fervation of a British feaman.'-How ingenious !-not the Indians,-but the Author. P. 75. At Huaheine, an island in the neighbourhood of Otaheite, a fhooting party being afhore, and the Indians rufhing upon them, the mafler's mate fhot one Indian through the thigh, and another through the body. No man was hot through the body, nor was there any foundation for the words printed in italic. P. 78. At the island of Anamocha, the launch going afhore for water, the natives robbed the cooper of his adze, and ftole two muskets,-which made the waterers fire at them fèveral times, in hopes that they would bring the things back again; but this having no effect, the great guns were played upon the trees and houfes-but without effect allo: we then boarded their canoes, drove the natives overboard, and brought the canoes away. This manoeuvre fucceeded.'-This was NEW to the Captain when he faw it in print! P. 81. At Manicola. One of the Indians, in a canoe, attempted to rob the cutter, but being ftopped by the boat keeper, he bent his bow to shoot him. Some of the other Indians laid hold of him to prevent him, but he difentangled himfelf from them by ftruggling, and bent his bow again. The Captain, who kept his eye upon him, at this inftant, fired at him,and the ball went through his head. He let his bow and arrow fall, clapped his hand to his head, and died.'-As true as the reft. Several other facts*, equally remarkable, have been pointed out to us; but we are tired-and fo, no doubt, are our Readers. Some of the falfehoods enumerated in this Article, have alfo been very properly noticed in the Gentleman's Magazine: with other particulars, equally dishonourable to the Author of The Second Voyage." ART. V. A Short History of English Transactions in the Eaft Indies. Small 8vo. 3 s. fewed. Almon, &c. 1776. T HIS is a very portentous Writer, and he feems to augur no great good to this country; fo that many of his readers will be apt to regard him as the graceless kings of Ifrael did the Lord's prophets. The wealthy English nabob, in particular, rolling in the plunders of the Eaft, will be ready to exclaim with the wicked Ahab, "I hate him, for he prophecyeth no good unto me t." Like the good prophets of old, however, the Author (we apprehend) feeks not, by unwelcome tidings, to drive us to a fruitless despair, but would rather ex ↑ 2 CHRON. xviii. hort hort us, by a timely repentance, to deprecate the wrath which threatens us, and, by amendment, avert the impending judg ments. The treaty of peace, fays he, concluded at Paris the 10th of February, 1763, between the Kings of Great Britain, France, and Spain, placed the crown of England in the poffeffion of an extent of dominion, unknown to any former period of our history. This increase of empire has opened a field for tranfactions under our government, equally new and important; and fome events have taken place within the limits of the British empire, fince the last war, not very common in the hiftory of the world. • Some of those tranfactions appear to be of a nature that will draw after them confequences greatly to the prejudice of the government and people of England, if not prevented by fuitable remedies. And as the knowledge of the difeafe ever feems necessary to the cure, the defign of this work is to give a short state of the evidence, by which thefe transactions have disclosed themselves to our view. At prefent they lie hid in volumes of fo great a fize, that one may reafonably conclude, it is but a fmall part of the Public who have ex-amined them in fuch a manner, as to draw juft and fatisfactory conclufions from them. I have long wifhed to fee fuch a ftate of these transactions, as would answer this purpofe; and it is in confequence of nothing of this kind appearing from any other hand, that I have ventured to attempt it. And after the reader has feen the facts, with the authorities on which they are related, he will use the liberty which he has a right to ufe, both in the credit he chooses to allow to the evidence itself, and then in drawing his own conclufions: my design being only to give a fhort ftate of fome tranfactions, which have taken place under our government fince the late war, and to endeavour to place them in, what appears to me, their true light. And if what I have done fhould only prove an introduction to fuch an investigation, as may make them rightly understood, and lead to the remedies that may prevent the confequences which I have thought would flow from them, then I fhall confider my labour well beftowed. But if the evidence I have taken to be true, is ill founded, or any thing I have faid unjust, then I would with it all to go for nothing. But I have here prefented nothing to the reader, but what I believe to be true; and the evidence of the tranfactions I have related, is the beft I could meet with; and I am not confcious of reprefenting any thing with a view to injure any man; and if I fhould offend I can at least say it was not my defign. I have related thefe tranfactions, wherever I could, in the very words of those who had the greatest share in their execution. And if any gentleman fees I have mistaken his meaning, or been misinformed of facts, I wish to correct both, as the caufe I would ferve, however weakly, has no occafion to avail itself of any mifieprefentation; and it will be a fervice done to the cause of truth (hould the Public call for any future impreffion) by any gentleman who will take the trouble of pointing out a mistake. And notwithtanding the trouble I have had to pick this little work out of the heap of materials about me, I fhall think myself happy indeed, fhould fhould it be the occafion of a thought, to induce those who command, to increase their knowledge in what they ought to prefcribe; and those who obey, to find a new pleasure refulting from their obedience. The tranfactions in the Eaft Indies, making a material part in the period of our enquiry, it may be fatisfactory to the reader, to run over a brief ftate of the principal occurrences in that part of the world, from the beginning of the late war.' The Introduction exhibits a brief view of the British affairs in the Eaft Indies, from the beginning of the late war, which broke out in 1756, to the peace of Paris in 1763. This period includes the horrid ftory of the black-hole, fo affectingly related by Governor Holwell; the confequent deftruction of Serajah Dowla, thro' whofe thoughtless cruelty the abovementioned tragedy was acted; the elevation of Jaffier Ally Khan to the mufnud * in 1757; the depofing of this nabob by the English who had fet him up, in 1760, and the placing his fon-in-law Coffim Ally Khan in his ftead; the defection of Coffim from the English intereft; his league with the nabob Shujah Dowla, and the confequent war between the Company, on the one part, and the united forces of the Mogul, Shujah Dowla, and Coffim Ally Cawn on the other. The defeat of the allies, and Major Carnac's refignation of the command of the Company's forces, concludes this introductory part of the work. Chap. I. of what is properly the Hiftory of the Tranfactions in the East Indies, gives us the ftipulations between France and England, by the Eleventh Article of the treaty of Paris, relative to their territorial acquifitions in the Eaft Indies; the entrance of the British crown-troops into the fervice of the Company, at the end of the war; the mutinous ftate of the army; and the horrible punishment inflicted for defertion. This laft circumftance we fhall give in the words of Col. Munro, in his evidence before the Houfe of Commons: "In April, 1764, I was under orders from his Majefty's Secretaries of State and War, to return to Europe with fuch of his Majesty's troops as did not choofe to enlift into the Company's fervice. I was accordingly to have embarked with the troops the beginning of May, on board a Mocoa fhip, which was to fail for Europe; but before I embarked, there were two expreffes arrived from Bengal, acquainting the Governor and Council at Bombay, that Shujah Dowla and Coflim Ally Khan had marched into the province of Bengal, at the head of fixty thousand men that Major Adams, who commanded the army, was dead: that the fettlement of Calcutta was in the utmolt confternation, and the Company's affairs in the greatest danger; they therefore requested that the Governor and Council of Bombay would apply to me to go round immediately to take the command of the army, with his Majesty's troops, and as Throne of a nabob or fubah. many many as could be fpared from the Prefidency of Bombay.-As his Majefty's intention in fending out troops to India, by the orders I had, was to affift and defend the Company in their different fettle. ments, I thought it would not be anfwering the intention of fending them out, to return and leave the Company's affairs in that fituation. I therefore complied with the requeft, and arrived at Calcutta with his Majefty's troops, and a detachment of the Company's from Bom. bay, in May 1764. Mr. Vanfittart, who was then Governor, acquainted me, that the army under the command of Major Carnac, fince Shujah Dowla and his army had come into the province, had been upon the defenfive. Mr Vanfittart requested, that I would immediately repair with the troops I had carried round from Bombay, to join the army which were in cantonment at Patna, and take the command of them. "I found the army, Europeans as well as Sepoys, mutinous, deferting to the enemy, threatening to carry off their officers to the enemy, demanding an augmentation of pay, demanding large fums of money, which they faid had been promifed by the nabob, and difobedient to all order: four hundred of the Europeans had gone off in a body, and joined the enemy fometime before I joined the army. This being the fituation the army was in, I fully determined to endeavour to conquer that mutinous difpofition in them, before I would attempt to conquer the enemy. I accordingly went with a detachment of the King and Company's Europeans from Patna, with four field pieces of artillery, to Chippera, one of the cantocments. I think the very day or the day after I arrived, a whole battalion of Sepoys went off to join the enemy. I immediately detached an hundred Europeans and a battalion of Sepoys, to bring them back to me; the detachment came up with them in the night time, found them asleep, took them prifoners, and carried them back to Chippera, where I was ready to receive them. I immediately ordered the officers to pick me out fifty of the men of the worst characters, and who they thought might have enticed the battalion to defert to the enemy; they did pick me out fifty; I defired them to pick me four and twenty men out of the fifty of the worst characters. -I immediately ordered a field court-martial to be held by their own black officers, and after representing to the officers the heinous crime the battalion had been guilty of, defired they would immedi tely bring me their fentence; they found them guilty of mutiny and defertion, fentenced them to fuffer death, and left the manner to me; I ordered, immediately, four of the twenty-four to be tied to the guns, and the artillery officers to prepare to blow them away. There was a remarkable circumftance: four grenadiers reprefented, as they always had the poft of honour, they thought they were intitled to be firft blown away; the four battalion men were untied from the guns, and the four grenadiers tied, and blown away; upon which, the European officers of the battalions of Sepoys, who were then in the field, came and told me, that the Sepoys would not fuffer any more of the men to be blown away. I ordered the artillery officers to load the four field-pieces with grape fhot, and draw up the Europeans with their guns in the intervals; defired the officers to return at the heads of their battalions; ordered them immediately to ground their arms, arms, and if one of them attempted to move, I would give arders to fire upon them, and treat them the fame as if they were Shujah Dowla's army. They did ground their arms, and did not at tempt to take them up again, upon which I ordered fixteen more of the twenty-four men to be tied to the guns by force, ard blown away the fame as the firft, which was done: I immediately ordered the other four to be carried to a cantonment, where there had been a desertion of the Sepoys fometime before, with pofitive orders to the commanding officer at that cantonment, to blow them away in the fame manner at the guns, which was accordingly done, and which put an end to the mutiny and desertion *." We cannot but admire the military spirit of the four black grenadiers, who fo gallantly claimed the honour of being firft blown away; nor can we but condemn the unfeeling fangfroid of the Commander, who granted their request. Surely fome method might have been devised to fhew a respect for fuch heroifm, without relaxing from the degree of refolution that might be neceffary to quell the mutinous (pirit which had fprung from a criminal relaxation of difcipline,-for which the Europeans were perhaps more blameable than the poor fwarthy mercenaries, who were daily fpilling their blood, for a wretched maintenance, in the fervice of their lordly invaders, and tyrants. Chap. II. and III. contain an account of the battle of Buxar, wherein Col. Munro defeated Shujah Dowla; in consequence of which the Mogul condefcended to folicit the protection of the English. The 5th Chapter relates the acceffion of Najim ul Dowla, to the fubanship, after the death of his father, Meer Jaffier+; and here we have an account of the vast fums of which this Prince was plundered, on this occafion, by the English, under the name of prefents. Chap. VI. VII. VIII. and IX. Lord Clive arrives in India, cloathed with extraordinary powers; the nature and extent of which are briefly explained. The English Commanders have an interview with the Mogul, and with Shujah ul Dowla. The immenfe advantages refulting to the Company, from the treaties concluded on this occasion are thus fet forth in the 9th Chapter : Aug. 11. 1765, Lord Clive and General Carnac paid a visit to the King (the Grand Mogul) on bufinefs. The King was requested to grant to the Company the dewannee ↑ of the provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orixa: his Majefty figned the fiat, and gave them that See report from the Select Committee appointed by the Houfe of Commons to enquire into the state of the British affairs in the East Indies. Part 1. page 40.' + Who had been restored to his dominions, on the defection of Coffim Ally Khan. The fuperintendancy of the royal revenues. revenue |