A General Court of Proprietors of India Stock was held
at the India House on Wednesday. Several matters of routine were disposed of; and the Secretary read a long account of Kearney's connexion with the Company, from the commencement of it to his attack on Mr. Loch. It appeared that in 1822, Kearney, who was a native of Galway, inlisted into the Company's Artillery, and went to India ; where for some time he behaved well, and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He took offence at being refused further promotion, and became outrageous in his conduct. He threatened his superiors, and even Lord William Bentinek, the Governor-General; for which offence he suffered imprisonment. He borrowed money on the pretence of wishing to return to England, and then spent it in Calcutta ; and behaved in so strange a manner as to induce the suspicion that be was mad. He obtained his discharge; although Lady William Bentinck, personally endeavoured to dissuade him from leaving the service, us his pay was all he had with which to maintain a wife and family. Ile returned to England about 1830, and made repeated application at the East India House for money, on the ground of his services in the Burmese war. He obtained permission to return to Calcutta, but got no money. About this time, be assaulted Mr. Astell in the street with his umbrella; and was imprisoned for a twelvemonth. In 1833, he went to Calcutta, having received 401. from the Company. He .could obtain no employment there, and came back to England with one child ; his wife having died in Calcutta. He recommenced his course of threatening the officers of the Company; and was not sati:fied with a promise to send his son out on the Bengal pilot service. Just before be made the attack on Mr. Loch, that gentleman had promised that his son should be taken care of. It further appeared, that previously to Kearney's inlisting in the Company's service, he had been in the thirteenth Regiment of Dragoons ; and in the course of two years had been convicted of five different offences—chiefly insubordination, and abuse of his superior officers—and been sentenced to 1,900 lashes, of which 725 had been inflicted—a proof, as Mr. Marriott remarked, that flogging could not reclaim him.
A resolution congratulating Mr. Loch on his escape, and expressing hopes for his speedy recovery, was agreed to. An inquest was held on Saturday on Kearney's corpse ; and a verdict found that he had killed himself by taking some acid, being insane at the time.
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