ABSTRACT
Charles Elliot was not the first to spot Sir George Robinson’s lack of competence. In 1828, he had been reprimanded by the President of the Select Committee for failing to obey orders – a censure which Robinson dubbed ‘vexatious and frivolous remarks.’ The doyen of East India Company historians, H.B. Morse, described the new baronet as having ‘a bad case of swelled head.’ Hsin-pao Chang describes him as ‘by no means a brilliant, shrewd or vigorous man.’ 1
