The Board of Controul, or, The blessings of a Scotch dictator seriously recommended & humbly dedicated to those it most particularly concerns, the proprietors of East-India stock, by their most obedient, humble servant, John English / [graphic]

"A sitting of the Board of Control (established by Pitt's India Act 1784): Dundas, Pitt, and Sydney are seated behind a narrow cloth-covered table, but Dundas (left) monopolizes the business, while Pitt, his back to Dundas, plays push-pin with Sydney who is on the extreme right. Pitt complacently defeats Sydney who starts back in dismay at the position of the pins. Dundas turns his head in profile towards four ragamuffins in Highland dress who enter from the left. These, but not the members of the Board, are caricatured. The foremost, with shaggy hair, torn garments, and bare feet, scratches himself (cf. BMSat 5940) as he presents a petition with an eager grimace. ... A second petitioner carries a spade, a third scratches his head with an anxious expression. Dundas receives them with favour, holding out his hand for the petition. ... The only actual director named is the Hon. William Elphinstone, formerly commander of an Indiaman, member of a family which (later) had many honourable associations with India. ... The papers in front of Pitt and Sydney, with their pens and ink-stands, have been thrown to the floor to make room for their game, and are in shadow. Three are inscribed: 'Sir Elijah Impey', 'Major Scot &c &c &c', and 'War[ren] Hastings Esq.' On the wall, on each side of a candelabra, are two pictures: one (left) is 'Robbing'; Fox puts a pistol to the head of a stout Englishman who holds a document inscribed 'India Patronage'. The other (right) is 'Stealing'; Pitt picks the pocket of a sleeping oriental, taking from it a roll: 'India Patronage'. ..."--British Museum online catalogue