author and traveller in Arabia by BUCKINGHAM, John Silk ... (1786-1855) - 0

Manuscript. Very Good. 4 page signed letter, addressed Sheffield Jan. 1836, to an unknown recipient who would appear to be an editor of a published journal. " As the Bill for the enforcement of my Claims on the East India Company, will be brought in as early as possible in the coming session . may I beg the favour of you giving early publicity, in your excellent journal . As a question of the deepest interest to the holders of Newspaper Property, independently of its bearing on the liberty of the Press, I venture to hope that there is no Proprietor or Editor of a Public Journal in England, who will withhold his support to these claims of Compensation." Born at Flushing near Falmouth, the son of a farmer, he spent his youth at sea, and in 1797 was captured by the French and held prisoner of war at Corunna. He travelled extensively including to Arabia, writing several important works on the area, eventually settling in India, where he established a periodical, the Calcutta Journal, in 1818. This venture proved highly successful, but in 1823 the paper's outspoken criticisms of the East India Company led to the expulsion of Buckingham from India and the suppression of the paper by John Adam, the acting governor-general in 1823. His case was brought before a select committee of the House of Commons in 1834, and a pension of Ł500 a year was subsequently awarded to Buckingham. A highly poignant letter which reflects the immense animosity between Buckingham and the East India Company of whom he was so critical, and despite being awarded compensation by the House of Commons he obviously still had not received the award at the time he wrote this letter