A2P2 
 1783 
 
 to the 
 3f hia La1 ' :st
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 A 
 
 LETTER 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Rt. Hon. EDMUND BURKE, 
 
 ON THE SUBJECT OF j 
 
 His LATE CHARGES 
 
 AGAINST THE 
 
 G O V E R N O R-G E N E R A L 
 
 O F 
 
 BENGAL; 
 
 LONDON: 
 Printed by J. JOHNSON, (No. 232) WHITECHAPEL. 
 
 MDCCLXXX1IU
 
 17,53 
 
 2 fr- 
 
 E T T E R, 
 
 RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR, 
 -*- 
 
 y CANNOT but condole with you on the un- 
 J. welcome publication of Mr. Haftings's 
 late Letter to the Court of Directors ; not 
 merely becaufe the honour which, as a moit 
 able compofition, it reflects upon the talents 
 of its Author, muft naturally be grating to 
 an enmity fb rancorous and implacable as 
 Your's ; but (what is infinitely more morti- 
 fying) becaufe the confcious warmth of inno- 
 cence, the irrefiftable force of truth, and the 
 A 2 naked
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 naked difplay of fact, with which every line 
 of it is replete, have at once confuted, over- 
 "" turned and done away the whole of thofe 
 frivolous, indecent, and unfupported charges, 
 which for two Years together have been ob- 
 truded on the public, from the Select Com- 
 mittee. I fay the wbo!e, akho* that wonder- 
 ful letter comprehends a compleat fummary 
 on 1 y of the grounds and circumftances of the 
 revolution at Benares. But as the expulfion 
 of Cheyt Sing was your ftrong ground, and 
 as your remarks have been particularly in- 
 temperate and acrimonious on that fubject 5 
 a candid, ample, and fatisfactory exculpation 
 from all your criminatory difcufllons on this 
 one article, fecures an unprejudiced hearing, 
 and, (as you will one day feel,) a thorough 
 acquittal in all the reft. 
 
 This revolution at Benares appears in- 
 deed to have occupied an exclufive mare of 
 your attention. From the fii ft moment that 
 imperfect intelligence of the tranfaction ar- 
 rived, you fattened on it with an^eagernefs 
 that exhibited nothing lefs than impartiality : 
 and precipitately hurried the crude materials 
 into the Houfe of Commons in your fecond 
 
 Report,
 
 ( 5 J 
 
 Report, before it was pofiible, that any clear 
 or liberal judgment could be formed of the 
 mesits of the affair. As foon, however, as 
 
 y 
 
 the uncertainty of vague furmife had given 
 place to fomewhat of confident information, 
 Governor Johnftone, in one of the moft power- 
 ful pieces of oratory that ever dignified a 
 popular Afifembly, turned the tide of opinion 
 decidedly againfb you, and eftablifhed the 
 prudence, the juftice, the policy of the 
 Governor General's conduct, on grounds 
 which temerity itfelf, urged by all the im- 
 pulfe of malevolence, would hardly have at- 
 tempted to ..undermine. But Your purpofes 
 are not fo eafily fhaken , Your versatility is 
 not fo fpeedily foiled ; and I can readily dif- 
 cover in your late Supplement to the fecond 
 Report (which indeed you may well blufh 
 not to have been the firft fy 11 able you have 
 uttered on that topic) as many objections 
 aimed at the Governor's admirable Speech, as 
 at the Narrative of Mr. Mailings, which for 
 the firft time you have now had the oppor- 
 tunity to difcufs, and whom you had pre- 
 viouQy vilified, reprobated, and condemned 
 with half his ftory untold. Mere too your 
 triumph is miicrably interrupted, by the un- 
 
 fuilbnable
 
 feafonable arrival of the Governor General's 
 inoft excellent Letter, addrtiled indeed, to 
 the Court of Directors, but more immediate- 
 ly applicable to You : For They, to fay the 
 truth, have been but too much the humble 
 inftrument of your pafllons, and their dic- 
 tates feem but Echoes to the Reports of the 
 
 Select Committee. You have, Sir, been 
 
 fingularly induftrious in precluding from the 
 Councils of Leadenhall-Street, every poflible 
 .chance or pretenfion to originality, in the 
 Condemnation of any of Mr. Haflings's pub- 
 lic meafures : And I have now before me in 
 the Contents of your ninth and tenth Re- 
 ports, and in your Supplement to the fecond, 
 anticipated abufe, and prompted Anathemas 
 on almoft every fubjeft, which is likely to 
 be agitated in the Court of Directors, as 
 matter for their general Letters to Bengal in 
 theapproachingfeafon. The opinions, the poli- 
 tics, thecommandsof theEaft-IndiaCompany 
 originate in the Select Committee Chamber, 
 and their correfpondence is become little more 
 than the vehicle of Mr. Burke's fpecularive 
 yv incoherences and injurious perfonalities. It 
 is not therefore more extraordinary, that Mr. 
 Haftings's late Letter, containing a complete 
 
 refutation
 
 ( f ) 
 
 refutation of certain articles alledged and 
 maintained by the Court of Directors, IhouM 
 flill more pointedly meet the topics on which 
 you have fince fo unmercifully infilled : than 
 that the fame objections ftarted many months 
 ago by the Directors, fhould at a fubfequent 
 period occupy a diftinguifhed place in one of 
 Your Reports, amplified, embellifhed, and im- 
 proved with all your fertility of invention 
 and artifice of arrangement. In compliment 
 to the reluctance with which I know you 
 muft quit Cheyt Sing's caufe, and to gratify 
 your ears once more with the pleafing found, 
 of that favourite name, I mail in the courfe 
 of my correfpondence, take the liberty of 
 adding a few obfervations, however fuper- 
 fluous, to the manly, victorious, and con-- 
 clufive arguments of the Governor General,. 
 And though in the prefent ftate of things, 
 humbled, (as you mud be) by the confciouf- 
 nefs of detection in premeditated untruths ; 
 debafed (as you mod afiu redly are) in the 
 eyes of the public, as much for the grofs 
 illiberally of your attacks on fome of the? 
 brighteft characters of the age, as for Your 
 unblufhing patronage of convicted defaulters; 
 and configned ^as you will very foon expert 
 
 ence)
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 cnce) to the fcorn and neglect of thofe very 
 colleagues, \vhofe purpofes your duplicity 
 had ferved, or whole fympathy your necef- 
 fitics had excited, there can be little probabi- 
 lity, that the poifon you have already ad- 
 miniftered, fhould ever work its malignant 
 operation, and Hill lefs that you fhould here- 
 after be fuffered to litter the Speaker's table 
 with a frefh dole : I cannot let your unpre- 
 cedented malice fhelter itfelf under the ob- 
 fcurity of public indifference, without once 
 more cafting down the gauntlet of defiance 
 to all your attempts for affixing the flighteft 
 fligma of delinquency on the character of 
 Mr, Haftings. I have already, Sir, with 
 all humility attended your progrefs through 
 eight voluminous Reports : I narrowly fcru- 
 tinized their feveral contents, and have im- 
 parted the refult of my obfervations to the 
 public. I have yet to learn, that any thing 
 falfe, or injurious, or uncandid, has fallen 
 from my pen : my tale has been plain and un- 
 varnimed, but it has not been denied, and it 
 cannot be confuted. I no.v enter the lifts 
 with confidence. The world is apprized of 
 the fide on which truth has hitherto com- 
 bated, and the half of your afiertions is al- 
 ready
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 ready cifbelievcd before I write a fy liable : 
 the reft are fufpected for their mere plaufibi- 
 lity. Mr. Burke is no longer a formidable 
 opponent ; obftinately induftrious in the ruin 
 of a man whom he cannot imitate, he lofes 
 his temper in proportion as the tafk becomes 
 more difficult : and endeavours by the fcur- 
 rility of his language to make up for the de- 
 ficiency of his rtaibnings. A Fencing matter 
 in a paflion is diiarmed by the meaneft of his 
 Scholars : and I am not the only antagonift 
 who has taken advantage of your very fury 
 to aim, a fuccefsful attack. You have read 
 the Letteis of a Citizen in the Morning 
 Herald You have feen two Letters from 
 Major Scott, on the infinuations contained ' 
 in the ninth Report: Should your doughty ^ 
 Chairman be ever permitted or induced to 
 dagger to the Speaker's Chair with another 
 Ream of fophiftical abfurdicies, half the 
 town will ftart up to dilTedt and expofe them. 
 Every man who can hold a pen, will employ 
 it in the detection of fome frefh error or 
 untruth, and your Reports will excite a dif- 
 guft and difrefpect as general as that which 
 hath of late notorioufly attended your 
 fpeeches. 
 
 B. After
 
 C ) 
 
 After all, can you fuppofe that the public, 
 eager to teftify their exalted fenfc of Mr. Haf- 
 tings's political merics-, and to tafte their im- 
 mediate advantages, will (loop to- dabble in 
 
 ^ the miferable dirt of your pth Report ? Caa 
 you flatter yourfelf, that theftaleand wretched 
 dregs of Mr. Francis's criminatory manufac- 
 tory, ftill retain venom enough so hurt the 
 \ Governor-General ? Few the defpicable infi- 
 pidity of fuch a fecond hand potion filent 
 contempt is the proper antidote. But thaE 
 you may not find one fource of triumph 
 even in the efcape from palpable detection, I 
 will here haftily anfwer the moft virulent of 
 
 \/ the charges brought forward in your c^th Re- 
 port, under their feveral heads. 
 
 lit. Nundc omar's execution. 
 
 You write (Ninth Report, page ;/ " The 
 11 fufferer, the Rajah Nundcomar, appears 
 ** at the very time of this extraordinary pro- 
 M fecution, a difcoverer of fome particulars 
 ** of illicit gain, then charged upon Mr. 
 '* Haftings, the Governor General." - 
 
 Major
 
 t II ) 
 
 Major Scott has informed you with truth, 
 that Mr. Haflings neither did, nor could 
 interfere in the Trial or Execution of Nund- 
 comar : and I now add, that the Raja was 
 no difcc'verer^ (for he could never fubilantiate 
 a fmgle difcovery) but a lying informer; 
 that in his laft moments, he thought of no- 
 thing Icfs than of making good his af- 
 fertions refpec~ting the Governor General's 
 peculations, and that the paper written the 
 night before his execution, which was after- 
 wards burnt as a libel, did not contain a 
 fyllable relative to that fubjecl. A perfon 
 who translated that paper, from the Raja's 
 own writing, is ready to iwear to the fadt. 
 
 2d. New Plan of Remitta-nce, Page 19. 
 
 The Company's exigence in Europe is 
 founded on commerce , and their Sales at the 
 India-Houfc are the only means of keeping 
 up the necefiary circulation of cafh. It is 
 poffible that the Company might fubfift, and 
 it is fair to fuppofe it fully equal to the trial 
 .of fubfifting for one yjear without any actual 
 gain whatfoever : but without circulation it is 
 itnpoiTible that it fhould iubfift at all The 
 B 2 Bengal
 
 ( 12 ) 
 
 Bengal government finding it impracticable 
 to convert any part of their currcni revenues 
 into goods for Europe, and bting therefore 
 unable to fecure to the Company its cuflomaiy 
 profits, were obliged, as their lad relcurce, to 
 advert to a plan for enfuring, at lead, the cir- 
 culation of cafh. For however the Committee 
 may be inclined to doubt the fact, it is mod 
 certain, that " fuch a fcheme" (as that origi- 
 nally propofed by the Council-general, or any 
 fcheme ) " is preferable to the total fufpenjion 
 ** of trade"- which in my opinion in .plies 
 neither more nor lefs than inftant bankruptcy. 
 When the firft outline of the plan arrived, the 
 Select Committee, with their ufual alacrity, 
 went to work upon thedifcovery and difplay of 
 its every probable or poflible disadvantage : 
 and had, it appears, proceeded fo tar as to 
 .leave it dubious (to tbemf elves only,) whether 
 it would not have been alt noli as convenient 
 to have fufpended the trade entirely ; when 
 another difpatch brought word that the firft 
 plan had been fet afide altogether ; and that 
 the Council-General had found the means of 
 negociating a loan for the provifion of the 
 'current inveftment (notwithftanding all their 
 diilrefies and difficulties) at a rate nearly as 
 
 favour-
 
 ( '3 ) 
 
 favourable (and much more fo in refped: to 
 the time at which the drafts are to be given) 
 as that which to the Dutch, Danes, and Por- 
 tugueze, has been for fome years paft the main 
 fpring of all their Indian commerce. Can- 
 dour iurely required that objections to a 
 fchcme which had not taken place, mould have 
 been iuppreffed ; at leaft that its defefls mould 
 have been contrafted with the comparative 
 merits of the new one. So far from it, that the 
 Committee having laboured with all their fo- 
 phiftical acrimony, to deny and condemn the 
 original fcheme, gravely inform us, (when 
 their bile is exhaufted) that no fuch fcheme 
 exifts: and then proceed with the fame impar- 
 tiality of ftatement, and delicacy of obferva- 
 tion, to comment on that which has beenfub- 
 fhtuted in its place. " The fituation of the 
 " Company," they obferve (Page 22) " under 
 44 this perpetual variation of fyftem in their 
 " investment, is truly perplexing." Granted. 
 But this perplexity is an evil inherent in the 
 very core and conititution of commerce. And 
 indeed I am much furprized, that neither Mr. 
 Burke, nor any of his refpe&able friends, 
 fhould have known, or heard, or furmifed, 
 that in all fituations, a neceflity of borrowing 
 
 money
 
 ( 14 ) 
 
 money fubjcfts the borrower to a thoufand 
 perplexities in the mode, and that even the 
 credit of the Britifh nation will not enable a 
 Miniflex to dictate the terms of his loan. 
 
 gd. Opium Contract given to Mr. Sulivan. 
 
 After much mifreprefentation and falfe rea- 
 foning on the fubject of this Contract, all of 
 which Major Scott has fatisfactorily refuted, 
 you fay, Page 39, " Your Committee ex- 
 " amining Mr. Higginfon, late a Member of 
 " the Board of Trade on that fubject, were 
 *' informed, that this Contract, very foon after 
 ** the making, was generally underjlood at Cal- 
 " cutta, to have been fold to this Mr. Benn 
 " but that he could not particularize the fum 
 " for which it had been afllgned ; and that 
 " Mr. Benn had afterward? fold it to Mr. 
 " Young." You then, in the true fpirit of 
 Committee-inference, pronounce upon the faft r 
 <c By this tranfaftion it appears clearly^ that the 
 Cl Contract was given to Mr. Sulivan for no 
 *' other purpofe than to fupply him with a 
 " fum of money." What tranfaftion do you 
 mean, and where does any thing appear f& 
 clearly ? Mr. Higginfon dates a general re : 
 
 pert.
 
 ( 15 ) 
 
 port, of which he does not pretend to afcer- 
 tain the circumftances, and with you it is in a 
 moment transformed, by hocus pocus, into a 
 tranfaftion. Surely fuch a dealer in vernacular 
 literature as yourfelf muft have recollected, 
 that, " one mould never believe above half 
 " of a Report.'* (even fetting thofe of the Se- 
 lect Committee cut of thequeftion,) Pofiibly, 
 Sir, upon fecond enquiry, you might find the 
 whole tranfaction to exift only in the Report, 
 of which your Report is the echo, and that 
 Mr. Sulivan holds the contract for himfelf to 
 this day. 
 
 4th. Colonel M'Lean's offer of refignation in 
 the name of Mr. Haftings., 
 
 In the 52d page of the Ninth Report, you 
 have condefcended to make ufe of this pitiful 
 ftory ; and you remark on it, that " a fanction. 
 " was hereby given to all future defiance of 
 *' every authority in this kingdom." You 
 forget, that twice fince that period, the firft 
 Minifter of this country has effectually an- 
 nulled the whole tranfaction by a parliamen- 
 tary re- appointment of Mr. Haftings ; and 
 that even fuppofing the reiignation at that 
 
 time
 
 C i* ) 
 
 time valid (which his Majefty's Judges in India 
 denied, and which neither the Directors, nor the 
 King's Minifter?, nor you, with all your logic, 
 have attempted to eftablifh upon proof) Mr. 
 Haftings, under the two fubfequent acts of 
 parliament, is altogether a hew Governor- 
 General, and acts under a new com'miflion, 
 totally independent of the former. 
 
 5th. Difobedience of Orders, page 54, &c. 
 
 The Honfe of Commons, the Miniftry. the 
 whole nation, are eq ually fick of your nau- 
 feous tautology, and incorrigible mifreprefen- 
 tations, refptcting the removal of MefTrs. 
 Briftow and Fowke, from their offices. Major 
 Scott, both in his evidence before your Com- 
 mittee, and in his printed letter to you, has 
 explained the merits of their removal in 
 the moft explicit terms. The neceflity of 
 political confidence between the principal and 
 fubordinates in the administration of a king- 
 dom, and in the intercourfe between different 
 nations, is furely as apparent, as that of a good 
 underftanding between the head of an office and 
 his clerks. And then that Tea, Sir, of all 
 others, ihould fo long and fo loudly exclaim 
 
 againft
 
 < 17 ) 
 
 againft fuch fort of exertions ! But 1 beg 
 your pardon. When you Nin.h Report was 
 fabricated, you might flatter yourfelf that 
 the gauze of hypcciiiy which had fo repeat- 
 edly fucceeded in conical ing the real defigns 
 of Mr. Burke, would prove ample enough to 
 cloak, and fnbftantial erough to hide the 
 myfteries of M.ffrs. Powel and Bembridge. 
 Mr. Hadings removed fV.eiTrs. Briitow and 
 Fowke, to make room for others whom he 
 could truft, and without whom he C'uld not ex- 
 ecute to advantage the bufwefs of h s ftc.ti n. You 
 are, perhaps, by this rime, convinced that he 
 was right. 
 
 6th. Removal of Mahomed Reza Khan, 
 Page ,8, &c. 
 
 If you will rake the trouble to turn ro page 
 22 of your 5th Report, you wi rind ;he ma- 
 jority ot the Counc'l-General at Oakucta, to 
 have kt Refolved, th^t the Board rcc inmcnd 
 u Mahomed Reza Khan, to ihe Nabob, to be 
 <c Minifter ot the Govetnmcnt, and guardian. 
 *' of his minority" Upon :hi^ ap -oi;;tmt'<it 
 the Directors exprefs their faitimrnti, P>^ge 
 24, as follows, 4C We were alvvays of opinion, 
 C 4t that
 
 ( 18 ) 
 
 " that an able, often fible Minifter, during the 
 ct minority cf the Nalol, would be reccflary.'* 
 Is it not clear by implication, that the Coun- 
 cil-General alluded to, and the Directors un 
 derftood, the probability of a change in 
 this appointment, when the Nabob'b mino- 
 rity fhould be expired ? Mahomed Reza 
 Khan's behaviour appears to have been uni- 
 formly difgufting to the Nabob-, and the 
 leaft furely that the lineal defcendant of 
 the acknowledged Sovereign of the roun- 
 try (himfelf alfo titular fovereign) could 
 claim, was an exemption from the in-errerence 
 of a man whom he detefted, in his private 
 affairs : from thedomeftic tyranny of a native, 
 certainly his inferior, and nominally his lub- 
 jeft. If .his inexperience rendered Ibme con- 
 trol necefiary, that controul muft be much 
 lefs galling, if exerted through the immediate 
 influence of the actual government, and by 
 one of thofe Foreigners, whofe perfonal and 
 unquestioned fuperior ty had acquired them 
 the decided dominion of ihe whole country. 
 
 I now come to your favorite fubjecl:, the 
 revolution of Benares, wherein you obierve 
 
 , (.ft
 
 ( '9 ) 
 
 (tft page, fupplement to 2d report) that 
 " Cheyt Sing, fon and fuccefibr to Bui want 
 " Sing, was deprived of all rank, power and 
 <{ command in that Zemindarry, which was 
 " the inheritance of his anceflors" How you 
 came by this tail-piece of your information, I 
 will not prefume to afk ; for although I am 
 fure that Cheyt Sing himfelf did not, in fact, 
 fucceed to the Zemindarry by any legal and 
 authentic title of inheritance ; his anceftors, for 
 ought I know, might have held and availed 
 themfelves of fuch a claim fome generations 
 back, and you may have been exclufively fa- 
 voured with a view of the title deeds. This 
 circumftance, however, of the inheritance^ was 
 providently inferted to fecure a more ready 
 aflent to your remark, fubfequently intro* 
 duced /'page 5) u Your Committee do not 
 " find the Governor-General well founded in 
 ". his aflertion, that it was from his influence 
 '* that Cheyt Sing obtained the firjl legal title 
 " that his family ever pofTefled, of property 
 " in the land, in 1773," &c. &c. This ob- 
 jection, which coft you near two pages to 
 difcufs (altho* you grant it be nothing to the 
 purpofe, but to (hew that no ^objection conies 
 amils) refts fimply upon " incontejiibh proof " 
 C 2 which
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 (which I (hall not difpute with you") " that 
 " Rajah Cheyt Sing had aflually enjoyed all tie 
 " right* of a Zemindar three years before that 
 " period.*' But }ou ought to have proved 
 that Cheyt Sing tben, or at any lime lefore^ 
 pofr-ficd a legal tith to thole ri^h.s. Mr. 
 Haft ng-,'s ife don gots only to the acquijt- 
 tlon of the t tie, n'>t to the enjoyment of the 
 rights ; I hofe had been held by interpolation, 
 by conn vance, by ufurpation, by what you 
 will, >but not by a legal title. Let me afk you, 
 Sir, what you undcrftand by " a Zeinin- 
 darry?" is it not an hereditary Fief? is it not 
 the neceiT.try inherent property of aZemindarry 
 to be hereditary ; and is it not in proof that 
 Cheyt Sing did not come to it by inheritance? 
 You well know (for it is to be found in the 
 loth and i i th pages of your ad Report) that 
 when Rajah Buiwani Sing died, the Govern- 
 ment of Bengal informed the Court of Di- 
 re&ors, " of the conlequence it was to their 
 " affairs, that the fucccffion to the Zemin- 
 " dairy of Benares (hould continue in the 
 " family, but that tt was a delicate 'point to ac- 
 " compii/b with the Vizier^ that the occafiort 
 " demanded immediate diipatch, and the Pre- 
 *' fident was requefted to write to the Vizier 
 
 ' accordingly,
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 " accordingly, in favor of the fon of tie late 
 " Rajah^ in terms that would leaft awake 
 his jealoufy. A jealous, fufpicious dif- ^ 
 " polition of the old Rajah may pofiibly 
 " have been the reafon why the fon was not 
 included in the treaty of 1765, for had he ex- 
 " prefiVd a wi/h to fecwe the Zemindarry in his 
 " own family , at a time when the Vizier was 
 " receiving back his Country from our hands, 
 " a doubt can fcarcely be formed but it 
 'would have been attended with fuccefs: ^ 
 " but fufpicious probably of the confe- 
 " quences that his fon fhould think he had a 
 " right to the fuccejjion^ his whole aim feem'd 
 * to center in felf-fecurity." The Vizier, it 
 clearly appears, had given Bulwant Sing a v 
 Cowlnama/0r bimfelf only, the treaty of Alla- 
 habad expreffed no more (2d Report, page 
 10.) Cheyt Sing was admitted (" at theearneft * 
 " recommendation and requeft" of the Bengal- 
 Council (page u) and not upon any legal title 
 or claim of right whatfoever) to hold the Ze- 
 mindarry on the fame terms as his Father^ (i. e. /\ 
 in capite.} At this time therefore the tenure 
 was at leaft precarious : the Vizier " con- 
 " fidered his former act as of little validity," 
 (page 12) and the Council of Bengal muft 
 
 have
 
 C 22 ) 
 
 have had fome fufpicions of the fame nature^ 
 by impowering Mr. Haftings to " renew the 
 " ftipulation" (page n). The Governor ac- 
 cordingly, to remove all ambiguity, changed 
 the very effence of the tenure, by obtaining 
 from the Vizier an engagement, " confirm- 
 " ing to Rajah Cheyt Sing and bis pqfterity, 
 " the ftipulations formerly made in behalf of 
 " his father, Bulwant Sing." This therefore 
 eftablifhes beyond a poffibility of cavil, what 
 the Governor General afierts in his narra- 
 tive : " Cheyt Sing obtained from our influ- 
 te ence, exerted by myfelf, thefrjl legal title that 
 " his family ever poffeffed of property in the 
 "land, (mark that) of which he, till then, 
 * 6 was only the Aumil, and of which he be- 
 " came the acknowledged Zemindar, by a fun- 
 " nud granted to him by the Nabob, Sujah 
 " Dowlah, at my inflame, in the month of 
 " September, 1773. Mr. Haftings there- 
 fore, even in this preliminary article (which 
 you have gone out of your way to ovi rftt,) in 
 this affection, " which appeared quite concra- 
 " diclory to the matter contained in their 
 " ("the Commitcte'sj former Report," is, as 
 ufual, manifeftly in the right, and you are in 
 the wrong. And now having difmcumbcred 
 
 Cheyt
 
 ( 23 ) 
 
 Cheyt Sing of the inheritance of bis anceflors, I 
 will, with your leave, proceed to examine 
 thole rights, which, whether as Aumil, Tri- 
 butary Zemindar, or Prince and Noble of the 
 Country^ you are fo anxious to inveft him 
 with. Your mode of afcertaining thefe rights 
 is pecul.ar to the fyflem adopted for the gene- 
 ral ufe of your India Reports. It confifts not 
 in quoting" the different articles of the deed, 
 by which he holds the Zemind&rry from the 
 Company: but in garbling from d'ffcrent mi- 
 nutes of the different Members of the Council 
 General at different periods, their different 
 opinions as to what indulgence ii would be po- 
 litically uieful and proper to allow the Raja, 
 as his general rights. That the Gentlemen of 
 the Council mould thus lettle among them- 
 felves (Supplement to 2d Report, pages 13 
 and 14) what fort of p-ivil ges they would 
 be pleafed to admit for his rights, amounts 
 in my mind to a proof, that in point of 
 legal title or eltablimed pretenfion, he pof- 
 feifed no rights but fuch as were common to 
 other fubjects of the Mogul Empire. The 
 frparate opinions delivered in the Council- 
 General, which are fo otten invidioufly quot- 
 ed through your Supplement, are by no 
 
 means
 
 means binding on the Company at large on 
 any otht r principle, than as they became the 
 ground< of thole public inftruments. by which 
 Chcyt Sing held hi* 1 ent->ry. It would be 
 very amufinw, if ail the diicordant fcntimcnts 
 uttered in nib Majclty's Cabinet, were to be 
 appealed to as rules (if Mate, or ties upon 
 Government. 1 cannot however quit thefe 
 opinions or. Council, without a jfhort tribute 
 of applaule to Mr. Harwell's accurate ex- 
 perience of /Vfi.Jtic te.ripv-rs, and weil-cold prog- 
 noftication of Chcyi Sink's defection, fix years 
 before it happened. " fhc Kajah fliould 
 " have the (Iron gc ft tie of intercft to fupport 
 *' our Govi-r, m.nr, in call- of any future rup- 
 * e ture wivh the Soub -h of Oude. To make 
 * f this his intcreft, he muft not be tributary 
 " to the Engltfh Govcrnmenr , ior from the 
 " inftaat he becomes its tributary, from that 
 " moment we may expe6t him to fide againft 
 * e us, and by taking advantage of 'the troubles 
 M and commc tiom that may arife, attempt to dijbur* 
 ** den bimfelf of bis pecuniary ob tigatiom . " ( S u ; > 
 plement, page 13.) The Governor-GeneiuJ 
 had uniformly recommended favourable terms 
 for Cheyt Sing, under the idea, (Page 12) 
 that, " by proper encouragement and pro^ 
 
 " teftion
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
 region he may prove a profitable depen- 
 * dent, an ufeful barrier, and even a powerful 
 " aily to the Company ." But thcle favour- 
 able terms never could become rights, uniefs 
 ratified by the Sunnud and Cabookat, which 
 united the two parties : And a man who 
 could re'fufe to contribute 5 lacks of rupees 
 out of 30, and to furnifti 1000 cavalry out of 
 above 1700 (fee Appendix; to the relief of 
 his Sovereign's molt prtffing exigencies, cer- 
 tainly proved himielf a molt diia'ffectcd lub- 
 jec~t, and but little qualified for an uicfu'l 
 ally. If Mr. Haltings, in 1773, " refitted an 
 '*' application, made in very earneft terms by 
 " the Vizier, to difpolle'fs Cheyt Sing of his 
 " forts of Bidjegur aad Luttyrpoor," (page 
 15) it was not fo mu-ch on account of the 
 Raja's independent right to them, as for the 
 purpole of fccuring to the Company a Bar- 
 rier againll that very Vizier, a meafure 
 which was always -upptrmoft in his thoughts: 
 and though it be true, chat in 1775, it was 
 the Governor-General's opinion (page 14) 
 x4 that the perpetual and independent pol- 
 " leflioa of the Zcmindarry of Benares, and 
 " its dependencies, mould be confirmed and 
 "guaranteed to Cheyt sing, and his hems for 
 D " ever"
 
 ( 26 ) 
 
 "ever" it is no lefs in proof, that- tc the 
 " Governor-General's proportions did not ex- 
 " clufivcly form the bafis of the treaty 
 " with Afoph-ul-Dowlaj" and therefore this 
 Cjpinion, that Cheyt Sing ought to have been 
 totally freed from the remains of his then vaf- 
 falage, cannot operate againft his conduct, 
 under an agreement different from th it pro- 
 pofed by him, and upon a iyftem, which only- 
 transferred thofe " remains of vtiffalage" what- 
 ever they might be, by which Cheyu Sing 
 ivas then bound, from one Sovereign to ano- 
 ther. Admitting, however, all the fyeculative 
 fights^ with which the Selecl Committee have 
 been pleafed to invtft Cheyt Sing, 1 do not 
 find among them, even by implication, the 
 right of defending bimfelf by the Jword againft 
 his lawful Sovereign. That at leaft is a right 
 not compatible with the principles of Afiatic 
 Government ; and the Committee's miferable 
 fubterfuge in his apology, does but little ho- 
 nor either to their logic or their politics. 
 ' The Rajah's conduct on this trying and 
 " tempting occafion (fupplement, page iS) 
 " does not appear to have been that of an 
 " enterprizing Chief, impatient under the ex- 
 " ercife of any kind of fuperiority over him, 
 
 " and
 
 " and therefore refolved to aim at indepen- 
 " dence, whenever the means of attainment 
 " were in his power ; on the contrary, his ob- 
 " jeft was to efcape from confinement, and 
 " then to fly to his forts for the fecurity of bis 
 *' perfon." HAS the Governor-General ever 
 diiplayed fo fanguinary a difpofition ? or was 
 there within the limits of conjecture any 
 caufe, that Cheyt Sing mould be apprehen- 
 five for the fecurity of his perfon ? It was his 
 p^fon that Mr. Huttings meant to fecure, and 
 thought he had fecured, by the arreft : and 
 would the Committee now infinuate it as their 
 opinion, that this very arreft gave Cheyt 
 Sing a right to maflacre two companies of 
 Seapoys with their European Officers ; and 
 that not on the inftaht of furprife and fudden 
 impulfe of paflion, but on a deliberate paufe, 
 in the moment of calm reflection, in cold blood! 
 To what offences in your opinion, Sir, would 
 the Crimen l<ef<e Majeftatis apply ? Had the 
 legal, the acknowledged Sovereign no right at 
 //, as Sovereign, and was no fubmitfion due 
 from Cheyt Sing, as a fubjeft ? After all, to 
 what fpecific act of the Governor-General 
 can Cheyt Sing's conduct be attributed ? 
 Not to the intended fine, for of that he is 
 D 2 probably
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 probably ignorant to this hour. Not to the 
 arreft, tor he had " quietly fubmitted to that 
 46 arrcft, and fcnt a letter to the Governor- 
 " General, which indicates the moft perfect 
 * obedience." (page 16) So far from hav- 
 ing fubfequently received any caufe for frefh 
 alarm, Mr. Haftings hud written- to him in 
 terms exprefsly calculated to tncourage him 
 tinder his " apparent defpondcncy," and the 
 Rajah had anfwered him, "' / am entirely f res 
 "from concern and ofprehenfwn" Ye:, on the 
 fame day, within a few hours, our troops 
 were maffacred, the Rajah^/7^/0 his forts, the 
 ftandard of revolt was let up, contagious re- 
 bellion fpread through the whole Country,- 
 every hand was prepared to arm, and arms 
 were in readinefs for every hand ^ and we are 
 how told, in the fhuffling cant, of an Old- 
 Bailey excufe, that " his objeSl was to efcaps 
 ^ from confinement" The extent, however, of 
 his military preparations^ clearly evince his 
 predetermined views of refinance, in cafe of 
 any attack, and by conftruftive evidence 
 convicl: him of treason, even before a fword 
 was drawn : His defperate conduit, in con- 
 fcquence of a mere exertioa of civil power, 
 
 effectually
 
 tffectually annihilated all his rights^ and com- 
 pleted the mealure of his guilt. 
 
 As your Committee have fpared no pains, 
 however ill-beftowed, to eftablifh the inde- 
 pendent tights of Rajah Cheyt Sing, as a Ze- 
 mindar^ it would have been no more than de- ^ 
 cently impartial, had they given themfelvcs 
 the trouble to enquire whether or not the v' 
 Company, as immediate Ibvereign of the 
 Zemindarry, did not by the very conftitution 
 of the (late and the nature of all Mogul te- 
 mires.'ftand poflefTed alfo of fome clear, original) v 
 and inhtrent rights, of which it could not by 
 any partial or temporary agreement, be di- 
 verted, fo long as it fhould continue to be the 
 acknowledged paramount. Of this fort of 
 rights, in my humble opinion, military [ervice 
 is the very firft. It is indeed mod notorioufly 
 the grand pervading principle of all feodal 
 governments. In the moil fiouriming times 
 of the Hindoftanic Emperors, even the per- 
 fonal attendance of the great Rajahs and Ze- 
 mindars was conftantly required and exacted 
 both at court and in camp : all the European 
 travellers of the two laft centuries, concur in 
 teflafying^ that the guard of the Emperor's 
 
 perfon
 
 C 3 ) 
 
 perfon was committed to the dependent Ra- 
 jahs. The Ayeen-y Acberee (or defcripcion 
 of the arrangements of the Mogul empire 
 under Acber) contains as well an enumeration 
 of the forces kept by each Zemindar, as the 
 quantum of tribute in which he was aflefidd : 
 and it was to this eftablifhed and uncontro- 
 vertible fyftem of the empire, that Mr. Bar- 
 well alluded in his minute (2d Report, 27 
 page) " An acquifition of revenue and military 
 *' force t I fuppofe to have been annexed to the 
 ** grant of the Zemindarry of Benares and 
 K Ganzipore to the Company." He was un* 
 doubtedly right, for the transfer of the fove- 
 reignty included both. Cheyt Sing maintain- 
 ed a confiderable number of troops, and by 
 the feodal tenure of all Zemindarries, was 
 bound to furnifh his quota of them, in cafe of 
 
 ^ -war, to his paramount. But the neceffity 
 under which our government lay, of demand- 
 ing in money the amount of this quota, inilead 
 of burthening itfelf with a fet of ill-paid and 
 worfe-difciplined banditti, has in the prefent 
 cafe moft unfortunately afforded the means of 
 quibbling on the denomination of the "demand, 
 and has transformed # legal conftitutional re- 
 quifition of military Jervice into an iwjujtifidbie 
 
 f\J exaclion
 
 ( 3' ) 
 
 cxa&ion of an cnaeafed tribute. And yet the 
 original minute of the Governor-General reft, 
 ed the matter on its proper ground, " That 
 Raja Cheyt Sing be required in form to 
 " contribute his (hare of the burthen of the 
 " prefentwar, by contenting to the cftablifli- 
 " nient of three regular battalions of Stapoys, to 
 " be raifed and maintained at his expence." 
 (2d Report, page 26.) To this mealure, there 
 could exift upon Mogul principles, only one 
 objection. It might have been urged that the 
 demand exceeded the proportion of troops at 
 which the Zemindarry of Benares, &c. flood 
 rated in the books of the? empire, or the 
 actual number which it could now furnifla. 
 But that -plea is obvia.ed by our certain know- 
 ledge, that Cheyt Sing's ordinary infantry ex- 
 ceeded the number of fix battalions : fo that 
 when he was required to krn ; fh three to his 
 Sovereign, he had nothing to do, but imme- 
 diately reduce the fame number at home. This 
 mode of itating the rights and foundations of 
 the tranfac1n, at once fhrws the j 'luir.cal fo- 
 phiftry of your obfervation, (buppLment, 
 page 6.) 4i Your Committee cannot dilcover 
 " any record to prove, (hat although- an C-K- 
 traordinary demand Qtmone^ beyond the fti- 
 
 J 4 puJated
 
 ( 32 ) 
 
 ** pulated rent paid by the Rajah, was made 
 " in July, that the whole payment of it was 
 ** conftquefttty due the moment in which the 
 *' demand was made," That the .demand in 
 queftion wa-s for money > is an accident which 
 does not at all partake of the intrinfic merits of 
 the affair. The demand was proper ]y for fol- 
 dier s ; the money was merely a commutation 
 or fubftitute. The foldiers w.ere certainly due 
 when demanded, becaufe the Sovereign was at 
 war-, fach being the tenure of the Zemindarry, 
 confequently the money was due ; bee a ufe the due 
 quota of troops couki not be raifed, nor main- 
 tained without it. 1'he war, and of courfe 
 the occafion for military ferviee, had con- 
 tinued for two years, and wa-s advanced into 
 the third, when the revolution at Benares 
 took place. From the firft moment to the 
 laft Cheyt Sing had exerted every artifice of 
 prevarication, fubterfuge, a-nd falfehood, to 
 protraft, to modify, or to elude the demand. 
 In the firft year he contrived to delay pay^ 
 ment for near three months, (Supplement, 
 page 6.) In the fecond, no other anfwer could 
 be procured from him by the Refident, than 
 * fr a pofitive aflertion that the Rajah could not 
 * pay it." (2d Report, page 34.) At the 
 
 end
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 end of four months, however, when every 
 fofter method failed, he was dragooned into 
 compliance. His conduct in the third year 
 was equally perverfe ; paft experience had no 
 effect upon his avaricious obftinacy ; and 
 when nearly three months were expired, the 
 Refident wrote to Calcutta, that " the Rajah, 
 " notwithftanding his fokmn affurances^ has hi- 
 " thertopaid no fart of the balance of his fub- 
 <{ fidy. He has refumed the plea of inability, 
 " and I can form no opinion how long be may 
 think proper to protraft payment" (Page 46.) 
 On receipt of this letter, the patience even of 
 Mr. Francis and Mr. Wheler was exhausted. 
 They had hitherto oppofed all compulfive 
 meafures, or even threats , but now they were 
 roufed to a fenfe of the indignity offered to 
 government, and unanimoufly voted for the 
 rigorous exaction both of the balanced? upon 
 his fubiidy, and of a fine in punifhment of 
 his contumacy. The fan:e arguments that 
 have eftabi, fried the right of government to 
 exact military let vice trom its dependent Ze- 
 mindars, will extend to all cafes in which 
 that military fcivice can b-- applied; confe- 
 quently to the requifition of cavalry, as well as 
 of infantry. Chcyt S : ng's citabliftimcnt of 
 E the
 
 ( 34 > 
 
 the former, by his own acknowledgement,, a- 
 mounted to 1300 (2d Report, page 39) 
 though the Select Committee, in their Sup- 
 plement (page u) have reduced the number, 
 undoubtedly by miftake, to 1200 j From 
 fome documents in the Appendix to the Go- 
 vernor General's narrative, there is reafon to 
 fuppofe he maintained near 2000. The Re- 
 fident, after various fruitlefs applications, de- 
 livered him a peremptory order to prepare 
 1000 horfe j The Rajah, by his own confefllon, 
 collected but 500 at moft, and offered 500 bur- 
 gundofTes, Cmiferable infantry^ as a fubftitute 
 for the remainder, The Select Committee 
 obferve upon this, " it is fomewhat fingular, 
 " that the Governor- General declares in 1775., 
 * c that he did not mean to impole this demand 
 tf of cavalry on the Rajah, by compulfion ; 
 *' and yet in 1781, his not complying with 
 " this demand, is confidered as fuch an act 
 '* of delinquency, as to form one of the two 
 " direct charges of culpability and guilt ; and 
 " for the pardon of which he was to pay 
 " largely, or a fevere vengeance was to .be 
 " exacted for his delinquency.'* ('Supplement, 
 P a g e *3-) Never was companion more un- 
 happy never were two cafes more diflimikr,
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 than thofe here unnaturally claflVd together ! 
 In 1775, in time of profound peace, and in 
 the act of forming an agreement with 'he 
 Rajah, Mr. Ballings {hewed an unwillingnefs 
 to faddle him with the neceiTity of conftamly 
 maintaining 2000 cavalry. General Clavering 
 however underftood even then, that the Rajah 
 did " keep up a large body of Cavalry" (Pa^e 
 12,,) and the Council General recommended 
 to him to keep two thoufand. In 1781, 
 in the midft of all the exigencies of 
 war, and under the fanction of that particular 
 tenure, by which Chcyt Sing then held his 
 Zemindarry, i. e. the constitutional obliga- 
 tion of military fervicc^ Mr. Haftings, as re- 
 preientative o the actual Sovereign, required 
 of him the afllftarice of fuch cavalry as he 
 then had in his pay, fuppoied, agreeably to 
 the above quoted recommend at .m of the 
 Council General, in 1775, to be 2000. The 
 demand however was gradually reduced to 
 1500, and laftly to 1000. The Rajah ac- 
 knowledged to have in pay 1300 (zd Report, 
 page 49 j yet at moil offered but 500, and 
 as the Governor-General Hates in his narra- 
 tive, (page 7) "furni/hednone" 
 
 E 2 Thefe
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 Thefe inftances of contumacy and dif- 
 cbedience appeared in the Governor-Gene- 
 ral's opinion, " evidences of a deliberate and 
 *' fyftematic conduct^ aiming at the total fub- 
 " verfion of the authority of the Company, 
 <c which defign had been long and generally 
 "imputed to him," (Supplement, page 17) 
 The Committee, on the contrary, " can con- 
 " ceive thele circumftances to have happenecj 
 without any defign whatever in Cheyt Sing 
 <c to give umbrage to the Admin iftradon of 
 " Calcutta.'*. Nay, they can aflfert that 
 " fiicceeding events have clearly proved /'/." And 
 yet, if thefe circumftances, combined with 
 the deliberate mafifacre of two companies, for 
 no oftenfible caufe whatever : with the after- 
 
 4 
 
 difcovery of military ftore5,warl,ke preparati- 
 ons and numerous troops, all kept in profound 
 fecrecy, and for no podible purpofes of ne- 
 cefiary defence : with the fudden revolt of 
 his whole Country almoft at a fignal, anc\ 
 with the gentral good underftanding which 
 inftantly appeared between him and all the 
 other difaffccted Chiefs in the neighbouring 
 Provinces, do not form a body of evidence 
 fatisfactorily demonftrable of " treachery, 
 *' perfidy, and rebellious violence," I know 
 
 not
 
 ( 37 ) 
 
 not under what definitions, or by what kind 
 of conftruction, treafon and revolt can nofli- 
 bly have been exprefied in any criminal Code, 
 fince the firft inftitution of political So- 
 cieties. But in the Reports of the Select 
 Committee, infmuation is an arrant Proteus : 
 No fooner have I caught him in one fhape, 
 than in the inftant of conviction he eludes 
 rny grafp, and rifes another being in the next 
 page. We are now told, that " unlefs the 
 ** depofal of Cheyt Sing, was a meafure ab- 
 " Jolutely f re -determined^ before the Governor 
 *' General proceeded to acts of violence, the 
 " Rajah might have been informed of the extent 
 ** of bis guilt" (Supplement, page 19.) And 
 fo He was. Mr. Haftings's firlt letter (zd 
 Report, page 48) from Benares, exprefs- 
 ly fays, <c The firft ftep, which I judged it 
 * c necefiary to take, as the ground on which 
 ** my future proceedings were to be conduct- 
 " ed, was to recapitulate in writing, the feveral 
 ^ inftances of his conduct, which for fome 
 41 time pad, have repeatedly drawn upon 
 " him the fevere reprehmfions ef the board j 
 " and to demand a dear and fat sfattory e- 
 14 planation." The anlvver fent by Cheyt 
 Sing to this letter here defcribcd, was the 
 
 fartheft
 
 ( 38 ) 
 
 fart heft from 'clear or fatisfattory. It was 
 filled with fhnffling excufes and palpable 
 lies; particularly the Rajah writes (in fpite 
 of his grofs mifconduft in delaying to furnifh 
 military aid) " I complied, with the utmoft 
 *'* readinefs, with the order You fent me for 
 ** the payment of five lacks of Rupees on 
 ** account of the war." (2d Report, page 
 49.) Mr. Haftings obferved upon the whole 
 of this anfwer, that it was " not only un- 
 " fatisfaftory in fubllance, but ofivafive in 
 " ftyle, and lefs a vindication of himfelf, 
 " than a recrimination upon me." (page 50) 
 Alarmed at thefe appearances, fo different 
 from the conduct of an Indian fubjecl to his 
 acknowledged fovereign, the Governor Ge- 
 neral, hefitating between the neceffity of aflert- 
 ing the authority of that Government, of 
 which He was reprefentative, and the alarm 
 which the full exertion even of juftifiable 
 feverity mightoccafion at fo critical a period 
 took the mild medium of an arrefl. There 
 is no clue whatever for the fuppofition that 
 this very arreft, much lefs that the depofal of 
 Cheyt Sing was " a muilure abfolutely predeter- 
 " mined" or even thought of, till his contu- 
 macious reply to the Governor- GeneiaPs ex- 
 
 poftu-
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 poftulation rendered fome effort of rigour 
 clearly indifpenfable. If the arreft were (and 
 it cannot be doubted) an act growing out of 
 wnforefren emergencies, what followed were 
 events totally out of the Governor-General's 
 option or controul. His prifoner fled, his 
 troops murdered, himfelf furrounded with 
 armed enemies, in a country of which he per- 
 fonated the legal monarch, and threatened 
 with inftant afiaffination there was no poffi- 
 bility of avoiding extremities, no means of 
 annihilating the treafon, but by crufhing the 
 traitor: no alternative, but by exemplary 
 punifliment, to avenge the rights of infulted f(h- 
 vereignt)', or gallantly to perim in the un- 
 equal conteft. It is aftigma on the Councils *"* 
 of the Company, on the politics of our 
 Government, and on national juftice, that it 
 fliould have been pollible, upon any refolu- 
 tions formed here at home, upon any cor- 
 refpondence circulated abroad, or upon any 
 inftruction, hint, or infmuation from any in- 
 terefted perfon whatever, for the Governor- 
 General to entertain the mod diftant fufpicion 
 of the probability of Rajah Cheyt Sing's re- 
 ftoration. Humanity, as well as policy, revolt 
 
 at
 
 ( 40 ) 
 
 at the very idea. You, Sir, will join with rite 
 in pronouncing it a moral impoflibilityi 
 
 Having toiled through 16 pages of Your 
 Supplement to the fecond Report, in the 
 doubly unpromifing attempt of demonftrating 
 the criminality of Mr. Haftings, and the in- 
 jured innocence of Cheyt Sing, You exhibit 
 in the 2Oth page, all the melancholy fuffer- 
 ings of this " oppreffed and unhappy man,'* 
 under one point of view* It is, I confefs, a 
 grand difplay of the pathetic, equally ad- 
 mirable for affecting tendernefs of language* 
 and copious flow of invention : Worked up 
 in a circumftantial climax of woe* each ar- 
 ticle gains more and more upon the commife- 
 ration of the reader, and each paufe affords 
 a frefli opportunity for the effufion of fenti- 
 ment. But that ihortnefs of fcntence, which 
 in fo mafterly a manner favours the burft of 
 pafllon, is no lei's adapted to the perfpecuity 
 of inveftigation, and the convenience of re- 
 ply. I mall therefore take the liberty to 
 divide the influence of thcfe bewitching 
 periods, by an unaffected, unfeeling com- 
 ment upon each j and it cannot bun prove a 
 latisfaclion to You to reflect, that how much 
 
 foever
 
 foever I mny detract from the authenticity of 
 the fubjsct, I mall add in the fame degree to 
 the merit of the romance. " An event," you 
 lay, " io extraordinary in itfelf, and of fo 
 " much confequence, not only to the fuffcr- 
 " ing party, but to every Tributary to the 
 *' Company whatever may be his rank or fla- 
 " t,on, induced your Committee to invefti- 
 " gate the fubject with precifion. From this 
 " wvefiign&n" (of which 1 hwe already given 
 ample fpecimens) " ihe folio,wing conclu- 
 u fions may be drawn:*' 
 
 " If the tonfideration of public fervices pef- 
 tc formed to our nation by the father, is re- 
 " quiied by a violation of public faith to the 
 tc ion, upon pretences die moil frivolous" 
 
 Comment. Ealwant Sing had not miny 
 public fervices to plead : and L an; aftomfhed 
 how the PreOdent and Council of Bengal, in 
 177:5, ihouid allude to any fervices ;f the 
 kind performed in i 764 (2,1 Report, page 1 1) 
 when, in thai very year, in the war with Sujah 
 Dowla^ his conduct b. tra\ed fo much diipli- 
 city, that the then Government wimed to 
 have him " tifaoyejed of bis Country, end bis 
 F feijon,
 
 ( 42 ) 
 
 $erfon, ifpoflible, fecured" (page 5.) In 1^65, 
 'he eloped from our army, and the letter from 
 the Council, April j, (page 9) is exp;cfiive 
 of the ftrongert diftrult, and complains of his 
 " atua\ violation of his treaty" by def.-rting our 
 arms. Our Government was even obliged 'to 
 relinquifh in his favour a confiderablc unli- 
 quidated demand, " in hopes of making it his 
 <l inter eft to remain faitbjut" The public fer- 
 vices performed by the father, and the viola- 
 lation of public faith to the fon, are equally 
 vilionary.- See Mr. Huftings's excellent let- 
 ter, (page 29, ^o and 31). 
 
 " If the folemn faith of a treaty, which 
 *' confirmed the Tributary in the actual pof- 
 V feffion of his lands, be no longer confidered 
 c of fufficient validity to protect him from 
 *' oppreffion and extortion" 
 
 Comment. I think I have clearly mewn 
 that Cheyt Sing was not exempted from military 
 fervice, by the tenure of his Zemindarry : fo 
 long therefore as the demands of Government, 
 for the war eftabiifhment, did not exceed the 
 extent ot his common military foice, there was 
 no oppreflion or extortion in the cafe. The 
 
 Committee
 
 { 4J ) 
 
 Committee obferve (fupplement, page 19) 
 " that if there was no boundary of right, on 
 te which the Rajah could make his (land to 
 " the increafing demands of the Governor- 
 " General and Council, he could not be faid to 
 " pofifefs any right or property whatfoever." 
 I an r wer that there was a boundary : that 
 the number of his troops in actual pay, or an 
 equivalent to that number, was the precife 
 .boundary in queftion : and that whereas 
 Cheyt Sing's regular cftablifhment is dated to 
 have been 7690 men (page 19 ; the Gover- 
 nor~General was much within the limits of 
 right, when he peremptorily demanded 3 bat- 
 talions of f-apoys, and 1000 cavalry. A 
 
 requifition of this nature by no means inter- 
 fered with the ftipulations of the Pottah and 
 Sunnud* 
 
 " If the ju(V, regular and punctual per- 
 formance of all ftipulated conditions, is found 
 to be no lecurity againft new claims and new 
 exactions" 
 
 Comment. Colonel Monlbn in his minute 
 refpecting t.ie Governor-General's propofition 
 for engaging", hey t Sing to maintain 2000 ca- 
 valry
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 valry (fuppkmenr, page 12) thus exprrffea 
 hunt" If. " I am of opinion, the Company 
 '* ftnuld receive the Rajah's afjiftance on t:itr 
 " fame terms he gave it to the Vizier, or the 
 " prefect Nabob.'* - General Clavering dates, 
 that 500 cf his cavalry actually " afffied un- 
 " cer the command of the Captain of the 
 " Governor's gua<d, on the co< queft of the 
 ** Kohilla Country." 'I he fovereignty of 
 Benares was yielded to us by the Vizier, 
 '* w:th all the powers an.i rights annexed to 
 " it," precifely as he had hokien it : and the 
 Committee now difpnte our ri^ht to demand 
 of Cheyt Sing any aj/iftance at all. 
 
 t6 If a Tributary of the Company is found 
 " to have no other fecurity for the pofTeHlon 
 " of his lands, ^bicb defended io him from ma- 
 " ny generations, but the arbitrary power of the 
 " Governor-General, or executive Gavern- 
 " ment of the Country": 
 
 Comment. Wbo znftwhat was Rajah Bui- 
 want Sing's father, and where can ic be found 
 that Cheyt Sing came to the pofiefTion of his 
 lands by defcevi? -The contrary is on proof 
 above. Even had the Zemindarry been her*-*
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 t which, till fettled by Mr. Haftings in 
 1773, moft certainly was not the cafe ilill it 
 mult have been held upon feodal principles, 
 and the general laws of the Mogul empire. 
 Military fervice is military fetvice, and noi the 
 arbitrary will of the Governor-General. The pof- 
 'feflion of the land can ied inherently with it 
 that precife obligation, and its performance 
 was a pledge for the fecurity of that po 
 feflion. 
 
 " If the pofleflion of wealth is to be confi- 
 w dered as a ftatc-crime, and heavy fines and 
 tc penalties are to be laid on the poffefTors, 
 45 with a view of rendering their power* or 
 " their wealth lefs dangerous to the Com- 
 " pany" 
 
 Comment. This is a jefuitical inference 
 from T partial ftatement of a paragraph in the 
 Governor-General's narrative. After explain- 
 ing the grounds on which Cheyt Sing owed 
 obedience to the Company, and reciting the 
 different eels of contumacy, by which he had 
 forfeited that obedience, he proceeds to fhew 
 by what means he would extract good out of 
 er/7, and make the very punifhment of his 
 
 del in-
 
 delinquency fubfervient both to the fafety 
 and profit of the ft ate. " I left Calcutta," 
 fays he, (narrative, page 12) " imprefled with 
 " the belief that extraordinary means were 
 " neceffary, and thofe exerted with a ftrong 
 <c hand, to preferve the Company's interefts 
 " from finking under the accumulated weight 
 " which opprefied them. I faw a political ne- 
 " cejfity for curbing the overgrown power of a 
 " great Member of their dominion, and mak- 
 ' ing it contribute to the relief of their prefl- 
 " ing exigencies/' If Cheyt Sing were pow- 
 erful enough to difpute his Sovereign's au- 
 thority in cm inftance, (and that too upon 
 unjuftifiable excufes, and contrary to the very 
 tenure by which he enjoyed his territory) he 
 might foon have become equally refractory 
 or dilatory in the payment of his ftipuiated 
 rents or have aflfumed any other undue pre- 
 tenfion : and hence the neceflity for curbing 
 his overgrown power, degenerated >nto info- 
 lencc. If his niggird obftinacy and ftumelefs 
 prevarications had defrauded his paramount 
 of a timely aid) wMch it was his duty, as a Ze- 
 mindar to have furnilh d, no won cr that ihe 
 damages accruing from fuch default were laid 
 to his account, or ihat he were compelled to 
 
 contribute
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 contribute a larger portion of relief to thofe 
 preffing exigencies, which his undutiful con- 
 duct had fo much combined to aggravate. 
 It was not the " pojpjfion of wealth " that was 
 " ccnfidered as a Jlate crime" but a pertina- 
 cious reluctance to pay the juft demands of 
 Government; and ir he relied on his wealth 
 or power as fufficient to fcreen him from the 
 jufhce of his Sovereign he from that mo- 
 ment muft be deemed a difaffected fubject, his 
 power and wealth were really dangerous, and 
 it became equally prudent, juft, and necelTary 
 to check thtm. 
 
 <e If the compliance with one arbitrary and 
 " unjuft demand, inftead of lecuring the tri- 
 " butary from further oppreflion, is inflantly 
 " followed by another demand fo extravagant, 
 " as to render a compliance with it utterly 
 " impoffible" 
 
 Comment. Falfe throughout. The firft 
 demand was neither a- binary nor unjuft. I 
 have proved it to be legal -nd constitutional \ 
 nor can a forcedfubmij/ion to iu^erior power be 
 ftnctly termed " compliance" The fecond de- 
 mand fo far from being fmpcffible y was the very 
 
 reverie
 
 ( 4* > 
 
 reverfe even of extravagant. It relates to the 
 requificion for cavalry : and it is proved by 
 Chi j yt Sing's own confefiion, that he kept 
 i ^ at kail " The number required," f :ys 
 the Governor-General in the yth page of his 
 narrative, " was 2000, and afterwards reduced 
 " to the demand of 1500, and l.fily to 1000, 
 " but with no more fuccefs. He offered 250, 
 " lutjurnijbed nom" 
 
 '* If requTuions are mi.de, unauthorized 
 " by any ftipulation in the treaty, and a 
 '* (hort delay intervenes before che rcqu'fu 
 '* tion is finally complied with, if fuch de- 
 * J lay is conitrued into evidence ot high 
 ^ trcafon'-- 
 
 Comment. The rtquifitions were made in 
 the fpirit of a feodal obligation, and the Jlipu*. 
 lations of the treaty had nothing to do with 
 them. Would a crown-kafe in England abfofoe 
 me from allegiance to bis Majefty, or tc.xes to the 
 State? The " Jhort ddcy" before compli- 
 ance is proved to have been of leveral 
 months in each year, and that upon pleas 
 equally indecent and untrue. After all, the 
 delay was never conftrued into evidence of 
 
 '
 
 ( 49 ) 
 
 treafon, but treated for what it really 
 was, contumacy and di [obedience. When other 
 overt afts had clearly ellablifhed the ^u-.tt of 
 high treafcn, the delay in complying with 
 the demands of Government became one 
 link in the grand chain of evidence, that 
 clearly demonftratcd the previous exigence of 
 Zreafonable intentions. 
 
 " If Reports unwarranted, and ill-authen- 
 *' ticated, if fugeftions of public d nger 
 ** and imputations of evil deligns, ill- found- 
 " ed, improbable and impiadtkabie ar to 
 " be admitted as fuificient grounds for com- 
 " mencing hoftilitics" 
 
 Comment. W o commenced thole hoftt- 
 lities ? Chcyt Sing. No tvtl defigns were 
 imputed, till the country was in attua revolt* 
 No public dangers wcrc/a-jg^ /, till two Com- 
 panies of Seapoys had l>ecn majjccred m cold 
 blood. -Tht-f/ aie/I;#j, certainly not ill fou nd- 
 ed, though they migh be thought improbable: 
 and after perpetration it is rather a bold fi-uie 
 of rhetoric 10 term them " impr, l\ci,be" 
 The '* Reports" allucied to, were not be- 
 lieved, at leaft no ad: was performed in con- 
 G fcqucuce
 
 ( 50 ) 
 
 fequence of fuch belief, till after conviftion. 
 But Reports, which upon after-diuovciy are 
 found perfedly to tally with matter of fad:, 
 and of which upwards of fifty affidavits teftify 
 the veracity, can never be deemed " unwar- 
 " ranted or ill- authenticated" 
 
 " If the diftrcfs of the Eaft-India Com- 
 " pany, from whatfoever caufe arifing, 
 " Ihould ever be conlidered as the fmallcft 
 " juftification of mealures, which are cruel, 
 " unjuft, and oppreflive to the natives of 
 India" 
 
 Comment. A meve pethio principii ! ampli- 
 fied with the cuftomary tautology of inappli- 
 cable epithets The- diftreisof the Eaft India 
 Company flattered Chcyt Sing with the 
 hopes of exerting his contum cy and difo- 
 bedience unpunifhed ; and his milconduft 
 was a juftificationfor the Governor-General's 
 intended fine. His fubfequcnt elcape from 
 arreft, his mafTacre of our troops, and open 
 rebellion, were a mod palpable forfeiture of 
 his allegiance* AND CONSEQUENTLY OF HJS 
 ZEMINDARRY, 
 
 If
 
 ( 5' ) 
 
 *' If thefe conclufions be juft and well 
 " founded" 
 
 Comment. They moft afiuredly are not in 
 any one inftance, and therefore all farther 
 notice of them is nugatory and abfurd. But 
 if fuch glaring mifreprefentations are to pafs 
 for fact; if fuch odious partiality is to ftand 
 in the place of juftice ; and if the legiflature, 
 the Government, and the Company are to be 
 deceived and mifled by fuch jefuincal artifices, 
 " no fituation can be more wretched and depfo- 
 " rable? than that of men, who in great and 
 refponfible offices have performed the moft 
 glorious and important fervices to their 
 country, " whofe honour^ lives and fortunes" 
 are expofed to the inveterate prejudices, the 
 felf-interefted machinations, and exaggerat- 
 ing narratives of a Select Committee ! 
 
 . I had intended, Sir, in this place to clofe 
 my obfervations on your curious Supplement 
 to the id Report. But no fooner have I 
 fairly combated and complrtely overthrown 
 all Your unfupported aflcrtions upon matter 
 of fact, than I a- peftered with fpeculative 
 G 2 abfurdities-.
 
 C 52 > 
 
 abfurditics. Who would have -expected to 1 
 find a man of Your political experience, 
 vindicating th- uniformity Q? the line of ad- 
 vancement in our Indian Governments ? yet 
 You boldly advance (Supplement, page 18) 
 " this regular and cftM/hed mode of juccejfion 
 " top zetf/'jfofrc-quently conformed by practice, 
 " wlu-n oppoffd to the great uncertainty of 
 " fucceffion among the Princes of India, has 
 '* been a matter of admiration to the natives-* 
 u of Hindoftan.'* I am as great a friend as 
 You can be to a regular and uniform fyftem 
 of luccefilon;, but for my foul I cannot dif- 
 covcr wiierein the fucccflion to the Chair of 
 Calcutta can appear lefs unov tain to the natives 
 ef Indua, than the JucceiTion to the throne of 
 Did no competition arife concerning tha 
 n, upon the unwarrantable pretext 
 of Mr. H,iftings's refignation ? Did no 
 unexptdted revolution ever take place in 
 Fort *St. George, " dependant neither on 
 " b&edita y right, priority of birth, the appoint - 
 tc 'went of the late profcjfor^ the eleflicn of the 
 " people, nor any other fxed or determinate 
 14 tulel" Surely, Sir, You compofed this 
 paragraph in a very abfent ftate of rmnd, 
 pondering, perhaps upon the Angularity of 
 
 the
 
 ( S3 ): 
 
 the revolution, by which Mefirs. Powel a/id 
 Bern bridge had fucceeded again to tbeir of- 
 fices ! - Alas, alas ! the people of India well 
 know, that there are other myfteries in the 
 world, bt fides " the intrigues cf the Seraglio:" 
 and that if an old woman from the inmoft re- 
 cefies of her Zennana can foment a rebellion 
 in Oude, a patriot and legiflator can impofe 
 upon the fenfes, and warp the judgement of 
 half a nation for two years together, by in- 
 terefted, " ill-founded," and " ill-authenti- 
 " cvted" rhapfodies from a Committee Cham- 
 ber. 
 
 The mention of the Seraglio 1 naturally leads 
 me to the fabjec"l of your loth Report 
 much more naturally than an appointment to 
 take into confideration the ftate of the adrm- 
 rriftration of juftice in the provinces of Ben- 
 gal, Bahar, and Orifla, could lead You to 
 fcrutinize the internal politics of the king- 
 dom of Oude. But this circurnftance ferves 
 to give You a more exclufive title to the 
 compofition before us, as your magnificent 
 Chairman, with all his front, is no Hiber- 
 nian. This is the fourth Report which has 
 already grown out of the Gwvernor r General's 
 
 late
 
 ( 5+ ) 
 
 late journey to Benares and Oude j and I do 
 not doubt but that from the very fame mate- 
 rials, and with equal attention to fads, the 
 Committee, if permitted, would contrive to 
 fabricate half a dozen more Reports for the 
 next feflions, all " confidered as their indifpenfa- 
 ct ble duty" " An inveftigation into the 
 " caufes ajfigmd by the Governor-General^ for a 
 " breach of the public faith of the Company, 
 * 6 pledged by him and the Council -General, 
 " in the moft folemn manner, for the protec- 
 " tion of the widow of the late Vizier Sujah 
 <c Dowla, a woman of the firft diftinction, 
 " by birth and rank, in the empire of Hin- 
 " doftan," is the oftenfibde purport of your 
 performance, and the poor heJplefs lady has 
 found in You a moft zealous and hardy ad- 
 vocate. 
 
 This lady, who is known by the denomination 
 of the Bow Begum, advanced in the year 1775, 
 a fum of money to her fon the Vizier, to be 
 applied to the exigences of the ftate, " on con- 
 " dition that me mould be guaranteed by the 
 " Company in the full and quiet enjoyment 
 " of her eftates, effects, and jaghters." ^ loth 
 Report, page 4.) The public faith being 
 
 accordingly
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 accordingly pledged to the mother of the Vi- 
 zier, (he continued to refide, under that pro- 
 tection, at Fyzabad. " Not indeed in the 
 " unmolefted enjoyment of her rights ; for 
 " your Committee obferve, (page 4) that fo early 
 " as January, 1778, the Englifh Reiident, 
 " Mr. Middleton, makes very ftrong repre- 
 " fentations to the Governor-General and 
 " Council, of the Vizier's treatment of his 
 " grandmother" No other Member of the 
 Committee, Sir, can have any pretenfions to 
 this very conclufive cbfervation : The fyllogifm 
 effectually befpeaks its author. After the 
 death of the Vizier Sujah Dowla, his widow, 
 the Bow Begum, unwarrantably poflefTed h r- 
 felf of his effects. Our Refident at Ojde 
 writes (Appendix, No. i.) "1 underftand the 
 " late Vizier depofued the furplus of his reve- 
 " nues with the Begum ; anil having died in- 
 " teftate (or at leaft a will was never pro- 
 ** duced, though one is Jaid to be Jecreted by the 
 " Begum) it left a door open to the difputes 
 " which hive happened ; for according to the 
 *' Koran, and the uf.tges of the country -, the Na- 
 *' bob could claim an infinitely greater Jhare 
 " than he has got." In another place he 
 mentions to have iniinuated to the Begum her- 
 
 felf
 
 felf (Appendix, No. i,) " That the treafures 
 " (lie poflfefied were the treafures of the flats, a$ 
 *' fhe had not fucceed d to them by any legal 
 " right, and they had been hoarded up topro- 
 " vide againft an emergency*' Here we have a 
 Woman fiiff>efteti to have fecretea her bit/band's 
 ivitl, and notoriouily afUiming to her private 
 life trea/ures defined for the exigencies of the fiate, 
 Her fon, however, in a moment of diftrefs, 
 was content to relinquim all his legal right in 
 thofe treafures, for a very fcanty portion of 
 their amount. At this time, as well as at all 
 fubfequent periods, the Old Lady feems to 
 have behaved with pecu'iar acrimony toward^ 
 him, for the Council-General, on the conclu- 
 fion of this tranfadion, thus write to their 
 Refidenr, at Oude, (Appendix, No. i) " We 
 <{ think that the circumftances of the Nabob's 
 * e affairs, and the unfavourable difpofilicn which 
 " his mother, the Begum, Jhewed towards blni^ 
 *' made it neceflary for you to comply with 
 ce his requeft, for affording your ajfijlance to 
 " perfitade her to fupply him with a fum of 
 " money." The Begum indeed had roundly 
 told the Refident, that " as for the. Nabob, 
 *' Jhe would not advance him a fmgle rupee upon 
 " his own word, but fooner throw all her 
 
 " jewels,
 
 ( 57 ) 
 
 "jewels and money into the river." And he 
 writes, " that the Begum claimed every arti- 
 " cle of the late Vizier's property, even to bis 
 " military flares :" and he bears teftimony alfo 
 to the' very improper condud: of the Begum's 
 fervants, " who have hitherto preferved a to- 
 '* tal independence of the Nabob's authority, 
 " beat the officers of his Government^ and refufed 
 " obedience to his Perwannahs." The lan- 
 guage of this " helplefs woman" appears on 
 all occafions, fturdy and afiuming. In one 
 letter (he requefts the Governor-General to 
 difplace the Nabob's' Miniftjr, and put her 
 confidants in his place-, and that "whatever 
 " fums are due to the Englifh Chiefs," Jhe 
 " will caufe to be paid out of the Revenues ." 
 In another flie writes to the Relident, " You 
 " were a party in this affair, and took from 
 " me the fum.of 56 lacks of rupees. If you 
 " will caufe the 56 lacks to-be reftored to me, 
 ** then the Coulnama will not be binding : 
 
 . o 
 
 *' and do not you then take any part in the 
 " affair, and then let Afoph ul Dowla and 
 " Murteza Khan," (i. e. the Nabob and his 
 minifter) " in whatever manner they are abk y 
 " take fums of money from ;#<?, they will 
 ** then fee the ccnfequences " The Nabob him- 
 H - felf
 
 s c & r 
 
 {ff declared to- the '' Refident His own opinion- 
 of his mother's ambitious views', by obferving 
 that " T'wo rulers wer^ too much for -one country" 
 $f Her language and Her condu-et, as above 
 defcribed, do not authorize, they palliate a 
 ieaft, thofe feverities which the Vizier is {kid 
 t6 have exercifed towards his mother, and 
 which feern to- have required the conftaht in- 
 terference of our Refident to mollify. The 
 geaeral dlfpofition hov/ever of both parties 
 towards each other-, is plainly deducible from 
 their mutual recriminations,, and mutual dlfc 
 truft. The Begum appears a " capricious, 
 w inconftant, violent*' wbman, ambitious 
 oif acquiring, lt 'by ibe intrigues of the feraglio" 
 management of all the revenues of tiie coun- 
 try. Podefled of irnmcnfe treafures by a fuf- 
 pedled fraudulent concealment of her Kuf- 
 band's will, a beft by a very dubious title, 
 arid again ft tie ufage* of her religion arid country r 
 fhe " prefumes to talk of appointing mini- 
 ." fters, and governing kingdoms." The Na- 
 bob is, by his modier, reprefented as a man 
 "'entirely inexperienced in the affairs of tHe 
 tv world, and ignorant of \v1iat is good or 
 " bad,'* and by the Refident, as having "To- 
 ""entirely Ibfl.tHe confUenw atid affefticms of
 
 f si ) 
 
 *' his fubjecls, that unkfs feme refifaint is \rtop 
 ** pofed upon him, which would effectually &- 
 " cure thofe who live under the protection of has 
 " Government, from violence and oppreffion &'* 
 no man of reparation or property would long 
 continue to inhabit his dominions. Su-ch wece 
 the inclinations, and fuch the behaviour of the 
 two parties in 1776 -, the Refident then wrote, 
 44 I find all my endeavours to- reconcile her 
 t (the Begum) and the Nabob in vain-."- and 
 in another place ^ I have hitherto been un- 
 *.' able to fatisfy die Nabob or the Begum, 
 however, a Specious formal kind of agreement 
 was then patched up between .theon, to which 
 the Reficknt was guarantee : But it cannot be 
 ftid to have been very fatisfa&ory on .either, 
 fide, as the Nabob could get but a part of 
 what the Refideat thought him fully entitled 
 to demand, and even of that part it appeared^ 
 ** by the behaviour of the Begum's Eunuch* 
 " and fervants* that they were inclined to pro- 
 ** craftihate the payment upon any frivolous 
 * l pretence that occured." The difputes whlcli' 
 tke Refident's interpofition had lulled in f/7"6 9 
 broke o-ut with frefh violence iirj^S, And' 
 as far as appears upon the Committee's ftate-' 
 of the cafe, there is reaftot to fuppcxfe ' 
 H 2 that
 
 ( 6o ) 
 
 that the Council-General's authority with the 
 Vizier, at that time, filenccd at leaft, if it could 
 not afTuage His difcontents. But there is no 
 reafon, either from any actual documents in the 
 Report and Appendix, or from analogical 
 conjecture and comparifon, to prefume, that 
 the Begum's temper had abated any thing of 
 its former violence, and her ambition of its 
 pretenlions ; or that if her fervants had " pre- 
 " ferved a total independence of the Nabob's 
 <c authority, beat the officers of his^govern- 
 " rnent, and refufed obedience to his Pe/wan- 
 " nabs" in 1776, when (he was really "# 
 " helplefs woman" at the abfolute power and * 
 difpofal of a defpotic fovereign, her conduft 
 Ihould have become more moderate, or that 
 of her fervants more obfequious afterwards, 
 when (he flattered herfelf with an utter ex- 
 emption from all controuJ, by virtue of the 
 Company's guarantee. 
 
 In 1781, " The Province of Oude, having 
 ct fallen into a fbte of great ' diforder and 
 " confufion, its refources being in an ex- 
 '* traordinary degree diminifhed, and the 
 ** Nabob Afoph ul Dowla, having trarneftly 
 V entreated the prefence of the Governor- . 
 
 *< General,
 
 ( 61 ) 
 
 " General, and declared, that nn!efs fome 
 ** effectual meafures are taken for his relief, 
 " he mutt be under the neceiTity of leaving 
 "- his country, and coming down to Calcutta 
 " to reprefent his fituation," it was rciblvcd 
 in Council, that the Governor-General fhouLH 
 vifu that Province, and ufe his endeavours 
 for the re-eftablifhment ot its affairs. Be- 
 nares lay in his way, and having much reafon 
 to be diflatisfied with Rajah Cheyt Sing, he 
 took that opportunity to bring him to order. 
 The unhappy confcquences that followed, 
 have been already explained. Cheyt Sing 
 refifted his authority, fled from arrelt, mur- 
 dered his guards, and commenced open re- 
 bellion, " Its contagion," Mr. Haftings ob- \ 
 fcrves in his narrative (page 26) " inftantly 
 " flew to Fyzabad ."which -the Nabob 
 Vizier, in expectation of the Governor- ' 
 General's vifit had already quitted. The 
 revolt at Benares commenced on the i6th of 
 Auguft, and about the 8th at September, 
 the commotions are faid to have begun in 
 Oude. The firft interview between the Go- 
 vernor-General and the Nabob Vizier, was on 
 the iithof September, at Chunar Gur: at 
 which time it was not probable that either 
 
 part;
 
 faarty flhould have received intelligence of the 
 difturbances at Fyzabad, and therefore the 
 Governor-General, in his letter to Mr. Whekr 
 of that date (loth Report, page 9) confines 
 his account to the rebellion in Gauzipoor: 
 There is no document whatever to prove, 
 that even at that moment Mr. Haftjrfgs had 
 eatertained the moft diftant idea of giving 
 up the Company's Guarantee, %hich fecured 
 to the two Begums the pofleffion of their 
 Jagheers, much lefs that when lie left Cadr 
 cutta, fuch a dtfign had ever once occurred 
 to him. But when lie' wrote a iecond time 
 on the 1 8th of September to Mr. Wheler, 
 He informed him, that the contagion had 
 reached the Province of O.ude, but that He 
 ' ftiould djfmifs the Nabob in a few days,. 
 " and doubted not but his troubles would 
 * 6 foon be quelled." The next day being 
 , the i^th of September, the Governor-Ge- 
 neral, and the Nabob Vizier mutually ex-; 
 changed certain articles of agreement, whick. 
 had been concerted between them as the moft; 
 probable means for reftoring the Province of* 
 Oude " to its former ftate of affluence, good- 
 * order, and profperity." From- a review of ; 
 thefe, dates, itisckar todesnenftration, tkd&/ . 
 
 account*
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 a&b'tfhfts of the infurrection at Fyzabad 
 reached Mr. Haftings, between the nth and" 
 1 8th of September : and it may be fairly in- 
 ferred, that He and the Nabob agreed in' 
 confulering ct the military power and do- 
 " minion afTuined by the Jagheerdars" to 
 have afforded at once the temptation and the 
 wieans for rvbellion. It was therefore fettled 
 between them-, that the Nabob mould be. 
 cc permitted to refume fuch as he might find 
 ** ncceflary,"' with a referVe that he fhould 
 pay the nettf amount of the collodions of 
 Aich as were- guaranteed by the Company.^. 
 At the head of the Jagheerdars were the two 
 Begums": and to thofe who mail have ob- 
 ferVed the uniform ambition, violent temper, 
 and habitual difbbediefice of thofe ladies, 
 dieir cunudis and fervants, as defcribedin the 
 loth Report, and who mail have perufed* 
 the feveral affidavits in the Appendix, No. 3, 
 co the Governor-General's Narrative, namely 
 of Doond Sing L -, of Ahlaud Sing M ; of 
 Denoo Sing N ; of Ram Sing O ; of HLU- 
 deal Sing P , and of Bejy Sing Qj befides 
 thofe of the Refident, ot Lieutenant Colonel 
 H'annay, and other European witnefies, who 
 all fwear either to the general difaffeclion of 
 
 the
 
 ( 6+ ; 
 
 tne Begums, or to particular and pointed 
 acts of treachery and revolt, perpetrated at 
 their inftigation, and in their name^ it will not 
 be poffible to doubt, that the Governor-Ge- 
 neral and the Nabob acted upon full con- 
 viction of their delinquency, in the prefent 
 inftance, as well as of their having *' in- 
 *' variably employed the influence of their 
 ** Jagheers to the mod pernicious purpofes." 
 When thefc articles were drawn up, Mr. 
 Haftings appears to have had no other view, 
 than to ftrengthen the Nabob's hands by a 
 political fupprefiion of that delegated autho- 
 rity, which was rifing faft into independence 
 and to increafe his revenues by the fums- in 
 which the actual produce of the Jagheers 
 fhould be found to exceed the nominal value 
 of the grant. The Nabob, as a Sovereign, 
 could not but wifli fuch an addition to his 
 own power, and the actual (late of his coun- 
 try muft have imprefled him with an idea of 
 its necefllty. No wonder therefore, that 
 upon his return to his capital, " the Go- 
 " vernor-General Ihould expect that he would 
 " immediately have entered into the execu- 
 " tion of the meafares neceflary for the ac- 
 " complimment of the plan they had mu- 
 
 " tually
 
 r 6 5 ) 
 
 " tually agreed upon, zn& particularly the re- 
 " fumption of the Jagheers, as an ad equally 
 " necefTary to the reftoration of peace, and 
 " to the difcharge of his debts to the Com- 
 " pany." Imbecility and irrdc.Iution were 
 however the character rftics of the Nabob's 
 Councils, and it appears that the month of 
 December arriveo^ without any progrefs hav- 
 ing been made in the bufinefs. But the 
 harftmefs of the Nabob towards the Begums, 
 from the firit moment of his acceflfion to the 
 mufnud (which I have above defcribed from 
 your icth Report) added to his recent ex- 
 perience of t-hcir intrigues, leave no room to 
 fnppofe with You, (page n) that " this 
 " temporizing and indecifive conducV* could 
 proceed from any tendernefs he entertained 
 for his parents. True it is, the Governor- 
 General was alarmed, and with reafon, at the 
 delay. To have returned to Calcutta, leav- 
 ing one grand end of his journey under an 
 apparent improbability of completion, would 
 have diftreffed a n.iii lefs warm than him- 
 fclf for the interef'i: of his employers. He 
 therefore pointedly flattened its accomphfh- 
 rnent, by the ftrong interference of tht Kefi- 
 l dent.
 
 ( 66 ) 
 
 dent. This was in the latter end of Decem- 
 ber, 1781. 
 
 At this period a new fcene opens. We 
 have feen the Bow Begum openly countenanc- 
 ing an infurrection in the heart of her Ton's 
 dominions, in September, j 78 ;, and we have 
 feen the Nabob entering into a fpeciftc agree- 
 ment for depriving her of that undue influ- 
 ence which me derived from her jagheer, out 
 allowing her the nett amount of its produce. 
 About the latter end of September Afoph ul 
 Dowla returned to his capital, at the earned 
 inftancesof theGovernor-General, and for the 
 exprefs purpofe of reforming the overgrown 
 jagheers. At the fame time our Refident at the 
 Vizier's court received inftructions from Mr. 
 Haftings, to attend to the due execution of 
 the articles of agreement jult concluded. Some 
 time in December the Refident informed the 
 Governor-General, that the Nabob h.id fhewn 
 a great reluctance to enter on this bufmefs, 
 but that he had at length appointed an Aumil 
 to take charge of the Begum's jagheer. You 
 are pleafed to obferve, Sir, (loth Report, 
 page 20) that "the refumption of the jag- 
 " heers was an act totally wnecejfary to. the re- 
 
 < c iteration
 
 " ftoration of the peace of the country, be- 
 " caule that peace had been reftored before the 
 " relumption was made." The country, I 
 grant, had afiumed the appearance of peace. 
 The revolters rejled on their arms It was ef- 
 fectually to fecure future tranquillity, to de- 
 prive intrigue of its refources, and rebellion of 
 itsfupport, that the refumptton of the jagheers 
 was propofed. The clans in Scotland were 
 abolifhed, not to procure prefent quiet, but to 
 obviate the pofilbility of future difturbance. 
 Events amplyjuttmcd the Governor-General's 
 impatience, and evinced the prudence, the 
 policy, the neceffity of this refumption. For 
 although it be ftated, " that the return of 
 " the Nabob had effettually reftored the quiet 
 " of the country." Yet we find that the in- 
 ftant he proceeded to aft upon the articles 
 ftipulated between Mr Haftings and himfelf, 
 the ftandard of revolt was again let up, and 
 " the Begum affembleda large, body of troops" (in 
 her fan's capital) with a fuppofed dcfign of 
 refinance. " A violent and threatening letter 
 '" which" the Refidt-nt writes to " have juft 
 " received from the Begum, would feem to 
 " leave no room to doubt of her intentions ro 
 *! fupport the already declared ticentioufnefs of 
 I 2 " btr
 
 \ 68. ) 
 
 w herfervants, in oppofmgthe Nabob's orders" Tt 
 appears, Moth Report, page 10) that the Na- 
 bob's Aumil for taking charge of the Begum's 
 jaghcers, was appointed before the igth of De- 
 cember-, and it was on the \.2th of J muary fol- 
 lowing, that the Refident, in conjunftion with 
 the Nabob, f mnd it neceflary to a(Tume them 
 by force ot arms. Averfe to every Ipecies of 
 fubordination, and emboldened perhaps by 
 former impunity, the two leading Eunuchs 
 of. this turbulent and imperious woman had 
 exerted- themfelves during the w'hole of that 
 interval, in afifembling, and calling in armed 
 men from all quarters : (Appendix, No. 6..) 
 They had even fortified and entrenched them- 
 felves with a view to refiftance, in the Begum's 
 Kellah (or Cattle.) And when they at laA 
 fubmitted to fuperior force, were found pof- 
 fcfied of a very large flore of ammunition, pro- 
 perly diftributed " drawn up in regular order, 
 " pieces loaded^ and matches- lighted." Such clear 
 proofs of premeditated oppofition to~ the com- 
 mands of their Sovereign, abfolute at all events 
 with refpe<5b to them t and in whom (even if we. 
 admit the Begum herfelf to have had an inde- 
 pendent right to her jagheer) refiftance was 
 certainly rebellion, and the preparations for 
 
 refiftance
 
 ( 6 9 ) 
 
 remittance treafbn, cannot be overturned by any 
 fophiftical diftmclions and prevaricating quib- 
 bles of a Select Committee. Nor could the 
 conferences of this frefh provocation be other 
 than we find in the Report, afeizure of the Be- 
 gum's ill-gotten and ill-applied treasures. This 
 brings me, Sir, to your grand mafter-piece of 
 infmuation, to your laboured attempts to infer, 
 that Mr. Haftings has facrificed every moral 
 obligation, and every tie of national honour, to 
 tlie mere temporary advantage of his employ- 
 ers. Having ftated the failure of the expected 
 relief from Cheyt Sing's wealth, and quoted 
 the Governor-General's declaration, " that 
 " the Company's interefts could only be pre- 
 " ferved from finking under the accumulated 
 " weight which opprefied them, by the ex- 
 " ertion, with a ftrong hand, of fome extra- 
 " ordinary means." You pointedly and tri- 
 umphantly exclaim, " he appears to have fe- 
 " letted a new- objeft for this exertion" No doubt 
 t had been one great motive of Mr. Haf- 
 tings's journey to Oude, to recover, fand 
 with juilice; as much as poflible of the enor- 
 mous balance in which the Vizier flood en- 
 gaged to the Company , as well as to alleviate 
 
 by
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 by an immediate fine on Cheyt Sing, the pe- 
 cuniary diflrefTes of the moment. The two 
 objectb were perfectly diitinct ; and if in the 
 one cafe the Governor- General has imparted 
 to us his own fecret of the intended mulct, in 
 the other he has uniformly maintained, that 
 he looked to a reform in the finances of Oude, 
 for the means of a gradual extinction of the 
 Vizier's debts. With this profefled determi- 
 nation he left Calcutta; upon thefe grounds he 
 concerted his plan with the Vizier, and to thefe 
 arrangements he confined his expectations for 
 the Company's relief; in order to convict him 
 of having " felected a new object" per fas et 
 ncfas, immediately upon and in confcquence 
 of his difappointment with refptct to Cheyt 
 Sing, it is incumbent on you to prove, deci- 
 fively, pcfitively, and incontrovertibly, that 
 he not only propofed, but abfolutely deter- 
 mined and concluded an agreement to this 
 purpofe with the Vizier, viva voce, at Chunar : 
 and that the feizure of the Begum's wealth 
 would and muft have taken place, even had 
 fhe quietly, obediently, and with a good grace, 
 given up charge of her jagheers on the firft 
 requifition of the Nabob's Aumil. Every fen- 
 
 * tence
 
 ( 7' ) 
 
 tence of your report proves by inference the 
 direct contrary. No mention whatever, no 
 hint, no iufpicion of fuch an intention tranf- 
 pires, till the igth of January, 1782, and then 
 no more than a furmife. It bears no part 
 whatever in the inftrufbions from the Gover- 
 nor-General to the Refident ; it is not alluded 
 to in the agreements between him and the 
 Vizier; and on the very i^th of January, 
 when the Refident informs Mr. Haftings of 
 his having been obliged, by force of arms, to 
 put the Nabob's party in pofiefiion of the 
 Begum's fortrefs, he appears totally unap- 
 prized of any defign in either party, to appro- 
 priate her trcafures to public ufes. The firft 
 opening of the bufinefs comes in communi- 
 cation from the Nabob himfelf, and the very 
 expreflion of his letter bears teftimony to its 
 being an after-thought, and an expedient very 
 lately devifed. " I have" fays he, " to confirm 
 u and increafe our friendfhip, even done that 
 " which was not thought of, or refohed" (loth 
 Report, page 1 2.) This was alfoon the 1 3th of 
 January, The Governor-General, in his letter 
 of the 23d of January, mentions, for the firfl 
 time that " in addition to the former refolution 
 ** of refuming the Begum's jagheers, theNabob 
 
 " had
 
 "had declared his refolution of reclaiming all 
 *' the treafures of his family which were in 
 "their poffeflion." (Appendix, No. 6.) If 
 thefetwo refolutions had been co-exiftent, that 
 for refuming the jagheers could not have been 
 the "former." Ir the circumftance had been 
 mentioned to the Nabob attne time of draw- 
 ing up the articles of agreement in September, 
 
 1781, he would not have written in January, 
 
 1782, that he had done that which was not ' 
 thought of-, and how much fbever your Com- : 
 mittee may perceive, by a perufal of the ' 
 Vizier's letters, " theablblute dependence of 
 his fituation," (Page 21) this of the 1 3th of 
 January is beyond a doubt, both in ftile and 
 fiibjedt, exclusively his own. Mr. Haftings, in 
 this letter of the 2jd January, mentions, that 
 he had "ftrenuoufly encouraged and fupported 
 * 4 the Vizier" in the reiolution of afluming 
 his mother's treasures, and founds his advice 
 on experience of the pernicious ufes to which 
 they had been hitherto perverted, ffan it is 
 alfo, that we have the firft intimation of a de- 
 fign to apply this wealth to the liquidation of 
 the Company's demands. Mr. Haftings had 
 been originally fatisned with the hopes of a 
 gradual but regular difcharge. The new turn 
 
 of
 
 ( 73 ) 
 
 of events, the incorrigible obftinacy of the 
 Begum, and the juft provocations given to 
 the Nabob, prefemed him a brighter profpedl; 
 and by a wonderful co-incidence of fortunate 
 occurrences with his own ftrenuous exertions/ 
 he was enabled to recover the whole of that 
 debt at once, and within two months of the pre- 
 eife date of Mr. Francis's mod exhilarating 
 epiftle, which afiured the Directors, " that 
 " this debt, fo far from being difcharged, 
 " is by this time immoderately increafed, 
 " and never can be difcharged out of the 
 " revenues of Oude." (Appendix to the 2d 
 Report, No. 7.) How much foever the Na- 
 bob had refolved to do that which was net 
 thought of, and how much foever the Go- 
 vernor-General had encouraged him in his rc- 
 folutions, no trace is to bir found of the mode 
 by which the fentimems of each party upon 
 this head were communicated. We can there- 
 fore only judge that it muft have been thro* 
 the medium of fome Vackeel, or confidential 
 Minifter, and moft probably between the 
 1 9th of December, when it was known that 
 the Nabob's Aumil had been repulfed in his 
 attempt to take charge of the Begum's j ag- 
 K heer,
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
 and the 1 2th of January, when the Na- 
 bob's troops entered her Ktllah, Yet evfr 
 then, after fuch a frries of difo'^edience, trea- 
 fon, and revolt, no very harfh or violent mea- 
 fures fcem to have been purfued with the old 
 .lady. The Rcfidcnt writes on the ^d of Feb. 
 ." that in his letters of the 2Oth, 25th and 
 " 27th ultimo, he hud mentioned that the 
 Y : u Bow Begum had finally agreed to deliver up 
 " the treaiures of the late Nabob." ^Ihere- 
 y Jo e tiny were not forced from her in the mo- 
 
 : ment ot vidory, and in thearuourof rapacity. 
 
 ,An interval of at leaft 12 day-, by the Com- 
 mittee's own account, (page \ $} patted before 
 
 Jhe agreed to furrencier her wealth ; and in 
 
 .that period we can but fuppoie parley^, 
 
 .propofals,, and negociiJtions to have taken 
 place ( though not yet come to hand) by 
 which the Begum wa^i at length induced 
 perhaps not with the belt grace in the 
 
 1 world to -agree to deliver up her . treafuree. 
 If She did agree, (and You, Sir, have not 
 been pleaied to controvert that point) the 
 original treaty Rt twten 1 ler and her Son was 
 
 . dijjoked bycovfenj, and the Guarantee became 
 - vaid of courje, \\hece then is this " breach 
 
 " of
 
 ( 75 )' 
 
 c of the public faith of the Company , f>/ 
 this bugbear of " a me a fu re, which has'ren-" 
 " dtred the Englifh name odious and de- 
 " teftab.e" to be found? -Only, Sir, in 
 Your heated imagination: in that repofitory 
 of unnatural conceits, pa?thetic extravagan- 
 cies, and incurable prejudices. 
 
 My letter has drawn to fo unexpected a 
 length, that I mail not flay to refute in form. 
 Your tedious comments on the Governor- 
 General's acceptance of ten lack of Rupees 
 fr >,' the Vizier. Mr. Haftings has thro' life 
 been fo uniformly and fo notorioufly infen- 
 fi I to pecuniary advantages, that I almoft 
 wonder he flfcmld even how have troubled 
 him Self to utter a wifh on the fubjedb. The 
 doftrine of prefents, as a compliment of uni- 
 verfal ufe in Afia, is perfectly undtrftood in 
 this Country. An act of Parliament pro- 
 hibits the Company's ferVarits' from the re- 
 ceipt of prefents. But the fame ad: exprfflei 
 that any fuch prelent accepted, taken, or 
 received, fhall be deemed to have been re- 
 ceived for the fole ufe of the Company. Be it 
 fo. Mr. Haftings accepted : io lacks of ru- 
 K 2 pees,
 
 pees, and in conformity to the act, appro- 
 priated them to the Company's fervice. But 
 as this fum was over and above all the dues, 
 debts, and demands of the Company on the 
 Vizier, the Governor-General hoped the 
 length, the importance, the integrity, and the 
 fuccefs of his fervices, might reafonably be 
 pleaded as a claim upon the depofit. He vvifhes 
 to owe his fortune to the bounty of his Em- 
 ployers, not to the civility of the Vizier ; 
 and the validity of his pretenfions will be 
 weighed in an aflembly, where, believe me, 
 Sir, your credit will kick the beam. 
 
 I mall now take the liberty to clofe my 
 prefent correfpondence with you, and I flatter 
 jnyfelf there will never more be occafion to 
 renew it. Your political taper has long fince 
 flunk in the focket; Its flame, I think, ex- 
 pired in the whining letter to your enlight- 
 ened conftituents of Briftol. If appear- 
 ances may be trufted, your public existence 
 hangs on a very (lender thread indeed ; nor 
 do I think it poflible that the Select Com- 
 mittee mould fulminate through another 
 feflions. But J may be miftaken. The mi- 
 
 nifter
 
 ( 77 ) 
 
 nifter of the day may find it convenient to 
 keep You above flairs. Should you, how- 
 ever, be again let loofe upon the Governor- 
 General, my pen is ftill at your fervice. And 
 though I (hall live to be amamed of having 
 wafted my time and trouble, in combating 
 fuch unfubftantial fantoms, I take a pride in 
 fubfcribing myfelf, 
 
 Right Honourable Sir, 
 
 Your determined Antagonift 
 In the Caufe of Mr. Railings, 
 DETECTOR. 
 
 Ofiobent, 1783.
 
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