A rummage for documents or more impe—–nts

C Knight

A rummage for documents or more impe—–nts

London, C. Knight May 1806

Etching

Original hand colouring

250 x 350 mm

£280

A rare caricature.

Paull’s head and shoulders emerge from a long table, covered with papers, at which he has been writing; he is terror-struck at a beam of light issuing from the head of Wellesley which appears among clouds in the upper right. corner of the design. Wellesley looks down at Paull with raised forefinger, saying reproachfully, “P——ll P——ll why persecutest thou me”. The papers on the table are blown about by a blast from Wellesley. Under the table partly raised cloth reveals sacks of money: ’10-000 L R’ and ’20-000 Lac Rup’. An enormously long scroll hangs from the table by Paull, lying in fused folds on the ground, it is headed: ‘A short list of the Heads of Charges concisely abstracted from sundry scarce and curious origin[al] Documents.’ Papers round Paull are: ‘List of Places & Placemen’; ‘Supposed conseq[uences] of extrav[agan]ce’; ‘Unexampled prodigality and wanton profusion’; ‘Friends and Favorit preferd’; ‘Persons of merit wilfully Neglected’; ‘Boat Build[ing] Account’; ‘Luxuries of the Table’; ‘Horses and accoutrements Boots whips & sharp Spurs’; ‘Abstracts to be brought forward on a future Occasion’. Others flutter to the floor: ‘Rich wines & Cordials’; ‘Poulterer’s Bill’; ‘Confectionary’; ‘Green Peas & fresh Butter’; ‘Currant Jelly’; ‘Result of the Trial of’. Piled up on the left of the table are two large bundles: ‘Papers [of the N]abob of Oude and Farr[u]ckabad Pa[p]ers’. A large bundle of ‘Love Letters’ lies on a package of ‘Eastern delights or the Loves of India Manuscript’; this stands on a large volume: ‘Portr[aits of t[he] Beauties of India’. Against it lies a small book: ‘Man of Feeling [by Mackenzie]’. A paper is ‘the Revenge’. With these is a small picture of an Indian woman holding a sword. Behind these piled-up objects stands a figure of ‘Wisdom’ with wide eyes, enormous ears, and two fingers held to his mouth to keep it closed. Above, discarded on a shelf, is a battered volume: ‘Duty of Man’. On the wall behind Paull is a long framed picture of the Woman taken in Adultery: three-quarter length figures of Christ, the Elders, and the woman, with a bold inscription: ‘He that is without sin among you let him cast the first stone.’

James Paull returned from India in 1805 with a reputed fortune, determined to attack Wellesley, Governor-General 1798-1805, especially for his relations with the Nabobs of Oudh and Farrukhábád. It was a condition of Grenville’s taking office that these proceedings should not have Government support. Paull, now M.P. for Newport, could not be restrained; he announced his intention of moving for an impeachment, persistently called for papers, and formulated lengthy charges until the dissolution of Parliament.