India Bill

India Bill, 1783. An abortive reform of the East India Company, drafted largely by Edmund Burke and introduced by the Fox-North coalition. Opponents expressed exaggerated fears that the patronage thus created would give the coalition a stranglehold on power. The cause of the bill's defeat in the Lords in December 1783 was the resentment of George III against his ministers and the underhand pressure he brought to bear by letting it be known that anyone voting for the bill would henceforth be treated as a personal enemy. Secret and prior negotiations with Pitt allowed the king summarily to dismiss the coalition.