Note Wickham, Mr. Rt. Hon. Lord Grenville 13 Nov. 1800 . 417 A.-Treaty of Tanjore, Nov. 26, 1799, p. 705. B.-Treaty of Surat, May 13, 1800, p. 708. C.-Treaty of the Deccan (Political), Oct. 12, 1800, p. 709. D.-Persian Treaty (Political), January, 1801, p. 715, Commercial Do. p. 717. E. Treaty of Arcot, July 31, 1801, p. 720. F.-Treaty with the Rajah of Nepaul, Oct. 30, 1801, p. 724. G.-Deccan Treaty, Commercial, April 12, 1802, p. 726. H.-Guicowar Articles of Agreement, June 6, 1802, p. 728. I.--Statutes of the College of Fort William, p. 732. K.-Officers and Pro- fessors of the College, p. 735. L.-Letter from the Mysore Commissioners to the Governor-General, the Earl of Mornington, June 30, 1799, p. 736. M.— Notice of the Board of Trade, of the 5th of October, 1798, p. 736. N.-Extract from a Public Letter from the Court of Directors, to Bengal, May 25, 1798. O. -Report of Mr. Edmonstone, Persian Translator to the Government on various. documents found in the Palace at Seringapatam, &c., April 6, 1800, p. 740. P. Extract of a Letter from the Mysore Commissioners, dated Seringapatam, June 8, 1799, p. 753. Q.-Vice-Admiral Rainier, &c. Fort William, Feb. 5, 1801, p. 753. Ditto (Most Secret B), Feb. 5, 1801, p. 755. Ditto (Most Secret A), Feb. 10, 1801, p. 758. R-Benares Address to the Marquess Wellesley, p. 759. DESPATCHES, MINUTES, AND CORRESPONDENCE, &c. &c. &c. INDIA. No. I. From His Highness Omdut ul Omra, Nabob of the Carnatic, to the Earl of MY LORD, Mornington. Written the 7 Zelhege, 1213 Hegery, or 13 May, 1799. Having read your Lordship's letter of the 24th ultimo,* with great and serious attention, suitable to the importance of the contents, I shall return to it a fair and explicit answer; the candour and sincerity of my character, without a request from your Lordship would have induced me on this, as on all other occasions, to speak without disguise. I have an additional inducement however, for plainness of language and sentiment, in the earnest desire and manly example of your Lordship. I acknowledge my Lord, that under certain circumstances, explained by the third Article of the Treaty of 1792, the Company are vested with authority to assume the Carnatic, and amongst other things empowered to collect the revenue, which it yields; and I confess, without regard to the consequence of that confession, that the assumption of the control over the affairs and revenues of my country, under the provision of the Treaty, would occasion a severe and heartfelt affliction; yet, if the time should arrive, which should render it necessary, that the Company avail themselves of the objects which that Article secures, I hope that Divine Providence will endue me with fortitude, adapted to the necessity of the season, and the adversity of fortune, that I may make the sacrifice required of me, if not with cheerfulness, at least with dignity and resignation. And in performing this extreme act which the treaty enjoins (if it ever be demanded of me) I shall have a constant consolation in reflecting on the letter of the treaty itself, which stipulates that as soon as the exigency of the times which required the temporary exercise shall have been satisfied, that I shall be reinstated in all my privileges and authorities; and I should wrong your Lordship's honor, and slur the reputation of those whom your Lordship represents, if I could suspect for an instant, that whilst I was fulfilling every relation to the Company with fidelity and exactness, that they should hesitate on their parts to discharge their relative connective duties. Possessing these avowed sentiments within myself, and this declared sense of the honor and justice of my allies, I have no disinclination of that strong and rooted kind which your Lordship would seem to indulge, so as to induce me to enter into any new arrangement, rather than conform myself to the provisions of the existing engagements. No, my Lord, -the treaty of 1792, was concluded under such happy auspices, and is calculated from its precision and clearness, to promote and maintain so good understanding between all the parties to it; and is, moreover, so recommended to my affections, by the loved and revered personages who framed it, that I could not for any personal inconvenience, were it ten times greater, so it were created by the treaty, consent that it should be altered even in a letter. But your Lordship has submitted reasons apparently more cogent, why a new arrangement would be desirable; and these arise out of the supposed defect of the treaty itself, to ensure the objects which it had in view, and the probable deficiency of my means to fulfil hereafter the duties which it imposes. I cannot overlook a circumstance, which in an affair of this sort, must naturally present itself to the mind of your Lordship; that the treaty which is now suggested to be defective, has had a trial, my Lord, of more than seven years, and without a single exception, has been found for that period, not only sufficient for all common purposes, but has secured the fulfilment of every engagement stipulated in it, with a harmony uninterrupted, and perhaps I might add, almost unprecedented in any country or age. And if experience be the true test of human institutions, there can be nothing, my Lord, to apprehend of the competency of the treaty of 1792, to continue to the contracting parties to an incalculable date, that happiness, that security, and that universal good-will which it has hitherto produced. But, my Lord, you have directed my observation beyond the present hour, and have informed me that your Lordship, and the ministers of his Majesty the King of Great Britain, whom may the Almighty preserve, have looked, and do still look with a politic care, and wise prudence, to future probabilities and events as they regard our mutual conditions, and that the prospect is terrifying. I do not presume to know the grounds on which your Lordship has formed your opinion of the instability and uncertainty of my affairs, nor is it necessary that I should be acquainted with them. It is sufficient for me to know, that they are abundant enough to enable me to keep with punctuality my plighted faith. Your Lordship, however, has supposed, that from a difficulty to raise the kists, periodically payable to the Company, that I have been reduced to so great pecuniary distresses, that to provide a remedy for them, I have had recourse to measures, which I cannot bring myself to name; and that these measures in their expected consequences, may affect the interests of the Company, as connected with the treaty. Your Lordship has a right undoubted, to expect an explanation of me, as to any public matter, which may regard the affairs of the Company as interwoven with my own; and I shall be happy on all occasions, as I am at the present opportunity, of answering that part of your Lordship's letter, which respects the alleged assignment of certain districts, set apart by the treaty of 1792, as a security for the Company on the possible occurrence of a described event; but as to any thing foreign to this, that may relate either to the internal management of my countries, or the government of my people, I must, on principles as obvious as they are just, decline to enter into a discussion. |