you in duplicate, and
of which a triplicate accompanies this, dated 20th January, 1782, I
informed you that I had received the offer of a sum of money from the
Nabob Vizier and his ministers to the nominal amount of ten lacs of
Lucknow siccas, and that bills on the house of Gopaul Doss had been
actually given me for the amount, which I had accepted for the use of
the Honorable Company; and I promised to account with you for the same
as soon as it should be in my power, after the whole sum had come into
my possession. This promise I now perform; and deeming it consistent
with the spirit of it, I have added such _other_ sums as have been
occasionally converted to the Company's property through my means, and
in consequence of the like original destination. Of the second of these
you have been already advised in a letter which I had the honor to
address the Honorable Court of Directors, dated 29th November, 1780.
Both this and the third article were paid immediately to the Treasury,
by my order to the sub-treasurer to receive them on the Company's
account, but never passed through my hands. The three sums for which
bonds were granted were in like manner paid to the Company's Treasury
without passing through my hands; but their appropriation was not
specified. The sum of 58,000 current rupees was received while I was on
my journey to Benares, and applied as expressed in the account.

As to the manner in which these sums have been expended, the reference
which I have made of it, in the accompanying account, to the several
accounts in which they are credited, renders any other specification of
it unnecessary; besides that those accounts either have or will have
received a much stronger authentication than any that I could give to
mine.

Why these sums were taken by me,--why they were, except the second,
quietly transferred to the Company's use,--why bonds were taken for the
first, and not for the rest,--might, were this matter to be exposed to
the view of the public, furnish a variety of conjectures, to which it
would be of little use to reply. Were your Honorable Court to question
me upon these points, I would answer, that the sums were taken for the
Company's benefit at times in which the Company very much needed
them,--that I either chose to conceal the first receipts from public
curiosity by receiving bonds for the amount, or possibly acted without
any studied design which my memory could at this distance of time
verify