To John Payne, Esq.; Chairman.
23d March, 1758.
"Sir,
SOME of my friends flatter me, that the appointment of a successor to Colonel Clive in the Government of Bengal, may probably fall on myself: Should this be the case, I then take the liberty to request, you will please to present the enclosed Address to the Honorable the Court of Directors. Should the information of my friends prove groundless, the enclosed then becomes impertinent and useless; and as such I beg the favor you will return it to, Sir, Your, &c.
J. Z. H."
***
To the Honorable the Court of Directors, &c.
"May it please your Honors,
UNDERSTANDING this day is appointed for the election of a President and Governor of Bengal, in succession to Colonel Clive, and learning from the information of my friends, there is a probability your choice may fall upon myself; that steady zeal for the Company's interest, which has ever been the guide of my actions and sentiments, since I had the honor of your service, now urges me to address you with that humble freedom, which my duty dictates, at this critical conjuncture of your affairs in that part of the world.
"During the heaviest weight of my misfortunes and distresses, I had yet comfort in the reflection of having done my duty in the trusts reposed in me, but more so, that my conduct was honored with the repeated approbation and sanction of your Honorable Court.
"In the execution of trust, it has ever been an inviolable maxim with me, that private interest should ever give way to the public utility; a maxim I have often sealed to, in your service, though to my own cost; a maxim, which now leads me, contrary to my own private weal, to prevent, if possible, your taking any measure which may, in its consequences, deprive you of one of the most valuable servants you have abroad.
"In the course of your affairs, although I have sometimes differed in opinion from Mr. Manningham, yet I have ever had the highest opinion of that gentleman's integrity and abilities, and have not failed doing honor to both on every occasion; for the truth of which I can appeal to some gentlemen who constitute your Honorable Court, and to many others, who were lately members of it.
"Permit me, Gentlemen, to represent to you, that a servant of Mr. Manningham's character and capacity is not every day to be met with, nor can be parted with at this period, without a certain injury to your affairs: A disregard of his merits, will, in all likelihood, determine his return to Europe; the contrary will as probably determine his stay; and may not only lay a foundation for harmony at home, but for success abroad.
"These considerations, and these only, move me humbly to request, that should the voice of your Honorable Court be in my behalf, I may then be permitted, with thanks and gratitude, and without offense, to decline the honor you intend me, in favor of Mr. Manningham, under whom I am most ready and willing to serve the Honorable Company, as long as his residence in India may be consistent with his health or inclination. I am,
May it please your Honors, &c.
Wednesday, March 3rd, 1758.
J. Z. H."
***
When Mr. Holwell's Letter was read, the Minority attempted to look wise, shook their heads, and declared they would ballot no more. The Chairman put the question, "Whether the court should proceed to a new ballot in consequence of Mr. Holwell's letter?" which being agreed to, without a ballot, they proceeded, and Mr. Manningham was elected to succeed Colonel Clive, by fourteen only, one of the fifteen having thrown in a negative. The fifteen then balloted for a successor to Mr. Manningham, when Mr. Holwell was unanimously chosen, and Mr. Becher to succeed him: And here the Court stopped.
From the whole tenor of the proceedings of the Minority, it must appear to an impartial eye, that they were actuated by pride, violence, personal connections, and personal resentments, and by their conduct struck at the very principle and foundation of all government, hence they acquired the title of "the Faction," (a circumstance we thought necessary to explain, lest we should be thought to have bestowed it on them in this our narrative only.) They seemed to think they had a right to over-rule the sentiments and resolves of a majority of near two to one against them; or failing here, to throw the affairs of the community they had in trust, into the utmost confusion and difficulties; and this at a time, when dispatch, harmony, and unanimity, were essential to the well-being (we may say, the very being) of the Company: and when examples of this kind were so necessary at home, to influence the same salutary conduct in their servants abroad, which they themselves had, in their letter by the Hardwick, inculcated and commanded in the most lively and enforcing terms that language could dictate. The Minority, in consequence of their late defeat, had several private meetings with their General, where it was resolved, as their last resource, to form a Proprietors list of Directors for the ensuing year, in opposition to the House list. Consistent with this resolution, the Deputy Chair and the Minority agreed, that they would not meet the Court, nor assist at forming the House list as usual. The Majority, on this message, met immediately, formed their list, and had it published a day before the Proprietors list came out.
Had the Majority continued the same vigilance in securing the election of their list, they could not have failed effecting it; but here they continued in the same error, and false punctilio of honor, which had occasioned their defeat at the Quarterly General Court; until roused by the activity both public and private of the Minority, they thought it necessary to exert themselves, when it was too late. Had they begun twenty-four hours sooner, they would have carried their whole list, and the Minority, to a man, had quitted the direction. The last defeat they received was on the 23d of March, from which time they had labored, without ceasing. The election was to come on the 5th of April, and it was the second, before the Majority attempted to solicit a single vote.
Mr. Holwell arrived the 2d of April at Portsmouth, where he received the result of the General Court, which did not break up until two in the morning of the 6th, when the following Gentlemen were declared duly elected:
Messrs. W. Barwell*
H. C. Boulton*
John Boyd
John Brown
Chr. Burrow*
Sir James Creed
Charles Cutts*
Roger Drake, Deputy*
John Dorrien
George Dudley
H. Hadley
John Harrison
John Manship
N. Newnham *
H. Plant*
T. Phipps*
F. Pigou
John Raymond
Giles Rook
J. Rous*
H. Savage
G. Stevens
L. Sullivan, Chairman*
T. Tullie*
By the election of this list, the late Minority gained a sure Majority, both in Court and in the Committee of correspondence, the members of which are marked *: They lost no time in exercising their new acquired power, in a manner quite consistent with their former violence: They met the 6th, when, after electing their Chairman and Deputy, and appointing the several Committees, Captain Tullie moved, that an express should be immediately dispatched to Portsmouth, to stop the Warren and London, until further orders. This was strenuously opposed by Mr. Drake and others; but was however carried, on a ballot, in the affirmative, fourteen to eight; upon which the following Gentlemen entered a strong protest on the behalf of the Company, against the injurious detention of their ships so late in the season, and when convoy for them was procured with so much difficulty: viz.
Messrs. Drake
Burrow
Newnham
Brown
John Raymond
Hadley
Dorrien
Stevens
These Gentlemen would have been joined by Sir James Creed and Mr. Manship; but the one was confined by the gout, and Mr. Manship's sister lay dead in his house. The express reached Portsmouth the 7th, in the morning, just as the Warren and London were going to sail, under convoy of the Eagle man of war, and Bonetta sloop. It was pretty obvious that Mr. Holwell needed not any very great foresight to predict what would follow, with respect to himself, expecting the utmost effect of united malice and power.
The resolution of detaining the ships being carried, the Chairman proposed proceeding immediately to business; this was opposed and objected to by Messrs. Drake and Newnham, who urged, that as they could not possibly be supposed acquainted with the grounds, which had occasioned the division between the late Court of Directors, they insisted on reasonable time being given them to consider the subject. This request was, after very high debate, granted, and the 11th appointed for taking into consideration the Bengal dispatches by the Warren and London. Accordingly, like so many Caesars, they came, they saw, they conquered:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shared a laugh with a television news reporter moments after hearing deposed Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi had been killed.
"We came, we saw, he died," she joked when told of news reports of Qaddafi's death by an aide in between formal interviews.
The reporter asked if Qaddafi's death had anything to do with her surprise visit to show support for the Libyan people.
"No," she replied, before rolling her eyes and saying "I'm sure it did" with a chuckle.
-- Clinton on Qaddafi: "We came, we saw, he died", by Corbett Daly
For the Chairman, as soon as they were met, produced a short general letter, which he had already prepared for the purpose, consisting of four or five paragraphs only: High opposition arose to this letter from the eight protestors, but it availed little, for the whole received the sanction of the fourteen, and passed into a law, and arrived at Portsmouth the 12th of April. The purport of this general letter take as follows.
"That having maturely weighed and considered the conduct and merit of individuals, they annul and make void every appointment by the Hardwick's letter of the 11th November, with those by the Warren and London, of the 8th and 23d of March, (Colonel Clive excepted) and do now constitute and appoint the establishment of their Presidency of Calcutta. To wit,
Colonel Clive, President and Governor,
William Watts, Esq; 2d, and to succeed Colonel Clive,
Major Kilpatrick, 3d.
Charles Manningham, Esq; 4th, and to succeed. Mr. Watts.
Mr. R. Becher, Esq., 5th, to rise and succeed in turn.
Mr. P. R. Pearkes, Esq., 6th, to rise and succeed in turn.
Mr. William Frankland, Esq., 7th, to rise and succeed in turn.
Mr. M. Collett, Esq., 8th, to rise and succeed in turn.
Mr. J. Z. Holwell, Esq., 9th, to rise and succeed in turn.
Mr. William Macket, Esq., 10th, to rise and succeed in turn.
Mr. Peter Amyat, Esq., 11th, to rise and succeed in turn.
Mr. Thomas Boddam, Esq., 12th, to rise and succeed in turn.
Mr. Richard Court, Esq., 13th, to rise and succeed in turn.
"They likewise revoke and annul all and every nomination to Chiefships, Posts, &c. in their letter of the 8th of March, leaving such appointments to the Board; with this caution, that capable and faithful servants be sent to Cossimbuzar, best known and most agreeable to the Nabob.
"They appoint the Select Committee to consist of Messrs. Clive, Watts, Manningham, Becher, and Major Kilpatrick for the time being. Vacancies in this Committee to be filled up by the President and Members. They also advise, that the Secret Committee at home, consists of Messrs. Sullivan, Drake, Burrow, Newnham, and Plant, any three of whom are a quorum.
Signed,
Sullivan,
Cutts,
Harrison,
Boyd,
Rous,
Boulton,
Dudley,
Phipps,
Pigou,
Savage,
Tullie,
Plant,
Rooke,
Barwell.
N.B. The other ten refused to sign.
***
REFLECTIONS.
The Colonel, in all probability, has, or is near upon leaving India; Messrs. Watts, Manningham, and Becher, by the restitution of private property, and their other late extraordinary acquisitions, will, it is likely, soon follow him; in which case it is worth remarking, where the succession takes place, by the foregoing destination; and we leave it to the world to form natural and obvious conclusions therefrom.
With respect to Mr. Holwell, we cannot help observing, that the Majority of the present Court have not preserved even that mask of equity, which they pretended was the rule of their actions: They have given every writer that remained with him in the fort when Calcutta was attacked, two years of his time in recompense of his perseverance and sufferings. His perseverance was surely equal to theirs, and his suffering eminently superior, and merited some distinction and favor, though ever so small; in place of which, they have stripped him of the post and emoluments they had before appointed him to.
The rash proceeding of the present Majority, in detaining two of the Company's ships "to gratify private resentment," made a great clamor in the city, and alarmed their best friends amongst the Proprietors; and when their other alterations became public, that not only Mr. Holwell was set aside, but Mr. Manningham also, and that the late Majority had resolved to demand a general Court, the clamor still increased, at the other end of the town, as well as in the city.
The phrase of "gratifying private resentments," came originally from the Ministry; upon the applications of Messrs. S--n and B--n, for other convoy, which was refused for some time, Lord Anson telling them, that "in place of laboring for the interest of the Company and the Nation, their sole aim seemed to be the gratifying their private resentments, distressing his Majesty's service, and embroiling their Constituents affairs."
How these intestine feuds in Leadenhall-Street must affect the public weal of the Company, and in them the Nation, is but too obvious. The future authority of a Court of Directors can have no estimation, as their orders and resolutions for the government of their affairs and settlements abroad, will be now liable to be canvassed and controlled by every quarterly General Court; and a still worse consequence is, that no Gentleman of independent fortune, worth and character, will ever, on these terms, accept a seat in the Direction.
***
IT is extremely remarkable, how great the resemblance between the transactions of those times, and the present is: the reflections at the close of the foregoing narrative suiting the one, as well as the other, prove the compiler of it a most judicious prophet, foretelling that the government of your Court of Directors, would be brought to nought by their own self-interested and intestine broils; a prediction now pretty well accomplished. What then can ensue, but the most alarming confusion in your affairs? But to resume our subject. You here see the most unfortunate of your servants fallen the sacrifice of party fury; and you will also see him in the sequel persecuted, slandered, and superseded in that rank they then allotted him, by every following dispatch, and all from the same rancorous cause, as we shall make appear, when we have done with the Pamphlet before us; to which we now return.
In page 37, are the following passages. "After the departure of Colonel Clive, the delicacy that he had used towards him (the Nabob) was entirely thrown aside. His successor in the government, who had been particularly instrumental in bringing down Sou Raja Dowla, and consequently, in occasioning the revolution in Bengal, had arrived at his dignity, contrary to the intention of his constituents, and entirely through the accident of a number of his seniors going home at this time in disgust. Being blessed with a genius, uncommonly fertile in expedients for raising money, and further unclogged by those silly notions of punctilio, which often stand in the way betwixt some people and fortune, he had projected and put in practice several inferior manoeuvres; but this chef d'Oeuvre, this master scheme, though formed almost as soon as he came to power, time did not allow him the honor of executing." Again page 39, "It must here again be acknowledged, that the Gentlemen in the direction showed so little intention, that the accidental governor should have ever come to that trust, that they now removed him to be the seventh in council. Being endued however with a very high degree of what, in some, is called address, enforced by a great share of plausibility in argument, he found these talents of singular use to him on this occasion. His grand plan being now almost ripe for execution, could not be concealed from his successor: he wavered some days about continuing in the service of his masters in that degraded rank." Again, lower down in the same page and page 40. "But it does not redound much to the honor of this degraded governor, nor plead greatly in favor of the disinterestedness of his views, that after such a stigma, such a mark put upon him by his superiors, he could (though during his short government he had acquired a handsome fortune) submit to serve in the seventh place, after having been in the first. "
The last quotation we shall trouble you with from this anonymous author, is where he makes a blundering abusive apology, for all the abuses he has so lavishly bestowed, almost throughout pages 37 to 41, exclusive of those parts we have already noticed. Page 40 exhibits as follows, "I should not have dwelt so particularly, on these seemingly trifling incidents, nor should I have descended so low as to touch individuals, had I not found it absolutely necessary towards drawing one material inference, which is, that this scheme of Nabob-changing borrows no luster from the character of it's original projector." Quere, Who does this pamphleteer mean by the term original projector? It cannot be the gentleman we are defending, for he has most fully proved he never projected any scheme of the kind: therefore this intended abuse, can only touch the projectors of the revolution of 1757, as they only were the original schemers of Nabob-changing. He pleads absolute necessity for drawing one material inference, which is no intelligible inference at all, and only proves his ungovernable appetite to slander, but unluckily mistakes the object.
Leaving the continued indecent strain of this author to revert on himself, we shall confine ourselves to those charges against Mr. Holwell, which, with Corinthian front, the author makes to bear the semblance of facts: These are,
First, (Page 37.) that "Mr. Holwell was particularly instrumental in bringing down the Sou Raja Dowla; and the cause of the first revolution, &c.
"2dly, That his fertile genius in expedients for raising money, unclogged with any checks or punctilios of honor, or honesty, (for this is plainly implied, though not so plainly expressed) had projected and put in practice several inferior maneoeuvres."
"3dly, (Page 39 and 40) It seems objected to this gentleman as a crime, that he was removed to the seventh in Council; and the terms following, of degraded rank, stigma, and mark put him by your Court of Directors, are all very well framed to enforce the opinion, that Mr. Holwell must assuredly have been guilty of some atrocious breach of trust, or other iniquitous conduct in your service, to have deserved being thus removed and thus degraded; for Anonymous himself, allows him abilities and address, therefore he could not have been degraded for want of capacity to conduct your affairs; the uninformed, though impartial among you, will very naturally conclude there must have been some blemish, some crime, some unfaithfulness in this your servant, that drew on him the high displeasure of your Court of Directors, for they are honorable men, and would not, you may suppose, degrade any of your faithful servants without sufficient and just reason, because therein they would be guilty of a breach of THAT TRUST, with which they are invested BY YOU.
Now that this gentleman was so treated, is fact; and herein Anonymous for once speaks truth. To be removed, degraded, stigmatized, and marked by our superiors, when done with reason and justice, carries its own vindication; but when done from partial and unjust motives, stimulated by party rage, these stigmas, marks and degradations, reflect not on the degraded, but on the degraders.
Thus have we inverted the order of our reply, and spoke first to the last charge; we shall persist in our method, and speak next to the second, which is plainly leveled at this Gentleman's conduct in your Zemindarry, (or Court of Cutcherry at Fort William, Bengal) which has been aspersed, particularly in the year 1758, and never sufficiently cleared up. In order to this, it becomes necessary to give you a short count how it came to pass, that this gentleman was appointed to this post of Zemindar, and likewise to explain to you the nature of the post itself.
Your Court of Directors, about the year 1748, coming to the knowledge of sundry abuses and depredations, made in your annual revenues of the Zemindary at Bengal, by one Govindram Metre, (who had been for 28 years the standing Black Deputy in that office, whilst the head of it was continually fluctuating and changing) and being also totally strangers to the nature of the office; a leading Director of your then Court, having more curiosity concerning this branch of your affairs than the rest, wrote in strenuous terms to a gentleman of high rank in your service there: this gentleman having never past through the office, could not give the satisfaction required; but knowing that Mr. Holwell was on his departure for England, with whom he was upon the strictest footing of friendship, he communicated to him the letter he had received from his patron at home, and being sensible that Mr. Holwell by his knowledge in the language, (and having been many years a member of, and two years at the head of your Mayor's Court at Calcutta, where frequently suits were commenced and brought to issue between the natives) had acquired a deeper insight into the nature and frauds of this office, than any other person in the settlement; requested his permission, to refer his friend and patron to him for information, on his arrival in England, which was readily assented to.
In the course of the voyage Mr. Holwell threw into some form, the many materials he had by him respecting this office, and on his arrival communicated them to the Director before mentioned, and to another gentleman, your Chairman, without any view but that of benefiting the Company, as he then, and for many months after, had no intention of ever seeing India again; but finding (as many others who return from India with small fortunes do,) that money does not go so far in England as he fondly imagined, he thought it necessary to return and increase his capital, then lying at interest only, in your cash at Fort William.
Thus determined, he applied to the leading gentlemen in your Direction to be sent out in your service; his application met with success, and he was in January 1752 appointed to the post of Zemindar, and 12th in council at Fort William, not to be removed from that post without express orders from home, nor to rise higher in your council. These two restrictions peculiar to this gentleman, were adopted at his own mere motion and request, for the following reasons; first as he was sensible no reform could possibly be made in the office, whilst the head of it was fluctuating by rotation as heretofore, by which custom it sometimes happened that there were two or three Zemindars within the space of one year; by this ill-judged measure, they were unavoidably kept in the dark as to the real state and nature of this office, and a power in perpetuity devolved to the standing deputy, who was always styled the Black Zemindar: and such, was the tyranny of this man, and such the dread conceived of him in the minds of the natives, that no one durst complain or give information against him, howsoever oppressed; and this consideration made it necessary for Mr. Holwell to insist on this person's being dismissed that service the moment he arrived in Bengal, which was accordingly complied with, and orders sent out to commence a prosecution against him. To give you an idea of this prosecution, and the infinite labor it occasioned Mr. Holwell, we shall in its place insert three of his letters to the Board of Calcutta on the subject.
The Company as Zamindar
In 1698 the English East India Company had obtained on the strength of letters granted by Prince Azimus-Shan, Subahdar of Bengal, the right of renting the three towns of Calcutta, Sutanati and Govindapur for an annual payment of about 1,200 rupees. For discharging the duties connected with the ‘Zamindar rights' thus gained, the Company appointed in 1700 a special officer known as the Collector (or the Zamindar), Ralph Sheldon being the first Collector of Calcutta. The Collector was to “gather in the revenue of the three towns and to keep them in order”, for which, in accordance with zamindari customs, he exercised till 1758 both civil and criminal justice through some zamindari courts established in Calcutta. The Collector had under him an Indian deputy, styled the ‘Black Collector'. Govindaram Mitra held this post for over thirty years till he was dismissed for some malpractices by orders of the Court dated 16 January 1752.
-- Fort William-India House Correspondence and Other Contemporary Papers Relating Thereto, Vol. I: 1748-1756, Edited by K.K. Datta, M.A., Ph.D., Professor of History, Patna University, Patna (1958)
It was thought a seat at the board of Calcutta was necessary to give a proper weight to this officer, in the reform he had proposed making; he desired his rank might be fixed youngest in council, as thereby he did not carry out with him the odium of superseding any gentleman in your service.
When this gentleman was sent out your covenanted servant, under the patronage of William Baker, Esq. (now Sir William) and William Mabbot, Esq, your Court of Directors consisted of the following gentlemen, viz.
Roger Drake, Esq; Chairman
William Baker Esq; Deputy
William Mabbot, Esq;
William Braurd, Esq;
Chris. Burrow, Esq;
Charles Cutts, Esq;
Peter Ducane, Esq;
Sam Feaker, Esq;
Abel Fonnereau, Esq;
Peter Godfrey, Esq;
Charles Gough, Esq;
John Hope, Esq;
Mich. Imrey, Esq;
Stephen Law, Esq;
Nich. Linwood, Esq;
Nathaniel Newnham junior, Esq;
John Payne, Esq;
Henry Plant, Esq;
Jones Raymond, Esq;
William Rider, Esq;
Thomas Rous, Esq;
Timothy Tullie, Esq;
William Willy, Esq;
Here it becomes needful to add a short explanation of the nature of this officer's duty, in quality of Zemindar.
The Zemindar acts in a double capacity, distinct, and independent of each other, (with very few exceptions) the one as superintendent and collector of your revenues, the other, as judge of the Court of Cutcherry, a tribunal constituted for the hearing, trying, and determining all matters and things, both civil and criminal, wherein the natives only, subjects of the Mogul, are concerned. He tried in a summary way, had the power of the lash, fine, and imprisonment; he determined all matters of meum and tuum; and in all criminal cases, proceeded to sentence and punishment immediately after hearing, except where the crime (as murder) requires the lash to be inflicted until death, in which case he suspends execution of the sentence, until the fact and evidence are laid before the president, and his confirmation of the sentence is obtained. He has also the power to condemn thieves, and other culprits, to work in chains upon the roads, during any determinate space of time, or for life. In all causes of property, an appeal lay to the president and council against his decrees.
Such was the power annexed to this office, when this gentleman was appointed the head of it, and such had it been for a long term of years preceding that period; a power by much too great for any one man to be entrusted with. Therefore in the year 1758, at the recommendation of Mr. Holwell, a stop was put to it by the Court of Directors, who appointed three judges of this court, members of the board, in monthly rotation. Before this gentleman took charge of this important post, there never had been any register of causes or decrees kept in English; but from that time, a register of the proceedings was monthly laid before the board at Calcutta, for their inspection, and annually transmitted to your Court of Directors. Here permit us to remark, that though this gentleman was, for the space of four years, (that is, from the beginning of July 1752, to the capture of your settlement) sole judge of this court, not a single complaint was ever preferred against him in his judicial capacity in criminal causes, and but one appeal from his judgments and decrees in matters of property, and of that, only the half reversed, and the rest confirmed. But the conduct and merit of this gentleman, in this, as well as the other branches of this laborious office, you shall not take upon trust from us his friends, who may be deemed partial, but shall, in good time, have them from stronger vouchers, and superior judges.
We proceed next to the three letters before mentioned, touching the prosecution of Govindram Metre, and then to convey an idea to you of the duty of the Zemindar, relative to the revenues; and this we shall do in this gentleman's own words, without any abridgment, in a work which he entitled A STATE OF THE REVENUES, transmitted to your Court of Directors in a letter to the board of Calcutta. The work is long, and to some may appear unintelligible and tedious, but to others interesting and curious; howsoever this may be, our plan of defense calls for it, in proof of Mr. Holwell's talents, and his indefatigable and unwearied exertion of those talents in your service.
***
To the Honorable Roger Drake, Esq; President and Governor, &c. Council.
Fort William, Aug. 13. 1752.
Honorable Sir and Sirs,
The 20th ult. I thought it necessary to move you that Govindram Metre should give security to the Board for his appearance, on account of some frauds I had traced, regarding the Company's Revenues under his management; and though the short time I have been in the office, and my necessary attendance to the current business of it, will not at present sufficiently enable me to digest all the informations that have reached me, wherein I think the Company have been heavily injured during the twenty-eight years of this man's administration; yet, as far as I am able, my duty tells me I ought to lay before you, without loss of time; the more so, as I am well informed, he is distributing and secreting his ill-got wealth in various places, and by various methods.
The Farms, and monthly charges Jemmidaary, have first drawn my attention, as they are first in consequence to the Honorable Company: my remarks on the duties on exportation of rice, etlach, fines, &c. I must reserve for a subsequent address; but as Govindram Metre may have the subterfuge to plead, of all accounts of the revenues being passed under the hands of the Zemindars, and lest his glaring frauds should seem tacitly to censure the neglect of those gentlemen, I beg your Honor, &c's leave, previously to obviate that, both by saying, that the accounts, frauds as well as errors, are excepted; and that whilst the post of Zemindary was transitory and fluctuating, and this man invested with power, a retrospection into the state of the Company's revenues with any material success, would have been morally impossible, as not one of the natives, from the highest to the lowest, durst with impunity have given the least umbrage to him; and it is they only that could have explored the dark and intricate mazes, in which he has so long concealed himself from the eyes and stroke of justice.
Two of the principal farms, viz. the Rice Farm, and Buzar Calcutta, commonly called the Great Buzar, I must likewise reserve for the subject of another letter, and proceed now to the others, whose annual Pottahs, or grants, bear date the first of November; and here I must begin with confessing to your Honor, &c. an error of my own. I always imagined the farms were sold at public outcry, or auction, in the Cutcherry, in the presence of the Zemindar; and think I told as much to some of our Honorable masters, as believing it impossible to be otherwise; but am sorry to say no such essential and necessary method has been practiced for these ten years; a circumstance I should not mention here, did not what follows make it absolutely necessary: for, on the contrary, Govindram Metre's house, I find, has, for that space, been the place where the prices have been affixed to each farm, not by auction to the highest bidder, but privately at the prices he chose to take the best of them himself at, under fictitious names; that is, those that would yield the best and most certain profit; and disposed of the others that were more precarious, to his friends and dependents: these prices he reports to the Zemindar for his confirmation, and the several Pottahs are ordered to be drawn out accordingly. Of the farms which he has usually taken to himself under fictitious names, I shall now speak only to the following, viz.
Soota Nutty Haut, and Suba Bazar: In the name of his servant Perethram Huzzurah.
Baug Buzar Haut and Buzar: In the name of Nilmony Gose, his Brother Sookdeb Metre's grandson.
Charles Buzar and Haut: In the name of Nilmony Gose, his Brother Sookdeb Metre's grandson.
Haut Cola Buzar: In the name of Nilmony Gose, his Brother Sookdeb Metre's grandson.
Douba Parrah: In the name of Nilmony Gose, his Brother Sookdeb Metre's grandson.
Suttanutty's Dour Beckry and Koora Pocha: In the name of Nilmony Gose, his Brother Sookdeb Metre's grandson.
It may be objected in his favor, that there might be loss on these farms as well as gain; but this objection will avail him little, when I make it appear to your Honor, &c. that he secures his gain as soon as, or rather before, he takes them to himself, by farming them out again to third persons; so that the case stands exactly thus: -- This man has an absolute trust and confidence reposed in him, in the disposal of the Company's farms, the best of which he farms at an under rate to himself, in a fictitious name, and at the same time farms them out again at an immediate gain; a fraud than which I know not a greater. Your Honor, &c. must be sensible how difficult it must be, to investigate a series of accounts and transactions for twenty-eight years past; the forming vouchers for which, have, without control, remained solely in the power of this man; and whatever evidence might have been against him, as to former times, does possibly now not exist: therefore the utmost that can be done in this case, is to fix him in frauds as near as I can to the present time; and equitably to recommend to your Honor, &c. on behalf of our Honorable Masters, a judgment on the whole of his conduct, from the few specimens I am now going to lay, in as clear a light as possible, before you: and first, I shall prove his having taken the several farms abovementioned to himself at an under rate, in the years 1749, 1750, and 1751, and farmed them out again at an immediate advance, Soota Nutty Haut and Suba Buzar being farmed out in the different articles to different people.
SOOTA NUTTY HAUT. (Anno.)
1749 Farm'd at 3525; Farm'd out again at 4851; Gains per annum 1326
1750 Farm'd at 3600; Farm'd out again at 5315; Gains per annum 1715
1751 Farm'd at 3600; Farm'd out again at 5385; Gains per annum 1785
SUBAH BUZAR. (Anno.)
1749 Farm'd at 3525; Farm'd out again at 2271; Gains per annum 946
1750 Farm'd at 1400; Farm'd out again at 2381; Gains per annum 981
1751 Farm'd at 1400; Farm'd out again at 2672; Gains per annum 1272
BAUG BUZAR and HAUT. (Anno.)
1749 Farm'd at 775; Farm'd to Kitteram Paul at 1200; Gains per annum 425
1750 Farm'd at 765; Farm'd to Purpuram at 1000; Gains per annum 235
1751 Farm'd at 765; Farm'd to Purpuram at 1000; Gains per annum 235
DOOBA PARRAH SAYAR. (Anno.)
1749 Farm'd at 208; Farm'd to Harry Kisson Coyal at 437; Gains per annum 229
1750 Farm'd at 400; Farm'd to Terra Chund Dutt at 474; Gains per annum 74
1751 Farm'd at 468; Farm'd to Terra Chund Dutt at 542; Gains per annum 74.
KOORA PACHA and DUAR BECKRY SOOTA NUTTYA. (Anno.)
1749 Farm'd at 162; Farm'd to Satoo Mastry at 250; Gains per annum 88
1750 Farm'd at 152; Farm'd to Bechue Mundell at 270; Gains per annum 118
1751 Farm'd at 152; Farm'd to Bechue Mundell at 270; Gains per annum 118
CHARLES BUZAR and HAUT. (Anno.)
1749 Farm'd at 378; Farm'd to Kitteram Paul at 416; Gains per annum 38
1750 Farm'd at 240; Farm'd to Purpuram Sircar at 331; Gains per annum 90
1751 Farm'd at 240; Farm'd to Harry Kisson Coyal at 335; Gains per annum 95
TOTAL: 9844
From the foregoing statement, your Honor, &c. may readily judge, how immensely the Company have been injured in the whole of their revenues during this man's long administration; but if we should suppose he has only made this advantage during the ten years last past, that the farms have been in a manner abandoned to his conduct, we shall, by parity of reason, find the Company defrauded, in that space, of no less than the principal sum of Rupees 32813 / 15 / 6 in these farms only; but this favorable conclusion he has no right to expect, as I think I shall be able to demonstrate, there is not any one branch of the Revenues wherein he has not been consistent in defrauding, to the utmost extent of his power.
Before I quit this subject, I think it needful to inform your Honor, &c. that Govindram Metre has, this year, by his own authority, levied a tax from the farmers of 2-1/2 per cent on the amount of their several farms (over and above the 10 per cent usually taken from them, as the allowed perquisite of the Zemindar) which he has converted to his own use.
The monthly charges Zemindary, is the next article I shall at present submit to your Honor, &c's consideration and censure, under three divisions, viz. servants in monthly pay, charges making and repairing Cutcherries and Chowkey houses, and charges.
In regard to the servants in the Cutcherry, I find the Company has been, time out of mind, defrauded by Govindram Metre, in the monthly sum of 166 Rupees, exclusive of his monthly allowance of 112 / 8; the particulars of which are, viz.
27 Pikes, 17 always employed in his own service, 3 whose pay he has always received, and 7 his menial servants under this denomination; 27 at 2 Rupees per mensem = 54
19 Buckserrias, 14 nominal only, and 5 at his town of KissenPoor; for these he receives monthly = 59
Boncheram receives no wages, yet charged at = 8
Kissen Gose, Rogu Metre's Cotta servant = 5
Ramchurnd Tagoor, another servant of Rogu Metre = 3
Barnasa Scatdut, Metre's Maulda Gomastah = 5
Tilluckram, under the name of Bredju Mahone =10
6 Gwallers = 12
Munkindram Mundell, at Metre's Gottabarry = 3
Nunderum Gose, a gratuity = 7
Rupees per mensem = 166
In this particular your Honor, &c. observes the Company has been defrauded of Rupees 1992 per annum; and as we cannot reasonably imagine, he was less scrupulous when he was more indigent, so I think it will not be deemed unjust to charge him with this fraud for 8 years last past; and then it will appear, we have here another manifest claim on him, on behalf of our Honorable Masters, for the principal sum of Rupees 55776.
I am next to represent to your Honor, &c. that I have extracted from the monthly charges Zemindary, the expenses account, making and repairing the several Cutcherries and Chowkey houses, from February 1747, to March 1752; and find in that space no less a sum to that account, than Rupees 9018 / 8; a charge most infamous, and self-evident to every member of this Board, when I further inform your Honor, &c. that 5184 / 8 of this sum is under the head of repairing the great Cutcherry, on which a tithe has not been expended in that time, as I will prove, is needful, from a thousand witnesses; and the same as to the other straw houses, under the denomination of Cutcherry and Chowkey houses; but as l would rather lessen than exaggerate every charge against him, I will suppose the Company defrauded in this period of five years 7000 Rupees only, which, during his administration, will amount to the principal sum of Rupees 39,200.
The charges in repairing the roads, drains and bridges, within the same period of time, I find swelled to the enormous sum of Rupees 7884 / 15 / 9; out of which there stands to the account of repairing the Dumdum and Barrasut roads, Rupees 2810; of which, 1036 / 7 are appropriated to the years 1750 and 1751. Now, to give your Honor, &c. a specimen of his frauds in this part of the monthly charge, I will observe, that the Company is debted by him in October 1751, Rupees 520 / 4, for the repairs of the Dumdum and Barasut roads; whereas, by the accounts I have laid before me, it appears there was really no more expended on these roads in the years 1750 and 1751, than 342 cound, 6 pund and 10 gundas of Cowries; and these collected from the neighbouring riots or tenants, which has always been practiced towards repairing the out-roads of the town (though where a Rupee has been collected, not more than six Annaes have been expended, and the Company besides constantly charged for this article at an immense rate; a double fraud, that merits the highest censure and punishment. From the consideration of these particulars, it is manifest the Company has yearly been defrauded of almost the whole that has been charged on this account, a small expense on building and repairing two or three bridges excepted; which, with the utmost indulgence to Govindram Metre, cannot reduce the fraud within the five years above specified, to less than 600 Rupees; and, on the whole of his administration, to the principal sum of 33600 Rupees.
Last year I observe a charge continued for ten months, at the rate of 32 Rupees per mensem, on account of looking after Cutmah's houses: the ponsways and guard employed for this service, were the monthly servants of the Company; and yet the Company is not only by Metre debted on this account, but I am very credibly informed, he likewise levied the same from the Cutmahs. I mention this article chiefly with a view of demonstrating to your Honor, &c. that every intervening bye-path to knavery has been as regularly traversed and infested by him as the high road of iniquity, in which he has so long and unmolested raised contributions from the Company, as well as from every one of the inhabitants that have unluckily fallen within his grip, or that of his son Rogu Metre. Instances of this last nature are so many, that by what I have already heard, I fear if I had as many ears as Argus had eyes, they would be much too insufficient to receive them; but those, with the proofs I am possessed of, touching his connections with the common murderers and robbers of the town, I must reserve for a volume by themselves, and close this present remonstrance against him with recapitulating and throwing into one total the foregoing principal sums, for which, I am of opinion, the Company has an immediate and specific claim on him, with interest that may be due thereon; just premising, that as wages are, or at least ought to be, deemed the reward of service and faithfulness; and as this man, in the place of promoting the service of the Company, has, in breach of his trust and duty, injured their affairs by every wicked practice in his power, so I think he has very justly forfeited whatever wages he has received, and therefore submit it to your Honor, &c. whether he should not be mulcted [mulct: extract money from (someone) by fine or taxation] in a sum equal thereto; and as I cannot doubt but I shall meet your concurrence in so equitable a charge, I will add it to the others, viz.
9 years, at 30 Rupees per mensem = 3240
12 years, at 50 Rupees per mensem = 7200
GOVINDRAM METRE (Dr.)
To frauds on the farms held himself = 32813 / 15 / 6
To frauds in the monthly charge of servants = 55776 / 0 / 0
To frauds account charges repairing the Cutcherrys = 39200 / 0 / 0
To frauds account charges repairing the roads, &c.= 33600 / 0 / 0
To frauds account the guard on Cotmah's house = 320/ 0 / 0
To the mulct of his wages = 161709 / 15 / 6
I beg leave to represent to your Honor, &c. that when the interest which is strictly due to the Company is calculated on the first total, it becomes a sum of no small importance; and therefore l humbly insist, on the behalf of our Honorable Masters, that Govindram Metre be immediately committed to close confinement, until the same is discharged; and that a sufficient military guard be, without loss of time, placed on his several houses; and that his son Rogu Metre be obliged to give good security for his appearance.
The Company’s Servants
The Company’s servants in Bengal were paid low salaries. But they made large fortunes through private trade, and indulged in various luxuries and extravagances to which the Court of Directors were strongly opposed. With a view to maintaining the efficiency and integrity of the public services the Directors sought to regulate the conduct of their servants in all respects. In 1749-50 they complained of the “spirit of gaming” that was reported to prevail among their servants in Bengal. To this the Council in Calcutta replied in February 1750 that had they “ever observed the least appearance of this vice” they would have "suppressed it in its infancy” and assured the Court that they would henceforth punctually obey their orders in this respect. [Letter to Court, 25 February 1750, para 8.] The Court of Directors suspected the prevalence of other kinds of abuses also among their servants in Bengal. Thus in their letter of 24 January 1753 they accused them of being “underhand concerned in the contracts for the Investment.” The Council in Calcutta pleaded that this charge was based on false reports of a “malicious nature” and assured the Court that they would do their utmost to check “extravagant and expensive” ways of living among the servants, whose high expenses were due to the dearness of all kinds of provisions and not to “uncommon extravagancies”. They also observed that they would regard it as an act of the “greatest favour” on the part of the Court if the latter took into consideration the “small allowances” received by their servants and did whatever appeared to them to be just in that matter. [Letter to Court, 3 September 1753, paras 61 and 70.] Whatever might be the pleas of the members of the Council in Calcutta to screen themselves and their subordinates, there is no doubt that their ways of living were in certain respects not above reproach. Early in 1754 the Court of Directors sent to the Council a strong note reiterating their previous warning against “prevailing licentiousness” among their servants in Bengal, and also forwarded to them some positive commands for the regulation of their “morals and manner of life.” [Letter from Court, 23 January 1754, paras 80-81.] As a luxurious style of living still prevailed among their servants of all ranks in Bengal, the Court asked the Council to take proper steps to check and prevent it. The remittance of large sums of money to England by the commanders of ships through bills of exchange on the Company led the Court to suspect that these were the ‘produce of illicit trade’ and so the Council in Calcutta were asked to take an oath from each commander to the effect that his money was earned through legitimate means. [Letter from Court, 31 January 1755, paras 100 and 111.]...
All but the Doctors and the Writers also got gratuities in various capacities. They had other sources of income such as perquisites and profits of private trade. (Long, Selections from Unpublished Records, pp. 101-03).
The Court also complained that an “unaccountable negligence appears to have taken strong possession of almost all our servants” and attributed to this the omission on the part of the latter "to send the usual and necessary books and papers”. [Letter from Court, 23 January 1754, para 94.] They again observed in 1755 that the accounts were not "exact and methodical”. Suspecting that it was a common practice at all the subordinate factories to present wrong accounts, and to conceal the real amount of allowances granted to the chiefs and other important officers, the Council in Calcutta directed each factory in 1754 to specify "in the plainest manner and under their real heads in their accounts all disbursements, allowances, and charges whatever” for their inspection and approval. [Letter to Court 7 December 1754, para 142.] They agreed to pay the Sub-Accountant and the Accountant-General 250 sicca rupees each per annum and considered payment to the Registrar of the Mayor’s Court at the same rate, on his representation that the new regulations for receiving deposits in the Company’s treasury had increased his work.
At the end of January 1755, the Court of Directors emphasized the need of the “utmost attention” to the conduct of their servants at the subordinate factories whom they suspected of being "unfaithfully” interested in investments at the cost of the Company. For due control over these servants, the Court ordered the immediate formation of a Supervising Committee consisting of the President, Charles Manningham, Richard Becher, and John Zephaniah Holwell. This Committee was to "enquire into the manner of making the investments and the management in general at the subordinate settlements” and into the conduct of their servants employed at those places. [Letter from Court, 31 January I755, paras 56-61.] Taking into consideration the necessity of entrusting the management of the Company’s affairs at the subordinate factories to men of experience, the Court made it a standing rule that there should be among their servants at Kasimbazar two members of the Council and at least one senior merchant, at Dacca one member of the Council and a senior merchant, and at Jagdia or wherever the Jagdia settlement was shifted one of the "best qualified” servants next below the rank of a member of the Council. [Ibid, para 63.] The Court also ordered the formation of a Committee of Accounts "to prevent any frauds and irregularities which are and may be covered or unobserved by this loose manner of passing accounts.” They, however, felt that for due enforcement of all their rules and directions, and for effective management of their affairs, it was necessary to invest the President with sufficient powers as the “general inspector and supervisor of the whole machine” and so asked the Council to attend properly to whatever the President proposed to do for controlling the servants of all ranks and for management of the Company’s affairs. The directions communicated by the Court were to apply to all the subordinate settlements. [Letter from Court, 31 January 1755, paras 101-03.]...
Early in 1754 the Court of Directors sent some writers to the Bengal establishment, and to put a stop to what they considered the “pernicious custome of employing black people” in writing business, directed the Council in Calcutta to ensure that all their servants were “regularly and constantly employed in their respective stations particularly the younger sort”. [Letter from Court, 23 January 1754, paras 75-7.] The Council in Calcutta instructed the heads of their several offices to insist on their assistants attending to their respective duties from 9 to 12 in the forenoon and also, when necessary, in the afternoon as well as evening. [Letter to Court, 7 December 1754, para 143.]
-- Fort William-India House Correspondence and Other Contemporary Papers Relating Thereto, Vol. I: 1748-1756, Edited by K.K. Datta, M.A., Ph.D., Professor of History, Patna University, Patna (1958)
On entering my office, I found it heavily burthened with sinecures, perquisites, and unnecessary servants, which I have the pleasure to inform your Honor, &c. stand reduced for this month of August, to the amount of 550 Rupees, amongst which the charge of Pykes was a very needless and considerable one; for of the 143 retained in the service, I found 64, (exclusive of Metre's 27) stationed as a nightly guard to the several inhabitants houses; as I saw no propriety in the Company's bearing this expense (trifling to each individual, but a heavy one to them) I thought it reasonable to retrench that amongst the rest, having still retained the Head Pyke, his 11 Niabs or deputies, and 35 Pyke only, as needful for the service; the Head Pyke still remaining, as usual, security for any night guard he sends, at the request of the inhabitants; and further than this, they are of no use towards the guarding or safety of the town; for, on strict review and muster of the whole body, I could not pick out more than 30 that were trained Pykes, or had any pretension to that title, further than as they (occasionally to pass muster) were loaded with their usual arms. I am, most respectfully,
Honorable Sir and Sirs,
Your most obedient humble servant
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