Siyar al-mutaʾakhkhirin 42.28.4

42.28.4

Indeed, Sir, you have but that, because at such a distance of time and place, the former is not susceptible of better proof, and because I never keep either copies of such letters or originals. Here is then another story: In 1775 and 1776, that same man chanced to be in correspondence with Colonel Monson from Moorshood-abad; a correspondence which did him some wrong in the mind of Governor Hastings, who did not know then that the man was nearly a stranger to that Gentleman, which latter, he did not suspect to be at the bottom of all his correspondence with Mr. Goring. This correspondence contained a variety of matters: "The famine of 1769, and its consequences; the Rohilla war; the quantity of cash in Bengal; the population of the Country; the quantity of cash imported by the war; the quantity monthly imported by that war; the quantity monthly imported from Banaress." It contained also much extraneous matter. That same man afterwards wrote "a very long letter on the necessity and even expediency of parting with the Americans, and securing to Old England, as early as possible, the Herring-fishery, Cod-fishery, &c.. Whale-fishery, and the Trade of Coals, four important Articles, that afforded thirty thousand Seamen, a year to Old England. In the two first of which, the Americans had a local advantage over the English and in the fourth of which, they made up the local disadvantage of greater distance by the local advantage of easier purchase and cheaper manufacture;