debt amounted, according to the nabob's own account, and published at Chipauk, his place of residence, to sixty lacks of pagodas, independent of the old debt, on which debt of sixty lacks of pagodas, the nabob did agree to pay an interest of twelve per cent. per annum.-Being asked, Whether this debt was approved of by the court of directors? he said, He does not know it was.-Being asked, Whether the old debt was recognised by the court of directors? He said, Yes, it has been; and the court of directors have sent out repeated orders to the president and council of Madras, to enforce its recovery and payment.-Being asked, If the interest upon the new debt is punctually paid? he said, It was not during his residence at Madras, from 1777 to 1779, in which period he thinks no more than five per cent. interest was paid, in different dividends of two and one per cent.-Being asked, What is the usual course taken by the nabob, concerning the arrears of interest? he said, Not having ever lent him moneys himself, he cannot fully answer as to the mode of settling the interest with him.

Being asked, Whether he has reason to believe the sixty lacks of pagodas was all principal money really and truly advanced to the nabob of Arcot, or a fictitious capital, made up of obligations given by him, where no money or goods were received, or which was increased by the uniting into it a greater interest than the 12 per cent. expressed to be due on the capital? he said, He has no reason to believe that the sum of sixty lacks of pagodas was lent in money or goods to the nabob, because that sum he thinks is of more value than all the money, goods, and chattels in the settlement; but he does not know in what mode or manner this debt of the nabob's was incurred or accumulated.-Being asked, Whether it was not a general and well-grounded opinion at Madras, that a great part of this sum was accumulated by obligations, and was for services performed or to be performed for the nabob? he said, He has heard that a part of this debt was given for the purposes mentioned in the above question, but he does not know that it was so.-Being asked, Whether it was the gen

eral opinion of the settlement? he said, He cannot say that it was the general opinion, but it was the opinion of a considerable part of the settlement.-Being asked, whether it was the declared opinion of those that were concerned in the debt, or those that were not? he said, It was the opinion of both parties, at least such of them as he conversed with.-Being asked, Whether he has reason to believe that the interest really paid by the nabob, upon obligations given, or money lent, did not frequently exceed 12 per cent. ?-he said, Prior to the first of August 1774, he had had reason to believe, that a higher interest than 12 per cent. was paid by the nabob, on moneys lent to him; but from and after that period, when the last act of parliament took place in India, he does not know that more than 12 per cent. had been paid by the nabob, or received from him. Being asked, Whether it is not his opinion, that the nabob has paid more than 12 per cent. for money due since the 1st of August 1774? he said, He has heard that he has, but he does not know it.-Being asked, Whether he has been told so by any considerable and weighty authority, that was like to know? he said, He has been so informed by persons who he believes had a very good opportunity of knowing it.— Being asked, Whether he was ever told so by the nabob of Arcot himself? he said, He does not recollect that the nabob of Arcot directly told him so, but from what he said, he did infer that he paid a higher interest than 12 per cent.

Mr. Smith being asked, Whether, in the course of trade, he ever sold any thing to the nabob of Arcot? he said, In the year 1775 he did sell to the nabob of Arcot pearls to the amount of 32,500 pagodas, for which the nabob gave him an order or tankah on the country of Tanjore, payable in six months, without interest.-Being asked, Whether, at the time he asked the nabob his price for the pearls, the nabob beat down that price, as dealers commonly do? he said, No; so far from it, he offered him more than he asked by 1,000 pagodas, and which he rejected. Being asked, Whether in settling a transaction of discount with the nabob's agent, he

was not offered a greater discount than £12 per cent. ? he said, In discounting a soucar's bill for 180,000 pagodas, the nabob's agent did offer him a discount of 24 per cent. per annum, saying, that it was the usual rate of discount paid by the nabob; but which he would not accept of, thinking himself confined by the act of parliament limiting the interest of moneys to 12 per cent. and accordingly he discounted the bill at 12 per cent. per annum only.-Being asked, Whether he does not think those offers were made him, because the nabob thought he was a person of some consequence in the settlement? he said, Being only a private merchant, he apprehends that the offer was made to him more from its being a general practice, than from any opinion of his importance.

No. 3.

Referred to from p. 436.

A bill for the better government of the territorial possessions and dependencies in India.

[One of Mr. Fox's India bills.]

AND be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the nabob of Arcot, the rajah of Tanjore, or any other native protected prince in India, shall not assign, mortgage, or pledge any territory or land whatsoever, or the produce or revenue thereof, to any British subject whatsoever; neither shall it be lawful to and for any British subject whatsoever to take or receive any such assignment, mortgage, or pledge; and the same are hereby declared to be null and void; and all payments or deliveries of produce or revenue, under any such assignment, shall and may be recovered back by such native prince paying or delivering the same, from the person or persons receiving the same, or his or their representatives.

No. 4.

Referred to from p. 458 and 465.

(COPY.)

27th May, 1782.

Letter from the Committee of assigned Revenue, to the President and Select Committee, dated 27th May, 1782; with comparative statement, and minute thereon.

To the Right Honorable Lord Macartney, K. B. President, and Governor, &c. Select Committee of Fort St. George.

My Lord, and Gentlemen,

ALTHOUGH We have, in obedience to your commands of the 5th January, regularly laid before you our proceedings at large, and have occasionally addressed you upon such points as required your resolutions or orders for our guidance, we still think it necessary to collect and digest, in a summary report, those transactions in the management of the assigned revenue, which have principally engaged our attention, and which, upon the proceeding, are too much intermixed with ordinary occurrences to be readily traced and understood.

Such a report may be formed with the greater propriety at this time, when your lordship, &c. have been pleased to conclude your arrangements for the rent of several of the nabob's districts. Our aim in it is briefly to explain the state of the Carnatic at the period of the nabob's assignment; the particular causes which existed, to the prejudice of that assignment, after it was made; and the measures which your lordship, &c. have, upon our recommendation, adopted for removing those causes, and introducing a more regular and beneficial system of management in the country.

Hyder Ally having entered the Carnatic with his whole force, about the middle of July, 1780, and employed fire and sword in its destruction for near eighteen months before the nabob's assignment took place, it will not be difficult to conceive the state of the country at that period. In those provinces

which were fully exposed to the ravages of horse, scarce a vestige remained either of population or agriculture: such of the miserable inhabitants as escaped the fury of the sword were either carried into the Mysore country, or left to struggle under the horrors of famine. The Arcot and Trichinopoly districts began early to feel the effects of this desolating war. Tinnevelly, Madura, and Ramnadaporum, though little infested with Hyder's troops, became a prey to the incursions of the Polygars, who stript them of the greatest part of the revenues; Ongole, Nellore, and Palnaud, the only remaining districts, had suffered but in a small degree.

The misfortunes of war, however, were not the only evils which the Carnatic experienced. The nabob's aumildars, and other servants, appear to have taken advantage of the general confusion to enrich themselves. A very small part of the revenue was accounted for; and so high were the ordinary expenses of every district, that double the apparent produce of the whole country would not have satisfied them.

In this state, which we believe is no way exaggerated, the company took charge of the assigned countries. Their prospect of relief from the heavy burthens of the war, was indeed but little advanced by the nabob's concession; and the revenues of the Carnatic seemed in danger of being irrecoverably lost, unless a speedy and entire change of system could be adopted.

On our minutes of the 21st January, we treated the subject of the assignment at some length, and pointed out the mischiefs which, in addition to the effects of the war, had arisen from what we conceived to be wrong and oppressive management. We used the freedom to suggest an entire alteration in the mode of realizing the revenues. We proposed a considerable and immediate reduction of expenses, and a total change of the principal aumildars who had been employed under the nabob.

Our ideas had the good fortune to receive your approbation; but the removal of the nabob's servants being thought improper at that particular period of the collections, we employed