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thereto themselves, nor pretending to fay that any one elfe does; under fuch circumstances one might be at a lofs to conceive what foundation in reafon there could be for the directors fending fuch orders to Bengal. But on enquiry into the matter, the reasons affigned appear tó be four.

ift. That the Mogul is fovereign of the provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orixa, and proprietor of all the lands within those provinces: and that the rents granted to me are the antient imperial rents referved and payable to the emperor; and that therefore the Nabob could not grant or alienate the fame from the imperial crown; and that the company may be called to an account by the emperor for what they have paid to me. Nor is that all the company feem to expect, but that I am accountable to them for what I have received.

2dly. That suppose the Nabob had a right to alienate those rents, fuch alienation could exist no longer than the Nabob who granted the fame continued in his government, and that fuch alienation was not binding on his succeflor; and as Meer Jaffier had been depofed, the grant became of no effect.

3dly. That my acceptance of the dignity of an omrah, or title of honour, (which honour they doubt my having had, although they have a copy of the patent in their custody) was contrary to my duty to the company, as I might be obliged, by fuch acceptance, to aflift the Mogul and the Nabob in war, even against the company.

And lastly, for fear thefe reafons fhould fail them, then comes a fourth; which is, that fuppofe I have a right, that even then I have no remedy in England, but must refort to the court of the mayor of Calcutta, or to the courts of the emperor at Delhi, or the court of the Nabob.

As to the first, it may be proper to obferve, that, upon the original foundation of the Mogul empire, all the lands, like thofe in England, were in the crown, who granted the rents, in the nature of fee-farm rents in Eng

land: these lands were, and now are, called Calfa Lands, or lands belonging to the crown; the rents whereof were, for feveral years, received by officers appointed, within the provinces, by the emperor, for that purpose; and the Nabobs, who were then viceroys to the Mogul, had penfions affigned them to maintain their courts, and fupport their governments: but, for a great number of years past, that method has been changed, and instead of pensions, the emperors allotted to the Nabobs large quantities of land within the provinces, to be difpofed of and managed for their own benefit; and these lands were, and now are, called Jaghire lands, and for which no taxes are paid; and as to the rest of the lands within the provinces, the Nabobs farmed the fame of the Mogul at a certain yearly fum.

This alteration being received into the Mogul government, it became immaterial to the Mogul what the Nabobs did with the rents: the yearly fum ftipulated was all he expected, and that they were obliged to pay; fo that all the rents, and alfo the lands that produced them, were under the power of the Nabobs, who might and did dif pole of them as they thought fit, and out of them conferred favours on whom they pleafed. The Nabobs granted zemindaries or leafes of all the lands from time to time at their pleasure, or as occafion required; and in this ftate the conftitution and ufage of the Mogul empire stood at the death of Aurengzebe.

After the death of Aurengzebe, the Nabobs began to aflume fovereign authority, and the invasion of the Perfians, before taken notice of, rendered that fovereignty abfolute; and the Nabobs do now, and have for many years, exercifed all thofe fovereign rights, regarding the lands and revenues of the provinces, which the Mogul emperors ever had.

It is under the authority of the Nabob, the company now hold their zemindary in the lands fubjećt to my jaghire; it is under the fame authority, they now hold by treaty with the Na

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bob Coffin Cawn large districts of country, producing near 600,000l. a year to them, without paying any rent at all, notwithstanding thofe lands are calfa or imperial lands, and would, in cafe the original conftitution of the Mogul empire exifted, be fubject to the payment of the antient referved rents to the great Mogul, to a very large amount; it is well known that there are numbers of jaghires in the province of Bengal, granted by former Nabobs, that have fubfifted for several generations.

and even to furnish themselves with this pretence, bad as it is, they must have had a very extraordinary forefight; and I should be glad to have been informed of the period when fuch a reckoning was likely to take place.

Yet as to my jaghire, they now at once alledge it was an illegal act in Meer Jaffier, and at the fame time admit that the company are in the enjoyment of all the lands granted to them by the Nabob Coffin Cawn, without paying or being fubject to any rent at all; and that the grant from Coffin Cawn to them, both of the lands and ancient rents, is valid and effectual: this feems a contradiction not eafily to be reconciled. But for a moment, let us fuppofe that the fears the company entertained at that inftant, of being accountable to the great Mogul, might have obfcured the light which the comparison of things alone would have discovered, and that the Mogul should hereafter recover the antient dominion of his empire; it must then be obferved, that the annual tribute ftipulated to be paid by the Nabob on his confirmation, is in fact the fame annual fum formerly referved and paid by the Nabobs for the farm of the rents and lands within the provinces. Can it then be fuppofed, that the Mogul would require both the revenues of the lands, and also the annual fum ftipulated to be paid by the Nabob, in lieu of thofe revenues? It might with fome degree of probability have been faid, that he might, according to the constitution of the empire, call the Nabobs, who might then be confidered as his Viceroys, to an account for all the annual tribute remaining due to them but to say the company would be answerable to the Mogul for the rents paid by them to me, is an inconfiftency equal to the former, and not to be reconciled to reafon or the nature of things:

I have before taken notice of the prefent circumitances of the Mogul, and by what means a prince, under his circumftances, or even fuppofing him in as good a fituation as his predeceffors for feveral years have been, could recover the dominion of large and powerful provinces, which had long shaken off his authority, I am really at a lofs to guess. But, to remove any doubt the proprietors may entertain concerning the power and dominion of the Great Mogul in Bengal, or the fovereign authority of the Nabob, I will repeat the account given by your directors of those measures, under their hands to his Majefty, in the year 1762, in a memorial prefented by them relative to the tranfactions with the Dutch, which account is in the following words:

"By the ancient constitution of the Mogul empire, of which the provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orixa, are a part, the Nabob or Soubah of those provinces was nothing more than the Mogul's viceroy, yet, for many years past, as the ftrength of that conftitution has been gradually declining, the Soubahs of thefe and other provinces have been in like gradation, affuming an independance of the court of Delhi, and the shock which the empire received, or rather the fubverfion of it, for it has never recovered, nor probably ever will, from the eruption of the Persians under Nadir Schah, has fo far confirmed that independance, that the relation between the Nabob and the Mogul, is at prefent little more than nominal. The Nabob makes war or peace without the privity of the Mogul, and tho' there appear ftill fome remains of the old conftitutionin the fucceffion to theNabobship, yet in fact that fucceffion is never regulated by the Mogul's appointment, tho' the perfon in poffeffion is generally defirous of fortifying a difputed title by

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the Mogul's confirmation, which the court of Delhi, confcious of its inability to interpofe more fubftantially, and defirous of retaining an appearance of fuperiority, readily grants. The Nabob of Bengal is therefore de facto, whatever he may be de jure, a fovereign prince, or at worst, not a viceroy, but a tributary to the Mogul there being fome kind of tribute ftill confider ed as due, from these provinces to the Mogul, though it rarely, if ever, finds its way to Dheli." It appears by the director's letters, that the Dutch, as well as we, confider him in this light.

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I must obferve, that the Dutch, in order to give some colour for their complaints against the company, made ufe of the following allegation, viz. "The Mogul is fovereign of the country, and we derive from him, under repeated phirmaunds, a right to a free navigation from thence to other places; and this right we cannot be deprived of, without infringing the phirmaunds of the Great Mogul, which the Nabob, who is only governor of a province, is not authorized to do."

And it was in answer to this allegation the declaration above-mentioned was made by your directors, who now find them elves under the fatal neceffity, on behalf of the company, of making afe of the fame reafons for juftifying their conduct towards me, as the Dutch made ufe of to justify theirs towards the company.

As to the 2d reafon affigned by your directors, it might, perhaps, have been well for the proprietors, had it never been in their power to have employed it. But as it is affigned as fuch, I will anfwer it as I would have dore, at the time it was offered by them, without any regard to what has happened, fince that may have deprived them of the ufe they at firft propofed from it.

There are numbers of inftances of Jaghires now fubfifting, that have been granted by former Nabobs : there are many, even on the company's own lands, of which the directors might have been informed by the proper offi. VOL. III.

cer appointed for furveying those lands, who is now in England; and they might alfo have been informed, that there were many Jaghires granted by the Nabobs Surajah Dowla and Meer Jaffier allo exifting. But enquiry here feemed not neceffary; the directors at once boldly affirm, my Jaghire to be determined by the removal of Meer Jaffier from the throne, fince the grant did not, as they alledge, bind his fucceffor; without the leaft confideration of the natural inference fuch an affertion might produce.

I have before taken notice, that his Majefty's arms, and those of the company, by the revolution brought about whilft I was the commander in chief, acquired the great power and influence the company enjoyed in Bengal, when I left that country; and that that power after I came away, was made use of to depofe the prince who fat on the throne whilft I was there, and to establish Mahomed Coffin Cawn in his ftead. It is under these circumstances, that the directors make use of the 2d reafon. Now to give that reafon its utmost latitude, it can amount to no more than an admiffion from the company, that I had once a good right to require from them the payment of my Jaghire: but that this right is now defeated by a fubfequent act, entirely effected by their own agents abroad. The weight and justice of this argument I leave to your confiderations.

Before I quit this head, I must beg leave to take notice of the forms agreed on between the company, and Maho, med Coffin Cawn, which may be seen in the Appendix, and by which it will appear, that Meer Jaffier was to remain Nabob to all purposes, except the executive part of the government, which was to be the province of the new Nabob. This being the bafis of that revolution, if it may be fo called, it will appear, that the Nabob, Meer Jaffier, still remained Nabob of Bengal; and it is well known, that he did till lately refide at the company's factory, at Calcutta, in princely state; and even fuppofing my Jaghire to be good no longer

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than the reign of the perfon who granted it, it would be still fubfifting. How ever, your directors do now in effect declare, that they will retain my Jaghire for the benefit of the Great Mogul (who would receive it, as Coffin Ally would readily give any directions touch ing that matter the dicectors think proper to fuggeft to him) and that, in prejudice to me and their country; tho' they at the fame time are influenced to retain the rents of the lands granted to them, not only by Coffin Cawn, but alfo by the Nabob Meer Jaffier, in prejudice to the Great Mogul.

As to the 3d reason, here I must beg leave to obferve, that the titles of honour used in Europe are unknown to the Indians; their titles of honour are diftinguished only by a number of Azaras, or one thoufand, from two to ten thousand horfe, which is the highest, and was the title of the fon of the Great Mogul the number of fix thoufand, expreffes the dignity of an Omra, but not any lefs number; and the equipage of the perfon on whom fuch honours are beltowed, are proportioned by the ufage of the country to his rank. Hence it will appear, that of neceffity, no person can be ennobled in India, unless the rank and number he is ap pointed to be expreffed in the patent; and this is a mere compliment, which does not lay an obligation on the part of the perfon receiving fuch honour, to render to the Mogul any fervices whatsoever; and to affirm the contrary, it must be prefumed that the Nabob, in the prefent cafe, applied to the Mogul to take me into his fervice: who, in such service,. might (if the emperor meant to recover the ancient dominion of his empire, or the payment of his annual tribute) be employed against the Nabob himself, if military fervices were to be rendered to the Mo-. gul; which would be an abfurdity to fuppofe.

But the true intent of the honour, was no more than a perfonal favour to ne, and to give me rank amongst the grinces and great men of that country's

and may have been of service to you in my negotiations and tranfactions with them. Monfieur Dupleix, the commander in chief of the French forces in India, obtained a title of honour, inferior to mine, and had several Jaghires granted him by the Nabob of the Decan in lands, ceded to the French company, which he enjoyed for feveral years after he returned to Europe, and indeed until the lands, upon which the Jaghires were granted, were taken from the French. And Monfieur Dupleix confidered his title of honour as an advantage to the French in those parts.

As to the 4th reason, it is well known, was I obliged to purfue my remedy in the Mayor's court, that the judges of that court are dependants upon the com. pany: the appeal lies to their president and council, nay the perfon employed on my behalf, must be dependant on the company. As to my reforting to the courts of the emperor or the Nabob, no mandate or procefs from any fuch could he inforced against the company; and were these reasons to prevail, every avenue to juftice would be blocked up, and I fhould enjoy the fatisfaction in my own mind, of having a right to what I now demand, without any remedy to obtain it."

And he concludes with fome obfervations on the company's affairs at the time they loft Bengal, and fince they regained it.

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the elephant, as he goes to drink at the neighbouring river; when having given notice to his companions, he begins the attack, by piercing the fide of the beat with his javelin, while he is drinking. On this the wounded animal immediate ly pursues the aggreffor, who rides directly towards his companions on the plain when one of them attacks the elephant in his turn, in order to divert his attention from the object of his purfuit. Accordingly the beaft, enraged anew by a fresh wound, neglects his first antagonist, and purfues the fecond; when the third perfon draws him off from the purfuit of the fecond, by the fame means as the second diverted him from that of the firft. In the mean time, the poor creature lofes a vast quantity of blood; which the fury and agitation he is put into, cause to flow in great abundance. If he furvives thefe three attacks, the first hunter attacks him again; and thus is the poor bealt engaged by their fucceffive affaults, till wearied out and spent with the lofs of blood, he falls to the ground. In this Situation there is no danger in approach ing this formidable animal; and sawing off his teeth, whofe length is proportioned to the age and ftrength of the beast.

But this method of hunting the elephant is extremely dangerous, if attempted on rough ground, as appears by the following relation. Three Dutchmen, who had lived fome time at the Cape, and got a great deal of money by this kind of bufinefs, being about to return to their native country, had a mind to take their leave of the fport, by one more hunt, for their diverfion. To this end they fixed on a plain which unluckily, was not fufficiently fecured from the mole-hills, which are very large and hollow in that country. The chace began fuccefsfully; the fecond hunter having given the attack, and got to fome distance from the elephant, when his horfe ftumbled at a mole-hill, and fell; giving the furious animal time to come up to him: when the lat. ter feized hold of the rider with his

trunk, and threw him on the ground. Then feizing the horfe in the fame manner, he threw him to a confiderable diftance: after which returning to the difmounted hunter, he took hold of him again, and toffing him up in the air, caught him, as he fell upon the po'nt of one of his tufks, which ran fairly through his body, and thus held him empaled by the middle. In this fituation, the favage animal kept him a long time, turning himself about, and prefenting the horrid fpectacle to his other purfuers; at the fame time feeming to take a pleasure in the writhings, cries and fuffering of this unfortunate hunter."

We cannot here help paying a tribute to ingenuity, and mention the artificial elephant in the Rites of Hecate, defign ed and finished by Mr. JOHNSTON, boufe keeper to Drury-lane Theatre; its appearance is fo ftrictly a refemblance of life, that many of the Spectators have been deceived by it; and we think it the greatest piece of machinery, and conftructed upon the moft fimple principles of anyt y that ever was exhibited on a Theatre.

From the LONDON MAGAZINE.,

General Obfervations respecting the Hottentots. From the fame Author.

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HE Hottentots live much in the fame manner as the ancient Gauls, mentioned in Cæfar's commentaries; refiding in different hords or tribes, on the banks of rivers, and near the forefts; where they form fo many diftinct villages and independent republics. By means of the rivers, the country about them is fertile in the production of those roots and wild fruits, on which the Hottentots in a great meafure fubfift; and the forests yield them the like advantages, though these only refemble our fhrubberies, their trees being feldom more than fix or seven feet high. The Hottentot villages are all circular; the cabbins of which they

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