HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
England,*those who knew the criticat 
Situation of our India empire, were 
alarmed at the consequences of the 
chief command devolving on sir 
George Barlow, who as second in 
the supreme council of Bengal, 
succeeded on that event te the gic 
of governor general. The minis- 
ters, however, who were themselves 
going out of place in a few days, did 
pot think they were justified in these 
circumstances, to propose any per- 
manent arrangement for India; 
bot before retiring from office, they 
could not deny themselves the gra- 
tification of being the moyers of an 
address to his majessy, fox the erec- 
tion of a public monument, in St. 
Paul’s Cathedral, to the memory of 
Tord Cornwallis. + + It is worthy of 
remark,that in pronouncing a pane- 
gyric on that noble lord, the topic 
éhiefly insisted on both by the mo- 
ver § and seconder || of the address, 
as bringing into view the most use- 
ful and | meritorious of his public ser- 
vices in India, was his settlement of 
the land revenues of Bengal on a 
permanent footing, by which a 
fixed and certain property in the 
soil was given to the zemindars, to 
be held by them and their poste- 
3 Jan. 29th. 
t, 24 Geo, 3. sess. 
t Feb. 3rd. 
255 
rity for ever on unalterable condi- 
tions, secure from the exactions, and 
independent of the favour or caprice 
oftheir rulers. for it is not alittle 
singular, that while the execution of 
this measure was represented. as the 
most brilliant act of lord Cornwal- 
lis’s administration, for which ora- 
tions were pronounced in his praise, 
and monuments voted to his memo- 
ry, the original author and proposer 
of the plan, though the ablest and 
most upright statesman ever employ- 
ed in the management of our eastern 
empire, was not only suffered by the 
company to pass unrequited for his 
share in that iransaction, but was 
defrauded by the silence of these 
encomiasts, of the praise he so just- 
ly deserved, for having been the first 
to discern and proclaim the advan- 
tages of asystem, ** the good effects 
of which would amply justify any 
encomium thatcould be passed upon 
them.” {_ ‘That our readers may not 
accuse us of dealing in rash assertions 
we have sibjoiued in a note some 
extracts from a work of Mr. Fran- 
cis**, which willsatisfy them, that it 
is to the benevolence and wisdom of 
that gentleman, that our Indian sub- 
jects are indebted forthe first sugges. 
2. cap. 52 § 24. 
|] Lord Castlereagh. 
{| Mr. Grant chairman of the East India Company. 
{| Mr. Grant's speech on the 3d of February 1805—Cobbett’s debates, vol. 
| 6. p. 122. 
** Extracts from a plan for a settlement of the revenues of Bengal, Raharand 
Orixa, by Philip rancis, submitted to the court of directors, and dated froin Cal- 
cutta on the 22d of January 1776—published in 1782. 
§ 53. When the gross sum tobe levied from the country is determined,as well 
for the revenae as forall charges incident to it, each zetindary should be assessed’ 
its proportion, and let that sum be declared the quitrent of these particular lands 
in perpetuity.” 
“§ 55. The quitrent of each zemindary being fixed, the zemindar must be in- 
formed, that the due discharge of his rent is the tenure 
by which he holds 
his lands, ¥ vith every possible assurance thatno‘farther demands will be made upon 
him.” 
tion 
