East-India House, Jan. 18. A General Court of Proprietors of East-India Stock was this day held at the Company's house in Leadenhall Street, pursuant to adjournment from the 21st of December last.

The minutes of the last court having been read,

Mr. S. Dixon rose to make an observation relative to the manner in which the meetings of the Court of Proprietors were advertised. It appeared that no notice had been taken of the present meeting through the medium of the newspapers. This course might have been pursued on account of its being an adjourned court; but how few of the proprietors might be aware of the fact without a regular notice. He trusted that, in future, although they met pursuant to adjournment, proper notice would be given of the day on which a general court would be held.

The Chairman (C. Marjoribanks, Esq.) stated, that the circumstance must have arisen from the advertisement not having been inserted on particular days in the paper which the hon. proprietor was in the habit of reading. The meeting had been regularly advertised, and appeared in The Morning Herald of that day.

Mr. S. Dixon said, he took in The Morning Herald and The Times, but he had not seen the advertisement in either paper. It might be in those papers this day, but he had not seen the meeting advertised in the ordinary manner.

The Chairman. "I assure the hon. proprietor it has been duly advertised." General Thornton. "I saw it several times advertised in different papers."

COMPANY'S SHIPPING.

Capt. Maxfield inquired whether the papers relative to the Company's shipping, for which he had moved at the last general court, were ready.

The Chairman said, they were not yet ready. The subject had been referred to the proper committee, who would, as soon as possible, make a report to the

court.

MR. J. S. BUCKINGHAM'S CASE.

The Chairman. "I have to acquaint the court, that it has met pursuant to adjournment, and made special for the purpose stated in the requisition, which shall now be read.

The clerk then read the requisition, as follows:

"We, the undersigned proprietors of East-India stock, being duly qualified, Asiatic Journ. Vol. XXI. No. 122.

request you will be pleased to let the ensuing Quarterly General Court of Proprietors be made further special for the purpose of taking into consideration the following propositions: That there be laid before this court copies of all correspondence between the Court of Directors and Mr. J. S. Buckingham, late proprietor of the Calcutta Journal, respecting his claims for reparation of the injury sustained by him in his property in Calcutta in consequence of the measures of the Bengal government; also copies of all proceedings of the Bengal government referred to in the correspondence beforenamed. (Signed) "DOUGLAS KINNAIRD,

"JOSEPH HUME."

The Hon. D. Kinnaird then proceeded to address the court. He said, that in introducing the subject which it was his duty to bring before the proprietors, he was extremely anxious, in the outset, to state what it was not his intention to do, rather than to detail what he did mean to do; because, unfortunately, in discussing all subjects, a very considerable latitude was allowed to speakers-and the consequence was, that the question in debate was often overlaid by collateral and incidental matter. He would now most distinctly state, that it was his intention, and would be his earnest endeavour, to keep the subject which he was about to introduce to the proprietors of East-India stock and to the English public, totally and entirely distinct from the general question of the press in India; and also perfectly free from the question, whether the government in India had acted wisely or unwisely in adopting certain measures with respect to the press, for the purpose, as they alleged, of enabling them to carry more readily into effect the views of government. Whether those measures had been wise or unwise, he would not stop to inquire; but he would prove that they had been the cause of unnecessary, unmerited, and severe injury to a deserving individual. He was not questioning whether other measures might not have been adopted that would have effected the object government had in view, without producing the evil of which this individual complained; but he would call the attention of the court to this single fact, that great injury had been inflicted on him

injury that could not have been contemplated by the government. He said this, because he had never heard that Mr. Buckingham had been charged at any time, by either a public or a private accuser, as being guilty of any act which rendered him unworthy of the respect and confidence which he had long enjoyed amongst

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all those with whom he was acquainted. He would confine himself to the simple proposition, that a most serious injury had been done to an individual-an injury growing out of certain measures which the Indian government thought it necessary to adopt with reference to the control of the press in that country; and he begged leave explicitly to state, that he meant to hint nothing whatever as to whether the government were right or not in placing the press under a censorship, or in adopting the system of licence, as a subject quite distinct from the question under consideration. He was not competent, in a narrow compass (neither would it be agreeable to Mr. Buckingham, to the proprietors, or to himself), to give an adequate idea of the gentleman whose case he was about to bring forward. He, therefore, would state the leading features of his life, and detail those circumstances, which, without any fault or error of his own, rendered him the object of unjust and improper suspicion. Mr. Buckingham had long lived under obloquy and calumny, but he had at length triumphed completely over the imputed improprieties that had been laid to his charge, and proved, beyond the possibility of doubt, that there had been nothing in his public or private conduct that, in the slightest degree, deserved reproach or blame. It was now well known in what way the hostility against Mr. Buckingham originated; and he felt it necessary to mention the circumstance, because he believed in his conscience, had it been originally understood, so far from wishing to go out of their way to punish Mr. Buckingham, the government would have been rather disposed to act leniently towards him. He would now show the reason which caused the outcry against him. On his way to India, Mr. Buckingham met with a gentleman named Bankes, the present member for the University of Cambridge, and, unfortunately for him, remained for some time in that individual's company. Mr. Buckingham wrote two volumes, the result of his travels in the East: they were open to the criticism and examination of all men of literature and science; and he (Mr. K.) believed the result was, that Mr. Buckingham ranked as a considerable benefactor to this curious, instructive, and amusing branch of literature. He arrived in India with a far different view than that of publishing his travels; but he thought fit to avail himself of the opportunity of giving them to the world, and he sent forth a statement of the nature of his work, for which a respectable bookseller offered him some thousands of pounds. Not many months, however, had passed over his head, before a statement arrived in India, which was, in the first instance, made known through an hon. friend of his (Mr. Kinnaird's), Mr. H. Hobhouse, which struck directly at the

root of Mr. Buckingham's reputation. That statement was contained in a letter from Mr. W. Bankes, in which he proclaimed Mr. Buckingham to be a literary thief; and asserted that the principal part of his work had been stolen from him. This letter was placed in the hands of Mr. Hobhouse. He, knowing that it came from a gentleman of refined education, connected with one of the first families in England, could not but give credence to the charge. He could not conceive that any man would boldly state that as fact which had not a just foundation. The charge having been circulated, not only did the bookseller, Mr. Murray, refuse to publish the travels, but, in a quarterly publication, under the influence of Mr. Murray, a letter appeared, written by Mr. Bankes himself, describing Mr. B. to be a most immoral character, and a mere charlatan. (Hear!) The consequence was, that an universal impression, unfavourable to Mr. B.-an impression, which time and talent alone could enable him to overcome

spread itself all over India. What a melancholy situation was this to be placed in! Here was a man in a foreign country, where he hoped to have acquired honour and competence, held up to contempt, and disgraced in the eyes of every person: the judgment of individuals was warped, and intercourse with Mr. B. was suspended, until he cleared himself, and proved that he had been most unjustly treated. (Hear!) These were the disadvantageous circumstances under which Mr. B. undertook, what he would venture to say was one of the most arduous, and, at the same time, one of the most useful situations which could be pointed out in society—a situation which, when the duties of it were discharged creditably and honourably, benefited the individual, while it served the country. He became the conductor of a daily newspaper : when it was recollected that extraordinary temptations must necessarily present themselves in such a situation; that though a man, placed in a post of this description, might feel inclined to forbear, at times, yet still must act as a public censor of public conduct-much should, in his opinion, be conceded to those who had the guidance of so powerful and useful an instrument. It was evident that a newspaper in India could only circulate amongst those persons who possessed ample means, from situation as well as education, of duly appreciating what the journal was worth; and he believed Mr. B.'s paper arrived at a circulation, and produced a profit, far greater than was ever before known in India, and equal, perhaps, to any thing realized in this country, by similar property. In the course of five years, a very large sum of money, and a vast deal of labour, were expended, in establishing this journal. At the end of that

time it produced a net profit of £8,000 per aunum; and, when Mr. B. had paid all his debts (for he had borrowed money at the rate of interest common to India), he vested £20,000 in buildings, and in setting up the Columbian press, which was the finest establishment of the kind in the English colonies, east or west. To a number of independent gentlemen he sold a quarter of the paper, for the sum of £10,000, which he received in hard cash : one hundred individuals thereby became contributors to, and supporters of, the journal. All this showed the well-founded prospect which existed, that this paper would continue successful-that it would continue progressively to increase in value. This success, let it be observed, was obtained in defiance of all the imputations cast on Mr. B.: those imputations were, at the time, unremoved, because proofs of their falsehood could not be immediately produced. Mr. B. had been stigmatized, not only as a speculating adventurer, but as a literary thief. Those charges had been brought to the test in this country, and the investigation had left the character of Mr. B. pure and unspotted-without stain or imputation. He stood forward as an individual who had moved in the first class of society in India, as a man of honour and integrity—as a moral man. He discharged his public duty fairly and ho nestly, without swerving, in the slightest degree, from those principles he conscientiously believed to be correct. Had he done so, and shewn a great worldly wisdom, perhaps he might still have continued in India: he certainly did not act the part of a worldly wise man-many observed, that he could only seek his own ruin by pursuing the straight-forward course he had adopted-and, therefore, it was a fair presumption, that he was influenced by a just and proper feeling. Placed at the head of that paper, he proved himself to be a skilful conductor of the establishment; and, as such, every unprejudiced man admitted that the undertaking deserved all the success which had attended it. Mr. B., in this situation, was enabled to clear his character in the eyes of those who inquired into the circumstances of his case and thought proper to judge for themselves. This he would boldly say, that nothing was ever heard contrary to the good and estimable character of Mr. B. until the statement of Mr. Bankes appeared; and he would farther assert, that no man, whose mind was not imbued with prejudice, could read the vindication of Mr. B., and not feel that he was satisfied with it. (Hear!) It was not, however, to be denied, that Mr. B.'s political enemies, the editors of other newspapers, made the charge of Mr. Bankes the foundation of abuse-yes, of the most horrible abuse. He (Mr. K.) had received a statement

from Dr. Bryce, given under his own hand, in which he declared his belief of Mr. Bankes's allegation; and the government of Bengal did still believe that he was a literary swindler. This feeling would remain, until the truth went forth to India from the courts of justice here, where, thank God, while a man had a few hundreds, he might go before a jury of his country, and demand justice. Mr. B. had done so -no proof was offered in support of the calumnies levelled against him; but, on the contrary, concessions were made to him, and the charges were admitted to be all false. The calumnies of Mr. Bankes were thus proved to be entirely unfounded; but his innocent victim suffered not the less from those calumnies; and the end was, that his ruin in India was accomplished. (Hear!) He would assert, that a more conscientious or estimable man than Mr. B. did not exist. He did not ask one shilling damages-all he desired was, to have his character cleared: for, let it be understood, that when the nominal damages of £5. were given, it was expressly stipulated that the costs, £1,000. or £2,000., should be paid by the defendant, as a miserable equivalent for all the evil which these calumnies had inflicted on Mr. B.; but not one particle of compensation has he received from those to whose falsehoods he had fallen a victim. One of the actions brought by Mr. B. was against the editor of the Quarterly Review, for publishing that most unjust and unfounded statement. Mr. Murray believed it to be true, and therefore, against him, Mr. B. harboured no ill feeling; the only feeling he entertained was a strong desire to rescue his character from obloquy. (Hear!) He had pursued the same conduct towards Mr. Bankes, senior, who had not attempted to justify his letter. He did not mention this as matter of reproach to Mr. Bankes, who, having been led into an error, deserved their sympathy, rather than their censure. He wished to do justice to Mr. Bankes, and also to Mr. Murray, because he had it from the latter gentleman's own lips, that they would both do any thing in their power to compensate Mr. B. for the injury they had unwittingly inflicted on him. This statement would, he thought, account, in a great degree, for the unworthy way in which Mr. B. had been treated, by a very considerable portion of the community in India. He had been a severe sufferer in consequence; but, at this day, his vindication in a court of justice had gone out to India, and so far as his reputation was concerned, his triumph was complete. And now he begged leave to call the attention of the court to a circumstance which proved the state of subjection in which the public mind was kept in India. When Mr. B. published the second volume of his travels, he appended to it a number 2 I 2

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of documents for the purpose of repelling the injurious statements which had appeared in the Indian John Bull, and other papers. Would it be believed, that the agents of Mr. B., in Calcutta, when he sent out the advertisement for the publication of his book, were afraid to insert the latter part of it? The advertisement announced for publication "The second volume of Travels in Syria, with an appendix, containing a refutation of the charges made by Mr. Bankes, &c." Mr. B.'s agent declined putting in the latter part of the advertisement, and he gave as his reason that he thought it would be offensive in the eyes of government. (Hear!) Such, unfortunately, was the effect which power, when strongly exercised, had over the minds of a community. He stated it, as an incontrovertible fact, that the agents refused to publish the advertisement, in its original shape, for fear of giving offence to the government. (Hear!) This proved, beyond a doubt, how far the public in India connected The John Bull, and other papers of the same description, with the government: it was, in consequence of that supposed connexion, that the agent refused to publish the advertisement. God forbid that he should assert the actual existence of such a connexion: he did not mean to do so; but he stated the fact, to shew what a black sheep Mr. B. was considered-that he was looked upon as having arrived in India, a literary rogue-and that, until he was white-washed by the British courts of justice, The John Bull, and papers of a similar character, would not cease to declare, that the statement of Mr. Bankes was worthy of entire belief. Mr. B. had been held up to obloquy as a man of the worst character as an individual, who in enlightened society could claim no sympathy -who was entirely unworthy of compassion. He was not ashamed to say, that he was not displeased to see this indirect kind of justice visited by society on men of bad character; but the rule of society should be, to deal out equal justice to all-and to ascertain the fact of the guilt before the punishment was awarded. If Mr. B. were really such a man as his enemies had described him to be, he (Mr. K.) was not the person who would stand up in that court and advocate his cause. Even though a man's cause were a good one, the fact of his having a bad character created a prejudice against him, and tended to place him on a worse footing than that on which he would otherwise have stood; and he knew no distinction between good and bad, he knew no difference between virtue and vice, so strong and so important, as the feeling which produced this effect.

But

Mr. B. set calumny at defiance: he challenged the world to utter one syllable against his possessing the fairest and the most unsullied reputation; and, when he

did this, were they not to manifest a little kind feeling towards him—and, if consistent with their own rights and interests, to relieve him—or, in plain terms, to do him justice? When he acquitted Mr. Bankes, senior, and Mr. Murray, of all private feeling of hostility against Mr. B., he had no objection to acquit the Bengal government on the same grounds. When Mr. B. left India, he must, of course, submit to the laws which forced him to quit that country, where his property was vested, and where his best prospects were centred. That was the inevitable consequence of the Governor-General's determination; and he (Mr. K.) did not call for remuneration on that ground. No; it was on account of the unnecessary acts of the Bengal government, after Mr. B. had left the country, that he thought relief should be extended to that gentleman. He challenged contradiction to the fact that those acts were unnecessary, and it was notorious that they had done enormous injury to Mr. B. When he quitted India, another editor was appointed in his place; and soon afterwards the government determined to put the press under license. The editors were made responsible for any article that might appear in their respective publications; and if they erred, the government had it in their power to take the license for printing away —so that, in fact, all property in the press was subject to annihilation when the li cense was suspended. Things were in this state when the new editor of Mr. B.'s paper, or some of the proprietors, it seemed, wrote an article which displeased the government, and the license was suspended. The license had not been renewed: the consequence was, that Mr. B.'s property had been ruined, and his object was to procure compensation for the injury which that gentleman had sustained. He held in his hand some printed documents which would fully explain this part of the subject. He produced them for the purpose of showing that Mr. B. had, through the unneces sary acts of the government, been a most severe sufferer. He asked for no credence to those documents, farther than as papers that would be produced, and might be thoroughly examined by the proprietors, if they pleased to call for them. It appeared that a gentleman of the name of Muston, a servant of the government, wished to become the editor of the journal, and to take the types, &c. belonging to the esta blishment. It was necessary, however, that he should first procure a license, and he encountered very great difficulty in his endeavours to attain that object. In the course of the negociation on this point, he found himself placed in such an equivocal situation, as between man and man, with reference to Mr. B., that he deemed it proper to send to that gentleman copies of the correspondence which had taken place be

tween