that fo numerous a body of people as the present stockholders would receive in their property, by the propofed reftrictions, was ftrongly pointed out; and the chairman of the India Company, was called upon in his place to anfwer, whether he had not declared at a general court, that the propofed increafe of dividend, before the participation of profits took place between government and the Company, would have been agreed to? The chairman acknowledged that he had made fuch a declaration, and thought himself authorized fo to do, from feveral converfations which had paffed between the first lord of the treasury and him upon the fubject; feveral parts of which he then repeated. The noble lord declared, that he had given no fuch promife or hopes to the gentleman, at any interview, in which he confidered him as acting in his official capacity of chairman to the Company; and that he had repeatedly cautioned him, that whatever paffed in private converfation was to be buried in oblivion, and never to be quoted as authorizing him to any measure whatfoever. These restrictions, however, upon the converfations of public perfons on public bufinefs, feems to defeat the end of those converfations. A corporate body can have no information otherwife authenticated; fince meffages in writing are not ufually delivered. Such mifapprehenfions or misreprefentations on one hand, or retraction of promife on the other, had been frequent in the India tranfactions from the beginning, and had produced many mifchiefs.

It was infifted, that the Company had not exceeded its legal powers in regard to the bond debt,

though terrific threats upon that fubject had frequently been held out; and it was declared, that they were ready to meet government upon that ground, whenever it thought proper. To conclude, it was requested, that a matter which affected the property of fo great a number of people, as the proposed reftrictions did, fhould not be haftily entered into; and that a few days at leaft might be allowed, to confider coolly of its confequences; that it should be remembered, that the proprietary had agreed to treat with administration upon a fuppofition that a dividend of eight per cent, would meet with its fupport, and that to refuse it now, was to lend the aid of government to deceive a fet of men, who had already fuffered extremely, by being too greatly and too frequently impofed upon.

To this propofal it was replied, that nothing could be more unjust, or even monstrous, than the idea of raifing a dividend, till the Company's debts were discharged; that the poftponing the refolutions, even for a few days, could anfwer no ufeful purpofe; the reftriction of the Company's dividend to fix per cent. was either a proper or an improper measure; if it was an improper measure, the fooner it was difcuffed and laid aside, the better; if, on the contrary, it was a proper measure, why poftpone it?

This inflexibility of the minifters, brought on much cenfure from the other fide. It was infifted that the Eaft-India Company were not before the Houfe. That the act of the Company was contained in the whole of the propofals that were laid before them; that the Houfe was to treat with the Company in

its

its corporate capacity, and to accept or reject the whole of its acts; that to accept of part of the Company's propofals, reject the reft, and ingraft new propofals of its own upon thofe offered by the Company, was to drop the idea of a treaty between parliament and a corporate body, and to deftroy the charter rights of the Company.

It was afferted, that all the late treaties between government and the Company, and particularly the prefent, were in the highest degree iniquitous on the fide of the former; that the artifice, duplicity, and treachery used in conducting them, were as thameful, as the terms were unfair, and the ultimate defigns wicked; and that if ever the Company were before the Houfe, they had either been compelled there by violence, circumvented by fraud, or impelled by menaces. April 5th. In fome time after, the following refolutions were moved, and carried by the minifter, viz." That it is the opinion of this Houfe, it will be more beneficial to the public, and the Eaft-India Company, to let the territorial acquifitions remain in the poffeffion of the Company for a limited time, not exceeding the term of fix years, to commencé from the agreement between the public and the Company." "That no participation of profits fhall take place between the public and the Company, until after the repayment of the 1,400,000l. advanced to the Company, and the reduction of the Company's bond debt, to 1,500,000 1." "That after the payment of the loan advanced to the Company, and the reduction of their bond debt to the fum fpecified, three fourths of the

net furplus profits of the Company at home, above the fam of eight per cent. upon their capital ftock, fhall be paid into the Exchequer, for the ufe of the public, and the remaining one fourth fhall be fet apart, either for further reducing the Company's bond debt, or for compofing a fund for the discharge of any contingent exigencies the Company may labour under."

The right of the ftate to the territorial poffeffions was now infifted upon; but that fron motives of policy, expediency, and mutual advantage, it was thought better to wave that right for the prefent, and to foffer the Company to enjoy them for fome time longer; the limitation for fix years was accounted for by the expiration of the Company's charter, which would take place in the year 1785.

The measure of affuming and eftablishing a right, without any legal decifion, or juridical difcuffion, or fo much as hearing the party on the matter of his right, was, without queftion, a very extraordinary proceeding. The other fide cried out against it; but in vain. It was to as little purpofe to declare, that the whole conduct with respect to the Company, was equally contradictory to every principle of general law, of equity, and of the policy of nations, as it was impolitic, unwife, and entirely repugnant to the letter as well as fpirit of the laws, to the liberties, and to the conftitution of this country. what purpofe, faid they, do you affert this right, when in the very fame breath, you admit that it is not proper to exercise it? Nobody was then contefting it. It was no part of any queftion then before the House. If there was not fome

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For

finifter

finifter defign, why not referve the queftion of right to its proper time, and then to give it a proper difcuffion.

To this nothing was directly answered. But government took great pains to difplay its kinduefs to the Company. It was faid, that notwithstanding the great lofles fuffered by their misconduct, which rendered them incapable of paying the annual stipulation to the public, they now generously fupplied them with a loan of near four times that fum to preferve them from ruin, and would still, from a tender confideration of the Company's affairs, fuftain an additional lofs in their favour; it was therefore propofed, and agreed to, that as the Company had a flock of teas amounting to above 17,000,000 of pounds by them, and it would be greatly to their advantage to convert as much of it as they could into money, they fhould therefore be allowed to export any quantities of it they pleated, duty-free.

The refolutions ha April 30th. ving been reported in ving been reported in the House and agreed to, a petition was prefented from the East-India Company, in which they were complained of in the ftrongest terms, as unjust and injurious. They complain that the most material articles of their propofitions are rejected; and reprefent, that when the loan which they have requested from the public is difcharged, it must be unreasonable to reqire any further terms upon that account; that the limitation of the dividend to 7 per cent. after the difcharge of the loan, and until the reduction of the bond debt, is neither founded on any just calculation of their affairs, nor necef

fary, either with refpect to their, credit, or that of the public, and that the fmall addition of one per cent. though of confiderable confequence to them, was too trifling in the amount, to caufe any material delay in the reduction of that debt; that the hardship of this limitation is exceedingly aggravated, by a confideration of the great loffes which they, as proprietars, have fuftained, and the expences they have incurred, in acquiring and fecuring the territorial revenues in India, at the rifque of their whole capital, from which the public had reaped fuch vaft advantages, without any equivalent to themfelves; and that they had only offered the propofals, which were now made the ground of these reftrictive refolutions, upon the faith of thofe affurances which they had received, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer coincided with them in his intentions.

They farther reprefented, that the limitation for fix years to their territorial poffeffions, was altogether arbitrary, as it may be conftrued into a conclufive decifion against them, in regard to those poffeffions to which they have an undoubted right; a right against which no decifion exifts, nor any formal claim has ever been made. They refufe to acquiefce in the propofed allotment of their furplus profits; and infift that fuch a difpofal of their property without their own confent, is not warrantable by any pretenfions that have been formed against them; that when they offered a participation in a different proportion of the faid furplus, it was in a full perfuafion that they might freely enjoy the remainder; that the prefcribed li

mitation,

mitation, with refpect to the application of the one fourth allotted to them in this participation, after the payment of their fimple contract debts, and the reducing of their bond debt, to the point affixed by the Houfe, is fo fubverfive of all their rights and privileges, by denying them the difpofal of their own property, though all their creditors fhall be fully fecured according to law, that rather than fubmit to fuch conditions, as proceeding from any confent expreffed or implied by themfelves, they declare their defire, that any claims against them, that can be fuppofed to give rife to fuch reftrictions, may receive a legal decifion, from which, whatever may be the event, they will at least have the fatisfac. tion of knowing what they may call their own. The Houfe had now, May 3d. for about two months, been almoft continually occupied by the affairs of the Eaft-India Company, when at length refolutions to the following effect were moved for by the minifter, and made the foundation of a Bill, "for establishing certain regula. tions for the better management of the affairs of the Eaft-India Company, as well in India as in Europe." ft. That the court of directors fhould, in future, be elected for four years; fix members annually; but none to hold their feats longer than four years. 2d. That no perfon fhould vote at the election of the directors who had not poffeffed their stock twelve months. 3d. That the flock of qualification, fhould, inftead of 500 1. be 1000 1. 4th. That the mayor's court of Calcutta, fhould

for the future be confined to fmall mercantile causes, to which only its jurifdiction extended before the territorial acquifition. 5th. That in lieu of this court, thus taken away, a new one be established, confifting of a chief juftice and three puifne judges. 6th. That thefe judges be appointed by the crown. 7th. That a fuperiority be given to the prefidency of Bengal, over the other prefidencies in India.

Some of thefe propofitions were fupported upon the following principles, That in the prefent state of the Company, the gentlemen in the direction were fo difconcerted by the fhortness of their turn, and their time fo much taken up by caballing for their re-election, that they had neither leifure to form, nor time to execute, any permanent fyftem of general advantage. That the term of fix months was too short for a qualification to vote, as it did not preclude temporary purchases of flock, merely for that purpose; and that the prefent qualification of 500 1. capital ftock, was not a fufficient intereft in the Company, to entitle the holder to a vote. That the contraction of powers in the mayor's court at Calcutta, was only reducing its jurifdiction within that narrow circle, to which it had been originally confined: that it was a court compofed of merchants and traders, and therefore evidently improper and incompetent, to the trial of thofe many great, momentous, and complicated matters, which muft now come before it; that for thefe reafons, the erection of a new judicature was abfolutely neceffary; and that the judges ought evidently to be appointed by the crown, not only

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as a matter of propriety, but to give a due weight and confequence to their decifions: That the granting a fuperiority to one prefidency over the reft, was alfo abfolutely neceffary, as their being furnished with equal and feparate powers, in matters that related to war, peace, and alliance, had frequently been productive of great diforder, confufion, and contradiction; and that the propofed fuperiority, only related to general affairs, and did not at all interfere with internal regulation.

It was also thrown out, that other regulations would be neceffary, particularly that the Company thould immediately communicate their advices from Bengal, to the treasury, or fecretaries of flate, and that the Company's fervants fhould, under heavy penalties, bring all their fortunes home in the Company's fhips. It was concluded, that though thefe re. gulations would operate greatly towards a reformation, it was not to be expected, that the whole could be done at once, and require no farther attention; that on the contrary, it was probable that Bengal would require their annual care; and that as new information could be obtained, a fixed and conftant attention in the controuling and legislative power, would at all times be neceffary.

As this bill excited a very general alarm, not only with refpect to the Company, but thofe who confidered it merely as dangerous in its tendency with regard to the conflitution, it was vigorously combated in every part of its progrefs; every question, every claufe, and every addition, was productive

of a warm debate, and of a divis fion.

Every queftion was, however, carried by a great majority. In the mean time, the Eaft-India Company, the City of London, and thofe proprietors who poffeffed votes, by holding 500 l. ftock, but being under a thoufand, were now to be deprived of their franchises, and who amounted to above 1200 in number, prefented feparate, and unufually strong petitions against the bill. Counsel were also heard in behalf of the Company, and of the 500 1. ftockholders.

Upon the first divifion on the qualification claufe, whether it fhould be fixed at 1000 l. ftock, the queftion was carried by 179 to 65, Upon the next question, which related to the establishment of a governor and council at Bengal, after long debates, and a variety of amendments being propofed and rejected, it was at length put, whether the right of nominating the governor and council, fhould be vefted in the crown, or in the Company, and was carried by 161 in favour of the former, to 60 who oppofed. By this determination, the immediate appointment was vefted in parliament, the officers being, however, removable at the will of the Crown. The right of appointing judges was carried in favour of the crown by a still greater majority, the 'numbers being 193 to 18 only. The falaries of the judges were fixed, at 8000l. to the chief juftice, and 6oco l. a year to each of the other three. The appointments of the governor general and council were fixed, the first at 25,000 1. and the four others at 10,000 l. each annually.

Other