sacrificed office. He was the first to conceive the idea of developing our national industries and resources by commercial treaties with other nations, even choosing for his essay-piece a treaty with a country with which our relations for nearly five hundred years had been almost uninterruptedly hostile, and which Fox, in the heat of his opposition, objected even to consider in any other light than that of an enemy. He laid the foundation for all subsequent legislation connected with our colonies in his Bill for the Government of Canada; and he established a system for the government of our Indian dependencies on so statesman-like a principle, that all subsequent administrations concurred in upholding it, till subsequent events compelled the abolition of all the share in the government of the country previously possessed by the Company.
A great writer of the past generation,[109] who in some respects has done full justice to his genius and political virtue, has, however (partly, it can hardly be doubted, from regarding himself as a follower of his great rival, Fox), contrasted his capacity as a War-minister with that of his father, drawing a comparison on this point very disadvantageous to the son. We need not stop to examine how far the praises which he bestows on Lord Chatham's talents as a planner of military operations are deserved; but it may very fairly be contended that the disparaging views of Pitt's military policy which he has advanced are founded solely on what is in this as well as in many other instances a most delusive criterion, success. It is true, unquestionably, that in the campaigns of 1793-4 -5 against the French revolutionists, while he took upon this country the entire burden of the naval war, on land he contented himself with playing a secondary part, and employing a comparatively small force (which, however, doubled that which his father had sent to Minden),[110] for the success of the military operations trusting chiefly to the far stronger Austrian and Prussian divisions, under the command of Prince Coburg and the Duke of Brunswick, to which the British regiments were but auxiliaries. It is true, also, that the result of their operations was unfortunate, and that the German generals proved wholly unable to contend with the fiery and more skilful impetuosity of Jourdan and Pichegru. But the question is not whether Pitt's confidence in the prowess of his allies was misplaced, but whether he had not abundant reason to justify him in entertaining it. And, to judge fairly on this point, we must recollect the reputation which for the last forty years the Austrian and Prussian armies had enjoyed. The result of the seven years' war had established the renown of the Prussians, and the Duke of Brunswick was understood to be a favorite pupil of the Great Frederic. The same war had shown that the Austrians were not very unequal to the Prussians; while the reputation of the French troops had fallen to the lowest ebb, the most memorable event in their annals during the same war being the rout of Rosbach, when 60,000 of them fled before Frederic and 22,000. At the breaking out of the Revolution, it might be said that De Bouille was the only French general of the slightest reputation, and since the sad journey to Varennes he had been an exile from his country. And, though again in 1803 Pitt once more trusted for success on land to Continental alliances, not only does he deserve admiration for the diplomatic talent with which he united Austria, Prussia, and Russia against France, but it can hardly be doubted that confederacy would have been triumphant, had not the incompetent vanity of Alexander ruined all its prospects by his rash disregard at Austerlitz of the experienced warnings of his own staff.[111]
The new form of government which he established for India, and to which allusion has been made, has lost the greater part of its importance in the eyes of the present generation, from the more-recent abolition of the political authority of the East India Company, though of some of the principles which he avowed he had taken for his guides it is worth while to preserve the record; with such clearness, as well as statesman-like wisdom, do they affirm the objects which every one should keep in view who applies himself to legislation for distant dependencies where the privileges and interests of foreign fellow-subjects are to be regarded with as jealous a solicitude as those of our own countrymen. These objects may be briefly described as being the reconciling the vested and chartered interests of the Company with the legitimate authority of the King's government; for, though Pitt admitted that 'state necessity' might occasionally be allowed as a valid reason for the abrogation of a charter, he affirmed that nothing short of such absolute necessity could excuse such a measure, and he relied on the previous history of the Company to prove the fallacy of an observation that had sometimes been made, that commercial companies could not govern empires. There were three interests to be considered: that of the native Indians, that of the Company, and that of this country; and the problem to be solved was, 'how to do the most good to India and to the East India Company with the least injury to our constitution.' Some of his remarks contained unavoidable allusions to Fox's bill of the previous year, since some of the provisions of his bill were entirely opposite to those which Fox had framed, the most material point of difference being the character of the Board of Control which he proposed to establish. Fox, as has been seen, had proposed to make the commissioners to be appointed under his bill irremovable for several years, whatever changes might take place in the home government; an arrangement which the opposers of the bill suspected of being designed to prevent any change in the home government from taking place. Pitt, on the other hand, laid down as one of his leading principles that 'the board could not be permanent, that it must be subordinate to the administration of the day, and that permanency would be in itself a deviation from the principles of the constitution, and would involve the board in contradictions to the executive government that could not fail to be attended with great public inconvenience. An institution to control the government of India must be either totally independent of the government of this country or subordinate to it.' 'The board was to consist of none but privy councillors,' and instead of the vast amount of patronage which was to have been created by the bill of 1783, this board was 'to create no increase of officers nor to impose any new burdens.' ... 'The first and leading ideas would be, to limit the subsisting patronage;' ... and so little was Pitt covetous to engross that which did and must continue to subsist, that he left even 'the officers of the government of Bengal to the nomination of the Court of Directors, subject only to the negative of the crown; and the Court of Directors was also to have the nomination of the officers of all the subordinate governments, except only of the commander-in-chief, who, for various reasons, must remain to be appointed by the crown.' Another very important part of the arrangement was, that 'gradation and succession were to be the general rule of promotion,' a regulation which of itself would be 'a forcible check upon patronage, and tend greatly to its reduction.' The governor of Bengal was to be the governor-general of the whole country, the governors of Madras and Bombay being subordinate to him; and each governor was to be assisted by a council of three members, of whom the commander of the forces was to be one.
The spirit in which a law or a government is administered is commonly of greater practical importance than the words in which the regulation or the system is framed or defined; and Pitt, therefore, concluded his speech by laying down a few 'clear and simple principles as those from which alone a good government could arise. The first and principal object would be to take care to prevent the government from being ambitious and bent on conquest. Commerce was our object, and, with a view to its extension, a pacific system should prevail, and a system of defence and conciliation. The government there ought, therefore, in an especial manner, to avoid wars, or entering into alliances likely to create wars.' It was not to forget 'to pay a due regard to self-defence, or to guard against sudden hostilities from neighboring powers, and, whenever there was reason to apprehend attack, to be in a state of preparation. This was indispensably necessary; but whenever such circumstances occurred, the executive government in India was not to content itself with acting there as the circumstances of the case might require; it was also to send immediate advice home of what had happened, of what measures had been taken in consequence, and what farther measures were intended to be pursued; and a tribunal was to be established to take cognizance of such matters.' The system of taking presents from the natives was to be absolutely prohibited, a regulation which he hoped would 'tend effectually to check private corruption;' and, lastly, it was proposed to establish a court of criminal judicature for the trial in England of certain classes of delinquents after their return from India. The Judges of the court were to be men of the highest character; they were to be chosen by ballot, some being taken from the bench of judges, some from each House of Parliament. And they were 'not to be tied down to strict rules of evidence, but to be upon their oaths to give their judgments conscientiously, and to pronounce such judgment as the common law would warrant.' Such a tribunal he admitted to be an innovation; but, 'unless some new process were instituted, offences shocking to humanity, opposite to justice, and contrary to every principle of religion and morality, must continue to prevail, unchecked, uncontrolled, and unrestrained, and the necessity of the case outweighed the risk and the hazard of the innovation.'
These were the general outlines of the constitution which in 1784 the Parliament established for India, and the skill with which it was adapted to the very peculiar character of the settlements to be governed is sufficiently proved by the fact that it was maintained with very little alteration equally by Whig and Tory administrations for three-quarters of a century, till the great convulsion of the Mutiny compelled an entire alteration in the system, and the abolition of the governing powers of the Company, as we shall have occasion to relate in a subsequent chapter. The principles which Pitt had laid down as the guiding maxims for the governors; the avoidance of ambitious views of conquest, the preservation of peace, and the limitation of the aims of the government to the encouragement and extension of commerce, were not equally adhered to. Undoubtedly, in some instances, the wars in which, even
