The Sun.
London, England, 1813-06-01 00:00:00

pOrt.(lieir politieal'powesr. Various infringements
by, moving the 2d Ret;oliiti"n, le3vi" "."/: 7' 1 ..'
dates which fixed the particular time Cor the.' rir.l, .to BienmaOl de those privileges at diffei cot
p
tion-of the system. Wishing to occupy ,i; .rit!ie _i times. lie would now roceed to speak of the
of the. One of the Committee as 1u,,,,, 1,10, 1.,..: dauvrs and losses that nr*it arise Art his opiiiiini
present system. Those
would wish to state. the grounds on which (!:“-il : frua any change in thc
loss,.'7s and dangers were of two kindifliolitical aml
comaiereial. '.rhe first commercial inconvenience
Resolution was proposed, and tn hear ail thi.,, 0 1).
jection% to it, then to reply to those ohjectl,,:u.,
and to give such further explanation as Might Lc ',vont(' be the Want of steady sales, as at Fesent.
thought necessary.. roe second inconvenience would 'be the loss of
t 1 ilia advance of Money for carrurers of India en-
leaving out
,(he
ying on their Inisi
Mr. J. Smyrn thought that it would be the bet--„
ter plan for the Nob 1 e 1-401.4 to proceed Without - tics;, which the native manufact
joyed at present from the Company, and which
to come to the House would be able inOre SPeCclili
Ist ReSOliltii):), by which ratans
wiis the principal sour(e of -encotn•agement to
- : - a cOnclusion. . them, The third I- ‘l,'
_

Sir J. NEwrowr approved .of beg.inni,ig with,
the first. Resolution, which g thmi at
once to the vital qntstion, whether there w.is to
be a monopoly or nut ; whereas the way pi oeos-,
ed,hy the Noble Lord pre-sepnosed the decisi, n
of thisquestiOn. The first thing to he, done,
to consider whether there wits to be a monopoly,
and this being decided,
.they were,theu to deter-
tidne how long tho3elregtdatimes, ‘vhich might be
thought the most eNpedient, were to continue.
Mr. BATIIIJItST thought that the lion. Baronet
might see that the plan proposed by the Noble
Lord did not involve the consideration' of the
iniestion of monopoly. The second` proposition
implied that the trade to China:was to be.conti-
nued ; and 'the third' did include that which the
thin. Bart. Considered of so inuelLimportance,
whether the. trade to:lndia was to be opened to
the Outlorts.. • It certainly seemed proper that
the House should de:.erthine upon the .-restrictions.
befdre it determined the time that those restric•
tions were to continue. •
Mr. CANNING was not exactly prepared to:say;
that the first Resolution was the one upon which
they could most properly come first to_a decisitm ;
though at the same time bethought that it was not
proper to proceed to the other propositions, with-
out first discussing the general principle. Ile
thought that there should be some prelhainary
proposition by which it was' to be determined.
whether•the Company was •to contilme iU its go-
verning capacity. Without sonic sect elenWniary
proposition, it would be premature to proceed to
those which were mote specific and particular.
For instance, how could they weird, to a deCkion
upon the China trade without having established,
the preliminary principle to whom that trade was
to be secured ? I-Ic did nut think that.they could
begin with the first llevilurmi in the shape in
wifieb it then was. It was necessary, however,
to have in the first instance some tar:nation or de-
nial of the continued existence; of the Company in
its political or governing capacity. He thought
that the first Resolution, with very little change,
might be made to contain this great fundamental
and essential elementary principle. If, however,
without pretnisin this indispensable Proposition,.
they should he made to proceed i:incediately to
the second Resolution, lie would abstain from
giving any opinion upon the subject until he
should ascertain positively ,to whom the China
trade • was to be retained ; whether to the Com-
pany as a gOverning power, .or as a trading eor.
poration. Without. having this known,. it was
possible to fell into such an absurdity as. to sup-
pose that the Company were to be deprived of
their possessions in Judie, while they were to
have-the China trade secured to them. Ile there-
foraloped that ..;(14i311,-.111611111.1 would :be liken to
furnish the House with en elementaryiroposition,
which MIS so i diSpenSabhip tilacUSsillg the qttes-
don intelligibly.
Loid CAsTLEREAGII said, that jto bad no wish
to press his proposal, if it was against the general
sentiment of the (louse. When they should
conic to vote upon the second Resolution,. each
Member would have it in his power to form in his
Owl; mind a conception of the nature of the Com-
pany ; whereas, if they began with the first Re-
solution; they would range throueli all the ;e-
-limit features of the question.
Mr. CANNING observed, thut surely the
-Coniinittee., about which the Noble ,Lord, had
talked, would not be mede sUbstantial "by saying
nothing at all about it..
Lord CAsTr.litte:ton, though not a convert to
the opinhm .of the Right Ilunourable'Gentleman,
MIS perfectly disposed to proceed icy any way
Which the Committee might choose, provided only
that they proceeded to business in sore shape or
Other.
Mr. LUSHINGToN then read the first Resolution
in the following- !--rats

: ft all the privilegcs, imthorities,
1.111.11.,i o.i 7CI the liattNl Comporiy of Aler-
c...n..i ns hy virtue ally Act or
At'4, ,111 rgolatiars,
ali'ectirtg tlic same, !..b...11 continue awl be in

Lir..

Cute to l.r. tirnited, exitept as far as the same way
T tic anti repealed."'

ii':QuitorAT o'3iebted to the terins of the Re-
solutiolL

.oss would be the_ circuitous
manner in which the Cortoomy %mold be obliged
to supply the market of China. If this last ell;ect
took place, tlte conooptettee- would be, that the
Chirp trade. most be carried on entirely. with . bul-
lion.- The result of this would-be the- total loss
of the China trade. The political losses would
not be less. In the first piaco., the alletriartoe. of
the oatives, which &odd not be supported except
as it was now, on thefoundations •of the Mogul
Government: The slekt political danger would
that of losing the native force ; and the -third,
that of being deprived of the Company's auxiliary
marine, which had always rendered essential ser-
vice to tlO's 'country., With respect to the soUree
of the present applioaticot for a dalrge ih the La r'
India system, the firSt.was, the asserted increase
of tonnage. No prOnf hadrbeeogiveo of this nor
of the necessity of an increase of .export to the
East 'wiles. The next source Of the 'application
was, that British subjects bad a right to trade to'
all coontriessebject to British power. The argt:-
mento however, could not be.very strong, when.it
was eonsidered that the possessions of the Com-..
pony' in India were fit St obtained by purchase,
with the view of establishing factories, and what
Was afterwards added to these possessions was.
gained by conquest, and of .course held by as
good a title as any other possesSidn. In the Re-
sOlorions themselves no provkion was made for
the soppiy of. the . salcs at the Out-ports. This
should be provided for in the Bill before it passed.
into it law.. It had been proved at the Bar of that
House, that the exports to India were sufficient'
for the demand—that euon of India produce was
brought into the market by the present system—
that smuggling was prevented: by it, and would
be increased by on open .trade. He • had been
twenty-fire years' connected with India Affairs,
and therefore hoped that the House would par-
don him for trespassing SO long upon their aten-
tion.•
Mr.-GrOssro‘thortght that the natural subject for
inquiry, before they proceeded to any ehange, was
the condition of theonhabitants of India under the
preseta system. 11;very person., he believed, %suthd
agree with him in saying that their condition at
present Was flourishing and happy—that it was
not only happy, but in, a state of improvement._
If all then were agreed upon this one great and
iendjng point, -would any practical statesman
feel it his duty to propose a change without hopes
very well grounded, that such a change would
lead to ultimate advantage? It was said by suite,
that thehappy and fiontishing conditron of the na-
tives arose principally from the inteiference of the
Government,4l this country, in the affairs of lO-
(Pia ; that it wasinot to 'be atoibuted to the too-
nagement of rime Company: Fhen :alembics ifotiO
be troe., that the Governineat-4404tt0t tiscs-Company
did produce such happy results, it was by no mesns
logical to conclude, that it this .union were dis-
solved, the same good eficts would follOw:
was eallacitots to say that' in 175.1;, a new mode of
GOverninent, for India had been adopted. "The
change then introaced was only the result ot
measures which the Company itself' bad before bez•
gen to carry into effect. Previous.- to that period
it was not possible for the Company to fortn any
plan of regular GOvernment, because pre% ions to
that, period.they'were not in the possession of db.
; besides; it was A rime of confusion, when.
no attempt could be made,' with any hoptoof suc-
cess, to improve their system of Goverement.—
Before the year I7SOprovision had been made for
the regular, distribution of josOet‘, and never was
any duty ' more faithfully discharged titan it.
was by. the peosons upon whom that duty was
imposed. The happy sooe of• the natives, at'
present, was not to be wholly attributed to the
British Government, This change in the admi-'
nistration of justice was that which laid deep the
foundations of the British 'Empire. iii India, by
thus making it to depend upon the happiness of
the periple. There
,was a peculiar felicity in the
election of Lord Corrovallis. He united in an
eminent degree -'every virtue and -every qualifica-
tion necessary to fulfil. the great duty for which
he was sent to India. It was intended by the
proposed system to separate the patronage'from
the Company. hi his opinion, the plan proposed
went to defeat its own object. The schools es-
tablished in this country would not he sufficient
to supply.the
.necessary number of civil officers.
The plan fOr the supply of military officers must
be also insufficient ; hot the 'great question upon
these t*o pouts was what would be the effect of
these,plans, for the supply of civil and Military
Officers upon, the popolotion of India? • The effect
would be, that the maellinery by which that Go--
vertoneto was carried on )'Quill be left' standino,
while' its efficacy was cifectually destroyed. 'lt
was 'important for India that the number from
which those who crimitianded there were chpscri,
should be as great as possible s a-whole nation
was now the store.honse from which they were
supplied ; but the plan now proposed would esta-
blish 'that sort of monopoly in one respect, which
it pretended to remove in another. Had such a
plan been adopted at an earlier period, how many
great men might it not have -exeluded from all
connection with India, -such as Lawrence nod
Clive, and many others. In treating of this clues-
tion, some persons argued as if commercial- and.:
political power should hot be united. The only
'fact of this kind was to be met with in the East
India Company. Theories of this kind, though
very plausible in appearance, were not always true.
In the instance of the East India .Company the
practical eifects were at variance with the theory.
It was impossible to consider the evidence that
hail been given at the bar without being con-
oioced of the danger of opening the trade to In-
dia. There %vas something peculiar in the character
of the people of tloit country.' Their wants were
•

Mr. ,30.!?N Ilarcm said that the question was
wht;ther the. East India Company was to be con-
oi to be. annihilated ? and that therefore
the House, by its decision, would incur a very
awful respOnsthility. He should endeavour to
exataine the elaints of the East India Coatpany ;
the nature of the Resolutions proposed, and the
,con,equenees'which might he expertcd from their'
adoptlon, Flr,t he should exantatet.the right by
which the Conipatly held their possessions 'and
eontiutted their trade for 22(1 years. The 'first
rtharter to the. East India Company was grunted
by Qsseen Eitmtheth soon after her 'dominions
were freed from Kle Spanish invasion. Site granted
to tltc Corapatr: liberty to trade for 15 years, with
this pAtical view, that during tliat period there
.would be time to see whether the trade carried
on in that way would be advantageous:to the
realm. James I. professed himself amicable to
the Company ; but the necessities of that mo-
narch obliged him to give licenses to trade to In-
dia in violation of the privileges of the Company.
10 1609, King James renewed the Charter of the
Company. It was onpleasant to refer to the time
of King Charles the rirst, who had also been
obliged to give licenses to inttividuals to trade
with India, and besides allowed private' traders
the destructive' privilege of snaking settlements
where the Company had none. On the restora-
tion of Charles 11. he renewed the Company's
privile.ges ; and attempted to establish royal gtf-
vernment in India; which he found impractica-
ble. The source of their exclusive privileges wits,
. •• . - -