1 AUGUST 1748
WESTMINISTER HALL OFFICE OF THE EXCHEQUER
HIS MAJESTY'S PARLIAMENT is hereby called to order on this day, the First of August, in the Year of Our Lord, Seventeen Hundred and Forty-Eight, to vote upon an ACT ratified in the House of Lords. Should this Act be ratified, the BRITISH EAST INDIA TRADING COMPANY (henceforth referred to as the EITC, or "the Company") will forfeit all properties, funds, and shares directly to His Majesty's government and will cease to exist as a separate economic, military, or political entity. This will ensure that the EITC, in hitherto holding a distinction for its autonomy, will be completely subjugated by His Majesty's government and remain under DIRECT CONTROL of His Majesty himself.
Should this Act be ratified, the following items of interest will be confiscated from the EITC, including but not limited to: all British-owned lands currently under direct Company supervision and administration; all goods to be sold for profit; all funds and further sums of revenue currently held within the Company's treasury; all vessels of trade; all other vessels assembled in His Majesty's waters and toting Our Union Jack, whether used for naval or civilian purposes; all firearms, ammunition, and cannon under Company hold; all uniforms hemmed particularly for the service of His Majesty's Royal Armed Forces.
Should this Act be ratified, all British-owned lands currently under direct control and administration of the EITC – namely those provinces of the Indian Subcontintent (including but not limited to: Ceylon, Kerala, Mysore, Nizam and Hyderabad, Gujurat, Punjab, Assam, Kashmir, Sikkim, Bitar and Bengal) – and all ports of primary service to the EITC – namely those ports of the Indian Subcontinent (including but not limited to: Bombay, Calcutta, Goa, Madras, Yanaon and Chittagong) – are subject to immediate seizure by His Majesty and will henceforth be directly controlled and administered by His Majesty and Parliament. Furthermore, all Company forts in all aforementioned places are to be immediately disarmed and their garrisons removed.
Should this Act be ratified, all items of trade produced, possessed, handled, and/or administered by the EITC (including but not limited to such goods as: sugar, tea, spice, tobacco, dye, cotton, rice, salt, mineral, or lumber) will be confiscated by His Majesty for profitable use directly by the British government, namely the Office of the Exchequer.
Should this Act be ratified, all persons under the Crown being a citizen of Britain currently holding a title of power or clerkage in the EITC will be stripped of such titles and ranks until further notice. The position of "Lord Marshal" within the Company will be fully dissolved, and the Office of the Exchequer, acting with advice from the House of Lords, will appoint an appropriate person to the newly-announced position of "Director of the Company". Furthermore, all those individuals holding stock in the EITC will be fully reimbursed but stripped of all privileges in the Company.
Lastly, should this Act be ratified, any and all persons who deny the Company's status as an entity dependent on the Crown, making their argument of disagreement known to all, and/or acting in any other manner perceived as rebellious in relations to the Company, will be deemed a Threat to His Majesty and indicted for Treason, and will be immediately subject to any punishment seemed appropriate by His Majesty's Court. Any individual who refuses to yield their posts in the Company or surrender Company arms, will be treated as equally guilty of Crimes against His Majesty and are therewith subject to similar punishments, whether such individuals are privy to the Act or no.
Drafted by Lord Garland. Passed in Parliament by the vote of 14-0.