Nothing appears to have been considered but the benefit of the contractor, and for this purpose the solicitude shown in all the provisions could not be exceeded.  One of the first things that struck Mr. Hastings as a blemish on his gift was the largeness of the penalty which he had on former occasions settled as the sanction of the contract:  this he now discovered to be so great as to be likely to frustrate its end by the impossibility of recovering so large a sum.  How a large penalty can prevent the recovery of any, even the smallest part of it, is not quite apparent.  In so vast a concern as that of opium, a fraud which at first view may not appear of much importance, and which may be very difficult in the discovery, may easily counterbalance the reduced penalty in this contract, which was settled in favor of Mr. Sulivan at about 20,000_l._

Monopolies were (as the House has observed) only tolerated evils, and at best upon trial; a clause, therefore, was inserted in the contracts to Mackenzie, annulling the obligation, if the Court of Directors should resolve to abolish the monopoly; but at the request of Mr. Sulivan the contract was without difficulty purged of this obnoxious clause.  The term was made absolute, the monopoly rendered irrevocable, and the discretion of the Directors wholly excluded.  Mr. Hastings declared the reserved condition to be no longer necessary, “because the Directors had approved the monopoly.”

The Chiefs and Councils at the principal factories had been obliged to certify the quantity and quality of the opium before its transport to Calcutta; and their control over the contractor had been assigned as the reason for not leaving to those factories the management of this monopoly.  Now things were changed.  Orders were sent to discontinue this measure of invidious precaution, and the opium was sent to Calcutta without anything done to ascertain its quality or even its quantity.

An office of inspection had been also appointed to examine the quality of the opium on its delivery at the capital settlement.  In order to ease Mr. Sulivan from this troublesome formality, Mr. Hastings abolished the office; so that Mr. Sulivan was then totally freed from all examination, or control whatsoever, either first or last.

These extraordinary changes in favor of Mr. Sulivan were attended with losses to others, and seem to have excited much discontent.  This discontent it was necessary in some manner to appease.  The vendue-master, who was deprived of his accustomed dues on the public sales of the opium by the private dealing, made a formal complaint to the board against this, as well as other proceedings relative to the same business.  He attributed the private sale to “reasons of state”; and this strong reflection both on the Board of Trade and the Council Board was passed over without observation.  He was quieted by appointing him to the duty of these very inspectors whose office had been just abolished as useless.  The House will judge of the efficacy of the revival of this office by the motives to it, and by Mr. Hastings giving that to one as a compensation which had been executed by several as a duty.  However, the orders for taking away the precautionary inspection at Patna still remained in force.