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 SIR C. OAKELEY'S 
 
 SERVICES IN INDIA, 
 
 &c. 
 
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 6U.<?t<^y- 
 
 SOME ACCOUNT 
 
 Of THE SEIIVICES OF 
 
 Sir CHARLES OAKELEY, Bart. 
 
 &c.
 
 SOME ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE SERVICES OF 
 
 Sra CHARLES OAKELEY, Bart. 
 IN INDIA. 
 
 CONSISTING OF 
 
 A NARRATIVE OF EVENTS, 
 
 DRAWN UP BY HIMSELF; 
 
 A COLLECTION OF OFFICIAL LETTERS, 
 
 AND OTHER DOCUMENTS. 
 
 EDITED, 
 
 WITH NOTES AND AN APPENDIX, 
 
 II V HIS SON 
 
 HERBERT OAKELEY. 
 
 LotlfeOtt: 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE EDITOR, 
 
 BY JAMES & LUKE C. HANSARD & SONS, NEAR LINCOLN 's-INN FIEI DS : 
 
 1829. 
 
 (NOT PUBLISHED.)
 
 Libcris auteni suis satis amplum patrimonium paterni 
 nominis rcliquit. 
 
 Cicero: Oral, pro Domo sua.
 
 STACK ANNEX 
 
 501S209 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED 
 
 TO 
 
 LADY OAKELEY, 
 
 WHO, 
 
 DUUING AN UNION OF NEARLY HALF A CENTURY, 
 
 POSSESSED MOST DESERVEDLY 
 
 THE ENTIRE AFFECTION AND ESTEEM OF 
 
 HIM 
 
 WHOSE CHARACTER IT ILLUSTRATES.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE brief Narrative, which stands first in 
 this volume, was drawn up by my father 
 many years ago, for private circulation, and 
 with a view to the establishment of certain 
 claims, which he was then prosecuting. The 
 Collection of Papers which follows, consists 
 of official letters, and other documents ex- 
 tracted from public records, relative to his 
 services in India, during a period of twenty- 
 seven years. A sketch of his public life 
 being afforded by these materials, combining 
 facts and testimonies highly honourable to 
 his memory, I have been induced to put 
 them together in the present form, for the
 
 Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 gratification of every member of his family, 
 and of a few surviving friends, to whom they 
 will be scarcely less acceptable. 
 
 I have added, in an Appendix, a very 
 brief notice of that portion of his life which 
 was passed in retirement, and of those fea- 
 tures of his character, the remembrance of 
 which is justly dear to all who were con- 
 nected with him, and worthy to be trans- 
 mitted to his future descendants. 
 
 H.O. 
 
 October 25, 1829.
 
 NARRATIVE, 
 
 DRAWN UP BY 
 
 SIR CHARLES OAKELEY, Bart. 
 
 B
 
 NARRATIVE, 
 
 &c. 
 
 Charles oakeley* was appointed 
 
 a writer on the Madras establishment in 
 October 1766, and arrived at his station on 
 the 6th of June 1767- After serving between 
 five and six years, as an assistant, he was 
 promoted to the office of secretary to the 
 civil department. In May 1777, he was re- 
 moved to the same situation in the military 
 and political department, where he continued 
 till November 1780. At this period, finding 
 
 * He was the second son of the Reverend William 
 Oakeley, and of Christian, daughter of Sir Patrick 
 Strahan; and was born on the 27th of February 1751, at 
 Forton, in the county of Stafford, of which parish his 
 father was rector. At an early age he was placed at 
 Shrewsbury school, and remained there, till, through the 
 kind offices of Lady Clive, (the constant and highly 
 esteemed friend of his father) the nomination to the writer- 
 ship was obtained. — Edit. 
 
 B 2
 
 4 
 
 his health much impaired by too sedentary 
 a life, he obtained permission to resign his 
 employment. 
 
 Soon afterwards he was called to the exer- 
 cise of a new and more important trust, 
 by events which require some explanation. 
 Hyder Ally Cawn, late chief of Mysore, in- 
 vaded the Carnatic in the month of .July 1780. 
 I lis design was so unexpected, and his move- 
 ment so rapid, that he had advanced within 
 forty miles of Madras before the Company's 
 troops could be assembled, in any force, to 
 oppose him. In this situation he intercepted, 
 and totally cut off, a large detachment on its 
 march to join the main army at Conjeveram. 
 That army was compelled, in consequence, 
 to retreat to Madras : and the country being 
 now left exposed to the power of the in- 
 vader, he made himself master of Arcot, 
 Ambour, (Jingee, Permacoil, and almost 
 every other fort of consequence in the 
 western provinces, except Vellore.* 
 
 To heighten the danger of that period, 
 while the Company's government was essen- 
 tially weakened by these conquests, the 
 
 * The horrors of this invasion drew forth one of the 
 most celebrated specimens of eloquence in our language. 
 See Burke's Speech on the Aabob of Arcot's debts. Vol. iv. 
 (8vo.) p. 259, &c— Edit.
 
 enemy received great and important acces- 
 sions of strength; first, by the actual junction 
 of a French force, consisting of near 3000 
 men, sent, from Pondicherry to support him ; 
 and afterwards, by the co-operation of a large 
 squadron, and a farther reinforcement of 
 about 2000 land troops. But what contri- 
 buted, more than any other circumstance, to 
 increase the alarming disproportion between 
 the power of the attack, and the means of re- 
 sisting it, was, the miserable and inefficient 
 state of those internal resources upon which 
 the government depended for the subsistence 
 and movement of its armies. Hyder's first 
 success had put him in possession of a rich 
 and fertile province, from whence he carried 
 destruction, on all sides, as far as his nu- 
 merous cavalry could reach. The Nabob's 
 authority yielded so far to the pressure, that 
 he was no longer able to command the obe- 
 dience of his own officers ; and the revenues, 
 still untouched by the enemy, were either so 
 ill managed, or so unfaithfully accounted for, 
 that the public exigencies drew no sensible 
 relief from this source. The army, in the 
 mean time, without money, provisions, or 
 cattle, sufficient for any offensive operation, 
 found itself under the mortifying necessity 
 of limiting: its views to the neighbourhood of 
 
 1! 3
 
 Madras; and of depending, for its subsistence, 
 on such scanty supplies as could be furnished 
 from the stores of the garrison. 
 
 At this crisis Lord Macartney arrived from 
 England, (in June 1781,) to take charge of 
 the government. After struggling, for some 
 months, with scenes of unexampled difficulty 
 and embarrassment, his Lordship fortunately 
 succeeded in obtaining; from the Nabob an 
 assignment of his revenues for the support 
 and expenses of the war. In order to make 
 the collections, and execute other purposes 
 connected with this important trust, a com- 
 mittee was appointed, of which Mr. Oakeley 
 was President ; and these gentlemen entered 
 on their task, in January 17B'2, when the 
 enemy had already been eighteen months in 
 the Carnatic. 
 
 As there appeared no chance of extricating 
 the country from its present danger, but 
 by a full application of its own proper re- 
 sources to its defence, the public attention 
 was turned, with particular anxiety, towards 
 the progress of the assignment ; and the com- 
 mittee, on their part, felt all that zeal which 
 the exigencies of the time, and the confidence 
 reposed in their exertions, were so well cal- 
 culated to inspire. In the execution of their 
 charge, however, they soon found they had
 
 to contend, not only with the mischiefs of 
 a destructive enemy seated in the heart of 
 the country, but with the active opposition 
 of the Nabob's own servants, and even with 
 the prejudices of the Nabob himself, whose 
 impatience under the loss of his authority 
 rendered him extremely adverse to the whole 
 proceedings of the assignment. Notwith- 
 standing these multiplied difficulties, the 
 committee, under a firm and unremitting 
 support from government, had the good for- 
 tune to realize the most sanguine expecta- 
 tions of their superiors. Every resource, not 
 in the actual possession of the enemy, was 
 brought forward to meet the public neces- 
 sities. The army was enabled to act with 
 effect, and even to retaliate upon the in- 
 vader by carrying the war into his territo- 
 ries ; and the Carnatic, after a long and 
 arduous contest, was ultimately rescued, by 
 an honourable peace, from the imminent 
 danger with which it had been threatened.* 
 
 In the first eighteen months of the war, 
 previous to the assignment, the whole aid 
 contributed by the Nabob towards the com- 
 mon defence, had amounted only to pagodas 
 
 * In a paper relative to my father's services on this 
 occasion, Lord Macartney says, that it was " a period of 
 unexampled difficulty and distress." — Edit. 
 
 B 4
 
 8 
 
 1,24, 100. In three years and a half, the term 
 of the committee's management, the collec- 
 tions amounted to pag 8 43,91,9'-7 »* and the 
 balances of revenue, outstanding, and deli- 
 vered over to the Nabob at the surrender of 
 the assignment, in June 1785, amounted to 
 a farther sum of pag s 7,S6,110- From July 
 1730 to March 1784, when peace was con- 
 cluded, the most fertile districts of the Car- 
 nalic were either in possession of the enemy, 
 or plundered by his numerous cavalry: and 
 even after the war had ceased, the effects of 
 this invasion were long and severely felt, in 
 the loss and dispersion of many useful inha- 
 bitants, the want of cattle, implements of 
 tillage, and every other article necessary to 
 the proper cultivation of the country. 
 
 1 1 is not simply by the comparative supe- 
 riority in the amount of collection, great as 
 it appears, that the benefits of this assign- 
 ment are to be estimated. Had it produced 
 money only, the army might have been paid, 
 but could neither have subsisted nor moved ; 
 for the state of the country rendered it ut- 
 terly impracticable to purchase grain, or 
 cattle, in any proportion adequate to the 
 public wants. The peculiar value of the 
 
 * ' >756.7 7" pounds sterling.
 
 9 
 
 assignment, at that period, consisted in its 
 enabling government both to secure the pro- 
 duce of the country, and to receive it in 
 such articles as were best adapted to the 
 exigencies of the service. 
 
 The conduct of the committee, throughout 
 this important undertaking, was honoured by 
 strong and repeated marks of approbation 
 from their own government, and by the 
 public thanks of the Governor-general and 
 Council of Bengal.* 
 
 After the surrender of the assignment, 
 Mr.Oakeley was appointed superintendent of 
 the Company's Jaghire lands ; and, in April 
 1786, was placed by the late Sir Archibald 
 Campbell, then Governor, at the head of the 
 board established by him for the collection 
 of all the revenues under the Presidency of 
 Madras. In the first year's management of 
 this new institution, the receipts, which had, 
 in the preceding year, amounted only to pa- 
 godas 14,72,128, were increased to pagodas 
 
 * It was also complimented by Mr. Burke, in the speech 
 before referred to: " This committee," he says, " was wisely 
 " instituted by Lord Macartney, and it seems to have been 
 " well chosen." And again, (speaking of the results of 
 their measures) : " For realising all this, you may value 
 " yourselves on the vigour and diligence of a governor 
 " and committee that have done so much." — Edit.
 
 10 
 
 18,22,975. 1'efore the second year's col- 
 lection was completed, Mr Oakeley found 
 himself under the necessity of preparing, 
 on account of his family affairs, to return to 
 Europe. 1 le resigned his employment, there- 
 fore, and embarked in February 1 />>;). 
 
 A few months after his arrival in this 
 country, it was intimated to him, that if he 
 wished to visit India again, he should be 
 recommended to the Honourable Court of 
 Directors for the succession to the govern- 
 ment of Madras. His rank in the service ;il 
 that time being near thirty below council, so 
 marked a distinction was equally flattering 
 and unexpected : yet, as he had now retired, 
 with his family, after a residence of two and 
 twenty years abroad, he felt no inclination 
 whatever to embark again in a distant scene 
 of employment ; nor did he entertain such 
 a confidence in his own qualifications as to 
 suppose them adequate to so difficult an 
 undertaking. These objections were urged, 
 with great respect, on his part, but yielded, 
 at length, to the very handsome manner in 
 which the offer was made, and the ample 
 assurances given him of protection and sup- 
 port, in the event of his acceptance.* He 
 
 * It was, doubtless, not a little gratifying to my father 
 to know that Mr. Pitt, who was then at the head of His
 
 11 
 
 was appointed, in April 1790, to succeed 
 General Medows, as governor of Fort St. 
 George;* and, as this appointment took 
 place in consequence of a request from Lord 
 Cornwallis to be relieved in the office of 
 Governor-general of Bengal, and the nomi- 
 nation of General Medows for that purpose, 
 the arrangement opened to him the prospect 
 of an immediate succession on his arrival at 
 Madras. 
 
 But, in the interval between his appoint- 
 ment and embarkation, advices were received 
 of hostilities committed by Tippoo Sultaun 
 
 Majesty's government, concurred in selecting him for this 
 important station ; and to be informed by a letter, of which 
 the following is an extract, of the estimation in which his 
 past services were held by that illustrious statesman. (The 
 letter was from Sir Richard Hill, bart. M. P. for Shropshire, 
 and was written to my father soon after his acceptance of 
 the appointment.) " Mr. Pitt wished much to have the 
 " pleasure of meeting you, and spoke of your merits and 
 " services in such terms as could not but be highly flat- 
 " tering to your representative, and caused me still more 
 " to rejoice in an appointment, at once so honourable to 
 " yourself, and so advantageous to the public." He had 
 afterwards the satisfaction of becoming personally ac- 
 quainted with Mr. Pitt, at the house of Mr. Dundas. — 
 Edit. 
 
 * His Majesty was pleased at the same time, in appro- 
 bation of his services, to advance him to the dignity of 
 a baronet, and he was gazetted as such on the 5th of June 
 following. — Edit.
 
 12 
 
 against llie Rajah of Travnncorc, the friend 
 and ally of the Carnatic. This event, it 
 w;is supposed, would detain Lord Corn- 
 wallis some time longer in India, and, <>f 
 course, postpone the vacancy at Madras. 
 Sir Charles Oakeley, therefore, was placed as 
 second in council at that Presidency,* with 
 authority to take charge of the government 
 on the resignation, or departure, of General 
 Medows. 
 
 He arrived at Madras on the 15th of 
 October 1790, and found that the expect- 
 ed rupture with Tippoo Sultaun had com- 
 menced some months prior to that period. 
 Lord Cornwallis, with a view to reduce the 
 overgrown power of the Mysore chief, had 
 engaged the Soubah of the Decan, and the 
 Mahratta government, to take part in the 
 war; and General Medows had opened the 
 campaign about the middle of June, as com- 
 mander of the English forces; and was then 
 employed at the distance of two hundred 
 miles from the Presidency. The adminis- 
 tration, in his absence, devolved upon Sir 
 Charles Oakeley, and the Council at Madras; 
 
 * He consented to this temporary arrangement, in order 
 to prevent any embarrassment ; but he had previously been 
 sworn in as Governor, and virtually went out in that ca- 
 pacity. — Edit.
 
 13 
 
 and the situation of affairs was such as to call 
 forth all their exertions. 
 
 The war had hitherto been successfully di- 
 rected against Tippoo's southern provinces 
 below the ghauts; but this was not the quarter 
 in which any decisive advantage seemed to 
 be expected ; and Tippoo had yet shown no 
 inclination to trust his cause to the issue of 
 a general action. Satisfied with plundering 
 the country, which afforded subsistence to 
 his own troops while it straitened the re- 
 sources of his enemies, he availed himself 
 of the superiority of his cattle, and the light- 
 ness of his equipment, to shun a meeting 
 which he had just reason to fear would be 
 fatal to him. The General, on the other 
 hand, confident in the superior valour and 
 discipline of his army, was anxious to bring 
 the war to that decision, from which he had 
 every thing to hope ; but, notwithstanding 
 all the efforts of his zeal, continued through 
 a long and arduous pursuit, he found the at- 
 tempt totally impracticable. In the mean 
 time the wants of the army, as well as of 
 every other department of the service, be- 
 came pressing and extensive : the treasury 
 was reduced to the lowest state, and the 
 credit of the Company so completely ex- 
 hausted, that their bonds at 12 per cent.
 
 14 
 
 the highest legal interest, were at a discount 
 of 5 per cent. Government had, indeed, 
 permission to draw upon Bengal, to any 
 amount : but the opportunities of profiting 
 by this resource were precarious ; and, be- 
 sides the enormous loss upon the exchange, 
 which had risen to 410 Arcot rupees for 100 
 pagodas, the pressure of these drafts was 
 particularly inconvenient to the finances of 
 Bengal. In order to diminish this burthen, 
 an attempt had been made, just before Sir 
 Charles Oakeley's arrival, to raise money by 
 a subscription loan, at 12 per cent, but, as 
 the bonds, at this interest, were already de- 
 preciated by a discount, and the expedient 
 had no other support than the influence 
 possessed by government over persons con- 
 nected with the service, or deriving advan- 
 tages from the Company's protection, it 
 produced only a feeble relief, and could not 
 be resorted to a second time. 
 
 When public credit sinks under alarm, or 
 misfortunes of any kind, a general want of 
 confidence takes place, and the current specie 
 is rapidly withdrawn from circulation. An 
 artificial scarcity of money was among the 
 difficulties experienced at this juncture; and, 
 though the discount upon the Company's 
 bunds still templed considerable speculation
 
 15 
 
 in those securities, cautious men kept up 
 their wealth, and were fearful even of show- 
 ing that they possessed it, lest the influence 
 of government should again be employed to 
 borrow it from them. This want of specie 
 which resulted from a want of credit to com- 
 mand, and keep it in circulation, was not to 
 be removed by fresh importations of gold 
 or silver, had they been practicable, even to 
 any extent; since the moment these new 
 supplies had found their way, through the 
 channels of public expense, into the coffers 
 of individuals, the same scarcity, and from 
 the same cause, must have prevailed again. 
 The only effectual remedy seemed to consist 
 in the restoration of public confidence, under 
 which the precious metals never fail to ap- 
 pear, and circulate with freedom through all 
 the transactions of the community. 
 
 Sir Charles Oakeley, and the Council, 
 strongly impressed with this conviction, and 
 sensible that all the pecuniary assistance 
 they could derive from Bengal, or from 
 Europe, would not enable them to meet 
 the public exigencies without an essential 
 improvement in their own internal resources, 
 directed their efforts, principally, to that ob- 
 ject. They soon found, notwithstanding the 
 war, that several articles of expense might
 
 us 
 
 be wholly retrenched, or considerably cur- 
 tailed ; and that in the collection of the re- 
 venues, material advantages might be drawn 
 from a more economical and efficient admi- 
 nistration. To improve the resources still 
 further, Sir Charles Oakeley brought for- 
 ward a proposition for requiring a subsidy 
 from the Rajah of Travancore, on whose ac- 
 count the war had commenced, and who had 
 yet contributed nothing but the aid of a few 
 troops towards its support. This subsidy, 
 after due inquiry into the state of his re- 
 venues, was fixed at ten lacks of rupees per 
 annum, to take place from the period of 
 Tippoo's attack upon his lines in January 
 1790, and to continue during the war. Ano- 
 ther expedient, by which a material saving 
 was made for the Company, and a very 
 extensive, as well as seasonable, supply of 
 specie added to the circulation of the coun- 
 try, was the measure of giving currency 
 to rupees, which were before considered as 
 mere bullion, and purchased only by mer- 
 chants in small quantities for exportation. 
 As the supplies which came from Bengal and 
 Europe were in silver, an immense loss must 
 have been sustained, and much time required 
 to convert it into pagodas by sale, according 
 to the casual and limited demands of the
 
 17 
 
 market : but, by fixing the value of rupees, 
 and making them current, the whole of this 
 silver was thrown into circulation at its full 
 value. The benefit resulting from this mea- 
 sure was most sensibly felt in all the trans- 
 actions of the settlement, but particularly 
 in the remittances of specie for the use of 
 the army, which could not, otherwise, have 
 been furnished to half the amount of its de- 
 mands. The value of the rupees was fixed at 
 the rate of 365 for 1 00 pagodas. Their price 
 in the market, at that time, was about 380, 
 and credit is taken accordingly for the dif- 
 ference between the actual value and the 
 market price, as a saving to the Company. 
 But, if the whole of the silver received from 
 Bengal and England had gone to market, it 
 must have sold at a price very much below 
 380, because the quantity was far beyond the 
 demand. The estimate of the saving there- 
 fore is probably much under-rated by taking 
 it at the actual price of rupees at the time 
 the silver was received.* 
 
 In order that these improvements might 
 have a due effect upon the situation of public 
 
 * The specific advantage arising from retrenchments of 
 expense, and other acquisitions to the resources of this 
 period, is shown by an account drawn out at the time, 
 and inserted at the end of this narrative. 
 
 C
 
 18 
 
 credit, another measure was still wanting. 
 The distress for money had hitherto obliged 
 government to confine its payments to the 
 immediate' calls of the army, and to post- 
 pone the adjustment of all other claims, under 
 the general promise of discharging them as 
 soon as the state of the treasury would per- 
 mit. A resolution was now taken to put an 
 end to this discreditable practice by a regular 
 payment of every demand upon the public ; 
 and Sir Charles Oakeley has the satisfaction 
 to reflect, that this resolution was strictly 
 observed, with the single exception of his 
 own salary ; which, from a belief that the 
 forbearance would, at that moment, be of 
 some use, he declined receiving until the 
 conclusion of the war.* 
 
 Lord Cornwallis, who had, during the first 
 campaign, directed the objects of the war 
 from the seat of the supreme government at 
 Calcutta, deemed it expedient, at the close 
 of the year 1790, to visit the scene of action 
 himself, chiefly with a view to stimulate the 
 allies to a more vigorous prosecution of the 
 contest. His Lordship broughl with him 
 from Bengal a large reinforcement of troops, 
 
 * At the time when lie set this nohle example, he was 
 ohliged to take up money for his own current expenses at 
 12 per cent. — Edit.
 
 19 
 
 and supplies of every kind ; and having taken 
 the command of the army in person, he 
 opened the second campaign, on the 5th of 
 February 1791, by a rapid movement to- 
 wards the enemy's country. 
 
 His first operation commenced with the 
 siege of Bangalore, which was taken by as- 
 sault on the 21st of March. This capture 
 placed his Lordship in a situation to facilitate 
 the approach of the allies ; and the Soubah's 
 army, in consequence, joined him on the 
 7th of April. The present moment appear- 
 ing favourable for an attempt upon the 
 enemy's capital, preparations were made for 
 that purpose ; and his Lordship, having sent 
 instructions to hasten the arrival of the Mah- 
 ratta army, proceeded, himself, towards 
 Seringapatam on the 3d of May. The 
 march was, unexpectedly, impeded by in- 
 clement weather, and the unfavourable state 
 of the roads. A considerable mortality pre- 
 vailed among the cattle ; and the public 
 stock of provisions was so much exhausted 
 as to threaten a total failure in that essential 
 article of supply. On the 15th of May, his 
 Lordship obtained a complete victory over 
 the enemy near Seringapatam ; but the 
 Mahrattas having failed to advance accord- 
 ing to appointment, and the distresses of the 
 
 c2
 
 20 
 
 camp being now arrived at a most alarming 
 height, no resource was left but to return 
 immediately to Bangalore. A painful but 
 necessary resolution now took place. From 
 the weak and reduced state of the cattle it 
 became utterly impracticable to move the 
 battering train, with several other heavy 
 articles of equipment. These were, therefore, 
 destroyed, to prevent their falling into the 
 enemy's hands ; and his Lordship quitted his 
 encampment near Seringapatam on the 26th 
 of May. 
 
 The army now stood in need of a com- 
 plete refit ; and the demands, on this account, 
 for money, for stores of every kind, and 
 above all, for draught and carriage cattle, 
 rendered it a task of peculiar magnitude 
 and importance. Lord Cornwallis himself 
 seemed fully aware of its extent ; and, in 
 addressing the Madras government upon this 
 occasion, after stating the severe distresses to 
 which the army had been exposed, and the 
 urgency of its present wants, he judged it 
 expedient to charge that government, upon 
 its responsibility, with the execution of 
 a measure on which the fate of war now so 
 essentially depended. 
 
 Happily, at this period, a very material 
 improvement had taken place in the internal
 
 21 
 
 resources of the Presidency. For some time 
 past the government had been able, from its 
 own proper means, to bear so large a pro- 
 portion of the whole burthen of the war, that 
 a considerable part of the pecuniary supplies 
 which had come from Bengal was reserved, 
 and now ready to meet this extraordinary 
 call. There were then, actually, in the trea- 
 sury, near forty lacks of rupees, besides 
 a consignment of silver from England, which 
 had just arrived, and which was afterwards 
 increased to ,£.500,000. The demands of 
 every department had been fully and punctu- 
 ally discharged, and the credit of the Com- 
 pany was so far re-established, that their 
 12 per cent, bonds, which were lately at 
 a discount of 5 per cent, now bore a 
 premium. 
 
 Instead, therefore, of feeling any unea- 
 siness at the serious call made upon them 
 by Lord Cornwallis, the acting Governor 
 and Council entered on their task with all 
 that assurance of success which their resour- 
 ces were well calculated to inspire. In these 
 exertions they were so ably seconded by the 
 zeal and diligence of their several officers, 
 that the various articles of supply were fur- 
 nished earlier in point of time, and more, 
 abundantly in point of measure, than his 
 
 e 3
 
 Lordship, as he declared himself, had been 
 sanguine enough lo expect. Independently 
 of ample remittances of money for the use 
 of his own army, a very large and seasonable 
 loan was supplied for the accommodation of 
 the Mahrattas who had then lately joined 
 him. Abundance of grain was laid up on 
 the western frontiers of the Carnatic ; and, 
 in the article of draught and carriage cattle, 
 (the most necessary, as well as the most diffi- 
 cult to be procured,) instead of 20,000, the 
 number applied for, the number provided 
 was 33,000, besides 10,000 sent across the 
 peninsula for the equipment of the Bombay 
 army, which was preparing to co-operate 
 with his Lordship in the ensuing campaign. 
 'The letters from Lord Cornwallis, at this 
 juncture, afforded a pleasing testimony of 
 his satisfaction ;* and it was a circumstance 
 
 * Nothing is more observable in this narrative, than the 
 modesty with which it is drawn up. The letters of Lord 
 Cornwallis express feelings far stronger than "satisfac- 
 tion." See pages 70, 71, 72,73. That illustrious individual 
 took every occasion to do justice to my father's services, and 
 Id acknowledge how greatly his administration contributed 
 lo the success of this war. He continued to honour him 
 with his friendship to the end of his glorious life; and, 
 in his private letters, many of which are now before me, 
 he uniformly addressed him in the most gratifying h rms 
 ■ 1 < Item and regard, lit one of them, dated May 1803, he
 
 23 
 
 particularly gratifying to the feelings of the 
 Madras government, that it was now able to 
 furnish money sufficient for every purpose, 
 without drawing upon Bengal. The relief 
 thus given to the finances of that country, 
 was attended with the important advantage 
 of reducing the enormous exchange between 
 the two Presidencies, which fell, in conse- 
 quence, from 410, to 375 Arcot rupees for 
 100 pagodas. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis made his second move- 
 ment towards Seringapatam, in January 1792, 
 and, having previously reduced several im- 
 portant posts for the security of his com- 
 munications, and taken every necessary 
 precaution to ensure ample supplies of pro- 
 vision, his future operations were crowned 
 with uninterrupted and complete success. 
 It is not within the scope of this Narrative 
 to enter into any detail of these brilliant 
 transactions. Suffice it to observe, that 
 Tippoo, being a second time defeated under 
 the walls of his capital, and seeing no safety 
 but in absolute submission to the clemency 
 of his conqueror, made pressing overtures for 
 
 thus refers to the events recorded in this part of the Nar- 
 rative. " I shall ever be happy to bear testimony to your 
 very meritorious conduct during the time that we acted to- 
 gether in India."- — Edit. 
 
 c 4
 
 24 
 
 an accommodation. Peace, in consequence, 
 was granted to him on the 17th of March, 
 upon condition of ceding to the allies one 
 half of the territories he possessed before 
 the war ; paying three crores and thirty 
 lacks of rupees, or 3,300,000 pounds ster- 
 ling; and giving two of his sons as hostages* 
 for the performance of these engagements. 
 
 Tims ended this long and difficult contest, 
 on terms of great advantage to the confede- 
 rate powers ; and in a manner which re- 
 flected the highest honour upon the talents 
 of Lord Cormvallis, and on the valour and 
 discipline of the whole army under his com- 
 mand. In reviewing the transactions of 
 I hat period, however, it cannot but be ob- 
 served, as a striking proof of the difficulty 
 al lending the movement and subsistence of 
 great armies on the peninsula of India, that, 
 with all the resources of the British govern- 
 ment, aided by powerful alliances, and 
 directed by superior military skill and ex- 
 perience, it required no less than three 
 campaigns to subdue the efforts of a single 
 prince ; formidable, indeed, in point of 
 strength, but certainly no match for the 
 
 * These hostages were consigned by Lord Cornwallis to 
 my father's care, and resided at Madras, under his super- 
 intendence. — Edit.
 
 25 
 
 confederate armies, whose united force, in 
 the field, consisted of not less than 11,000 
 European, and 72,000 native, troops, with 
 170 pieces of cannon. 
 
 General Medows, who had served in his 
 military capacity during the whole war, re- 
 turned to Madras as soon as peace was con- 
 cluded, and, shortly afterwards, embarked 
 for Europe. Sir Charles Oakeley now suc- 
 ceeded to the full possession of that office, 
 which he had so long administered as pro- 
 visional governor; and the first object of his 
 attention was to improve the credit of the 
 Company, by relieving them of some part of 
 their debts, and lowering the general rate 
 of interest. There were, at that time, out- 
 standing, in 8 per cent, bonds, granted 
 chiefly before the war, 16,51,277, pagodas, 
 and in 12 per cent, bonds, issued entirely 
 since the war, 6,66,463 pagodas. Having 
 the means in his hands of liquidating the 
 12 per cent, debt, he began by advertising 
 the bonds for payment according to priority 
 of date. Many of the creditors, in conse- 
 quence, expressed a wish, rather than be 
 paid, to receive bonds for their money at 
 8 per cent. This was granted in order that 
 government might reserve as large a sum as 
 possible, to be applied afterwards to the 8 per
 
 20 
 
 cent debt. Sir Charles Oakeley hoped, by 
 these means, to effect a still greater reduction 
 in the rate of interest, and he was not dis- 
 appointed. When the 12 percent, debt was 
 completely liquidated, he took up successive 
 portions of the 8 per cent, bonds, according 
 to priority of date. Mere similar appli- 
 cations were made, as in the former instance, 
 for leave to exchange these bonds for pro- 
 missory notes at 6 per cent. Some of the 
 creditors chose Bengal bonds, or bills on 
 Europe, agreeably to the permission, then 
 in force, for the transfer of the Indian debt. 
 By granting these applications, and still 
 reserving sufficient funds to pay all who 
 desired to receive their claims in money, the 
 whole eight per cent, debt was soon ex- 
 tinguished, and a sum of five or six lacks of 
 pagodas only left outstanding in promissory 
 notes at 6 per cent. 
 
 This operation was effected by a sum of 
 money comparatively small ; and its influ- 
 ence upon the Company's credit was so 
 favourable, and, at the same time, so rapid, 
 that, although the interest had been reduced, 
 in the course of a few months, from 12 to 
 6" per cent, the promissory notes bore a pre- 
 mium as soon as they were issued, which 
 gradually rose to 2i per cent. Numerous
 
 27 
 
 applications were now made for leave to pay 
 money into the treasury; and government 
 itself received the premium upon such sums 
 as it chose to take at this reduced interest. 
 Here the measure of satisfaction was com- 
 plete. The resources of the Company had 
 carried them through the pressure of a long 
 and complicated war, not merely without 
 distress, but with a degree of credit rising 
 under the increased weight of the public de- 
 mands : and, at the peace, instead of feeling 
 weakness from their exertions, they were 
 able to add new efforts for the sake of an 
 object of so much importance as the re- 
 duction of interest, which had become, from 
 its exorbitancy, a severe burthen, both on 
 their finances, and their credit. 
 
 After the peace with Tippoo Sultaun, the 
 Madras resources were powerfully aided by 
 the stipulated payments of that chief, amount- 
 ing to near thirty lacks of pagodas. As the 
 war had left no arrears behind it, this sum 
 came seasonably in support of various extra 
 demands, which occurred in the years 1792, 
 1793, and 1794. Besides the advances made 
 in discharge of the debt, the following speci- 
 fic services were provided for : First, a gra- 
 tuity of six months' batta, given by Lord
 
 28 
 
 Cornwallis to the British armies serving in 
 the Mysore country at the conclusion of 
 the war, amounting to pagodas 6,10,438. 
 Secondly, a further payment to the Madras 
 army, of pagodas 3,66,377, in consequence 
 of a similar donation from the Court of 
 Directors. Thirdly, the extra expenses of 
 an expedition against Pondicherry in 1793, 
 amounting to pagodas 4,32,608. Fourthly, 
 a remittance of five lacks of pagodas, in 
 specie, to Bengal, in September 1793. And 
 lastly, the advances on account of the invest- 
 ment, which amounted, between the 30th of 
 April 1792, and the 7th of September 1794, 
 when Sir Charles Oakeley quitted the govern- 
 ment, to pagodas 20,85,609- The sum total 
 of these extra disbursements is, pagodas 
 40,01,032. 
 
 The peace of Seringapatam was followed 
 by no political event of importance, except 
 the capture of Pondicherry, which took place 
 in the month of August 1793. On the 2d 
 of June, that year, intelligence was received 
 at Madras, of a declaration of war, on the 
 part of France, against England and Hol- 
 land. Preparations were instantly made for 
 the attack of Pondicherry, and the army 
 was assembled before that fortress, with
 
 29 
 
 every necessary equipment for the siege, 
 early in August.* It afforded a pleasing 
 evidence of the vigorous state of the resour- 
 ces at this period, that the government was 
 enabled to make so prompt and efficacious 
 an exertion, without the smallest strain upon 
 the public credit ; and to follow it, immedi- 
 ately, by a remittance, in specie, to Bengal, 
 of five lacks of pagodas. 
 
 Sir Charles Oakeley resigned his govern- 
 ment to Lord Hobart, on the 7th of Sep- 
 tember 1794 ; and, upon his arrival in this 
 country, was complimented by the unani- 
 mous thanks of the Honourable Court of 
 Directors for his conduct. 
 
 * The Madras government, it will be observed, had the 
 whole merit of planning, upon its own responsibility, and 
 carrying into execution, this brilliant and decisive measure. 
 My father received the intelligence of the war with France 
 by an overland dispatch, and immediately directed the 
 expedition, without waiting for instructions from England. 
 Those instructions arrived some weeks after the place was 
 taken. — Edit.
 
 30 
 
 ABSTRACT ACCOUNT of Reductions in the Expehsb, 
 ami Additions made to the Revenue <>f the Madras 
 Government, from the 15th of October 1790 to the 
 15th December 171)1. 
 
 REDUCTIONS, &c. 
 
 FIXED. 
 
 ANN I 
 
 A I.. 
 
 
 
 Pag. f. c. 
 
 Pag. 
 
 /• 
 
 c. 
 
 Reduction of expense in the I'ust 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6000 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 Sibbendy Paymasters struck riff 
 
 . 
 
 S1S0 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 Deputy Civil Storekeeper ditto 
 
 - 
 
 720 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 Inspector of Warehouses ditto 
 
 - 
 
 720 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 Reduction in Wareliousc-hirc - 
 
 - 
 
 1500 
 
 - 
 
 - 
 
 Paymaster at Guntoor struck off 
 
 - 
 
 1040 
 
 10 
 
 40 
 
 Reform in the Military Storekeeper's 
 
 
 
 
 
 department, by which there is an 
 
 
 
 
 
 estimated saving in the war expen- 
 
 
 
 
 
 diture of stores, calculated on the 
 
 
 
 
 
 provision of last year - 
 
 - 
 
 •;; t,.iito 
 
 21 
 
 47 
 
 Presents of Hrocd Cloth to natives on 
 
 
 
 
 
 New-year's day, discontinued 
 
 - 
 
 1262 
 
 27 
 
 — 
 
 Reduction in the establishment at 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4968 
 
 27 
 
 60 
 
 Remissions allowed to the Rajah of 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tanjore by the late governor, 
 
 
 
 
 
 M 1. 1 lollond, now written bai to 
 
 
 
 
 
 his debit, on the ground ol their 
 
 
 
 
 
 having been granted without suffi- 
 
 
 
 
 
 cient cause - 
 
 2,00,000 
 
 
 
 
 Carried forward - 
 
 2,60,000 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 67 
 
 The actual saving in the lir-.( Mar, compared with that preceding, (both 
 yiar* of war,) was no li ss than pagodas 1,73,036 10 59.
 
 31 
 
 REDUCTIONS, fix. 
 
 Broueht forward - - 
 
 Deputy Commissary struck off, 
 pagodas per annum - 1200 
 
 Deputy Comptroller ditto - 1000 
 
 2-200 
 
 Deduct for one assistant 
 
 allowed ... 360 
 
 Reduction in the Export warehouse 
 
 establishment - 
 
 Reduction in the Import warehouse 
 establishment - • - 
 
 Saving to the Company on a remit- 
 tance of silver from Bengal, by 
 fixing the value of rupees, and 
 bringing them into the currency of 
 Madras. Vide General Letter to 
 the Court of Directors, dated the 
 15lhof April 1791 - 
 
 The charge of 5 per cent paid by 
 different officers of the Company 
 to the Sea-gate register for selling 
 the public stores by auction, dis- 
 continued ; but, as the saving can- 
 not be accurately ascertained, no 
 credit is here taken for it. 
 
 Saving, by charging the Commis- 
 sion Fund with certain allowances 
 to collectors which were before 
 paid separately. Vide General 
 Letter 15th of April 1791 - 
 
 Saving, by the abolition of the com- 
 mittee appointed to investigate the 
 charges on account of the King's 
 troops, and directing that business 
 to be executed by the Company's 
 Paymaster General - 
 
 Carried forward 
 
 FIXED. 
 
 .ANNUAL. 
 
 Pag. f. c. 
 2,60,000 - - 
 
 1,00,000 
 
 3,60,000 - - 
 
 1,03,912 14 '? 
 
 1840 - 
 
 3000 - 
 
 2400 - 
 
 35,000 - 
 
 20T6 - - 
 
 1,48,228 14 67
 
 32 
 
 REDUCTIONS, &c. 
 
 FIXED. 
 
 ANNUAL. 
 
 
 
 Pag. f. c. 
 
 Pag. /• 
 
 r. 
 
 Drought forward - - 
 
 3,00,000 - - 
 
 1,I!1,'-'VH 1 I 
 
 67 
 
 Redaction in the Chief Engineer's 
 
 
 1176 - 
 
 - 
 
 Ollicc of Superintendent of the 
 market! abolished ... 
 
 - 
 
 1000 - 
 
 - 
 
 Si avenger's emploj discontinued, and 
 
 the business done by contract 
 
 - 
 
 1300 
 
 _ 
 
 Civil Storekeeper's employ discon- 
 tinued, as unnecessary 
 
 . 
 
 1616 
 
 - 
 
 War subsidy settled with the Rajah 
 of Travancore, to commence from 
 the 9th of January 1790, at ten 
 lacks of rupees per annum - 
 
 
 8,73,978 
 
 
 Increase of revenue on the privilege 
 of retailing beetle and tobacco at 
 Madras ----- 
 
 - 
 
 30,000 - 
 
 
 Saving on a remittance of silver from 
 England, by fixing the value of 
 rupees, and bringing them into the 
 currency of Madras - - - 
 
 60,000 - - 
 
 
 
 Subsidy settled with the Rajah of 
 Cochin, first year 70,000 rupees ; 
 second year 80,000; third year 
 90,000 ; fourth year, and every 
 year afterwards, 100,000 
 
 . 
 
 » ,397 - 
 
 _ 
 
 Total Pagodas - - 
 
 1. '.'0,000 
 
 •1, It 1,689 14 
 
 67
 
 *11 
 
 An Abstract Account of the Revenues, Charges and 
 Bonded Debt, at Fort Saint George, during the period 
 of Sir Charles Oakelet/'s administration ; taken from the 
 Statements laid before Parliament. 
 
 YEARS. 
 
 REVENUE. 
 
 CHARGES. 
 
 SURPLUS 
 Or Deficiency of Revenue. 
 
 
 Star 
 
 Star 
 
 
 Star 
 
 
 Pagodas. 
 
 Pagodas. 
 
 
 Pagodas. 
 
 
 — — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1790-1 - 
 
 40,90,384 
 
 66,03,997 
 
 Net Charges - . 
 
 25,13,613 
 
 1791-2 - 
 
 71,89,446 
 
 84,88,203 
 
 Net Charges - - 
 
 12,98,757 
 
 1792-3 - 
 
 61,90,775 
 
 53,50,767 
 
 Net Revenues 
 
 8,40,008 
 
 1793-4 - 
 
 52,75,223 
 
 48,13,744 
 
 Net Revenues 
 
 4,61,479 
 
 
 
 
 BONDED DEBT 
 
 
 
 
 
 Principal 
 
 
 
 
 Star Pagodas. 
 
 
 April 30 
 
 - 1791 - 
 
 26,31,000 
 
 
 January 31 - 
 
 - 1792 - 
 
 25,89,237 
 
 
 April 30 
 
 - 1793 - 
 
 17,52,545 
 
 
 April 30 
 
 - 1794 - 
 
 4,67,303
 
 54 
 
 OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 THE two entire years, 1790-1, and 1791-2, were bur- 
 dened with the heavy charges of a war against Tippoo 
 Sultaun, of which the operations, and particularly those of 
 1791-2, were distant, complicated, and extensive. The 
 resources, however, were, in some degree, aided, the first 
 year, by the assumption of the Carnatic and TanjOre 
 Revenues ; and more fully, in the second, from this 
 source, as well as by the payment of pagodas 14,8(>,C>27, 
 in part of the treaty-money received from Tippoo Sultauu 
 at the peace of Seringapatam. Hence the net charge of 
 1791-2, a most trying year of war, was only pagodas 
 12,98,757. In 1792-3, the Carnatic revenues were 
 restored to the Nabob, and a new arrangement concluded 
 . for his proportion of the military expenses in time of 
 peace. This circumstance, together with a short payment 
 made by Tippoo Sultaun on account of his Kists,* 
 affected the receipts; and the military charges, on closing 
 the war, proved somewhat higher than had been estimated ; 
 yet, from a general and considerable reduction of charge, 
 amounting to pagodas 31,37,436, the net revenues this 
 year were pagodas 8,40,008. Mr. Dundas, in stating the 
 finances of 1792-3 to Pailiament, observes with respect to 
 Fort St. George, — " The accounts from this Presidency 
 " are, upon the whole, very satisfactory. For, although 
 " the drought in the Circars occasioned a considerable 
 
 * Pagodas 4,82,054, instead of pagodas i4,8o',2Co. The 
 defic iency was made up in the following year.
 
 35 
 
 " defalcation of the revenue in the last year, below what 
 " was expected ; yet, in other instances, the revenues 
 " exceeded the estimate ; and the charges in general 
 " were regulated with a due regard to economy. 
 " The result, therefore, on the whole, presents a more 
 " favourable statement of the affairs of this Presidency 
 " than many I have formerly brought before the Com- 
 " mittee." In another place he says, — " Upon the whole 
 " of this account it appears, that by the improved state 
 " of the Guntoor Circar, and the accession of the countries 
 •' ceded by Tippoo Sultaun, the revenues of this Presi- 
 *' dency are, at length, more than adequate to its 
 " expenses."* 
 
 In 1 793-4, the assumed revenues of Tanjore were re- 
 stored to the Rajah ■ and the peace arrangements of 
 subsidy made with him, and with the Nabob of the 
 Carnatic, occasioned, of course, a considerable diminution 
 in the receipts this year. Extraordinary charges, like- 
 wise, were incurred in the military department, by the 
 expedition against Pondicherry in 1 793, and by a donation 
 from the Honourable Court of Directors to the army 
 which had lately served in Mysore.f But, on the other 
 hand, the revenues having been aided by the payment of 
 pagodas 10,04,566 in full of the treaty money from Tippoo 
 
 * See heads of the Right honourable Henry Dundas's 
 speech, the 4th April 1794. The average net charge for three 
 years preceding the war (1787-8, 1788-9, and 1789-90), was 
 pagodas 7,99,096. 
 
 I The charges attending the expedition against Pondieheny, 
 amounted to pagodas .... 4,32,608 
 
 Additional donation and Prize-money ordered 
 
 by the Court of Directors ... 3,66,377 
 
 Pagodas - - 7,98,985
 
 36 
 
 Sultaun ; and the charges, upon the whole, being less 
 than in the former y par . by pagodas 5,37,023, a net 
 revenue was produced of pagodas 4,(11,479. 
 
 VVitli respect to the bonded debt, it must be observed, 
 that of pagodas 26,31,000 at which it stood in April 1791, 
 pagodas 17,06,345 were on bonds at 8 per cent, and 
 pagodas 8,78,760 on bonds at 12 per cent. The rest 
 (pagodas 45,895) was on deposits at 8 and 6 per cent, and 
 the annual interest on the whole debt amounted to 
 pagodas 245,712. 
 
 Immediately after the conclusion of the war with Tippoo 
 Sultaun, the Government of Fort St. George began to 
 discharge the bonded debt ;* and, by payments and 
 transfers, succeeded so far, that, in April 1794, the prin- 
 cipal was reduced to pagodas 4,67,303, of which the 
 greatest part (pagodas 3,21,170) was in promissory notes 
 at 6 per cent, and the annual amount of interest on the 
 whole debt was pagodas 30,280. The promissory notes, 
 at the time Sir Charles Oakeley resigned his government^ 
 in September 1794, bore a premium of 2 J per cent, which 
 the Company themselves received on issuing the notes. 
 
 CO. 
 
 * The definitive treaty of peace with Tippoo Sultaun was 
 signed on the 18th March 1792 ; and the letter from Madras, 
 of the 25th May 1792, advises that pagodas 4,85,000 of the 
 12 per cent bonds had been paid off. To assist this operation, 
 pagodas 90,000 only were borrowed at 8 per cent. See Ap- 
 pendix (B.) to the heads of Mr. Dundas's Speech, 25th February 
 171)3-
 
 OFFICIAL LETTERS, 
 
 &c. 
 
 d3
 
 OFFICIAL LETTERS, 
 
 &c. &c. 
 
 Extract of a General Letter from the Governor and Council 
 oj' Fort St. George, to the Honourable Court of Directors, 
 dated iQth January 1773. 
 
 Par. 53. WE have appointed Mr. Charles 
 Oakeley, who before acted as sub-secretary, 
 to succeed Mr. Goodlad in the office of se- 
 cretary. His great assiduity, and promising- 
 abilities, give us all reason to hope, and be- 
 lieve, that he will not fill it with less applause 
 than his predecessor. 
 
 Extract from the Minutes of Consultation, dated i6lh of 
 May 1777. 
 
 FROM the favourable opinion which the 
 Board entertains of Mr. Charles Oakeley, 
 who has shewn great assiduity and capacity, 
 during a service of near five years, as secre- 
 tary to the civil department, and in every 
 other respect acquitted himself to the satis- 
 
 d 4
 
 40 
 
 faction of the board, it is agreed, that he do 
 take charge of the employs of secretary to 
 the military department, judge advocate 
 general, and translator. 
 
 Extract from General Letter, per Hector, dated 'zd of 
 
 Jul,, 1777. 
 
 Par. 17. THE employs of secretary to the 
 military department, and judge advocate 
 general, having become vacant by the resig- 
 nation of Mr. Sulivan, we appointed Mr. 
 Charles Oakeley to succeed him therein. 
 This gentleman's merit, we believe, is not 
 unknown to your Honors, as he has long 
 since been mentioned to you in a very 
 favorable light ; and we cannot but acknow- 
 ledge, that his assiduity and capacity, during 
 a service of near five years, as secretary to 
 the civil department, render him entitled to 
 every mark of encouragement. 
 True extracts, 
 
 Charles Freeman, 
 
 Acting Secretary. 
 
 Extract of the General Tetter from the Governor and Council 
 of Fort St. George, to the Honourable Court of Directors, 
 dated \ith of October 1779. 
 
 WE have also made an addition of 100 
 pagodas per month to the salary of the
 
 41 
 
 secretary to the Select Committee, which we 
 flatter ourselves will likewise receive your 
 approbation. The business of this depart- 
 ment has increased so much, and the atten- 
 tion of the secretary is so entirely engrossed 
 by it, that we are confident you will not 
 think this allowance more than a reasonable 
 compensation for his trouble ; and we have 
 great pleasure in observing, that such an 
 allowance cannot with greater propriety be 
 granted than at present, when the conduct, 
 abilities, and diligence of the secretary, 
 Mr. Oakeley, so justly entitle him to a mark 
 of our approbation. 
 
 A true extract, 
 
 H. A. Craig, 
 
 Deputy Secretary. 
 
 Extract from the Minutes of the Select Committee of Fort 
 St. George, dated 1st of April 1780. 
 
 THE President also takes this oppor- 
 tunity of returning his thanks to the secre- 
 tary, Mr. Oakeley, for his great assiduity, 
 and attention, in conducting the business of 
 his employ, and for the assistance he has 
 received from him during his government. 
 A true extract, 
 
 H. A. Craig, 
 
 Deputy Secretary.
 
 42 
 
 Sir, 
 I am directed by the Honourable the Pre- 
 sident and Select Committee, to acknowledge 
 the receipt of your Letter to them of the 
 26th instant, and to acquaint you, that your 
 resignation of the offices of secretary, and 
 judge adv r ocate general, hath been accepted 
 of. The accompanying extract, which I am 
 ordered to furnish you with at the same time, 
 passed as an unanimous resolution of the 
 Committee. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 Your most obedient humble servant. 
 
 It. J. SULIVAN, 
 
 Fort St. George, Secretary. 
 
 28th November 1780. 
 Charles Oakeley, Esq. 
 
 Extract from the Minutes of the Select Co/nmiltec of Fort 
 St. George, dated ijth of November 1780. 
 
 THE Committee are extremely concerned 
 that Mr. Oakeley 's ill state of health should 
 have brought him to the necessity of resign- 
 ing the office of secretary. 
 
 They are fully sensible of his merit during 
 the long and laborious attention which he has 
 necessarily been obliged to pay to the duties 
 of his station ; and as he is reduced by in- 
 disposition only, to the necessity of rclin-
 
 43 
 
 quishing his employ, as being too sedentary, 
 they are of opinion, in justice to him, and 
 as a reward for his long services, that some 
 mark of their approbation should be con- 
 ferred on him, whenever a suitable appoint- 
 ment may become vacant. 
 
 A true extract, 
 
 H. A. Craig, 
 
 Deputy Secretary. 
 
 Extract of a General Letter from the Governor and Council 
 of Fort St. George, to the Honourable Court of Directors, 
 dated iQth November 1780. 
 
 Mr. Charles Oakeley, our late secre- 
 tary, having, from ill health, been reduced 
 to the necessity of resigning his employs, 
 Mr. Richard Joseph Sulivan has succeeded 
 thereto, agreeably to your orders of the 
 3d of February 1780. Our sense of the 
 ability and indefatigable attention of Mr. 
 Oakeley to the laborious duties of his office, 
 you have, in repeated instances, been ad- 
 vised of. We have now only to add, that, 
 in justice to him, and as a reward for his 
 long services, we have a real satisfaction in 
 recommending so valuable a servant to your 
 future favour and protection. 
 A true extract, 
 H. A. Craig, 
 
 Deputy Secretary.
 
 44 
 
 Extract of a letter from the Right Honourable 
 Jjord Macar/iit'i/, Governor of Madras, to Laurence 
 Sutivan, Esq. Chairman of the Company, dated 29//1 
 of August 1782. 
 
 THE times are too serious and critical to 
 think of trusting the administration of your 
 empire here in any other than the ablest and 
 honestest hands. On this occasion I must 
 beg leave to mention to you Mr. Oakeley, 
 formerly secretary of the Council, and now 
 president of the Assigned Revenue Board. 
 His knowledge of business ; his particular 
 talents for it ; his temper, and his high repu- 
 tation in this part of the world, mark him 
 strongly as a man whom it will be necessary 
 to bring forward in any permanent arrange- 
 ement of our affairs here. 
 
 Extract from the Minutes of the Select Committee of Fori 
 St. George, dated 315/ of May 1782. 
 
 WE highly approve of the report of the 
 Committee of Assigned Revenue,* contained 
 in the above letter and statement. 
 
 We hope that the just, distinct, and com- 
 prehensive view which this report presents of 
 the late disorder in the state of the public 
 
 * This report is given entire in the Appendix, N°4, to 
 Mr. Burke's speech on the Nabob of Arcot's debts; being 
 referred to in one of the most splendid passages of that 
 speech. Sec Burke's works, 8vo. vol. 4. — Edit.
 
 45 
 
 revenue of the Carnatic, will evince the 
 necessity of instituting a committee, in con- 
 sequence of the powers given by his High- 
 ness the Nabob to our President on behalf 
 of the Company, for the purpose of suggest- 
 ing such regulations in the collection, and 
 such retrenchments in the expenditure of the 
 public monies, as are necessary for deriving 
 from the provinces, not in the actual posses- 
 sion of the enemy, some resource towards 
 the support of the war, and the relief of. 
 public distress. 
 
 We felicitate ourselves on having chosen 
 for that committee, gentlemen, through whose 
 knowledge, ability, and assiduity, such judi- 
 cious arrangements have been formed, as 
 promise, even at this unfavourable time, to 
 produce a net revenue to government be- 
 yond any former period ; and, at the same 
 time, to give security to the renter against 
 causeless removal, and to the inhabitants 
 against cruelty and oppression. 
 
 We are persuaded that this beneficial 
 alteration in the system of finance in the 
 Carnatic will be sensibly felt, and acknow- 
 ledged, by our honourable employers; who, 
 from their intimate connection and unity of 
 interest with his Highness, and from the 
 very large sums in which he stands indebted
 
 46 
 
 to them, and to other British subjects, con- 
 sider themselves deeply concerned io the 
 state and government of the Carnatic ; and 
 whose exigencies, occasioned by their exer- 
 tions in the defence of the Carnatic, demand, 
 and have a just claim to, every assistance the 
 Carnatic can supply. 
 
 We desire and hope, that the members of 
 that committee will continue their care and 
 attention to the progress and completion of 
 this important business ; that they will con- 
 sider of every means by which the country 
 may be improved ; his Highness's revenues 
 increased, without injustice to the people ; 
 the people rendered secure in the possession 
 of the fruits of their industry, and that in- 
 dustry excited and increased. 
 
 We, on our parts, promise to the members 
 of the Committee of Assigned Revenue our 
 most hearty support, and every encourage- 
 ment which their labours and success de- 
 serve. 
 
 A true extract, 
 
 (signed) Thomas Kingscote, 
 
 Deputy Secretary. 
 
 To Charles Oakeley, Esq. &c. Members of the Committee 
 of Assigned Revenue. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 I am directed by the Right Honourable the 
 
 President and Select Committee, to furnish
 
 47 
 
 you with the inclosed extract of a letter 
 which they have lately received from the 
 Governor General and Council, and to as- 
 sure you, that it gives the Select Committee 
 great pleasure to find that the gentlemen at 
 Bengal so entirely concur in the sentiments 
 they have always felt and expressed, of the 
 zeal and ability which you have manifested 
 in the discharge of the important trust re- 
 posed in you. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 (signed) J. Hudleston, 
 
 Fort St. George, Secretary. 
 
 23d August 1 782. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from the Governor General and Council 
 of Bengal, to the Governor and Council of Fort St. George, 
 dated $th of July 1782. 
 
 AVE observe with satisfaction the proceed- 
 ings of the Committee of Assigned Revenue 
 which you have transmitted to us, and highly 
 approve the conduct of the members who 
 compose it, for the great, attention and ability 
 which they have shewn in the management 
 of this business. We sincerely hope that 
 the resources they expect to realize from the 
 Carnatic, which are much greater than we
 
 48 
 
 had any idea of, will be made good according 
 to their estimate. 
 
 A true extract, 
 
 (signed) Thomas Kingscote, 
 
 Deputy Secretary. 
 
 Extract of a General Letter from the Right Honourable the 
 Governor and Council of Fort St. George, to the Honourable 
 Court of Directors, dated 5th of September 1 78-2. 
 
 Par. 256. ON the 27th of May, the Com- 
 mittee of Assigned Revenue delivered in the 
 report and statement already mentioned, and 
 they were soon afterwards taken into con- 
 sideration. We request your attentive perusal 
 of those papers, and of our minutes upon 
 them. We trust, that from the able and 
 upright conduct already shewn by the gen- 
 tlemen of that committee in the management 
 of the unconquered countries, you will draw 
 the same conviction that we feel of the im- 
 portance of the assignment, and the same 
 auspicious omen of the advantages to be 
 ultimately derived from it. 
 
 259. The Committee of Assigned Re- 
 venue have, by indefatigable attention, de- 
 veloped the abuses that existed under the 
 Nabob's administration of the revenue, and 
 actually made a reduction of 680,000 pagodas
 
 49 
 
 in the annual expenses of half the Carnatic, 
 and that without touching the revenue appro- 
 priated to religious purposes.* 
 
 Extract of a Letter from the Right Honourable the 
 President and Select Committee of Fort St. George, 
 to the Honourable Court of Directors, dated 10th of 
 September 1784. 
 
 Par. 99- BUT our hopes of a success in 
 this, and every other purpose that concerns 
 the retrieval of your affairs, and their sub- 
 sequent prosperity, are involved in the fate 
 of the assignment. To enable you the better 
 to judge of the grounds of our anxiety on 
 this subject, we send you a separate number 
 in the packet, copy of an account which we 
 have lately received from the Committee of 
 Assigned Revenue, in which are stated the 
 collections from the 2d of December 1781, 
 being the date of the assignment, to the 13th 
 of September 1784, amounting to pagodas 
 33,09,720 ; also a corrected copy of a com- 
 parative statement of the revenues and ex- 
 penses of the Arcot province, &c. assigned 
 countries. 
 
 100. When you consider that during the 
 late war, exclusive of all our garrisons from 
 Ganjam to Cape Comorin, we kept three 
 
 * The reduction of expense upon the whole of the 
 assigned districts, was eleven lacks of pagodas per annum. 
 
 E
 
 50 
 
 armies in the field, whose force together 
 amounted to upwards of 30,000 fighting men, 
 with not fewer than 100 pieces of cannon, 
 it will not appear extraordinary, that, not- 
 withstanding the important aid thus derived 
 from the assignment, our troops are ten or 
 twelve months in arrears ; but it is a cir- 
 cumstance that must naturally lead you to 
 reflect, and ask, what would have been your 
 situation without the assignment; and how 
 you would pay those arrears, discharge your 
 bond debts, or maintain half the force neces- 
 sary for your defence, after it shall have been 
 surrendered. 
 
 101. You will observe the collections 
 stated in the account have been made chiefly 
 during the war, and while the western pro- 
 vinces of the Carnatic were in possession of 
 the enemy, or ravaged by his troops. Peace 
 being now restored, and many of the inha- 
 bitants returned, and returning from the 
 Mysore country, or places where they had 
 taken shelter, those provinces will again 
 become productive ; and, if continued under 
 the management of Mr. Oakeley, and the 
 Committee of Assigned Revenue, we doubt 
 not they will, in a few years, recover their 
 
 former value. 
 
 A true extract, 
 
 (signed) John IIudleston, 
 
 Secretary.
 
 51 
 
 Extract of a General Letter from the Right Honourable the 
 President and Council of Fort. St. George, to the Honour- 
 able Court of Directors, dated Qt/i of February 1 785. 
 
 Par. 74. WE have just received a letter 
 from the Committee of Assigned Revenue, 
 accompanying their proceedings now trans- 
 mitted to jour Honourable Court, with a 
 statement of gross revenue collected, and 
 an account of nett receipts, since the com- 
 mencement of the assignment. 
 
 75. We send a copy of this letter a num- 
 ber in the packet, as it will afford much in- 
 formation to you respecting the present state 
 of the countries under the Committee of 
 Assigned Revenue; and will bear ample 
 testimony to their able management, which 
 has, from the time of their taking charge to 
 the present hour, claimed our perfect ap- 
 probation. We trust that a review of their 
 proceedings will produce similar sentiments 
 on the minds of your Honourable Court. 
 
 A true extract, 
 (signed) John Chamier, 
 
 Acting Secretary. 
 
 E 2
 
 52 
 
 ( opy of a Letter from the Governor General and I '■ouncilof 
 Bengal, to the Governor and Council of Fort St. George, 
 dated -291/1 of March 1785. 
 
 To the Right Honourable George Lord Macartney, 
 President, and Council of Fort St. George. 
 
 My Lord and Gentlemen, 
 WE have been honoured by the receipt of 
 your letter of the 17th ultimo. The papers 
 transmitted with it from your Committee of 
 Assigned Revenue, have afforded us the 
 greatest satisfaction. The summary of their 
 proceedings is ably and well detailed ; and 
 exhibits to us, with the statements accom- 
 panying it, the clearest evidence of the 
 attention of your committee to the interests 
 of the Company, and of the faithful discharge 
 of their public duty, for a period of three 
 years. We are sensible of the difficulties 
 with which they have had to struggle, in 
 realizing the collections of the Carnatic, and 
 in obtaining the increased resources which 
 their labours have produced to the supply 
 of the public necessities; and we have much 
 pleasure in observing, that the opinion which 
 we expressed of their conduct, so long ago 
 as on the 4th of July 1?B2, has had the good 
 consequence of encouraging them, in aid of 
 the support which they have received from 
 your Presidency, to exertions of so advan-
 
 55 
 
 tageous a result to the public service. The 
 delicacy and propriety of their management, 
 in not interfering with any religious esta- 
 blishments, public pensions, or charity allow- 
 ances on the countries of the Carnatic, do 
 them indeed much credit. 
 
 Wishing to encourage merit, whenever, and 
 at whatever Presidency it may be testified by 
 the servants of the Company, we request that 
 your Lordship, &c. will do us the honour of 
 conveying our thanks to the President, &c. 
 members of the Committee of Assigned Re- 
 venue, for their conduct ; and, as a further 
 testimony of our particular approbation of 
 it, we beg leave to recommend it to you, to 
 reward the services of these gentlemen with 
 liberality, for the encouragement of the other 
 servants on your establishment who may be 
 employed in offices of responsibility and 
 trust. 
 
 We hope that the salary or commission 
 which the Court of Directors may establish 
 for their subordinate chiefs andcouncilsunder 
 your Presidency, in consequence of the new 
 Act of Parliament, and, particularly the re- 
 straining clauses, which confine such Chiefs 
 and Councils to the authorized allowances of 
 their respective situations, will not be deemed 
 an improper compensation for the labours 
 
 £ 3
 
 54 
 
 of the president and members of the com- 
 mittee ; and we accordingly submit to you, 
 whether the same might not be granted to 
 them for the period during which they have 
 severally acted in their offices. 
 
 We have the honour to be, 
 
 My Lord and Gentlemen, 
 
 Your most obedient and 
 
 most humble servants, 
 
 (signed) John Macphekson, 
 John Stables, 
 
 Charles Stuart. 
 Fort William, 
 Secret Department, 
 March 29, 1785. 
 
 A true Copy, W. C. Jackson, 
 
 Deputy Secretary. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from the Rig/it Honourable the P re- 
 silient and Council of Fort St. George, t» the Honourable 
 Court of Directors, dated 20th of May 1 785. 
 
 Par. 70. WE transmitted to the Governor 
 General and Council of Bengal, a copy of 
 the report from the Committee of Assigned 
 Revenue, which was forwarded to you by the 
 ' Pigot,' in February last. As this report, with 
 the books and accounts that accompanied it, 
 contained the most unequivocal testimony of 
 the benefits derived from the assignment, and 
 demonstrated the great superiority of the
 
 55 
 
 Company's management, we were happy, by 
 the means of such authentic documents, to 
 dispel the doubts which the Governor General 
 and Council had invariably entertained and 
 expressed upon the subject ; and you will 
 accordingly observe, by the letter from them, 
 dated the 29th of March, in reply to this com- 
 munication, that they have acknowledged, in 
 the amplest manner, the force of this convic- 
 tion, and bestowed the highest praises upon 
 the Committee of Assigned Revenue, for 
 their able and disinterested conduct in the 
 execution of the trust reposed in them. 
 
 7 1 . They have strongly recommended, that 
 the president and members of that committee 
 should be allowed for the time they have 
 acted in the management of the revenues, the 
 same commission or advantage that you may 
 establish for your chiefs and councils em- 
 ployed in the receipt of your revenues at the 
 subordinate settlements ; and, though we do 
 not think ourselves at liberty to come to any 
 determination on the subject, we esteem it 
 our duty to support the recommendation with 
 your Honourable Court ; and to observe that 
 the particular services of those gentlemen, in 
 a very delicate and important trust, entitle 
 them to the highest rewards those services 
 merit.
 
 56 
 
 Copy of a Letter from the Honourable (lover/tor and Council 
 of Fort St. George to Charles Qakeley, Es(j. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 WE have thought proper to appoint you 
 to be Superintendent of the Honourable 
 Company's Jaghire; and, having annulled the 
 ippointment of the Committee of Assigned 
 Revenue, we desire you will receive charge 
 of all public papers from them, which have 
 any relation thereto. You will keep a diary 
 of your proceedings, which must be regularly 
 laid before us, from time to time, and we 
 also enjoin you to be very careful in com- 
 municating with us on every material point 
 of your duty. 
 
 We have invested you with so important 
 a trust, as the management of the Jaghire, 
 from a confidence in your ability, diligence, 
 and integrity ; and, as a compensation for 
 the services expected from your appoint- 
 ment, we have agreed that you shall draw 
 the same salary as was allowed you whilst 
 President of the Committee of Assigned 
 Revenue. 
 
 We have appointed Mr. Richard Dighton 
 to be resident in the Jaghire, under your di- 
 rections, and Mr. Landon to be your clerk.
 
 57 
 
 These gentlemen are to draw the same al- 
 lowances which were annexed to their late 
 appointments. 
 
 We are Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servants, 
 
 (signed) Alex. Davidson, 
 
 John Dalling, 
 
 James Daniell. 
 
 Fort St. George, 
 18th October 1785. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from the Honourable the President and 
 Council of Fort St. George, to the Honourable Court of 
 Directors, dated \ith of January 1786. 
 
 Par. 82. WE have received a letter from 
 the late Committee of Assigned Revenue, 
 accompanying their books and proceedings ; 
 and adding some statements and observa- 
 tions which they thought necessary, in order 
 to convey a correct knowledge of the whole 
 progress of the assignment. 
 
 83. As this letter contains much informa- 
 tion respecting the revenues of the Car- 
 natic, and is an additional testimony of the 
 ability with which the late committee have 
 conducted the important charge entrusted to 
 them, we have sent a copy of the letter, with 
 its enclosures, as numbers in the packet.
 
 58 
 
 Extract of a Letter from the Honourable Sir Archibald 
 Campbell, Coventor of Madras, to the Right Honourable 
 Henry Dundas, by the Ranger Packet, in October 17KG. 
 
 I thought it my duty to bring Mr. Oake- 
 ley forward as the efficient member for ma- 
 naging the Board of Revenue, and J am now 
 so well satisfied with his conduct in that, and 
 every other respect, that I do assure you 
 I know not any person whose assistance I 
 would so anxiously wish for at the council 
 board. He is a man of great knowledge in 
 all the Company's affairs ; joined to which, 
 he possesses those manners and talents best 
 calculated to forward public business with 
 ease to himself and with satisfaction to 
 others. Permit me, therefore, to recom- 
 mend Mr. Oakeley to your friendship. You 
 will find him a treasure as a member of this 
 government. 
 
 Extract of the General Letter from the Honourable the 
 Governor and Council of Fort St. George, to the Honour- 
 able Court of Directors, dated \jth of July 1787. 
 
 Par. 83. THE Board of Revenue bavin? 
 this day reported to us an account of their 
 most material occurrences since the 20th of 
 February last, we have the honour to trans- 
 mit a copy thereof a number in the packet. 
 
 84. By the abstract of gross receipts 
 therein stated, from the 1st of May 1786 to
 
 59 
 
 the 30th of April 1787, you will perceive 
 that they amounted to 
 no less than pagodas - 18,22,975 18 12 
 
 The collections of the pre- 
 ceding year amounted 
 only to - - - 14,72,128 16 78 
 
 Surplus, being the increased 
 
 of collection during the L, ^ -. . . 
 first year's management/ ' 
 of the Board of RevenueJ 
 
 85. This abstract might, of itself, be suffi- 
 cient to prove the essential advantages arising 
 to the Honourable Company from the insti- 
 tution of the Revenue Board, which will 
 appear more conspicuous, when you are 
 pleased to advert to the great loss sustained 
 by the short crops of the Jaghire, from 
 almost an entire failure of rain during the 
 course of that season. 
 
 86. Under these circumstances it was not 
 possible that the collections could have been 
 increased to so considerable an extent, had 
 not the indefatigable intention of the junior 
 members of that board* been exerted in a 
 very singular degree. The abilities of those 
 gentlemen, when members of the committee 
 of the Nabob's assigned revenue, you are 
 
 * The President was a Member of the Council.
 
 60 
 
 already so well acquainted with, that we shall, 
 at present, content ourselves with expressing 
 to your Honourable Court, our hearty appro- 
 bation of their conduct. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from the Hoard of Revenue to the 
 Honourable the Governor in Council, dated 2fjth of Fe- 
 bruary 1788. 
 
 WE have herewith the honour to transmit 
 a letter from Mr. Oakeley, of to-day's date, 
 requesting your permission to resign his seat 
 at this board. 
 
 In forwarding his address upon this subject, 
 we cannot but express our regret at the loss 
 of so able and useful a member of our board ; 
 and we should be wanting in justice to 
 Mr. Oakeley's distinguished merits, if we 
 omitted to embrace the occasion it affords us 
 of bearing our sincere testimony to the zeal, 
 diligence and ability, he has ever manifested 
 in aiding the management of this extensive 
 and important department of the Company's 
 affairs. 
 
 Extract of a General Letter from the Honourable the Governor 
 in Council of Fort St. George, to the Honourable Court of 
 Directors, dated 1st of March 1788. 
 
 Par. 88. WE have complied with the re- 
 quest of Mr. Oakeley, for permission to 
 resign his seat as a member of the Board of
 
 61 
 
 Revenue, under the intention of proceeding 
 to Europe. 
 
 89- The gentlemen of this board who en- 
 closed to us Mr. Oakeley's letter, expressed 
 their regret on the loss of so useful a member ; 
 and took the occasion of bearing testimony 
 to his merits, in aiding the management of 
 that important department of the Company's 
 affairs. 
 
 90. The qualifications of this gentleman 
 during the length of time he acted as secre- 
 tary at this Presidency, and afterwards, as a 
 member of the Committee of Assigned Reve- 
 nue, have been frequently noticed by this go- 
 vernment in terms of the highest approbation. 
 It therefore only remains for us to mention 
 to your honours, that he has displayed the 
 same useful talents whilst a member of the 
 present Board of Revenue, and our full con- 
 viction that his conduct has been regulated 
 by principles of integrity, and a zeal to pro- 
 mote the prosperity of your affairs. 
 
 91. Impressed with these sentiments, we 
 most earnestly recommend Mr. Oakeley to 
 your particular attention ; but such a course 
 of meritorious conduct and services will, we 
 are confident, ensure to him some distin- 
 guished mark of your favour.
 
 m 
 
 Copu of a Letter from Mr. Charles Oakelet/ to the Honourable 
 the Coventor in Council, dotal i;}th of January 1789. 
 
 To the Honourable Major General Sir Archibald Campbell, 
 Governor in Council of Fort St. George. 
 
 Honourable Sir, 
 
 WHEN I desired permission to relinquish 
 my seatat the Board of Revenue, 1 mentioned, 
 that the situation of my family affairs would 
 soon compel me to solicit your further indul- 
 gence; and 1 am now pressed, by the urgency 
 of this call, to request leave to embark for 
 England on the Manship. 
 
 It is a duty, no less pleasing than neces- 
 sary, at my departure, to express the just 
 sense 1 entertain of the honourable approba- 
 tion bestowed upon my conduct in the several 
 stations I have held under the Presidency. 
 Such approbation constitutes my best reward ; 
 and I feel it particularly grateful in that pari 
 of my service which was employed in the col- 
 lection of the public revenues : yet, upon one 
 point, I am happy to justify the favourable 
 opinion of my superiors, by evidence more 
 solemn and conclusive than any that appears 
 on the records. As President of the Com- 
 mittee of Assigned Revenue, I was joined 
 with my colleagues in the management of the 
 Carnatic revenue during the late invasion. 
 The trust became more important from the
 
 63 
 
 circumstances of the time ; but having been 
 conferred without any restrictive oath, it is 
 my wish, before I leave India, to afford the 
 same satisfaction for my conduct in that em- 
 ployment, which the law now requires from 
 every collector previous to his entering on 
 the charge. The enclosed affidavit, made for 
 this purpose, comprehends a period, from the 
 2d of December 1781, the date of the Nabob's 
 agreement with Lord Macartney, to the 21st 
 of February 1785, when I took the revenue 
 oath prescribed by the late Act. 
 
 I have the honour to be, with great respect, 
 
 Honourable Sir, your most obedient 
 
 and most humble servant, 
 
 (signed) Charles Oakeley. 
 
 Fort St. George, 
 13th January 1789. 
 
 Copy of the Affidavit enclosed in the above Letter. 
 
 CuarlesOakeley, Esquire, in the service 
 of the Honourable Company at Fort St. 
 George, maketh oath and saith, that he served 
 under the Right Honourable Lord Macartney, 
 late President, and the rest of the Council of 
 this settlement, as first member of a com- 
 mittee for managing and collecting the reve- 
 nues of the Carnatic, then assigned over by 
 his Highness the Nabob to the said Com-
 
 64 
 
 pany, for the support and expenses of the 
 war : and that from the time of such assign- 
 ment, on the 2d of December 1781, to the 
 time of his taking the revenue oath (pre- 
 scribed by the late regulating Act) on the 
 21st of February 1785, he did not demand, 
 take nor accept, directly or indirectly, by 
 himself, or by any other person for his use 
 or behalf, of or from any Nabob, Rajah, 
 Zemindar, Talookdar, Polygar, Renter, Ryot, 
 or other person, paying, or liable to pay, any 
 tribute, rent or tax to or for the use of the 
 said Company, any sum of money, or other 
 valuable thing, by way of present, gift, or 
 otherwise, over and above, or besides and 
 except the actual tribute rent or tax, autho- 
 rized to be taken by and for the use of the 
 said Company ; and that he hath justly and 
 truly accounted and answered for the same 
 to the said Company. 
 
 (signed) Charles Oakeley. 
 
 Fort St. George, 
 13th January 1789. 
 
 Sworn before me, 
 
 William Wr.nn, Mayor. 
 
 Copt/ of a Letter fxom the Secretary of the Governor ami 
 Council of Fort St. George, to Charles Oakeley, Esq. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I AM directed by government to acknow- 
 ledge the receipt of your letter of this date,
 
 TEA TABLE TALK. 
 
 The Walcots of Bitterley Court, Shropshire, who hive 
 presented the scarlet cloak worn by Charles I. on the scaffold 
 to the Corporation of Shrewsbury, are one of the oldest 
 families in the kingdom. Descended from one of the 
 ancient septs of Wales, they got their surname through tie 
 marriage of a remote ancestor wiih the heiress of Sir John 
 Walcot, of Walcot, in Shropshire. In an old manuscript 
 the family is said to be of Saxon origin, but as the ancestor 
 who married the heiress of the Walcots was a Welshman — 
 the Lord of Garthland — their origin seems clear enough. 
 The Walcots were seated at Walcot from an early date until 
 its sale to Lord Clive, the hero of Plassey. 
 
 The cloak presented to Shrewsbury was obtained by 
 William Walcot, a page-of-honour to the unfortunate King, 
 and who was in attendance upon his Majes'y at the execu- 
 tion in front of Whitehall Palace on that winter's morning 
 two hundred and fifty-nine years ago last Tanuary. William 
 Walcot was the third son of Humphrey Walcot of Walcot, 
 a prominent Royalist, who suffered much through his sacri- 
 fices in the cause of Charles I. 
 
 Walcot was, says the Court Journal, purchased by Lord 
 Clive, together with a large estate, after his return from 
 India, and it is now one of Lord Powis's fine seats. It is a 
 state'y old red brick building with beautiful gardens and 
 grounds, and surrounded by a large and picturesque de:r- 
 park in which is a large lake. Walcot contains the famots 
 Clive collection of Indian curiosities, but it is nat a well- 
 known place, lying somewhat off the beaten track, though it 
 is not a great distance from the delightfully interesting little 
 town of Ludlow, with its famous castle. The present owner 
 of Walcot descends lineally from the founder of the Indian 
 Empire. 
 
 On Walcot being sold Bitterley Court became the family 
 seat It had, however, long been owned by the Walcots 
 when, in 1738, the place was purchased by the then head of 
 the family, Charles Walcot, from his cousin the Rev. 
 Humphrey Walcot. Bitterley is an in eresting old house. 
 by no means pretentious, but an excellent example of the 
 manor-house of the seventeenth century. It stands under 
 the shadow of the picturesque Clee Hills in the sou'h of 
 Shropshire, on the road from Ludlow to Cleobury Mortimer, 
 about midway between the two towns. The present owner 
 of Bitterley and the representative of the (ami'y is Mr. John 
 Owen Walcot, whose father, the late Mr. Walcot, died in 
 March, 1906. 
 
 Lord Gerald Wellesley, third son of the Duke an) Duchess 
 of Wellington, was among the successful candidates at the 
 recent examination for the Diplomatic Service. Lord Gerald 
 is a young man of twenty-three, who has already been a good 
 deal abroad, and besides being a good lingntat he has 
 inherited artistic tastes from his mother the Duchess of 
 Wellington. Another successful competitor for admission 
 to Diplomacy is Mr. Birch, a son of Lidy Barringto', who 
 also passed at the recent'examination. 
 
 P and Published for the Proprietors by James Bi
 
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 THE STORES, BATH.*^ 
 ALSO AT BRISTOL d CLIFTON. 
 
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 Broad ^iain, Bristol. 
 
 FOR ARTISTIC DESIUN3 IN 
 
 BEDSTEADS, 
 
 and PURE", COMFORTABLE 
 
 BEDDING, 
 
 YOU CANNOT DO BETTER THAN 
 
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 The Original Bedding Manufactory, 
 38, BROAD STREET, BATH. 
 
 261 
 
 Bath Electric Tramways.— Mr. \V. E. Hardy supplies 
 the following official figures regarding the traffic receipts of 
 the Electric Tramway Company : — 
 
 Total traffic receipts week ending Oct. 81. £725 
 
 Aggregate for 42 weeks to date... ... £31,715 o 
 
 Decrease on aggregate compared with cor- 
 responding period last year £2,283 o
 
 65 
 
 and to acquaint you, that you have their 
 permission to embark on the Manship, under 
 the conditions enjoined by the Company's 
 order relative to the return of their servants 
 to England. It is the intention of govern- 
 ment to take this occasion of calling the 
 attention of the Honourable the Court of 
 Directors to their favourable recommenda- 
 tion of you in the general letter from this 
 Presidency of the 1st of March 1788, and to 
 which your long and faithful services give 
 you so just a claim. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 Charles N. White, 
 
 Fort St. George, Secretary. 
 
 13th January 1789. 
 
 Extract of a General Letter from the Honourable the Go- 
 vernor and Council of Fort St. George, to the Honourable 
 Court of Directors, by the Manship. 
 
 IN consequence of an application from 
 Mr. Oakeley, we have given him permission 
 to embark on the Manship, for England, 
 under the conditions enjoined by your orders 
 relative to the return of your servants. In 
 his letter to us on this occasion, Mr. Oakeley 
 has expressed the sense he entertains of the 
 honourable approbation bestowed upon his 
 conduct at different times ; and he felt it par- 
 
 F
 
 66 
 
 licularly grateful in lhat part of his service 
 which was employed in the collection of the 
 public revenue ; yet, upon one point, he was 
 happy to justify the favourable opinion of 
 his superiors by evidence more solemn 
 and conclusive than any upon the records. 
 Mr. Oakeley then stated his situation as Pre- 
 sident of the Committee of Assigned Revenue, 
 during the late invasion ; but, as the trust 
 was conferred without any restrictive oath, it 
 was his w r ish, before he left India, to afford 
 the same satisfaction for his conduct in that 
 employment which the law now required 
 from every collector ; and, for this purpose, 
 he enclosed an affidavit, comprehending the 
 period of the Nabob's assignment of his 
 country, to the time Mr. Oakeley took the 
 revenue oath in 1785. 
 
 Our sentiments of Mr. Oakeley were com- 
 municated in the general letter of the 1st of 
 March last, but Ave should be wanting in ;i 
 just attention to his long and faithful ser- 
 vices, were we to omit this occasion of ob- 
 serving, that he is not only entitled to your 
 approbation, but to some distinguished mark 
 of jour favour.
 
 67 
 
 Extract of a General Letter from the Honourable Court of 
 Directors to the President and Council of Fort St. George, 
 dated 8th of April 1789. 
 
 Par. 57. WE are no strangers to the 
 merits of Mr. Charles Oakeley, (whom you 
 have permitted to return to Europe,) and 
 whenever an application comes before us 
 from that gentleman to return to Madras, he 
 will need no other recommendation to our 
 favour than he is already entitled to from 
 a consideration of the able manner in which 
 he has distinguished himself in the Com- 
 pany's service. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from the Right Honourable Lord 
 Macartney to the Honourable Court of Directors, dated 
 Ctirzon Street, Jth of July 1789. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 ALTHOUGH I have long since made 
 a resolution to trouble you as little as pos- 
 sible, and still wish to adhere to it, yet 
 I cannot, consistently with the principles 
 I have professed, forbear to solicit you in 
 behalf of the claims of one of your ablest, 
 and (what I hold much higher) one of your 
 honestest* servants, lately returned from 
 Fort St. George. 
 
 * Without adopting the invidious expression of Mr. 
 Burke, " honest even in India," the descendants of Sir 
 
 f2
 
 68 
 
 Mr. Charles Oakeley, the gentleman to 
 whom J allude, has served you in India two 
 and twenty years, without intermission ; most 
 of the time in offices of high trust, and 
 always with distinguished approbation. lie 
 has informed me of his intention of applying 
 to you upon the ground of a recommenda- 
 tion sent home while I was in the govern- 
 ment at Madras ; and I confess that I am 
 particularly desirous of supporting his re- 
 quest with all my credit, as it relates to a 
 measure in which 1 felt an interest at the 
 time proportioned to its public importance, 
 and to the difficulties that attended its exe- 
 cution. 
 
 The assignment of the Nabob's revenues, 
 as will appear by your records, was obtained 
 at a. period of the late war, when your armies 
 in the Carnatic suffered alarming inconve- 
 niences from the want of those supplies 
 which the country was capable of yielding, 
 but which, under the Nabob's management, 
 were totally lost to the public service. From 
 
 Charles Oakeley may still be permitted to refer with 
 infinite satisfaction to the epithet so emphatically applied 
 to him by Lord Macartney, both here, and in a former letter 
 to the Court of Directors ( (see p. 44;) and to the voluntary 
 affidavits inserted in pages Cv] and 79. With respect to 
 the earlier of these two documents, see Lord M.'s remarks 
 in the close of this invaluable letter. — Edit.
 
 69 
 
 the favourable opinion I entertained of Mr. 
 Oakeley's qualifications, I named him, with 
 three other gentlemen of character, to su- 
 perintend the collection, and should certainly 
 have proposed a commission on the reve- 
 nues, as the most eligible plan of rewarding 
 their labours, had I not conceived, that in 
 the pressure of a formidable invasion, no 
 estimate could be made with a degree of ac- 
 curacy sufficient for such a determination. 
 
 But when an experience of three years had 
 proved the great and unexpected success of 
 this assignment, and when even the govern- 
 ment general of Bengal, in full conviction of 
 the essential advantages drawn from its ope- 
 ration, had suggested the propriety of a more 
 extended allowance to the gentlemen who 
 conducted it, I was happy in the occasion of 
 recommending, and enforcing, what was so 
 perfectly consonant to my own opinion. 
 
 The time which has elapsed, instead of 
 weakening, will, I am persuaded, offer to 
 your minds a further argument in support of 
 these claims. It is now four years since the 
 surrender of the assignment ; and nothing, 
 I am convinced, can have appeared in the 
 smallest degree to impeach the credit of its 
 management ; but, on the contrary, an act, 
 tending to corroborate the proofs already 
 
 f3
 
 70 
 
 before you with regard lo the integrity mani- 
 fested in this proceeding, will be found in 
 the affidavit voluntarily made by Mr. Oake- 
 ley, previous to his departure from Madras. 
 I cannot find terms too strong to call your 
 attention, not only to this striking evidence, 
 (hitherto unexampled, except in my own in- 
 stance) but to the whole of that gentleman's 
 conduct, attested by successive administra- 
 tions, under all the different governors, of 
 different descriptions, whom you have em- 
 ployed at Fort St. George during the long 
 period of Mr. Oakeley's services there. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 (signed) Macartney. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from Lord Cornwallis to Sir Charles 
 Oakeley, dated Camp, 1st of July 1791. 
 
 THE exertions that have been made by 
 your government to procure a supply of 
 bullocks, and to forward, in every respect, 
 the equipment of this army, claim my 
 warmest acknowledgments, and I am happy 
 to find that they have hitherto been attend- 
 ed with greater effect than I was sanguine 
 enough to expect.
 
 71 
 
 Extract of a Letter from Lord Cornzcallis to Sir Charles 
 Oakeley, dated Camp at Soleur, 2d of July 1791. 
 
 I cannot conclude without assuring you, 
 that I shall ever retain the most grateful 
 sense of your exertions to refit this army, 
 and that I feel myself fortunate in this im- 
 portant juncture, in seeing the government 
 of Fort St. George in such able and respec- 
 table hands. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from Lord Cornwallis to Sir Charles 
 Oakeley, dated Camp, 6th of July 1791. 
 
 YOU will, long since, have learned with 
 how much satisfaction I received the letters 
 from yourself, and the board, respecting the 
 supplies that are preparing, the state of the 
 treasury, and the prospects of the speedy 
 re-equipment of the army ; and how much 
 I thought the public and myself indebted to 
 your exertion. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from Lord Cornwallis to Sir Charles 
 Oakeley, dated Camp, ^th of August 1791. 
 
 THE regard that you have manifested for 
 the honour and interest of your country, by 
 the attention you have paid to the charges 
 exhibited against the Messrs. Ilollond, and 
 your exertions to bring those offenders lo 
 public justice, claim my highest applause ; 
 
 f 4
 
 72 
 
 and I have seen, with great satisfaction, that 
 the committee who conducted this inquiry 
 have received so strong a testimony of your 
 approbation and acknowledgment. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from Lord Cormvallis to Sir Charles 
 Oakeley, dated Camp, 1st of January 1792. 
 
 I received, last night, your letter 
 dated the 26th ultimo, and saw, with great 
 satisfaction, that the government of Fort 
 St. George had still the means of assisting 
 me, without drawing upon Bengal. The 
 respite which, by your prudence and good 
 management, you have been able to afford 
 to that exhausted country, reflects the highest 
 honour on your government, and will be at- 
 tended with the greatest advantages to the 
 Company's affairs.* 
 
 * The following extract of a letter, (written in England) 
 from A. Montgomery Campbell, Esq. to William Oakeley, 
 Esq. will shew the terms in which Lord Cornwallis had 
 expressed himself to the Court of Directors and others, 
 respecting my father's administration : — " I am happy to 
 find that Lord Cornwallis has written home in the highest 
 strains of panegyric upon Sir Charles's character and 
 conduct, which has given his friends at the India House 
 very great satisfaction." — Edit.
 
 73 
 
 Copy of a Lettei from Lord Cormuallis to the Government 
 of Fort St. George, dated 31st of May 1792. 
 
 I have had the honour to receive your 
 letter dated the 29th instant; and whilst I 
 request you to accept my best thanks for 
 the nattering terms in which you have been 
 pleased to express your congratulations on 
 my return to this Presidency, I must, at the 
 same time, beg you will do me the justice to 
 believe that I have ever entertained the most 
 lively sense of the liberal support which you 
 so steadily afforded to the operations of the 
 war ; and that I have always considered your 
 conduct in that respect as no less obliging 
 to myself than highly useful to your country. 
 
 My past experience of your zeal and pub- 
 lic spirit, gives me the justest grounds to be 
 confident that no endeavours will be want- 
 ing, on your part, to manage the portion of 
 our late acquisition that has been annexed 
 to your government, in the manner that will 
 best promote the happiness of the people, 
 and the real and substantial benefit of the 
 Company.
 
 74 
 
 Extract of a letter from the Rig/it Honourable Henri) 
 Dundus to Sir Charles Oakeley, dated -zoth September 
 
 WITH regard to yourself, I can only re- 
 peal what I have declared every where, in 
 public and private, that your conduct meets 
 with my warmest approbation; and not mine 
 only, but the approbation of your Sovereign 
 and the public at large ; and I trust, in the 
 future progress of your life, that no oppor- 
 tunity will be lost to testify it in a proper 
 manner.* 
 
 * I cannot forbear to insert here an extract of a letter 
 from Mr. Dundas to my mother, of the same date with the 
 above. " We are perfectly satisfied with you all, and 
 " with none more than your own husband. The line in 
 *' which great warriors had to walk, at the head of power- 
 " ful armies, gave them an opportunity of appearing with 
 " most brilliancy to common observers, and the glorious 
 " termination of the war does infinite honour to the 
 " character of Lord Comwallis; but to me, the back- 
 " ground of the picture is no less pleasing ; and my 
 " warmest approbation and thanks are due to the merits 
 " of those, who by their exertions and vigilant economy 
 " administered those resources, without which the war 
 " could neither have been conducted with brilliancy, nor 
 " ended in the splendor by which it has been terminated. 
 " I have much pleasure in writing all this to you." — 
 Edit.
 
 75 
 
 Extract of a Letter from the Right Honourable Henri/ 
 Dundas, President of the Board of Control, to Sir 
 Charles Oake/ei/, dated 4th of February 1794. 
 
 I have been honoured with your letter 
 of the 24th August 1793, stating that Pondi- 
 cherry had surrendered to the army under 
 Colonel Brathwaite. 
 
 I cannot but be pleased with the prompti- 
 tude with which your military operations 
 were undertaken and executed ; and sin- 
 cerely congratulate you on their happy 
 termination. I trust that the complete ex- 
 pulsion of the French from their settlements, 
 will afford the most ample security to our 
 Asiatic possessions. 
 
 Postcript, 5th Feb. — I add this postscript 
 to inform you, that I have this moment re- 
 ceived a letter from the Marquis Cornwallis, 
 dated Torbay, 3d Feb. 1794, stating that 
 he was just coming to an anchor in that bay, 
 in the Swallow Packet ; and adding, that 
 when he left Madras, all affairs in India 
 wore a most prosperous aspect. In his letter 
 to the Court of Directors, he has done jus- 
 tice to the " meritorious exertions" of your 
 government with respect to the siege of 
 Pondicherry.
 
 76 
 
 Extract of a Letter from the Right Honourable Henry 
 Duni/as to Sir Charles Dahelei/, dated the ^th of April 
 
 '794- 
 
 I have already acknowledged the plea- 
 sure I felt in the account you give me of 
 the flourishing state of your finances. This 
 pleasure has since been confirmed by the 
 advice of your having been able to send 
 near twenty lacks of rupees, in specie, to 
 Bengal, and that your 6 per cent notes were 
 bearing a premium of 2\ per cent. 
 
 Copy of' Sir Charles Oakelei/'s Minute in Council at Fort 
 St. George, the Jth of September 1794. 
 
 I take the earliest occasion of expressing 
 my acknowledgments to the Honourable 
 Court of Directors for the attention they 
 have paid to my request, in the appointment 
 of a successor to receive from me the charge 
 of this government. The state of my health at 
 the time I preferred the application made me 
 naturally anxious to return to Europe with 
 the least possible delay ; yet, I could not, 
 under any circumstances, think of quitting 
 my situation until a successor arrived. 
 
 The Honourable Court has been pleased 
 to allow me the option of retaining the go- 
 vernment for a period not exceeding one
 
 77 
 
 month after the arrival of Lord Ilobart; but, 
 of this indulgence I do not wish to avail 
 myself, since the pleasure of putting his Lord- 
 ship in immediate possession of the office, 
 greatly outweighs every consideration of con- 
 venience to be derived from the advantage 
 intended me. 
 
 I think it proper to observe, that the Car- 
 natic is at peace with the neighbouring pow- 
 ers ; and that the pecuniary engagements of 
 the Nabob, and the Rajah of Tanjore, are 
 entirely fulfilled. The revenue and com- 
 mercial concerns of the Company are much 
 improved by the vigilant superintendence of 
 the gentlemen in the immediate charge of 
 those departments, and the state of their 
 credit is pleasingly evinced by the seasonable 
 relief which has taken place in the debts of 
 this Presidency, and by a great reduction in 
 the rate of interest. 
 
 I cannot relinquish my office without re- 
 cording the grateful sense I entertain of the 
 honour conferred upon me by so distin- 
 guished an appointment. In respect to my 
 covenants with the Company, I am assured 
 my superiors will not doubt the attention I 
 have paid to those engagements : but, when 
 I reflect on the state of public opinion with
 
 78 
 
 regard to this country, the peculiar circum- 
 stances under which I took charge of the go- 
 ment, and the nature of the duty laid upon 
 me by the Court of Directors at my depar- 
 ture from England, I think it may be accep- 
 table to them to receive a voluntary testimony 
 from me upon this point ; and I beg permis- 
 sion, in consequence, to record the accom- 
 panying affidavit. 
 
 My best acknowledgments are due to the 
 gentlemen who have acted with me at the 
 board, for their constant assistance and sup- 
 port ; and to the secretaries of the civil and 
 mititary departments, for the diligence and 
 zeal which they have manifested in the dis- 
 charge of their respective duties. 
 
 I now request permission to resign the 
 government into the hands of Lord Ilobart,* 
 and to accompany this last act by the offer 
 of my most cordial wishes for the honour and 
 prosperity of his Lordship's administration. 
 
 (signed) Charles Oakeley. 
 
 * The following is a copy of Lord Hobart's Minute in 
 Council, on succeeding to the government, dated Sep- 
 tember 7, 1794 : — 
 
 " I take the earliest opportunity of thanking Sir Charles 
 Oakeley for the attention which he has so strongly marked
 
 79 
 
 Copy of Affidavit, referred to in the above Minute. 
 
 Sir Charles Oak ELEY,Baronet, President 
 and Governor of Fort St. George, maketh 
 oath and saith, That on his appointment to 
 that station, he entered into certain articles 
 of covenant or indenture with the Honour- 
 able Court of Directors of the United East 
 India Company, bearing date on or about the 
 twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our 
 Lord 1790 ; and that, pursuant to the engage- 
 ments therein contained, he hath not directly 
 nor indirectly, by himself, or by any other 
 person or persons, for his use or behalf, or 
 for the use or behalf of any other person or 
 persons whatsoever, save and except the said 
 Company, carried on any dealings or trans- 
 actions, by way of traffic or commerce, in 
 money or goods of any kind whatsoever : 
 That he hath not lent money to any of the 
 
 towards me, by his immediate resignation of the govern- 
 ment upon my arrival. 
 
 " I am fully sensible of his liberality in relinquishing, 
 from motives of personal civility to me, those advantages 
 which he might have retained by availing himself of the 
 power vested in him by the Honourable Court of Directors 
 of continuing for a longer period in possession of that 
 office." — Edit.
 
 80 
 
 country powers, nor to any person or per- 
 sons holding any commission or commissions 
 under or employed by them, directly or in- 
 directly, on any mortgages on land or reve- 
 nues, or in any other manner whatsoever : 
 That he hath not directly nor indirectly, by 
 himself, or by any other person or persons, 
 for his use, or on his behalf, taken or ac- 
 cepted of or from any Nabob, Rajah, Zemin- 
 dar, Poligar, Renter, Ryot, or any other 
 person, paying, or liable to pay any subsidy, 
 tribute, rent, or tax to or for the use of the 
 said Company, any sum of money or other 
 valuable thing, by way of gift, present, or 
 otherwise : That he hath not directly nor in- 
 directly, by himself, or by any other person 
 or persons in his behalf, made any remittan- 
 ces of money or goods through the channel 
 of foreign companies or agents, or assisted 
 such companies or agents in their traffic, in 
 any manner whatsoever : And, lastly, that he 
 hath not directly nor indirectly, by himself, 
 or by any other person or persons, for his use, 
 or on his behalf, taken or accepted any sum 
 of money or other valuable thing, by way of 
 salary, fee, perquisite or emolument of office, 
 other than and except the following ; that is 
 to say, the salary granted to him by the said
 
 81 
 
 Company, with such fees as are expressly 
 authorized by covenants or otherwise, to be 
 taken in his public situation, and the accom- 
 modation of the said Company's houses, with 
 the servants, plate, and other articles of esta- 
 blishment usually charged in the civil pay- 
 master's accounts. 
 
 (signed) Charles Oakeley. 
 
 Sworn before me, in Fort St. George, 
 this 7th of September 1 794. 
 
 (signed) E. W. Fallowfield.* 
 
 Copt/ of a Minute of the Honourable Court of Directors, 
 dated August 5, 1 705. 
 
 " At a Court of Directors, held on Wednesday the 5th of 
 August 1795. 
 
 " Resolved Unanimously, 
 
 " THAT the Thanks of this Court be given 
 to Sir Charles Oakeley, Bart, for his conduct 
 during his government of Fort St. George. 
 
 " Whereupon Sir Charles was introduced 
 into Court, and congratulated by the Chair- 
 man on his safe arrival, who communicated 
 to him the above Resolution." 
 A Copy, 
 
 J. Mad docks, 
 
 Assistant Secretary. 
 
 * The following documents afford further proofs of that 
 
 c;
 
 82 
 
 delicacy of feeling and nice sense of honour to which I am 
 proud to refer — Edit. 
 
 (CopyO 
 
 To Sir Charles Odkeley, Bart. 
 
 Political Department, Fort St. George, 
 Sir, i ltli September 1794. 
 
 We have the honour to transmit to you the accom- 
 panying extract of a letter from the Honourable Court of 
 Directors, on the subject of presents made to your family 
 by the Nabob Tippoo Sultaun, and to acquaint you, that 
 we have directed the Secretary in the civil department to 
 wait upon Lady Oakeley with the articles of which the 
 Honourable Court of Directors have requested her Lady- 
 ship's acceptance, as a mark of the Company's esteem and 
 approbation of her conduct. 
 
 We have the honour to be, 
 
 With great esteem and regard, 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient humble servants, 
 
 HO BART, 
 
 E. W. FALLOWFIELD, 
 
 GEO. WESTCOTT. 
 
 Extract from the Minutes of Consultation (sent with 
 the above.) 
 
 Political Department, 9th Sept. 1794. 
 Read the following paragrapli of a letter from the 
 Honourable Court of Directors, dated the 19th 
 February 1794. 
 
 Par. 22. " We have perused Sir Charles Oakeley's 
 Minute of the 22d January last, on the subject of pre-
 
 83 
 
 sents to his family from the Nabob Tippoo Sultaun, and 
 although we highly approve of the delicacy and propriety 
 ot Sir Charles's feeling on the occasion, we cannot con- 
 sider these presents in the light of those which, from 
 reasons of policy, it has been thought expedient to pro- 
 hibit ; and therefore we desire that the articles in question 
 shall be appropriated as originally designed, and that 
 Ladv Oakeley will receive them from the Company as a 
 mark of esteem and approbation of her very becoming 
 conduct, in the attention she has bestowed in making the 
 residence of those young Princes as happy and comfortable 
 as was compatible with their situation." 
 
 " Resolved, That the Secretary in the Civil Depart- 
 ment do wait upon Ladv Oakeley, with the articles men- 
 tioned in the preceding paragraph, and that he be directed 
 to request, that her Ladyship will receive them from the 
 Company as a mark of their esteem and approbation of 
 her conduct." 
 
 Copy of a letter to the Right Honourable Lord Hobart, 
 Governor in Council, fyc. fyc. Sfc. 
 
 Fort St. George, 
 My Lord, 1,5th September 1794, 
 
 I have had the honour to receive vour Lordship's 
 letter of the 11th inst. ; and feel much nattered by your 
 attention in conveying to me the paragraph of the Honour- 
 able Court's commands relative to the presents offered to 
 my family by Tippoo Sultaun, through the medium of 
 the hostage Princes, and deposited in the Company's 
 treasury. 
 
 The circumstances under which this transaction took 
 place, appeared to require a different mode of proceeding 
 on my part from that which I should have observed upon 
 any other offer of the same nature. To have declined the 
 presents, or even to have shown ai'y mark of concern or 
 embarrassment in accepting tliem, would have created a 
 
 G 2
 
 84 
 
 considerable degree of uneasiness in the minds of the 
 hostages and their attendants. But, although I did not 
 think they could with propriety be rejected, I was clearly 
 of opinion they ought not in any circumstances to become 
 the property of my family; and as my sentiments on this 
 point continue the same, and Lady Oakeley's are in 
 perfect correspondence with them, I trust the Honourable 
 Court will not be displeased that we do not profit by 
 their polite intentions. 
 
 I am highly sensible, however, of the generosity which 
 has influenced their conduct on this occasion ; and be?, 
 through your Lordship, to make my humble and respectful 
 acknowledgments. 
 
 I have the honour to be, with great respect, 
 My Lord, 
 Your Lordship's most obedient humble servant, 
 
 CHARLES OAKELEY.
 
 APPENDIX.
 
 " The greatest benefit which one friend can confer upon 
 another, is to guard, and excite, and elevate his virtues. 
 This your parent will still perform, if you diligently pre- 
 serve the memory of his life, and of his death : a life, so 
 far as I can learn, useful, wise, and innocent ; and a death 
 resigned, peaceful, and holy." 
 
 Dk. Johnson.
 
 87 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 SOON after his return to England, at the 
 close of those services to which the preced- 
 ing pages refer, Sir Charles Oakeley fixed 
 his residence at the Abbey, Shrewsbury, in 
 the parish in which his venerable father, its 
 incumbent, was then living, and in the county 
 with which his family had long been con- 
 nected. He continued there till the year 
 1810, and then removed to the Palace, Lich- 
 field, which he occupied during the remain- 
 der of his life. 
 
 His talents for public business had induced 
 Sir William Pulteney, in the most gratifying 
 manner, to offer him a seat in Parliament, 
 shortly after his first return from India, in 
 1789- He declined it, partly because he 
 considered his fortune insufficient to admit 
 of the increased expenses to which it would 
 have led ; but chiefly, because it would have 
 interfered too much with that happy retire- 
 ment, which he had then just begun to enjoy. 
 
 g4
 
 88 
 
 His strong sense of duty, and the pressing 
 call he received from those who were in au- 
 thority, prevailed with him, soon after, to 
 sacrifice his inclinations, and to undertake 
 fresh and more arduous public duties ; but 
 no one who knew him will doubt the sin- 
 cerity with which he wrote to his brother,* 
 (in May 1790) : " I envy you the happiness 
 of your retirement, and would exchange all 
 my honours for it with pleasure." A kind 
 Providence having restored him a second 
 time to his country, the object to which he 
 had always looked forward was again placed 
 within his reach, and he passed the remain- 
 der of his life in a private station, and in the 
 bosom of his family. 
 
 He continued, however, to be an attentive 
 observer of public events; and in the affairs 
 of India, in particular, he never ceased to 
 take an active interest. He thought and 
 wrote much upon the administration of the 
 Company's resources in that country ; cor- 
 responding with Mr. Dundas, and other 
 official persons, who gladly availed them- 
 selves of the benefit of his counsel, and whose 
 
 * The late William Oakeley, esquire, of Tanybwlch, 
 Merionethshire, endeared to all who knew him, by his be- 
 nevolence and urbanity, and justly remembered as a public 
 benefactor in the country in which he resided.
 
 .'>■ 
 
 %kt - /* 
 
 </ o 
 
 j? TRENT VALLEY HOUSE, 
 
 V LICHFIELD, 
 
 . STAFFS. 
 
 \, fuUJ o A 7qai ~ h - find
 
 Say. S ■ ■&, 
 
 (ttxsL,<u.f (hw*< 'T'ftf^ ^^VK 
 
 tut to Jht fot/U,^
 
 i W^ u^nt jfc^i 

 
 Jlu, ClAi^ H<Ul c h/£tuc/%z 
 
 kr %UUU. ' fit htry 
 
 -
 
 88 
 
 His strong sense of duty, and the pressing 
 call he received from those who were in au- 
 thority, prevailed with him, soon after, to 
 sacrifice his inclinations, and to undertake 
 fresh and more arduous public duties ; but 
 no one who knew him will doubt the sin- 
 cerity with which he wrote to his brother,* 
 (in May 1790) : " I envy you the happiness 
 of your retirement, and would exchange all 
 my honours for it with pleasure." A kind 
 Providence having restored him a second 
 time to his country, the object to which he 
 had always looked forward was again placed 
 within his reach, and he passed the remain- 
 der of his life in a private station, and in the 
 bosom of his family. 
 
 He continued, however, to be an attentive 
 observer of public events; and in the affairs 
 of India, in particular, he never ceased to 
 take an active interest. He thought and 
 wrote much upon the administration of the 
 Company's resources in that country; cor- 
 responding with Mr. Dundas, and other 
 official persons, who gladly availed them- 
 selves of the benefit of his counsel, and whose 
 
 * The late William Oakeley, esquire, of Tanybwlch, 
 Merionethshire, endeared to all who knew him, by his be- 
 nevolence and urbanity, and justly remembered as a public 
 benefactor in the country in which he resided.
 
 89 
 
 letters, now in my hands, afford pleasing 
 proofs of the estimation in which his autho- 
 rity was held. Of his own letters of this 
 class — those, at least, of which copies were 
 kept, — I have selected two, and extracts 
 from a third, for insertion here. The first 
 exhibits such sound views of policy, is so 
 comprehensive in its details, and so replete 
 with information upon subjects nearly con- 
 nected with the transactions of his public 
 life, that it cannot but be regarded as a very 
 valuable paper by all those for whom the pre- 
 sent volume is intended. It was addressed 
 to a distinguished Director of the East India 
 Company. 
 
 (Copy.) 
 
 " The Abbey, Shrewsbury, 
 " SIR, " July 18, 1805. 
 
 "As the general observations which I had 
 the honour to communicate to you respect- 
 ing the finances of the Company abroad, 
 seemed to meet your approval, I shall take 
 the liberty of going somewhat into detail, 
 with a view to show that the immense in- 
 crease of establishments took place under 
 circumstances which were supposed not 
 likely to call for such heavy burdens, and 
 that they are altogether at variance with 
 opinions and estimates of high authority.
 
 90 
 
 " After the pence of Seringapatam in 1792, 
 although considerable acquisitions of terri- 
 tory were then made, Lord Cornwallis deem- 
 ed it inexpedient to keep up any addition l(» 
 the former established force on this account- 
 The reduction which had been effected in 
 the Mysore power, the proportionate in- 
 crease in our own, and the strength given to 
 our frontier by the cessions of Barramaul, 
 Dindegul, «Scc. placed us in a situation of 
 such security as to render all further pro- 
 vision superfluous. The India minister 
 even thought* that some diminution might 
 very safely take place in our military esta- 
 blishment, in consequence of the advantages 
 we had obtained by the war with Tippoo 
 Suit aim. 
 
 " Under these favourable impressions, the 
 Court of Directors framed a general peace- 
 establishment for the civil and military ex- 
 penses of India, and laid it before Parlia- 
 ment in 1793. By this estimate, the whole 
 charges of India, including the excess of ex- 
 penses at Bencoolen and Penang, amounted 
 to £.5,238,1125: upon which Mr. Dundas 
 observes, ' that he has no hesitation in giving 
 it as his opinion, that the military expenses 
 
 * Heads of Mr. Dundas's speech ; 25 Feb. 1793.
 
 91 
 
 may be reduced below their amount previous 
 to the late year; and, consequently, that in 
 stating the above sum as the total of the civil 
 and military charges, he takes them above 
 what they will, in all probability, amount to 
 in future.' 
 
 " It must be remembered, that we were at 
 this time in a state of war with France ; and 
 though it was admitted by the same high 
 authority, ' that these calculations might be 
 affected to a certain extent, by the continu- 
 ance of war ; yet, he flattered himself, by 
 no means to the extent which at first sight 
 might be supposed ; for he hoped, from the 
 situation of the country with which we were 
 engaged in war, that we were not likely to 
 be much disturbed on the continent of 
 India.' And this hope, no doubt, was con- 
 firmed by the capture of Pondicherry, and 
 the other French settlements in India, which 
 soon afterwards took place. 
 
 " ' The charges,' as Mr. Dundas observes, 
 ' were, to a certain degree, increased by this 
 war; since the average from May 1792 to 
 May 1795, owing to the captures above 
 mentioned, and to other expenses connected 
 with the war, was £. 5,886,964, exclusive of 
 supplies to Bencoolen and Penang, estimated 
 at £.50,000. But, to meet this excess of
 
 92 
 
 charge, there was more than a proportionate 
 excess in the receipts, which had been 
 estimated at £.6,963,625 ; whereas their 
 real amount was, £.8,188,717; and the 
 actual surplus revenue, on the average of 
 three years, was £.2,301,753, instead of 
 £.1,725,500, which was the estimate of 
 1793.' 
 
 " Keeping in view the respectable authori- 
 ties above quoted, with regard to the charges, 
 I have endeavoured to trace, as far as my 
 materials will permit, what additional ex- 
 penses of a permanent nature occurred, which 
 were unforeseen at the time these opinions 
 were formed. The most material of these 
 seem to have been, some new establishments 
 for the adawluts and police in Bengal, 
 amounting, as far as 1 can judge, to about 
 ten lacks of rupees, or £.100,000; an in- 
 crease to the military expense, in conse- 
 quence of the new arrangements of 179(>, 
 which were supposed by Mr. Dundas to cost, 
 upon rather a high estimate, £.400,000 per 
 annum ; an increase also of pay to European 
 soldiers, in consequence of a similar aug- 
 mentation at home ; and some addition at 
 the same time made to the pay of the native 
 officers and sepoys at Madras. What these 
 expenses amounted to, I have no means of
 
 93 
 
 judging, but I will take them at £. 100,000. 
 Thus, upon the establishment framed accord- 
 ing to the extent of our territory at the peace 
 of Seringapatam, and deemed sufficient to 
 meet every contingency of our political state 
 in 1793, the ordinary or permanent expense 
 ought not, with the additions above mentioned, 
 much to have exceeded £.5,838,125. 
 
 " The actual expense, I am aware, began 
 to increase very fast from the year 1795, 
 when it was thought expedient to employ the 
 resources of the Company in foreign and 
 expensive expeditions against our national 
 enemies, and to abandon the idea which 
 seems to have prevailed in 1793, of confining 
 our views, in a national war, to the defence 
 of the continent of India. Had the object 
 been so confined, or extended only to the 
 possession of such of the Dutch settlements 
 as might have been dangerous to us, if 
 seized by the French, the increase of expense 
 could not, as Mr. Dundas observed, have 
 been material. But these expeditions were 
 so numerous and expensive, as to consume 
 the whole of that surplus which was meant 
 to be reserved for the sole purposes of 
 defence, and employed in the interim for the 
 provision of investments, and the diminution 
 of the Company's debts.
 
 94 
 
 " The effect of this policy appeared soon 
 after, in the pecuniary difficulties experienced 
 at the moment when it became necessary to 
 prepare for resisting the threatened attack 
 of Tippoo Sultaun. By great exertions and 
 sacrifices of interests, these difficulties were 
 happily surmounted, and a prospect opened 
 of relief, from the conquest of Mysore, and 
 the subsidiary treaty concluded at Hydrabad. 
 The augmentation of resource produced by 
 both events, was calculated at pagodas 
 17,12,623, with a probability of an increase 
 which was expected to raise it to pagodas 
 25,43,680. 
 
 " Marquis Wellesley observes,* that ' against 
 these acquisitions must be placed the expense 
 of whatever addition it may be found neces- 
 sary to make to the military force, either in 
 consequence of the extension of territory, 
 or of the subsidiary enpjaoements contracted 
 with the Nizam, and with the Rajah of 
 Mysore.' His Lordship then goes on, ' The 
 subsidiary force at Hydrabad must be con- 
 sidered as a part of your efficient strength. 
 prepared for your service on any emergency, 
 and ready to aid you in any future war, as it 
 has done in the last. It does not appear to 
 
 * Letter of 3 Aug. 1 71
 
 95 
 
 me probable that it will be necessary to make 
 any considerable addition to the establish- 
 ment at Fort St. George, in consequence of 
 the treaty of Hydrabad ; nor do I apprehend 
 that the requisite increase of that establish- 
 ment, and of the army at Bombay, in con- 
 sequence of the two treaties, annexed to this 
 dispatch, will bear any proportion to the 
 increase of your revenue and resources ; for 
 it must never be forgotten, that while your 
 territory has been extended, your frontier has 
 been contracted and strengthened, your prin- 
 cipal enemy utterly destroyed, and an ally 
 and dependant of the Company established 
 on the throne.' 
 
 " The former part of this opinion speaks 
 of some additional force as being probably 
 necessary, but the latter seems rather to 
 imply a contrary belief, and certainly the 
 advantages said to have been acquired by 
 the war would justify a conclusion in favour 
 of a decrease of force, proportionate to the 
 increase of security which that measure had 
 produced. 
 
 " Thus, if we allow the weight which is due 
 to the highest authorities in our Indian 
 government, it will be difficult to conceive 
 that a necessity existed either before or since 
 the conquest of Mysore, of making any ma-
 
 96 
 
 terial addition to the military establishments. 
 It appears, however, on comparing the ex- 
 penses of this branch, according to the Peace 
 estimate laid before Parliament in 1803, that 
 a very material increase is specified, and far 
 beyond those calculations which governed 
 the Peace estimate of 1793, and the subse- 
 quent expectations from military arrange- 
 ments in 1796- 
 
 " The military charges, according to the 
 estimate of 1793, were, for 
 
 Bengal 
 
 Madras 
 Bombay 
 
 - £. 1,380,000 
 
 1,200,000 
 
 337>5°° 
 
 Buildings and fortifications at the three! 
 Presidencies -j 
 
 " The military charges, according 
 to the estimate of 1803, were, for 
 
 Bengal, including buildings and"! _ . cc _ 
 
 fortifications 
 Madras ditto 
 Bombay ditto 
 
 2,738,000 
 568,726 
 
 Increase 
 
 2,917,500 
 1 1/>875 
 
 3,035,375 
 
 5,466,393 
 
 2,431,018 
 
 " Of the particular articles of this increase 
 I have no materials to form any judgment ; 
 nor was it my object to show more than that
 
 97 
 
 the increase itself exceeds the measure of 
 those high opinions to which the public natu- 
 rally looks with confidence, upon all points 
 respecting India. Much of it, perhaps, is 
 owing to new, or augmented corps ; much, 
 perhaps, to what is called contingent expense ; 
 including those depots and establishments 
 which are kept for the purpose of enabling 
 large bodies of men, with artillery stores and 
 provisions, to move at the shortest notice. 
 Upon this subject I shall beg to add a few 
 remarks. 
 
 " In the dispatches from India relative to 
 the late war with Tippoo Sultaun,* particular 
 notice was taken of the backwardness of the 
 preparations at Fort St. George. This was 
 said to be owing to the dispersed state of 
 the army, and to certain radical defects in the 
 establishment; and from these causes, "some 
 officers of approved talents, experience, and 
 integrity, had declared, that the army in the 
 Carnatic could not be assembled for offensive 
 purposes before the commencement of the 
 year 1800,-j- and that a period of six months 
 would be required for its equipment, even for 
 
 * Letter from Marquis Wellesley, 20 March 1799. 
 
 •f That is eighteen months after the date of the orders 
 for assembling the army, which were issued on the 20th 
 June 1798. 
 
 II
 
 98 
 
 the purpose of defending the Carnatic against 
 any sudden attack/' 
 
 " Nothing could he more weak, absurd 
 and contrary to experience, than this opinion, 
 which might have been completely refuted 
 by a simple reference to the records. Facts 
 in direct opposition to it appear, in the equip- 
 ment of the Carnatic army assembled for 
 offensive operations under General Medows 
 in 17.90; in the re-equipment of the same 
 army, reinforced with troops from Bengal, 
 when it took the field the next campaign, 
 under Lord Cornwallis, in 1791 '. in the com- 
 plete refit of the same army, when it returned 
 from Seringapatam in May that year, desti- 
 tute of all supplies ; in the equipment, of a 
 large army for the siege of Pondicherry, in 
 1793, when the troops, notwithstanding their 
 dispersed state, were assembled before that 
 fortress with artillery, provisions and stores 
 of every kind, necessary for the service, pre- 
 cisely in tzco months from the date of the orders 
 for preparation. 
 
 " Every one of the instances above men- 
 tioned must have been familiar to the officers 
 who gave this extraordinary opinion, and the 
 fact shows with what caution even profes- 
 sional men should be consulted upon points 
 which involve important considerations with
 
 99 
 
 regard to expense. The real defect at that 
 time was not in the establishments, but in the 
 want of energy on the part of those to whom 
 the first orders for assembling the army were 
 addressed, and in the general distrust and ap- 
 prehension arising from the state of the public 
 credit and resources. Afterwards, upon a 
 change of circumstances, and a more favour- 
 able turn in the disposition of the settlement, 
 all difficulties vanished. The equipment soon 
 appeared in a state of forward preparation, 
 and the Governor General had a practical 
 and convincing proof of the futility of that 
 opinion, which had been given with so little 
 judgment or attention to facts upon record. 
 From the month of November, when the pre- 
 parations began first to assume a degree of 
 forwardness, to the capture of Seringapatam, 
 was only six months, or a third part of the time 
 stated by the officers as necessary for assem- 
 bling the army, and equipping it for offensive 
 purposes. 
 
 " How far this opinion may have since 
 operated in creating new establishments, I do 
 not know ; but. as it is calculated to open a 
 wide field for contingent expenses, I hope, if 
 any measures have been taken to remove the 
 defects complained of, that a stronger ground 
 has been laid than this opinion exhibits- 
 
 ii 2
 
 100 
 
 Willi regard to the want of preparation to 
 meet the successful invasion of the Carnatic 
 in 1780, as much stress has been laid on this 
 fact, I must observe, that ample warning of 
 the danger was given, but the same want 
 of energy and confidence, which appeared 
 under similar circumstances in 1798, pre- 
 vented all timely precaution to oppose it. 
 
 " That it is better to be always prepared 
 for sudden movements,than to leave anything 
 to doubt or chance, is an abstract truth which 
 nobody can dispute ; but in carrying pre- 
 cautions to this length, and upon a consider- 
 able scale of expense, a government must 
 well weigh its means, since it has to provide 
 for certain and pressing demands of various 
 kinds, besides those of defence. Few states 
 can afford the expense of field equipments in 
 time of peace ; and unless in very particular 
 circumstances, which may be provided for as 
 they occur, I should esteem it more prudent 
 to reserve the money for calls of real danger, 
 which active vigilance will always foresee, 
 and prompt vigour always anticipate. 
 
 " The sentiments I have given upon this 
 important principle of military expenditure, 
 are offered with great deference to the au- 
 thority of professional men, but not without 
 powerful support from my own experience
 
 101 
 
 and observation ; and though I am far from 
 wishing they should influence your judgment 
 against such authority as may be deemed 
 respectable among your officers on the coast, 
 I strongly recommend it to you, to sift well 
 all such opinions as those which have been 
 the subject of these remarks. 
 
 " The civil charges of India according to 
 the estimate of 1793, were, for 
 
 Bengal 
 
 . 
 
 £. 1,607,000 
 
 
 Madras 
 
 - 
 
 368,000 
 
 
 Bombay 
 
 - 
 
 177.750 
 
 2,152,750 
 
 according 
 
 to the estimate of 1803, 
 
 for 
 
 
 
 
 Bengal 
 
 . 
 
 1,996,000 
 
 
 Madras 
 
 . 
 
 1,512,300 
 
 
 Bombay 
 
 Total ■ 
 Increase 
 
 271,676 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 3,779'976 
 
 
 1,627,226* 
 
 " Of this increase a considerable part is 
 owing to new judicial establishments at the 
 different presidencies, to charges of collec- 
 tion, stipends, and appointments in the 
 conquered countries, and in the Carnatic 
 and Tan j ore provinces, in consequence of 
 
 'Increase in the Military Charges 
 Total - 
 
 2,431,018 
 
 4,058,2+4
 
 102 
 
 the agreements by which those provinces 
 are brought under the dominion of the 
 Company. In so wide a range of expense, 
 comprehending many new articles, it would 
 be great presumption in me, and especially 
 with such imperfect materials as 1 possess, 
 to form any opinion whatever as to the prin- 
 ciple observed in regulating the quantum of 
 allowances or establishments in the various 
 branches which fall under the head of civil 
 charges ; it certainly does not, any more than 
 in the military charges, correspond with the 
 actual circumstances of the Company's situ- 
 ation, though the charges themselves may 
 not perhaps be unsuitable to the particular 
 services for which they are made. It is im- 
 possible, however, not to remark the growing 
 contingency of Durbar charges ; and I ob- 
 serve, at Madras in particular, a sum, under 
 the head of Governor's Office, Durbar Charges, 
 &c. amounting to about pagodas 90,000 per 
 annum, which is altogether new r since my 
 time. 
 
 " What is most alarming in the view of our 
 India establishments is, that they baffle all 
 expectation and promise. While wars of 
 any kind exist, these are urged and admitted 
 as a sufficient plea for embarrassments in the 
 finances, but hopes are justly entertained of
 
 103 
 
 ample relief at the moment of peace ; yet in 
 the peace estimate itself, no retrenchments 
 appear, at all adequate to the burdens for 
 which provision is to be made. Under these 
 circumstances, if it be practicable, I should 
 think it wise, to set apart resources sufficient 
 to meet the Company's incumbrances, and 
 to apportion the rest among the different 
 presidencies, according to their respective 
 necessities. To relieve Bengal from the 
 weight of other establishments, continually 
 pressing upon her in peace as well as war, 
 is a point of the first importance. This can 
 only be effected by limiting the expenses of 
 the settlement within certain bounds, and 
 making the stewardship of those entrusted 
 with your interests the chief object of atten- 
 tion and regard. 
 
 " I have now, Sir, with more zeal perhaps 
 than judgment, communicated every idea 
 that occurs to me relative to India, which, 
 as you justly observe, under its present 
 embarrassments, offers considerations of not 
 less moment to the nation at large, than to 
 the welfare and existence of the Company 
 
 itself. 
 
 " I have the honour to be, &c. Sec, 
 
 " CHARLES OAKELEY. v
 
 lot 
 
 The letter which follows was addressed to a 
 gentleman filling a high official station. It 
 was written nineteen years after the former, 
 and I select it as exhibiting the unimpaired 
 vigour of his mind, and the unabated inte- 
 rest he took in the affairs of India, in the 
 seventy-fourth year of his age. 
 
 (Copy.) 
 
 " Palace, Lichfield, 
 *' Dear Sir, " August 28, 1824. 
 
 " I lately saw in the New Times paper 
 a general statement of the revenues and ex- 
 penses of our Indian empire for the year 
 1821-22, said to have been taken from a 
 printed report laid before the House of 
 Commons. 
 
 " By this statement it appears, that the net 
 surplus revenue amounts to £.1,927,263, 
 which I understand is little more than suf- 
 ficient to defray the political expenses an- 
 nually incurred in this country, on account 
 of India, in time of peace. 
 
 " If the whole income be thus absorbed, 
 what ground have we to stand upon, in the 
 event of any new disturbances in that quar- 
 ter? An extensive empire, reaching from 
 the Barrampooter to the Indus, and from 
 Cape Comorin to Hurdwar, requires a very
 
 105 
 
 large surplus revenue to support the various 
 contingencies to which it is exposed. We 
 know, from sad experience, how liable a 
 territorial revenue is to failure, from drought 
 and other accidents, in time of peace ; but 
 in time of war, and particularly a war of 
 invasion, we have two instances in the in- 
 vasions of the Carnatic by Hyder Ally in 
 1767* and 1780, of such dreadful devastation 
 and pecuniary distress as had nearly termi- 
 nated in a total loss of the country. 
 
 " To guard against such evils, I never 
 could discover any better plan than that of 
 framing our establishments in time of peace, 
 so as to yield a net surplus revenue adequate 
 to a speedy discharge of those debts which 
 are contracted during war. The surplus, 
 after a due provision for this first and most 
 important object, may be safely applied to 
 the provision of the Company's investment, 
 but cannot without serious injury be diverted 
 to any other purpose. In the year 1792-3, 
 which relieved the government of Madras 
 from the heavy expenses of a war with 
 Tippoo Sultaun, you will perceive by the 
 
 * Vide Letter from the Secret Committee of the Court 
 of Directors to the Government of Madras, on the danger 
 of wars of conquest and ambition : written, I believe, early 
 in 1768.
 
 106 
 
 documents I lately sent to you, that reduc- 
 tions of expense and acquisitions to the reve- 
 nues were made to a considerable amount at 
 Madras, even during the war ; and that by 
 an immediate reduction of the forces to a 
 peace establishment, the government was 
 enabled to lower the debt of Fort St. George 
 in the first year of peace, from 26,31,000 to 
 4,67,303 pagodas. 
 
 " Hence the general account of Indian 
 revenues and expenses for 17.92-3, exhibits 
 a net surplus of £.1,927,6*98, while the debts, 
 which stood in April 1790 at £.7,056,652, 
 were augmented by the war only to the sum 
 of £.7,857,405, being an increase of no more 
 than £.800,753. This, I think, will appear 
 the most prosperous period of the Company's 
 affairs in India. 
 
 " An unfortunate change soon afterwards 
 took place. Expeditions were ordered from 
 this country against the Trench and Dutch 
 settlements in the Indian seas. Larue in- 
 vestments were required from India and 
 China, to which the aids supplied from 
 Europe were inadequate, and the deficiency 
 was made up by borrowing money in India, 
 at an advanced interest. Other incidental 
 expenses occurred, and the consequence was, 
 that in the interval between April 1793 and
 
 107 
 
 April 1799, the net surplus of our Indian re- 
 venue,which in 1793 amounted to £.1,927,698, 
 was converted into a net charge of £. 1 , 1 49,34 1 ; 
 and that the debt, which in April 1793 
 amounted only to £.7,857,405, was, in April 
 1799, swelled to £.12,995,525. 
 
 " This was indeed a reverse, which demon- 
 strably proves the weakness of a territorial 
 revenue, unless it be husbanded and applied 
 with the utmost care and circumspection. It 
 is dangerous to press upon a resource of this 
 kind for any other purpose than that of strict 
 defence on the continent of India. If it be 
 open to encroachment for such purposes as 
 those above mentioned, or any other object 
 not connected with defence, nothing is likely 
 to remain, either of money or credit, for the 
 contingencies of war. In the state to which 
 the resources were now reduced, it became 
 necessary to make preparation for a new 
 war against Tippoo Sultaun ; and in order 
 to raise money, the government was com- 
 pelled to resort to decennial loans of ten and 
 twelve per cent. Happily, the war was of a 
 short duration ; and the finances consequently 
 were relieved from a pressure which must 
 soon have proved fatal. 
 
 " Whether it was politic to hold the con- 
 quered country of Mysore in permanent
 
 108 
 
 possession, I am in some doubt ; because it 
 destroyed that balance of power, which in 
 earlier times was deemed essential ; and be- 
 cause it was deemed no less essential to the 
 safety of the Carnatic, that an independent 
 power should exist, as a barrier between us 
 and the Mahrattas, a most powerful and dan- 
 gerous confederacy of states, then united for 
 the subjugation of all India. Mysore, under 
 the able and vigorous conduct of Hyder Ally, 
 exerted admirable strength in her defence 
 against the most formidable attacks of these 
 marauders, renewed from year to year.* Had 
 those attacks been successful, we should 
 have had to encounter similar and unremit- 
 ting dangers in the Carnatic, and with less 
 strength to meet them. 
 
 " By keeping possession of Mysore, we 
 came in immediate contact with the Mah- 
 ratta territories ; and by quitting our mode- 
 rate and defensive system, we have been led 
 on from one conquest to another, until we 
 have attained the giddy height at which we 
 now stand. The acquisitions of revenue 
 arising from our conquests, have disappointed 
 the hopes which were entertained of them ; 
 and there is some reason to apprehend, if 
 means cannot be found to create a large 
 
 * See Madras Records, from 1770 to 177G, or 1777.
 
 109 
 
 surplus revenue, that India will soon become 
 a heavy and increasing burden upon the 
 resources of this country. 
 
 " I shall now conclude, by submitting this 
 imperfect sketch, with all deference, to your 
 better judgment, and assuring you that 
 
 " I am, dear Sir, 
 
 " With great esteem, 
 
 " Your faithful and obedient Servant, 
 
 " CHARLES OAKELEY." 
 
 The following are highly interesting Ex- 
 tracts from a long letter, which he addressed 
 to a Noble Lord, in the year 1806 : 
 
 " In viewing the nature of this great and 
 complicated concern, it must strike every 
 observer, that an empire of such magnitude, 
 so distant from the controlling power, and 
 so limited in point of pecuniary resources, 
 cannot subsist but by the exercise of a con- 
 stant, powerful, and unremitting caution. 
 That system, therefore, which tends most to 
 the preservation of peace, and which is best 
 calculated to fix, simplify, and restrain all 
 expenses within the bounds of a rigid eco- 
 nomy, is not only expedient but absolutely
 
 110 
 
 indispensable. The slightest devi.it ions from 
 such principles are instantly felt ; and any 
 material departure is sure to precipitate the 
 public interests into the most dangerous and 
 perplexing situation. 
 
 " Though the territorial grants made by 
 the Mogul in 1765, conveyed large posses- 
 sions and extensive privileges, they were 
 attended by inconveniencies calculated to 
 awaken verv serious reflections. These grants 
 placed the Company high in political rank 
 among the states of India ; but supplied only 
 a limited, and very inadequate revenue, to 
 bear them through the multiplied difficulties 
 to which their new sovereignty was exposed. 
 They had, in fact, to uphold the various bur- 
 dens of empire upon the faculties of a com- 
 mon estate ; nor was this estate even secured 
 against accidents of the most extensive and 
 alarming nature. The failure of entire crops 
 from drought or inundation, is no singular 
 event in India ; and the incursions of cavalry 
 during war, frequently cause a material di- 
 minution of pecuniary resources at that cri- 
 tical moment, when the demand for them is 
 most urgent. Hence the calls to economy 
 are incessant. It is the source of all lesnti- 
 mate credit, and must be considered, in 
 respect to India, as the basis upon which
 
 Ill 
 
 that immense fabric principally rests, and 
 without which it can hardly be maintained 
 beyond a very few years. 
 
 " The Company themselves seem to have 
 been early aware of the radical defect which 
 accompanied their grants, and prepared, 
 I think, with great prudence, to meet it. 
 They began by setting apart a certain portion 
 of the revenue for extraordinary demands, 
 and allotting the rest among their necessary 
 establishments, civil and military. The sum 
 so set apart or reserved, amounted at first 
 to about one million sterling. As this sum 
 could not be deposited at once, but was to 
 accumulate from the current collections, in 
 various hands, and in various places, it be- 
 came necessary to guard it, by strong provi- 
 sions, against all unnecessary encroachment. 
 For this purpose, the several branches of 
 expense in time of peace were ascertained, 
 and limited. Little could be afforded under 
 the head of contingencies; and no permanent 
 addition to the expense, however small, could 
 be made without the previous sanction of the 
 Court of Directors. 
 
 " The governments abroad were stimulated 
 by every motive of responsibility, of credit, 
 and even of personal ease, to confine their 
 disbursements within the prescribed bounds.
 
 112 
 
 Any considerable excess of expense, besides 
 the marked disapprobation which followed, 
 was sure to produce some immediate and very 
 sensible inconvenience to the parties who 
 incurred it. They found themselves obliged 
 to trespass upon the reserved fund ; to bor- 
 row money at high interest ; or to draw bills 
 on the Court of Directors ; all which were 
 forbidden means, and only to be justified 
 under the pressure of war, or some other 
 great emergency. 
 
 " Your Lordship will perceive in these re- 
 strictions such powerful and efficient checks, 
 as were well calculated to attain the object 
 in view. So successful did they prove, that, 
 notwithstanding the Company were involved 
 in many long and burdensome wars, and at 
 one period, from 1778 to 1784, had to sustain 
 successive and multiplied contests with the 
 Mahrattas, with Ilyder Ally Cawn, and with 
 a formidable French force, under the com- 
 mand of M. Bussy ; yet, by the efforts of a 
 vigorous economy, they were able to sur- 
 mount these heavy burdens in a degree which 
 is hardly to be credited. Infinite difficulty and 
 distress indeed were experienced in the course 
 of such trials; and particularly in that severe 
 struggle which lasted six years, and termi- 
 nated in 1784. But it is remarkable, that
 
 113 
 
 although it appears, upon finally settling the 
 accounts of this war in 1787, the debt was 
 then raised to £.9,264,016; yet the clear 
 surplus revenue of the following year, 1787-8, 
 after providing for interest and every other 
 expense, was no less than £. 1,035,417. 
 
 " From this period till the year 1793, when 
 the Company's charter expired, their affairs 
 improved considerably, under the govern- 
 ment of my distinguished and lamented 
 friend, the late Marquis Cornwallis. It may 
 not be foreign, perhaps, to the object of this 
 communication, to state the progress of that 
 improvement. In April 1788, the debt was 
 reduced, by payments and transfers, to 
 £.7,622,156; and in April 1789, it stood 
 at £.7,604,754, while the surplus revenue 
 had increased to £.1,414,028. In this year, 
 Tippoo Saltaun betrayed his hostile de- 
 signf upon the Rajah of Travancore, and 
 preparations being made to counteract it, 
 the surplus revenue was by such expense 
 reduced, in 1789-90, to £.1,145,189. The 
 debt, however, had been diminished, chiefly 
 by transfers, and stood in April 1790 at only 
 £.6,501,385. 
 
 " The war which followed Tippoo's unpro- 
 voked attack upon Travancore continued 
 three campaigns, and was carried on by dis- 
 
 I
 
 114 • 
 
 taut and extensive operations in the Mysore 
 country. The debt, at the close of it in 1792, 
 a\;is raised to £.9,084,550 : but on the other 
 hand, from a great reduction of establish- 
 ments, and a considerable pecuniary acqui- 
 sition obtained by the peace, the clear sur- 
 plus revenue in 1792-.'3, was no less than 
 £.1,927,698 ; while the debt was reduced, by 
 payments and transfers, to £.7,857,404. In 
 1793-4, though India now became involved 
 in the national warwilh France, and sustained 
 the extraordinary expense of an expedition 
 against Pondicherry, and of a large donation 
 to the army which had served in INI y sore, the 
 surplus revenue amounted to £.1,654,852, 
 while the debt was still further reduced to 
 £. 7,305,462. Another essential improvement 
 appeared at this period : the credit of the 
 Companjr stood so high, that their servants 
 abroad were enabled to lower the rate of in- 
 terest from 12 to 6 per cent ; and the govern- 
 ment at Madras had the satisfaction of re- 
 ducing the bond debt at that presidency from 
 £.1,035,6.94 (at which it stood in January 
 1792) to £186,921, its amount on the 30th 
 April 1794 ; and of seeing, at the same time, 
 the Company's notes, at the reduced interest 
 of 6 per cent, bearing a premium of %\ per 
 cent.
 
 115 
 
 " Here the Company's charter closed ; and 
 it cannot be denied, that their affairs in India 
 had surmounted an arduous trial of near 
 thirty years, not merely without loss, but 
 with an accession of strength and improve- 
 ment in all the branches, political, revenue, 
 and commercial. 
 
 " With your Lordship's permission, I shall 
 now take the liberty of pointing out, according 
 to the best of my judgment, but with great de- 
 ference, the principal causes of those pecu- 
 niary difficulties under which they labour at 
 present, and which had their commencement 
 very soon after the new charter was granted. 
 
 " The first cause which seems to have pro- 
 duced a serious effect upon the credit and 
 resources of India, arose from military expe- 
 ditions undertaken for the purpose of reducing 
 the islands and settlements of our European 
 enemies in the Indian seas. Orders for these 
 expeditions were sent out so early as the year 
 1794 ; and the number which either took place 
 or were laid aside after preparations for them 
 had been made, occasioned a very heavy and 
 inconvenient expense. Thus, between April 
 1794 and April 1798, the debt was increased 
 from £.7,305,462 to £.11,032,645, while the 
 surplus revenue, which in 1793-4 amounted 
 to £.1,654,852, was converted, in 1797—8, 
 
 I 2
 
 no 
 
 into a deficiency of £. 194,700. During this 
 period, the pecuniary difficulties abroad were 
 increased by orders to extend upon Indian 
 credit the provision of investments to a con- 
 siderable amount. This measure, operating 
 jointly with the military expeditions, contri- 
 buted to augment the pressure so much, that, 
 in June 1798, when it became necessary to 
 oppose the formidable designs of Tippoo Sul- 
 taun, the Company's treasuries were ex- 
 hausted, and their credit sunk to the lowest 
 ebb. Hence, in order to provide funds for 
 carrying on the war with that chief, the 
 Indian government was compelled to resort, 
 for large sums, to disadvantageous and un- 
 precedented loans, by which it engaged to 
 keep the money for ten years certain, at the 
 exorbitant interest often and twelve per cent, 
 payable either in India or in England. This 
 was a new source of embarrassment to the 
 public credit, both abroad and at home. 
 
 " I humbly conceive, that the resources of 
 India in 1794, though very flourishing, were 
 by no means adequate to the double pressure 
 of expeditions and investments carried on 
 upon so large a scale. The country indeed, 
 at that period, was in a state of perfect tran- 
 quillity, and the debt very moderate ; but it 
 required all the advantage of unimpaired
 
 117 
 
 credit to provide against future contingencies. 
 With regard to military expeditions in the 
 Indian seas, however reasonable and just it is 
 that the Company should afford all the assist- 
 ance in their power to the service of the 
 state, yet money is an article which they 
 cannot afford, but in a very limited degree : 
 and when the advance is so considerable as 
 it appears to have been on this occasion, and 
 is procured by borrowing at an exorbitant 
 interest, it becomes a question whether the 
 state itself be not better served by reserving 
 the credit of India entirely for its own defence, 
 than by straining so invaluable a resource for 
 the purpose of expeditions not intimately con- 
 nected with that primary consideration. 
 
 " The weak and alarming condition of the 
 finances in 1798 stamped a peculiar value on 
 those exertions by which the dangers of that 
 period were removed, and the war with Mysore 
 brought to so brilliant and decisive a termina- 
 tion. But the expenses of this war, though 
 short, the burdens of other wars which fol- 
 lowed, and the general size of the establish- 
 ments, civil and military, have produced such 
 an accumulated pressure upon the finances, 
 as to threaten the most fatal consequences, 
 if some effectual means be not speedily 
 applied to remove it.
 
 118 
 
 " In order to show the state of the Revenues 
 and Expenses at two distinct and remarkable 
 periods, I shall take the average of three 
 years subsequent to the conquest of Mysore, 
 and compare it with the average of three 
 years subsequent to the treaty of Seringa- 
 patam, in 179-- 
 
 * * * * * * 
 
 " At the same time that the estimate of 1803 
 appeared, a plan was brought forward for the 
 discharge of the debt, and a calculation exhi- 
 bited, to show the effect, in six years, of the 
 surplus above mentioned, aided bysuchremit- 
 tances as were intended to be made from 
 England. It happened, however, that the 
 whole statement was overthrown by a war, 
 which broke out in the very first year. All 
 estimates of this kind are built on the idea of 
 uninterrupted peace ; and proceed, therefore, 
 upon too sanguine an expectation. The plans 
 of relief leave more to time than time is apt 
 to bring forth. I should have thought a clear 
 surplus of two millions sterling (after pro- 
 viding for interest) the least that could have 
 been proposed under the circumstances of 
 the debt in 1803. As that debt is since mate- 
 rially increased, the surplus should be in- 
 creased in proportion, because it is only by
 
 119 
 
 paying oft" large masses annually that the 
 burden can be effectually subdued in the 
 short intervals of peace. Besides, the ap- 
 propriation of a considerable sum at once 
 in India, would probably enable the govern- 
 ment to reduce the exorbitant rate of interest 
 upon the whole debt, and thus greatly acce- 
 lerate its liquidation. This consequence 
 actually followed a similar operation upon 
 the debt at Madras in 1792 and 1793, and 
 suddenly raised the public credit of that 
 government to a pitch wholly unexampled 
 in the annals of the Company." 
 
 * * * •* * * 
 
 The same energy of mind was observable 
 in every occupation in which he was engaged. 
 The greater portion of his time was passed in 
 his study ; and one of the advantages of his 
 release from public duties, which he eagerly 
 embraced, was the power of improving him- 
 self in that branch of knowledge, the cultiva- 
 tion of which had been interrupted by his 
 early removal to India. Considering the 
 usual acquirements of a schoolboy at fifteen, 
 the lono- interval which he had devoted to 
 other pursuits, and the period of life at which 
 he returned to classical reading, the progress 
 
 14
 
 120 
 
 which he made was surprising, and a strong 
 proof both of his perseverance, and of his 
 taste for literature. He took great delight in 
 making written translations from the best 
 Latin authors. At one time, he was in the 
 habit of employing himself daily in this 
 manner ; and I remember, in particular, his 
 translations of large portions of Tacitus, of 
 Sallust, and of Pliny, done with great ele- 
 gance and precision. It was his constant 
 practice to engage in such studies with his 
 boys, during their holidays ; and we never 
 found him weary or unwilling to return to 
 them, though too often, it is to be feared, 
 deficient ourselves in corresponding zeal and 
 alacrity. Of the literature of his own coun- 
 try he was always a great reader, as well as a 
 most accurate writer of its language.* 
 
 With equal vigour he applied himself to 
 the acquisition of knowledge of a very differ- 
 ent kind, and to the performance of duties 
 which were wholly new to him, at the period 
 when the invasion of this country was threat- 
 ened by Napoleon Bonaparte. A regiment 
 of volunteer infantry being formed at Shrews- 
 
 * One of his contemporaries in India told me, that 
 whenever an important letter, the report of a Committee, 
 or any public paper, was to be drawn up, it was generally 
 agreed, " that Oakeley should be the >cribe "
 
 121 
 
 bury, under the impulse of that loyal and 
 ardent feeling which pervaded the nation, 
 Sir Charles Oakeley was appointed, in the 
 first instance, Lieutenant-Colonel, and after- 
 wards succeeded to the command. The 
 facility with which he qualified himself for 
 these duties, so foreign to his habits, and the 
 effective manner in which he discharged them, 
 was a subject of astonishment even to his most 
 intimate friends. He continued to command 
 the regiment until it was disbanded, together 
 with all the other volunteer corps of the king- 
 dom ; the possibility of an invasion having 
 entirely ceased. 
 
 But the most prominent features of his cha- 
 racter, and those which it is most delightful 
 to remember, were such as stand highest in 
 the catalogue of christian graces. 
 
 His piety was fervent, sincere, and uni- 
 form ; equally removed from lukewarmness 
 on the one hand, and enthusiasm on the other. 
 A very short acquaintance with him was 
 sufficient to shew that religious principle was 
 the basis of his conduct, and that he carried 
 it into all the affairs of life. His character in 
 this respect was so well understood, and, 
 being free from the slightest mixture of mo- 
 roseness or affectation, its influence was so 
 generally felt, that any disposition to pro-
 
 122 
 
 faneness, or levity on sacred subjects (;is I 
 have witnessed in a very striking manner), 
 was immediately checked by his presence. 
 He was a diligent and daily reader of the 
 Scriptures, and, it is almost needless to add, 
 constant in the use of private and family 
 prayer. Attached to the Church of England, 
 not more by education than from a thorough 
 conviction of its purity and excellence, his 
 regular participation in its public services 
 was far from being confined to the sabbath. 
 It deserves to be mentioned, as a rare ex- 
 ample, that at Shrewsbury it was his usual 
 practice to attend the Wednesday and Friday 
 prayers at his parish church; and that at 
 Lichfield he was scarcely ever absent from 
 the daily morning service of the cathedral. 
 In fixing upon a place of residence, as I 
 have often heard him say, it was essential in 
 his mind that it should be near the church ; 
 and assuredly, there never was a christian 
 who could with greater sincerity adopt the 
 Psalmist's words, " Lord, I have loved the 
 habitation of thy house." 
 
 His benevolence was manifest to all who 
 approached him ; and his love of doing- 
 good was testified no less by personal exer- 
 tion than by pecuniary aid, to the utmost ex- 
 tent of his means. He look an active and
 
 123 
 
 leading part in the religious and charitable 
 institutions of the neighbourhood ; constantly 
 attending even their ordinary meetings, pre- 
 siding or assisting at their boards, and co- 
 operating in evefy other way for the promo- 
 tion of their welfare, and the extension of 
 their usefulness. The County Infirmary at 
 Shrewsbury, the Savings Bank at Lichfield, 
 and the Parochial Schools, at both places, for 
 the education of the poor, were objects of 
 his especial care and attention. In the last 
 mentioned branch of charity, and in the 
 system of instruction introduced by Dr. Bell, 
 he felt a peculiar interest. He had witnessed 
 the efficacy of that system at Madras, and, as 
 governor, had patronized and shown great 
 favour to the schools under the management 
 of Dr. Bell,* who was chaplain there at the 
 time. Long before the adoption of the plan 
 in this country, it occurred to him that it was 
 eminently calculated to meet the exigencies 
 of the times, and he renewed his acquaintance 
 with Dr. Bell, by addressing a letter to him 
 on the subject. I regret exceedingly that no 
 copy of that letter was kept, because it had 
 the merit of sketching out the measure which 
 afterwards became national, and of urging it 
 on the very same grounds which were recog- 
 
 * See " Extracts from the Reports of the Society for 
 promoting Christian Knowledge."
 
 124 
 
 nised by the heads of the Church in adopting 
 it. His sentiments and suggestions were ac- 
 knowledged by Dr. Bell with the strongest 
 expressions of gratification and concurrence. 
 AVhen the National Society had been formed, 
 and the system recommended by public au- 
 thority, his best exertions were employed in 
 the cause. He assisted mainly in the forma- 
 tion of the National School of his parish at 
 Shrewsbury ; * and became a warm supporter 
 of that which he found established, by the 
 excellent Dean Woodhouse, at Lichfield. 
 This latter institution had the benefit of his 
 unremitted attention and superintendence up 
 to the period of his last illness, and received 
 a legacy to its funds by his will. 
 
 He was the first projector of the Provident 
 Civil Fund, established at Madras in 1787 ; 
 open to the contribution, and available to the 
 benefit, of all the civil servants of the Pre- 
 sidency. The extensive good effected by that 
 fund (which at the present time is in the most 
 flourishing condition, and has been the means 
 of support to hundreds of families,) was a 
 subject of delightful reflection to him ; and 
 his benevolent mind was much occupied 
 
 * In this and every other work of parochial usefulness, 
 he was cordially united with the curate of that parish, the 
 Rev. W. G.Rowland; an individual for whom he always 
 entertained the highest esteem and regard.
 
 125 
 
 during the latter years of his life, in con- 
 sidering the possibility of establishing a simi- 
 lar fund for the clergy of the English Church. 
 This idea was strongly suggested to him by the 
 note to a sermon, published by Archdeacon 
 Nares in 1823, in which a distressing account 
 is given of " the insufficiency of those cha- 
 " ritable funds, which have been raised in 
 " every county of England for relieving the 
 " widows and orphans of deceased clergy- 
 " men, and, in some cases, even for them- 
 " selves while living." For the great evil, 
 to which the Archdeacon adverts, my father 
 was convinced that the clergy could never 
 find any adequate remedy, except within 
 themselves, lie saw clearly that in this case 
 there would be obstacles to the formation of 
 a general Provident Fund, which did not 
 exist in the other ; but he thought them by 
 no means insurmountable ; at all events, he 
 was most anxious "that a Committee of 
 " Clergymen should be appointed, for the 
 " purpose of considering the plan, and stating 
 " their opinions upon it." His own views he 
 put down on paper from time to time, and 
 submitted them, as opportunity offered, to 
 persons whom he wished to influence, and 
 consult, on the subject. But while all ac- 
 knowledged the extent and urgency of the 
 evil, he met with none who thought the
 
 LS6 
 
 remedy practicable, or were willing to assist 
 in making the attempt, until he had the good 
 fortune to become acquainted with the Bishop 
 of Chester (the present Bishop of London). 
 That distinguishedprelate was so much struck 
 with my father's suggestions, and they co- 
 incided so well with the views he had himself 
 formed, that he determined at once to intro- 
 duce the subject in his charge to the clergy of 
 his diocese, at the primary visitation which he 
 was then about to hold. Never did my father 
 experience greater gratification than when 
 he read that charge. The plan of a Provident 
 Fund for the whole body of the clergy, pre- 
 cisely upon the principles for which he had 
 all along contended, had been distinctly 
 proposed by the highest authority,* and upon 
 an occasion the most likely to give it effect. 
 He was satisfied therefore, that, although time 
 would be required to collect the general 
 feeling of the clerical body, and to consider 
 the necessary details, the measure would now 
 work its way : and so the event has proved. 
 The recommendation of the Bishop of Chester 
 was approved and repeated by other high 
 
 * The Bishop states, in a note to the printed charge, 
 that he is " mainly indebted to the kind suggestion of Sir 
 " Charles Oakeley, for the notion of a Clerical Provident 
 " Fund :" and he refers to the Madras Civil Fund, set on 
 foot in 1787, by the same individual. — (Bishop of Chester's 
 Piii/iari/ Charge, 1825, p. 35. 4to.)
 
 127 
 
 officers of the Church, in various parts of the 
 kingdom ; several publications in favour of 
 the principle, appeared ; committees were 
 formed to consider the subject ; and at 
 length, in the present year, a plan, pre- 
 pared by a committee of clergy of the arch- 
 deaconry of Canterbury, was brought for- 
 ward and adopted, under the most favourable 
 auspices. At a numerous meeting held in 
 London, on the 15th May 1829, the Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury in the chair, it was 
 unanimously resolved, that a " Clergy Mutual 
 " Assurance Society" should be established ; 
 its object being " to aid the Clergy in the 
 " education and settlement of their chil- 
 " dren, and to afford them an opportunity 
 " of securing a provision for themselves, 
 " and their wives and families, when more 
 " than ordinarily needed, — in sickness, in 
 " old age, and at death/' The two Arch- 
 bishops were appointed joint-patrons, and the 
 Bishop of London president, of this society, 
 and a large number of contributions to the 
 " fund in aid" were immediately received. 
 Sir Charles Oakeley did not live to witness 
 this gratifying accomplishment of his wishes ; 
 but he had the satisfaction of knowing that 
 all things were in a fair train for it : and if, 
 as there is every reason to hope, the measure 
 which has been adopted should prove entirely
 
 128 
 
 successful, how many individuals and families 
 will have reason to bless his name, for the 
 share he had in laying the foundation ! * 
 
 * The following extracts from letters to myself, written 
 at late periods of his life, will show that his mind was 
 active in the cause of charity and of religion abroad, as 
 well as at home : 
 
 " I have seen the Second Report of the Auxiliary Bible 
 Society at Bombay, for the year 1816; and as this must 
 have been the last received, I was anxious to know what 
 progress had been made in the circulation of Bibles at that 
 settlement, and how far they were likely to promote the 
 object of spreading Christianity among the natives of India." 
 He then refers to a letter of the Abbr Dubois, published in 
 that report, and, having quoted largely from it, proceeds 
 thus : " These observations and opinions, coming from a 
 missionary of long experience in his profession, and appa- 
 rently free from all fanaticism, are important upon a sub- 
 ject, which at present excites so much discussion, as that 
 of the proceedings of the Bible Society. They are such, 
 I think, as cannot fail to convince all impartial persons, 
 that in the distribution of Bibles alone, without note or 
 comment, and without the previous introduction of ele- 
 mentary tracts, the society has begun at the wrong end ; 
 and that ship-loads of Bibles transmitted to India, and 
 other less civilized countries, are in danger of being worm- 
 eaten, before they can be used to any salutary purpose. 
 The same remark will, perhaps, apply strongly to a great 
 portion of the Bibles distributed in this country. Many of 
 them, given away to persons not qualified to read, or not 
 disposed from habit to improve by them, have probably 
 found their way back to the booksellers shelves at half- 
 price, or gone to the pawnbrokers for money to buy 
 improper indigencies : and many, probably, remain with 
 their possessors, unemployed, for want of elementary pre- 
 paration to read or understand them. I would ask any
 
 129 
 
 Meekness and simplicity, in the true chris- 
 tian sense of those terms, may be specified 
 as the other features of character by which 
 he was chiefly distinguished. His placid 
 and cheerful temper qualified him, in an 
 eminent degree, both to diffuse and to enjoy 
 happiness, in all the domestic and social 
 
 member of the Bible Society, whether he does not think far 
 more good would be produced by giving a Bible to every 
 boy and girl of the national or charity schools, on quitting 
 their seminaries, than by giving them indiscriminately to 
 adults of all descriptions, without any proper assurance as 
 to their fitness to use them ?" 
 
 (June 1822.) — " I have read with great pleasure the 
 Bishop of LlandafF's (Dr. Vanmildert's) sermon, and am 
 glad to perceive that there is a perfect agreement of opinion 
 between him and the Bishop of London (Dr. Howley), 
 with regard to Indian missions. They have both treated 
 the subject with uncommon strength, and elegance of 
 diction. The chief ingredient wanting to the success of 
 this noble cause, is " unity of principle, of action, and 
 " of object." Missionaries of various sects, with heated 
 imaginations and discordant views, must retard at least, if 
 not spoil, the great work of conversion. The plan most 
 eligible, I think, upon every account, is that suggested by 
 the Bishop of Calcutta, in his letter to the Society for the 
 Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts ; I mean the 
 establishment of a Mission College in the immediate 
 vicinity of Calcutta, for the several purposes he has spe- 
 cified. Such an institution, under the eye of the Bishop, 
 and of the Supreme Government, would tend essentially to 
 produce that union which the Bishop of London recom- 
 mends so strongly in his sermon preached before the 
 society in 1817, and so happily exemplifies in the conduct 
 of the primitive teachers of Christianity." 
 
 K
 
 L30 
 
 relations of life. Few persons, 1 think, could 
 have been in his company without remark- 
 ing his humility in demeanour and conver- 
 sation : none knew him intimately without 
 having constant occasion to admire his free- 
 dom from all selfish feeling. Incapable of 
 deceit, he was slow, even to an extreme, in 
 suspecting the evil intentions of others ; a dis- 
 position of mind which operated, in too many 
 instances, to his serious detriment. He was 
 plain and unostentatious in his mode of liv- 
 ing, moderate and self-denying in respect to 
 his personal wants and expences. Distrustful 
 as he was of his own judgment in doubtful 
 matters, and tolerant towards all who differed 
 from him, no man was ever more regardless 
 of the opinions or practices of the world, 
 when they were at variance with his notion* 
 of propriety and principles of conduct. 
 
 To this slight sketch it only remains for 
 me to add, that the inward effect of a life so 
 spent, was beautifully exhibited in its close. 
 From the first warning of bodily decay,* 
 
 * This was a slight paralytic affection. I subjoin an 
 extract of his letter to me on the subject, because it 
 is truly characteristic. " Your mother informed you 
 of the nervous attack which I have sustained. It is, 
 I hope, of a slight nature : and Sir F. Darwin assures 
 me that the cure will be speedy. I have, however, been 
 blistered, physicked, and electrified, pretty smartly ; but as
 
 131 
 
 until the day of his death, which occurred 
 four years after, his mind retained all its 
 accustomed serenity. The commencement 
 of disease was resisted with success ; and 
 it made no rapid progress subsequently in 
 impairing a vigorous constitution : his usual 
 pursuits and occupations, therefore, were 
 only partially interrupted till within about 
 
 yet, with little sensible relief. How the disorder came on, 
 is quite unaccountable ; for I went to bed in perfect health, 
 slept well, and perceived the change only when I waked at 
 my usual time of rising. My constitution, thank God, is 
 excellent, and was never better, generally speaking, than 
 at the present moment. I have the best, and most affec- 
 tionate nurse that ever lived, kind friends, and every 
 comfort I can wish, around me. For the rest, my hope is 
 in prayer to the Almighty Giver of all good gifts." 
 
 From Scarborough, (which place he was recommended 
 to visit) he wrote to me, at a later period, thus : " Though 
 you must have received very favourable accounts from 
 hence, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of adding a line 
 under my own hand, to confirm your mother's reports of 
 my rapid improvement. The swelling in my legs has 
 nearly, if not altogether subsided. I take more exercise, 
 eat with a good appetite, sleep well, and am thought quite 
 fit to encounter the musical festival at York. If you ask 
 the causes of this happy change, I ascribe it, first, to a 
 merciful Providence ; and next, to the medical prescriptions 
 of Mr. Hodgson, aided by the unremitting care and atten- 
 tion of the most affectionate, skilful, and indefatigable 
 nurse that ever administered to a sick patient." 
 
 (It would be very pleasing to me, but not consistent with 
 the scope and limits of this Appendix, to cite largely from 
 his general correspondence with myself and other members 
 pi his family. His letters were uniformly excellent.) 
 
 K 2
 
 132 
 
 five months of his decease, when he became 
 severely and dangerously affected. I lis pa- 
 tience, resignation, and cheerfulness, through- 
 out the whole of this last trial, will never be 
 forgotten by those who were with him. The 
 faith of the Christian was triumphant. His 
 thoughts were calmly directed to the high and 
 holy objects, which had ever been his chief 
 concern ; and any allusion that he made to 
 his present situation, was accompanied with 
 fervent expressions of gratitude for the am- 
 ple portion of health, and all other blessings, 
 which he had enjoyed. The suffering wit- 
 nesses of the scene had abundant reason to 
 acknowledge the favour of God in the com- 
 paratively slight infliction of pain which he 
 experienced ; they had the happiness to see 
 his intellect unclouded to the last ; he was 
 taken from them, full of years and rich in 
 honour ; and the example which they had 
 always loved and revered, was then impressed 
 upon their minds by the most persuasive of 
 all arguments : — " The end of such a man 
 is peace." * 
 
 H.O. 
 
 * Psalm xxxvii. 37. — He died at the Palace, Lichfield, 
 Sept. 7, 182G. On the Sunday immediately following, the 
 event was thus noticed in a sermon preached at the cathe- 
 dral, by Archdeacon Nares, the subject of which was 
 " Trust in God." " We now lament, with human but
 
 133 
 
 submissive sorrow, the removal to a better world of one, 
 who has long lived among us, a bright, yet modest, 
 example of all Christian excellence ; of a man, whose 
 perfect trust in God has been proved in every part of his 
 life; whom no temptation, however strong, could ever 
 move from the strictest line of conscientious rectitude ; 
 whose virtues and whose services were rewarded, indeed, 
 with the present advantages of rank and fortune ; but who 
 never, for a moment, ceased to hold himself responsible to 
 God for the use of those acquirements. His name and his 
 fortune were always ready to be employed in the cause of 
 benevolence ; and he ever gave as one who regarded his 
 wealth, though earned, humanly speaking, by his own 
 exertions, as held in trust to perform with it the greatest 
 practicable good. 
 
 " Of a life uniformly thus conducted, he has now expe- 
 rienced the utmost worldly reward. Under natural decay, 
 he has been placid and resigned ; and surrounded by an 
 affectionate family, he has felt that he was only removing 
 from them to his Father and their Father, the God of all 
 mercy and goodness. 
 
 " Such being, with the aid of Divine Grace, the natural 
 consequence of a perfect t)-ust in God, who would not seek 
 to attain it ? praying with the repentant prophet, that he 
 also may die the death of the righteous, and that his last 
 end may be like his." 
 
 To the above tribute, rendered infinitely gratifying by 
 a consideration of the place where it was uttered, and of the 
 character of the preacher, might be added a great number of 
 letters, written on the same occasion by individuals eminent 
 in station and in worth. But I shall satisfy myself with 
 the insertion of two, from clergymen, who were near neigh- 
 bours and intimate friends of my father, the one at Shrews- 
 bury, and the other at Lichfield. 
 
 " Your late father was so excellent a man in all the 
 relations of life ; so kind to me and mine when I had the 
 happiness of being his neighbour; above all, so exemplary
 
 134 
 
 a christian, that I always looked up to him, when living, 
 with something little short of tilial respect and regard, and 
 shall never cease to cherish his memory with similar feelings. 
 What then must be the feelings of yourself and those 
 around you, who were so much more intimately acquainted 
 with all his excellencies, and who so well knew how to 
 appreciate them ? Truly distressing, no doubt, at the pre- 
 sent moment; yet grief for the loss of such a man always 
 carries with it its own antidote, and the more you contem- 
 plate his character, the stronger will be your assurance 
 that he is gone to meet his reward." 
 
 " You do us no more than justice, when you assume 
 that no friends of your late most excellent and inestimable 
 father, will experience more unfeigned regret at his depar- 
 ture than Mrs. and myself. But it is not his family 
 
 and his friends alone that will deeply deplore the loss. 
 This city in general will take its full share of those painful 
 emotions, which the sad event is calculated to excite. 
 His unaffected piety, his dignified and gentlemanlike de- 
 portment, his open handed hospitality, the zeal and alacrity 
 with which he took his share in conducting our institutions, 
 and the assiduity with which he performed the duties they 
 imposed upon him, will long be held in grateful remem- 
 brance by every inhabitant of Lichfield. May my last end 
 be like his!" 
 
 He was buried, according to his own desire, in the most 
 private manner, at his native place, Forton, in a vault 
 containing the remains of his mother. A monument has 
 since been erected to his memory in the cathedral of Lich- 
 field, at the joint expense of his widow and children ; 
 designed by Chantrey, and enriched with a beautiful 
 medallion of his head (the symmetry and expression of 
 which were most striking) by that eminent sculptor.
 
 135 
 
 The following is the Inscription 
 
 §>acrco to tfie ^cmotp 
 
 Sir CHARLES OAKELEY, Baronet, 
 
 Second Son of the Reverend William Oakelf.y, 
 (Hector of Forlon, in this County, and Vicar of Holy Cross, Salop ;) 
 
 Born Feb. 27, 1751 ; Died Sept. 7, 1826. 
 
 His eminent services in India 
 
 During an eventful period of twenty-seven years; 
 
 The signal proofs he gave of integrity, as well as talent, 
 
 In the various civil appointments which he held there; 
 
 And more especially the effects of his administration, 
 
 As Governor of Madras, 
 
 Both in improving the condition of the Company's resources, 
 
 And advancing the success of their arms ; 
 
 Ohtained the tribute of public acknowledgment, 
 
 And the approbation of his Sovereign. 
 
 But chiefly precious to those who erect this monument, 
 
 Is the remembrance of his private virtues, 
 
 And his character as a Christian ; 
 
 Piety, Meekness, Simplicity, Benevolence, 
 
 These were the more memorable distinctions of his life; 
 
 They brought him " peace at the last;" 
 
 And are recorded by his surviving family, 
 
 With humble gratitude to God, 
 
 In whose hands he was the instrument for their good ; 
 
 And with perfect reliance on that blessed Word, 
 Which forbids them to sorrow, as without hope.
 
 1 
 
 Printed by James & Luke G. Hansard k Sons, 
 near Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, Loudon.
 
 
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