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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 •^mtw^m^mmm^^^mmmm^mimmmitHi^ ARREN HASTINGS: ^n 'K&^vi^ BY LORD MACAULAY. EDITED FOR HIGH SCHOOL USE, WITH INTRODUCTIONS, NOTES, ETC.; ^T r O WHICH IS APPENDED NOTES ON COMPOSITION, INCLUDING A CLASSIFICATION OF THE TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LITERARY STYLE, ETC., \ AND AN OUTLINE OF THE PLOT OP SCOTT'S IVAN HOE, WITH A LIST OF ITS CHIEF PERSONAGES, ETC BY G. MERCER ADAM, AND GEORGE DICKSON, M. A., Ptincipal of Upper Canada College, TORONTO : THE COPP, CLARK COMPANY, (LIMITED), 1890. M IS- leio Entered •ooording to Aot of Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety, by Tbb dorr, Olabk CoMrAinr, LDtrnu), In tht offloe oD the Ifiniater of Agriculture. »T one thousand eight iiTBD, in til* oflloe ofl *refa Laoa fndia }ome [inti Ci CONTENTS. Page preface > i i aoaulay's Life and the Charauteriutics uf his Writings vii ndia before the time of Warren Hastings viii Some Notes on the Essay xi lints on Composition and on the Methods of Literary CritiuiHiu . . . xvi Chapter I.- IL- IIL- IV.- V.- VL- vn.- vin.- IX.- X.- XL- XIL- XIIL- XIV.- XV.- XVI. XVIL- XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI.- XXIL- XXIII.- XXIV. XXV. Text of the Essay. -Hasting's Ancestry and School Life 25 -First Duties in India -1750-1764 29 -Visits England and returns to India 32 -Appointed Governor of Bengal .34 -Bengalee Character described 36 -The Double Government dissolved 38 -An Empty Treasury 41 -Compact against the Rohillas 43 -Devastation of Rohilcund 46 -Philip Francis and the Junius L^etters 48 -The Governor- General and the Council 50 -Hastings, Impey and Nuncomar 55 -Unsuccessful eflforts to remove Hastings 59 -Coote, the Mahrattas and the French 62 -Impey's Reign of Terror 66 -The Struggle with Hyder Ali 71 -Benares and the Conflicting Rule '. 74 -Cheyte Sing plundered and Benares annexed .... 77 -Hastings sets covetous eyes on Oude 80 -The Chief Justice Recalled 84 -Review of Hastings' Administration 86 -Hastings' Popularity in Bengal 90 -Takes Final Leave of India 93 —The Prosecution — Tribute to Burke 97 —Burke defeated on the First Charge 100 ▼i CONTIjfrTS. Paob Chaptkr XXVI. —Fox, Pitt and ShericUm KW XXVII.— The Trial in Westminater Hall 106 XXVIII. — Burke's Impeachment of Hastings 110 XXIX.— The Acquittal of Hastings 113 XXX. — In Retirement — Death 118 Annotations on the Essay 123 to 139 Chronological Table, and List of Indian Qovemors 140 Analysis of the Plot of Scott's Ivanhoe, with a List of the Prin* cipal and Subordinate Characters and Suggestions for Reading the Novel 142 9 : < I Paok 102 106 g« 110 .. 118 118 123tol39 140 ; of the Prin- 18 for Reading 142 PREFACE. The Editors of this edition of Macaulaj's Essay on Warren [astings have prepared the work to meet the wants of those ^ho intend going up for the Matriculation Examinations in iglish Composition, for the year 1891, at the Universities, le literary student is to be congratulated on the selection, for ^e second time by Toronto University, of a work so attractive this in English prose, at once interesting in matter and ani- mated in style. He is also to be congratulated on the fact lat an English Classic is placed on the Curriculum not for imatical dissection, nor even for critical study, in its literary id rhetorical aspects, but as material for exercises in English >mposition. While this special object has been kept in view, the Editors tve not been unmindful of the many difficulties, literary and fitorical, which the Essay presents to the reader. In the ideavour to meet these, the Editors have supplied in the itroductions and Annotations such helps as they have deemed sntial, and which the slender resources of a student's library not usually furnish. To facilitate reading and aid the lemory in retaining what has been read, the text of the Essay s been bix>ken into chapters, the headings of which may serve, some degree, as Themes for Composition. With Macaulay's Essay, Scott's Ivanhoe has for the same been bracketed, as an additional prose work, with which candidate is expected to familiarize himself, and on which powers of writing an English Prose composition will be ited. To aid the student in his reading of the novel, an ont- ie of its plot has been furnished, with a list of its principal laraoters and some obsei*vations on its historical setting. It prrfacr. Appended to the work in a brief claHHificatidti of the technical oharacteristicfl of literary Mtyle, and a few hintH on itH intellecj tual, emotional, and esthetic qualities, together with an em meration of the chief Figures of Speech, deoinod oHHential to tV young student in comprehending the technique of literaisj criticism. In prescribing the Prose Work for English Composition i'^ the several years, the Curriculum of Toronto Univei-aity enjoinj on Candidates for Matriculation that nothing but an essay wil be required based on the work or works for the year. This, th^ Curriculum aidds, " shall be dealt with rather as a test of th< candidate's power of English composition than as a proof of hi.^ knowledge of the subject written upon. Legible writing and! connect spoiling and punctuation will be n^garded as indispenj sible, and special attention will be paid to the structure o^ sentences and pamgraplis. The examiner will allow a choice J subjects, some of which must be based on the selections named^ with which the candidate is expected to familiarize himself h^ careful reading." The Editors deem it proper to call the atteii tion of those using the present book to this requirement of tl: University authorities. Toronto, July, 1890. MAOAULAY'S LIFE, Ain> Tim OHARAOTEBISTICS OF HIS WRITINGS. ,11 the atteii ment of tfc ["homah Babinoton (Lord) Maoaulay, one of the greatest masters Snglish prose, was born at Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, October , 1800. His father, Zaohary Macaulay, was intimately associated Wilberforoe in the emancipation of the West Indian slaves, lulay, early in life, gave promise of winning a notable name. As a he was precocious and self-confident ; though he justified these racteristics by ceaseless reaate. In 1822 he took his B.A. degree, and two years afterwards lined a College Fellowship. )n leaving the University Macaulay studied law and was called to bar. Literature, however, was his lodestar, and in the arena of ^rs he had already achieved a name. His contributions to Knight's %rte.rly had been well received ; ))ut public attention was specially beted to the young writer by his article in the Edinburgh Review on (ton. This essay was the first of that long series of hrilliaut contributions [the Whig Quarterly, which earned for that periodical its chief reputa- Meanwhile politics was putting forth a rival claim for a hold on saulay's talents. In 1830 he entered Parliament ; and for four years an active part in the stirring scenes of the Reform Bill. He was iberal in politics, and his vehement oratory and great powers of were of much service to his party at this critical period of Parlia- itary history. In 1832 he was appointed a Commissioner of the Lrd of Control, which represented the Crown in its relation to the East ia Company ; and two years afterwards he was nominated a member le Supreme Council of India. The next four years Macaulay spent !)alcutta. To this residence in India, and the impress it made upon writer's mind, we doubtless owe two of the most brilliant essays in language. VI LIFE OF MACAULAY. Returning to England in 1839, Macaulay again entered Parliament] and for a number of years hail a seat in the Cabinet. Laborious as wenJ his Ministerial duties, he yet found time to pursue with unflagginji ardour his literary work. The essays on Lord Clive and Warrei Hastings are the product of this period, as are those admirable speci mens of " rhymed rhetoric, " the Lay 8 of Ancient Rome. But alternate legislating and electioneering were not favourable to literary composition; and Macaulay was ambitious to do more than write essays and compose verse. He had long cherished the idea of writing a History of England ; and, fortunately for literature. Parliamentary defeats and loss of oflBce gave him the leisure, though now late in the day, to pat his wish into effect. From now to the close of his life, with a brief interruption incident to his temporary return to politics, Macaulay threw his whole heart into the writing of his History. Few Englishmen at the time were so deeply versed as he in the country's annals ; and none ha(] hitherto hit the idea of making history popular, or were able to treat it with such picturesque effect. Alas ! he lived to see but four volume puV)lished ; the fifth, a fragment, appeared posthumously, for, at the close of 1859, the brain that had woven the wonderful fabric had ceased its function... Its author died Baron Macaulay ; and on the 9th of January, 1860, his remains were interred with impressive pomp in the Poets' Comer in Westminster Abbey. The social aspects of Macaulay's life present some very loveable traits. His attachment to his sister, Lady Trevelyan, and the fond indulgence of a bachelor-uncle to her children, are prominent features in his bio- graphy and pleasingly attest his affectionate disposition and warmth of heart. The ** Life and Letters," by his nephew, Mr. Trevelyan, is one of the most admirable biographies in the language, and should be read by all admirers of the great historian, orator, and essayist. Macaulay is the most pictorial prose-writer in English literature. His power of graphic narration has rarely been equalled and never surpassed. With wide and accurate knowledge, and the faculty of readily bringing it to his aid, he has enriched the literature of history and biography with scenes and studies that bid fair to have perennial life. He was a typical Englishman ; and his writings, both historical and literary, deal with subjects that interest the national mind and enlist the sympathies of the national heart. His power of reproducing the past is great ; and the impression he leaves on the mind of the reader is vivid and lasting^ His work always tells, for it is hearty and genuine. Nor is it ever timidly put forth, but invariably with confidence and conviction. In tot iat^ ror le Ml igi". A CHARACTERISTICS OF HIS STYLR. Vll ' ' ^ "*'*^'»nientMot a few instances this leads him into error, and gives a colour to his onou8 as wenStatements that does injustice to facts. At times one has to stand off unnaggiu,-j|.oin his work to get its proper focus, and to see his facts out of e glare of his rhetoric. But he has painted many striking pictures, nd imbued with fresh life many forgotten incidents and memorable igiu'es of the past. The characteristics of Macaulay's style are strength and clearness. It s said that ne never wrote but one obscure sentence in his life. With qual truth it may be affirmed that he never penned a weak one. In eading Macaulay one often sighs, indeed, for an hour of langour, and for passage of quiet repose. But there is as little of repose as there is of emotion. The tenderness that was in his nature he never imparts to his books. We have the firm hand of the robust rhetorician, but never the liSoft touch of the idealist or the poet. Macaulay has no acute sensi- f bilities ; and hence in his writings there is little of humour and less of pathos. Yet every page is instinct with life, bright with colour, and a£9ii- II ent of illustration. From every nook of literature he brings something to enrich his narrative and ornament his work. Not only are his facts 1 inexhaustible, but inexhaustible also are the resources of his art. On ^ canvas there may be daubs of colour, but the man and the scene he '* sets out to paint he always succeeds in making live before one. The the details too minute, but the result ^ve and Warrei admirable speci But alternate ary composition; ays and compose ory of England nd loss of office It his wish into tef interruption hrew his whole Jn at the time and none hac 5 able to treat fc four voIume> 'y. for, at the ' "c had ceased on the 9th sive pomp in ■:? >veable traits, 'd indulgence ' in his bio- d warmth of slyan, is one >uld be read ature. His ■ surpassed. Jy bringing biography He was a Bf'ary, deal ympathies '■eat; and d lasting 18 it ever tion. In M process may be mechanical and W nevertheless is art. I The essay on Warren Hastings exemplifies both the merits and the defects of Macaulay as a writer. Though somewhat overloaded with ornament, the narrative is clear-cut, forcible and brilliant. It displays vast and varied knowledge, and is enriched with apt, if profuae, illus- tration. But Macaulay rarely brings out the deeper significance of events, and seldom looks into the heart for the motive of his actors. Not only is there an absence of the analytic habit, there is often a narrowness of view, and not infrequently poverty of thought. He is seldom original, and never profound. To the ordinary reader this is concealed by an animated style, and by a florid and abundant rhetoric. Macaulay's fondness for antithetical writing often detracts from his sense of justice, and leads him unfairly to praise one man by defaming another. In one other respect his work is defective : as the artists say, his pictures want atmosphere ; he gets too near to the canvas, and, con- sequently, there is a lack of perspective. But despite these defects Macaulay is a great and attractive writer. He is always in earnest, and his industry makes his work thorough, if not at all times accurate. The national history may yet be witten more scientifically, but never with a sturdier patriotism or with more enthusiasm and fire. Ili INDIA BEFORE THE TIME OF WARREN HASTINGS. British settlement in India practically dates from the year 1600, when the East India Company was founded. A hundred years earlier the Spaniards, the Portuguese, and che Dutch, actuated by the spirit of enterprise of the time, were all eager to reach the Indies, and to bring home some of its fabled wealth. During the whole of the 16th century the Portuguese had the monopoly of trade in the East. When the crowns of Portugal and Spain were for a time united the national interests of Portugal were merged in Spanish conquest in the West, and her Asiatic trade passed into the hands of the English and the Dutch. Competition between the two latter Powers for the commerce of India was in the 17th century keen and on both sides aggressive. But in 1758 the tide turned in favour of Britain, when Clive, at Chinsurah, forced the Dutch to capitulate. Sixty years later Dutch trade on the mainland of India received its death blow, when England, during the great French wars, from 1793 to 1811, won all the colonies of Holland. But England had other rivals besides the Portuguese and the Dutch in the trade of the Orient. France had early laid covetous eyes on the wealth of the Indies, and possessed a Trading Company in the East under charter of the French Crown. There were also various English companies formed for trading purposes in India and the Indian Archi- pelago. In 1709 the two chief companies were amalgamated, and were henceforth known as the "Hast India Company." At successive periods this great corporation obtained a renewal of its charter, though its powers were more or less modified as time went on, until the year 1858, when the Company and its affairs were transferred to the British Crown. On some of the islands of the Indian Archipelago the Company established factories, or houses of trade, which ere long brought its servants into collision with the Portuguese and the Dutch. In 1623 occurred the massacre by the Dutch at Amboyna, which drove the English from the Spice Islands to the mainland of India. The Com- pany soon obtained a footing on the Coromandel coast, where it erected Fort St. George, its first territorial possession, and the nucleus of the later city of Madras, Settlements were ere long effected at Bombay, at Fort William (Calcutta), at Moorshedabad, once the capital of Bengal, and at various points on the Hooghly, a navigable branch of the Ganges. The French also made good their foothold in the country, establishing themselves at C'handernagore, just above Calcutta, and at Pondicherry, a hundred miles south of Madras. viii I The 4 on INDIA BEFORE HIS TIME. HASTINGS. ear 1600, when ars earlier the y the spirit of and to bring 5 16th century t. When the the national the West, and i the Dutch. lerce of India But in 1758 . surah, forced | the mainland | ig the great | Hand. 1 I the Dutch I eyes on the in the East ^ ous English ' dian Archi- l, and were successive 'Cr, though the year he British Company | rought its I In 1623 I irove the I 'he Com- it erected 18 of the Bombay, tpital of !h of the 5ountry, and at At first the English East India Company pursued its trade by per- tission of the native princes, whose rights it for a time respected, tough the cupidity of the Company and its employes were ere long Ltterly to disregard both political and commercial morality. The ivalry of the trading companies of other nations, particularly the French, soon introduced discord into the -country, and with it a factor of no inconsiderable account in the spoliation of India. Its fruit was [soon seen in setting the native rulers by the ears, in deposing some, and [extorting from others immense sums of money and ere long their terri- torial possessions. The trading companies were greedy and their servants unscrupulout. Such was the position of affairs in India when, in 1744, war broke out in Europe between England and France. At this time M. Dupleix, the French Governor of Pondicherry, was ambitious that the rule of his countrymen should be the dominant one in India- The English were the special objects of the Governor's designs ; and in 1746 Madras surrendered to a French squadron which was then cruising on the coast. In 1748 it was however restored to Britain. Meanwhile the whole of Southern India, on the fall of the Mogul power at Delhi, had become practically independent ; and in the Deccan the Nizam-ul-Mulk was founding at Hyderabad a hereditary dynasty. The Carnatic, the lowland district lying between the central plateau and the Eastern Sea, was governed by a deputy of the Nizam, known as the Nawab of Arcot. To the south lay Mysore, Tanjore, and Trichinopoli, which were all seats of independent Hindoo power. On the death; in 1748, of Nizam-ul-Mulk, the " War of Succession" to the throne of the Deccan, referred to in Macaulay's Essay, began to rage. The English supported the claim of Nasir Jung, a son of the late ruler ; while it siMted the purpose of the French Governor, Dupleix, to main- tain the cause first of one grandson and then of another. In like manner, to the subordinate sovereignty of Arcot, the French and English advanced the interests of rival claimants. The former upheld the pretensions of Chunder Sahib, while the latter countenanced those of Mahommed Ali. To end the orouble, which was a source of danger to Madras, and to cripple the influence of France in the Carnatic, the Er lish directed Clive, who had come to India in 1743, to proceed with U auiall but brave force to seize Arcot. Olive's capture and subsequent defence of the place was the first of his great military achievements. From that period French power in the East begun to decline ; and its overthrow occurred nine years later, whan Sir Eyre Coote won the victory of Wandewash, and in the following year starved Pondicherry into a surrender. WARREN HASTINGS. The scene now shifts to Bengal, and to the advent of Warren Hastings. In 1740 the hereditary succession to the throne of the Province had been broken by a usurper, who died in 1756. His grandson, Surajali Dowlah, a hot-headed youth of eighteen, became Nawab of Bengal. The Court was at Moorshedabad, contiguous to Cossimbazar and tht European factories on the Hooghly. Down the river, at Calcutta, there was by this time a large SfcUleraent of English. Suddenly the city was seized by a panic on the appearance at its gates of an army of the Nawab. On the pretext of capturing a relative, who had escaped from his vengeance, Surajah Dowlah had marched upon and invested Calcutta with his forces. Most of the English fled down the river in their ships ; though about 150 of them were captured and flung for the night into the military jail at Fort William. Only 23 emerged on the morrow from the horrors of the " Black Hole." While this tragic occurrence took place Clive was at Madras with the British fleet. On hearing of the calamity he instantly set out for the mouth of the Ganges, and Calcutta waH promptly recovered. The Nawab fortunately consented to a peace ami maile ample compensation for British losses. But Clive soon foun.l the opportunity to settle accounts more satisfactorily with Surajah Dowlah. War having again broken out between France und England, the hero of Arcot made it the pretext to seize the French settlement on the Hooghly of Chanderna- gore. This enraged the Nawab ; and in hot haste he took up the cause of the French. Clive, acting upon the policy of the Governor of Pondi- cher-y, put forward a rival claimant for the throne. Resort was had to arms. At Plassy, about 70 miles north of Calcutta, the die was east ; and Clive with less than a tenth of Dowlah's army met and scattered it to the winds. Placing Meer Jaflier on the throne of Bengal, Clive dicteted his own terms on elevating him to the position, and the East India Company practically became masters of tlie Province. Uttle remains now to be said, for Warren Hastings comes at this period upon the scene, and Macaulay's Essay takes up the thread of the narrative. Plassy waa fought en the 23ril of June, 1757 : and in the following year Clive was appointed by the Court of Directors Governor of the (Company's settlements in Bengal. The incidents connected with th» dethronement of Meer Jaffier, the revolt of Meer Casim, and the re- conquest of Bengal, brings the story of British occupation well on in the career of Hastings. These and subsequent stirring events brought out the resources of that famed administrator ; an• in their ships ; e night into the' le morrow from Madras with the set out for the 'Covered. The * compensation mity to settle • having again >t made it the f Chanderna- up the cause lor of Pondi- ■fc vvas had to w-as o.ist ; icattered it bengal, Chve I the Ji:ast le K nes at this read of the and in the s (governor ected with md the re- ^ on in the ;ht out the '•■y genius, ndia. SOME NOTES ON THE ESSAY. Lord Macaulay's essay on Warren Hastings is one of his most otable contributions to the Ekiinh'irgh Review, where it appeared in ctober, 1841. Early in the previous year its writer had contributed the same periodical hia hardly less famous essay on Lord ('live, which hould be read in connection with that on Warren Hastings, that the tudent may be familiar with the military achievements which in part irecede, and in part run contemporary with, Hastings' lengthy and rilliant rule in India. The two men who were to become the founders of Britain's greatness in the East, and who, despite the stains on their haracter, figure grandly in the Anglo-Indian history of the eighteenth century, were, for the space of some seventeen years, actors together in the civil and military administration of India. How their careers for a time interlace will best V^e seen by reproducing the dates in connection with the lives of both men. Clive was born in 1 725 ; he made his first voyage to India in 1743 ; and finally quitted the East in 1767. He died in England by his own hand in 1774. Warren Hastings was Olive's junior by only seven years ; he made his first voyage to India in 1760 ; and, with a visit of four years' duration to England, was for thirty-five years in the East India Company's service, during thirteen of which he had charge of the affairs of the Indian Empire. Returning to England in 1785, he spent there the remainder of a long and chequered life, dying in the year 1818. Macaulay's personal knowledge of India, and his vast fund of his- torical and literary research, were, no doubt inducing motives in his taking up the Malcolm and Gleig biographies of these heroes of Indian history as themes for an historical essay and studies of portraiture for the pages of the great Whig Quarterly. Britain's Indian Empire, with its barbaric wealth and glitter, the splendour of its temples, courts and palaces, the pageantry and stately ceremonial by which the native princes were surroundcil, together with all the glamour of the East, formed a group of subjects well fitted to attract Macaulay's love of the picturesque and give scope for graphic writing. The achievements of the British arms, the successive conquests over the naMve tribes, the thrilling stories of peril and daring, the knavery of Indian intrigue, and the counter-diplomacy of the English military chiefs, were further sub- jects well calculated to ealiat the ardour of a patriotic historian and xU WARKKN UASTINOS. furnish material for brilliant literary effects. It is just here that tl '1 student needs to be on his guard against Macaulay, and to tal> care that the fascination of his style and the brilliance of h stately sentences do not lead him astray in the estimate he desire to form of the events described in his pages, and falsify lii! judgment of the chief actors who play their part in the narrative This is particularly necessary in reading the essay on Warren Hastings where Macaulay delights in marked contrasts, and giorities his hero U)\ throwing into the deepest shade those who were either his tools or who' opposed him in the questionable methods by which he won success. It is this love for startling antitheses, combmed at times with a too pro- nounced partisanship, that detracts from Macaulay's merits as a portrait painter and historian, however spirited may be his narrative, dazzling his eloquence, and great the wealth of the historical and literary illus- tration he lavishes upon his work. Few, however, will fail to be captivated by the polish of the language, the vigour and perspicuity of statement, the telling turns of argument, and the succession and rhythmic flow of the glowing periods. Nor, despite what we have said of Macaulay's partisanship, and the artificial graces and noisy brilliance of many of his sentences, will the reader fail to note the essayist's manifest desire to mete out justice to the figures on his canvas, or remain unstirred while he vigorously applies the lash to meanness and deceit. The value he sets upon uprightness of character, straightfor- wardness of action, purity of living, and all that is noble and unselfish in human nature, is indeed a high one ; though at times he sadly (jualifies his ideal by an ingenuity of defence and a sophistry of language when dealing with crime that too often reveals the advocate and throws a cloud over the moral sense. But this is at once the weakness and the strength of Macaulay ; and our estimate of his work, like our estimate of such a character as Warren Hastijigs, must not be upon a single trait of the man, but upon the individual as a whole, and upon the completed work he has left behind him It is fifty years since Macaulay's Essay v as written, and we now see a little more clearly the difficulties of the position in which Warren Hastings was placed. Historical research has meanwhile also brought to light much that hitherto was mere conjecture in regard to the transactions of the period, or are the animadversions of a partisan judgment India a hundred years ago was deemed more emphatically than it is to-day "a distant, alien, and usurped dominion," and the theory then, and perhaps truthfully held, was that " only the force wielded and the fear inspired by arbitrary rule could maintain it. " SOME NOTE.W ON THE ESSAY. xut ' just here that tj *"iay. and to tat B biiJliance of h estimate he desir. '8, and falsify l,„ in the narrative Warren Ha8tinL^ '^onhes his hero f.y ^^ his toohi or who ^ won succesa. Jt ' ^'^^ a too pro. '«"t8 as a portrait arrative, dazzJi,.g an J iiteraryr iJJua. ' ^i^ fail to be »nd perspicuity 3 succession and at we have said noisy brilJia„ce te the essayist's his canvas, or meanness and «r, straightfor- ' antl unselfish '"nes he sadJy '" of Jan^age vocate and the Weakness o''k» like our he upon a •^e, and upon I we now see ich Warren Jso brought fard to the a partisan ^phaticaljy and the the force Jntain it. " n the eighteenth century," says Sir Alfred Lyall in his admirable nograph on Warren Hastings, in the English Men of Action Series, the question of governing India from liondon presented in the highest igree all the difficulties and enigmas inherent in the administration of pendencies that are separated from the sovereign State by distance, y differences of religion, race, climate, and by the strongest possible ontrast of social ideas and political traditions." This the essayist not nly saw, but he gave Hastings the benefit of the impression it made pon his mind, in the portraiture he has left us of the great Anglo- ndian Proconsul. Not only does he recognise the fact that when 'Hastings first came upon the scene English rule in the East was charac- terised by all kinds of extortion, and that the sordid company, whose servant he was, looked upon India only as a field to poach in ; but he at the same time places the Governor-General in the midst of his difficult and entangling surroundings, having, figuratively, to make bricks without straw, and administer the affairs of a great trust, fighting, for the most part, with his back to the wall, with a Council Board which, so far from helping him, was a constant puridexity and menace. Macaulay, however, is not careful to give Hastings the full benefit of this view of the case when he comes to deal with the impeachment and the over- charged rhetoric of the impassioned orators for the prosecution. The national inquisition gives him the opportunity, which he evidently coveted, for indulging in pi(;turesque writing, in unison, as he thought, with the tragic declamation of Burke, Fox, and Sheridan ; though a soberer judgment to-day deems the whole proceedings of the trial vexatious, and the language of the prosecution what Pitt at the tiuie censured it for being — "violent and unfair." A great modern legal authority speaks of the impeachment as "a blot on the judicial history of the country." "It is monstrous," writes Sir James Stephen, in his History of Criminal Law, " thut a man should be tortured at irregular intervals for seven yeais in order that a singularly incompetent tribunal might be addressed before an excited audience by Burke and Sheridan, in language far removed from the calmness with which an advocate for the prosecution ought to address a criminal court." More open still to criticism is the Essay when its author comes to consider the relations between Hastings and some of the personages with whom he was in alliance. Towards Sir Elijah Impey, Macaulay is now known to have been grossly unfair. He deems him a mere tool of the Governor- General, and in the Essay he has loaded him with reproach and ohlocjuy. In treating of the alleged compact with Uastings, by which Impey, as XtT WARREN HASTINQB. iiiil! he affirms, became rich and infamous, the historian steepe his pen gall and writes of the Chief Justice as if he were the greatest fek unhang. Nor is he a whit more lenient when he comes to deal with tli(t plundering of the Begums of Oude, for he again charges the Ghieli Justice with crimes that stain the robea of his office " by the peculiar! rankness of their infamy. " The extravagant and partisan judgment o!| the brilliant essayist is only equalled b}^ Burke's biting invective when | he impeached Hastings at the Bar of the House of Commons. There the impassioned orator flung at the incriminated Governor-Geneial every epithet of contumely and scorn. It is now, however, vory certain that many counts in the indictment of both Hastings and Impey were cruelly unjust, as well as malignantly aspersive. The alleged compact between them for what was termed the judicial murder of Nuncomar had really no existence ; and most of the charges brought against them by their sleepless enemy, Sir Philip Francis, are now believed to be virulently untrue. The whole Nuncomar case has recently been probed to the bottom, and the exoneration of the Governor-General and the Chief Justice is deemed both explicit and complete. Sir James Fitz- james Stephens has made the most searching and exhaustive inquiry into the matter, and has examined every document and fact i el iting to it. His conviction is that Nuncoraar's trial was perfectly fair, and that there was no sort of conspiracy or understanding between Hastings and the Chief Justice to get rid of the Bengalee ; nor, as he believes, had Hastings anything whatover to do with the prosecution. Sir James makes this further statement exonerating the Chief Justice : — "I have read everything," he says, " I could find throwing light on Impey 's character, and it appears to me that he was neither much blacker nor much whiter, in whole or in part, than his neighbours. I have read through all his letters and private papers, and I can find in them no trace of corruption. . . . When his conduct in the diflferent matters objected to is fully examined I think it will appeir that, if the whole of his conduct is not fully justified, he at least is to be honourably acquitted of the tremendous charges which Macaulay has brought against him." Thus is conclusively disposed of, we venture to think, not only the odious imputation on Impey as a judge, but the dishonour cast on Hastings by the charge of complicity with the Chief Justice, in taking foul means to get rid of an influential native dignitary who was obnoxious to both. Macaulay's indictment in the case would seem to fall completely to the ground, and a controversy is thus set at rest which has raged intermittently for close upon a hundred years. In » -*eepe hi. pen « "^« greatest feloj Jes to deal witl tU «Wge8 the Chiel by the peculiar] :*'«»« judgment of( y invective when -^ommons. There "overnor-General ^^«r, vory certain and Impey were a"e«ed compact ^l of Xuncomar ?ht against then, I t>eiieved to be Wy been proberl eneral and the Sir James Fitz. a"»t>ve inquiry ««t 'el tting to ^air, and that flaatingsand believes, had '• ^ir James •«••-" I have * on Impey's blacker nor J have read ^ in them no rent matters *e whole of honourably ** brought t>t only the '«r cast on Jn taking who Was ^ seem to »et at rest ears. Jij 80MK NOTKS ON THE ESSAY. JtV *rd to other matters in Hastings' career there was, no doubt, cause impeachment ; but it must now, we think, bo said that the mode manner of it were inconsistent with fair play and with proper con- eration for the resplendent services of the whilom Master of all India. y of Hastings' acts no one would venture to defend ; but though potic and often unscrupulous, he was neither a political gamester nor rigand. Whatever he was, Macaulay does not fail, on the whole, to him justice. His administration reduced chaos to order, gave some easure of security to life and property, widened the area of Britisii risdiction, and implanted in the breasts of a restive people the fear of Inglish prowess, and in the hearts of knaves a wholesome dread of th«> *)nglish name. NOTES ON ENGLISH COMPOSITION. How the writing of English can best be acquired is a qnestion m easily answered. Text-books and intelligent training will dosomethiii);! but practice and the study of good models will, adiiiittcdly, du morti The first step is to train the jmpil to think. If at first, which is likehl to be the case, the pupil cannot use his reflective powers so as to prm vide himself with material for a theme in ('omposition, he may withj advantage be referred to some pregnant passage occurring in the works of a goo(>mi>niiitinn of the paragraph, and to the analysis of its properties — ly, consecutivcness, and variety. From thfse ho may proceed to cises on theme writing, and to lesHouH on the (juahtios of style, par- llarly in its essentials of perspicuity and strength. In the exercises he analysis of style the utmost care should \ye taken to make criti- on the mere mechanism of the language subordinate to the all- ortant consideration of the thought and aim of the writer, which the essence of every literary work. While a student of literature, should not be forgotten that the (lupil is also a student of the rid ; that he is being prepared to enter upon a life of thought and ion for himself ; and that the pedantry which makes so much of ool work in the grammatical construction of the language is a poor he Worj(sM}jgtit;,,te^ ag a means of training, for those impressive lessons, both of nee of thtftnciple and sentiment, which happily abound in English literature, wn Words, |l(j are its most distinguished characteristics. Nor should it be forgotten ce of thJHfl^at over-attention to the minutiae of criticism prevents the pupil from o more t<. firming just or adequate conceptions of an author's work, and, in the e of a masterpiece of literature, limits his vision of its large and ueral aspects. ^n proceeding to theme-writing, the teacher's care, after he has seen l4 the grammatical purity of the pupil's compositions, should }>e chieHy directed to the supervision of their rhetorical qualities. A heavy hand ^11 here be needed, as the tendency of imaginative youth is to run riot imong the flowers of the language. The Hrst requisites he should exact Hre Simplicity and Clearness ; after that may come Strength. Perhaps no better rules can be given, as directions to the pupil in attaining these requisites, than the old and simple ones of Lindley Murray, which we {jar are, in these modern ned by ora' l^^^r, thatmaj [n, with the re »e without the taste in ^he *good Jiterary "position, the the following ^^'ch, in his ;^ of method 'n treating of N ; (4) An ' » (5) Some (^) Such an ^ violating "age and of ie." P"Pii, and fercises in HO on to 1. •* Avoid," Bays Lindley Murray, •' all such words and phrases as are not adapted I the ideas you mean to coninuinicate, or which are less sij^niflcant than others, of Ihose ideas." 2. Durini; the course of the sentence the scene should be changed as little as Qssible, i.e. [do not let the mind be hurried by sudden transitions from person to per- |8on, or from subject to subject.] 3. Never crowd into one sentence things which have so little connection that they I could bear to be divided into two or three sentences ; and keep clear of all unnecessary [parentheses. 4. For promoting the strength of a sentence, prune it of all redundant words and 'menihers; much force is added to a sentence by brevity. .<}. Attend, particularly to the use of copulatives, relatives, and all the particles em- ployed for transition and connection. XVIU WARRKN HASTINGS. fl. THupow of the capitAl worri, or woHw, no that thoy nmy mftkc the gr»' > iiupreMion ; and, when Iht.' miltjtrt admitHnf it, att«-n(l to the clinuix of a senteiue 7. A weaker aimertion or |)n>|Nmitiori fihnuld never cxime after a Htron^^er ; wh< aonteiioe oonsiatii of two inembura, the Innffer ahnuld (fonerally be the Roiu-hidinif oi 8. Ayoid oonoludini; a sentence with an aflvcrb, a preposition, or any iiiconslder. word ; and b« careful not to misplace an adverb. (There Is no wonl In the English lantfiiai;c, nays a modern authority in gramm.' which 1h so frequently mlMplaced as only. Hence, it is important to lay down the r.j with reirnnl to it : " Only " limits the word or wonN inime^liately fuUowin^r it ' Alon i limitn the word or words imniedin(f it.) 9. In the membcni of a sentenoe, where two tilings are compared or contrasted win otie another, whether eith»'r a resemblance or un oppoHition is intended to be expresscc some resemblance in the language and construction should be preserved. When ih thingM th'tinselvcs correHpond to each other, we naturally expect to find a similar cot] reHpondence in the words. 10. Attend to the harmony and easy flow of the words and members. 8^ 11. The same wonl should not be rc]>eatcd too often in the same oentenoe or pan i graph, though the sense should not be sacrificed to avoid rei)etition. 1 12. Long and short sentences should bo agreeably interHper.-.ed in a punigraph : t ^ ear tires of a number of sentences of simihr oonstruotion following each other wi monotonous regularity. In Betting themes for compoHition the teacher will do well at first 1 i avoid subjects that make unusual demands upon the pupil's powers ( reflection, unless they are familiar to him. Narrative composition, o some incident or story ; on some famihar object or feature of locii interest ; or on some character in, or event of, history ; wiU be fouui, much more suitable. At first a skeleton, or scheme of arrangement iii the topics, should }>e suppUed, such as the following : In Biography: 1, Place and circumstances of birth; 2, Youth and education; S Occupation of life, and circumstances determining that occupation ; 4. Progress ii life-work ; 6, Death and attendant circumstances ; and 6, Reflections on the character, and lessons drawn from the life, passed under review. In HistoT}/: 1, The event itself ; 2, Cause or occasion of it ; 3, The time and place ; 4, The manner of its happening and attendant circiunstances ; and 6, The result: what it produced or effected. In the essay on Warren Hastings, in the following pages, abundant material will be found for composition themes, in both historical and biographical narration. The more prominent of these themes will be found in the headings of the chapters. As an exercise to the pupil, and that it may tend to familiarise him with the work he may be called upon to do, in writing compositions on the essay, the following model of a paragraph, enlarged from an outline of the life of Lord Clive, is herewith added. The model is taken from Dalgleish'a " Englisli Composition " (Edinburgh : Oliver & Boyd), a work that may be com- mended to the teacher. The space taken up with the example is more I NOTES ON COMPOSITION. XIX • ""iy inako the gre J • cliniHy of tt intern-,. Y bo the oonci 'iirtlnjf o». on. or any Ji,con»ider* «nt U) la> down the n Kv following if AIo,' '*'■"* or oontroated wi 't«mled to be express,. > preserved. When if t to find a Binjijar cc, inbers. "^'"e sentence or pan ion. ' '" * Ptti^'tfraph : t wntr each other wi *o well at first t pupil's powers < ' co'nposition, o ■ feature of Joe,-, ^ i wilj be fo„u,; arrangement in ■11 $ and education ; a 4. Projfresg in » on the character on ' tfme and place "ro lily given, an the inoidentn of the sketch will bo of interest to the lent who prucvcils to the study of the essay on Warren 11 a«tiiigs. EXAMPLK.— LoED Clivb. 1. Outline. Dtttrripdim : The founder of the nritJHh Kniplre in India. Narrativ* : Uorii at Htyoho (Shro|mhire), 1725— idle ani tniHohievouH at school— IfoeH to Miidraii— clerk in the K. I. Cnnii>nny— difl(cu8tc7—K''*-'at reputation- returns to EnKluiid, 1700-made an Irish peer— affairs >fo wronjf In his absenoe- wnt out to put them ripfht, 17 18 to be shunned ladder " in acquiring the art of style and of a good prose composition. on also ought to cted form of sen 'HHe first step in this ladder of style is, if one may so call it, the rung *^<^ lucidity. The French have a proverb, ' what is obscure is bad F^nch.' I wish we had a corresponding one. But whether we possess vs D P AT ^^ maxim or not, no good F]nglish writer, from Swift to De Quincey, _ 1 ^ ht^ written English hard to be understood. Then, still mounting the Use DC commoD • Avoid foreign •thing which cat fnple and unpre i^^, you have ci t, and bend the Avoid news- *efoe, and mark in the choice w things better nust go to the n you must go *o say it, and *fae reach of position, the lerfluous ex- "gly, and to short as to "ks that "in of infinite ectation, or luflder, one might, to parody Mr. Ruskin, place the rung of brevity BiKt, and after that the rung of rhythm, and the rungs of beauty, of fc»ce, of grace, and of wit, till presently we should reach a height where only genius can tread, and where humbler folk would do wisely not to oa^ib." DICTION. DICTION treats of the selection and the right use of words. This il^cludes : — 1. PuRiiY of Diction, which requires the word made use of to be — i (1) Reputable, that is, used by the best writers and sp 3akers . : (2) Recent, used at the present time. * (3) National, used by the whole poople. I The violation of any of these requirements is called a Barbarism. The chief sources of Barbarisms are — j (1) The unnecessary use of foreign words. ■ (2) The use of obsolete words. Ex. : Ydeped for called. (3) New words not sanctioned by good usage. Ex. : Crank for an eccentric person. (4) The unnecessary use of technical words. (5) Incorrectly formed words, or Hybrids. Ex. : Slnylst. (6) Local or provincial words. Ex. : Grit. (7) Slang. XXll WARBEN HASTINGS. I 2. Proprikty of Diction consists in choosing wonls that pro) express the intended meaning. The violation of tliis is calle< Imphopriety. The chief sources of improprieties are — (1) Neglect to observe the pro[)er sej^uence of particles. (2) Neglect to distinguish synonyms. (3) Carelessness as to the real meaning of words. The best way to attain propriety of diction is to observe and imit the usage of the best writers and speakers of the present tini^ 3. Precision of Diction consists in choosing from synonymous tern those which best express the ideas to be conveyed. ^ THE SENTENCE. 1. Thk Fkriopic Sentence is one in which the sense is held suspense until the end is reached. The effects of the peri(.j;| sentence are — (1) To hold the attention until the end of the sentence. (2) To secure the right placing of qualifying words mI phrases. (3) To secure the unity of the sentence. (4) To counteract the tendency of our language to use t loose sentence by interspersing the periodic sentei. on all suitable occasions. 2. The Loose Sentence is one in which the ideas are expressed i the order in which they occur to the mind. Its characf ti' are — (1) That the predicate follows the subject. (2) That qualifying adjuncts follow what they qualify. (3) That the parts may be separated without destroying tli sense. It is the natural structure of the sentence : English. Macaulay's sentences frequently combine both the loose and tl: periodic. 3. The Balanced Sentence is made up of two clauses which ar similar in form and often contrasted in meaning. Some of tb effects of the balanced sentence are — (1) An aid to memory. The repetition impresses the mind. When the part common to the several statements if learnt, the attention is then directed to the points uf difference. NOTES ON COMPOSITION. XXIU ^orda that proj- I of this is calle* ieties are — nee of particles. of words, observe and imit 'f the present ti J (2) An a'jreeahlc surprise. Sameness of form in difference of matter gives a pleasurable impression, or, when a new and distinct meaning can be conveyed in nearly the same words, a feeling of surprise is all the greater. (3) Antithe.fiis, or Contrast. [As Macaulay is fond of antithesis, that is, the explicit contrasting of thint.'9 ady opjwsed in meaning, an example from the essay is here given in illustration _ its use: Ex. "A war of Bengalees against Englishmen was like a war of sheep ynonymous terrj^p^iu^j^ wolves, of men against demons."] yed. 4. Sentences may be classified also into short and long. (1) The effect of the short sentence is to give animation to the style, but when carried to excess it becomes tiresome, and destroys the melody of the composition. It is, however, more easily understood. (2) The effect of the long sentence is to aid in amplifying an idea , it also gives an opportunity for climax. It requires closer attention, though it is not so easily understood as the short sentence. I sense is held cts of the perioii •f the sentence, Hfying words at nguage to use *] periodic senter i are expresaod i ts characi ti< hey qualify, tit destroying tL the sentence . e loose and tl luses which a^ ?ome of tb esses thg mind. 1 statements if > the points if (3) Do not use either the short or the long sentence to excess. They should be used to relieve one another. The most important qualities of a good sentence are — CLEARNES.S OF MEANING. The choice and arrangement of words should be such that the meaning cannot be misunderstood. All modifiers, whether words, phrases or clauses, should be placed as near as possible to the word or words which they limit. ^2. Unity of Tuouout. The parts of a sentence should be arranged so that unity of thought is maintained as far as possible. ;3. Strength of P^xpression. The sentence should be so constructed that the thought which it contains shall be expressed with all possible force. (1) All words that do not add anything to the meaning should be struck from the sentence. The violations of brevity are — (a) Tautology, or the repetition of the same idea in different words. (6) Pleonasm or Redundancy, that is, the use of words not necessary to express the sense. (c) Verbosity, or a diffuse mode of expression. XXIV WARREN HASTINGS. (2) The strength is increased by a careful use of connectives. (3) Contrasted members of a sentence should be simila: construction. (4) The sentence should end, if possible, with a forci word. (5) EflFective figures of speech. These may be classified as follows : — I. Figures of Oomparisox. (a) In objects closely resembling each other. (a) Metaphor, an implied comparison. (j8) Simile, a comparison stated at length. (6) In objects remotely raaemhling each other («) Allegory, a sustained comparison. {(3) PevHoniJication, the "comparison of inanimate with rsom mate objects. II. Figures of Substitution. (a) Metonomy, of an accompaniment for the thing it accompani {h) Synecdoche, of a part for the whole, or vice versa. III. Figures that present the Unexpected. (a) Antithesis, the explicit contrasting of things already oppo? in meaning. (b) Epigram, the conflict or contradiction between the form the language and the meaning really conveyed. (c) Irony, the saying of what is not meant in order to say mo forcibly and clearly what is intended. (d) Hyperbole, a self-evident exaggeration. (e) Euphemism, the softening of a harsh or indelicate expression. IV. Figures of Thought. (a) Intel-rogation, affirmation or denial, strengthened by beir thrown into the form of a question. (6) Exclamation, a mode of expression evoked by sudden a" intense emotion, (c) Apostrophe, an address to an absent or imaginary auditor, as he were present. 4. Melody of Sound. This is best secured by — I (1) Avoiding harsh-sounding eflfects. The vowels ai consonants should blend. L NOTES ON COMPOSITION. XXV » careful use of (2) The alternation of long and short, emphaiio and uneni- phatic, syllables, ce should be siinila; (3) The observance of the principle of variety. (4) The words should be so arranged as to give an agreeable ssible, with a forci cadence at the close of a sentence. (5) The Rhythm : The words should be so arranged that the accent shall come at intervals convenient for the reader or speaker. THE PARAGRAPH. Paragraph is the division of discourse next above the sentence. (t is a collection of sentences with unity of purpose ; it deals with md exhausts a distinct topic. There is, however, a greater bieak Mtireen one paragraph and another than between the sentences that f inanimate with (Oam^Be a paragraph. !8lhe laws which govern the construction of the paragraph are : — igth. r thing it accompani e versa. ings already oppos •etween the form. iveyed. n order to say mol lelicate expressionj ngthened by beir| ed by sudden a- jinary auditor, as ! The vowels ai L TJie Law relating to the Theme. The opening sentence, unless obviously introductory, should indicate the subject of the paragraph. fl. The Law of Explicit Reference. The bearing of each sentence upon what precedes should be clear and unmistakable. This is ■ attained by — (1) The use of suitable connectives— conjunctions, adverbs, pronouns, or connecting phrases. (2) Relation of the sentence without expressing the con- necting words, their absence having a distinct mean- ing. Connectives are unnecessary — (a) When a sentence iterates, or explains, what goes before. (6) Cumulative statements given in succession are pre- sumed to have a common bearing. (c) In the statement of a consequence. The Law of Parallel Construction. When several sentences iterate, or illustrate, the same idea they should be constructed as far as possible ahke. TVte Law of Continuity. The sentences should he consecutive, or free from dislocations ; the several thoughts should follow each other in their natural order. XXVI WARKEN HASTINGS. V. 7%« Law of Unity. Every statement in the paragraph shoul .. subservient to tlie principal affirmati(»u contained in the t sentence. This law forbids digressions and irrelevant matter VI. The Law of Proportion, A due proportion should be mainta between the principal and subordinate statements. Everytl ahould have space and prominence according to its importar. Other devices for giving prominence may be used — • (a) The employment of numerals. (&) Difference in type. (c) Matter of lesser importance may be relegated to io notes. Chief Kinds of Paragraph. 1. The Propontional Para(/rnph, in which the subject is expressed the form of a definite assertion, and then developed by pn illustration, or repetition. This is the common type, and it constructed on the most regular plan ; it is a united whole itself. 2. The Amplify in;/ Paragraph, or one that particularizes or amplili some statement previously mado. The 'distinctive feature of tb kind of paragraph is that the subject is not definitely express^ but has to be gathered from the general bearing of the whole. 3. The PreUimnary Paragraph, or one that gives the general then of a chapter, or essay ; or lays out the plan of succeed ii paragraphs. 4. The Transitional Paragraph, or one that is introduced between t) principal divisions of a chapter, to mark the end of one line thought and the beginning of another. , KINDS OF COMPOSITION. 1. Descriptive. — The delineation of the charauteristios of any objec' It should follow the succession of aspects as they appear to t! spectator surveying the whole. 2. Narrative, or a series of events or a successiion of views. T scene should not be shifted oftener, or to a greater extent, ths is necessary, and the introduction or disappearance of an impor ant agent should be fully accounted for. The narrative shoi.. follow the order of events, and the details of events should I relieved and assisted by summaries. This process is called abridging, abstracting, or precis writing. ft. NOTES ON COMPOSITION. XXVU he paragraph shoul' coiitaiueil in the t I irrelevant matter I should be mainta -tements. Everytl ng to its importan 3 used — be relegated to Jo ubject is expressed developed by pre mon type, and it is a united whole jularizes or ami^liti ictive feature of tb, definitely expresse ing of the whole. ! the general then plan of succeedii :oduced between tlf end of one line istics of any object tbey appear to t! | on of views. Ti Teater extent, th»| ance of an imporl e narrative shou f events should j1 ^^ExposiTORY. — The mode of handling applicable to knowledge, or to information pertaining to the Scvncen. The methods of ex- pounding a general principle or proposition are — (a) By Iteration, or repeating the statements in different words. This is a means of impressing it. (6) By Obverse Iteration, or the denial of the contrary. (c) By Examples or Particular instances. (d) By Jllmtraiion as distinguished 'iOm Examplv. (e) By Proof of the Principle. (1) Inductive, or proof from facts. (2) Deductive, or the application of a more general law to a proof. (/) Inferences, deductions, corollaries, consequences, may be drawn from principle to aid the exposftion. f Persuasion or Or.\tory is the influencing of men's minds, conduct and beliefs, by spoken or written address. 5, Poetry is composition written to produce pleasure by means of elevated or impassioned thought or feeling, conveyed in a special artistic form. It differs from prose — (1) In possessing a greater variety of figurative expressions. (2) In an unusual diction ; the following are the chief peculiarities of the language of poetry : — (a) It is archaic, and non-colloquial. (6) It prefers images to the mere enumeration of facts, (c) It avoids general terms. {d) It uses epithets instead of the names of things, (e) It is opposed to lengthiness, and is euphonious. (3) The chief varieties are Epic, Lyric, Dramatic, Didactic and Satiric. [• precis writing. Ml ' ' llll $111'. ■' f* t; ! ! Fttiutj WARREN HASTINGS.* CHAPTER I. UASTINGS' ANCESTRY AND SCHOOL LIFB. ^ are inclined to think that we shall best meet the wishes of our yi adherent of the White Rose, whose fate has furnished so striKi igt theme both to poets and to historians. His family received from le | Tudors the earldom of Huntingdon, which after long dispossession, ^m I regained in our time by a series of events scarcely paralleled in romaniuw The lords of the manor of Daylesford, in Worcestershire, claimed 'on] be considered as the heads of this distinguished family. The maa stock, indeed, prospered less than some of the younger shoots. But tof Daylesford family, though not ennobled, was wealthy and highly &!• sidered, till about two hundred years ago it was overwhelmed by ym great ruin of the civil war. The Hastings of that time was a zea.>;ro| cavalier. He raised money on his lands, sent his plate to the minjaT< Oxford, joined the royal army, and after spending half his propertjfirh* the cause of King Charles, was glad to ransom himself by making cwitl most of the remaining half to Speaker Lenthal. The old seat at Dayfor^ ford still remained in the family ; but it could no longer be kept up, i ^ in the following generation it was sold to a merchant of London. ^ba Before this transfer took place, the last Hastings of Daylesford hio 1 presented his secoi d son to the rectory of the parish in which the anciiawi residence of the family stood. The living was of little value ; and tih« situation of the poor clergyman, after the sale of the estate, was depW< rable. He was constantly engaged in lawsuits about his tithes with tVi new lord of the manor, and was at length utterly ruined. His eld^inl son, Howard, a well-conducted young man, obtained a place in the Ctid< toms. The second son Pynaston, an idle, worthless boy, married bef :iie he was sixteen, lost his wife in two years, and died in the West Indi\8U leaving to the care of his unfortunate father a little orphan, destined af strange and memorable vicissitudes of fortune. vt Warren, the son of Pynaston, was born on the sixth of DecembI oi 1732. His mother died a few days later, and he was left dependent .G his distressed grandfather. The child was early sent to the villa 1 school, where he learned his letters on the same bench with the sons t4 the peasantry ; nor did anything in his garb or fare indicate that 1 h life was to take a widely diflferent course from that of the young rust; 11ASTIN08 ANCESTRY AND SCHOOL LIFK. 27 illuatrious race. 1 i|ji| whom ho stiulied and playetl. But no cloud could overcant tht" ■Kk to the great I »,jim (,f so inuuh genius and ho much umhition. The very ploughnu'ii |>th coasts of the Bria^ed, and long rtinondx red, how kindly little Warren took to hin ul struggles, yield/^ The daily sight of the lands which his anct-stors had possessed, 10 undoubted splei i^ ^hich had passed into the hands of strangers, filled his y of interestinff '^^^''^"^^'^8 bimself in a cell in which he can hardly turn. All food, all "ary reputation ap liB bise, is taken in company. Ceremony is to a great extent banished, interview appears ('B^ every day in the power of a mischievous person to inflict ession of the taleutitB™'®^*^^® annoyances. It is every day in the power of an amiable n to confer little services. It not seldom happens that serious ess and danger call forth, in genuine beauty and deformity, heroic es and abject vices which, in the ordinary intercourse of good ty, might remain during many years unknown even to intimate iates. Under such circumstances met Warren Hastings and the ness Imhoff, two persons whose accomplishments would have ted notice in any court of Europe. The gentleman had no 3 tings was ruling til pher wrote to hir I great dignity, He had little sments were grea;^ ployment. I 'I 34 Warren Hastings. domestic ties. The lady was tied to a husband for whom she regard, and who had no regard for his own honour. An att sprang up, which was soon strengthened by events such as couldl have occurred on land. Hastings fell ill. The Baroness nursl with womanly tenderness, gave him his medicines with her owe| and even sat up in his cabin while he slept. Long before the Omfton reached Madras Hastings was in love. But his love wal most characteristic description. Like his hatred, like his ambitiJ all his passions, it was strong, but not impetuous. It was calm,] earnest, patient of delay, unconquerable by time. Imhoff was into council by his wife and his wife's lover. It was arranged thj Baroness should institute a suit for a divorce in the courts of Fran) that the Baron should afford every facility to the proceeding, and] during the years which might elapse before the sentence should !> nouaced they should continue to live together. It was also agreej Hastings should bestow some very substantial marks of gratitude i complaisant husband, and should, when the marriage was disso make the lady his wife, and adopt the children whom she had ab borne to ImhoflF. CHAPTER IV. APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF BENGAL. ] At Madras, Hastings found the trade of the Company in a very d ganised state. His own tastes would have led him rather to poli than to commercial pursuits ; but he knew that the favour of employers depended chiefly on their dividends, and that their dividi depended chiefly on the investment. He, therefore, with great j ment, determined to apply his vigorous mind for a time to this de} ment of business, which had boia much neglected, since the servan the Company had ceased to be clerks, and had become warriors negotiators. I In a very few months he eflfected an important reform. Directors notified to him their high approbation, and were so xi pleased with his conduct that they determined to place him at the ] of the Government of Bengal. Early in 1772 he quitted Fort St. Ge for his new post. The Imhoifs, who were still man and wife, aci panied him, and lived at Calcutta on the same plan which they already followed during more than two years. Whou Hastings took his seat at the head of the Council Board, Be imiii&Lu^ sQa. ^ APPOINTED GOVERNOR OP BENOAI. 35 r wnom she ^ ^j governed according to the system which Clive had devised, a nour. An atta^^ which was, perhaps, skilfully contrived for the purpose of TlT ^^^ ^ ^°"^^yittting and concealing a great revolution, but which, when that e aroness "urst^j^^j^ ^^ complete and irrevocable, could produce nothing but ' T ^ ^i ^'^"onlrenience. There were two governments, the real and the ft'^f ^.^ emrible. The supreme power belonged to the Company, and was in , ' " ~Jt .T*tl» *lie most despotic power that can be conceived. The only restraint re , 1 e his ambitic^j^^ English masters of the country was that which their own justice • was calm, J luimanity imposed on them. There was no constitutional check on . mhoif was ^ ^-jj^ ^^^ resistance to them was utterly hopeless. was arranged thg^^^ though thus absolute in reality, the English had not yet assumed ur 8 or rraiij jj^jjj ^f gQyg^,gjgjj^y They held their territories as vassals of the p ceeding, and .^^ ^^ Delhi ; they raised their revenues as collectors appointed by ence should ^ ^^grial commission ; their public seal was inscribed with the r. It was also agreed ^j^^al titles ; and their mint struck only the imperial coin. . marks of gratitude t^f,^^ ^as still a Nabob of Bengal, who stood to the English rulers of nage was di8soiti^^jj^j.y. j^ ^^jg same relation in which Augustulus stood to Odoacer, i-en whom she had alr^ last Merovingians to Charles Martel and Pepin. He lived at Ifti^edabad, surrounded by princely magnificence. He was MNNiched with outward marks of reverence, and his name was used in i^ instruments. But in the government of the country he had • teal share than the youngest writer or cadet in the Company's p . lip English Council which represented the Company at Calcutta was P**^^ ^^ * ^^''y digtituted on a very different plan from that which has since been m rather to poli^p^i At present the Governor is, as to all executive measures, a tne favour ofg^^nte. He can declare war, conclude peace, appoint public at tneir dividt^Q^ioiiaries or remove them, in opposition to the unanimous sense of re, with great jtj^^ ^^o sit with him in Council. They are, indeed, entitled to know ime to this dej f^t is done, to discuss all that is done, to advise, to remonstrate, to ted, since the servauKl protests to England. But it is with the Governor that the ecome warriorspi^^j^e power resides, and on him that the whole responsibility rests. lisJijrstem, which was introduced by Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas, in spite portant reform. tlw strenuous opposition of Mr. Burke, we conceive to be on the whole n, and were so ^^ ]^t that was ever devised for the government of a country where p ace him at the ]> m^erials can be found for a representative constitution. In the time |tings the Governor had only one vote in Council, and, in case of al division, a casting vote. It therefore happened not unfre- that he was overruled on the gravest questions ; and it was e that he might be wholly excluded, for years together, from the ection of public affairs. quitted Fort St. Ge man and wife, acti Qe plan which they 5 Council Board, Bej 36 WARKEN HASTINGS. II II >ll II ! The English functionaries at Fort William had as yet paid li no attention to the internal government of Bengal. The only bn^ politics about which they n^ ich busied themselves was negotiatio' the native princes. The police, the administration of justicj details of the collection of revenue, were almost entirely neglected may remark that the phraseology of the Company's servants still the traces of this state of things. To this day they always use th "political" as synonymous with "diplomatic." We could n gentleman, still living, who was described by the highest autho an invaluable public servant, eminently fit to be at the head intern?] "d ministration of a whole presidency, but unfortunately igi: lUiiLu all political business. The internal government of Bengal the English rulers delegated great native minister, who was stationed at Moorshedabad. military affairs, and, with the exception of what pertains to mere monial, all f o/t i^n affairs were withdrawn from his control ; but the deparin* uifl <•; -he :i, iministration were entirely confided to him. own stipent I ujqa >uatod to nearly a hundred thousand pounds sterli ye?Nr. The person? i •J'^owaxioe of the Nabob, amounting to more thiee hund^v^i vhousj: ^rnds a year, passed through the minist hands, &r*Ci was, a- j. .re i " at his disposal. The collection of revenue, the administvation of justice, the maintenance of order, w left to this high functionary ; and for the exercise of his immd power he was responsible to none but the British masters of i country. | A situation so important, lucrative, and splendid was naturally object of ambition to the ablest and most powerful natives. Clive found it difficult to decide between conflicting pretensions. Two cai dates stood out prominently from the crowd, each of them the re sentative of a race and of a religion. CHAPTER V. ^ BENGALEE CHARACTER DESCRIBED. One of these was Mahonimed Reza Khan, a Mussulman of Per extraction, able, active, religious after the fashion of his people, highly esteemed by them. In England he might, perhaps, have h regarded as a corrupt and greedy politician. But, tried by the loj standard of Indian morality, he might be considered as a man integrity and honour* .! <■'» ijl ^ lii^l j as. BENGALEE CHARACTER DESCRIBED. 37 as^ yet paid JittiJH o^mpe^^r ^as a Hindoo Bramin, whose name has, by a terrible ga . iho only bran ^ ^^gj^mjljoly event, been inseparably associated with that of Warren iselves was negotiation ^giinga^ the Maharajah Nuncomar. This man had played an imistration of justice, p^ipfcant part in all the revolutions which, since the time of Surajah tost entirely neglected, j^y^ji, had taken place in Bengal. To the conaideration which in that opany's servants still ^^^^^ belongs to high and pure caste, he added the weight which is y ey always use the^^m^l from wealth, talents and experience. Of his moral character it I ic. We could na; AiM ^•^^H to give a notion to those who are acquainted with human ' the highest authorr^ijoi^ only as it appears in our island. What the Italian is to the i to be at the head OagHgtman, what the Hindoo is to the Italian , what the Bengalee is to y, but unfortunately substantiate it by pr(,i|||||Directors, naturally enough, chose to attribute the disappoint- ' was discovered thatit||jther to the mismanagement of Mahommed KezaKhan than to iinglish, he was enga.x#i^n ignorance of the country entrusted to their care. They were particular that he M,gnaied in their error by the agents of Nuncomar ; for Nuncomar had 3urt of Delhi and the lati^^jlven in Leadenhall Street. Soon after Hastings reached Cai- rn similar practices hj* ||| received a letter addressed by the Court of Directors, not to s talents and influencCwicil generally, but to himself in particular. He was directed to obtained for him a ctj^ Mahommed Keza Khan, to arrest him together with all his itish rulers of his couiitrl^nd all his partisans, and to institute a strict inquiry into the Mussulman at the heaUirfidmiuistration of the province. It was added that the Governor do well to avail himself of the assistance of Nuncomar in the gation. The vices of Nuncomar were acknowledged. But even is vices, it was said, much advantage might at such a conjuncture ved ; and, though he could not safely be trusted, it might still l>e to encourage him by hopes of reward. Governor bore no good-will to Nuncomar. Muny years before d known each other at Moorshedabad ; and then a quarrel had mfant son of Meer JaBbetween them which all the authority of their superiors could young prince's perscjn B compose. Widely as they differed in most points, they led each other in this, that both were men of unforgiving natures. MSkhommed Reza Khan, on the other hand, Hastings had no feelings lOdtility. Nevertheless he proceeded to execute the instructions of C^ipany with an alacrity which he never showed except when triMttions were in perfect conformity with his own views. He had, telji ^ we think, determined to get rid of the system of double 'enwnent in Bengal. The orders of the Directors furnished him with ns of effecting his purpose, and dispensed him from the necessity ssing the matter with his Council. He took his measures with , vigour and dexterity. At midnight the palace of Mahommed an at Moorshedabad was surrounded by a battalion of sepoys. ister was roused from his slumbers and informed that he was a , With the Mussulman gravity, he bent his head and submitted to the will of God. He fell not alone. A chiet named Schitab ad been entrusted with the government of Bahar. His ralour s attachment to the English h&d more than once been signally On that memorable day on which the people of Patna saw • hand, he could not bj lan to whom every sorg »e. Therefore, though | ;ue acquired great influerl usted with the governiii(j y and wisely in favouJ pame Governor, Mahomil DISSOLVED. and malice, had of his successful r{» ngal, under the adm^# a surplus as had ft' he most absurd no 1th of India. Palac. , of pearls and diamojli e measured out by ' siness. Nobody seer oubtedly the truth, in Europe are reckoi 40 WARREN HA8TIKOS. ¥^ from their walls the whole army of the Mogul scattered bj| band of Captain Knox, the voice of the British conquerors palm of gallantry to the brave Asiatic. " I never," said K| he introduced Schitab Roy, covered with blood and dust, to functionaries assembled in the factory, " I never saw a natii before." Schitab Roy was involved in the ruin of Mahomj Khan, was removed from office, and was placed under ai members of the Council received no intimation of these mei the prisoners were on their road to Calcutta. The inquiry into the conduct of the minister was postj different pretences. He was detained in an easy confinemenj many months. In the meantime the great revolution which had planned was carried into effect. The office of minit abolished. The internal administration was transferred to the of the Company. A system— a very imperfect system, it is civil and criminal justice, under English superintendence, wj lished. The Nabob was no longer to have even an ostensible the government; but he was still to receive a considerable' allowance, and to be surrounded with the state of sovereignty, was an iafant, it was necessary to provide guardians for his perse property. His person was entrusted to a lady of his father's ' known by the name of Munny Begum. The office of treasurer household was bestowed on a son of Nuncomar, named Goordas. comar's services were wanted ; yet he could not safely be trusted power, and Hastings thought it a masterstroke of policy to rewar able and unprincipled parent by promoting the inoffensive child. The revolution completed, the double government dissolved Company installed in the full sovereignty of Bengal, Hastings h motive to treat the late ministers with rigour. Their trial had bee off on various pleas till the new organization was complete. The> then brought before a committee, over which the Governor pre Schitab Roy was speeedily acquitted with honour, A formal ay was made to him for the restraint to which he had been subjected the Eastern marks of respect were bestowed on him. He was c in a robe of state, presented with jewels and with a ricUy han elephant, and sent back to his government at Patna. But his ] had suffered from confinement; his high spirit had been c wounded ; and soon after his liberation he died of a broken heart The innocence of Mahommed Reza Khan was not so clearly lished. But the Governor was -^ot disposed to deal harshly. A long hearing, in which Nuncomar appeared as the accuser, and dis] i I M I I ■"f''iU\iii''iiiLil ' Li ITNOS. AN EMPTY TREASURY. Mogul scattered bv f -- , . ,^ ,• .. . , ^ .^. rr .. ij_,f- 1 ^ tte ai*t and inveterate rancour which distinguished him, Hastings ■'iibisn conouerors assif ^^^ "T nov». »' J „ oaibed that the charge had not been made nut, and ordered the i never, aaid Kno;^T^. ^ ^ , ^ T lu -*. blood and dust, to tho * *'«^'' ^ ^* "^^^ ** ^'^*"^y- I never saw a nativ aooilmar had purposed to destroy tho Mussulman administration, the ruin of Mahom *® *^® ^^ ^^^ '"^^"" ^"*^ ^'* malevolence and his cupidity had been as placed under arre PP**!^^*!- Hastings had made him a tool, had used him for the mation of these meaa ***■• ®^ accomplishing the transfer ot the government from Moors- ta. (bad to Calcutta, from native to European hands. The rival, the minister was postn ■*/»' "^^ 1*^"K envied, so implacably persecuted, had been dismissed an easy confinement ""^ '^^*' situation ho long and ardently desired had been abolished, fc revolution which E^^^^^^^ *^** *^® Governor should be from that time an object of The office of m' ' f "^^ intense hatred to the vindictive Brahmin. As yet, however, 8 transferred to th •• i^^^^'isary to suppress such feelings. The time was coming when animosity was to end in a desperate and deadly struggle. perfect system, it is tr' superintendence, was even an ostensible sh Jceive a considerable ; '^te of sovereignty, uardians for his perso, lady of his father's h: e office of treasurer oj »ar, named Goordas. not safely be trusted e of policy to rewar,/ inoffensive child, vernroent dissolved CHAPTER VII. AN EMPTY TREASURY. meantime Hastings was compelled to turn hia attention to airs. The object of his diplomacy was at this time simply to ey. The finances of his government was in an embarrassed d this embarrassment he was determined to relieve by some ir or foul. The principle which directed all his dealings with hours is fully expressed by the old motto of one of the great families of Teviotdale, "Thou shalt want ere I want." He Bengal R f 'nuii|l bave laid it down, as a fundamental proposition which could Their t ' I h ?^ ^^^^sp"*®^» that, when he had not as many lacs of rupees as the |as comnl f ®®^3lio 'lervice required, he was to take them from anybody who had. ;jj ^jj Go ' * ^^ ® *^ing, indeed, is to be said in excuse for him. The pressure ^our A f ^ >li«4 to him by his employers at home was such as only the highest lad be K* *^*^* could have withstood, such as left him no choice except to him FT ^^ ''■Bil great wrongs, or to resign his high post, and with that post all rith • ki ^ Iwipes of fortune and distinction. The Directors, it is true, never *atna R ^ . ^*joliiid or applauded any crime. Far from it. Whoever examines irit ii H K ^^ BUT letters written at that time will find there many just and humane )f a b t I, ^ ^^"atiniftnts, many excellent precepts— in short, an admirable code of , , ® • 'litioil ethics. But every exhortation is modified or nullilied by a leal h hi ^^^^ ®^»inMMl for money. " Govern leniently, and send more money ; lace A . ****^ strict justice and moderation towards neighbouring powers, and I » displatji^ IBore money ; " this is, in truth, the sum of almost all the instruc- 4S WARREN HASTINGS. I tions that Hastings ever received from home. Now these iiiHtmc ni O being interpreted, mean simply, "Be the father and the opiireiy|t( the people ; be just and unjust, mo". cessions. He accordingly declared that the English would pa***®'' more tribute, and sent troops to occupy Allahabad and Corah. i^® wanting. The rich province of Oude had, in the general dissoluti* ff' the Mogul Empire, fallen to the share of the great Mussulman hoiiC*" which it is still governed. About twenty yeais ago, this house, If*^ ^ permission of the British Government, assumed the royal title ; IP^ ' the time of Warren Hastings such an assumption would have^^ ^ considered by the Mahommedans of India as a monstrous impiety, '^^ COMPACT AGAINST THK ROHILLAS. 43 ese "1 struct ^Oude, though he held the power, did not venture to use the ^l'I'rt«i4 iOveniignty. To the appellation of Naliob or Viceroy, he added I . **■ ^Jiefl Vizier of the monarchy (►f Hindoatan, just as in the last century imes, dealt ligfiftra of Saxony and Brandenburg, though independent of the , lonera, ^^^Qf i^^j often in arms against him, were proud to style themselves be shown. M;ir«nd Chamberlain and (iraud Marshal. Sujah Dowlah, then P ones of Vizier, was on excellent terms with the English. He had a the pi'itoteaggure. Allahabad and Corah were so situated that they might [ perceived tl xim to him, and could be of none to the Company. The buyer nsistenoy^gU^j soon came to an understanding ; and the provinces which had » with an torn from the Mogul were made over to the government of Oude salary often in bout half a million sterling. ■ u ""^"S awatt th«re was another matter still more important to be settled by out fail. H/iader and the Governor. The fate of a brave people was to be t isregard eithled. It was decided in a manner which has left a lasting stain on his employers, amt of Hastings and of England, consider what k Qd he correctly j rmons and to '-n CHAPTER VIII. L- J , COMPACT AGAINST THE ROHILLAS. Mned by cou., I'elieving the tjn^o people of Central Asia had always been to the i/ihabitants of India aitce of the Natfc tlW warriors of the German forests were to lie subjects of the d and twenty thr*yJn§ monarchy of Rome. The dark, slender, and timid Hindoo 'ad bound itself »nk from a conflict with the strong muscle and resolute spirit of the ' the Great Mo.' race which dwelt beyond the passes. There is reason to believe that, at ad entrusted tceriod anterior to the dawn of regular history, the people who spoke ^orah and Alia' rich and flexible Sanscrit came from regions lying far beyond the 'ndent, but m* 'phaau and the Hyetaspes, and imposed their yoke on the children of to retract these* ■oii* I* is certain that during the last ten centuries a succession of nglish would madflKPidescended from the west on Hindostan ; nor was the course of ad and Corah, iqw** ever turned back towards the setting sun till that memorable I be little advaApuga in which the Cross of Saint George was planted on the walls who wanted nGhiani. purchaser waiTh' Bnaperors of Hindostan themselves came from the other side of ;eneral dissolutii® IPi*^ mountain ridge ; and it had always been their practict-. to Mussulman houcrttit their army from the hardy and valiant race from which their > this house IfO^ iUastrious house sprang. Among the military adventurers who royal title • ipra allured to the Mogul standards from the neighbourhood of Cabul ^ would have'd C5l^ahar were conspicuous several gallant bands, known by the frous impietv, wane e| the Robillas, Their services had been rewarded with Isirge !,** pippppiiinppii 44 WARREN HASTINGS. ijifiji(| f tracts of land, fiefs of the spear, if we may use an expressif from an analogous state of things, in that fertile plain through i Bamgunga flows from the snowy heights of Kumaon to join tlw» In the general confusion which followed the death of AuruiM warlike colony became virtually independent. The Rohillai: b< tinguished from the other inhabitants of India by a pectam complexion. They were more honourably distinguished by tr war and by skill in the arts of peace. While anarchy ifea Lahore to Cape Comorin, their little territory enjoyed the bitic repose under the guardianship of valour. Agriculture and m flourished among them ; nor were they negligent of rhetoric avna Many persons now living have heard aged men talk wilt of the golden days when the Afghan princes ruled in thtSt Rohilcund. e i Sujah Dowlah had set his heart on adding this rich district tjo principality. Right, or show of right, he had absolutely none. P^ was in no respect better founded than that of Catherine to PolanP^ of the Bonaparte family to Spain. The Rohillas held their co"" exactly the same title by which he held his, and had govern?* country far better than his had ever been governed. Nor wer" people whom it was perfectly safe to attack. Their land was ir** open plain, destitute of natural defences ; but their veins wer* the high blood of Afghanistan. As soldiers, they had not the s' ' which is seldom found except in company with strict discipl^ their impetuous valour had been proved on many fields of ba^ was said that their chiefs, when united by common peril, coir® eighty thousand men into the field. Sujah Dowlah had liiin^ them fight, and wisely shrank from a conflict with them. Thei^ India one army, and only one, against which even those proud ( ' tribes could not stand. It had been abundantly proved that'' tenfold odds, nor the martial ardour of the boldest Asiatic:^ could avail aught against English science and resolution. *' possible to induce the Governor of Bengal to let out to hire the** tible energies of the Imperial people, the skill against which tl* chiefs of Hindostan were helpless as infants, the discipline wl * so often triumphed over the frantic struggles of fanaticism and " the unconquerable British courage which is never so sedate and s* as towards the close ot a doubtful and murderous day ? '"^ This was what the Nabob Vizier asked, and what Hastings ** A bargain was soon struck. Each of the negotiators had ?**, other wanted. Hastings was in need of funds to carry on the «fGS. COMPACT AGAINST THE BOHILLAS. 45 lay use an expresyf Bengal and to send remittances to London, and Sujah Dowlah ertile plain through i •mple revenue. Sujah Dowlah was bent on subjugating the Kumaon to join tl»s, and Hastings had at his disposal the only force by which the ihe death of AuruiM oould be subjugated. It was agreed that an English army nt. The Rohillat be lent to the Nabob Vizier, and that for the loan he should pay )f India by a pectandred thousand pounds sterling, besides defraying all the charge distinguished by i troops while employed in his service. While anarchy jfeally cannot see," says Mr. Gleig, "upon what grounds, either fcory enjoyed the bMcal or moral justice, this proposition deserves to be stigmatized Agriculture and mouB." If we understand the meaning of words, it is infamous ligent of rhetoric a^mit ^ wicked action for hire, and it is wicked to engage in war ged men talk wilt provocation. In this particular war scarcely one aggravating rinces ruled in th^tanoe was wanting. The object of the RohUla war was this — to e a large population, who had never done us the least harm, of a g this rich district tJOVMnment, and to place them, against their will, under an d absolutely none. j>ly bad one. Nay, even this is not all. England now descended f Catherine to PoIaiiP^ *fc® level even of those petty German princes who, about the ohillas held their co"'**r *old us troops to fight the Americans. The hussar-mongers bis, and had goverii'^ *^ Anspach had at least the assurance that the expeditions governed. Nor wer-^^l^ their soldiers were to be employed would be conducted in p Their land was ir"""^ "^'^^^ *^® humane rules of civilized warfare. Was the but their veins wer* ^"^^ likely to be so conducted? Did the Governor stipulate 3, they had not the s' "hwld be so conducted ? He well knew what Indian warfare '/ with strict disci pi H^ l"^®^ ^®^ *^** *^® power which he covenanted to put into an many fields of ba^^f*'^'^ hands would, in all probability, be atrociously abused ; common peril, coir® required no guarantee, no promise, that it should not be so h Dowlah had liim^ ^® ^^^ ^^^ ®^®°^ reserve to himself the right of withdrawing ct with them. Thei^ ^ ^^^ ®^ abuse, however gross. We are almost ashamed to I even those proud (' Major Scott's plea, that Hastings was justified in letting out ndantly proved that'^ troops to slaughter the Rohillas, because the Rohillas were not the boldest Asiatic i^**** ^^^> ^^^ * colony from a distant country. What were the B and resolution. '^ themselves ? Was it for them to proclaim a crusade for the 3 let out to hire the**®*^^^ ^^ ^"^'^^^^^^ ^^°°* *^® countries watered by the Ganges? ill against which tt*^* ^ ^^^^^ mouths to contend that a foreign settler who estab- >» the discipline w[ •"* ^iDipir® in India is a caput lupinum ? What would they have J of fanaticism aiid"* *^ °*^®^ Power had, on such aground, attacked Madras or ever so sedate and s'*** #thout the slightest provocation ? Such a defence was 3rous day ? i»g to make the infamy of the transaction complete. The nd what Hastings ^^ 0* the crime and the hypocrisy of the apology are worthy of negotiators had v «***«'•> tls to carry on the ' ~ ■' '• • Ml 46 iiniifififii: WARREN HASTINGS. CHAPTER IX. DEVASTATION OF ROHILCUKT), t ii One of the three brigades of which the Bengal army cou*< sent, under Colonel Champion, to join Sujah Dowlah's fortol Rohillas expostulated, entreated, offered a large ransom, ba; They then resolved to defend themselves to the last. A blol. was fought. "The enemy," says Colonel Champion, "gave dll good share of military knowledge ; and it is impossible to d'tc more obstinate firmness of resolution than they displayeic dastardly sovereign of Oude fled from the field. The English «d I unsupported ; but their tire and their charge were irresistible. not, however, till the most distinguished chiefs had fallen, bravely at the head of their troops, that the Rohilla ranks gai» Then the Nabob Vizier and his rabble made their appearand hastened to plunder the camp of the valiant enemies, whom tiib never dared to look in the face. The soldiers of the Company, i€ in an exact discipline, kept unbroken order while the tentjtl^ pillaged by these worthless allies. But many voices were hag exclaim, " We have had all the fighting, and those rogues are ail the profit." sd' Then the horrors of Indian war were let loose on the fair valle**" cities of Rohilcund. The whole country was in a blaze. More^®^ hundred thousand people fled from their homes to pestilential j.^' preferring famine and fever and the haunts of tigers to the tyra;*^ him to whom an English and a Christian Government had, for s}}'^ lucre, sold their substance, and their blood, and the honour :^*" wives and daughters. Colonel Champion remonstrated with the ^ ^ Vizier, and sent strong representations to Fort William ; k^^ Governor had made no conditions as to the mode in which the wa*® to be carried on. He had troubled himself about nothing but his^ ' lacs ; and, though he might disapprove of Sujah Dowlah's v®'' barbarity, he did not think himself entitled to interfere, exce^ offering advice. This delicacy excites the admiration of the biogra'*' " Mr. Hastings," he says, " could not himself dictate to the Naboi'" permit the commander of the Company's troops to dictate how thi ^ was to be carried on." No, to be sure. Mr. Hastings had only t(* down by main force the brave struggles of innocent men fightic'* their liberty. Their military resistance crushed, his duties ended;*" he had then only to fold his arms and look on while their villafes^ 'IyQ8. DEVASTATION OP ROHILCUND. 47 X. >HILCUND. The war bJoil. The finest population in India was subjected to a greedy, fifave r-dly, cruel tyrant. Commerce and agriculture languished. The i their children butchered, and their women violated. Will Mr. jerionsly maintain this opinion ? Is any rule more plain than diat whoever voluntarily gives to another irresistible power over jQ 1 beiitgB is bound to take order that such power shall not be o, . , ^^ army cotcoaili' abused ? But we beg pardon of our readers for arguing a •3»jah DowJah'i. f ^ a ig^ ^" «" fofeo dear. J f^x.^ ^"^®™> bii; haeten to the end of this sad and disgraceful story. Champion, " ^ ^ ssibje to (j>roviiice which had tempted the cupidity of Sujah Dowlah became y displayeiost miserable part even of his miserable dominions. Yet is the (m . ^fif^ished niktion not extinct. At long intervals gleams of its ancient J , . ^^^68istibJe. have flashed forth ; and even at this day valour and self-respect I? y.- ^*JJ en, chiwdrous feeling r4re among Asiatics, and a bitter remembrance lad +k ^ ^*"^s gau great crime of England, distinguish that noble Afghan race. To eir appearaniay jfchey are regarded as the best of all sepoys at the cold steel ; , ®*' ^hom tj,5 ^uTM very recently remarked by one who had enjo , ed great oppor- i u^ Company iee of observation that the only natives of India to whom the word . *he tent.itlM|Rn " can with perfect propriety be applied are to be found thos ^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^* ^ RohiUas. rogues are tih»t^|Rer we may think of the morality of Hastings, it cannot be 3d ii)|tt the financial results of his policy did honour to his talents. 6 on the fair valle*** than two years after he assumed the government he had, ^^ ablaze. J\(foj,giout imposing any additional burdens on the people subject to his *o pestilential j w>H^» added about four hundred and fifty thousand pounds to the ^gers to the tyrs***^ income of the Company, besides procuring about a million in ''nment had, for s^iy money. He had also relieved the finances of Bengal from »nd the honour it^'Y expenditure, amounting to near a quarter of a million a year, ^strated with the^ had Arown that charge on the Nabob of Oude. There can be no ort William ; fcibt that this was a result which, if it had been obtained by honest ® m which the w *°'» ■''<>uld have entitled him to the warmest gratitude of his country, |t nothing but hh^ which, by whatever means obtained, proved that he possessed great >ujah DowJah's IT®***" ^**'" *^™™^*^**^°^* 'o interfere, exce^ *"*• meantime Parliament had been engaged in long and grave ^•tion of the biogra'^^uMttons on Asiatic affairs. The ministry of Lord North, in the 'tate to the J^abol*'*®'* of 1773, introduced a measure which made a considerable change 'O dictate how tfc *^® CMistitution of the Indian Government. This law, known by the *^ngs had only tf*"**® *'' *^® Regulating Act, provided that the presidency of Bengal cent men ijahtin**''*^*^ exercise a control over the other possessions of the Company ; lis duties ended *■* ^' **^^^ °^ *^** presidency should be styled Governor-General; ^^ their viJJa^jjiaa* iM ihould be assisted by four Councillors ; and that a Supreme iP Jlfll I I 48 WARREN HASTINGS. Court of Judicature, consisting of a chief justice and judges, should be established at Calcutta. This Cou independent of the Governor-General and Council, and ^ with a civil and criminal jurisdiction of immense and, at tj of undefined extent. The Governor- General and Councillors were named in were to hold their situations for five years. Hastings v first Governor-General. One of the four new Councillors, an experienced servant of the Company, was then in India three, General Clavering, Mr. Monson, and Mr. Francis, -v from England. CHAPTER X. PHILIP FRANCIS AND THE " LBTTERS OF JUNIUS The ablest of the new Councillors was, beyond all ( Francis. His acknowledged compositions prove that he j siderable eloquence and information. Several years p public offices had formed him to habits of business. His never denied that he had a fearlesn and manly spirit ; an( we are afraid, must acknowledge that his estimate of extravagantly high, that his temper was irritable, that hi was often rude and petulant, and that his hatred was of ii ness and long duration. It is scarcely possible to mention this eminent man with for a moment to the question which his name at once sug| mind. Was he the author of the Letters of Junius ? belief is that he was. The evidence is, we think, such as \ a verdict in a civil, nay, in a criminal proceeding. The h Junius is the very peculiar handwriting of Francis, sligh As to the position, pursuits, and connections of Junius, are the most important facts which can be considert proved : — First, that he was acquainted with the technical Secretary of State's office ; secondly, that he wa acquainted with the business of the War Office ; thir during the year 1770, attended debates in the House r took notes of speeches, particularly of the speecli Chatham ; fourthly, that he bitterly resented the appoin Chamier to the place of Deputy Secretary-at-War ; fif bound by some strong tie to the first Lord Holland, passed some years in the Secretary of State's office. H ( ASTINQS. FRANCIS AND THE "LETTERS OP JUNIUS.' 49 ny, was then in India. 1, and Mr. Francis, wei a chief justice and th> ^ „ . „ ^. i ^^. i. lalcutta This Court ^^ ^^^'^ °^ *^® ^ *^ repeatedly n-.entioned that al and Council, and wa*«l^' ^^ l^'^^^' ^^''^'^ speeches of Lord Chatham ; and some of immense and, at the ««<^« ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ P"""*^"^ ^''''°" ^'' ''^*^'' ^^ '"^''^''^^ ip at the War Office from resentment at the appointment of lors were named in the®'" I * was by Lord Holland that he was first introduced > years Hastings wa.^^^<*' s^^'^i^^- N^^' ^^^^ ^^® ^^® "^^^^^' ^^^ °^ ^^^^^ °"S^* our new Councillors, M^ '"^ ^^"""«- ^^^^ ^'^ ^^ ^^^ ^^""'^ in Francis. We do not t more than two of them can be found m any other person If this argument does not settle the question, there is an '^eaaojaing on circumstantial evidence. rnal Evidence seems to us to point the same way. The style beaiV a strong resemblance to that of Junius ; nor are we o admit, what is generally taken for granted, that the LETTERS OF JUNIUS, "ged Compositions of Francis are very decidedly inferior to h ^ ^^ A aona letters. The argument from inferiority, at all events, N. ' J^^ j_ , ich may be urged with at least equal force against every tions prove that he pos ", "^ , i.- j m.u +1, • i ^- r ^ . ^ lat has ever been mentioned, with the single exception of , ' - , . TT. id it would be a waste of time to T)rove that Burke was not ts of business. His ent. , , , , . e. ,1 11 r , , . . ,AjMt what conclusion, after ail, can be drawn from mere i-v. + V,- ^- I r !-• Bvery writer must produce his best work; and the :r X. phat his estimate of hi «^as irritable, that his d t his hatred was of inte twMii his best work and his second best work may be very di 'Nobody will say that the best letters of Junius are more juperior to the acknowledged M'orks of Francis than three or jraeille's tragedies to the rest, than three or four of Ben '>m0dies to the rest, than the Pilgrim's Progress to the other unyan, than Don Quixote to the other works of Cervantes. certain that Junius, whoever he may have been, was a most riter. To go no further than the letters which bear the .f Junius : the letter to the King and the letters to Home . _ . 8 little in common, except the asperity ; and asperity was an nections of Junius, the , v ,. •i.-u • i-u m.- • j.i- 1 , , . , , B^doni wanting either in the writings or in the speeches of sn can be considered led with the technical for indly, that he le War Office >ates in lis eminent man without lis name at once suggesf etters of Junius? Our is, we think, such as wou 1 proceeding. The hand ;ing of Francis, slightly one of the strongest reasons for believing that Francis was he :g»3ral resemblance between the two men. It is not diffi- was * ^^ ^' thft letters which, under various signatures, are known to the House of I ^g^n by Junius, and from his dealings with Woodfall and arly of the speeches ^^ ^ tolerably correct notion of his character. He was r resented the appomtm.^^^^^ destitute of real patriotism and magnanimity, a man 3cretary-at-War ; fifthly ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^ ^^^^^^^ ^-^^ g^^^ j^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^ rst Lord Holland. No^^ ^^1^^^^ ^^^^^^ arrogant and insolent, [)f State's office. He vi. a man prone to 06, ifcd prone to the error of mistaking his malevolence for m iff 50 WABREN HASTINGS. 'if: public virtue. ** Doest thou well to be angry ? " was th? asked in old time of the Hebrew prophet. And he answerei '•11 well." This was evidently the temper of Junius ; and to this ioi| attribute the savage cruelty which disgraces several of his lettt^bj man is so merciless as he who, under a strong self-delusion, (v,i4 his antipathies with his duties. It may be added that Junius, ;lit allied with the democratic party by common enmities, was :«oic opposite of a democratic politician. While attacking inc^ with a ferocity which perpetually violated all the laws of liter,aci fare, he regarded the most defective parts of old institutionilu respect amounting to pedantry, pleaded the cause of Old Sarciouij fervour, and contemptuously told the capitalists of Manche Leeds that if they wanted votes they might buy land and becotid* holders of Lancashire and Yorkshire. All this, we believe, migli,i«n with scarcely any change, for a character of Philip Francis. r ■ It is not strange that the great anonymous writer should liav*** willing at that time to leave the country which had been so pow'^ stirred by his eloquence. Everything had gone against him, ^t** party which he clearly preferred to every other, the party of f^^ Grenville, had been scattered by the death of its chief ; an**®* Suffolk had led the greater part of it over to the ministerial bf*"* The ferment produced by the Middlesex election had gone'i^®' Every faction must have been alike an object of aversion to I' ^ His opinions on domestic affairs separated him from the ministP*^ opinions on colonial aflfairs from the Opposition. Under such t**"^ stances he had thrown down his pen in misanthropical despat'*®'" farewell letter to Woodfall bears date the nineteenth of Januar)'****^ In that letter he declared that he must be an idiot to write agaiii^*'** he had meant well by the cause and the public ; that both were^^* up ; that there were not ten men who would act steadily togetiP any question. " But it is all alike," he added, " vile and contem:* "^ You have never flinched that I know of ; and I shall always rejt^®' hear of your prosperity." These were the last words of Junius.^* year from that time Philip Francis was on his voyage to Bengal. "^^ 3ti< an( ittf »^ ad With the three new Councillors came out the judges of the Snf* * Court. The Chief Justice was Sir Elijah Impey. He was aP**" CHAPTER XI. THE GOVERNOR-GENERA.L AND THE COUNCIL. GS. THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL AND THE COUNCIL. 61 ' ^"gry ? " vrna th? i^a^iimce of Hastings ; and it is probable that the Governor- -Ajid he answerfc,! «1> if he had searched through all the Inns of Court, could not inius ; and to this ioQnd an equally serviceable tool. But the members of Council several of his left, by no means in an obsequious mood. Hastings greatly disliked >ng self-delusion, (.ji^.form of government, and had no very high opinion of his added that Junius, atots. They had heard of this, and were disposed to be on enmities, was .clous and punctilious. When men are in such a frame of mind, nile attacking inotr^ is sufficient to give occasion to dispute. The members of *he laws of liteftioiltxpected a salute of twenty-one guns from the batteries of Fort or old institutioDilianaw Hastings allowed them only seventeen. They landed in ill- cause of Old 8antOur,i; The first civilities were exchanged with cold reserve. On )italists of Manche-- moffow commenced that long quarrel which, after distracting >uy land and becociah India, was renewed in England, and in which all the most IS, we believe, migli;i«i'ifc^itatesmen and orators of the age took active part on one or the Philip Francis, r aUb. I writer should harUiaitgs was supported by Barwell. They had nc. always been 5h had been so powidB* a But the arrival of the new members of Council from England gone against him. ^TtXfy had the eflfect of uniting the old servants of the Company. ther, the party of ^©wmj* Monson, and Francis formed the majority. They instantly " of its chief; asi^^^ 'the government out of the hands of Hastings, condemned, the ministerial bt^in^iiot without justice, his late dealings with the I^abob Vizier, election had gone«iU*4''*he English agent from Oude and sent thither a creature of ect of aversion to i' own, ordered the brigade which had conquered the unhappy ' from the ministr^i^^ *o return to the Company's territories, and instituted a severe ^- Under such fUi»y4nto the conduct of the war. Next, in spite of the Govemor- inthropical despai^®"'^* remonstrances, they proceeded to exercise, in the most teenth of January*^**®®* manner, their new authority over the subordinate presi- iiot to write acain^^^'^i'^^^^'^ ^^ *^® affairs of Bombay into confusion, and interfered, i that both were*^^ «a incredible union of rashness and feebleness, in the intestine act steadily toffetiP^*®* ^^ *^® Mahratta government. At the same time they fell on " vile and conteni'* internal administration of Bengal, and attacked the whole fiscal and shall al(vays rejo^*'**^ system, a system which was undoubtedly defective, but which words of Junius ^'^ ^®'y improbable that gentlemen fresh from England would be ^yage to Bengal, ™^P«*«>i* *o amend. The eflfect of their reforms was that all pro- stion to life and property was withdrawn, and that gangs of robbers andered and slaughtered with impunity in the very suburbs of Cal- itta. Hastings continued to live in the Government House, and to COUNCIL. *^ ^® salary of Governor-General. He continued even to take the ad at the Council Board in the transaction of ordinary business : for [uuges of the Snii* opponents could not but feel that he knew much of which they were 'Psy. He was apiorant, and that he decided, both surely and speedily, many questions '^'jir nm 52 WARREN HASTINGS. which to them would have been hopelessly puzzling. fiuj powers of government and the most valuable patronage ha(j from him. The natives soon found this out. They considered himl man, and they acted after their kind. Some of our readerl seen, in India, a crowd of crows pecking a sick vulture td bad type of wmat happens in that country as often as fortil one who has been great and dreaded. In an instant all the | who had lately been ready to lie for him, to forge for him, tol him, to poison for him, hasten to purchase the favour of hisi enemies by accusing him. An Indian Government has only understood that it wishes a particular man to be ruined, and I four hours it will be furnished with grave charges, sup depositions so full and circumstantial that any person unacci Asiatic mendacity would regard them as decisive. It is \ signature of the destined victim is not coul terf eited at the foi illegal compact, and if some treasonable paper is not slip] hiding-place in his house. Hastings was now regarded as The power to make or mar the fortune of every man in B passed, as it seemed, into the hands of the new Councillors diately charges against the Governor- General began to pour in were eagerly welcomed by the majority, who, to do them just men of too much honour knowingly to countenance false ace but who were not suliiciently acquainted with the East to be a^ in that part of the world a very little encouragement from pc call forth in a week more Oateses and Bedloes and Dangerlie Westminster Hall sees in a century. It would have been strange indeed if, at such a juncture, ^ had remained quiet. That bad man was stimulated at once 1 nity, by avarice, and by ambition. Now was the time to be av his old enemy, to wreak a grudge of seventeen years, to establ self in the favour of the majority of the Council, to become the native in Bengal. From the time of the arrival of the new Coi he had paid the most marked court to them, and had in con been excluded, with all indignity, from the Government Hoi now put into the hands of Francis, with great ceremony, a pa taining several charges of the most serious description. By tl ment Hastings was accused of putting offices up to sale, and of i bribes for suflFering oflFenders to escape. In particular, it wai that Mahommed Keza Khan had been dismissed with impunity aideration of a great sum paid to the Governor-General. ASTINGS. . HE QOVERNOH-OBNERAL AND THE COUNCIL. 53 lessly puzzling. But iluable patronau h ^^ *®*^ **^® paper in Council. A violent altercation followed. igs (MMnplained in bitter terms of the way in which he wan treated, They consider d W with contempt of Nuncomar and of Nuncomar's accusation, and Some of our l " ^ th^Hght of the Council to sit in judgment on the Governor, At ing a sick vuH ** '■•cting of the Board, another communication from Nuncomar itry as often f ''''odwifed. He requested that he might be permitted to attend the In an instant 11 ^-u ^^* '^ *^** ^® might be heard in support of his assertions. An- Q, to forge for h' + 'tempistuous debate took place. The Governor-(jieneral maintained ase the favou f\- ^® O«ttncil-room was not a proper place for such an investigation ; roveriiment h ^ "** J^rsons who were heated by daily conflict with him he could lan to be ruin rl i '^P**^' *^® fairness of judges ; and that he could not, without grave cha * ^ng'Hie dignity of his post, submit to be confronted with such a lat anv Tx^ra,^ J^^^^*'^^^^^'^^^^^- '^^^ majority, however, resolved to go into the as uecisive. It is , 68. fiastiugs rose, declared the sitting at an end, and left the ouiterfeited i ih f followed by Barwell. The other members kept their seats, voted paper i i- v ^^®^^"* • council, put Clavering in the chair, and ordered Nuncomar ^'as now r il a ^^'^ ''•Wed in. Nuncomar not only adhered to the original charges, e of eve • ^*^' *^® fashion of the East, produced a large supplement. He f the new C m? *"*** ^^^^'^"Sa ^^ received a great sum for appointing Rajah leral beffa f ' ^"[^ias titeasurer of the Nabob's household, and for committing the who to d th • ^^^ ^ Highness's person to the Munny Begum. He put in a letter countenance fT ^"^*''**"8 *® ^®*^ *^® ^®*^ °^ *^® Munny Begum, for the purpose of with the E t f ^t ^^^"hing the truth of his story. The seal, whether forged, as Hastings couraffem t f ° ^^^®^ ^ genuine, as we are rather inclined to believe, proved nothing, 'edloes a d n^^*" P^omilf, as everybody knows who knows India, had only to tell the angerhejy B^um that such a letter would give pleasure to the majority of ^^ , . iotmoil, in order to procure her attestation. The majority, how- stim 1 f V*°° ^^^' ^ voted that the charge was made out ; that Hastings had corruptly »roc +1, j.^ °"^^ ^^ between thirty and forty thousand pounds : and that he ouoht ^en ea?^ ^ ^' ^'' *^°^P^"^^ ^ ^^^^^^^- years, to establig general feeling among the English in Bengal was strongly in It of the Governor-General. In talents for business, in knowledge le country, in general courtesy of demeanour, he was decidedly )uncil, to become the 'rival of the new Cou le G ^^ ^'^"S'rior to his persecutors. The servants of the Company were naturally rnment Hous,ge^ to side with the most distinguished member of their own VmHv their own body Teat r>pr«im — ° — '" ^ x^^.ii.j^w ui uiicii uwii uouy descri t "^' * ^'''^"* »clerk from the War Office, who. profoundly ignorant of the ip ion. By tlii^ h^uages and of the native character, took on himself to regulate P osale, andofrty department of the administration. Hastings, however, in spite n par icular, it was he glmeral sympathy of his countrymen, was in a most painful asea with impunity, ation. There was stiU an appeal to higher authority in England. eneral. hat wthority took part with his enemies, nothing was left to him 54 WARREN HASTINGS. IM 10* I but to throw up his office. He accordingly placed his rosignr ' the hands of his agent in London, Colonel Macleane. But\;^jj was instructed not to produce the resignation, unless it shoiill ascertained that the feeling at the India House was advcisi Governor-General. The triumph of Nuncomar seemed to be complete. Heheli, levee, to which his countrymen resorted in crowds, and to w one occasion, the majority of the Council condescended to repi house was an office for the purpose of receiving charges aj; Governor-General. It was said that, partly by threats, and p. wheedling, the villainous Brahmin had induced many of the \r men in the province to send in complaints. But he was playinjtiat ous game. It was not safe to drive to despair a man of such rr^ and of such determination as Hastings. Nuncoi^ar, with all li it ness, did not understand the nature of the institutions under vp o lived. He saw that he had with him the majority of the bodi pi made treaties, gave places, raised taxes. The separation betwecin oh i and judicial functions was a thing of which he had no conception >ren< probably never occurred to him that there was in Bengal an ailndi perfectly independent of the Council, an authority which could, for one whom the Council wished to destroy, and send to the gitithei whom the Council wished to protect. Yet such was the facny < Supreme Court was, within the sphere of its own duties, alike 1 independent of the Government. Hastings, with his usual >i a bc had seen how much advantage he might derive from possessincevei of this stronghold ; and he had acted accordingly. The Judges, e Ag-i the Chief Justice, were hostile to the majority of the Council. Uve had now come for putting this formidable machinery into action, npe; On a sudden, Calcutta was astounded by the news that Nc; Th' had been taken up on a charge of felony, committed, and thrown iW 1 common gaol. The crime imputed to him was that six years biusti had forged a bond. The ostensible prosecutor was a native, ven was then and still is the opinion of everybody, idiots and biogrf til excepted, that Hastings was the real mover in the business. ren< The rage of the majority rose to the highest point. They prdin against the proceedings of the Supreme Court, and sent several jrea messages to -the Judges, demanding that Nuncomar should be adwid to bail. The Judges returned haughty and resolute answers, ^ei the Council could do was to heap honours and emoluments on the the of Nuncomar, and this they did. In the meantime the assizcito i menced ; a true bill was found, and Nuncomar was brought befiWil \\\n »s. HASTINGS, IMPET AND NUNCOMAR. 65 \y placed his (1 Macleane. ''^^'Wr'H^ey and a jury composed of Englishmen. A great quantity of Ion u 1 •*. *'^*diakory swearing, and the necessity of having every word of the [ous ''lO».4r*;erprete°®' assured him that no indulgence consistent with the law sk****' refused to him. Nuncomar expressed his gratitude with great p ®* ^ and unaltered composure. Not a muscle of his face moved. No:^^* broke from him. He put his finger to his forehead, and caliii ^ that fate would have its way, and that there was no re::.ist^* pleasure of God. He sent his compliments to Francis, Clavi i c< Monson, and charged them to protect Rajah Goordas, who v become the head of the Brahmins of Bengal. The ^ ' > gieatly agitated by what had passed, and Nuncc ... ^ down to write notes and examine accounts. »* The next morning, before the sun was in his power, ar ir*^ concourse assembled round the place where the gallows had b^ i ;'° Grief and horror were on every face ; yet to the last the muli^' could hardly believe that the English really purposed to take the.** the Great Brahmin. At length the mournful procession came tt!*' the cro\td. Nuncomar sat up in his palanquin, and looked rounc"' iiki Unqs. IIASTINQS, IMPEY AND NUNCOMAil. 67 he Was thn u — '^'^ oiiaMfted Boronity. He had just parted from those who were most th the ''*^' '"*'*'''■' t'''looii»eoted with him. ii Their cries and coiitortioiiH had appalled 8 H ®fttest piiji,troptftn ministers of justice, but had not produced the smallest f . o^'^Gs a«(;ril„© tlie iron stoicism of the prisoner. The only anxiety which he (I L- ^'^^^^ ''utiiecl Was that men of his own priestly caste might be in attendance i ^^^ Would ]i4inblilhc(l. Hastings, three or four years later, described Impey as eoeminately t lUttl ** to whose support he was at one time indebted for the safety , . ^^ w«ich thifiB fortune, honour, and reputation." These strong words can refer seldom wantir to tile case of Nuncomar ; and they must mean that Impey hanged c or the execut;^oom«r in order to support Hastings. It is, therefore, our deliberate . ^aw s]i iion tfiat Impey, sitting as a judge, put a man unjustly to death in e With great ji, er to serve a political purpose. ace moved, ^ffint we look on the conduct of Hastings in a somewhat different light. behead, and cuhri. "W" itraggling for fortune, honour, liberty, all that makes life 6 Was no recisfUaWe. He was beset by rancorous and unprincipled enemies. From ^ancis, CJavf r colleapnes he could expect no justice. He cannot be blamed for mas, who v rush his accusers. He was indeed bound to use only legiti- ^"^ ^' ' ' IS for that end. But it was not strange that he sKould have '°^*^ -Agi y means legitimate which were pronounced legitimate by the ^ei u* the law, by men whose peculiar duty it was to deal justly '^8 power, a f„,,itweeii •dversarios, and whose education might be supposed to have ^^ows had bi. ,, jjouliarly qualified them for the dischar^'e of that duty. Nobody oe Jast the mujJman^ from a ] -ty the unbending equity of a judge. The reason ^^d to take the}*'^ judges are a^ >inted is that even a good man cannot be trusted to DtssioQ came ti-^^® • ^^^^ which he is himself concerned. Not a day passes ^^ .looked roufiL" ""^Wot a^ ^^^ ^ prosecutor does not ask for what none but a dis- 58 WARREN HASTINGS. m Hill honest tribunal would grant. It is too much to expect thl when his dearest interests are at stake and his stroncJ excited, will, as against himself, be more just than the sworij of justice. To take an analogous case from the history island : suppose that Lord Stafford, when in the Tower on being concerned in the Popish plot, had been apprised that had done something which might, by a questionable coustrl brought under the head of felony. Should we severely b; Stafford, in the supposed case, for causing a prosecution to be ij for furnishing funds, for using all his influence to intercept of the Crown ? We think not. If a judge, indeed, from favoi| Catholic lords, were to strain the law in order to hang Oatei judge would richly deserve impeachment. But it does not apj that the Catholic lord, by bringing the case before the ji decision, would materially overstep the limits of a just self-deft While, therefore, we have not the least doubt that this ni' execution is to be attributed to Ha,stings, we doubt whether it i justice be reckoned among his crimes. That his conduct was by a profound policy is evident, lie was in a minority in Coiiail was possible that he might long be in a minority. He knew tli< character well. He knew in what abundance accusations are ci flow in against the most innocent inhabitant of India who is uiitt frown of power. There was not in the whole black population oi-el a place-holder, a place-hunter, a government tenant, who did nt, that he might better himself by sending up a deposition aga: h Governor-General. Under these circumstances, the persecutejau man resolved to teach the whole crew of accusers and witnessr b though in a minority at the Council Board, he was still to be td The lesson which he gave them was indeed a lesson not to be f(i[jt Tb' ..lead of the combination which had been formed against 1:1 richest, the most powerful, the most artful of the Hindoos, o' guished by the favour of those who then held the governnunta round by tlie superstitious reverence of millions, was hangeil iar day before many thousands of people. Everything that could niao warning impressive — digjiity in the sufferer, solemnity in the proiii — was found in this case. The helpless rage and vain struggles ii Council made the triumph more signal. From that moment thfl viction of every native was that it was safer to take the part cf Hit in a minority than that of Francis in a majority, and that he wlil 80 venturous as to join in running down the Governor-GemralE chance, in the phrase of the Eastern poet, to find a tiger while Iw «> auoh to expect take and '4T ISUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO REMOVE HASTINGS. 59 his th '•^J?t than the s..,, %le')for a deer. The voices of a thousand informers were in instant. From that time, whatever difficulties Hastings *se from tht^ u- T" ^'^^\vr0ko encounter, he was never molested by accusations from \« ^n the Tower dia. ^6en apprispfi^lK " ^* l^ijlbarkable circumstance that one of the letters of Hastings to * ^uestionabl iniih bears date a very few hours after the death of Nuncomar. Should We se '^^ '^'^ ^^ whole settlement was in commotion, while a mighty and S a prosecuti + ^ ^^ |Jitesthood were weeping over the remains of their chief, the •^fluence to ' f *^ '»rof * in that deadly grapple sat down, with characteristic self- ?d««d. fron, f,,, le order ^"t it doe^s case befor, *o hang not api Oati sioi^ to write about the Tour to the Hebrides, Jones's Persian 'iaatj^ and the history, traditions, arts, and natural productions of e the nv er it , CHAPTER XIII. UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO REMOVE HASTINOS. "'*««^ajustsejf.,,efe ' ^«"^* that this ^l doubt wheth I] g^ . ,^ "^ct Was the meantime intelligence of the Rohilla war and of the first noritv tr ^ '^ donates between Hastings and his colleagues had reached London, ee ac ^ ^'lew ti cUreetors took part with the majority, and sent out a letter filled ' of J r °^^ are ca severe n flections on the conduct of Hastings. They condemned, B bJaefc ^^ uatrang but just terms, the iniquity of undertaking offensive wars 1; tf»n + ""Nation oi^ly for the sake of pecuniary advantage. But they utterly forgot > a 1 ' "^ '''' ^t, i«.Hastir hacl^^ astiugs had by illicit means obtained pecuniary advantages, dons so, not for his own benefit, but in order to meet their P * deposition a., ces fJi " ^iia« ^^^''^^iite.'aMaidS. To enjoin honesty, and to insist on having what could not le w ^itnes> honestly got, as then tiie constant practice of the Company. As "^ ^<^ lie vdy Macbeth says of her husband, they "would not play false, and be J against li The Regulation Act, by which Hastings had been appointed ^»d witnes. honestly got, Wesson nolW"'^^^^^''^'"''' fn.r^ 7 "" hefojt wonld wrongly formed of the the win. -Hindoos, ovemor-General for five years, empowered the Crown to remove him go vernnicji^u an address from the Company. Lord North was desirous to J- nanged inrocure such an address. The three members of Council who had been . could risent out from England were men of his own choice. General Clavering, y in the proin particular, was supported by a large parliamentary connection, such , , ^truggle^j is no Cabinet cciulcl be inclined to disoblige. The wish of the minister , ^^nient tiwas to displace Hastings, and to put Clavering at the head of 6 part of B.fche government. In the Court of Directors parties were very nearly Ml. balanced. Eleven voted against Hastings; ten for him. The Court of and that ht ''nor-Gei],.|;,jrp|.(,p|.ietors was then convened. The great sale-room i)resented a 'ger whila keingnlar appearance. Letters had been sent by the Secretary of the 60 WAR KEN HASTINGS. Treasury, exhorting all the supporters of Government wl stock to be in attendance. Lord Sandwich marshalled tl the administration with his usual dexterity and alertness.] and privy councillors, seldom seen so far eastward, were c\ crowd. The debate lasted till midnight. The opponentsi had a small superiority on the division ; but a ballot was de| the result was that the Governor-General triumphed by above a hundred votes over the combined efforts of the the Cabinet. The Ministers were greatly exasperated by | Even Lord North lost his temper, no ordinary occurrenc3 wii threatened to convoke Parliament before Christuias, and tJ bill for depriving the Company of all political power, and foil it to its old business of trading in silks and teas. Colonel Macleane, who through all this conflict had zeal ported the cause of Hastings, now thought that his emploj imminent danger of being turned out, branded with pari censure, perhaps prosecuted. The opinion of the Crown laj already been taken respecting some parts of the Governor conduct. It seemed to be high time to think of securing au hi retreat. Under these circumstances, Macleane thought himsell in producing the resignation with which he had been entrust instrument was not in very accurate form ; but the Directors ' eager to be scrupulous. They accepted the resignation, fixeo Wheler, one of their own body, to succeed Hastings, and sent oi that General Clavering, as senior member of the Council, sho cise the functions of Governor- General till Mr. Wheler should But while these things were passing in England, a great ch taken place in Bengal. Monson was no more. Only four memb( government were left. Clavering and Francis were on one side and the Governor-General on the other, and the Governor-Ge the casting vote. Hastings, who had been during two years of all power and patronage, became at once absolute. He insta ceeded to retaliate on his adversaries. Their measures were i their creatures were displaced, A new valuation of the lands c for the purposes of taxation, was ordered ; and it was provided whole inquiry should be conducted by the Governor-General, all the letters relating to it should run in his name. He beg; same time, to revolve vast plans of conquest and dominion, pis he lived to see realized, though not by himself. His projcc form subsidiary alliances with the native princes, particularly v of Oude and Berar, and thus to make Britain the paramount TASTINGS. UHtUCCESSPUL EFFORTS TO REMOVE HASTINGS. 61 andvin" h ^^^'^"^®"* whoiVhik he was meditating these great designs, arrived the intel- xte > ™*'*shalled thbat he had ceased to be Governor-General, that his resignation fa *iertness. i a|M«pted, that Wheler was coming out immediately, and that ight^ Th^^^' ^®^® coie^lrived the chair was to be filled by Clavering. . , * ® **PPonents {astiligs still been in a minority, he would probably have retired be If- ^ ^ ^^^i dej ft sbruggle ; but he was now the real master of British India, in f\ 4f ®phed by a vaa not disposed to quit his high place. He asserted that he , J ^ °' the Dr«r given any instructions which could warrant the steps taken ^a_ y exasperated by t What his instructions had been, he owned he had forgotten. y occurrenca witd kept a copy of them he had mislaid it. But he was certain ^nnstiuas, and to 1m^ repeatedly declared to the Directors that he would not power, and for .^Ipcould not see how the Court, possessed of that declaration , . *^' xxBtM, could receive his resignation from the doubtful hands of conflict had zealA^f^f the resignation were invalid, all the proceedings which 6 tnat his emplov+uniwd on that resignation were null, and Hastings was still fc^^branded with parlor^eneral. the Crown la^fterffards affirmed that, though his agent had not acted in con- ,, . "^ Giovernor'wilh his instructions, he would neverthess have held himself 01 securing au Jic by, their acts, if Clavering had net attempted to seize the e thought himself e power by violence. Whether this assertion were or were not nau been entrustftiillBnot be doubted that the imprudence of Clavering gave * ut the Directors ig» iii advantage. The General sent for the keys of the fort tr^ ''f^'S^3,tion. fixeof ttw treasury, took possession of the records, and held a astmgs, and sent oil* *l which Francis attended. Hastings took the chair in the Council, sho^' iqpartment, and Harwell sat with him. Each of the two parties ■ *^heler should plawible show of right. There was no authority entitled to their -•^ngiand, a great c}i.*^c* within fifteen thousand miles. It seemed that there remained e« ^nly four membt^y o' 'e^tli^g *1^® dispute except an appeal to arms; and from ncis Were on one side '"^ appeal Hastings, confident of his influence over his countrymen the Governor-Gei'li*» ^*^ °ot inclined to shrink. He directed the officers of the 1 during two years i^o^ •* ^"''t William and of all the neighbouring stations to obey absolute. He instairde™ l>^t liis- At the same time, with admirable judgment, he leir measures were rf^ *® ""^^mit the cas3 to the Supreme Court and to abide by its 'lation of the lands of*®™* ^y "ticking this proposition he risked nothing ; yet it was a and it was provided •O'^tiott which his opponents could hardly reject. Nobody could be Governor-Genera] i^ *• * criminal for obeying what the judges should solemnly »s name. He begac^'^^^* to be the lawful government. The boldest man would t and dominion, plaiiA^ h-em taking arms in defence of what the judges should pronounce wself. His project * «i»fiirpation. Clavering and Francis, after some delay, unwillingly ices, particularly vii******^ to abide by the award of the Court. The Court pronounced m the paramount J tteJesigiiation was invalid, and that therefore Hastings was still m\ ii 62 WARREN HASTINGS. I I }| Governor-General under the Regulating Act ; and the defeatt of the Couucil, finding that the sense of the whole settl] against them, acquiesced in the decision. About this time arrived the news that, after a suit which several years, the Franconian courts had decreed a divorce bet^ and his wife. The Baron left Calcutta, carrying with him tbj buying an estate in Saxony. The lady became Mrs. Hast event was celebrated by great festivities ; and all the most c. persons at Calcutta, without distinction of parties, were invii^ Government House. Clavering, as the Mahoramedan chroi ■ the story, was sick in mind and body, and excused himself frcj the splendid assembly. But Hastings, whom, as it should seei in ambition and in love had put into high good humour, woul(;J_ denial. He went himself to the General's house, and at length his vanquished rival in triumph to the gay circle which surro;^ bride. The exertion was too much for a frame broken by mo!,t as well as by disease. Clavering died a few days later. Wheler, who came out expecting to be Governor-General, forced to content himself with a seat at the Council Board, voted with Francis. But the Governor- General, with Barwt and his own casting vote, was still the master. Some change ty I at this time in the feeling both of the Court of Directors an^t Ministers of the Crown. All designs against Hastings were th and when his original term of five years expired, he wasn^ reappointed. The truth is, that the fearful dangers to wj, public interests in every quarter were now exposed made k North and the Company unwilling to part with a Govern:^ talents, experience, and resolution enmity itself was cijiupti acknowledge. ij CHAPTER XIV. OOOTE, THE MAHRATTAS, AND THE FKENOH. The crisis was indc d formidable. That great and victorious; on the throne of whicL. George the Third had taken his seat ei years before with brighter hopes than had attended the accession of the lo jg Ime of English sovereigns, had, by the most sensele government, been brought to the verge of ruin. In America mill Englishmen were at war with the country from which their bloo language, their religion, and their institutions were derived, j^lC 5TINGS. OOOTE, THE MAHRATTAS, AND THE FRENCH. 63 [6 of the wh I ^'^ »t a ihort time before, they had been as strongly attached as p, ^^ ^Mtante of Norfolk and Leiceatershire. The great Powers of h, afterasuif i,- humbled to the dust by the vigour and genius which had [leoreed a div u ** Ooftncils of George the Second, now rejoiced in the prospect ;} I j and aJ? +K '^till Blare r danger by the too just discontents of Ireland, was to I . " ^"^Q most carryina wiu u- ««wr«nge. The time was approaching when our island, while \y became Mrs. Ha«[« ig tOtfkeep down the United States of America, and pressed 'f parties • ^®^ ^ France, Spain, and Holland, and to be threatened by the ' were invTi 'i^^i-j p n -r> n^- ■> -i- _ JVfahomm d Bufeittity of the Baltic ; when even our maritime supremacy was excused himself fr, jeofttrdy ; when hostile fleets were to command the Straits of Ihom as it 7""'**^^ ^'^'id ibe Mexican Sea ; when the British flag was to be scarcely J good hum ^^*^' P'^^ect the British Channel. Great as were the fault* of '- ' ' ^^\a, it was happy for our country that at that conjuncture, the y circle wh" i, ^"^''rrible through which she has ever passed, he was the ruler of her ^"'■'•o: dominions, '^"jttaok by sea on Bengal was little to be apprehended. The danger trame broken by 'W days later 3 Govern n ** *^® European enemies of England might form an alliance with ''the Cou •] rf ^' ***i^* power, might furnish that power with troops, arms, and Greneral "fk '^^ '*^*io'** and might thus assail our possessions on the side of the 'ter. So ^'^^^ ^^ ^*^ chiefly from the Mahrattas that Hastings anticipated ourt of H' ^S^h. The original seat of that singular people was the wild range of nst ffo i.- '^^ *Vhiohruns along the western coast of India. In the reign of Aurung- ^fs exni 1 u ^^^^ ^^^ inhabitants of those regions, led by the great Sevajee, began to Jarful d ' ^ ^^Sid on the possessions of their wealthier and less warlike neigh- IV g^ _° ^^ ^^ ''». The energy, ferocity, and cunning of the Mahrattas soon made '•rt wifh ^^^^^^ '' the most conspicuous among the new powers which were gen- fcy its ]f °^<^'''i 'd by the corruption of the decaying monarchy. At first they were as cozBjjtrobljers.. They soon rose to the dignity of conquerors. Half the inces of the empire were turned into Mahratta principalities. Free- 3r8, sprung from low castes and accustomed to menial employments, me mighty Rajahs. The Bonslas, at the head of a band of plun- r6, occupied the vast region of Berar. The Guicowar, which is, g interpreted, the Herdsman, founded that dynasty which still as at Guzerat. The houses of Scindia and Holkar waxed great in fHE PKEjfOH, J , ^^otorious wa. One adventurous captain made his nest on the impregnable =» J -.^^ ®^^* ^' <*' Qooti. Another became the lord of the thousand villages which ^ccessioB scattwred among the green rice-fields of Tanjore. niost seusekTiat Was the time, throughout India, of double government. The I h^ ^"^e"ca ffiUaa and the power were everywhere separated. The Mussulman their bJoowba ^o had beco'ne sovereign princes, the Vizier in Oude, and the were derived, cam at Hyderabad, still called themselves the viceroys of the house 64 WARREN HASTINGS. iit'f of Tamerlane. In the same manner the Mahratta States, tl^ independent of each other, pretended to be members of They all acknowledged, by words and ceremonies, the supreiJ heir of Sevajee, a roi faineant who chewed bang and toyed v4 gills in a State prison at Sattara, and of his Peshwa, or n>^ palace, a great hereditary magistrate, who kept a court v* state at Poonah, and whose authority was obeyed in tki provinces of Aurungabad and Bejapoor. M Some months before war was declared in Europe the GovO<^ Bengal was alarmed by the news that a French adventurer, \ff\ for a man of quality, had arrived at Poonah. It was said tli been received there with great distinction, that he had delive^j Peshwa letters and presents from Louis the Sixteenth, ai^ treaty, hostile to England, had been concluded between Franc^ Mahrattas. Hastings immediately resolved to strike the first blow. Th*l the Peshwa was not undisputed. A portion of the Mahratta n:^^ favourable to a pretender. The Governor- General determined t this pretender's interest, to move an army across the peninsula* and to form a close alliance with the chief of the house of Boi ruled Berar, and who, in power and dignity, was inferior to nc^*1 Mahratta princes. ^ The army had marched, and the negotiations with Berar ^®* progress, when a letter from the English consul at Cairo bm* news that war had been proclaimed both in London and Paris. * measures which the crisis required were adopted by Hastings w * moment's delay. The French factories in Bengal were seized " were sent to Madras that Pondicherry should instantly be ot* ' Near Calcutta, works were thrown up which were thought to ren* approach of a hostile force impossible. A maritime establishuit^* formed for the defence of the river. Nine new battalions of® were raised, and a corps of native artillery was formed out of tht^ Lascars of the Bay of Bengal. Having made these arrangemeu'^ Governor-General, with calm confidence, pronounced his pres^ secure from all attack, unless the Mahrattas should march aga' in conjunction with the French. The expedition which Hastings had sent westward was not so sp or completely successful as most of his undertakings. The comma officer procrastinated. The authorities at Bombay blundered. B Governor-General persevered. A new commander repaired the of his predecessor. Several brilliant actions spread the military r pmtmmmm ■% ISTINGS. 65 •rench adventurer ^^»h- It was OOOfE, THE MAHRATTAS, AND THE FRENCH. ratta States, tligliflh through regions where no European fl^g had ever been e members of , is probable that, if a new and more formidable danger had not ed h ^^^^^' *^® supreri Hlfkings to change his whole policy, his plans respecting the . , . ^ *^ toyed '.V* «M jli l re would have been carried into complete effect. , ^t ^6shwa, or nutiboi^ies of England had wisely sent out to Bengal as com- ®Pt a court iiof thd forces and member of the Council, one of the most distin- ooeyed in tiBoldi«rs of that time. Sir Eyre Coote had, many years before, . iBpioQOus among the founders of the British empire in the East. ^ope the Govcoonoil of war which preceded the battle of Plassey he earnestly vended, in opposition to the majority, that daring course which, Said tjme liesitation, was adopted, and which was crowned with such .. ' f ^3'fi deJivel success. He subsequently commanded in the south of India J ^^xteenth, aj the brave and unfortunate Lally, gained the decisive battle of between FraufWash over the French and their native allies, took Pondicherry, . ade the English power supreme in the Caniatic. Since those nrst blow. Xj^xploits near twenty years have elapsed. Coote had no longer ^ the Mahratta ni^ly activity which he had shown in earlier days ; nor was the ral determined (, of his mind altogether unimpaired. He was capricious and 8 the peninsula, •"^d required much coaxing to keep him in good humour. It he house of Bni we f6ii, be added that the love of money had grown upon him, » as inferior to no;iat he thought more about his allowances and less about his duties ,. xiig^t have been exnected from so eminent a member of so noble a "s With Berar sWion. Still he was perhaps the ablest officer that was then to be at Cairo bro:- ^ ^^ British army. Among the native soldiers his name was ncion and Paris. *nd his influence unrivalled. Sot is he yet forgotten by them. ^ "y Hastinirg ^ «ttd Ifcen a white-bearded old sepoy may still be found who loves engal were seized, t ag*4 Jnen came to present a memorial to an English officer who ere thought to jen* one of the highest employments in India. A print of Coote hung aritinie estabJishuifie room. The veteran recognised at once that face and figure which ^6W battalions of a^ **ot seen for more than half a century, and, forgetting his salam ^8 formed out of tji i® li^JJ^g* halted, drew himself up, lifted his hand, and with solemn ^ these arrangeiiiet"'®^^ P*^^ ^^^ military obeisance tc the dead, renounced his p,,p,oote, ttiough he did not, like Barwell, vote constantly with the ' should march 3m''e™or*6eneral, was by no means inclined to join in systematic oppo- 3n, tiiA on most questions concurred with Hastings, who did his ^ard Was not so sn**' by assiduous courtship, and by readily granting the most dugs. The commi''*****^ allowances, to gratify the strongest passions of the old 'ay bJundere(]. ji^*'' ider repaired thet^ sdfeilfted likely at this time that a general reconciliation would put ^ the military rc «"<* *o the quarrels which had, during some years, weakened and till! 66 WARREN HASTINGS. Vi'-i 1;S; disgraced the government of Bengal. The dangers might well induce men of patriotic feeling — and of ps neither Hastings nor Francis was destitute — to forget prii and to co-operate heartily for the general good. Coofl been concerned in faction. Wheler was thoroughly Barwell had made an ample fortune, and, though he had p he would not leave Calcutta while his help was needed in most desirous to return to England, and exerted himself to arrangement whicih would set him at liberty. A compact was made, by which Francis agreed to desist] sition, and Hastings engaged that the friends of Franci^ admitted to a fair share of the honours and emoluments of louring a few months after this treaty there was apparent 1^ the Council Board. Ijilllll: CHAPTER XV. IMPEY'S reign Of TERROR. Harmony, indeed, was never more necessary ; for at thLI internal calamities, more formidable than war itself, raenact^ The authors of the Regulating Act of 1773 had established j^ pendent powers, the '^ne judicial, and the other political ; an^ carlessness scandalously common in Engli.sh legislation, had Op define the limits of either. The judges took advantage of \^ tinetness, and attempted to draw to themselves supreme autliij only within Calcutta, but through the whole of the great terri^, ject to tJie Presidency of Fort William. There are few En^ who will not adniit that the English law, in spite of modern :^ ments, is neither sc» cheap not' so speedy as might be wished, j is a system which has grown up among us. In some points it I fashioned to suit our feelings ; in others it has gradually fashio feelings to suit itself. Even to its worst e^'il8 we are accuatome therefore, though we may complain of them, they do not strike the liorror and dismay which would be produced by a new grie smaller sevei'ity. In India the case ia widely different. Engl transplanted to that country, has all the vices from which i here ; it has them all in a far higher degree ; and it has oth compared with which the worst vices from which we suffei- ai Dilatory here, it is far more dilatory in a land where the h( interpreter is needed by every judge and by every advocate. fASTlNQS. tal. IMPEY S REION OF TERROR. 67 Th J fc feeling q i ^^ ^^^ fflOfi costly in a land into which the legal practitioners '^itiite— to f ^''^^orted from an immense distance. All English labour in general iroo^ ^^'^'the lifcour of the Governor-General and the Commander-in- ller Was th ^^''^to tiuit of a groom or a watchmaker, must be paid for at a »e had thaii ftt home. No man will be baniuhed, and banished to ^elp Was 11 *^ ' *'^. ^'^«w**^ ^or nothing. The rule holds good with respect to the ^ exerted Ji " ^^^ Won. No English barrister will work, fifteen thousand berty. ^ aU his friends, with the thermometer at ninety-six in the 'icis agreed f ^^ •ttolumenta which will content him in chambers that ■^^e fncii(]a f ^^^'^*he 33iames. Accordingly, the fees at Calcutta are about a^d omolui ^^'^^''% M great as the fees at Westminster Hall ; and this, though *■ of t,0f Judia are, beyond all comparison, poorer than the people rP ent |jj_ y^^ ^jjg delays and the expense, gi'ievous as they are, malktAt part of the evil which English law, imported without on» into India, could not fail to produce. The strongest oamature, honour, religion, female modfisty, rose up against ation. Arrest on mesne process was the first step in most eedings ; and to a native of rank arrest was not merely a but a foul personal indignity. Oaths were required in every Ither e Was necessary ; f^^ ^^ ^ ^ar itself " '''"*'*^®'y ^^^^ i ^^^^ *^® feeling of a Quaker about an oath is hardly ^3 had estaM' '^'^'t^'*** *^3,t of a respectable native. That the apartments of a utrages, outrages at thi ' other poJif *^ quality should be entered by strange men, or 'ish iegisla.fi t *"*® ■**'* ^^ them, are, in the East, intolerable outi legislation, had ''Oolc advant ' ** more dieaded than death, and which can be expiated only "^^v^e« suprem?.'',^ '' • " • '*"''"') of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, were now exposed. Imagine age of f ihedding of blood. To these outrages the most distinguished ^ g'-eat ten '"ie state of our country would be if a jurisprudence were on a »^e of th There are few v spite of introduced among us which should be to us what our juris- niigjit be • 1^*^™ «e waa to our Asiatic subjects. Imagine what the state of our In some ^ would be if it were enacted that any man, by merely swearing yr^A.. ,, ^ ^' debt was due to him, should acquire a right to insult the persons ^as graduaJJv U.i Is We are ^^ ^^ *^® most honourable and sacred callings and of women of the ^hey do ^"*' ^^^hrinking dehcacy, to horsewhip a general oflBcer, to put a bishop iced hT *' ^^ stocks, to treat ladies in the way which called forth the blow of " "7 a new ffm,n_i„ o i.,.^.. . ii ., • ^ ., «.,,,, ^ differ, ''ices froin u- " ; and it h^^ ^^^^ %mpMiy's territory. vhio\, ^ ^'*^'«-eign ef terror began, of newgnej^l^^ Something like this was the effect of the attempt which ^ngJiflprenSfct Court made to extend its jurisdiction over the whole of terror heightened by mystery ; for even «!• areiehioh was endured was less horiible than that which was antici- everv ^^^^ ^^ ™^^ knew what was next to be expected from this strange actvocate. juJ. It came from beyond the black water, as the people of India, iich We sum *d wher( 68 WARRBN HASTINGS. with mysterious horror, call the sea. It consisted of jl whom was familiar with the usages of the millions (I claimed boundless authority. Its records were kei| characters ; its sentences were pronounced in unknown already collected round itself an army of the worst pal population— informers, and false witnesses, and commoil agents of chicane, and, above all, a banditti of bailiffs folhj with whom the retainers of the worst English sponging, worst times, might be considered as upright and tender- hi natives, highly considered among their countrymen, were ' up to Calcutta, Hung into the common gaol, not for iij imputed, not for any debt that had been proved, but ml caution till their cause should come to trial. There wut which men of the most venerable dignity, persecuted w by extortioners, died of rage and shame in the gripe of tht of Impey. The harems of noble Mahommedans, sanotuai in the East by governments which respected nothing tils( open by gangs of bailiffs. The Mussulmans, braver aud lesi to submission than the Hindoos, sometimes stood on their i there were instances in whicli they shed their blood in tl while defending, sword in hand, the sacred apartments of ti Nay, it seemed as if even the faint-hearted Bengalee, who y at the feet of Surajah Dowlah, who had been mute duringa tratiou of Vansitart, would at length find courage in (i Mahratta invas'on had ever spread through the province suci this inroad of English lawyers. All the injustice of former Asiatic and European, appeared as a blessing when compat justice of the Supreme Court. Every class of the population, English and native, with tl of the ravenous pettifoggers who fattened on the misery a an immense community, cried out loudly against this fearful But the judges were immovable. If a bailiff was resisted t the soldiers to be called out. If a servant of the Company, ii with the orders of the Government, withstood the miserable who, with Impey's writs in their hands, exceeded the ii rapacity of gang-robbers, he was flung into prison for a coni lapse of sixty years, the virtue and wisdom of many emineni who have during that time administered justice in the Huf have rot effaced from the minds of the people of Bengal the of those evil days. The members of the Government were, on this subject, ii lH '% HASTINGS. ^ IMPEYS REION OP TERROR. 69 t-'s of t\ ' • °^ ^^^i^S^ J^d courted the judges ; he had found them useful ts rec H """Ons c . \f^ 1^ was not disposed to make them his own masters, ounced ' ^^^ ^^ftrs of India. His mind was large; his knowledge of the rmv of fk ^'^^w 'iMter ^ost accurate. He saw that the system pursued by 'itneas ^^^^ ^** Cov^ w*" degrading to the (lovernnient and ruinous to landitf fu • .^^"^'""^^ and hfi resolved to oppose it manfully. The consequence rst V V u ^ ^ ^*'^'*i* ^Hfodshij), if that be the projjcr word for such a con- unri hf *'^'^'^fi'"M»oli ttftd existed between him and Impey, was for a time j- '^"^''■hcdiBiKdved. The Government placed itself firmly between mo 1 ^"' ^^'^ ^^ tribunal and the people. The Chief Justice proceeded to 6 , not for atjexotlBes. The (Jovernor-Gieneral and all the members of t>een proved I *. "'•'^r^ to f • 1 ' "Hre •erved with writs, calling on them to ajjpear before the j|- ., ' ^*^^6 Wt!rtioen,,and to answer for their public acts. This was too me ' * ^^'^^f^"**^*^ WAtingWt with just scorn, refused to obey the call, set at liberty ^K gnpe of tJiei wroilgfully detained by the Court, and took measures for r ' 4- i*^**' ^^'^^''^"^'1© outifageous proceedings of the sheriflTs officers, if necessary, iiJi V '^^^ ^^^S t'Jit/rd. But he had in view another device, which might prevent ^ti ' ^^^^ ^^*' Jts .ty of an appeal to arms. He was seldom at a loss for an I , /^" on their (J aaiJie knew Impey well. The expedient in this ease was , "^ "ioocl in tipjg Qn^^ neither more nor less than a bribe. Impey was, by a f ^ P*''tments of Tliament, a judge, independent of the Government of Bengal, , , ngalee, wJio tied ta a salary of eight thousand a year. Hastings proposed i, mute during lim afeo a judge in the Company's service, removable at the courage in ,}£ the Government of Bengal ; and to give him, in that capa- o ® province suiit night thousand a year more. It was understood that, in justice of fornief.tion of this new salary, Impey would desist from urging the g When compartensions of his court. If he did urge these pretensions, the , lent could, at a moment's notice eject him from the new place native, with tliid been created for him. The bargain was struck ; Bengal was *^n the misery a*n appeal to force was averted ; and the Ghief Justice was rich, y^against this fearful id infamous. ai lit was resisted tipey's conduct it is unnecessary to speak. It was of a piece with the Company, in very part of his conduct that comes under the notice of history. ood the miserable (t such judge has dishonoured the English ermine since Jefferies » exceeded the ins/imself to death in the Tower. But we cannot agree with those o prison for a conkf^ blamed Hastings for this transaction. The case stood thus. ^ of many eminent igligent manner in which the Regulating Act had been framed justice in the Supre* the ipwer of the Chief Justice to throw a great country into 'opie of Bengal tlie i^t diwdf ul confusion. He was determined to use his power to loeit unless he was paid to be still ; and Hastings con-sented to <>n this subject, imia. The necessity was to be deplored. It is also to be deplored 70 WAEREN HASTINGS. that pirates should be able to exact ransom by threatening to mabl their captives walk the phiiik. But to ratiHom a captive from i)irat«i| has always been held a humane and Christian act: and it would J absurd to charife the payer (»f tlio ransom with corrupting the virtue o|l the corsair. This, wo seriously think, is a not unfair illustration of tbil relative position of Impey, Hastings, and the people of India. WhethJ it was right in Impey to demand or to accept a price for powers whick,! if they really belonged to him, he could not abdicate, which, if theyi not belong to him, he ought never to have usurped, and which in neithal case he could honestly sell, is one question. It was quite auotheij question whether Hastings was not right to give any sum, howeveil large, to any man, however worthless, rather than either surrendetl millions of human beings to pillage, or rescue them by civil war. Francis strongly opposed this arrangement. It may, indeed, txl suspected that personal aversion to Impey was as strong a motive witlj Francis as regard for the welfare of the province. To a mind hurniJ with resentment, it might seem better to leave Bengal to the oppressonl than to redeem it by enriching them. It is not improbable, ou M other hand, that Hastings may have been the more willing to rtSftrtJ an expedient agreeable to the Chief Justice, because that high funJ tionary had already been so serviceable, and might, when existing! dissensions were composed, be serviceable again. But it was not on this point alone that Francis was now opposed! Hastings. The peace between them proved to be only a short aDJ| hollow truce, during which their mutual aversion was constantly beconi ing stronger. At length an explosion took place. Hastings publiclj] charged Francis with having deceived him, and with having indua Barwell to quit the service by insincere promises. Then cam a dispute, such as frequently arises even between honourable meij when they may make imi)ortant agreements by mere verbal coiif munication. An impartial historian will probably be of opinion thi they had misunderstood each other ; but their minds were so muJ embittered that they imputed to each other nothing less than deli])erali villainy. "I do not," said Hastings, in a minute recorded on the Coi sultations of the Government, "I do not trust to Mr. Francis's proraia of candour, convinced that he is incapable of it. I judge of his pubil conduct by his private, which I have found to be void of truth honour." After the Council had risen, Francis put a challenge into I Governor-General's hand. It was instantly accepted. They met, fired. Francis was shot through the body. He was carried to I neighbouring house, where it appeared that the wound, though seveJ THE STHUOOLE WITH UYDER ALL 71 Iwas not mortal. Hastings inquired repeatedly after his enemy's health, land proposed to call on him ; but Francis coldly declined the visit. He Ihiwl a proper sense, he said, of the Governor-General's politeness, but Icould not consent to any private interview. They could meet only at Ithe Council Board. CHAPTER XVI. THE STRUGGLE WITH HYDER ALT, In a very short time it was made signally manifest to how great a [danger the Governor-General had, on this occasion, exposed his country. A crisis arrived with which he, and he alone, was competent to deal. lit is not too much to say that if he had been taken from the head of [affairs, the years 1780 and 1781 would have been fatal to our power in lAsia as to our power in America. The Mahrattas had been the chief objects of apprehension to Hastings. JThe measures which he had adopted for the purpose of breaking their Ipower had at first been frustrated by the errors of those whom he was Icompelled to employ ; but his perseverance and ability seemed likely Ito be crowned with success, when a far more formidable danger showed [itself in a distant quarter. About thirty years before this time a Mahommedan soldier had begun Ito distinguish himself in the wars of Southern India. His education [had been neglected ; his extraction was humble. His father had been a [petty officer of revenue ; his grandfather a wandering dervish. But [though thus meanly descended, though ignorant even of the alphabet, [the adventurer had no sooner been placed at the head of a body of troops Ithan he approved himself a man born for conquest and command. [Among the crowd of chiefs who were struggling for a share of India, [none could compare with him in the qualities of the captain and the iBtatesman. He became a general ; he became a sovereign. Out of the fragments of old principalities, which had gone to pieces in the general Iwreck, he formed for himself a great, compact, and vigorous empire. JThat empire he ruled with the ability, severity, and vigilance of Lewis Ithe Eleventh. Licentious in his pleasures, implacable in his revenge, he lad yet enlargement of mind enough to perceive how mnch the prosperity [)f 8ul)jects adds to the strength of governments. He was an oppressor ; Ibut he had at least the merit of protecting his people against all oppression except his own. He was now in extreme old age, but his intellect was as clear and his spirit as high as in the prime of manhood. 72 WARBEN HASTINGS. Such was the great Hyder Ali, the founder of the Mahommedan king- dom oi Mysore, and the most formidable enemy with whom the Eug]isli| conquerors of India have ever had to contend. Had Hastings been Governor of Madras, Hyder would have been I either made a friend, or vigorously encountered as an enemy. Unhappily the English authorities in the South provoked their powerful neighbour's! hostility, without being prepared to repel it. On a sudden, an army of I ninety thousand men, far superior in discipline and efficiency to any I other native force that coubl be found in India, came pouring through those wild pas'^es which, worn by mountain torrents, and dark witkl jungle, lead down froui the table-laud of Mysore to the plains of the Carnatic. Tliis great army was accompanied by a hundred pieces oil cannon ; and its movements were guided by many French officers, trained! in the best military schools of Europe. Hyder was every \vhere triumphant. The sepoys in many Britisll garrisons flung down their arms. Some forts were sun-'^ndered by I treachery, r id some by despair. In a few days the whole open countn north of the Coleroon had submitted. The Enghsh inhabitants oi Madras could already see by night, from the top of Mount St. Thorny I the eastern sky reddened by a vast semicircle of blazing villages. Tte white villas, to which our countrymen retire after the daily labours oi governmeut and of trade, when the cool evening breeze springs up from I the bay, were now left without inhabitants ; for bands of the fierce horsemen of Mysore had already been seen prowling among the tulip f trees and near the gay verandas. Even the town was not thought secure, and the British merchants and public functionaries made haste to crowd | themselves beliind the cannon of Fort St. George. There were the means, indeed, of assembling an army which miohll have defended the presidency, and even driven the invader back to mountains. Sir Hector Munro was at the head of one considerable! force ; BaiHie was advancing with another. United they might havel presented a formidable front even to such an enemy as Hyder. But thel English commanders, neglecting those fundamental rulea of the militaryl art, of which the propriety is obvious even to men who have never! received a military education, deferred their junction, and werel separately attacked. Baillie's detachment was destroyed. Munro wasl forced to a])andon hirs baggage, to tiing his guns into the tanks, and J save himself by a retreat which might be called a flight. In three weekJ from the commencement of the war the British empire in Southernl India had been brought to tl.e verge of ruin. Only a few fortified place. '^^^ g^»^y of our arms had departed. It /as knowiil remained to us. THE STRUGGLE WITH HYDER ALI. 73 Ihat a great French expedition might soon be expected on the coast of >romandel. England, beset by enemies on every side, was in no con- Jition to protect such remote dependencies. Then it was that the fertile genius and serene courage of Hastings chieveil their most signal triumph. A swift ship, flying before the Louth-west monsoon, brought the evil tidings in a few days to Calcutta. In twenty-four hour^ the Governor-General had framed a complete plan hf policy adapted to the altered state of affairs. The struggle with lyder was a struggle for life and death. All minor objects must be icrificed to ti:e preservation of the Carnatic. The disputes with the klahrattas must be accommodated. A large military force and a supply If money must be instantly sent to Madras. But even these measures rould be insufficient unless the war, hitherto so grossly mismanaged, rere placed under the direction of a vigorous mind. It was no time kr trifling. Hastings determined to resort to an extreme exercise of )wer, to suspend the incapable Governor of Fort St. George, to send feii- Eyre Coote to oppose Hyder, and to intrust that distinguished general with the whole administration of the war. In spite of the sullen opposition of Francis, who had now recovered rom his wound, and had returned to the Council, the Governor- Jenerarc wise and firm policy was approved by the majority of the 3ard. The reinforcements were sent off with great exj)edition, and Bached Madras before the French armament arrived in the Indian seas. ^oote, broken by age and disease, was no longer the Coote of Wande- ^ash ; but he was still a resolute and skilful commander. The progress \i Hyder was arrested ; and in a few months the great victory of Po % fovo retrieved the honour of the English arms. In the meantime Francis had returned to England, and Hastings was low left perfectly unfettered. VVheler had gradually been relaxing in [is opposition, and, after the departure of his vehement and implacable [)lleagae, co-operated heartily with the Governor-General, whose ifluence over the British in India, always great, had, by the vigour and iccess of His recent measures, been considerably increased. But, thoigh the difficulties arising from factions within the Council hre at an end, another class of difficulties had become more pressing lan ever. The financial embarrassment wns extreme. Hastings had tiud the means not only of carrying on the government of Bengal, it of maintaining a most costly war against both Indian and European lemier, in the (Jarnatic, and of making remittances to England. A few bars before this time he had obtained relief by plundering the Mogul id euslaving the RohUlas ; nor were the resources of his fruitful mind any means exhausted. ":i 74 WARREN HASTINGS. CHAPTER XVII. BENARES AND THE CONFLICTING RULE. Id m :5o t His first design was on Benares, a city which, in wealth, poac dignity, and sanctity, was among the foremost of Asia. It an monly believed that half a million of human beings was croivpi that labyrinth of lofty alleys, rich with shrines, and mina;ir balconies, and carved oriels, to which the sacred apes ha hundreds. The traveller could scarcely make his way through a of holy mendicants and not less holy bulls. The broad ais flights of steps, which descended from these swarming haunye bathing-places along the Ganges, were worn every day by the is of an innumerable multitude of worshippers. The schools aniigf drew crowds of pious Hindoos from every province where the tw cal faith was known. Huiulreds of devotees came thither cver>e< to die ; for it was believed that a peculiarly happy fate awaiteda who should pass from the sacred city into the sacred river, lo superstition the only motive which allured strangers to tl5Vi metropolis. Commerce had as many pilgrims as religion. AlLgt shores of the venerable stream lay great fleets of vessels laden utti merchandise. From the looms of Benares went forth the most^t silks that adorned the balls of St. James's and Versailles ; an 'di bazaars, the muslins of Bengal and the sabres of Oude were^' with the jewels of Golconda and the shawls of Cashmere. > ' capital and the surrounding tract had long been under the iii>d rule of a Hindoo Prince, who rendered homage to the Mogul t:l^' During the great anarchy of India the lords of Benares becaii* ^ pendent of the Court of Delhi, but were compelled to submi:' ' authority of tlie Nabob of <>U(le. Oppressed by this formidaU*" bour, they invoked the protection of the Ei ;sh. The EiigL"' tection was given ; and at length the Nabob Vizier, by a soleiim*'^ ceded all his rigiits over Benares to the Company. Fi'om that:''* Rajah was the vassal of the government of Bengal, acknowle:*^ supremacy, and engaged to send an annual tribute to Fort V " This tribute Cheyte Sing, the reigning prince, had paid wit;"* punctuality. About tiie precise nature of the legal relation between the C®' and the Rajah of Benares there has been much warm and acut :*f versy. V>n the one side, it has V»een maintained tliat Cheyie !?:^ cciy a .1 eat subject on whom the superior power had a right'* NGS. BENARES AND THE CONFLICTING RULE. 75 ^11. rCTINTO RULE. h I id in tibie necessities of the empire. On the other side, it has been mded that he was an independent prince, that the only claim which yompany had upon him was for a fixed tribute, and that, while the tribute was regularly paid, as it assuredly was, the English had '^nich, m wealth, ponore right to exact any lurther contribution from him than to most of Asia. It and irabsidies from Holland or Denmark. Nothing is easier than to an beings was crowprecedents and analogies in favour of either view. L shrines, and minair own impression is that neither view is correct. It was too much the sacred apes habit of English politicians to take it for granted that there was in ke his way througlia a known and definite constitution by which questions of this kind bulls. The broad and to be decided. The truth is that during the interval which elapsed ese swarming haunj^een the fall of the house of Tamerlane and the establishment of the [■n every day by theish ascendency, there was no such constitution. The old order of 'fs. The schools ancigs had passed away ; the new order of things was not yet formed. srovince where the Iwas transition, confusion, obscurity. Everybody kept his head as !e3 came thither everJest might, and scrambled for whatever he could get. There have y hajjpy fate awaiteda similar seasons in Europe. The time of the dissolution of the the sacred river, lovingian empire is an instance. Who would think of seriously red strangers to thjussing the question, what extent of pecuniary aid and of obedience nis as religion. Alhgh Capet had a constitutional right to demand from the Duke of ets of vessels laden irttany or the Duke of Normandy? The words "constitutional went forth the most^t " had, in that state of society, no meaning. If Hugh Capet laid and Versailles ; an ids on all the possessions of the Duke of Normandy, this might be 3abres of Oude wereist and immoral ; but it would not be illegal, in the sense in which lAvls of Cashmere. ]' ordinances of Charles the Tenth were illegal. If, on the other ' been under the iii:*d, the Duke of Normandy made war on Hugh Capet, this might be lage to the Mo^ul tj'ist and immoral ; but it would not be illei;al, m the sense in which Is of Benares becaii* expedition of Prince L(niis Bonaparte was illegal. iomjjelled to subini:^®'7'"'^^i'''^^ ^^ *bis was the state of India sixty years ago. Of the 1 by tJiis foriniilaljI*^*'*8 8*^^'*^''"'^^^^^' ^^"^ ^ single one could lay claim to legitiniacy. or El -sh. The En '!il^ P'l®**^ ^'^y *'tber title than recent occupation. There was scarcely » Vizier, by a solenic"^®'^^''^^® "^ which the real sovereignty and the nominal sovereignty iipany. Fi-om thaf"^® ****^ disjoined. Titles and forms were still retained which implied Bengal, aeknowk**^^^*^^'' ^^ ^^^^*^''l^"^' ^^^ ^'•^ ^^^**1^^^^ ^'^l^'"' ^^*^ *^** *^® Nabobs al tribute to Fortl' ^® provinces were his lieutenants. In reality, he was a captive. ince, had paid wit*® Nabobs were in some places independent j)rinces. In other places, in Bengal and the Carnatic, they had, like their master, become ition between the C®*^® phantoms, and the Conipfiny was supreme. Among the Mahrattas, ch warm and aciit'**^» ^® ^^^^'" '^^ ^«vajee still kept tlu title of Rajah ; but he was a ned that Cheyie ,>> i^''^®'''* ^"^^ bis prime minister, the Peshwa, had become the hereditary power had a rij'lit'''®* ®^ ^^ state. The Peshwa, in his turn, was fast sinking into the 76 WARREN HASTINGS. same degraded situation into which he had reduced the Rajah. It was, we believe, impossible to find, from the Himalayas to Mysore, a single government which was at once a government de facto and a government de jure, which possessed the physical means of making itself feared by its neighbours and subjects, and which had at the same time the authority derived from law and long prescription. Hastings clearly discerned what was hidden from most of his con- temporaries, that such a state of things gave immense advantages to a ruler of great talents and few scruples. In every international question that could arise, he had his option between the de facto ground and the de jure ground ; and the probability was that one of those grounds would rfustain any claim that it might be convenient for him to make, and enable him to resist any claim made by others. In every contro- versy, accordingly, he resorted to the pi da which suited his immediate purpose, without troubling himself in the least about consistency ; and thus he scarcely ever failed to find what, to persons of short memories and scanty information, seemed to be a justification for what he wanted to do. Sometimes the Nabob of Bengal is a shadow, sometimes a monarch. Sometimes the Vizier is a mere deputy, sometimes an inde- pendent potentate. If it is expedient for the Company to show acme legal title to the revenues of Bengal, the grant under the seal of the Mogul is brought forward as an instrument of the highest authority. When the Mogul asks for the rents which were reserved to him by that very grant, he is told that he is a mere pageant, that the English power rests on a very different foundation from a charter given by him ; that he is welcome to play at royalty a'' long as he likes, but that he must expect no tribute froni the real nr asters of India. It is true that it was in the power of others, as well as of Hastings. to practice this legerdemain : but in the controversies of governments, sophistry is of little use unless it be backed by power. There is a principle which Hastings was fond of asserting in the strongest terms, and on which he acted with undeviating steadiness. It is a principle which, we must own, though it may be grossly abused, can hardly be disputed in the present state of public law. It is this, that where an ambiguous question arises between two governments, there is, if they cannot agree, no appeal except to force, and that the opinion of the stronger must prevail. Almost every question was ambiguous in India. The English Government was the strongest in India. The consequences are obvious. The English Government might do exactly what it chose CHEYTE SING PLUNDERED. 77 CHAPTER XVIII. CHEYl'E SINQ PLUNDERED AND BENARES ANNEXED. The English Government now chooe to wring money out of Cheyte Sing. It had formerly been convenient to treat him as a sovereign prince ; it was now convenient to treat him as a subject. Dexterity inferior to that of Hastings could easily find, in the general chaos of laws and customs, arguments for either course. Hastings wanted a great supply. It was known that Cheyte Sing had a large revenue^ and it was suspected that he had accumulated a treasure. Nor was he a favourite at Calcutta. He had, when the Governor-General was in great difficulties, courted the favour of Francis and Clavering. Hastings, who, less perhaps from evil passions than from policy, seldom left an injury unpunished, was not sorry that the fate of Cheyte Sing should teach neighbouring princes the same lesson which the fate of Xuuconiar had already impressed on the inhabitants of Bengal. In 1778, on the first breaking out of the war with France, Cheyte Sing was called upon to pay, in addition to his fixed tribute, an extraor- dinary contribution of fifty thousand poi.nds. In 1779 an equal sum was exacted. In 1780 the demand was renewed. Cheyte Sing, in the hope of obtaining some indulgence, secretly offered the Governor- General a bribe of twenty thousand pounds. Hastings took the money, and his enemies have maintained that he took it intending to keep it. He certainly concealed the transaction, for a time, both from the Council in Bengal and from the Directors at home ; nor did he ever give any satisfactory reason for the concealment, ^ublic spirit, or the fear of detection, at last determined him to withstand the temptation. He paid over the bribe to the Company's treasury, and insisted that the ^ Rajah should instantly comply with the demands of the English Govern- ment. The Rajah, after the fashion of his countrymen, sh^'Ifled, •nlioited, and pleaded poverty. The grasp of Hastings was not to be so ; luded. He added to the requisition another ten thousand pounds as a line for delay, and sent troops to exact the money. The money was paid. But this was not enc..g,h. The late cents in the South of India had in .reaf jd the financial embarrassments of the Company. Hastings was determined to plunder Cheyte Sing, and, for that end, to fasten a quarrel on hira. Accordingly, the Rajah was now required to keep a body of cavalry for the service of the British Govern- ment. He objected and evaded. This was exactly what the Governor- Gener;d wanted. He had now a pretext for treating the wealthiest of 'II Hi fl 78 WARREN HASTINGS. his vassals as a criminal. **I resolved," — these are th 1 . Hastings himself — "to draw from his guilt the means of relict (»f th. pany's distresses, to make him pay largely for his pardon, or to i ^^f. severe vengeance for past delinquency." The plan was simply *~^ demand larger and larger contributions till the Rajah should be dn** remonstrate, then to call his remonstrance a crime, and to punis . by confiscating all his possessions. ' Cheyte Sing was in the greatest dismay. He oflFered two h thousand pounds to propitate the British Government. But H,, replied that nothing less than half a million would be accepted, he began to think of selling Benares to Oude, as he had former \ Allahabad to Rohilcund. The matter was one which could not I , managed at a distance, and Hastings resolve*^ to visit Benares. Cheyte Sing received his liege lord with every mark of revt came near sixty miles, with his guards, to meet and escort the ilk* visitor, and expressed his deep concern at the displeasure of the trr j He even took off his turban, and laid it in the lap of Hastings, a f -i which in India marks the most profound submission and tlev^» Hastings behaved with cold and repulsive severity. Having tarn i Benares, he sent to the Rajah a paper containing the demands -■, Government of Bengal. The Rajah, in reply, attempted to clear k. i from the accusations brought against him. Hastings, who v money, not excuses, was not to be put off by the ordinary artii * „ Eastern negotiation. He instantly ordered the Rajah to be arreste v placed under the custody of two companies of sepoys. In taking these strong measures. Hasting scarcely showed his _ jj, judgment. It is possible that, having had little opportunity of persi • j observing any part of the population of India, except the Bengalee ^ was not fully aware of the difference between their character ami: ^ of the tribes which inhabit the upper provinces. He was now in a far more favourable to the vigour of the human frame than the Del i8en( era the Ganges ; in a land fruitful of soldiers, who have been found wixtgjj to follow English battalions to the charge and into the breach, i Rajah was popular among his subjects. His administration had^^^^g mild : and the prosperity of the district which he governed prestlj. g^j a striking contrast to the depressed state of Bahar under our rule, a ^ sLill more striking contrast to the misery of the ; ovinces Mliich^jj cursed by the tyranny of the Nabob Vizier. The national and n 1:^,, ^. prejudices with which the English were regarded throughout Indi,Vj^gjj. peculiarly intense in the met' >p^lis of the Brahminical superstitioUj^j^^^ can therefore scarcely be doubted that the Governor-General, befon^j- ed the dignity of Cheyte Sing by an arrest, ought to have assembhd I'his had not been done. CHEYTE SING PLUNDERED. 79 these are the ^r leans of relict (.fth, his pardon, ort ' ^P*^^® ®^ hearing down all oi)i»()sition. 3 plan was siinnl *°<^'*^ ^^ sepoys who attended Hastings would probably have ^^ajah should 1 i offioient to overawe Moorshedabad, or the Black Town of Calcutta, rime and to ^®y "^^^^ unequal to a conflict with the hardy rabble of Benares, n'eeta surrounding the palace were filled by an immense multitude. He offered tw li °™ * ^^^^^ proportion, as is usual in Upper India, wore arms. The ernment. Bi t H^* became a light, and the fight a massacre. The English officers ould be ac + i ^®*^ themselves with desperate courage against overwhelming as he ha 1 f **•'*» ^^'^ ^^^'' ^^ became them, sword in hand. The sepoys were which could iii®'®^ ^^^ gates were forced. The captive prince, neglected by o visit f? iolers during the confusion, discovered an outlet which opened on verv mark f recipitous bank of the (ianges, let himself down to the water by a and esc f f li ii ? ™*^® ®^ *^® turbans of his attendants, found a boat, and escaped spleasure of theE® ^^PJ^'*^ '^'''^' . of FT +" Hastings had, by indiscreet violence, brought himself into a dil il>miss' A ' ? P©"!**™' situation, it is only just to acknowledge that he extri Dmission and ch- difficult extricated ritv H ^ ^*^ even more than his usual ability and presence of mind. He ' '^only fifty men wnth him. The building in which he had taken up esidence was on every side blockaded by the insurgents. But his tude remained unshaken. The llajah, from the other side of the img the demands ttempted to clear li Hastings, who w +1^ ,. p, aent apologies and liberal offers. They were not even answered. T?„,oU .(. 1. '^"^ "^e subtle and enterprising men were found who undertook to pass J^ajan to be arrestf , .. .i c • j i. j.^. ^ ^^■ f, lUgh the throng of enemies, and to convey the intelligence of the ,' , events to the English cantonments. It is the fashion of the natives pport " f *f "^^"^ *** "^^^^ large earrings of gold. When they travel, the rings ■xc ^ + f li R ^^^'^'^ aside, lest the precious metal should tempt some gang of robbers ; he' h *^"o^''^^', in place of the ring, a quill or a roll of paper is inserted in the er ano.^ ^ prevent it from closing. Hastings placed in the ears of his He was now in , , ^^ i, , • ^. no. aengers letters rolled up in the smallest compass. Some of these ers were addressed to the commanders of English troops. One was tten to assure his wife of his safety. One was to the envoy whom he L sent to negotiate with the Mahrattas. Instructions for the ;otiation were needed, and the Governor-General framed them in was now in a rame than the Del ave been fouiui w(, into the breach, ministration had he governed P''^*t situation of extreme danger with as much composure as if he had • under our rule.i^ anting in his palace at Calcutta. 'ovmces a\ hicli rhings, i(»wt tr were not yet at the worst. An English officer of lonal and rch^ »pirit than judgment, eager to distinguish Inmself made a premature ' ougliout Jiiuia'goij oa the insurgents beyond the river. His troop? were entangled ica superstitioiij^^Q.^^^ Htreetp, and assailed by a furious population. He fell, with 'or- Tcueral, befor^y ^ jj^g u^en, and the survivors were forced to retire. 80 WARKEI^ HASTINGS. HI,' This event produced the effect which has never failed to follow ever)! check, however slight, sustained in India by the English arms. M hundreds of miles round the whole country was in commotion. HkI entire population of the district of Benares took arms. The fields wenl abandoned by the husbandmen, who thronged to defend their princti The infection spread to Oude. The oppressed people of that proviii«j rose up against the Nabob Vizier, refused to pay their imposts, and m the revenue officers to flight. Even Bahar was ripe for revolt. Tbtl hopes of Chey te Sing began to rise. Instead of imploring mercy in the! humble style of a vassal, he began to talk the language of a conqueror,! and threatened, it was said, to sweep the white usurpers out of thtl land. But the English troojjs were now assembling fast. The officers,! and even the private men, regarded the Governor-General with enthusiJ astic attachment, and flew to hisi aid with an alacrity which, as iit| boasted, had never been shown on any other occasion. Major Pophaml a brave and skilful soldier, who had highly distinguished himself in M Mahratta war, and in whom the Governor-General reposed the greatestl confidence, took the command. The tumultuary army of the Rajah wal put to rout. His fastnesses were stormed. In a few hours abovt] thirty thousand men left his standard and returned to their ordinarjl avocations. The unhappy prince fled from his country for ever. Hisl fair domain was added to the British dominions. One of his relationil indeed was appointed Rajah ; but the Rajah of Benares was hencefortkl to be, like the Nabob of Bengal, a mere pensioner. By this revolution an addition of two hundred thousand pounds a yeail was made to the revenues of the Company. But the immediate reliell was not as great as had been expected. The treasure laid up by Cheytel Sing had been popularly estimated at a million sterling. It turned < to be about a fourth part of that sum ; and, such as it was, it was seized! by the army and divided as prize money. CHAPTER XIX. HASTINGS SETS COVETOUS EYES ON OUDE. Disappointed in his expectations from Benares, Hastings was mow violent than he would otherwise have been in his dealings with Oude.' Sujah Dowlah had long been dead. His son and successor, Asaph-ul- Dowlah, M'as one of the weakest and most vicious even of Eastern princes, L His life was divided between torpid repose and the most odious forms of | sensuality. In his court there was boundless waste ; throughout 1 HASTINGS SETS COVETOUS EYES ON OUDE, 81 Lninions, wretchedness ami disorder. He had been, under the skilful fina"oin(iit of the English government, gradually sinking from the [nk of an independent prince to that of a vassal of the Company. It IS only by the help of a British brigu..e that he could be secure from le anuressions of neiglibours who despised his weakness, and from the liii^eance of subjects who detested his tyi-anny. A brigade was finished, and he engaged to defray the charge of paying and maintaining From thut time his independence was at an end. Hastings was not [man to lose the advantage which he had thus gained. The Nabob Ion began to complain of the burden which he hail undeitaken to bear. [is rLVonues, he said, were falling off ; his servants were unpaid ; he Lid no b)nger support the expense of the arrangement wbich he had liictioiied. Hastings would not listen to these lepresentations. The lizier, be said, bad invited the Government of Bengal to send him loops, and bad promised to pay for them. The troops bad been sent. low long tbe troops were to remain in Oude was a matter not settled the treaty. It remain inion. He had given his entire con- ience to the two eunuchs ; and after his death they remained at the ead of the household of his widow. I These men were, by the orders of the British government, seized, im- risoned, ironed, starved almost to death, in order to extort money from ^e I'lincesses. After they had been two months in confinement, their Balth gave way. They implored permission to take a little exercise in ^6 garden of their prison. The officer who was in charge of them *ted that, if they were allowed this indulgence, there was not the aallest chance of their escaping, and that their irons really added nothing the security of the custody in which they were kept. He did not iderstand the plan of his superiors. Their object in these inflictions las not security but torture ; and all mitigation was refused. Yet this 1 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. «// 1.0 I.I 1.25 .1. ... 11 2.0 Ml 1^ i.8 1.4 II 1.6 V] <^ /2 7 V ^4 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 :/j 84 WARREN HASTINGS. % was not the worst. It was resolved by an English government that tiieiel two infinn old men should be delivered to the tormentors. For thitl purpose they were removed to Luukuow. What horrors their duDgedl there witnessed can only be guessed. But there remains on the reconjil of Parliament this letter, written by a British resident to a Britiikl soldier : — •' Sir, the Nabob having determined to inflict corporal punis upon the prisoners under your guard, this is to desire that his oflBcen,! when they shall come, may have free access to the prisoners, and be perl mitted to do with them as they shall see proper." While these barbarities were perpetrated at Lucknow, the PrincesMil were still under duress at Fyzabad. Food was allowed to enter apartments only in such scanty quantities that their female atteniij ants were in danger of perishing with hunger. Month after mouth thitl cruelty continued, till at length, after twelve hundred thousand pouii(ii| had been wrung out of the Princesses, Hastings began to think thatlie| had really got to the bottom of their coflFers, and that no rigour cobMI extort more. Then at length the wretched men who were detained ill Lucknow regained their liberty. When their irons were knocked ofl and the doors of their prison opened, their quivering lips, the tears whidl ran down their cheeks, and the thanksgivings which they poured fortkl to the common Father of Mussulmans and Christians, melted even stout hearts of the English warriors who stood by. CHAPTER XX. 11 THE CHIEF JUSTICE RECALLED. But we must not forget to do justice to Sir Elijah Impey's conduct otl this occasion. It was not indeed easy for him to intrude himself intoil business so entirely alien from all his official duties. But there wul something inexpressible alluring, we must suppose, in the peculiar rank! ness of the infamy which was then to be got at Lucknow. He hurrieii| thither as fast as relays of palanquin- bearers could carry him. A crofdl of people came before him with affidavits against the Begums, readyl drawn in their hands. Those affidavits he did not read. Some of them,! indeed, he could not read, for they were in the dialects of Northenl India, and no interpreter was employed. He administered the oath to th«| deponents with all possible expedition, and asked not a single questioii,| not even whether they had perused the statements to which they swortl This work performed, he got again into his palanquin and posted back tol THE CHIEF JUSTICE BECAUiED. 85 Icalcutta, to be in time for the opening of term. The cause was one Iwhich, by his own confession, lay altogether out of his jurisdiction. lunder the charter of justice, he had no more right to inquire into the Icrimes committed by Asiatics in Oude than the Lord President of the Icourt of Session of Scotland to hold an assize at Exeter. He had no Iright to try the Begums, nor did he pretend to try them. With what lobiect, then, did he undertake so long a journey ? Evidently in order Ithat he might give, in an irregular manner, that sanction which in a Iregular manner he could not give to the crimes of those who had recently Ihired him; and in order that a confused mass of testimony which he did Inot sift, which he did not even read, inight acquire an authority not Iproperly belonging to it, from the signature of the highest judicial Ifunotionary in India. The time was approaching, however, when he was to be stripped of Ithat robe which has never, since the Revolution, been disgraced so foully las by him. The state of India had for sometime occupied much of Ithe attention of the British Parliament. Towards the close of the lAmerican war, two committees of the Commons sat on Eastern affairs. Iln one Edmund Burke took the lead. The other was under the Ipresidency of the able and versatile Henry Dundas, then Lf)rd Advocate lof Scotland, Great as are the changes which, during the bist sixty years, ■have taken place in our Asiatic dominions, the reports which those jcommittees laid on the table of the House will stiil be found most inter- Jesting and instructive. There was as yet no connection between the Cotnpany and either of Ithe great parties of the State. The ministers had no motive to defend llndian abuses. On the contrary, it was for their interest to show, if ossible, that the government and patronage of our Oriental empire night, with advantage, be transferred to themselves. The votes, there- [fore, which, in consequence of the reports made by the two committees, rere passed by the Commons, breathed the spirit of stern and indignant justice. The severest epithets were applied to several of the measures of laatings, especially to the Rohilla war ; and it was resolved, on the aotiou of Mr. Dundas, that the Company ought to recall a Governor- eneral who had brought such calamities on the Indian people, and such iishonour on the British name. An Act was passed for limiting the [jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The bargain which Hastings had uade with the Chief Justice M'as condemned in the strongest terms, and address was presented to the King, praying that Impey might be Summoned home to answer for his misdeeds. liupey was recalled by a letter from the Secretary of State. But the 86 WARREN HASTINGS. proprietors of India stock resolutely refused to dismiss Hastings from their service ; and passed a resolution affirming, what was undeniably true, that they were entrusted by law with the right of naming and re- moving their Governor-General, and that they were not bound to obey the directions of a single branch of the legislature with respect to sucii ] nomination or removal. Thus supported by his employers, Hastings remained at the head of the Government of Bengal till the spring of 1785. His administration, so eventful and stormy, closed in almost perfect quiet. In the Cound there was no regular opposition to his measures. Peace was restored to India. The Mahratta war had ceased. Hyder was no more. A treaty had been concluded with his son, Tippoo ; and the Carnatic had been evacuated by the armies of Mysore. Since the termination of the American war, England had no European enemy or rival in the Eastern seas. CHAPTER XXI. a ■3 i i REVIEW OF HASTINGS ADMINISTRATION. On a general review of the long administration of Hastings, it is im- possible to deny that, against the great crimes by which it is blemished, we have to set oflF great public services. England had passed through a I perilous crisis. She still, indeed, maintained her place in the foremost rank of European powers : and the manner in which she had defended herself against fearful odds had inspired surrounding nations with a high opinion both of her spirit and of her strength. Nevertheless, in every part of the world, except one, she had been a loser. Not only had she been compelled to acknowledge the independence of thirteen colonies peopled by her children, and to conciliate the Irish by giving up the right of legislating for them ; but in the Mediterranean, in the Gulf of Mexico, on the coast of Africa, on the continent of America, she had been com- pelled to cede the fruits of her victories in former wars. Spain regained I Minorca and Florida ; France regained Senegal, Goree, and several West Indian Islands. The only quarter of the world in which Britain had lost | nothing was the quarter in which her interests had been committed I the care of Hastings. In spite of the utmost exertions of European ai Asiatic enemies, the power of our country in the East had been greatly! augmented. Benares was subjected ; the Nabob Vizier reduced to I vassalage. That our influence had been thus extended, nay, that Fort I William and Fort St. George had not been occupied by hostile armies, REVIEW OP HASTINGS ADMINISTRATION. 87 I was owinc;, if we may trust the general voice of the English in India, to the skill and resolution of Hastings. His internal administration, with all its blemishes, gives him a title to be considered as one of the most remarkable men in our history. He dis- solved the double government. He transferred the direction of affairs to English hands. Out of a frightful anarchy he educed at least a rude and imperfect order. The whole organization by which justice was dis- pensed, revenue collected, peace maintained throughout a territory not inferior in population to the dominions of Lewis the Sixteenth or the Emperor Joseph, was formed and superintended by him. He boasted that every public office, without exception, which existed when he left Bengal, was his creation. It is quite true that this system, after all the improvements suggested by the experience of sixty years, still needs improvement, and that it was at first far more defective than iv no^ is. But whoever seriously considers what it is to construct from the begin- ning the whole of a machine so vast and complex as a government, will allow that what Hastings effected deserves high admiration. To com- pare the most celebrated European ministers to him seems to us as unjust as it would be to compare the best baker in London with Robinson Crusoe, who, before he could bake a single loaf, had to make his plough and his harrow, his fences and his scarecrows, his sickle and his Sails, his mill and his oven. The just fame of Hastings rises still higher when we reflect that he was not bred a statesman ; that he was sent from school to a counting- house ; and that he was employed during the prime of his manhood as a commercial agent, far from all intellectual society. Nor must we forget that all, or almost all, tc whom, when placed at the head of affairs, he could apply for assistance, were persons who owed as little as himself, or less than himself, to education. A minister in Europe finds himself, on the first day on which he commences his functions, surrounded by experienced public servants, the depositaries of official traditions. Hastings had no such help. His own reflection, his own energy, were to supply the place of all Downing Street and Somerset House. Having had no facilities for learning, he was forced to teach. He had first to form himself, and then to form his instru- ments ; and this not in a single department, bat in all the departments of the administration. It must be added, that while engaged in this most arduous task, he watt constantly trammelled by orders from home, and frequently borne down by a majority in Council. The preservation of an empire from a formidable combination of fprcij^u enemies, the construction of a 88 WARREN KASTINGS. m government in all its parts, were accomplished by him, while every ah brought out bales of censure from his employers, and while the recordi of every consultation were filled with acrimonious minutes by hij' colleagues. We believe that there never was a public man whose j temper was so severely tried ; not Marlborough, when thwarted by the Dutch Deputies ; not Wellington, when he had to deal at once with the Portuguese Regency, the Spanish Juntas, and Mr. Percival. But the temper of Hastings was equal to almost any trial. It was not sweet; but it was calm. Quick and vigorous as his intellect was, the patience with which he endured the most cruel vexations till a remedy could be found resembled the patience of stupidity. He seems to have been capable of resentment, bitter and long enduring ; yet his resentment go seldom hunied him into any blunder that it nay be doubted whether what appeared to be revenge was anything but policy. The effect of this singular equanimity was that he always had the full command of all the resources of one of the most fertile minds that ever existed. Accordingly no complication of perils and embarrassment could perplex him. For every difficulty he had a contrivance ready ; and, whatever may be thought of the justice and humanity of some of his contrivances, it is certain that they seldom failed to serve the pur- pose for which they were designed. Together with this extraordinary talent for devising expedients, Hastings possessed, in a very high degree, anothi r talent scarcely less necessary to a man in his situation ; we mean the talent for conducting political controversy. It is as necessary to an English statesman in the East that he should be able to write, as it is to a minister in this country that he should be able to speak. It is chiefly by the oratory of a public man here that the nation judges of his powers. It is from the letters and reports of a public man in India that the dispensers of patronage form their estimate of him. In each case, the talent which receives peculiar encouragement is < lev eloped, perhaps at the expense of the other powers. In this country we sometimes hear men speak above their abilities. It is not very unusual to find gentlemen in the Indian servico who write above their abilities. The English politician is a little too much of a debater ; the Indian politician a little too much of an essayist. Of the numerous servants of the Company who have distinguished themselves as framers of minutes and despatches, Hastings stands at the haad. He was indeed the person who gave to the official writing of the Indian governments the character which it still retains. He was matched against no common antagonist: But even Francis was forced REVIEW OP HASTINGS ADMINISTRATION. 89 to acknowledge, with sullen and resentful candour, that there was no contending against the pen of Hastings. And, in truth, tLe Governor- General's power of making out a case, of perplexing what it was incon- venient that people should understand, and of setting in the clearest point of vicv whatever would bear the light, was incomparable. His style must be praised with some reservation. It was in general forcible, pure, and polished ; but it was sometimes, though not often, turgid, and on one or two occasions even bombastic. Perhaps the fondness of Hastings for Persian literature may have tended to corrupt his taste. And, since we have referred to his literary tastes, it would be most unjust not to praise the judicious encouragement which, as a ruler he gave to liberal studies and curious researches. His patronage was ex- tended with prudent generosity, to voyages, travels, experiments, publi- cations. He did little, it is irue, towards introducing into India the learning of the West. To make the young natives of Bengal familiar with Milton and Adam Smith, to substitute the geography, astronomy, and surgery of Europe for the dotages of the Brahminical superstition, or for the imperfect science of ancient Greece, transfused through Arabian expositions, this was a scheme reserved to crown the beneticeut adminis- tration of a far more virtuous ruler. Still, it is impossible to refuse high commendation to a man who, taken from a ledger to govern an empire, overwhelmed by public business, surrounded by people as busy as himself, and separated by thousands of leagues from almost all literary society, gave, both by his example and by his munificence, a great im- pulse to learning. In Persian and Arabic literature he was deeply skilled. With the Sanscrit he was not himself acquainted ; but those who first brought that language to the knowledge of European students owed much to his encouragement. It was under his protection that the Asiatic Society commenced its honourable career. That distinguished body selected him to be its first president, but, with excellent taste and feeling, he declined the honour in favour of Sir William Jones. But the chief advantage which the student of Oriental letters derived from his patronage remains to be mentioned. The Pundits of Bengal had always looked with great jealousy on the attempts of foreigners to pry into those mysteries which were locked up in the sacred dialect. The Brahminical religion had been persecuted by the Mahommedans. What the Hindoos knew of the spirit of the Portuguese Government might warrant them in apprehending persecution from Christians. That apprehension the wisdom and moderation of Hastings removed. He was the first foreign ruler who succeeded in gaining the confidence of the hereditary priests of India, and who induced them to lay open to English scholars the secrets of the old Brahminical theology and jurisprudence. 90 WAKBEN HABTINGS. CHAPTER XXII. Hastings's popularity in bengal. It is, indeed, impossible to deny that in the great art of inspiring large masses of human beings with confidence and attachment, no ruler ever Hurpassed Hastings. If he had made himself popular with the f^nglish by giving up the Bengalees to extortion and oppression, or if, on the other hand, he had conciliated the Bengalees and alienated the English, there would have been no cause for wonder. What is peculiar to him is that, ])eing the chief of a small band of strangers, who exercised boundless power over a great indigenous population, he made himself beloved both by the subject many and the dominant few. The affection felt for him ])y the civil service was singularly ardent and constant. Through all his disasters and perils, his brethren stood by him with steadfast loyalty. The army, at the same time, loved him as armies have seldom loved any but the greatest chiefs who have led them to victory. Even in his dis- putes with distinguished military men, he could always count on the sup- port of the military profession. While such was his empire over the hearts of hia countrymen, he enjoyed among the natives a popularity such as other Governors have perhaps better merited, but sach as no other (jovernor has been able to attain. He spoke their vernacular dia- lects with facility and precision. He was intimately acquainted with their feelings and usages. On one or two occasions, for great ends, he deliberately acted in defiance of their opinion ; but on such occasions he gained more in their respect than he lost in their love. In general, he carefully avoided all that could shock their national or religious pre- judices. His administration was, indeed, in many respects faulty ; but the Bengalee standard of good government was not high. Under the Nabobs, the hurricane of Mahratta cavalry had passed annually over the rich alluvial plain. But even the Mahratta shrank from a conflict with the mighty children of the sea ; and the immense rice harvests of the Lower Ganges were safely gathered in under the protection of the English sword. The first English conquerors had been more rapacious and merciless even than the Mahrattas ; but that generation had passed away. Defective as was the police, heavy as were the public burdens, it is probable that the oldest man in Bengal could not recollect a season of equal security and prosperity. For the first time within living memory the province was placed under a government strong enough to prevent others from robbing, and not inclined to play the robber itself. These thmgs inspired good- will. At the same time, the constant success Hastings' popularity in bknqal. 91 of Hastings, and the manner in which he extricated himself from every (lidifulty, made him an object of superstitious admiration; and the more than regal splendour which he sometimes displayed dazzled a people who have much in common with children. Even now, after the lapse of more than fifty years, natives of India still talk of him as the greatest of the English ; and nurseii sing children to eleep with a jingling ballad about the fleet horses and richly caparisoned elephants of Sahib Warren Hostein. The gravest offence of which Hastings was guilty did not affect his populaiity with the people of Bengal ; for those offences were committed against neighbouring states. Those offences, as our readers must have perceived, we are not disposed to vindicate ; yet, in order that the cen- sure may be justly apportioned to the transgression, it is fit that the motive of the criminal should be taken into consideration. The motive which prompted the worst acts of Hastings was misdirected and ill- regulated public spirit. The rules of justice, the sentiments of humanity, the plighted faith of treaties, were in his view as nothing, when opposed to the immediate interest of the State. This is no justification, according to the principles either of morality, or of what we believe to be identical with morality, namely, far-sighted policy. Nevertheless, the common sense of mankind, which in questions of this sort seldom goes far wrong, will always recognize a distinction between crimes which originat-e in an inordinate zeal for the commonwealth, and crimes which originate in selfish cupidity. To the benefit of this distinction Hastings is fairly en- titled. There is, we conceive, no reason to suspect that the RohiUa war, the revolution of Benares, or the spoliation of the Princesses of Oude, added a rupee to his fortune. We ■will not affirm that, in all pecuniary dealings, he showed that punctilious integrity, that dread of the faintest appearance of evil, which is now the glory of the Indian civil service. But when the school in which he had been trained, and the temptations to which he was exposed are considered, we are more inclined to praise him for his general uprightness with respect to money, than rigidly to blame him for a few transactions which would now be called indelicate and irregular, but which even now would hardly be designated as corrupt. A rapacious man he certainly was not. Had he been so, he would infallibly have returned to his country the richest subject in Europe. We speak within compass when we say that, without applying any extraordinary prewure, he might easily have obtained from the zemindars of the Company's provinces and from neighbouring princes, in the course of thirteen years, more than three million sterling, and might have outshone the splendour of Carlton House and of the Palais 92 WARREN UA8T1MQS. ; m Royal. He brought home a fortune such as a Governor-General, fond of state and careless of thrift, might easily, during so long a tenure of oliice, save out of his legal salary. Mrs. Hastings, we are afraid, whh legg scrupulous. It was generally believed that she accepted presents with great alacrity, and that she thus formed, without the connivance of her husband, a private hoard amounting to several lacs of rupees. We are the more inclined to give credit to this story because Mr. Gleig, who can not but have heard it, does not, as far as we have observed, notice or contradict it. The influence of Mrs. Hastings over her husband was indeed such that she might easily have obtained much larger sums than she was over accused of receiving. At length her health began to give way ; and the Governor-General, much against his will, was compelled to send her to England. He seems to have loved her with that love which is peculiar to men of strong minds, to mec whose affection is not easily won oi widely diffused. The talk of Calcutta ran for some time on the luxurious manner in which he fitted up the roundhouse of an Indiaman for her accommodation, on the profuHion of sandal-wood and carved ivory which adorned her cabin, and on the thousands of rupees which had been ex- pended in order to procure for her the society of an agreeable female companion during the voyage. We may remark here that the letters of Hastings to his wife are exceedingly characteristic. They are tender, and full of indications of esteem and confidence ; but, at the same time, a little more ceremonious than is usual in so intimate a relation. The solemn courtesy with which he compliments "his elegant Marian" reminds us now and then of the dignified air with which Sir Charle'j Grandison bowed over Miss Byron's hand in the cedar parlour. After some months Hastings prepared to follow his wife to Enghmd. When it was announced that he was about to quit his office, the feeling of the society which he had so long governed manifested itself by many signs Addresses poured in from Europeans and Asiatics, from civil functionaries, soldiers, and traders. On the day on which he delivered up the keys of office, a crowd of friends and admirers formed a lane to the quay wheve he embarked. Several barges escorted him far down the river, and some attached friends refused to quit him till the low coast of Bengal was fading from the view, and till the pilot was leaving the ship. TAKES FINAL LEAVE OF INDIA. 93 CHAPTER XXIII. TAKES FINAL LEAVE OF INDIA. Of his voyage little is known, except that he amused himself with l)ooks and with his pen ; and that among the c<>m{)osition8 by which he kguiled the tediouaness of that long leisure, was a pleasing imitation of Horace's Otiinn Divoa rognt. This little poem was inscribed to Mr. Shore, afterwards Ijord Teignmoutb, a man of whose integrity, humanity and honour it is impossible to speak too highly, but who, like some other excellent members of the civil service, extenor- ately brilliant of all the productions of his ingenious mind. The impres- gjon wliich it produced was such as has never been equalled. He sat down, not merely amidst cheering, but amidst the loud clapping of hands, in which the liOrds below the bar and the strangers in the gallery joined. The excitement of the House was such that no other speaker could obtain a hearing ; and the debate was adjourned. The ferment spread fast through the town. Within four and twenty hours Sheridan was oflfered a thousand pounds for the copyright of the speech if he would himself correct it for the press. The impression made by this remarkable display of eloquence on severe and experiencerl critics, whose discernment maybe supposed to have been quickened by emulation, was deep and permanent. Mr. Windham, twenty years later, said that the speech deserved all its fame, and was, in spite of some faults of taste, such as were seldom wanting either in the literary or in the parlia- mentary performances of Sheridan, the finest that had been delivered within the memory of man. Mr. Fox, about the same time, being asked by the late Lord Holland w^hat was the best speech ever made in the House (if Commons, assigned the first i)lace, without hesitation, to the great oration of Sheridan on the Oude charge. When the debate was resumed, the tide ran so strongly against tlie accused that his friends were coughe«l and scraped down. Pitt declared himself for Sheridan's motion ; and the question was carried by a hun- dred and seventy-five votes against sixty-eight. The Opposition, flushed with victory, and strongly supporwjd by the public sympathy, proceeded to bring forward a succession of charges relating chiefly to pecuniary transactions. The friends of Hastings were discouraged, and having now no hope of being able to avert an impeach- ment were not very strenuous in their exertions. At length the House, having agreed to twenty articles of charge, directed Burke to go befoi-e the Lords and to impeach the late Governor- CJeneral of high crimes and misdemeanours. Hastings was at the same time arrested by the sergeant- at-arms and carried to the bar of the Peers. The session was now within ten days of its close. It was, therefore, impossible that any progress could be made in the trial till the next year. Hastings was admitted to bail ; and further proceedings were posti)oned till the Houses should re-assemble. 106 WARREN HASTINGS. When Parliament met in the following winter, the Commons pro- oeeded to elect a committee for managing the impeachment. Burke stood at the head ; and with him were associated most of the leading mem hers of the Opposition. But when the name of Francis was read, a Herce contention arose. It was said that Francis and Hafltings were notori- ously on bad terms, that they had been at feud during many years, that on one occasion their mutual aversion had impelled them to seek each others lives, and that it would be improper and indelicate to sc hot a private enemy to be a public accuser. It was urged on the other side with great force, particularly by Mr. Windham, that impartiality, though the first duty of a judge, had never been reckoned among the qualities of an advocate ; that in the ordinary administration of criminal justice among the English, the aggrieved party, the very last person who ought to be admitted into the jury-box, is the prosecutor ; that what was wanted in a manager was, not that he should be free from bias, but that he should be able, well-informed, energetic, and active. The ability and information of Francis were admitted : and the very animosity with which he was reproached, whether a virtue or a vice, was at least a pledge for his energy and activity. It seems difficult to refute these arguments. But the inveterate hatred borne by Francis to Hastings had excited general disgust. The House decided that Francis should n<.t l)e a manager. Pitt voted with the majority, Dundas with the minoritj CHAPTER XXVIL THE TRIAL IN WESTMINSTER HALL. In the meantime the preparations for the trial had proceeded rapidly, and on the thirteenth of February, 1788, the sittings of the Court com- menced. There have been spectacles more dazzling to the eye, more gorgeous with jewellery and cloth of gold, more attractive to grow n-up children, than that which was then exibited at Westminster ; but per- haps there never was a spectacle so well calculated to strike a highly cultivated, a reflecting, an imaginative mind. All the various kinds of interest which belong to the near and to the distant, to the present and to the past, were collected on one spot and in one hour. All the talents and all the accomplishments which are developed by liberty and civiliza- tion were now displayed, with every advantage that could be derived both from co-operation and from contrast. Every step in the proceed- ings carried the mind either backward, through many troubled centuries, to the days when the foundations of our constitution were laid; TIIK TRIAL IN WESTMINSTER HALL. 107 or far away, over boundleas seas and deBerts, to dupky natiom living under strange stars, worahipping strange gods, and writing strange characters from right to left. The High Court of Parliament was to sit, according to forms handed down from the days of the Plantagenets, on an Englishman accused of exercising tyranny over the lord of the holy city of Benares, and o\ er the ladies of the princely house of Oude. The place was worthy of such a trial. It was the great hall of William KufuH, the hall which had resounded with acclamations of the inaugura- tion of thirty kings, the hall which had witnessed the just sentence of Bacon and the just absolution of Somers, the hall where the eloquence of Straflford had for a moment awed and melted a victorious party in- flamed with just resentment, the hall where Charles had confronted the High Court of Justice with the placid courage which has half-redeemed his fame. Neither military nor civil pomp was wanting. The avenues were lined with grenadiers. The streets were kept clear by cavalry, The Peers, robed in gold and ermine, were marshalled by the heralds under (iarter King-at-arms. The judges in their vestments of state attended to give advice on points of law. Near a hundred and seventy lords— three-fourths of the Upper House, as the Upper House then was —walked in solemn order from their usual place of assembling to the tribunal. The junior Baron present led the way. George Eliott, Lord Heathtield, recently ennobled for his memorable defence of Gibraltar against the fleets and armies of France and Spain. The long procession was closed by the Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal of the Realm, by the great dignitaries, and by the brothers and sons of the King. Last of all came the Prince of Wales, conspicuous by his fine person and noble bearing. The grey old walls were hung with scarlet. The long galleries were crowded by an audience such as has rarely excited the fears or the emulation of an orator. They were gathered together from all parts of a great, free, enlightened, and prosperous empire, grace and female loveli- iiees, wit and learning, the representatives of every science and of every art. There were seated round the Queen the fair-haired young daughters of the house of Brunswick. There the ambassadors of great kings and commonwealths gazed with admiration on a spectacle which no other country in the world could present. There Siddons, in the prime of her majestic beauty, looked with emotion on a scene surpassing all the imita- tatioQs of the stage. There the historian of the Roman Empire thought of the days when Cicero pleaded the cause of Sicily against Verres, and when, before a Senate which still retained some show of freedom, Tacitus thundered against the oppressor of Africa. There were seen, side by aide, the greatest painter and the greatest scholar of the age. The spec- 108 WARHEN lIASTINOa. |.^ tAcle had allured Reynoldi* from that easel which has preserved to us the thoughtful foreheads of so many writers and stateHiiien, and the Hwtit ■miles of so many nohlu matrons. It had induced I'arr to suspend hin labours in that dark and i)rofound mine from which he had extracted a vast trensure of erudition, a treasure too often buried in the earth, too often paraded with injudiciotis and inelegant ostentation, but still pre- cious, massive, and splendid. There appeared the voluptuous charms of her to whom the heir of the throne had in secret plighted his faith. There, too, was she, the beautiful mother of a beautiful race, the Saint CJecilia, whose delicate features, lighted up by love and music, art hag lescued from the common decay. There were the members of that bril- liant society which quoted, criticised, and exchanged repartees under the rich peacock hangings of Mrs. Montague. And there the ladies whose lips, more persuasive than those of Fox himself, had carried the West- minster election against palace and treasury, shone round Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. The Sergeants made proclamation. Hastings advanced to the bar, and bent his knee. The culprit was indeed not unworthy of that great pre- sence. He had ruled an extensive and populous country, had made laws and treaties, had sent forth armies, had set up and pulled down princes. And in his high place he had so borne himself, that a)] had feared him, that moat had loved him, and that hatred itself could deny him no title to glory, except virtue. He looked like a great man, and not like a bad man. A person small and emaciated, yet deriving dignity from a carriage which, while it indicated deference to the court, indi- cated also habitual self-possession and self-respect, a high and intellectual forehead, a brow pensive but not gloomy, a mouth of inflexible decision, a face pale and worn, but serene, on which was written, as legibly as under the picture in the council chamber at Calcutta, Mens cequn in arduis ; such was the aspect with which the great Proconsul presented himself to his judges. His counsel accompanied him, men all of whom were afterwards raised by their talents and learning to the highest posts in their profession, the bold and strong-minded Law, afterwards Chief Justice of the King's Bench ; the more humane and eloquent Dallas, afterwards Chief Justice of the Common Pleas; and Plomer, who, near twenty years later, successfully conducted in the same high court the defence of Lord Mel- ville, and subsequently became Vice- Chancellor and Master of the Rolls. But neither the culprit nor his advocates attracted so much notice as the accusers. In the midst of the blaze of red drapery, a space had been THE TRIAL IN WESTMINSTER HALL. 109 fitted up with green benches and tables for the Oommons. The mana- ger«, with Burke at their head, appeared in full dress. The collectors of gossip did not fail to remark that even Fox, generally so regardless of his appearance, had paid to the illustrious tribunal the compliment of wearing a bag and sword. Pitt had refused to be one of the conduc- tors of the impeachment ; and his commanding, copious, and sonorous eloquence was wanting to that great muster of various talents. Age and blindness has unfitted Lord North to the duties of a public prosecutor ; and \m friends were left without the help of his excellent sense, his tact, and his urbanity. But, in spite of the absence of these two dis- tinguished members of the Lower House, the box in which the managers stood contained nn array of speakers such as perhaps had not appeared together since the great age of Athenian eloquence. There were Fox and Sheridan, the English Demosthenes and the English Hyperides. There was Burke, ignorant, indeed, or negligent of the art of adapting his reasonings and his stylo to the capacity and taste of his hearers, but in amplitude of comprehension and richness of imagination superior to eery orator, ancient.or modern. There, with eyes reverentially fixed on Burke, appeared the finest gentleman of the age, his form developed by every manly exercise, his face beaming with intelligence and spirit, the ingenuous, the chivalrous, the high-souled Windham. Nor, though surrounded by such men, did the youngest manager pass unnoticed. At an age when most of those who distinguish themselves in life are still contending for prizes and fellowships at college, he had won for himself a conspicuous place in Parliament. No advantage of fortune or connec- tion was wanting that could set off to the height his splendid talents and his unblemished honour. At twenty-three he had been thought worthy to be ranked with the veteran statesmen who appeared as the delegates of the British Commons, at the bar of the British nobility. All who stood at that bar, save him alone, are gone, culprit, advocates, accusers. To the generation which is now in the vigour of life, he is the sole representative of a great age which has passed away. But those who within the last ten years, have listened M'ith delight, till the morning aun shone on the tapestries of the House of Lords, to the lofty and ani- mated eloquence of Charles Earl Grey, are able to form some estimate of the powers of a race of men among whom he was not the foremost m no WARREN HASTINGS. CHAPTER XXVIIL Mi BURKE S IMPEACaMENT. The charges and the answers of Hastings were first read. The cere- mony occupied two whole days, and was rendered less tedious than it would otherwise have been by the silver voice and just emphasis of Cowper, the clerk of the court, a near relation of the amiable poet. On the third day Burke rose. Four sittings were occupied by his open- ing speech, which was intended 'to be a general introduction to all the charges. With an exuberance of thought and a splendour of diction which more than satisfied the highly raised expectation of the audience, he des- cribed the character and institutions of the natives of India, recounted the circumstances in which the Asiatic empire of Britain had originated, and set forth the constitution of the Company and of the English Presi- dencies. Havi ig thus attempted to communicate to his hearers an idea of Eastern society, as vivid as that which existed in his own mind, he proceeded to arraign the administration of Hastings as systematically conducted in defiance of morality and public law. The energy and pathos of the great orator extorted expressions of unwonted admiration from the stern and hostile Chancellor, and, for a moment, seemed to pierce even the resolute heart of the defendant. The ladies in the galleries, unaccustomed to such displays of eloquence, excited by the solemnity of the occasion, and perhaps not unwilling to display their taste and sensibility, were in a state of uncontrollable emotion. Handkerchiefs were pulled outj smelling-bottles were handed round; hysterical sobs and screams were heard ; and Mrs. Sheridan was carried out in a fit. At length the orator concluded. Raising his voice till the old arches of Irish oak resounded, "Therefore," said he, "hath it with all confidence been ordered, by the Commons of Great Britain, that I impeach Warren Hastings of high crimes and misdemeanours. I impeach him in the name of the Commons' House of Parliament, whose trust he has betrayed. I impeach him in the name of the English nation, whose ancient honour he has sullied. I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose rights he has trodden under foot, and whose country he has turned into a desert. Lastly, in the name of human nature itself, in the name of both sexes, in the name of every age, in the name of every rank, I impeach the common enemy and oppressor of aUI" When the deep murmur of various emotions had subsided, Mr. Fox rose to address the Lords respecting the course of proceeding to be fol- Burke's impeachment. Ill lowed. The wish of the accusers was that the Court would bring to a close the investigation of the first charge before the second was opened. The wish of Hastings and of his counsel was that the managers should open all the charges, and produce all the evidence for the prosecution, before the defence began. The Lords retired to their own House to con- sider the question. The Chancellor took the side of Hastings. Lord Loughborough, who was now in opposition, supported the demand of the managers. The division showed which way the inclination of the tribu- nal leaned. A majority of near three to one decided in favour of the course for which Hastings contended. When the Court sat again, Mr. Fox, assisted by Mr. Grey, opened the charge respecting Cheyte Sing, and several days were spent in reading papers and hearing witnesses. The next article was that relating to the Princesses of Oude. The conduct of this part of the case was en- trusted to Sheridan. The curiosity of the public to hear him was un- bounded. His sparkling and highly finished declamation lasted two days ; but the hall was crowded to suflfocation during the whole time. It was said that fifty guineas had been paid for a single ticket. Sheri- dan, when he concluded, contrived, with a knowledge of stage effect which his father might have envied, to sink back, as if exhausted, into the arms of Burke, who hugged him with the energy of generous admiration. June was now far advanced. The session could not last much longer ; and the progress which had been made in the impeachment was not very satisfactory. There were twenty charges. On two only of these had even the case for the prosecution been heard ; and it was now a year since Hastings had been admitted to bail. The interest taken by the public in the trial was great when the Court began to sit, and rose to the height when Sheridan spoke on the charge relating to the Begums. From that time the excitement went down fast. The spectacle had lost the attraction of novelty. The great dis- plays of rhetoric were over. What was behind was not of a nature to entice men of letters from their books in the morning, or to tempt ladies who had left the masquerade at two to be out of bed before eight. There remained examinations and cross-examinationr,. There remained statements of accounts. There remained the reading of papers, filled with words unintelligible to English ears, with lacs and crores, zemin- dars and aumils, sunnuds and perwannahs, jahires and nuzzurs. There remained bickerings, not always carried on with the best taste or with the best temper, between the managers of the impeachment and the counsel for the defence, particularly between Mr. Burke and Mr. Law. 112 WARREN HASTINGS. There remained the endless marches and countermarches of the Peers between their House and the Hall ; for as often as a point of law was to be discussed, their Lordships retired to discuss it apart, and the conse- quence was, as a Peer wittily said, that the judges walked and the trial stood still. It is to be added that, in the spring of 1788, when the trial commenced, no important question, either of domestic or foreign policy, occupied the public mind. The proceeding in Westminster Hall, therefore, naturally attracted most of the attention of Parliament and of the country. It was the one great event of that season. But in the following year the King's illness, the debates on the Regency, the expectation of a change of ministry, completely diverted public attention from Indian affairs ; and within a fortnight after George the Third had returned thanks in St. Paul's for his recovery, the States-General of France met at Ver- sailles. In the midst of the agitation produced by these events, the im- peachment was for a time almost forgotten. The trial in the Hall went on languidly. In the session of 1788, when the proceedings had the interest of novelty, and when the Peers had little other business before them, only thirty-five days were given to the impeachment. In 1789 the Regency Bill occupied the Upper House till the session was far advanced. When the King recovered, the circuits were beginning. The judges left town ; the Lords waited for the return of the oracles of jurisprudence ; and the consequence was that during the whole year only seventeen days were given to the case of Hastings, It was clear that the matter would be protracted to a length unprecedented in the annals of criminal law. In truth, it is impossible to deny that impeachment, though it is a fine ceremony, and though it may have been useful in the seventeenth century, is not a proceeding from which much good can now be expected. Whatever confidence may be placed in the decision of the Peers on an appeal arising out of ordinary litigation, it is certain that no man has the least confidence in their impartiality when a great public functionary, charged with a great state crime, is brought to their bar. They are all politicians. There is hardly one among them whose vote on an impeach- ment may not be confidently predicted before a witness has been examined; and, even if it were possible to rely on their justice, they would still be quite unfit to try such a cause as that of Hastings. They sit only during half the year. They have to transact much legislative and much judicial business. The law-lords whose advice is required to guide the up.learned majority, are employed daily in administering justice elsewhere. It is impusoible, therefore, that during a busy session the THE ACQUITTAL OF HASTINGS. 113 Upper House should give more than a few days to an impeachment. To expect that their Lordships would give up partridge-shooting in order I to bring the greatest delinquent to speedy justice, or to relieve accused innoceuce by speedy acquittal, would be unreasonable indeed. A well- constituted tribunal, sitting regularly six days in the week and nine hours in the day, would have brought the trial of Hastings to a close in less than three months. The Lords had not finished their work in seven years. The result ceased to be matter of doubt from the time when the Lords I resolved that they would be guided by the rules of evidence which are received in the inferior courts of the realm. Those rules, it is well known, exclude much information which would be quite sufficient to determine the conduct of any reasonable man in the most important I transactions of private life. These rules at every assizes save scores of culprits whom judges, jury, and spectators firmly believe to be guilty. But when those rules were rigidly applied to offences committed many years before, at the distance of many thousands of miles, conviction was, of course, out of the question. We do not blame the accused and his counsel for availing themselves of every legal advantage in order to obtain an acquittal ; but it is clear than an acquittal so obtained cannot be pleaded in bar of the judgment of history. CHAPTER XXIX. THE ACQUITTAL OF HASTINGS. Several attempts were made by the friends of Hastings to put a stop to the trial. In 1789 they proposed a vote of censure upon Burke for some violent language which he had used respecting the death of Nunconiar and the connection between Hastings and Impey. Burke was then unpopular in the last degree both with the House and with the country. The asperity and indecency of some expressions which he had used during the debates on the Regency had annoyed even his warmest friends. The vote of censure was carried ; and those who had moved it hoped that the managers would resign in disgust. Burke was deeply hurt. But his zeal for what he considered as the cause of justice and mercy triumphed over his personal feelings. He received the censure of the House with dignity and meekness, and declared that no personal mortitication or humiliation should induce him to flinch from tiie sacred duty which he had undertaken. In the following year the Parliament was dissolved ; and the friends 8 114 WARREN HASTINGS. of Hastiuga entertained a hope that the uew House of Commons niiglitj not be disposed to go on with the impeachment. They began by maiuJ taiuing that the whole proceeding was terminated by the dissohition.f Defeated on this point, they made a direct motion that the impeach ineutl should be dropped ; but they were defeated by the combined foioea ofl the Government and the Opposition. It was, however, resolved that,] for the sake of expedition, many of the articles should be withdrawn. In truth, had not some such measure been adopted, the trial would have) lasted till the defendant was in his grave. At length, in the spring of 1795, the decision was pronounced, near] eight years after Hastings had been brought by the Sergeant-at-Arms of] the Commons to the bar of the Lords. On the last day of this great pro- cedure the public curiosity, long suspended, seemed to be revived. Anxiety about the judgment there could be none ; for it had been fully! ascertained that there was a great majority for the defendant. Never- theless many wished to see the pageant, and the Hall was as much I crowded as on the first day. But those who, having been present on the first day, now bore a part in the proceedings of the last, were few, andj most of those few were altered men. As Hastings himself said, the arraignment had taken place before one I generation, and the judgment was pronounced by another. The specta- tor could not look at the woolsack, or at the red benches of the Peers, or at the green benches of the Commons, without seeing somethiui,' that I reminded him of the instability of all human things, of the instability of power and fame and life, of the more lamentable instability of friend- ship. The Great Seal was borne before Lord Loughborough, who, when I the trial commenced, was a fierce opponent of Mr. Pitt's government, and who was now a member of that government, while Thurlow, who presided in the court when it first sat, estranged from all hi^ old allies, sat scowling among the junior Barons. Of about a hundred and sixty nobles who walked in the procession on the first day, sixty had been I laid in their family vaults. Still more affecting must have been the .sight | of the managers' box. What had become of that fair fellowship, so closely biMind tcither by public and private ties, so resplendent with ; every talent and accomplishment ? It had been scattered by calamities more bitter than the bitterness of death. The great chiefs were still j Uving, and still in the full vigour of their genius. But their friendship | was at an end. It had been violently and publicly dissolved, with tears and stormy reproaches. If those men, once so dear to each other, were I now compelled to meet for the purpose of managing the impeachment, they met as strangers whom public business had brought together, and THE ACQUITTAL OP HASTINGS. 115 I behaved to each other with cold and distant civility. Burke had in his vortex whirled away Windham. Fox had been followed by Sheridan 1 and (Jrey. Only twenty-nine Peers voted. Of these only six found Hastings guilty I on the charges relating to Cheyto Sing and to the Begums. On other charges, the majority in his favour was still greater. On some he was unauiinously absolved. He was then called to the bar, was informed from the woolsack that the Lords had acquitted him, and was solemnly I discharged. He bowed respectfully and retired. We have said that the decision had been fully expected. It was also I generally approved. At the commencement of the trial there had been a strong and indeed unreasonable feeling against Hastings. At the close of the trial there Was a feeling equally strong and equally unreasonable in Ms favour. One cause of the change was, no doubt, what is commonly called the fickleness of the multitude, but what seems to us to be merely the general law of human nature. Both in individuals and in masses violent excitement is always followed by remission, and often by reaction. \Ve are all inclined to depreciate whatever we have overpraised, and, on the other hand, to show undue indulgence where we have shown undue rigour. It was thus in the case of Hastings. The length of his trial, moreover, made him an object of compassion. It was thought, and not without reason, that, even if he was guilty, he was still an ill-used man, and that an impeachnftent of eight years was more than a sufficient pun- ishment. It was also felt that, though, in the ordinary course of criminal law, a defendant is not allowed to set ofif his good actions against his crimes, a great political cause should be tried on diflferent principles, and that a man who had governed an empire during thirteen years might have done some very reprehensible things, and yet might be on the whole deserving of rewards and honours rather than of tine and imprisonment. The press, an instrument neglected by the prosecutors, was used by Hastings and his friends with great effect. Every ship, too, that arrived from Madras or Bengal, brought a cuddy-full of his admirers. Every gentleman from India spoke of the late Governor-General as having deserved better, and having been treated worse, than any man living. The effect of this testimony unanimously given by all persons who knew the East, was naturally very great. Retired members of the Indian ser- vices, civil and military, were settled in all corners of the kingdom. Each of them was, of course, in his own little circle, regarded as an oracle on an Indian question ; and they were, with scarcely one exception, the zealous advocates of Hastings. It is to be added that, the numeroug addresses to the late Governor-General, which his friends in Bengal 116 WARREN HAStlNOS. m ': It .. ■: I J obtained from the natives and transmitted to England, made considerable impression. To these addresses we attach little or nd importance. That Hastings was beloved by the people vhom hi governed is true ; but the eulogies of pundits, zemindars, Mahomniedai| doctors, do not prove it to be true. For an English collector or judjj would have found it easy to induce any native who could write to si^ a panegyric on the most odious ruler that ever was in India. It wa said that at Benares, the very place at which the acts set forth in th^ first article of impeachment had been committed, the natives ha(j erected a temple to Hastings ; and this story excited a strong censatioij in England. Burke's observations on the apotheosis were admirable] He saw no reason for astonishment, he said, in the incident which haq been represented as so striking. He kiiew somethins; of the mytholog of the Brahmins. He knew that as they worshipped some gods fron love, so they worshipped others from fear. He knew that thejj erected shrines, not only to the benignant deities of light and plentyJ but also to the fiends who preside over smallpox and murder ; nor di([ he at all dispute the claim of Mr. Hastings to be admitted into such i Pantheon. This reply has always struck us as one of the finest tha| ever was made in Parliament. It is a grave and forcible argumentj decorated by the most brilliant wit and fancy. Hastings was, however, safe. But in everything except character, h^ would have been far better off if, when first impeached, he had at ono^ pleaded guilty, and paid a fine of fifty thousand pounds. He was i ruined man. The legal expenses of his defence had been enormou8| The expenses which did not appear in his attorney's bill were perliap larger still. Great sums had been paid to Major Scott. Great sum had been laid out in bribing newspapers, rewarding pamphleteers, an^ circulating tracts. Burke, so early as 1790, declared in the House Commons that twenty thousand pounds had been employed in corrupting the press. It is certain that no controversial weapon, from the graves reasoning to the coarsest ribaldry, was left unemployed. Logan defeiided the accused Governor with great ability in prose. For the lovers o| verso, th-^ speeches of the managers were burlesqued in Simpkin's icitter TI: J -'"■ ■ Hre afraid, indisputable that Hastings stooped so low as i.ot. Ij lUo .M'l of that malignant and filthy baboon John Williams, whii \X>\(>1 jUi^mself Anthony Pasquin. It was necessary to subsidise suclj Hiller. 'y-: \. The private hoards of Mrs. Hastings had disappeare It is said that the banker to whom they had been entrusted had faile Still if Hastings had practised strict economy, he would, after all bi losses, have had a moderate competence ; but in the management of hii THE ACQUITTAL OP HASTINGS. 117 private affairs he was imprudent. The dearest wish of his heart had lilways been to regain Daylesford. At length, in the very year in which trial commenced, the wish was accomplished ; and the domain, [alienated more than seventy years before, returned to the descendant of its old lords. But the manor house was a ruin ; and the gr ounds round itiiad, during many years, been utterly neglected. Hastings proceeded I to build, to plant, to form a sheet of water, to excavate a grotto ; and, before he was dismissed from the bar of the House of Lords, he had expended more than forty thousand pounds in adorning his seat. The general feeling both of the Directors and of the proprietors of the I East India Company was that he had great claims on them, that his Ijervices to them had been eminent, and that his misfortunes had been I the effect of his zeal for their interest. His friends in Leadenhall Street proposed to reimburse him the costs of his trial, and to settle on I Mm an annuity of five thousand pounds a year. But the consent of the I Board of Control was necessary ; and at the head of the Board of Control I was Mr. Dundas, who had himself beeji a party to the impeachment» wlio had, on that account, been reviled with great bitterness by the I adherents of Hastings, and who, therefore, was not in a very complying I mood. He refused to consent to what the Directors suggested. The Directors remonstrated. A long controversy followed. Hastings, in the meantime, was reduced to such distress that he could hardly pay his weekly bills. At length a compromise was made. An annuity for life of four thousand pounds was settled on Hastings ; and in order to enable Mm to meet pressing demands, he was to receive ten years' annuity in advance. The Company was also permitted to lend him fifty thousand pounds, to be repaid by instalments without interest. This relief, though given in the most absurd manner, was sufiicient to enable the retired Governor to live in comfort, and even in luxury, if he had been askilful manager. But he was careless and profuse, and was more than once under the necessity of applying to the Company for assistance, I which was liberally given . He had security and affluence, but not the power and dignity which, I when he landed from India, he had reason to expect. He had then looked forward to a coronet, a red riband, a seat at the Council Board, an office at Whitehall. He was then only fifty-two, and might hope for many years of bodily and mental vigour. The case was widely different when he left the bar of the Lords. He was now too old a man to turn his mind to a new class of studies and duties. He had no chance of reciving any [mark of royal favour while Mr. Pitt remained in power ; and, when Mr. Pitt retired, Hastings was approaching his seventieth year. 118 WARREN HASTINGS. Once, and only once, after his acquittal, he interfered in politics ; and that interference was not much to his honour. In 1804 he exerted him- self strenuously to prevent Mr. Addington, against whom Fox and Pitt had combined, from resigning the Treasury. It is difficult to believe that a man, so able and energetic as Hastings, can have thought that, when Bonaparte was at Boulogne with a great army, the defence of our island could safely be entrusted to a ministry which did not contain a single person whom flattery could describe as a great statesman. It is also certain that, on the important question which had raised Mr. Ad- dington to power, and on which he differed from both Fox and Pitt, Hastings, as might have been expected, ^vgreed with Fox and Pitt, and was decidedly opposed to Addington. Religious intolerance has never been the vice of the Indian service, and certainly was not the vice of Hastings. But Mr. Addington had treated him with marked favour. Fox had been a principal manager of the impeachment. To Pitt it was owing that there had been an impeachment ; and Hastings, we fear, was on this occasion guided by personal considerations, rather than by a regard to the public interest. CHAPTER XXX. IN RETIREMEXT — DEATH. The last twenty-four years of his life were chiefly spent at Daylesford. He amused himself with embellishing his grounds, riding fine Arab horses fattening prize-cattle, and trying to rear Indian animals and vegetables in England. He sent for seeds of a very fine custard-apple, from the garden of what had once been his own villa, among the green hedgerows of AUipore. He tried also to naturalise in Worcestershire the delicious leechee, almost the only fruit of Bengal which deserves to be regretted even amidst the plenty of ( !oveut Garden. The Mogul emperors, in the time of their greatness, had in vain attempted to introduce into Hindos- tan the goat of the table-land of Thibet, whose down supplies the looms of Cashmere with the materials of the finest shawls. Hastings tried with no better fortune, to rear a breed at Daylesford ; nor does he seem to have succeeded better with the cattle of Bootan, whose tails are in high esteem as the best fans for brushing away the mosquitoes. Literature divided his attention with his conservatories and his men- agerie. He had always loved books, and they were now necessary to him. Though not a poet, in any high sense of the word, he wrote neat and polished lines with great facility, and was fond of exercising this IN RETIREMENT — DEATH. 119 talent. Indeed, if we must apeak out, he seems to have been more of a Trissotin than was to be expected from the powers of his mind, and from the great part which he had played in life. We are assured in these memoirs that the first thing which he did in the morning was to write a copy of verses. When the family and guests assembled, the poem made its appearance as regularly as the eggs and rolls ; and Mr. Clleig requires us to believe that, if from any accident Hastings came to the breakfast- table without one of his charming performances in his baud, the omission was felt by all as a grievous disappointment. Tastes differ widely. For ourselves, we must say that, however good the breakfasts at Daylesford may have been, — and we are assured that the tea was of the most aro- matic flavour, and that neither tongue nor venison-pasty was wanting, we should have thought the reckoning high if we had been forced to earn our repast by listening every day to a new madrigal or sonnet com- posed by our host. We are glad, however, that Mr. Glcig has preserved this little feature of character, though we think it by no means a beauty. It is good to be often reminded of the inconsistency of human nature, and to learn to look without wonder or disgust on the weaknesses which are found in the strongest minds. Dionysius in old times, Frederic in the last century, with capacity and vigour equal to the conduct of the great- est affairs, united all the little vanities and affectations of provincial blue-stockings. These great examples may console the admirers of Hastings for the affliction of seeing him reduced to the level of the Hayleys and Sewards, When Hastings had passed many years in retirement, and had long outlived the common age of men, he again became for a short time an object of general attention. In 1813 the charter of the East India Tompany was renewed ; and much discussion about Indian affairs took jilice in Parliament. It was determined to examine witnesses at the bar of the Commons ; and Hastings was ordered to attend. He had appeared at that bar once before. It was when he read his answer to the charges which Burke had laid on the table. Since that time twenty-seven years had elapsed ; public feeling had undergone a complete change ; the nation had now forgotten his faults, and remembered only his services. The reappearance, too, of a man who had been among the most dis- tinguished of a generation that had passed away, who now belonged to history, and who seemed to have risen from the dead, could not but produce a solemn and pathetic effect. The Commons received him with acclamations, ordered a chair to be set for him, and when he retired, rose and uncovered. There were, indeed, a few who did not sympathize with the general feeling. One or two of the managers of the impeach- 120 WARREN HASTINGS. h 4 mcnt were present. They sate in the same seats which they had occupied when they had been thanked for the services which they I, ad rendered in Westminster Hall ; for, by the courtesy of the House, a member who has been thanked in his place is considered as having a right always to occupy that place. These gentlemen were not disposed to admit that they had employed several of the best years of their lives in persecuting an innocent man. They accordingly kept their seats, and pulled their hats over their brows ; but the exceptions only made the prevaib'ng enthusiasm more remarkable. The Lords received the old man with similar tokens of respect. The University of Oxford conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws ; and, in the Sheldonian Theatre, the undergraduates welcomed him with tumultuous cheering. These marks of public esteem were soon followed by marks of royal favour. Hastings was sworn of the Privy Council, and was admitted to a long private audience of the Prince Regent, who treated him very graciously. When the Kmperor of Russia and the King of rru^ssia visited England, Hastings ap[)eared in their train both at Oxford and in the Guildhall of London, and, though surrounded by a crowd of princes and great warriors, was everywhere received with marks of respect and admiration. He was presented by the Prince Regent both to Alexander and to Frederic William ; and His Royal Highness went so far as to declare in public that honours far higher than a seat in the Privy Council were due, and would soon be paid, to the man who had saved the British dominions in Asia. Hastings now confidently expected a peerage ; but, from some unexplained cause, he was again disappointed. He lived about four years longer, in the enjoyment of good spirits, of faculties not impaired to any painful or degrading extent, and of health such as is rarely enjoyed by those who attain such an age. At length, on the twenty-second of August, 1818, in the eighty-sixth year of his age, he met death with the same tranquil and decorous fortitude which he had opposed to all the trials of his various and eventful life. With all his faults— and they were neither few nor small — only one cemetery was worthy to contain his remains. In that temple of silence and reconciliation where the enmities of twenty generations lie buried, in the great Abbey which has during many ages afforded a quiet resting- place ta those whose minds and bodies have been shattered by the con- tentions of the Great Hall, the dust of the illustrious accused should have mingled with the dust of the illustrious accusers. This was not to be. Yet the place of interment was not ill chosen. Behind the chancel of the parish church of Daylesford, in earth which already held the bones of many chiefs of the house of Hastings, was laid the coflSn of IN RETIREMENT — DEATH. ISl the greatest man who has ever borne that ancient and widely extended name. On that very spot, probably, fourscore years before, the little Warren meanly clad and scantily fed, had played with the children of ploughmen. Even then his young mind had revolved plans which might be called romantic. Yet, however romantic, it is not likely that they had been so strange as the truth. Not only had the poor orphan retrieved the fallen fortunes of his line— not only had he repurchased the old lands and rebuilt the old dwelling— he had preserved and extended an empire. He had founded a polity. He had administered government and war with more than the capacity of Richelieu. He had patronized learning with the judicious liberality of Cosmo. He had been attacked by the most formidable combination of enemies that ever sought the destruction of a single victim ; and over that combination, after a struggle of ten years, he had triumphed. He had at length gone down to his grave in the fulness of age, in peace, after so many troubles, in honour, after so much obloquy. Those who look on his character without favour or malevolence will pronounce that, in the two great elements of all social virtue, in respect for the rights of others, and in sympathy for the sufferings of others, he was deficient. His principles were somewhat lax. His heart was somewhat hard. But though we cannot with truth describe him either as a righteous or as a merciful ruler, we cannot regard without admiration the amplitude and fertility of his intellect, his rare talents for command, for administration, and for controversy, his dauntless courage, his honourable poverty, his fervent zeal for the interests of the State, his noble equanimity, tried by both extremes of fortune, and never disturbed by either. NOTES. -♦— — Chapter I. Our feellner . • 1813— Note in the illustration Macaulay's Judicial attitude. Oliver Cromwell -(1699-1658) a zealous Puritan aneace with America, he was prosecuted and lied to France. In 1768 he returned, and was elected to Parliament for Middlesex. He was thrice expelled from the House, and his expulsion gave rise to prolonged agitation and rioting. In this agitation the freedom of the press was first asserted, and the rights of constituencies against violation of the Constitution on the part of a despotic majority in the House of Commons, were vindicated. Chapter XL Sir Elijah Impey— -Ste« note Chapter I. Inns of Court- the four Law Societies of London— the Inner and Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and Gray's Inn. Mahrattas— This famous Hindoo confederacy, which had its rise in 1650 and its downfall in 1818, was composed of the several independent tribes ruled at various times by the chiefs Bonsla, Sevajee, Scindia, Holkar, and the Guicowar of Baroda. Each reigning house had its own distinctive territory, though they all raided, not only over the Deccan, but at times over nearly the whole of Hindostmi. The English contests with the Mahrattas occurred during the years 1779-81, 1803-4, and 1817-18. With the latter year the Mahratta power was completely broken. The son of the last reigning Rajah, who was a British prisoner in the neighbourhood of Cawnpore, was the infamous Nana Saiiib, whose connection with the mutiny of 1857 is historic. Some . • . helpless. —Note in the apt illustration in the first sentence of this passage the fate which not infrequently, though perhaps undeservedly', befalls a man whom fortune deserts. Note, also, to what lengths Asiatic mendacity went in the endeavour to accomplish Haetings' ruin, and see what befel Nuncomar in the way of retaliation. Gates, Bedloe, Dangerfleld— three scoundrels who, at the close of the 17th century, pretended to have discovered that plots against the English Government were being hatched by Catholics. Westminster Hall— the " Hall of Rufus," the great historic edifice built by William II., which adjoins the English Houses of Parliament. 130 NOTES. Biographers excepted — a saroastio referenc^c to Hastings' biographer, Mr. Olei^r, who wished to relieve the Governor of responHihility for the fate of Nuncoraar. Macaulav, while he oondemus the act, holds Chief Juytioe Impey, and not Jiastin^H, responsible. Chapter XII. Dacca— once the capital of Bengal, 150 miles N.E. of Calcutta. Lord Stafford— a Catholic nobleman executed in 1680 on a charge of treason made by Titus Gates. See note to page 31, line 1. Tour to the Hebrides— an account of a visit paid by Dr. Samuel Johnson to the Scottish Hebrides, published in 1778. Jones's Per?H'0 "■' r^Tnar— « work published in 1771 by the eminent Asiatic scholar, Sir Willia-. i Jones 7^'5-94X Chapter XIII. Would . . . W>n"M>-ict>eth, Act 1, 80. V. Court of Proprie «>!>*-* 'x rieral meeting of the B. I. Company shareholders. Lord Sandwich— Joh 11 "'y, ,.' (i718-92X an English statesman. Berar— one of the centi.*. prov'Jnc^ fd Irdia, made over to British administration by the Nizam of "ilyderabad. III CnAJl»TEll Alv''. The crisis . . . dominions— England was at that time at war with America, France, Spain, and Holland. The personal ministry of George III. was as disastrous as the ministry ot the first Pitt under George II. had been glorious. See Macaulay's review of Hastings' administration, Chapter XXI. Armed . . . Baltic— a mutual compact by Russia, Sweden Mad Denmark to resist England's right of search on the high seas. Straits of Galpe— Straits of Gibraltar. Sevajee— (1627-80) founder of the Mahratta confederacy. He long waged war against the Mogul dynasty, and from the Emperor Aurungzebe extorted recognition of his kingdom. The Bonslas . . . Holkar— ^iee note on the Mahrattas, Chapter XI. Quzerat— a province in Western Hindostan, on the Gulf of Cambay; capital, Baroda. Malwa— a district to the east of Guzerat and south of Bundelound. Qootl— a fortified point on the Eastern Ghauts, to the north of Mysore. Tanjore— a district in South-eastern India. Double Government— The two system of rules in India— the one established by Clive and abolished by Hastings, and the other which arose out of the growin}? power of the inuependent princes and the decline of Mogul authority at Delhi ; not to be confounded with " Double Government," Chapter VI. House of Tamerlane -descendants of llmur, the Tartar, who in 1400 founded a new dynasty In the Mogul kingdom. Roi foineant (noah fd-nd-ong)-a, lazy, do-nothing King. Sattara — a fortified town on the Western Ghauts, south of Bombay. Peshwa— The titular head of the Mahratta confederacy at Poonah. Poonah— Formerly the capital of the Western Mahrattas, to the south of Bombay. NOTES. 131 AtU^ung^abad-- « oity lyln^r to the n. e. of Bombay, a fovourite residence of the I'.rnperor Aurungzebe. Bejapoor -a town in Bombay Presidency, west of Hyderabad. Louis XVI.— (1754-93) King of France, beheaded during the Revolution. His consort, Marie Antoinette, was executed nine months after him. Cairo— On the Nile ; capital of Egypt. Pondicherry— a city south of Madras, and chief of the French possessions in the Camatio. It was captured by the English in 1700, and restored to the French in 1816. See sketch of Indian history. Lascars— Native seamen of India. Sir Eyre Coote— an Irish Qeneral in the British army, victor at Wandewash, 1760 ; at Pondicherry, 1761 ; and at Porto Novo, 1781. In this last enerapement Hyder Ali wag defeated, and shortly afterwards the first Mysore war waa brought to a close. Lally, Thomas — an Irishman in the French ser\ ice, who commanded at Wande- wash anfl Pondicherry. Wandewash— a French stronghold in the Camatic, situate between Madras and Pondicherry. PoUilore, Porto Novo— two villages in the southern part of Mysore, scenes of the above-mentioned engagements. Chapter XV. The "Regulating Act," 1773--Sre« Green's "Short History," chap. X., sec. II., p. 758. Wat Tyler -the leader of a peasant insurrection in Kent in 1380, the origin of which was a taxgatherer's insult to a young girl of Dartford. Tyler was slain by the Lord Mayor of London. Alguazils— (aFgra'zeeZs) a Spanish term for an inferior officer of justice. Spongfing-houses- places to which debtors used to be taken before committment to prison, and where bailiffs used to sponge upon them, or riot at their cost. See Johnson's Dictionary. Rich, quiet, and infamous— Note the epigrammatic force of these words, and with what Drevity they summarize the transaction. Jefteries — (sometimes, Jeffreys) a judge of unsavoury fame who conducted the "Bloody Assize" after the Monmouth Rebellion, 1685. Chapter XVI. Dervise— a Mohammedan priest or monk of great austerity and professing poverty. Louis XI.— King of France (1461-83) "of iron will and subtle though pitiless nature," Hyder Ali— The two strongest Mussulman potentates in India at this period were the Nizam of the Deccan and Hyder Ali, of Mysore. Both were anxious to induce the Mahrattas to join them against the English. The Nizam of Hyderabad and the Mahratta of Nagpore, Hastings, by his diplomacy, had pacified. The ruler of Mysore, incensed at the reckless conduct of the Madras Government, had, however, taken up arms, and his calvary ravaged the country to the walls of Madras. The Mysore army was not only well disciplined but admirably handled. For a time the fate of Southern India was in doubt. Hastings, with the help of Eyre Coote, at length saved it, and peace was concluied in 1784. Hyder Ali died in 1782, though his son, Tipi)oo Saib, lived to direct two later wars against the English, dying in the breach at Senngapatam when that fortress was stormed under General Harris. The assault was led by General Biiird ; and Colonel Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wellington, participated in it. This event occurred while a brother of the latter, the Marquis oi Wellesley, was Governor-General. 132 NOTES. Coleroon— {better known as the Cauvery) a river risinff In Mysore and iosuini; on the Coromandel ooast, to the south of Pondicherry. Mount St. Thomas— a high elevation contiguous to Madra«. Sir Hector Munro — at one time Commander-in-Chief of the forces in India anri member of the Madras Council. He had a long and honourable military career in the East. He distinguished himself in engagements with Sujah Dowlah, with the Mogul Emperor, and with Hyder Ali. The mutiny at Patna was suppressed by Munro. Sec note " Patna," Chapter VI. Baillie, Colonel— After desperate conflicts with Hyder's army this officer's amall but gallant force was obliged to surrender, and was cut to pieces. I-'-' Chapter XVII. Benares— a city of great wealth, on the Ganges, and capital of the province. By the Hindoos it is esteemed the chief of the sacred cities of Hmdostan. His first design . . . Cashmere— a fine descriptive passage, enriched by the effective illustration in the olositig sentence. Sacred apes, holy bulls— In India both are considered sacred ; ape-worship is common in the East. Golconda— a city in the Dominions of the Nizam of Hyderabad, once famous for its diamond mines. It was twice besieged by the Emperor Aurungzebe. Cashmere— a province close to the Himalayas, and lying between the Punjab and Kashgaria. It is noted for its rich Cashmere shawls. The grreat anarchy— Consequent upon the fall of the Mogul Kingdom (after the murder, in 1759, of the Emperor Alamgir II.) hastened by Persian invasion and Mahratta conquest. Upon the death of the Emperor there ensued a long period of strife among the native tribes for mastery in India. Mohammedan rule, after this, was merely nominal ; while that of Britain became more and more dominant. Cheyte Sing — Rajah of Benares. Hastings' part in the Rohilla war, and his oppression and plunder of Cheyte Sing, the Queen mother and princesses of Oude, are great stains upon his reputation. The shameful story is told with considerable detail by Macaulay, and it forms the first of the charges in Hastings' impeachment. For its motive, see the essay, p. 78, 11. 4-7. "The plan . . possessions. Carlovingian empire.— Hugh Capet— The Carlovingian line of Franco German sovereigns extends from Charlemagne to Louis (or Ludwig) V. At its dissolution, the Capetian line begins with the nominal rule, in 987, of Hugh Capet, Duke of the Franks. With the accession of this dynasty begins the line of French kings proper. The authority of Hugh Capet was not good throughout France. The dukes of Britanny and Normandy, while they paid homage to Capet, were supreme in their own districts. Charles the Tenth, in 1824, succeeded Louis XVIII. on the throne of France, but was exiled six years afterwards, when Louis Philippe ascended the throne. Charles X. imrsued a retrograde policy, attacked the freedom of the press, and encouraged Ultramontane pretensions. In July, 1830, he published the ordmances which threw Paris into the revolution known as the Three Days of Barricades, the result of which was to lose him his throne. Prince Louis Bonaparte— "Louis Napoleon" is no doubt here intended. In August, 1840, the nephew of the first Napoleon, afterwards Emperor of the French, planned a second invasion of France with the object of succeeding to the throne. Wliile an exile in England he left its shores with a small following, and landed at Bou- logne, where he unfurled the Imperial standard, but was ignominiously beaten off, and subsequently captured and imprisoned. He afterwards escaped from the place of his confinement, and on the abdication of Louis Philippe, returned to France, and by the coup d'etat of December 2nd, 1851, became President and subsequently Emperor. Of the existing governments . . . chose— In these paragraphs we find some justification, though not on moral grounds, for Hastings' conduct. Among the native rulers the real and the nominal sovereignty was, as Macaulay remarks, disjoined. So far as titles and forms went, the Mogul ruled; but the "heir of Tamerlane" was now a British captive, and his lieutenants were " independent princes." As Hastings I.:**;; NOTES. 133 viewed the situaMon, the native sovereigns mijfht "play at royalty," but the EnL'lish were the moHters of India. De facto— iae. really ; ' from the fact,' De jure— by right ; • from the law.' Chaptkr XVIII. He was now . . . breach— Cf, p. 37, 11. 9-17 Ma)or Popham-a British officer who diatinjruished himself in the first Mahratta war. He captured Lahar and Patecta, and stormed the rock-fortress of Gwalior, considered the k 9y of Hindostan. Chapter XIX. Asaph-ul-Dowlah -Nabob of Oude. See Sheridan's preat speech on the "Spoli- ation of the Beffums," in connection with the impeachment of Hastings. Oude now dispoiled was finally annexed under Lord Dalhousie's administraxion in 1856. The axiom upon which that hifjfh-mnided statesman acted was "the greatest good to the greatest number." Princely debauchees, his theory was, only cumbered the ground ; and, in annexing Oude, he did so on the plea that " no false sentiment should preserve dynasties which had forfeited our sympathies by generations of misrule, or prolong those that had no natural successor." LucknoW — At the period the capital of Oude, and, in 1857, famous as the scene of the relief, by Sir H. Havelock, of its beleagured English defenders during the Sepoy rebellion. It is situate on the Goomti, a tributary of the Ganges. Chunar (Ku'.)—& fortified town on the Ganges, about 20 miles s. w. of Benares. The Begfums— the wife and mother of Sujah Dowlah, Nabob of Oude. In 1775, when this ruler died, the two Begums claimed that his hoarded treasure, amounting to two or three millions sterling, had been made over to them as their private property, and could not be used as revenues of the State for the payment of tribute to the East India Co. or for any other purpose. The new ruler, Asaph-ul-Dowlah, by dint of coaxing, had got his mother and grandmother to dole out some of the treasure. It was the remainder Hastings set his eyes upon, and with the Nabob's connivance, en- deavoured to wring from the princesses, with what success will be seen from the text. Pyzabad— (modern spelling, Faizabad)—a, town in the Province of Oude, 60 miles east of Lucknow. Chapter XXI. Not only . . • Hastingrs— At this period the United States (the •• thirteen Colonies") had won independence; Ireland was putting forward a claim for her independence, and for a time (from 1782 to 1800) had been given a local parliament and by the treaties of Paris and Versailles England had surrendered to France and Spain possessions she had formerly wrested from these powers. In India, thanks to Warren Hastings, Britain had the while been wholly a gainer. See Green's "Short History," Chap. X, Sec. 2. (Page 761). Lewis XVI. . . • Emperor Joseph— France and Germany were at the time two of the most populous states in Europe. Marlboroufifh . • ■ deputies -John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (1660- 1722) while conducting the war m Spain and in Flanders, during the reign of Oueen Anne (1702-14), had under him, besides his English troops, those of Holland and Germany. In his campaigns he was constantly thwarted by the German princes and the Dutch deputies. His military genius, nevertheless, ensibled him to win great victories ; though his political foes in England prevented him from long enjoying the honours of them. ■ Wellington . . . Mr. Percival— The Duke of Wellington, during the Peninsular war, was embarrassed at times by the want of ready support on the part of 134 NOTES. the Spaninh Juntos, or War Oommittee, and of the Ministry which represented the Portunf.il Regency, while the (^ueeij was insane. After ti»e defeat at Ooriinnaof Sir John Moore, Mr. Perulval, the Knj^liuh I'rinie Minister, M8(H)-12) was also luliowann in prosecuting the war against the French in Spain and Portu die— in moulding Sheridan 1" See speech on the Spoliation of ti\e Begums. NOTES. 137 Windham, Wm. -(1750-1810), ftn elo(|uont Htategmaii, and ineniber of th« Coal- itioii MiiUHtry of 1783. Macaulay eiuewhcre Hueaka of him aa "the hish-ioulcd Windham." Chaitkr XXVII. There have been . . . right to left— We here oome to the openinff len- tenoes of that fawinatinff word-picture so frequently quodd from Mdoaulav. the scene of the trial of Warren llastiM^fM. How graphic ia the picture need hardly be pointed out. The atutely movement of the sentenceH ; the aniimition of the style, with its balanced structure, abrupt transitions, and pointed fl>fure« of speech ; the splendour of the imufjery, the flashing of antithesis, and the oriMpness and vigour of the epl- --"•ns— so characteristic of the Knaay as a whole -- scene in Westniinster Hall. N'ote in the last four word** of the present pnHsiiife the Essayist de8<>ends to what would sceni triviality of detail, except that he wishes to make dear the allusion to the strange written characters of the Semitic languages, which are traced froin r in fit to left. Plantageneta- a line of Knglish monarchs from Hev.ry II. (1164) to Richard II. (1899). The name is derived from the common broom of Anjou (the planta genUl i), a sprig of which Geoffrey, the father of Henry II., used to wear in his helmet. During the mie of the Planfageneta (Seetht "Good Parliament" liaoo 771 under Richard III.) the Commons wrested from the Crown many practical reforms, and received many concessions in the interest of the people. The riglit of Farliaineiit to iii<|uire into public abuses, and to impeach public counsellors, were among the privileges granted at this period. Oreat . . Rufua— 1799) Wars with Hyder AH and Tippoo Saib in Carnatic. Hyder Ali defeated by Sir E. Coote at Porto Novo. Plunder of Cheyte Sing and the Begums. Benares made subject to the East India Co. Hastings accused of taking a bribe from Nabob of Cade. Pitt carries his India Bill in Parliament. Hastings resigns and returns to England. Burke proposes to impeach Hastings, Hastings tried for high crimes and misdemeanors. " acquires ancestral estates at Daylesford. " acquitted, April 23. End of third Mysore war : Wellington at Seringapatam : Tippoo Saib killed and territory annexed. Lord Macaulay born. •gal. 806.) GK 1757. 1760. ■ 1765. 1767. 1769. 1772. dras. 1786. 1793. 1798. U at >sr - 36. ... GOVERNORS AND GOVERNORS-GENERAL OF INDIA UNDER THE EAST INDIA COMPANY, 1758-1858. -Lord Clive, first Governor. -Howell Mr ) j^t,^i,^ Vansittart^ Mr. ^^^.^ -Spencer, Mr. ) Lord Clive. -Harry Verelst. -John Cartier. -Warren Hastings ; fivat Gov- ernor-General, 1774. -Marquis of Cornwallis. -Sir John Shore (Lord Teign- mouth). -Lord Moruingfcon (Marquis of Wellesley). 1805. 1806. 1815. 1823. 1826. 1835. 1836. 1842. 1844, 1848. 1856. —Marquis of Cornwallis, 2nd Administration. —Earl of Minto. —Earl of Moii'a (Marquis of Hastings). —Earl Amherst, —Lord Wm, Cavendish Ben- tinck. —Sir Chas, Metcalfe (pro tern. ) —Lord Auckland. —Earl of Ellenborough. — Viscount Hardinge. —Marquis of Dalhousie. — Earl Canning. 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