and I agree with the director, that it is abfurd to suppose it ever could be intended. In foreign trade, the firmaun grants us an exemption from duties; in inland trade it leaves us upon a footing with the natives of the country. Paying fuch duties as were established by the nabob, and taking his duftuck or pafs, the English might trade in it, equally with his own fubjects.'

Such orders from the company, upon this subject, as were in being, at the time of my arrival, did not contradict this opinion, nor give me the leaft authority to take away from the fubjects a benefit, which they had enjoyed in the time of both my predeceffors, lord Clive and Mr. Holwell. I looked upon it, as a matter, already determined, by long prefcription, that whatever inhabitant of Calcutta, company's fervant, or other, had paid the nabob's duties at Hoogly, upon his producing the receipt and the pafs, from the proper office there, had a right to go on with his trade.

Large purchases of falt were made in the company's lands, as well in the diftricts of Calcutta, as in thofe of Burdwan and Midnapore; upon this alfo the nabob's duties were paid at Hoogly, becaufe it was an inland trade, wherein I thought we could claim no preference, over the people of the country.

• This was the diftinction I always understood, and explained myfelf upon, very fully on many occafions, particularly in myletter from Mongheer, of the 15th of December 1762. Minute in confultation of the ift of February 1763, further minute 15th of February 1763, further minute ift of March 1763. In my diffent from that article of Mr. Amyatt's infructions, which required him to infift upon Meer Coffim's admitting an unlimited right of trading cuftom-free; and finally, in my dif fent from that article in the fubfequent treaty with Meer Jaffier.

But paying the nabob's duties, and trading under his paffport, I did not conceive this practice to be any infringement of the company's orders. The most recent inftructions I could find, were in a letter of the year 1748; the terms of which, as well as I remember, were far from being conclufive any farther, than that it was a trade not to be carried on as a firmaun privilege, exempt from cuftoms to the country government.

I fearched carefully for later, and more particular orders, but could find none, and knowing that the trade had been openly carried on, by numbers, ever fince the appointment of Meer Jaffer, with which the company could not be unacquainted, I regarded it as a right eftablished by cuftom and prescription. I had no conception, that fome fhould be permitted to follow it, and others be reftrained, and therefore I prohibited no company's fervant, nor other inhabitant from this trade; and

I traded

I traded in it, equally myself, nor at this day can I see any reafon, why the fervants of the company should be restrained from dealing in this trade, upon a footing of equality with the people of the country. Had I thought otherwife, and wished to put ftop to the trade, it would have been utterly out of my power. No example nor orders of mine could have prevailed, where we have feen that the council were unanimous (only one gentleman excepted) in declaring a full right to this trade, free, as derived to us from the firmaun.

I am aware, that it will be faid, the duties we paid to the nabob were by do means equal to what was paid by the people of the country this is undoubtedly true, but I knew not what the people of the country paid, till I went up to Mongheer, two years after my arrival in Bengal. The duty we paid at Hoogly was two and a half per cent. on the price fixed in the nabob's pass, which price being always confiderably above the real coft, brought it to about four and a half ficca rupees per 100 maunds of falt, as rated in confultation ft. of March 1763.. This was the duty that had been required by the nabob's offi cers, from the first beginning of this trade, in the year 1758; receiving this duty they gave the pafs, and no objection was made as to the rate of duty, till the year 1762. Complaints were made at different times, that the gentlemen at fome of the factories would pay no duties, and that their agents or gomaftahs were guilty of oppreffions, which I endeavoured as much as I could to redrefs; but as to the rate of duties, I was not fenfible of any neceffity for an alteration, till the time before-mentioned.

The complaints of the country merchants to Meer Coffim, of the advantage we had over them, in this trade, were strongly urged by Meer Coffim to me, upon my arrival at Mongheer, in December 1762; and as it was my wifh to establish an univerfal equality in a trade, which confifted chiefly in the neceffaries of life, I readily agreed in the duty, which he proposed of nine per cent, and which was the fame the Muffulmen merchants paid.

Enquiring afterwards, in my way down the river, from the agents, which I met upon their paffage up, with feveral fleets of boats belonging to the country merchants, I found the duties demanded from them at feveral places, amounted to above 25 rupees per 100 maunds, which, reckoning the falt at 80 rupees per 100 maunds, would be 20 per cent. upon the coft. Regarding this as an impofition and extortion of the collectors, or of the zemindars of the diftri&s, bordering upon the river, (fince the nabob himself had computed the duties only at 9 per cent.) I reprefented the cafe to him, and recommended to him

1

to free the merchants in general from fuch a variety of demands by receiving from them, as from us, a reasonable rate of cuftoms, in one place only.

But in these my endeavours, to establish a general equality, in this trade, I was affifted by only one of the council, Mr. Haftings; the rest of the gentlemen oppofed it violently, infifting, that by the firmaun we had a right to deal in this trade cuftom-free, as well as in the foreign trade; and accordingly Mr. Amyatt, upon his deputation to Meer Coffim, was pofitively enjoined in his inftructions to claim this right, and then to tell the nabob he should be allowed two and a half per cent. upon falt as an indulgence; in exact conformity to the plan propofed by Major Carnac, in his minute of the ift. of March.

Thus founded, I fay it was the abuse of this trade, the claiming it as a firmaun privilege, duty-free, that was "one of the real causes of the war;" for I must agree with the direcor, that" to infift upon carrying on the inland trade, paying two and quarter per cent. was the fame in effect as infifting upon the fubah's confent to the ruin of himself and all his fubjects," especially when it is confidered that this was to be on falt only, while the natives were to pay largely on all articles.

I have mentioned what orders of the company, in relation to this trade, exifted in Bengal at the time of my arrival, none more recent than 1748; and although it was well known to have come into frequent and continual practice, from the year 1758, no other orders were received on the subject, until those which the director mentions, dated the 8th of February 1764, and received in Bengal in Auguft or September following. As I have no copy by me, and do not particularly recollect the terms of thofe orders, I fhall fuppofe they were fuch as the director ftates them, and enjoined pofitively, that a ftop fhould be put to the inland trade in falt; but thefe orders could not ferve for our government, before we were poffeffed of them; and when they arrived, two or three very strong circumstances came under the confideration of the governor and the council, along with them, as being circumstances the directors were unacquainted with, when they wrote the order. These were, the war with Meer Coffim, his defeat and expulfion, and the appointment of Meer Jaffier, who in his treaty had confented exprefsly, that the English might trade free of cuftoms, in all ar ticles, excepting falt, upon which two and a half per cent. was to be paid at Hoogly.

About the fame time that the company's before-mentioned order arrived, Meer Jaffier came to Calcutta, and having found great loffes and inconveniencies from this article of the treaty, (from which it will be remembered, that Mr. Haftings and I

diffented) the board had upon his reprefentations agreed to take the fubject of the inland trade into fresh confideration, and waving the right, which by this treaty they had acquired, to eftablish fuch limitations and restrictions, in concert with the nabob, as that it should neither be oppreffive to the natives, nor hurtful to the nabob's revenue.

Such a plan was actually completed, fome time in the month of October, and the director has no doubt read it upon the face of the confultations. All the diftant branches of this trade were cut off to prevent the oppreffions which were committed by the agents and gomaftahs, in thofe places, where no authority of the company was prefent to reftrain them. All Europeans were forbid to go up the country; and, in short, fuch regulations were made as promised all the wifhed for good effects.

But just as we were iffuing the orders, to enforce these regulations, the fhip Succefs arrived (the 27th of October 1764, or thereabouts) with a letter from the court of directors, dated in May, in which we were told that lord Clive, and the felect committee, would have powers to regulate the inland trade.'

Mr. V. next labours to clear himself from all suspicion of a wilful and interefted breach of the company's orders, and is very fevere upon the proceedings of the felect committee. He reproaches them with having eftablished a monopoly, in my Opinion (fays he) of the most injurious nature. I have my information from an advertisement, which, as it was affixed by way of proclamation, in all the public places of the fettlement, is, I fuppofe, in the hands of every body; but I will just recite the preamble, as a proof of what I have alleged.

Calcutta, 12 Auguft, 1765,

ADVERTISEMENT.

"The honourable the court of directors, having thought proper to send out particular orders for limiting the inland trade in the articles of falt, betel nut, and tobacco, the fame is now to be carried on, in conformity to thofe orders, by a public fociety of proprietors, to be formed for that purpose, and an exclufive right to the trade of thofe articles will be vested in this fociety, by an authority derived from the company, and from the nabob; all manner of perfons, dependent on the honourable company's government, are hereby ftrialy prohibited from dealing, in any refpect, directly or indirectly, in the articles of falt, betel-nut, or tobacco, from the date hereof; that is to Say, that they fhall not enter into any new engagements, un

L 4

lefs

lefs as contractors, either for the purchase or sale of the articles with the fociety of trade."

Mr. V. confiders the prefent nabab as a mere tool of the company; for he actually iffued orders to all the zemindars of the country to attend at Calcutta, and enter into bond to trade in falt only with the committee. Our author, from what we think a very candid ftate of facts, explains the neceflity of augmenting the military force during his administration in Bengal. He thinks that the fervice performed by colonel Monro, in gaining the battle of Buxar to the company, was greater than the advantage they received from the battle of Plaffey by lord Clive; and indeed we incline to the fame opinion, as also that it was owing to the victory at Buxar that the company is now in poffeffion of all it holds in Bengal. He next proceeds to a point of law; Whether, when Jaffier Ali Khan regained the nabobfhip, and promifed to make up the loffes fuftained by the tyranny and oppreffion of Coffim Aly Khan in their trade in the country, the fufferers are not intitled to be indemnified accorde ing to the prices of the goods at the places where they were loft? Mr. V. has given us the opinion of two eminent lawyers on this cafe, which concur with his own, That the fufferers are entitled only to prime coft, charges of merchandize, and ten per cent. interest.

We must decline entering farther into this controverfy, be caufe in many parts it becomes perfonal. The pamphlet, upon the whole, is written with a great air of candour; and it is to be hoped, that from thefe bickerings amongst the principals, the public will be enabled, at laft, to form true ideas of the virtue and difintereftednefs of this opulent company and its fervants.

23. Obfervations on Mr. Vanfittart's Narrative. By Luke Scrafton, Efq; 8vo. Pr. 1s. Kearfly.

From thefe Obfervations we perceive that several sparring blows have already paffed between their author and Mr. V. Mr. Scrafton vindicates himself from being the writer of a paper called the Obferver, which Mr. V. complained of. In the pamphlet before us Mr. Scrafton goes as far back as the battle of Plaffy, and feems to think that throughout the whole of Mr. Holwell's government in Bengal, the design of depofing Meer Jaffier might be traced; a charge which, if it can deferve that name, we think Mr. Scrafton has fully and fairly proved. Our author has inferted a copy of the memorial delivered by Mr. Holwell (whom he treats with fome severity) to Mr. V. when the former refigned his government, together with his own remarks,