“From Bombay, M. sent me a part of a letter of your’s, on the subject of fees, which he desired me to consider. I beg leave to state a few particulars on that subject for your information. First, all in the army, below the rank of Captain, are obliged to use the strictest economy, in order to maintain a family. A Captain may live without care, but, if it be considered that he must send his children to England for education, it will be easily believed, that every married military man, who has a family, is likely to be poor to the end of his service, with the exception of a few, who get staff-appointments, and they are almost the only ones who are ever able to return home. When we are sent for to a distance, the expences of travelling are paid by the parties, which usually costs from forty to sixty pounds. It is usually the younger officers who marry, for the old ones almost all live in sin: and indeed from the above circumstances, together with the few opportunities of religious instruction, most of the young ones too; and some have told me plainly, that they could get nobody to marry them, and if they could, they had not money to give, as was usually expected by the Chaplains. For these causes, from the first, I wished to decline being an obstacle in the way of any. Sometimes young men marry the daughters of old Indians by native mothers, but though the father could often give a fee in this case, he has himself sacrificed conscience to money, and thinks any one would do the same, and how are we to convince him to the contrary, but by refusing his money? The civilians who marry, are also usually of the younger part, and have nothing to spare without borrowing, which they can do indeed too easily. The elder civilians are altogether as preposterously paid to excess, and indeed there are very few of them, who are not in consequence, so vain, and carry themselves so high, that I know not how we can shew them the folly of trusting in these things, but by refusing the opportunities of obtaining them. On this head, there will he difference of opinion, but my humble judgment is, to renounce the fee, to convince them by all possible means, that a man’s life consisteth not in these things. In so doing, we are not injuring our successor, because he has a sufficiency of income for all the purposes that his station in life can require. I suppose you do not care whether we be able to keep a carriage, or not, if we should ever return; and suppose we save but enough to pay our passage to England, the retiring pension is an abundant provision for our necessities. I suppose, that even a chaplain marries, and has children, then even he has plenty to educate them, though his usefulness here may be thereby confined, and