lic, down to July 5, 1772, to the amount of 2,169,3981. 18s. 24d. and thereby incur red debts in England to a large amount, and were drove to fuch diftrefs as to be obliged to apply to Parliament for relief, upon which occafion a loan was made to the petitioners by the public, which was afterwards repaid with interest; and that, although the public reaped fuch great advantage as herein before is mentioned from the faid territories, befides a very great increafe in the duties of customs and excife, which, on an average of fifteen years immediately preceding the acquifition of the Duannce, produced no more than 14,940,6591. and in the fifteen years immediately fucceeding amounted to 19,940,6591. the petitioners have received no other advantage therefrom than the fum of 1,453,cocl. which was appointed to reduce their bond debt from 2,898, 1241. 10s. down to 1,497,000l.; and that, after deducting the faid fum of 1,453,000l. received by the petitioners out of the faid territories and revenues as aforefaid, from the faid 5,069 cool. difburfements on account of the wars and troubles in India, the petitioners are now in difburfe on that account to the amount of 3,616,000l. befides intereft on fuch difburfe to a very large amount; and that, the loan made by Government being repaid, and the Company's bond debt reduced as aforefaid, his Majesty's minifters refumed their claim of a participation in the faid territories and revenues, and in the beginning of the year 1781 demanded the immediate payment of 600,000l. as a share of threefourths of past profits; and that the petitioners ftrongly remonstrated against the very fevere terms infifted upon on the part of Government, as hard and oppreffive, and made various propofitions to mitigate the feverity of the terms: At length the petitioners were induced to agree to pay the public 400,000l. in full of paft profits, up to March 1, 1781, and from that time to pay the public three-fourth parts of all their profits in England beyond a dividend of 81. per cent. to the proprietors, and to take upon themselves the payment of fundry naval and military expences, which at all times before had been borne by Government, and even during the last war fundry payments were made by Government to the petitioners, purfuant to acts of Parliament, in lieu of troops withdrawn from India; and that objections were made to this agreement on the part of the petitioners, from an apprehenfion of the inability of the petitioners to fufain it, and fubfequent events have but too fully evinced that fuch apprehenfion was juft, for the peitioners having paid 300,cool. in part of the faid fum of 400,0col. have not been able to pay the remaining 100,000l. nor have they been able to pay the whole of the cuftoms which have become due to his Majetty; but, pursuant to an act made last feffion of Parliament for that purpose, the said Yum of 100,000 and 396,4661. due for cuf toms, have been postponed to April1, 17843 and the petitioners have alfo been obliged to poftpone many of their commercial debts: Upon the whole, the terms of the faid agreement, carried into execution by an a of the 21ft of his prefent Majesty, appear to the petitioners fo contrary to their juft expectations, and the terms in other refpects fo hard, that the petitioners hope the Houle, upon mature confideration of the various parts thereof, with the petitioners obfervations therean, and proposals for varying the fame, will be pleated to grant the petitioners relief therein; for which parpofe the petitioners now beg leave to fubmit the fame to the House, in the order in which they arife upon the faid act of Parliament: Firft, The agreement and act compel the petitioners to pay the public 400,cool. in full for paft profirs, up to March 1, 1781, in part whereof there has been already paid 300,0col, and the remaining 100,ocol. is only poftponed to April 1, 1783: Secondly, All the petitioness profits in England, beyond a dividend of 81. per cent. to the proprietors, are to be divided between the public and the petitioner, in the proportion of three-fourths to the public, and one-fourth to the petitioners; and, according to the letter of the faid act, this profit may be computed on the accounts of a fingle year, without providing for the reimbursement of any lofs fuftained in the preceding year, the whole of which is, by this mode of computation, thrown upon the petitioners; and that this appropriation of profits, for the time patt and to come, arites from an idea of the public being entitled, independent of the petitioners, to the territorial revenues in India: The petitioners do not acquiefce in this claim; however they da not think it incumbent upon them at this time to enter into a difcuffion of it, and the queftion, to which the petitioners intreat the attention of the Houfe, is, under what con dition juftice can require a participation from the Company? The petitioners rely, that the most frenuous afferter of the claim of the public (much more those who will give a liberal confideration to the fubject) must allow that the Indian revenues, or any part thereof, ought not to be wrefted from the petitioners without a reimbursement of the expences of acquifition; to which the petitioners must add, that the fituation of their affairs, diftreffed at home, and loaded with debt abroad, requires fuch a reimbursement, or an adequate recompence in lieu thereof; the bond debt which the petitioners now owe in a great meafore arofe from their military expences in India, or has been neceffarily continued on that account. Independent of thefe expences, the petitioners ordinary mercantile profits would have enabled them to have extinguifhed the whole of their bond debt long before the territories were acquired; and that the petitioners ne celties, arifing from the want of being re imbursed tioned in the faid act of the 21ft of his pre fent Majefty, until the prefent bond debt fhall be wholly difcharged; and that the petitioners further hope, that the Houfe will not only fee proper to vary the fubfifling agreement, but that the term of the agree ment will be extended: fo fhort a term as ten years (whereof two years are now expired) is injurious to public credit, in pro moting fpeculations upon what may be the terms of new agreements; and the affairs of the petitioners, by means of thort terms, are kept in a continued state of agitation. On the part of the public, the petitioners conceive, a long term cannot be objected to, as the public cannot poffibly ever require to be paid a greater fhare than three fourths of the profits of the territories. And the petiz Imburfed a principal of above three millions and an half, and an intereft increafing on fuch principal to a much greater amount, it is conceived will justify hopes of receiving -effectual aid from the public. Whilft thefe difbursements remain unpaid to the peritioners, they mult conceive they are within the bounds of moderation in thinking that the payments of 2,159,000l. and 300,000l. for the use of the public, were made under mistaken ideas of the petitioners pecuniary abilities; and they confidently hope and truff, that fo much thereof will now be returned as may enable them to carry on their affairs, at least that the 300,000l. fo lately advanced when the petitioners were utterly unable to spare it, may be returned in part of the reimbursement of their expences in acquiring the territories, and that the petitioners further beg leave to fubmit to the tioners may be releafed from the 100,000l. which remain unpaid; and the petitioners beg leave to inform the Houfe, that the fum which they will want to carry on their af fairs only to March 1, 1784, upon the moft correct calculation they have been able to make, allowing for the fafe arrival of all their expected thips within that period, will be about 900,000l. without paying the faid 100,000l. But what farther fupply the demands upon the petitioners, fubfequent to that period, may require, they are not at present able to afcertain, nor will the Houfe be furprized at the pecuniary difficulties in which the petitioners are involved, when they are informed, that, in addition to the expences and other loffes neceffarily attendant on a ftate of hoftility, the encreased charge of the petitioners in the article of thipping alone during an European war exceeds the annual fum of 500,000l.; and if, upon mature confideration, it shall not be feen fit for the public to return the money received from the petitioners as aforefaid, or any part thereof, it will be neceffary that fome other means of relief should be given to the petitioners; in this cafe, and in order to provide for all events without reducing the dividend, which must affect the petitioners credit, and confequently the interefts of the ftate in their commerce, the petitioners would propofe to the Houfe, that they fhould be permitted to increase their bond debt, as their occafions may require, to any fum not exceeding their former bond debt, and to repay the fame from their fubfequent profits before any participation takes place, which increase of debt, as the law now ftands, cannot be made, preferving the very moderate dividend at prefent paid on their stock; and that, although the petitioners treft that a recompence will be made to them for their disbursements in acquiring the territories, they do not with to apply the fame in dividends beyond 81. per cent. as long as they shall owe money upon bond exceeding 1,500,00ol. nor after that time to increase their dividend beyond the rate men Houfe, that the claufe of the faid act of the 21ft of his prefent Majefty, which directs the payment of the three fourths of profits appropriated to the public fhall be made on the first day of May in every year, should be varied; the September fale, when the pet tioners fales are regular, is always the farget, and it frequently happens, in the ordinary courfe of the Company's affairs, independent of any uncommon or unforeseen expences, that the petitioners are obliged to borrow money in the fummer half-year, to pay duties, or for other purposes; therefore the payment to Government of the publick's thare of profits being fixed to be made on the rft of May, is very inconvenient; two remedies may be applied, the firft (and which appears to be the most eligible) is, out of the furplus profits to raife a joint fund, to remain by way of stock, not to be divided till the end of the term of participation; the other is, to give liberty to the Lords of the Treafury to allow fuch time for the payment of the publick's thare of profits as the Company's affairs may require: The third obfervation which arifes on the faid act of the 21st of his prefent Majefty is, on the claufes which oblige the petitioners to pay two lacks of rupees for each regiment of foldiers belonging to his Majefty employed in the Eaft Indies, to victual the King's fhips in India, and to fupply naval and military ftores; thefe were always confidered by the petitioners as infupportable burthens, and time confirms this apprehenfion; and that thefe expences, till the faid act of the 21ft of his prefent Majefty, have always been borne by Government, and, it is fubmitted, ought to continue fo to be paid; the fame reason which makes it incumbent upon Government to protect the rest of the British dominions, fully holds in refpect to the East Indies; the India trade brings an immenfe revenue to Government, from the cuttoms and excifo upon the imports, befides great benefits to this country from the large exports of its produce and manufactures; in these respects, independent of participation, the public are much more interested than the proprietors of frock: f thefe expences are to be continued as a burthen upon the petitioners, they will very materially affect both the public and the Company.Thofe whoframed thefe claufes fuppofed the payments would be no burthen upon the Company in England, becaule they were to be made out of the produce of the revenues in India: but this will be found to be a very miltaken notion, for it now clearly ap'pears, that, if thele payments are made in India, there will be nothing left for inveftments to England, nor will the revenues, even without any invefiment, be fufficient to pay thefe and the other enormous military expences in India. If the investments fail from this caute, the duties payable to Go-vernment in England will proportionaly be diminished, and there can be no fund for particination; on the contrary, the petitioners will yearly be brought in debt by their trade, for bills will be drawn to pay for fuch invettments as inall be made, in order to avoid fending hone unloaded thips upon Gemurrage, and will encourage imuggling, which is highly injur us to the public and the Company And that in refpe&t to victualling the th ps p Ind a, the petitioners conceive, that the words of the act moft clearly thew that the provifion relates only to fuch victualling as the Eaft Indies produce, aud this was fully expreffed to be the intention of his Majesty's min fters, yet the Commiffioners ter victualling his Majesty's navy have required the Company to send out victualling from England, and opinions of counfel have been taken on both fides of the quettion, which may probably end in a fuit .at law, if the petitioners are not relieved by Parliament; and that, in regard to the naval and military flores, the quantity of them is tuch as very greatly increases the petitioners expences of freight and demurrage, which are wholly a charge upon their cath in England. The complicated mode in which they ale to be provided and paid for, is highly exceptionable, and may be injurious to the Company in paying for them, for although a mode of reimbortement is fixed, the Company, at a certainty, is to remain in advance for a part of the difberfe, which the state of their treafury will not be able to bear. The petitioners therefore hope, that the Houfe will confent to a repeal of the claufes in the act ref ecting naval and military fores. And the pet tioners muit alfo crave the Houfe to take into confideration the supply of falt peIre, and confent to a variation of the law relating thereto; and that the Company by their charter are obliged to fupply Government annually with 500 tons of falt petre, if demanded, the charter Ripulated that this fupply fhould be made by the Company at prime colt, without charging any profit, but, by n act made in the first year of Qu. Anne, it was enacted, that fuch falt petre thould be paid for at the rate of 451. per ton in time of peace, and 531. per ton in time of war; thete prices, at the time the act was made, were computed to be about the amount of prime coft, including freight, loffes, and charges, but for many years paft, on account of the increate of freights, and other circumftances of expence, they have been greatly adequate to the prime coft and charges, and are likely to continue fo; wherefore the petitioners hope, that the Houle will vary the faid act, either by directing the payment to be made upon a new computation of prime cofts and charges, or according to the prime cofts, charges, and offes, upon an account to be from time to time made up thereof; and, as Government for a long time paft have demanded a much larger lupply of talt perre than 500 tons a year, provifion fhould be made for the payment of any furplus fupply at the fame rate at which falt petre was fold at the petitioners fale uex preceding fuch turplus fupply; and the peritioners further beg leave to fiate to the Houfe, that there now remains due to them for falt petre from the Office of Ordnance, the fum of 80,0081. 15s. 3d. which the Mafter of the Ordnance, and the other officers of that Board, do not think themfelves authorized to pay, although the fame was included and voted in the fupplies of the year 1781: Upen the whole, the petitioners intreat the Houfe to take their cafe into confideration; and, trusting and confiding in the wifdom and juftice of the Houle, the petitioners moft bumbly pray, that fo much of the faid feveral fums so difburfed by the petitioners, as fhall be neceffary to relieve the petitioners from their prefent diftreis, may be repaid to the petitioners, at leaft, that the faid fum of 300,000l. fo lately advanced when the petitioners were utterly unable to fpare it, might be returned, and that the petitioners may be released from the faid tuin of 100,cool. which remains unpaid as aforefaid, and that the petitioners may be paid the faid debts due to them for French prifoners, hofpital expences, and the charges of the expedition to Manilla, and that provifion may be made for raifing money from time to time, not exceeding 1,500,cool. in fuch manner as to the Houfe fhall feem meet, to enable the petitioners to carry on their affairs without prejudice to the dividend of 81. per cent. and that the money fo raifed may be repaid out of future profits in preference to a participation, and that provifion may be made for ra:fing a fund to carry on the petitioners affairs, or time allowed for payment of the publick's fhare of profits, till the petitioners are enabled to pay fuch profits without borrowing money for that purpose, or for the ordinary currency of their affairs, and that, in cafe of a deficiency in any year's account, the fame may be carried forward in the account of next year, in like manner as was directed by an act of the laft feffion; and that the peti tioners tioners may be relieved from the military and naval expences in India with which they are burthened by the faid act of the 21st of his prefent Majefty; and that provifion may be made for the petitioners being paid the debt now due to the petitioners from the Board of Ordnance, and being freed from lofs in the supply of falt petre to Government, and for the petitioners being paid the market price for fo much as they shall fupply beyond 500 tons per ann. or that the peti tioners may have fuch other relief in the premiles, as the nature of their cafe shall require, and as to the House shall seem proper. The following very interefting Remarks on the extraordinary State of ibe itmosphere have been lately published at Paris. F 2 OR a confiderable time paft the weather has been very remarkable here; a kind of hot fog obfcures the atmosphere, and gives the fun much of that dull red appearance which the wintry fogs fometimes produce. The fog is not peculiar to Paris; thofe who are come lately from Rome fay, that it is as thick and hot in Italy, and that even the top of the Alps is covered with it, and travellers and letters from Spain affirm the fame of that kingdom. Some people of abilities declare they never remember the like; and the timid, who think of the recent misfortunes of Calabria, dream of earthquakes and vaft re volutions, &c. &c. Happily for the age, there are too many enlightened people at prefent to fuffer thefe things to fpread to univerfally, as, to the great benefit of the priesthood (here), they formerly did, though it is remarked even now that the churches and faints are more refpectfully attended than ufual,and that the fear of impending calamities has occafioned one of the literati of the Academy of Sciences to write the following letter, and have it inferted in the Journal de Paris. To the Authors of the Journal.It is known to you, gentlemen, that for fome days past people have been inceflantly enquiring what is the occafion of the thick dry fog which almost conftantly covers the heavens? And as this question is particularly put to aftronomers, I think myfelf obliged to fay a few words on the fubjeét, more eipecially fince a kind of terror begins to fpread in fociety. It is faid by fome that the difafters in Calabria were preceded by fimilar weather, and by others that a dangerous comet reigns at prefent. In 1773 I experienced how fast these kind of conjectures, which begin amongst the ignorant even in the most enlightened ages, proceed from mouth to mouth, till they reach the best focieties, and find their way even to the public prints. The multitude therefore may easily be fuppofed to draw ftrange conclufions when they fee the fun of a blood colour, fhed a melancholy light, and caufe a moft fultry heat. This however is nothing more than a very natural effect from a hot fun after a long fucceffion of heavy rain. The firft impreffion of heat has neceffarily and fuddenly rarefied a fuperabundance of watery particles with which the earth was deeply impregnated, and given them, as they rose, a dimnefs and rarefaction not ufual to common fogs. This effect, which feems to me very natural, is not fo very new; it is at most not above nineteen years fince there was a like example, which period too brings the moon in the fame pofition on the fame days, and which appears to have some influence on the feasons. Among the meteorologic obferva. tions of the academy for the month of July 1764, I find the following: The beginning of this month was wet, and the latter part dry; and, from the fecond to the ninth, the wind continued in the north. The mornings were foggy, and the atmosphere in a fmoke during the day. This, you perceive, bears a great refemblance to the latter end of our June, fo that it is not an unheard-of or forgotten thing. In 1764 they had afterwards ftorms and hail, and nothing worfe need be feared in 1783. I have the honour to be, &c. DE LA LANDE, de l'Acad. des Sciences. Conclufion of the Evidence before the Coroner's timony, Mr. Woodhoufe, folicitor to FTER Mrs. Stables had given her tef the deceafed, was called, to defcribe what had been the state of Mr. P.'s mind for fome days previous to his death. He depofed, that within the interval of the last fortnight he had frequently converfed with Mr. P. and had attempted to tranfact business with him, but found him totally unfit for it, and incapable of connected or rational difcourfe upon any fubject whatever. Mr. P. wifhed, within the period alluded to, to have made an alteration in his will; and the witness carried his former will to his houfe to annex a codicil, with the alterations propofed, but upoa clofer converfation with him on the fubject, he found him fo incoherent, fo forgetful, fo perfectly irrational in every refpect, that he relinquished all intention of making the alteration, conceiving it improper to attend to the wild dictates of a man, evidently, in his opinion, at that time in a state of lunacy. He also requested Mr. W. to write the original of a letter for him, intended to be addreffed to the Earl of Shelburne, which Mr. P. was to have afterwards transcribed, so that it might appear to have been written by himself; but, after Mr. W. had done this, Mr. P. was in fuch a state of imbecillity, that he could not even copy a letter from an original before him. Mr. Burke and Mr. Rigby, both of whom had had frequent interviews with Mr. P. for a few days preceding his death, attended the inqueft, and gave teftimony to the fame purpose, that Mr. Mr. P. had been for some time in a frate of actual and indubitable infanity. After a full investigation of all the circumstances at tending this melancholy event, the jury brought in their verdi& LUNACY, which, indeed, was fo amply established by the evidence adduced before them, as to leave no kind of doubt in the breaft of every perfon attending, that that was actually the cafe. Mr. Powel was deferibed by Mrs. Stables to have been a man in the highest deg ee nervous, and alse of the most confummate fenfibility; and that though he perfevered to the very evening preceding his diffolution in the most folemn affeverations of innocence with respect to any intention of defrauding government, yet that the public difgrace incurred by his difmiffion, and the fubfequent feverities that had been levelled against him, operated fo powerfully upon a frame naturally fo very irritable, that he had been, from the firt moment of his removal from office, the most miferable of human beings, and hardly capable of giving a rational reply to any queftions that had been afked him. Mr. Powel's will is in the poffeffion of Meff. Drummonds, the bankers. He has left a fon, about fifteen years old, who has been fome years at Harrow fchool. Minutes of the TRIAL of Mr. RIDAY, the 18th, an information filed against Mr. Charles Bembridge (late Accountant of the Pay Office), by his Majesty's Attorney General, charging the faid Mr. Bembridge with negle& of duty, in having connived at the concealment of certain items in the account chargeable to the late Lord Holland (as Paymafter General of his Majesty's land forces) to the amount of forty-eight thousand seven bundred and nine pounds ten fhillings and a fraction, came on to be tried before the Earl of Mansfield and a fpecial jury in Westminster-hall. In the abfence of the Attorney General, Mr. Lee (Solicitor General) conducted the profecution; he had for his affiftants, Sir Thomas Davenport, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Wilfon, and Mr. Baldwin. After the nature of the information and the whole of the cafe had been opened to the jury, a variety of witneffes were called to establish the feveral facts on which the charge was reited. The examination of Mr. Bembridge, on ath, before the Commiffioners of Public Accounts, was exhibited, in order to prove, that he had worn the duty of his othce to confift in examining and ftating the accounts of Paymatters General, as well Ex-Paymafters, as thofe in office. Mr. Hughes, and another gentleman from the othee of the Auditor of the Impre, were worn, to establ:th the custom of paffing the accounts of Paymafters General, as well thofe in office as Ex-Paymasters. They ftated, that two errors had been difcovered after what was called the final balance waY pencilled to the bottom of the accounts, and that the accounts were fent to the Pay Office to have thofe errors rectified. This difcovery was ftated to have been made in and about October 1782, and the items were proved to confist of monies chargeable to Ld Holland's accounts between the years 1757 and 1765. A warrant for the payment of certain fums for fees on paffing the accounts of Ld Holland, was produced, and it was proved that Mr. Bembridge had claimed and received 26col. of thofe fums as his due for ftating and examining the faid accounts. Mr. Rafe, of the Treasury, proved the examination of Mr. Bembridge before the Lds of the Treafury, when it appeared, that Mr. Bembridge then avowed, that he had not recently difcovered that 48,709l. 1os. had been omitted in the former accounts of Lord Holland, but that he was perfectly apprised of the omiffion all the time. After the witneffes in fupport of the information had been all examined and cross-examined, Mr. Bearcroft rofe, as counsel før Mr. Bembridge, and made a long address to the jury in his favour. Mr. Bearcroft admitted the facts charged, but denied that his client had been guilty of any crime, defcribed by the law of England as it now flood, and challenged his learned friend to cite him a fingle cafe that tended in the fmallett degree to fix legal imputation of criminality upon fuch conduct as that he was ready to admit had been pursued by Mr Bembridge. The Solicitor General, in reply, did not believe any fuch cafe could be found; but this he was ready to fhew, that in almost every book, from those written in the earliest times down to Mr. Justice Blackstone's Commentaries (the laft of the books containing the elements of the English law) his learned friend would find that mal-feafance, misfeafance, and non-feafance, were offences indictable and punishable as other indictable offences were. If his learned friend flood in need of a cafe to exemplify this, let him recollect the cafe of a chief magistrate of London, who had been recently convicted-of what? Of non-feasance, of not having been fo active and diligent as he might have been, and as he ought to have been, in quelling the riots in june 1780. There was no doubt, he faid, but every man in a public office was refponfible to the public for his official conduct, and punithable for offences of omition, as well as commiffion, if the public are lia ble to be injured by either. Lord Mansfield, when he came to give his charge to the jury, faid, he had no difficulty in declaring, that as to the point of law, he had not the fmalleft particle of a doubt, but that any person holding a public office under the King's letters patent, or derivatively from fuch authority, was amenable to the law for every part of his conduct, and ob Boxious |