The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-03-04 00:00:00

made successively to Mr. Clive, to Lord Cornwallis, to the
Marquis of Hastings, and to the Marquis Wellesley, were
Instances of the generosity of the Cornnany to its oaken.
a7l:lid
,Kis his opiate., were the aerviets of the'Marquis of Haat-
hip Permitted to pass unremiteerated. At the conelusi in of
the Nero' war which took place shortly after his arrival in
, India, the Company voted him sixty thousand pounds, and not only
I did they vote this sum, but they even went so far as to place it in
the hands bf trustees, in order that it might he laid out to the
utmost advantage for the Noble Marquis. It had been admitted by
recanted votes of that Chert and Proprietary, that he had done
great trustservice, with g'rat ability and sistloni.
let it had been said that on his return to this country the Court of
Directors had refused to accede to a grant of 5,00111. n_year to hint.
If that were the ease, how could the Proprietors, in fairness to the
Directors, now edme to any decision upoe the subject without re-
(erring back to the papera on which the Coitrt of ',hectors came
to the decision on which it was said they had determined. It s. vs
true that the character of the Marquis of Hastings stood very high,
and deserved to be respected ; but this Court should also have
ematidence in its own executive body ; (cries of hear, hear, he:'?;) ;
and if such a decision hal been made they should not suppose it'
had been made lightly. !t may have been resisted on the ground
that some thought he had received enough from the Company
already. It may have been resisted on the ground of some dr.
merit on the part of the Noble Marquis, but the Proprietors
should recollect, whatever might be the respect they owed to the
Marquis of Hastings, they also owed confidence to those entrusted
with the management of their affairs. To agree to such n motion
as that which the Hon. Proprietor (.Mr. K.) had moved, with a
belief that the Court of Directors had ref'use'd the grant of 5,0001.
would be to pass a resolution of that (';nut, to which be was
sure the Court would not come. It bed been asserted (how trttly
he could not say), that a loan was negociated between a Eumpean
house, that of Palmer, and that the Heneal lievernment gave
its sanction to that loon. If such were the case, the Bengal
liovertt-
meot manifestly acted in violation of an Act of Parliament. How.
ever, that this was the case, or that the 3!arluis of 'lasting sanc-
tioned it, did nut appear from any documentary evidence before
the Court- Let then all material pipers, as had Leen suggested
by the lion. Director (Mr. Elphinstone) be moved for, which may
enable the Court to come to a satisfactory decision upon the
claims of the Marquis of Hastings On the further liberality of the
tompany. If the lion. Director hail not deelare.l his intention to
shape the motion so, it was his (Mr. Impey's) intention to offer the
suggestion of it. impropriety.
Mr. P. Moots had heard a great variety of opinions upon the
.eounse to be taken with regard to the Marquis of Hastings. lie
could only assent to that course which required all the papers.
That bold requisition on the part of his friendsrpoke a thousand
volumes in 7andiestion of him. Jle hat seen a pamphlet circulated
by the friends of the Noble Lord. There were parts of it from
Which he dissented. However, two topics in it particularly engaged
his attention. The first was the success with which he put down
that murderous banditti, the Pindarries. For that great act of ser-
vice, which if it had not been achieved, would have left their whole
territories in the East Indies to be overrun and desolated by these
barbarian, he thought the Noble Marquis could never' he too
amply remunerated. The second topic to which he alluded was
the wisdom and foresight with which be provided against the
3lahratta confederacy. He 01r. M.) had read the notes of a speech
to the Noble Lord, which he hail made in that Court upon the
subject of that confederacy, and lie was happy to find that the
Noble Lord had so successfully defeated it. (Hear, hear, hear,
and laughter.) There was no substantial charge against the
Noble Marquis now, and it was cruel to persecute with trifles
men who deserved well of their country. A gentleman had heard
something it seems in a h ickney coach, and another bad seen
something in some confounded Newspaper, such as the Jeff,: Ball,
which existed only by fabricating falsehoods, nod venting its net-
lignity against every honest and virtuous man in the community.
From these two sources of respectable information a story hail been
trumped up, defaming one of the highest characters in this or any
other country. He supposed a story picked up in seine house of
ill-repute would be next brought before the Court to vilify the cha-
racter of the Noble Marquis. (Hear, hear, hear, and laughter.)
Me. 'J'HANT offered a few observations, which were not dis-
tinctly audible where we sat. We understoodi him to say, that if
the lion. Mover of the amendment alluded to him In any conver-
sation which he had with him, yaw ad hoc, he had advanced nothing'
that had a tendency to inculpate the Noble Marquis.
Mr. POYNDEII rose to offer a few observations.

The Ci-rat Rat begged to say, that he thought he could have
saved the lion. Proprietor the trouble of addressing the Court, :
the amendment now assumed that shape which was likely to unite
all panics. The amendment was now to this effect--•• That copies
of all such correspondence and documents be laid before this Court
as may enable it to form a decision as to the propriety of making a
further •rant to the Marquis of Hastings."
The Honourable DOUGLAS Kt X NAltan replied at considerable
length. The object of his motion was, to induce the Court of Di-
rectors to make a report to the Court of Proprietors on the &nu-
ments which they had. lle aimed at this object as the more re-
gular course, and as one theretine to which the board of Control
would not object, should the Court of Proprietors vote a grant of
money on the report of the Court of Direc.ors.
Mr. Par visor; approved of the course pointed out in the
amendmett ; as, if the report of the !Weems was unfavourable..
the papers on which their decision was formed would be then called
for by the Court of Proprietors. He was also favourable to it as
a friend attached to the Marquis of Hastings on public principles,
for he wished to have his conduct fully investigated ; and the more
full the investigation was, the higher did he anticipate the cha-
racter of the Noble Lord would stand in the estimation of the
Court and of the country.
The Cum n NAN then put the amendment of Mr. Smith, as last
read from the Chair, which was carried in the afSrmatice by a
ktrire show of hands.
The (learn MAN' then stiegested, that as the papers were to be
placed before the Court of Directors and Proprietors, they would
nivessarily have to pass through many hands. For the convenience
of the members of both Courts, he would therefore suggest that
the copies of the correspondence and documents now moved fur be
printed.—Agreed to.
The Court then adjourned, at a quarter past four o'clock.