It has often been remarked, that the will and affections influence the judgment; and the truth of the remark derives a melancholy illustration from the case under consideration. Of all the affections, self-love and self-interest are the most powerful; and it is almost superfluous to add what has already been stated, that these two principles form the very quintessence of Monopoly. Where every motive and feeling has been chained to the car of self-interest, it is truly amusing, were not the matter too serious for merriment, to observe to what an extent reason and even conviction, instead of influencing the conduct, become subordinate to views of expediency-the order of nature inverted, the heart bribed by selflove, the understanding blinded by passion, and the judgment inflexibly bent by prejudice. And the sophistry and show of reasoning by which erroneous maxims and corrupt practices are defended, are no less curious and absurd. The mere watchdog bark of 'no innovation,' having long since failed to convince the bulk of mankind, however well it may serve to terrify a few, the advocates of the old system, or rather the sentinels, have adopted a new mode of waging their defensive warfare. They have admitted into their commercial creed most of the general principles of the new and improved system; they hold these principles to be excellent in themselves, and capable of wise and salutary application in some, nay, in many particular instances. But attempt to carry the Monopolist of the old school a step farther, or rather planting him on the ground of his own voluntary admissions, bid him look at the principle in all its bearing-survey it fairly, in its length and breadth, and apply, in all their extent and variety, the practical inferences thus deduced, and the grim spectre of self-interest, starting up before him, withering the goodly prospect, averts his eye from the frightful picture. He grants you, that the opening of a particular market from which he is unjustly excluded, that the lopping off an impost which encumbers his revenue, or that the franchise of a corporation, of which he is not a member, would be very desirable and very reasonable things, but he is a profiter by the continuance and abuse of the East India Monopoly, and therefore (for this is the substance, though not the verbosity of his argument,) and therefore, this Monopoly, come what will of other Monopolies, may not and ought not to be invaded. I may avail myself of your indulgence at another opportunity, to pursue into detail, and apply the principles which I have thus, at some length, endeavoured to elucidate and establish. In the meantime, I trust I may be allowed legitimately to conclude, as a practical improvement of the whole, that Monopoly, in commerce, is the spirit and essence of that 'oppression,' which, in the estimation of a great king, (who, having known and cultivated the trade with India a few thousand years before the Company acquired their Charter,) ought to have some little weight with those who, to the sad experience of this country, can plead antiquity in their favour, 'maketh a wise man mad.' ON THE UNJUSTIFIABLE REDUCTIONS OF ALLOWANCES IN THE BENGAL ARMY. To the Editor of the Oriental Herald. SIR,-As the present very heavy grievances of the Bengal army, cannot be made known through the medium of the Indian press, in the manner that they should be, I shall feel obliged by your giving insertion to this letter in your widely circulated periodical; as I should wish that the body of the English nation could become better acquainted with the state of the army in this country. They imagine that officers in India, are so well paid, that there is no difficulty in realising a splendid fortune; whereas, on the contrary, it requires the greatest economy to keep clear of debt. I trust to be able to prove to the most scrupulous reader of your work, that the late Act of the Court of Directors, placing the Bengal army on half Batta, is most illiberal and unjustifiable, and arising from a breach of faith; and further, that the Court were formerly of that opinion, in confirmation of which I have subjoined their own letter to the Madras Presidency, 15th September, 1809. Now to the first charge, of illiberality; admitting, for the sake of argument, that the Court had the power, and could, without a breach of faith, reduce the pay and allowances of the Bengal army, at their will and pleasure, the following circumstances alone, should have restrained them from acting so ungenerously. It must be admitted, by any one who is acquainted with the Bengal army, that what a subaltern receives, is barely sufficient to maintain him in that respectability required of an officer. With an ensign, common economy is not sufficient to keep him out of debt, and if he is anxious to live within his means, he must forego many necessaries, and his mode of living will be mean in the extreme; consequently, he cannot support that respectability, required of an European officer in this country. All this he has to suffer for a period of six years, the time he must serve for his promotion to a lieutenancy, and what are the allowances of a lieutenant ? such that he cannot afford to drink beer, the common beverage of the poor in England; there is no surplus whatever for comfort, and much less for extravagance. Indeed, to make both ends meet, for a period of years, with the ordinary and incidental expenses of his situation, requires the greatest frugality, economy, and manageAt this time, the greater part of the subalterns are in debt; and during all the period they serve in this grade, six years as an ensign, and fourteen as a lieutenant, they positively are not able to save sufficient money to admit of their visiting their Native Country. ment. On entering the service, a poor Cadet knows not his unhappy Unjustifiable Reduction of Allowances in the Bengal Army. 73 lot; he has sacrificed every thing dear to him, relations, friends, and home, and for what? a paltry subsistence. Loss of health is consequent to a residence in India, which redoubles the hardships of bis situation. This is the cause of the body of officers not taking their furloughs; some, more fortunate in having money left them, are enabled to have that satisfaction which poverty withholds from others. This is the situation of an officer after twenty years' service,―to obtain a Captaincy, with increase of allowance, which higher rank requires an additional expense, and swallows up all he receives; he is now growing old, and must procure further necessaries; for things that in England are termed luxuries, are absolutely requisite in an Indian climate. It is then a long time before he is a Field Officer, and as for retiring on the pension of his rank, it is quite out of the question : so bad, indeed, has the situation of the army been considered, that to alleviate it, during the last eight years, it has frequently been proposed to establish by subscription a retiring fund, that persons might obtain the rank of Field Officer in a moderate time; but the general impression abroad is, that the Court of Directors would not allow it. In 1826, when Lord Combermere was Vice-President, Colonel Watson, Adjutant-General of the Army, put an advertisement in the papers, stating that a meeting was to be held, for the purpose of establishing a military retiring fund, and two days after, he had to insert another, stating that the first was published owing to his not having properly understood the Commander-in-Chief. But the report in circulation was, that Colonel Casement had brought to his Lordship's notice, the Company's aversion to a fund being established. This is in keeping with their other acts: for example, the under-paid Civilian, after twenty-two years' service, gets a pension of one thousand pounds per annum, above which he receives five hundred additional from the Company; while the over-paid Officer, at that time but a Captain, obtains one hundred and eighty pounds a-year in all! The wisdom in Leadenhall Street is more transcendant than that of Parliament. The latter are of opinion, that a man advanced in years is fit for a Judge, and young men for the subordinate situations in the army. The former have set forth, in establishing a Civil fund, a contrary doctrine; Army will speak for itself; those who fill the lower ranks, from slowness of promotion, possess not the energy requisite for that situation, and our Officers are old women before they are Generals on the Staff. the But now to the subject of reduction; the present is at the rate of 12 per cent. from Subalterns, 10 from Captains, and 20 from Field Officers; and how is this to be effected, but by a species of juggling? The Company wish to keep all that is deducted in the first instance; and I suppose, are apprehensive of the consequences of too suddenly taking a large sum, they have therefore coined a new term to return half-calling it House-rent,-a term quite foreign to the Native Army, who have always been told that tent allowance was given them, to provide themselves with camp equipage in the field. The truth is, that the Company have long been anxious to effect a saving at the expense of the Bengal Army, for their instructions about half Batta are under date November, 1823, and though published in August, 1824, are now only undergoing execution. The Marquis of Hastings, in January, 1823, left the country with a surplus in the treasury; but the Burmah war broke out in 1824, and wasted it all. Admit, however, that the measure arose from financial difficulties, was it ever known that the army were called upon to give up a share of their allowances to liquidate a National Debt? On the contrary, in Europe the pay of the army has been increased in proportion to the rise of the necessaries of life. I would wish to bring to your notice the losses to which officers are subject, in the sale of their Bungalows; sending troops for a time to a station, and afterwards reducing their number, entails serious loss to many individuals, to the amount of 2000 or 3000 rupees. Have the Company ever been generous enough to remunerate officers under these circumstances? No! They have always thrown in their teeth the observation, that tent allowances were expected to meet their expenses. Contrast the present system with the line of conduct pursued by the generous and ever to be regretted Marquis of Hastings in 1817, when Mr. Gardiner, Government Military Secretary, inadvertently published, in orders, an extract of the Court's letter, directing the allowance for holding a Company to be reduced, which called from the body of the army, representations against the reductions of an allowance always considered an integral part of their pay. The liberal Marquis of Hastings, annoyed at the mistake, said it was never intended to publish the extract, and no reduction was to take place. How different now ; for the pay of the Bengal Subalterns will be worse than that of the common Native writers in the Calcutta offices, and considerably worse than that of a Native civil officer. Further, the proposed reduction is politically objectionable, inasmuch as nearly all Officers remaining with their regiments are Subalterns, and the allowance received by them will be so reduced, as to lessen their respectability in the eyes of the men, who are apt to look up to them, with regard to their appearance. I will now advert to the second charge, that the Company are guilty of a breach of faith, in ordering the present reductions. In former times, the troops in the field received as a remuneration double full Batta, and when this allowance was reduced to full Batta, it was on the plea of equalising all Officers in the Bengal army. This change caused a great sensation, but a pledge was given, that full Batta was always to be continued; at least, if not positively a pledge, something tantamount to one was given. The pay of the army has been at this rate for the last thirty years, and for the reasons already stated, it is a matter of right to have it continued. The body of Officers entered the service on an understanding that their pay was such, as has hitherto been paid, which they were led to believe was inviolable. Had the terms been different, individuals would have turned their attention to other pursuits for a livelihood; and it must be admitted, that after ten years in India, people have contracted habits, which prevent them following any other profession; besides which, their situation is altered by loss of friends, who might be of service to them: were not this the case, there are many (and preferable would it be), who would resign the service, after this present breach of faith. In the first instance, a large sum-denominated, in the language of the East, a remuneration for services-is taken away, and part only returned under another name, which reflects no small contempt on those who framed it. Every individual now declares, from this breach of faith, they have no longer any confidence in a Government which can lend itself to such meanness, and their placing Dum Dum, Dinapore, Barrackpore, and Berhampore on half Batta, is a ruse de guerre, for that it will ultimately be extended to all the army, no man in India doubts. Appeals are sent in, and the Court's illiberality is now striking, as they are aware that Officers cannot assemble to draw up a joint memorial, nor can two officers affix their name to one letter. We are given to understand, that the Commander-in-Chief has sent in a strong remonstrance, but of what avail will this be? as the Court are too far removed to sympathise, and are no doubt pre-determined to lend a deaf ear to every arrangement in our favour. Something decided must be done, such as was reported to have happened in 1824, of the spirited Sir Edward Paget, when Lord Amherst pressed in Council the half-Batta system, who said, if the measure was enforced, he would resign, sooner than be a party to any act which would cause such hardships to officers whose services deserved better treatment from their masters. I will conclude by quoting the Court's Letter to the Madras Presidency, and ask what has since occurred to alter their opinions of its justice? Bengal, Jan. 5, 1829. I remain, Sir, A BENGAL SUBALTERN. 'Extract from the General Letter from the Honorable Court of Directors, 15th September, 1809, in reply to a Memorial from Madras. '61. The address then again reverts to the claim of an equalization of military allowances at Madras and Bengal-a claim which, though it neither be grounded on any solid principles, nor can ever be admitted as the basis of any practicable regulation, we shall examine somewhat more in detail than we have thought necessary |