Thanks be to God, that since the Fodjdary has been taken from the Indians, and lodged in the hands of English Gentlemen, these violences have ceased, and the weather has a little cleared The third cause is the endless wariations and mutations in posts of trust and importance. up for the poor. May God grant that, in other matters like­wise, evil may be changed into good!

The third cause that hinders the tranquillity of the country, and proves a bar to the happiness of the people, may be found out in the endless variations in the persons appointed to posts of trust and charges of importance.

In this country the custom was, first of all, to enquire thoroughly into any one’s faculties and abilities, to examine into his fitness and into the goodness of his character, and then to appoint him to an office, where, as soon as his taients, his exactitude, and his good management had been put to the test, he was confirmed, of course; and he acquired daily an experience, which enabled him to dispatch business with so much vivacity and steadiness, that life was like a parterre laid out with odoriferous flowers of delightful hues. But these rules and maxims are not adhered to by the English. They appoint to offices, at their pleasure, or on powerful recommendation, or on the seniority of rank, without minding whether the appointed is completely incapable of fulfilling his duty, or unlikely ever after to acquire abilities. For it has been often experienced, that one of them being appointed to an office, to which he was a complete stranger, managed so well as to acquire a stock of knowledge and abilities that would now entitle him to such an appointment, of course, were he to be appointed hereafter to it; when lo! presently such a man was transferred elsewhere, and another appointed in his stead, who was as complete a stranger to the duties of that station as had been the former; and whereas the English have besides a custom of coming for a number of years, and then of going away to pay a visit to their native country, without any one of them shewing an inclination to fix himself in this land; hence ignorance and incapacity come to be transmitted from hand to hand. And as they join to that custom that other one of theirs, which every one of those emigrants holds to be of Divine obligation, I mean, that of scraping together as much money in this country as they can, and carrying it in immense sums to the kingdom of England; so it is not surprising at all if these two customs, blended together, should be ever undermining and ruining this country, and should become an eternal bar to its ever flourishing again. The case was different heretofore. It was these Gentlemen that imported every year gold and silver into this land, where joining that which was already in the land, it procured an abundant circulation, and promoted every one’s good. Still notwithstanding all those discouragements, it hap­pens sometimes that a man once promoted to an office, acquires in a course of years such a stock of knowledge, and such abilities, as afford hopes of his continuing in it, and of his ruling accord­ing to those abilities of his which he has been at so much pains to hoard up; when straight there comes upon him a group of two or three men from Europe, who know nothing of business, but are superior to him in rank, or seniority, or influence; and these take possession of his post, while the man of abilities and merit, disgusted and discontented at his being deprived of what he deserved, thinks of going home, and of leaving the field to the disposal of the ignorant new-comers, who now sit in his stead, and in their ignorance of men and things, are immediately surrounded and hooked in by a set of wary, artificious fellows, who, by hanging out false lights, and shewing them pretended flowery paths, and false gardens evergreen, find means to lead them by the nose, and to become meanwhile the centre and hinges of every matter of importance, to the utter ruin of all the good which their predecessor had done, and to the disturbance of all the regulations which he had been at so much pains to establish; and years elapse and come to pass, before these new-comers become qualified enough to hear of the practices of these their dependants. But even supposing that the able and experienced man above, foregoing his journey home, should choose to stay amongst the new-comers, nevertheless, as matters are to be transacted in a Council, all his efforts and all his speeches prove to be of no avail, unless the three uninformed new-comers choose to listen to reason themselves, and to enforce his regulations on their side. We have even seen that these men, being very often misled by their informers and dependants, as well as carried away by a desire of becoming themselves the centre of all transactions, are very apt to pay no regard, and to afford The fourth cause is the slowness of proceedings in the Govern­ing Council. no confidence, to the representations of the able man above; but on the contrary, sure of a preponderance enforced by a majority of, for instance, three or four to one, they put shackles to his feet, and hinder his proceeding in business; all which we have seen to pass, when the Governor-General was overpowered by General Clavering and his party; nor do matters go much otherwise in the six departments of Bengal.

The fourth cause is what they call the Council. That Council is an assembly similar to that brought together by the second Qhalif, for the purpose of choosing a successor to himself, but in which his intention was to debar the females of the Prince of the Faithful from those rights fixed on them by Divine institution*. It signifies an assembly of Gentlemen intent upon a particular business, where if there be a diversity of opinion, that opinion gets the better, and is approved of, that has most Members on its side; whereas if the votes be equal, then as the Governor, in consequence of his superior station and dignity, is counted for two men, his side prevails, just as it did happen in Abdol-rahman’s Council. But that method, although extremely advantageous, (since penetration and safety are always to be found where there is consultation,) has nevertheless its incon­veniencies. Now it is a condition requisite in all consultations, that the person who is to give his advice, should have deserved to be trusted, and also that the foot of private views and par­tialities should not find admittance in the assembly; conditions that are not to be found in the English Council, and which prob­ably did not exist in the Arabian one neither. Such assemblies, besides, are to be wished for only on such occasions of extraordinary importance, as embarrass the minds of the uncertain, and stag­ger the feet of the most discerning; and noways in the details of execution, and still less in every small matter, and every minutiæ that may occur. Such a system gives rise to an infinity of disturbances and confusions, and perpetually impedes the wheels of Government; especially where the business requires dispatch and vivacity, or where it is a question to determine differents, or to send necessary orders. The rules of the Coun­cil happen to be such, that whatever business has come to be offered to the Governor of Calcutta, or to the ruler of some other place, at the present moment, or has been prayed for by the petitioners this long-while, all that is kept in store for the day of assembling the Council, when the above affairs are proposed in that assembly, the respective Agents and Advocates attend­ing the same; at which time, if all that store of business is put an end to, and is determined, the Council give their answer in the form of a decree; else, the petitioners are to wait for another Council; and as over and above the multiplicity of public busi­ness, there are at all times dissensions in that assembly, and a diversity of opinions, whether out of friendship to any one, or out of disgust to the petitioner, whilst there is often an opposi­tion of votes, as for instance, when two of the Members side with one person, and two or three more support another, or because some enmity has been conceived by one of their dependants to the petitioner; hence a sensible man will easily conclude that a determination becomes difficult and nearly impossible. And thus, after numbers have been consuming their time in attendance, if any one should, by chance, come to gain his cause, it proves that upon the whole he is no gainer at all. Heretofore there was in every district a Chief, a man of knowledge, abilities, and experience, who determined with an absolute authority in every matter, and every difference; nor had he more than two or three principal dependants. On a first representation from a petitioner, the matter was immediately taken up and examined, and a determination was instantly given, to the best of the Chief’s abilities. After a proper examination, an order, where necessary, was issued, and the plaintiff went away, either the same day, or a few days after, with his award in his pocket. So that matters had an end, one after another; nor was it necessary, as it is now the case, that a man, after having spent years of his time in expectation, and great part of his life in attendance, should, at the end of that, find himself disappointed and undone. In the beginning of the dominion of the English, where there was but one Chief to apply to, and but one able Deputy, as Radja Shytáb-ráy, and others, to transact the minutiæ of business, the affairs of the natives went on briskly, and were dispatched, in some man­ner or other, but still were dispatched; nor was the people of God obliged to undergo such doubts and such losses of time, as we see to-day; and although those times were not free from partialities and private views neither, yet upon the whole matters flowed on swiftly, be it in what manner soever it seemed best to their rulers. Nor did the miseries of endless delay and end­less expectation melt mankind away; nor did the people of God become the victims of endless altercation amongst their rulers. For I remember that on the dismission of Radjah Shytáb-ráy, when Mr. George Vansittart was appointed Chief, and became the centre of all business, I took the liberty to represent to him, “That Radja Shytáb-ráy used to spend his time from one-half of each day down to one-third of each night in hearing petitions, and in giving decisions, by which assiduity he dispatched much busi­ness, and gave a great deal of ease to every one. I added, that the people of God, deprived of such a man, would very naturally express their anxiety, about what might be his pleasure now on that head.” He answered that, being not accustomed, like Shytáb-ráy, to sit in public amongst hundreds of people, nor to listen to complaints, and to determine causes, he could not believe that he would be able to comprehend one-half of them; but that those that had any business with Government might apply to himself privately, as he conceived that in the recess and silence of a closet he would be more recollected and better able to give a decision. Upon this I requested that orders should be given to the sentries to admit all comers, and direc­tions to the ushers or chopdars to introduce every one. Immediately he gave the necessary orders, and they proved strict orders; and as he was a man of quick apprehension, and very active in body and mind, and could not bear to have his lesson taught him by a Moonshy or Secretary, or his task dictated to by a Divan, or indeed by any man, he proved to be as good as his word, and he constantly dispatched a great deal of business. This state of things did not last, and the affairs and petitions growing numerous, people began to suffer from delays; when after a little time Mr. Law arrived, and wiped clean the eyes of the people of God with the sleeve of goodness and affability. After this, God knows, what is likely to happen. For it appears that to find out one single man’s way, and to be upon good terms with him, is an easy matter; or if he be dis­contented, it is not difficult to make up matters with him; but to find one’s way to the favor of fifteen or twenty persons, or even more, that compose a Council, (including their dependants and officers), or to guard against their resentment, is a task very difficult and complicated, and such as exceeds the power and abilities of a poor suitor, and indeed such as would prove above the patience of any one. Never was this so well brought to the proof as after Radja Shytáb-ráy’s dismission, and the establishment of a Council in his stead. It was at the festival ending the Ramazan, or month of fast, when the Nobility, Gentry, and principal men of the city, who used in that day to offer their nezurs to Radja Shytáb-ráy, were necessitated to pay that mark of respect to every one of the five Members of the Council. Vansittart, on seeing this, could not help observing openly, that whoever hitherto had been clear with presenting one mohur or one rupee only, would be now obliged to provide five, which was what many could not afford; whereupon having conferred upon the subject with the others, he published, that at the next festival of the Corban or Sacrifice, people should present one nezur to the Chief only, and that would be enough, as no other was wanted, or expected; and in fact, so it came to pass. But some professed flatterers, who wished no good to any money that might remain in an Hindostani’s pocket, went out, notwith­standing the prohibition; and, to shew their sentiments of respect to greater advantage, they repaired to the houses of the other Members, and presented a particular nezur to each of them. Some that could ill afford the contribution, did the same, lest the Gentlemen, thinking themselves slighted, should bear The fifth cause arises from the extreme differ­ence betwixt the English way of giving public audi­ence to suitors, and that which was custom­ary in these countries, and also from their engrossing everything to themselves. them a grudge; and those that were utterly unable, submitted to their fate, and remained moping in their corners.