The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1806-04-23 00:00:00

t directionhA
present
e sncg:
enenunter. He found he was so Fttie kn-inen to the
House, and ion so much less known to tins pitiblic
II? was fearful al! his efforts would he ahle to otteei
but little. Ile hnwever,with the permiiisinn of
the Hoese, state the mode or proceeding he in. eeded
en pursue. He would follow the course edema,' in
the case of Mr. Hastings. and if the House thought
the charge worthy of laying on the table, he would
then move, that on a future day it be taken into
consideratiea. Ile begged only to say one ventd, as
to the manner in which the charge was drawn up.—
ipcetesoern
tHoermh,adbeneont,2ls76tl::
jitti.big it in i s r
any of the teamed Gentlemen of the Law, but had
done it himself aecording to the best of his abiliiies ;
and if it should happen to he incorrect in point cf
mode, or defi:ient in any technical formalities, he
hoped the House would not reject it on that account.
14av'ng said thus much, he would net at
trouble the House any further, but proceed to read
his charge, which be did, to the fi arming pm-port :
" That the Most Noble Richard Marquis Welles-
ley, was appointed by His Majesty Governor-Ge-
neral ot Bengal, and arrived th re in the month of
May, 1798, read subservient t, that, was apenintrd
Commander Chief o: the Forces, and coot inted to
execute the o ce of Governor-Genet al, until August
11105,when he was succeeded by theappnintnient and
arrival time ado. MJlqiiiiCornwAl'ii..That by thi
appointment as C;nverner.Clenerel, he was bound to
watch nem defend, protege end cherish, the into.
rests of his empinyers. the Fast India Company ;
but that contrary to such duty, and atting as an
arbitrary and oppressive master,. he negleeled to
watch over, protel, and cherish the interests et his
said employers; and did, of his own accord, and
cnntrary to their will and inclination, as well as
their direa an] positive orders, squander and make
away with, in a wasteful and extravagant manner,
the revenues and tunnies of his said employer., ac.
cording to his own personal caprices, and for the
purpnse of displaying and supporting his own love
and inzlination for pomp, parade, magnificence,
and splendour. That he had further transgte-sed
against his employers, by a surrender rd their
rights ; for it had been declared by aft or Parlia-
ment, that the revenues of the Company in India
should be appropriated, in the first place, to the cx-
pences of the Company there, and after defraying
such expences, the Company should pay 500,000 i.
annually to the Government; and in case this should
not be paid, in consequence of war, or any other
unforeseen causes, the Company should make- a
proper representation thereof to the Government.
That notwithstanding these ccnditions and under.
takings, the Company have not, since der passing of
the said aft, paid the said stitedated sum of
except for the first year; and in consequence ot such
negleft or incapacity to pay the same, they now
stand indebted to the public in a sem arnisuntiag to
upwards of six millions sterling. This defalcation, so
contrary to the aaoand obviously so injurious to the
public, had not arisen from any negled er want of
faith on the part of the Company, but had b
owing to the miscondua of the Marquis Welledee,
who had shamefully sad wastefully tquania red
away the property and revenues of theCempany in a
manner hitherto unknown and unheard ef in h:.• as.
nals of this country or any other. That the East India
Company have been obliged, in orderto pay theirdebt
in India, to rale money by loans at 8, 10. and to per
cent. That the Marquis Wellesley, iu t; y 9. found at
debt in India amounted to 11,42,6881. and at the
time he was superseded by Marquis Cornwallis, it
amounted to thirty-one millions stetting. That in
1793, he found all was peace and quietness in In.
dia, and the affairs of the Company, in their political,
as well as the'r commercial a,petts, were truly prees
perous, and mail he followed the laudable condua
of his predecessors, there is every reason to believe
they would have continued so ; but having pursued
a line of conduit altogether the reverse of the sys-
tem which had been previously aged upon, he had
greatly injured the Company's affairs, and had been
driven to the desperate attempt of selling the Cum.
parry's territorial imposts on the lands of Bengal.
That soon after the Marquis Cornwallis arrived
in India, in August, 1805, he wrote a letter to
the Court of DireBnrs, giving a most deplorable
account of the general stare of the Company's
affairs. but of their finances in particular.—(Here
Mr. Paul read the letter from Marquis Cornwallis,
relative to this sutieft, which appeared in this Pa-
rr very soon after itt arrival in England, which
stated, am ng other thit g:, that he anvil be obliged
to discharge part of the native troops, and though
it might he objefled to that measure, that many of
those would Join the enemy, yet of two evils be
must chuse the least, as the finances were in such a
state of dilapidetiato that I.e mast he obliged to take
and rue the investments intended fear China, in owe
to discharge the arrears then due to the nigh-
lar army, and to defray the present esmices,
which amounted to 70.0001. sterling per mouth.)
The charge then stated, that in March 1799. aar
was commenced with Tippoo Sultan, which ended
by the taking of Seringapatam ; and that since that
perimiclos Governor-General had, at sr:winos Urns.,
extorted from other Princes in India, such 25 the
Subadar of the Deccan. the Rajah et Fettukebad,
the Nabob of Oode, and, lastly, the Nabub of Arcot,
various sums of money and territorial possessions.
In Seillember, 1805, he commenced the Mae with the
Mahrattas, which was ended by the treaty of H; •
&abed. That in all this period, except the WATS
above alluded to, the Governor-Genital had been
engaged in no wars which cost the Company more
than the loss of lives, and the waste of honeen
but that the Marquis Wellesley had, from an un-
exampled extravagance and prodigality, with a
to sinister and corrupt purposes, and for the purpoet
of indulging his own attachment to pomPiPi.
li
rade, and splendour, augmented and uew ttlode,k
the Secretary's office, for the purpose of heapt:
large salaries on particular favourites. by which I e.
had increased' the Company's expences to the eons
mous amount of 120,000 i. in that department oeifi
and in the whole to 1,300,0001. sterling ; that _
had buil-, contrary to the express ntders of
Court of Directors, a college at Fort William.
in three years had cost use Company I3li,0001.; taa.
in 1801, in making a visit to the upper provint',
which he did against the consent of the C"'"
Directors, he had been guilty of the most rairi
and ostentatious parade, pomp, and espens•ve s,
by employing no less than sieves hniuiresl boat:
r
canvry himself and his staiv, which, nift