According to The Bengal Obituary, p. 339, Carey helped persuade Wellesley to abolish various cruelties (infanticide?) practiced on Saugur Island in the Bengal area.  The passage says,

Before we come to the close of this good and great man’s memoir, we will here briefly advert to the deep interest he constantly felt in the welfare and happiness of the natives in a temporal point of view; to his labouring with the Government till he procured from the Marquess of Wellesley the abolition of the horrid cruelties practised at Saugur Island, by the natives devoting their offspring to death there; to his incessant labours in exposing the abominations of the Suttee, which he had the happiness at length to see abolished by Lord Wm. Bentinck, to his cultivation of science, particularly that of botany, which he enriched with various discoveries of his own, he could not but feel that the grace of God had kept him alive in his work even to the end. What must have been the feelings on a death-bed of a man who had lived wholly to himself compared with the joyous tranquillity filled Carey’s soul in the prospect of entering into the joy of his Lord, and above all with what he felt when, a few days before his decease he said to his companion in labour for thirty-five years, "I have no fears; I have no doubts; I have not a wish left unsatisfied."

To view a commemorative medal, honoring Wellesley, follow the links below:

The obverse side of this medal presents an image of Richard College Wellesley (1760-1842), the Governor General of Bengal, India, 1797-1805.

The reverse side of this medal presents an image of the battle at Seringapatam, May 4, 1799.  [Photography care of Ian Mahy.]

To view Wellesley's signature on an 1833 card from his residence in Ireland, click here and view the bottom left of the card.

To view portraits of Wellesley, click here for the collection at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Created:  January 23, 2001        Updated:  November 5, 2010