HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



121 



their surplus revenue there : and 

 they had succeeded to a consider- 

 able extent in Madras and Bom- 

 bay, but there were no accounts 

 from Bengal to show how the plan 

 answered there. But a complete 

 account of all their debts, and of 

 their general situation, would be 

 laid before the House next session. 

 It was evident to every body, that 

 if goods to the amount of 6 or 

 8,000,000/. the property of the 

 company, were under the imme- 

 diate eye of the Crown, that such 

 property would fully defray the 

 loan of 1,500,000/. and that it 

 could instantly be appropriated to 

 that purpose. Besides, this debt 

 might be liquidated by the com- 

 pany defraying certain naval ex- 

 penses in ihe East Indies, hitherto 

 defrayed by the Crown. He fur- 

 ther stated that the government 

 had called upon the company to 

 give licenses for individual trade 

 to Africa, the Red Sea, and the 

 southern continent of America. 

 The House, however, would have 

 a future opportunity of regulating 

 the India trade in whatever man- 

 ner should appear most proper. 

 Mr. Dundas concluded by moving, 



" That the sum of 1,500,000/. 

 should be granted to the East* 

 India Company. 



Mr. Creevey observed, that Mr. 

 Dundas had only been able to 

 show a decrease of deficit. He 

 had said nothing of surplus. In- 

 crease of investment was not ne- 

 cessarily a source of profit ; where 

 the trade was a losing one, it was 

 a means of increased loss. The 

 company, he contended, had com- 

 pletely failed in all their engage- 

 ments to the public ; and, instead 

 of 9,000,000/., which they ought 



to have paid by this time, they 

 had only paid 500,000/. Mr. 

 Dundas observed, that the afl'airs 

 of the Company could not be con- 

 sidered as a mere mercantile con- 

 cern. They were not to be con- 

 sidered as bankrupt because their 

 commercial profits here could not 

 answer all the demands for the 

 India bills. It might as well be 

 said, that this country was bank- 

 rupt, because it could not at once 

 discharge a debt of six hundred 

 millions of pounds. 



On a division of the House, 

 there appeared for the motion, 73, 

 Against it, 10. 



Another debate on the East 

 India Company's Loan Bill, took 

 place on the third reading, June 

 14, when there appeared for the 

 third reading 52 ; against it, 10. 

 The bill was then passed. On the 

 20th of June it was read a third 

 time and passed in the House of 

 Lords. 



House of Commons, Jan. 21. 

 Mr. Bankes moved, that the bill 

 of last session for suspending for 

 a limited period the granting of 

 offices in reversion, be read. This 

 being done, he observed, that the 

 propriety of the principle, that 

 places ought not to be granted in 

 reversion, was by that House uni- 

 versally acknowledged. The bills 

 formed on that principle had, 

 however, failed in the House of 

 Lords. It now became the House 

 to show they were determined to 

 carry into execution that which 

 they had already unanimously re- 

 solved. He thought that, after 

 the whole House, and the country 

 also, had shown so great and un- 

 remitting an eagernessand anxiety 

 to pass the bill, it would not be 



