VII.

1773.

CHAP. now at great pains to difplay their kindness to the Company; they fet forth, that notwithstanding the great loffes the Company had, by their own mifconduct, fuftained, so as to render them unable to pay the fum annually ftipulated to the public, they had gencroufly fupplied them with four times the fum, and, out of their tender regard to the Company, would ftill undergo farther difadvantages. As it was known that the Company had on hand an immenfe ftock of tea, amounting to no lefs than feventeen millions of pounds, it was allowed them to export any quantity they pleafed to foreign parts, without being liable to duty.

Another petition from the

To all this kindness the Company replied by a petition; in which they complained, in the frongft terms, of the injurious conduct of administration; of the grofs mifrepresentation that had been given of their affairs; and, at the fame time, fet forth the great advantages the public Company had reaped from them, the expence they had been at in acApril 30. quiring thofe territories, to which it was now declared that they had no right, but this met with no better reception than the former: The plan for depriving the Company of the management of their affairs was already laid, and the moft convenient method of fubjecting them entirely to the power of the crown only remained to be confidered. At laft, after long and fruitless debates, the minifter brought Regulation in a bill, for establishing certain regulations for the better bill brought management of the affairs of the East-India company, as well in India as in Europe. The principal articles of this bill were the following: 1ft, That the court of directors fhould, in future, be elected for four years; fix members to be chosen annually. 2d and 3d, The ftock of qualification fhould now be 1000l. inftead of 500l. as formerly; and no perfon fhould be intitled to vote for the election of the directors who had not poffeffed their fock for twelve months. 4th, The mayor's court of Calcutta fhould, for the future, be confined in its jurifdiction to small mercantile causes. 5th, Inftead of this court, a new one fhould be appointed, confifting of a chief juftice and three puifne judges. 6th That all thefe judges be appointed by the crown; and laftly, That the prefidency of Bengal should have a fuperiority over all others in India.

in and

pailed,

May 3,

This bill proved no lefs difagreeable to the company than the former tranfactions had been. Every part of it was difputed with great violence; but ftill the Company appeared to have very few friends in the house, so that every queftion was carried by a prodigious majority. They petitioned against it, fent a meffage concerning it to the lord mayor and livery of London, requesting that they would

་་

oppofe it to the utmost of their power. But though they CHAP alfo petitioned, as well as thofe who were poffeffed of pro- VII. perty in the East-Indies, who claimed the privilege of other British fubjects, the bill at laft was paffed into a law by a 1773majority of one hundred and thirty-one to twenty-one. In the houfe of lords it was alfo ftrongly opposed by a few June 10. members, but at laft was carried by thirty-nine to twelve. On this occafion, a conference was propofed between the two houfes, but rejected, on pretence that it would occa fion a lofs of time. It was then moved, that the reports of the feveral committees, as well as the other evidences relative to the ftate of India affairs, fhould be laid before the houfe; but this alfo was rejected on the fame pretence.

The Company, now left hopeless of redrefs, continued to fend unavailing petitions on the fecond reading of the bill, and their few friends in parliament continued an ineffectual oppofition. The bill was finally paffed, and the Company thus entirely thrown into the hands of ministry. The continued series of inquiries, however, into the tranfactions of the Company for many years paft, had produced very unfavourable reports of the conduct of many of their fervants in the Eaft, which at last brought on a formal charge of rapaciy, treachery, and cruelty against lord Clive, and others concerned in the depofition and death of Surajah Dowlah, with the other means which had been taken to accomplish the revolution of 1756. This foon produced the following refolutions, by which the afcendancy of the miniftry was fully completed: "That all acquifitions made under a military force, or by virtue of treaties with foreign princes, do, of right, belong to the state: That to appropriate acquifitions fo made to the private emolument of perfons entrusted with any civil or military power of the ftate, is illegal; That very great fums of money, and other valuable property, have been acquired in Bengal from princes, and others in that country, by perfons intrufted with the civil and military powers of the state, by means of such powers; which fums of money and property have been appropriated to the private ufe of fuch persons."

The general indignation against the fervants of the company on account of the crimes imputed to them, and probably alfo the envy occafioned by the large fortunes they had made, hurried thefe refolutions through the house, though, upon more cool reflection, they occafioned confiderable debates. The whole affair terminated in a direct accufation of lord Clive. That nobleman vindicated his conduct, in general, with great ability, and fet forth, in a Ariking point of view, the very eminent fervices he had

Lord Clive

arraigned.

VII.

1773

CHAP. rendered the Company. However, this did not prevent another attack, which would probably have been attended with very disagreeable confequences, had it not been that the reports of the select committee were deemed not to be fufficient evidence whereon to found a parliamentary judgment of the matter. The affair at laft ended in a motion, "That lord Clive, at the time of his receiving fums to the amount of 234,000l. on the depofition of Surajah Dowlah, did render great and meritorious fervice to this country;" which being carried, a ftop was put to the inquiry.

The last

petition of the Company rejected.

The Company, at laft, finding themselves now deprived of every hope of relief, and that they had been egregiously duped and enfnared by administration, at laft prefented a petition to the commons, refufing to accept the loan on the terms that had been proposed, and requefling to withdraw their former petition; but this was treated as an act of infanity rather than deferving ferious confideration. It was determined to fave the Company from ruin in fpite of themselves, and to force the benevolence of the public upon them.

torney-GeneralNullum Tempus bill Royal Mars riage act Diffenters bill Affair of Falkland Ilands -Tumult in the Houfes of Parliament-Ex pedition against St. Vincents.

TH

1769.

the civil

HE fame motives by which the miniftry hitherto feemed to be actuated, had uniformly continued to CHAP. mark their conduct in every thing with which they had VIII. any concern. In the end of February, 1769, a meffage from his majefty was laid before the house of commons, Tranfacacquainting them, that the expences of his government tions with had exceeded the civil-lift revenue fo much, that he had regard to been obliged to incur a debt of more than 500,000l. for lift revenue the discharge of which he relied on their well-known zeal and affection. This application, though by no means unufual in former times, now produced a violent debate, owing not only to the temper of the people in general, but, alfo, to another circumftance, viz. that his majefty, foon after his acceffion to the throne, had agreed to accept of the annual fum of 800,000l. to be certainly paid him, in stead of the product of various funds, formerly appropri ated to the civil-lift; the uncertainty of which was thought to have afforded the miniftry too frequent occafions for making demands on the people. As the revenue of his majefty, however, was now certainly known, administration found themselves chargeable with mifmanagement of the royal revenue upon every deficiency, and the popular party thought they had a right to call them to an account for

VOL. V.

Р

1769

CHAP. the manner in which it was expended. This was done VIII. with great rigour in the prefent cafe. A review was made of the civil-lift and private revenues of the crown. Those from Wales, and the duchy of Cornwall, were taken into confideration, as well as certain duties lately laid on, by virtue of the royal prerogative in fone of the WeftIndia Iflands; from all which it was inferred, that the civil-lift revenue was now in a better state than it had ever been before; and that it was abfolutely neceflary to produce the reafons of the deficiency. It was but reasonable, they faid, that the public fhould have the fatisfaction of knowing how their money had been expended before they fubmitted to the impofition of new burdens: That if debts were contracted without any confideration, and thefe debts discharged by the people without enquiry, the revenue of the prince might become entirely unlimited, and evil minifters would be enabled to carry every measure they propofed to themfelves, however, unjuftifiable, or prejudicial to the intereft of the community.

Feb 28.

To all this it was replied on the part of the ministry, That though it was generally right to watch the conduct of minifters, it was not fo in the prefent inftance. It would be ungenerous to fhew any fufpicion of a prince, who had taken fuch care, on his firft acceffion, to confult the freedom of the fubject, by establishing the independency of the judges. He had alfo renounced his flare of the captures taken during the war, and which amounted to no lefs a fum than 700,000l. fo that it would be very strange to refufe what was neceffary for his immediate exigencies. At the fame time, the greateft readinefs was profeffed to lay an accompt of the expenditure before the houfe; but the length of time requifite for preparing them, and the latenefs of the feffion, made it neceffary to delay it till the next meeting of parliament.

Thefe arguments were fufficient to ftop the mouths of oppofition for the prefent, and the fum of 513,5111. was granted to pay the arrears; but when the accompts were required next year, all inspection into them was pofitively refused. It was now faid, that as no application had been made for any additional fum of money, there was no right to enquire into the manner in which it was expended; but at prefent it was untimely, improper, and difrefpectful to the crown, as well as unjust, to enter into an examination of the royal expences. It was not pretended that there was the smallest reason for an enquiry, as long as the expences were confined within the ftipulated fum; but how was it known that the expences of laft year had exceeded