naturally brings the Memoirs of this Revolution to their Period. We
cannot, however, conclude without observing, that as there could not be
any thing more melancholy than the Situation of the Company's Affairs,
when the Settlement of _Calcutta_ was overwhelmed and destroyed, so
nothing can be more satisfactory than to contemplate the Advantages that
have resulted from this Alteration to the _East India_ Company, the
private and particular Sufferers, and the _British_ Subjects who either
reside in, or may hereafter go and reside in, _Bengal_. In reference to
the Company, the Treaty with the present Suba procured them an ample
Indemnity, without tying them down to a Specification of Losses, which
would have been not more impossible than improper. The Sum was such as
became the Rank and Grandeur of him who gave, and was admirably tinted
to the Situation and Services of those who received. The Point of
Security is likewise fully provided for; the Settlement may be fortified
in such a Manner as to remove all Apprehensions; at the same time that
these mighty Concessions are made, they are made in a Method that
renders them doubly valuable, not through Fear or Compulsion, but with
all possible Marks of Confidence and Esteem. The Interests of the
Company, and the Country Government, are declared to be the same; and to
prevent any Suspicion of Alteration, they are allowed an unrivalled
Superiority, and the Enemies of the one are to be of Course the Enemies
of the other. There is a Provision, as far as such a Provision can be
made, that this Conjunction of Interests shall not be temporary, but
perpetual; since the Company is at Liberty to take whatever Measures
shall seem most expedient for the Safety of her Settlements, which is as
much as could be either expected or desired.
The Regard shewn, and the Provision made, for all Degrees of Persons,
who suffered by the Subversion of the Colony, was equally equitable and
honourable. The Company, and those who depended upon it, shared the good
as well as the ill Fortune that attended the different Administrations
in _Bengal_. There were many of the _European_ Sufferers, who were
absolutely ruined and undone; reduced from Opulence and Ease, to Misery
and Want, by a sudden, unforeseen, and inevitable Misfortune. These were
restored to the whole of what they had lost, which was a Benefit to
themselves, and to their Creditors in other parts of _India_ and in
_Europe_. Besides, as many of them had acquired their Fortunes by their
Industry, and had spent almost their whole Lives in this Climate, it was
not only a Piece of Justice to recover for them what they had lost, but
a Point of true Policy to prevent the Terror of their Fate from having a
mischievous Operation in succeeding Times, which otherwise it might have
had; and this too in many Respects. The extending this Restitution to
the _Jentoows_ and _Armenians_, was not only a very exemplary but a very
generous Act of Benevolence, founded in Principle. At the same time that
it attached the particular Persons who were relieved, it raised the
Reputation of the Company. It revived the Spirits of those useful
Inhabitants, and gave a new Spring to their Activity and Industry, which
were not only salutary Consequences at the Time, but will be found more
so in their Effects, and facilitate the Execution of those Designs, that
will be hereafter mentioned. This Tenderness for other Nations, this
laudable Desire that they should share in the Prosperity, who had been
hurt by the Adversity of the _English_, might be set in a far stronger
Light, if placed in Comparison with the Conduct of others, without
stirring out of _India_; but as that would be invidious, it is better
omitted.
This stupendious Revolution may be also considered as equally glorious
and advantageous to the _British_ Nation. We may be allowed to say,
because the Fact cannot be disputed, that it is a signal Proof of the
Utility of Maritime Empire. As Commerce carries the Subjects of
_Britain_ every where, _British_ Subjects every where experience
_British_ Protection: There are no Limits to our Naval Power, but those
by which the Creator has confined the Globe. The _East India_ Company
was saved, and her Affairs restored, by the Attention and Arms of that
Government by which she was erected. Many of those, who would have
totally lost the Fruits of long Labour and various Hardships, and who
must have been Beggars if subject to any other Power, are again easy in
their Fortunes, and some of them have already transported their Effects
to their native Country; the proper Return for the Assistance they
derived from her maternal Affection; and as these Events have
distinguished the present Age and the present Administration, so their
Effects will probably be felt in succeeding Times. The Company, by an
Accession of Territory, has an Opportunity of making an ample
Settlement; which, under proper Management, may be not only extremely
serviceable to her, but also to the Nation; and having a Revenue from
these Lands, the Mint at _Calcutta_, and the Lease of the Salt-petre at
_Patna_, which amounts in the whole to One hundred thousand Pounds a
Year, there is a Provision against future Dangers upon the Spot, and
without farther Expence. These Benefits have clearly arisen from that
Revolution, of which we have given an Account, and are due to those who
conducted it. May the future Emoluments do the like Honour to those who
shall hereafter have the Care of the Company's and the Nation's Concerns
in the _Indies_!
_FINIS._
[Illustration]
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
1. Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical
errors.
2. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.
3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
4. Superscripts are denoted by a carat before a single superscript
character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in curly
braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}.