her, were guarantied by us. I must inform your Lordships, that,
upon some of our other exactions at an earlier period, the Nabob had
endeavored to levy a forced loan upon the jaghiredars. This forced loan
was made and submitted to by those people upon a direct assurance of
their rights in the jaghires, which right was guarantied by the British
Resident, not only to the Begums, and to the whole family of the Nabob,
but also to all the other objects of the tax.

Before I proceed, I will beg leave to state to you briefly the nature of
these jaghires. The jaghiredars, the holders of jaghires, form the body
of the principal Mahometan nobility. The great nobility of that country
are divided into two parts. One part consists of the zemindars, who are
the ancient proprietors of land, and the hereditary nobility of the
country: these are mostly Gentoos. The Mahometans form the other part,
whose whole interest in the land consists in the jaghires: for very few
indeed of them are zemindars anywhere, in some of the provinces none of
them are so; the whole of them are jaghiredars.

We have heard, my Lords, much discussion about jaghires. It is in proof
before your Lordships that they are of two sorts: that a jaghire
signifies exactly what the word _fee_ does in the English language, or
_feodum_ in the barbarous Latin of the Feudists; that it is a word which
signifies a salary or a maintenance, as did originally the English word
_fee_, derived from the word _feod_ and _feodum_. These jaghires, like
other fees and like other feods, were given in land, as a maintenance:
some with the condition of service, some without any condition; some
were annexed to an office, some were granted as the support of a
dignity, and none were granted for a less term than life, except those
that were immediately annexed to a lease. We have shown your Lordships
(and in this we have followed the example of Mr. Hastings) that some of
them are fees granted actually in perpetuity; and in fact many of them
are so granted. We are farther to tell your Lordships, that by the
custom of the empire they are almost all grown, as the feods in Europe
are grown, by use, into something which is at least virtually an
inheritance. This is the state of the jaghires and jaghiredars.

Among these jaghires we find, what your Lordships would expect to find,
an ample provision for all the nobility of that illustrious family of
which the Nabob is the head: a prince whose family,