AUBER'S RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE BRITISH POWER IN INDIA.

ALTHOUGH, as Mr. AUBER remarks, the history of British India from the time when the Company began to act as belligerents against the French in 1745, down to the total change in the charter, may be arranged in ten decades each characterized by some striking circumstances, yet the more comprehensive and natural division is into four epochs. The first embraces the period between 1800 and 1755, during which the Directors were simply a company of merchants trading to the East Indies, except as regards the disguised war they carried enduring the last ten years as allies or mercenaries of the native princes. The second begins with Csivs's conquest of Bengal in 1755, and the foundation of the Company's territorial power, and closes in 1774, when the Governor of Bengal was created Governor-General of India, and an attempt made by Parliament to regulate the dis- orders and anomalies which had arisen from the sudden transformation of an association of traders into sovereign princes. The third epoch (1774-1764) includes the greater part of the government of WARREN HASTINGS, and ends with the establishment of the Board of Control. The fourth and last Petiod comes down to the late renewal of the charter, and the e - Unction of the Company as merchants ; for though great events and considerable changes took place within this time, yet they were not of an organic nature. The politic and splendid adminis- tration of WELLESLEY, and the brilliant government of the Mar- guis of HASTING,, though greater in degree, differed little in kind Real the wars and politics of WARREN HASTINGS, and were in- ferior in daring originality to those of Cnivs; whilst the changes made on the renewal of the charter in 1793 and 1814, were only

in the nature of modifications or regulations,—unless the opening of the India trade at the latter date should be deemed sufficient to mark an epoch.

Of these four periods, Mr. AUBER, in his first volume, dismisses three; coming down to the departure of HASTINGS from Bengal, and the establishmet of the Board of Control by DUNDAs, after

the rejection of Fox's India Bill. As we conjectured, the official position of the author has given him access to many curious and characteristic documents, relating to the early part of the Com- pany's existence. It has also enabled him to throw some new light on several points that have been misunderstood or mis- represented, as well as to defend the Company against the odium arising from the corruption and peculation of their ser- vants abroad, who were suddenly raised from factors into ministers of state, without any other responsibility than the lordly one of an expansive conscience. But Alma is deficient in all the points that we expected, and in something more. Not only does he want the

" skilful arrangement,characteristic narrative, comprehensive phi- losophy, and nervous eloquence of a great historian," but he has little power of generalization, and he seems to have planned his work without due consideration. His description of large affairs is vague; and though readers acquainted with the sultject can fill up his meaning, no impression will be left on the minds of others. He sees the crumbling condition of the Mogul empire in the earlier part of the last century, which of necessity must have ren- dered it a spoil to the strongest and most enlightened power in its dominions; (for some prophetic glimpses of this kind appear to have reached the vision of the homely Directors of the day ;) but he cannot place this knowledge, much less a conviction of its truth, before his readers. The general narratives of the French war, and of CLivx's two careers in Bengal, are cold, brief, and bald ; the circumstances and characters are omitted altogether. Even the longest and most elaborate portion of the volume—the admi- nistration of HASTINGS—however full in particulars, is chargeable with similar defects. The public affitirs are so alternated with the contentions between the Governor and Isis Council, that the last is made to seem the more important of the two, and HASTINGS (which is doing him injustice) to think so. At the same time, they arc unquestionably the most readable and amusing por- tions of the history,—very characteristic of the formal outward re- spect to station, but of the real and dogged independence, amongst our fbrefathers, and curious as showing the hatred and opposition which may meet together at the same council-board, arid which the necessity of minutes and memoranda for the inspection of the Directors render more accessible to posterity under the Company than under any other government. On one occasion in Council, General CLAVERING, speaking of some threat of Ilississos', de- clared that " if any thing was meant personally, he would make him answer for it with his life." On an inquiry into matters occurring before the arrival of this Council, appointed by the Act of 1774, the majority remark, that in "tire late proceedings of the Revenue Board there is no species of 1sec:illation from which the Honourable Governor-General has thought it right to abstain:- In reply to a minute of the Governor's, " General (layering declared that Mr. Hastings evaded what lie could not de-

fewl, and misrepresented what he avoided to answer ; and lest the art with which his minute was drawn up, intended as it was to deceive those who bad

not leisure to compare documents, might throw a veil over facts which it WAS vainly attempted to remove, he should sit down to point out that his declara- tions, combined with his conduct, did in fact amount to nothing less than a subversion of the Government, and that be was convineed of the justness of the remark made by an eminent personage in England, on reading Iris defence of the Rohilla war, 'that the arguments it contained would even have been un- worthy of Mrs. Rudd.' • "Mr. I lastings alluded to General Claveri g's minute in the following terms It is beneath a reply. Ile may continue to revile me with language yet grosser, if grosser can be invented. This, with the other evils attendant on my present situation, while I continue in it, I must bear, and he knows it.' " From the despatches of the Company, Mr. AuBER quotes largely, and much too largely in an artistical point of view. The passages are, however, amongst the most entertaining parts in the volume; and are very singular for the contrast displayed between the homely subjects, quaint expressions, and almost paternal in- terferences of " Honoured Sirs" the Directors, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, and the larger views and loftier style of that body soon after it bad passed its grand climacteric. In little more than thirty years from this disallowance of some 110/. for such a "superfluity ' as a chaise and pair, the Directors were lords of Bengal, and one of their servants had made nearly half a million in about a twelmonth.

we find an entry in your consultation of a chaise and pair of horses bought for the President, Mr. Deane, charged to its as costing rupees eleven hundred. We gave no order or leave for it, and thereby we hereby direct that the money be repaid into our cash out of his effects, and that no- thing of this nature be again introduced : if our servants will have such super- fluities, let them pay for them." ith January 1725.

What a contrast between this dismissal of officers in order to clear the Directors' "reputations from the censure of the word" touching the "unequal sortment of goods, deficiencies in their lengths and breadths," &c. and the accusations which gave rise to the phrensied eloquence of BuaKE and the lighting flashes of SHERIDAN, some fifty years afterwards !

" The badness of the goods sent us for two years past having not wily raised a general clamour among the buyers, but also great uneasiness in the

• This female was tried as an accomplice with the Messrs. l'erreau, who were On. euted fur tor4ery ia 473."

Proprietors of the Company's stock, and we being convinced that there has been a culpable neglect in the management of our affairs by the unequal sort- ment of the goods,. deficiencies in their lengths and breadths, and excessive high prices, together with the vast quantities of tine unvendable articles sent us, con- trary to our orders, and having kept back great quantities of goods we wanted and ordered, and have been employed for their private trade ; by the first we are great sufferere, and by the lust we are deprived of great profits that we might naturally have expected, those goods being greatly in demand ; for these rea- sons., and to strike terror to those who succeed, we have thought fit to dismiss from our service six members. This extraordinary step we have been obliged to take, in order to remedy these and any such like evils, and to clear our rept,. titians from the censure the world would otherwise throw upon us, that we connived at the bad actions of our servants, hereby convincing mankind that we are not biassed with favour or affection to any particular person whatsover."

ss We persuade ourselves that you, the now President and Council, having such an example of our just resentment set before you, will, in your several stations, discharge the great trust reposed in von, by studying to advance the Company's interest by all possible means; and as we are informed that great mischiefs happen to our interest as well as to your own destruction, by the private trade of India, as it is at present and has for some years past been carried on, to a much greater degree than it should have beeu, we reserve ourselves to give oar opinion upon that head by the latter ships." 701 December 1731.

In the same letter they take the opportunity of holding forth on economy, and laying down some

SUMPTUA RY REGULATIONS.

" Among the rest of complaints from your place is none of the least the ex- travagant way of living, of which we shall enlarge more in our next letters; at present we only recommend it very seriously to our new President, that he shows a good example of frugality, by keeping a decent retinue, such as for- merly was practised, for the dignity of his station, and not fall into that fop- pery of having a set of music at his table, and a coach and six, with guards and running fuotmen, as we are informed is now practised, not only by the Presi- dent, but some of inferior rank, and that he recommends the same to all those that shall be in lower stations, in order to clock this luxury."

THEIR SUCCESS.

" We are highly pleased that the extravagant way of living which had ob- tained such deep rooting among you, is entirely laid aside. Whenever such a

practice prevails in any of our set cants, we shall always suspect that we are the

paymasters in some shape or other, and it seldom fails of bringing them to penury and want: we must therefore, both for your sakes anti our own, ear-

nestly recommend frugality as a cardinal virtue, and by a due regard to the said advice, we do not doubt but the diet and other allowances from us will be amply sufficient to defray all necessary expenses, as Bengal is not only the cheapest pant of India to live in, but perhaps the most plentiful country in the whole world." nIst January 1734.

The justification of the India Company, if it were one of the objects of the historian, is successfully accomplished up to a cer- tain point. Nothing can be clearer throughout, than that they were averse to the acquisition or extension of territory ; that they looked with fear and trembling upon the wars in which their servants engaged, remonstrated against their contiimance, cen- sured their authors,—and then, with a quiet gravity, took advan- tage of the wrong. It must, however, be allowed to their honour, that, from the first moment of their acquiring territorial dominion, they systematically opposed all oppression and.peculat ion on the part of their officials against the natives ; straining every nerve to stop it, and punishing it as well as the distance and the novel difficulties in which they were placed would permit. Nor should the zeal a ith which they advanced merit wherever they found it, (such a contrast to the King's Government I) and the attention they paid to abilit) however humble in station, be passed over without honour- able mention. When CLIVE, getting tired of his writership, had turned soldier, and distinguished himself in such a manner as subalterns are able to do, the Directors of 1747, with a care almost prophetic, write —"Be sure to encourage Ensign Clive in his re artial pursuits, according to his merits: any improvement he shall make thelein shall be duly regarded by us." At the Horse Guards, or the Admiralty, if " my Lords '' bad noticed the adven- turer at all, it would have been to inquire who he was.