And now that we have been exposing, in a succinct, cursory manner, the institutes and maxims of this land, and have pointed out what end was intended in each of them by our ancient Law­givers, it becomes our duty as Historians, to relate what is become of the intent and aim of those institutes in these our days; and to explain briefly, and with the candor of a faithful witness, such parts of the English Government as differ totally from, or even clash essentially with, the customs and usages by which these countries have once flourished; for it is to this diversity of customs and institutes, and to that contrariety alone, that we must recur, whenever we attempt to account for that constant failure which has attended every endeavour of theirs in whatever tended to bring order into this country; and it is to that cause alone that we are to look up for the origin of those troubles and those confusions that have been, and are, the bane and ruin of the inhabitants of this country. Let this animadversion of ours stand as a monument, that has found favour with the minds of the enlightened ones. Let it be instrumental in giving a turn to con­fusion, in transforming it into order, and in rendering it conducive to the relief of the oppressed people of God, as well as to the comfort of those that are suffering in their minds for the sakes of the oppressed ones. O God,! I ask Your grace. Vouchsafe me Your assistance*.

The country seeming to have no apparent mas­ter, is of course, under the predica­ment of a house unten­anted.

It must be observed, first of all, that since the conquest made by the English of these three provinces, this country seems to have had no master at all, and this, because there is no apparent owner whose children and offspring might be interested in inheriting his estate. This is so far true, that even on the supposition that the English nation at large are the owners of this land, still shall it be acknowledged that the Company is not one individual. It is a numerous body; nor are the Members of it permanent. On the contrary, they are daily renewed; so that whoever chooses to employ his money that way, has only to join his stock to the old fund, and from that moment he becomes an associate, and is a Member of the Company; and therefore the constituent parts are never permanent; nor is any supreme ruler appointed, to whom every one, from year to year, may be obliged to render an account, and to shew his face. No wonder then, if in so short a period as these twenty years past, these countries have been blessed by no less than six or seven persons preposed to the Government of Bengal. Hence it comes to pass, that the man who is to be appointed, is not certain of his stay, nor has he full power over his business; he must consult and manage with four or five men that are called the Committee; and these are perpetually at variance with each other, and perpetually in suspense about their own staying, and their being succeeded by another. If then a house that has no owner is not likely to be tenanted, and such a house is likely to totter for want of repairs, and at last will become ruinous in a little time; so likewise a country of this immense extent, having no apparent master, must in time cease to flourish, and at last must fall to decay. And what shall we answer to a man that will tell us that a stranger always wants to draw his own profit, be it from a house or from a kingdom; that intent on his own views, he little cares about what ruins shall remain after him; and that it becomes highly improbable that for the benefit of his successors, himself meanwhile should forego his personal advantage by taking care that nothing be spoiled? Only if he be inclined to mind future examinations and after-reckonings, he will be cunning enough to manage so as that the ruin he is likely to leave behind be not imputable to him. Nor are we to expect that future Governors will be inclined to afford many exceptions to such a rule; for it is certain that all that has been performed by Governor Hushtin, was on the mere strength of his own genius, and by taking the events upon himself without being moved by the perpetual opposition which he continually received from the Members of the Committee, or being sensibly discouraged by their rancorous dispositions. Such an exception is too uncommon to be deemed a rule. It is what he alone had the courage to undertake, and what no one but himself would Men of con­fessed abil­ities, and supe­rior genius, eternally thwarted and impeded by majorities sent from Europe. have dared to venture upon, and what no one, to this day, has attempted. Such an instance proves nothing against our assertion; for still will it be found, that in consequence of the necessity of yielding a little, and of paying a regard to the Members of the Committee, and in consequence of the dissentions that arose amongst them, many a valuable occasion has been lost; and it will be confessed by both sides that many a good business has been spoiled and undone for want of concert. Nor have we done with these broils yet, for we have yet to see in what manner all that great man’s endeavours are likely to terminate.

Nor is this case singular; it is that of all the persons under his Government. For the six districts into which the English had divided this country, are each of them governed by five or six persons, all disagreeing amongst themselves, and each of them a prey to endless divisions and disputes; nor is there a head over them all, with full power and authority. On the contrary, he that might be their head, has not himself any hopes of his remaining long in his post; so that intent upon his own concerns, he keeps his ears eternally pricked up against every report of change and confirmation. Besides all that, there is another defect, and which is this: That if these five or six happen to differ essentially about any matter of importance, they are obliged to apply to the Gov­ernor and Council, and to wait for orders from thence. And this Governor and Council, obliged to partage their attention betwixt that infinity of public transactions and businesses that concern their dominions and conquests; and that other infinity of matters that concern their own state of personal warfare; what betwixt watching over their dominions in these provinces, and answer­ing very long letters from Europe; guarding against their national enemies abroad, both in Europe and Hindostan, and providing against personal enemies at home; betwixt examining accounts of corors of rupees and providing for the Company’s mercantile purchases; betwixt receiving as Sovereigns the revenues of so many dominions in their old and new conquests; what with these, and an infinity of other avocations, public or private, these men, with such a load of business on their shoulders, have no time to answer letters of Provincial Councils, or to give the proper orders thereon. They dispatch what business they think most urgent, and write answers to the Provincial Councils, just as they find time and opportunity; else matters remain at a stand for years together, in those parts, or are determined, at last, as the Provincial Councillors can agree together, or as it appears expedient to the foremost of them, or as it is most easy of execution, whether right or wrong.

Were any of those Gentlemen preposed to the direction of The subor­dinate Rulers do not stay long enough in their employments. affairs, with a responsibility attached to his office; and were the regulation of those Provincial parts fixed on him, and himself allowed to stay long enough in his office to acquire knowledge and credit, so as to be convinced assuredly that the bad or good state of such a city would be laid to his account, and imputed to his management; there is no doubt but that such a man would look upon such a city as his own freehold, and would exert himself to the utmost of his power in promoting its welfare; there is no doubt but that such a man, for fear of after-reckon­ings about a diminution of inhabitants and revenues, would give himself no rest in quieting and cherishing the subject, and in making that district flourishing and happy, whereby the country would become more populous, and himself would be the better for it in his private concerns. But as the Councils and Committees are packed up now, every one of the Members is intent only upon removing every suspicion of fault or mis­behaviour from his own person, and making it fast upon his neighbour’s shoulders; after which he thinks himself safe. No wonder then, if they are eternally at variance with each other.

It appears by ancient records that go back as far as the creation of the world, that whenever these countries have been invaded by foreign armies, the conquerors always divided into two distinct bodies, that had different views. Some of them, who did not intend to stay, and thought only of slaughter and plunder, made haste to display the standard of return, and to begone, as soon as they had got plunder and booty enough to gratify their avarice. Those men, wanting from this land jewels only and money, by whatever means they might be obtained, killed and plundered as fast as they could, and then went away. But there were others that thought in a quite different manner; and these intending to settle for ever, and to fix the foot of residence and permanency in these countries, had a mind of turning their conquest into a patrimony for themselves, and of Benignity and tender­ness of the Indian Emperors towards the con­quered. making it their property and their inheritance. These never failed to assemble as many as had remained from the slaughter, and to cherish them in the palm of the hand of benevolence. These bent the whole strength of their genius in securing the happiness of their new subjects; nor did they ever abate any thing from their efforts, until they had intermarried with the natives, and got children and families from them, and had become naturalized. Their immediate successors having learned the language of the country, behaved to its inhabitants as brothers of one mother and one language. And although the Gentoos seem to be a generation apart and distinct from the rest of mankind, and they are swayed by such differences in religion, tenets, and rites, as will necessarily render all Musul­men aliens and profane, in their eyes; and although they keep up a strangeness of ideas and practices, which beget a wide difference in customs and actions; yet in process of time, they drew nearer and nearer; and as soon as fear and aversion had worn away, we see that this dissimilarity and alien­ation have terminated in friendship and union, and that the two nations have come to coalesce together into one whole, like milk and sugar that have received a simmering. In one word, we have seen them promote heartily each other’s welfare, have common ideas, like brothers from one and the same mother, and feel for each other, as children of the same family; and this is so far true, that from the moment the son of the new Prince had acquired the name of presumptive heir, from that moment submission and acquiescence became a thing of course, and an article of fashion, every one yielding to him a willing obedience, and thinking that none was so worthy of dominion and govern­ment as himself. And this sense of attachment became recipro­cal; for the reigning Emperor and his Imperial Prince, looking henceforward upon this land to be their patrimony and inheritance, conceived as much affection for their new subjects, as if they had been their children; fully sensible that they would all join together so heartily in repelling the common enemy, as to make him lose every hope of any public or private assistance. For such is Sheh-Saady’s opinion and precept, in these two verses:

The subject is a tree, if you cherish it;

You will eat of its fruit, to your heart’s desire.