fic charts, as if he had been a person taking a walk from that house to Charing-cross, who would naturally chuse the shortest road.

Mr. Elphinston, from the experience he had in the naval service of the company, was enabled to say, that the western passage was a most difficult and dangerous one, and which threatened ultimate destruction to the company's marine. It was with peculiar pleasure he learned, in the year 1776, that Mr. Lacam bad discovered the eastern passage, and though he was ready to concur in every tribute to the ability of the company's marine surveyor, he must declare the merit of that discovery to be Mr. Lacam's.

Mr. Robinson supported the arguments and assertions of Mr. Bebb.

Earl St. Vincent thought that this question could be best judged of by professional men.-He had never been in the East Indies, and, therefore, could not be supposed a competent judge. Justice and humanity, however, seemed to him to go hand in han in this instance with professional testi

mony.

Sir Mark Wood stated, that Mr. Lacam had communicated his discovery to him as far back as the year 1771. He was convinced any surveys made by the company's marine surveyor, whose merits be should be one of the first to acknowledge, were then unknown to Mr. Lacam.

Mr. P. Moore stated, that he happened, in the year 1775, to be appointed as a junior member of the revenue board in India, to deliver to Mr. La cam the possession of the land which he was to receive from the government for his purposed erection of a New Harbour. On this occasion, Mr. Lacam demanded from him the right to the water also. This he had no powers to give, and accordingly returned to the governor and council, informing them of the deficiency of his power; and, if he mistook not, the hon. surveyor, whom he now saw for the first time in his life, did give to Mr. Lacam the possession of the water. If, therefore, there was any objection

to the grant; if it was, as the hon. surveyor now stated it to be, all an imposture, was not that the most proper period to have detected it? The hon. surveyor had also stated the passage marked as Mr. Lacam's to be impracticable. The fact, however,

was, that he (Mr. Moore) had gone it along with Mr. Lacam repeatedly. As to the plea that no expense had been incurred by Mr. Lacam, that he could also contradict from his own knowledge. He had himself, in Mr. L.'s absence, laid out equal to 1,000l. at a time, and the actual expenditure, independent of interest, was 60,000l.

Mr. Jackson followed on the same side, vindicating Mr. Lacam in every particular; pointed out the injustice done him by the government abroad, in declaring the grant made to him null and void; the hardships he submitted to in coming twice to this country, where, after the most laborious enquiries, his meritorious services and unjust treatment were recognized by two reports of different committees of the House of Commons; the injustice again done him in India by a report of surveyors, as to the impracticability of his passage, which was absolutely false; the sufferings, imprisonments, and privations, which he had thence sussustained, and to which now, at the age of upwards of seventy, he was still exposed, and left it not to the humanity, but to the justice of the court to say, if this paltry annuity was any recompense to be conferred on him at his advanced period of life. He proceeded to read some handsome compliments paid by Mr. Lacam to the company's surveyor, and recommended to him, when he next talked of Mr. Lacam, to follow so praiseworthy an example.

Mr. Lowndes was of opinion, after what he had heard, that the compensation was by no means adequate.

Mr. Grant (the chairman) assured the court, that the directors, instead of yielding to the impulse of humanity, were of opinion that they had left justice unsatisfied.

The resolution to agree with the

directors in the proposed increase was eu put, and agreed to nemine contradicente.

SIR JOHN M'PHERSON. The court then came to an unanimous approval of a resolution of the court of directors, to grant an annuity of 1,000/. per annum to Sir J. M'Pherson, baronet, formerly governor general of Bengel, on condition of his assigning to the company a claim he had against the naboo of Arcot, in security of a loan of 10,000l. made by the company to Sir John.

WRITERS AND CADETS. Mr. Sansom beg d to know if the court of directors had come to any determination, in consequence of the recommendation made to them by the court of proprietors, on the subject of the recal from India of the young men whose situations had been procured by improper means.

Mr. Grunt said, the directors had paid every attention to the recommendation of the proprietors, and had come to a decision, which they should either state now or at the meeting, when his honourable friend (Mr. Jack sou) had given notice of his motion on the subject of the report of the committee of the House of Commons.

Mr. Jackson, in answer to the several questions put to him, stated, that his object was not to propose a review of the sentence of the court of directors on this point.

sa

After some conversation, it was agreed, that the chairman should now state the determination of the directors on the subject. He stated, that in coming to the resolution they had done, their executive body had crificed their own inclinations to an imperious sense of their duty. He then read the resolution of the court, which was, that the directors feeling every deference to the opinion of the proprietors, and desirous, if in their power, to yield to their recommendation, felt themselves under the neces sity of affirming the resolution they had come to. They regretted extremely the fate of the young men who were to suffer from this decision, principally through the fault of their

fathers or other relatives. But the safety of the company, and the character of the directors, required them to abide by the decision they had formed,

Mr. Lushington submitted to the directors the propriety of considering, whether they acted agreeably to the different acts of Parliament, in proceeding in the mode they had adopted. Mr. Lowndes recommended to the consideration of the directors the ob servations upon this subject of that great man Sir Samuel Romilly, who stood so high in the opinion of all parties in Parliament, and throughout the country; who was equally admired for the elegance and discrimination of his judgment, and the goodness of his heart, and whose knowledge and love of equity and justice stood unrivalled in this country They could not suppose that they did amiss, or sacrificed their own characters or the interests of the company, in following his suggestions

Mr. Twining was unwilling to start any question on the rights which the directors had so long been in the use of exercising.

Mr. Grant observed, that the present discussion was irregular, there being no question before the court. If the exercise of the directors' rights in the dismissal of their servants was now to be endeavoured to be controlled, it would, he was afraid, lead to evils of which gentlemen were not aware. This, Lowever, would come more properly to be discussed when the motion on the report was before them-Adjourned.

July 5.-A general court of proprietors assembled this day, pursuant to adjournment, at the India house, Leadenhall-street. The proceedings of the former court having been read, according to the usual practice, the chairman informed the meeting, that this was a general court of proprietors, continued by adjournment from: the day of its last meeting, to consider of the report of a select committee of the House of Commons, appointed to inquire into any abuses which may have existed in the appointments of

writers, cadets, or students, in the service of the East India company.

Mr. Jackson then rose, and said, that the subject, upon which he proposed to trouble the court with some observations, was one of more importance than any that had occupied the attention of that court for many years past. In this representation of its importance, he was but stating the common voice of the public upon the subject-a consideration which rendered it absolutely necessary for them to take up the report of the committee of the House of Commons, with that degree of attention and deliberation, which he trusted the court was then assembled to give to the matter it contained. It was unnecessary for him to state, that character was of as much consequence to public bodies as private individuals: and, if essential to any public body, it must be peculiarly so to a company such as that which was subject to periodical renewals of its charter. On every such occasion, it was expected that accounts should be rendered both of its situation and the conduct of its affairs; and if it should be found that such accounts were unsatisfactory or insufficient, that circumstance would justify the putting an end to their charter, in the same manner as it would the extinction of any other public establishment which may have frustrated the chief purposes of its institution. For many years back, reports have gone abroad highly injurious to the character and integrity of the East India company; and unless some timely and effectual means should be taken for removing them, these reports would be attended with the most fatal consequences. So far back as the year 1798, the prevalence of such rumours proceeded to such an extent as to render some inquiry necessary. The expediency of investigation was founded on allegations that at the time induced the directors to take up the subject. It was not his intention to trace the painful steps of the inquiry which then took place, nor the manner in which it had been rendered ineffectual; it was only necessary for

VOL. 11,

him to state, that the result of that inquiry presented such a picture of depravity, such a record of corrupt practices, as would make upon the minds of those, not so well acquainted with the subject as the members of that court were a most unfavourable impression. Upon that inquiry, it appeared that corruption prevailed in the disposal of East India patronage; and yet, as was stated in the report of the committee of the House of Commons, the corruption had increased rather than been diminished since that period, notwithstanding the result of that inquiry. If he forbore to read the whole of the report, it was, that he might not take up unnecessarily the time of the court, he should therefore content himself with reading three or four instances out of the many contained in that report, as the grounds of the resolution which he had to propose, and in order to shew to the court of proprietors the necessity of adopting it. The committee who had made this report, was composed of men of the highest integrity and talents; men no less distinguished as statesmen, than for the amiable and endearing virtues of private life; men influenced by no partialities, nor actuated by any motive but a conscientious regard to the interests of the public, and the character and welfare of the company. In the first part of their report, they had a satisfactory duty to perform in stating, that in no instance could they find that corruption was chargeable upon any individual of the whole body of the direction. But after the performance of this satisfactory part of their duty, the committee proceeded to detail between twenty and thirty cases, of as foul and scandalous transactions as had ever been brought to light. Of these he proposed to read a few to the court; and in doing this, he assured them, that he did not select the cases with a view to press upon any particular names, but took three or four of them as they occurred in the report. (Here the learned gentleman read the particulars, as detailed in the report, of the nomination of Q

-

Messrs. Houghton, Kelly, and Power, by Mr. G. A. Robinson, Sir Theophilus Metcalf, and Lord Castlereagh, respectively, together with one or two other cases)-These were only specimens of the nature of the evil which existed, and of which it was so much their interest to make a recurrence impossible. The report then went on to state the oath taken by the directors, and the solemn declaration required to be made by the parents, or the next a-kin of the persons nominated: and it was certainly matter of regret and astonishment, that, as appeared by the report, in several instances, the parties who thus solemnly signed a declaration to the contrary, were the very persons who negotiated the corrupt bargain. The committee might I well deplore the existence of such corrupt practices; and conclude, from their frequency, that the declaration was not sufficient to prevent their recurrence. The report, in the next place, adverted to the inquiry of 1798; and for reasons which it was impossible to mistake. They wished to hold up to the company a mirror, in which they might behold a faithful representation of their conduct, and entered into a detail of the whole of the inquiry of 1798, for no other purpose but to shew, that it had led only to the disgrace of having its object defeated. The report noticed the deficiency of power in the court of directors to sift these transactions to the bottom: for though the directors might, in other respects, possess adequate powers, the want of power, legally to administer an cath, must ever prevent them from wholly checking such abnes. The next point noticed in the report, was that upon which the resolvion he had to propose was founded. It was stated by the committee, that from the passing of nominations through many hands, opportunities were afforded for the abuses complained of, and difficulties created in the way of any attempt to prevent them. After having touched upon all these various topics, the committee concluded with an admonition, as kindly and friendly, as it was clear and comprehensive, intimating to the

company, with the tenderness of a parent, that if they did not correct the abuses themselves, the matter would be taken up by a stronger arm; but that this interference would not be resorted to until they should shew themselves inattentive to their duty. There could be no doubt that it was known to the East India company, that its patronage had been made a subject of corrupt traffic; and that it would depend upon the conduct of the court that day, whether such abuse should meet a permanent check, or an eventual encouragement; it would depend upon their conduct that day, whether these abuses should hereafter become more foul and rank than ever; whether, when they should come to the question respecting the renewal of their charter, the weight of such corraptions should operate against their claims, or the public, upon a full view of their conduct and affairs, should be compelled to admit, that they composed a body worthy of the confidence of the nation. Before they could judge of the resolution he had to propose, it would be necessary first to consider the nature of the evil; secondly, the efficacy of the remedy he had to submit; and thirdly, whether that remedy could be applied, consistently with justice, to the members of that court, within or without the bar. As to the nature of the evil, he was sure it would be allowed to be the most odious, disgraceful, and disgusting, that could exist in any public body. It was not to be endured that the patronage of the company should be made an object of traffic from A. to B. and from B. to C. and so on, like pawnbrokers' duplicates. Every person must admit that such an evil ought to be done away with. Such being the nature of the evil, he was next to consider what was the cure that could be applied. In order to ascertain that point, it would be neces sary previously to inquire into manner in which writers and cadets were at present appointed: and here he must be understood not to charge the present bad practice upon the directors of the present day, nor upon

the

those of the last seven, or of the last forty years. The existing laxity had grown up from the system of noninquiry which had so long prevailed. The practice was, when a director wished to oblige a young gentleman, he nominated him a writer. A petition was then presented from the party nominated to the court of directors, before which court he was called to verify his petition, and then there was very little other inquiry made, but whether he was a natural-born subject. The matter was next referred to the committee of correspondence, before which the young gentleman was never obliged to appear, and whose inquiry was confined to an examination of his documents. If these documents were found correct, the party was reported a fit person for the situation; and the appointment was complete. No petition was necessary in the case of cadets, as in that of writers; and it was impossible to ascertain to what extent the corruption had been carried under this head, the committee ever having lamented, that, from the death or absence of parties, they were unable to trace many of the cases brought under their notice. But it was obvious that the twenty-one cases, upon which they reported, could not have been the whole of what had taken place in seven years, Mr Shee having acknowledged that, in the course of the last year, he had sold fourteen writer and cadetships. By the proposition he should submit, he did not mean to take away the power of appointment from the directors, but he wished to put an end to appointments made as at present, by the distribution of blank cards; in consequence of which, one director had admitted that it was not always that the director knew the young gentleman appointed. Another, who had promoted the inquiry in the House of Commons, had stated that he had been solicited by a clergyman to appoint a cadet; not because the young gentleman was a promising lad, and likely to make a good soldier, but to oblige Miss Elizabeth Spindler, from whom certainly no services in the field were

to be expected. (A laugh.) Such an evil as this it was that his resolution was to remedy; and the laxity of practice had proceeded to such an extent, as to give the community a right to complain.-The remedy he had to propose was, that all writers, cadets, and students, should henceforth be chosen in an open court of directors; that the court should be bound to put certain interrogatories to the director recommending the candidate, and also be required to examine into the character, connections, and qualifications, of the respective candidates. In this latter point he was borne out by the authority of Lord Castlereagh, who, when making in the House of Commons an honest and ingenuous exposure of, perhaps, an indiscreet trausaction, and asserted, that he should never recommend any candidate to the court of directors, until he ascertained his character, connections, and qualifications to be unexceptionable. He quoted this authority, because it might be objected that the writers were now first sent to college, where they may acquire the qualification, though they were first irrevocably appointed.

The Chairman." It is not so. My learned friend is mistaken."

Mr. Jackson was ready to qualify the expression, if under a mistake. The petition was, that the candidate may be allowed to enter the college, in order to qualify himself for the situation of a writer, under an implied promise that, when so qualified, he should be appointed to a writership; and there was scarcely a single instance, or but few, where such appointment did not ' take place. But the inquiry he recommended ought to be made; because a person properly qualified might be deficient in moral character, and consequently unfit to be appointed to a situation in India.

It was desirable also, that the other point respecting candidates should be inquired into, in order that persons who were to be appointed to such dignified situations in India, and might become heads of the company's councils, should be ascertained to be of suitable connections. He did not mean by this to impose any restri