Extract from the Proceedings of the Board.

• Sir EYRE COOTE, absent.
• Mr. BARWELL, retired.

Mr. Francis. I move that the Company's orders, for the immediate reinstatement of Ma­homed Reza Cawn in the offices he held in January 1778, be carried into execution, and that a copy of the last paragraph of the Com­pany's letter of the 4th of February 1779, toge­ther with an exact Persian translation thereof, be transmitted to the Nabob Mobarruck ul Dowla, and to Mahomed Reza Cawn, with a requisi­tion on the part of the Governor General and Council to the Nabob, to conform to the in­junctions of the Court of Directors expressed in that paragraph. This motion of course sup­poses that the Governor General shall be re­quested to signify the resolution of the Board on this subject, in the usual manner, by Letter to the Nabob.

[Page 14] Mr. Wheeler. I agree to the motion.

Governor General. I must beg leave to decline an immediate answer to the motion, which I will deliver at our next meeting, which it has been agreed shall be held to-morrow morning.

Mr. Francis. I must beg that a formal reso­solution on the motion may be taken now. It could not be unexpected, and the more so, as I particularly requested Mr. Barwell to stay. I cannot therefore be suspected of want of can­dor in pressing for the resolution now. I came determined to propose it.

Governor General. Since Mr. Francis, taking an advantage of the absence of one of the mem­bers, has insisted on an immediate decision of the question, I am compelled to give my affir­mative or negative to it. I have declared that I am not come prepared to deliver my opinion upon a subject of so much delicacy, and in­volving so many consequences. I should have been glad to have been allowed some time to consider the nature and tendency of the order, and to have accommodated the execution of it to all the circumstances which ought to be taken into consideration in the determination upon it: the time that I have required is but the short interval between this hour of three in the after­noon, and the hour of ten to-morrow morning; [Page 15] however, as this privilege is now denied me, I shall in this place, and at this time, simply content myself with delivering my negative to the motion in the terms in which it is made.

Mr. Francis. I could have no idea of avail­ing myself of Mr. Barwell's absence. Every Gentleman at the Board I believe heard me solicit him to stay; much less could I have a view of surprizing the Governor General on a subject on which he might be unprepared. The Company's Letter was received on Saturday the 13th instant, though it has happened that I my­self did not see it till Friday last.

Resolved in the affirmative.

Council, 23 Nov. 1779.

PRESENT,

• The GOVERNOR GENERAL,
• Mr. BARWELL,
• Mr. FRANCIS,
• Mr. WHELER.

The Governor General moves, That the 8th, 9th, 10th, &c. to 20th paragraphs of the separate general letter by the Barker, dated the 4th February, 1778, with Mr. Francis's motion, and the resolution of the Board thereon be again read.—Agreed.

The Governor General moves, That the Opi­nions of the Board be taken, whether the above resolution shall be approved.

Mr. Wheler. I should be glad to ask the Governor General, whether he makes this motion upon the principle of confirming the minutes of the former Council, or on account of the absence of Mr. Barwell at the time when the Question was debated?

The Governor General. I have put the ques­tion in conformity to the constitution and actual [Page 17] existing rule of this Government, that all acts and orders passed at any meeting of the Board shall be approved in the succeeding Council, to give them their sanction; and I avail myself of this right, on account of the advantage which was yesterday taken on account of Mr. Barwell's absence.

Mr. Wheler. I am very sorry to be under the necessity of observing, that although I have had the honour of sitting at this Board hear two years, it is, to the best of my recollection, the very first instance that the order, necessary to give a sanction to our proceedings, as described by the Governor General, has been complied with, in the sense I believe it is now meant. I see no occasion for the present question, and therefore I am against it.

The Governor General. It is not necessary that this form should be observed in every instance. It is always supposed, when the Members of the Board tacitly agree to the omission of it, the for­mular preface of every consultation being suffi­cient to imply it.

Mr. Wheler. The minutes of every Board or Public Assembly that I have had the honour to attend, are constantly read at a subsequent meet­ing of such Board or Assembly, in order that [Page 18] every member may be fully satisfied that what he has said or entered upon the records is faith­fully represented or transcribed. But I know not a single instance when the minutes of any Board or Assembly have been read at a subse­quent meeting with a view to overset the resolu­tions of a former meeting; if that was admitted in numerous assemblies, no question could ever be finally decided. The objection, in my opi­nion, if it is so meant, holds equally strong, and I am convinced will be treated with equal disgust by our superiors, as they have already treated an act not very dissimilar to this.

Mr. Francis. The resolution taken yesterday was legal and compleat; it wants no confirmation, though it may be reversed. The official form observed in the proceedings of a former Go­vernment, and continued under ours, is merely a form; and so little is it ever regarded, that the orders of one Council are constantly executed, if the time permits, before the meeting of the next.

Mr. Wheler has assigned the true and only reason for the observance of such a form: what­ever use or convenience there may be in continu­ing to observe it, it cannot operate against a positive provision of an act of Parliament, made since the form in question was first instituted, and [Page 19] which, of course, supersedes it, if in reality it had ever had the effect and operation which the Governor General now attributes to it.—The law says, ‘"That in all cases whatsoever, wherein any difference of opinion shall arise upon any question proposed in any consulta­tion, the Governor General and Council shall be bound and concluded by the opinion and decision of the major part of those pre­sent."’—The conclusion, by which the Council is bound, is instant and absolute; there is no reference to the confirmation of a sub­sequent meeting. I am sorry the Governor General should repeat an objection, already, as I think, compleatly answered. I am not to blame if Mr. Barwell, notwithstanding my ur­gent request to the contrary, left the Board yes­terday at an early hour. I should have been much better pleased if he had staid, because I should then have had the labour of one debate only, instead of two. On this subject I need say nothing more, since the Court of Directors themselves have taken it up in a similar instance, and given their opinion decidedly upon it, in the 15th paragraph of the letter now before us.

Mr. Barwell. Had the resolution simply gone to the execution of the Company's orders, from the sentiments delivered by the Governor General at the last meeting, the present question would not have been agitated. His objection [Page 20] to Mr. Francis's motion strikes me as confined to the mode that motion prescribes for carrying those orders into execution. Mr. Francis's mo­tion, in my opinion, conveys such sentiments as are not authorized by the Company's letter. In the body of the motion I find these words, ‘"with a requisition of the Governor General and Council to the Nabob, to conform to the injunctions of the Court of Directors."’ I know of no injunctions that the Court have laid on the Nabob, and I imagine the use of any offen­sive terms or improper management on a subject of so delicate a nature, would be highly repre­hensible. I therefore vote for rescinding the resolution of the last Council, so far as regards the mode of executing the orders of the Coun­cil, but no farther. I agree to the motion, that the order be executed, but am for leaving the manner of doing it to the discretion of the Go­vernor General. From nothing that the Go­vernor General has urged in the course of the debate of yesterday, do I perceive the least dis­position in him to decline the instructions which the Court of Directors have been pleased to give relative to a Naib Soubah.

Governor General. With all the respect and submission, which I owe and feel for the autho­rity of the Court of Directors, I must declare, that I shall not yield, even to that authority, in any instance, in which it shall require my con­cession [Page 21] of the rights which I hold under an act of Parliament. Those rights are formal obli­gations, with which I am not permitted to dis­pense; neither can I optionally relinquish my own claim to a practice which was followed by Mr. Francis himself, when he formed one of the majority of the Council, and which receives the approbation of the Court of Directors them­selves. I acknowledge the obligation I owe to Mr. Francis for the trouble he has taken in helping me to one instance in consultations 14th September 1775, in which a resolution passed at the preceding consultations, which was contrary to the sense and general tenor of the measures proposed by the ruling members of the Board, was rescinded by a following motion, for­mally introduced and made by myself. If this mode is illegal or irregular, it was equally so as at that time; but Mr. Francis then made no objection to it, but, in the opinion deli­vered upon my motion, simply said, He thought the order should be repeated. I recollect also, that in a similar instance motions were made, either by Mr. Francis or by the other members of the majority in concert with him, for read­ing and confirming the proceedings held by them during the absence of Mr. Barwell and my­self, both in this and in the revenue department. I will not take up the time of the Board in look­ing out for the instances, but shall desire the [Page 22] secretary to annex them to this minute. The evident intent of these motions was to authen­ticate all the acts which were considered by the members of the majority as the legal acts of the Board, but were disputed and disavowed by Mr. Barwell and myself; and, by obtaining such a formal approbation of them, to remove the ob­jections which had been made, or which might lie against their validity. Respecting the que­stion now before the Board, I disapprove of the Resolution, as not being warranted by the Or­ders of the Court of Directors; and I think it would be disingenuous and unjust in this Board to exceed the positive orders of the Company, in annulling a concession made by them to the Nabob, and acknowledged as his due.

Mr. Francis. The Governor General has very fully proved a proposition which has never been disputed; that a resolution taken at one Board may be reversed at the next. I must have lost my memory and my senses if I had denied it. I do not make profession of such extraordinary candour, as to furnish an opponent with argu­ments against myself. In pointing out to the Governor General the consultation of the 15th September 1775, I meant to give him an in­stance in point, which I thought established a conclusion directly the reverse of that which he has drawn from it. The Court of Directors will find, in the proceedings of that day, that I entered a Dissent and Protest against a Resolution [Page 23] taken at the preceding Council, but that I nei­ther disputed its validity, nor proposed to re­verse, or even to reconsider it. The proposition for that purpose came from the Governor Gene­ral himself, and was strictly regular and legal. It would have been in point had he proved that, in the case in question, I insisted that the resolu­tion of the preceding day wanted the confirma­tion of the next, and that on that ground I had proposed to reconsider it. With respect to the present question, the instance proves nothing. In the other examples quoted by the Governor General, and which I perfectly remember, the fact was this: The legality of the separate meet­ings held by General Clavering, Colonel Mon­son, and myself was expressly and formally de­nied. That reason alone, I presume, induced General Clavering to propose, and Colonel Mon­son and myself to agree, that the resolutions taken in such separate meetings should be con­firmed at the next full meeting of the Board. Whether such confirmation was necessary or not, the example does not support the Governor Ge­neral's argument. The question now is, Whe­ther acts done at a meeting of the Board confes­sedly regular and legal, require any subsequent confirmation; not, Whether such meeting was or was not in itself legal. But, setting aside this sort of argument; precedents prove nothing against a positive right, especially where that [Page 24] right itself is not in issue. We may go on for any length of time, by negligence or agreement, in following forms which nobody regards. The question is not fairly in issue, until they are for­mally insisted upon and denied, and some im­portant use attempted to be made of them. If the motion I made yesterday did not correspond with the Governor General's idea of the sense of the Company's orders, I should have held myself indebted to him for any amendment he might have thought fit to propose; and assuredly I should have given it the most respectful atten­tion. The profound silence he observed made it impossible for me to judge whether his objec­tion went to the whole of the motion, or to any part of it, or merely to the form proposed of car­rying the Company's orders into execution.

Governor General. Whatever doubts were en­tertained of the legality of the acts done by a part of the Board, after my declaration of the dissolution of the actual meeting, these doubts were not entertained by Mr. Francis, who de­clared the acts to be legal; therefore, with respect to him, the subsequent motion and order, to read and approve their proceedings, could not be construed as intended to give them that le­gality which they wanted, though they might be covertly intended so, by the application of an ancient constitutional form to that effect. But [Page 25] I will here close my part of the argument, since I perceive that we dispute only on words, Mr. Francis admitting that a resolution taken at one Board may be reversed at the next. I offer to his option that motion which I have already made, or the motion which I now make, That the former resolution be reversed. And I hereby declare my opinion for reversing the former resolution. Mr. Barwell has already done it in terms. I confess that in this pro­posal I am irregular, but I had rather incur that imputation than suffer the time of the Board to be any longer wasted by a fruitless and a verbal dispute.

In this place I shall beg leave to contrast my own conduct with Mr. Francis's; that, since I have been a member of this or any other go­vernment, I have never, in one single instance, if I may trust to my own memory, and the fullest conviction of what I assert, descended to a practice which I should have held unworthy of my own principles, of which I have had too frequent occasion to complain in Mr. Francis, by taking the advantage of an occasional and accidental majority to carry any measure con­trary to the sense of the ruling members. Even in the first instance, which I have quoted, I introduced a question, for the sake of giving consistency to the orders of the Board, although it was productive, and so intended, of the repeal [Page 26] of a resolution of the Board, which had received my concurrence at the former meeting of it.

Mr. Francis. I object to both the motions, though for different reasons. I object to rever­sing the resolution of the last Board, because I deem it a most unwarrantable exercise of a power, the existence of which I am obliged to admit. No specific reason is yet assigned for it. To the latter part of the Governor General's last minute I shall only say, that I hope I shall not always suffer in a comparison between his prin­ciples of action and mine. If he has had too frequent occasion to complain of my taking ad­vantage of accidental majorities, the word fre­quent must refer to more instances than two. It will rest with him to produce more instances, if there are any. I myself know of none, in which he has lost any question by Mr. Barwell's absence, but that of the one before us, and the former one of the 2d of March 1778, on the same subject. The resolution which the Go­vernor General proposed to have reconsidered on the 14th of Sept. 1775, interrupted a series of measures formed on a different principle. I think he did right in proposing to reconsider it. This is a single act, which has no connection with any thing else.

Resolved, That the resolution of yesterday be reversed.

[Page 27] The Governor General moves, ‘"That the plea­sure of the Court of Directors, signified in the 20th Paragraph of the general letter of the 4th February last, and the assurance therein directed to be given to Mahomed Reza Cawn, be communicated to the Nabob Mobareck ul Dowlah in the words of the general letter."’

Mr. Francis. I have no objection to the mo­tion as far as it goes; but, if the communica­tion of the Company's intentions be not accom­panied by a formal requisition from this govern­ment, it is not impossible that they may be de­feated. I therefore move the following addition to the motion, ‘"That the Governor General be requested to signify to the Nabob Mobareck ul Dowlah, in the usual form, the requisition of the Governor General and Council, for his immediate compliance with the pleasure of the Court of Directors."’

Mr. Wheeler. I agree to the motion, and like­wise to the amendment.

Mr. Barwell. I agree to the motion. I can­not be a judge of the terms that Mr. Francis would have used in the letter proposed to be written by the Governor General to the Nabob from the general terms in which his amendment is expressed. The Governor General can have [Page 28] no objection to submit the terms, in which he makes the communication of the Company's sentiments to the Nabob and Mahomed Reza Cawn, to the Board before the letters shall be sent. If those are at all defective, such addi­tions may be proposed to them, as, in the judg­ment of any of the members, may appear neces­sary. I think Mr. Francis is premature in fol­lowing the Governor General's motion with another. It seems to speak some preknowledge of the difficulties to which our government is subjected, and that no small degree of coercion must necessarily support the recommendations of the Company. I give my vote simply for the Governor General's motion, reserving my opinion for any amendments that may be offered to the letters proposed to be written, when such are offered in precise terms, as essential to answer the intentions of the Company, and consistent with those intentions.

Mr. Francis. The motion is confined to a bare communication of the Company's orders; how it may operate I do not know; but, as this government is the medium through which all the Company's orders are carried into execu­tion, it seems to me unusual at least, to leave them, in this single instance, to execute them­selves. As for the rest, I have no distrust of the Nabob, and hope he will comply with them.

[Page 29] Governor General. I agree to the question. I object to the amendment. My reasons have been assigned in the preceding minutes; I will not therefore repeat them.

Resolved, In the terms of the Governor Ge­neral's motion.

The same to Mahomed Reza Khan, mutatis mutandis.

24 November, 1779.

[Page 30] Mr. Francis. I do not disapprove of the Let­ter to the Nabob Mobarek ul Dowla, as far as it goes, except that the whole of the last para­graph of the Company's Letter of the 4th of Fe­bruary should be recited in it. But I think that this recital should be followed by a formal re­quisition on the part of the Governor General and Council, demanding his compliance with the Company's pleasure. I have no personal distrust of the Nabob, but he is too young and inexpe­rienced to judge for himself; nor am I sure that very dangerous advice may not be given him by some persons immediately interested in the ar­rangement of Mahomed Reza Cawn's offices and salary. The communication of the Company's pleasure, in its present form, appears to me ir­regular, and I believe it to be wholly unprece­dented. The authority of the Court of Direc­tors over the government of these provinces (which in effect is that of the nation over a de­pendent dominion) does not act directly and immediately on the things or persons subject to it in India, but always through the medium of their local representatives. The omission of the use of this medium, in a single and in so remark­able an instance, may possibly suggest to the Nabob or his advisers, that there is a reluctance in the Governor General and Council to exe­cute the Company's orders, and furnish them [Page 31] with some formal pretence for not complying with them, which otherwise would not be at­tempted.

For these reasons I deem the proposed letter essentially defective and incomplete, and am therefore against it.

My Patron! When the aforesaid Nabob was first appointed to the Naib Subahship, it was en­tirely on this account, that by reason of my tender age I could not transact my own affairs in person, but required the assistance of a Naib. When I became of age there was no further oc­casion for a Naib, and I accordingly wrote you on the subject, and informed you that I would [Page 32] take on myself the management of my own affairs, and had no further use for a Naib; and as this was perfectly reasonable, you, in council, gave your sanction thereto, and favoured me with a letter, authorizing me to take the admi­nistration on myself, and to dismiss the said Na­bob, which was accordingly done; and from that time to the present, the affairs of the Ni­zamut, Foujedaree, and Adaulet dependant on the Nizamut have been conducted on that plan by my authority. The letter lately received from the Court of Directors, signifying their pleasure that the said Nabob be restored to the Naib Subahship, fills me with the greatest asto­nishment, nor can I penetrate the motive of it. Perhaps the circumstance of my having arrived at years of maturity has not yet reached the ears of the Court of Directors in Europe; and not­withstanding the number of children and de­pendents which I have, they still reckon me an infant; otherwise would they have determined to place my family under the authority of ano­ther, and written you for that purpose? In a word, it was necessary that I should inform you of my situation, which I formerly did; and it depended on you to transmit such information to the Court of Directors.

It is notorious that the meanest of the people will not admit of the authority of a stranger in their families, how can it then be expected of [Page 33] me? In a word, I administer the affairs of the Nizamut, which are in fact the affairs of my own family, by my own authority, and shall do so; and I can never, on any account, agree to the appointment of the said Nabob to the Naib Subahship, which would bring the greatest dis­honour, disgrace, and contempt on me. I will never, of my own consent, admit the said Nabob to any authority in the affairs of the Nizamut, Foujedaree, and Adawlet, dependant on the Nizamut; and from motives of justice I expect, that regarding the rights which my late father is allowed to have had on the Company, you will never consent that any compulsion be put in practice against me on account of this busi­ness, and that you will use every means for the preservation of my credit, honour, and dignity.

Council, 15th December 1779.

Mr. Francis. I must request the attention of the Board to a short recapitulation of the prin­cipal steps taken, and declarations made by the Nabob and by this government, in relation to the removal of Mahomed Reza Khan, and to the succeeding distribution of the several offices held by him.

[Page 34] In a letter received from the Nabob on the 17th of November 1777, he desires, ‘"That Munny Begum may be allowed to take on herself the administration of the affairs of the Nizamut, without the interference of any other person whatever;"’ and adds that, ‘"by this the Governor will give him compleat satif­faction."’

In his next letter, he desires ‘"that Mahomed Reza Khan may be removed,"’ and expresses his hopes that, ‘"as he himself is now come to years of maturity, and by the blessing of God is not so devoid of understanding as to be in­capable of conducting his own affairs, the Governor will give him the management of the affairs of the Nizamut, and of his own household, together with the administration of the Adawlet and Phouzdarry."’ As the Court of Directors themselves have fully discus­sed the claims and pretensions stated in this let­ter, I shall not attempt to add any thing to their observations thereupon.

On the 7th of March 1773, a letter from the Governor informs the Nabob, that ‘"it had been agreed, that his Excellency being now arrived at years of maturity, the control of his own household, and of the Courts dependent on the Nizamut and Phouzdarry, should be placed in his hands, and Mahomed Reza Khan was directed at the same time to resign his autho­rity to the Nabob."’

[Page 35] In a letter received from the Nabob, on the 4th of May 1778, he says, ‘"he has made choice of Sudder ul Hoc Khan to fill the sta­tion of Naib of his Adawlet and Phouzdarry, and of Raja Gourdoss for the office of the Nizamut; and desires that Mahomed Reza Khan's salary may be divided between those two persons and the two Begums."’ On the requests contained in the letter, and immediately complied with, I have nothing to add to the remarks stated in my minutes of the 7th of May 1778, except that there could not be a grosser contradiction than first to remove Mahomed Reza Khan, on pretence of the Nabob's executing the several offices himself, and immediately after­wards to appoint other persons to execute those offices, and at the same time to give a consider­able portion of the salary annexed to them to the two Begums.

Sudder ul Hoc Khan, in a letter received 1st September 1778, says, ‘"His Highness himself is not deficient in regard for me, but certain bad men have gained an ascendancy over his temper, by whose instigation he acts."’ After complaining of the slights he receives from the Nabob, he adds, ‘"Thus they cause the Nabob to treat me sometimes with indignity, at other times with kindness, just as they think proper to advise him; their view is, that by compelling me to displeasure at such unworthy treatment, they may force me either to relinquish my [Page 36] station, or to join with them and act by their advice, and appoint creatures of their recom­mendation to the different offices, from which they might draw profit to themselves."’

In a subsequent letter to the Governor, Sud­der ul Hoc Khan says, ‘"The Begum's ministers, before my arrival, with the advice of their counsellors caused the Nabob to sign a receipt, in consequence of which they received, at two different times, near 50,000 rupees in the name of the officers of the Adawlet, Phouz­darry, &c. from the Company's Sircar; and having drawn up an account current in the manner they wished, they got the Nabob to sign it, and then sent it to me."’ In the same letter he asserts, that these people have the Na­bob intirely in their power.

On the 1st of September 1778, the Governor informs the Nabob, that it is highly expedient that Sudder ul Hoc Khan should have full con­trol in all matters relative to his office, and the sole appointment and dismission of the Sudder and Mofussil officers, and that his seal and signa­ture should be authentic to all papers having re­lation to the business entrusted to him; I there­fore intimate to you that he should appoint and dismiss all the officers under him, and that your Excellency should not interfere in any one.

The Nabob, in a letter to the Governor re­ceived 3d September 1778, says, ‘"Agreeably [Page 37] to your pleasure I have relinquished all concern with the affairs of the Phouzdarry and Adawlet, leaving the intire management of them in Sud­der ul Hoc Khan's hands."’

Sudder ul Hoc Khan, in a letter received 30th September, says, ‘"Yatibar Ally Cawn, Munny Begum's chief Eunuch, from the amount of the salaries of the officers of the Adawlet and Phouz­darry, which before my arrival he had received for two months from the Sircar, made dis­bursements according to his own pleasure. He had before caused the sum of 7400 rupees, on account of the price of mine and my Paishere's Kellaats, to be carried to account, and now continually sends a man to demand from me four thousand three hundred and odd rupees, as the balance of the price of Kellaats, and constantly presses me to take it from the amount of the salaries of the officers of the Adawlet and Phouzdarry, and send it to him; and I shall be under the necessity of comply­ing. I mention this for your information."’

The Governor General's letter to the Nabob, dated the 10th of October 1778, contains a re­presentation so pointed, and so very just, of the fatal effects which had attended the Nabob's in­terfering in the administration of justice, that I shall insert it intire, but without any comment; in fact it speaks too plainly to require one.

[Page 38]

From the preceding correspondence, I think it appears beyond dispute, that the Nabob him­self has hitherto been a mere cypher through the whole transaction, or rather an instrument, in the hands of Munny Begum and others, employed by them, and for their purposes only, [Page 40] to accomplish the removal of Mahomed Reza Khan: That these people have made a most dan­gerous and iniquitous use of the Nabob's name and authority, while they had both at their dis­posal: And that the Governor General himself was convinced that the interference of the Na­bob, or of those who acted for him in the affairs of the Nizamut, had been attended with the most ruinous consequences, which he accord­ingly endeavoured to obviate, by directing him not to concern himself in any shape in the con­duct of the business intrusted to the Naib Subadar.

With respect to the Nabob, I shall only ob­serve, that his letters involve him in a very dis­graceful dilemma. If I could believe it possible that, freely, and of his own mere motion, he could recommend, ‘"That Munny Begum should take on herself the management of the affairs of the Nizamut, without the interference of any other person;’ that he should in one letter desire to conduct the affairs of the Nizamut himself, and in the next, that a Naib should be appointed to conduct them for him, I should give little credit to the assertion with which these requests are accompanied, viz. ‘"that he is not devoid of understanding."’ He may arrive at years of maturity; but if, at the age of twenty-one, he does not perceive the folly and absurdity of such propositions, and such [Page 41] contradictions, I should despair of his ever arriving at years of discretion. On the other hand, if these letters are written for him, which I am thoroughly satisfied is the case; if he has no will of his own, and if the rights and autho­rities demanded in his name are in reality to de­volve to Munny Begum, to her chief eunuch, and to the other persons of whose misconduct the late Naib Subadar made so many complaints to the Governor, what opinion are we to enter­tain of his Excellency's understanding and vera­city; or on what ground can we commit the management of such important affairs to a young man so dependant on Munny Begum, and evi­dently so incapable of judging or acting for himself?

I now proceed to the last orders from the Court of Directors: they consider the whole subject in the same light that I do: they ac­knowledge no right of inheritance in the Na­bob: they understand every ostensible accession to his power as a real one to that of Munny Begum: they deem it for the welfare of the country that the office of Naib Subadar should be continued; and they positively direct us forthwith to signify to the Nabob their pleasure, that Mahomed Reza Khan be immediately restored to it.

But notwithstanding they had a thorough knowledge of the facts, and were perfectly [Page 42] acquainted with all the characters, they cer­tainly were not aware of the possibility of such a case as now exists, or they would have pro­vided against it. They did not foresee that their positive orders would not be inforced by this government, or that such orders would be disobeyed. When they read the Nabob's late letters, the false and frivolous pretences on which he ventures to counteract and defeat an arrange­ment which the Company have deemed neces­sary for the welfare of the country will astonish them no less than our acquiescence in such pre­tences.

First, He says, ‘"that he had formerly writ­ten to the Governor that he had no farther occasion for a Naib, and would himself conduct his own affairs:"’ And he asserts, that since the dismission of Mahomed Reza Khan to the present time, the business had been con­ducted under his own immediate direction. Is it possible he should forget, that in consequence of Sudder ul Hoc Khan's appointment, the Go­vernor had expressly required him not to inter­fere, and that the Nabob had thereupon relin­quished all concern with the affairs of the Fouz­darry and Adawlet, and left the entire manage­ment of them in the hands of the Naib. In his next letter he talks of the rights of his de­ceased father, as well as his own, as if the office of Nazim were hereditary. He talks of his [Page 43] claims on the Company, as if he held by some other title than their friendship and protection; or, as if either he or his father had any right in the Subadary beyond what they derived from the voluntary acts of the Company, or of their representatives. He says, he never will admit Mahomed Reza Khan to possess any degree of authority in his family; and that as Sudder ul Hoc Khan is dead, he shall take on himself the management of the business. In his last let­ter he observes, that Mahomed Reza Khan was at first appointed on account of his, the Nabob's, tender age, which required the assistance of a Naib; forgetting not only that a Naib Subadar was appointed, and the office executed without objection during the government of his prede­cessors, but that he himself had submitted, about a year ago, to the appointment of Sudder ul Hoc Khan; and that the latter continued to execute his several offices till his death, with powers totally and avowedly independent of the Nabob: he forgets, or perhaps he does not know, that the treaty of March, 1770, by which alone his rights, whatever they may be, were created, provides for the appointment of a Naib of the provinces, to be invested with the manage­ment of affairs; and that this Naib was ap­pointed at the instance of the Governor and Gentlemen of the Council. In the same letter the Nabob declares, that he administers the affairs of the Nizamut by his own authority, and [Page 44] shall do so; and that he never can, on any ac­count, agree to the appointment of Mahomed Reza Khan to the Naib Soubaship.

The Governor General's letter of the 10th of October, 1778, will shew the Company not only in what manner this important business is likely to be conducted, and what opinion the Governor General himself entertains of the Na­bob's capacity, but that neither were his sup­posed rights and the maturity of his age attended to at that time, nor his personal incli­nations consulted. Notwithstanding all his claims to the Phouzdarry and Adawlet, the Go­vernor's pleasure divested him of both, and left him without an option. These, however, are not the first and immediate objects of con­sideration. A new and unexpected question is now before us. The Company's orders are dis­obeyed on pretended principles, which suppose the existence of an authority in these provinces independent of the authority of Great Britain over them. That of the Court of Directors is the only medium by which the subjection of Bengal to Great Britain is held and secured. In oppo­sition to it the Nabob declares, that he acts by his own authority, and shall continue to do so. I do not know what name the law will give to dis­obedience of the Company's lawful orders by this Board; or whether such disobedience, di­rectly avowed by ourselves, would not be less [Page 45] criminal, and in its consequences less dangerous, than under the form which it now assumes: but every man must see which way the present example leads, and what use may be made of it. If some vigorous measure be not immediately taken by the Company to disarm the Nabob of all means of resistance, or at least to deter him from attempting it again, their dominion over Bengal is not secure. I am sorry this inexperi­enced young man should have been so unhappily advised. He does not know on what dangerous ground he treads. He forgets himself too grossly when he disobeys the Company's posi­tive orders, and in the same breath tells the Governor General, ‘"You are the master and my patron, and I can take no measure without first communicating it to you."’

The Company will consider whether this avowed distinction between them and their local representative be not something more than dis­respectful; or whether their injunctions would have been slighted if they had been accompa­nied by the usual and proper requisition on the part of the Governor General and Council, which I repeatedly recommended without suc­cess. Other and more alarming reflections will naturally succeed. The ostensible shadow of the Nabob's authority may in time find a substance to support it. If the spirit of party and faction, which prevails through every de­partment [Page 46] of government, and through every other rank of life, should reach to the Seapoys, it would be a painful, but not a difficult, task, to count the few remaining steps which lead inevitably from that state of things to final dissolution. At whatever distance that danger may appear to be, yet, if the course we are in points directly to it, I trust that the wisdom of the Company will not deem it unworthy of their instant consideration. The same measures by which a great and imminent mischief might have been prevented will not be sufficient to correct or retrieve it.

I now move that it may be resolved, That the preceding letter from the Nabob is highly dissatis­factory to the Board; and that the Governor General be requested to signify the same to him, and to demand in our name his immediate compliance with the orders of the Company.

Mr. Wheler. I agree to the motion.

Mr. Barwell. If any advantage was stated to derive to the Company by controuling the will of the Nabob, it might be a question with me how far the occasion would vindicate the com­pulsion proposed; but when no national bene­fit can accrue, nor is stated, I cannot give my assent to a very exceptionable measure.

Governor General. I shall take another occa­sion to declare my sentiments at large on the sub­ject [Page 47] of this motion. For the present I shall con­tent myself with declaring, that I have gone to the utmost lengths prescribed to me by the Com­pany's orders, and by my sense of my duty, and that I will not go beyond them.

The motion resolved in the negative.

Mr. Francis. Since it is resolved that the Board will not insist on the Nabob's compliance with the Company's orders, nothing is left for me but to move, as I now do, that the salary allotted by the Company out of their revenue for the sup­port of the office of Naib Souba, amounting to three lack of sicca rupees per annum, or so much of it as was divided between Munny Begum, Baboo Begum, Raja Gourdass, and Sudder ul Hoc Cawn may cease, and be made a saving in the Company's treasury from the day when Sudder ul Hoc Khan died.

It is the Company's property, and if it be not employed in the manner they direct, it should not at least be applied to any other purpose.

Mr. Wheler. I agree to the motion.

Mr. Barwell. I must desire that the fund from which this payment is made to the minis­ters of the Nabob be stated by the Accomptant General before I give my opinion on the motion.

Governor General. I object to the question in the terms of it, but consent to wait for the in­formation required by Mr. Barwell.

Minute of Council the 20th December, 1779.

Considered the motion made by Mr. Francis at the last consultation, viz.

‘"That the salary allotted by the Company out of their revenues, for the support of the office of Naib Soubah, amounting to three lacks of sicca rupees per annum, or so much of it as was divided between Munny Begum, Baboo Begum, Raja Gourdass, and Sudder ul Hoc Khan may cease, and be made a saving in the Company's treasury from the day when Sudder ul Hoc Khan died."’

Mr. Barwell. By the letter received by Mr. Croftes, the charge of the Nizamut allowances appears to be defrayed by the Company. There was, I find, a certain fund, under the name of the Sinking Fund, established upon the orders of the Company, limiting the personal charges of the Nabob to the sum of sixteen lacks, and reserving sicca rupees 15,81,860 per annum; and to this fund was charged certain demands against the Mogul government, which have since been totally liquidated, as will appear more par­ticularly by a state of the fund which I have just now received from Mr. Croftes. If it was incumbent on the Nabob to discharge, out of the allowances made to him by our government, the different claims which appear to be stated in this account, I do not see any reason why the [Page 49] Company should continue burthened with cer­tain expences, which arise solely on the score of his government, while those means which he has of providing for the whole from his esta­blished allowances remain unapplied. By the present method it appears to me that the savings stated in the Sinking Fund are made totally at the expence of the Company, because the charges of the Nizamut, or country government depen­dant on the Soubah, instead of being disbursed from the sum allotted for the Soubah's govern­ment, are disbursed from the Company's means, and the claim on the score of the allowances fixed for the charges of the Soubah's govern­ment suffered to accumulate to the exorbitant sum of rupees, 90,04,188,7,4, as a debt due from the Company. This being the case, there appears to me an absolute necessity to correct an error, which has led Mr. Francis into the idea that the disbursements which are made by the Com­pany are made by them out of their revenues, for the support of the office of Naib Soubah, amounting to three lacks of rupees per annum. While the Company hold this fund of 15,81,860 rupees per annum, of the sum of 31,81,860, which by treaty they expressly stipulate to pay for the support of the Soubah's government, it is not just that they should be charged with any expence to be disbursed on that account. I therefore MOVE, ‘"That all expences that have been incurred, or shall in future be incurred, [Page 50] on account of the Nizamut, or country go­vernment department, or the Soubah, be set off against the claims of the Soubah, for such part of the stipend or salary allotted for the support of his government as has been re­tained by government for this and other ex­press purposes directed by the Company."’—I understand the motion made by Mr. Francis to have for its object the compelling the Nabob to accept of Mahomed Reza Khan for his mini­ster, or to reserve the sum which is allotted as the due of Mahomed Reza Khan, to be disposed of by the orders of the Company. This motion being made on the presumption that the Niza­mut officers are the officers of the Company, and in the pay of the Company, can only be sup­ported upon that principle. I am therefore against the motion.

Mr. Francis's motion carried in the negative.

Mr. Francis. If I understand the preceding minute, the savings from which the Sinking Fund therein mentioned was constituted, viz. 15,81,860 sicca rupees per annum (accruing since the time when the pension of the Nabob Mobareck ul Dowlah, as settled by a treaty highly disapproved of by the Company, was re­duced to 16 lacks by their positive orders) do not belong to the Company, and that something will be gained by charging that fund with the amount of the salary allotted by the Company, [Page 51] out of their own revenues, for the support of the Naib Subadar. It is indifferent to me, and I believe perfectly immaterial to the Company, in what way the account is stated. The charge, if disbursed, comes out of the Company's trea­sury; it is immediately paid out of the collec­tions of the division of Moorshedebad, as the Company will see by referring to our Letter to Mr. Martin, of the 11th of May, 1778. Am I to understand that Mr. Barwell means to make the Company debtor to the Nabob Mobareck ul Dowlah for the amount of the above savings? if he does, I wish it to be declared so in plain terms: they would by this time amount, as I believe, to 112 lacks of sicca rupees: If he does not, I cannot possibly discover the meaning or application of his motion. As for myself, I deny the fact, and all consequences pretended to be derived from it. On the remainder of Mr. Barwell's minute there is but little to be said, supposing it true that a real effective country go­vernment now existed, and that the affairs of the Nizamut did of right fall under the imme­diate administration of Mobareck ul Dowlah (all which is so manifestly contrary to the fact, that it will not bear an argument) still it would not follow that my last motion ought to be rejected. The sum which I propose to be reserved is not divided among the officers of the Nizamut: Mr. Barwell surely did not consider in what manner it is actually distributed; neither do I admit that my last motion had for its object the compel­ling [Page 52] the Nabob to accept of Mahomed Reza Khan for his minister. It could not possibly have that effect; the point was already decided by a pre­ceding resolution; and if, as I conclude, the sole object of the Nabob be to keep the amount of Mahomed Reza Khan's salary, and to distri­bute it among his family and dependents, our taking the money from him will not tend to compel him to reinstate Mahomed Reza Khan, by which he would equally lose it. If that were the only alternative proposed to him, he would certainly prefer the measure which freed him from the check of Mahomed Reza Khan's au­thority, and left every thing in his own hands.

I have said the mode of stating the account proposed by Mr. Barwell is a matter of indif­ference in itself; but as it implies a conclusion in which I do not concur, I am against the mo­tion.