^{page 1 note 1} Dundas, Henry, first Viscount Melville (1742–1811). Privy Councillor and treasurer of the navy, 1782–3 and 1784–1800 ; Home Secretary, 1791–4 ; President of the Board of Control for India affairs, 1793–1801 ; Secretary of War, 1794–1801 ; First Lord of the Admiralty, 1804–5. In effect responsible under Pitt for India affairs from 1784 to 1801. For a detailed study of his India policy, see Philips, C. H., The East India Company, 1784–1834 (Manchester, 1940)Google Scholar.

^{page 1 note 2} Scott, David (1746–1805), was a director of the East India Company from December 1788 to April 1802. He was deputy chairman in 1795–6 and 1800–1, and chairman in 1796–7 and 1801–2. For a detailed treatment of his career, see Philips, op. cit., and the Introduction to this work.

^{page 1 note 3} John Griffith became chief of the Company's factory at Surat in 1787 and in 1795 member of council at Bombay. He acted as governor from 3 September to 29 December 1795.

^{page 1 note 4} Major-Gen. W. Medows was nominated Governor of Bombay by Dundas and held office from 16 September 1788 to 21 January 1790, and as governor of Madras from 20 February to 17 May 1790. D.N.B..

^{page 1 note 5} The plan to transfer the company's Indian debts to London had been first sponsored by Dundas in 1785. Philips, op. cit., pp. 45, 47.

^{page 1 note 6} Pitt, the Rt. Hon, William (1759–1806). Prime minister, 1783–1801 and 1804–6. D.N.B.

^{page 2 note 1} John Hunter had previously been a writer in 1771 at Fort Marlborough. First elected director in April 1781 he served until his death in January 1805. He was M.P. for Leominster, 1784–97.

^{page 3 note 1} In 1787, as a safeguard against the French in the East, the British cabinet decided to include clauses affecting the East in a general treaty of defensive alliance with the Dutch, but these particular matters were dropped in 1791. Chatham Papers, P.R.O. 103, George III to Pitt, 12 October 1787. H. Furber, John Company at Work, p. 106.

^{page 6 note 1} For a detailed statement on the 1793 charter renewal, see Philips, op. cit., pp. 73–9. Scott's phrase “to see tea” probably implies the gift to each director concerned of the very valuable voyage to China said to be worth £10,000.

^{page 6 note 2} Tate, James. Formerly in partnership with Alexander Adamson and David Scott in an Agency House at Bombay.

^{page 6 note 3} Grant, Charles (1746–1823). After serving the Company and himself in Bengal, he returned to England in 1790 and entered the-East India direction in May 1794. He remained a director until his death in October 1823. He was deputy chairman in 1804–5, 1807–8, 1808–9 and chairman in 1805–6, 1809–10 and 1815–16 (C. H., and Philips, D., “Alphabetical List of Directors of the East India Company from 1758 to 1858,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, October 1941)Google Scholar.

^{page 7 note 1} The “Lady Jean” was Dundas's second wife, Lady Jane Hope.

^{page 7 note 2} Thomas Pattle, John Travers and Sir Stephen Lushington were all directors of the Company (C. H. and D. Philips, op. cit.).

^{page 8 note 1} For an account of the process of gaining election and the influence at this time exerted by Dundas, see Philips, op. cit., pp. 6, 61–4.

^{page 8 note 2} Sir George Dallas (1758–1833) never became a director though he long played a part in Indian politics in London. D.N.B.

^{page 11 note 1} This essay is the celebrated Observations on the state of society among the Asiatic subjects of Great Britain, written in 1792 and printed for Parliament in 1813.

^{page 11 note 2} For some discussion of Grant's commercial dealings, see Furber, op. cit., especially PP 337–8.

^{page 11 note 3} William Lennox was the manager of Scott's agency in London. The House of D. Scott and Co. had superseded and taken over the business of John Fergusson and Co. in London.

^{page 11 note 13} On 17 December 1794 the shipping members had proposed in the Court of Proprietors 1 That no director should be allowed to trade to or from India directly or indirectly, either as principal or agent.' General Court Debates. See the Introduction to this work, p. xv. Robert Preston, formerly a ship's captain and in 1802 owner of four or five East Indiamen, was chairman of the Committe of Managing Owners. (C. N. Parkinson, Trade in the Eastern Seas, p. 188.) He was later knighted. He served as M.P. for Dover 1784–90, and Cirencester 1790–1806. Gentleman's Magazine, N.S., Pt. 2 (1834), pp. 315–16.

^{page 14 note 1} Petrie, William (d. 27 Oct. 1816). A Company's writer at Madras in 1765 ; Member of Council there in 1798–1800 ; Acting Governor in 1807. He became M.P. for East Retford 1786–1800. He died at Prince of Wales' Island.

^{page 14 note 2} Joseph Cotton, James Irwin and George Smith were elected to the direction in April 1795. C. H. and D. Philips, “Alphabetical List of Directors of the East India. Company.”

^{page 15 note 1} George Cumming (d. 1 May 1834) had been a ship's captain and was at this time a Company's proprietor and London merchant. He became M.P. for Nairn December 1803–1806.

^{page 15 note 2} For a detailed account, see Philips, op. cit., chap. iv.

^{page 16 note 1} Baring and Lemesurier were City Bankers and East India directors. D.N.B. C. H. and D. Philips, “Alphabetical List of Directors of the East India Company.”

^{page 16 note 2} Cotton, Joseph. A retired ship's captain and a director of the East India Dock Company. A director of the East India Company from 1795 to 1823. One of the leaders of the “Old Shipping” interest and a bitter enemy of Scott. See the Introduction to this work and Sir Evan Cotton, East Indiamen (ed. C. Fawcett), p. 190.

^{page 16 note 3} Sibbald, James. Brother-in-law of David Scott, and manager, along with William Lennox, of the Agency House of David Scott Junior & Co. See Introduction, p. xv, n. 3.

^{page 17 note 1} Fairlie, William. Owner and manager of the Agency House of Fairlie & Co. at Calcutta, in partnership with David Scott Junior & Co. He remained in Bengal thirty years. He was Sheriff of Calcutta in 1808. He became M.P. for Leominster March 1820–6. He was knighted. East India Register, August 1812, p. vi. Moore, C., Sheriffs of Calcutta (Calcutta, 1926), p. 32Google Scholar.

^{page 18 note 1} Alexander Colvin was a partner in the Calcutta agency house of Bayne and Colvin.

^{page 20 note 1} The expedition referred to was probably the one which occupied Cape Town in September 1795 Secret Board Minutes, India Office, i, fo. 65, 9 February 1795. Hist. Mss. Comm., Droptnore, ii. 645.

^{page 22 note 1} Hugh Inglis, Thomas Pattle, Sir Francis Baring, Paul Lemesurier, William Devaynes, Walter Ewer were all serving members of the direction. C. H. and D. Philips, “Alphabetical List of Directors of the East India Company 1758–1858”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, October, 1941.

^{page 23 note 1} From 1709 the East India Company hired, instead of owning, its ships, which, in view of the length and danger of the voyage to the East, had to be especially built. Each ship normally made four voyages (after 1790 six) and it was then customary because it was convenient to allow the owner, to provide a new ship in its place. Through this system of “hereditary bottoms” a comparatively small group of London capitalists gained the monopoly of building ships for the Company. This group formed the nucleus of the “Old Shipping” interest. C. H. Philips, The East India Company, p. 80.

^{page 24 note 1} The charter act of 1793 by which 3000 tons of private trade outward and homeward was yearly allowed on the Company's ships.

^{page 25 note 1} Hugh Inglis, William Bensley and Charles Grant were serving directors of the Company. C. H. and D. Philips, op. cit.

^{page 26 note 1} John Reid had previously been in the Company's Bombay service.

^{page 27 note 1} Probably Alexander Brodie, a writer in 1773 in the Madras service, after 1790 a proprietor of the Company, and M.P. for Nairnshire 1785–90, Elgin 1790–1802. C, C, Prinsep, Services of Madras Civilians, p. 17.

^{page 31 note 1} Dundas, Philip, superintendent of the Bombay Marine, formerly a ship's captain. E. Cotton, East Indiamen, pp. 178–9. He later became governor of Prince of Wales Island. He died in 1807.

^{page 31 note 2} Jonathan Duncan (1756–1811) first served the Company in Bengal and then as governor of Bombay for the long period 1795–1811. D.N.B.

^{page 31 note 3} See preceding footnote.

^{page 31 note 4} Public report was that “he had £10,000 a year and accumulated £70 or 80,000.” Farington Diary, 38 December 1807.

^{page 33 note 1} Joseph Cotton was first returned to the East India direction in April 1795, presumably against the wish of Dundas and Scott. C. H. and D. Philips, op. cit.

^{page 34 note 1} Scott was in 1795 a director of less than seven years' standing and therefore unusually junior to be elected to one of the chairs. Normally a director served for twelve years on the subordinate committees of shipping and warehouses before becoming a member of the important committee of Correspondence, whence the chairmen were chosen. Philips, op. cit,, p. 13.

^{page 35 note 1} George Dick had been member of council in Bombay and acting governor, November 1792 to September 1795.

^{page 37 note 1} Cornwallis had advised Dundas to bring all European and Indian troops of the Company under Crown authority, but the directors generally were averse, and finally a compromise was adopted by which the Company's system of recruitment in England was to be modelled on the King's, and in India the Company's army remained distinct. Questions of patronage were of course, at issue. Philips, East India Company, pp. 89–90. The despatch on the matter was finally sent to India in January 1796.

^{page 37 note 2} Cabell, William. Private secretary to Henry Dundas from 1784 and permanent India Board Asst. Secretary from 1795 until his death in June 1800. He had previously served ten years in the Examiner's department at the India House. Philips, East India Company, passim.

^{page 37 note 3} The previous communication was the unofficial draft despatch submitted by the chairmen for the private consideration of the President of the Board of Control.

^{page 37 note 4} Samuel Johnson was the senior Examiner in charge of all despatches at this period in the India House, and James Willis and Robert Hudson were his chief assistants. Philips, op. cit., p. 339.

^{page 38 note 1} The papers gathered together as the basis for a draft despatch, were termed the “collection.” A large number are to be found in the Record Department of the Commonwealth Relations Office.

^{page 38 note 2} Scott sat for the county of Forfar through the parliament of 1790–96, but his local agent, Sir David Carnegie, appears to have taken advantage of him and arranged for a contest in the county. Despite Scott's journey north, Sir David had him beaten at the election of 1796. Scott was returned however for the Forfar burghs which he continued to represent until his death in 1805. For details of Scott's interests in Forfar politics, see Home Misc. Series, Commonwealth Relations (India) Office, vols. 728–31, also Laing MSS. and Miscellaneous Letters and Documents Series, in the National Library of Scotland ; Furber, H., Henry Dundas (Oxford, 1931), p. 261Google Scholar.

^{page 39 note 1} At the beginning of this letter a number of details concerning the Angus election have been omitted.—(Ed.)

^{page 39 note 2} Scott's “colleague” was the chairman, Sir Stephen Lushington (d, 1807.) At first an India merchant and then a London banker, he served as a director 1782–1815. He was deputy chairman in 1798–90 and 1789–9 and chairman in 1790–91, 1795–96, 1799–1800. He married the daughter of the banker, John Boldero. Biographical Index of M.P.'s, 1806. He was M.P. for Hedon 1783–4, Michael 1796–1802, Penryn, 1802–6, and Plympton Earl, 1806–7. Oldfield, T. H. B., Representation History, iii. 216Google Scholar.

^{page 40 note 1} Maule was the successful candidate for Forfarshire at the 1796 election. Furber, H., Henry Dundas (Oxford, 1931), p. 261Google Scholar.

^{page 41 note 1} Ross, Alexander (1742–1827) served as aide-de-camp to Cornwallis in N. America and in the army in India, 1793. D.N.B.

^{page 43 note 1} Hobart, Robert, Baron Hobart, fourth Earl of Buckinghamshire (1760–1816). Governor of Madras, 1794–8 : Secretary for War and the Colonies 1801–4 ; President of the Board of Control for India, 1812–16. For an account of his term at the India Board see Philips, East India Company, chap. vii.

^{page 45 note 1} Metealfe, Sir Thomas Theophilus, had been in the Bengal army before returning to England and entering the East India direction in April 1789. He served until his death in November 1813. He was M.P. for Abingdon 1796–1807. He received a baronetcy in 1802. Thompson, E., Life of Charles, Lord Metealfe (London, 1937), chap. i.Google Scholar

^{page 45 note 2} Cosby, Sir Henry Angustus Montagu (1743–1822) served in the army in India 1756–86. D.N.B.

^{page 47 note 1} Campbell, Archibald M. A director of the East India Company from February 1796 until his death in September of the same year.

^{page 48 note 1} Dempster, George (1732–1818). A director of the East India Company in 1769 and 1772–3. See George Dempster's letters to Sir Adam Fergusson, ed. Fergusson, J., (London, 1934)Google Scholar. A few details relating to patronage in Angus for a Mr. William Alison have been omitted from this letter.–(Ed.)

^{page 48 note 2} Wood, Sir Mark, first baronet (1747–1829). He became a colonel in the Bengal engineers before returning to London in 1793. He was M.P. for Milborne Port 1794–6, Newark 1796–1802, Gatton 1802–18, D.N.B.

^{page 49 note 1} Douglas, Archibald James Edward, first Baron Douglas of Douglas (1748–1827) Lord Lieutenant and M.P. for Forfarshire. D.N.B.

^{page 49 note 2} This was the death on 20 December 1795 of David Scott's elder brother, Archibald, father of the Captain David Scott who so distinguished himself in opening up Assam. Watson, A., Memoir of the late David Scott (Calcutta, 1832)Google Scholar. It is to be noted that in Letter 62 Scott refers to Archibald as his “only brother,” presumably meaning his only surviving brother, for in all he had four brothers; Robert (1734–89) who was in the Company's service, Archibald (1738–95), George (b. 1739), and Robert (b. 1742).

^{page 50 note 1} The Company's military officers were dissatisfied at the slowness of their promotion and had formed a committee to press their views in London. One of their spokesmen was James Salmond who later married Scott's eldest daughter. Philips, op. cit., pp. 89–91.

^{page 51 note 1} Bebb, John, was head of the Company's Board of Trade in Bengal. He entered the East India direction in November 1804 and served until compelled to resign in April 1830. When in 1829 it was argued in the Court of Directors that he should resign because he had lost both sight and hearing, he replied ‘that he hoped to be restored to useful vision and that his hearing was liable to variation, being sometimes worse sometimes better.’ Minutes of the Secret Court of Directors, 4 February 1829. Commonwealth Relations (India) Office.

^{page 52 note 1} Not until 1863 was the iniquitous salt monopoly in Bengal replaced by a system of import duties coupled with an internal excise. Dodwell, H., Sketch of Indian History, (1925), p. 89.Google Scholar

^{page 53 note 1} Robert Scott, whose father Archibald died on 20 December 1795, had been sent as a writer on the Company's establishment in Bengal.

^{page 57 note 1} The Rājā of Benares, where Duncan had previously been Resident.

^{page 59 note 1} See p. 1, n. 3.

^{page 59 note 2} To enjoy four votes in the Proprietors' Court one had to hold £10,000 or more of India stock. Auber, P., Constitution of the East India Company (1826), i. 349Google Scholar.

^{page 60 note 1} The Nabob is the Nawāb of Arcot (or the Carnatic). A contested settlement of his debts had been made by Dundas in 1784. Many attempts by the creditors, were made to have the matter reconsidered, in 1795 through the Directors and in 1797 through the Proprietors' Court. General Court Minutes, ix, fo. 34, 18 May 1797, Commonwealth Relations (India) Office. P. Roberts, Wellesley, p. 97, and Philips, op. cit., pp. 36–41, 94, 285.

^{page 60 note 2} The impeachment of Warren Hastings had ended with his acquittal in April 1795, leaving him to meet expenses of £100,000, three-quarters of which were verified legaj costs. Hastings had asked Pitt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to indemnify him for his legal expenses and on refusal he approached the Court of Proprietors, which voted him compensation and a pension out of the Indian revenues. Dundas and the India Board decided against the legality of that and the matter was finally arranged by a compromise between the Government and the Company whereby Hastings received a pension of £4,000 for 28½ years with a payment in advance and a loan of £50,000 free of interest. In 1804 the Company further helped him. A. Lyall, Warren Hastings, pp. 218–25.

^{page 61 note 1} This dispatch is of course the long discussed military dispatch. In the last resort under the India Act of 1784 the Board of Control could compel the Court of Directors to send to India any dispatch not on commercial matters by applying for a mandamus under the Court of King's, Bench.

^{page 61 note 2} See above, p. 39, n. 2.

^{page 62 note 1} These proposals affecting the ships' captains formed part of Scott's shipping system of free and open competition. See Introduction, p. xvi. Recompense was paid to the captains for the amounts expended in purchasing their commands. The sum paid by 1804, when the settlement was complete, being £355,910. Select Committee Report, iv. (1812), p. 440Google Scholar, Commonwealth Relations (India) Office Library.

^{page 62 note 2} Chief surveyor of the Company's shipping and responsible for many alterations in the design of its ships. C. N. Parkinson, Trade in the Eastern Seas, pp. 135, 160, 327.

^{page 65 note 1} David Scott entered Parliament in 1790 as member for Forfarshire. He resigned in April 1796 and was then returned for St. Andrews. A number of letters in the Letter Books concerning Scott's parliamentary interests in Scotland have been omitted from this edition. See the Preface.

^{page 66 note 1} See p. 43, n. 2.

^{page 67 note 1} Shore, John, first Baron Teignmouth (1751–1834). Governor-general of India, 1793–8. D.N.B.

^{page 67 note 2} His deputy chairman was Hugh Inglis. See p. 112, n. 1.

^{page 67 note 3} In fact, when the long overdue army plan was published in Bengal, the officers so strongly objected to it that Shore had difficulty even in persuading them to accept a modified and more favourable version. Furber, H., An Indian Governor Generalship (1933), p. 98Google Scholar.

^{page 68 note 1} The Bombay rupee was worth 2s. 3d. at this time compared with the Bengal current rupee at 2s. od., the Bengal sicca rupee at 2s. 4d. and the Arcot (Madras) rupee at 2s. 2d.

^{page 69 note 1} Jones, Sir William (1746–94)—the great orientalist and jurist. D.N.B.

^{page 72 note 1} Scott here refers to the bitter quarrels between Shore and Hobart. Cambridge History of India, v. 317, 358.

^{page 72 note 2} See p. 51, n. 1.

^{page 72 note 3} Britain was short of wheat and at Pitt's request Scott had arranged to import rice from India through the Company. In 1796 the loss involved was £160,000. Secret Committee Minutes. iii, 25 June 1795.

^{page 73 note 1} Among the six directors ‘going out by rotation ’ were Scott's allies, Devaynes and Grant, and among the incoming were the inimical ‘Old Shippers,’ Elphinstone and Williams. C. H., and Philips, D., ‘Alphabetical List of Directors of the E.I. Company,’ Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, October, 1941Google Scholar.

^{page 75 note 1} An Adālat is a court of justice. See Handbook of Oriental History (ed. C. H. Philips) India Glossary.

^{page 77 note 1} The subject referred to is the Carnatic debts and the treaty of 1792 made by Cornwallis by which in time of war the control of the Carnatic and the collection of its revenues came under the Company, and in peace under the Nawāb. Cambridge History of India, v. 357. Hobart deemed the treaty a total failure, as it probably was, and wanted the Company to assume the administration of all the districts pledged for the payment of the Nawāb's tribute. Shore wished to maintain the status quo.

^{page 77 note 2} Kist. An instalment or quota of the yearly land revenue.

^{page 80 note 1} For a detailed account of the history and functions of the very important Secret Committee of the Court of Directors, see the two articles on this subject of Philips, C. H., Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1940, 1941.Google Scholar

^{page 81 note 1} Nānā Phadnavīs (Fadnavis), 1741–1800, was the famous prime minister and inspirer of the policy of the Marāthā court at Poona in its later phases. Cambridge History of India, v. 261–9.

^{page 82 note 1} Tunka. An assignment of the land revenue of a particular locality in favour of an individual.

^{page 82 note 2} The treaty referred to is that of 1792 between Cornwallis and the Nawāb of the Carnatic. See p. 77, n. 1.

^{page 84 note 1} Robinson, Sir George Abercrombie (d. 1832). Military auditor-general in Bengal. A director of the East India Company from 1808 to 1829. Deputy, chairman in 1819–20 and 1825–6 and chairman in 1820–1 and 1826–7. Philips, ‘Alphabetical List of Directors,’ Buckland, C. E., Dictionary of Indian Biography (1906Google Scholar).

^{page 85 note 1} This refers to an application from Scott's fellow director, Jacob Bosanquet, on behalf of Captain Jeremiah Martin Johnson.

^{page 85 note 2} The ‘young man ’ is the brother of George Johnstone, assistant resident at Lucknow and later M.P. for Aldeburgh, 1800–2, and for Hedon, 1802–6.

^{page 85 note 3} The reference is to Mr. Wemyss, brother-in-law of Alexander Brodie, a retired Madras civilian and M.P. for Nairnshire, 1785–90, and for Elgin, 1790–1802.

^{page 88 note 1} Jackson, Randle. A wealthy and able London barrister, who played a prominent part in debates in the General Court of Proprietors between 1793 and 1820. He supported Scott in the campaign against the ‘Old Shipping,’ and also defended Wellesley's policy. Philips, East India Company, passim.

^{page 88 note 2} These colours were duly worked by Lady Jane Dundas. They are normally to be seen hanging in the Military Committee Room of the former India Office, now Commonwealth Relations Office. One consists of a Union Jack with the royal monogram under a crown in the centre, the other of an ensign with a Jack in the corner and bearing on one side the Company's arms and on the other side the words ‘Royal East India Volunteers.’

^{page 91 note 1} Two regiments of Royal East India Volunteers had been formed to defend the City of London. They were largely recruited from the India House staff, and Scott acted as Colonel of the first regiment, Inglis of the second. For a view of the presentation of colours, see W. Foster, East India House, p. 168.

^{page 91 note 3} Nairne, Sir William (1731–1811), Lord Dunsinane, had married in 1769, Scott's sister, Alexandra (b. 1744). D.N.B.

^{page 92 note 1} The directors had suggested that the Company should borrow from the State in order to establish a sinking fund.

^{page 93 note 1} Alderman William Lushington, brother of Sir Stephen, was leading spokesman for the shipping interest in the Proprietors' Court. He had previously in 1771 served in Bengal. He was M.P. for London from March 1795–1802, Parliamentary Portraits, (1795), ii. 18Google Scholar. Hardy, C., Register of Ships (1800)Google Scholar. Holzman, J. M., The Nabobs in England (New York, 1926), p. 119Google Scholar.

^{page 93 note 2} Under the compromise in military matters reached with Dundas (see p. 37, n. 1) the directors had agreed to consider the establishment of a special recruiting depot. They finally decided that it would be too expensive and therefore applied to the Board for the reissue of their normal recruiting licence. The Board duly complied though apparently without informing Dundas. When he heard what had transpired he wrote on 10 December 1796 to the Directors recalling the licence and complaining, ‘If I had not understood that you was bona fide immediately to proceed in radically curing the defects of your recruiting system, no consideration should have induced me to acquiesce in the continuation of a European army in the hands of the Company.’ Board to Court, 1, fo. 425. Dundas referred the matter to Parliament. Not until 1799 was a new recruiting system settled by which the Company drew from the King's recruits. Court of Directors to Board of Control, 2, fo. 113 and Board to Court, 1, fos. 429–30.

^{page 94 note 1} Hobart had gone to Madras as governor with the promise of the succession to the governor generalship. The trouble in the Bengal army persuaded Dundas that a soldier was needed at the head of government, and the quarrelsome attitude of Hobart had shaken Dundas's faith in him. He therefore invited Cornwallis to return as governor general and Hobart was recalled. Ross, Cornwallis Correspondence, ii. 317–9. Chatham Papers, P.R.O. 188, fo. 16, Mornington to Pitt, 19 February 1797.

^{page 96 note 1} The Superior Board was of course the India Board of Control.

^{page 100 note 1} Cornwallis, Charles, first Marquis and second Earl Cornwallis (1738–1805). Governor-general of India, 1786–93; Viceroy and Commander-in-chief in Ireland, 1798–1801 ; negotiated the Treaty of Amiens, 1801–2 ; Governor-general of India, 1805, where he died. D.N.B.

^{page 100 note 2} The creditors as well as the Nawāb of the Carnatic employed agents in London. In 1784, for example, the Nawāb's agent had been James Macpherson and the creditors' agents, John Call, Richard Smith, and Sir Robert Barker. Philips, East India Company, pp. 36–40.

^{page 102 note 1} Often written as James Irwin. After service in India he became a director of the East India Company in April 1795 and remained in office until his death in March 1798 (Philips, , ‘Alphabetical List of Directors of the East India Company’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, October, 1941Google Scholar.

^{page 104 note 1} It is important to bear the contents of this letter in mind when considering the validity of the similar charges later made against Scott (Letters 176 ff.).

^{page 106 note 1} The deputy was Jacob Bosanquet, who as chairman in the following year sponsored an attack on Scott (Letters 176 ff.). Bosanquet was at this time about forty-four years old. He led the City interest in the Court of Directors and was supported, too, by the shipping members. Philips, op. cit., p. 95. Castlereagh described him to Dundas thus, ‘He is a great coxcomb. I am inclined to think however that he means well, but in point of manner he is among the least pleasant men to act with that have fallen in my way.‘Home Miscellaneous Series, vol. 504, fo. 36, 19 November 1802. Sweny Toone, an erratic director, said : ‘He is a very honest man, liberal in his sentiments, of considerable talents and he has very great weight in our Court.’ Add. MSS. 29179, fo. 176, 24 September 1803. For Inglis, see below p. 112.

^{page 112 note 1} Inglis, Sir Hugh (d. 1812). After a career as a Bengal merchant lie became an East India director in April 1784 and continued in office until his death in 1812. He was deputy chairman in 1796–7, 1799–1800, 1811–12, and chairman in 1797–8, 1800–1, and 1812. He was M.P. for Ashburton, 1802–6. C. H. Philips, The East India Company, passim.

^{page 116 note 1} The Pyche Raja of Cottiote was a chieftain in Malabar.

^{page 117 note 1} Properly malangi, a labourer employed in manufacturing salt.

^{page 119 note 1} This was Wilberforce's View of the … religious system of professed Christians … contrasted with real Christianity (1797).

^{page 120 note 1} Wellesley, Richard Colley, first earl of Mornington and Marquis Wellesley (1760–1842). One of the commissioners of the India board, 1793–7; Governor-general of India, 1798–1805; Foreign Secretary, 1809–12. D.N.B.

^{page 121 note 1} Clive, Edward, first Earl of Powis (1754–1839) son of Robert, first Lord Clive. On 5 July 1797 when it was decided that Mornington should go as governor general to Bengal, the governorship of Madras was offered to Earl Bathurst and, on his refusal, Lord Clive successfully applied for the appointment. He remained governor from 1798 to 1803. Hist. Mss. Comm., Bathurst, p. 21. Add. MSS 37274, fo. 1, and 37308, fos. 47, 73, Buckingham to Mornington, 7 July 1797 and 1 Jan. 1798.

^{page 122 note 1} After service in India Bensley entered the Court of Directors in October 1781 and continued in office until his death in January 1810. Philips, ‘Alphabetical List of Directors’.

^{page 124 note 1} The ‘Old Shipping ’ interest in the Court of Directors had strenuously but vainly opposed Dundas's proposal to make Ceylon a Crown colony (Secret Board Minutes, 1, fo. 86 ; Home Misc. 824, fo. 811, 25 January 1798).

^{page 125 note 1} For a detailed description of Sweny Tyrone's canvass see Philips, East India Company, p. 6. Toone, who had served in the Company's Bengal army, was elected to the direction in March 1798 and remained a director until February 1831.

^{page 125 note 2} The Court of Directors early showed a tendency to be co-optive and by 1784 it was customary for the directors in office to unite to ensure the return of the six directors who were yearly ‘out by rotation.’ In March of each year the chairman formally drew up this ‘House List ’ which was usually elected by the Proprietors. Philips, op. cit., p. 4.

^{page 126 note 1} This reference is to the ballot for a vacancy in the direction. Colonel Sweny Toone was the successful candidate. He remained a director until February 1831.

^{page 126 note 2} The Investment was made up of the goods shipped to London in the Company's vessels.

^{page 129 note 1} Bosanquet was at this time about forty-five years old. Scott records (Letter 179) that he was a member of ‘a very rich and respectable family ’ of London merchants ‘with a great line of City interest and connection.’ He entered the Company's direction in August 1782 and served until March 1827. He was deputy chairman in 1797–8,1802–3, 1810–11, and chairman in 1798–9, 1803–4, 1811–12, and again in 1812–13 on the death of Sir Hugh Inglis. See p. 106, n. 1.

^{page 130 note 1} Clarke, Sir Alured (1745 ?–1832). Commander-in-chief in Bengal, 1797, and in India, 1798–1801. D.N.B.

^{page 134 note 1} Sa'ādat ‘Alī was Nawāb of Oudh from 1798 to 1814. Handbook of Oriental History (ed. C. H. Philips), India section, List of rulers.

^{page 138 note 1} Carnac, John (1716–1800). He served in the East India Company's army from 1758 to 1779. D.N.B.

^{page 139 note 1} Brooke, Robert (d. 1802), had served in the Bengal army before becoming governor of St. Helena in 1787. D.N.B.

^{page 141 note 1} Rivett, James (1785–1846), was a member of the Bombay Council. He later took the name Rivett-Carnac. His son, also James, served in India and later became chairman of the Company and was made a baronet and became governor of Bombay. D.N.B.

^{page 142 note 1} See p. 116, n. 1.

^{page 142 note 2} Wigram, Sir Robert (1743–1830), started as a surgeon's mate and ended as a great shipping magnate. He had a large and distinguished family. H. Cotton, East Indiamen (ed. C. Fawcett), pp. 194–5. C. N. Parkinson, Trade in the Eastern Seas, p. 189.

^{page 150 note 1} Lord Hobart had recently reached England and in fulfilment of a promise made at the time of his recall, Dundas had proposed to the Company that a pension of £2,000 a year should be voted to Hobart. The directors did not like the proposal and after reducing it to £1,500 a year they failed to carry it in the Proprietors' Court. Later the proposal was passed but only after severe criticism of the Government. Asiatic Annual Register, i. 131, 6 December 1798, gives an account of the debate.

^{page 154 note 1} The Bombay rupee was worth 2s. 3d. at this time.

^{page 168 note 1} Dundas and the Secret Committee, of which Scott was a member, had formed a plan in July 1796 for an expedition against Manilla. Murray may well have heard of this because a reply from India had been received in London before the Helsingoer sailed in June 1797. It was revealed at Manilla that Murray had with him an English newspaper which stated that Manilla had fallen to the British. The expedition did not take place. Philips, East India Company, pp. 98–9.

^{page 170 note 1} Mills had withdrawn from the nomination to the deputy chair.

^{page 170 note 2} Hunter, John. After service at Fort Marlborough he entered the Company's direction in April 1781 and served until his death in January 1803. He was deputy chairman in 1794–5. C. H. and D. Philips, ‘Alphabetical List of Directors of the East India Company.’

^{page 170 note 3} Stephen Williams, John Travers and George Tatem were directors of the Company. Williams served from March. 1790 to March 1805 when he died. Travers served from April 1786 until his death in October 1809 ; Tatem from 1772 to July 1807, when he died. Ibid.

^{page 172 note 1} An analysis of this list of directors shows that in voting upon particular issues, such as the election of chairman, personal allegiance was as important as division by vested interest. There are on this occasion members of the ‘Indian ’ group, of the City and Shipping interests on both sides. In the left hand column, for example, Bensley, Grant, Scott, Toone, Inglis and Burgess ranked as ‘Indians,’ and Fraser, Smith, Lemesurier, Devaynes and Manship were City men. Lushington was a ‘Shipper.’ In the right hand column the City members are Baring, Mills, Roberts, Thelluson ; the Shipping members are Elphinstone and Williams, and the ‘Indians ’ are Metcalfe, Fitzhugh and Parry. Tatem and Travers I am unable to place.

^{page 173 note 1} ‘His counsellor’is presumably either Cotton or Elphinstone. See Introduction, p. xviii.

^{page 176 note 1} Charnock, Robert, was one of the chief managing owners of the Company's ships. In 1802 he controlled nine ships. C. Parkinson, Trade in the Eastern Seas, p. 188. H. Furber, John Company at Work, pp. 153–9.

^{page 176 note 2} Murray and his ship, the Helsingoer, were held at Manilla by the Spaniards. Possibly Scott refers to this. There is no reason to assume that Scott and Murray were in collusion. Later in September 1802 Murray threatened to reopen the whole case but Scott ignored him and apparently Murray went no further (Letter 430). It is however likely that Scott had in mind the fact that the agency house of D. Scott Junior & Co. was implicated in the illicit trade, as indeed most of the agencies were, and that on this account he wished to help Murray. In Letter 114 Scott refers to the help his son's House was in the habit of giving to Duntzfeld & Co. and in Letter 207 it is clear that Fairlie & Co. were concerned in the illicit trade.

^{page 183 note 1} For further discussion of the Company's financial problems and policy, see Philips, East India Company, pp. 105 ff.

^{page 184 note 1} Scott is referring to the Red Sea expedition from India which was ultimately dispatched by Wellesley. Cambridge History of India, v. 328.

^{page 184 note 2} Mornington had made a subsidiary treaty with the Nizam by which a British force replaced the French in Hyderabad. Ibid.

^{page 184 note 3} Mornington had been much displeased by the conduct of the Madras Government in 1798 and had wished to have certain members recalled. Hist. Mss. Comm. Bathurst, p. 24.

^{page 185 note 1} Shāah Alam II (1728–1806) was the son of Ālamgīr II, the Mughal emperor. He assumed his title in 1759 but after a troubled life and varying fortunes he was taken under British protection in 1803. C, E. Buckland, Dictionary of Indian Biography.

^{page 187 note 1} The chairman normally disposed of the voyages. The China voyage was said to be worth anything up to £10,000 to the ship's captain,

^{page 189 note 1} John Roberts had served from November 1780 and continued in the direction until his death in February 1810. C. H. and IX Philips, ‘Alphabetical List of Directors.’

^{page 192 note 1} Rose, George (1744–1818). Secretary to the Treasury, 1782–1801, D.N.B.

^{page 193 note 1} Nepean, Sir Evan, first baronet (1751–1822). Secretary of the Admiralty, 1795. D.N.B.

^{page 194 note 1} These papers are to be found in printed form in the Commonwealth Relations (India) Office Library. Illicit Trade Papers, London, 1799Google Scholar.

^{page 195 note 1} Dundas became Colonel in Chief of the Brigade. W. Foster, East India House, p. 168.

^{page 196 note 1} Middleton, Charles, first Baron Barham (1726–1813). D.N.B. Sir William Pulteney took a prominent part in the private trade controversy both in the Commons and at the India House in 1801–2. Philips, East India Company, pp. 114–15.

^{page 199 note 1} Thomas Henchman had served in Bengal. On his return he tried but failed to get into the East India direction. He took a prominent part in the Proprietors' Court, especially on private trade. Philips, op. cit., pp. 83–4, no.

^{page 205 note 1} Petrie, William (d. 1816) served in India from 1765 and became member of Council at Madras. He acted as governor from September to December 1807. C. E. Buckland, Dictionary of Indian Biography.

^{page 206 note 1} The date is missing in the original.

^{page 211 note 1} See above, p. 196, n. 1.

^{page 225 note 1} James Brodie, brother of Alexander, went to Madras as a writer in 1789. He was M.P. for Elginshire 1796–1807. C. C. Prinsep, Services of Madras Civilians, p. 16. Parliamentary Index of M.P.s (1806), p. 81. Furber, H., Henry Dundas (Oxford, 1931), p. 263Google Scholar.

^{page 225 note 2} See Vol. 11, p. 258, n. 1.