Star.
London, England, 1815-12-21 00:00:00

INDIA HOUSE.

•

. • •
Yesterday a General Court of Proprietors assembled
at the India House, and on the Chairman's taking
the Chair the Resolution of the Court of Directors,
• with respect to the propriety of granting a pension
of4loCe) per ann. to General Ochterlony was read...
T Chairman, Mr. CHANT, in submitting this re-
solution to the consideration of the Court orProprie-
tlrs, f>hserved, that the merits of the gallant Officer
to who'Oi it referred were so well known, he could
nit think it necessary to dwell upon them in order to
induce an unanimous approbation of the grout. Thus
much, however, he thought it proper to remark, that
General Ochterlony had surmounted great and pecu-
liar difficulties, by an extraordinary display of skill
:1111 val-ur, in consequehce of which that meritorious
oflizer had had a high honour conferred upon him
by his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, to sustain
the dignity of which that grant WAS necessary which
the India Company owed to bis eminent services.—
Upon such a. proposition he could not apprehend any
di:Frrence of opinion, for it was the best interest, as
well as the imperative duty of the Court of Proprie-
tots, to reward the merit of its Officers.
Hr. R. JACKSON said, that the documents refer-
ring to this transaction ought to have been generally
submitted to the review of the Proprietors, before'
they *ere called upon to accede to the proposed grant.
He did not indeed think it becoming to press such
a proposition without due consideration, especially in
Cie present state of the Company's finances, encum-
bered as they were with a debt of no less than forty
millions. Having himself read the papers which re-
lated to the conduct of General Ochterlony, he was
ready to hear the fullest testimony to his merit. But
still he felt that it would be more honourable to the
character, and must be more grateful to the feelings
of that gallant Officer, to vote the proposed pension
after his merits should have been fully understood by
the ProPrietory. The Learned Gentleman here ad-
verted to what he deemod an irregularity in the pre-
sent course of proceeding ; for according to the prac-
tice of the Court, •in the cases of Lords Cornwallis
and Wellesley, and of other Governors of our India
possessions, thanks were voted to the Commander in
Chief, Before it was proposed to reward any Officer,
of the Company. In this instance, however, it was
prnpoied to reward a particular General, without
taking any notice of the conduct of the superior au-
thorny from which the orders of that Officer ema-
nated. It was proposed, indeed, to distinguish a
sttherdinate Officer, while the Commander in Chief
wis entirely overlooked. Of such a. mode of pro.
cve„ling he could nut approve, for it appeared to in-
velve a silent affront upon that truly iilusttions per-
sonage Earl Moira—(ll r, &Ir.) He had seen the
public dispatches sou that Nobleman, and he must say,
from those dispatches, that unless there were some
ptivitte patch upon his conduct, the system which
hiS Lordship pursued were entitled to unqualified
praise, both as a great statesman and as a skilful Offi-
cer. That Nobleman's system was indeed at once

form and pacific, resolifte and conciliatory. His
J. rds!h:phad endeavoured by every practicable means
e-arciii.:te the Rajah of the Napaul,..t.nd persevtred
his enieavours until that Prince had actually en-
eroaciiett up n the Comeenv's possessions, and indeed
sn•ce of t!a: Company's arnaas were murdered in
cold blood—until, is a word, such acts of injustice
and atroc:ty were perpetrated, as would have ren-
dered any farther iorhearance on the ratt of Lord
Moira disgraceful to the character and injurious to
etc interest of his country. It was then that his
Lordship deelded far war, and having so decided, he
made the witest atrangernents for bringing it to a
speedy termination, bting fully aware of the evils in.
scoarthle. from a protracted war in India. • Those
evtls were indeed such, that a second campaign, how.
ever distinguished by victory, was productive ut Sit•
ctifices almost tantamtatat to the misfortunes that
might accompany ' defeat. That consideration he
(Mr. Jackson) particularly wished the Court to bear
in mind, together with this fact, that Lord Moira's
first declar,:tion of hostility was dated in November,
1311', and that within six months afterwards an am-
bassador from the enemy arrived at the British camp,
armed with uniiMited powers to conclude such a
peace, as afforded ample indemnity for the past, and
estOrlished complete security for the future. With
this splendid twat in the view of the Court, he
risked, whether it would allow any slight, either
t;ieect or implied, to be cast upon the character of
Lotti Moira ? But such a result was among the.
ILippy consequences naturally to be expected from
the vigorous system of the Marquis Wellesley, who,
on quitting the Government of our possessions in
India, left them surrounded by States who were all
tither our tributaries or allies. To follow up that
s)s•tm was the wisest course for any Governor of
.•4dia to pursue. But it was the peculiar felicity of
ntira's character, that it combined the energy
ot Lord Wellesley, with the conciliation of Lord
Cornwaliis, and the proverbial induitry of Lord
Llinto. Would the Court then consent to any moot-
lrkely to reflect upon the character of such a
riterit(4.-.Us Nobleman, anti there was but too much
:t :war to apprehend that the adoption of the present
motion in the shape in which it was brought forward,
‘icutu, put of doors, be considered as a side.wind
csnisur.; upon the conduct ot Lord Moira. With this
trench h utjccted to the motion, while he highly es-
:to:rued the merits of General Ochterlony, but he
W.qi persuaded that the recognition of those merits by
unit Court, would be intinitery more respectful after
M'•mbers had had an opportunity of fully exa-
mining tie papers upon which the proposition of the
Cour t of Directors piofessed to rest.
Mr. Hoses expressed a hope that the motion ivould
not be negatived, as the merits of General Cchter-
lot:y were so sioal, and sa universally fecognized.
ffe sves:te•l that the motion had been brought fervard
in an unoscerionanie shape, but he trusted that no
mine futmaluy ,sotild be allowed to stand itt the way
cof the proposed vote. Any informality, indeed,
lV!licil appeared, he believed to result lather from an
anxiety to do justice to distinguished met it, arid not
at .ail from any wish to slight the services of the army
or the merits of the Commander in Chef. Upon
orerit, however, he :oust think that the Court of
:h.) it ect,,ra had had ample opportunity of forming an
;,isno!s, front the information before them, and that
ppiiiiop ought to have been expressed, whether
, i svgair 0, or hostile to the Noble Lord alluded to.
c could not approve of any delugture Ito* the
• •

-Is4:

established precedents or the Court, and he
that it did not seem regular, according to those pint
cedents, to notice the merit of a subordinate officer,
-while the Commander in. Chief was totally over-
looked. Still he could have no hesitation in acced-
ing to the proposed grant, for he was well acquainted
I with, and highly appreciated the merit of General
Ochterlony. Here the Honourable Gentleman en-
tered into an historical detail of the life of General
Ochterlony, who had, he said, been no less than 34
years in the Company's service, with very gloomy
prospects, until the recent display of his great talents
attracted universal notice. This officer had, he ad-
ded, been brought up in the school of the Company's
service ; and it was, he was convinced, essential to the
interest of that service amply to reward such an offi-
cer, in order to afford due encouragement and ade-
quate stimulus to the exertion of others.
Mr. GRANT denied that the proceeding under con-
sideration involved any departure from precedent.
The papers upon which the proposition was grounded
were open to the reading of all the Propiietors„ and iu
this respect more had been done to communicate in-
formation to the Proprietors than was required by the
bye-laws or by any precedent. Same o: the Proprie-
tors had, it appeared, read these papers ; and, he was
sorry to witness a disposition not to make a very liberal
use of the information thus afforded. As to the oh.
servation, that the merit of the Commander in Chief
and the Army should have been br.eight under the
consideration of the Court befole the present m eion
was proposed, he contended that there Nv.s n 3 rule
whatever to influence the discretion of the Court of
Directors upon that sub'ect ; and it did not seem be.
coming to abuse the exercise of that discretion, be-
cause it did not conform to the views of particular
individuals—still less was it becoming to censure the
Directors before it was known what they meant to
propose with. regard to the Commander in Chief.—
But whatever might be the opinion respecting the
system of the Commalider in Chief, under whose di.
rection the war was conducted, that opinion could
have no connexion with the merit of the aim under
consideration, that merit consisting in a particular
military operation; therefore the motion before the
Court might be adopted without prejudicing any
questions that might hereafter arise with respect to
other points connected either with the met its of the
Commander in Chief or the policy of the war. The
Court of Directors had, then, taken the course which
they deemed most regular and expedient, and if they
were called upon to surrender their judgment to
others, that surrender would seem tai eeprive them of
the executive authority which constitutionally belong-
ed to them, and which, he hoped, they had ezetcibrd
to the satisfaction of the Court.

Mr. I). KINNAIRD complained of the style and tone
of the Chairman, and that a Proptietor delivering
his sentiments upon any question submitted to the
Consideration of that Court, should be exposed to the
charge of illiberality. But this, he observed, was not
the first time in w}.ich the Chairman had thonght lit
to express himself in such a querulous manner.—
(A. cry of 66 Order! order!")—Mr. li.inn4ird ap-
pealed to the candour of the assembly if. jastification
of his words, and bore testimony to the important
services of the Wcrilly Member ( sir. Jacksi.n), to',
whom the Chairman's censorious r:in:1:1. appeared to
!refer, and especially in that Menshato prop,si.ion of
those bye-laws which secured to the Proprietors
sf,nie controuling in!hicnce in the di,:,..),„1 of their
fonds. The Honourable Mcia..r ei.foreed the npi-
nion of Mr. Jackson, with respect to the propiety of
I voting :hanks to the Commander in Cola and the
1 Army belire a inntion of this nature was brought
forward, observing, that the nlcrits os a siogle oirisfer
1 wcne thus rather inviA,.,usly seltcted, and that such a
selection seemed to cast at least an indirect :Anion
upon his comrade..; and superiors. The merits of this
officer be (Mr. Kinnaird) did not mean to dispute,
but he.thought all the Member? of the Comt should
have an opportunity of judging of those merits, by
reading the dispatches alluding. to them. With a
view then of affording mat opporturwy, he proposed
An Amendment, to the following ett...ct :—‘• That
while the Court highly estimated the merits and set.
vices .of General Sir David Ochterlony, it was felt
expedient to adjourn the discussion upon the question
before it, until the Members had time to read the do.
1 contents upon which the Court of Directors thought
proper to recommend the grant of £lOOO alear to
that o&cer."

An Officer who had served in India. but whose
name we could not learnioopposed the Amendment,
contending that several instances had occurred, both
in our naval and military history, where subordinate
officers were publicly thanked tar particular opera-
tions, while the Commanders under whom they acted
were not at all noticed. Therefore the vote now
proposed could not be said to involve any tefiezion
upon Lord Moira, for whose character he felt the
highest respect.
Mr. Howmern, Mr. P. Moons, and Mr. DIXON,
followed on the same side. The latter &is:3 ved, that
Load Nelson was thanked by Parliament for his splen
did achievement at the Nile, while Lord St Vin,ent,
who was the Commander in Chief under whom that
great hero acted, was not mentioned in the vote of
thanks. Yet the omission was never •ifeerned any re-
f Ilion upon, or in the slightest degree invidious, to-
ward Lord St. Vincent. Why then should the pre-
sent proposition be conceived to involve any retleYtuts
upon 'Lord Moira ?
Mr. li.Twiss forcibly supported the original motion.
Atter some further rscoarks,, the Amendment was
withdrawn, upon the recommendation of Alderman
ATKINS.

Mr. It. JACKSON moved for the production of the
dispatches received by the Court of Directors from
Lord Moira, from the commencement of the late war
up to the latest period, excepting only those of a se.
cret nature.

Mr. GRANT, the Chairman, asked, whether the
Learned Gentleman meant to exclude the answers
sent by the Court of Directors to those dispatches i
adding, that the whole would not serve to furnish
the Court with a complete view of the subject. Such
vu w could not, indeed, be afforded, until the arrival
of farther dispatches from India.
Mr. IscasoN expressed his readiness to include the
answers alluded to; observing, that he did not desire
the publication of these documents, but mcrely that
they ,hould be accessible to any Proprietor who de-
sired to read them. Mr. Jackson's motion w then
read as follows _ _

" 'aft aias a4O WO" 14,1 cows 41114,tc4es

flake, esseameramat
last allawAticsived from ht. Lordship op tllet 1u ct ;as well
as such
his
as have been forwarded by the of Vim-
tars to his Lads*, excepting such as may be era et nature."
The motion was negatived.
Mr. H. Twiss asked Mr. Jackson whether he meant
'to move a Vote of Thanks to Lord Moira and the
Army, to which the latter answered in the negative.
Mr. HOWARTIi waved, for the present, his notice
of a motion to render persons holding any office under
the Crown ineligible Members of the Court of Di-
rectors.
Mr. Hums said, that understanding the ennduct of
the College at Hertford, to which his notice of mo-
tion referred, was undergoing the investigation of the
competent suthority, he should not press his motion,
but wait until the result of that investigation was
known.
After a long and desultory conversation, with re-
gard to the case of Mr. Sherson„ who, according to
the opinion of Messrs. Jackson, Kinnaird, and Hume,
ought to be restored to office in India, while Mr.
Coke, his false accuser, should be dismissed from of-
fice and brought to trial, Messrs. Grant and Bosan-
quet expressed a different opinion as to Mr. Coke, and
the Court adjourned.