No. CLVII. Lord Clive to the Marquess Wellesley. MY DEAR LORD, October 18th, 1801. [Received Nov. 1801.] I had determined, in consequence of the receipt of a private letter from the Chairman of the Court of Directors, to transmit to your Lordship a copy of the letter, which I have judged it to be incumbent upon me to address to Mr. Scott in his official capacity. By intelligence recently received, I am informed that the intention of the Court of Directors, indefinitely expressed in Mr. Scott's letter, has since been confirmed by a resolution to effect such changes in the constitution of this government as appear to be incompatible with my continuance to reside in it. It was my ambition to have conducted this government on the principles which I have repeatedly had the honour of stating to your Lordship, until I should have completed the accomplishment of the great objects in your Lordship's contemplation with respect to the affairs of Fort St. George, by the annexation of Tanjore and the Carnatic to the British possessions on a permanent foundation, by the settlement of the territories acquired under your Lordship's auspices by cession or conquest; by the establishment of the Company's authority in Malabar; by the introduction of a permanent settlement of the land revenues and of a system of judicature; and by the restoration of the Company's finances, and its investment to an efficient footing. The success which has hitherto attended my measures under your Lordship's authority, had encouraged me to hope for the accomplishment of the objects which I had prescribed to myself, under the continued support of your Lordship in Council, and under the confidence of the Court of Directors. It is now plain that the confidence of the Court of Directors has been withdrawn from me; in conformity, therefore, to the principle stated by me to the Chairman, I consider it impracticable for me to persist in the system of measures which I judge to be necessary to the completion of my administration; and the result of that view of the subject is a deter mination to proceed to England with all practicable expedition. The earnest desire which I had cherished of engrafting the reputation of my government, on the fame of your Lordship's exploits, by a cordial co-operation with the GovernorGeneral in Council in the plans adopted by your Lordship in Council for the security and aggrandizement of the British empire in India, has been anticipated by the recent determination of the Court of Directors; and the mortification which I naturally feel from the defeat of my arrangements, is aggravated by the necessity of my retiring from the honour and happiness of participating your Lordship's labours. If any hope remained that I could continue to afford support to your Lordship's administration, my reluctance to deprive myself of the pleasure I have derived from the continued intercourse of your Lordship's friendship would induce me to submit to any difficulties of a personal nature; but the despair of reconciling the principles of my public measures with the system of government, which the resolution of the Court of Directors appears calculated to enforce, irresistibly demands my retirement from the government of Fort St. George. Under the impression of these sentiments, I shall not hesitate to obey the orders which I may receive from the Court of Directors with respect to the changes in question; and it is my wish to follow that submission to superior authority by embarking for England at the earliest practicable period of time. I request, therefore, that your Lordship will do me the honour to consider this intimation of my intention to be of an official nature, and to make such provisions as your Lordship may judge expedient for the contingency of my departure. The regret which I feel in communicating this resolution to your Lordship is tempered by the satisfaction with which I shall always reflect on the uninterrupted course of harmony which has prevailed between the Supreme Government and the Government of Fort St. George during the time I have resided in it. I shall dwell with greater pleasure on the success which has hitherto attended my constant co-operation in your Lordship's measures; and I shall derive the most permanent gratification from the particular kindness and friendship which I have continued personally to experience from your Lordship. It is my request to your Lordship, to direct accommodation to be reserved for me on one of the ships intended to load at Madras; should it be consistent with your Lordship's intentions to fix upon the Dover Castle for that purpose, that ship would be particularly agreeable to me. I have the honour to be, with the greatest regard and esteem, my dear Lord, most faithfully yours, CLIVE. P. S. Understanding that the Dover Castle is not one of the ships fixed upon to sail for the coast in December, I take the liberty to suggest that the Charlton, Capt. Cumberledge, which is said to be intended for that service, would in every respect be equally agreeable to me for my accommodation. No. CLVIII. The Honourable Henry Wellesley to the Marquess Wellesley. MY DEAR MORNINGTON, Lucknow, Nov. 10th, 1801. I have the satisfaction to inform you that the treaty was signed this morning. In congratulating you upon the conclusion of this important arrangement, I can only express my wish that it may redound as much to your honour and reputation as your letter of the 1st instant has contributed to my happiness. As soon as a copy of the treaty can be prepared, we shall send it off to you in order that it may be ratified, in the mean while I write you this short Letter. Upon full consideration, and after consulting Colonel Scott, I am of opinion that it will be advisable to introduce Courts of Justice into the ceded countries, immediately. For the first year, or at least until the resources of the country shall have been ascertained, the Civil establishment should consist of four Magistrates and four Collectors, one Court of Circuit and Appeal, and one or two commercial Residents. For the first year Rohilcund (in which Bareilly and Rehr are included) will require two Collectors and two Magistrates. I am informed, from good authority, that the revenues of Rohilcund and the Dooab, formerly amounted to a crore and sixty or seventy lacs of rupees, and it is said that the Dooab produces a clear profit to Almas of twenty-four lacs of rupees annually. I have not included Gorruckpoor in the foregoing statement of Collectors and Magistrates. Ever your's, most affectionately, HENRY WELLesley. No. CLIX. The Marquess Wellesley to the Chairman of the Honourable Court of SIR, Directors. On board the Sonamooky Yacht, off the Mouth of the Goomty, November 13, 1801. I have the satisfaction to inform you that the negotiations which have been so long depending with his Excellency the Nabob Vizier, were brought to a favourable issue on the 10th instant, by the signature of a treaty* under which his Excellency has ceded in perpetuity and in full sovereignty to the honourable Company the territories enumerated in the statement which I have the honour to enclose. I expect to receive, in the course of a few hours, a copy of the treaty which I shall immediately ratify; and with all practicable expedition I propose to forward to the Secret Committee a copy of the ratified treaty, together with such explanations as may appear to be requisite for the purpose of apprizing the Court of Directors of all the beneficial consequences of this important arrangement. In the meanwhile, however, I have judged it advisable not to delay for a moment the notification of an event which must afford such satisfaction to every person conversant with the interests of the Company on this side of India. It is my intention immediately to appoint a temporary administration for this settlement of the ceded districts. This provisional Government will be composed of several of the most experienced, able, and active of the Company's civil servants in the departments of judicature, commerce, and re * See p. 508. venue, and will be presided by Mr. Henry Wellesley, to whose discretion, address, and firmness, the Company is principally indebted for the early and tranquil attainment of these extensive and fertile territories. I have the satisfaction to assure you that the result of this settlement will prove highly beneficial to the general finances of the Company in India, and will afford immediate relief to those of Bengal. I have the honour to be, &c. WELLESLEY. No. CLX. The Marquess Wellesley to the Honourable Henry Wellesley and Lieutenant-Colonel Scott. GENTLEMEN, On the river near Benares, I had the satisfaction to receive this day the copy of the treaty* exchanged by you with his Excellency the Nawaub Vizier on the 10th instant; I now return this treaty, ratified *Treaty between the Honourable the East India Company and his Excellency the Nawaub Vizier Ool Mumaulick, Yemeen oo Dowlah, Nazim ool Moolk, Saadut Ali Khan Bahauder, Mobaurez Jung, for ceding to the Company, in perpetual sovereignty, certain portions of his Excellency's territorial possessions, in commutation of the subsidy now payable to the Company by the Vizier: Whereas by the treaty now subsisting between his Excellency the Vizier and the Honourable East India Company, the Company have engaged to defend his Excellency's dominions against all enemies; and to enable them to fulfil that engagement, his Excellency is bound by the aforesaid treaty to pay to the Company, in perpetuity, the annual subsidy of seventysix lacs of Lucknow sicca rupees; and is further bound by the said treaty to defray the expence of any augmentation of force, which, in addition to the number of troops stipulated in the treaty, shall be judged necessary to enable the Company to fulfil their engagements of defending his Excellency's dominions against all enemies: And whereas it is advisable that the funds for defraying these charges be established on a footing which shall admit of no fluctuation of either increase, or decrease, and which shall afford satisfaction and security to the Company, in regard to the regular payment in perpetuity of all such charges, the following treaty, consisting of ten Articles, is concluded on the one part by the Honourable Henry Wellesley and Lieutenant-Colonel William Scott, on behalf and |