224] 
wallis with the Nabobs of Oude 
and the Carnatic, as well as the 
principal native Rajahs, left a very 
honourable and advantageous im- 
pression of British justice on the 
memory of the natives and princes 
of Asia. 
When the peace was concluded 
with Tippoo Sultan, which left to 
the East India Company a certain 
portion of the territories of that 
prince, an occasion presented itself 
to Lord Cornwallis of availing him- 
self of the great discoveries that had 
been made in Bengal, relative to the 
ancient mode of collecting the land- 
ed revenue in India. The Compa- 
ny’s servants in Bengal had made 
great progress in learning the Per- 
sian, and the native languages of 
Hindostan. Among these, two gen- 
tlemen were eminently distinguish- 
ed, viz. Jonathan Duncan, Esquire, 
who was receiver of all complaints 
made by the natives, at the Exche- 
quer of Calcutta; and Charles 
Grant, Esq. who had discovered an 
authentic copy of the original re- 
venue accounts, as they had been 
established by the great and humane 
Emperor Aekbar; and as. they 
were in actual operation when Lord 
Clive acquired the Daunnee, and 
put an eminent Persian, Mahomed 
Reza Cawn, at the head of the re- 
venue department. 
At that period, the established 
allowances, or salaries of the Com- 
pany’s servants were trifling, and 
were still connected with the mer- 
cantile ceconomy of the Company, 
when they had not acquired any 
territorial possessions of value. 
The natives, who understood the 
niode of collecting the revenues, 
had naturally set aside a certain 
* In Persian, holder of the thread of the revenue accounts. 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1792. 
portion of the real collections for 
the system of patronage ; and the 
Company’s superior servants ‘re~ 
ceived, as marks of gratitude from 
these servants, or banians, who 
were employed under them,money; 
which was, without their know-: 
ledge, withheld from the public col- 
lections; the details of which were 
in accounts that they did not un- 
derstand. In due time the Com- 
pany became more generous to 
their servants; who, in return, 
made themselves masters of the 
native languages and revenue-ac- 
counts. ‘The establishment of. the 
government general, by act of 
parliament in 1774, fixed great and 
legal salaries for the members) of 
that government; while it  pre- 
cluded the receipt of presents, or re- 
venue-donations, from the natives. 
The original native accounts, 
which Mr. Grant had discovered, 
were brought forward, and an- 
nounced to the Company by the 
government of Bengal, in.1785, 
before Lord Corawallis had suc- 
ceeded to the government general. 
Many circumstances concurred. te 
counteract the re-establishment of 
the ancient system. It became a 
great question, of obvious discontent 
and difference of opinion, among the 
Company’sservants;and Mr.Grant, 
who had been invested with a seat 
in the revenue-council, in. order 
to investigate and realize his own 
system, under the designation of 
Sheristadar *, resigned his office, 
and returned to Europe. After 
wards, when Lord Cornwallis had 
obtained possession of those’ dis- 
tricts, in the north-west frontiers of 
the Carnatic, which Tippoo had 
been forced to cede, it was found 
oy 
">. that 
