Anonymous

“ And thus justice and protection are no where to be found; vice goes unpunished, and innocence unsupported; therefore every man becomes a villain in his own defence; and faith, confidence, truth, and honesty are banished the land. In short, it may with strict propriety be said by these wretched people, Terras astræa reliquit; and tyranny and anarchy have here set up their throne.
And to this inaction or non-exertion of the powers of government we are to impute the ruin of those countries, rather than to the avarice or rapine of the persons deputed by the Company to execute that government. ”

“ So that this deputation of the Company executes the government of Bengal with a power perfectly unlimited by any exterior controul; and if we consider that it is at the same time foreign to the country governed, mutable, and of very short duration, we shall find that it is equally unrestrained by any internal check. It is therefore the most unlimited government on earth; or rather it is the only government that can, with propriety, be termed arbitrary and despotic.
For all other deputed governments are sufficiently restrained by the authority of the sovereign ”

“ But, for practice, it must appear a mere chimera to such as consider, on the one hand, that men, who are slaves to their government and its officers in every other capacity, cannot possibly be free in that of jurymen; and that juries, if they are not free and impartial, avail nothing: and, on the other hand, that if the natives should be actually endowed with the real cap of liberty in the jury room, there is danger, nay, there is a certainty, that they would make bold to wear it elsewhere; and then, adieu to the English dominion in Bengal. ”

“ Whereas, if the political power should, at same time, possess the power of judging, trying and determining, or should even possess any influence over the judicature, there is danger that it might, on some occasions, sacrifice its duty to its interest. And this is the very capital error of the Dutch system at Batavia, inasmuch as that government, possessing the judicial power, hath thereby the opportunity of perverting justice, sometimes to the prejudice of its constituent, and often to the detriment of its subordinates. ”

“ Nay, by losing the dominion of Bengal singly, she must not only incur a deprivation of almost the whole dominion benefit; but she must likewise lose by far the most valuable part of that commerce, which was carried on by the Company with those countries, previous to dominion. For the commerce with Bengal, alone, is of much greater value, than that with all the rest of India: and, as to the trade with China, it is the most pernicious and losing trade to the nation; however convenient it may be to government. ”

“ However, the power of governing, or rather of oppressing, is not confined to the persons vested with the charge of government: the numerous servants whom this Company disperses over the face of the country, for the purpose of carrying on her trade, do each of them, in his own district, assume the authority of a despot; and communicates a like authority to all his servants and dependants, who, it must be allowed, are far more unrelenting than their masters; and thus tyranny is extended into every corner; oppression becomes general ”

“ Had the national government taken upon itself the charge of superintending the government of those countries, as reason and the nature of things directed, then would it have furnished them a sovereign, naturally free from all the defects of the Company, and completely endued with all the qualifications of power, ability, and inclination from interest, to protect and regularly govern them. ”

“ For tho’, in our description of the Company’s government in India, we confined our account to that of Bengal alone, as being the most important and best known part of her dominion; yet doth the Company possess, besides Bengal, certain other territorial governments, of no small value and importance, in respect of either revenue or commerce. All which governments being formed upon the same system as that of Bengal, do not less demand reform, supervision, and controul. ”

“ For the inhabitants of those countries, being disposed by nature or climate to passive obedience, and by long custom habituated to despotic authority, and being farther impressed with a particular awe of Europeans, from a notion of their natural superiority, implicitly submit to the will of their present government, without once daring to either examine its right, dispute its authority, or question its conduct. ”

“ What quota of powers, proper to her and wanting to government, can the Company contribute, to render her a necessary or useful associate with government, in this sovereign charge? I doubt not that the proposer’s intentions were good and honest: but his scheme would be so far from promoting his or any one good purpose, that it would produce the very opposite effects. For, instead of checking and contrasting, it would serve, in the first place, to furnish, in the Directors and their governors, a convenient cloke of excuse to ministry and its governors, with the nation ”

“ For this government, which arbitrarily directs the jurisdiction and police, together with the imposition and collection of taxes, doth at same time act in the capacity of a merchant. And this commercial despotism, or despotic power lodged in the hands of a few foreign merchants, hath, in its nature and consequences, proved infinitely more destructive to the interest of that commercial 26country, than all the operations of political tyranny have been: for from it sprung these cruel monopolies, which struck at the very root of manufacture, commerce, and even population. ”

“ How far the interest of this foreign dominion hath been injured by the Company’s political misgovernment; or how near it may be reduced to a state of utter inability to afford any farther benefit to Britain, is but little known by the public. For though people have heard in the gross, that affairs in those countries are rather in a bad situation, yet do not they either understand or believe it to be so very bad as it really is; or rather they do not comprehend how it should be so bad; as not being acquainted with the full power of the cause that hath produced the evil ”

“ For it hath scrupulously withdrawn itself from all regard or attention to their government; and hath left it implicitly to the guidance of a few merchants; whom it knew to be perfectly unqualified for administring any sort of government: in consequence of which these wretched people have, for many years, been ruled, without law, justice, or government. Unhappy subjects, who are forced to obey a sovereign that refuses them protection, and leaves them exposed to all the horrors of tyranny and anarchy. ”

“ Whilst the insatiable avarice and unrestrained extortion of those employed in the collection of taxes and revenue having ruined the farmer, the lands lay uncultivated and waste; insomuch that, not to mention the immense decrease of revenue, that naturally most fertile of all countries, Bengal, hath suffered a more severe famine than perhaps was ever heard of; it being reckoned that a fifth part of the inhabitants have died of want, and numbers have fled from starving and oppression. ”

“ Labour, fatigue, and difficulty are evils, to which the human mind is so naturally averse, that, unless it is urged by some strong impulse of passion, such as the fear of some superior evil, or the hope and desire of some mighty good, it will decline and evade them: what stimulum then can be sufficiently powerful to urge the habitually indolent minds of our Bengal governors to encounter the difficulties, the labour, and fatigue attending a due discharge of the duties of government ”

“ Can it be supposed that four men, thus opposite in their personal views and interests, and thus independent of each other, should heartily concur in general measures; or should cordially unite in a system of common defence? Common sense informs us that they will not; and experience convinces us that they do not. For it hath been known that one, of these settlements, hath furnished arms and ammunition; and hath otherwise befriended a power, at open war with one of the others. And, in the case of any one of these settlements being attacked, the others are extremely backward in supporting it ”

“ But in respect of communication, with the truly valuable possessions of Britain in India, Bombay is altogether unfit to be either the residence of the supreme controuling power, or yet the center of defence; as must appear from the preceding description; which was more particularly enlarged, for the express purpose of evincing this. Far from being a proper center of defence, all the force that is lodged at Bombay becomes detached, and completely lost to the defence of Britain’s truly valuable possessions ”

“ Britain feels a general failure of credit, not only in the East India Company, but in individuals: and this failure of credit she can ascribe to no other cause, than to some extraordinary defect of numerical circulation, or a deficiency of numerical specie, sufficient to support the wonted credit of paper. How happens this want of numerical specie to be so severely felt, all of a sudden; or from whence should such defect arise? Assuredly from a decrease of her wonted influx of numerical specie; whilst her drain of that specie continues to be at least the same as formerly. ”

“ For, here, juries may exist with great propriety and efficacy, seeing that the Company will, on account of her commerce, keep a number of servants at this supreme settlement; there will likewise be, no doubt, many free merchants (as they are termed) : and, consequently, there will never be wanting a choice of persons unconnected with, and uninfluenced by the political government; and therefore fit to form a grand inquest; as well as petit or special juries, to decide in either criminal cases, or disputes of property. ”

“ For the execution of these two sovereign governments is, by the nature of things, inseparable: it being morally impossible, that any power can execute the sovereign government of those Indian countries, as a dominion dependent upon Britain, unless that power shall possess the sovereign execution of government in Britain. ”

“ But it is not difficult to determine how near the interest of Britain in those countries hath approached to ruin: for Britain is to consider them as ruined to her purpose, so soon as they shall become incapable of supporting a commerce beneficial 37to her; and at same time of yielding her a consideration, in the nature of tribute, equivalent to the expence of subjects which she sends out annually to maintain her dominion there. ”

“ But, leaving this to the proof of time, we perceive that, at any rate, we have lost the prospect of future tribute from Bengal, through the channel of the Company; we have not so much as the promise of dedomagement, drawback, or encreased dividend for this current year; and if we can trust to our own reason, preferably to bankrupt promises, we may give it up for good and all. Nay, there is mighty reason to apprehend, that even the private fortunes will soon cease to exist; and then Britain will cease to receive the sum of 1,400,000 l. ”

“ The powers of this grand inquest, if adapted to the situation of things, must be enlarged beyond these of our juries in Britain; where there are judicial and political aids, that must be wanting in those countries: for instance, the enquiry must not be confined to place, but must extend every where through the country: it must likewise have authority to bring before it all manner of nuisance or trespass committed against the liberty or property of the subject, natives as well as Europeans. ”

“ But if the controuling deputation shall be thus permitted to join its powers with these of the executive, and consequently forfeit its virtue and integrity, with respect to that one territorial government where it resides, it thereby becomes disqualified and unfit to controul the measures of any one other government: for the judge who is himself corrupt, is but little qualified to judge or punish corruption in others. ”

“ Possibly they might apprehend that if, upon their acquiring this mighty sovereign dominion, they should alter that which had been all along their commercial system, such alteration might induce the nation to enquire into the cause of it, and so discover the nature of their dominion, which they have ever carefully hid from the public. Though, it is more probable, they might perceive, that the institution of such an intermediate power would greatly interfere with their own personal influence, power, and emoluments ”

“ And the annual recruit, necessary to keep up this force, after allowing largely for climate, and every other circumstance, would, on a complete plan of defence, not exceed 900 or at most 1000 men: and, of this recruit, at least 200, would be wanted annually to maintain commerce, if there was no dominion. Nay, if this is judged too great a drain for Britain, one fourth part of that number may be reduced, by recruiting that proportion of foreign protestants: such being easily procured; and, in such a low proportion, they can in no respect be dangerous. ”

“ Their scholastic education extends no farther than to qualify them for merchants clerks; and, immediately on being taken from school, they are dispatched to India; where the manner of life is consonant to the climate, voluptuous to a degree of dissoluteness, vain, idle, dissipated, and an enemy to study or reflection: the juvenile part of their life being spent in this manner, they arrive 30at the charge of government with minds perfectly uninformed, and so very averse to application, that they commit and implicitly confide the charge of their own private concerns to servants. ”

“ The degree of power is altogether in the disposal of the sovereign. And, its efficacy or ability depends, principally, upon the choice of such a situation for the seat of its residence, as shall enable it to keep up, at all seasons, a ready and speedy correspondence with the several subordinate governments,
With regard to the choice of situation proper for the residence of this controuling power; (which is indeed a point of high importance,) we shall readily conceive, from adverting to its nature and the purposes of its institution, that this residence ought to be some convenient sea port ”

“ And one may almost venture to say that providence, by throwing Bengal into the arms of Britain, seems to have intended that this, the richest commercial state in Asia, which, through the effeminacy of its inhabitants, is incapable of maintaining its own independance, should be subjected to Britain, as being the fittest, through similarity of commercial disposition, interest, and modes, to properly govern it ”