Indian Antiquary Vol 45

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 67

APRIL, 1916) SOME ANGLO-INDIAN WORTHIES OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 53
in a letter from the Court of the 16th December 1675, the 27th paragraph of which bestowed the following powers upon the Agent and Council at Fort St. George 10 :
"Though Wee have not thought fitt to Authorize Our Agent and councell to putt any person out of Councell that Wee have appointed of the Councell, Yet in case any of our Councell should prove unfaithfull to Us, either in discovering of Our Affaires to Our Enemies, or otherwise conspire against Us to defraud or betrav Us, or become guilty of any fact accounted criminall, as Murder, Theft, Rape, Blasphemy, or the Like, In such cases the matter plainely appearing to Our Agent and Councell, or the more part of them, they may and ought to suspend such person from the Councell, or put him in Prison acoording to the Nature of the Offence."
In .1677, the Council at Kasimbazar took advantage of this paragraph to call a consultation, on the 17th August, 11 when Matthias Vincent, Edward Littleton and Richnrd Edwards, « Well considering the 27th Paragraffe of the Honble. Companies Letter, it was resolved that a coinplaint should be made and charge drawne up and sent to the Cheife and Councell of the Bay against James Hardinge, a younge man in this Factory of very dangerous and horribly blasphemous principles, as denying the persons of the Father and the Spiritt in the Godhead, as alsoe the [im] mortallity of the Soule, and sundry other wicked tenets, which he had often vented here and endeavoured to draw others to, often declaring an implicite faith in and blind adherence to whatever hath been declared and owned by one Ludowycke Muggleton, 12 a notorious and abominable hereticke spraunge up in our dayes, as the record of our times and his owne bookes Sufficiently declare, and to desire and presse the removall hence and sendinge home the vaid James Hardinge, according to the orders of the Honble. Company in the aforesaid paragraffe of their letter, he beinge alsoe a person of very littlo use and Service in our Honble. Masters affaires, of whome we cannot give any of those commendable and required Caracters of “Dilligent, Faithfull and Able," but the Contrary. All which wee reffered to the Cheife to draw up and to insert such other particulars as might be necessary to inske knowne unto the Chiefe and Councell.”
Vincent's categorical complaint against Harding does not exist. Before it reached Balasor, and even before the holding of the Consultation noted above, Walter Clavell had fallen & victim to the epidemio which carried off nearly all the Company's servants there. Vincent was hurriedly summoned to take Clavell's place, and Littleton, who succeeded him at Kasimbazar, left Harding alone, until an act of direct disobedience caused a second complaint of his comduct to be sent to Balasor. The details are given in the Kasimbazar Diary of the 1st November 167713 "There wanting a Copy of an Apendix to our Generall Books to bee transmitted to our Honble. Masters this year, James Harding was by Edward Littleton sent for, and beinge Come, the said apendix was tendred to him and 10 Letter Book, Vol. V. pp. 285-296,
11 Factory Records, Kasimbazar, Vol. I. 12 Ludowioke Muggleton (1609-1698), an English seotarian, was the son of a farrier, but was bred up as a tailor. He began to have revelations in 1651, and proclaimed himself and his cousin as the two witnesses of revelation XL 3. An exposition of their doctrines was published in 1656 under the title of The Divino Looking-Glass. In 1653 Muggleton was imprisoned for blasphemy. In 1667 he was tried and convicted for the same offence, and was fined £500. He escaped further imprisonment and lived to be nearly ninety. His collected works were published in 1756. The Muggletonions survived as u saat until about 1846. (See the art. in the Encycl. Brit. 11th ed.).
13 Factory Records, Kasimbazar, Vol. I.