The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1806-03-17 00:00:00

EAST-INDI HOUSE.

On Friday a General Courtiof Proprietors was
held pursuant to public notice, for the purpose of
considering of a Resolution of the Court of Direlers.
of the 27th ult. for granting a sum of money to the
son and successor of the late Marquis Cornwallis.
The Cli•Ilthl Apo opened the business in as concise
a manner as poihible. stating, that, instead of the
word " Heirs," they had, agreeably to their uniform
istemion, named the present Marquis. Their Resn.
lution so amended, they left for the consideration of
the General Court.

Mr. R.J tcasos observed, that his former address
to the Court made it unnecessary for him to do
more, than again present the Resolution which he
had moved at the last Court, with no other altera-
tion, than that be had inserted the sum of 40,0001.
instead of a year and a half's salary.
Mr. Roca seconded the motion.

Mr. MACK AIMS r EN, late from Bengal, complain-
ed of his having been refused the perusal of the letter
from Lord Cornwallis to General Lake, containing
the Noble Lord's plan of pacification. The papers
that had been already produced and read in Court,
he conceived to be of an infinitely more dangerous
tendency, particularly that in which the state of the
Company's finances was mentioned by Marquis
Cornwallis. In consequence of that disclosure, he
atoned, that every Proprietor who possessed suf-
ficient qualification to entitle him to vote for a Di-
reltor, must have been 601. or 701. out of pocket.
He dwelt at considerable length on the probable ill
effeEt cf the publication of each document. He,
however, did not oppose the motion ;.he only wish-
ed the additional paper to be produced.
The CH AIRMAN observed, that a great deal of mat-
ter irrelevant to the subject which the Court had
met to discuss, had been delivered by the Gerfsle-
man who had just sat down. As to the prodoction
or non-production of the papers to which he had e-
luded, it was his own particular wish, and that of
the Court of Diteaots generally, that every state-
ment that was in their power should be fairly given
to the Proprietors ; but a Member of that Court had
supposed that it might be impolitic ; the Proprietors
seemed generally to be of opinion that the promul-
gation of the Noble Marquis's plans might possibly
have a dangerous tendency, and therefore hr did
not think it would be proper in him to press the
reading of that Letter, though he, for his own
part, was too well acquainted with India, to ima-
gine that the people there troubled themselves
about whether a paper were produced here or net.
He had not any knowledge of even the name of
the Honourable Member, until he had heard it by
chance the day before, and therefore it was impossi-
ble that he could have meant any thing personal to-
wards him ; the office'r or servant of the Company,
who had refused to give him the vrusal of the Noble
Marquis's Letter,hesimposed,had a.teddiscretionally,
in consequence of what had passed at the late Court.
There was one part of the observations of the Hon.
Member, which he thought it fit to answer, though
he by no means intended replying to all the &tail
which had been entered into by that Gentleman.
The Hon. Member had thought proper to arraign
the conduct of the Court of Directors for having
produced a paper which afforded the Proprietors a
fair view of the state of their finances. Now, he
was convinced, and the Court of Directors were
convinced, that it was their duty nct to withhold
(tom the Proprietors a document which gave them
the knowledge of the real state of their finances.
The stock of the Company ought not to beer a fish.
tious value. It was fit to observe, however, that
the Company's finances were far from being at any
time in a d!sperate situation, and he trusted that mea-
sures had been taken bcfare now to retrieve them.
Mr. Lost ants observed, that the Proprietors were
then assembled in consequence of the Diredote igno-
rance of a bye-law; if they had had a knowledge of
the laws of the Company, the business would have
been decided a• the last Court. He thought it would
be right that a fine should be imposed *a the Directors
in case of ignorance cr rieJect. The manner in
which the notices were printed in the Newspapers,
be conceived to be particularly liable to objection—
he had searched over upwards of three columns of a
Paper, before he could ascertain when it was that a
meeting of the East India Proprietors was to beheld ;
he at last found an advertisement stating what he want-
ed to be informed of; but, it was in a poor, meagre,
lean-faced Italian character, that no one, without a
deal of pains, would know that such a notice was in
the paper. Ile suggested, that henceforth, the ad-
vertisements of the Company should be printed in
large bold Roman characters. After giving his sup-
port to the Motion, then before the Court, the Hon.
Member was proceeding to descant on the merits of
Sir Sidney Smith's defence of Acre, the keystone of

When he was called to order by the Chairman.
The question was then put. and carried with only
one dissentient. On the question of Adjournment
being put, Mr. Lows,Es again meationed the fiat,
and the large Roman letters.
Theisext Court was made Special by thodssire of
Mr. sack.—Adjourned.