National Gazette

LONDON, JANUARY 7.

EAST-INDIES.

Diversity of opinion, contrariety of expectation, and opposition of sentiment, never reigned at the same period so much as at this time, with regard to Lord Cornwallis and our East-India affairs. While, on the one hand, it is the opinion, and even the declaration of a great political character, that the India company cannot long escape bankruptcy, it is maintained, with equal force of argument, by those who, from their official situation, ought not to be ignorant therein, that, if their debts and their incumbrances are fairly weighed together; they will not only be found solvent, but flourishing. With regard to this fruitless campaign, it must be allowed, on all hands, that it is discouraging to the well-wishers of India concerns; but then it may be remembered, that the noble commander himself formed no very sanguine expectations of what he could do in the time allotted for the experiment. The affairs of Europe, and Great-Britain in particular, as he said, impelled him to run all hazards. So far his Lordship stands acquitted by us. We have no desire to lessen the public's good opinion of the noble commander's talents or zeal to serve his country. One great object of exploit seems to have occasioned the Governor-General to overlook many of inferior magnitude, individually, though not in the aggregate. It is the belief of many men of experience, that Lord Cornwallis will evince in himself the impolicy of the Governor-General being a military man, or at least being placed at the head of the Indian army.

We will neither vainly excite the apprehensions of the timid, nor the confidence of those who will not take the trouble to think for themselves. The intelligence we have already received was recklessly exhibited to the public eye; much was said, perhaps, unnecessarily, and we advise all who are more than ordinarily concerned in the issue of the enterprise now carrying forward in India, to reserve a hope till the Commander in Chief's own account is seen, which will place many obscure matters in a clear point of view, and enable us to form a natural expectation of what may still be effected by the progress of our arms. If our allies are firm, and we are bent upon prosecution of the war, the whole rests upon the resources of the company, and the injury the troops have sustained by fatigue and sickness, to both which points we shall shortly be enabled with certainty to speak.