Impolicy and injuftice of thofe Refolutions relative to Shaw All urn. Mr. Pitt, when he moved his India Bill, feems to have adopted all your ideas that treaties mould be inviolably kept offenfivc wars moil carefully avoided', and to mew his opinion of the exiting government, he talked of offences having been committed equally flocking to humanity, oppofite to jujlice, and contrary to every principle of religion or mo rality, i After 301087 [ 38 ] After fuch d defcription, he introduced a claufe in his Bill, which ftates in fubftance, " that complaints have prevailed, that divers " Rajahs, &c. &c. &c. have been unjujlly de- and the revenues dimimjh- cd ; and that all the extraordinary refources, of which you had' boajled on the 7th, were pro- cured [ 65 J cured by fraud, mjujllce, oppreffion, and breach of faith. You well know that / ufe no orator's privilege; / neither invent, nor exaggerate, nor mifreprefent ; and you know it fo be a facl, that of the various component parts of the Bengal refources, all, except the land re venues andcuftoms, werecreatedby Mr. Haftings, and thofe two branches of refources, he improved. Alas ! Sir, the ;th of May could not pojji- bly have been a proud day for England, as you affirmed it to be, and the 9th an unfortu- nate one for Mr. Haftings, if the Minifter of India had been actuated by a fenfe of con- Jiftency, or juftice. In the three following years, 1 788, 89, and 90, the fame flattering accounts of the I E ] Jtourijhing Jtate of Bengal were repeated by ytitt to the Houfe of Commons, as regularly, as the Houfe of Commons declared through their managers, to the Lords and to the world) that Ben-gal had been ruined by Mr, Mailings. ' In each year you repeated your confident expectation of the continuance of peace ; and you affirmed, and I agreed with you, " that we " had a force in India fufficient to combat all ** that the whole world could bring againft us, ' and a furplus of revenue greater than at * c any former period : that in- the event of " war there were funds in India to main- cc tain it, as there would have been in the u laft war, if the furplus had not been em- *' ployed in the purchafe of inveftments." How t 6 7 ] How vain is man, when he fpeculates on politics ! ! Tippoo, on very bad terms with the Marattas and the Nizam ; abandoned by the French ; fully aware of the extent of our military force ; and knowing that Lord Corn- wallis had all that fupport from home, which was withheld from Mr. Haftings in the laft war ; yet placed fo thorough a confidence in our moderation and love of peace, that he ven- tured firft to infult, and afterwards to attack the Rajah of Travancote, an ally of the Car- natic. This attack completely juftiHed us in an inftant commencement of hoftilities. When Tippoo faw that we were in earneft, he changed his language ; he earneflly defired us to receive a man of rank and dignity in our camp, to fettle all differences. I 2 The [ 68 1 The offer was rejected, wifely rejected, in my humble opinion ; for there never was a period when, according to human pr obabilities, we had fo fair an opportunity of making Tippoo fmart feverefy and quickly for his re- cent conduct, and for his breach of all the important articles of Lord Macartney^ Treaty. Lord Cornwallis, in a letter to General Meadows, has ftated, in the 'cleared lan- guage, his motives for preferring war to ne- gociation, after Tippoo's wanton attack of the Travancore lines. ' Good policy (faid his Lordmip) as well " as a regard to our reputation, in this coun- " try, requires, that we mould not only " ex a ft a f eve re reparation from 'Tippoo, but " that we mould take this opportunity to reduce " the [ 69 ] " the power of a Prince, who avows, upon " every occafan, fo rancorous an enmity to " our nation. *' At prefent we have every profpeet of *' aid from the Country Power ^ whilft fo frftf '* expett no ajiftance from France, &c. &c," It appears then, that you were miftaken In liippofing that no Country Power 'would prefume to provoke us, and being provoked, we have preferred rightly, fb I think, way to peace. The next point in which you have erred is, as to the expence of the war ; according to your declared opinion , no future war could be more expenfive than the laft. But be- yond all doubt the prefent war exceeds that of the laft, in expence, to a degree, that cannot [ 7 ] cannot be calculated at prefent, becaufe there is no account, that I know of, of the quantity of Bills that have been drawn upon Bengal in the year 1791* nor will many of the contingent expences of the war be liquidated until after the reftoration of peace. Some perfons with whom I have converfed, have carried their ideas of the expences of the war far beyond any that I entertain ; but I can fpeak to fome points from tolerable information, From the month of April, 1 790, to the month of January, 1791, a period of nine months, Bengal fup- plied Fort St. George and Bombay with more than two hundred and twenty lacks of ru- pees in money, accepted bills, provifions and {lores ; five hundred thoufand pounds were remitted to Madras laft year, of public money, and as much more, the property of indivi* duals ; fixty or feventy thoufand pounds i were t 7' 3 were taken from the China fliips of 1 796 ; and money was borrowed at Madras, nearly, I believe, to the amount of one hundred thoufand pounds. Bills alfo have been drawn from India, but to what amount I cannot fay. General Meadows began his operations in the month of June, 1790. We have no later intelligence from the Grand Army than the 8th of July, 1791, little more than thirteen months from the commencement of the war. Lord Corn- wallis, as we learn from the Gazette, wanted a very large fupplyof provifions, ftores of every kind, twenty-fix thoufand bullocks, with half that number of drivers, or his bullocks, he faid, would be ufelefs. Thefe fupplies could not poffibly be obtained from a coun- try fo exhaufted as the Carnatic, without in- volving individuals in confiderable diflrefs, and r i* 3 and without a material dedu&ion from the public revenue. I do not pretend to guefs at the amount of the firft year's expence, and of fo many months of the fecond year, as may be re- quired to bring the war to a fuccefsful ter- mination ; but every Gentleman who con* fiders the materials of which we are all in pofleffion, muft agree with me, that it would be an at of the grofleft folly and abfurdity to compare the heavy expences of this war, carried on againft a jingle Power, with the inconfiderable dlfburfements of the laft war, when all Europe, and all India, were united for our deftru&ion. ASIATICUS. Jan. n, 1792, L E T- LETTER VI. SIR, JL HOUGH the annual expence of this war has very confiderably exceeded the annual charge of the laft, I do not impute the excefs to any want of oeconomy in Lord Cornwallis, or any other officer who has commanded a British army, fince the ' commencement of hoftilities. Lord Cornwallis, both in America and in India, has been a rigid oeconomift of the public money ; the excefs is owing to a total change offyjlem at home-, a change which was effected contrary to the wifhes of the Eafl India Company. K The [ 74 1 The effective force, and the compaction of our Indian armies, has been totally altered iincc the clofe of the laft war : it was an idea from which no officer bred in the Company's fervice could depart, that a regiment of Eu- ropean infantry, with eight battalions of Se- poys, would have defeated any force that could be collected to oppofe them by a na- tive power. Sir Eyre Coote had not feven thoufand infantry, and lefs than two thou- fand of this number were Europeans, when he totally defeated Hyder Ally Cawn at Porto Novo in 1781, although the latter had acquired confidence from recent fuc- cefles ; nor did Sir Eyre command ten thou- fand infantry in the field at any one period of the laft war. General Goddard's army was formed upon a more contracted fcale than Sir Eyre Coote's ; the [ 75 ] the armies commanded by Colonel Muir, Colonel Camac, and Colonel Popham, in the late war, would now be called inconsiderable detachments, and they were compofed en- tirely of native troops, with the exception of a few European artillerymen to work their guns, I had infinite pleafure in hearing the pane- gyric which you once pronounced upon the late Lord Clive, from whom I confefs that I have picked up molt, of my military ideas of India fervice ; what would that enlightened ftatefman and fbldier have conceived of your favourite fyflem, of defending Bengal, by keeping up enormous military effoblifhments at Fort St. George and Bombay f In the year 1766, when the Marattas were united under a powerful Prince, and in facl: the only native power of any confequence in India, his Lord- K 2 ihip [ 76 1 ihip fpeaks of them and of us in the following terms : " At prefent they are the only power who Ci can excite difturbances in Bengal, nor have " we any thing further than a mere temporay " interruption to our collections to apprer " hend, even from the Marattas ; fince, with " our well difciplined, and numerous army, we " may bid defiance to the mod powerful ** country army, that can be brought into the field." The numerous army of Lord Clive, xvas three regiments of European infantry, eigh- teen battalions of Seapoys, and three troops of Mogul cavalry, with a field and battering train, and five companies of European artil- lery ; one third of this force was flationed in Allahabad. [ 77 1 Allahabad, another third in the Bahar Pro- vince, and the remainder in Bengal. The large armies that have been brought into the field fince this war commenced, and ihe very great Increafe of Europeans in the com- pojltion ofthofe armies, has added greatly to the expence, and indeed in the nature of things mufl have carried it far beyond the charges incurred in the laft war, when an eftablim- ment of Jix thoufand feven hundred bullocks^ for an army of thirty thoufand men, excited the wonder and cenfure of an enlightened Houfe of Commons I When you affirmed, in two fitccejfive years, that no future war could be fo expenfive as the laft, you affigned, as a reafon in fupport of your opinion, that we had then, Europe, America^ and India againft us, 'which i could t 78 ] could never happen again. But you fhould have considered, that the expences of war do not depend upon the number of our enemies, but upon the quantum of force that we mall oppofe to thofe enemies, and the {rate of the country in which our operations are carried on. The expence of the late predatory war in America almoli defied calculation. The extraordinaries of the American army exceeded each year the annual amount of all our Indian military expences, during fo extended a warfare, and for this obvious reafon, becaufe the troops in America were chiefly fed from Leadenhall market ; Lord Cornwallis has drawn every article of fub- fiftence, almoft, from the Carnatic, and Bengal, fince he invaded My fore, which, of courfe, has materially fwelled the difburfe- ments in the preient war. When t 79 1 When you made your affertion, the chances were fifty to one in your favour that there would no be war in India in your time, or mine, and therefore you could rifque any pre- di&ion relative to war expences with very to- lerable fecurity. In thefe letters I have attempted with fair- nefs, candour, and moderation, to lay before the public a feries of inconnftencies, which, for the credit of Britim politics, cannot, I truft, be equalled in our hiftory. I mall clofe my correfpondence with an additional in- ftance of your inconfiftency, which is, in its nature, fo very extraordinary, that I fcarcely expect any gentleman will give entire credit to it, until he has examined the various docu- ments to which I mall refer him, with the fame attention that I have beftowed upon them. I muft 1 muft of neceflity again allude to the po- litical tranfadions of Mr. Haftings, in order to (hew that it will be impoffible to reconcile to common fenfe, or to any man's idea of eonfiftency, your complete and entire appro- bation of the meafures purfued fince this war commenced, with your pointed condemna- tion of Mr. Haftings in the moft critical mo- ment of the laft war. I muft take the fa& to be as you and Mr. Pitt have affirmed it, by your fpeeches and your votes in the laft Parliament ; that Mr. Haftings violated the moft folemn treaties when he demanded a fublidy from Cheyt Sing in the laft war, and when he concluded the treaty of Chunar with the Nabob of Oude. Thefe were ads which by Mr. Pitt's affertion " No State Neceffity could juftify," And [ 8: ] After admitting the violation of public treaties in both inftances, and admitting alfo that no ftate neceffity could juftify fuch atro- cious proceedings, I fhall firft mew the fort of neceffity under which Mr. Haftings laboured, when he concluded the treaty of Chunar, and then I will prove that in your adminif- tration, treaties have been avowedly violated, and that the violation has received your CQITI- fkte and entire approbation, Great Britain was engaged in war with America, France, Spain, and Holland, in the year 1781, and fome of the wifeft poli- ticians in England expected a national bank- ruptcy. In India we were at war with the Marattas and Hyder Ally Cawn. The King's Minifters had informed Mr. Haftings that France intended to make the moft vi- gorous efforts to regain that confequence L which [ 3* 3 which (he had once held as a nation in India, and that Holland would of courfe affift her la carrying fo great a point, to the utmoft of her power. Sir Eyre Coote, who commanded the Britifh army in the Carnatic, wrote to Mr. Haftings, that he depended upon him for feven lacks of rupees a month, and provi- fions and {lores, for the fupply of the forces which were then oppofed to Hyder Ally Cawn. General Goddard and Colonel Muir, whp commanded the armies oppofed to the Pefh- wa's troops, and to Madajee Scindia, de- pended alfo upon Bengal for fupport. The Company had pofitively interdicted Mr. Haftings from drawing bills upon Eng- land ; and as a confiderable debt had been. incurred incurred upon bond, and the bonds were at a great difcount, further loans upon bonds were impracticable. Under fuch circumftances Mr. Haftings left Calcutta in July 1781, and a celebrated orator has reprefented him on this occafion, in the character of a highwayman, hefitating whether he mould take the road to Finchley, or Hounflow, a fpecies of rhetoric perfectly new, indlftum ore alio, and equally applicable to the moil virtuous, as to the moil flagitious actions. Two modes of fupply were open to him ; the firft, a fine to be le- vied upon the Zemindar of Benares ; the fe- cond, the immediate receipt of a very large fum of money due from the Nabob of Oude to the Eaft India Company. From Benares no money was procured, though by the expulfion of Cheyt Sing, the Company gained two hundred thoufand L 2 pounds [ 84 ] pounds a year, and feveral reftri&ions were laid upon the new Zemindar. His rights were accurately defined, and his depend- ance upon Bengal unequivocally acknow- ledged. From the Nabob of Oude, Mr. Haftings procured, three months after the treaty of Chunar was iigned, the fum of fifty-five lacks, and within the year the fum of one hundred and thirty-eight lacks of rupees. He muft be a child in India knowledge who is not convinced that the Britifh em- pire was faved by thefe extraordinary fup- plies. You once unequivocally allowed the fact to Le fo ; and the Eafl India Com- pany, with the concurrence of Mr. Pitt, ac- knowledged that the exertions of Mr. Ha tings preferved India ; but the very great impor- Importance of the fervice performed, when a large fupply of ready money was pro- cured, and the immenfe permanent advan- tages obtained for the nation, by the expul- {ion of Cheyt Sing, and by the treaty of Chunar, could not change the nature of the two tranfa&ions. In both cafes, Mr. Haftings " g ro f s fy violated the public faith, difgracedand " degraded the Britijh nation, and gave up its "honour" So thinking, you felt yourfelf at perfed liberty, honourably and confcientioujly to condemn Mr. Haftings on one day for thefe outrageous as, and on another to congra- tulate the nation on the importance and value of refources, which, though thus fraudulently and dlfgracefully obtained, had made our fitu- ation fo flourilhing in India, that it was, when compared with the ftate of Great Bri- tain, as light oppofed to darknefs. From ( 86 ) From Minifters whofe confciences are fd tender, who have been fb jealous of the na- tional honour, and who laid it down as their frjl principle, that treaties concluded in In- dia fhould be inviolably obferved^ the world trill naturally expect the moft rigid adherence to engagements which they have themfelves ordered to be entered into, and which they have very warmly approved of. I will ftate, therefore, the letter andfpirit of the treaties concluded under your orders with the Nabob of Arcot, and the Rajah of Tan- jore : I will (hew the manner in which they have been violated, and then I will leave it to the world to determine, whether, confif- tently with the principles you have invariably' profefled as the Minifter of India, you could, under any cirumftances, have given your com- plete and entire approbation to the infraction of thofe treaties. . ASIATICUS. Jan. 1 6, 1/92. C 87 3 L E T T E R VIJ. S I R, 1 HE fcizurc of the government of the Car T natic, and of Tanjore, in violation of two fo- lemn treaties, could not poffibly have re- ceived jour complete and entire approbation, without an utter abandonment of every prin- ciple that you have ever profefled upon India tranfactions. Of the propriety of the meafure, either as it refpe&s Lord Cornwallis or General Mea- dows, I do not prefume even to inquire ; they have neither moved resolutions in Parlia- ment, nor pledged themfelves to obferve in- violably :[ 88 ] vidably any partiatlar line of condutt, you have done both. It has been ufual upon all proper occa* lions, for his Majefty's Minifters to fpeak of the public fervices of Sir A. Campbell, the late Governor of Fort St. George, in the ftrongeft poffible terms. When Lord Gren- ' ville was in the Houfe of Commons, he affirmed, that the nation owed obligations to Sir A. Campbell, which it could never re- pay, and in the Houfe of Peers, the fame Noble Lord mentioned his name with every mark of refpect in the laft year, and la- mented his death, as a very great national misfortune. Having had the honour to know Sir A. Campbell, many years ago, when he was chief engineer in Bengal, I cannot but be i pleafed C 89 ] pieafed that his fervices were fo warmly and publicly acknowledged. Not meaning to infinuate that any part of Sir A. Campbell's conduct, as Governor of Fore St. George, was void of merit, it will be fully admitted, that the only important meafures of his admin iftration were, ift, His fpirited con- duct, when Tippoo, in the years 1787 and 1788, menaced the Rajah of Travancorewith an invafion : and ad, His treaties with the Nabob of Arcot, and the Rajah of Tanjorev It is to the fubject of thefe treaties that I ihali confine my remarks, and if Sir A. Campbell had infinite merit in concluding them, I do not fee how you can be free from blame, ia having completely and intirely approved the infraction of them. M f 9 3 In the courfe of the laft war, the Nabob of the Carnatic furrendered his revenues, and his country to Lord Macartney ; he foon re- pented of this a&, and tried in vain to get his dominions back again, until you be- came the Minifter of India, and reftored them, The Rajah of Tanjore retained his country throughout the war, although Mr. Haftings had urged Lord Macartney to apply all the public refources of Tanjore, to the pub lie fervice, as long as the war fhould con- tinue. Such a fentiment from Mr. HafHngs ftruck you vvich fo much horror, that in the fpring of 1782, in the Rockingham Adminiftration, you moved the following Refolutions, which 2 were [ 9' 3 were voted unanimoujly by the Houfe of Commons : apth April. " That any attempts to feize " upon the revenues of the kingdom of Tart- * jore, and to confifcate the fame for thepur- " pofe of the Nabob, or of the Eaft India " Company, is contrary to the public faith, " and tends to the oppreffion and rum of the " country." 28th May. " That if any per/on , in vio/a- " tlon of the public faith, given by the Eajl " India Company in 1775, and contrary to " the true intent and meaning of the feverai ** Refolutioiis of this Houfe, of the 2pth of " April laft, have taken, In fequejlration or '* otheriv/fe, the revenues of Tanjore, into '* the management of the Nabob of Arcot, ** or of the Eaft India Company, it is the duty M 2 " Of [ 9* J ** of the Court of Dire&ors,/cr//6-ztvV, to " order the faid revenues to be returned to " the adminiftration of the King of Tanjore, " agreeable to the treaties of ike years 1762 " and 1 77 -5." In conformity to the fpirit of thefe refblu- tion?, after you became the Minifter of India, you ordered Sir A. Campbell, to conclude one Treaty with the Nabob of Arcot, and another with the Rajah of Tanjore ; the or* ders were obeyed, and the treaties were con- cluded in February 1787* The various articles in thefe treaties are worded with fo much clearnefs and perfpi- tuity, that it is impoffible for a man who can read to miftake their letter or their fpirit. The [ 93 1 The meaning is moft evidently this, that under no poffible circumftances mould the Company feize upon the revenues and go- vernment of the Carnatic and Tanjcre : but if by mifmanagement on the part of the Na- bob, or the Rajah, they fhould fail in their ftipulated payments, then certain meafures were to be taken in order to fecure the Com- pany ; the extent of thefe meafures was moil accurately defined, and beyond that extent the Company could not go, without a direct breach of the treaties. The preamble to each Treaty flates .in fub- fcance, " That peace being happily re-eita- *' blifhed in the Carnatic, the prefent hour " is considered as beft fuited for fettling 46 and arranging, by zju/l and equitable trea- *' ty, a plan for the future defence and pro- *' teclion of the Carnatic." After this fen 6- ble [ 94 ] bid exordium, it is ftated, " that the Nabob' " and the Rajah mall pay a fpecific fum an- " nually, for the military peace eflabliih- ct ment of the Carnatic." It is farther ftated, " that in war, four- " fifths of their revenue mall be appropriated " for the fervice of the war/' It is alfo agreed, " that in peace, whenever the pay- " ments fall one month in arrear, the Com- " pany mall have a claim upon the revenues " of certain fpecified diftricls, and mall have " power to fend fuperintendants into thofe '* fpecified diftrifts, who mall receive the " rents from the Nabob's Aumih. That if " the Aumils behave ill, the Nabob ihall *' difmifs them, and appoint fuch others as *' the Governor and Council mall reconv * mend." It is farther fpecified, that when " the I 95 ] ** the arrears are paid up, the Company's fu- " perintendants (hall be recalled." In the event of war, " the Company are *f to fend infpe&ors to fee that four-fifths of " the revenues are honeftly applied to the pub- *' lie fervice, and the Nabob has the fame 4t privilege of appointing iiifpe&ors, in order 44 to be convinced that four- fifths of the Com- 44 fanfs revenues are applied with the fame 44 fidelity to the public fervice." It is farther agreed, ' that if the Nabob diverts any part 44 of the four-fifths of his revenues from the 44 public fervice, then the Company may 44 fend fuperintendantSi who are to receive 44 the revenues from his Aumih" After all thefe provifions are made with as much per- fpicuity as our language, or any language /can admit of, it is exprejjly faid, " that the " exercife of power over the faid diftrids and " farms. [ 96 ] ' farms, in cafe of failure, ftiall .not extend* or be conftrued to extend, to deprive his, u Highnefs the Nabob of the Carnatic, m be- " half of himfelf or his fuccejbrs, of the Civil ^ Government tfereof, the credit of 'his family ', c or the dignity ef his illuftrious Houfe, but " that the fame Jhall be preferred to him and * 6 them inviolable^ faving and excepting the ** power s\r\ the foregoing article exprejjed and *' mentioned." There is another very fair ftipulation, that if there fhould be an eflential failure in the crops from want of rain, or any unforefeen calamity, there fhall be a dedudion in the payment tantamount to the injury received. Such is the treaty concluded, under your own orders^ with the Nabob, (and that with the Rajah is fimilar to it) in which every thing that I 97 ] that could happen, either in peace or in war, is exprejjly provided for. To give additional fokmnlty to this treaty > Sir John Macpherfon and Mr. Stables, who were at Madras, on their way to England at thst time, were prefent when it was figned, anci witriefled its execution. Sir A. Campbell, in a letter to the Direc- tors, details the various fteps that he took pre- vious to the conclufion of this treaty, and he fpeaks in the following warm terms of the Nabob: " I have narrowly watched the Nabob's " conduSl and fentiments fince my arrival in " this country, and I am ready to declare ', * that I do not think it poffible that any " Prince or power on earth, can be more N " fncerely [ 98 ] " fncerely attached to the profperity of the " Honourable Company than his Highnefs, " or that any one has a higher claim to their " favour and liberality"- The conclusion of this treaty appeared to be a point of fuch importance, and fuch was your fenfe of Sir A. Campbell's fervices in effecting your object, that, after the period for the failing of a packet was pafied, you promife, in a poftfcript to the general letter, to reply particularly to the Fort St. George difpatches, by the next feafon, and then you add thefe words : ** But we cannot omit embracing the ear- " lieft opportunity of expreffing our warmefi " approbation of the manner in which OUR " ORDERS, relative to the treaty with the " Na- [ 99 ] Nabob of Arcot, have been carried Into exe- cution" After ib marked an approbation from the Minifter of India, the Nabob and the Rajah might well believe, that nothing would have induced you to violate thefe treaties. fhey well knew that you had very feverely cenfured Mr. Haftings, upon the Journals of Parliament, for preffing Lord Macartney to apply the refources of Tanjore to the public fervice during the late war, becaufe it was contrary to " public faith, and tended to the " oppreflion and ruin of the country, to feize *' the government. They knew that your tender regard for Briti/h honour, had induced you to impeach Mr. Haftings, for a fuppofed violation of faith, N 2 although although no Prince, or power in India, com- plained againft him, on this, or on any other head. They knew that your treaties provided exprefsly for every contingency that could happen, both in peace in war ; and and they linew that no pojjible event could juftify you in feizing their dominions ; of coiirfe they could not believe, that under any clrcumjlances^ you would have degraded, difgraced, and dif- honoured, both them and the Britifh nation. ASIATICUS, i%th Jan. 1792. L E IT- LETTER VIIL S I R, the time the Nabob of Arcot fign- ed the treaty, he informed Sir Archibald Campbell that he had taken a very heavy burthen of expence upon himfelf; and foon after Sir A. Campbell's departure from Ma^ dras, he reprefented in very ftrong terms to Lord Cornwallis the impoveriihed ftate of the Carnatic, and his own difficulties in paying fo large a fum annually to the Company and his creditors. Thefe reprefentations, if they were found- ed in truth, confirmed the fentiments that were delivered in Parliament fome years ago by your friend Mr. Burke. The The Nabob paid the fums that he had flipulated to difcharge for two years ; but in March 1790, which was in the third year of the treaty, he fell fix lacks and a half of pagodas in arrears. By the letter of the treaty, the Madras Government might have infilled upon the Nabob's aligning to them certain diflridts, the revenues of which they might have re- ceived from the Nabob's Aumils, until the arrear had been paid up ; but they were in the moft pofitive terms precluded from in- terfering in the civil government of the country. This ftep they did not take, and General Meadows, the month after his acceffion to the Government, wrote to the Directors in the following terms : 2 ift I '3 3 3 1 ft March, 1790, u We have a long ar- " rear both from and to us. His Highnefs " the Nabob is fo backward in his payments, " and oppreflive to his Polegars, that at " this time it is fo necefTary to have on our " fide, that I conceive it will be abfolutely ne- " cejjary, upon his firfl material delay of pay- " ment, to take the management ofhh country * 6 into your own hands ; a meafure, infpite of 64 the oppofition to ir, fo advantageous to you, " the country, and even to his Highnefs him- " felf, w r hen fo wifely projected and ably ex- *' ecuted by Lord Macartney." I do not mean to queflion the propriety of fuch fentiments as coming from General Meadows, who expected, when he wrote the letter, that he fhould want two hundred and forty thoufand pounds a month for the pay of his army. But I would a(k you, where then ,04 ] then is the boafted faith of Great Britairt under your adm'mljlration f What confijlency can you lay claim to ? At the very moment that you are pro&cuung one Governor, becaufe, as you think, he violated a treaty when fur- rounded with difficulties, you have given your complete and entire approbation to General Mea- dows, who really and truly ^ and mfubftance fays, " We have a treaty with the Nabob, " by which certain provifions are made for " our fecurity, provided he fails in his pay- " ment. The provifions are inadequate ', and 44 therefore it is abfolutely neceffary, wefoould " break the treaty" What adds to my wonder on this occafion is, that you who are fo jealous of the honour and good faith of Great Britain in India, that you would not allow Tippoo to attack an mconfiderable Chief beyond the extreme point point of the Carnatic, becaufe he was ^ur ally, yet approve completely and entirely of an avowed breach of faith with the oldeft ally of England in India, with a Prince who has been in conftant correfpondence with his late, and prefent Majefty, and who fhared with us in our earlieft ftruggles for empire, under Lawrence, Clive, andCoote; nay, you firft approved of a war originating from a conjlruc- tive breach of treaty -, and then ratified, and thereby made your own, a direft and avowed breach of treaty committed in the very com- mencement of it. In the letter from the Madras Govern- ment to the Court of Directors, which is before the Houfe of Commons, they de- tailed the various applications that they had made to the Nabob, for the balance due to them according to the jftipulations in Sir A. O Camp- l's treaty ; and war being in fad inevitable, and their army equipping for the field, they candidly, ^nd fairly fay, (in their letter to Bengal) " We proceeded to re- " mark on the in/efficiency of the ftipulations 4t in Sir Archibald Campbell** treaty, to fecure *' the regular receipt of 4-fths of the Nabob's " revenues, agreed to be paid to the Com- " pany's treafury, in the event of war" They fay further, " With this view we 4< pointed out to his Lordfhip in council, ** the impolicy of depending for our principal re- "fources, at a time when the greatejl exertions " were neceffary, and pecuniary fupplies of the 64 utmojl importance^ -wgQn.t'he operation and ma- " nagement of the Nabob's Government, of " which the fyftem was perhaps as defedive " and infufficient as any upon earth ; and 48 we did not hefitate to (Declare it, as our " vnqua- * unqualified opinion, that this Governrqgnt *' ought, during the war, to take the Nabob's >' country under their own management, as af- " fording the only means by which the re- fources to be derived from it could be " realized, and the fidelity and attachment " of the Polegars, and tributaries fecured, *< which is of the utmoft importance to the fuccefsful operations of the war. " In the event of his Lordmip's agreeing " with us in opinion, and inftrucling us to " act in conformity, we fubmitted to him " the neceffity of our adopting the meafure, " in fo comprehenfive a manner, as to preclude " any kind of interference on the part of the Na- " bob, while the country was under our ma- " nagement, and ftating that if this were not 46 done, the expcfted advantages would not be derived:' 02 All t 108 ] All that can be faid of this reafoning is, that, according to the opinion of the Madras Government, Sir Archibald Campbell had concluded an inefficient, foolifh treaty, and that there was an abfolute NECESSITY to vio- late It. As to the Nabob's not ruling his coun- try we!I 9 it muft be allowed, at leaft, that he governed it upon the fame principles in 1790, when we broke the treaty, as in 1787, w hen we made the treaty ; and if we are to make a penfoner of every Sovereign in India, who does not govern his dominions fo well as we have ruled Bengal, I will take upon me to fay, that there will not be one inde- pendent Prince throughout Indoftan and Deccan. In fadl, the prefent Government of Ma- dras has pronounced Sir Archibald Camp- bell's treaty to be radically defefthe. I hope I Lord [ io 9 ] Lord Grenville will be his defender, fince bis Lordmip has publicly declared, " that " this country owed obligations to Sir Ar- " chibald Campbell, which fhe never caa " repay." I hope you alfo will juftify your own orders, for the treaty is your's^ and not Sir Archi- bald's, fince the moment you heard that it was concluded, you, in the name of the Court of Directors, wrote to him, " that * l you could not omit embracing the earlieft *' opportunity of expreffing your warmeft. *' approbation of the manner in which your " orders, relative to the treaty with the Na- " bob of Arcot, had been carried into exe- ** cudon." The Government of Bengal fay, in reply to the reprefentation from Madras, " that " thp " the refources of Bengal, exhaulled as " they are by drains of various kinds, du- ** ring a long feries of fucceflive years, ** could not long fupport fuch expenees as " thofe with which the prefent war muft be " attended," even were the Nabob punctual in his payments ; and they add, that unlefs the whole, or great part of the heavy ar- rears are paid off, and the proportion of the Nabob and the Rajah punctually difcharged in future, " we not only forefee great im- " mediate embarraflment to the Company's " finances, but alfo much ground for ap- " prehenfion, that the ultimate fuccefs of the. " war may be greatly endangered." They proceed therefore to authorize the Madras Board to affume the revenues and go- vernment, both of the Carnatic and Tanjore. You [ "I ] You v/ill obferve, that throughout this tranfa&ion, neither the Madras, nor the Bengal Government, pretend that they are afting agreeably either to the letter or the fpirit of Sir Archibald Campbell's trea- ties. But to put this matter out of all doubt, I fhall tranfcribe the following paffages of a letter from General Medows and his Council to Bengal, which will mew the opinion they entertained of thefe treaties : 1 2th May, 1 790, " It might have been ex- " petted, that the fecurities for the perform- " ance of the war ftipulations, which are of " fuch importance, would have been made " Jlronger than thofe which are provided in " the event of failures in the time of peace, "but they are, in faft, lefe efficient, and the " procefs "'procefs prefcribed for failures in time of ** war, is fb tedious and complicated, that it "* can fear ce be faid to defer ve the name of any " fecurity or provifion whatever" " If the profeoution of a vigorous war, ** and the defence of the country, are to de- *' fend upon us, we conceive it f elf -evident, " that we mujl have recourfe to modes very dif- " ferent from thofe prefcribed by Sir A. Camp- " bell's treaty." The Madras Government firfl endeavoured to perfuade the Nabob to refign his govern- ment during the war, and until the arrears were paid off. This, at it was very natural to believe, was a vain attempt. He profeffed the utmoft aftoniftiment at the attempt, but offered to receive infpedors, agreeably to the letter and fpirit of Sir Archibald Camp- bell's t 3 ] bell's treaty. To this the acting Governor replied, " that the powers vejledby the treaty, " in the appointment of infpe&ors, were not "judged adequate" The Nabob again offered to receive in- fpe&ors, agreeable to the treaty, and added, " I cannot allow myfelf for one moment to " fuppofe, that while our whole force is " directed againfl our inveterate enemy, " whofe fall aggrandizes two new allies of the " Company, the Supreme Government fliould " mean to difpoflefs the old and faithful ally which are contained in your refolutions, but recent events have convinced the world, that the code of laws which you framed for the guidance of others, have been utterly difregarded by yourfelf. < I have proved, beyond the poffibility of a avii or difpme, that the only two treaties, concluded by jour own orders, and ftamped 2 by t "9 ] by your t warmejl approbation ^ have been avoiv- edly violated, and that you have completely and entirely approved of the violation of both. When the fubjed was mentioned in the laft Seffion, and when a Member pledged himfelf to prove the fails, you boldly de- clared, : that every ftep taken by Lord Corn- wallis and General Medows was warranted by treaties , arid that the Member who had pledged himfelf to prove the reverfe, had of- fered a pledge, which he never could redeem* In that manly, decifive flyle, which dif- tinguifhes your fpeeches, you declared that you fhould be totally barred from every ple& of defence, if it fhould be proved to the pub- lic, that you had any fiare in approving a breach of treaty by others, while you voted for the continuance of the Impeachment of Mr. Haftings, on that particular point. What What man could fay more? fuch fenti-* ments would do credit to a man of honour. But what amlferable clofe has followed fo fpi- ritedan opening!! The papers which prove the violation of treaties, by the candid acknowledgement of thofe who did violate them^ are before the'pub- lie, and both Houfes of Parliament ; the facts were fully and ably ftated, both by Lord Portchefter, the Marquis of Lanfdown, and Lord Storment, and the truth of the fa&s was fully admitted by the Lord Chancellor, as indeed they muft be by every man, who \vill not prefer the ajfertion of the Minifter of India to the evidence of his own fenfes. Lord Grenville, who defended the juftice of trre war in India, with great ability and with powerful eloquence, wifely ch of cafl t "I ] caft a veil over the breach of the two treaties, though " he lamented the death of Sir Ar- " chibald Campbell, one of the able/I, honejl- " eft, and mojl upright fervants of the Com- " pany, who had ended a moft honourable " life, and was no longer in a fituation of " enjoying what would have been to him, " above all things, gratifying, viz. the appro-. " bation of both Houfes of Parliament" Minifters are certainly framed of very different materials from common mortals ; were / to adopt as my own opinion of the Nabob of Arcot, that profeffed by Sir A. Campbell, and were I next to take General Medowis character of the fame Prince ; were / to fay that one Governor deferved my rangements was illegal; you condemned the arrangements, and voted that Mr. Haftings was guilty of high crimes and mifdemeanors for having formed them. 6th. In 1782, you moved a refolution id Parliament, that to feize the government and revenues of Tanjore, would be a breach of faith, and opprefflve and ruinous to the country ; and if fo feized, it was the duty of the Directors to order them to be forthwith re- Jiored to the Rajah. In 1790, the revenues and government were feized, In avowed breach of treaty. In 1791, you completely and entirely approve this tranfaction, and do not order them to be forthwith rejlored, or to be reftored at all, though the Rajah is even Intemperate in his complaints of the injuftice of the Britim Government. 7*. ^th. In 1782, you recorded it as a unalterable principle, that treaties fhould be inviolably preferred. The law ftates the fame principles. In 1786, you fent orders to Sir Archibald Campbell to conclude two treaties, one with the Nabob, and the other with the Rajah of Tanjore. Sir Archibald obeys your orders ; you tranfmit to him your warmeft approbation, for the manner in which he car- ried your orders into execution. In 1790, the Government of Madras break thefe treaties, and in 1791? you approve of their condu&. 8th. You have prohibited and condemned all wars for conqueft and extent of dominion, in India ; yet you approve of the prefent war, which has for its objeft conquefl, and extent of dominion. oth. [ '44 ] pth. In the year 1784, you tranfmit thanks to Mr. Haftings. (For the law makes every aft of the Direftors yours, fince it is nugatory until it has received your approbation.) In the year 1785, you tranfmit an acknowledgement of his long, faithful, and able fervices. In the year 1787, you con- demn as criminal, all the als of his adminif- tration, civil, military, political, and finan- cial. 1 have now but a few obfervations to add, and mall then take my leave. In the courfe of thefe Letters I have been very careful to apply the conftruction, which I have put upon your meafures, to yourfelf alone, or to Mr. Pitt, acting in concert with you. I include none elfe in the charge, whe- ther of inconiiilency, injuftice, or impolicy. 2 The [ '45 ] The quality of human actions is feldom intrinfecally, but always relatively, good or evil. Of the guilt which I have imputed to you, fome may be culpable in a venial de- gree ; others wholly innocent, although both may have been participators, or even perpe- trators of the a&s from which it is inferred. Nay, I will go yet farther, and fay, that it may fo happen from a different relation of the fame act and of its agents, that it mall be cri- minal in one, and yet meritorious in another. For inftance : all the acts which are men- tioned in the preceding articles and which concern Mr. Haftings, are meritorious, as they refpect him, becaufe he thought them fo : but they are highly criminal in ME* Dundas, becaufe he has joined in afolemn con- demnation of them ; and yet has fuffered the continuance of fome, having the power to T revoke [ '46 ] revoke them ; and has himfelf iffued orders for the confirmation of the reji* The prefent war in India may be, as I think I have proved, warranted by ftri&juf* tice, and reconcileable to found policy ; and fo far it reflects credit on Lord Cornwallis who engaged in it* But the ground on which it is juftifiable abroad, will not avail Mr. Dun- das at home, who has adopted the refponfi- bility of it, in direct contradiction to a law of of his own formation, which expreffly con- demns all fchemes of conqueft and extent of dominion ; and yet thefe are the declared ob- jects of the wan % But for the firft preparatory operation of the war, namely, the feizure of the Carna- tic, I do not find myfelf fo well qualified to decide on the relative quality of this tranfac- tion. [ H7 ] tion, as of the others in which you bear, as in this, a principal fhare. On your part of it I have no doubt what judgement to pafs. The treaty with the Nabob was formed un- der your order requiring it. You approved it and ratified it : yet in three years after- wards you approved and ratified the viola- tion of it, on precifely the fame ground for which the treaty itfelf had expreflly provided a remedy in the very article of it which was violated. No plea can excufe, no fophiflry can cover the enormity of fuch a tranfadtion. Far different is the cafe of the gentlemen of Madras in relation to it. They had no fhare in the formation of the treaty, nor does it ap- pear that they had any in the ratification of it : on the contrary, the firfl notice that we find them take of it, is a declaration of its ut- ter inefficiency , inuttlity, and a proteft againfl the obfervance it, on the plea that the war T 2 could could not be maintained, nor the Carnatie defended, 'without an abfolute departure from it. I do not juftify the plea : but certainly there is a wide difference between their breach of a treaty, in which they had no other concern, and which they thought of dangerous tendency to their interefts, of which they had charge, and your breach of a treaty made under your own exprefs autho^ rity, and ratified by your own faii&ion. What defence Lord Cornwallis may fet up for the authority which he gave upon this occafion, I will not take upon rne to fuggefr,. I am not his advocate, nor would it become me to offer in his j unification reafons which he may difclaim, or to afcribe to him mo- tives which he alone can know. But as I think it incumbent upon me to declare, that I mean not by any thing .that I have written to [ H9 1 to caft the leaft reproach or infmuation upon his Lordfhip ; fo I may with propriety affign my own reafons for making this difrinction, From the records of this affair, which have been published, it appears that Lord Corn^ wallis has adopted the plea < f the Governor and Council of Fort St. George, but fo fee- bly as to indicate a ftrong reluctance to yield to it, and rather the appearance of a defire to be convinced, than an actual conviction of its validity. Poflibly, taking his judgement of the neceffity from thofe who had the beft means of forming it, he did believe the cir- cumftances to be as they were ftated to him; although the contrary may be inferred from his elufive reply to their hril requifition of his authority, to take by force the manage- ment of the Government of the Carnatic ; and when prefled to it in terms which left him [ '5 ] him no other alternative, but to relinquish the war already declared, or to profecute it without any hope of affifiance from the re- fources of the Carnatic, he then, it is true, did yield his affent, but repeated, in a very earneft manner, the recommendation of his former letter, that they would frill endeavour $Q obtain their claim by folicitation, rather than poffefs themfelves of it by force. If in this cafe he gave way to a ftrong political neceffity, let it be remembered that the war was wholly of his direction. The Members who were then of the Council at Madras, had no concern whatever in the formation of it, nor in the firit iteps which led to it ; and General Medows, the Governor of Madras, on whom the conduct of the war depended, was but newly arrived there. The whole refponlibility of the war, therefore, to this time, refted on Lord Cornwallis ; and if it 2 failed Failed of fuccefs, from the want of thofe means which they had ftated to him to be indifpenfably neceffaryj the whole blame of k would, by his refufal to avail himfelf of them, fall on him alone, befides the chance of other confequences infinitely worfe than any that could afFet him as an indivi- dual. Had he been himfelf upon the fpot, he might have tried the effect of that con- ciliation which he recommended. No oc- cafion exifted at that time which could have juftified him in quitting the feat and fcene of his own Government, to go to Ma- dras. He embarked by himfelf in a hazar- dous plan, for the execution of which, he depended abfolutely on the agency of others ; and they had in a manner prefer ibed to him the terms on which they could or would un- dertake it. In a word, whoever will give himfelf the trouble to review the fituatiori of Lord Lord Cornwallis in this conjun&ure, and candidly weigh all the confequences of it in any decifion which he could have formed upon it, will be convinced that cafes may oc- cur in the conduct of great affairs, (and that this was one of them) in which an option may be prefented, not only of political diffi- culties to be furmounted, but of moral evils to be reconciled to the principle of poli- tical duty. . ASIATICUS. 179^* THE 9082 NOV UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 1 t940 NOV 29 1940 JAN 1 4 19$% UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES IIBRABY DS 473^5 fScott- S43 1 e Waring] - DS 473.5 843 1 e A 000000129 7