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Sir John Macpherson, 1st Baronet (1745 – 12 January 1821), was a
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in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. He was the acting Governor-General of Bengal from 1785 to 1786.


Early life

Macpherson was born in 1745 at
Sleat Sleat ( ) is a peninsula and civil parish on the island of Skye in the Highland council area of Scotland, known as "the garden of Skye". It is the home of the clan '' MacDonald of Sleat''. The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic , which in tur ...
in the
Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...
, where his father, John Macpherson (1713–1765), was minister. His mother was Janet, daughter of Donald Macleod of Bernera. The father, son of Dugald Macpherson, minister of Duirinish, distinguished himself in classics at
Aberdeen University The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Al ...
(M.A. 1728, and D.D. 1761), and was minister of Barra in the presbytery of Uist (1734–42), and of Sleat (1742–65). He published ''Critical Dissertations on the Origin, Antiquities, Language, Government, Manners, and Religion of the Ancient Caledonians, their Posterity, the Picts, and the British and Irish Scots,'' London, 1768, and paraphrased the Song of Moses in Latin verse in ''Scots Magazine,'' vols. i. ix. xi. He upheld the authenticity of the poems assigned to
Ossian Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora (poem), Temora'' (1763), and later c ...
, and
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
declared that his Latin verse did him honour. Martin Macpherson (1743–1812), Dr. Macpherson's elder son, succeeded him at Sleat, and won Dr. Johnson's regard when the doctor visited the highlands. John, the younger son, was educated at
King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Aberdonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univer ...
, and at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
.


First journey to India

In March 1767 he sailed for
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, nominally as purser of an East India ship, commanded by his maternal uncle, Captain Alexander Macleod. Macpherson landed at Madras, where he obtained an introduction to Mohammed Ali, Nawab of the Carnatic. The latter, whose affairs were in great disorder, had borrowed large sums of money at high interest from the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
's officials at
Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
. Hard pressed by his creditors, he entrusted Macpherson with a secret mission to Britain, with the object of making representations on his behalf to the home government. Macpherson arrived in Britain in November 1768. He had several interviews with the prime minister,
Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (28 September 173514 March 1811), styled Earl of Euston between 1747 and 1757, was a British Whig statesman of the Georgian era. He is one of a handful of dukes who have served as Prime Minister of t ...
, who eventually despatched Sir John Lindsay, as king's envoy extraordinary, to effect a settlement of the Nawab's claims. This commission being novel and unwarrantable, the company protested, and Lindsay was recalled.


Second journey to India

Macpherson returned to India in January 1770 with the position of a writer in the company's service. He remained for six years at Madras occupied with administrative work. He also renewed his acquaintance with the nabob, for whom, as he himself confesses, he occasionally procured loans of money. In 1776 George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot, the governor of Madras, obtained possession of a letter addressed to the nabob by Macpherson, in which details were given regarding the latter's mission to Britain. The paper contained severe reflections on the company's action, and indicated that Macpherson had engaged in a plot to set the home government against them. He was therefore dismissed the service. He returned to Britain in 1777, having previously furnished himself with fresh despatches to the home government from the nabob.


MP for Cricklade 1779-1782

Macpherson remained in England for four years. From April 1779 to May 1782 he sat in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
for
Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...
, and was one of six members suspected of being in receipt of a salary from the nabob of Arcot in return for pressing the latter's claims on the legislature.


Appointment in Calcutta

Macpherson had appealed to the court of directors against his dismissal by the Madras council. The former were by no means satisfied with the intrigues indulged in by their servants in the Carnatic, and reinstated him. In January 1781, however, before he could return to Madras, he was appointed by Lord North, whose government he had supported, to the seat on the
Supreme Council of Bengal The Supreme Council of Bengal, also known as Council of Four, was the highest level of executive government in British India from 1774 to 1833: the period in which the East India Company, a private company, exercised political control of British ...
vacated by
Richard Barwell Richard Barwell (8 October 1741 – 2 September 1804) was a merchant with the East India Company and amassed one of the largest fortunes in early British India. Barwell was the son of William Barwell, governor of Bengal in 1748, and afterwards ...
. The appointment was severely criticised in public; and in 1782 a committee of the House of Commons declared that Macpherson's past conduct in supporting the pretensions of the nabob had tended to endanger the peace of India. Macpherson offered a regular but unintelligent opposition to the measures of
Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-gener ...
during the latter years of that governor-general's rule.


Governor-General

In February 1785, as senior member of the council, he became governor-general on Hastings's resignation. Owing to the long and desperate war in which the British had been engaged, he found the finances in great disorder.


Managing the finances

Macpherson began by using the actual cash in the treasury to pay the troops, who were on the verge of mutiny. All other payments were made in bonds bearing interest at eight per cent. per annum till redeemed. Strenuous reductions were made in the public expenditure, the utmost care was exercised over the collections, and in twelve months' time enough cash had been accumulated to pay off the whole of the new paper debt, besides meeting the ordinary expenses of government. At the close of his administration Macpherson was able to boast that he had reduced expenditure by the large sum of £1,250,000 (£375 million in 2009) . It must, however, be remembered that during his rule no war took place; and his financial achievements were really due to the suggestions of a subordinate, Jonathan Duncan. Macpherson moreover did nothing to stop the gross corruption indulged in by the company's officials, and
Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best kn ...
, an impartial critic, denounces his government as 'a system of the dirtiest jobbery'.


Claim from Maharaja Mahdoji Sindia

Shortly after Macpherson's accession to the supreme power, the Mahratta chief, Maharaja Mahdoji Sindia, having obtained possession of Shah Alum, titular emperor of India, demanded from the English a sum of £4,000,000 (£1.2 billion in 2009). as arrears of the tribute promised by them to the emperor in 1765. Macpherson answered by insisting upon an immediate withdrawal and disavowal of the claim, threatening war if it were repeated. To further guard against the ambition of Sindia, he established Charles Malet as English envoy at Poonah, the acknowledged capital of the Mahratta confederacy. In 1786 the Mahrattas declared war against Tipu, sultan of Mysore. Macpherson offered them the assistance of three battalions to be employed in defending the Mahratta territories. The offer remained unaccepted during Macpherson's tenure of office, and was withdrawn by his successor.


Penang

Macpherson presided over the acquisition and founding of
Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...
, appointing
Francis Light Francis Light ( – 21 October 1794) was a British sailor and explorer best known for founding the colony of Penang and its capital city of George Town in 1786. Light was the father of William Light, who founded the city of Adelaide in South A ...
as administrator, in June 1786.


Return to Britain

Macpherson was created a baronet on 10 June 1786, and was superseded, much to his dissatisfaction, by Lord Cornwallis in September, after which he returned to Britain. His friends endeavoured to show that the legal term of the governor-generalship was five years, and that Macpherson's removal, save for misconduct, after only twenty months was an injustice. The claim, for which there was no foundation, was disregarded, and Macpherson now endeavoured to obtain from Dundas a promise of the succession to Lord Cornwallis, or at any rate a return to his old place on the Bengal council. This also was refused. Macpherson's sole object in harassing the government with these demands was to obtain some heavy pecuniary compensation, and when his chances of office became quite hopeless, he applied to the court of directors for a pension of £2,000 (£0.6 million in 2009). a year. After some delay he obtained a sum of 15,301 Pounds 7 Shilling, payable in three instalments between 1 March 1789 and 1 March 1790. In June 1809 he obtained in addition a pension of £1,000 (£0.3 million in 2009) a year in return for assigning to the company a claim of £10,000 (£3 million in 2009)on the nabob of Arcot.


MP for Cricklade 1788

In 1788 Macpherson was again elected to the House of Commons for Cricklade, but was unseated for bribery on the petition of his opponent, Samuel Petrie, and cast in penalties to the amount of 3,000 pounds. He now joined the whig opposition, and was till 1802 on intimate terms with the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
.


Visits to Florence and Vienna

In 1789 he visited
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, where his advice was asked by the Grand Duke Leopold on financial and administrative matters. When Leopold became emperor in 1790 he visited him at
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. Macpherson's tall figure, handsome face, and courtly manners made him a great favourite in society; and his wide knowledge and linguistic talents won him the respect of scholars.


MP for Horsham 1796-1802

He obtained a seat for Horsham in September 1796, and continued in the house till June 1802.


Dispute with Whitshed Keene

In 1806, in a discussion on Indian affairs, Whitshed Keene, the member for Montgomery, availed himself of the opportunity to censure his relations with the nabob of Arcot. Macpherson replied to the implied charges in an ''Open Letter to Whitshed Keene, Esq., M.P.,'' dated 31 May 1806. He stated that in 1777 he had, through his intimacy with the nabob, obtained knowledge of secret overtures made to that prince by France, the exposure of which had been of great service to the British government. He also added that his claims on the nabob were still unpaid.


Death

Macpherson died unmarried, at Brompton Grove, on 12 January 1821, when the baronetcy became extinct.


References

;Attribution * *


Bibliography

* *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, John, 1st Baronet 1745 births 1821 deaths People from the Isle of Skye Nobility from Highland (council area) Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish politicians Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 Governors-general of India Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Members of Parliament for Cricklade Clan Macpherson