diverted from the public treafury. His remarks apply to the naturally intricate part of Indian finance to the Mofuffil Zemindary*, or ordinary establishment of internal government of the provinces, and are connected to the circumftances of the Bengal provinces in 1784. The Sudder, or extraordinary civil and military establishment incident to British government, has hitherto been more complicated and artificially intricate from a variety of circumftances, particularly from combinations of proprietors and directors to maintain the veil of a double government and elude the claims of the public; from combinations of the Company's fervants to elude the claims of the Company; from the combination of natives to elude both; and alfo from the preponderance of oratory in and out of Parliament, during the contefts for power which connected the existence of the King's administration of the British empire with the selection of a plan to control the Company's adminiftration in British India. The conftant exertion of the patience of Parlia

* Page 271.

ment during the investigation of past tranfactions in India, at fhort intervals, brought forward the general statement of the Company's affairs at the period of the coalition administration, they were stated, as far as the accounts were intelligible, with arithmetical truth by Mr. Fox, and yet Mr. Pitt's prophetical statement proved true; I have ftated the amount of the reform in 1785*, which will fufficiently explain this paradox. The readiness with which Mr. Dundas promoted inquiry in Parliament was employed by fome Members in 1790 to explain particular opinions, and by others to complete the average account of receipts and difbursements in the Company's revenue and commercial management from 1785 to that period; they furnish the complete documents for the comparison of the three first years of Lord Cornwallis's financial management. The approaching expiration of the Company's charter, and the neceffary investigation. previous to the introduction of the bill, adopted by Parliament this year, occafioned

* Page 390.

a general public review of the accounts, for the purpose of calculating the amount of the net furplus by trade as well as revenue reasonably to be expected for the participation of the Company and the public, according to the provifion of the former acts, during a farther period of twenty years. Mr. Ruffel, Solicitor to the Board of Control, as an Eaft-India proprietor," on authentic documents, and on his knowledge of the financial concerns of the Company," ftated his opinion of the furplus the Eaft-India Company published alfo their opinion; and either account appears fufficiently accurate for the object of the investigation, which was obviously to ascertain whether the rule of appropriation established by the Legiflature should be confirmed or varied.

It seems that Mr. Ruffel formed his statement on average, and the Company "had not been governed by the medium or average, either of receipts or actual difburfe

* A fhort History of the Eaft-India Company, firft edit. 1793.

ments for any former period, but have given their reafons for departing from the one and the other; in confequence their receipts are not increafed, though the new ceded countries of Tippoo Sultaun are brought into the account, while the probable difbursements are augmented: the refult of the whole is, that the probable net revenues of the Indian poffeffions, including the new ceflions, are efimated by the Company only at £.1,621,050, from which £.561,923 per annum is to be deducted for the intereft of the India debt, leaving a net furplus of £.1,059,127: to this fum they add £.350,000 a year for the produce of imports and certificates in India, making £.1,409,127, from which fum they take £1,127,000 for an investment of Indian goods, and £.250,000 towards an investment of China goods, leaving a furplus in India of £.32,127 a year; with these aids they compute on fuch yearly fales as, with their annuity and profits on private trade, will produce a net furplus in England of .1,207,114, after paying a dividend of 8 per cent. on the prefent capital stock of five millions, and the interest

of their bond debt, the expences of recruits and all other current charges at home, and the establishment for St. Helena *." Mr. Russel's furplus amounted to £1,350,000, confequently his difference with the Company was only £.142,886, which appears a close approximation if compared with the oppofite statements in 1783. It is not material to decide between arbitrary deductions from inaccurate documents, but it is material to render vouchers correct, that fyllogifins may not be wanted to make up for arithmetical inaccuracy. Government and Parliament will find their advantage in keeping off the veil from the arcana of Indian politics; the nation will fupport what they understand, and if any part of the artificial management of former periods fhall be allowed to revive, public opinion and the control of Parliament will be eluded by collufion of irrefponfible proprietors with refponfible minifters, and Parliament itself, which can withstand all open attacks, will be fapped to its very foundation.

* Short History, p. 51.