In submitting this volume to the candid judg-
ment of the public, the author feels that it
should be accompanied by some explanation
of the circumstances under which it
appears.
The idea was long since suggested to him
of composing a work, which should compre-
hensively treat the whole question respecting
the most eligible system of connexion be-
tween Great Britain and her extensive depen-
dencies in the East-Indies. In lending him-
self, at length, and with great reluctance, to
this advice, he was not actuated by any con-
ception of his own competence for the un-
dertaking, particularly amidst the interrupt-
ed opportunities which alone he could com-
mand. But the actual dearth of information,
at once accurate and popular, on the impor-