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 LETTERS 
 
 T O 
 
 The Direftors of the Eaft-India Company, 
 
 AND 
 
 The Right Hon. Lord Amherst, 
 
 FROM 
 
 ANDREW lSTUART, Esq, 
 In die Years 1777, 1778, and 1781; 
 
 ON THE SUBJECT OF CERTAIN EVENTS IN INDIA, 
 
 AND OF 
 
 GEN. STUART'S CONDUCT IN HIS MAJESTY'S SERVICE, AND 
 IN THAT OF THE EAST-INDIA COMPANY.
 
 
 LETTER 
 
 \ TO 
 
 The Chairman of the Eaft-India Company, 
 
 FROM 
 
 £ ANDREWSTUART, Esq. 
 
 o 
 en 
 
 IT. 
 
 O 
 
 [ April 14, 1777. J 
 
 
 
 OOtf^y-iiS
 
 [ i 3 
 
 S I R, 
 
 IT may poflibly appear to you, or to fome df the Gentlemen In the 
 Diredlion of the Eaft India Company's affairs, fomewhat lingular, 
 that during your late important dlfcuffions, where the propriety of my 
 brother's condudl was diredtly or indiredly brought in quelVion, there 
 fhould have been no fymptoms of my taking any intereft in thefe mat- 
 ters ; nor any attempt made to prevent or remove prejudices, with 
 regard to the part Colonel Stuart had adted, during the late unhappy 
 convulfions at Madras. 
 
 It is on that account, that I now take the liberty of addrefling to you 
 this letter, to explain the reafon of my filence hitherto ; and at the 
 fame time to communicate to you without referve, the ftate of my mind 
 with regard to the reported tranfaftions at Madras, and the proceedings 
 "which I am informed thefe reports have recently given rife to in this 
 country. 
 
 From the iSth of March, to the 5th of this month, I was not in 
 London, having gone to Scotland, where I was neceffarily detained, 
 attending my re-ele6lion, during the very period which I now under- 
 ftand was fo much occupied here by difputes, and proceedings relative 
 to the Madras bufmefs. 
 
 From this you will perceive, that fuppofmg me to have been difpofed 
 to take a part in thefe difputes, my neceflary abfence from London had 
 deprived me of the opportunity. 
 
 But I may venture to go one ftep further, by afluring you, that even 
 if I had been upon the fpot, the only part I fhould have taken during 
 
 A 2 that
 
 [ 4 ] 
 
 that period of imperfed Information, would have been to requeft the 
 Diredors, and Proprietors, to fufpend their opinions of my brother's 
 condurc, until there Ihould be an opportunity of inveftlgating, and 
 learning with certainty, what that condud, and the motives of it, had 
 truly been. 
 
 Even at this hour I do not think m^-felf fufficiently informed in thefe 
 refpeds, to be able to form a decilive opinion ; it is my intention to 
 colled the beft information that can be obtained of the real tranfadions, 
 and after examining to the beft of my judgment, the accounts given by 
 the contending parties, I Ihall then have no difficulty in declaring to you 
 fmcerely, the point of view in which thefe matters prefent themfelves 
 tQ j-^-ie, — I have not the prefumption, however, to fuppofe that any 
 judgment that may happen to be formed by me on this fubjed, is to 
 have influence in forming or altering the opinions of others. 
 
 It may eafily be fuppofed, that, in this inquiry, I wifh exceedingly, 
 that I may have reafon to think that my brother has aded properly, 
 and in fuch a manner as may entitle him to the approbation of the 
 Public. So confcious am I of the earneftnefs of this wifh, that I fhall 
 endeavour, as much as pofllble, to be upon my guard againft its mif- 
 leading my judgment ; nor ihall I willingly fuffer myfelf to be engaged 
 either in any precipitate unauthorifed defence or approbation of my bro- 
 ther's condud, or in any attack upon the condud of others with whom 
 he has happened to differ upon this occafion. 
 
 I will fairly own- to you, that the arrefting and confining the perfon 
 of a Governor, appears to me a fti^ong meafure, and fuch as requires. 
 very powerful reafons to juftify it. 
 
 I fliall further acknowledge, that if the accounts given by one party 
 of the mode in which this was accompllfhed, and of the circumftances 
 attending it, be ftridly true, there is fomething in it which conveys to 
 me a very difagreeable impreffion ; nor fhall I attempt to reconcile to 
 the minds of others, what I find fo difficult to reconcile to my ov/n. 
 
 If
 
 [ 5 ] 
 
 If the fads as dated could be fuppofed to be true, and that the only 
 defence for tlie mode in which the arreft of Lord Pigot's perfon was 
 conduced and completed, fhall be, that there was no other poflTiblc 
 method of avoiding bloodfhed and civil war, the fite of the perfon un- 
 fortunately obliged to make the option in fuch an alternative, muft have 
 been very difagreeable and diftrcfTmg ; for I can hardly fuppofe a man 
 fo conftituted, as not to feel ftrong reluclance and averfion to employ 
 the methods afcribed by one party to Colonel Stuart, in the accomplifli- 
 ment of Lord Pigot's arreft. 
 
 It is fo improbable, that thefe things fliould have happened in the 
 manner they are related, and if ftrong meafures have been reforted to at 
 Madras, the materials forjudging of the neceflity of them are at prefent 
 fo incomplete, that juftice and candour require us to fufpend our judg- 
 ments, with regard to the condudt of the principal aQors, until that 
 conduit, and the motives of it, are properly inveftigated, and that all 
 parties ihall have an opportunity of being heard. 
 
 Great pains, I xmderftand, have been taken in various quarters, not 
 only to excite the greateft degree of prejudice againft my brother's con- 
 du(St, but to hurry the Direftors and Proprietors into precipitate opi- 
 nions and refolutions, which are of fuch a nature, as infer both judg- 
 ment and condemnation before trial. 
 
 I am therefore under the neceflity of fubmitting to your confideration 
 fome circumftances, entitled to weight with the Direftors and Proprie- 
 tors, for difpofing them to fufpend fuch opinions or refolutions, until my 
 brother's condudt fliall be fully and fairly examined ; and I beg I may 
 be underftood to ftate them with that view only. 
 
 In the firft place, it is a certain fa<fl:, that the diflenfion and animo- 
 fity between Lord Pigot and the majority of the Council at Madras, 
 took rife long before my brother arrived in India. He did not arrive 
 there till the month of May laft, and I have letters in my pofTeflion from 
 him foon after his arrival, as well as letters from others, mentioning 
 
 the
 
 I 6 ] 
 
 fhe diftracced ftate In which he found matters there, on account of the 
 difputes and diirenfions between Lord Plgot and the. Council. 
 
 Thefe fame letters mention that my brother had hitherto abftained 
 from taking part with either fide in thefe difputes, and that it was his 
 intention to avoid mixing in fad:ion, and to apply himfclf to his own 
 bufmefs in the military line. 
 
 The advices received by the Company from India fome months ago, 
 muft have confirmed thefe fadts, and have fatisfied you that the origin 
 of the diffenfions at Madras was long before my brother's arrival in that 
 part of the world. 
 
 Secondly, I have particular occafion to know that w^hen my brother 
 left this country, it was his wiih and intention to be on the beft terms 
 with Lord Pigot, and for this purpofe he had obtained flrong letters of 
 recommendation from Lord Pigot's particular friends in this country ; 
 Admiral Pigot was, as I uuderftood from my brother, very obliging on 
 .that occafion, in fupplying him with letters to promote the good corre- 
 ipondence between Lord Pigot and him. 
 
 It muft alfo be very evident to every perfon acquainted even with the 
 rgeneral account that has been circulated of the tranfadions at Madras, 
 ^that fo far as intereft is concerned, it appeared to be Colonel Stuart's 
 intereft to have remained on the beft terms with Lord Pigot ; and as his 
 Lordfliip did, upon two different occafions, in the months of July and 
 Auguft laft, offer him the command in chief of all the forces in that 
 .country, lie, by declining thefe offers, and obeying the orders of the 
 majority of the council, deprived himfelf of a fituation and advantages 
 much more confiderable than any that could be beftowed on him by the 
 party whofe orders he obeyed ; — for the confequence of the part he has 
 aCted, is that he remains fecond in command without a feat in Council, 
 and without any advantages or emoluments comparable to thofe enjoyed 
 l)y the commander in chief; whereas, if he had efpoufed Lord Pigot's 
 antereft, thd immediate command in chief of the army devolved upon 
 
 him
 
 [ 7 J- 
 
 him with a feat in Council, and all the privileges and advantages be- 
 longing to the iirft military fituation; his fenior officer, Sir Robert 
 Fletcher, then commander in chief, being atfihat time under arreft to 
 be tried by a court-martial, there was little chance of Colonel Stuart's 
 not enjoying the command of the army during Lord Pigot's govern- 
 ment. 
 
 From thefe circumftances it fecms prc/bable, that in the part my bro- 
 ther has aiSted, he has not been guided by felf-intereft.. There may 
 have been an error of judgment in the opinion formed by him of Lord' 
 Pigot's condu(51:, but there is great reafon to prefumc, that the alteration 
 from his original difpefitions with regard to his Lordfliip, and the part 
 he chofe, of obeying the ordei-s of the majority of the Council, arofe 
 not from interefted views, but from an opinion that Lord Pigot was a6t— 
 ing illegally, and that the majority of the Council was the legal govern- 
 ment which he was bound to obey. Here I beg leave to be under- 
 
 ftood, that it is by no means my intention to afTert, either that Lord Pigot 
 had afted illegally, or that the legal government was veiled in the 
 majority of the Council ; I only mean to fay, that it feems to me probable,, 
 my brother proceeded on thefe ideas ; but whether they were well or 
 ill founded, I do not pretend to judge. 
 
 Thirdly, The ftrong and marked approbation of the Governor- 
 general, and Supreme Council in Bengal, feems of itfelf fufhcient to 
 prevent any opinions or refolutions unfavourable to Colonel Stuart, at 
 leaft until matters are further examined. 
 
 In the letter of 15th September from General Clavering to Colonel 
 Stuart, there is not only an approbation of his condud:, but, in terms 
 the moft flattering to him^ the General gives him applaufe for the ho- 
 nour of condudingyo difficult and dangerous a bufinefsy and for the Jpirit 
 
 and magnanimity with which he had executed it.' When thefe dif- 
 
 tinguiflied marks of approbation are bellowed by General Clavering, 
 
 "whofe fenfje of honour, and whofe fentiments of propriety, and delicacy 
 
 a. o£
 
 [ 8 ] 
 
 :-of condud, as an officer and a gentleman, are fo well known and efla- 
 blilhed, it is but fair and reafonable to prefume, until the contrary is 
 proved; that Colonel Stuart's condu£t had not only appeared to the Su- 
 preme Council at Bengal, right and proper in itfelf, but that in the 
 manner of carrying that order of the Council into execution, and in the 
 mode of arrefting Lord Pigot's perfon, there had been nothing unhand- 
 fome, improper, or unfuitable to the charadler of a gentleman and an 
 officer. 
 
 It appears from General Clavering's letter of the 15th, and from Go- 
 vernor Haftings' of the 1 8th September, that both of them give great 
 credit to Colonel Stuart, for the mode in which Lord Pigot's arreft had been 
 accompliihed, " without bloodjloedy "without tumult^ and ivithout the vio- 
 lation of one legal form.''''— — Thefe are the words of Governor Hafting's 
 letter to Mr. Stratton, wherein he talks with a degree of admiration of 
 this, as a thing almoft without example ; and from General Clavering's 
 Jetter it appears, that he confidered a war in the Carnatic as inevitable, 
 if this laft decifive ftep had not been taken. He fays to Colonel Stuart, 
 " Whatever advantages.^ therefore, arifefrom the prefervation of fo faith- 
 ful an ally (the Nabob of Arcot)^ or to the Company's commerce^ by the 
 peace of the Carnatic being preferved^ the Company are indebted chiefly to 
 you for thejn." 
 
 Such are the expreffions made ufe of by General Clavering in his 
 letter to my brother, and by Governor Haftings in his letter to Mr. 
 Stratton, and fuch the light in which this matter prefented itfelf to the 
 Supreme Council at Bengal, after hearing the affertions of both parties. 
 
 It is not with a viev/ to acquire any pofitive opinion at prefent in fa- 
 vour of my brother's condu(3;, that I have felefted from a number of 
 other circumftances, which might have been ftated in his favour, thole 
 which are now fubmitted to your confideration, but merely to make 
 ufe of them as reafons for a fufpenfion of any unfavourable judgment or 
 riroceedings to his prejudice, until the matter is more fully examined. 
 
 I do
 
 [ 9 ] 
 
 I do not wliK to enter at all Into the merits of the queflion between 
 Lord Pigot and his council, nor to aflert or infinuate any thing to his 
 Lordlhip's prejudice. It is well known, that it was my earneft recom- 
 mendation to my brother at leaving this country, to cultivate a good 
 underftanding with his Lordfliip, whom I had always been accuftomed 
 to confidcr as a refpedlable man, to whom the India Company had 
 been under great obligations at a particular period during the laft war. 
 
 I took occafion alfo to write to my brother in the ftrongeft terms, 
 in the month of January 1776, requefling and infifling with him, that 
 he fhould confine himfelf entirely to his own bufinefs and profeffion in 
 the military line, and that he fhould avoid all interference in the fac- 
 tions or political intrigues, which I underftood too often took place in 
 our Settlements in India. This was recommended to him in fuch a 
 manner, that I have reafon to be confident it would have weight with 
 him; and as I find by his letter of the 30th of September laft, now 
 before me, that he had received mine of January before the late violent 
 difturbances at Madras, it gives me fome degree of hope, that the part 
 he took in the bufinefs upon the 23d and 24th of Auguft, was not the 
 refult of any preceding fpirit of fadlion, or intrigue, but a fudden refo- 
 lution taken in confequence of his being reduced to the difagreeable 
 alternative, of either difobeying the orders of Lord Pigot, or thofe of 
 the Majority of the Council. 
 
 The paragraph in my brother's letter, of the 30th of September, on 
 the above fubjeft, is in thefe words : 
 
 " I feel in my o'wn breajl^ the greatejl 'inivard fat'isfaclion a7~lfwg from 
 " a cool refeEl'ion on ivhat is p'af-, and am particularly happy ^ that^ upon 
 *' an attentive pernfal of your long letter^ I do not find I can charge .my- 
 " ftlf with a breach of thofe rides which your friendflnp prcfcribes^ fince 
 " I am convinced that by not interfering in politics, you could not mcan^ 
 " that as a military man I was to obey unlawful authority infead offup- 
 " porting governments^ 
 
 B The
 
 [ lo J 
 
 Tlae conclufion of this letter to me, which is a very long one, and 
 at your command whenever you chufe to perufe it, is in thefe words : 
 
 " The ca?! did part of the world^ ivilljujiify me from the imputation of 
 *' every felfifj and iitterefed view, ivhen it is know?!, that, a6ling iipo7i 
 " co7iflitutional principles, I have at two different times refufed the com- 
 *' matid of the army offered to me by LordPigot, and upon this occafion I 
 *' have exerted myfelf in defeiice of the rights of the Company at the ha~ 
 " %ard of my life. Were it poffible for me ever to feel the impreffion of 
 " fuch motives, it viay be reafonably afked, what advantages can poffibly 
 *' be derived to me from my prefent condnB, or what is there, that this or 
 *' any other government can give me, that I might not have had from 
 " Lord Pigot? My cojiduB in this rcfpcB mvfl remain an incontcfible 
 *' proof to every impartial perfon of my having aEfed from confcience, and 
 *■'■ from conviElion of the re&ittide of the caife in which I was engaged. 
 
 " Before I take my leave of you, my dear brother, I f jail beg leave to 
 *' repeat what I have already declared to my friend General Claveri?ig, 
 *' that as I hope for mercy, I luverhad any promife, neither am I in pof- 
 *^ fejjion or ex-pcBation of atiy private bencft whatever, refulting from the 
 " change now brought about in this government^'' 
 
 If you will allow me to {hew you the whole of my brother's dif- 
 patches upon this occafion, you will perceive, that fo far from having 
 any idea of the poflibility of prejudices arifing againft him in this coun- 
 try on account of what he had done, he feems to be under the influence 
 of the ftrongeft convidion, that he had done a moil meritorious fervice 
 to the Eaft India Company, and to the country in general, by preferv- 
 ing peace in the Carnatic, by eftablifhing Vv'hat appeared to him to be 
 the legal govemment, and accomplifl-iing all this without bloodflied or 
 tumult. 
 
 So much Is he under the influence of that conviction, that in the laft 
 letter received from him,, dated loth Odober, he defires mc, on the 
 footing of the fervices he has upon this occafion rendered to the India 
 
 Company,
 
 [ " ] 
 
 Company, and to the BrkiHi empire in India, to apply to the Com- 
 pany for the rank to him of Brigadier General in India by brevet; and 
 further fuggefts, that as he had been fourteen years a Lieutenant 
 Colonel in the King's fervice, and had never yet received any mark of 
 favour for the part he adled in the fuccefsful ftorming of the Moro 
 Fort at the Havannah, that he thinks this recent fervice in India (hould, 
 with his former fervices during the lad war, obtain to him the rank of 
 Colonel in the King's army. 
 
 By thus laying before you the flate of Colonel Stuart's mind upon 
 this occafion, as painted in his private letters to a brothei", it will rea- 
 dily occur to you, what a fevere difappointment and mortification it 
 will be to him, if, inftead of thofe public marks of approbation, which 
 his imagination had already almoft realized to him, he fl^ould find, 
 that his character and condudt upon this occafion have been attacked in 
 the mofl: violent manner, that the circumftances of his behaviour have 
 been painted in colours the mofl: likely to excite prejudices and even 
 indignation againfl him, before any account had arrived here from him- 
 felf, and before there was an opportunity of informing the Public of 
 the true flate of fads ; and that, upon no other authority, than a letter 
 from Alexandria, from a gentleman known to have taken a very warm 
 part in thefe difputes, and to be the declared enemy of Colonel Stuart. 
 
 I do not mean by this to impute any blame to Admiral Pigot, or the 
 other friends of Lord Pigot in this country, for endeavouring to interefl 
 the Proprietors and the Public flrongly in his Lordfliip's favour. It was 
 natural for them, believing what they had heard, and thinking as they 
 did of the proceedings at Madras, to be inflamed with zeal for his Lord- 
 fljip, and with indignation againfl thofe who had any fhare in the 
 events which had happened to him, and In that temper it was natural 
 for them to avail themfelves of what may be called the hojiejl prejudices 
 of the Public ; for thefe prejudices inflilled by the letter from Alexandria, 
 were founded on compaflion for a man confidered as injured, and indig- 
 nation at thofe whom the Public then conceived to have acted towai'ds 
 
 him both harfhly and unjuflly. 
 
 B 2 But
 
 But Lord PIgot's friends muft think it equally natural on my part to 
 endeavour to prevent thefe prejudices from extending their influence too 
 far in this bufmefs. 
 
 In the prefent ftate of thefe Indian difputes, before the fafts have 
 been properly afcertained, it is not my wifh, nor my intention, to 
 make any affertions, favourable or unfavourable, either to Lord Pigot's 
 or to my brother's caufe ; but I do moft fmcerely wifh, that there may 
 be a full, fiilr, and impartial examination into the condudl of all the 
 perfons at Madras, ^vho have been concerned in the late important 
 tranfaftions there, and that this may be done in the moft fpeedy man- 
 ner, and in that manner which is moft likely to prove effedual for 
 bringing the truth to light, and for making every ador appear to the 
 Public in his proper colours. 
 
 As I cannot doubt that a meafure fo requifite for the honour and in- 
 tercft not only of individuals, but of the India Company and of the 
 Brltifh nation in general, will be adopted, the objedl of my prefent 
 requeft, is no more than that, in the interval which precedes the enquiry, 
 the Diredtors and Proprietors of the India Company may be pleafed to 
 fufpend their opinion of Colonel Stuart's condudt, and that they may 
 alfo be pleafed to abftain, during that interval, from any refolutions 
 which, by inferring an immediate difapprobation of his condudt, may 
 be eiTentlally prejudicial to him. 
 
 You know, Sir, that when my brother went to India, he was ap- 
 pointed fecond in command, to fiicceed to the command in chief upon 
 any vacancy, by the death, refignation, or removal, of Sir Robert 
 Fletcher, the Commander in Chief. 
 
 I have been told, that on the 4th of April, before my arrival in Lon- 
 don, and very recently after the arrival of the firft advices about thefe 
 difturbances at Madras ; a meflage was fent by the Diredors to Lieu- 
 tenant Colonel Munro, defiring him to accept of the command in chief 
 at Madras, and that it has even been in agitation to fend out another 
 officer 'fecond in command there. Thefe ftcps, if true, have been 
 I carried
 
 can-'icd on with fo much expedition, and with fo little notice to any 
 perlbn concerned on the part of the firft and fecond in command upon 
 the coaft of Coromandel, that I mud be cxcufed for thinking it a hard 
 meafure on the two Gentlemen who now fill thefe (lations ; it is in 
 effedl, proceeding to judgment and condemnation of them, even be- 
 fore any notice given to themfelves or to their friends, to prepare for 
 their defence. 
 
 If there is to be a certain number of Commiffioners fent to India to 
 inquire into the late diforders at Madras, and to reftore peace and good 
 government in that country, I do not deny that it is reafonable and 
 equitable, that, during fuch enquiry, the principal a£lors on all fides, 
 whether in the civil or military fervice of the Company, fliould be fuf- 
 pended from their fundlions, and that others fhould be appointed to 
 occupy their places, until, by the refult of the enquiry, it iliall appear, 
 whether the perfons thus fufpended had been faithful or unfaithful fer- 
 vants to the interefts of the Company. When fuch inquiry is com- 
 pleted, let the fubfcquent fate of every man thus tried, be regulated 
 by his merit or demerit in the tranfadlions which gave rife to the en- 
 quiry. 
 
 But furely it cannot be your intention, Sir, nor that of the other Gen- 
 tlemen in the Direction of the Eaft India Company's affairs, to adopt a 
 mode of proceeding in this particular cafe, which fhall have the efFecTc 
 to make difapprobation and punifhment precede inquiry. 
 
 This is fo repugnant to every principle or rule of proceeding hitherto 
 obferved, either by the India Company, or by any fociety of men ac- 
 quainted with the bleflings of the Britifli conftitution, that I cannot per- 
 fuade myfelf that there is any ferious intention of adopting it. 
 
 But it will be adopting it effedually, if any officers ai'e to be fent to 
 Madras, with commiffions to fuperfede Sir Robert Fletcher and Colonel 
 Stuart, and that for an indefinite period of time. 
 
 That a proper officer fhould be appointed to take the command of the 
 army, during the enquiry into the condud of Sir Robert Fletcher and 
 
 Colonel
 
 [ 14 1 
 
 Colonel Stuart, is a meafure which cannot with propriety be objcdled 
 againft; but it is fubmitted that the commifTion to fuch officers fhould 
 be temporary, to fubfift only till the enquiry into the condudl of the 
 prefent firft and fecond in command at Madras fhall be completed ; or 
 at leaft, that the commiffion to be granted to any officer now to be fent 
 to Madras, fhould not be prejudicial either to Sir Robert Fletcher, or 
 to Colonel Stuart, in the event of the propofed enquiry terminating in a 
 manner honourable for them. 
 
 It muft be admitted on all hands, that it is at leaft a pojfibk cafe, that 
 Colonel Stuart, in the part he has aded in obedience to the orders of 
 the Majority of the Council, may, inftead of deferving ccnfure or fu- 
 perceffion, have adlually done what was proper and meritorious on his 
 part. 
 
 It is alfo at leaft a pojfible cafe, that if he has done wrong, or adled 
 irregularly, in obeying the orders of the Majority of the Council, he 
 has been guilty only of an error in judgment ; and that his condudl 
 may appear to have been guided by the beft intentions for the intereft of 
 the Company. 
 
 Upon thefe fuppofitions, I beg leave to fubmit it to your confidera- 
 tion ; and to that of the other Gentlemen in the Diredlion of the Com- 
 pany's affairs, to whom I beg this Letter may be communicated as foon 
 as poffible, whether it would not be the fource of much regret and 
 uneafmefs hereafter to yourfelves, if you fliould find that, by a fudden 
 refolution founded on the firft reports, your conduct to an officer, who 
 in the event fhall be found to have deferved well of the Company, had 
 been fuch, that it w-as no longer in your power to redrefs the material 
 injury that had been done to him, both in point of fituation and cha- 
 rader. 
 
 You will obferve. Sir, that, in the whole courfe of this Letter, I have 
 not pretended either to approve of my brother's conduct, or to advance 
 any thing againft that of his opponents j I have contended for nothing 
 
 elfe
 
 [ 15 ] 
 
 elfe but a fair and impartial inquiry, and a fufpcnce of dccifivc judg- 
 ment, until fuch inquiry is completed. 
 
 In contending for this equitable condu6t, I have not availed myfclf 
 of the intelligence recently received from Madras, by a very reputable 
 and efteemed Servant of th-e Company, Colonel Capper, who has 
 brought letters and accounts containing fuch a favourable reprefentation 
 of Colonel Stuart's conduit, and bellowing fuch encomiums upon it, as 
 might perhaps have entitled me to ftate it as fomething flronger than a 
 mere pojfibility that his condud: upon inquiiy may be found to have been 
 meritorious. 
 
 To enter into the particulars of the accounts thus received by Colonel 
 Capper, would be engaging further in this conteft than I have any incli- 
 nation to do at prefent, and further than I can at any rate permit myfclf 
 to do, until I am poffeired of full information on both fides of the 
 queftion. 
 
 It is fufficient for the only purpofe I have in view, that of an impar- 
 tial inquiry, and till that happens, a fufpenfe of judgment, that there 
 exifls z. probability y or even d. pojfibility, of Colonel Stuart's having adled 
 fuch a part, as entitles him to approbation, or even fuch a part as docs 
 not render him obnoxious to cenfure and punifhment. 
 
 This probability , or, if that is difputed, this pojfibility, which no man 
 can deny to exift, entitles me, without prefumption, to expcdl from 
 the Eaft India Company, that meafure of juftice to my brother, which 
 the laws and conftitution of this country never refufe even to the 
 moil abandoned vi^retches, when accufed of the moft enormous crimes, 
 that they fhall not be punifhed till they are tried and heard in their 
 defence. 
 
 Let my brother ftand or fall by a fair trial, and invefligation of his 
 condud ; but I trufl with confidence in the juflice and equity of the- 
 honourable Company, that no fuch permanent and prejudicial meafure- 
 will be adopted at prefent, as may, by virtually depriving him of his- 
 
 fituatioat
 
 r i6 ] 
 
 fituation and profpe£ls in the fervlce, infl'id a very fevere punlfhment 
 and cenfure upon Colonel Stuart, untried, and unheard in his own 
 defence, 
 
 I have the honour to be, with great regard, 
 
 S I R, 
 
 Your moft obedient 
 
 And mofl humble fervant, 
 
 BERKLEY-S(yjARE, 
 
 April 14, 1777. 
 
 ANDREW STUART.
 
 iwf->L 
 
 LETTER 
 
 TO THE HONOURABLE 
 
 The Dire6lors of the Eaft-India Company, 
 
 FROM 
 
 ANDREW STUART, Efq; 
 
 RESPECTING 
 
 The Condua: of Brigadier-general JAMES STUART, 
 
 at Madras. 
 
 [December, 177S.]
 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 IT is now near eighteen months fince 1 had the honour of addrefling 
 to you any requeft or application in behalf of my Brother, 
 Colonel Stuart, who for fome time pad has been Rrigadier-feneral in 
 the fervice of the Honourable Eafl India Company. I have at all times 
 thought it my duty to abftain from giving you unneceflary trouble, 
 and though frequently urged to reprefent to you the peculiar hard- 
 fhips of my Brother's cafe, it appeared to me more fuitable to re- 
 frain from any remonftrances, until we (hould know here the event of 
 his trial by a Court-martial, for which orders were fent to India, by 
 the Company's general letter of the 4th of July, 1777. 
 
 But the difpatches recently received from Madras, which contain 
 an account of what has pafTed there, in relation to the propofed Court- 
 martial, put me under the unavoidable neceffity of immediately folicit- 
 ing your attention to the peculiarity of my Brother's fituation. 
 
 Without partiality or prejudice, I may venture to fay, that the circum- 
 ftances of his cafe, when deliberately and candidly confidered, will be 
 found worthy of your moft ferious attention ; and, I truft will call aloud 
 for fome immediate redrefs, to flop the further progrefs of the accumu- 
 lated feverities, hardfhips, and indignities, which appear to me to 
 have been inflidted on Colonel Stuart, a perfon fucceeding, by your 
 own appointment, to be Commander in Chief of your army in theCar- 
 
 natic. 
 
 B Thefc
 
 ( 2 ) 
 
 Thefe feverlties have been inflifled, not only antecedent to any 
 trial of his conducTt, but without any proper evidence of his being 
 culpable ; and the influence and effeds of them ftiU continue to 
 fubfifl; with full force and rigour againfl; him, in confequence of the 
 refufal he has lately met with at Madras, of a Court of Enquiry, 
 or a trial by a Court-martial. 
 
 This enquiry and trial you had, by your orders, fent by the Befbo- 
 rough in July 1777, diredled to take place, and in conformity with 
 that diredion, Colonel Stuart, flattering himfelf that the wifhed- 
 for moment was arrived for vindicating his character and condu£t on 
 the fpot where the tranfaftions had happened, and that a period would 
 i(~)on be put to his fufferings, folicited that public trial in the mofl: 
 earned and fervent manner ; but hitherto in vain ; — for the refult 
 brought by the Lift difpatches from Madras, is, that the Governor 
 and Council there, at the fame time that they refufe the trial fo 
 earneftly requefted, and even infificd upon by Colonel Stuart as his right; 
 are pleafed, in confequence of the diredtions they had received from 
 home, to continue for an indefinite time that fufpenfion, which, in the 
 early ftages of this bufinefs, had been inflidled during the fpace of 
 fix months. 
 
 The confequence now is, that after having exerted himfelf, while 
 Commander in Chief of your forces, in the moft indefatigable and 
 confefledly ufeful manner for the interefts of the Company, by many 
 new military regulations, and by putting the army and military ports 
 in the Carnatic on the moft refpedable footing, of which the Com- 
 pany, if I am rightly informed, has received undoubted intelligence, 
 and from which, by the circumftances of the times, they may pro- 
 bably foon feel material advantages : 1 fay, after thefe exertions, which, 
 jointly with the baneful influence of the climate on European confti- 
 tutions, have greatly impaired his health ; he finds himfelf degraded 
 from the firft military fituatlon, with fevere marks of difplcafure, 
 waiting the return of t.lie difpatches lately brought home; and fuf- 
 fering in this unpleafant interval, all the anxieties and Impatience 
 8 incident
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 incident to an o/Ticcr of fplrlr, exnofcd to the continuance of the pre- 
 judices and afpeiTions wlih which his charadler and condu£l had, in 
 the rirfl: heats of party-rage, been aflailcd, without any means afforded 
 him of vindicating his honour, by oppofmg, in the courfe of a 
 public trial, authentic fadls and proofs to groundlefs or illiberal imputa- 
 tions. 
 
 To fatisfyyou, Gentlemen, that there is nothing exaggerated in this 
 fliort fketch of his fituatlon, I muft beg your permiffion, to bring 
 under your view, fome of the moft ftriking incidents which have hap- 
 pened fmce the period when he received from you his firft commiflion 
 in the fervice of the Honourable Eaft India Company. 
 * In the year 1775, Colonel Stuart, at that time a Lieutenant-Colonel 
 of many years ftanding in the King's fervice, was, with his Majelly's 
 permiffion, appointed fecond in command of all the Company's forces 
 upon the coaft of Coromandel, with the rank of Colonel in their fer- 
 vice; and by the fame appointment, it was fettled and eflablifhed, that 
 upon the death, refignation, or removal of the then Commander iu 
 Chief Sir Robert Fletcher, the command in chief, with the fame rank 
 of Brigadier-General, fhould devolve upon and be enjoyed by Colonel 
 Stuart. — Upon the faith of thefe agreements and appointments Colonel 
 Stuart entered into the Honourable Company's fervice, and failed for 
 India. 
 
 He left England in November 1775, and arrived at Madras in 
 May 1776. 
 
 Before his arrival, there had been many difputes and diflentlons 
 between Lord Pigot the Governor, and the Members of the Council at 
 Madras. The conteft and animofity between them with regard to their 
 refpedive powers and privileges, as well as with regard to fome matters 
 of government, was far advanced at the time of Colonel Stuart's arrival, 
 and according to all appearances in a way of increafing daily. 
 
 I have letters in my poITeffion from my Brother foon after his arrival, 
 mentioning thefe diflcntions, and his intentions to avoid taking part 
 
 B 2 with
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 with either fide in their dlfputes, and to apply himfelf entirely to his 
 own bufinefs in the military line. 
 
 in particular, the diiTention between Lord Pigot the Governor, and 
 Sir Robert Fletcher the Commander in Chief, foon increafed to fuch a 
 height, that in the month of July 1776, Lord Pigot iffued an order for 
 putting Sir Robert Fletcher under arreft, and offered the command of 
 the army to Colonel Stuart, then fecond in command. This, though a 
 very inviting offer. Colonel Stuart declined ; he accommodated the dif- 
 ferences between the Governor and Commander in Chief; prevailed 
 on Lord Pigo: to withdraw the arreft; and Sir Robert Fletcher was thus 
 continued in the command of the army. 
 
 In the month of Auguft 1776, the dlfputes between Lord Pigot the, 
 Prefident, and the Majority of the Members of Council, came to fuch ex- 
 tremities, that it was evident there could be no further hopes of accommo- 
 dation between parties who confidered their powers, and the conftltu- 
 tional goveroment at Madras, in fuch oppofite points of view. — It was 
 the crijis of a contefl in which there was no likelihood of either party^ 
 voluntarily yielding to the other, — a fituation which almoft unavoidably 
 produces the neceffity of reforting to ftrong and violent meafures for 
 aflerting or preventing the annihilation of thofe powers which the 
 contending parties feverally think themfelves entitled to exercife. 
 
 It was this crifis and neceffity which probably made Lord Pigot, oa 
 the one hand, think himfelf entitled to refort to the violent meafures to 
 which he had recourfe on the 2 2d and 23d of Auguft 1776; when his 
 Lordfhip firft fufpended from their offices two of the Members of the Ma- 
 jority of Council, and then fufpended the whole of them, ordering at 
 the fame time Sir Robert Fletcher the Commander in Chief under arreft, 
 upon a charge of exciting mutiny and fedition among the troops in 
 garrlfon, which was inferred from his concurring with the Majority 
 of Council in a proteft figned and circulated by them on the 23d of 
 Auguft. 
 
 On the other hand, it was probably the fame crifis and neceffity 
 gave rife to the idea and to the refolution taken by the Ma- 
 
 3 io"ty
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 jority of Council, and by Sir Robert Fletcher the Commaiicler in Chief, 
 upon the fame 23d of Aiiguft, when they affumcd the reins of go- 
 vernment, and figncd an order to Colonel Stuart the fecond in com- 
 mand, on whom they conferred the temporary command of the army 
 on account of the indifpofition of Sir Robert Fletcher, by which order 
 they required him, Colonel Stuart, to put them, the Majority of Council, 
 in pofleffion of the fort-houfc, fortrefs and garrifon of Fort St. George, 
 and to arreft the perfon of Lord Pigot the Governor. By the fame 
 order, the Majority conferred upon Colonel Stuart the command of the 
 garrifon of Fort St. George, during the prefent danger. 
 
 Here I think it proper to declare that it is by no means my intention 
 to criminate or exculpate either Lord Pigot, and the Gentlemen who ad- 
 hered to him, or the oppofite party compofed of the Majority of the Mem- 
 bers of Council : I do not wifh to embark myfelf in any part of that con- 
 troverfy relating to the merits of the queftions which firfl produced the 
 diflentions, and afterwards the total rupture between Lord Pigot and the 
 Majority of Council; for befides a natural diflike to all manner of con- 
 troverfies where I am not neceflarily and unavoidably called upon to 
 take a part, I do apprehend that the merits of my Brother's cafe, ftand 
 upon grounds totally feparate and diftlnd from thofe which have been 
 contefted between Lord Pigot on the one hand, and the Majority of 
 Council on the other; I have hitherto avoided, both in the India-houfe 
 and in Parliament, taking any fhare in the queftions agitated between 
 thefe parties, and it is my intention to continue to do fo, unlefs points 
 fhould occur where my Brother's honour or intereft might happen 
 to be eflentially affetted, and in which I may think him fo much 
 in the right, as to make it an unavoidalile duty on me to ftand 
 forward in his behalf. 
 
 I mean, therefore, here to confine myfelf to the particular circum- 
 ftances under which Colonel Stuart adled, in obedience to orders from. 
 Superiors, whom he thought himfelf bound to obey, without taking 
 upon myfelf to fay or inunuate, whether thefe Superiors did righr 
 
 or
 
 ( 6 ) 
 
 -or wrong, In ifTuing thofe orders; neither fliall I prefume to give 
 an opinion, whether the violent a£ts, either of the one party or the 
 other, were ri.ght in themfelves, or jufiifiable from reafons of expe- 
 diency or neceffity. 
 
 ^'he difficuU al- The written order of 23d of Auguft 1776, to Colonel Stuart, for 
 
 ternative to puttine the Majority of Council in poffeflion of the fort, and for arreft- 
 
 ivhich Colonel ^ o j j 
 
 Stuart was re- ing the perfon of Lord Pigot, was hgned by Seven Members of the 
 
 diiced by the cr- Council, which conftituted an unqueftionable Majority; and it is far- 
 
 ^EVS T6C€l'VCu 
 
 from the oppofite ther to be obfcrved, that one of thofe Members who figned that order, 
 far/ies. vv'as the Commander in Chief, Sir Robert Fletcher. 
 
 At the time when Colonel Stuart received this order, he had no feat 
 or vote in Council, no deliberative voice ; his duty was that of obedience 
 only to his lawful fuperiors, civil and military; he thought it therefore 
 indifpenhbly his duty to obey the joint orders of a clear Majority of 
 Council, concurring with the Commander in Chief; convinced, as he 
 has always been, and ftill declares himfelf to be, that the legal 
 conftitutional government in the Company's fettlement at Madras is 
 veiled, not in the Governor or Prefident alone, nor in the Gover- 
 nor with a Minority of Council, but in the Majority of the Members 
 of Council. 
 
 Upon the fame day that the Majority of Council and the Commander 
 in Chief figned the above order to Colonel Stuart, there was an offer to 
 him of the command of the army, from Lord Pigot and his Lordfhip's 
 friends in Council. The general orders iffued by them of that date 
 were in thefe words : 
 
 " Fort St. George, 23d Aug. ijy6. 
 ** The Right Honourable the Prefident and Council having been 
 ^' pleafed to order Brigadier-general Sir Robert Fletcher in arreft, for be- 
 
 (( 
 
 mg
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 •' ing concerned in circulating letters tending to excite and caufc mutiny 
 " and fedition among the troops in this garrifon, Colonel James 
 •' Stuart is ordered to take upon him the command of the troops under 
 " this Prefidency, and all reports and returns arc to be made to him 
 *' accordingly." 
 
 Here then Colonel Stuart, to whom upon the fame day the tem- 
 porary command of the army was offered by one party, and the 
 abfolute unlimited command by the other, with pofitive requifiiions 
 from each to a£t under their authority, was placed in one of the moft 
 delicate and difficult fituations that ever fell to the fliare of any military 
 man ; — it was impoffible for him to be an inadive or an idle fpec- 
 tator. 
 
 Had he refufcd the command of the army, and thus incurred 
 difobedience to the orders of both parties, he was liable to be per- 
 fecuted by both, at leafl by the party which fhould gain the afcen- 
 dant, by whom he would certainly have been put under arrefl, and 
 brought to trial by a Court-martial for difobedience of orders. 
 
 He was therefore reduced to this alternative, that he mufl: either 
 give fupport to the government of Lord Pigot, to the prejudice of 
 all the fufpcnded Members of the Majority, and to the prejudice of his 
 Commander in Chief, then ordered under arreft, and about to be tried 
 for his life ; or he mufl: obey the joint orders of the Commander ia 
 Chief, and the Majority of Council. 
 
 The fituation was a very hard and difagreeable one for Colonel Stuart; The confequences- 
 
 becaufe, whether he obeyed the orders of one or the other party, he . '^r uTi '^'^^ 
 
 ■was certain to meet with much blame, outcry, and perfecution, from Colonel Stuart'y 
 
 the oppofitc party. We all know how liberally thefe have been be- ^^0''^Z ^^^ 
 
 . . . ' order, cf the 
 
 flowed upon him, in the event which has happened ; but let us fup- Prefidint anL 
 
 pofe -^^^^'^'"'0!-
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 pofe the contrary event, that he had difobeyed the orders of the Majo- 
 rity and Commander in Chief, and given his fupport to the government 
 of Lord Pigot and the Minority, what an opening would that have 
 afforded for obloquy and perfecution ? 
 
 His accepting of the command from the Governor and the Minority 
 would have been afcribed to the bafe ungenerous motive of fupplanting 
 Sir Robert Fletcher, the Commander in Chief; and, fuppofing Lord 
 Pip-ot to have prevailed at that time, and to have proceeded with the 
 fulleft career of fuccefs in eftablifhing his government upon the ruins 
 of the Majority of Council, and even without any further refiftance 
 on their part, or any difturbance in the fettlement, there can fcarcely be 
 a doubt that when the news of thefe tranfadtions reached England, 
 they would have excited a general difapprobation of the violent meafures 
 hy which a Majority of Council had been deprived of their functions, 
 and the Commander in Chief of the forces put under arreft, and fuper- 
 ceded in his command. 
 
 Upon that occafion too, the military officer who had lent his aid for 
 eftablifhing that new government, who had availed himfelf of the op- 
 portunity to fupplant and to get into the place and profits of his Com- 
 mander in Chief, and who had been guilty of difobedience of orders, 
 both with refped to that Commander and the Majority of Council, 
 would moft probably have felt the feverefl: effeds of the indignation 
 of the Diredors and Proprietors of the Honourable Company, and of 
 the public at large. 
 
 My reafon for faying that there can fcarcely be a doubt that fuch 
 would have been the reception given at home to the violent proceedings 
 in Auguft 1776 in fufpending the Majority of Council, is founded not 
 only on the nature of the incidents themfelves, but on the difapprobation 
 which has been exprcfled by the India Company of that part of Lord 
 Pigot's condud, when taken into confiderfrtion in this country at a time, 
 and under circumftances the moft favourable for his Lordfhip, and 
 the leaft auf])icious for thofe who had oppofed him. 
 
 if
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 If any degree of difipprobation and cenfure of thofe parts of his 
 Lorddiip's condudl could take place at a time when fo much generous and 
 natural fympathy arofe from the hardfliips and reverfe of fortune which 
 Lord Plgot had experienced, — at a time when the minds of men were in 
 general more filled with animofity and indignation againft thofe who had 
 been the occafion of his fufFerings, than attentive to any errors or irre- 
 gularities in his Lordflilp's condudl or principles of government, how 
 different would it have been, if the difpatches from India, inftead of 
 bringing accounts of any hardfliips fuffered by Lord Pigot, or by thofe 
 who adhered to him, had been filled only with the news of the hard- 
 fliips, indignities, and prejudices fuftained by the oppofite party, and 
 of Lord Pigot's having been affifted and abetted in the eftablifliment of 
 this new government by the fecond in the military command, who by 
 this revolution had attained the command in chief? 
 
 I am well warranted to fay, that in the cafe here fuppofed, the outcry 
 and indignation both againft Lord Pigot and Colonel Stuart would have 
 been more general, and better founded, though they could not have been 
 more violent than what Colonel Stuart has experienced in the oppofite 
 cafe which has happened. 
 
 It muft be allowed then, that Colonel Stuart was moft unfortunately 
 clrcumftanced, fince whichever fide of the queftion he efpoufed in thefe 
 unhappy difputes between the Governor and the Council, and to 
 whichfoever of the parties he gave his obedience and fupport, he was 
 certain of receiving for his reward much future obloquy and perfe- 
 cution. 
 
 But the confequences affeding hlmfelf were not the only or the mofl 
 material ones which Colontl Stuart at the time of taking his decifive 
 refolution was bound to attend to ; it became proper for him further to 
 confider, what the poffible or probable confequences might be, to the 
 Company's fettlement in that part of the world, in cafe he fhould obey 
 the orders of Lord Pigot and the Minority, in preference to thofe of the 
 Majority of Council and the Commander in Chief. 
 
 C Is
 
 ( lo ) 
 
 Is it at all probable, that Sir Robert Fletcher, the Commander 
 in Chief, known to have been of a difpofition neither timid nor 
 indolent, and who was drove to the neceffity of making fome exertion 
 for his own fafety, to refcue himfelf from his impending fate ; I fay, is 
 it probable, that he would have tamely and placidly acquiefced in the 
 eftabllfliment of the government of Lord Pigot and the Minority, and 
 in his own fuperceflion and trial by a Court-martial, even fuppofing 
 that Colonel Stuart had given his fupport to Lord Pigot ? 
 
 Or again is it probable, that all the gentlemen of the fufpended Ma- 
 jority would have placidly and tamely acquiefced in that new govern- 
 ment, and in their own fufpcnfion, degradation, and difgrace, without 
 making fome efforts to preferve their rights and their confequence in- 
 the important fettlement of Madras ? 
 
 Is it further to be fuppofed, that thefe gentlemen of the Council, many 
 of whom had been long eftabliflied in India, and had extenfive connec- 
 tions there, and who were embarked in a common caufe with the 
 Commander in Chief of the troops, would have had no fupport of 
 
 friends, civil and military, to efpoufe their interefts ? Thefe things. 
 
 cannot be fuppofed in confiftency with any jull obfervation on the 
 common courfe of events. 
 
 The probability is, if Colonel Stuart, then fecond in command, had 
 in the month of Auguft 1776 given his obedience and fupport to Lord 
 Pigot and the Minority, in oppofition to the Majority of Council, and 
 Sir Robert Fletcher, the Commander in Chief of the forces, that the 
 confequenccs would have been much more ferious and alarming to the 
 peace and fecurity of the fettlement, than any which either atftually 
 happened, or were likely to happen, from Colonel Stuart's adting in 
 obedience to the orders of the Majority. 
 
 What a dreadful fcene, and how alarming in its confequenccs mufl it 
 have been, if, while one part of the army fliewed a readinefs to obey the 
 orders of Lord Pigot and Colonel Stuart, another part, either from at- 
 tachment or obligations to Sir Robert Fletcher their Commander in 
 1: Chief,
 
 ( II ) 
 
 Chief, or from thinking his life in danger, or from an opinion that 
 the legal Government which ihcy were bound to obey was veiled in 
 the Majority of Council had declared themfelvcs ready to follow his 
 and their fortunes, and to give their aid for fiipporting that go- 
 vernment ? 
 
 Surely no man can maintain, with any degree of certainty, or even 
 with a fuperior weight of probability, that this would not have been the 
 cafe ; perhaps I might venture to exprefs my fentiments more ftrongly 
 on this fubjed, becaufe, after having been at conlidcrable pains to in- 
 form raylelf accurately, the information I have received from good au- 
 thority is very pofitive, that fuch would have been the confequences ; 
 efpecially too, as the Supreme Council in Bengal had, even before that pe- 
 riod, expreffed their fentiments very ftrongly, in difapprobation of fome 
 parts of Lord Pigot's conduct ; and it is well known, that they after- 
 wards had no hefitation to pronounce the Majority of the Council of 
 Madras to be the legal government^ and to declare their firnj refolu- 
 tion to fupport It *. 
 
 Thefe particulars have appeared to me neceffary to be ftated at fomc 
 length, becaufe, in the courfe of all the difcuffions hitherto in relation 
 to thefe unhappy difturbances at Madras, they feem almoft to have 
 efcaped obfervation ; no juft allowance has been made for the very 
 critical and difficult fituation in which Colonel Stuart was placed, and 
 in the midft of the outcry againfl; him, a notion feems fomehow or 
 
 * In the letter from the Supreme Council to Lord Pigot of the icth of September 1776, 
 they exprefs themfelves thus : " We therefore deem it incumbent on us to declare, that the 
 " rights and powers of the Governor and Council of any of the Company's Prefidencies, are 
 *' veiled by their original conllitutlon, in the Majority of the Board ; that the violence coni- 
 " mitted by your Lord(hip, in excluding two of the Members of the Council of Fort St. 
 <' George, fr m their places, was a violation of that conftitution ; that the meafures taken 
 " by the Majority to recover the adual government, which of right is verted in them, arofe 
 " from the nccefiity of the cafe ; and that v.e lliall acknowledge and fupport the title and au- 
 " thority which they confequently pofl'efs." 
 
 At the fame 'time, the Supreme Council wrote to Sir Edward Hughes, commanding hi» 
 Majefty's fquadron in India, " reqiieftiiig that he would unite with them in afi'ording his ailift- 
 " ance and fupport to the aftual government of Madras, if any change of circumftance fhould 
 •' render it neccflary for them to defire it." 
 
 C 2 Other
 
 ( I^ ) 
 
 other to have prevailed, as If he had been officioufly and unneceflarily 
 adtive, without confidering that he was placed in a fituation, where 
 it was impoffible for him to be an idle fpedtator, and where he 
 was reduced to the alternative of paying obedience and giving adive 
 fupport either to Lord Pigot and the Minority, or to the Majority of 
 the Council united with the Commander in Chief. 
 
 We all know the total extent of the prejudice and mifchief that has 
 happened in the one cafe; but no perfon can take upon him to fay, of 
 how much greater magnitude the mifchief and confufion in the fet- 
 tlement might have been, if the contrary event had happened, by 
 Colonel Stuart's obeying the orders of the Minority, inftead of thofe of 
 the Majority. 
 
 It is the bufmefs of the Members of the Majority who iffued 
 the orders, to fhew the neceffity or propriety of thefe orders, 
 for which they alone are refponfible; and the only thing incumbent 
 on Colonel Stuart, is to fhew the neceffity he was under to obey 
 them ; and he perfuades himfelf that he fhall not only be able to give 
 the utmoft fatisfadion on that head, but likewife further to prove, be- 
 yond the poffibility of doubt, that he executed thofe orders in a man- 
 ner, which of all others was the beft calculated to avoid bloodlhed and 
 confufion in the fettlement. 
 
 q-i^ J f I take it for granted that It will not be difputed by any man, and 
 
 cuting the orders much lefs by any man of military experience, that it is a material part 
 
 of the Majority ^(^ ^^ ^ ^^ ^^ officer charged with fuch an unpleafant and 
 
 jorobtainingpoj- •' ° ^ 
 
 feffion of the for- hazardous order, to ftudy to execute it in fuch a manner, as may 
 
 t.reJs,andforar- jg^{^ endanger the lives either of thofe who are the 'obiedls of the 
 
 rejtmg the perfon ° ^ . . ' . 
 
 cf Lord Pigot. order, or of thofe by whom it is to be carried into execution, and 
 
 at
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 at tlie fame lime may be the beft calculated for avoiding tumults in 
 the community. 
 
 It is admitted on all hands, that all thcfc material purpofcs were 
 completely anfvvcrcd by the mode in which the arrefl: of Lord Pigot, 
 and the pofTcflion of the fortrefs of Fort St. George, were accom- 
 pliflied ; for there was not a life loft ; nay, not the fmalleft perfonal 
 hurt received by any one man in the fettlement upon this occafion.— 
 Not only fo, but from the day of Lord Pigot's arreft, on the 24th 
 of Auguft 1776, to the arrival of the new Government at Ma- 
 dras, in the end of Auguft 1777, there had not been any tumult or 
 difturbance in the fettlement, in confequence of the incidents of the 
 month of Auguft 1776, nor any man imprifoned or injured in his per- 
 fon or property ; and further, fo little was there of confufion or anar- 
 chy in the fettlement, that according to my information, the accuracy 
 of which you, Gentlemen, have the beft opportunities of knowing, the 
 inveftments for the Company during that period, from the Madras 
 prefidency, were to a greater amount than they had ever been known 
 during any fimilar fpace of time, and the revenues of the Company on 
 re-letting their home-farms contiguous to Madras were very confider- 
 ably encreafed. 
 
 From thefe fads, one would be apt to think, that a great commer- 
 cial Company, whofe chief and ultimate objed muft be the peace and 
 tranquillity of the fettlements belonging to them, and the profperity 
 of their commercial interefts, would feel fome partiality for an officer 
 in their fervice, who in the execution of fuch orders, which he thought 
 himfelf under a neceftity of obeying, had fo managed, as to avoid 
 every mifchief that might have been fatal to the peace of the fettle- 
 ment, or to the lives and properties of thofe who refided in it. 
 
 In all the papers or letters from Colonel Stuart, public or private, he 
 has always exprefled the higheft fatisfadion that the arreft of Lord Pigot, 
 and the obtaining pofTeffion of the Fort, had been accompliflied without 
 
 any
 
 ( 14 ) 
 
 any perfonal injury to his Lordfhip or any of his friends, and without one 
 drop of blood being fpllt upon the occafion : this he at the fame time 
 is very confident could not have happened, if he had purfucd any 
 other plan, than that which was adopted ; and particularly that a 
 very different fcene, and mofl probably much bloodfhed and tumult, 
 mufl have enfued, if Lord Pigot had been arrefled in the fortrefs of 
 Fort St. George ; or if, from the conduft of Colonel Stuart or others. 
 Lord Pigot had perceived or fufpedled that there was an intention of 
 arrefting him. - , 
 
 Colonel Stuart is alfo perfuaded, and the nature of the cir- 
 cumftances demonflrate, that difagreeable confequences of the fame 
 nature muft have happened, if the obtaining poffeffion of the 
 fortrefs and garrifon of Fort St. George had been attempted, without 
 the previous arreft of Lord Pigot, while his Lordfliip, by his perfonal 
 prefence, joined to that of his adherents, was at liberty to have infti- 
 gated the whole or part of the garrifon, to declare on his fide, and to 
 refift the orders of the Majority of Council ; which orders, he. Co- 
 lonel Stuart, was bound at all hazards to carry into execution; for the 
 terras of them were very exprefs; they peremptorily required him 
 to put them (the Majority of the Council) in poffeffion of the Fort- 
 houfe, garrifon, and fortrefs of Fort St. George. 
 
 Colonel Stuart had accordingly formed a plan and taken his arrange- 
 ment for getting poffeffion of the fortrefs at all hazards, and he has no 
 doubt that he could have fucceeded in it; but at the fame time thinks 
 that it might very probably have been attended with the lofs of many 
 lives, and in all likelihood would have been more fatal to Lord Pigot 
 and his adherents, than to thofe who were to carry the orders of the 
 Majority into execution, who knew that they could depend upon the 
 numbers, fidelity, and firmnefs of that part of the troops which they 
 had at their command for the accomplilhment of this undertaking. 
 
 The probability or even the chance of fuch difagreeable events 
 happening, was fufficient to determine Colonel Stuart to avoid the 
 
 meafures
 
 ( ^5 ) 
 
 meafures of open force, while there was any poffibillty of accom- 
 plifliing the fame ultimate ohjcds by any other juftifiabic means 
 permitted by the terms of the order he had received. This 
 gave rife to the plan concerted with Colonel Eidington, Captain 
 Lyfaght, and Major Home, for arrefting the perfon of Lord 
 Pigot, when on his road from the Fort to the Company's Garden- 
 houfe, and of conducing his Lordfhip with fafety and without infult 
 of any fort to the Mount, at the diftance of about feven miles from 
 Madras, there to be under the charge of Major Home, the command- 
 ing Officer of the corps of Artillery, who was a perfon well known to 
 and rcfpe£ted by Lord Pigot, and whofe general charader put him 
 above any fufpicions of improper treatment of his Lordfhip. 
 
 As foon as the arreflof Lord Pigot was over, Colonel Stuart inftantly 
 returned to Madras, and put the garrifon and fortrefs into the poffeffion 
 of the Majority of Council, from whom he had received his orders ; 
 and in this manner, by the fecrecy and rapidity with which he car- 
 ried into execution the orders he had received only the preceding day, 
 every objedt was accomplifhed, without the lofs of one life, and with- 
 out any difturbance in the fettlement. 
 
 But, notwithflanding the rapidity with which thefe decifive fteps w-ere 
 taken, an incident happened on the evening of the 24th, even after it 
 was known that the perfon of Lord Pigot had been arrefted, which, 
 though it has hitherto been little adverted to, is well worthy of atten- 
 tion, becaufe it tends to fhcw what alarming confequences might pof- 
 fibly have happened, not only to Lord Pigot himfelf, and his friends, 
 as well as to thofe that oppofed them, but even to the fettlement in. 
 general, if Colonel Stuart, in the execution of the orders, had followed; 
 any other plan than that which he adtually adopted for attaining pof- 
 feffion of the fortrefs. 
 
 The incident I allude to, is what happened on the parade, in the 
 evening of the 24th of Angufl, after Lord Pigot had been arrefted,. 
 and when the fortrefs of Fort St. George had been put into the pofTeffion 
 
 of
 
 ( I6 ) 
 
 of the new government. Mr. Claud RufTel, one of the Civil Counfel- 
 lors of LordPigot's party, was found that evening ordering the guards to 
 ftand to their arms, to pay obedience to him, as the commanding officer 
 in the abfence of Lord Pigot, and endeavouring, by every means in 
 his power, to excite the guards to refiftance and violence, while, at this 
 very time too, Mr. Stratton and- Mr. Brooke, both feniors to Mr. 
 Ruffell in the Council, were actually in Fort St. George, and affembled 
 upon pubhc bufinefs in the Council-chamber at the Fort-houfe. 
 
 I beg leave to ftate thefe incidents precifely in the words of the in- 
 formation given by Mr. RufTel himfelf, when examined upon oath 
 before the Coroner's inquefi; at Madras, upon the 13th of May 1777 ; in 
 page 29th and 30th of the collection of papers lately publiflied relating 
 to that Inqueft, Mr. Ruffell ftates what paffed upon the parade 
 in the fortrefs of Fort St. George, in the evening of the 24th of 
 Auguft, in thefe words : 
 
 " Hear'wg foon after that Lord Pigot had been carried a prifofier to 
 
 *' the Motint, this hiforinant (Mr. Rujfel) thought it his dut}\ as fe- 
 
 *' cond 171 Council t to repair immediately to the Fort. In his ivay thi-_ 
 
 *' ther, this Informant met -with Air. Stone, luho accompanied this In~ 
 
 *' formant ; ivhen they entered the Fort and came near to the main-guard^ 
 
 *' this Inforynant met the Toivn-major, Captain Wood, nvho told this In- 
 
 *' formant, that he f Captain Wood) hadheenptU under an arrejl for doing 
 
 *' his duty ; this Informant therefore dire^ed the Town-adjutant, Lieu- 
 
 *' tenant Pefidergait, lu/jo happened to be near, to go to the Captain of 
 
 *' the maiji-guard, and acquaint him, that it ivas his orders, in the ab- 
 
 *' fence of Lord Pigot, that the guards Jljould fiand to their arms. Ob- 
 
 ** ferving that the Captain of the main-guard (Captain Adair^ befit at ed 
 
 ' to comply ivith thofe orders, this Informant ivent himfelf to Captain 
 
 Adair and repeated his orders, apprifmg Captain Adair of the danger 
 
 ' of reftfing obedience, as this Informant ivas the commanding Officer in 
 
 *' the abfence of Lord Pigot, under nsohofc orders the guards ivere. 
 
 " Captain Adair feemed to be much alarmed, and muttered fotnething 
 
 " about the Commander in Chief; upon ivhich this Informant afked Cap- 
 
 4 ' " tain
 
 ( 17 ) 
 
 *' tain Adair, if be had received any orders contrary to tvhat this In- 
 *' formant then i^ave him. Captain Adair aufivercd in a confiifed man^ 
 " jier, that he had received orders from the Commander in Chief. About 
 ** this time a croivd of ojjlcers ,affemhled round, and as the guard ap- 
 " peared to be flanding to their arms, part having ahcady fallen in., 
 ** this Informant ivas advancing totvards their front, ivhen Colonel 
 " James Stuart came up to this Informant, aiid told him he nmfl go to 
 *' the Confnltation-room. This Informant replied, he ivas not under 
 *' the orders of Colonel Stuart, but on the contrary, that he nvas under 
 *' the orders of this Informant. Some more ivords to the fame tendency 
 " pajfed betnjueen Colonel Stuart and this Informant, ivhen Colonel Stuart 
 " called out orderlies, ordering them to feize the Informant. Lieutenant 
 " Colonel Eidington and Captain Barclay, each feiztng this Informant 
 «* by the arm, this Informant called out to the officer of the guard for 
 " affflance, but in vain, although fome of the grenadiers did fep out of 
 " their ranks. In this mariner, this Informant ivas dragged by Colonel 
 *' James Stuart, Lieutenant- colonel James Eidingtoun, and Captain 
 " Barclay, fome orderlies pifjjing this Informant behind, to the Council' 
 *' romn ; "where this Informant found Mejfrs. George Stratton, Sir Ro- 
 *' bert Fletcher, Henry Brooke, Charles Floyer, Archdale Palmer, Francis 
 " J our dan, and George Mackie, fitting at the Council-table. 1 'his informant 
 *' ivas detained in the Council-room, until Colonel James Stuart diclated a 
 " narrative of ivhat had pajfed upon the parade, to Mr. Jourdan, ivho 
 ** appeared to a£i as fecretary^ 
 
 In another account given by Mr. Ruffel of this fame matter, alfo 
 upon oath, in the month of Ai]guft 1776, there are the following ad- 
 <3itional circumflances: 
 
 " '^hat Colonel Stuart, upon feeing feveral of the grenadiers advancing 
 <' from the ranks toivards him fMr. Rujfcl), feenCd to be fo much 
 *' alarmed with this, that he quitted his hold of the Deponent (Mr. Ruf- 
 
 ** fOi '^"^ ^^" ^^^^ ^^ P^^fi ^^•'^ grenadiers into the ranks, •with oaths 
 " and threats ; that, after effe^ing this. Colonel Stuart returned to afjijl 
 *' Colonel Eidington, and Captain Barclay, by laying hold of the Depo- 
 
 D " nent's-
 
 ( i8 ) 
 
 *' nent*s ivrijl, and calling for an orderly ferjeant, to pu/h hm fMr. 
 «' Rufel) behhidr 
 
 The inference I draw from thefe fads is, that when we fee that 
 fuch a fenfation and beginning of difturbance could be produced in 
 the garrifon at a time fo unfavourable for Lord Pigot's friends, 
 when his Lordfhip was in fafe cuflody with the corps of artillery at 
 the Mount; and when there was fo little time or opportunity 
 afforded them to prepare for any plan of refiftance ; and when 
 we fee that this Gentleman, Mr. Ruffel, though unfupported by 
 the other Members of the Minority, was refolutely bent on refift- 
 ance, did every thing in his power to excite the guards to it, and 
 had adlually made fuch an impreffion, as at one time to make fome of 
 the guards ftand to their arms, and afterwards to excite fome of the 
 grenadiers to ftep out of their ranks to give him fupport, if the further 
 progrefs of thefe firft impreffions had not been checked by Colonel 
 Stuart's violently threatening and puftinig back thefe grenadiers, and 
 afterwards laying hold of Mr. Ruffel, and forcibly taking him from 
 the parade ; I fay, when we obferve all thefe things, do they not 
 afford the mofl complete convidion, that if Lord Pigot had not been 
 arretted, but had been with the garrifon, or at liberty, at the time when 
 Colonel Stuart, in obedience to his orders, was to feize the fortrefs, 
 there muft have enfued a very ferious confiidl, and the lofs of many lives. 
 
 "Without any difparagement to Mr. Ruffel, who I know enjoys a re- 
 fpedable character, and who fliewed as much zeal and refolution as 
 was poflible for any man in his circumflances, I may on good grounds 
 prefume, that Lord Pigot himfelf, had he been in a fituation to adt, 
 would not have been lefs zealous or lefs determined ; and that his 
 perfonal prefence in the garrifon, where, as Governor of the fort, he 
 had a right to command, and accompanied with friends who would have 
 fupported him on the occafion, could not have failed to have produced 
 a very different fpirit and degree of refiftance among the troops in the 
 garrifon ; it muft have been of a much more ferious nature, than 
 v;hat was or could be produced by the efforts of any of the Counfellors 
 of.Lord Pigot's party, who had never aded but in a civil capacity. 
 
 Lord
 
 ( 19 ) 
 
 Lord PIgot's former military aftlons, his rank, the command he was 
 accuftomed to have of the guards of the garrifon, and his known in- 
 trepidity and warmth of temper, would certainly have difpofed many 
 of the guards to have obeyed him ; and there can hardly be a doubt 
 that he would have rifked his own and their lives, rather than yield 
 to the power which required pofleflion of his garrifon ; and that in all 
 probability he and many of his adherents, overpowered by numbers, 
 would have fallen. 
 
 Let any man fairly eflimate in his own mind thcfe events which, 
 in all human probability, would have happened, compare them with 
 thofc which adlually did happen, and then declare ingenuoufly, 
 whether he thinks Colonel Stuart is entitled to merit or demerit, with 
 the Eaft India Company, with Lord Pigot's friends, and with this coun- 
 try in general, for preferring to every other, the plan which was adlually 
 purfued. 
 
 The mode of arrcfting Lord Pigot, and fome of the circumftances at- q-j^g ohje^ions to 
 tending the accomplifliment of it, have been loudly complained of, not the mode of c.r- 
 as affeding either the peace of the fettlement, or the interefts of the 
 Company; but on this ground, that the arreft is faid to have been 
 brought about in a manner that was unhandfome, and deceitful, and 
 that I may not feem to avoid ftating it in the ftrongeft terms, even 
 treacherous to Lord Pigot. 
 
 Upon thefe topics every circumftance or commentary that could be 
 collcdlcd from the mouths of enemies to Colonel Stuart, has been 
 wrought up with uncommon ingenuity to inflame the minds of the < 
 Eafl: India Proprietors, and of the public at large, againft him j fo 
 much fo, that there could not have been moi-e rage and violence, if, 
 inftead of applying his utmoft attention and management to fave Lord 
 Pigot's life, he had been guilty of his murder j or if, inftead of avoid- 
 
 D 2 ing
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 ing confufion in the Settlement, he had involved it in tumult and 
 bloodflied. 
 
 If it were unqueflionably afcertained upon an examination of unpre- 
 judiced and impartial perfons, that Colonel Stuart, in the circum- 
 ftances in which he was placed, had a£led improperly and with deceit, 
 harfhnefs, or treachery to Lord Pigot, I may venture to fay that there 
 is no perfon to whom that part -of his condu£t could give more 
 uneafinefs, 'and real concern, than to myfelf; or who would be lefs apt 
 to attempt any vindication, even of a Brother, in fuch particulars. 
 
 I fhould have no hefitation to condemn any harfli or improper beha- 
 viour towards Lord Pigot, on a double account ; both becaufe fuch beha- 
 viour would be very unfuitable from one Gentleman to another, and' 
 becaufe Lord Pigot was a charader entitled to refped and atterr- 
 tion from the world in general, and particularly from thofe connedled' 
 with the Eaft India Company, to which he had rendered fuch fignal' 
 fervices at a former period of his life. 
 
 But when the minds of men are much heated rn party conteft, we^ 
 are not to give implicit faith to the affertions either of the one party 
 or the other, with regard to the condudt of a perfon, whofe part in the 
 bufinefs allotted to him has rendered him obnoxious, — efpecially in fo 
 far as thefe affertions relate not to fubftantial fadls, incapable of being 
 miftaken, but relate to expreffions uttered in the courfe of converfation^ 
 and even to the manner, and the tone of voice which accompanied them.. 
 
 It happens fo often that fuch expreffions, and the circumftances attend- 
 ing them, are meant, underflood and related in fo very different a 
 manner, by different perfons prefent at the fame inflant, that, no folid. 
 reliance can be placed on them as articles of accufation. 
 
 I therefore fliall not think it neceflary to take much notice of fome o£" 
 nhe articles which fall under that defcription ; let it however be remem- 
 bered, that the accounts which were in the beginning circulated by one 
 party, concerning Colonel Stuart's expreffions, or converfations, in 
 the courfe of the tranfadlions of the 24th of Augufl, are exprefsly denied 
 and contradided by the other party. 
 
 Whea
 
 f =1 ) 
 
 ^^Hicn the accounts of the diflurbanccs at Madras firft reached 
 this country, Colonel Stuart's friends were not fupplied with the 
 j-nopcr informaiion far anfwerlng the various affertions or ca- 
 lumnies with which his condudl was attacked; becaufe not having 
 any idea that he was to be traduced in fuch a manner, he had 
 not fupplied his friends with the means of obviating or refuting the 
 imputations. — Colonel Stuart at Madras could not divine the terms of 
 the Letter which Mr. Dalrymple wrote from Alexandria, at the dif- 
 tance of many hundred miles ; — nor could he forefee at Madras, the 
 liberties which, in confequence of that Letter, and of other reports cir- 
 culated at the commencement of this Indian difpute, were taken with, 
 him in this country, at the diflance of fome thoufand miles. 
 
 The firft time that his attention to certain imputations was more parti- 
 cularly excited, was in the month of April 1777. He was at that time at 
 Tanjore, and received, by means of a friend at Madras, the copy of a 
 pamphlet or cafe drawn up on Lord Pigot's part, which had been 
 printed with great fecrecy in Lidia, to be forwarded to this country. 
 
 By the firft conveyance, after he had feen that pamphlet, I received 
 a letter from my Brother, wherein, amongft other things, he parti- 
 cularly gives an account of what palled in the Council- room on the 
 evening of the 24th of Auguft, immediately before the arreft took 
 place; and the account there given, exprefsly contradicts the de- 
 clarations, imputed by Lord Pigot's friends to Colonel Stuart, during 
 the courfe of that interview in the Council- room. What he fays to 
 me in his private letter on this fubjed, which I am ready to fubmit 
 to your perufal, is in thefe words : 
 
 " As to what \% falfely Jald of my having given my honour to obey 
 " the orders of Lord Pigot's fadlion, I truft, that, independent of my 
 ** own aflertion being full as good as the affertion of Mr. Ruflel 'i.o 
 *' nearly conneded, the evidence of Mr. Sullivan, who was prefent, 
 " and then ading as Secretary, will be more than fuflicient to overturn 
 " the calumny; but if I may be believed to have any memory, or to 
 ** be poflJeiTed of common fcnfe, or confiftency of condud, none who^ 
 
 " know
 
 ( 22 ) 
 
 " know me as fuch can poflibly think, that the man who wrote and de- 
 " livered the letter the morning of that memorable day, the 24th of 
 " Auguft (of which you have a copy), could poflibly make fuch a 
 " declaration the fame evening. 
 
 *' Very true it is, indeed, that the members of Lord Pigot's fadlion 
 " had fummoned me to meet them in order to crofs-queftion, and if 
 " poflible, commit and entrap me in fome fnare; and as I had no pre- 
 •' vious notice of their intention, it required the utmoft effort of 
 " caution and prudence in me to elude their intentions. At the 
 " precife time of this fiery ordeal, the fecret was in the power of near 
 " fifty perfons, including the parties at that very moment polled on 
 *' the road to the Garden-houfe under the Adjutant-general, and Cap- 
 " tain Lyfaught ; the commanding officer of the artillery at the Mount, 
 " had alfo orders to receive him ; the Commandant of the Fort had 
 *' likewife agreed to receive my orders on every emergency ; Lord 
 *' Pigot's chaife was at the door; what then was for me to do, at 
 *' that moft critical period ? Had I bluntly contradided their aflertions, 
 *' with regard to their legal powers, or in dire£l terms refufed to obey, 
 *' the Settlement muft have been involved, together with myfelf and 
 *' the Gentlemen who obeyed my orders from a fenfe of their duty, in 
 " fcenes of the greatefl horror ; for Lord Pigot, as was natural to 
 " fuppofe, was refolved to have remained in the Fort, and to have 
 " exerted every authority given him by his military commiffion ; and I 
 *' was equally refolved to have carried him by force from thence to the 
 *' Mount, at the rifk of falling in the attempt. What other line could 
 *' a man of common prudence or humanity follow, than that which I 
 *' I did, viz. neither aflerting nor denying their propofitions, but ap- 
 " pearing, as I really did, paffive on the occafion. It was a trial of 
 " (kill, which laftcd at leaft three quarters of an hour. Inflead of felf- 
 " condemnation, the retrofped of the part I adted at that time affords 
 
 me the greatefl fatisfadion, becaufe, under Providence, to that is 
 '• owing, what the annals of hiflory will not produce, viz. fo univer- 
 
 4 " fal 
 
 ( 
 
 tc
 
 ( 23 ) 
 
 *' fal a change being brought about To fuddenly and without any indl- 
 *' vidual being hurt in his perfon." 
 
 But there is one circumftance, which docs not fall within the de- 
 fcription of expreflions or converfations, liable to be miftakcn, and it 
 is that which of all others has made the moft noife, and excited the 
 greatcfl: prejudice againft Colonel Stuart in this bufinefs, the circum- 
 ftance of his accompanying Lord Pigot in the chaij'e at the time when 
 he was arreftcd. 
 
 That Colonel Stuart did accompany Lord Pigot in the chaife from 
 the Fort to the place where he was arretted, on the 24th of Auguft, 
 which was about 700 paces from the fort of Madras, is certainly true ; 
 and I have no hefitation to fay, that fince Lord Pigot was to be arreftcd, 
 1 moft fincerely wifli that it could have been accompliftied without 
 Colonel Stuart's attending him in the chaife, fuppofing that pra(flicable 
 with equal fafety to his Lordftiip's perfon, and to the peace and fecurity 
 of the fettlement : for I do own, that to perfons at a diftance from the 
 fcene of adion, this circumftance carries, upon its firft appearance, fome- 
 thing very difagrecable and unfavourable for the perfon who was placed, 
 or placed hiinfelf, in that fituation. 
 
 I have no right to be furprifed that it {hould have excited, in the 
 early ftages of this bufinefs, a confiderable degree of prejudice againft 
 Colonel Stuart, fince even the relation and frienddiip between him and 
 me did not at that period totally exempt me from the influence of the 
 fame prejudices. 
 
 At the tinne when thefe prejudices moft prevailed, which was upon the 
 
 arrival of the firft accounts of the unhappy difturbances at Madras, no 
 
 perfon in this country was fupplied with proper information as to the 
 
 motives of Colonel Stuart's condud in that particular ; nor was there 
 
 any allowance made for the confiderations of a public nature, which 
 
 might have induced him to take this ftep of attending Lord Pigot in 
 
 the chaife, even at the rifque of temporary imprcflions to the prejudice 
 
 of his charaQer as a private man. 
 
 Ido
 
 { u ) 
 
 1 do not mean, however, to enter into the difcuflion of any abflract 
 unneceflary queftions ; nor fliall I attempt to mark out the precife line 
 to be purfued, where the duties which one owes to the public, are to be 
 put in competition with thofe which a man may fairly be fuppofed 
 to owe to himfelf. 
 
 Thefe are queftions of delicate difcuflion, and whether decided in 
 one way or the other, there are fo many hazards that general maxims 
 upon fuch topics may produce mifchief to fociety rather than utility, 
 that it is perhaps better to avoid, than to embrace any opportunity of 
 abftra£t reafoning upon them. 
 
 But this I may venture to aflirm, that when the condudl of any 
 man is unfortunately diflradled by contradidtory obligations, and when 
 the duties he owes to the general interefts of the ftate, or to that par- 
 ticular body of men, in whofe feivice he is employed, happen to in- 
 terfere with the attention due to his own private charader and repu- 
 tation; the decifion in fuch an alternative mufl: be truly diftrefling. 
 A plaufible ground will always remain for cenfure and difapproba- 
 tion, and, as has happened in Colonel Stuart's cafe, men will impute 
 to the errors of condudl what arofe from the difficulties of fituation. 
 
 Inftead, therefore, of entering into the difcuffion of any general 
 queftion, I fhall only beg leave to ftate the particular fituation in 
 which Colonel Stuart found himfelf, at the time when it appeared to 
 him of efl'ential confcquence that he ihould accompany Lord Pigot in the 
 chaife, — to point out the hazards which might have enfued if this mode 
 had not been adopted,— and to endeavour to corred the errors and mif- 
 reprefentations which attended the firft; editions of this ftory ; for in 
 the accounts at firft: circulated, circumftances of friendfliip and con- 
 nection between Lord Pigot and Colonel Stuart, and of treacherous 
 deceits pra£tifed upon his Lordftiip, were fuperadded to the fadt of Co- 
 lonel Stuart's accompanying him in the chaife, and thefe mifrepre- 
 fentations no doubt contributed greatly to excite the violence that at 
 firft appeared againft; Colonel Stuart. 
 
 1 After
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
 After performing thispropofed taflc, I fliall not prefumc to ofi'cr any 
 opinion of my own, but leave it to you, Gcailcmen, to form your 
 own judgment upon this part of Colonel Stuart's conduct. 
 
 Whatever degree of management or addrefs, Colonel Stuart may have 
 employed in the arrefting Lord Pigot's perfon, and obtaining pofl'efrion 
 of the fortrefs, I prefumc that I may be allowed to take it for granted 
 in the fiifl: place, that no one at all acquainted with Colonel Stuart's 
 charadler, or the incidents of his life, will fuppofe that his condudt upon 
 this occafion was fuggefted or regulated by the motives of attention 
 to his own perfonal fafety; his military fervices, and even the acknow- 
 ledgment of his enemies, leave no room to queflion his perfonal cou- 
 rage and intrepidity. 
 
 There can hardly be a doubt in the mind of any man, that the 
 meafure of arrefting Lord Pigot privately, in preference to the other 
 alternative of fecuring his perfon in an open and violent manner, pro- 
 ceeded from a defire of not occafioning the lofs of lives, and of prevent- 
 ing any tumults and confufion in the fettlemcnt ; and it may not be affum- 
 ing too much to add, that it proceeded alfo froni a defire to avoid any 
 chance of injury to Lord Pigot's perfon. The only qucftion is, whether, 
 in the accompllihment of thefe purpofes. Colonel Stuart employed more 
 addrefs, than is juftifiable, even for the attaining any great public objedts. 
 
 It feems to be generally agreed, that fince Lord Pigot was in all 
 
 events to be arretted, it was much more proper that his arreft fliould 
 
 be accomplifhed in a private manner, without noife or difturbance, than 
 
 that the hazard fliould be incurred of any tumult or fcufflc, by an open 
 
 and violent arreft. This preference of a private arreft, includes in it an 
 
 approbation of fome degree of management, fome addrefs or furprife in 
 
 the accomplifliment of the bufinefs recommended to the executive 
 
 officer J for without thefe it ceafes to be of the nature of a private arreft, 
 
 the very objedt of which is to lay hold of the perfon to be arrefted, when 
 
 unfufpeding any fuch intention againft him, and unprepared for re- 
 
 fiftance, 
 
 E So
 
 ( ^5 ) 
 
 So far at leafl: then Is clear, that It ought not to create any prejudice 
 againft Colonel Stuart, that he fecured Lord Pigot's perfon when un- 
 prepared for refiftance, and without any fufplcion of what was in- 
 tended. 
 
 This may afford an anfwer to a confiderable part of the outcry which 
 was raifed by the undiftinguifliing multitude, who were affedted by the 
 contraft drawn, and by the pathetic defcriptlon given of Lord Pigot, 
 unprepared for defence, and free from fufplcion ; while he, Colonel 
 Stuart, had fettled in his own mind the plan which he was to purfue, 
 and fo conduced himfelf, that Lord Pigot could form no fufplcion of 
 the event that awaited him. 
 
 Even if Colonel Stuart had been on terms of great intimacy or 
 friendfliip with Lord Pigot, the very reverfe of which I beg leave to 
 obferve, was the fa£l, it will probably be allowed by thofe who attend 
 to the circumftances of the refpedive fituations of Lord Pigot and 
 Colonel Stuart, at that time, that it would have been a blameable 
 inftead of a praife-worthy adion on Colonel Stuart's part, if he had 
 not concealed from his Lordfhip the orders he had received, and the 
 means by which he propofed to carry them into execution ; for in 
 judging fairly upon this point, it mufl; be taken into confideration, 
 that Colonel Stuart was not only convinced of his duty to obey that 
 order with fidelity and fccrecy, but at the fame time convinced that 
 the fafety of Lord Pigot's perfon, and the prefcrvation of many 
 lives, depended upon his Lordfliip's having no fufplcion of what was 
 intended. 
 
 That the merit or demerit of thefe fteps of concealing from Lord 
 Pigot the intended arreft, and of attending him in the chaife, may be 
 fairly appretiated, it is necellary, that they fhould be feparated from 
 thofe additional circumftances, which were artfully interwoven with the 
 firft accounts of this tranfadion, and having ever fmce accompanied the 
 criticlfms on Colonel Stuart's condud, they have been one of the prin- 
 cipal means of carrying to fuch a height the prejudices againft him. 
 
 5 It
 
 ( 27 ) 
 
 It was faid, that Colonel Stuart, at the time of thefe tranfaclions, 
 was in habits of fricncllliip and intimacy witli Lord Pigot, and even 
 pofleired a confiderable fliare of his confidence ; that he was under ob- 
 ligations to Lord Pigor, or at lead was courting his favour and con- 
 fidence, that he had invited himfelf to fnp with Lord Pigot on ihe 23d 
 of Auguft, and to breakfaft, and then to dinner and fupper with him on 
 the 24th, the day of the arreft ; and that all this was done folely Vv'ith 
 a view of betraying his friend. 
 
 This, to be fure, was a very unfavourable reprefentation for Colonel 
 Stuart, and it is not furprifing that it fhould have excited a warm In- 
 dignation againft him ; — it will now, however, appear tlrat not one of 
 the above particulars has the leaft foundation in fadt. 
 
 That Colonel Stuart was in no habits of friendfnip or intimacy with 
 Lord Pigot, at or about the time of thefe tranfadlons, is a fad not 
 only aflerted by Colonel Stuart, in the various letters received 
 from him, but was known almofi: to every perfon at Madras ; and 
 there are feveral Gentlemen from India, now in London, both in the 
 civil and military departments of the Company's fervlce, who can at- 
 teft the truth of thefe aflertions. 
 
 But, independentof any other teftimony, the records of the Company 
 afford fatisfadory evidence upon this point. It there appears, that Lord 
 Pigot, for a confiderable time before the Incidents of the 23d and 24th 
 of Auguft 1776, had been in a courfe of thwarting and oppofing every 
 plan that had been propofed by Colonel Stuart's friends, with a view 
 to his being eflabliflied in a particular military command, which from 
 his rank in the fervice, from the importance of the command, and 
 from the opinion of the Commander in Chief, Colonel Stuart was 
 thought to have a good title to exped. 
 
 From the 25th of June 1776, upon which date Sir Robert Fletcher 
 propofed at the Council Board, that Colonel Stuart fhould be appointed 
 to the command of Tanjore, to the 22d of Auguft 1776, when Lord 
 Pigot fufpended two of the counfcUors, for figning an order to the Se- 
 
 E 2 cretary,
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 cretary, diret^lng him to fign the inftrudlions to Colonel Stuart, a« 
 Commander of Tanjore ; Lord Pigot was condantly in oppofition to 
 the propofed appointment of Colonel Stuart to that command, and it 
 was the difpute between the Majority and his Lordfliip, in relation 
 to thefe inftrudions to Colonel Stuart, that brought matters to a crifis 
 between them on the 2 2d of Auguft, which, it is material to obferve,. 
 was but two days before the arrefl of Lord Pigot. 
 
 By attending to this fa£t, and to thefe dates, every man muft be 
 convinced, that there were no apparent habits of friendfliip between 
 Lord Pigot and Colonel Stuart at or about the time when the Colonel,, 
 in obedience to the orders which he received from the Majority of 
 Council on the 23d of Auguft, concerted and executed the plan for 
 arrefting Lord Pigot's perfon ; at leaft, the flrong and marked oppofi- 
 tion which Lord Pigot, had given during the courfe of many weeks, to 
 Colonel Stuart's obtaining the command at Tanjore, was either a 
 fymptom of their being on bad terms, or a circumftance not likely to 
 produce much cordiality and friendfhip between them. 
 
 The other imputation of Colonel Stuart's courting Lord Pigot*s favour, 
 will be found equally unjuft and injurious. 
 
 Inftead of Colonel Stuart's courting Lord Pigot, for the command of 
 the army, it has already been fhewn that he declined that command in. 
 July 1776, when Lord Pigot, wifhing to get rid of Sir Robert Fletcher, 
 offered the command in chief to Colonel Stuart, then fecond in com- 
 mand ; from that time till the 23d of Auguft there was no intercourfe 
 between Lord Pigot and Colonel Stuart, nor were they in any habits 
 of friendfliip or intimacy. 
 
 With refpCiTt to the tranfadlions and conferences between them on the 
 23d and 24th of Auguft, they exhibit an uncommon and fingular fcene, 
 in which there appears fomething very different indeed from Colonel 
 Stuart's attempting to infinuate himfelf into the good graces of Lord 
 Pigot and his friends. Inftead of Colonel Stuart's courting Lord Pigot, 
 if is evident that Lord Pigot was courting Colonel Stuart ; fenfible of 
 3, the
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
 the Importance of gaining him over to their interefts, Lord Pigot and 
 his friends were at that very time not only endeavouring to perfuade 
 him to a£l as Commander in Chief, but ufing every effort and addrefa 
 to obtain from him fome exprefs or implied acknowledgment that he 
 had accepted of that command ; while he, on the other hand, thus be- 
 fet, was very much puzzled how to avoid this proffered honour, and 
 at the fame time not to divulge the fecret of the orders he had re- 
 ceived from the Majority of Council, which he thought himfelf 
 indifpenfably and confcientioully bound to obey. 
 
 Colonel Stuart's prefence at the fupper on the evening of the 23d, 
 and at the breakfafl and dinner on the 24th, at Lord Pigot's houfe, 
 
 have alfo been converted into charges againft him. They happened 
 
 merely as the accidental and natural confcquences of the intercourfe 
 which was brought on in the courfe of thefe two days, at Lord 
 Pigot's defire, that he might have a more favourable opportunity of 
 ufing every effort to prevail on Colonel Stuart to accept the command 
 in chief. 
 
 Had it not been for this circumftance, Colonel Stuart, who had not 
 dined or fupped with Lord Pigot during feveral weeks, and who, 
 in that interval, had met with no new inducements to increafe his defire 
 of intruding upon his Lordfhip at his convivial hours, \vould certainly 
 not have partaken of his repafls on the 23d and 24th of Auguft, and 
 it is now well afcertained that he did not intrude himfelf, but zvas in- 
 vited; and particularly it appears, that when he accepted of Lord Pigot's 
 invitation to fup wath him on the 23d, he (Colonel Stuart) added this 
 condition to the acceptance of the invitation, " that there fliould be 
 " nothing of bufinefs talked of." 
 
 As to the dinner on the 24th, whether Colonel Stuart invited him- 
 felf, or was invited, though the fad is, that he went there by invitation,. 
 it is really of little confequence ; for at Madras it is cuflomary for the 
 officers, and in general for every perfon in a certain rank, to dine 
 with the Governor, who keeps an open table; and the partakers of the 
 
 dinner
 
 ( 30 ) 
 
 dinner are fo very numerous that it is no mark of particular intimacy 
 or friendfliip for a man either to be invited, or to come uninvited upon 
 fuch occafions. 
 
 With regard to the propofed fupper at the Garden-houfeon the even- 
 ing of the 24th, which did not take place, it was at firft pofitively 
 aflerted in this country, that Colonel Stuart had invited himfelf to 
 that fupper, and much emphafis was put upon that, as well as upon 
 the other fuppofed felfinvitations ; but it has fince appeared from Lord 
 Pigot's own letter to the Diredors, dated the 3d of September i776, 
 that the invitation came from hisLordfhip, whofe words in that letter 
 are : " After dinner I invited him to fupper at the Company's Garden- 
 *' houfe, which invitation he accepted." 
 
 That you may perceive the authority I have for contradiding the 
 aflertions, not only with refped; to Colonel Stuart's intruding himfelf 
 upon Lord Pigot at his convivial hours, but alfo as to his being 
 on terms of intimacy or friendfhip with his Lordfhip about the time 
 of the arreft, I beg leave to infert the paragraph of a letter which 
 I received from Colonel Stuart, of foold a date as 13th December 1776. 
 It is in thefe words : 
 
 " It has llkewife been given out by my enemies, that I was at the 
 " time in the greateft habits of intimacy with him (Lord Pigot), and 
 " approved of his meafures. The fa£t is diredly the contrary ; for 
 *' we had not been on fpeaking terms for a very confiderable time be- 
 " fore, and I had not dined at his houfe from the latter end of June 
 " until the 24th of Auguft, that he afked me to dine, as is ufually the 
 " cafe when any one breakfafts with the Governor, and the occafion 
 *' of my breakfafting was the delivering a letter of which I fent you a 
 " copy." 
 
 It remains now to ftate what relates to the fad of Colonel Stuart's 
 accompanying Lord Pigot in the chaife to the place of arrelt; feparated 
 from thofe mifreprefentations concerning his friendfliip and intimacy 
 with Lord Pigot, which have hitherto conilantly attended the men- 
 tion of that fad. 
 
 It
 
 C 31 ) 
 
 It was on ihc 23d of Auguft that Colonel Stuart received the or- 
 ders from the Majority of Council, to put them in poiiefhon of the 
 fortrefs and garrifon of Fort St. George, and to arrcd J.ord Pigot. 
 Colonel Stuart accordingly took his mcafures for fcizing the fortrefs, 
 and for arrefling the perfon of Lord Pigot, even in the Fort, if it could 
 not be otherwife accomplifhed ; but he forefawr that this might be at- 
 tended with very difagreeable and fatal confequences. 
 
 It therefore became a mofl: natural and meritorious wifli, on Colonel 
 Stuart's part, that the moft effe^lual means fhould be ufed to avoid thefe 
 confequences; there was little time left for deliberation, nor could the 
 matter be allowed to hang over in fulpence, in expectation of any ac- 
 cidental opportunities of arrefting Lord Pigot's perfon in a private man- 
 ner, for the fecret of the orders figned by the feven Members of the 
 Majority was already in many hands. 
 
 On the 24th of Auguft, Colonel Stuart having learnt that 
 Lord Pigot intended to fup that evening at the Company's Garden- 
 houfc, it occurred, that this was an opportunity not to be neglected ; 
 and that it afforded the beft, if not the only chance of arrefting Lord 
 Pigot in a private manner, without tumult or bloodfhed. It was there- 
 fore refolved, that Lord Pigot's carriage fhould be flopped, and his 
 perfon fecured, when on the road from Madras to the Garden- 
 houfe. 
 
 The execution of the plan was intrufted to three officers of diftin- 
 guiftied rank and merit in the Company's fervice, Colonel Eidington, 
 the Adjutant-General, Captain Lyfaght, commanding officer of a bat- 
 talion of Sepoys, and Major Home, who commanded the artillery 
 at rtie Mount; and their inftrudions were, to condud Lord Pigot to 
 Major Home's houfe at the Mount, there to be under the charge of 
 that officer, and to be treated with every poffible mark of perfonal at- 
 tention and refpe£t. 
 
 The place where Lord Pigot was to be arretted was very near both 
 to the Fort and town of Madras, and to the Sepoy guard at the 
 Garden-houfe. The total diftance from the Fort to the Garden-houfe 
 
 is
 
 ( 32 ) 
 
 IS fomewhat lefs than a mile, and the place chofen for the arreft was 
 iiot three quarters of a mile from the Fort, and not 200 yards diftant 
 from the barracks of the Governor's guard at the Garden-houfe, which 
 is the place of his refidence, and where there is always a confiderable 
 part of a battalion of Sepoys for the Governor's guard. In thefe cir- 
 sCumftances it was not cafy to forefee what incidents might pofTibly 
 .arife to obftrudl or prevent the arreft in the event of Lord Pigot's making 
 jefiftance, nor was it eafy to guard againft the fatal confequences that 
 •might he produced by a fcuffle enfuing, where an alarm might fo 
 sfpeedily be fpread. 
 
 Colonel Stuart having given pofitive orders to Colonel Eidington 
 and Captain Lyfaught, to arreft Lord Pigot that evening, thefe officers 
 would have thought themfelves peremptorily bound in all events to have 
 obeyed thefe orders; nor could they have taken it upon them, if their ~ 
 •commanding officer was not prefent, to vary the orders, or the execu- 
 tion of them, as circumftances might require.— This was one ftrong 
 inducement to Colonel Stuart to be prefent, and for that purpofe to 
 accompany Lord Pigot in the chaife that evening ; — Colonel Stuart 
 being the commanding officer, who had given the orders, he was the 
 •only perfon who could adapt the execution of them to the exigency 
 of fuch circumftances as might occur ; for, in critical affairs of this 
 nature, it often happens that unexpeded circumftances beyond the 
 reach of human forefight arife in a moment, fufficient to baffle the 
 beft concerted plan, unlefs the remedy be as inftantly applied. 
 
 It occurred alfo to Colonel Stuart, that his being in the fame chaife 
 •with Lord Pigot, would more eafily prevent the confufion which 
 would probably take place from his Lordftiip's attempting to drive his 
 horfes paft the officers who were ordered to arreft him, and who were 
 on foot, and in the event of a fcuffle might very probably have fired into 
 the chaife. 
 
 No fituation can be imagined in which more reafons could concur, 
 for ftudying every precaution that could poffibly tend to prevent any 
 alarm, ftruggle, or confufion; for if the plan of arreft had failed
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 Jii the execution that night, the 'very attempt^ whether defeated by rc- 
 fiftance and the lofs of lives, or by Lord Pigot's efcaping from thofe 
 who had been ordered to arrefl: him, mufl have been produdive of the 
 greatcfl confufion, and have involved the fettlemcnt in all the horrors 
 of a civil war. 
 
 In {hort, it appeared to Colonel Stuart at that time, and he ftill con- 
 tinues of the fame opinion, that it would have been unpardonable in 
 him in his fituation to fuffer the apprehenfion of the commentaries 
 wliicli malice, or miflake, might fuggeft, to have outweighed 
 the importance of the various objeds and motives of a pub- 
 Tic nature, as well as the confiderations of humanity for Lord Pigot 
 himfelf, and for others, which concurred to excite him to this ftep of 
 attending his Lordfhip in the chaife to the place of arreft. 
 
 If the events fubfequent to the arreft had (hewn that Lord Pigot, by 
 Colonel Stuart's attending him in the chaife, had been brought into a 
 fnare which would not otherwife have happened ; — if the objed of it 
 had been to afFed his life, or even to expofe him to more perfonal in- 
 jury; — or if it had appeared that Colonel Stuart could have been aduated 
 to this particular mode by finifter views or motives of felf-interefl, 
 • and was to receive any perfonal benefits from accomplifliing the arreft 
 in this manner; in all or either of thefe cafes. Colonel Stuart admits 
 that the circumftance of his attending Lord Pigot in the chaife ought 
 to be viewed in a very exceptionable light, and to receive every unfa- 
 vourable interpretation which either has been, or can be beftowed upon 
 it. 
 
 But he apprehends that the reverfe of all thefe injurious fuppofitions 
 have been eftabliflied beyond the pofTibility of doubt. 
 
 I fliall here beg leave to tranfcribe the paragraph of a letter dated 
 the 14th of September 1777, which I received a confiderable time 
 ago from my Brother, the original of which is at your command ; and 
 what I am now to tranfcribe, will ferve alfo for the purpofe of 
 refuting the very unjufl imputation endeavoured to be fixed upon Co- 
 
 F lonci
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 lonel Stuart's charadler, by thofe who pretended to believe, or attempted 
 to perfuade others, that in the moment of the arreft, Colonel Stuart, 
 by his expreflions and manner, had behaved harfhly and even brutally 
 to Lord Pigot. 
 
 The paragraph is in thefe words : 
 
 *' I again and again repeat, that no other way than what I followed, 
 " fuggefted from the moft tender regard to humanity, and to the 
 " fafety of Lord Pigot's own life, could have efFeded this arreft with- 
 " out confufioQ or bloodfhed. In the letter I wrote feveral weeks ago, 
 " I have entered particularly into the mode of my feizing Lord Pigot, 
 " in anfwer to the paper printed here ; I (hall here add, and declare the 
 " fame before God, that not an uncivil or improper word fell from my 
 *' mouth on that occafion. When the Adjutant-general flopped the chaife, 
 " in which I was along with Lord Pigot, he (Lord Pigot) made a fhort 
 *' paufe, and was looking about him ; we were then in the middle of 
 " the road, at a very fmall diftance from the Sepoy-guard at his Gar- 
 *' den-houfe, and many fervants round the chaife, and many people 
 *' pafTing in the road. — The moment was critical, not only becaufe the 
 *' leaft noife extraordinary would have alarmed, but what is particular, 
 *' as the reins were in his hands, and the horfes very fpirited, he might 
 *' have forced them on, in fpite of me, and the certain confequence 
 *' would have been his getting home ; and myfelf, with all the officers or 
 *' others, who, with me, thought it our duty, to obey the Majority as the 
 *' legal government, muft have been difmiffed the fervice, or tried for our 
 " lives. This led me, on obferving a kind of hefitation to obey on 
 *' the part of Lord Pigot, forthwith to feize the reins with one hand, 
 *' and put my other hand to his arm: to the beft of my recolledion, 
 *' the precife words ! made ufe of were, *' My Lord, jou mujl go out J* 
 " They were uttered, not in a brutal or contemptuous tone of voice, 
 " but with the tone of refpedl as well as anxiety. — Lord Pigot then 
 " inftan iy went out, without my faying one word more, or his making 
 ** any anfwer." 
 
 la
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 In another letter, wrote by my Brother to me from Tanjore, in 
 May 1777) there are the following paragraphs on the fubjed of Lord 
 Pigot's arrcfl : 
 
 " I chofo to obey, what I judged from common fcnfe, and what the 
 *' Governor-general and Council has fince eftabliflied to be, the only le- 
 *' gal government. I have faid that it was at a great rilque that I did this ; 
 " becaufe every thing that has happened to mc would have come to mc 
 " in courfe, and by the Company's orders, without any rifque at all, had 
 *' I feigned ficknefs, or remained an unconcerned fpedlator; but in 
 *' truth, I loft my health, and gained nothing in other refpe(5ts by the 
 '* change, except the fatisfa£tion of having done my duty; and there- 
 *' by, I hope, deterred others from i«novating or overturning the efta- 
 *' blifhed law or conftituiion of Government. 
 
 " 1 know the perfonal refledlions of my enemies upon the occafion ; 
 *' but as it can never be faid that perfonal fear or apprehenfion in- 
 *' duced me (under the appearance of going to his, Lord Pigot's, 
 *' country-houfe) to have a place in the chaife with him, and to make 
 •' that an eflential part of my plan ; I obfervc, that as that cannot be 
 *' afterted with rcfpeft to me, who had the army under my ahfolute 
 *' command, and who had adtually given my orders to take hitn by 
 *' force from the Fort, or wherever he was, had no opportunity 
 *' offered of my going in the chaife with him, the unprejudiced Public, 
 " in judging of this adt, will, I hope, therefore, do me the juftice to 
 " infer, that it was from motives of humanity, to prevent bloodflied 
 " and public difafter, and for the perfonal fafety of Lord Pigot." 
 
 I fiiall conclude what relates to this fubject, by barely mentioning the 
 ftrong and marked approbation, which the whole of Colonel Stuart's 
 conduct, at that difficult crifis, received from the Governor- general, 
 the Commander in Chief, and Supreme Council in Bengal, to whom 
 a fuperintending power over all the Company's fettlements in India, 
 both in matters civil and military, was delegated by the authority of 
 Parliament. 
 
 F 2 That
 
 ( 5(^ ) 
 
 That Supreme Council had the beft^ opportunities of being parti- 
 cularly and impartially informed of all the fails, and circumftances, 
 which gave occafion to, which preceded and accompanied the arreft 
 of Lord Pigot, and after receiving the fulleft information from both 
 parties, and frpm Lord Pigot himfelf, they gave their complete ap- 
 probation, not only of the refoiution taken by the Majority of Coun- 
 cil at Madras, of aflerting their rights, and' affuming the govern- 
 ment, but of the mode in which that refoiution had been executed. 
 
 The letters of Sir John Claverlng, of the 15th, and of Governor 
 Haftings, of the 18th of September 1776, which were publifhed when 
 thefe difputes were recent in this country, prove that, befules a ge- 
 neral approbation in Council, they both gave great credit to Colonel 
 Stuart, for the mode in which the orders of the Majority of Council 
 had been carried into execution, ^without bloodJJjed, ivithoiU tumult, 
 and nvitJjoiit the <violation of one legal form. Thefe are the words of 
 Governor Haftings' letter to Mr. Stratton, wherein he exprefles himfelf 
 in the ftrongeft; terms, confidcring it as a thing almoft without example; 
 and in the letter from Sir John Clavering to Colonel Stuart, of the 
 15th of September, there is not only an approbation of his condudl, 
 but, in terms the moft flattering. Sir John Clavering gives him ap- 
 plaufe for the honour of conduding fo difficult and dangerous a bifinefsy 
 and for the fpirit and magnanimity with which he had executed it. 
 
 It is well known, that no man could pofTibly pofTefs a higher 
 fenfe of honour, a« well as of propriety and delicacy of condud:, 
 than the late Sir John Clavering; and when we fee that fuch dil- 
 tinguifhed marks of approbation were beflowed by him upon Colonel 
 Stuart, for the whole of his condudt, it ought at leaft to go a great 
 way in counterading the prejudices which have been fo induftrioufly 
 fpread, and to fatisfy the world, that, in the mode of arreting Lord, 
 Pigot, and of carrying the orders of Council into execution, there 
 had been nothing done that was in any degree improper or unbe- 
 coming the charader of an officer and a gentleman; becaufe, had it 
 been oiherwife, the ftridncfs of Sir John Clavering's fentiments, and 
 
 the
 
 ( 31 ) 
 
 the nice delicacy of his feelings upon every point of honour, would have 
 Jed him to be more forward than any one in his cenfure and difappro- 
 bation. 
 
 To confirm the weight due to the tcflimony of fo refpedable and 
 honourable a man as Sir John Clavering, I can prove by letters in my 
 pofTeffion, that after full information of what had pafFed at Madras, 
 and after knowing the outcry raifed againfl Colonel Stuart by one party. 
 Sir John Clavering continued his approbation of Colonel Stuart's con- 
 duit, and honoured him with the moft fincere friendfhip and con- 
 fidential corrcfpondence till the latcfl; period of his life. 
 
 I am fenfible, Gentlemen, that I require many apologies for taking 
 up fo much of your time in the difcuffion of what relates to the mods 
 of arreting the perfon of Lord Pigot, and the circumftances immedi- 
 ately preceding ; but I truft, that I {hall meet with fome indulgencci 
 ■when it is confidered how violently my Brother's character and 
 conduift have been attacked on this point, and when it is alfo con- 
 fidered what feverities and hardfhips he has experienced, in confe- 
 quence of the imputations againfl: him, made at a time when, from 
 the difliance of place, there was no opportunity of his being heard in 
 his own defence. 
 
 All thefe feverities I muft place to the account of the rage and pre^ 
 judices raifed againfl; him on account of the mode of arreji ; becaufe* 
 independent of that, and of the circumfliances immediately preceding 
 it, the propriety of Colonel Stuart's condudl necefiarily depends upoa 
 this very narrow point, — Whether he ought or ought not to have 
 obeyed the order of the Majority of Council j and whichfoever way 
 men might decide that point in their own minds, a mere error in 
 judgment on Colonel Stuart's part, fuppofing it to have been an error, 
 could not have produced the rage, prejudice, and obloquy, which 
 liave brought upon him fuch grievous feverities and hardfl)ips. 
 
 6- Havin«: 
 
 £>-• 
 
 VS72^B 
 
 OtJ
 
 i 38 ) 
 
 Ithe punijbments Having given fo full an account of Colonel Stuart's condud in con- 
 and hardjhips fequence of the orders he had received from his Superiors, and having 
 Cokmel Stu / A^ewn the motives as w^ell as the confequences of that condudl, I hope 
 in ccnfequence of I may now be permitted to put the queftion, What crime has Colonel 
 t M T ^'"'^^ Stuart been guilty of towards you, Gentlemen, his Honourable Em- 
 ployers, or againft the Interefts of the Eaft-India Company ? 
 
 If the crime is to be judged of from the nature and extent of the 
 punifliments inflidled, it muft have been a crime of great magnitude 
 indeed, and fuch as could not eafily be atoned for.- — A fhort review, 
 therefore, of the punifhments and hardfhips he has fuffered, becomes ' 
 abfolutely neceflary, and will clearly evince the truth of this propofition. 
 In confequence of the firft reports brought to England in the year 
 1777, of the tranfadions at Madras in Auguft 1776, Colonel Stuart 
 •was fufpended the Company's fervice for fix months ; the general 
 letter which contained this order of fufpenfion, was carried out by Mr. 
 Whitehill, who arrived at Madras in Auguft 1777; the order of fuf- 
 penfion was immediately intimated to Colonel Stuart, who, by the 
 death of Sir Robert Fetcher, in the month of December preceding, 
 had attained the fituation of Commander in Chief, and the rank of 
 Brigadier-general in the Company's fervice ; to both of which he 
 fuccecded in confequence of an agreement with the Eaft-India Com- 
 pany before his departure for India. 
 
 Immediate obedience was given on the part of Colonel Stuart, 
 to the will and pleafure of his Honourable Mafters, and he 
 was deprived of the command of the army, which, for many months 
 preceding, he had been making every exertion to improve and to 
 put on the moft refpedable footing. 
 
 4 Colonel
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 Colonel Stuart was not only thus rufpendcd without any trial, 
 without any fpecific crime or charge being alleged againfl: him in the 
 order for fufpenfion, but he was fuperccded in the command, by the 
 appointment of another officer, Colonel Monro, who was fent from 
 England on purpofe to take the command of the army at Madras. 
 
 The fuperceffion of Colonel Stuart by a younger, though a very 
 defcrving officer in his Majefty's fervice, was, according to the mili- 
 tary etiquette, an additional circumftance of mortification, cfpecially 
 as the new Commander in Chief, Colonel Monro, obtained at once the 
 rank of Major-general in the Company's fervice. 
 
 This fuperceffion was not for a limited time; as General Monro's com- 
 miffion was unconditional and abfolute, without reference to the refult 
 of any future inquiries or trials in relation to Colonel Stuart's con- 
 duiH: ; fo that he had before him the melancholy profpedt of being 
 certainly punifhed and degraded at all events, whether innocent or 
 guilty : indeed, the only cafe that was at all in contemplation or 
 provided for, was that of his being guilty and deferving of punijh- 
 jnent ; but no fort of provifion was made, no care whatfoever was- 
 taken of him, in the event, that, upon inquiry or trial, he fhould be 
 found to have been innocent, or to have a^ed meritorioujly for the ia- 
 terefts of the Company. 
 
 The general letter of the Company, fent by the BefLorough in 
 July 1777, continued Colonel Stuart's fufpenfion, and directed that 
 his condutfl fhould be examined into by a Court of Inquiry, and that 
 he fhould he tried by a Court-martial ; but in cafe he had been guilty 
 of no military offence that was cognizable by Martial Law, then it 
 was ordered that his fufpenfion from the fervice, inftead of being taken 
 off, as one might reafonably exped, fhould be continued indefinitely, 
 and without limitation of time. 
 
 Such are the diredions which have been fent from this country 
 with refped to Colonel Stuart ; and it may be proper before flating 
 
 what
 
 ( 40 ) 
 
 -what pafTed at Madras, in confequence of the late/1 of thefc diredions, 
 refpedUng the trial by a Court-martial, to mention fome of the inter- 
 mediate hardfhips which he fuffered in India, by the means of vexa- 
 tious fuits, both of a Civil and of a Criminal nature, brought againfl: 
 him at Madras, in confequence of the tranfadions of the month of 
 Auguft 1776. 
 
 Upon the 14th of Odober 1776, a Bill was filed in the Mayor's 
 Court at Madras, by Lord Pigot againfl Colonel Stuart, for damages, 
 to the amount of 2CO,ooo L, on account of the arreft of his perfon on. 
 the 24.th of Auguft : and his Lordfliip's Attorney having appeared and 
 made aflidavit, that he believed Colonel Stuart was about to withdraw 
 himfelf from the jurifdidion of the Court, he therefore prayed that a 
 warrant of arreft might be iffued. Colonel Stuart having appeared 
 by his Attorney, the Court, by a majority of five to four, ordered bail 
 to be found to the extent of 1 5,000 1- which was diflented from by 
 fome of the Members as exceffive. 
 
 At the fame time, in Odober 1 776, a Bill of complaint was filed in 
 the Mayor's Court, by Mr. Ruflel, againft Colonel Stuart, for damages, 
 totlie amount of 40,000 1., founded on his forcibly carrying Mr. Ruffel 
 from the Parade to the Confultation-room, on the 24th of Auguft, in 
 the manner already related. Mr. Ruflel's Attorney having made a 
 fimilar affidavit with Lord Pigot's Attorney, and prayed for a warrant 
 to arreft Colonel Stuart, the Mayor's Court was pleafed to order him 
 to find bail in this adion likewife, to the amount of 4000 1. 
 
 As the Mayor's Court was thought to be very partial in thefe pro- 
 ceedings, and that the amount of the bail thus ordered, by them was, 
 in the circumftances of the cafe, judged to be exccflive. Colonel 
 Stuart was advifed to carry the caufe immediately from that Court 
 by appeal to the Governor and Council. 
 
 In his reafons of appeal he gave anfwers to the various articles con- 
 tained in thefe Bills of complaint againft him, and maintained that he 
 was in no refped rcfponfible for the mcafures which, as ading in 
 
 obedience
 
 ( 4t ) 
 
 obedience to the orders of his fiiperiors, both civil and military, he had 
 carried into execution, that it was therefore highly vexatious and 
 oppreffive to diftrefs him by thcfe fuits, or by an order for bail fo 
 exorbitant and exceffive, that it was even greater than what the fame 
 court had obliged the Commander in Chief, Sir Robert Fletcher, to 
 find in a fimilar adlion brought by Lord Pigot againfl: him, for 
 the like fum of qoo,ooo/. damages. 
 
 Colonel Stuart further averred, that he had no intention of with- 
 drawing himfelf from the jurifdidion of the court ; and that, all 
 circumftances confidered, fo far from being fubjcdcd to cxccjfive had 
 in both thefe cafes, he ought not to be put to the hardfhip and incon- 
 venience of finding any bail in either. 
 
 With refpetSt to Mr. Rulfel's adlion, Colonel Stuart gave this additi- 
 onal anfwer, that the fituation in which he, Mr. Ruflel, was found, on 
 the evening of the 24th of Auguft, exciting the troops in the garrifon to 
 mutiny and fedition, which, if not inftantly checked, might have been 
 of very fatal confequences, had put Colonel Stuart under the abfolute 
 necelTity of forcing Mr. RufTel from the main-guard. 
 
 The matter was carried firft from the Mayor's Court by thefe ap- 
 peals to the Governor and Council, who declined taking any cogniz- 
 ance of it, as they had been parties interefted in the bufinefs ,which 
 gave rife to the adions. Colonel Stuart therefore afterwards appealed 
 to the King and Council in England. 
 
 But thefe v/ere not the only adiions by which he was vexatloufly 
 and unneceflarily haralTed for obeying the orders of his Superiors. 
 He was one of thofe againft whom the proceedings of the Coro- 
 ner's Inqueft, aflembled at Madras upon the death of Lord Pigot, 
 were direded. 
 
 That Inqueft aflembled at Madras on the nth of May 1777, 
 the day on which Lord Pigot died, and continued their examina- 
 tions and deliberations from that time till the 7th of Auguft 1777; 
 when, in the fervency of their zeal, they were pleafed to pronounce 
 one of the moft notable and extraordinary verdifts, that in fuch or 
 any other circumftances has appeared in the records of this or of any 
 
 other country. 
 
 G Mr.
 
 ( 42 ) 
 
 Mr. Ram, the Cgroner, and his Inqueft, pronounced and declared, 
 *' That George Stratton, Henry Brooke, Charles Floyer^ Archdale 
 *' Pahncr., Francis Jourdain, and George Alackie, in the civil fer- 
 *' vice of the Eaft-India Company at Madras, and Brigadier-gejieral 
 ** Sir Robert Fletcher, Colonel James Stuart, hieutenant- colonel Javies 
 *' Eidingtoun, Adjutant general, and Captain Arthur Lyf aught, in the 
 *' faid Company's fervice at Madras, and Major Matthew Home, com- 
 *' nianding the corps of artillery in the faid Company's fervice, then 
 *' ftationed at St. Thomas's Mount, did, in manner and by means 
 ** therein recited, felonioujly, 'voluntarily, and of their malice fore- 
 " thought, kill atid murder the faid George Lord Pigot ; and that a 
 *^ferjeantandfepoysxh.QX€\nditicx\hQ6, and certain officers and foldiers 
 *' belonging to the corps of artillery, and another ferjeant and other fe~ 
 ♦' poys ftationed at the Garden-houfe, all of whom were to the Jurors 
 *' as yet unknown, were at divers times prefent, aiding, abetting, af- 
 *• fifting, and maintaining the faid George Stratton, Sir Robert 
 *' Fletcher, and the other perfons before named, to do and commit 
 *' the felony and murder aforefaid.'' 
 
 What makes this verdid the more remarkable is, that it was not alleged, 
 nor was there the moft diftant fufpicion of any fort in India, that Lord 
 Pigot had died an unnatural death, or that any means had been ufed 
 with a view of occafioning his death ; on the contrary, the phyficians 
 who attended his Lordfhip during his illnefs, declared upon oath, that: 
 difeafe was the immediate caufe of Lord Pigot's death, and that the 
 difeafe was 2, putrid bilious fen} er, originating in a difordered liver. 
 
 In the courfe of the evidence it alfo came out, that, to all outward ap- 
 pearance. Lord Pigot enjoyed an uninterrupted ftate of good health, from 
 the day of his arrival at the Mount, after his arreft on the 24th Auguft 
 1776, until the beginning of March 1777, about which time the ap- 
 pearance of his bilious fever firft began, of which firft illnels, with the 
 afliflance of Dodlor PaOey, his Lordfhip recovered in a great degree; 
 but not having afterwards taken fufficient care of himfelf, he had a re- 
 lapfe, which carried him off on the nth of May 1777. 
 
 Here
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 Here it is well worth obfcrvlng, that during the whole period of 
 Lord Pigot's illncfs, and at the time of his death, Colonel Stuart was 
 abfent from the Prefidency of Madras, at the dlftance of fome hundred 
 miles from his Lordfliip; as he went to Tanjorc, on the iith of Fe- 
 bruary 1777> at which time Lord Pigot was known to have been ia 
 pcrfed health, and did not return to Madras until the end of June 
 that year. 
 
 Neverthelefs Mr. Ram, and his Inquefl, thought proper to pro- 
 nounce a verdid of ivilful murder, againft Colonel Stuart, and the 
 other Gentlemen, founded on artificial and metaphyfical reafonings 
 (delivered upon oath), from which they wifhed to eftablifh a belief, 
 that the arreft of Lord Pigot, on the 24th of Augufl: 177^), and the agi- 
 tation of his mind on that and fubfequent occafions, had, by the im- 
 perceptible influences of the mind upon the body, generated the difeafe 
 of which his Lordfliip died in the month of May 1777. 
 
 The whole proceedings of that Inqueft, and the evidence kid before 
 them, together with Colonel Stuart's defence, drawn up by himfelf,. 
 in anfwer to the accufations brought againfl: him, have been lately 
 printed and publiflied ; and I believe I may venture to fay, that every 
 impartial man of found judgment, who reads that publication, will be 
 of opinion, that nothing could be moreunjuftifiable, and reprehenfiBle, 
 than the condu£t of that Coroner and his Inquefl ; the ablurdity of 
 it would deferve only to be laught at, if fuch an at;empt againfl: 
 the lives and reputations of a number of perfons of rank and charader 
 could be viewed without abhorrence and indignation. 
 
 Vexatious, contemptible, and ill-founded as thefe proceedings were, 
 they had however the unavoidable efl'edt of haraffing Colonel Stuart 
 exceedingly; they fuujeded him to a degree of public afi^rmt and op- 
 probrium, from his being expofed to the imputation of luil/n I mur- 
 der, by the vcrdid: of twelve men upon oath, fix of whom how- 
 ever, at one time, voted that it was only tuanjlaugh.'er, while the other 
 fix declared it murder; upon which the Coroner was plcafcd to remark, 
 That the matter mufi be re-confidereJ, and he afterwards p'evailed on. 
 a Majority of them to agree in opinion that it was wilful murder. 
 
 G 2 This
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 This verdidt was, upon the 24th September 1777, fent by tlie Coro- 
 ner to the Governor and Council of Madras, with a requeft from the 
 Coroner, to be affifted in apprehending the perfons therein accufed; 
 upon which the Governor thought it regular for him at that time to 
 fign a warrant of commitment againft Colonel Stuart, and the other 
 perfons accufed, direfted to the Sheriff of Madras. 
 
 Colonel Stuart and the other Gentlemen were accordingly in the 
 cuftody of the Sheriff until fome time in October following, when 
 the Juftices, after having examined Sir Edward Hughes and fome 
 other refpedlable witneffes, judged it proper to admit the prifoners to 
 bail, in the fum of 10,000 1. each. 
 
 The proceedings and the examinations before the Juftices were con- 
 tinued until the end of November 1777, when the Juftices received 
 from Bengal the opinions of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Judi- 
 cature there, by which thefe Judges, upon confiderationof thefadts, and 
 of the proofs ftated in Mr. Ram's inquifition, declared their unanimous 
 opinion, that there were not materials fufficient for an indidlment either 
 of murder or tnanjlaughter, and they alfo, from other defeds and irre- 
 gularities in that inquifition, gave their opinion, that it might be 
 quaftied or fet afide. 
 
 In conformity with this opinion received from the Judges of the Su- 
 preme Court of Judicature in Bengal, the Juftices at Madras, upon the 
 26th of November 1777, declared, " That the faid proceedings were 
 '* irregular, and contrary to law. And refolved, that the whole be 
 *' quaflied and fet afide, and that the perfons accufed be difcharged 
 *' by proclamation." 
 
 Thus ended the malevolent and irregular proceedings of the Coro- 
 ner's Inqueft ; from the fhort ftate of which it muft appear, thai 
 Colonel Stuart, was for many months (during which time too he was 
 in a bad ftate of health from the confequences of a bilious fever), 
 very unjuftifiably haraffcd by the charge brought and verdidl given 
 againft him, and by having his name and charadler expofed as guilty 
 of fo heinous a crime, 
 
 Amidft
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 Amidft all thefe diflrcfrcs, however, one confolation nil! remained. 
 Colonel Stuart comforted himfclf with the profped that lie fliould foon 
 have an opportunity of vindicating his charadcr and condudl in tlic 
 courfe of a regular trial \ when not only the orders under which he a£ted, 
 but when likewife all the fads and circumftances would be afcertaincd 
 by unqueflionable evidence, and then he flattered himfelf, that the pre- 
 judices which had been ralfcd againft him would take an oppofite direc- 
 tion, and that he {hould meet with the redrefs due to an injured officer. 
 
 In this expedlation, of a fpeedy trial, and confequent redrefs, he has 
 alfo been difappointed ; for the orders which were carried out by the 
 Befborough for his trial by a Court-martial have not hitherto produced 
 any effed. That trial, which he fo ardently wifhed for the vindica- 
 tion of his honour and charadler, has been denied him, by the Com- 
 mander in Chief, and by the Prefident and Council of Madras; at 
 the fame time his fufpenfion has been continued, and he remains in 
 that country waiting with impatience the return of the difpatches fent 
 from Madras in the month of March laft. 
 
 It is not my intention to impute blame either to the Commander in 
 Chief or to the Prefident and Council of Madras, for the part they took; 
 in refunng to Colonel Stuart his trial by a Court-martial ; they have 
 aded, no doubt, upon grounds which afforded convidion to their minds, 
 and it is well worth obferving that this refufal was founded on opinions 
 which were very far from containing any thing unfavourable to Colonel 
 Stuart's condud, but the very reverfe, for as far as they go they may 
 be confidered as prefumptive proofs of his innocence, at leaft of his 
 having committed no offence that V'/as cognizable by martial law. 
 
 Their General Letter to the Court of Diredors, dated the 14th of 
 March laft, fhews how anxioufly Colonel Stuart courted the opportu- 
 nity of vindicating his condud by a public trial. Paragraph 14th of 
 that letter is in thefe words : 
 
 " General Stuart, as foon as he was furnifhed with a copy of 
 
 ♦* your Orders, and before we came to any rcfolution concerning 
 
 3, " him,
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 *' him, addrefled three letters to us, all of them prefTing upon 
 *' us, in the mofl anxious manner, his deiire to be tried by a Court- 
 *' martial ; and fearing left any doubts or difficulties ftiould occur to 
 *' us on the fubje£t, he introduced feveral arguments to fhew his right 
 *' to demand a Court-martial, and pointed out different articles in the 
 *' Articles of War by which he thought he might be tried. Although 
 " his letters did not contain any reafons of fufficient flrength to in- 
 " duce us to alter our opinions upon his cafe, yet the uneafinefs of 
 " mind exprefl'ed in them was fuch, that we felt much concern for 
 " the peculiar circumftances of his fituation." 
 
 The reafons which induced the Prefident and Council and Com- 
 mander in Chief at Madras to refufe the trial by a Court-martial ap- 
 pear to have been founded upon prudential grounds, and upon a doubt 
 whether a Court-martial were competent to decide upon a cafe which 
 involved queftions of nice difcuffion relative to the Company's confti- 
 tutlonal government. This is expreffed very clearly in the loth para- 
 graph of their General Letter above mentioned, which is in thefe words : 
 
 " The a£ts of arreting and imprifoning the perfon of the late Lord 
 «' Pigot were fufficiently clear ; your difapprobation of thofe adts is 
 *' ftrongly exprefled in your late orders; but that difapprobation does 
 *' not make them offenfive in the eye of martial law, and no charge 
 *' could be grounded upon it. In order to determine whether General 
 " Stuart's conduct be criminal in that view, and before any charge 
 *' could be prepared, it became requlfite to confider the nature of the 
 *' orders and authority under which he a(5ted, with other particular 
 " circumftances attending the arreft of Lord Pigot. The Company's 
 " records, and General Stuart's own Narrative of the tranfadion, clear- 
 " ly fhew, that his Lordihip was arretted by an order under the fig- 
 " nature of George Stratton F.fquire, Sir Robert Fletcher, Henry 
 ** Brooke, Charles Floyer, Archdale Palmer, Francis Jourdain, and 
 " George Mackie. Ffquires; which order General Stuart In the Narra- 
 " tive declares he confidered as legal, and the Gentlemen who iflTued 
 " it the legal Reprefentatives of the Company. General Stuart appears 
 
 4 " to
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 ** to have done nolljing in this irnnfccllon independent of that authority 
 " which gave him the order. If that authority were clearly illegal, 
 •' or the order illegal, the arrefl and imprifonment of Lord Pigot by 
 ** military force, may be deemed an a£t of mutiny, and the perfons con- 
 *' cerned liable to be tried by an exprefs article of war; but we own to 
 " you, ihel'e queftions appear to us to be of fo nice and important a nature, 
 " that we did not think ourfelvcs competent to form a judgment upon 
 " them, with that precifion which was necedliry to conftitute and 
 " maintain a charge againft an officer for a crime deemed capital by 
 " Martial Law. It is true, indeed, that in the firfl; paragraph of 
 *' your Letter, dated the nth of June laft, you were pleafed to ex- 
 *' prefs yourfelves in very ftrong terms of the arreft and imprifonment 
 *' of the late Lord Pigot; calling it " a total fuhvcrfion of your legal 
 *' government." Yet, when we confider the doubts expreffed in the 
 *' 53d paragraph of your Letter of the 4th of July, we could not but 
 " be of opinion, that they muft in fome degree have arifen from doubts 
 *' concerning the legal authority and orders by which the arrefl: was 
 *' executed; and under the influence of this opinion, we thought it 
 *' would not only be prerumi)tuous but imprudent, and even danger- 
 *' ous, for us, upon the authority of our own judgment, to found a 
 *' crime which might touch the life, charader, or fortune of any 
 " man ; and that even if wc had gone fo far as to have prepared 2t 
 " charge and delivered it to a Court-martial, it might admit of great 
 *' doubt, whether a Court of that nature were competent to decide 
 *' upon a cafe, which involved queftions relative to the Company's 
 '' conftitutional government, fo nice and intricate as thofe which have 
 " been before mentioned." 
 
 I cannot help obferving here, that the whole tenor of the above para- 
 graph indicates the opinion of the Governor and Council of Madras to 
 be, that Colonel Stuart's innocence or guilt depends totally on the lega^ 
 lity or illegality of the orders he received ; an opinion which I can- 
 not entirely acquiefce in, — but which neverthelefs makes it fufficiently 
 evident that, when upon the fpot, they did not fee his condud, as to the 
 
 " mode
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 mode of the anejl and the clrcumftances preceding it, in the light they 
 have been reprefented in this country; for they fay exprefsly, that Co- 
 lonel Stuart appears to have done nothing in this tranfaSlion itidependeni 
 of that authority ivhich gave him the orders; they doubtlefs would have 
 expreffed themfelves in another manner, if they had found any mifcon- 
 dud: in the execution. 
 
 The correfpondence and papers vvrhich pafled upon this occafion be- 
 tween the Governor and Council of Madras and Colonel Stuart, in the 
 months of February and March laft, have, as I underftand, been all 
 fent home to you ; I fhall therefore beg leave to refer to them as con- 
 taining his reafons, flated at great length, why he thought that, 
 notwithftanding the difficulties pointed out by the Governor and Coun- 
 cil, and by General Monro the Commander in Chief, ftill he was en- 
 titled to expefl:, and even had a right to demand, that, in the peculiar 
 circumftances of his cafe, the door of trial by a Court-martial (hould 
 be thrown open to him, and every poffible indulgence granted for faci- 
 litatingto him the means of redrefs. 
 
 At the time when Colonel Stuart gave in to the Board at Madras, 
 the papers wherein he fo earneftly contended for his trial, he was 
 ignorant of one additional misfortune, of a very ferious nature, brought 
 upon him in confequence of the order from the Diredlors of the Ho- 
 nourable Company appointing him to be tried by a Court-martial ; had 
 he known it, that confequential misfortune would have added greatly 
 to the weight of thofe which preceded, and if poffible have increafed 
 the zeal of his remonftrances upon the hardlhip of refufing or de- 
 laying that trial. 
 
 The difappointment which Colonel Stuart, in the courfc of laft year, 
 met with, in relation to his preferment in his Majefty's fervicc, is what 
 I allude to. 
 
 Subfequent to the orders for a Court-martial, which you were pleafed 
 to fend out to Madras by the Befborough, in July 1777, a very ex- 
 
 tenfive
 
 ( 49 ) 
 
 tcnfive promotion of ofllccrs in his Majefly's fcrvice took place in the 
 month of September of that year; by which a great nimiber of Lieu- 
 tenant-colonels attained the rank of Colonel in the King's fervice. 
 
 Colonel Stuart, who had been a Lieutenant-colonel in his Majefly's 
 fervice llnce the year 1762, w^as very near the head of the lift of thofe 
 Lieutenant-colonels who were to acquire rank from this promotion; 
 but it is a rule with his Majefty's fervants in that department, that an 
 officer under orders for trial by a Court-martial is not to be promoted 
 till the event of fuch trial is known. It was thought therefore that 
 Colonel Stuart could not, with propriety, be included in the general 
 promotion which at that time took place, until the ilTue of that trials 
 ordered by the Diredors, was known : the confequence was, that he 
 was paffed over in that promotion, and thirty-two Lieutenant-colo- 
 nels, younger in the fervice than Colonel Stuart, obtained the rank of 
 Colonel, notwithftanding that Colonel Stuart's merit and fervices were 
 univcrfally allowed to entitle him to that preferment. 
 
 Thus, by a complication of peculiar hard fate and misfortunes, the 
 obedience which Colonel Stuart had given in the month of Auguft 
 1776, to the orders of his Superiors both civil and military, produced — 
 /irft his fufpenfion from the Honourable Company's fervice for fix 
 months, — then his fuperceffion in the command of the army in the Car- 
 natic, — then an order for his trial by a Court-martial, — which order pro- 
 duced the meafure of denying to him the rank of Colonel in the King's 
 fervice, at a time of general promotion; — and laftly, he meets with a 
 refufal of that trial, which if it had taken place, Colonel Stuart is con- 
 fident, would have remedied not only this hardfliip in the King's fer- 
 vice, but likewife the other evils of which he has fo much rcafon to 
 complain. 
 
 That you may perceive, Gentlemen, that there is nothing exaggerated 
 in the account I have here given of the fevere difappointment my 
 Brother and his friends met with at the time of the general promotion 
 of Officers in his Majefty's fervice laft. year; and that this difappoint- 
 ment was occafioned by the order you had given for his trial by a 
 
 H Court-
 
 ( 50 ) 
 
 Court-martial, I beg leave to annex the whole of the correfpondence on 
 this fubjedl, which paiTcd between Lord Barrington, the Secretary at 
 War, and mc, in the months of September and Odlober 1777. 
 
 In that correfpondence you will obfcrve, that it is not on account of 
 any opinion, formed by his Tvlajefty's fervants of Colonel Stuart's 
 having aded improperly in India, that he was pafled over in the King's 
 fervice ; but that it was occafioned from etiquette, by xhe orders for 
 bis trial, and which was to be afterwards remedied, if the refult 
 of the trial fhould be in his favour. The exprefllons in Lord Bar- 
 rington's letter to me of the 3d of September 1777, are, " That full 
 •' and perfect juftice will be done to him (Colonel Stuart) hereafter, if 
 ", his condu£l in India referables the reft of his condudl through life." 
 
 His Lordfliip was afterwards pleafed to explain the matter further, 
 and to mention to me various inftances, where officers of good repu- 
 tation, who were liable to be tried by a Court-martial, at a time 
 when a general promotion took place, which they would otherwife have 
 been entitled to the benefit of, were denied that promotion until the 
 decifion of the Court-martial, after which their rank was allowed to 
 them in the fame manner as if they had not been pafTed over. 
 
 Although I was fully perfuaded that it was no part of the wifh or 
 intention of the Eaft-India Company, that the hardfhips which they 
 had inflided, fhould be produdive of any additional evil to Colonel 
 Stuart, in any other line than their own fervice ; yet I have hitherto 
 abftained from giving you any trouble or reprefentations about thefe 
 confequential unintended hardfhips ; nor fhould I have mentioned them 
 at this time, or prefumed to give you the trouble of reading the cor- 
 refpondence between the Secretary at War and me upon this fubjed, 
 if it had not now become unavoidably necefl'ary, for two reafons. 
 
 One is, that 1 find falfe reports have been fpread about the manner 
 and occafion of my Brother's being palfed over in the promotion of lafi 
 year in his Majefty's fervice ; it has been ftated as a proof of his guilt, 
 
 and
 
 ( 51 ) 
 
 and the turn given to it in many quarters is, that his Majefly's fer- 
 vants, upon being fully apprifed of all the circumftances of Colonel 
 Stuart's condud in the difturbances at Madras, had formed fuch a 
 decided opinion, that his preferment in the King's fervice was now 
 abfolutcly and unconditionally flopped. 
 
 The other reafon is, that you, Gentlemen, from the perufal of that 
 correfpondence with the Secretary at War, may not only be informed 
 of the true ftate of the cafe, but likewife may perceive the great fuper- 
 venient hardfliips which he has fuffered, though not intentionally, by 
 the late refufal or delay of his trial by a Court-martial. 
 
 It is not with a view to find fault, nor in the fpirit of complaint or »-7 . , 
 
 * * The motives and 
 
 ill-humour, that I have taken up fo much of your time in flat- objeSIs of the 
 ing the various hardfliips that have been heaped upon my Brother P^^fi'^^ appua- 
 in confequence of the unfortunate difturbances at Madras, but merely 
 that the nature of his condudl and the extent of his fufferlngs, fliould 
 be brought under your confideration, more precifely, and with lefs 
 mixture of foreign matter than they have ever hitherto been. 
 
 So far am I from flating his cafe merely with a view of imputing 
 blame, that I am ready fairly to acknowledge, that when the ac- 
 counts firft came to this country of the diflurbances at Madras, 
 with all the circumflances /aid to have attended it ; and when 
 it was not forefeen to how much greater length thefe convulfions 
 might proceed, and what the confequences might be to the peace and 
 fecurity of the Settlement; I fay, upon that occafion, it was extremely 
 natural, not only to feel a degree of prejudice and difplcafure at what 
 had happened, bur to be alarmed for the future confequences, and to 
 endeavour to avert them, by marking a difapprobation of the feemingly 
 violent and improper conduit of all the adtors in the late difturbances. 
 
 H 2 It
 
 ( 52 ) 
 
 It was a difficult tafk for you, Gentlemen, amidfl the rage and ani- 
 mofity which actuated the minds and influenced the reprefentations of 
 theoppofite parties, to difcriminate the guilty from the ihnocent, or to 
 afcertain the different degrees of offence which had been committed by 
 your fervants in that Settlement ; neither was it poffible for you to 
 pronounce any judgment, or to purfue any general meafure, that 
 would be fatisfadory to all parties. 
 
 Perhaps, indeed, the fteps you did purfue on that difScult occafion 
 were, upon the whole, as little exceptionable, and had as many pro- 
 bable appearances of being well calculated for eflablifhing peace in your 
 Settlement, and to prevent the growth of further evils, as any 
 that could have been devifed in the circumftances in which you were 
 placed ; and there is this ftrong prefumption in favour of the wifdom 
 and impartiality of your meafures, that countenancing the extremes of 
 neither party, they were in fome degree unacceptable to both. 
 
 But give me leave. Gentlemen, to obferve, that the very fame conduft, 
 which, with a view and upon a plan of prevention, may properly 
 be adopted at a particular crifis of public confufion, and while 
 there is yet an uncertainty to what iffue that confufion is to lead, may 
 and ought to be very different from thofe meafures which Ihould be 
 taken with regard to offences already pafl, and where the whole extent 
 of the mifchief has been already afcertained; when the latter is the cafe, 
 there is room for taking into confideration the exad meafure and pro- 
 portion of each man's offence or merit, and it is a matter of juftice to- 
 o-ive redrefs to thofe, who, though unavoidably involved in the general 
 hardfliips incident to individuals upon public diflurbances, fhall be 
 found, either to have fuffered far beyond the magnitude of their 
 offences, to have been innocent, or perhaps highly meritorious. 
 
 It is to this confideration, Gentlemen, that, with your permiffion, 
 I wifh to condud your attention; for the Madras diflurbances are now 
 and have been long at an end, the period is arrived, which not only 
 admits but loudly calls for, the difcriminatlon of every man's con- 
 dud,
 
 ( 53 ) 
 
 dudl, and for proportioning the punifhment or rcdrefs that is due to 
 liim. 
 
 During many months after the arrival of the firft accounts of the 
 Madras difturbances, which reached England in the month of March 
 1777, there was an extenfive field opened for men of warm imagina- 
 tions to alarm themfelves and the Public, by painting fcenes of horror, 
 anarchy, and confufion, which were to be the infallible confequences 
 of the fteps taken by the Majority of Council, and by Colonel Stuart, 
 in the month of Auguft 1776. 
 
 We mufl all remember the difmal predidions which were made in 
 the General Courts of Proprietors, and circulated in the Public at 
 large, with a degree of confidence little fhort of certainty. 
 
 The prophets and orators of thbfe times afFcded to dread the arrival 
 of any fliip, or other means of intelligence, from India, becaufe they 
 feemed pcrfuaded, that we fhould foon have the melancholy accounts of 
 many lives loft, and of complete anarchy and confufion from one end 
 of the Carnatic to the other. 
 
 The Princes or Powers of that part of India, either with or without 
 the alfiftance of the French, were to take advantage of thofe confu- 
 fions, and to fubdue or expel us from the country ; the Nabob of 
 Arcot, at leaft, after getting rid of Lord Pigot, his moft formidable 
 oppofer, and the controller of his views, would undoubtedly eftablifh 
 his own power and independency upon the overthrow of the Britifh 
 dominion in the Carnatic; and there could be no danger of the Na- 
 bob's being thwarted in his attempts by thofe corrupted and feditious 
 counfellors, whom he had inftigated to fuch violent proceedings againft 
 Lord Pigot, and who were totally at the devotion of this Mahommedan 
 Prince. 
 
 Above all, it was perfectly clear, according to thofe predidions, 
 
 that Colonel Stuart, who had taken fo a£tive a part in the arreft of 
 
 Lord Pigot, by military force, and who had the army totally at his 
 
 devotion, would find out a better interefl to cultivate, than that 
 
 3 of
 
 ( 54 ) 
 
 -of his Honourable Employers, the Eaft India Company; and that he 
 meant to fet up for him/elf m that part of the world, and would either 
 laugh at any orders that fhould be fent from the India-Houfe, to de- 
 prive him of his power, or would oppofe force by force. 
 
 Such were the gloomy predidlions, and it was in vain to argue 
 
 againft them in whole or in part; but the period has long been 
 
 clofed within which thefe prophecies were to have been fulfilled, and 
 what has really happened within that period, is fo totally unlike every 
 thing which difturbed the imaginations of fome too credulous Proprietors, 
 that it will hardly be believed that fuch unfaithful pictures could ever 
 have been drawn of Colonel Stuart, and of the events which were to 
 be produced by his condudl. 
 
 Inftead of confufion] and civil war, there never was a more fettled 
 ftate of quiet and tranquillity. — Inftead of refiftance on the part of 
 Colonel Stuart, and Jetting up for himfelf there has been the moft 
 uniform and implicit obedience to the orders of his fuperiors. 
 
 When Mr. Whitehill arrived at Madras, in the month of Auguft 1777, 
 with the new commiffion of government, and with your directions, by 
 which Mr. Stratton and the other Gentlemen of Council were called 
 home, and by which Colonel Stuart, the Commander in Chief of the 
 army, was fufpended and fuperceded ; he was the firft perfon who accom- 
 panied Mr. Whitehill to the parade, was prefent at reading the new 
 commiffion of government, and of the order for his own fufpenfion. 
 
 Upon that occafion, he openly and immediately declared his refolu- 
 tion to obey the orders of his Honourable Mafters, however hard they 
 might be on himfelf, and declared that he wifhed, and did not doubt, 
 that every other perfon affedted by thefe orders, would be in the fame 
 difpofition. 
 
 On this fubjed: there is the following paragraph of a letter from 
 Mr. Whitehill the Governor, and the Council at Madras, to the Su- 
 preme Council at Bengal, extracted from the Minutes of Confultatlon 
 
 of the 3 1 ft of Auguft 1777. 
 
 2 " They
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 " They think it alfo neccfTary to obfervc, with rcfpc6t to Bri- 
 *' gadier-gencral Stuart, whofe fituation in tlic late tranfadions ivas 
 *' peculiar, that he fliewcd the fame implicit obedience on his part to 
 " the authority of the Company, attended on the parade at the reading 
 " of the Company's commifTion of government to the troops, and was 
 " fludious, by his whole condud', to fhew to the officers and foldiers, 
 *' the proper fenfe which he entertained of the Company's orders." 
 
 Upon a fubfequcnt occafion, in September 1777, when Mr. Ram, 
 the Coroner at Madras, in confcqucnce of his extraordinary ver- 
 dict already mentioned, applied to the Governor and Council to be 
 affiftcd in apprehending Colonel Stuart, and the other perfons who 
 had by that unjuRifiable vcrdi£l been accufed of the wilful murder of 
 Lord Pigot ; Colonel Stuart, Mr. Stratton, and the other perfons ac- 
 cufed, voluntarily delivered themfelves up to the cuftody of the She- 
 riffs, and declared they were willing and defirous to undergo every 
 fort of trial that the laws of their country could authorize. 
 
 Another inflance of the fame fpirit of good order and obe- 
 dience on the part of Colonel Stuart, and the other Gentlemen 
 who concurred with him, appeared in the month of January in 
 this prefent year, and is fct forth in three letters which pafTed be- 
 tween them and the Governor and Council, which are printed at the 
 clofe of the Colledion of Authentic Papers lately publillied, relating to 
 the proceedings of the Coroner's Inqueft. As they are too long to be 
 inferted here, I fhall only beg leave, in confirmation of what has been 
 mentioned, to infert a part of the letters to you from the Governor 
 and Council of Madras, received by the Houghton in Auguft laft ; 
 it is in thefe words : 
 
 " It is ajuftice, however, that we particularly owe to the Members 
 " of the late government, to obfcrve to your Plonours, that their lead- 
 " ing example in Jhewing the mojl implicit Jubmijfton to your orden 
 *' for ejlahlijlnng your neiv adminijlrat'ion, has been of the greate/l ufe 
 " in refloring that harmony and good undcrflanding ive have juft fpoken of. 
 
 " But
 
 ( 56 ) 
 
 *' But befides the general tenor of their behaviour as individuals, 
 " of which we have been eye-witnefles, we beg leave to refer you to 
 *' the letter figned by General Stuart, Meflrs. Mackay, Palmer, and 
 " Floyer, and to the anfwer which we thought proper to make to thefe 
 *' Gentlemen; who, for the peace of the fettlement, and with a view 
 " to the welfare of your affairs, have agreed to v/ave the agitation of 
 *' quellions at this time, which muft neceffarily have taken our atten- 
 " tion from the immediate bufmefs of your government." 
 
 Such has been the condud of Colonel Stuart, regulated by tlie 
 moft fincere attachment to good order, and to the profperity of your 
 affairs, and proved by the mon: unqueftionable evidence. As it has 
 been fo fully laid before you, it would be needlefs, and therefore fm- 
 perlinent to make the obvious inferences, by pointing out, and ob- 
 /erving upon the many falfe and injurious reprefentations, which have 
 been circulated to Colonel Stuart's prejudice. 
 
 ^he redrefs due 
 to Colonel 
 Stuart^ and the 
 modes by which 
 it may be accom- 
 plijhed. 
 
 Now that the fcene is clofed with refpe£l to the courfe of events at 
 Madras, conneded with, or following the dlfturbances of the month 
 of Auguft 1776, when you are fatisfied, that none of the many pre- 
 didled mifchiefs have happened ; on the contrary, that without confu- 
 fion of any fort, both the temporary government of Mr. Whitehill and 
 his Council, and the completely eflablifhed government of Mr. Rum- 
 bold, and the Council which now manages your affairs at Madras, have 
 taken place, and with the moft complete fubmiffion and obedience to 
 your orders on the part of Colonel Stuart ; may I not be permitted, 
 with a degree of confidence, to maintain, that this is the proper 
 time to take into confideration, all the particulars of his cafe, fo very 
 peculiarly circumftanced. 
 
 If
 
 C 57 ) 
 
 If it fliall now appear to you, that Colonel Stuart has either not 
 heen guilty of any oflencc, or rather, if it fliall appear, as I flatter 
 myfelf it nuift, upon a difpaffionate review of his conduct, that the 
 perfon expofed to fuch a variety of hardfliips, inftead of meriiing them, 
 has rendered material fervices to the Honourable Company; I trufl:. 
 Gentlemen, that in thefe events, you will diredl the remedies and 
 redrefs bed fuited to the circumftances of the cafe. 
 
 After having given you the trouble of reading fo much on the' 
 fubjedl of Colonel Stuart's conduct, and entertaining more than a 
 hope, that the true ftate of his cafe has by this time made fome im- 
 preflion on your minds, it may rcafonably be expeded from me to 
 point out, which I fliall do with great fubmiflion, the objeds I have in 
 view by this application. 
 
 Upon this principle, therefore, I fliall take the liberty of fuggefting 
 to your confideration, the general nature of the redrefs to which Colonel 
 Stuart, or his friends, may think him entitled; and the modes in 
 which, if it fliould meet with your approbation, that redrefs may, 
 without difficulty, be accompliflied. 
 
 For this purpofe, it feems necefl'ary, that one or other of the two 
 following meafures fliould be adopted. 
 
 The Jirji is by perfevering in the plan which had already occurred 
 to you, and to which Colonel Stuart mofl cordially agreed, that of 
 having every circumftance of his conduct tried by a Court-martial, on 
 the fpot where the tranfadtions happened ; but then it is extremely 
 material, in the event of your renewing your order for this trial by 
 a Court-martial, that the order be made peremptory and abfolute, 
 without any difcr-etion left in India, to rcfiife that Court-martial ; for 
 it is of the utmofl; importance, to avoid the fame uncertainty and 
 hurtful delays which have already happened to Colonel Stuart in con^ 
 fequence of the firfl: order, fuch delays being cf themfelves, and efpe- 
 cially when attended with fufp.enfiun, to any perfon in his fituation, a 
 ftrong degree of punifliment. 
 
 I As
 
 ( iS ) 
 
 As the principal difficulty which prevented the Governor and Coun- 
 cil at Madras from granting the Court-martial was, that no fuch trial 
 could be proceeded to with any effed, until it fhould be nrevioufly de- 
 clared, whether the legal government had been vefted in a Majority of 
 Council ; therefore, it feems effentially neceflary, if there can flill be 
 found thofe who think that point not already fufficiently clear, that 
 when the orders are fent out for Colonel Stuart's trial by a Court- 
 martial, your fentiments with regard to this point, refpedling the legal 
 government, fhould accompany the dire£lion for a trial. 
 
 If this mode of taking Colonel Stuart's cafe into confideration is 
 adopted, which I beg leave to obferve would of all others be the mod 
 acceptable to him, I fubmit to your confideration, whether, at the 
 fame time that you fend out the orders for his trial by a Court-martial, 
 there fliould not be directions fent to fix and afcertain the particular 
 redrefs he is to receive, in the event of his being honourably acquitted; 
 for what is extremely remarkable, there has never hitherto been any 
 provifion made for the cafe even cf his innocence, and much lefs for 
 the fuppofition of his merit; — the only thing in contemplation has been 
 the cafe of guilt, and it becomes the more neceflary that fuch inftrudtioas 
 fhould accompany the order for trial, on account of the immenfe dif- 
 tance of place, and confequently the material and inevitable lofs of 
 time, if Colonel Stuart fhall again be obliged to wait the returns 
 from this country to India, before he receives any beneficial effeds from 
 his innocence, fhould the determination of the Court-martial be in his 
 favour. 
 
 The Jecond mode of doing juftice to Colonel Stuart, is by your being 
 pleafed to enter upon the examination of his cafe, and to decide upon 
 it from the ample fails now in your pofTeflion, without the interven- 
 tion of any other Court of Enquiry, or of a Court-martial. 
 
 Any propofition of this kind, at the time when you fent out your 
 former orders, either thofe by Mr. Whitehill, in the month of June, 
 or the fubfequent orders by Mr. Rumbold, in the month of July, 
 
 ^777*
 
 ( 59 ) 
 
 1 777, I admit, would have been improper ; bccaufc, at thcfe periods, 
 the knowledge of fads was not fufficiently attained, nor could you 
 then conjeiSture what confcquential mifchicfs had arifcn, or might arife 
 in the interval between the time of arrefting Lord Pigot in Augufl 1 776, 
 and the time at which the new government fliould be eftablidied by 
 the orders then fent out ; neither could you know, and much lefs 
 judge, VN'hat Colonel Stuart's condud had been, or might be, in that 
 interval. 
 
 But now that all thcfe things are paft, that they are become hiflori- 
 cal fadts, not matters of fpeculation, it has occurred to many im- 
 partial and judicious perfons, that it would be highly proper if you. 
 Gentlemen, would now enter into the confideration of this matter, 
 and that the circumftances of Colonel Stuart's cafe, as well as the 
 fituation of affairs in India, do in reality make it requifite and fuitable, 
 that you fliould, from the full materials in your- pofTeffion, take it 
 upon yourfelves at this time, to decide upon his condud. 
 
 In the general letter from your Governor and Council at Madras 
 dated 14th of March, 1778, brought home by the Duke of King- 
 flon, paragraph 6th, they tell you, " that the queftions involved in 
 *' General Stuart's cafe, were fuch as no authority in that connfiy could ■ 
 " properly decide." In the gth paragraph of the fame letter, where 
 tliey flate the inutility of a Court of Enquiry, for afcertaining fads upon 
 evidence, they give the following reafon for being of that opinion, 
 " Becaufe in regard to fads, we apprehended that the records of the 
 *' Company were already fufficiently explicit for all the purpofcs re- 
 " quired ; every part of General Stuart's eondud is there fet forth by 
 " his own acknowledgment, or the teftlmony of others, and that ap- 
 " parently in the fulleft and moft circumftantial manner." 
 
 In paragraph loth, of the fame letter, after mentioning that Lord 
 Pigot was arrefted by an order under the llgnature of George Stratton, 
 Efq; Sir Robert Iletcher, Henry Brooke, Charles Floyer, Archdale 
 Palmer, Francis Jourdain, and George Mackay, Efqrs. they tell you 
 
 I 2 exprefsly,
 
 ( 6o ) 
 
 cxprefsly, " that General Stuart appears to have done nothing in this 
 «' tranfa^iony independent of that authority ivhlch gave him the or~ 
 " der-'^ — and in the courfe of the fame paragraph, they clearly ex- 
 prefs to you their opinion, that the merits of General Stuart's cafe 
 muft turn upon the legality or illegality of the orders and authority 
 under which he a£led; and that this being a queftion of fo nice and im- 
 portant a nature, they did not think themfelves competent to form a 
 judgment upon it. 
 
 Are not all thefe very ftrong and powerful reafons for you, Gentle- 
 men, in the diredion of the Eaft India Company's affairs, to relieve 
 the Government and Council at Madras from the difTKuhies which have 
 ■prevented their ading in this bufinefs, and to take upon yourfelves 
 the immediate decifion of it ? 
 
 It appears from the opinion of the Governor and Council at Madras, 
 and from the circumftances of the cafe itfelf, that it needs not be a 
 niatl;er of long difcuffion, nor attended with much difficulty to decide 
 ivhat relates to Colonel Stuart in this bufinefs. 
 
 If it be true, as ftated in the letter from the Governor and Council 
 at Madras, that he did nothing independent of the authority under 
 •which he aded, then Colonel Stuart muft unqueftionably be free from 
 blame for his obedience to thefe orders, provided you fhall be of 
 opinion, that the powers of Government were in the Majority of Coun^ 
 cil, who ifTued them. 
 
 But even though you fhould be of opinion that the legal Government 
 was vefted in the Majority of Council, I beg leave to obferve it might 
 ftill remain a feparate and very different quefion, Whether that Majo- 
 rity aded properly or improperly^ ivifely or impoliticly, in ifluing to 
 Colonel Stuart an order for putting them in pofFefTion of the Fort- 
 houfe, garrifon and fortrefs effort St. George, and for arrefting Lord, 
 Pigot ? 
 
 But this is a queftion with which Colonel Stuart, vi'ho w^as no 
 Member of Council, who iffued no order, but obeyed only the orders 
 
 4 which
 
 C 6i ) 
 
 which others had iirued, can have no earthly concern ; the refponfihl- 
 lity for that meafiire refting totally with the Majority of Council a,nf\ the 
 
 Commander in Chief. 
 
 It is, therefore, by no means, as has been generally and erroneoufly 
 fuppofcd, a common caiife between Colonel Stuart and the Majority of 
 Council J their calcs ftand upon a different footing, and may be de- 
 cided upon a different principle. 
 
 This diftindion betwixt his cafe and that of the Majority, fcems to 
 have occurred to the Governor and Council at Madras, who, in their 
 letter to the Supreme Council in Bengal in Auguft 1777, exprefs 
 themfelves thus : " We think it necefTary to obferve with rcfped to 
 " Brigadier-general Stuart, whofe fituation in the late tranfa£tions ivas 
 *' peculiar,'' £cc. 
 
 In the proceedings at Madras, Colonel Stuart hlmfelf has very care- 
 fully feparated it; nor will your deciding upon bis cafe^ by itlelf, 
 imply your approbation of the policy and difcretion of the Majority 
 of Council who iffued thofe orders under which Colonel Stuart a<!led. 
 
 Permit me now, Gentlemen, to take the liberty of reminding you 
 that, befides the more ancient and unrepealed orders and inftrudions 
 for regulating the conftitution in your Settlement at Madras, you have 
 yourfelves fent out by Mr. Whitehill, in June 1777, frefh orders and 
 inflrudions on this fubjed, exprefs and unambiguous ; by which 
 you have not hefitated to declare, that the legal Government of Ma- 
 dras is vefted in the Majority of Council, — as the Majority of Council 
 •who iffued the orders to Colonel Stuart, contended it was. 
 
 ■ Before therefore it can be your opinion, that any man ading in obe- 
 dience to the orders of the Majority of Council aded illegally, you, 
 Gentlemen, muft determine that the Government of Madras in its 
 principles, and conftrudion, was different in the year 1776, when 
 Colonel Stuart aded, from what you hdive fince decided it to be in the 
 year 1777. 
 
 But
 
 ( ^-^ ) 
 
 But fliould ihere be any reafons for your wiflilng to avoid, or to 
 ^elay giving an exprefs opinion upon a point on v»hich it feems already 
 to be fo ftrongly implied, there ftill remains a diftind and fufBcient 
 ground for proceeding to final determinations in Colonel Stuart's cafe, 
 from the circumftances which are peculiar to it, and which are nol 
 Gonneded or involved with the cafe of the Majority of Council. 
 
 Becaufe, fuppofing the pretenfions of the Majority of Council to the 
 powers cf government not to amount to a clear and indifputable 
 right, ftill on the loweft eftimation of thefe pretenfions it muft be 
 admitted, that it was at leaft a doubtful point, whether the legal 
 government belonged to the Majority, or to the Prefident and Mino- 
 rity of Council at Madras j for certainly no perfon acquainted with 
 the nature of the conftitution at Madras, or with the fiate of opinions 
 upon this point in your fettlement there, will pretend to fay, that ic 
 was a clear and indifputable point, that the Majority of Council was 
 not the legal government. 
 
 Taking it then as a doubtful point only, whether Colonel Stuart was 
 bound to obey the orders of Lord Pigot and the Minority of Council, 
 or thofe of the Majority ; furely it could not with juftice be main- 
 tained, that he was culpable, becaufe he obeyed the authority of the 
 latter, in preference to that of the former, efpecially as there was this 
 additional reafon for his doing fo, that his Commander in Chief, Sir 
 Robert Fletcher, was one of the perfons who figned the order which 
 Colonel Stuart obeyed. 
 
 If it could be fuppofed that the weight of the civil authority was 
 fo equally poized as to produce doubts on which fide it preponderated, 
 can it be matter either of wonder or of blame, that a military man, 
 formed by his education to obey rather than to inveftigate, fliould al- 
 low on fo even a balance, and in a difcufiion of fo much nicety, the 
 concurring commands of his fuperior officer to turn the fcale ? 
 
 If in this particular point Colonel Stuart flood in need of further 
 juftification, it ought to be of no fmall weight that the Supreme 
 
 Council
 
 ( G3 ) 
 
 Council la Bengal unanimoufly declared the legal government at Ma- 
 dras to be vcfted in the Majority of Council. — The queftion therefore 
 may, without impropriety, be put by Colonel Stuart, At what period 
 could he poffibly fuppofe that the Majority of Council was not the 
 the legal government? That it was fo in the year 1776, before, and 
 fubfequent to the difturbances, is clearly declared by the Supreme 
 Council in Bengal, uncontradiQed by any declaration or opinion on 
 your part ; and that it was fo in the year 1777, is as clearly declared 
 by the pofitive inflru^tions which the Eaft India Company fent out 
 by Mr. Whitehill. 
 
 Neither can I prevail upon myfelf, even circumftanced as I am, to 
 throw out of this quclHon, the opinion and aflertions of Colonel Stuart 
 himfelf, which have been uniform and ftrong, that the legal govern- 
 ment which lie was bound to obey, was according to his private judg- 
 ment vefted in the Majority of Council the fincerity of which opinion 
 I fliall endeavour to prove trom his conduiS:, and by examining whether 
 there was any obiedt of interefl: in prolpeit, or attained by him, by 
 means of the part he took in the convulfions at Madras in Augufl 1776. 
 
 Colonel Stuart went out to Madras, fecond in command, and with 
 the command in chief a'fured to him, and the rank of Brigadier- 
 general, upon the death, removal, or refignation of Sir Robert Flet- 
 cher, who, at the time of thefe difturbances, in Auguft 1776, was in fo 
 bad a ftate of health, as to be thought pafl: recovery ; and he died foon 
 afterwards, in December 177^. 
 
 The only thing, therefore, that was likely to prevent Colonel Stuart's 
 attaining the Command in Chief, the fnft wifli of a military man, and 
 the very object for which he entered into the fervice of the Eaft India 
 Company, was any difturbance or confufion in the government at 
 Madras, that might in its confequences defeat the effedt of the ap- 
 pointment which he carried out with him to India. 
 
 It was eafy to forefee, that the divifion of the Council into two op- 
 pofite parties, each of which, pretending to be the legal government, 
 
 ■would
 
 ( C4 ) 
 
 would of courfe require an implicit obedience from Colonel Stuart, 
 
 was the thing in the world moft likely to produce fuch confufion, 
 
 and an unfortunate alternative for him perfonally, which might prove 
 
 . fatal to his expedatidns.— It was a crifisi which, inflead of promoting, 
 
 -d every man of any degree of underftanding, or even of ambition, both of 
 
 which Colonel Stuart's enemies are fo obliging as to allow him, would, 
 
 r-in his fituation, have been at the utmofi pains to avert. 
 
 Upon the fame day, the 23d of Auguft, each party made an offer to 
 Colonel Stuart of the command of the army ; there was however this 
 'material difference, that the command offered to him by the Majority 
 «'of Council, the party which he obeyed, was only the tempo' ary com- 
 mand during the indifpofition of Sir Robert Fletcher; whereas the 
 ■ -offer by Lord Pigot and his friends, who had put Sir Robert Fletcher 
 ' tinder arreft, with a view to his being tried by Court-martial for mu- 
 tiny and fedition, was the complete and immediate command of the 
 army, without any limitation of time. 
 "■^^ It is evident, therefore, that the part which Colonel Stuart a£led in 
 ■'^■'''this difagreeable alternative, was that which, according to all the rules 
 of felf interefl, was the leaft likely to be beneficial to him. 
 
 I go farther, and fay, that to be brought to fuch an alternativeat all, 
 was a thing fo evidently unfortunate, for any man placed in Colonel 
 Stuart's fituation, that it excludes the poffibility of fuppofing that he 
 could be a party, or in the fmalleft degree concerned in any fcheme 
 or plan to produce the difturbance and convuHlon which happened 
 at that time, unlefs we fuppofe him to have been void of every degree 
 of common underftanding or attention to his own intereft. 
 
 Nay, if he had forefeen even the chance of fuch difturbances, and 
 could have removed himfelf to the remotefl part of India, until either 
 the one party or the other had got clearly the afcendant, that would 
 have been a much more judicious and beneficial plan than putting 
 himfelf in the way of receiving, or being under the neceffity of 
 obeying, the orders of either. 
 
 But
 
 ( 65 ) 
 
 But It will even be faid, perhaps, for there have not been wanting 
 thofe who have ventured to infinuate it, that though Colonel Stuart took 
 the part, which to all appearance was the moft againrt: his intereft, yet 
 there were certain fecret means of counterbalancing to him the dif- 
 advantages and hazards to which he was expofed ; — in fhort, that he 
 either had received, or was promifed by the Nabob of Arcot, or by. 
 thofe connected with him, fuch pecuniary prefents a$ were fufficient 
 to compenfate any lofTes and difadvantages he might fuftain in other 
 refpeds. 
 
 If thofe who have permitted themfelves to make fuch infinuations, for 
 they have never amounted to open affertions, can fhew to your fatis- 
 fadlion, Gentlemen, that Colonel Stuart, either direftly or indiredly, 
 ever received or was promifed, either by the Nabob of Arcot, or by any 
 other perfon, any fum of money or other reward, for the part which 
 he took in obedience to the orders of the Majority of Council, I fhall 
 admit that he deferves the fevereft indignation of the Company; for 
 my own part, it would completely put an end to every effort or endea- 
 vour from me, to fupport his caufe, or in thefe fuppofed circumftances 
 to vindicate the character or condudt even of a Brother. 
 
 But I have fo thoroughly convinced myfelf (and from the ftrongeft 
 reafons) of the falfehood of the imputation, that however humiliating 
 it may be, to enter into the vindication of one's friend upon topics 
 of this fort, I moft readily embrace the opportunity of putting to 
 defiance, even the greateft enemies of Colonel Stuart, and of calling 
 upon them, by every decent method of provocation, to fliew, with any 
 colour of probability, that he ever received or was promifed any reward 
 from any quarter whatfoever, for the part his duty obliged him to take 
 in the difturbances at Madras. 
 
 When I had the honour of addrefling you in April 1777, there was 
 inferted in my letter, the copy of part of a private confidential letter, 
 which I had then recently received from my Brother, which was in 
 thefe words : 
 
 K *' Before
 
 ( 66 ) 
 
 *' Before I take my leave of you, my dear Brother, I fhall beg 
 *' leave to repeat what I have already declared to my friend, General 
 ** Clavcring, that as I hope for mercy, I never had any promife, nei- 
 " ther am I in pofieflion or expedation of any private benefit what- 
 " ever, refulting from the change now brought about in this govern- 
 "^ ment." 
 
 Such is the language of his moft private and confidential letters to 
 me, on the fubjedl of the part he took, and though his alTertions do 
 not with me fland In need of additional confirmation, yet from a va- 
 riety of concurring circumftances, I have every reafon to place complete 
 fellance on the fincerlty and truth of what he has fo folemnly afferted. 
 
 Another charge, of an injurious nature, has alfo been very induftrioufly 
 circulated againft Colonel Stuart, that he was fo clofely linked with the 
 Majority of the Council, as to have embarked in the indifcrimlnate 
 fupport of all their meafures. But I can undertake to demonftrate, that 
 Colonel Stuart, fo far from being a man of fadlon or of party, has 
 conduded himfelf in fuch a manner as to belong to no party or par- 
 ticular defcription of men in India. He has endeavoured, according 
 
 to the beft of his judgnient, to promote the general Interefts of the 
 Company, both in their civil and military affairs, and, making that 
 the rule of his condud, his fupport either to one party or another, 
 has been regulated by the notions he entertained of the tendency of 
 their meafures to the public utility. 
 
 Senfible that this aflertion ought to be fupported by ftrong and un- 
 ambiguous proofs, Colonel Stuart appeals to the confultations and re- 
 cords of the Madras Prefidency, in your poffeffion ; and he has re- 
 peatedly prefled upon me, to requeft your particular attention to thefe 
 authentic proofs of the Impartiality and Independency of his condud, 
 and of his adlng from his own judgment, unconneded with a.Ky parti- 
 cular party, and frequently differing from all parties. 
 
 Colonel Stuart's opinions, Inferted In thefe confultations and records,, 
 fmce the time that he had a feat and voice in Council, will likewife 
 
 fliOW
 
 ( 67 ) 
 
 ihow that he held this conduQ, equally with refpeft to the European, 
 and the Afiatlc difputcs; not only when they related to queftions agi- 
 tated amongft your own fervants, but to the meafures proper to be 
 purfued, in what refpedted the oppofite or rival intcrefts of the Nabob 
 of Arcoty and the Raja of Tanjore. 
 
 If then I have cleared Colonel Stuart's conduct from the fufpicion of 
 either producing or fomenting the difturbances at Madras, or of 
 adting from intercfted motives on that occafion; if 1 have fhewn that 
 he merely gave obedience to orders which his fenfe of duty compelled 
 him to obey, though contrary both to his real and apparent intereft ; 
 — if it has been made evident, that no fhare of refponfibility for 
 the meafures which he carried into execution could juftly be allotted 
 to him, and that he executed thofe meafures in the manner of all 
 others the heft calculated for the peace and fecurity of the Settlement, 
 as well as for the prefervation of Lord Pigot, and the lives of other 
 individuals; What obftacle can there poflibly be to prevent the enter- 
 ing upon an immediate confideration of Colonel Stuart's cafe, either 
 conneded with, or diftind from, that of the Majority of Council, as 
 you fhall prefer? — And is there not fufEcient ground to juftify me in 
 concluding, that the very peculiar circumftances of the cafe muft dif- 
 pofe you. Gentlemen, to adopt the mode heft fuited for giving the mofl: 
 fpeedy and effedtual redrefs to Colonel Stuart, who being an officer of 
 no inconfiderable rank in your fervice, is therefore particularly en- 
 titled to your protedion, and who confiders himfelf as authorifed to 
 complain that he has been injured and mifreprefented ? 
 
 After having trefpafled fo long upon your time, it is but too evident CONCLUSION, 
 how much I ftand in need of your indulgence ; the various topics 
 ncceflary, not only to be touched, but enlarged upon, in this addrefs, 
 
 K 2 - have
 
 ( 6S ) 
 
 have imperceptibly encreafed it to a length beyond what I was at 
 firft aware of, and far beyond what I intended. 
 
 To ftate fads, upon which no opinions have been formed, is not, 
 perhaps, a very difficult tafk, nor does it require much detail ; but 
 to flate them, fo as not merely to convey information, but to re- 
 move the prejudices which have been already conceived, and taken 
 root, demands a much greater degree of particularity and minutenefs, 
 and is a very different undertaking. 
 
 That prejudices fhould have arifen in confequence of the firft accounts 
 brought to this country, of the convuHions at Madras, I have no 
 right to be furprifed ; the firft accounts of any, and efpecially of 
 any diftant tranfadion, are feldom the moft corred; but befides this, 
 every man, whofe fate it is to ad upon critical and important occa- 
 fions, muft not only fubmit to have his condud freely canvafled and 
 criticifed, but when the various interefts of many different perfons 
 have been affeded, muft further exped to undergo a great degree of 
 prejudice and calumny. 
 
 From the firft moment that the accounts reached this country, of 
 the events which had happened at Madras, I have ever fincerely 
 lamented them ; an apprehenfion that the public intereft might be 
 affeded, would of itfelf i.ave been fufficient to make me regret them. 
 To this, however, has bee i added a particular concern on account of 
 the animofity which it wat cafy to forefee would be excited againft 
 my Brother, from the part v. hich had been allotted to him at that 
 difficult crijls of your affairs. 
 
 It was obvious, that whetP r blameable, innocent, or meritorious, 
 Colonel Stuart would inevitablv be involved in many difagreeable con- 
 tefts, that he would be expo'ed to the refentments of at leaft one 
 party, and to a variety of attacks and afperfions upon his charader and 
 eondud. 
 
 It has therefore fallen to my lot to anfwer thofe attacks, and to 
 
 •ndeavour to remove the prejudices occafioned by thofe afperfiona 
 
 % which.
 
 ( 69 ) 
 
 ^' 5 - 
 
 which have been thus thrown out againfl an ahfent Brother, who, it 
 mud be confeflcd by every one, has at leafl been unfortunate; and 
 perhaps thofe who have attentively perufed this narrative, may by 
 ♦his time be of opinion that he has been feverely and unreafonably 
 perfecuted. 
 
 In performing the painful tafk which has fallen to my fhare, I am 
 apprehenfive that an over anxiety, left fome fadt fhould be omitted, or 
 fome reafoning too flightly enforced, may imperceptibly have led me 
 into the repetition of what had been already faid, or the addition of 
 tvhat was unneceflary. 
 
 For the imputations agalnft Colonel Stuart have aflumed fo 
 many different forms, and been extended to fo great a variety of par- 
 ticulars, that I have neceffarily been obliged to inveftigate eveiy ground 
 upon which the attacks againft my Brother had been founded, though 
 many of them were fuch as in ordinary cafes might have been thought 
 of too trivial a nature to demand attention, and much lefs to require a 
 ferious refutation. 
 
 1 am fenfible of this difadvantage, and of having been led by 
 Colonel Stuart's adverfaries into the difcuflion of fo many and fuch 
 minute particulars, the exad recoUedlion of which I fear will be thought 
 to require too great and painful an effort of the attention. 
 
 For the affiftance therefore of thofe who from duty or from curiofity 
 may be led to perufe this narrative, if it were not adding to the 
 length of it, already too long, I fhould be inclined fhortly to refume 
 all the material fads and propofitions eftablifhed in the courfe of 
 the preceding enquiry ; — without, however, engaging in that extenfive 
 plan, I (hall beg leave only to recal to your memory fome of thofe fa6t& 
 and propofitions which are the moft effential, and the lead incumbered 
 with uninterefting and minute circumftances. 
 
 It is a fad, which will not be difputed, that the moft uninterrupted 
 peace and fecurity have prevailed in your fcttlement at Madras, not- 
 
 withftanding
 
 ( 70 ) 
 
 wkhftanding the temporary dlflentions in the month of Augiifl: iyj6', 
 and it is admitted, that while thefe diffentions were at their greateft 
 height, even at that very critical period, not one life was loft, nor the 
 leaft perfonal injury fuftained by any individual in the Settlement) 
 whether that individual was a favourer of Lord Pigot, or took part 
 with the Majority of Council. 
 
 It has always been thou^it a ground of merit for an officer 
 charged with the execution of an order of a very hazardous and 
 difficult nature, that he had accomplifhed the objeds of that order 
 without the lofs of lives; without any man being injured in his perfon 
 or property ; and without any tumult or confufion in the community. 
 
 This merit has been univerfally allowed to Colonel Stuart, and 
 it has been uniformly the firm conviction of his mind, not only be- 
 fore, but fmce the arreft of Lord Pigot, that, if he had either fupported 
 his Lordfhip in oppofition to the Majority of Council, united with the 
 Commander in Chief, — or if in confequence of the orders received from 
 that majority, he had attempted to feize the fort and garrifon of Fort 
 St. George, without the previous arreft of Lord Pigot; — or, finally, if 
 that arreft had been attempted in a more public, or in any other man- 
 ner than that in which it was accomplifhed ; — the almoft inevitable 
 confequence muft have been, the lofs of lives, and involving the 
 Settlement in all the horrors of a civil war. 
 
 Can it therefore, in the mind of any man, be longer a matter of 
 doubt, whether Colonel Stuart has adled the part of a meritorious and 
 faithful fervant to the Eaft-India Company? 
 
 If indeed there is any one who can be of opinion, that the orders 
 ■which Colonel Stuart received from his fuperiors, civil as well as mili- 
 tary, could have been carried into execution with lefs perfonal injury to 
 Lord Pigot or his friends, or with lefs prejudice to the peace and 
 fecurity of the Settlement, fuch a perfon may have a right to think, 
 that Colonel Stuart's interference was unfortunate, and that he was 
 
 unfkilful
 
 ( 71 ) 
 
 unflcilfal in the execuiion of the orders he had received; but ftill it 
 would by no means follow that the obeying them was illegal, or a 
 breach of duty on his part. 
 
 There is really, allow me, Gentlemen, to fay it, fomething very 
 fingular and aflonifhing in the reception Colonel Stuart's conduct has 
 hitherto met with. — Any man unacquainted with the circumftances 
 of his cafe, and informed only of the outcry which had been raifed 
 againft him, muft have concluded, that the man perfccuted with fo 
 much rage and violence had certainly involved fome of your Settle- 
 ments in civil war; — at lead that he was accountable for many lives loft 
 by the indifcretion of his condud; — or, at the lowcft eftimation of 
 his offences, that he had been guilty of difobedience of orders, both 
 to the military and civil part of the legal and eftablifhed government 
 of Madras. 
 
 But the real fads have been precifely the reverfe of all thefe atro- 
 cious and fuppofed delinquencies ; and therefore, fo far as relates to the 
 material and folid interefts of his Honourable Employers, it may now, I 
 hope, without prefumption, be afTumed as a thing not to be controverted, 
 that Colonel Stuart has adted the part of an obedient and faithful fervant, 
 attentive to the intereft of his Employers; and that he is entitled to no 
 fmall fhare of praife for the difcretion of his condud at that moft critical 
 period, in addition to his many acknowledged fervices in the military 
 eftablifhment, which his friends and enemies have equally admitted. 
 
 In fuch circumftances it almoft exceeds belief, that he fhould have 
 met with fuch an accumulation of misfortunes, hardfliips, and indig- 
 nities ; the mere enumeration of which has confumed many pages, 
 and from the perufal of thofe parts of this narrative one obvious and 
 very material reflection muft arife ; — that if he had been adually guilty 
 of a crime of very confiderable magnitude, he has already fufFered 
 
 more than would have been fufiicient to expiate and atone for it. 
 
 Sufpended fuperceded -degraded from the firft military com- 
 mand with fevere marks of cenfure and difpleafure,, before any trial or 
 
 enq^uiry
 
 I 72 ) 
 
 enquiry into his condu£l. Thefe are feverities which affedl both the 
 
 honour and the intereft of a military man, and are proportioned only to 
 offences of great magnitude and clearly afcertaincd. 
 
 Afterwards when his trial by a Court-martial is ordered, no idea is 
 entertained even of \hQ ■pojjibility of his innocence, or of merit ; contrary 
 to all the ufual maxims of juftice and fuppofitions of humanity, which 
 confider a man as innocent until he is adually proved to have been 
 guilty. 
 
 No provifion is made for redrefs to his honour or intereft in the 
 cafe of an honourable acquittal ; — nothing feems to have been in con- 
 templation but his guilt and the certainty of punifliment. 
 
 EffetStual care was indeed taken, that in all events, guilty or inno- 
 cent, he fhould be puniflied by being deprived of that command, 
 upon the faith of which he went to the other fide of the globe ; for 
 the fuperceflion of Colonel Stuart was not made temporary and de- 
 pendant upon his acquittal, but whether tried or not, and whether ac- 
 quitted or not, his command was given to another purpofely fent from 
 England, and in whom it was vefted without any limitation of time. 
 
 Upon the whole, the treatment Colonel Stuart has met with amounts 
 to this, that whether guilty^ innocent., or meritorious, he is turned out 
 of your fervice with marks of difpleafure and difgrace, and the feverity 
 of his fate is increafed by the height of the fituation from which he 
 is degraded ; and is ftill further aggravated, by all this being inflided 
 upon him independant of any trial or enquiry into his conduit ; when 
 at length an order is fent to India for his trial, fo earneftly folicited by 
 him and by his friends, that trial which might have been the means 
 of vindicating his honour, though care had been taken that it fhould 
 not refiore him to the command of the army, is exprefsly, and very 
 unfortunately for Colonel Stuart, refufed. 
 
 It would furely. Gentlemen, be trifling with the calamities of any man 
 to fay to him. We are bound, ti.l you are tried, to aft upon the prefump- 
 tion of your being guilty, and at the fame time to refufe him that trial 
 
 by
 
 ( 75 ) 
 
 by which alone he can prove that he is innocent.— -But it would be 
 
 a mockery ftlll more cruel to fay, — We will grant you a trial • 
 
 you fhall have the opportunity you want of proving your innocence ; 
 
 but having proved it, you {hall continue to be punifhed as you was be- 
 fore the trial, or even as if you had been proved to be guilty. 
 
 Though I profefs the reafons of fome of thefe fteps taken with regard 
 to Colonel Stuart do not appear to me perfedly obvious, I wilh moft 
 anxioufly to have it underftood, that nothing here faid is intended to 
 carry with it an imputation of blame upon pafl proceedings; but I 
 mean only to urge what Colonel Stuart has fuffered, from the tantalizing 
 hopes of a trial, and the long delay of juftice, as a foundation and 
 inducement for your future favour to him. 
 
 The misfortunes which he has met with in your fervice have like- 
 wife occafioned other misfortunes, and produced a temporary difappoint- 
 ment of his well-founded expectations in his Majefty's fervice. 
 
 As you had before trial fufpended Colonel Stuart, and, from enter- 
 taining fome degree of doubt as to the propriety of his condud, had 
 directed that he fhould be tried by a Court-martial, therefore his pre- 
 ferment was put a flop to in the King's fervice in the general promotion 
 of officers which took place laft year, and though he was near the head 
 of the lifl: of the Lieutenant-colonels entitled to the benefit of that 
 promotion, thirty-two Lieutenant- colonels, younger in the fervice, ob- 
 tained the rank of Colonel, which was withheld from him. 
 
 This very mortifying difappointment happened to an officer whofe 
 
 merits in his Majefty's fervice are acknowledged who in the courfe 
 
 of laft war filled fome not unimportant fituations who acted as 
 
 ^larter-MaJler- General 2ii the reduction of Bellclfle commanded a 
 
 regiment at the taking of Martinko and at the Havannah was 
 
 feleCted to command the party which ftormed the Moro Fort. 
 
 All thefe duties he is well known to have difcharged, to the fatis- 
 fa£tion of the feveral refpedable commanders under whom he a£ted ; 
 with reputation to himfelf, and utility to the public. 
 
 L If
 
 • ( 74 ) 
 
 If lam rightly informed, there have been few inftances of officers, 
 who when they firft entered into the fervice of the Eaft India Company, 
 were as high in the King's fervice as Colonel Stuart, and who had the 
 advantage of fo much experience in military matters ; — while thefe 
 advantages were doubtlefs an inducement to you, Gentlemen, to adopt 
 Colonel Stuart into your fervice; they likevvife afforded him the flat- 
 tering profped that he fhould be capable of rendering fuch eflential 
 fervices in your military eftablifhment, as would infallibly fecure to 
 him boih your approbation and the permanency of his fituation in 
 India, and with that view he incurred a very large expence in fitting 
 himfelf out in a manner fuited to the rank he expeded to hold there. 
 
 Upon a full and fair review of what has happened to Colonel Stuart 
 fmce entering into your fervice, it would be difficult, I believe, to pro- 
 duce an inftance of any man's having met with fuch a fudden change 
 of fituation, fuch a cruel difappointment of his hopes, and who has been 
 involved in fuch a continued fccne of difagreeable ftruggles and con- 
 tefts, as have fallen to Colonel Stuart's lot. 
 
 If I have been fuccefsful in (hewing, that he never has deferved the 
 imputations laid to his charge, and that on the contrary he has not 
 only been innocent but meritorious ; it furely muft be an interefting 
 refledion, that all thefe various hardffiips and feverities have been 
 inflided upon an officer and fervant of the Company, who has pro- 
 moted the interefts of his Honourable Employers, and of the State 
 in general, not only by the part he aded during the time he had a 
 feat and voice in Council, but likewife by his material improvements 
 of your army in the Carnaiic, and by a variety of the moft beneficial 
 regulations in his military department. 
 
 It is not for me to ftate at large and to expatiate upon his merits 
 in thefe refpeds, but it may be permitted, efpecially when called upon 
 in the defence of a Brother fo injured and mifreprefented, to appeal 
 to your own records and informations from India, as well as to the 
 
 teflimony
 
 ( n ) 
 
 teftimony of many officers and other gentlemen lately come from that 
 part of the world and now in England, for the truth of what I afTert. — 
 From thcfe various fources of the bed and moft authentic information 
 it will appear, that Colonel Stuart, has, ever fince his arrival in India, 
 applied himfclf to the bufincfs of his military department there, with 
 a degree of zeal, adlivity, and attention to oeconomy, of which there 
 are few examples; and that by his great vigilance and many improve- 
 ments on the ftate of the army and garrilbns in that part of India, 
 he has put them on a moft refpedlable footing, and fortunately at that 
 period of time, when the Honourable Company and the State in general 
 may probably derive the greateft advantages from his labours. 
 
 It is well known to have been a very favourite opinion of Lord 
 Clive's, founded upon reafon and a perfedt knowledge of the fubjed, 
 that in India, where the continuance of life and of health is much 
 more precarious than in Europe, it was incumbent on the Eaft India 
 Company, always to be provided with more than one or two officers 
 of experience fit for command, who, by having been rcfident on the 
 fpot, fliould not only have acquired a proper degree of local know- 
 ledge, but have overcome the inconveniencies which conftantly attend 
 Europeans upon their firft arrival in that climate. 
 
 As the wifdom of this opinion of Lord Clive's, both from the reafon 
 ©f the thing itfelf, and from the great authority by whom it was re- 
 commended, will, I believe, be univerfally admitted, there may 
 perhaps, after confidering the opportunities Colonel Stuart has 
 had of acquiring knowledge by feveral years refidence in India, 
 and after knowing what he has 'done, and was in the courfe of 
 doing, in the military departments in the Carnatic, be fome degree of 
 regret on a future day, at the Company's having deprived themfelves 
 of his military talents and affiftance, at a time v.-hcn we are likely to 
 be engaged in war both with the French, and with fome of the 
 country powers in that part of India. 
 
 L 2 It
 
 ( 7^ ) 
 
 It is however a jufllce I owe to my Brother's fentiments, contained in 
 his private letters to me, to communicate to you, that he has afTured me 
 in the moft folemn manner, and I believe he has made the fame de- 
 claration at Madras, that although no earthly confidcration will ever 
 induce him fo far to degrade himfelf as to adt in peaceable times in 
 any ftation inferior to that which he has already filled, or to accept of any 
 fituation inconfiftent with what he owes to himfelf, and to his rank 
 and fervices ; yet, in the event of adual invafion of the country, by 
 the French or other enemies, that he will, even during his fufpenfion, 
 offer his fervices in any way, however fubordinatc, in which they can be 
 deemed ufeful to the interefts of the Company. 
 
 In the courfe of the preceding narrative there is one thing, Gentle- 
 men, which, independent of the propriety or impropriety of Colonel 
 Stuart's condud in other refpecls, cannot poffibly have efcaped ob- 
 fervation, that upon all occafions and whenever an opportunity has 
 occurred of teftifying his refpeil for the orders and authority of his 
 Honourable Employers, he has afforded the flrongeft proofs of that 
 proper fenfe of duty which has influenced the whole of his condud. 
 
 Inftead of aQing the part allotted to him by the injurious predidions 
 of his adverfaries, he has diftinguifhed himfelf by his zealous endea- 
 vours to promote the eftablifhment of good order in your Settlement, 
 and by the moft implicit obedience to the will and pleafure of the 
 Honourable Company, even in thofe inftances where that obedience 
 muft have been extremely mortifying to him; and I take it for granted 
 that it is unneceffary to obferve to you, that his condud in thefe 
 refpeds has both merited and adually obtained particular approba- 
 tion from the Government at Madras, which fucceeded to that of the 
 Majority of Council. 
 
 You have alfo had occafion t6 obferve, that the whole of his condud, 
 during the critical and important fituation of affairs at Madras in the 
 month of Auguft 1776, had received the ftrongeft marks of approba- 
 tion from the Supreme Council in Bengal, to whom a fuperintendency 
 5 over
 
 C 77 ) 
 
 over your affairs In India was delegated by the authority of Par- 
 liament. 
 
 Thus the Council of Bengal, who had authority to judge of 
 
 Colonel Stuart's condudt, has pofitively appro'ued of it. It has not 
 
 been pofitively condemned or difapproved by any who had fuch com- 
 petent authority; at moft it has only been doubted iipoiiy and even 
 thefe doubts have not extended to the whole of it ; for there are very 
 few indeed who fcruple to allow him merit for preventing the mifchiefs 
 which mufl have attended his executing in a violent manner the orders 
 he had received, and it is generally agreed that he was in no degree 
 refponfible for thefe orders. 
 
 Permit me now, Gentlemen, to renew my requeft for your adopting 
 fuch immediate and efFedual meafures, as may fpeedily decide upon 
 my Brother's condudl, and regulate his future expectations. 
 
 It is in your power to give the wiflied-for redrefs, by one or other 
 of the two modes which have been already pointed out : The firft is 
 by peremptorily ordering his trial by a Court-martial, without any 
 difcretion left to your fervants in India to grant or refufe it ; and if 
 that mode is adopted, I truft, for the reafons already given, that your 
 order for his trial will be accompanied not only with your determina- 
 tion upon the point refpe£ling the legal gouernment at Madras, in 
 Auguft I77<J, but alfo with inftructions to your Governor and Council 
 of Madras as to the particular redrefs Colonel Stuart is to meet with 
 in the event of an honourable acquittal. 
 
 Or his condudl may now, as it appears to me with ftill greater pro- 
 priety, be decided upon from the ample proofs in your pofTcflion, 
 which have been fhown to be fufficiently explicit to enable you, Gentle- 
 men, to enter upon the ccnfideration of at leaft Colonel Stuart's cafe, 
 and to come to fome final refolution founded upon folid grounds. 
 
 If the prefent ftate of fufpence and inadivity with regard to Colonel 
 Stuart were to be further continued, it is impoffible that complete 
 
 juflice:
 
 ( 78 ) 
 
 juftlce can be obtained eitber for or againil: bim ; be can neitber be 
 punifhed nor rewarded properly. 
 
 If he fhall be found to have tranfgrefled his duty, I fliall certainly 
 
 have no right to complain of his punifliment. If he Ihall be 
 
 found only to have performed it, the mofl zealous of thofe friends 
 of Lord Pigot, whom I am forry to confider as in any degree adver- 
 faries to Colonel Stuart, — even the Brothers of Lord Pigoi, I am per- 
 fuaded, not from any adual communication with them, but from the 
 known liberality of their characters, would be the firfl to wifh that 
 Colonel Stuart was acquitted. 
 
 Though thefe unhappy difputes at Madras have unfortunately 
 rendered us oppofite in this conteft, there is one predicament in 
 which our fituations are the fame; — we have in common the feelings 
 of a Brother, and of courfe the fame anxiety and folicitude where a 
 Brother's character and eftimation are at ftake. 
 
 It has been the fmcere and fervent wifh of Colonel Stuart, fince the 
 moment that he heard of doubts being entertained as to the propriety 
 of his condu(fl:, that a trial by a Court-martial fhould take place.' 
 In all the different ftages of this bnfinefs he has been uniform in that 
 
 wifli. When firft a Court-martial was held out to him as a threat, 
 
 he defied it; — when afterwards he had reafon to expedt it, he 
 declared the higheft fatisfadion ; — and ever fmce it has been denied 
 
 him, he has been inceffant in his expreffions of the ftrongeft regret. 
 
 His preference of this to any other fpecies of trial, is becaufe he efteems 
 it to be the moft effedlual and fuitable mode for a military man to 
 wipe off every ill founded afperfion. 
 
 It is without any authority from my Brother, that I have ventured 
 to propofe the other mode of redrefTing his grievances, by taking his 
 cafe into your own immediate confideration. 
 
 This idea has been fuggefted to me principally from the perufalof 
 the reafons given by your Governor and Council at Madras, for refufing 
 
 the trial by a Court-martial. They have faid dif^indly, that Colonel 
 
 Stuart
 
 ( 79 ) 
 
 Stuart has done nothing independent of the authority under which he 
 aded, — have intimated that the legality or illegality of that authority 
 muft be declared before any trial can piroceed, — and have informed 
 you, that the circuinftances of his conduit arc fufficicntly afccrtained 
 by the records in your pofFefFion. 
 
 It further became evident to me, that to a perfon in Colonel Stuart's 
 fituation, any additional fufpence and delay, is in reality a very folid 
 and a fevere degree of punifhment, — and a trial by a Court-martial, 
 upon the fpot where the tranfadtions happened, and there I maintain it 
 can alone be held with juftice to Colonel Stuart, — or a trial either 
 by a Court-martial, or by the Courts of Law in England, which 
 would rcJquire evidence to be brought from India, muft certainly be 
 attended with the greateft delay, befides many other unavoidable incon- 
 veniencies. 
 
 Having mentioned a trial by the Courts of I^aw in England, I beg 
 leave once more to recur to an obfervation that can never be too often 
 repeated, or too ftrongly inculcated, that the only thing for 
 which Colonel Stuart can be refponfible, is the Execution of the 
 orders he received from the Majority of Council; and indeed, inde- 
 pendent of the intereft which Colonel Stuart muft always take in the 
 profperity of the Eaft India Company, it is immaterial to him whether 
 the orders were right or ivrong ; in either cafe he thinks himfelf 
 equally entitled to fome degree of merit: — if they were beneficial, he 
 thinks that he has encreafed thefe benefits', if they were mifchie'uous^ 
 that he has diminiflied thofe mifchiefs by his difcretion and temper in 
 the execution of them. 
 
 In the courfe likewife of my colledling and arranging the particulars of 
 Colonel Stuart's condud, in anfwer to the charges thrown out againft 
 him, the pradicability as well as the propriety and fuperior utility of 
 his cafe being judged of and decided by you. Gentlemen, have become 
 ftill more apparent, 
 
 '4 Impreffed
 
 t 8o ) 
 
 Impreffed fo ftrongly as T now am with this opinion, I cannot help 
 taking blame to myfelf in a confiderable degree, for not having fooner 
 colleded and fubmitted to your confideration, the anfwers on the part 
 of my Brother, to tlie imputations thrown out againft him, — and I 
 take this opportunity of affuring you, that notwithftanding the various 
 reports, and fome illiberal publications circulated to his prejudice, 
 I have ever abflaincd not only from dating his cafe to his Honour- 
 able Employers, but from having any concern diredly or indirectly 
 in any of the publications relating to thefe Madras difputes; excepting 
 only that I gave my affiftance in colleding and arranging the mate- 
 rials lately publifhed in relation to the proceedings of the Coroner's 
 Inqueft, which is merely a collection of authentic papers for the infor- 
 mation of the public, upon thefe ftrange proceedings, without any 
 
 reafoni ng upon them. 
 « 
 As I was fully perfuaded that my Brother's trial by a Court-martial 
 
 was to take place, in confequence of the orders you fent out by the 
 Befborough, I therefore thought it my duty not only to avoid giving 
 you unneceflary trouble, but that it became me to abftain from any 
 reprefentation or difcuiTion of his cafe, while there was fo much 
 reafon to expedt that it was in the courfe of being judicially afcer- 
 tained, and reported to you in the moft authentic manner by the 
 Court-martial. 
 
 Befides the various concurring motives which I have already men- 
 tioned, and which induce me, though unauthorifed by my Brother, to 
 wifh that the fecond mode, I have ventured to propofe, fhould take 
 place. — Befides the impartiality and candour with which I am confi- 
 dent, Gentlemen, you will difcufs and decide upon Colonel Stuart's 
 conduit and future expectations, there is this ftrong additional induce- 
 ment for the preference to the fecond mode, that the delays which I 
 have ftated above, as inevitable in every other method of proceeding, 
 will by this be avoided. 
 
 It
 
 ( 8i ) 
 
 It is al/b a conficleratlon which every body will admit, is extremely 
 interefling both to Colonel Stuart and his friends, that befides the 
 weight, which your Authority in the decifion vnW carry with it in the 
 world, it is in the Directors and Proprietors of the Eafl-india Com- 
 pany alone that the Pottrr refides, of giving redrefs to an injured ofHcer 
 and lervuut of the Company. 
 
 If, however, contrary to what I have taken the liberty of rcpre- 
 fcnting, it fhould appear to you, Gentlemen that a Court-martial 
 is the preferable method of proceeding, permit me mofl earneftly to 
 requeft that the orders for that trial may be fent to India by the firfl: 
 difpatches. 
 
 The anxious wifh of Colonel Stuart and his friends is, and ever has 
 been, that every Meafure fhould be adopted which may be the bcfl calculated 
 for a thorough examination of his conduft, as well as for throwing light 
 tipon the motives and the confequences of it, and that this fliould take 
 place with the lead poflible delay; — what is moft dreaded on his behalf 
 is the continuance of his prefent fituation, without either Trial or 
 "EiXamination, 
 
 And furely. Gentlemen, this anxiety for a fpeedy determination 
 of Colonel Stuart's fate and future profpeds cannot appear to you either 
 
 unnatural or unreafonable. If misfortunes like thofe which he has 
 
 experienced would have been diftreffing to any man, it is not to be 
 wondered at if they have been more peculiarly fo to a military 
 man, in whom a more than ordinary degree of fenfibility is not only 
 allowable but even commendable, upon every point that may affed his 
 military rank, character, and eftimation. 
 
 Is it therefore to be wondered at, if, after pofleffing the diftinguiflied 
 rank of Commander in Chief of your great army in the Carnatict 
 he fliould feel himfelf hurt and mortified at being degraded from that 
 
 M command,
 
 ( 82 ) 
 
 command, in a time perhaps of the greateft exertion and adivify; — 
 and that, fufpended as he ftill continues to be from your fervice, he 
 fhould be waiting in India with the moft anxious follcitude, your final 
 refokitions concerning him. 
 
 This unexpected reverfe, affeding to any officer, muft be more deeply 
 fo to him, whofe pride it was to have beftowed fuch indefatigable pains 
 in putting not only your army, but your military ports in that part 
 of India, on the moft refpe«3:able footing ; and to have introduced by 
 his attention and example the ftridteft difcipline into the fervice, while 
 he at the fame time acquired the confidence and attachment both of the 
 
 Officers and foldiers. He vainly flattered himfelf, that if, during his 
 
 flay in India, the fituation of public affairs fliould call for any mili- 
 tary exertions, he could not have failed to acquire fome degree of 
 credit by the condudt of that army which he had difciplined and im- 
 proved, and by the utility of the many military plans which he had 
 formed. 
 
 But the fituation in which he is now placed has put an end jto. all 
 thefe hopes ; he finds himfelf, untried and unheard, deprived of the 
 opportunity of rendering fervices to the public, and inftead of acquiring 
 any additional credit to himfelf, left, from a train of unfortunate events, 
 ftruggling againft a torrent of calumny, to preferve that reputation 
 and good name, which, till thefe unhappy difturbances, had upon no 
 occafion been difputed. 
 
 Thefe, Gentlemen, are the calamities, and this is the heavy load of 
 injury under which he has fo long laboured, and under whichj. 
 even though you fliiould enter into an immediate difcuffion of his 
 cafe, he muft ftill continue to labour, till the arrival of your dif- 
 patches in India; uncertain whether thofe difpatches will bring hi§ 
 acquittal, — a continuance of his punilliment, — or a refufal to hear 
 him. 
 
 It
 
 ( 83 ) 
 
 It depends, therefore, upon your jufticc and humanity, Gentlemen, 
 to put a period to a fituation fo feverely mortifying to an officer, con- 
 fcious of having exerted his beft endeavours for the interefts of his 
 Honourable Employers. 
 
 I have the honour to be with great truth, 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 Your moft faithful and 
 
 obedient humble Servant, 
 
 ^/n''^ ?""'' 8 AND^ STUART, 
 
 22a December, 1770.
 
 E N D I X, 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE between Lord Barrington, 
 Secretary at War^ a?id Mr. Stuart, i?i relation to his 
 Brother^ Colonel James Stuart. 
 
 [Referred to in page 50 of the preceding Letter.] 
 
 1 
 From Lord Barrington to Mr. Stuart. 
 
 SIR, Cavendifh Square, 3d September 1777. 
 
 'VT'OUR excellent knowledge of men and things will prevent your being 
 furprifed, or offended, that your Brother is not included in the promotion 
 of Lieutenant-Colonels, advanced to the rank of Colonel, juft made. This 
 letter therefore is not intended as an apology, but as «« ajfurance, that full and 
 ferfecijuflice will he done to him hereafter^ if his conduU in India refembles the rejt 
 of his conduit through life. I depend on your giving him this aflurance in my 
 namej and am, with great truth and regard, 
 
 S I R, 
 
 Your mo ft humble, and 
 
 moft obedient fervant, 
 
 (Signed) Barrinoton, 
 AdrdefTed thus : 
 
 I'o /Andrew Stuart^ Ef^; 
 
 Berkley-Square^ London, 
 
 L From
 
 ( n ) 
 
 From Mr. Stuart to Lord Barrington, 
 
 My Lord, Edinburgh, Oftober 3d, 1777. 
 
 T Have received in this country the letter which your Lordlhip did me the 
 honour to write to me lately. It was addrefled to me in Berkley Square, 
 but I had left London two or three weeks before that time; and by my moving 
 from place to place, fince my arrival in Scotland, it was a long time after the 
 date before it reached me. 
 
 I cannot but feel myfelf under great obligations to your Lordfliip, for the 
 kind attention which gave rife to that Letter. The intelligence of my Brother's 
 being pafled over in the late promotion would have been doubly diftreffing, if it 
 had not been alleviated by the obliging manner in which you have been pleafed 
 to communicate to me this event ; and by the afliirances which you authorife me 
 to impart to my Brother, of the full and perfeft juftice which is intended to be 
 done to him hereafter. 
 
 Convinced, as I am moft fincerely, of your Lordfliip's kind intentions 
 towards my Brother, and having reafon to be perfuaded of your good opinion 
 of him as an officer, and as a man, it would be moft unreafonable in me to 
 entertain any doubt, that whatever the appearances may be, no real hardfliip 
 or injury is intended him. Still, I cannot help regretting exceedingly, thofe 
 unfortunate incidents in India, which have made it appear neceflary that fuch a 
 marked exception fhould take place with regard to Colonel Stuart at this time. 
 
 The intereft I take in what relates to my Brother, does not prevent my per- 
 ceiving the reafons which might prefent themfelves againft his being included in 
 the late promotion •, it might occur, that as the propriety of his conduft, 
 during the late convulfions at Madras, remains as yet undecided, and as he is 
 to be tried by a Ccurt-martialxn that country, no mark of his Majefty's favour 
 ought to be beftowed upon an officer in that predicament. 
 
 But I cannot diveft myfelf of an apprehenfion, that this flep, which from the 
 bell motives has been taken, for avoiding the appearance of partiality, appro- 
 bation, or favour on the one hand, may be produdive of very hard and fevere 
 confeq icnces with regard to Colonel Stuart, from the appearance it holds out to 
 the world, on the other hand, that his condufl in the Indian tranfaclions has, 
 5 even
 
 ( iii ) 
 
 even before his trial in India, been judged of, and difapproved at home; and 
 that in the eftimation of his Sovereign, and his Majelly's Minifters, he ftands 
 already condemned. 
 
 The marked exception of Colonel Stuart from fiich a general promotion, as 
 that which has now taken place, fcems to me to authorife inferences to his pre- 
 judice, infinitely Itronger, than any that could be made in favour of his con- 
 duft, from allowing his promotion in the King's fcrvice to take place according 
 to the date of his commilTion, and as a matter of courfe, which would not have 
 implied any mark of fpecial favour towards him perfonally. 
 
 As the circumftances of this cafe are very peculiar, I beg your Lordfliip's 
 indulgence for fubmitting them to your confidcration. 
 
 Colonel Stuart has been for many years an Ofiicer in his Majelly's fcrvice, 
 and within thefe two years he entered, with the King's permiffion, into the 
 fcrvice of the Eafl India Company ; it was his fate to arrive in India, in the 
 Summer of laft year, at a time when the diflentions between the Governor 
 and Council at Madras had rifen to a great height; and though the command 
 of the army was repeatedly offered him by the Governor, it appeared to hiiii 
 to be his duty, as executive officer, and fecond in the military command, to 
 obey the orders of the Majority of the Council, efpecially as his immediate 
 commanding officer. Sir Robert Fletcher, was one of that Majority, who figned 
 the orders given to him. 
 
 Whether Colonel Stuart afted right or wrong, or whether he was guilty of 
 error in judgment, in the obedience he thus gave, and in the other fteps of 
 his conduct in India, is a matter which yet remains to be tried, and the cog- 
 nizance of it belongs to the Eaft India Company. 
 
 While thefe affairs are in dependence, and while the opinions of the pnblic 
 are much divided concerning the conduct of the principal adors on both 
 fides, in thefe difturbances at Madras ; it feems to be more equitable, that the 
 conduft of an officer of many years {landing in the King's fervice, fhould be 
 favourably judged of, on account of his charafter and behaviour while in that 
 fervice, if thefe were unexceptionable, than that the uncertain reports or 
 reprefentations of either party, during the heat of faiftion in the Indian civil 
 commotions, Ihould deprive him of the charadter fo acquired, and of the 
 rights accruing to him in his Majelly's fervice. 
 
 With regard to Colonel Stuart's charafter and condudl, during the many 
 years he ferved, and in the various ftations he has filled in the King's fer- 
 vice, they are certainly not liable to any objedion. 
 
 L 2 On
 
 ( iv ) 
 
 On the contrary, the ftations in which he was employed, and the manner 
 in which he acquitted himfelf of the confidence repofed in liim during the 
 laft war, afford fubftantial proofs of his being confidered as an officer of 
 diffinguifhed merit, particularly his fervices as Quarter Mafter General, at 
 the reduflion of Belleifle, — his behaviour at the taking of Martinico, where he 
 commanded a regiment; — and at the taking of the Havannah, where he had 
 the command, during the campaign, of a detached corps, and was afterwards 
 felecfled to command the party which ftormed the Moro Fort. 
 
 The inference made in many places from the exckifion of Colonel Stuart 
 in the promotion now made is, that fince his former fervices, military rank, 
 and behaviour, have availed him nothing upon this occafion, the circumftances 
 of his condudl in India muft have been afcertained, and have appeared in 
 the moft unfavourable light to his Majcfty's miniflers, or to thofe in the 
 management of military affairs ; the confequence of which is, that while he 
 fuffers greatly in the opinion of the world in gener.il, by this mark of difplea- 
 fure and difapprobation, he goes to his trial in India, and to the trial of the 
 other incidental queftions connefted with thefe Indian occurrences, under the 
 difadvantage of a heavy weight of prejudices againfl: him, — prejudices of the 
 moft dangerous nature, on account of the high authority by which they have 
 the appearance of being eftabliflied. 
 
 No perfon can be more thoroughly convinced than I am, that there was no 
 intention on your Lordfhip's part, or in any other quarter, to inflift hardfhips 
 of this nature upon Colonel Stuart j on the contrary I am perfuaded, that the 
 true motive of the late meafure with regard to him was, that his trial might 
 proceed free from prejudices, either for, or againft him. 
 
 But as the prevailing opinion of many judicious and impartial perfons,. 
 with whom I have converfed on this fubjed, is, that the tendency of the late 
 remarkable exception of Colonel Stuart, from the recent promotion, muft, in. 
 the circumftances of his cafe, be fuch as I have taken the liberty to mention,, 
 1 thought it my duty to fubmit thele things to your Lordfhip's confideration. 
 
 I ftiall only beg leave to add, that for my own part,, I have the moft com- 
 pleat reliance upon your Lordftiip's good intentions towards my Brother, and 
 have no doubt that, agreeably to the affurances given, full and perfedt jufticc 
 is Intended, and will be done to him ; my principal anxiety at prefent is, 
 that during the period v.'hich precedes the examination and trial of his conduft 
 in India, there may be no prejudices hurtful to him, nor any appearance of 
 his caufe being prej.udgcd. 
 
 Fro 03
 
 ( V ) 
 
 From the beginning of thefe Indian difputes, all I have contended for has 
 been, that my Brother fhould have a fair and impartial trial, and that while 
 it was uncertain, whether he had afted a part that deferved cenfure or punifh- 
 ment, or on the contrary, had rendered meritorious fervice to the Eaft India 
 Company, and to the Britifli government, no fte^js fliould be taken Jiurtful to 
 his lionour or intereft. 
 
 His trial by Court-martial was my earned requefl to the Diredlors of the 
 Eaft India Company, becauie when the conduft of an officer is attacked, his 
 honour requires tliis mode of trial -, but there is perhaps fome reafon to confi- 
 der it as an unufual degree of hurdfliip that tlie following fteps (hould precede 
 that trial. 
 
 First. The fufpenfion of Colonel Stuart during fix months in confequence 
 of the orders of the Diredlors of the Eaft India Company, which by many 
 people is efteemed of icfclf a degree of punifhment before trial, and at the fame 
 time likely to create prejudices againft the perfon to be tried. 
 
 And SECONDLY. That now he has further to contend with the prejudices arifing 
 from the marked exception that has been made of him in his Majefty's fervice, 
 where, though almoft at the head of t!.e lift of thofe Lieutenant Colonels who 
 could receive benefit from the late promotion, thirty two younger Lieutenant- 
 colonels have received that rank which has been denied to him. 
 
 It is not in the difpofition of complaint, or in any degree of bad humour, that 
 I have piefumed to ftate thefe things ; but from a defire to fubmit them to 
 your Lordfhip's ferious conlideration, and in the full perfuafion, that your can- 
 dour and equity will difcover the beft remedies for thefe hardftiips, if they fhall 
 appear to you to have any real foundatiorpf 
 
 And I beg leave to afTure yourLordftiip, that I .ftiouhd not have troubled you 
 with them, if I were not in my own mind thoroughly convinced that promot- 
 ing Colonel Stuart in common with others of iiis rank, at a time when fuch a 
 general meafure was taken, could not be confidered, either as an inftance of 
 partiality or approbation of his condu(5t in India, but as a natural confequence 
 of his rank and behaviour in the King's fervice, to v/hich alone fuch promotions 
 are applicable. 
 
 The withholding this preferment, which is confidered as a matter of courfe 
 •where there is no criminality, is liable to be interpreted as what I am fure it was- 
 not meant, a decifion againft Colonel Stuart's conduft in India; and that deci'- 
 fion will be fuppofed to proceed upon proofs that have not reached the public^ 
 becaufe it will not be fuppofed, that without fuch proofs an officer of tried 
 and approved merit in the line of his profeftion, lliould be let afide for a mo>- 
 z menCy
 
 ( v; ) 
 
 ment, againft the juft and eftablillaed prefumption, which makes innocence pre- 
 fumed rather than guilt, nntil legal convicStion puts an end to that prefump- 
 tion. 
 
 I beg your Lordfliip's excufe for giving you the trouble of reading fo long 
 a letter ; but the duty which I owe to an abfent brother, who, at the date of the 
 laft advices from him, was flattering himfelf with the hopes of public marks 
 of approbation inflead of punifhments or marks of difpleafure, made it appear 
 to me unavoidable, and I hope will obtain for me your Lordfhip's pardon for 
 trefpaffing fo much upon your time. 
 
 I have the honour to be, with great truth and efl:eem, 
 
 Your Lordfliip's moft faithful and obedient fervanr, 
 
 (Signed) Andrew Stuart. 
 
 From Lord Barrington to Mr. Stuart, 
 
 SIR, Beckett, 1 6th 0(5lober, 1777. 
 
 T Am to acknowledge the honour of your letter, dated the 3d inftant. The 
 polite candour with which it is written claims, and has my beft thanks. The 
 matter it contains, I think, may be difcufl*ed in converfation better than by 
 letter-, I will therefore, with your permiffion, defer entering into it till we meet. 
 In the mean time you are at liberty to make any ufe which your prudence and 
 brotherly afi^eftion can fugged of the letter I firfl: wrote to you, after the ge- 
 neral promotion of Lieutenant-colonels by Brevet. I am, with great truth 
 and regard, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Your moft obedient humble fervant, 
 
 (Signed) Barrington. 
 
 Addrefl"ed thus : 
 'to Andrew Stuart, Efq; 
 Berkley- Square, London.
 
 LETTER 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Right Honourable Lord AMHERST, 
 
 FROM 
 
 ANDREW STUART, Esq. 
 
 [ January 3, 1781. ]
 
 i
 
 MY LORD, 
 
 TH E duty whlcli I ow'-e to an abfent Brother, whofe fituatioii 
 ftands diftinguifhed by an accumulation of hardfhips, puts me 
 under the necefTity of requefthig your Lordfliip's attention to the un- 
 ufual circumftances of his cafe. 
 
 It is well known to your Lordfliip, that my Brother Colonel James 
 Stuart had the honor to ferve his Majefty during the courfe of lafl; war ; 
 and that in the various branches of military duty which fell to his fliare 
 in Europe, North America, and the Weft Indies, he conducted himfelf 
 to the fatisfa£tion of his feveral refpedlable Commanders, and a<Sled 
 with reputation to himfelf, and utility to the Public. 
 
 During the peace which followed. Colonel Stuart turned his thoughts 
 towards the fervice of the Eaft India Company, and before the com- 
 mencement of the prefent war, having, by his Majefty's permiflion, 
 entered into that fervice, he failed for India in the month of November 
 
 "^775- 
 
 The fituation in which he went to India, was that of Second in Com- 
 mand of all the Eaft India Company's Forces upon the Coaft of Coro- 
 mandel, with the rank of Colonel ; and, by exprefs appointment from 
 the Eaft India Company, it was fettled, that upon the death, refigna- 
 tion, or removal of Brigadier-general Sir Robert Fletcher, at that time 
 Commander in Chief upon the Coaft, and in a declining ftate of health. 
 Colonel Stuart fhould fucceed to that Command, and to the rank of 
 Brigadier-general, in the fame manner as they were enjoyed by Sir 
 Robert Fletcher. 
 
 B Colonel
 
 ( -O 
 
 Colonel Stuart arrived at Madras In the month of May 1776. Sir 
 Robert Fletcher died in the December following ; and upon that even? 
 Colonel Stuart became of courfe Commander in Chief upon the Coaft^ 
 •with the rank of Brigadier-general in the Comparry's fervrce. 
 
 In the month of Augufl 1777, a Promotion of Officers in his Ma- 
 jefty's fervice took place ; at which time a great number of Lieutenant- 
 colonels obtained the rank of Colonel. 
 
 My Brother was then near the head of the lift of thofe Lieutenant- 
 colonels who were entitled to rank from that promotion ; but that rank 
 was with-held from him, while Thirty-two Lieutenant-colonels^ 
 younger in the fervice, were made Colonels upon that occafion. 
 
 Since the month of Auguft 1777, the lift of Officers now above 
 him, and who were at that time below him, is rncreafed by the number 
 of Fifty-nine ; fo that fmce Colonel Stuart went to India, there are nov/ 
 no lefs than Ninety-one junior Lieutenant-colonels who have got rank 
 over him, and to his prejudice, befides Forty-fix Officers of Militia, 
 Four of Fencibles, One of Artillery, and Five of Marines, w-ho have 
 likewife got the rank of Colonel in that period. 
 
 The firft intimation of my Brother's being left out of the Promotion 
 of Auguft 1777, "vvas by a Letter to me, then in Scotland, from Lord • 
 Barrington, the Secretary at War, dated the 3d of September 1 777. 
 A copv of that letter, and of my anfwer, and of a fecond letter received 
 from his Lordfliip on the fame fubjeft, in Odlober 1777, I have now 
 the honour to inclofe to your Lordfliip. 
 
 Thefe letters do not exprefsly fpecify the motives for with-holdlng 
 the rank which Colonel Stuart was. at that time intitled to exped, nor 
 do they mention the time during which this fufpenfion was to be con- 
 tinued, or what circumftances ihould be deemed fufficient to put an 
 
 end to it. 
 
 There is, however, one paragraph In his Lordfliip's letter of the 3d 
 of September 1777, "which gives reafon to conclude, that the difturb- 
 anceS which had happened at Madras in the year 1776, and of which 
 
 the
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 "tlie mofl; alarming reports had been fprcad In England, were the folc 
 caufe of witli-holding from Colonel Stuart the rank in queflion, 
 until it fliould be known what his condudl had been in thefc diflurb- 
 ances, and what had been the confequcnces of them in the Settlement 
 at Madras. 
 
 The paragraph here alluded to, is in thefe words : " .This letter 
 " therefore is not intended as an apology, but as an aflurance, that full 
 *' and pcrfe(fl juflice will be done to him (Colonel Stuart) hereafter, if 
 " his conduti in India refembles the reft of his condudt through life. I 
 " depend on your giving him this aflurance in my name," &c. 
 
 From the terms of the above letter, as well as from the general tenor 
 of Colonel Stuart's conduit and military character, there are two infer- 
 ences which feem unavoidable. 
 
 The one is, that the hardfliip inflidled upon Colonel Stuart, at the 
 time of the promotion in 1777, did not take its rife from any part of his 
 condnift %obi!c in Kts Mcije/iy s fcrvice. 
 
 The fecond inference is, that the keeping his rank in fufpenfe was 
 meant only to be a tempoj-ary meafure, until authentic accounts fliould 
 be received of the nature and confequcnces of thefe difturbances at 
 Madras, in the year 1776, and of Colonel Stuart's condudl upon that 
 occafion. 
 
 If it be admitted, and no one can difpute it, that the with-holding 
 from Colonel Stuart his rank, did not proceed from any part of his 
 conduit 'while hi his Majcjly s fervice, but that, on the contrary, he was 
 held in eftimation as an adtive, intelligent, and defer\'ing oflicer, militaiy 
 men, with whom I have converfed on the fubje£t, are of opinion, that 
 upon thefe admitted fads. Colonel Stuart might reafonably have ex- 
 pe£ted the benefit of a promotion which is allotted to oflJicers in his 
 Majefty's fervice, merely on account of their ftandiag in that iervice ; 
 and that it would likewife have been natural to expedt, that no rumours 
 or reports about his condud iu the fervice of the Eaft India Com- 
 pany, fliould have had the effed of depriving him, even for a moment, 
 
 B 2 of
 
 { 4 ) 
 
 of that preferment which he had earned, both by the number of years 
 he had ferved in the King's army, and by the adive and ufeful ferviccs 
 in which he had been engaged. 
 
 It has further been obferved, that what made it lefs reafonable that 
 this rule fliould have been departed from, is, that thofe from whom 
 Colonel Stuart holds a commiffion in another fervice, have in their 
 own hands fufficient power to make him, or any other officer in their 
 fervice, feel feverely the effedts of their difpleafure, if he fhould be 
 found to have merited it, after a proper enquiiy or trial, which they of 
 themfelves have fufficient authority to inftitute. 
 
 And finally it has been remarked, that the mere pojfibility of an offi- 
 cer's having been guilty of offences in another fervice, ought not at 
 any period preceding his trial and convidlion, to prevent his receiving,, 
 as a matter of courfe, the benefit of a promotion in his Majefty's 
 fervice ; and this proceeds upon the plaineft principles of juftice, con- 
 firmed by conflant pradlice, that every man is prefumed to be inno- 
 cent, and fo treated, until he be adtually proved to be guilty : — but in 
 the prefent cafe, the ftrongeft additional reafons concurred, becaufe upon 
 the fuppofition of Colonel Stuart's being tried and juftly convidted in 
 India, fubfequent to his promotion in the King's fervice, it would always 
 have remained, as it undoubtedly ought, in his Majefty's breaft, to de- 
 prive him of all benefit from that and every other promotion, by dif- 
 miffing him from his fei-vice. 
 
 In my letter to Lord Harrington, in the month of Odlober 1777, ^ 
 communicated fome obfervations of this nature ; but thefe obfervations 
 were unavoidably too late for the defirable purpofe of prevention, as 
 before they could reach his Lordfhip, and indeed before any intimation 
 was given to me on this fubjed, the hardOiip complained of had been 
 a(ftually done. 
 
 Having thus as concifely as poffiblc brought under your Lordfl-iip's 
 view the reafons which induced judicious and military men to be of 
 
 opinion,
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 opinion, that Colonel Stuart had a juft pretcnfion to be Inchidcd In 
 the promotion of the year 1777, I fhall not prefume to take up more of 
 your Lordflhip's time unneceflarily, on this branch of the fubjed, but 
 fhall proceed to fhcw, that even if the exclufion of Colonel Stuart from 
 the promotion in 1777, could be confidered as originally right, yet 
 the further prolongation of that hardfhip would now be wrong, as the 
 groiiud is cffaitially changed^ and none of the reafons on which the fnih 
 meafure of denying Colonel Stuart his rank was juftified, can be 
 thought in any degree applicable to the further continuance of tJiis 
 unufual and mark'd difcouragement to an officer in his Majefly's 
 fervice. 
 
 For eftablifliing the truth of this aflertion, it will be proper, in the 
 firft place, to mention to your Lordfliip the reports which were ciixu- 
 lated in this country about the Madras affairs, and to ftate the beft rea- 
 fons which I have ever heard offered, for the meafure of with-holding 
 from Colonel Stuart the benefit of the promotion in the year 1777; 
 intreating, at the flune time, your Lordlhip's particular attention to the 
 very material difference there has been between the firft reports that 
 were current here, and the fadls as they have fmce turned out. 
 
 The reports and alarms which, in the year 1777, had come over 
 from India, concerning the tranfadions at Madras, in the month of 
 Auguft 1776, when Lord Pigot was arrefted and confined by military 
 force, had not only excited a great flame in this country amongft thofe who 
 were attached to Lord Pigot, but they had likewife produced in many 
 quarters an apprehenfion about the fafety of the fettlement where 
 thefe tranfadlions had happened. Some men really believed, that the 
 fettlement was in danger, either from the Company's fervants, or from 
 the country powers in India, or from both. A civil war, anar- 
 chy, and confufion, were reprefented as the unavoidable confequences 
 of what had happened ; and as it had fallen to Colonel Stuart's lot to 
 carry into execution the orders iffued by the Majority of the Council at 
 Madras, for taking poffefllon of the Fort at Madras, and for arrefting 
 
 and
 
 ( 6 ) 
 
 and confining, ty military force, the perfon of L'ord Pigot ; he. Co- 
 lonel Stuart, was reprefented and confidered as a perfon principally 
 concerned in thofe dillurbances. Not only fo, but it was reported, 
 and loudly afferted, even at General Courts of the India Proprietors, that 
 Colonel Stuart had got the army at his devotion ; that he would fet 
 up for himfelf, and difregard any orders iffued from England. 
 
 Such were the reports and alarms which prevailed. Under their in- 
 fluence (as is fuppofed), the meafure of excluding Colonel Stuart from 
 the promotion in 1777 was taken, and this fuppofed caufe of that 
 meafure certainly formed its bell juftification. Permit me, therefore, once 
 more to requeft your Lordlhip would obferve, how totally different every 
 thing has turned out in point of Fa£t ; for the alarms and imaginary 
 terrors, entertained in the year 1777, have now been long difpelled, and 
 the injuftice done to Colonel Stuart, by fuppofmg him capable of fuch 
 condudl or intentions, has been made manifeft by the moft authentic 
 and unequivocal proofs. 
 
 Inftead of confufion and civil war, there never wsls a more fettled 
 ftate of peace and fecurity, than that which took place throughout 
 the whole extent of the fettlement of Madras, during the period 
 of that government, which commenced in the month of Auguft 1 776, 
 ■and continued till the month of Auguft 1777; and, notwithftanding 
 the temporary diflentions in Auguft 1776, it is admitted, that while 
 thefe diflentions were at their greateft height, even at that very criti- 
 cal period, not one life was loft ; and that fubfequent to the acl of 
 confining Lord Pigot, no individual in the fettlement fuftained any 
 injury, either in his perfon or property. 
 
 Inftead of reififtance on the part of Colonel Stuart, as had falfely 
 been predicted in this country, there has been t"he moft uniform and 
 implicit obedience paid by him to the orders from home. 
 
 When Mr. Whithill arrived at Madras, in the month of Auguft 1777, 
 "with the new commiflion of government, Colonel Stuart was the firft 
 perfon who accompanied the new Governor to the parade ; was prefent 
 
 at
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 at the public reading of that new Commiflion of Govcrnnnent, and 
 of the order for his own fnfpciifioi:. 
 
 His behaviour upon that occafion is defcribed in the following para- 
 graph of a letter from the new Governor and Council at Madras, 
 to the fupreme Council of Bengal, dated the 31ft of Auguft 1777- 
 
 " We thivk It alfo nccejfary to obferve^ with reJpcEl to Brigadier General 
 " Stuart, ivhofe fituat'ioti in the late tranfaHions was peculiar, that he 
 '•'' Jljcwcd the fame implicit obedience, on his part, to the authority of the 
 " Company ; attended on the parade at the reading of the Company's Com- 
 *' miffion of Government to the troops, and "was fludious, by his whole 
 *' conduct, to fjew to the officers and foldiers the proper fenfe which he 
 *' entertained of the Company's orders^' 
 
 Such was the conduct of Colonel Stuarr, at the time when the fufl 
 accounts \vcre brought to him of his being fufpended from the Com- 
 pany's fervicc, during fix months, though no fpecific crime or charge 
 was alleged againft hiin in the order for fufpenfion ; and though he thus 
 found himfelf deprived of the command of an army, which it had 
 been his ftudy and his pride to improve for the advantage of the State, 
 and of the Eafl India Company ; and accordingly much credit had 
 accrued to him from the fuccefs of the meafures he had taken for putting 
 it on the mofl: refpeitable footing. 
 
 At the diftance of fome months after the arrival of this firft order by 
 Mr. Whithill in Auguft 1777, additional orders from the Company 
 were brought to Madras in February 1778, by the new Governor,. 
 Mr. Rumbold, who had left England in the month of July 1777. By 
 thcfe orders, Colonel Stuart found \mT\(di fipctfcded in the command, 
 by the appointment of another officer, Colonel Munro, who was fent 
 from England, on purpofc to take the command of the army at Ma- 
 dras ; and this appointment carried with it, according to the military 
 etiquette, an additional circumftance of raortiiacation, as Colonel Munro. 
 was a junior officer in the King's fervice. 
 
 The orders thus brought by Mr. Rumbold infllcling a hardlhip on 
 Colonel Stuavt,. the more fcvcrc as no provifion was at that time made 
 
 5 abot^t
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 about his being reftored to the command of the army at any period, or 
 in any event, met, however, with the fame impUcit obedience on Co- 
 lonel Stuart's part ; and thus the new Commander in Chief, as well as 
 the new Governor, found the fettlement in a perfedl ftate of obedience 
 and tranquillity, without the fmalleft fymptom of a difpofition in any 
 quarter, civil or military, to quellion or refifl the orders of the Eafl 
 India Company. 
 
 The refutation which the above ftate of fa£ls contains of the reports 
 which prevailed in England in the year 1777, forms one very im- 
 portant branch of the proofs by which I hope to fatisfy your Lordfhip 
 of the change of fituation ; fmce it muft be evident from what has been 
 flated, that, in one material refpetfl at leaft, the circumftances under 
 the influence of which Colonel Stuart was excluded from his promo- 
 tion, are now not only unqueftionably changed, but totally reverfed. 
 
 I {hall next beg leave to mention to your Lordfhip fome other par- 
 ticulars, which Ihew ftill ftronger the very efTential change of fuuatiou. 
 
 In the month of July 1777, the Diredlors of the Eaft India Com- 
 pany, at the -fame time that they fent out by Mr. Rumbold a new com- 
 miffion of government to Madras, fent out orders for calling home to 
 England all the civil fervants of the Com.pany who had compofed the 
 ■Council at Madras at the time when the difturbances happened there : 
 and with refpeifl to the military officers who, in the arreft and con- 
 finement of Lord Pigot, had a£led in obedience to the orders of the 
 Majority of Council, diredions were fent out by Mr. Rumbold, that 
 they fliould be fufpended the fcrvice, and tried by a Court-MartiaL 
 This order for fulpenfion and trial related particularly to Brigadier- 
 CJeneral Stuart, Lieutenant-Colonel Home, Captain Edington, and 
 Captain Lyfaught. 
 
 I take it for granted, that, in the month of Auguft, when the ge- 
 neral promotion of officers in the King's fervice took place, the Secre- 
 tary at War had heard of this order, which, in the preceding month 
 6 of
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 of July, had been ferit out by the India Directors ; and if fo, the 
 knowledge of this ftep taken by the India Diredlors might induce the 
 Secretary at War to confider that order in the fame light in which 
 he would have confidered an order, under the royal authority in this 
 country, for the trial of an officer by a Court-Martial for offences 
 conimittcd in his Majclly's fervice ; in which cafe, I have been told, 
 that the promotion of fuch officer is generally kept in fufpcnfe, until 
 the event of his trial is known. 
 
 But thefe two cafes arc, in many refpedls, which will readily occur 
 to your Lordfliip, fo eflcntially diiferent, that they cannot, I appre- 
 hend, without manifeft injury to his Majcfty's fervice, be confidered as 
 on the fame footing ; and it mull be obvious, that many hurtful and 
 inconvenient confequenccs would arife, if it were to be affiamed as a 
 principle at the War-Office, that when an Officer by the King's per- 
 miffion enters into the fervice of the Eaft-India Company, he is, from 
 that moment, to be fubjedl to have all his future expectations in his 
 Majefty's fervice, as well as all the confequenccs of his former merits in 
 that fervice, regulated implicitly by the proceedings and opinions of the 
 Directors of the Eaft-India Company, or their Servants in India. 
 
 I am ready, however, to admit, that at the time of the promo- 
 tion in 1777, it might very naturally and reafonably be prefumed by 
 the Secretary at War, that the orders given by the Eaft India Com- 
 pany for Colonel Stuart's trial by a Court-Martial would, as fpeedily 
 as poffible, be obeyed by their Ser\^ants at Madras ; and, therefore, that 
 the intermediate fhort delay, by not allowing him the benefit of a promo- 
 tion in his Majefly's fervice until the event of that trial was known, 
 could not be very prejudicial either to his honour or his intereff. 
 
 But in this the event has proved fo contrary to all reafonable ex- 
 pedation, that if the meafure of flopping Colonel Stuart's rank in the 
 King's fervice proceeded at all upon the orders then recently fent by 
 the India Company for his trial by a Court-Martial, and upon- the idea 
 that he would fpeedily have an opportunity, by that trial, of getting juflice 
 <lone to his chara(fter and conduct, there mufl now be the f^rongefi; reafoa 
 
 G for
 
 ( lo ) 
 
 for reverfing a meafure founded upon a fuppofitlon which in the event 
 has been found to be totally erroneous, and in its confequences highly 
 injurious to Colonel Stuart. For the real fadt is, that notwithftanding 
 the orders fent out by the India Company in July 1777, for his 
 immediate trial by a Court-Martial, that trial -was, in the begin- 
 ning of the year 1778, refufed by the Governor and Coimcil at 
 Madras ; and notwithftanding the renewed peremptory orders fent out 
 in the month of December 1778 for his trial, the benefit of that trial by 
 a Court-Martial has again, in the beginning of the prefent year 1780, 
 been refufed to him. 
 
 As no part of the Secretary at War's letter to me has fpecitied the 
 motives or particular grounds on which it had been judged proper to 
 withhold from Colonel Stuart the benefit of the promotion in the year 
 1777, I have thought it neceffary to confider thefe motives, under the' 
 only two poffible afpedls in which I apprehend they are capable of being 
 confidered, — as proceeding either from the reports then current, or from 
 the orders that had been given by the India Company for his trial 
 by a Court-Martial. 
 
 But it has been fhewn, that, upon either of thefe principles, the ground 
 is totally changed. — If the reports about the fafety of the Settlement, or 
 the rumours fpread about the confequences of the condudt imputed to 
 Colonel Stuart, gave rife to the meafure, thefe reports and rumours 
 have been proved to be falfe. — If it proceeded on a fuppofition, that 
 Colonel Stuai-t's trial by a Court-Martial would certainly and fpeedily 
 take place, the event, after repeated experiments, and after fubjeding 
 him to the moft cruel flate of fufpenfe during feveral tedious years, has 
 totally deftroyed that fuppofition. 
 
 The fa£l of Colonel Stuart's being twice refufed in India his trial by 
 a Court- Martial, is very generally known; and it is alfo known, that, upon 
 both occafions, that trial was earneftly folicited on his part : but the 
 
 ftrongeft
 
 ( It ) 
 
 ilrongcft proof of this will arife from the peruful of the proceedings at 
 Madras in the years 1778 and 1780, while the granting or refufing the 
 Court-Martial was in agitation. I have therefore taken the liberty to 
 accompany this Letter with a full and exadl flate of thefe proceedings. 
 
 The contents of thefe papers are material, becaufe they not only con- 
 tain the moft unqucftionable proofs of his zeal to be tried, and of the 
 ftrongeft efforts ufed by him to bring on that trial without delay, but 
 becaufe they alfo contain the reafons given by the Governor and 
 Council at Madras for refufing the trial. 
 
 Thus, in the General Letter to the Court of Diredors from the Go- 
 vernor and Council at Madras, dated the 14th of March 1778, there is 
 the following paragraph on the fubjed of the firft trial that was or- 
 dered : 
 
 " General Stuart^ as foon as he was furnijloed "with a copy of your 
 " orders^ and before we came to any refolut'wn concerning him^ addreffcd 
 " three letters to us^ all of them prejfing upon us, in the mojl anxious mait- 
 *' ner, his dcftre to be tried by a Court-Martial ; and fearing lejl any 
 " doubts or difficulties fjoidd occur to us on thefubjcEl, he introduced feve-^ 
 *' ral arguments to f jew his right to demand a Court-Martial, and pointed 
 " out different articles in the Articles of War, by which he thought he 
 " might be tried. Although his letters did not contain a?iy reafons offuf* 
 ^■^ fcient frength to induce us to alter our opinions upon his cafe, yet the 
 *' uneafinefs of mind exprefed in them wasftich, that we felt much concern 
 " for the peculiar circumfances of bis ftuation^ 
 
 Here it is proved, by the moft unqucftionable authority, that of the very 
 perfons who refufed the Court-Martial, and who were endeavouring to 
 juftify themfelves to the Court of Direclors for difobedience to their 
 orders, that it was not owing to any fault or rehidlance on the part of 
 Colonel Stuart that the trial had not proceeded j on the contrary, that 
 he had ufed every effort to promote it. 
 
 Other parts of the fame letter from the Governor and Council at Ma- 
 dras, ftiew that the reafons which induced them to refufe the trial were 
 chiefly founded on prudential confiderations, and upon a doubt whether 
 
 ^ - a Couit'
 
 ( 12 ) 
 
 a Court-Martlal was competent to decide upon a cafe which involved 
 queftions of nice difcuffion, relative to the Company's conftitutional 
 Government. This is exprefled very clearly in the following para- 
 graph of their Letter : 
 
 " 'The aBs of arrejllng and tmpr'ifoning the perfon of the late Lord P'tgot 
 " naere fujfciently clear. Your df approbation of thofe a&s is Jlrongly ex- 
 *' preffed in your late orders ; but that dfapprobation does 7iot make them 
 *' offetifive in the eye cf martial law ^ and no charge could be grounded upon 
 " it. In order to determine whether General Stuart's condu6t be criminal 
 ?' in that view, and before any charge could be prepared, it became requi- 
 *' fite to confider the nature of the orders and authority under which he 
 " a&ed, with other particular circunfances attending the arrejl of Lard 
 " Pigot. The Company's Records, and General Stuarfs own Narrative 
 " of the tranfaElion, clearly fhew, that his Lordfnp was arrejled by an 
 *' order under theftgnature of George Stratton Efquire, Sir Robert Flet- 
 " cher, Henry Brooke, Charles Floyer, Archdale Pahner, Francis Jour- 
 *' dain, and George Mackie, Efquires ; which order General Stuart, in 
 ■*' the Narrative, declares he confdered as legal, atid the Gentlemen ivho 
 " iffued it the legal Reprefentaiives of the Company. General Stuart 
 
 " APPEARS TO HAVE DONE NOTHING IN THIS TRANSACTION IN- 
 ." DEPENDENT OF THAT AUTHORITY WHICH GAVE HIM THE 
 
 *' ORDER. If that authority were clearly illegal, or the order illegal, the 
 " arrejl and hnprifonment of Lord Pigot, by military force, may be deemed 
 " an a£t of mutiny, and the perfons concerned liable to be tried, by an ex~ 
 " prefs article of war ; but we own to you, thefe quejlions appear to us to 
 *' be offo nice and important a nature, that ive did not think ourfelves com- 
 *' pjtent to form a judgment upon them, with that precifion which was 
 ** neceffary to confitute and maintain a charge againfl an Officer for a crime- 
 *' deemed capital by martial law." 
 
 The paragraph here copied expreffes diftin<ft]y the grounds on which 
 the Court-Martial was refufed ; but it is material in another refpedt, 
 •inafmuch as it contains the opinion of the Governor and Council at 
 Madras, with regard to the full extent of what could be alleged againft 
 
 Colonel
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 Colonel Stuart, and the ground on which he mufl; be tried, if ever 
 his trial fliould take place ; for it exprefsly declares, not only that 
 he had aCted under the authority of an order from the Members 
 of the Council therein named, (which is a fa6l proved indeed by 
 the written orders themfelves ftill extant) ; but it is material to ob- 
 ierve, that it further contains the opinion of the Governor Mr. Rum- 
 bold, the Commander in Chief General Munro, and the otlier Mem- 
 bers of the Council at Madras (the very perfons to whom the orders, 
 for granting the Court-Martial were direded), " That Colonel Stuart 
 *' appeared to have done nothing in this tranfadion independent of that 
 *' authority which gave him the order ;" from which the inference 
 made by the Governor and Council is, that the fole foundation for con- 
 ftituting or maintaining a charge agaiuft Colonel Stuart, mull depend 
 on the legality or illegality of the order and authority under which he 
 aded. 
 
 The matter having been brought to this ifllie, it could be judged of 
 m. England as well as in India, and might be judged of without the in- 
 tervention of a Court-Martial as well as with it. 
 
 The Letter, from the Governor and Council at Madras, to the Court 
 of Diredors, dated the 1 2th of February 1 780, which makes part of the 
 printed colledion now tranfmitted to your Lordfliip, exprefles the rcafons 
 which induced them, a fecond time, to refufe the trial which had been or- 
 dered by the Diredors, and fo earneftly folicited by Colonel Stuart. Thefe 
 reafons are, in moft refpeds, fimilar to thofe which had been af- 
 figned by them for refufing the Court-Martial In the year 1778. 
 
 This appears particularly from the following paragraphs of theirLetter 
 of the 1 2th of February 1780 : 
 
 " Ton leave it to our judgments to form thefpecifc charges; and hav-^ 
 
 " ^''Sfi done^ the refponjibility of the meafure rejls almofl entirely upon us^ 
 
 8 " without
 
 ( 14 ) 
 
 **' ivllhont auy clue to guide us through the emharrajfments which we -for- 
 *' mcrlyjlated^ and ivhich are rather increafed than d'mmtiJJjed by the opinioft 
 *^ of the Law Counfel ; for thofe Gentkfiien have taken aivay from this cajt 
 " the point upon which we conceived the condu£t of Brigadier-general 
 " Stuart, in a military view, principally turned, namely^ the legality or 
 " illegality of the authority by ivhich he a£led, and have given us nothing 
 " to go upon in its room ; fnce they declare, that whether his conduB, in 
 ■" executing the order, can or cannot fubjeB him to a charge of Mutiny, 
 ■" depends on circtanflances, of ivhich they have no proper ijformation^^ 
 
 The Letter then proceeds in thefe words : 
 
 " As the late Lord Pigot was arrejled at the difance of half a mile be- 
 *' yond the walls of the garrifon, a natural quefion arofe, which ive 
 " fated in our Letter of the \/^h of March 1778, relative to the extent of 
 *^ his command as Governor of the Fort. General Munros opinio7i on this 
 *''' fubjeEl, ivhich we have already recited, declares, that the arrefling 
 *' Lord Pigot, out of the Fort, ivas an aB ivhich did not come under any 
 *' article ofivar. This is a point ivhich feemed to us material to have been 
 " xfcertained ; but your inflrudiions, and the opinions of the Council, are 
 *' quite f lent on the fubjcEt^^ 
 
 The whole tenor and progrefs of the proceedings at Madras, in the 
 years 1778 and 1780, on the fubjed: of the Court-Maitial in queftion, 
 clearly indicate, that It was the opinion of the Governor, the Commander 
 in Chief, and the Council there, that unlefs Colonel Stuart could be made 
 fubje£l to a charge of Mutiny, for the arreft of Lord Pigot, there 
 could be no foundation for bringing him to a trial by a Court-Martial : 
 at the fame time they have clearly fhewn their opinions, and the opinion 
 of General Munro the Commander in Chief, that as Lord Pigot had 
 been arrefted out of the garrifon of Fort St. George, this was an a£l 
 which did not come under any article of war. 
 
 The principal, if not the only hefitation with the Governor and Council 
 at Madras, feems to have been, whether Colonel Stuart might not be 
 brought in as guilty of Mutiny, by making him refponfible for the legality 
 
 or
 
 ( 15 ) 
 
 or ilicgaUty of the order under wliich he aded. But any idea of ln« 
 volving him in tlie crime of Mul'uiy, \\\ this way, was obflruded by 
 the Law opinions that had been fent from England, where the Attorney 
 and Solicitor General, and other eminent Counfel, had given it as 
 their opinion, " Thai it "would not folloiv as a iiccejfary cojifcqiiciice^ 
 " that the illegality of the order would fiibjcEl the Officer to a charge of 
 " Mutiny." 
 
 On this point there are fo many fads and arguments in juftification of 
 Colonel Stuart's ccndudl, that, fuppofing the illegality of the order to be 
 clearly eflabliflied, there can be no chance of hisbeing involved in a charge 
 of Mutiny by that means ; although it muft be owned that, from the ex- 
 preffions of the Letter from the Governor and Council at Madras to 
 the Diredors, there feems to have been a ftrange idea entertained oit 
 their part, that it might be poflible to involve Colonel Stuart in a 
 capital ojfence^ by this new fpecies of Mutiny which had occurred to 
 them, though not thought of or exprefled in the Mutiny Ad, or in the 
 Articles of War. 
 
 Upon the whole, therefore, of what has pafled In the courfe of canvaf- 
 fmg this matter, it cannot be unreafonable to maintain, that although 
 there has been no formal fentence of a Court-Martial upon Colonel 
 Stuart, yet fads have been afcertained, and opinions given, which, in a 
 cafe of this nature, ought to be confidered as equivalent to the fentence 
 of a Court-Martial. 
 
 The eircumftances of Colonel Stuart's cafe, from the full printed ftatc 
 of it which I gave in to the India Diredors inDecember 1778, and from 
 other means of Information, are now fo fully known, that thefe, joined 
 with the opinions above mentioned, given by the Commander in Chief, 
 and the Governor and Council at Madras, and with the opinions quoted 
 of the Law Counfel in England, may fairly be allowed, in a cafe fo pecu- 
 liarly circumftanced, to have the fame efFed as if Colonel Stuart had 
 fucceeded in the repeated requefts he fo earneftly made, for having the 
 
 judgment-
 
 ( i6 ) 
 
 rjiidgment of a Court-Martial, with all the forms that ufually attend 
 it. 
 
 Such interpretation may with the more reafon be contended for, as 
 Colonel Stuart and his friends, from the year 1 777 to the prefent year 
 1 780, have, in the face of every poffible hazard with refpedt to him per- 
 fonallv, not only pravoked and folicited a trial by a Court-Martlal, but 
 demanded it as his right. And it ought further to be confidered, that, by 
 the hurtful and mortifying delays and difappointraents in the courfe of 
 thofe years, he has already fuffered more than any Court-Martlal could 
 poflibly have inflid:ed upon him, even if he had been found guilty of 
 Avhat is laid to his charge. 
 
 The proof of this affertion leads to a newfubje£t; and I flatter myfelf 
 it will be found, that the affertion is not rafhly made, when your Lord- 
 fhlp confiders what I am now to ftate, concerning a memorable trial 
 that happened laft year in Weftmlnfter-HalL 
 
 The whole of the tranfadllons at Madras, in the year 1776, and par- 
 ticularly what related to the diilurbances at the time of the felzure and 
 confinement of Lord Pigot, have, in the courfe of this lafl year, under- 
 gone a ftrid: and folemn fcrutiny in the court of King's Bench, in a 
 profecution by his Majefly's Attorney General againfl Mr. Stratton, 
 and the other members who compofed the Majority of the Council at 
 Madras, when Lord Pigot was felzed and confined by their ordei's. 
 
 Til that proceeding, thofe members were charged with affumlng the 
 government in Auguft 1776, and with the felzure, confinement, and 
 detention of Lord Pigot, and for having liTucd the orders to Colonel 
 Stuart, in confequence of v;hich Lord Pigot was fo felzed and confined. 
 
 The perfons accufed acknowledged the aflumption of the govern- 
 ment, but defended themfelves on the ground of civil or political 
 neceffity, on their being in duty bound to preverit the fubveriion of 
 the conftJLutlon, which, they alledged, had been manlfcftly attempted 
 by feveral violent, illegal, and defpotic a*^s on the part of Lord Pigot, 
 
 They
 
 ( ^7 ) 
 
 They further malnta'iac(l,that the legal government of Madras was vedcd, 
 not in the Governor with, a Minority of Council, but in them the Majo- 
 rity of the Council; and that the mcafures they had taken were under the 
 firm perfuafion, that this was the true Government of the Madras Prefi- 
 dency ; in fhort, that they had a£led upon the true principles of that confli- 
 tution, upon the ncceflity of the cafe, and upon motives of public utility ; 
 and that, in fa£l, the peace and fafety of the fettlemcnt had been preferved 
 Ijy what they had done, and that the affairs of the Eaft India Company 
 in that fettlement had profpered greatly during their adminiftration. 
 
 There never was a caufe profecuted with more zeal, or more abilities; 
 and though the jury brought in a verdid againft Mn Stratton and the 
 other gentlemen, for affuming the government, and for having iffued 
 the orders for feizing and confining Lord Pigot by military force, and 
 for having afterwards detained him a prifoner ; yet the Judges of the 
 Court of King's Bench, after weighing the w^hole of the evidence for 
 and againft the perfons accufed, pronounced an unanimous judgment, 
 by which the total extent of the punifhment inflidted by them was a fine 
 of Otie Thoufand Pounds to be paid by each of the defendants. 
 
 One confideration that weighed with the Judges in their decifion, as 
 appears from their opinion delivered by Sir William Aflihurft, was, that 
 the meafures taken by Mr. Stratton, and the other Members of the Ma- 
 jority of Council, in the month of Auguft 1776, had been firft pro- 
 duced by feveral arbitrary and illegal ads on the part of Lord Pigot, 
 whicli were ftrongly arraigned in the opinion delivered by the Judges 
 of the King's Bench ; — but befides this, attention was alfo paid to the 
 various other particulars above mentioned, which had been urged by 
 the defendants in juftification or alleviation of their ccndud. 
 
 Here it is highly proper to remark, that from what pafled at the 
 time of pronouncing this judgment, there is reafon to doubt whether the 
 line would not have been reftrided even to a lefler fum, if the defendants 
 had not been confidered as particularly blameable for fufpending (after 
 they had affumed the government) four of the Members of Lord Pigot's 
 
 D Council,
 
 ( i8 ) 
 
 Council, Meflrs. RiiJfeU^ Dalrywple^ Stone, mid Latham, Great weight 
 was laid upon this circumftance of the defendants condud. The Judges 
 upon the trial particularly condemned it, and remarked, that in this the 
 defendants had followed the condudl which they themfelves had con- 
 demned in Lord Pigot. But in fo far as this offence, committed by 
 the Members of Council, had effedt in producing the judgment that 
 was pronounced againft them, no inference can be made from it againft 
 Colonel Stuart, or the other military officers, who were employed only 
 for carrying into execution the orders they had received for feizing and. 
 confining Lord Pigot ; for neither Colonel Stuart, nor any of thefe Of- 
 ficers, were Members of the Council which fufpended Meflrs. Rujfell^ 
 Dalrymple, Stofic, and Latham. 
 
 The inferences from the whole of what thus pafled, upon the moft 
 folemn trial of thofe Members of the Council at Madras, muft, I am . 
 perfuaded, have been already anticipated by your Lordfhip. 
 
 When we fee that the Members of the Majority of the Council had, by 
 a verdidt of their country, been found guilty of aflliming the government, 
 and of iflliing the orders for feizing and confining Lord Pigot, &c. ; and 
 when it appears that the circumftances in mitigation of their offence, after 
 fuch a verdi£l, had the effedt to reflrid the total amount of the punilh- 
 ment, inflicted by the Judges, to a fine of OneThoufand Pounds; — it mufl 
 certainly follow, that Colonel Stuart, who did not ufurp the government^ 
 who was no Member of Council at the time of Lord Pigot's confinement, 
 who ifTued no original order, but only obeyed the orders he had received 
 from the Majority of Council, in whom he firmly believed the legal 
 powers of the government to be veited ; — I fay it mufl follow, that upon 
 thefe grounds he would have been abfolved from any punilhment ori 
 fine whatever ; or at the mofl, that any fine or cenfure allotted to his 
 inferior offence^ muft have been reduced to fomcthing fo infignificant, 
 as to be free from any prejudicial confequences ; for, in the report made 
 by the prefent Governor and Council at Madras, to the India Diredors, . 
 it is exprefsly faid, " Colonel Stuart appeared to have done nothing in 
 
 9 " this
 
 ( '9 ) 
 
 ." tills tranfiidion independent of that authority which gave him the 
 " order." 
 
 The prevaUing opinion, in the fettlement Itfelf, had long been, 
 that the legal government was vefted in the Majority of Council, and 
 ihis alfo was the opinion of the Supreme Council at Bengal. The 
 Eaft India Company themfelves, by their Inftrudtions fent out by Mr. 
 Whithill, in the year 1777, declared the legal government of Madias to 
 be vefted in the Majority of Council; therefore, fuppofing it to be after- 
 wards difcovered, upon a very nice inveftigation in courts of law, that 
 the Majority of Council had not the complete legal government vefted 
 in them, excepting in certain cafes, and under certain reftridtions ; yet 
 It could never be expedled of a military man, that he ftiould be fo much 
 mafter of all thefe niceties and diftindlions, as to render him culpable for 
 a miftake in a point of law, and for believing, .in common with many 
 others, that the Majority of the Council had a complete right to require 
 obedience from him, efpecially as his immediate fuperior Officer, Sir 
 ■Robert Fletcher, \\\t Co?nmatidcr in Chief of tJje army (a circumftance to 
 which I beg leave to call your Lordihip's particular attention), was one 
 of the Members of that Majority who figned the orders which Colonel 
 Stuart obeyed. 
 
 Thefe things would, in any tribunal, have neceftafily been taken 
 into confideration for juftifying Colonel Stuart's conduct, or, at leaft, 
 for alleviating any fine or puniftiment that might be allotted to his of- 
 fence, if it could be fuppofed, that, in fuch circumftances as thofe which 
 have been defcribed, he was in any degree refponfible for the legality 
 of the orders which he received and obeyed. 
 
 This neccflary inference from the proceedings, and from the judg- 
 ment given in Weftminfter-hall upon this occafion, is one reafon why 
 I have thought it proper to ftate them to your Lordfliip ; and another 
 •reafon for ftating thefe proceedings, which happened only within thefe 
 twelve months, is, becaufe they make an additional and important 
 branch of the circumftances by which I meant to prove an eflential 
 
 D 2 change
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 change of fitiiation fmce the year 1777, when It was thought proper to 
 with-hold from Colonel Stuart the benefit of the promotion of that yeaf. 
 
 I fliall now conckide what relates to the change of fituatlon, by re- 
 queftaig your Lord(hlp's attention to a very honourable teftimony, 
 which has, in the year 1 779, been given by the Eaft India Diredors, 
 with refpeft to Colonel Stuart's general condud; in India, in matters 
 civil and militar)'', unconneded with the events of the month of Auguil 
 1 776, fo often alluded to. 
 
 In the beginning of the year 1779, the DIredors of the Eafl: India 
 Company thought it proper and fuitable, on their part, to take a par- 
 ticular view of Colonel Stuart's condud, from the time that he had en- 
 tered into their fervice. This they were enabled to do, from the Re- 
 cords and Confultations of the Madras Prefidency, in their poffeffion at 
 the India-houfe ; and the objed of this fcrutiny, as exprefled by the DL- 
 redors themfelves, in their Letter to the Governor and Council at Ma- 
 dras, dated the 14th of April 1779, was, that they the Diredors might 
 be able " to communicate to tlie Governor and Council at Madras fuck 
 *' remarks and inftrudions as might be neceflary for their guidance, in 
 *' cafe General Stuart fliould be acquitted by a Court-MartiaL" 
 
 The Letter then proceeds to ftate the various particulars of Colonel 
 Stuart's condud, as proved by the Records; and upon each article fo 
 proved, an explicit opinion is given by the Diredors. Thus the firft 
 article h exprefled in thefe words : 
 
 " The memorial, eftimates, and calculations of General (then Colo- 
 " nel) Stuart, of the i6th December 1776, and 20th January 1777, 
 " are convincing proofs of his poiTefllng the moft perfed knowledge of 
 " the Company's military affairs and political interefts on the Coaft of 
 " Coromandel, and of his attention to every thing neceffary for the fe*- 
 ** curity of our poffeflionson that coaft," &c. &:c. 
 
 la
 
 i 21 ) 
 
 In the faipc manner theDlredlors then proceed to give their opinion 
 upon various very material tranfadions that had occurred in India, irv 
 which Colonel Stuart had been principally concerned j and the refult of 
 the whole is a ftrong and marked approbation of his condudl. 
 
 The whole of the Letter here alluded to is creditable for the Diredors, 
 from the proof it contains of their attention to the behaviour of their fer- 
 •vants in India, and of their anxiety to feparate thofe parts of their con- 
 dud which had not been hitherto totally cleared up, from thofe which, 
 were evidently meritorious. 
 
 The teftimony above mentioned, given by the Eaft India DIredors, 
 and fupported by the evidence of the Records, is not of that fort which 
 conveys an idea that Colonel Stuart's condud was merely iinexceptmi— 
 able^ but it afcribes to him the poftthe merit of fignal fervices rendered 
 to the Company by his adive and ufeful efforts, both in his military ca- 
 pacity, and in the exercife of the civil fundions belonging to his ftation 
 during the time that he was a Member of the Council of Madras, after 
 the death of Sir Robert Fletcher.. 
 
 The difcovery thus made, in the beginning of the year 1779, of the 
 
 fervices that had been rendered by Colonel Stuart, made a proper Im- 
 
 prefTion on the Dlredors, who gave that honourable teftimony of his 
 
 condud, and appears to have excited in them a defire of rewardino- his 
 
 •zeal, not merely by the tribute of applaufe, which their Letter contains 
 
 ■ in terms the moft flattering for him, but fiuther by refolutions in his 
 
 . favour, different from any that had been taken fmce the period that the 
 
 . firft accounts were brought to this country of the Madras difturbances j, 
 
 for till this Letter in April 1779, all the refolutions and inftrudions fent 
 
 to India refpeding him, carried evident marks of feverity and unlimited. 
 
 hardflilps. 
 
 The inftrudions- in June 1777, by Mr. Whithill, y///^d'//d!'ir^ Colonel 
 
 Stuart from the fervice for fix months, without any fpecific charge made 
 
 againft him ; thofe fent out by Mr. Rumbold in July ^'J'/y^fuperfcded 
 
 him in the command of the army, and appointed, that he fhould be 
 
 4 triedf
 
 ( 22 ) 
 
 tried by a Court-Martial ; but in cafe he had been guilty of no crime 
 which martial law could reach, then it was ordered, that his fufpenfion 
 from the fervice fhould be continued, and that he fhould be fent home. 
 Afterwards the inftrudlions of December 1778, fent out by Sir Ed- 
 ward Hughes, contained a renewed order for his trial by a Court- 
 Martial ; but without any provifion made for him in the event of 
 his acquittal, or any intimation, that, even in that cafe, he was to be 
 reftored to the command of the army. 
 
 However, the inftruQions contained in the Letter of the 14th April 
 1779, were wrote in a very different ftrain from any of the former 
 infirudions refpeding him, and breathed a very different fpirit ; for, 
 after reciting and applauding his merits, and after declaring their opi- 
 nion of Colonel Stuart's ability to render the moft important fervices 
 to the Company, the Letter of April 1779 (a copy of which is an- 
 nexed), concludes with expreffmg a defire, that, in the event of his 
 acquittal, he fliould remain in India as Second in military command 
 during the continuance of General Munro (who had given notice, 
 that he meant to return to England in the courfe of the year 1780) ; 
 and diredts, that he. Colonel Stuart, fliould fucceed to the Chief Command 
 of the troops on the Coaft, upon the firft vacancy that fhould happen 
 after his acquittal by a Court-Martial. 
 
 Thefe proceedings do certainly infer a very marked change offituation 
 fubfequent to the period at which the Secretary at War, from his uncer- 
 tainty about Colonel Stuart's conduct in India, thought proper to ad- 
 vife the withholding from him the immediate benefit of the promo- 
 tion in his Majefty's fervice. 
 
 I have now, my Lord, finiflied all the proofs I meant to produce 
 
 in fupport of the propofition I had undertaken to eftablifh refpe<n:ing 
 
 the cjfential change cffitnation ; and I apprehend, that the effcefl of each 
 
 of the four branches of evidence above referred to, but ftill more the 
 
 united
 
 ( n ) 
 
 united effed of all of them together, mufl: be, to eflabllfli that pro- 
 pofition in the moft convincing manner. 
 
 I am extremely forry, that, from the variety and nature of thefe 
 proofs, they fliould have impofcd upon me the neccflity of giving 
 your Lordfhip the trouble of reading fo long, and, I fear, fo tedious, 
 a detail of particulars ; but in a matter, where the charadler and 
 condudl of an officer have been called in queftlon, and where his 
 fituation in his Majcfty's fervice has been deeply affedled upon the 
 authority merely of rumours and deceitful reports, it is impofTible to 
 do juftice to his caufe, or to afford fatisfa£lory grounds for obtaining 
 redrefs to him, without producing fuch a full and accurate flate of fads 
 as may be fufficient to afford convidlion, that he never has merited the 
 hardships he has met with, and that he is now entitled to have them 
 completely redreffed. 
 
 t mufl now beg leave to bring under your Lordfhip's view, fome par- 
 ticulars of Colonel Stuart's Military Services ; and fhall then hope 
 to be indulged with a few obfervations upon the fmgularity of the un- 
 fortunate fituation, in which he feels himfelf at this moment in- 
 volved, both with refped to the King's fervice and that of the Eafl 
 India Company. 
 
 From the time that Colonel Stuart arrived in India, he applied himfelf 
 zealoufly to every thing that could tend to the improvement of the 
 army ; he planned, and carried into execution, many ufcful regulations 
 relating to the troops, the military pofts, and garrifons belonging to 
 the Company, and likewiie thofe of the Nabob of Arcot. He made 
 himfelf mailer of accurate knowledge relating to the various pafTes, 
 leading from the territories of the neighbouring princes into the 
 Carnatic, through which bodies of troops might be able to invade 
 or enter that country ; fo as to enable him to form a judgment what 
 
 polls
 
 ( 24 } 
 
 pofts would be proper to be eftabllihed, and what other precautions 
 might be neceflary for preventing the incurfions from thefe neighbour- 
 ing powers. 
 
 The meafures fuggefted by him in confequence of the knowledge fo 
 acquired, and the military regulations which he carried into effed, re- 
 flected much credit upon him in India, ivhere^ even his enemies 
 have admitted the utility of his efforts and of his unremitting atten- 
 tion to all the various branches of his military duty. 
 
 The army was in many refpeds new-modelled by him, particularly 
 the battalions of Sepoys^ the number of which was augmented, and 
 arranged upon a plan different from the footing on which they had ever 
 formerly been. I have in my poffeffion copies of the Memorials and 
 Eftimates, which, after much pains bellowed in acquiring accurate in- 
 formation, and after much attention to the fubjed:, were framed by 
 him, and gave rife to this meafure. Thefe papers were fhewn to the 
 late General Harvey, and other experienced officers in tliis country, 
 who teftified the higheft approbation of Colonel Stuart's plan, and of 
 the reafons given by him in fupport of it ; and, fortunately for the in- 
 terefts of the State, as well as thofe of the Company, that plan was 
 adopted by the Government of Madras, and carried into execution 
 while Colonel Stuart was Commander in Chief of the army. 
 
 The important confequences of this well-timed attention to the ftate 
 of the army, and to the Company's military concerns on the coaft, were 
 felt in the year 1778, when the orders from England arrived for un- 
 dertaking the fiege of Pondicherry. 
 
 Thefe orders were capable of being carried into fpeedy execution, 
 merely from the circumftance of there being an army ready formed, 
 and fit for the moll important enterprifes ; the merit of which prepa- 
 rations has univerfally been given to Colonel Stuart : and it has alfo 
 been admitted, that the enterprife againft Pondicherry^ undertaken when 
 the feafon was far advanced, and completed but a few days before the 
 •fcafon when the monfoDns in that climate would have increafed every 
 
 difficulty,
 
 difFicully, could not have fuccceckd, if the army, in point of dlfcl- 
 pline, numbers, and arrangement, had not been put by Colonel Stuart 
 on the refpedable footing in which it was found at the time when the 
 orders from Engl.ind arrived for undertaking that fiege. 
 
 Among other ftroi'ig and exprefs teflimonies to tlsis effe£l:, there is a 
 Letter from the Governoi- of Madras to the Chairman of the Eaft India 
 Company, dated the 31ft of Odtobcr 1778, and brought to the India- 
 houie at the fame time with the firft accounts of the fuccefs of the troops; 
 againft Pondlcherry. 
 
 The paragraph of the Letter relating to Colonel Stuart is in thefe 
 words : 
 
 " I think it neceflary to mention to you, in jufticc to Brigadier- 
 *' General Stuart^ that one great advantage on our part, and which 
 *' enabled us to carry the order of the Court of Dircdlors for attacking 
 ** Pondicherry into immediate execution, was the ftate in which we 
 " found the army upon this eftablifhment at the time of receiving thofe 
 *' orders, owing to the very feafonable augmentation that had beert 
 *' made, and the proper military regulations and difcipline which had 
 *' taken place, during the time he commanded the troops." 
 
 In the year 1778, when the accounts reached Madras of the rupture 
 with France, and of the probable profpc£l of hoftilities in India, CcJoncI 
 Stuart was u-nA^r fi/fpcTifion^ had been fiiperfeded in the command of the 
 army, and had met with a refufal of the demand made by him for his 
 trial by a Court-Martial. 
 
 He had alfo then recently heard of the hardfliip infli£ted upon him 
 in his Majefty's fervice. His behaviour, however, upon that occafion, 
 in the offer he made of his fervices againft the enemy, in any fhape 
 that they could be deemed ufeful, was fuch as became him ; and he is 
 perhaps intitled to the more credit for it, when it appears how ftrongly ' 
 he felt, at that very time, the unmerited feverities that had been in- 
 flidled upon him. This is ftrongly painted in his Letter of the 9th of 
 July 1778, to the Governor and Council at Madras, which contains- 
 
 E the
 
 ( 26 ) 
 
 the ofFer of his fervices againfl: the enemy, where he thus exprefles 
 himfelf: 
 
 : " Without entering into any further difcuffion concerning the very 
 " fingular hardfhip of my cafe, aggravated now almoft beyond mea- 
 *' fure by a mofl unexpeEled temporary influence upon ray fituation in 
 " bis Majejly s fervice^ fo as to be upon tlie whole, as I believe, un- 
 *' paralleled in the life of any Britifh militar)'- officer ; I fay, notwith- 
 *' ftanding thefe circumftances, and although I aflTert wnth confidence, 
 " and am ready to prove, xkvaxfucb conduEl towards me has neither been 
 " %oar ranted by military praSiice, nor jujlified by my own condudl^ in any 
 *' refpeEl ; yet I now take occafion to inform your Honour, officially, of 
 " that call, which for the prefent ftifles in my mind every fenfe of per- 
 *' fonal injury, and which leads me to affure you, in the event of thefe 
 *' laft reports from Europe proving true, or in cafe of any approaching 
 *' v/ar in the Carnatic^ that your Honour will ever find me ready to 
 " ferve againll the enemy, in any manner you fhall fee mofl proper 
 *' for the public welfare, during the continuance of hoftilities ; adding, 
 " with all due refpedl at the fame time, that, in my prefent view of 
 " things, no earthly confideration will ever, in quiet times, induce me, 
 " of my own accord, to ferve the Honourable Company in any ftation 
 " inferior to that which I had regularly fucceeded to by their former 
 *' orders, and in confequence of agreement before I left England." 
 
 Colonel Stuart's behaviour on this occafion, and his zeal afterward* 
 for the fuccefs of the meafures adopted with refpe£t to the fiege of Pou- 
 dicherry, produced the following commendation of his conduft, in a 
 Letter from the Governor and Council at Madras to the Eaft India 
 Directors, dated 17th Odober 1778. 
 
 " Upon the firft probability of hoftilities commencing, Brigadier^ 
 " General Stuart prefcnted to the Board a Letter, dated July 9th, with 
 *' an offer to ferve, during the war, in any manner we thought proper 
 ** for the public welfare. We felt much concern, from the nature of 
 ** your orders in refpeit to Brigadier-general Stuart, that it was not in 
 
 "our
 
 ( 27 ) 
 
 »*'biUl power to accept of this ofler. In juflicc, Iiowevcr, to (Tiat (.ft 
 " ikcr, we acquaint you, that we have been witnenes of his zeal fof 
 " the public fervice, and of the fincerily of his wiflies for the fuccci-- 
 *' of the mcafuves adopted at this crifis." 
 
 In mentioning the pecuhar fituation in which Colonel Stuart tluis 
 found hiinfelf, at the time of the enterprize againft Fond'uherry^ it i'. 
 not eafy to abftain from fome rcfled:ions on the feverity of his fate ; 
 when it is confidered, tluit the perfon who thus offered, upon that occa- 
 fion, to ferve againll the enemy in any fituation^ was the very perfon, 
 who, if things had remained in their ordinary courfe, muft, in right of 
 the rank he had attained, have been Commander in Chief upon that 
 expedition. 
 
 Such opportunities as this for a military man to ferve his country, 
 and at the fame time to acquire credit and honours to himfclf, do not 
 often prefcnt themfelves ; and when an officer, to whom his rank and 
 fituation open fo fair a profpe£t, fmds himfelf deprived of it by ad- 
 verfe incidents, the difappointment will ever be felt by him as a per- 
 fonal misfortune ; however ready he may be to rejoice fmcerely with 
 his country upon the fuccefs of the enterprize under another Leader, and 
 how^ever cheei-fully he may congratulate the Commander who, acting 
 in his place, had merited and obtained the laurels and the honours due 
 to his fuccefs. 
 
 Without troubling your Lordfhip with any further detail refpecllng 
 Colonel Stuart's merits in the fen'ice of the Eaft India Company, I fliall 
 here beg leave to appeal to the Letter before mentioned, of the i4thL 
 of April 1 779, figned by the Directors, which contains the moft ample 
 tefllmony of his fteady and ufeful attention to the Interefts of the 
 Company in their civil as well as their military concerns ; and fpe- 
 cifies material fervices rendered by him upon various occafions, where 
 knowledge and good judgment of the true interefts of the Companv, 
 as well as ^ood intentions, w^ere requllite. 
 
 The only part of Colonel Stuart's conduct ujxjn which the Direc-^ 
 •tors were then filent, was what related to the difturbances of the 
 
 E a month.
 
 ( a§ ) 
 
 month of Auguil 1776; as to which they have in that Letter abftalned 
 from giving any opinion, fovourabie or unfavourable, becaufe they 
 confidered that matter to be under the cognizance of a Court-Martial ; 
 and I may with truth venture to affirm, that the univerfal opinion was, 
 that the confequence of that trial muft necefl'arily have been an acquittal. 
 
 Cut even with refpedl to this only part of Colonel Stuart's condudl 
 that has ever been at all called in queftion, the particulars and motives 
 "of it are nov\' fully known to the world from various authentic fources 
 of information, and the prejudices againft him perfonally, grafted on the 
 original falfe rumours, are now fo much fubfided, that it would be im- 
 pertinent in me to take up your Lordfhip's time in combating them~ 
 I have ever avoided entering at all into the merits of the difputes between 
 Lord Pigot and his Council, which gave rife to the difturbances ; but I 
 mufl: beg leave to obferve, that, with refpecl to Colonel Stuart's beha- 
 viour when matters canoe to extremities between thefe parties, there are 
 the moft honourable teftiraonies of the fervices he had rendered to the 
 •India Company and to the State, by the temper, good condudl, and dif- 
 cretion, with which he had carried into execution the orders iffued to 
 him by the Majority of Council at the critical period in Auguft 1776. 
 
 The Supreme Council at Bengal, who had the beft opportunities of 
 being well informed of all the fafts and circumfi:anc€:S which preceded, 
 accompanied, and followed the arreft of Lord Pigot, and who were 
 both competent and difinterefted judges,, gave the higheft approbation: 
 ef Colonel Stuart's conduct. 
 
 This appears particularly from the Letters of Governor Haftings and 
 Sir John Clavering, who agreed in this, though their opinions on other 
 fubje<9:s had often been different. Governor Haftings, in his Letters 
 which have been publiftied, gives great credit to the mode in which 
 the orders of the Majority had been carried into execution ; " without 
 '^ bloodjljedy without tumult^ and without the violation ofo?ie legal formy 
 Thefe are the words of his Letter, where he expreffes a degree of ad- 
 TOiration of this as " a thing ahiojl without example '\ 
 
 Sir
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
 sir John Clavcrlng, in his Letter to Colonel Stuart of the r5th of 
 September 1776, not only approves totally of his conduit at the time of 
 the Madras dillurbances, but gives him applaufe for the honour of con- 
 dudtingy?) difficult and dangerous a bujinefs, and for lYiQ fpirit and mag' 
 nanimity with which he had executed it. 
 
 Sir John Clavering csntinued uniform in that fentimcnt ; and it is 
 well known that he confidered the fafety and quiet of the fettlement at 
 Madras to have been principally, if not totally, owing to Colonel Stu-- 
 art's condu£l. In proof of this, I might appeal to feveral Letters of 
 General Clavering's, now in this country ; and I cannot allow myfelf 
 to doubt, that the fentiments of a man fo honourable, and fo well qua- 
 lified to judge of military merits, as well as of points of honour, mufl 
 have weight in every quarter where his own perfonal merits were 
 known. Had he lived to have feen the accumulation of hardfliips that 
 have been inflicted upon Colonel Stuart, — the man whofe conduct he 
 fo much approved and admired — fuch events mufl not only have been 
 extremely mortifying to Sir John Clavering, but might perhaps have 
 been confidered by him, as, in fome meafure, indignities c^(??Ti://(J /&/;«- 
 ^^perfonally. 
 
 I fliall now briefly mention, v/Ithout any commentary, what Co- 
 lonel Stuart's fate has been in the fervice of the Eaft India Company. 
 
 He has,, in confequence of the fii-ft reports brought to this country ,.- 
 hcQnfnfpejided irom the fer^dce, ^nd fuperfeded m. the commtirxA, o^ xh&- 
 army ; and that command given to a junior officer in the King's fer- 
 vice ; and all this done without any trial or fpecific crime alleged againft 
 him. 
 
 The delufive hopes of a trial by a Court -Martial in India, have, at 
 two different periods, been afforded him, by the orders fent out to Ma- 
 dras for that purpofe ; and thefe hopes have been, and may ever continue 
 to be, defeated hy the Company's fervants in India; fo that, at this 
 moment., Colonel Stuart is not in any refpetfl: further advanced towards 
 obtaining redrefs for the injuries he ha§ met with,.tlian he was feveral 
 
 4 years
 
 t 30 ) 
 
 years ago, excepting only, that the Eafl India DIreclors, in the year 
 1779, after a fcrutiny into his general conduft^ and after difcovering 
 his knowledge of the Company's affairs, and the fervices rendered 
 by him to the Company, have rewarded him hy the tribute of 
 applaufe ; and have declared their refolution, that, upon certain con- 
 tingencies, he fhall be reftored to the command of the army ; in ex- 
 pecSation of which command, he originally went to India, and had 
 already attained it, according to the terms of the agreement made at 
 the time of his entering into the fervice. 
 
 Permit me now, my Lord, to relate what has been Colonel Stuart's 
 fate in bis Mojejly s fervice. 
 
 In the courfe of the laft war, he had the good fortune to contribute, 
 as far as his inferior fituation could enable him, to the fuccefs of the 
 Britifh arms in many different parts of the world. 
 
 The firft opportunity he had laft war of feeing material adive fervice 
 was in North America in 1758, when he had the honour to ferve with 
 the army under your Lordihip's command at the fiege of LouiSBOURG :' 
 The fuccefs of that enterprife was, at that time, efteemed a material 
 objed to this country in the war with France ; and he had the fatif- 
 fadlion of feeing the Place furrender to your Lordfhip, with the garri- 
 fon belonging to it, and feveral line of battle (hips which the French 
 then had at Louifbourg. 
 
 At the redudion of Belleisle, in the year I76i,by theBritifh troops, 
 under the command of General Hodgfon, he was Major of Colonel 
 Morgan's regiment ; and by the appointment of General Hodgfon, 
 during the courfe of the expedition, he aded as ^arter-majler-gcneraly 
 in confequence of which, he foon obtained the rank of Lieutenant- 
 colonel. 
 
 From Belleisle he went to the Weft Indies, and ferved during 
 
 £.11 the operations againft the illand of Martinico; the complete con- 
 
 I • qucft
 
 ( 3^ ) 
 
 queft of which, by the army under the command of General Monck- 
 ton, was accomplifhed in the month of February 1762. During that 
 campaign, he commanded the regiment of Light Infantry, which had 
 been raifed by Colonel Morgan, who died foon after his arrival at 
 Martinico. 
 
 Upon the conqueft of Martinico, that regiment was immediately 
 ordered upon the expedition againft the Havannah ; and though 
 Colonel Stuart's health had fuffered much at Martinico, he infilled on 
 attending the regiment under his command, and happily, during the 
 paflage, recovered fo well as to be able to fuftain the fatigues of a very 
 adive campaign, which fell to his lot at the Havannah. 
 
 The fituations in which Colonel Stuart was employed, during the 
 operations of that Campaign, by Lord Albemarle, the Commander in 
 Chief, fufficiently teflify in what ellimation he was held as an adive 
 and ufeful officer. The command of a detached corps was given to 
 him during part of the campaign, in the com-fe of which he acquired fo 
 much the confidence of the Commander in Chief^ that he was the 
 perfon chofen to command the AJfault upon the MoRO Castle ^ 
 one of the moft difficult, as well as moll important, enterprifes 
 that had occurred in the courfe of that or any other campaign laft 
 war. 
 
 The failure of fuccefs in that attempt would, as I have heard from, 
 military men, have been as fatal to the obje£ls of that expedition 
 againft the Havannah^ as the fuccefs of it was produdlive of im- 
 portant confequences* 
 
 As I do not wifh to attribute, even to a brother, any merits that. 
 are not well afcertained, I thought it proper to read over the account 
 of the operations at the Havannah^ publiihed in the London Gazette. 
 Extraordinary of the 30th of September 1762, which is liow Iving, 
 before me j and in which are found fome particulars, which, in your 
 
 LordlhIp*$;
 
 ( 3^ ) 
 LordHiip's eftimation, will, I am perfuaded, be thought highly cre- 
 ditable for Colonel Stuart's military condud. 
 
 That Gazette contains the firft accounts that were brought to this 
 country of the important fuccefs of his Majefty's arms againfl; the town 
 of the Havannah^ which, with all its dependencies, furrendered by ca- 
 pitulation on the 13th of Auguft 1762. In the Letter from Lord Albe- 
 marle, upon that occafion, dated the 21ft of Auguft, reference is made 
 to the Chief Engineer s journal of the fiege of the Mora Fort^ which 
 journal is publilhed in the Gazette Extraordinary ; and in that journal, 
 at the date of 22d July 1762, there is the following article : 
 
 " About four this morning there was a fally made by the enemy 
 *' from the town, which, by the information of prifoners, amounted to 
 " 1500 men, divided into three different parties; one pufiied up the 
 " bank behind the Shepperd's battery ; they were fopped for near an 
 *' hour by the gnard pofled there^ confijling only of about thirty men, com" 
 ■*' mandcd by Lieutenant-colonel Stuart of the ^oth regiment^ until he was 
 *' joined by about one hundred fappers, and the third battalion of the 
 *' Royal Americans ; the fire continued hot all that time, the enemy 
 *' were then di-iven down the bank with great flaughter ; as many as 
 " could, got Into their boats, and many leapt into the water, where there 
 " were 150 drowned." 
 
 The fame Journal of the Chief Engineer gives an account of the Affault 
 of the Moro Cafle, on the 30th of July 1762, in thefe words : 
 
 " About two o'clock in the afternoon the mines were fprung ; that 
 *' in the counterfcarp had not a very confiderable efFeft, but that in the 
 *' baftion, having thrown down a part of both f;ices, made a breach 
 " which the General and Chief Engineer thought practicable ; upon 
 *' which the troops, under orders for the aflault, were ordered to mount, 
 " and .which they did with the greateft refolution, and forming very 
 *' expeditioufly upon the top of the breach, foon drove the enemy from 
 *' every part of the ramparts." The Spaniards had about 130 men, with 
 
 " fever al
 
 { 3:^ ) 
 
 *' feveral officers, killed. About 400 threw down their arms, and were 
 *' made prifoners, the reft were either killed in boats, or drowned in 
 " attempting to efeape to the Havannah. Our lofs in this glorious 
 " AFFAIR amounted to two officers killed, and about thirty men killed 
 " and wounded." 
 
 Another part of the fame Gazette proves that Colonel Stuart was the 
 perfon who led on the troops to the affaultof the Moro Fort, and fpe- 
 cifies the numbers he had under his command ; the article is introduced 
 in tliefe words : 
 
 " Return of the Numbers under Lieutenant-colonel Stuart, 
 
 " of the 90th Regiment, at the AflauU of Fort More, 
 
 « July 30, 1762." 
 
 Under this title in the Gazette, the number of officers and men, and 
 the regiments to which they belonged, are mentioned ; from whence 
 it appears, that the total deftined for the firft affiiult were 28 1 rank and 
 file, and to fuftain them 150 rank and file, making in all 431, ex- 
 clufivc of olficers and ferjeants ; befides 150 fappers, under the com- 
 mand of a captain, who were prefent at the affiiult. 
 
 In another part of the fame Gazette there is a ftate of the garrifon 
 of. Fori Moro when taken by ftorm, and the following return of the 
 Spaniards, killed, wounded, drowned, or taken at the affault : Killed 
 130, wounded t,"/, prifoners 310, officers ditto 16, drowned or killed 
 in their boats 213. Total 706. 
 
 From thefe particulars it appears, that this hazardous enterprife was 
 accomplillied even by a force inferior to the garrifon which defended 
 that Fort, remarkable for its ftrength and natural advantages, and which 
 had the advantage alfo of being commanded by a very gallant officer, 
 Don Louis de Velasco. . 
 
 In addition to thefe proofs which have been ftated of Colonel Stuart's 
 behaviour laft war, I fliall only further beg leave to appeal to the tefti- 
 monies given by the Generals under whom he had the honour to fer\'^e, 
 
 F and
 
 ( 34 ) 
 
 and to the recommendations they gave In his favour, which, I believe, 
 will be found at the War-office. 
 
 However creditable for Colonel Stuart It may be, that the particulars 
 of his behaviour lafl war fhould be made known, I never could have 
 thought of entering into them, had not an appeal to his former con- 
 du<3: now become inevitable. 
 
 A recital of fervices uncalled for by any occafion, will always carry 
 with it an appearance of prefumption ; but it will ftand clear of every 
 fuch imputation, when produced only as a neceflary fapport againfi: 
 the weight of unjuft prejudices, and for the redrefs of injuries which 
 have been founded upon them. 
 
 When an officer in his Majefty's fervice meets with hardfhips, fuch 
 as thofe Colonel Stuart has met with, and particularly vv^hen his 
 courfe of preferment is withheld, and many younger officers put 
 over him, fufpicions may be entertained about the general cha- 
 radler and former condu£l of an officer thus excluded from promotion. 
 Thofe who are acquainted only with what has lately happened to Co- 
 lonel Stuart, mud from thence be led to imagine, that his former eon- 
 du£t had been doubtful, or exceptionable ; or, in the mildeft con- 
 fcudion, that no pofitive or fingufor merits had belonged to him ; for 
 merits of that defcription have ufually, and not unreafcnably, been 
 deemed fufficient to protedl a tried and approved charader fromi 
 hardfhips founded merely on the authority of reports, and efpecially 
 reports concerning tranfaftlons in a diflant part of the world= 
 
 One of the befi; refutations of any fuch unfavourable conftrixSlions 
 raufh arife from an appeal to the whole tenour of Colonel Stuart's con- 
 duffc while he had the honour to lerve his Majefty. 
 
 Nor is this the only reafon, my Lord, which induces me to vsnfh 
 that the whole of that former condudl may be brought into view ; — I 
 wiHi it likewife for this additional reafon, that both his former fituations 
 
 and
 
 ( 3S ) 
 
 znd his former fcrvlccs may now be contrafted wiih liis prefcnt fuf- 
 ferings. 
 
 Colonel Stuart had attahied the rank of Licutcnant-coloncl before 
 the campaigns either of the Havannah or of Martinico ; and now, at 
 the diftance of more than eighteen years from the day on which he had 
 the good fortune "to lead to victory the troops which fo gallantly 
 flormed the Moro Cnjlle at the Havatuiab, he finds himfclf in pofTcfiion 
 of no higher rank in his Majefly's fervice than that which he enjoyed 
 at that moment. This, of itfelf, would only prove, that he had not 
 been remarkably fortunate. But the r<:gard due to truth in a relation 
 of fadts, obliges me to add, what muft appear incredible to thofe who 
 were witnefles of his behaviour lail war, — inilead of .promotion, he 
 finds himfelf mortified and degraded in the fervice, where the only 
 diflindion he has obtained, is that of being the marked and fingle 
 exception from the benefit of a promotion allotted to all officers of a 
 certain flanding, anil where, by that m^ans, more than ninety Lieu- 
 tenant-colonels, who were formerly under liim, have now acquired 
 rank over him, and to his prejudice. 
 
 It would be difficult, I believe, for any perfon, even the moft con- 
 •verfiint in the hiiiory of military men, to difcover many inftances of fuch 
 a corapHcation of mortifying difappointments and hardfliips, as thofe 
 which Colonel Stuart has, in the courfe of thefe laft four years, ex- 
 perienced, both in his Majefly's fervice, and in that of the Eafl India 
 Company. They are fuch as would have been more than fufficient to 
 atone for real offences, even of confiderable magnitude ; but they have 
 been iiifli(Sed upon him without any trial, and without proof of his 
 ha-ving been guilty of any intentional oflence : for if he has been 
 guilty of any offence, the utmoft e:s±cnt of it can only amount to this, 
 that, in point of judgincnt, or in point of law, he was miflaken in 
 imagini-ng that the Majority of Council, even tliough his fuperior 
 
 F 2 Officer,
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 Officer, the Commander in Chiefs was one of that number, had a right 
 to require from him obedience. 
 
 The extent of his fufferings has Hkewife been greatly increafed, 
 by the length of time during which he has been continued in 
 an almoft unfupportable ftate of anxiety and fufpence. Obhged to 
 attend to the difcuffions and determinations of his fate, agitated alter- 
 nately in England and in India, and, as if it were in mockery of his 
 misfortunes, the mandates from the India-houfe, under the authority 
 of which his condudl was to be decided upon, and his future fituation 
 regulated, have been repeatedly referred backwards and forwards from 
 London to Madras, and from Madras to London, without producing 
 any other effecl than that of mortifying the perfon whofe profpedts in 
 life were thus obftructed, and his reputation fported with. 
 
 The refult now is, that after confuming fome of the moft valuable years 
 of his life in this unavailing and humiliating ftate of fufpence, he now 
 'finds himfelf juft as far advanced in his progrefs towards the redrefs of his 
 injuries, as he was fome years ago, when the firft inftrudtions refpediing 
 him were fent to India. 
 
 But if thefe things have happened to a perfon who, inftead of being, 
 guilty of offences againft either the State or the Eaft India Company, 
 lias been intitled to merit and applaufe from both, I may furely in 
 that event prefume, that his cafe and his misfortunes muft be deeply 
 affeding to your Lordfhip, and to every perfon poffelTed of the fame 
 fentiments of humanity and juftice. 
 
 That this- defcription applies preclfely to Colonel Stuart's cafe, I may 
 now be allowed to affume as a fadt, eftablifhed as it is by the un- 
 queftionable proofs that have been given of his exertions, and his 
 pofitive merits both in the fervice of the Crown and of the Eaft India 
 Company ; and yet the fmgular confequences are, that he now finds 
 himfelf placed in fuch an unfortunate fituation in both fervices, that it 
 is not polfiblc for him to ait for the pubhc utility, or for his own per- 
 fonal credit, either in the one or the other — a fituation furely the 
 
 moft
 
 { 37 ) 
 
 moft mortifying to an Officer of charader and experience, who ar- 
 dently loves his profeffion, and who has ihewn, by the whole tenor of 
 his condud, that he wifhes for nothing fo much as opportunities to di- 
 flinguifli himfclf in it. 
 
 Of all the misfortunes Colonel Stuart has met with during the courfe 
 of thefe four laft tedious years, none has afFedlcd him more deeply than 
 the event of the year 1777, when he was pafTcd over in the promotion 
 in his Majefty's fervice. 
 
 The news of this event affected him the more, as there was im- 
 prefled upon his mind a complete confidence, that whatever hard- 
 fliips he might meet with from other quarters, during the dominion of 
 prejudice or of fadlion, excited by the Indian civil commotions, yet he 
 might rcjl fecure againft the pofhbility of anj hardfhips being inflided 
 upon him in his Majefty's fervice, where he flattered himfelf that his 
 charadler and condud were well known ; and it appears from the whole 
 courfe of his correfpondence, that he relied on this protedion from 
 that quarter, and looked forwards to his fituation and profpeds in his 
 Majefty's fervice, as affording to him the honourable opportunities of 
 diftinguifliing himfelf in the immediate fervice of his King and country, 
 in cafe, by any perverfe events, he fhould happen to meet with an 
 imjurt return for his efforts and exertions in that of the Eaft India 
 Company. 
 
 From the ftate of Colonel Stuart's mind, thus laid open to your 
 Lordfliip, it will not appear extraordinary, that the firft accounts of 
 what had happened to him in the line of his profeffion in his Majefty's 
 fervice fliould have affected him very ftrongly. I am in doubt whether 
 I fliould venture to ftate it precifely in the words of his Letter to me on 
 that fubje£t, but knowing that your Lordftiip's candour will make al- 
 lowances for the ftrong feelings of an Ofiicer who thought liimfelf in- 
 jured and treated with indignity, and who at the fame time that he 
 7 "was-
 
 ( 38 ) 
 
 was ftruggling with bad healtli, was ftunned by an unexpe£ted blow 
 from a quarter where he had conudently aflured himfelf of favour and 
 protection, I fhall take the Uberty of communicating to your Lordfhip 
 the impreffion which thefe firft accounts made upon my Brother, pre- 
 cifely in the words of his Letter, which is at your Lordlhip's command 
 whenever you are pleafed to call for it. 
 
 The firft part of his Letter contains bitter complaints againft the Go- 
 vernor and Council at Madras, for having refufed to him the trial by a 
 Court-Martial. The Letter then proceeds in thefe words : 
 
 " This delay, or leather refufal of juftice, of itfelf might, I fay, have 
 *' otherwife funk my fpirits entirely; but when your Letters by the Eagle 
 *' Packet, with the news of that moft dreadful fti-oke at the AVar-office, 
 *' found me in my moft private retreat, ftruggling to recover my health 
 " and ftrength (by advice of phyficians at a neighbouring place on the 
 " coaft here), I fay to you, thefe Letters dropped from my hand^, and 
 " I loft my fenfes for fome minutes. I think it foriiinate that I was al- 
 " moft alone; becaufe, upon my recovering, I formed the refolution 
 *' to check even my moft natural feelings, and to look only for refources 
 " in myfelf, now that I feeni to be abandoned hy all the world." 
 
 Thefe were his feelings upon the reception of the firft accounts of 
 what had happened to him in his Majefty's fervice ; and, from liis 
 correfpondence fince that tliTie, it has continued to be tlie grievance and 
 tlie misfortune which dwells moft upon his mind becaufe the moft 
 contrary to every expeftation which he had confidered himfelf intitled 
 to entertain. 
 
 Though he is known to poflefs more than ordinary ftrength of mind, 
 yet the long and fevere hai-dftiips he has had to encounter, during a 
 ftate of bad health in tliat climate, and various contentions he has 
 unavoidably been engaged in, joined to the late cruel dlfappolntment 
 in the laft refufal of a trial by a Court-Martial ; all thefe things 
 united have now had the effed: of fenfibly aifeding his health and 
 fpirits, and have urged me to prefent with great earneftnefs, though 
 
 with
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 with great deference, this addrefs to your Lordflilp on the fubjedl: of his 
 rank ; becaufc if a promotion of General Officers were to take place, in 
 which Colonel Stuart's name, in the rank he expc»Els, fhould happen to 
 l)e again omitted, I am certain, that fuch an event, if he fliould furvive 
 it, would infallibly deftroy his happinefs ; and, from what I know of 
 his difpofitions and turn of mind, highly rufccptible on every point of 
 military honour and diflindion, there is much reafon to apprehend, 
 that the feverity of fuch a repeated difappointment, liable as it would 
 be to many conflrudlions to his prejudice, might, in the prefcnt im- 
 paired flatc of his heivlth, be attended with the moft fatal confequences. 
 
 I am perfuaded, my Lord, that the cafe of a deferving Officer, fuf- 
 fering unmerited injvnues, will fufficlently engage your Lordlhip's at- 
 tention, without offering, in addition to the preceding ftate of fads, 
 any arguments to enforce them ; and I reprefcnt the ftate of my 
 Brother's militaiy hardfhips with more fatisfadtion to your Lordfliip, 
 than to thofe to whom I have hitherto been under the neceffiity of ad- 
 dreffing them ; becaufe, though the Gentlemen in the Dircdlion of the 
 Eaft India Company's affairs are in their fituations highly refpedlable, it 
 is not to be fuppofed that they can, like your Lordfliip, conceive and enter 
 into the feelings of an Officer, — his profeffional pride (which your 
 Lordfliip would wifh rather to cultivate than difcouragc), and all the 
 nice fenfibilities of military honoiir. 
 
 Thefe, I know, will have their full Virelght with your Lordfliip ; 
 and, therefore, it is fufficient for me merely to have related the fads 
 and circumftances which attend my Brother's interefting fituation. 
 
 But as the number of thofe fads, and the extent of the fubjed, have 
 unavoidably increafed the fize of this addrefs much beyond the bounds 
 within which I propofed and wiflied to have confmed it, and as the 
 connedion of the fevei"al parts with the main objed of it may by that 
 
 3 means
 
 ( 40 ) 
 
 means have been rendered lefs evident, I fliall beg leave to refume, in 
 .1 few words, the proportions I have maintained, and the proofs I 
 have offered in fupport of them. 
 
 First, I have endeavoured to fhew, that Colonel Stuart was clear- 
 ly entitled to exped the benefit of that promotion in his Majefty's fer- 
 vice in 1 777, which was allotted to officers of his Handing in the army ; 
 and that no reports concerning his condudt in a dlftant country, and in 
 another fervice, ought to have deprived him, even for a moment, of 
 that promotion which he had earned by many years of faithful and 
 iifeful fervice, while he had the honour to ferve his Majefty. 
 
 My Second Proposition was, that, fuppofing the meafiu-e of 
 withholding Colonel Stuart's rank to have been right in the year 
 1777, yet the continuance of the hardfliip thereby inflicted would 
 now be wrong ; becaufe the ground on which the meafure was at 
 firft taken, is, in its circumftances, ejfcntlally^ and in its reafon, totally^ 
 changed. 
 
 In proof of the affertion contained In this Second Propofition, I 
 have found it necellliry to compare minutely the circumftances which 
 attended Colonel Stuart's fituation in the year 1777, with thofe which 
 now exift ; from whence the conclufion follows, that, in the moft ma- 
 terial refpeds, that fituation is totally changed. 
 
 I. 
 
 Because the reports which had, in the year 1777, been circulated 
 in this country, concerning the diflurbances at Madras ; the alarms 
 about the fafety of the Settlement ; the aflertions about Colonel Stuart's 
 paft, and the predictions about his future, behaviour in that Settlement, 
 under the influence of all of which united, his exclufion from the bene- 
 fit of the promotion 1777 had taken place, have not only been uncon- 
 firmed, but, by the event, have been totally and entirely difproved. 
 
 II. Because
 
 ( 41 ) 
 
 ir. 
 
 Because \\\efiippofitio?i tliat Colonel Stuart would not. on\y certainly^ 
 hni fpeecUly^ be tried by a Court-Martial in India (the only other ground 
 upon which his regular promotion could have been with-held from him 
 in his Majefty's fervice), has, after repeated afliirances to the contrary^ 
 and after feveral years anxious expedlation, been found to be a ft/ppo- 
 fit'ion totally erroneous. 
 
 Under this head I have alfo proved, by Inconteftible evidence, that 
 Colonel Stuart, both in the years 1778 and 1780, while the granting 
 or refullng the Court-Martial was in agitation at Madras, had ufed 
 every pofTible effort not only to obtain that trial as a favour, but had 
 even ftrongly infilled upon it as his right. I have ftated at the fame time 
 the rcafons or pretences made ixfe of by the Governor and Council at 
 Madras for refufing that trial, and have fhewn, in confiderLng thofe 
 reafons and pretences, that feveral material fadts have been cleared up, 
 and feveral weighty opinions given, which, in a cafe fo peculiarly cir- 
 cumftanced as Colonel Stuart's, ought to be confidered as equivalent to 
 the fentcnce of a Court-Martial^ the forms of which only have been 
 wanting. 
 
 III. 
 
 Because in the years 1779 and 1780, there was a folemn trial in 
 Weftminfter Hall, of the perfons principally concerned in the traafac- 
 tions of the year 1776, at Madras, who iflued the orders which Colonel 
 Stuart obeyed ; and the obvious inferences from what pafTed on that 
 trial, and from the fentence itfelf, mull:, in the circumftances of Colonel 
 Stuart's cafe, neceffarily tend to his exculpation or acquittal. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Because Colonel Stuart's general conducl In India had, in thecourfc 
 of the year 1779, been the fubje(5l of an accurate fcrutiny at the India 
 
 O Hotife ;
 
 ( 42 ) 
 
 Houfe ; where the Dlre£lors, after examining the records of the Ma- 
 dras Prefid^ncy in their poflefTion, have, by their letter of the 14th of 
 April 1779, given the moft honourable teftimony with regard to liis 
 general condudt in military and. civil matters fmce the time that he en- 
 tered into their fervice. 
 
 After having eftablifhed in this manner the propofitlons above men- 
 tioned, I took occafion to bring under your Lordfliip's view fome par- 
 ticulars of Colonel Stuart's military merits fmce the time he went 
 to India, and likewife while he had the honour to ferve his Majefty 
 laft war ; which naturally led me to contraft his late and prefent fuf- 
 ferings with his former lituations, and his former fervices. 
 
 Upon the whole I have thought myfelf authorized to maintain, that 
 Colonel Stuart, without any trial, has fuffered more than there could 
 poffibly be any reafon to apprehend, would have been infliftcd upon 
 him, if he had been tried, convided, and even punifhed, by any court 
 of judicature ; and certainly much more than could ever have been 
 infli6led upon him by that Court-Martial which he has been fo often 
 promifed, and fo unaccountably refufed, and which he fo long, fo 
 earneftly, and fo inefFedtually folicited. 
 
 At the fame time I have appealed to the authority of fuch well-eflablifh- 
 ed fadls, as juftify Colonel Stuart's friends in maintaining, that inftead 
 of deferving to be treated or confidered as an offender, his condudt, 
 both in the fervice of the Crown, and in that of the Eafl India Com- 
 pany, has been fuch as adtually intitles him to merit ; — in as far as merit 
 can be afcribed to a fliithful difcharge of his duty, and to ufeful fer- 
 vices rendered upon important occafions. 
 
 If in the preceding enquiry and" difcuflions I have been fortunate 
 enough to afford fatisfadion to your Lordfliip, I mull be permitted to 
 think, that the time is now arrived for realizing the alTiurances given m 
 
 5 Lord
 
 ( 4.3 ) 
 
 Lord Bamngton's letter, concerning the fu// and perfect jiijl'icc that was 
 to be clone to Colonel Stuart ; which, in fo far as it relates to his rank in 
 Jiis Majcfty's fcrvicc, can only be accompliflied by placing him in that 
 fituation of the promotion of the year 1777, which from his ftanding 
 iai the army he was then intitled to have expe(fled. 
 
 I mud once more make an apology to your Lordfliip for the length 
 of this addrcfs, which, though it may be tedious, I am willing to think 
 is unavoidably fo ; and I fliall add nothing further to detain your Lord- 
 Ihip, but one fingle (hort obfervation. 
 
 Before Colonel Stuart could accept the offers, and enter into die fer- 
 vlce of the Eaft India Company, it was incumbent upon him to obtain 
 his Majefty's permiflion, which he, unfortunately for himfelf, as it has 
 proved, folicitcd, and his Majefty gracioufly condefcended to grant. 
 If tfiis ftep had not been neccffary to Colonel Stuart, it would yet have 
 been highly eligible to him, as it intitled him to confider himfelf, 
 while he paid a local obedience to the Eaft India Company, as ftill 
 within his Majefty's protcdlion. What he always looked up to as his 
 beft fupport, is now, by the courfe of events, become his moft effedual 
 confolation ; and in whatever manner his Majefty, in his wifdom, fhall 
 think fit to decide on the misfortunes and injuries which have been 
 fuffered by Colonel Stuart, that decifion will, both by him, and by 
 thofe who are moft affedtcd with his misfortunes, and moft anxious 
 for his profperity, be acquiefced in, as in duty it ought, with the 
 oitmoft humility and fubmiffion. 
 
 That the whole of Colonel Stuart's cafe^ — that the feveral particulars 
 contained in this addrefs, will undergo a thorough examination, is not 
 to be doubted ; — from your Lordfliip's love of juftice, they will meet 
 with a fair, and from your Lordftiip's partiality to men of fervuce and 
 of merit, I flatter myfelf you will think they are intitled to a favourable, 
 =confi.deration. 
 
 G 2 In
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 In whatever other refpedts Colonel Stuart may juftly deem his 
 fituation to be unfortunate, he feels the higheft fatlsfadion in refleding, 
 amidft the calamities he has undergone, and all the difappointments 
 and feverities to which he has been expofed, that thofe accumulated 
 evils will be truly reprefented by your Lordfhip ; and that the final 
 redrefs of them IS IN HIS MAJESTY. 
 
 I have the honour to be, with great truth, 
 Your Lordfhip's 
 
 jlnwry 's.TtTu' ^^^^ faitliful and obedient humble fervant, 
 
 AND^. STUART.
 
 EXTRACT 
 
 O F 
 
 A Letter from the Direclors of the Eafl: India 
 Company, to the Governor and Council 
 
 at Madras, 
 
 As far as relates to Brigadier General Stuart. 
 
 April 14, 1779, 
 
 Paragraph 12. TN our Letter of the 22cl of December laft, we replied 
 X to your advices relative to Br'igadler General Stuart 'y. 
 and having given diredions for his trial by a Court-Martial, and. 
 pointed out fuch Articles of War as appeared to us moft proper on that 
 occafion; wre have nothing at prefent to add on that part of the fubjedl. 
 
 13. But as the conduit of General Stuart, at your Settlement, ex- 
 clufive of the part taken in the late unhappy revolution, has been active 
 and confpicuous, w^e have been induced to take a particular view 
 thereof, in order to communicate to you fuch remarks and inftrudions 
 as may be neceffary for your guidance, in cafe the General Ihall be 
 acquitted by a Court-Martial. 
 
 14. The Memorial, Eftimates, and Calculations of General (then 
 Colonel) Stuart, of the i6th of December 1776, and 20th of January 
 1777, are convincing proofs of his poffeffing the moft perfect know- 
 ledge of the Company's military affairs, and political interefts on the. 
 coaft of Coromandel, and of his attention to every thing neceffary for 
 the fecurity of our pofTeffions on that coaft. The fubjed: is compre- 
 henlive and important j and, ia juftice to General Stuart, we muft 
 
 8 declare,.
 
 ( 46 ) 
 
 declare, tliat the pei'fpiculty of his Statements, and liis zeal for pro- 
 moting the good of the Service, by the e{tablifl;»ment of fuch ex- 
 cellent regulations as were recommended in his Memorial, are very 
 deferving of our commendation. 
 
 15. The vigilance of General Stuart, when abfent from the Prefi- 
 dency ; his care to improve every opportunity of obtaining ufeful 
 knowledge, and the communications made by him in confequence 
 thereof, in pointing out what might have a tendency to promote the 
 public fafety, cannot fail to render that part of his condudl veiy ac- 
 -ceptable to us. 
 
 16. We obferve it was in confequence of General Stuart's Memo- 
 rial, that application was made to the Nabob of the Carnatic to admit 
 a garrifon of the Company's troops into the important fort of Per- 
 macoil, in the neighbourhood of Pondicherry, which meafure has our 
 entire approbation. 
 
 17. The reafons Hated by General Stuart, for declining to obtain 
 the grain of Tanjore by compulfion or forcible interference, and againfl: 
 fending the Dobbeer to Madras without the Rajah's confent, were 
 equally wife and humane. His deference for the Company's orders, 
 and inftruftions relative to Tanjore, were fuch as became his ftation; 
 and we ai-e well pleafed with his whole behaviour on thofe occafions. 
 
 18. The condu£l; of General Stuart relative to the repairing of the 
 Annacutta, or Bank, vsrhich divides the river Cavery, was highly proper- 
 We are very forry to find, that a meafure en which the cultivation 
 and profperity of Tanjore fo entirely depend, and without which the 
 Rajah's engagements could never have been fidfilled to the Nabob or 
 the Company, Ihould on any account be obftruded ; and, we muft own, 
 it appears to us, that the country is in a very great degree, if not en- 
 tirely, indebted to the laudable firmnefs and perfeverance of General 
 Stuart for the fpeedy accomplifhment of this moft ufeful bufmefs. The 
 General entertained a juft idea of the abfolute necelfity of profecuting 
 tlie work without delay ; and he took care to urge it with fo much 
 
 warmth
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 warmth and propriety, as muft have fixed a dangerous refponfihillty 
 upon thofo who fhould perfift in impeding it ; and to this conduct, 
 we attribute the removal of thefe obflrudions which feemed calculated 
 to diilrefs the country, and to difable the Rajah from complying with 
 his ftipulations. 
 
 19. The motion of General Stuart for placing a garrifon of the 
 Company's troops in the fort of Vizianagrum, the capital of Sitteram 
 Rauze's brother, was fo perfedlly confident with the letter and fpirit of 
 the Court's orders, and muft have appeared fo conducive to the efta- 
 blifliment of the Company's authority in the northern Circars, that 
 ■we are furprifed it could have met with oppofition from any Member 
 of Council at Fort St. George. 
 
 20. The fads ftatcd are, That, in Augufl 1 777, the Rajah of 
 Vizianagrum, brother to Sitteram Rauze, with feveral thoufands of his 
 people, were adually in arms ; that the faid Rajah had been guilty of 
 difrefped to your Government, by imprifoning one of your renters ; 
 and of contempt of the Company's authority, by refufmg to fet him 
 at liberty upon the Prefident's requifition. TJie caufe of imprifon- 
 ment of the renter is not the fubjedt of our prefent inquiiy or re- 
 marks. 
 
 21. In the Company's General Letter to Fort St. George of the 
 1 2th of April 1775, their views relative to the Rajahs and Zemindars 
 of the northern Circars are ftated in terms too plain to be miilaken. 
 The fubftance is, that the faid Zemindars fliould be fecured in their 
 property, without being under the neceffity of keeping an armed force ; 
 and that the inhabitants of the country fhould be protected from op- 
 preffion. The impropriety of fuffering Rajahs or Zemindars to become 
 formidable, was fpecially noticed ; and it was fuggefted, that if Sit- 
 teram Rauze was already become fo, the fyflem muft be con'efted. 
 It was aUb refolved, that every military man refiding in the Circars 
 fliould be abfolutely imder the Company's command, obliged to fei-ve 
 
 tlicm.
 
 ( 4S ) 
 
 them whenever he might be wanted, and not left at liberty to take part 
 with an enemy, in cafe troubles fhould arife in the country. 
 
 2 2. The Company's orders being thus explicit and peremptory, 
 and General Stuart finding the conduct of Vizieramrauze inconfiflent 
 Avlth thofe orders, he wifely judged that garrifoning the fort by the 
 Company's troops would cure the fubfuling evil, and enfure the future 
 obedience of this x'efradlory Rajah to the Company's regulations. We 
 agree in opinion with the General, approve his attention to the Com- 
 pany's orders, and hope no change of government has operated to pre- 
 vent the meafure from being completely carried into execution. 
 
 23. It was very commendable in General Stuart, upon the firft pro- 
 bability of hoftilities, to offer to ferve during the war, in any man- 
 ner you might fee proper for the public welfare : and although, from 
 tlie nature of our orders refpe£ling the General, you were not at 
 liberty to accept his perfonal fervices, we are well pleafed with the 
 teflimony given by you of his zeal for the public fervice on that occa- 
 fion. 
 
 24. Having thus given you our fentiments on the conduct of 
 General Stuart, independent of eveiy confideration relative to the 
 late troubles ; and confirmed as we are in our opinion of his great 
 experience, and of his ability to render the moft important fervice 
 to the Company in the prefent conjundure of public affairs, we think 
 proper to acquaijit you, that in cafe the event of General Stuart's ti'ial 
 by a Court-Martial fhall be an honourable acquittal, v>'e fhall be well 
 fatisfied that he remain in India as Second in military command at 
 Fort St. George, during the continuance of General Munro at that 
 Settlement; and that he fucceed to the Chief Command of the troops, 
 on the coaft, upon the firft vacancy that fliall happen In fuch com-, 
 mand, after he fliall have been fo acquitted by a Court-Martial as 
 iiforefaid.
 
 LETTER 
 
 TO THE HONOURABLE 
 
 The Dire6lors of the Eaft-India Company, 
 
 FROM 
 
 ANDREW STUART, Esq. 
 
 [ March, 1781. }
 
 [ I 3 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 TT7HILE there was any profpedt of doing juftice to Brigadier 
 
 » ' General Stuart by the means of a regular trial at Madras, I 
 thought it fuitable, on my part, to wait the event of the orders which 
 had been fent to India for that purpofe ; and to abftain from any in- 
 termediate applications inconfiftent with the plan of thofe orders. 
 
 Bui the repeated refufals which General Stuart has met with of that 
 trial by a Court-Martial which he had fo long folicited, and had fo 
 much reafon to expedl, have brought matters to fuch a crifis, that 
 it is impoffible for me to remain longer filent; and I am perfuaded, 
 when you have pcrufed this Letter, that you will be of the fame 
 opinion. 
 
 To have fliewn great anxiety, and to have exerted fome degree of 
 activity in behalf of a Brother at the beginning of his fufFerings, and to 
 relinquifii all attention to him when thofe fufferings are not only in- 
 ■creafed, but in danger of being perpetuated^ would be a condufl at 
 once injurious to him, and dlfreputable to myfelf, 
 
 Thefe are the apologies I have to offer for addrefling you at 
 prefent ; and you may reft aflured, Gentlemen, that the trouble 
 I mean to give you wall terminate with this Letter; and that 
 it may be as little tedious as poflible, I fhall ftudioufly avoid the 
 repetition of any thing which has been already laid before you, either 
 in my former Addrefs in December 1778, or in the Letter which 
 I had lately the honour to prefent to Lord Amherft, any further 
 
 B than
 
 [■ 2 1 
 
 than may be neceflliry to conne£l together what has pafled on that 
 fubjedt, and to place before you, in one view, the objed of my former, 
 and of my prefent, appUcation. 
 
 For that pui-pofe, I beg leave fhortly to remind you, that in my 
 former Letter, I took occafion to fuggeft tWo different methods of 
 redrefs; to the one or the other of which. General Stuart and his 
 friends were of opinion he was at that time entitled. 
 
 The firft was, a trial by a Court-Martial on the fpot where the tranf- 
 aftions happened. — The fecond was, that you, Gentlemen, fhould 
 enter into the examination of his cafe, and decide upon it your- 
 felves, from the ample materials then in your poffeffion, without the- 
 intervention of any other Court. 
 
 Of thefe two methods of redrefs. General Stuart himfelf ftrongly 
 and uniformly preferred the trial by a Court-Martial, as a Judicature 
 the bed calculated to decide upon every military offence, and to clear 
 up the conduQ of a military man. 
 
 The fecond was the mode w^hich I preffed the moft, for reafons 
 explained at large in my Letter of 1778, and becaufe I forefaw, from 
 the nature of the objedions which had been made by the Governor and 
 Council at Madras, to granting the trial in March 1778, that thofe 
 objedions would moft probably be again infifted upon; and that the 
 only confequences of a new order for a trial, would be a new refufal 
 on the part of your Servants at Madras, and a new difappointment to 
 General Stuart. 
 
 It was your pleafure, not to comply with my requeft, of taking 
 upon yourfelves the examination of his cafe, but you preferred 
 a renewal of the orders for a trial at Madras; and thofe orders 
 were made peremptory and abfolute. Your General Letter in De- 
 cember 1778, contained pofitive orders to the Governor and Council 
 at Madras, forthxvith to make the neceffary reqinfuion to the Com- 
 mander
 
 [ 3 ] 
 
 inander in Chief of tlie King's troops tliere, for aHlmbling a Court- 
 Martial on General Stuart's cafe. 
 
 But the fame Letter contained alfo a paragraph, direifling the 
 Jioppagc of bis Pay ; to which I beg leave to call your particular at- 
 tention, as that circumflance will appear in the fequel to have in- 
 creafed all the former difficulties on the fubjedt of the propofcd trial. 
 
 The paragraph relating to the ftoppage of his Pay is in thefe 
 words : 
 
 *' As we mufl; now take for granted, that a Court-Martial will be 
 " aflembled, without delay, to try Brigadier General Stuart, and that he 
 " will be legally acquitted or condemned by the moft proper tribunal, 
 " wc fliall only add by this opportunity, that whatever may be the 
 " fentence of the Court-Martial to be held on Brigadier General Stuart, 
 *' or on any other military officer, in confequence of the late troubles, 
 " you are to obferve, that the pay and emoluments of every fuch 
 " officer ceafed immediately on his fufpenfion from the fervice ; and 
 " that, even if fentence of acquittal fhall be paffed by the Court-Martial, 
 " no fufpended officer fliall receive any allowance on the Company's 
 " account, for any part of the time which he has remained, or fliall 
 " remain, under fufpenfion, except by the exprefs oi'ders of the Court 
 *' of Dirc£lors, to be firft fignified to you for that purpofe." 
 
 The paragraph containing tlicfe directions about the ftoppage of 
 Pay was ftrongly objeded to by me, from the moment I received 
 intimation of it, becaufe it feemed to be formed upon an un- 
 ufual and unjuftifiable plan of feverity. The complaints I made on 
 this fubje£l to the Chairman of the Eaft India Company at that time, 
 .received for anfwer, that this was a mere temporary inconvenience, 
 that the circumftances of the cafe required it ; but tliat it would be 
 remedied at a future period, and- with a retrofpefl:. 
 
 I fliould certainly have objedted to that meafure much more 
 :ilrongly, if I had forefeen, what I confefs I did not forefee, the addi- 
 :tional reafon or pretence which it was likely to afford to the Governor 
 
 B 2 and
 
 [ 4 ] 
 
 and Council of Madras,, for refufing to General Stuart the wiihed- 
 for trial by a Court-Martial. 
 
 I fhall now bring under your view, as concifely as poffible, what pafled 
 ■at Madras in confequence of thefe renewed orders for the trial, accom- 
 panied with the dlredions for the ftoppage of pay. 
 
 General Stuart, as foon as he received notice of the arrival of 
 thefe orders at Madras, prepared immediately for his defence, and 
 ufed every effort to forward your intentions refpedting the trial you- 
 had ordered, and which he fo ardently wifhed for. 
 
 January 13, With a vIew of expediting the matter, he figned and delivered to 
 
 ' ■ the Governor and Council,, on the 13th of January 1780, a paper^ 
 
 containing a ftate of fa£ls admitted by him, in order that thefe ad- 
 mitted fafts might affift the Governor and Council in forming the 
 Charges againft hira, and afford a ground for his being brought to 
 a Court-Martial. 
 
 During a confiderable time he flattered himfelf, that the Court- 
 Martial would be granted, and that nothing could poffibly prevent 
 
 Februarys. its taking place. But on the Sth of February 1780, he received a 
 letter, ligned by the Governor Sir Thomas Rumbold, the Commander 
 in Chief Sir HeSlor Munro^ and by Mr. Wbithill and Mr. Smith, 
 Members of the Selecl Committee, acquainting him, " That they 
 " had met feveral days on the fubjed: of the Company's orders 
 " of the 22d of December, 1778, relative to his trial by a Court- 
 *' Martial, and had taken up the whole matter with the view of 
 " executing thei'c orders to the utmofl of their abilities ; but that 
 " they were forry to fay, that fjch difliculties had occurred to them 
 *' as appeared infurmountable," &c. 
 
 They then proceed to ftate thefe difficulties. — In the firft place,^ 
 they mention the imperfedions, which, as they conceived, ftill exifted 
 in the Cx)mpany's general inftrudions for a trial ; and then they take 
 
 notice
 
 [ 5 ] 
 
 notice more particularly of tv/o additional difficulties, arlling from the 
 predicament in which he then flood in confequence of the Company's 
 orders. Thefe were his fufpaifioji from the fervice, and the Jloppaga 
 of his pay \ upon which fubjedl there is the following paragraph iu 
 their Letter to General Stuart : 
 
 " Being wnAcv fufpcnfton from the fervice by the exprefs authority 
 " of the Company, and your Pay d.n<\ Allowances having been likewife 
 " (lopped by the fame authority, we do not conceive you to be, in 
 " any refpedt, within the cognizance of martial law." 
 
 Upon the 9th of Fe])ruary, General Stuart wrote a full anfwcr to February 9,. 
 the letter he had thus received the preceding evening, and in that 
 anfwer expreffed his aftonifhment and mortification on perceiving their 
 intention of rcfufmg the Court-Martial which he had ib long and 
 
 fo earneftly folicited. He maintained, " That it was contrary 
 
 " to military pra6lice, and military juflice, and to the general principles 
 " of equity, to delay, or in effeft to deny him, a fair hearing and 
 " trial before a Court-Martial." He then applied himfelf particularly 
 to anfwer the difficulties that had been fuppofed to exift from the cir- 
 cumftances of \\\%fufpcnf:on^ and of xSxe, Jloppagc of his pay. — In fliorr, 
 after particularly combating every objedlion, he concludes with thefe 
 
 words : " I defire and infill on my trial taking place, as an adt of 
 
 " juflice, which the Court of Direftors have exprefsly ordered to 
 ** take place. The materials for the charge are in your polTeffion, and 
 " on record ; or they may be taken from the paper inclofed in my 
 " Letter, dated the 1 3th of January lafl." 
 
 On the nth of February General Stuart received a fecond Letter February u. 
 from the Governor and Council in thefe words : 
 
 " S I R, 
 
 ** We have received your letter of the 9th inflant, and have taken 
 *' the fame into our ferious eonfideration. — We are of opinion, that 
 " the reafoniug contained in that Letter has not removed the dif- 
 
 " ficulties
 
 ■So. 
 
 [ 6 ] 
 
 " ficulties we ftated in ours of the 8th hiftant ; and as thefe and other 
 *' embarraffments arifing from the nature of the Company's orders, and 
 " from the opinions given by the Counfel in England upon the queflions 
 " ftated to them, have abfolutely determined us to refer the matter back 
 " again to the Court of Directiors ; — we fliall write to them on the 
 " fubjed by the veffel now going to Suez, which will be difpatched 
 ^' to-morrow evening at fartheft," &c. 
 February 12, Upoa the 1 2th of February, he addreiled another Letter to the 
 
 Governor and Council, wherein he complains feverely of " the very 
 " great injury done him by their refufing to carry the orders of the 
 " Diredors concerning his trial into immediate execution." 
 
 Upon the fame date, the Governor and Council, at leaft that part 
 of the Council which forms the Select Committee at Madras, wrote a 
 -very long Letter to the Court of Directors, ftating their reafons for the 
 refuild of the Court-Martial, and juftifying their condud in that 
 xefped. 
 
 From that Letter, and from the whole of the proceedings, it appears, 
 that their refufal, in the year 1780, of the Court-Martial, was founded 
 on the fame reafons which had induced them to refufe it in the year 
 1778; with this diiFerencc only, that they availed themfelves of an 
 additional reafon or pretence, from the circumftance of the Diredtors 
 of the Eafl India Company not having taken off General Stuart's 
 fnfpcnfion before they required his trial, and from the further circum- 
 ilance of their orders for his trial having been accompanied with an 
 4)rder for the Jloppage of his Pay. 
 
 I have thus related, as briefly as poffible, my folicitations to the 
 Eaft India Company, the orders which they fent to Madras, and the 
 proceedings there in confequence of tliofe orders ; you will novr, 
 ihcrefore, permit me, Gentlemen, to make a few fljort reflcdions
 
 [ 7 ] 
 
 en the means by which General Stuart lias tlius been brouglit into 
 a very fingular and mortifying fituation. 
 
 Having exerted every nerve to obtain a trial by a Court-Martlal, 
 and having fullained much prejudice from the refufal of it; it muft 
 be allowed that he has reafon to complain of one of thcfe two things, 
 either of the nature of the orders fent to India, or of the difobe- 
 dience of thofe orders on the part of the Company's Servants. 
 
 If your orders refpedling his trial were either in themfelves imper- 
 fedt, as your Servants aflert, or were accompanied with fuch diredlons 
 concerning \\is fiifpetijton^ and the ^opp^ge of bis Paj, asjuftified thenv 
 in thinking that the trial by a Court-Martial was rendered imprac- 
 ticable ; in fuch a cafe, General Stuart has certainly the ftrongeft' 
 reafon to complain, that, by the infufliciency of the orders, or by 
 the addition of dire£lions which defeated the exprefl'ed intentions of 
 thofe orders, he has been engaged in fruitiefs conteits, and fufferod fur- 
 then delays. 
 
 If, on the other hand, there w^as not any thing either in the orders 
 themfelves, or in the diredions which accompanied them, that ought 
 to have prevented the Governor and Council at Madras from pro- 
 moting the trial ; in that cafe. General Stuart has the ftrongeft ground 
 of complaint againft thofe who have difobeyed your pofitive orders 
 refpe£ting the trial by a Court-Martial. 
 
 His friends, therefore, apprehend, that the Eaft India Company 
 are, in juftice, called upon to redrefs, in fuch manner as they are able,, 
 the injuries which they have been the occafion of, either immediately, 
 and in the fu-ft inftance, from the imperfedtion of their orders ; or 
 remotely, by the error and difobedience of their Sei"vant3 : for, in 
 either cafe, it cannot be pretended, that a particle of blame can be 
 imputed to General Stuart; and yet he is, in every refped, the real 
 fufFerer. 
 
 The confequences of thefe errors, either of the Directors of the Eaft 
 India Company, or their Servants, . have been of effential prejudice to 
 8 ■ hixa,,
 
 [ 8 ] 
 
 him, becaufe otherwife he muft, long before this time, have either ob- 
 tained his acquittal, and all the benefits annexed to it ; or muft have 
 received fuch a determination upon his cafe, as would have enabled 
 him to take a decided part as to his remaining in India, or returning 
 to Great Britain ; and whether it was eligible for him to continue any 
 longer in the fervice of the Eaft India Company. 
 
 But while there was a difpofition on your part to give the 
 orders for the trial at Madras, and while there was a declaration 
 alfo on the part of . your Servants there, that they were willing 
 to promote that trial. General Stuart could not abandon his ftation 
 in India, without laying himfelf open to many fufpicions ; and par- 
 ticularly to the difgraceful fufpicion of meaning to evade the proper 
 trial by a Court-Martial upon the Ipot where the tranfadions had hap- 
 pened. 
 
 In thefe fentiments he was the more confirmed, from the terms 
 of your letter of the 14th of April 1779, to the Governor and 
 ■Council of Madras; for, in that letter, you were pleafed to exprefs 
 the moft honourable approbation of his conduit upon various important 
 occafions ; and upon the fuppofition of his being tried and acquitted, 
 you gave, for the firft time, pofitive orders that he fhould be Second 
 in Command during the continuance of General Munro (who had 
 given notice of his intentions of fpeedily returning to England) ; and 
 that upon his leaving the Settlement, General Stuart fliould be reftored 
 to the Command in Chief of the army, in cafe he had before that 
 time obtained his fentence of acquittal from the Court-Martial. 
 
 But your Letter went further : — It clearly indicated a wilh, that 
 he fhould remain in India in expe&ation of thefc evc7its. This 
 appears particularly from that part of it where you were pleafed to 
 exprefs yourfelves in the following terms: " Confirmed, as we are, 
 " in our opinion of his (General Stuart's) great experience, and 
 " of his ability to render the mojl ijnportant fervices to the Company in 
 --*' the prefcnt conjunEltire of public affairs^ we think proper to acquaint 
 
 7 " you,"
 
 f 9 1 
 
 " you," &c. Independent of all other motives, this change of 
 
 condudt on your part, and thefe declarations fo flattering to General 
 Stuart, were llrong ties upon any officer of juft and honourable prin- 
 ciples, not to leave India, while there was any profpedt of liis ren- 
 dering to the Company thofe important fervices, which your Letter 
 diflindly marked out, were, in the prcfcnt conjundure of public 
 affairs, expected from him. 
 
 Without pretending to unfold the motives, or to afcertain the caufes, 
 which have produced the refufal of a trial, and a long feries of mif- 
 fortunes, to General Stuart, I mufl be allowed to obfcrve in general, 
 that this method of proceeding, by keeping every thing in fufpcnfe^ 
 is the moft cruel, and, if it had been defigned, would be the mofl 
 ungenerous, and at the fame time the beft calculated to afperfe, and 
 bring into difrepute, the characters of men who are perfedly inno- 
 cent, or even highly meritorious. 
 
 When imputations of any fort arc brought to diftind: points, and 
 reduced to a precife charge, the evidence and arguments offered in their 
 fupport may, by ftronger evidence and better arguments, be refuted, 
 and the innocence of the party accufed be clearly vindicated and 
 eftablifhed. 
 
 But while no mcafure is adopted, that, from the nature of it, mufl 
 \>z filial', while no trial is held, becaufe by that means there can be no 
 <7ry/«V/i7/, every thing is necelTarily left open to miflake and to mifrepre- 
 fentation; and permit me. Gentlemen, to obfer\'e, that the extraordinar}'- 
 condud', and the very unufual proceedings, by which General Stuart 
 has been made to fuffer the confequences of crimes without the guilt of 
 them, and without the poffibility of proving his innocence, cannot 
 but be felt both by himfelf, and by thofe who interefl themfelves in 
 his profperity, as a very high aggravation of his misfortunes, as 
 
 G giving
 
 [ 10 ] 
 
 giving a keener edge t6 eyery injury, and embittering it by a feverity 
 \vhich is fcarce fupportable. 
 
 It is not from a difpofition to arraign the condu£l of individuals, or 
 any defcription of men, that I have endeavoured to excite your atten- 
 tion to the hardfhips fuftained by General Stuart, from the cruel and 
 unexampled ftate of fufpence in which he has been held for many 
 years. — Complaints of vv^hat is paft, and cannot be recalled, M'ould be 
 ufelefs and invidious, unlefs they had in view the regulation of fome 
 future proceedings. — It is for that purpofe only, that I have folicited 
 your attention to the confequences of your former orders ; and 
 my objedl in mentioning what he has already fuffered, is mere- 
 ly that you may be induced, upon juft grounds, to put a period 
 to thofe fufferings, by taking upon yourfelves the examination of his 
 cafe, and by granting fuch redrefs as fhall appear to you the moft 
 fuitablefor him, and at the fame time the beft calculated for the in- 
 terefts of the Eaft India Company. 
 
 The objeds of your deliberation are reduced, at prefent, withia 
 much narrower limits than they were in December 1 778 ; there is now 
 no option left, and you mufl take upon yourfelves the decifion 
 of this matter : for all hopes of a trial upon this cafe, by a Court- 
 Martial in India, are now at an end. 
 
 The proofs which I fhall beg leave to fubmit to your confideration, 
 in fupport of this affertion, take their rife partly from the nature of 
 the objedlions which have been already made by your Servants in 
 India, and partly from fome additional and very ftrong objedions, 
 which, if the matter was to be again fent to India, would infallibly be 
 made in bar of any military trial in this cafe, on account of the dij- 
 tance of time fmce the date of the fuppofed offence. 
 
 S 
 
 When
 
 [ " ] 
 
 When your Servants at Madras refufed the Court of Inquiry, and 
 the Court-Martial, in the year 1 778, it was not a hafty decifion, which 
 further rcfledion might probably over-rule, but the rcfult of fre- 
 quent meetings, and of much deliberation on the fu])je6l ; and the 
 principal reafons given by the Governor and Council, for that rcfu- 
 fal, were founded on a pofitive opinion, that General Stuart had not 
 been guilty of any military offence^ or of any traiifgrejfton agaitrjl the 
 Articles of War. 
 
 In proof of this, you will permit me to appeal to the opinion 
 given upon that occafion by the Commander in Chief, General Munro, 
 who, on account of his knowledge in military matters, had been re- 
 quefted, by the Members of the Council, to take into his confideration 
 the Company's orders refpedting General Stuart. In confequence of 
 
 I 7"'3. 
 
 this requeft, he firft delivered in to the Board his opinion in writing, Feb. 23d. 
 in relation to the nature of Coar/j- ^///yw; J ; and afterwards he gave Feb. 24th. 
 in an additional paper, containing his anfwers to the qucftions which 
 had been put to him by the Prefident, Mr. Rumbold. 
 Thefe qucftions and anfwers were as follows : 
 
 ilucry \Ji. " Whether or no fuch an Inquiry^ as diredted by 
 
 " the Company, can, from the nature and tendency of 
 
 " a Court of Inquiry^ be ordered upon Brigadier General 
 
 " Stuart?" 
 
 yhifwer. " It is my opinion, that no fuch Inquiry^ as direded 
 
 " by the Company, can be ordered upon Brigadier General 
 
 " Stuart, as will more fully appear from the opinion I have 
 
 " already given relative to the intention of ordering Courts 
 
 *' of Inquiry^ 
 
 idly. " Whether or no a charge againft a military ofEcer 
 " mufl: not be grounded on the infringement of military 
 " law ?" 
 
 C 2 Anfwcr.
 
 [ 12 1 
 
 Anfuaer. " It Is my opinion, that any charge againft a military 
 
 " officer, muft be grounded upon the infringement, or fup- 
 
 " pcfed infringement, of fome article of war, if to be tried 
 
 " by military law." 
 
 3^/j'. " Whether or no Brigadier General Stuart, arrefting the 
 
 " perfon of George Lord Pigot, then Prefident and Go- 
 
 *' vernor of Fort St. George, by a fpecial licence from 
 
 *' George Strattoft^ Efq; Sir Robert Fletcher^ Henry Brooke^ 
 
 " Charles Floyer, Archdale Palmer^ Francis 'Joiirdain, and 
 
 *' George Mackie^ Ffqrs; then part of the Council of Fort 
 
 *' St. George, is an offence that comes under any one of the 
 
 " articles in the Articles of War, intitled, " Rules and Articles 
 
 " for the better Government of the Officers and Soldiers in 
 
 " the Service of the United Company of Merchants of 
 
 *' England trading to the Eaft Indies ?" 
 
 Anfwer. " It is my opinion, that Brigadier General Stuart having 
 
 " arretted the perfon of George Lord Pigot, out of the gar- 
 
 *' rifon of Fort St. George, is not an offence that comes under 
 
 " any one article in the Articles of JVar, intitled, " Rules 
 
 " and Articles for the better Government," &c. as above. 
 
 (Signed) Hector Mukro. 
 
 In this opinion delivered by General Munro all the Members of the 
 Board concurred, and the matter was referred back to the Court of 
 Directors in March 1778. 
 
 When the renewed orders, for the trial, were und& confideration at 
 Madras in the year 1780, General Munro and the other Members of 
 the Council continued in the fentiments they had formerly declared ; 
 and they were furnifhed with an additional reafon for not promoting 
 the trial, from the circumftance of General Stuart's fufpcnfion being 
 continued^ and of his pay being Jlopt, 
 
 If
 
 [ »3 ] 
 
 If the matter were to be fcnt back to Madras a third time, what poflible 
 reafon can there be to expcdl a change of fentiments amongft your 
 Servants there ? and particuhirly, what reafon can there be to fuppofe 
 that General Munro, who is a Member of the Council, would not 
 continue of the fame opinion with that which he had formerly declared ? 
 for I have no doubt that it was his real opinion ; neither have I any 
 occafion, in order to maintain what I contend for, to contravert thi 
 fads or the principles on which that opinion was founded^ 
 
 I mufl now beg leave to diredl your attention to an additional objeElion^ 
 to which I have already alluded, and which, if the cafe were to be fent 
 again to India for trial, would infallibly occur to your fervants there as 
 a bar to any military trial ; and the obje£tion is this: — That the period 
 within which militaiy men are liable to be tried by military law, 
 is actually expired. 
 
 In the Muiiny Act palled annually in England for regulating the 
 army, and which is declared to extend to all officers and foldiers in his 
 Majcfty's fervice, within Great Britain, or in any of his Majejlys dominio7is 
 beyond the feas^ the limitation of the time for trying military offences is 
 exprefled in the 76th claufe in thefe words ; 
 
 " Provided always. That no perfon fhall be liable to be tried and 
 " punifhed for any offence againft any of the faid Adls, w^hich fliall 
 " appear to have been committed more than three years before the 
 ^' ijjiiing the coynwijjion or warrant for fuch trial, except only for the 
 " offence of defertion." 
 
 From the above claufe it is perfectly clear, that no officer in his Ma- 
 jrfys fervice, either in Great Britain, in India, or in the mofl diftant parts 
 of his Majefty's dominions, can be tried by a Court-Martial for any of- 
 fence committed three years before the date of the warrant for fuch trial. 
 
 In
 
 [ H ] 
 
 In the year 1754, an A^ pafled la the Brltlfli Parliament, for the 
 punifhing mutiny and defertion in tbcfervice of the Eqft India Company.-— 
 The claufes of that Mutiny Adx are in general formed precifely upon 
 the plan of the claufes in the Britifh Mutiny Law; but the Britifli Mu- 
 tiny Acl:, which confifts of eighty-three different claufes, fpecifies a 
 much greater variety of cafes than the Mutiny Law refpedling the Eaft 
 India Company's forces, which confifts only of thirteen claufes. 
 
 When, therefore, any military offences are committed in India, which 
 have not been particularly fpecified and provided for by their military 
 law, but which are fpecified and provided for in the Britifh Mutiny 
 Law; in fuch cafes, Courts- Martial in India have thought themfelves 
 bound by, and have adopted the diredions and provifoes of the Britifh 
 Mutiny Law, fo as to make the condition of an officer and a foldler in 
 India as fimilar as pofTible to the condition of officers and foldiers in 
 Great Britain, or in other parts of the Britifh dominions. 
 
 The Members upon a Court-Martlal in India, hold themfelves the 
 -more bound to obferve this rule, on account of the terms of the oath 
 taken by them upon the trial; in which oath, after mentioning the Arti- 
 cles of War and the Mutiny Lav*^, relating to tlie troops of the Eafl India 
 Company, there is this claufe : " And if any doubt fhall arife 
 *' which is not explained by the fiiid Articles, or Afl: of Parlia- 
 *' ment [I will duly adminifter juftice] according' to my confcience, the 
 " heft of my underfianding^ euid the cvjiom of nvar in the like cafe s^ 
 
 One of the articles, not fpecially provided for in the fhort Mu- 
 tiny Law for the Eaft India Company's troops, is that which relates 
 to the limitation of time, after which oflicers and foldiers are not 
 liable to be tried for military offences ; but according to the heft iiifor- 
 mation that I have been able to colledt on this fubje£l, it has been 
 underftood in India, that in a cafe of this nature, it was the 
 duty of the Members of a Court-Martial to obferve the fame 
 rule that is laid down by the 76th claufe above recited of the 
 
 Britifl;
 
 [ 15 3 
 
 Brltlflx Mutiny A£l:, which declared that no officer or foldlcr is liable 
 to be tried and puniflied for offences committed more than three years 
 before the ifliiing the comm'tjjion or warrant for fuch trial, except only 
 for the offence of defertion. 
 
 The application of tliis to General Stuart's cafe is obvious. — There 
 has never to this moment been any commijfion or warrant iffued for 
 his trial by a Court-Martial ; for the Governor and Council at Madras, 
 who in the year 177S had the power of iffuing that warrant, refufed 
 it ; and, in the year 1780, they refufed to make the rcquifition to the 
 officer who at that time had the power of granting the warrant for 
 the Court-Martial. — More than four years are already elapfed fmce the 
 date of the offence imputed to General Stuart ; confequently, if any appli- 
 cation were now to be made in India for a Court-Martial on his cafe, 
 this circumftance of the d'ljlance of time ^ fmce the date of the fuppofed 
 offence, would of itfelf prevent the trial. 
 
 Even if there were doubts both as to the point of law, and as to 
 the pra<Slice in India in fuch cafes, there can be no doubt, after what 
 has happened, that tliis obvious objedlion to granting a trial would 
 be laid hold of in India ; and it would be founded on much better 
 grounds than moll of the rcafons which have hitherto been given for 
 that refufal. 
 
 It is a difficulty v/hich would moft probably obflru£l: this bufinefs 
 in all the various ftages of it, even fuppofing that your orders for 
 holding a Court-Martial were renewed (though I may be permitted to 
 doubt, whether you youi-felves, Gentlemen, would think it advifeable 
 to renew fuch orders, under the weight of this objedlion) ; for, in the 
 firft place, it is moft probable that the Seledl Committee of the Council 
 at Madras would again rcfufe to make the reqinfition to the Com- 
 mander of the King's troops for ijfuing the warrant, 
 
 2dly, Suppofmg them to make that requifition, it is moft probable 
 that the Commander of the king's troops would refufe fuch warranty 
 
 becaufe-
 
 [ i6 ] 
 
 l)ecaufe he would at firft fight perceive that the offence hnputed to 
 General Stuart had happened more than three years before the date of 
 the warrant ; in the prefent cafe, five years at leaft would he elapfed 
 before the date of any warrant that could now be iiTued for affembling 
 a Court-Martial. 
 
 And laflly, Supponng the requifition made, and complied with, there 
 is the greatefl reafon to be perfuaded that the whole, or the major part, 
 of the Members on that Court-Martial would refufe to try the cafe, 
 becaufe, from the exprefs terms of the Britifh Mutiny Law, and from 
 the praftice in India, the time limited for the trial of military oflences 
 had expired. 
 
 In every militaiy fervice fome period ought to be limited, after v/hich 
 an ofhcer fhall be no longer fubjedt to a trial by any other laws, than the 
 general laws of his count}')'. It rhay be neceffary for the fake of dif- 
 cipline, that every officer and foldier fhould facrifice for a time, and 
 vcifome refpeEls, his rights as a Citizen, and fubjedl himfelf to Military 
 Law. But it is not neceffary that this time fhould be of long 
 duration. On the contrary, the public intereft feems flrongly to require 
 that it fliould be as fhort as poffible ; that the officer or foldier may be 
 fpeedily punifhed, if he merits punifliment, or the Public receive the 
 benefit of his fervices, if he deferves to be employed. 
 
 Upon that principle, the Legiflature in this country has limited to 
 three years, the period within which an officer or a foldier may be tried 
 for the offences created, and according to the modes prejcribed, by 
 military law. 
 
 The practice of obferving in India the fame rule which is obferved 
 in Great Britain, without any pofitive claufe in the Eafl: India Mutiny 
 Law for that purpofe, has, undoubtedly, been founded upon the reafon 
 of the thing, upon principles of juffice, and a convidion of its utility. 
 If the limitation of the Britifh Mutiny Adt was not obferved in India, 
 ihe confequence muft be, that there v/ould be no limitation at all ; 
 
 and
 
 [ ^7 ] 
 
 and an officer liable to be tried by military law after 3 years, would be 
 equally expofed to that trial after 20, or after 40 years ; — the inju- 
 flicc and abfurdity of which, are too evident to require the aid of 
 Jiirther argument on this point. 
 
 The refult of all that has been faid on tliis fubjedl of the lim'itallon of 
 time (an objeftion perfectly new, which has never been touched upon in 
 either of my former letters, and the importance of which has led me into 
 more detail than I could have wiihed), is, that when this objedtion is added 
 ■ to all the other obje<5tions, which feem to have been ftudioufly laid hold of 
 by your Servants in India, for the purpofe of refufmg a Court-Martial, 
 there cannot poflibly remain a doubt in any man's mind, that there is 
 not fo much as a chasice of General Stuart's hereafter obtaining a trial 
 by a Court-Martial, or by a Court of Enquiry in India; — unlefs it can be 
 fuppofed, that the objections of your Servants will diminifli, as the 
 reafon for them increafes ; and that they will grant, under more and 
 greater difficulties, the very thing they have repeatedly refufed, under 
 fewer and lefs. 
 
 I cannot therefore allow myfelf to fuppofe, that, when thefe things arc 
 duly weighed, it is poffible that the moft diflant idea of fending this matter 
 a third time back to India, fhould be ferioufly entertained in any quarter ; 
 efpecially when it is remembered, that in confequence of the two former 
 references to that diftant part of the world, about four years of General 
 Stuart's life have been already confumed. ' The life of any man (and 
 more particularly the moft valuable period of the life of a military man) 
 is much too fhort for the repetition of fuch cruel experiments. 
 
 In the preceding part of this letter, and ftill more particularly In the 
 letter which I had the honour lately to addrefs to Lord Amherft, it has 
 been fhewn, that your Servants in India have, from the beginning, 
 ■been of opinion, that General Stuart had not been guilty of any 
 •offence that fubjedted him to be tried by martial law j and I have 
 
 D 410W
 
 [ i8 1 
 
 how fliewn, that even if he had been guilty of any military offence,, 
 the time within which a Court-Martial could with juftice, or would in 
 fad, take cognizance of that offence, has been long elapfcd. 
 
 If you are fatisfied, that either of thefe propofitions is well-founded, 
 I muft prefume, that you will proceed immediately to the examina- 
 tion of General Stuart's cafe. 
 
 Upon this fuppofition, you will be pleafed to permit me to make a 
 few fhort obfers^ations refpeding the very peculiar fituation in which< 
 he now applies to you for redrefs. 
 
 When rumours have been circulated, or fufpicions entertained, to 
 the prejudice of an ofEcer, on account of fome part of his conduit 
 w^hich fubjeds him to be tried by military law; and when that trial 
 has either been refufed, or the time within which it ought to be granted^, 
 has, without any fault on his part, elapfed; the neceffary and legal con- 
 fequence is, that the officer fo fituated, muft be confidered, as if he had 
 never been accufed of any military offence ; or as if he had been tried,., 
 and legally acquitted. 
 
 The juftice on which this is founded, and the pradice which is con- 
 formable to it, are fo obvious, that they require no illuftration ; — if it 
 were otherwife, what muft be the condition of an ofScer ? — It would 
 be in the power of any man, by exciting rumours and fufpicions to his 
 prejudice, to blaft his reputation, ftop his preferment, and deftroy hi& 
 future profpeds in his profeffion. While under all thefe oppreffive 
 circumftances, he would neither be able to prevent, nor remedy, the 
 injuries he fuffered. 
 
 This may be the cafe of every officer in your Service ; unlefs the 
 provifion of the Englifh Mutiny Bill, refpe&ing the limitation of timey 
 with the confequences attending it, is carried into pradice in India. 
 
 If General Stuart had, in the King's Service, committed all, and 
 much greater offences than have been imputed to him ; and if he had 
 taken no one ftep to promote, nor even fliewn any difpofition to ob- 
 tain a military trial, the mere circumftance, of no warrant for a 
 Q)urt-Martial having been iffucd within the fpace of three year's^ 
 
 would
 
 [ 19 ] 
 
 •would of Itfelf be declfive. He would be confidcrea as if he had never 
 been accufed ; or as if he had been tried, and legally acquitted ; and an 
 end would of courfc be put to \\i^ fufpetijio?! ^ and to every other tem- 
 porary hardlliip that had been infliiSled upon him. 
 
 What hefitation therefore can be made, and upon what reafon can 
 fuch hefitation be founded, to prevent the fame rule, under circum- 
 ftanccs precifely fimilar, from taking place, with regard to General 
 Stuart in your Service ? 
 
 If then you are fatisfied, in your own minds, of the imprafticability 
 •of now obtaining, or even of the ftrong impropriety of again attempt- 
 ing any Military Trial in India, it neceffarily follows, that General 
 Stuart fliould no longer be kept in fufpence ; efpecially when there 
 are fuch clear and unequivocal proofs (a circumftance on which 
 I think myfelf well intitled to lay great ftrefs), that he has uniformly 
 made every poffible effort to obtain a regular trial by a Court-Martial, 
 "which has been as conftafltly withheld from him. 
 
 But there is likewife an additional, and a very weighty reafon, why 
 no further delay can be neceflary before you decide on General Stuart's 
 cafe, which Is this. That a court of very high authority in this country- 
 has lately decixled upon, and made known, the nature, magnitude, and 
 confequences of the offence which has been imputed to him. 
 
 In a profecution carried on by his Majefty's Attorney General, 
 'by the orders of the Houfe of Commons, againft Mr. Stratton and others, 
 "the whole of the tranfaftions at Madras in the year 1776, and efpecially 
 "what related to the feizure and confinement of Lord Pigot, underwent 
 a ftridl and folemn fcrutiny. 
 
 I fliall avoid entering into the particulars, either of the trial or 
 'the judgment, any further than may be neceflary to explain how 
 ftrongly both the one and the other apply to the cafe of General 
 •Stuart, and ihew the reafonablenefs of what I now folicit. 
 
 In that profecution, the charge brought againft the defendants confifted 
 of the following particulars, and is in thefe words: " That unlawfully, 
 
 D 2 « and
 
 [ .o 1 
 
 " and fedltioufly, they formed themfelves into a Council, and did confer 
 " the command of the army upon James Stuart ; and did order him to 
 " put the fort and garrifon under the command of them the defendants r 
 " —and if any refiftance fnould be made to their orders, Kofeciire the 
 " perjon of Lord Pigot ; and that they afterwards did aBually arrefl and 
 " hnprfon Lord Pigot ^ and with a military force continued him fo impri- 
 ^ foned for thefpace of nine 77io?iths ; — and during that time, unlawfully 
 " affumed to themfelves the government of the army, and fort and. 
 *' garrifon of Fort St. George, with its dependencies." 
 
 The perfons accufed acknowledged the aflumption of the govern- 
 ment, and the iffuing the orders in confequence of which Lord Pigot 
 was feized and confined ; but maintained that they had a£ted upon the 
 neceflity of the cafe, and upon motives of public utility ; and in proof 
 of that they afferted, that in fad, the peace and fafety of the fettlement 
 had been preferved by what they had done. 
 
 The Judges of the King's Bench, after weighing the whole of the 
 evidence for and againft the perfons accufed, pronounced an unanimous 
 judgment, by which the total extent of the punifhment inflidted, was a 
 fine of one ihoufand pounds^ to be paid by each of the defendants ; and 
 the reafons on which that judgment' was founded, were precifely fpeci- 
 fied in the opinion delivered by the court. 
 
 From that opinion, and from the finallnefs of the fine, when compared 
 
 either with the magnitude of the offences charged, or w\\h. the fituation 
 
 and circumftances of the perfons accufed, it is perfedly evident, 
 
 that the Judges were fatisfied the defendants had not aded from 
 
 criminal motives or intentions: it appeared to the court, that the 
 
 meafures taken by the defendants had been firfl produced by 
 
 feveral arbitrary and illegal ads on the part of Lord Pigot, which 
 
 were confidered as a fubverting of the conftitution. Thefe, and 
 
 •various other circumftances in mitigation of the offences charged, 
 
 reduced the total extent of the punifliment to a fmall fine. The fen- 
 
 tence of the court may therefore be confidered as fomething between 
 
 a condemnation and an acquittal ; it was a condemnation fo far as it tended 
 
 to
 
 [ ai ] 
 
 to ihew that the afis of the Majority of Council were not isjarrautallo 
 hy law^ but it was an acquittal of every criminal motive or intention ; to 
 which however, the court, by the fme impofed, thought it proper to affix 
 fuch a mark as might denote that their condudl had not hetn Jlricfly legal. 
 
 The total extent of the offence imputed to General Stuart is, that he 
 obeyed the orders which the Majority of the Council had iffued to him, for 
 putting the fort and garrifon of Fort St. George under their command, and 
 for fecuring the perfon of Lord Pigot. This obedience to their orders is the 
 veryefTence of General Stuart's crime, and the fource of his misfortunes. 
 
 But thefe adts of arrcjling and imprtfonhig Lord Pigot, and the taking 
 poJfcJfw7i of the fort and garrifon^ were, in the late profecution, ex- 
 prefsly charged upon the Members of the Majority of Council, as adls 
 done by them. The very obje£t of their trial was to afcertain the pu- 
 nifhment due to thofe offences, and likewife to the further offence of 
 having unlawfully affumed the government. — Thus not only the identical 
 offence imputed to General Stuart, but more than that oflence, has 
 already been \\\q, fubjcEl of a regular trial^ has been judged of and 
 decided upon ; and it is upon thofe offences, with all the circumflances 
 oi aggravation or alleviation attending them, that the judgment, which 
 afcertains the extent of the fme or puniflament, has been already 
 pronounced. 
 
 But if General Stuart had been a defendant in that profecution (which 
 he might have been, as the charge againfl him was of a civil rather than 
 a military nature), there could not have been the fmallefl hefitation in 
 deciding, that his offence was very inferior^ in point of magnitude, 
 to that of the Members of the Majority of Council, who had ijfned 
 thofe orders, and at the fame time had affumed the government. 
 
 In another refped;, his fituation was very different from theirs, for 
 his Superior Officer^ the Commander in Chief was one of the Members 
 of the Majority, who figned and ilfued the orders to him, the fecond \\\. 
 command, requiring his obedience. 
 
 Befides thefe particulars, which materially difcriminated General 
 
 Stuart's cafe, I mufl beg leave to requefl your attention to fome further 
 
 effential circumflances. 
 
 When.
 
 I 22 1 
 
 'When the IVIembera of the Majority of Council feparated thenifelves 
 :'from Lord Pigot, formed a Council without him, and affumed the gO" 
 yernment, there was not, perhaps, at that time, fuch an evident nccejfity 
 for that plan of condud, as could completely j^//5' it on the ground of 
 civil orjlate necejfity ; but when thofe meafures had been once taken, and 
 when their orders to General Stuart had been a<3;ually iffued, thefc 
 vthings created a new and a very different fituation, and afforded to Gene- 
 ral Stuart 2ijuJliJicatio?i for obeying thofe orders, which was not applicable 
 to thofe who had ijftied them. — He was reduced to the necejfity of taking 
 z. decided part at a very difficult crifis, and when there was little time 
 for deliberation. 
 
 .His decifion at that moment was regulated not only by his opinion 
 of \'^hat would be moft likely to prevent difturbance in the fettle- 
 ment, but alio by a fmcere belief that the legal govermnent was vefted 
 in the Majority of Council ; an opinion almoft univerfally entertained 
 in the Madras fettlement, and in which there has alfo been the con- 
 currence of the Governor and Supreme Council of Bengal. 
 
 If in that opinion he was miflaken, ftill his condudl rnufl be judged 
 of by the motives which regulated it at that time ; and if he erred in 
 common with the greateft authorities in that part of the world, his 
 offence muft be afcrlbed to involuntary error of judgment upon a nice 
 point of law, refpefting the legal conftitution of the Madras Prefi- 
 dency, which had never then been decided. 
 
 But fuppofmg he had, even at that time, forcfeen the judgment 
 lately pi'onounced upon that point by the great law authorities in this 
 country ; even upon that fuppofition, his condudl, at that difficult crifis 
 of your affairs, is at this day well qualified to fland the tefl of exa- 
 mination, and perhaps intitled to confiderable merit with the Eall 
 India Company. 
 
 After the rupture between Lord Pigot and the Majority of Council, 
 there was no legal government fubfifting in the fettlement, according to 
 ■the late decifion in the King's Bench, where it has been difcovered, 
 that the complete legal government at Madras, was not vefled either in the 
 
 Majority
 
 [ ^^i ] 
 
 Majority of Council without tlie Prefident, or In tlie Prefident^ Lord 
 Pigot, without the Majority. General Stuart, therefore, mufl run 
 the rifk of legal blame, if he obeyed either of the parties which laid 
 claim to the powers of government ; and yet his refufmg to obey or 
 fupport the one or the other of thcfc parties, muft have been pro- 
 dudlive of the greatefl: political evil. 
 
 In this fituation, what part was it poflible for him to a£t, fo as 
 to be free from all fuhfequent blame P Or, how could he difcharge his 
 duty more fuccefsfully to the public than he has aftually done ? 
 
 If he obeyed the orders of Lord Pigot and the Minority of the 
 Council, his obedience to them would equally have expofed him to the- 
 blame that is now imputed to him — that of obeying illegal orders. 
 
 There was no fafety for him then in obeying the orders, either of 
 the one party or the other; and I fliall fuppofe,. that the fafeft part 
 for bimfelf perfonally. upon that occafion was, to have refufed obedience 
 to either party, and to have been totally ina&ive ; but was it the fafeft 
 and beft plan for the peace and quiet of the fettlemcnt, and for the- 
 profperity of the Company's affairs ? 
 
 The confcquence of iriadivity on his part, at that crifis, . would have 
 been the continuance and increafe of all that confufioh which had 
 begun to diftradl the Settlement from the moment of the rupture be- 
 tween the conftituent parts of the legal government of the country. 
 
 The obvious method of preventing thofe evils which threatened de- 
 flrudion to the fettlement, was by checking them in their fource j and 
 this could only be done by a perfon fituated as General Stuart was at that 
 time; may it not then, with truth, be afferted, that it was more for the 
 intereft of the Eaft India Company,, and of the fettlement in general, that 
 he fhould give his decifive influence and fupport to either of the parties^ 
 fo as to prevent the mifchiefs of ^ divided government, than to refufe : 
 giving his fupport either to the one or the other, for his adive exer- 
 tions alone could enfure tranquillity to the fettlement, until the plea- 
 sure of the Eaft India Company was known ? 
 
 7 Txcia-
 
 [ 24 J; 
 
 Trom confideratlons of this nature, it would have been the duty of 
 <5eneral Stuart, or at leaft it would have been meritorious in him, to 
 have rejedled the cautious plan of uiaElivity, even if he had forefeen, at 
 that time, the decifion of the King's Bench refpecling the legal go- 
 vernment of Madras. 
 
 There are occafions, when it becomes the duty of a good citizen, to 
 ■run the rifk of future objedions to the legality of his conduft, for the 
 •fake of averting fome imminent hazard to the community ; and the 
 moft unfaithful fervants to the Public, are thofe who, upon hazardous 
 and critical emergencies, regulate their aftions merely by the confider- 
 ation of what is fafeft and beft for themfelves. 
 
 It is impofhble for any man to affert, with any degree of probability, 
 that the peace of the fettlement could have been equally preferved 
 without General Stuart's interfering in the manner he did : but it is 
 beyond the reach of difpute, or of cavil, that no greater or more complete 
 degree of pease and fecurity could have been obtained, than that which 
 attended the part taken by him at that difficult crifis ; when a diffo- 
 hit ion of legal government^ and a commencement of anarchy^ had already 
 taken place. 
 
 Thefe things v/ere accomplifhed by one to whom no option was left, 
 but a choice of difficulties ; and whatever doubts may be entertained as 
 to his having judged well for his own interefts, it feems to admit of 
 little doubt, that he judged and afted well for the intereft of the Eaft 
 India Company. 
 
 The plain and obvious inference, therefore, which I draw from the 
 circumftances in which he was placed, from his conducft in that fituation, 
 and from the confequences of it, is this : 
 
 That if General Stuart had been profecuted in the Court of King's Bench 
 (which I now moft fmcerely lament he was not), as his offence, if he 
 was guilty of any, was lefs than that of the Majority of the Council, 
 his punifhment muft have been lefs likewife, even though the Court 
 jiad not taken into confideration the many circumftances oi jiif if cation^ 
 
 or
 
 [ 25 ] 
 
 or at leaft of alleviation^ which arc peculiar to his cafe, and which 
 undoubtedly would have had the greatcfl: weight. 
 
 Having now laid before you all that General Stuart co\Ad pojihly 
 have fuffcred if he had been tried, let me requefl you would com- 
 pare the utmoft extent of that punifliment with what he has actually 
 fuffered from not having been included in the civil trial ^ and from 
 having been repeatedly, and for years, denied the 77iiHtary one. 
 
 Review, Gentlemen, the fituation in which the confequences 
 of your orders have fo long placed him; confider his fufpen- 
 fion, the ftoppage of his pay, his fuperfeihon, and by a younger officer, 
 and all the mortifying circumflances which have unavoidably followed 
 that fuperfeffion. 
 
 A complete reparation for all he has fuffered, muft, I fear, be laid 
 afide as impradticable ; permit me, however, to fuggeft fucli me- 
 thod of redrefs as the circumftances of his cafe feem to admit and 
 require ; and which, I flatter myfelf, you will think it both reafonable 
 for him to exped, and, in the prefent fituation of your affairs in India, 
 for the real intereft of the Company to grant. 
 
 The meafure which I beg leave to propofe, is this, — That General 
 Stuart's {\xi^cvi.{\o\\fiould be taken off^ and thaty on a vacancy in the Com- 
 mand in Chiefs he Jljould be 7-cJlorcd to it, in the fame manner, and 
 under the fame circiimjlances, that it was formerly held by him, or that it 
 has been fine e held by Sir Hc6lor Mtinro. 
 
 As General Stuart entered Into your fervlce upon an exprefs 
 agreement, that he fhould fucceed to the command on the death, refig- 
 nation, or removal of Sir Robert Fletcher ; and as he had adually fuc- 
 ceeded to that command, ftridt juftice might poffibly require, that when 
 you are fatisfjed as to his innocence, or convinced that he has fuffered 
 beyond the magnitude of his fuppofed offence, he fhould be dirc^ly 
 reftored to the fituation from which he had been difplaced. 
 
 E But
 
 [ 26 ] 
 
 But as I am thoroughly fatlsfied that fuch a meafure, though juft, 
 with regard to my Brother, would be highly injurious to General 
 Munro, I have not the fmalleft hefitatlon to declare, That while General 
 Munro, with )^our approbation, choofes to retain the fituation of 
 Commander in Chief, there fhall never be any requeft or application 
 from me, that has even a tendency to interfere with his wifhes in that 
 refpedl. 
 
 My requeft is merely, that your orders for General Stuart's reftora- 
 tion fhould take place on Sir Hedlor Munro's leaving the fettlement ; 
 and that the fufpenfion, which was originally inflicted for the fpace 
 of fix months only (though, by the effect of accidents rather than 
 from any diredl intention on your part, it has had a much longer 
 duration), fhould be immediately removed. 
 
 By this arrangement, attention will be paid both to the interefts of 
 General Munro and of General Stuart; and, I believe I may be permitted 
 to add, to thofe likewife of the Eaft India Company. For by thefe 
 means they may be affured of the fervices of two officers, both of whom 
 are qualified^ by their rank and experience, for rendering effential fervices 
 to the Company in the higher fituations of command. And it is well 
 known to you. Gentlemen, that it has long been tlie opinion of 
 thofe beft acquainted with your affairs ; and particularly, that it 
 was the opinion of Lord Clive, one of the greateft authorities on 
 a fubjedl of this nature, that in that part of the world, where the 
 continuance of life and of health is much more precarious than in 
 European climates, you ought never to be unprovided with a fucceflion 
 of officers in the higher ranks of the military profeffion ; who, by adding 
 local knowledge to other abilities, might be qualified for command 
 on great emergencies; without which, all your other efforts muft, 
 probably, be ineffedlual. 
 
 Upon due confideration of the requeft now made, I flatter 
 
 Biyfelf you will find that it aims at nothing either immoderate or 
 
 fcuireafonablc, 5 ■ 
 
 If
 
 [ 27 ] 
 
 If any folid objcdllon had occurred to me, I flioiikl have 
 thought it my duty to avoid troubling you upon any propofition not 
 qualified to ftand the tcfl of your mofi: mature deliberations. 
 
 But unable to difcovcr any that are juft and well-founded, I have 
 next endeavoured to find out, whether fome objedions, carrying with 
 them at leaft a plaufible appearance, might not be ftarted againft 
 what I have propofed. 
 
 Under this defcription, fomething like the following only have oc- 
 curred. 
 
 'That after all the clamour raifed about the dijlurbances at Madras ^ and 
 
 about the part taken in them by General Stuart^ the replacing him in his 
 
 former fituation until he had obtained a fentence of acquittal from a 
 
 Court-Martial^ or fome other regular tribunal^ would, in rffcEl, be ab- 
 
 folvhig him ivithout any punlfliment, or chance ofpuni/Jjment. 
 
 The beft anfwer on the part of General Stuart, to this objedlion, is 
 in the recital of his fufferings, and in the review of his condudt. The firft 
 fliews that he has, in fa^Sl, htcn pu?tifjcd ; and the fecond, that he has 
 folicited repeatedly for a trial, and by that means repeatedly called 
 aloud for punifhment, if he deferved it. 
 
 It has been his peculiar misfortune, that his hardihips have pre- 
 ceded his trial, or any legal proofs being eftablifhed againft him. But 
 it would be a ftill greater misfortune, if, becaufe he has conftantly been 
 rcfufed a legal trial, he fliould be charged with not having been 
 
 legally acquitted. But this reafoning, abfurd as it may feem, 
 
 has given occafion to people to fay, that General Stuart has no 
 right to complain, becaufe his conduit has undergone no legal 
 cenfurc, and that he has himfelf undergone no punfljment. He has 
 
 not been punifoed, it is faid — he has only been fufpended. It is 
 
 not denied, however, that this fufpenfon has affeded, firft, his fitua- 
 tion in the Eaft India Company's Service; and next, his rank in the 
 King's Service ; and that both thofe fufpenfions might be fixed' upon 
 
 E 2 him
 
 [ 28 1 
 
 him and perpetuated, a third fufpenfion has taken place,— Tl^d-yJ^r;/- 
 fwn of his trial. 
 
 Is it poffible, Gentlemen, for any man to believe that thofe hard- 
 fliips which, if inflid;ed upon General Stuart under the word /'««//Zi- 
 ment, would have been intolerable, impofed under the word fujpcnfioii^ 
 are in the flighteft degree mitigated, or lefs grievous ; and that a change 
 of the expreflion can in any manner alter the nature of the thing ? 
 
 By affigning his not having been iried^ as a reafon for his not being 
 redrcJTed; the denial of juftice, and the refufal to hear, are circumftances 
 not only in themfelves injurious, but are made ufe of likewife as the 
 foundation and the defence of further Injuftlce ; and the refufal to 
 replace him, becaufe he has not obtained ^fcntence of acquittal^ muft 
 lead to the perpetuating his misfortunes; for it has been already 
 fliewn that, from the lapfe of time, as well as from other corx- 
 fidcrations, it is now become Impofiible for him ever to expert a 
 .Court-Martial. 
 
 But although all hopes of obtaining that particular fpecles of trial 
 are at an end, he ftill is liable to be tried, and is ready, at any time, 
 to anfwer to the laws of his country in the ordinary courfe of juftice, 
 for any offence that can be alleged againft him. And indeed the 
 opinion and judgment of a court of high authority in this country 
 has, in effedl, and by neceffaiy inference in the manner already 
 explained, been obtained upon the nature, extent, and confequences 
 of any offence that could be imputed to General Stuart for his obedl- 
 tnce to the Orders of the Majority of Council. 
 
 Thefe corifiderations are, I apprehend, of themfelves fufficient to 
 afford a complete and fatlsfad:ory anfwer to the fuppofed objedlons 
 above mentioned, in cafe fuch objedions fliould, in any quarter, hap- 
 pen to be made, and be thought deferving of attention. 
 
 I cannot, however, help being apprchenlive that I have been led', 
 from anxiety for a Brother, to give you feme unneceffary trouble 
 
 6 in
 
 [ 29 ] 
 
 m {latlng and refuting objections which are merely pofTible ; 
 for, upon rcfledion, it feems to me, that no one well informed on 
 the fubjeCt, can entertain a ferious wifli to oppofe a meafure whiclx 
 comes fo flrongly recommended by confiderations of propriety, juftice, 
 and even of humanity. 
 
 General Stuart had attained a very high fituatlon, — He was Com- 
 mander in Chief of a great army belonging to the Eaft India Company 
 in the Carnatic. — How highly lie had improved the difcipline, and in- 
 creafed the ftrength of that army, has been univerfally acknowledged. 
 His efforts contributed greatly to make that army equal to the ac- 
 complifhment of the moft important enterprifcs : — But, unfortunately, 
 almoft at the very moment of their execution, the orders from the 
 India-houfe firfl fufpended him from the fervice ; and afterwards re- 
 moved him from the command. 
 
 In the courfe of a few months the hoftilities with France commenced". 
 The moment he h-eard of thofe hoftilities, forgetting, or ading as if he 
 had forgot, tire indignities under which he was fuffcring, he made an 
 offer of his fervices ; — and though, but a few months before, he had 
 been at the head of that army, he waved every pretenfion to rank, 
 and defired to be placed in any fituation where there might be any 
 
 profped of his being ufeful. But even this zealous and humble offer 
 
 was rejeded ; his fufpenfion being thought a bar to the acceptance cf 
 his fervices. 
 
 Thus, your orders for his fiiperfejfton deprived him of the highefl 
 military fituation ; and the order for his fufpeiifion prevented his being 
 ufeful in the very loweft. 
 
 Reduced from being Commander in Chief, to a mere private indivi- 
 dual, he has remained for years in this ufelefs degraded fituation ; urging 
 inceilantly, by his friends at home, and perfonally himfelf in India, re- 
 quefting and demanding a trial ; not with the ufual apprehenfions of 
 a perfon to be tried, but with all the zeal and eagernefs of a vindictive 
 profecutor. 
 
 The
 
 [ 30 ] 
 
 The being removed from the command of a great army, at any 
 period, you muft be fenfible, is a lofs, very affeding to a military 
 man ; but when, in addition to the lofs itfelf, the particular time of 
 that removal is confidered, no one, I am perfuaded, can be fo com- 
 pletely indifferent to the misfortunes of others, as to Imagine, that 
 the redrefs propofed, exceeds, or is in r.ny degree equal to, ilie 
 extent of General Stuart's fufferings, loifes, and difappointments, when 
 the nature of them is fully confidered. 
 
 ' He was obliged to furrender the command of the army into other 
 hands, at a time when that furrender was immediately followed by all 
 the honours, diftindions, and rewards, which fo properly attended 
 
 the fuccefsful event of the fiege of Pond'icherry. That they were 
 
 merited by the officer, who, ading in General Stuart's place, has en- 
 joyed them, is not by me, or in any quarter difputed ; but it cannot be 
 deemed, nor, I believe, would General Munro himfelf confider it, as 
 any detradion from his merit, to fuppofe, that the fame enterprife, with 
 the fame army, would equally have fucceeded under the command of 
 General Stuart, who has had the advantage of much experience, and 
 whofe military merits have been undifputed, even by his enemies. 
 
 The hardlTiips of an officer are not to be meafured merely by 
 the length of time he has been fufpended from the fervice (though 
 even in that view. General Stuart's fufferings have been very con- 
 fiderable), but by circumflances which are far more affedling, — by the 
 means of fignalizing himfelf, which have been lofl:, by the openings 
 for adivity, and diftinguifhed opportunities of ferv^ice, which feldom 
 offer, and fcarce ever return. 
 
 When the whole of this matter is thoroughly known, and con- 
 fidered, will it be fcrloujly pretended by any one, that General 
 Stuart has undergone no feverities, and fuffered no pumjloment ? — 
 Or can it be fuppofed, by thofe who confider what conftitutes the 
 pride and happinefs of an officer, that the immaterial fine impofed by 
 a Court of Law upon the perfons tried and pr'inc'ipally accufcd^ bears 
 
 any
 
 [ 31 ] 
 
 any fort of proportion to what General Stuart, untried^ has been 
 obliged to fuffcr for his inferior fuppofed offence? 
 
 In addition to the title which he has to redrefs on account of his 
 fuffcrings, he flatters himfclf that he has a flill further claim, Gen- 
 tlemen, to your favour and protedlion, as guardians of the interefts 
 of your conftltuents, on the grounds of his achioisdcdgcd merits. 
 
 That attention fliould be paid, and ample juflice done, to officers 
 who have diilinguilhed themfelves by beneficial exertions in your fer- 
 vice, will be at all times effential to the honour and intereft of the India 
 Company. — But it is particularly fo at this time, when the increafmg 
 number of our enemies will call for every exertion in India, where 
 both local and military knowledge are abfolutely necelTary, and where 
 thofc who fland diftinguiflied by a union of thefe qualities will prin- 
 cipally be looked up to, as the moft capable of performing any future, 
 fervices. 
 
 To the credit of the Eafl: India Company, inftances never have 
 been wanting in v/hich they have aded towards meritorious officers 
 upon thefe wife and honourable principles ; and it has been re- 
 marked, with pleafure, that, upon thefe principles, your condudl has^ 
 in a confpicuous manner, been regulated in the recent inftance of the 
 favour fliewn to that deferving officer Major Home. 
 
 The fame unfortunate diffentions at Madras^ which had occafioned 
 your difpleafure to General Stuart^ had alfo fubjedted to the fame mif- 
 fortune Major Horne^ Captain Edington^ and Captain Lyfaught. Your 
 orders direded that thofe three officers, as well as General Stuart,- 
 fliould be tried by a Court-Martial, on account of the fliare they 
 feverally had in the feizure or confinement of Lord Pigot. 
 
 No Court-Martlal was held on thofe Gentlemen, in confequence 
 cither of your firft orders in 1777, or of your renewed orders in 177S. 
 The difficulties which had occurred to the Governor and Council againft 
 
 granting
 
 [ 32 ] 
 
 granting a Court-Martial on General Stuart, prevented alfo the trial 
 of thofe other officers. In this fituatlon, they fuftained feveral tem- 
 porary hardfliips, accompanied with evident marks of your dif- 
 pleafure. 
 
 When the news reached Madras In Summer 1778, of the commence- 
 ment of hoftilities with France^ and the fiege of Poiidichcrry was re- 
 folved upon, Mcyor Home made an offer of his fervices, and that offer 
 •was accepted. He commanded the artillery ; and from his experience, 
 zeal, and abilities, contributed greatly to the fuccefs of that enterprife. 
 Particular commendations of his fervaces were fent home ; and the im- 
 mediate confequence was, that, in 1779, you fent out inflructions to 
 Madras, that Major Home (hould be reflored to the command of 7'a7i- 
 jore^ which command he had attained fubfequent to the difturbances at 
 Madras, but from which he had been difplaced in confequence of your 
 orders for his trial. The inftrudions fent out in 1 779, for his reflo- 
 ration to that command, were, however, qualified with this condition, 
 " in cafe he had been tried and acquitted by a Court-Martial." 
 
 As Major Home could obtain no trial, and of courfe no acquittal, 
 -that condition which made a trial neceffary, would of itfelf have been 
 fufficient to defeat all your favourable intentions, had he remained in In- 
 xlia ; but he had failed for England before your orders reached Madras. 
 
 His cafe came under the confideration of the Court of Directors 
 within thefe few months, and at that time it was known that there had 
 been a fecond refufal at Madras of the military trial to General Stuart. 
 The Court, therefore, judged it proper, on every account, to take 
 upon themfelves the decifion of Major Home's cafe. Upon the 
 examination of it, they have not only abilalned from any cenfure 
 upon his conduSl in the Madras difturbances, but they were fo fully 
 .fatisfied of his military merits^ and of material fervices he had ren- 
 ilered, and might probably hereafter render, to the Company, that 
 ^n the 2d of January laft, they exprefsly refciiidcd tXitix former orders 
 
 for
 
 I 33 ] 
 
 for Major Horne''3 trial by a Court-Mar I tal ; and on the 3d of January 
 It was further refolvcd by the Court of Diredors, that Major Home 
 fliould return to Madras with the rank ol Colonel of Infantry, next above 
 Colonel Lang, which gives him an advance of four rtcps, and has the 
 effcdl of placing him next in command to General Smart upon the 
 Madras eftabliniment. 
 
 Both the attention paid to this deferving oflrcer, and the mode of 
 ■doing it, give to all the arguments I have employed in behalf of Ge- 
 neral Stuart, much additional force. 
 
 What you have fo recently done in Major liorne's cafe, affords 
 more than a precedent, and goes far beyond the very moderate requeft 
 I have made in favour of General Stuart. 
 
 In what I have taken the liberty to propofe for my Brother, 
 I have not requcfted that he fhould receive any new or additional 
 mark of your favour, in compenfation of his fufferings ; nor have I 
 -aimed at his being immediately reftored even to the fame fituation he 
 formerly held ; I have only propofed, that his reftoration fhould take 
 place evennially, and upon the firft vacancy. 
 
 When the reafonablenefs of this propofition Is compared witli, and 
 found to fall fo far fhort of, what you yourfelves have done in the cafe 
 ■of Major Home, it is hardly poffible to imagine that the compliance 
 with the requeft I have made can Riffer a moment's hefitation. 
 
 Your orders for the military trials of General Stuart^ Major Horne^ 
 Captain Edington, and Captain Lyfaught^ originated from the fame caufe — 
 the fhare they had in the feizure or confinement of Lord Pigot ; — but 
 none of thefe officers having been able to obtain a trial by a Court-Martial, 
 it has been difpenfed Math, and the order for it refcinded, in the cafe of 
 Major Home, and will, from the reafon of the thing, be difpenfed with 
 in the cafe of the other officers. Major Home, Captain Edington, and 
 Captain Lyfaught have been employed in your ferv^ice fmce the time that 
 your orders for their trials arrived in India ; and the advantage of their 
 having been employed, appears from the fervices they have performed 
 
 F in
 
 [ 34 ] 
 
 in their feveral military fituations ; for, fingular as it is, it fo happens, 
 that your difpleafure, in confequence of the unfortunate difturbances 
 at Madras, fell upon four officers^ who were diilinguifhed for their 
 zeal and their abilities in the Company's military fervice. 
 
 But though the orders which you fent to India for a military trial 
 extended equally to them all, yet the refufal of that trial has been pro- 
 du£live of greater misfortunes to General Stuart, than to thofc other 
 officers to whom the orders for a trial related. 
 
 In thtjirji place^ General Stuart, alone, has fuffered from the tem- 
 porary ^o^j^^^c^ of the pay\ iox that part of your directions, though 
 exprefled in general- terms, has, in its application, been confined to his 
 cafe in particular. 
 
 Secondly^ The fervices of the other three officers, while under orders 
 for trial, were accepted of,, but his were rejeded, 
 
 'Thirdly^ As General Stuart was at the head of the army, and, if he 
 had not been fuperfeded, would have commanded in chief at the fiege 
 of Pond'tcherry ; a complete reparation of his injuries becomes almoft 
 impracticable. In ordinary cafes, where the difpleafure at an officer 
 has ceafed, the reparation is generally made by reinftating him 
 direCUy in the fituation from which he had been dlfplaced, and fome- 
 times by a further promotion. But the fuperfelfion of General Stuart, 
 by an officer fent from England on purpofe, has fo increafed the dif*- 
 ficulties of doing complete juftlce, that I have found it reafonable, 
 though fevere upon him, to wave any. pretenfions to his being reftored 
 to his former fituation, until the officer, by whom he was fuperfeded, 
 choofes to quit the command. 
 
 My argument is not, that thofe officers who were ordered to be tried 
 in the fame manner as General Stuart, have fuffered too little. — What 
 I know of their charadters, and of their having adted from a fenfe of 
 what they confidered to be their duty, makes it impoffible for me 
 to entertain any fuch idea ; but the argument fuggefted by the fads I 
 liave mentioned is, that Genei'al Stuart has fuffered /oo long^ and greatly 
 too much^ 
 
 What
 
 [ 35 J 
 
 What reafon, or inducement, then, can there be for tlic con- 
 tinuance of fo difpi-oportioned a meafurc of punifhment ? And mufl 
 not the Eaft India Company feel themfelves ftrongly called upon, in 
 jufticc to General Stuart, and from a fenfe of propriety, to afford 
 every poflible relief to one whofe hardfhips have been beyond 
 all bounds, and whofc fervices have long been acknowledged, and 
 particularly by your Letter of the 14th of April, 1779, where his 
 condud', in what related to the civil as well as military concerns of 
 the Company, has been approved of in terms highly flattering and he* 
 nourable for him ? 
 
 As fome account has been given of thofe fervices, in the Letter 
 •which I had lately the honour to addrefs to Lord Amherft, I think it 
 my duty to abftain from any repetition on that fubjcft^ 
 
 From the unfortunate circumftances of the times, every thing that is 
 valuable to the Eaft India Company in Indoflan^ may now, perhaps, be 
 decided by the events of war; for, befides the contefts in Vv'hich the Com- 
 pany are engaged with fome of the country powers in India, there now 
 cxifts a ftate of war with the French, who certainly will be difpofed to 
 improve every opportunity of injuring the Eaft India Company, and 
 benefiting themfelves in that part of the world. — The ftate of hofti- 
 lities lately commenced with the Dutch, adds to the number of foes 
 in India, and may probably give birth to many militaiy operations, 
 either offenfive or defenfive, in that quarter of the globe. 
 
 If, then, there are officers in the Company's fervice, and now upon 
 the fpot in India, who are qualified to be highly ufeful to the State, 
 can this be the particular and well-chofen time for the Company to de- 
 prive themfelves of all pofhble utility from any officer of that delcrip- 
 tion \ Or is it confiftent with the interefts of the State, or of the Pro- 
 prietors of the Eaft India Company, that fuch a plan of condud fliould 
 be adopted, and at fuch a crifis, and that the merits of thofe officers 
 ihould be at once extolled and neglected ?. 
 
 7 Ic
 
 T o6 ] 
 
 It is not for me to fay how far this defcription of officers qualified to 
 render effcntial fervices, at fuch a crifis, may be particularly applicable 
 to General Stuart; but without fubjeding myfelf to the imputation 
 of partiality or prefumption, I may be perm.itted to obferve, that 
 General Stuart eitlier is, or ought to be, qualified to anfwer that de- 
 fcription. — He has had the advantage of a regular profeffional educa- 
 tion, had many opportunities, and particularly during the laft war, of 
 feeing real fervice, of afting under refpedlable commanders, and in 
 fituations well calculated to form an officer. — And as military know- 
 ledge has been the great obje£l and ftudy of his life, it is at leaft 
 probable, that the eftimation in which he is held by military men as 
 a ufeful officer, is not entirely without foundation. 
 
 You yourfelves, Gentlemen, in your Letter of April 1779, have 
 been pleafed to exprefs this opinion of his military merits, and to found 
 upon them an expedtation of important future fervices. 
 
 But if the compliments that have been paid to him by the Court of 
 Diredors, are followed with no confequences that may flop the current 
 of his misfortunes, and reinftate him in a capacity of being ufeful to the 
 Public, what a difcouragement will it be to the zeal of officers in your 
 fervice, to exert themfelves in acquiring thofe praifes which they have 
 hitherto been accuftomed to confider as fo valuable, and as the certain 
 tearneft of your future favour and protedion ? 
 
 Thus, Gentlemen, I have laid before you all the material cii*- 
 cumftances of General Stuart's cafe ; — his fuppofed ofi'ence ; — his 
 adual fufferings ; — the refufal of his trial ; — the acknowledgment 
 of his merits ; — and the method of redrefs which he thinks himfelf 
 well entitled to folicit and expe£):. I confidered it as a part of 
 my duty to reprefent to you all thefe particulars, — ^it is your pro- 
 vince to decide upon them; and I have nothing further to add, 
 J before
 
 [ 37 J 
 
 before I conclude this Letter, but a repetition of the afTuranccs f 
 gave you at tlic beginning of it, that no occafion can, I think, pof- 
 fibly occur, which fliall induce me to give you any further trouble ; for, 
 if all I have already faid fhall not be found fufficient to explain 
 the unmerited hardfhips of General Stuart's fituation, and to imprefs 
 ftrongly on your minds the juflicc and neceffity of affording the pro- 
 pofed relief, I defpair of fucceeding in that attempt by any further 
 endeavours; and I fliall fit down, fufpcding, that there either is fome 
 weaknefs in General Stuart's cafe, which my partiality prevents me from 
 difcovering, or that I have not been able to put forth the ftrength of 
 it in fuch a manner as it deferves ; and it muft be left to the impar- 
 tiahty of the world at large to decide, Whether the refufal of all re- 
 drefs to General Stuart (if fuch refufal can be poflible) ought to be- 
 imputed to the defeats of his caufc, his advocate, or his judges ? 
 1 have the honour to be, with great refped:, 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 Your moft faithful^ 
 
 And obedient humble fervant,, 
 
 Berkley-Square, 
 March 5, 1781. 
 
 AND-^. stuart:
 
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 7 

 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES 
 THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 't'frC iD I, -^rDus book is DUE on the last date stamped below 
 
 BJK. OCT Z 3 \m