The public in England perceived, and felt with a
proper sympathy, the sufferings of the Eastern provinces in all cases in
which they might be attributed to the abuses of power exercised under
the Company's authority. But they were not equally sensible to the evils
which arose from a system of sacrificing the being of that country to
the advantage of this. They entered very readily into the former, but
with regard to the latter were slow and incredulous. It is not,
therefore, extraordinary that the Company should endeavor to ingratiate
themselves with the public by falling in with its prejudices. Thus they
were led to increase the grievance in order to allay the clamor. They
continued still, upon a larger scale, and still more systematically,
that plan of conduct which was the principal, though not the most
blamed, cause of the decay and depopulation of the country committed to
their care.
With that view, and to furnish a cheap supply of materials to the
manufactures of England, they formed a scheme which tended to destroy,
or at least essentially to impair, the whole manufacturing interest of
Bengal.
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