important exertions for the affiftance of Madras, the obtaining of peace, and regaining the friendship of the Nizam. The fortieth condemns the governor general's plan of an alliance with the Dutch, as unwarranted, impolitic, extravagant, and unjuft. The next, charges the governor general with defigns tending to procraftinate an accommodation with the Mahrattas, injuriously to the interefts of the company and of the nation. The forty-fecond charges him with fupprefling material information in his correfpondence with the directors, and fending the fame to his private agent in England. The following refolution ftates and approves of certain inftructions fent in the laft difpatches from the directors, for promoting the attain. ment of peace. "tion, juice, and good faith of "the British nation." Thefe refolutions were feverally agreed to by the Houfe, on the 28th of May; and in addition to the general declaration of the fenfe of par liament, expreffed in the laft, Mr. Dundas faid, he fhould move the Houfe to come to a specific refolution for the recall of Mr. Haftings and Mr. Hornsby. That he was urg ed to take this step by an account which had lately arrived from in. dia of an act of the moft flagrant violence and oppreffion, and of the groffett, breach of faith, committed by the former against Gheit Sing, the Raja of Benaras. He entered at large into the nature of that tranfaction, and concluded with mov. ing the following resolution: That Warren Haftings, Efq; "Governor General of Bengal, The torty-fourth declares, "that" and William Hornby, Efq; Pre "for the purpose of conveying ene pear rea "fident of the council at Bombay, having in fundry inftances acted. "in a manner repugnant to the "honour and policy of this nation, "and there by brought great cald"mities on India, and enormous expences on the Eaft India company, it is the duty of the directors "of the faid company to purfue all "legal and effectual means for the "removal of the fid governor ge "neral and prefident from their "refpective offices, and to recall "them to Great Britain." "In confequence of this refolution of the Houfe of Commons, the directors took the neceffary fteps for carrying it into effect; but, as their * These words were afterwards left out of the refolution, and the following inferted inftead of them: "the parliament of Great Britain should give fome jgnal mark of its difpleasure against those in any degree intrugled with the charge of the "company's affairs, whojlall.” [D4] proceedings proceedings are fubject to the control of a general court of proprietors, the friends of Mr. Haftings, whofe influence in that body was now found to be irrefiftible, had recourfe to that expedient, and on the 31st of October the orders of the court of directors were refcinded by a large majority. Thus ended the fecond parliamentary attempt to punish Indian delinquency. This oppofition, however, of the proprietors to the deliberate fenfe of the Houfe of Commons, and to the refolutions of the court of directors, entered upon without previous enquiry, and adopted in a confufed and tumultuous debate, without any information before them, was, at the beginning of the next feffions, ftrongly reprobated by Mr. Dun. das, both as dangerous in its principle, as well as highly infulting to the honour of parliament. He there. fore moved, that all the proceedings relative thereto fhould be laid be. fore the Houfe; and on these and the refolutions before voted he founded a bill, which he afterwards brought in, "for the better regulating the "government of India." The principal objects of this bill were, to inveft the governor general with a difcretionary power to act against the will of the council, whenever he fhould think it neceffary for the public good fo to do; to allow the fubordinate governors a negative on every propofition, till the determination of the fupreme council fhould be known; to fecure to the zemindars or landholders of Hindoftan, a permanent interest in their respective tenures; to cause the debts of the Raja of Tanjore, and of the Nabob of Arcot, to be careully examined into, and to put an nd to the oppreffions of the latter, and the corrupt practices of his creditors, by fecuring to the Raja the full and undisturbed enjoyment of his kingdom; laftly, to recall Governor Haftings, and prevent the court of proprietors from acting in oppofition to the fenfe of parliament, and to nominate a new governor general. For this important office Mr. Dundas recommended the Earl Cornwallis: but the members who at that time had the. direction of public affairs, not ap proving of fome of the principles of the bill, and declaring their intentions of taking up the business early in the next feffions, it was tacitly withdrawn. Having gone through all the proceedings which were moved by the chairman of the secret committee, and grounded on their reports, the fteps taken by the select committee require, in the next place, our attention. Their reports, eleven in number, took a complete review of the conftitution of the Eaft India company, and of the management of their affairs both at home and abroad, in their political as well as commercial tranfactions. On these reports was principally grounded the great plan afterwards introduced by Mr. Fox, in his bill, for the better regulating the affairs of the East India company, and the charges of impeachment which have fince been intituted by the Commons against Mr. Haftings. On the 18th of April 1782, their chairman, General Smith, prefented to the House ten refolutions; of which the five first related to the misconduct of the chairman of the court of directors, in having unne ceffarily and dangerously delayed to tranfmit to the company's fet tlements tlements in the Eaft, the judicature act, passed in the laft feffion of parliament, by which the good purpofes of the faid act, in providing relief for certain individuals, as well as for the people at large, might be fruftrated. " In the three following refolutions it was ftated, "that Warren Haft"ings, and Sir Elijah Impey, chief "juftice of the fupreme court of Bengal, had been concerned, the one in giving, and the other in receiving, an office tenable at the "pleasure of the fervants of the "company, contrary to the true "intent of the act of 13 Geo. III; "and that this unjustifiable trans "action between them was attended "with circumftances of evil ten"dency and example."-Thefe refolutions being agreed to by the Houfe, an addrefs was ordered to be prefented to the King, to recall Sir Elijah Impey to anfwer for his conduct in the tranfaction aforefaid. On the two laft refolutions a bill was brought in, for the purpose of afcertaining more diftinctly the powers given by former acts to the governor general and council of Bengal. At the clofe of this feffion, the King expreffed his approbation" of "the diligence and ardour with "which the houfe had entered up. "on the confideration of the Bri"tish interests in the Eaft Indies, "as, worthy of their wifdom, jus "tice, and humanity; and affured "them, that to protect the perfons "and fortunes of millions in those "diftant, regions, and to combine "our profperity with their hap"pinefs, were objects which would 65 repay the utmost labour and exer ❝tion." It was remarked, that the King's fpeech at the opening of the enfuing feffion, in December 1782, did not contain a fingle word relative to the affairs of India. At the end of that feffions it was fignified, "that the "confideration of the affairs of the "Eaft Indies would require to be "refumed as early as poffible, and "to be purfued with a ferious and "unremitting attention." CHAP. CHAP. IV. Meeting of parliament towards the clofe of the year 1782. King's speech. Ad dreffes voted unanimously. Two India Bills brought in by Mr. Fox. Subftance of the bill for vefting the affairs of the company in commifioners. Substance of the bill for the better government of the territorial poffeffions. Debates on the bills. Objections and replies-ft. of charters-plea of neceffity-magnitude of abuses-fate of finances-company's government in India-independent porers-allies and dependents-territorial poffeffions-abules curable-court of proprietors-court of directors-minifters of the crown. d. Objection. dangerous powers and influence created by the bills. Answer to this objection. First India bill carried to the House of Lords. Rumours of the king's dislike of the bill. Majority against the minifters in the House of Lords. Motions in the House of Commons, relative to the reports of the king's d.fapprobation of the bills; and to the diffolution of parliament. Bill rejected by the Lords. Minifters removed. N the 11th November 1783, the two houfes of parliament being affembled, were informed, in the fpeech from the throne, that definitive treaties of peace had been concluded with the courts of France and Spain, and with the United States of America; and that preliminary articles had been ratified, with the States General of the United Provinces. The caufe of their being called together after fo fhort a recefs was then explained. They were told that the fituation of the Eaft India Company would require the utmost exertion of their abilities, and that the fruit was expected of thofe important inquiries which had been fo long and fo diligently purfued. Their attention was next called to the dangerous frauds which prevailed, and the alarming outrages that had been committed, relative to the collection of the public revenues; and fuch further powers were required from the legislature as might enable the executive government to prevent the confequences of this daring The fpirit. The gentlemen of the Houseof Commons were informed, that the reductions that had been made in the naval and military establishments were brought as low as pru dence would admit; and that it was not doubted but the fortitude which had hitherto fupported the nation un der many difficulties, would make her bear with cheerfulncfs the burthens which the prefent exigencies would require, and which were neceffary for the full fupport of the national credit. The fpeech concluded with recommending temper and modera, tion in all their deliberations, and with hoping, that as in many refpects our fituation was new, their counfels would provide what that fituation called for, and that their wisdom would give permanency to whatever had been found beneficial by the experience of ages. Addreffes in the ufual form were moved by the earl of Scarborough and Lord vifcount Hampden, in the Houfe of Lords; and by the earl of Upper Glory, and Sir Francis Barfet, in the lower Houfe; and were 1 But were unanimoufly agreed to. reproaches from being thrown In the Houfe of Commons Mr. William Pitt, and Mr. Thomas Pitt, animadverted with great triumph on the inconfitency of the minifterial fide of the houfe, in voting an addrefs of thanks to the King, for having concluded deftmitive treaties of peace, the very tranfcript of thofe preliminary arti cles which they had before voted to be inadequate and difhonourable. They likewife called loudly on the minister to bring forward without delay fome plan for fecuring and improving the advantages that might be derived from our poffefons in the Eaft; a plan, not of temporary pal liation of timorous expedients, but vigorous and effectual, fuited to the magnitude, the importance, and the alarming exigency of the cafe. In anfwer to this requifition, Mr. Fex acquainted the houfe, that he propofed on the Tuefday following to bring forward a motion relative to that object. On that day Mr. Fox moved the houfe for leave to bring in a bill,. "for vefting the affairs of the Eaft "India company in the hands of "certain commiffioners, for the "benefit of the proprietors, and the public:" And alfo, a bill" for "the better government of the ter"ritorial poffeffions and dependencies. "in India." By the former of these bills it was propofed to enact," that the whole government and management of the territorial poff ffions, revenues, and commerce of the company, together with all and fingular the powers and authorities before vefted in the directors, or in the general court of proprietors of the fad company, fhould be vested in feven directors, named in the act, for and during the fpace of four years. "That for the fole purpofe of ordering and managing the commerce of the faid Company, nine affiftant directors, being proprietors, each of them of 2.000/ capital fleck, fhould be appointed, to act under and f.bject to the orders of the directors aforefaid. "That all vacancies in the office of the faid directors fhould be filled by his majefty; and that the vacancies in the office of the faid affiftant directors fhould be filled by a majority of the proprietors of the company, at an election by open poll. "That the affiftant directors fhould be removeable by five directors, the caufe and reafons for fuch their removal being entered journ Is, and figned with their refpective names; and that the directors, and affitant directors, fhould be removeable by his majesty, upon houfe of an addrefs of either parliament. 3 "The |