means of cabal, of concealment, and of corrupt confederacy became far
more easy than before. Accordingly, there was no fault with respect to
the Company's government over its servants, charged or chargeable on the
General Court as it originally stood, of which since the reform it has
not been notoriously guilty. It was not, therefore, a matter of surprise
to your Committee, that the General Court, so composed, has at length
grown to such a degree of contempt both of its duty and of the permanent
interest of the whole corporation as to put itself into open defiance of
the salutary admonitions of this House, given for the purpose of
asserting and enforcing the legal authority of their own body over their
own servants.

The failure in this part of the reform of 1773 is not stated by your
Committee as recommending a return to the ancient constitution of the
Company, which was nearly as far as the new from containing any
principle tending to the prevention or remedy of abuses,--but to point
out the probable failure of any future regulations which do not apply
directly to the grievance, but which may be taken up as experiments to
ascertain theories of the operation of councils formed of greater or
lesser numbers, or such as shall be composed of men of more or less
opulence, or of interests of newer or longer standing, or concerning the
distribution of power to various descriptions or professions of men, or
of the election to office by one authority rather than another.

[Sidenote: Court of Directors.]

The second object of the act was the Court of Directors. Under the
arrangement of the year 1773 that court appeared to have its authority
much strengthened. It was made less dependent than formerly upon its
constituents, the proprietary. The duration of the Directors in office