If indeed the dead ever revisit this world, and take an interest in sublunary things, Pan cros-lane, in the City, must have been full of famous and mighty shades on Friday last (18th April). On that day, in a house there situated, was held a meeting which might be described as the burial-party of the grandest corpse ever laid to rest. The handful of persons who re-Brea together in the office of what was once resent the ancient Court of Directors assem-
the great East India Company to hear read a Bill now before Parliament, which winds up the Inst earthly affairs of the imperial association, and provides for its fi and absolute disappearance from history on the Ast of June, 1874. The undertakers—we mean the introducers—of the Bill are Mr. Grant-Duff and Mr.- Ayrton, and the administration of what remains of the dead Company's estate presents no serious difficulty. There was, indeed, a tone of melancholy resignation' about the funeral gathering, but partially cheered by the prospect of recciving cent, per cent. upon every pound of stock; and the speeches delivered were of a asit sense of the haunting past lay heavy Somewhat wandering and dreamy character, upon heart and lip. None of the speakers, however, referred to that past—why should they? Che Company has been practically dead ever since 1858; and Pancras-lane is not the place for eloquent harangues in memoriam of pompous obsequies. The most puissant society which earth ever knew began Sbseurely, and now passes into nothi ness without more display than the winding-up of a joint-stock band; but between the pettiness of its birth, and the paltriness of ite demise, what a chronicle of glory plauds writen on, the page of Fas "we hundred and seventy-four years ago also in a bye lane of London City—certain clothiers, ironmongers, and merchants met together, and subscribed £30,000 in order to open trade with the East. They soon made magnificent profits; they got a footing in spite of "the Portingalls" at Surat and Hooghly, ud the fortunate skill of Dr. Houghton, who ented the Great Mogul's daughter, gave them Teas they sent that memorable order to their mission to establish fresh factories.
head agent for 1001bs, weight of the best toy that he could gert to be sent home for nple." So began the ceaseless voyages of their Indiamen; and Job Charnock, a capt built the first Britis brick house on the Ganges at Calcutta, 'The site cost, with Chutfanutty and Govindpore, the sun of sixteen Inundred pounds, and the thrifty company Merchant' Adventurers" wrote out
Inrge." Then they wheedled from Tbrabin Hat "they "considered te price mighty Kian licence to fortify their warehouse on Hooghly, and Fort William rose. At that date the salary of the President was £300, of the eight members of Council £40 apiece, and of the writers £5, with the notable addition of "eomnions, Madeira wine, and privilege of p vote trade," These were' 80 lucrative that 1700 the Directors are fouud complaining that even their junior servants ''sift at meat with music, and take the air in coaches and four." lucky stroke of doctoring aided tly. Surgeon Hamilton cured the Great Mogul Ferokshere of a grave disease, and gained thirty-eight towns, with free trade for the Buglish, in Bengal, as his fee. The Black Hole, and the war with the French under Lolly and Busy, could not shake off the tenacious grasp which the tea dealers had by thi time obtained. With a strange union of money-grabbing and valour, with the most wonderful Eeniugand most jealous parsimony, they scraped. their lakhs jer and kept their lo quill in one at this date, they never comprehended that they were founding an empire greater than that of Rome, richer than any ever dominated by a single sceptre. When Clive won back Calcutta for them, and, gained the battle of Plassy, when Fante drove the French one way and the Dutch another, the Court at home merely wrote word that they were glad of the news, "for now their agents in Bengal would be able to provide the expenses for two years without drawing upon them."
Plassy was fought in 1757, the Great Mutiny broke out in 1857, and that' intermediate centary is one unbroken story of splendid conquests, restless aggrandisements, resistless and, it were, fated advance from height to height of wealth and power, till the tea merchants became in all but name the equals of Emperors and Kings, and even governed the Governments at home. Never was " greatness thrust upon" men as upon those princely adventurers. 'They charged, they besought, they bound their Governors not to go to war, and not to annex; yet one after the atler, with a hundred' protestations of quiet money-making policy, ended by writing home shamefacedly that he had "taken kingdoms in," ani added a crore or to the colossal revenues of his masters, a meeting, accept the new perty" on their hook: Victor at a gorgeous banquet, whil they renewed to his successor the eternal caution against going, to war. Their trade was len, 50 fabulously profitable, that they lneadeid lest "glory" should interfere with it. In the great days of their "Indy fleet" it was worth a lakh of rupees even to be captain of a Company's ship. The uniform of their comrs was ostentatiously finer than that of his Majesty's Navy, andthe vessels them-to last'a century with Tenasserim teak, were so stout and well-found that Captain Dance, with a fleet of seven such Indiainen, bringing home silk, tea, and beat off a French squadron of five men-o and fairly sank one of "Mounseer's" riga with the broadsides of his wooden "castles." Tt was the making of a anan for life, if he to be named *supercargo ta or China, and when ead nei' Governor red the Chairman pu Mis hands, a agit for a prince, the nowination toa cadetship. Maguificent also was the welcome home offered by the great Company to ite successful satrap, and splendid' the farewell banquets with which it sped its newly appointed heat servants. It could be monously unjust, petty, meddling, and short-ighted; hut when its "mighty men of valour" came back, flushed with trimnph, and the triumph palpably paid, and when the markets were good, and the dividend rising, lordly was the cheer, and imperial the rewards, which awaited them. In truth, the handsome pension the diamond-hilted sword, and the Chairman's measure speech, where prudence strove vainly with ambition, and "manifest destiny" overcome good bookkeeping—all these, and the thanks of Parliament," used to spoil th effect of the caution administered to cessive Governor-General. From first to last, such was the force of fortune, andi so tempting the field of glory in the dominions of these majestic tea-dealers that each returning victor seemed to say, like Clive in the Treasury at Moorshedabal, "By Heaven! I am astonished at my own moderation."
There lay the secret of the Company's career of opulence an glory: they were serve as never yet was any king or emperor. The ts of the trade gave them the means to Pay. for ability and great parts; the romance of their sway drew to them those valuable natures which mingle great and steady qualities of mind with "high spirit and proud bloody and from Clive and Warren fasting to Dalhousie the servants of the East Indix Company make up a. roll of names which cannot be surpassed in ancient or modern history. We are not.thinking merely of Wellesley and Cornwall Bentinck Metealfe an name" are, as it were, historical arking the progress of the British int the seefet of the great Camp: growth is ally explained by the marvel fortune which it an endless succession of able ami devoted men splendid offices. These, brought to their work 1 lordliest race tion, "the Cin loyalty, bred by pride and mites of Kings ruled well, te subordinate yet t one and all, est yilts of the abstract of withdrawing vil employ. The change was inevitable that transferred the sceptre of India to Her Majesty from the tea-dealers, and if the Mutiny bad not precipitated the death of the Company it would not have long survived. But its prestige in India was greater than that of the present motley Government can ever be, and the Duke of Argyle must not imagine that he is regarded in the thousand cities' of Hindustan between a many-headed, many.
was Kumpani Bahadur.—Somethin;
like Shiva, and an unknown, wonderful country lying beyond the sea of milk"—such was the confused idea which the average Hindoo entertained of his mysterious masters in 1 when the proclamation yuneed the death of "Kumpani but dimly understood the possibility of such a profound elemental change, As for the old servants of the "tea-dealers," there must be many who re-collect that period, and who have seen in Indian the sad and serious look on veteran faces when the edict that Leadenhall street wasuo more, and that the Empire was to be governed from Westminster. It is all for the best, no doubt, and "John Company" could not well overlive the crash of 1857; but he was a royal master, he ad the finest servants that ever took a master's pay, and he built the grandest empire which the world has ever seen. He is long ago dead, and they will bury him out of sight and mind in the course of another year, the meeting in Pancras-one being pretty well the last that the present ge ration is likely to hear of his affairs. H his faults, too. and did some doubtful bat, on the whole, his administrati neficent, reasonable, just, and right, among the noblest rulers of mankind may be ied this dead domination, whose funeral was arranged for Friday last in Paneras-lane, He kad a sharp eye for the main chance," but that was his tea-dealing side; when he made war it was like a lion, and when he was at po kings were glad' to be his friends, and Asin inlet. Hand round the cakes and wine, and draw on the black gloves, Mr, Grant-Duff and Mr, Ayrton; but no Act of Parliament can make an end of the memory of John Com. pany," and the real estate that he leaves is not the sum about which they are squabbling in Pancras-lane, but the Empire of the East which heaven put into our hands with that same "handred pounds weight of the best toy" written for in 1668.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.