Begard to any principle of found reason and juftice.

It has been held by high authority, that a banker, who fells no one article whatever in his fhop, and whofe concerns are totally in money and fecurities, is a retail dealer: it is alfe held, by the fame authority, that a man who is hourly difpofing of beer, fpirits, and wines, in the fmalleft quantities, is not a retail dealer. It has been determined, that a manufacturer, by having his name affixed to his door, becomes a retail dealer; while another manufacturer, more avowedly and publicly known, who of courfe has not equal occafion to attach his name to his dwelling, but who carries on precifely the fame occupation, is no re tailer.

The papers now upon the table of the Houfe of Commons will effectually prove how much the product of the tax falls thort of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds; yet even the appearance it does make in the refources of the nation is enhanced by the rigorous exertion of the officers from the Tax-office; and, though thofe officers are not to be deemed culpable for the execution of their duty, yet the propriety of that law may be queftioned, which compels them to purfue fuch rigorous and even abfurd measures.

The houses of furgeons and of notaries public, the offices of infurance from fire, have been by thefe officers affeffed to this duty; even the Bank of England has been conftrued into a retail fhop, for the purpofe of adding to the grofs amount of the tax.-In fuch cafes, the principle of the trader reimburfing himself on the consumer must be entirely abandoned. It is almoft too ri diculous to be credible, that, in the borough of Southwark, a fhop was affeffed to the Shop-tax upon the rent of the QuakersMeeting adjoining.-Another inftance of peculiar hardship occurs in the city of Weftminfter; the widow of an artist, whose works have juftly rendered him famous, was directed by the officer to be charged with this duty, because, her husband having left her the property of his plates, the occafionally difpofed of fome of the impreffions, but without keeping a retail fhop or felling any other Article whatever; the name of HOGARTH will publicly denote the authentitity of this cafe.

Oa fuch circumstances, and fuch a firm bafis, the fhopkeepers again claim the protection of their reprefentatives in Parliament; could they apprehend their cafe wanted ftrength, they would have entered more largely into particulars; did they not know the fupport a money-bill always receives, they would not have enlarged it to its prefent extent; confcious of truth and ratitude in their profeffions, they truft they fhall not lofe a fingle friend of the last year, ould there be such a difference of fentiment

as to bring the question to the teft of a divifion.

In the most unequivocal manner they difclaim any wifh to be excufed contributing their proportion to the revenue of their country, while they make this folemn appeal to the humanity, the juftice, and the wifdom of Parliament, for the repeal of an Act, which is oppreffive to individuals, inadequate to the demands of the State, and unconfonant to thofe principles of taxation which have ever diftinguished a British Legiflature. March 8, 1788.

Impartial Statement of the Proceedings between the Board of Controul, and the Directors of the E. India Company, refpecting the four regiments of his Majefty's troops intended to ferve in India at the expence of the Company.

It appears, that on, or before, the 26th of August, 1785, a PLAN of the military peace establishment in India, founded on the papers tranfmitted by Gen. Campbell, with fome fmall deviations by the board of Controul, had been laid before the Court of Directors. The deviations made by the board appeared to have been thefe. In place of one troop of European cavalry, the Board had adopted an establishment, confifting of one regiment of European cavalry, and five regiments of native cavalry, an effential improvement, at very little difference of ex pence.

Court of Directors, Aug. 6, 1785. The Directors acknowledge their want of fefficient military knowledge to enable them to fpeak decidedly on every part of the PLAN; but are not without the moft alarming apprehenfions left the confiderable reduction propofed in the number of European infantry hould be productive of ferious confequences: and therefore moft earnestly remonftrate against a reduction of the army upon the Bengal establishment, which will leave a Jefs force than 4500 effective Europeans for the protection of the povinces in that establishment.

Board of Controul, 5 Sept. 1785, Anf. With regard to the general principles of the diftribution of your military force, we certainly cannot be of opinion, that even the fafety of Bengal can be fufficiently provided for without a force kept up at all times, both at Madras and Bombay, fully adequate to their defence, how deficient foever the revenues may be which they produce; nor is the addition to the Bengal Eftablishment to be eftimated by any given number of European troops, unless there is a probability of their being fupported by a fufficient annual proportion of recruits from Europe; for otherwife a larger nominal eftablishment may increase the expence, but cannot encreafe the fecurity of your establishment. Having, however, confidered the weight due to the opinion of Mr. Haffings on this fube

hort to become burthenfome while the truggle of actual fervice prevented a clofe attention to domeftic grievances, and the pre-eminence before mentioned was felt to be the right of intriufic fuperiority.

Your petitioners most humbly represent, that the motive for this honourable diftinction, as far as it is founded on the comparative advantages of talent or conduct, has long been gradually weakened.

Your Majefty's late refolution, for immediately difpatching four regiments to ferve and continue in India, is a meafure fo eminently declaratory of your Majefty's paternal attention to the welfare of every part of the British dominions, that your petitioners are emboldened to hope, from the fame parental hand, a remedy for any incidental grievance which that refolution may eventually inflict; and when your Mi jefty is informed, that upwards of 18c gallant and deferving officers, bearing the Company's commiffion, feel (the dearest of all in a foldier's poflefon) their honcur affected in its tendereft part by this event, there needs but á retrospect to the univerfal tenor of your Majelly's royal wisdom to be affured of redrefs.

Your petitioners therefore, after moft gratefully thanking your Majefty for the favor which hath been delegated to them, of recommending out of the Company's forces a number of officers to each of the four regiments deftined for India, amounting in the whole to 78 perfons, mult humbly beg leave to reprefent, that the delegation, while it actually bears teftimony to the merits and eligibility of the Company's officers, leaves your petitioners under the most diftreffing dilemma, how to fatisfy upwards of 1800 deferving men by the partial promotion of 78, as thofe chofen officers mult refpectively fuperfede all thofe of their own rank from the infant of their nom

nation.

Your petitioners therefore cannot but incur the imputation of partiality under every poffible mode of fetection; and thould they leave it to the option of their feveral officers, according to feniority, the difficulty would be fhifted indeed from themfelves, but by no means obviated or redreffed; and your petitioners are alarmed for the effects of that difcontent which may pervase the whole of the Company's armies, as all thofe who have acquired a pittance proportionate to the poffibility of exifting unemployed, may be expected to refign; but to what con. fequence defpair may drive thofe who have no refource but their prefent fervice, your petitioners veature not even to imagine. To remove this grievance, and at the lame time to gratify body of men who look up to your Majefty with a we learned confciosfacts of repeated fuccefs, it is the most humble prayer of your petitioners, that your Mary would be pleafed to ant quality OENT. MAG. Ma, cb, 1793.

a

of rank, according to the dates of their fe-veral commiffions, to the Company's, with your Majesty's officers while ferving in India, &c.

"And your Petitioners, &c."

At the fame time while debating on the propriety of prefenting this petition, the petition of the military officers on the Bengal Eftablishment to the Court of Directors was introduced and read; in which they reprefent, "That the Company's officers are and must be equal to his Majesty's otheers, and, in the field, where they only folicit an equality, their fuperiors; for, admitting military knowledge to be the refult of mili tary experience, it follows, that to enable officers to act with every advantage in ludia, where the armies are compofed of various nations, differing in language and religion; of men who are governed more by fentiment than reafon, whofe manners must be ftudied, and whofe very prejudices must be occafionally complied with; your officers poffefs peculiar and important advantages, which his Majefty's officers, who have been trained to arms in a different theatre, have never had the means of acquire ing. Yet they labour under the painful preffure of an ignominous fuperfeffion, which wounds their honour, and extinguishes emulation.

"Add to this, that his Majefty's officers in peace and war, at home and abroad, have a growing rank; your officers can claim no rank but daring their refidence in India.

This is fuch an obvious and permanent advantage, that they are firmly perfuaded your justice will urge you to ufe every means in your power to prevent them from being farther injured and mor fied by the King's officers fuperfeding them in India.

"But, above all, they obferve with the deepelt anxiety and concern, that the officers of the German corps, newly railed and lately fent to India under fauction of the before recited claufe of George II. in like manner with his Majefty's British officers, will not only rank with, but command them; this will be a species of mortification which Britons have hitherto never learned to bear, and which not only justice forbids, but policy condemns, and from which, we truit, you will zealously endeavour to protect u:.'

After feveral other striking reprefentations, they conclude their petition with the following moft pathetic addiels to the Court: "After our long fervices to you and to our country; after a painful exile of many years, ficate in a remote fection of the globe, expofed to a climate unfavourable to our conftitation, where few furvive, and all fuber; we cannot entertain a doubt but you will colectively and individually endeavor, by every means in your power, to fecure us from the humiliating grievance we complain

have to doubt of being able, by the affiance of his Majelly's minifters, to raife men for their fervice without incurring an enormous expence, against which, it would be the duty of the court to ftep forward, even if the pofitive injunction of the Legiflature, the anticipated revenues, and the immenfe incumbrances under which the Company is labourjog, did not point out the neceffity of the molt rigid ceconomy.

For thefe reafons, the Court fav, they are inclined to hope, that the Rt. Hon. Commifioners will be induced to alter the determination they seem to have taken, and to concur with the Court in a reprefentation to his Majefty, by which fuch an increase of European Arength may be obtained in India, as may be judged abfolutely expedient, in a mode lefs deftructive to the welfare of the Company.-The above refolution was carried in the affirmative.

At a Court of Directors, 12 Dec. On reading a letter from a Committee of the Company's military officers, requesting to be informed what hops had been taken in conf quence of the petition tranfmitted to Europe in 784, &c.

Refolved, That the Committee be informed, that the faid petition was delivered to one of the Rt. Hon. Secretaries of State; that in July 1786, the Gov. Gen. was called upon for his opinion, and for that of the Gov. of Fort St. George, as to the beft mode of fatisfying the Company's officers on the fubject of rank. That conferences had been already, and will continue to be, held with the Rt. Hon. the Commitioners of the affairs in India; and that the Court will perfevere in their best endeavours to obtain fuch fatisfaction may remove any mortifying distinction between the two Corps when ferving in india.

as

At a Court of Directors, 19 Dec. After reading a letter from a committee of the Company's military officers, dated Dec. 17, a motion was made for a respectable application, "That His Majefty would be gracioutly pleafed to withdraw the regiments in quef. tion, for the reafons already affigned;" which motion was referred to be taken into confideration on a future day.

At a Court of Directors, 28 Dec. The chairman laid before the court the following note from Ld. Sydney: "His Majefty's fervants do not propofe to advise his Majesty to alter the refolution of fending the four regiments to India. They obferve, in the papers tranf mited to them by the Board of Controul, that the Directors complain of the effect which the introduction of fo many officers of high rank in his Majefty's service in India will have on the fituation of the officers in the Company's troops; at the fame time they cannot but confider the admiffion of the officers of the Company to half the Commiffions in the four new regiments, to be a confiderable advantage to the Company's corps of officers; but as the Board of Con

troul hath called for the dates of the commillions of the officers, alluded to by the Directors, His Majefty's fervants do not think themselves authorized to give an onion concerning the meaties neceffary to be taken to prevent any just complaint opon the fubje&t in queftion tili that information is laid before them."

It was then moved and agreed, that the farther confideration of the motion on the 19th be deferred till Wednesday the 16th of Jan. 1788.

At a Court of Diretors, 16 Jn. 1788, The motion of the 19th Dec. 1787 patfed in the afirmative; and

Kefolved, that Jacob Bofanquet, Hugh Inglis, Stephen Lufhington, Efqrs. and the Hon Wm. Elphingtone, be appointed a commitee, to draw up a humble addrefs to his Majefty purfuant to the foregoing refolution; and that the Company's Counfel and Solici tor do give their affistance.

He a Court of Directors, 23 Jan. 1788. It was moved, that the memorial and petition, prepared and prefented in purfuance to the lait refolution, be agreed to: it paffed in the athrmative. Upon which,

John Motteux, Efq. chairman, delivered in his diffear, to the following purport;

1. Because the Court, on the 17th of Oct. 1787, accepted the offered faccours, after most gratefully expreffing their acknowledgments to his Majefty for his gracious attention to the fafety of the Company's poffelfions in India.

2. Pecause the Rt. Hon. Board of Commilioners for the affairs of India, and his Majefty's Confidential Minifters, have unequivocally declared the necefity of keeping up a permanent European force in India.

3. Becaufe the additional expence does not appear to be nearly fo great as has been reprefented.

4. Because there is ftrong reafon to hope, that, on the receipt of the opinions daily expected from India, the Rt. Hon. the Commiffioners will unite their endeavours with those of the Court, to obtain from his Majesty fuch mark of royal favour to the Company's Officers as will remove every juft caufe of complaint.

5. Because he doubts if his Majesty's minifters would (without having recourfe to Parliament) give fuch power to the Court as would enable them to raise an adequate force on terms much less burthenfome to the Company; or that, even with freth Parliamentary powers, any very confiderable fum would be faved in raifing a force equal to the nedeffery defence.

6thly, Because the fhips bound to China and thofe bound to Coast and Bay, that have respectively received orders to touch at Bombay and Fort St. George in their way to their destined ports, for the exprefs purpofe of carrying out the new-raifed regiments,