fhameful impofition which can be practifed upon it by the petty states of Germany, left they fhould withdraw their mercenaries from the support of our fatal minifterial civil war, before they have put the laft hand to the ruin or extermination of the British nation on both fides the Atlantic. Even many of the firm friends to adminiftration fhewed a full determination to reject this claim, although the minifter urged the juftice and propriety of it with a laboured fpeciousness and folicitous vehemence. However, the payment was at length voted in a thin Houfe by a fmall maṛ jority *.

The court had now been for fome years embarrassed with a heavy and encreafing load of debt on the civil lift; which the pofture of public affairs had caufed to be held back from Parliament, until the poverty of the crown had become fo difgraceful as to be no longer fupportable. An account of the fatal reverfe of fortune in America, by the defeat at Trenton, and its confequences, had reached England, fo that the prospect of a speedy termination of the war, with which minifters had amufed themselves and the nation, was clouded, if not entirely loft, and the fupplies neceffary for the fervice of the current year were enormously great. In this predicament, when every thing tended to four the temper of Parliament, Lord North was compelled to enter on the unwelcome bufinefs of announcing to the House of Commons the exhaufted ftate of the royal coffers; for which purpose he delivered a meffage from his Majefty †, acquainting the Houfe with the difficulties which he laboured under, from debts incurred by the expences of the household and the civil government, amounting on the 5th of the preceding January to upwards of 600,000l.

50 to 42.

† April 9, 1777.

and

and expreffing his reliance on the loyalty and affection of his faithful Commons, for making fome farther provision for the better fupport of his houfhold, and of the honour and dignity of the crown. Half a million had been granted by Parliament in 1769, to discharge the debts then incurred on the civil lift; the minifter however, loft none of his ufual friends upon this trying occafion. He grounded the propriety of the augmentation of the civil lift, upon the plea that the revenue which had been appropriated to the supply of that establishment, had exceeded the yearly fum of 800,000, with which it was charged, by upwards of 100,000l. each year, which was the additional income afked. The great increase in the value of all the neceffaries of life, and every article of expence, during the laft fifty years, was infifted on, and it was obferved, that although this advancement was felt by the nobility and gentry, yet they were compenfated for it by a confiderable increase in the rents of their eftates; was then the Sovereign to be the only gentleman in his dominions, who was not to feel the benefit arifing from this increase of property? On the contrary, was he to be impoverished in an inverse proportion to the general happiness and increased wealth of his people? The numerous Royal iffue was likewife adverted to, as a confiderable addition to the expences of the crown.

The oppofition were divided in opinion on this occafion. Some among them were willing to difcharge the present debt, but did not choose to make any augmentation in future to the revenue; whilft others ftrenuously infifted, that the whole bufinefs should undergo a full parliamentary difcuffion before any money fhould be voted to discharge the debt. They inftanced the long reign of George the Second, throughout which, no application was made to Parliament

for the discharge of any debts. In the year 1746, indeed the fum of 450,000l. was applied for by the King in his Speech at opening the feffion, because the funds appropriated for the fupport of his civil government, had, for some years, fallen fhort of the revenue intended, but no complaint was made of the infufficiency of the fum at which the civil lift revenue was settled. It was infifted, that the revenues of the crown were not only fully fufficient for all rational purposes of dignity and magnificence, but that they already far exceeded thofe boundaries which were confiftent with the nature of a limited monarchy, and with the fafety of a conftitution founded on freedom. It appeared by the papers laid before Parliament, that half a million had been expended under the head of the Board of Works, without fpecifying to whom, or for what purpose it was iffued. The two Secretaries of the Treasury had received, for secret service money, 285,000l. and it was obferved, that the Treafury was not the proper channel through which money expended for fuch purposes ought to pafs, for money without ftint or public account, fhould be entrusted to the Secretaries of State, for the purpofe of procuring foreign intelligences but the officers of the Treasury have no intercourse with foreign ftates, and can therefore be only agents for mifapplying fuch large fums to the purposes of bribery and corruption.

The House, at length, voted 618,340l. to enable his Majefty to discharge the debts incurred by his civil go vernment, and that the fum of 100,00cl. a year, over and above the fum of 800,000l. be granted, as a farther provifion, for the better fupport of his Majefty's houshold, and the honour and dignity of the crown. This refolution was carried in the Houfe of Commons, by 231 to 109, and in

the

the Houfe of Lords, by 96 to 20. A proteft figned by fourteen Peers, was entered on the Journals*.

The attention of the nation had now, for fome time, been folely directed to the weftern world, but fome proceedings on the coaft of Coromandel, drew the public regard towards the eaft. The prefidency of Madrafs had formed a very clofe league with Mahommed Aly Cawn, Nabob of Arcot, a Tartarian Prince, who poffeffed an inland territory, equally diftant from the two European fettlements of Madrass and Pondicherry. From a clofe attention to his army, this Afiatic had become formidable, and his connection with the civil and military powers at the English fettlement, procured him the affiftance of British officers to difcipline and command his troops. Whatever were his views in keeping on foot fo large an army, he was obliged to exhauft his treafury, to preserve the friendship of his allies; for European rapacity, when exercised on Afiatic Princes, is infatiable. It became therefore neceffary, that new fouurces of wealth fhould be opened to fupply his continual wafte: he therefore propofed to the Prefidency to undertake an expedition against the Rajah, ar King of Tanjour, a Mahrattah Prince, who refided several leagues to the southward of Pondicherry, the fituation of whofe country towards the extremity of the peninfula, had hitherto fecured it against the Mahometani conquerors of Hindoftan. This country had been long in alliance with the English, in confequence of which his father had been attacked by the French General Lally during the last war, but that incurfion was bravely repelled. Pertoupa Sing, father of the present Rajah, was the first Indian Prince with

Richmond, Devonshire, Portland, Manchefter, Rockingham, Thanet, King, Archer, Fitzwilliam, Abingdon, Torrington, Effingham, Abergavenny, and Stamford.

whom the English concluded a treaty, which Tuligee, the prefent King, ratified on his fucceffion.

The pretext on which the Nabob of Arcot waged war against this Prince, was founded on an unfatisfied claim of a large fum of money, which the Rajah pleaded his inability to pay. The government of Madrafs, however, fupported the Nabob in his quarrel, and even put the forces of the Company under the command of the Nabob's fon, to make war on Tanjour. Such a force was irresistible; the Rajah was completely defpoiled, and his fubjects plundered. Every thing which the east holds facred was violated; the apartments of the women were forced, their perfons ftripped of the ornaments they wore. Effects to the amount of ten millions of pagodas were carried off, and the revenues of the country, during the two years and half that. the Nabob ufurped them, amounted to fifty lacks of pagodas more. The booty collected in this marauding expedition, ferved to palliate the enormity of the outrage, and to render the perpetrators infenfible to the difgrace and dishonour which they had brought on the English name and character.

When the news of this tranfaction reached the Court of Directors, the ftrongest refentment was fhewn, and meafures were concerted to make all poffible reftitution to the injured Rajah. For this purpose, Lord Pigot was fent out as Governor of Madrafs, a nobleman highly respected in that fettlement, for his able and effectual defence of it feventeen years before, againft the attacks of the French. He arrived at his government the latter end of the year 1775; but the oppofition which he met with from the majority of the Council, and the Commander in Chief of the forces, was fuch, as entirely fruftrated all the purposes which he was appointed to effect. Not difcouraged by these

difficulties,