existence depended), and a reduced and economical civil government; with her revenues increased, her expenses moderate, her investments large, her commerce flourishing. That India would yet prove a most valuable British possession, that her interest was deeply and nearly connected with that of this country, was undeniable. In whichever part of the British dominion the string cracked, the convulsion must be mutual; the stroke, be it given where it might, would be felt in both quarters of the globe.

Mr. Francis said, that with regard to the flattering ideas suggested by the right hon. gentleman, he had before heard speculations, promises, and expectations of the same sort displayed with the same confidence; and as often as they had been stated, they had failed of being realized, and the very reverse of the picture been the actual exhibition. The right hon. gentleman had taken pains to shew that no specie was sent out from India to China, and had talked a good deal about opium. Did not the right hon. gentleman know that opium was contraband in China? Supposing, therefore, that enough could be run into China, did it become a great Company to turn smugglers, and by so doing endanger the total loss of their commerce with China? But the right hon. gentleman had hinted at another commodity which he said the Company exported to China, and that was cotton. Was it possible that the right hon. gentleman could seemingly contend, that it was right to export cotton, a raw material of our Bengal manufacture, a material which we ourselves imported into Bengal, at considerable expense and trouble? Far better would it be to export silver whereever it could be had! Another matter upon which the right hon. gentleman had dwelt, had been the reduction of our establishments in Bengal, which were ordered from home. By the state of affairs in Bengal in 1784, there appeared to be a deficiency of 16 lacks, or 1,650,000/., which deficiency, according to the right hon. gentleman's argument, was to be converted by a glorious reduction into a surplus of 1,800,000l., so that between the one and the other there was a diffe. -rence of three millions. If the right hon. gentleman was founded in his assertion, what must have been the establishments which could have admitted of such a reduction? Let those who support the late governor general, consider what sort of

argument this extraordinary circumstance furnished respecting that gentleman's conduct! Mr. Francis then spoke of the tea trade. The tea purchased of European Companies on the continent in 1785 and 1786, amounted to 1,825,1637. which was so much English capital furnished by the British Government to the rivals in trade of the British East India Company, to whom, by the Commutation Act, Parliament had professed to give an exclusive monopoly of the tea import trade. With this money our European rivals would go again to China, and continue that trade to which we had weakly endeavoured to put a stop. After urging this, Mr. Francis stated the contradiction between the directors' former estimates of February and May, 1784, and the present, under three heads. 1st. That they had reckoned upon 250,000l. to be remitted from Bengal to China; whereas nothing has been sent, and nothing could be sent without utter destruction to Bengal. 2dly, That in the estimates of 1784, they had asserted that there would be a balance of cash in their Treasury on the 1st of March 1787, and the three subsequent years, as follows, viz. March 1, 1787, 611,998.; 1778, 757,731.; 1789, 488,526.; 1790, 362,1447. Whereas their present estimate stated that, at the same periods respectively, the balance would be against their Treasury, as follows: 1st. 927,524.; 2d. 744,702l.; 3d. 1,704,522.; 4th. 1,533,8351.-3dly, That in the estimates of 1784, they had stated the bills to be drawn upon them in the same four years at 3,802,4777., whereas the bills which would really become due in that period, would amount, with interest thereon, to considerably more than six millions; the excess, by their present account, beyond their first calculation, was no less than 2,691,637. Such monstrous inaccuracy was a sufficient ground of distrust. But had they even now stated the real situation of their affairs? They had not; and he would assign his reasons for thinking so. Mr. Francis then asserted the following facts, drawn from authentic documents, or unquestionable information: that the Company's bonded debt in India, by the last accounts, amounted to 5,442,509.; arrears due, 3,797,290l.; orders unpaid in Bengal only, 1,400,000l. That some articles were not stated in this account, which must be considerable, such as arrears to the King's troops, and orders unpaid at Fort St. George and Bombay. On the

whole he was perfectly sure that the Com- | credit of the bonds was depreciated in pany's debt in India at this day, must ex- India, it was by no means unlikely that ceed twelve millions sterling. That in the this event might happen. Mr. Francis concluding part of the Report from the then made some remarks on the ruined committee of accounts, there was a most state of the Company's credit in India, extraordinary fallacy, viz. that whether where their bonds were at 30 per cent. the mode proposed by the directors for and their Treasury notes at 18 per cent. paying their Indian bond debt took place discount by the last advices: that in this or not, that is, whether bills to the amount state of discredit, the governor general and of six millions more should be drawn upon council had resolved that the whole civil them or not, it would not make any im- service, (except the salaries of 300 rupees ⚫portant variation in the state of the Com- a month) should be paid by a farther pany's affairs, with respect to the sum issue of paper, which of course must inwanted in England for the ordinary cur- crease the discount on the existing paper, rency. So extraordinary a proposition and sink it to nothing. Upon the whole required a clear explanation. All they he was of opinion that the relief was insay is, that if the creditors prefer being adequate to the distress, would do the paid in India, it will lessen the funds Company no good, and would be entirely allotted to the investment; but if they thrown away. consent to be paid in England, the amount Mr. Hussey owned that it was true that will be brought home in investments, out he had taken pains to make himself acof which the bills are to be paid. If this quainted with the affairs of the Company; state of the case were true, it would be and though he was called on to state spebad enough, since then the investment cifically a better mode of managing with would be brought home solely for the regard to the investments in India, if he creditors, not for the Company. But objected to them, he would do his duty, then, the money applicable to the dis- and content himself with stating what his charge of the bonded debt would exist objections were to the system proposed, somewhere. The proposition supposed leaving it to others to substitute methods the money to exist in India, and that all or systems. He had understood, that the difference was, whether the creditors instead of encouraging the servants in should receive it there, or allow it to be India to send home their fortunes in inlaid out in an investment, and take the vestments, a stop was to be put to the bills on the Company. Whereas the truth practice: for what did that go to? to the and fact were, that so far from there being length of saying, that during a war, the a single rupee of surplus in Bengal, they Company must depend on their servants had not wherewithal to pay their current in India for money to furnish out those expenses; every department of govern-investments. Surely that was a wild supment was enormously in arrear; the whole civil service was paid with paper; and, so far from having a rupee to apply to the discharge of principal debt, they had opened their Treasury for money, for bills on the directors, in order to provide for the annual interest on the Company's bonds, and on the other paper entitled to interest. Now suppose the Indian creditors were to pay in their bonds, and de-according to a former statement of the mand bills on the directors to the amount of six millions sterling: they might do so, and the bills must be granted. The directors could not contradict their own proposal, or refuse to accept bills, which they themselves had permitted to be drawn. What would the situation of the Company be then? Why, in addition to all their present acknowledged difficulties, they would have six millions more to pay in England, without a single shilling of additional assets; and considering how the [VOL. XXVI.]

position. He mentioned the commutation tax, and said, that pledging themselves to the principle of that measure, was undoubtedly pledging themselves to a great mode of relief for the East India Company.

Mr. W. W. Grenville felt himself justi fied in alluding to what he termed a gross fallacy in the argument of an hon. gentleman (Mr. Francis) who observed, that

affairs of Bengal, there had been a deficiency of 16 lacks or 1,650,000l., and that this deficiency was now converted into a surplus of 1,800,000. which together amounted to more than three millions. Nothing could be more egregious than this attempt to deceive. In the 1,650,000l. the hon. gentleman knew the unfunded debt of Bengal was included, and therefore it was just as unfair to state that as a part of the deficiency on the balance of last year, as it [M]

would have been for any gentleman | too inconsiderable to be mentioned. It at the end of the war, in comparing the did not in fact amount to more than 165 annual income of Great Britain, with its lacks of rupees, and the revenues were expenditure to have taken in the whole 450 lacks; therefore such a charge upon of the unfunded debt at that time, and in such a revenue was nothing. In fact it stating the balance of the one against the was only paying 12 lacks per annum till other, to have included the 36 millions of they could pay it off conveniently; and unfunded debt as a part of the deficiency this they must do, for he did not believe a of the year's income. This was an un- rupee of the Bengal bonded debt would worthy attempt to mislead the House; be subscribed to the remittance hence, nor was the hon. gentleman less wanting because he conceived the whole of it in respect both to the House and to him- almost to be the property of natives. As self, when he glanced with such ungovern- to the Bombay debt, which was the heavy able severity at the conduct of Mr. Has- load upon the Company, that he believed tings. to be the property of English gentlemen, and that it would all be subscribed; much of it he conceived belonged to gentlemen now in England, and as Bombay had neither revenues nor resources, it must be paid in England. But, the major said, if the treating paper in Bengal was subscribed, and they were left with only their bond debt, all difficulties would be at an end, provided the peace continued, for on that every thing depended. Once pay off ten lacks of the Bengal bond debt, and the bonds would bear a premium. The hon. gentleman might recollect that when Mr. Hastings arrived in Bengal, the bond debt was 126 lacks, and they bore a heavy discount; but the moment he began to pay off, credit was completely restored, and so it would be again. As to the differences between the hon. gentleman and himself, in their statements, they merely amounted to this: the hon. gentleman would not allow that peace was in prospect; he, (the major) on the other hand, believed it would have been concluded some months earlier than it actually was-of course there was the heavy expense of two great armies, one at Madras, another in Guzzurat, to be borne some time longer than he had calculated; but as the revenues and resources of Bengal had increased even during the war, all there would go well, if we continued in peace for a few years. That the distress for circulating specie in Bengal was very great he admitted; but he spoke in reply to the hon. gentleman, who could well account for it. It appeared from papers on the table, that 52 lacks had been sent away between May and December, 1785, and in January, either 12 or 15 lacks were sent at one time to Madras, when their wants were very urgent. The hon. gentleman knew the effect such an exportation of specie had upon the natives of Calcutta, who were in the habit of hoarding their money; but

Major Scott said, he should beg leave to offer a few observations upon what had fallen from an hon. gentleman relative to the resources of Bengal, and the possibility of its affording assistance to the China investment. The hon. gentleman had stated that opium was a prohibited commodity in China, and therefore unworthy as well as dangerous for the Company to trade in. Doubtless it was; but he desired the hon. gentleman to recollect that though there was a law against it in China, yet that law was hourly broken and pub. licly in the middle of the day. Opium was not introduced into China as prohibited goods are into this country by smugglers, but in the face of the people, and with the knowledge of the government. The hon. gentleman knew very well that when it was sent from Bengal in 1781 by the Company, it was not an act of choice but absolute necessity. There was no sale for opium in Calcutta. The navigation of the Indian seas was dangerous, and the supercargoes at Canton wanted a supply to load their ships. The hon. gentleman knew that the opium produced in Bahar and Purnia, was very considerable, had sold last year for near 20 lacks of rupees, and would produce in China the 275,000l. wanted for the Company; and the hon. gentleman also knew, that the opium was not sent to China directly, but disposed of in the Eastern islands, and tin, pepper, many other articles, and dollars, all which sold to a profit in China, received in return. The hon. gentleman knew also that cotton was not sent from Bengal to China, but from Bombay, Surat, and Guzzurat, and that Bengal itself was supplied with cotton from those places, and from the upper parts of India. The hon. gentleman had talked of the amount of the bond debts in India. The major said that the bonded debt of Bengal was