UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF THE PRINCIPAL CHARGES AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS Efquire, Late GOVERNOR GENERAL of BENGAL. l_ -ft"-, vT^/C,, /C-<^t*.,^ 7 ^ * f confidence and refpedV' Does this authentic account of the admi- niftration of Mr. Haftings, and of the ftate of India, correfpond with the gloomy pic- ture of defpotifm and defpair drawn by the * Vide Major Scott's excellent fpeech on the charge refpe&ing prefents, p. 22. publifhed by Stockdale. Committee Committee of Secrecy? Will accufations, built on Aich a bafelefs fabric, prepofTefs the Public in favour of tbe impeachment? What credit can we give to multiplied and accumulated charges, when we find that they originate from mifreprefentation and falfehood? ., . *. .-> The firft article of impeachment is concerning Cheit Sing, the Zemindar of Benares. Bulwant Sing, the father of this Rajah, was merely an Aumil, or farmer and collector of the revenues, for Sujah ul Dowlah, Nabob of Guide, and Vizir of the Mogul empire. When, on the deceafe of his father, Cheit Sing was confirmed in the office of collector for the Vizir, he paid 200,000 pounds as a gift or nuzzeranah, and an additional r-ent of 30,000 pounds per annum. As the father was no more than an Aumily the fun fucceeded only to his rights and pretenfions . But by a funnud granted to him by the Nabob Sujah Dowlah in September [ 1+ ] September 1773, through the influence of Mr. Haflings, he acquired a legal title to property in the land, and was raifed from the office otAumilto the rank of Zemindar. About four years after the death of Bui- want Sing, the Governor General and Council of Bengal obtained the fovereignty paramount of the province of Benares. On the transfer of this fovereignty, the Go- vernor and Council propofed a new grant to Cheit Sing, confirming his former pri- vileges, and conferring upon him the ad- dition of the fovereign rights of the mint, and the powers of criminal juftice with re- gard to life and death. He was then re- cognized by the Company as one of their Zemindars ; a tributary fubjecl:, or feuda- tory vafTal, of the Britifh empire in In- doflan. The feudal fyilem, which was for- merly fuppofed to be peculiar to our Gothic anceftors, has always prevailed in the Eaft. In every defcription of that form of go- vernment, notwithstanding accidental va- riations, there are two aflbciations exprefled or underflood ; one for internal fecurity, the 3 other other for external defence. The King or Nabob, confers protection on the feudatory baron as tributary prince, on condition of an annual revenue in the time of peace, and of military fervice, partly commutable for money, in the time of war. The feudal incidents in the middle ages in Europe, the fine paid to the fuperior on marriage, ivard- Jhip, relief^ &c. correfpond to the annual tribute in Alia. Military fervice in war, and extraordinary aids in the event of ex- traordinary emergencies, were common to both *. When * Notwithftanding this analogy, the powers and privileges of a Zemindar have never been fo well af- certained and defined as thofe of a Baron in the feudal ages. Though the office has ufually defcended to the pofterity of the Zemindar, under the ceremony of fine and inveftiture, a material decreafe in the cultivation, or decline in the population of the diftrift, has fome- times been confidered as a ground to difpoflefs him. When Zemindars have failed in their engagements to the ftate, though not to the extent to juftify expuifion, fupervifors have been often fent into the Zemindaries, who have farmed out the lands, and exercifed autho- rity under the Duannee laws, independent of the Ze- mindar. Thefe circumftances ftrongly mark their de- pendence on the Nabob. About a year after the depar- ture of Mr, Haftings from India, the queition concern- ing When the Governor General of Bengal in 1778, made an extraordinary demand oh the Zemindar of Benares for five lacks of rupees, the Britifh empire, in that part of the world, was furrounded with enemies which threatened its deftrucYion. In 1 779, a general confederacy was formed among the great powers of Indoflan for the expul- lion of the Englilh from their Afiatic domi- nions. At this crifis the expectation of a French armament augmented the general calamities of the country. Mr. HafHngs is charged by the Committee, with making his firfl demand under the falfe pretence that hoitilities had commenced with France. Such an infidious attempt to pervert a me- ing the rights of Zemindars was agitated at great length in Calcutta, and after the fulleft and moft ac- curate inveftigation, the Governor General and Council gave it as their deliberate opinion to the Court of Di- rectors, that the property of the foil is not in the Ze- mindar, but in the government ; and that a Zemindar is merely an officer of government appointed to collect its revenues. Cheit Sing understood himfelf to ftand in this predicament. " I am," faid he, on various occa- fions, " the fervant of the Circar (government), and ready to obey your orders." The name and office of Zemindar is not of Hindoo, but Mogul inftitution. ritorious t 17 1 titorioqs action into a crime, is new even in the hiflory of impeachments. On the 7th of July 1778, Mr. Haflings received pri- vate intelligence from an Englifh merchant at Cairo, that war had been declared by Great- Britain on the 23d of March, and by France on the 3oth of April. Upon this intelligence confidered as authentic, it was determined to attack all the French fettlements in India. The information was afterwards found to be premature 3 but in the latter end of Auguft, a fecret difpatch was received from England, authorifing and appointing Mr* Haftings to take the meafures which he had already adopted in the preceding month* The Directors and the Board of Controul have expreffed their approbation of this tranfaction, by liberally rewarding Mr. Baldwyn, the merchaiit, for fending the earlieft intelligence he could procure to Bengal. It was two days after Mr. Haftings's information of the French war> that he formed the refolution of exact- ing the five lacks of rupees from Cheit Sing, and would 'have mzfejimilar exactions from all the dependencies of the Company in C India, - r 8 r India, had they been in the fame circunW fiances. The fad is, that the great Zemin- dars of Bengal pay as much to Government as their lands can afford : Cheit Sing's col- lections were above fifty lacks, and his rent not twenty-four. ^ The right of calling for extraordinary aids and military fervice in times of danger being univerfally eftablifhed in India, as it was formerly, in Europe during the feudal times, the fubfequent conduct of Mr. Haft- ings is explained and vindicated. The Governor General and Council of Bengal having made a demand upon a tributary Zemindar for three fucceffive years, and that demand having been refifted by their vaflal, they are jufrified in his punifh- ment. The neceffities of the Company, in confequence of the critical fituation of their affairs in 1781, calling for a high fine; the ability of the Zemindar, who pofTefTed near two crores of rupees in nroney and jewels, to pay the fum required ; his backwardneis to comply with the demands of his fuperiors; his difaffeftion to the Englifh [ '9'] Englifh mtereft, and defire of revolt, which even then began to appear, and were after- wards confpieuous ; fully juftify Mr. Hafl- ings in every fubfequent flep of his con- duct. In the whole of his proceedings it is manifeft that he had not early formed a defign hoflile to the Zemindar, but was regulated by events which he could neither forefee nor controul. When the neceflary meafures which he had taken for fupport- ing the authority of the Company, by pu- nifhing a refractory vafTal, were thwarted and defeated by the barbarous maffacre of the Britifh. troops, and the rebellion of Cheit Sing, the appeal was made to arms, an unavoidable revolution took place in Benares, and the Zemindar became the au- thor of his own deftruction. The decifion of the Houfe of Commons on this charge againft Mr. Haftings, is one of the moft fingular to be met with in the annals of Parliament, The Minifter, who was followed by the majority, vindicated him in every thing that he had done, and fpund him blameable oply for what he C 2 f 2 ] intended to do- y juftified every ftep of his condutt, and criminated his propofed inten- tion of converting the crimes of the Ze- mindar to* the benefit of the frate, by a fine of fifty lacks of rupees. An impeach-, ment of error in judgment with regard to the quantum of a fine, and for an intention that never was executed, and never known to the offending party, charafterifes a tribunal inquijithn rather than a Court of Parliament, The fecond article of impeachment re- gards the princefles of Oude. This quef- tion takes its origin from a tranfaclion between the Nabob Affulph ul Dowlah and the Bhow Begum of Oude, in which, by the miniftry of Mr, Eriftow, he ob, tamed from her, in November i 77 r, an agreement to pay thirty lacks of rupees on the condition of the Nabob's granting to ner an engagement in writing, with the Company's guarantee, that no more de- mands of any kind fhould ever be made upon her; and that (he fhould enjoy, du- ring life, her jaghires and other eftates and Rons unmolefed. The Board ap- proved proved of Mr. Briftow's conduct, and confirmed the guarantee. General Cla- vering, Colbnel Monfon, and Mr. Francis, formed at that time a permanent and un- varied majority in the government of Ben- gal 5 and although Mr. Bailings difap- proved of that tranfaction, he was certain- ly bound to obferve it by the guarantee of the council, provided no fufficient caufe or neceflity ftiould arife tojuftify its violation*. Accordingly, in virtue of that engage- * The Idea entertained by Mr. Francis of the extent of the guarantee, and the rights which the Begum had acquired under it, may be known from the following circumftance : In the month of December 1775, the Begum wrote a letter to Mr. Haftings, complaining bitterly of the conduct of the Nabob, Mr. Briftow, and Murteza Cawn, the Nabob's Minifter. In the fame letter, {he defires leave to withdraw frona her ion's dpminions, unlefs Alige Cawn, Sujah Dowlah's late Minifter, was re-appointed. Upon the receipt of this letter, Mr. Francis obferved, that it feemed extraordinary that 'a lady immured in a feraglio, fhould prefume to talk of appointing Minifters and go- verning kingdoms : that he believed the letter not to be of her composition, as probably (he could not read, but written lay her eunuch^ who brought it to Calcutta : that he had no objection to grant the Begtrm an afylum in* the Company's provinces, provided the Nabob gave bis (onfent^ without which (he could have no right 4o ro move herfelf, or the immenfe wealth in her j>offejfion t out pf his dominions, ment, xncnt, the Begum continued in the quiet and Tonmolefted pofTeflion of her jaghires and her treafures, till the years 1781 and 1782, when, upon the revolt and rebellion of Cheit Sing the Zemindar of Benares, the Begums of Fyzabad united their authori- ty and influence to harafs and difturb the Englifh government in India, Circular letters were fent to the Zemindars of Oude, inciting them to rebellion ; rewards were proclaimed for the heads of Englifh officers, foldiers, and fepoys : a general revolt en- fued, of which their agents were the prin- <:ipal leaders in the diftrifts of Goorucpoor and Bareech j the two chief eunuchs and confidential fervants of the younger Begum, openly levied troops in the great fquare of the city for the avowed fervice of Cheit Sing againft the Englifh ; and thefe vvere fent, under the narne of Nujubs, tQ Cheit Sing, and actually employed in his battles againrr. us. Thefe facls have been proved by the depofitions of the moft refpe<5lable witnefies, taken before the Chief Juftice of India, with all the folemnities of law. The [ 23 ] The letter of Mr. Middleton to Mr. Ha- ftings, dated the lyth of October 1781, contains full and complete information, fufficient to fix this point beyond difpute. The important facts mentioned in Mr. Middleton's letter were afterwards con- firmed by the depofitions of Colonel Han- nay, Captain Williams, Captain Gordon, and Major Macdonald, as well as by the testimony of feveral native officers under their command *. What has been oppofed to the concur- rent and univerfal voice of India, confirm- ed by evidence before the Houfe of Com- mons ? Unfupported infinuattons, arbi- trary conjectures, mutilated extracts from * Vid. Minutes of Evidence taker, before the Houte of Commons, part iv. p. 168 *. Mr. Middleton tie- pofes, u It was my firm belief, that the Begums ufed every means in their power to promote the rebellion of the Rajah Cheit Sing; and that they encouraged it in. the Nabob's own dominion's ; on that belief, for which I had the concurrent tejlimony of the whole country^ I founded my opinion, that they had forfeited the pro- tection of the Eaft-India Company." The depohticn of Captain Williams, ibid. p. 163, is dill rtronger and more pointed. Priated for Stockdalc. letters, t *4 ] letters, malignant witticifms, and an mulation of opprobrious epithets and per- fonal abufe, unworthy of a grave aflembly, and infulting to the dignity of Parliament. Did it ever happen in a court of law, in any civilized country, that circumflantial and conftructive evidence was preferred to direct and pofitive proof? In the abfence of the latter, the former is often admitted j but he would be a ftrange judge indeed, who fhould believe his own conjectures and constructions in oppofition to direct and pofitive proof ! The character of the Begum, who, according to Mr. Francis, prefumed, on former occafions, " to talk of appointing minifters and governing kingdoms," gives credibility to the charges againfl her; the evidence produced was fufficient to convince the Governor General of her treacherous and hoftile intentions J with juflice, therefore, as well as wifdom, he gave orders to feize thofe treafures, which put the city at her devotion, and to refurne thofe jaghires (giving at the fame time an equivalent,) which enabled her her to keep up numerous bands of military attendants *. If the behaviour of the Begums, who had formerly abetted the rebellion of Cheit Sing, and were then in a ilate of revolt, * The only obje&ionable part of Mr. Haftings's conduit throughout this bufmefs appears to have been his confenting to take affidavits in order to prove a fact of univerfal notoriety : his motive, however, he has explained in the Benares Narrative. It was not to fa- tisfy himfelf, but to convince others, that the revolt of Cheit Sing (though not the moment of revolt) was premeditated. I mean not to anticipate the additional evidence which is now in England, both with refpedl to the Begums and Cheit Sing : it is impofiible, how- ever, to pafs over one very remarkable fah In the original charges, reflections were caft upon Colonel Hannay and Captain Gordon for omitting to ftate, in their affidavits, the letters of civility which pafled be- tween them and the Begum. Colonel Hannay was dead ; but Captain Gordon, the brother of Lieutenant Colonel Gordon, was then in England, and might have been fummoned to ftate the fail. Mr. Burke did not call him in 1786, and Mr. Haftings would call no perfon. In Mr. Sheridan's fpeech * the next year, he laid particular ftrefs on this circumftance. Captain Gordon, who was in the fouth of France at the time, came over to England immediately on reading Mr. Sheridan's fpeech, but too late to defend himfeif before the Houfe of Commons. Of courfe he referves him- felf for another tribunal, * Prfnted for Stockdale. D - juftified [ 26 ] juflified the proceedings of the Englifh go- vernment againft them, the fituation of our affairs in the Baft rendered them not only expedient but necefTary. In every form of government, even the moft free, a difcre- tionary and defpotic power muft fome- times be exercifed. There are critical pe- riods in human affairs, when a flridt con- formity to the letter of the law may endan- ger the fafety of the nation and the exiftence of the ftate. In fuch fituadons it is given m charge to the fupreme executive power, Ne quid detriment refpublica capiat " Political neceffity, like felf-prefervation, fuperfedes all laws. The certainty of dan- ger will excufe the exertion, and the public fafety juftify the infringement. Pufillani- mity at fuch a period is tacit treafon againfl the ilate, which enjoins us to prefer the fecurity of the public to that of the indi- vidual. Then the laws of all nations, like thofe of Sparta, after the battle of Leuftra fleep for one moment, that they may awake for ever.'* 4 The The fituation of India, at the period when Mr. Haftings fupported the Nabob of Oude, in feizing the treafures, and re- fuming the jaghires of the Begum, was one of the moft critical and momentous to be found, even in a hiftory fo full of fud- den revolutions andunexpefted cataftrophes as that of Indoftan. In September 1780, intelligence was received in Calcutta, that Hyder Ally Cawn had defeated the Britifti troops commanded by Colonel Baillie, and that Sir Hector Monro had found it necef- fary to retreat to Madras. At the fame time, accounts arrived, that aftrong arma- ment was expected from the ifland of Mau- ritius, in order to co-operate with Hyder Ally. When Sir Eyre Coote arrived in fafety at Madras *, with a reinforcement of men, money, and provifions, he wrote to the Governor and Council, that his army muft in future be paid and fed from Ben- gal ; and that with every affiftance that could be given him the iffue would be ex- ceedingly doubtful. At this moment Chim- * The 4th of November 1780. D 2 [ 28 ] nagee Boofla, the fon of Moodagee, was at the head of an army of Mahrattas at Cuttack, which had marched for the avowed purpofe of invading Bengal. This impending ftorm Mr. Haftings averted, by the payment of fixteen lacks of rupees, and withdrew Moodagee from the confederacy. He fecured the unmolefted march of Co- lonel Pearce, at the head of ten battalions of Sepoys, to join Sir Eyre Coote, before the fecond adion with Hyder; and he effec- tually broke the combination that was formed againft the Englifh intereft in In- dia ; a fervice once condemned by a vote of the Houfe of Commons, tut which is now approved and applauded by every enlight- ened man, who is acquainted with the ftate of our affairs in the Eaft. All the money that could be procured upon bond was borrowed, previous to the departure of Mr. Haftings from Calcutta, in July 1781, when he proceeded to Benares. The funds of the Company were ex- haufled, but the public neceffities daily en- creafed. Even the oppofers of Mr. Haft- ings have allowed, that to his fpirited exer- tions r 2 9 ] tions at that time, we are indebted for prefervation of the Carnatic. Mr. Dundas has formerly declared, " that he could not comprehend how Mr. Haftings contrived to raife money, but that he had done fo ; and that without money our empire iu India would have been loft." One remarkable circumftance proves the diftrefs to which the Englifli Adminiftra- tion was then reduced. The army in Ben- gal was confiderably in arrears. The in- veftment of the Company was fupported by Joans 3 and, in November 1781, when it was abfolutely neceffary to fend confider- able fupplies of money to Sir Eyre Coote, the Council at Calcutta could not complete the fum from the public treafury, but ob- tained it on the credit of a principal native in Calcutta. The army in Oude, the bri- gade at Cawnpore, Colonel Muir's army in the country of the Mahrattas, were in ar- rears and mutinous : vaft fums were re- quired at Madras and Bombay. Mr. Haft- ings knew that Suffrein would appear on the Coaft f 30 ] Coaft early in 1782 -, and without the moil ftrenuous exertions, India would have been loft to this empire. The fifty-five lacks of rupees feized from the rebellious Begums, warranted by the ft deleft juftice, and fanc- tioned by the ftrongeft neceflity, were no where elfe to be found : and without fuch a feafonable fupply, Mr. Haflings might now have been in the fituation of thofe commanders, who, after having difmem- bered the Britiih dominions, fought a re- fuge from . minifterial impeachment, and the vengeance of their country, under the all-atoning robe of Patriotifm, and in the all-protecling fancluary of Oppofition. To underftand our affairs in India, we muft feek for a parallel, not in modern, but in ancient hiftory, when a conquering army was fupplied by the cities and provinces through which it marched. In that quar- ter of the globe we cannot borrow millions, upon the ftrength of taxes, which throw a burden on remoteft poflerity. Our do- minions in India muft be preferved by the extended arm , danger muft be repelled,. and and deftru&ion averted, by the exertions of the moment ; and he who ftarts at accufa- tion, or fhrinks from refponfibility, will lofe a diftance province. There are feafons in which every eaftern conqueror, like Alexander the Great, muft cut the Gordian knot with the fword ; and when the dura- tion of empire depends on the hour, it may be lawful, and even meritorious, to invade a Zenana or plunder a Mofque *. It * It has been repeatedly faid, that Mr. Haftings Vindicated his condudl on improper grounds, and that f he had retted his defence on ftate neceffity, he would have been fully juftified. The neceffity has been proved beyond the poflibility of contradiaion. A hundred thoufand men, fcattered through every part of India, all five months in arrears, depended upon Bengal for prefent and future fupply. Suffrein and a French army were on the point of arriving. The Bengal treafury was exhaufted, and every mode of railing mo- ney at an end. What revenues were there, but a fine to be levied on Cheit Sing for his rebellion, and the recovery of the Nabob's debt to the Company ? Mr Haftings fdled in thefirft; but between the 2 oth of January, and the loth of September, 1782, one hun- dren and twenty-eight lacks of rupees were received from the Nabob. This, and the improvement of the revenue of Bengal, were the funds which, as Sir John Macpherfon truly ftated, carried us through the war, and preferred India to Great Britain. 1 am not advancing L -J It is impoffible to difmifs this article without remarking the ignorance or dif- ingenuity which diftinguifhed both parties in the Houfe of Commons in their deli- berations on this queftion. The difcord be- tween the Nabob of Oude and the Begum, unjuftly afcribed to Mr. Haftings, has been reprefented as a peculiar and unparalleled enormity 5 as if fimilar quarrels from op- pofite interefts were not common, and al- moftuniverfalintheEaft. We find in the hiftory of the Ottoman empire, the Valid Sultanefs, or mother of the Sultan, perpe- tually attempting to direft or to difturb the government of her fon * ; and thefe do- meftic diffenfions and intrigues are the prin- cipal caufes of the revolutions which take place in the feraglio. The annals of In- doftan, and particularly of Oude, furnifh advancing new affertions ; at the time when the cxift- ence of the neceffity was difputed in the Houfe of Com- mons their table was covered with documents, con- taining much ftronger proofs than I have noW col- Mignot's Hift. Ottom. Emp. US [ 33 ] us with the fame oppofition of interefts ancl jealoufy of power. The unbounded am* bition of the Begum is mentioned by the accufers of Mr. Haftings, and it is very properly ftated in the article of impeach- ment, " that the Nabob attempted, on. former occafions, to feize the treafures of his mother/' The diftrefTes of the women in the Khord Mahal, and the fufferings of the eunuchs* or confidential fervants of the Begum, have been magnified beyond meafure, and decked in the difmal colours of pathetic eloquence, as if the gloomy imagination of a poet was furniftnng a fcene in tragedy. But the apartment of the women is concealed from European eyes, and its tranfa&ions un* 'known. The feverities inflicted on the eunuchs, and the diftrefles of the women, fo far from originating with Mr. Haftings, were never communicated to him till after the releafe of the latter and the relief of the former, E One I 34 1 One material circumftance, with regard 'to this tranfaclion, ought not to be forgot- ten. When the Court of Directors fent an^order to enquire into the guilt or inno- cence of the Begum during the period of Cheit Sing's rebellion, the majority of the Council was adverfe to the Governor Ge- neral . Mr. Wheler exprefled his convic- tion, from the evidence of impartial wit- nefles, that the Begums had been con- cerned in the rebellion, but propofed that an inquiry mould be made, which was fe- conded by Mr. Stables. Mr. Raftings re- prefented it as unneceffary, as no complaint had ever been made by the Begums ; but added, that if an inquiry was to be made, it mould be from all perfons capable of giv- ing information, Mr. Macpherfon alfo oppofed the inquiry, and profefTed his be- lief in the rebellion of the Begums. The Council, though united againft Mr. Haft- ings, dropped the inquiry. According to their conftruction of the letter from the Court of Directors, no order was given to authorize a legal inquiry into that affair; and and it is plain, that their conftru&ion was well founded, fince neither the Court of Directors, nor the Board of Controul, have refumed the fubjeft from February 1783, to the prefent day. But they have given a deciiion of more importance. They have added their SOLEMN SANCTION to all tKe' proceedings of Mr. Ha/lings in Oude ; and have given poiitive orders, that his final arrangement with the Nabob Vizir fhall have the force and authority of law, The next article of impeachment, :of any importance, is contracts and falarles. It will not admit of a difpute, that it was the duty of the Governor General of Bengal to attend ftridtly to the expenditure of the public money; and, more particularly in a time of war and public diflrefs, to be care- ful that thofc revenues, upon which the welfare and fafety of the empire did necef- farily depend, mould not be diminished by diffipation or prodigality, and fhould not be diverted from the public fervice, or fquandered for the purpofe of increaling a E 2 corrupt [ 36 ] corrupt perfonal influence, or providing for venal dependants. Nor is it denied,, that in the inftructions given by the Court of Directors to the Governor General and Council, 1774, it is fpecially directed, that all contracts, with the conditions, mould be publicly advertifed, and fealed propofals de- livered in for the fame; and that every pro- pofal fhould be opened in Council, and the preference given to the loweft, provided fufficient fee urity fhould be offered for the performance of the fame. All general re- gulations, however, admit of particular exceptions, in which they are " more ho- noured in the breach than in the obferv- ance - a " and in which the fpirit of the law- may be preferved, though its forms are neglected. Mr. Haftings in his defence has fairly and honourably avowed this prin- ciple. " According to my conftruction of the Company's orders, they never were nor could be meant, in any inftance, to leave their adminiftration in India without an option : at fuch a diftance from the parent ftate, the government on the fpot muft be vefle4 [ 37 1 vefted with a difcretionary power." This power of interpreting general laws, and judging of their particular application, muft neceffarily belong to every Governor of diftant provinces, more particularly of India, where the fentiments and manners of the inhabitants are fo different from ours, and where politics are perpetually fluctuating, andinterefts continually chang- ing. A liberal conduction is there to be given to orders and inftrudtions, and a latitude allowed to thofe who carry them into execution, in order to accommodate them to accidental circumftances, and the varying lituations of the moment. Were this power not permitted, the mod perni- cious confequences might take place from a blind obfervance of pofitive inftru&ions, framed by perfons ignorant of the real (late of the country, and calculated for occa- lions that no longer exifted. Let us examine the contracts that have been moft complained of. Some of them, fuch 354772 [ 38 ] fuch as the marine contract, and that for embanking the river of Chittigong, are fo trifling and infignificant, as not to in- volve the fmalleft cenfure, much lefs to compofe a charge for an impeachment ; and they were even rejected by the party who propofed them. Others are in the higheft degree honourable to Mr. Haftings, and throw a luftre on his adminiftration. Of this number was the contract for fup- plying Fort William with the neceffary ftores and provifions in the event of a fiege. Fort William was of as much importance in Afia, as Gibraltar in Europe - y and the very place in India, which, from its fituation and uncommon value, was the moil liable to an attack from an enemy. In the fame refpe&able clafs is Mr. Auriol's contract for fupplying the fettle- ments on the Carnatic 5 and inftead of be- ing an object of cenfure, much lefs of im- peachment, reflects fignal honour on the wifdom and public fpirit of Mr. Haftings. 5 When f 39 ] When Madras and its dependencies were in imminent danger of being deftroyed by famine, the Governor of Bengal, with a promptitude and an energy which were of the moft beneficial confequence to all our pofleffions in India, determined upon their immediate relief. At the moment when the very exigence of the Carnatic was at ftake, when the lives of his countrymen, I the Britifh dominions in India, de. pended on his Tpirif and difpatch, was he to follow the frigid line of official conduct and delay fending the means of preferva- tion. until he Ihould difcover the cheapeft method by which thofe means were to be procured f Was he to proclaim to the ene- rn.es of Great-Britain, that a moft valuable part of our territory was likely to be a prey to famine, and to point out the method of intercepting the means which he was about to fend to their relief? No. The nature of the cafe impofed on him the neceffity of exceeding the orders of the Company, and to have hefltated about difobedience, would have been highly criminal. Arduous fitua- tions [ 4 1 ttons of this kind diftinguim the man of genius from the mere official charafter, and mark the fpirited patriot, who can ferve his country in cafes of danger, from the timeserving politician, who entrenches himfelf in forms, and flickers his pufilla- nimify under the letter of the law *. With regard to the opium contract, no alterations had been made by Mr. Haflings. * Let me here do juftice to flic candour of Mr. Pitt. He fpoke of Mr. Haftings's condua, in thus pre- ferving a nation from famine, with all the enthufiafm which fuch a conduct deferved. Nor did he flop here. He gave Mr. Auriol the praife which was his due ; he obferved, that the fortune earned by fo meritorious a fervice, however large it might be, was honourably acquired ; and that Mr. Auriol had fhewn himfelf worthy of the confidence which Mr. Haftings had placed in him. Nor was this all : Mr. Pitt, after hav- ing, proved the importance of the fervice performed, defended the plan as the moft ceconomical that could have been adopted. But what (hall we fay of the Go- vernment of Madras, who could meanly and bafely complain to the Court of Directors of the terms of this agency, while they were almoft hourly writing to Bengal "Send us rice upon every fhip, and at any cxpence, or we perifh. Thanks for your great and li- beral fupplies of money and provifions; but unlefs both are continued to the utmoil poflible extent, we are un- done." Opium I 4* J Opium was a monopoly in India during the Mahomedan government, and given to fa- voured individuals* From the time that theEnglifli acquired influence in that coun* try, it was a monopoly in the hands of the Company at Patna ; openly and avowedly taken as a perquifite of office ; perfectly known to the Government of Bengal, and the Court of Directors in London. Mr* Haflings, on his acceffion to the Govern- ment in 1772, firfl: made the Company par- takers in this monopoly, and created a re- venue for them ; not in confequence of orders from England, but from the mo- tions of a mind that watched for the in-* terefts of his conftituents. That this eon- trad, like that with regard to elephants and bullocks, was beneficial to individuals, neceflarily refults from the eftablifhed max- ims and conduct of mankind. Is there any perfon Ib ignorant of the principles of po- litical fociety, or who has confidered the contracts given in the late German war, of in the American war 1 , who can conftrue into a crime trie conduct of the late Governor F General f 42 ] General of Bengal, in difpofir.g of labori- ous and lucrative offices, in fuch a manner as would at once benefit the India Com- pany, and attach individuals to its fervice ? The conduct of all adminiftrations, in all nations and ages of the world, would be a fatire on the fuppolition. But although this article of impeachment had been as injurious to the character of Mr. Haftings, as it is evidently favourable, it can no longer be the fubject of public deliberation. After the contracts firft attracted the con- fideration of the Directors, they became the objects of parliamentary inquiry. , The refult was favourable to Mr. Haftings ; for, fubfequent to that inquiry and inveftiga- tion, he was repeatedly appointed by Par- liament to his high and confidential fitua- tion in India. If Parliament, after hav- ing examined the grounds of the charge, and, in confequence of that examination, had re-appointed Mr. Haftings to his for- mer ftation; with what propriety, de- cency, or common fenfe, can they, at a fubfequent period, without new evidence againft [43 ] againft him, .convert thofe charges into ar- ticles of impeachment, which formerly they had not confidered as a difquali'fkation to the renewal of a high and important truft ? An abfurdity fo glaring muft ftrike every perfon, who is free from prejudice, and acquainted with the forms of law. In this article, the fevereft moraUfl will find no ground for a criminal charge, except againft the honourable gentlemen who have brought it forwards. In the war before the lafl, this nation added feventy millions to her public debt : in that war one man acquired by one con- t raft fix hundred thoufand pounds; and Lord Holland and his confidential clerks, at leaft one million iterling. In the late war, a hundred millions were added to the public debt ; and the extravagance of the treafury contracts was a theme for almoft the daily declamation of Mr. Fox and Mr. Burke. After a fevere review of the expenditure of public money, during Mr. Mailings' adminiftration of thirteen years, four con- F a tracts [ 44 J tracls have been deemed objectionable, two of them the minifter defended as highly praife-worthy, the third refuted from a productive revenue, created by Mr. Ha- ftings . himfelf ; the fourth, the bullock contract; was propofed by the Commander in Chief, and was approved by every of* freer in the army. The fixth article of impeachment relates to prefents received ^by Mr. Haftings, Among nations in the infancy of fociety, #o bufmefs is carried on, and no tranfac, tion concluded, without gifts and prefents, This cuftom prevailed univerfally among the nations of America when it was firft difcovered, and is afcribed by Tacitus to the ancient Germans : Muneribus gau* dent, fed nee data imputant, nee acceptis obhgantur." But in a more advanced ftate Pf fociety among the German tribes, what was formerly confidered as the confirma- tion of a bargain, or the feal of a treaty, became a matter of obligation. The vo- y donations from the attendants to the [ 45 1 the Chief, at fir ft expreffions of afFe&ion, or acknowledgments of gratitude, were eftablifhed into permanent ufages ; and hence arofe the feudal incidents in the middle ages. The Afiatic nations, who have prefer ved fo many of the original cuftoms of mankind, have always retained this. It forms a ceremonial of intercourse between inferiors and fuperiors ; and no tranfaction is carried on or concluded that is not accompanied with a prefent. So jnuch does this enter into general practice and common life, that (f to approach a king or great man with gifts*/* forms a part of the infpired code of Oriental mora* Jity, What in Europe would be confider* ed as receiving a bribe, is no more in India than complying with an eftablimed cuftom, and the uniform practice of the country. But as, during Lord Glive's adminiftration, this cuftom had been abufed, and the princes of India oppreffed by the rapacity and extortions of fome fervants of the * Solom. Proverbs. Company, [ 46 ] Company, an Aft of Parliament to regu- late the acceptance of prefents was parled .in 1773. It was then enacted, " That no Governor General, nor any of the Council, fhall directly, for his or their ufe, or on his or their behalf, accept, receive, or take from any perfon or perfons, on any ac- count whatfoever, any gift, gratuity, do- nation, or reward ; and it is hereby fur- ther enacted, that every fuch prefent, gift, gratuity, or reward, accepted*, taken, or re- ceived, mall be deemed and conftrued to have been received and taken to and for the fole ufe of the faid United Company." The natural and obvious conftruction of thefe words is, that the Governor General and Council were prohibited from accept- ing prefents on their own account, but not on that of the Company. And this was the conduction which was put upon it by Mr. Haftings, by the Court of Di- rectors, and the Board of Controul. On various occafions Mr. Haftings informed the Directors, that he had received prefents for [ 47 I for the benefit of the Company and in their anfwers no hint is expreffed that the ad was illegal. On one occafion, on the receipt of a prefent from the Nabob Vizir in September 1781, which was expended upon, as received in, the public fervice, Mr. Haftings communicated it to the Court of Directors in January 1782, defiring their permiffion to appropriate it to his own ufe. The anfwerof the Directors fully explains their fentiments on this fubjecl:. It ftates that however favourable their inclinations might be to Mr. Haftings, they could not comply with his requeft, as he was pre- cluded by law from accepting prefents; and they proceed to mention that, by the fame law, all prefents received in India are deemed to be taken for the file ufe of the Company : this letter had the fanftion of the Treafury, when Mr. Pitt, the pro fent Minifter, was Chancellor of the Ex- chequer. If there be any meaning in lan- guage, if words can convey ideas, the obvious interpretation of thefe letters is, that though the Governor General could not accept of prefents on his own account, he 3 might [. 48 ]' might receive them for the benefit of hit conjlitnents* But the ftrongeft confirmation that this was the genuine fenfe of the regulating Aft 1773, is Mr. Pitt's Bill 1784*, in which there is a particular claufe prohi- biting the acceptance of prefents, " for the ufe of the party receiving the fame, or for, or pretended to be for, the ufe of the faid Company.*' This proves, beyond the pofiibility of a doubt, that the old law was incomplete, and hence the new claufe ifl. the Bill 1784 extending the regulation to the Company as well as its fervants. By the forty -feventh claufe of the fame bill it is ordained, " that fo much of the Ad: 1773, as fubjecls any perfon receiving gifts or prefents, to any penalty or for- feiture for fo doing, or as directs that fuch gifts and prefents Jball belong to the faid Company y Jhall be repealed, from and after the firft of January 1785; provided that no profecutions or other fuits, already com- * -Printed for Stockdalej with Obfervation*. menced t 49 ] menced or to be commenced, before the fir/I of January 1785, upon the faid A5t y fhall be affeded by the repeal." If both Houfes of Parliament had deliberated for ages, they could not have exprefTed more flrongly their aflcnt to the conftrudtion put on the A61 1773 by Mr. Haftings, the Court of Directors, and the Board of ControuL Such being the interpretation of the re- gulating Aft 1773, no criminal charge can be brought againfl Mr. Haftings with re- gard to this article, as he made no in- fringement on the law. He accepted the prefents offered to him from no mercenary or corrupt motive ; he reaped no emolu- ment from the money which was prefented $ every rupee he received was paid into the treafury of the India Company, and applied to the public fervice. Indeed, avarice and private rapacity have never been imputed to him by his perfonal enemies. <* Mr, [ 5 1 Mr. Haftings is open, and juilly fo, to the ftrifteft inveftigation of his conduct with refpect to the men from whom he received prefents. If it can be proved that he favoured any one of them at the public expence ; that he gratified them by lucrative appointments, or entered into corrupt jobs with them, then his plea of accepting the money for the Company's ufe cannot avail him : but no man has attempted to prove, that Mr. Haftings was not anxious to raife the greateft pofllble re- venue from Burdwan, Nuddea, Dinge- pore, and Bahar ; and he is impeached for procuring the payment of the Nabob Vi- zir's debt to the Company, by encoura- ging him to perform an act of rigour and ieverity. The next article (Revenues) was rejedted by Mr. Pitt, but carried in a Committee by a majority of fifteen. The Houfe has iince rejected Mr. Francis who brought it forward : it proceeds upon a queftion as to f 5' ] to the rights of Zemindars ; upon which no man in England can be competent to decide. Mr. Raftings had the Company's orders to let the lands of Bengal to farm j he did fo ; the Directors approved it ; and the fame mode is purfued, with few excep- tions, to the prefent hour. Thefe are the principal charges againft Mr. Haftings 5 and on thefe his accufers reft the fuccefs of the impeachment. In- genious fophifty may pervert the plainer* facts; eloquence can tincture innocence with the colours of guilt : but the intelli- gent and informed reader, who can dif- cover in thefe charges, when feminized, the traces of criminality that have been afcribed to them, muft pofTefs a mind more difpofed to crimination than to candour, more influenced by prejudice than acceffible to reafon. The other charges are fo infignificant in themfelves, or founded on fuch grofs mif- reprefentations, that they would not affeft an an obfcure individual, much lefs a public character. They are merely added to fwell the catalogue of accufations, as if the bold- nefs of calumny could enfure its fuccefs,and a multiplicity of charges were an accumu- lation of crimes *. Thirteen of them pafled in the Houfe of Commons not only without inveftigation, but without being read j and the votes were given without enquiry, argument, or conviction. A majority had determined to impeach 5 op- pofite parties met each other, and " juflled in the dark," to perplex the political drama, and bring the hero to a tragic ca taftrophe. The authentic ftatement of fafts which has been given, and the arguments which * Human nature, at leaft in its dark fides, is always the fame. In the laft century, when Epifcopacy was flbolimed in Scotland, a paper was read in all the churches of the kingdom, containing an accufation againft the Bifliops, " as guilty, all of them, of he- refy, fimony, bribery, perjury, cheating, inceft, adultery, fornication, common fwearing, drunkennefs, gaming, breach of the Sabbath, and every other crime that had occurred to the accufers," Hume's Hift; fpl. vi, p. 33^, have t S3 1 have been employed, are, I think, fufficierit to vindicate the character and conduct of Mr. Haftings, even on the maxims of Eu- ropean policy. When he was appointed Governor General of Bengal, he was in- verted with a difcretionary power to pro- mote the interefts of the India Company, and of the Britifh empire in that quarter of the globe. The general inft ru&ions fent to him from his conftituents were, " That in all your deliberations and refolutions, you make the fafety and profperity of Ben- gal your principal object, and fix your aN tention on the fecurity of the porTefTions and revenues of the Company." His fu- perior genius fometimes acted in the fpirit, *rather than complied with the letter, of the law ; but he difcharged the truft, and pre- ferved the empire committed to his care, in the fame way, and with greater fplendor and fuccefs than any of his predeceffors in office : his departure from India was marked with the lamentations of the na- tives and the gratitude of his countrymen; and on his return to England, he received 9 the [ 54 ] the cordial congratulations of that nume- rous and refpeftable fociety, whofe interefts he had promoted, and whofe dominions he had protected and extended. -3U , ;75 ;,i.. .'^.'t'Xl -- L* ; ' 1C ." .1V0Q But in order to eftimate aright the merits or defects of any adminiftration, we ought to confider the fcene of its ope- rations, and the character of the people who are governed. The diverfities of hu- man nature, the varieties among mankind, are as remarkable and ftriking, as thofe of the globe which they inhabit. The climate of Indoftan is not more different from that of England, than the maxims of policy eitablifhed in Afia are from thofe which have prevailed in Europe. The actual in-^ ftitutions which prevailed at Athens, Sparta, and Rome, on the fuppofition of their re- vival in modern times, would be confidered as Platonic vifions or Utopian projects. Although the eiTence of public and private virtue be every where the fame, the forms and expreflions are every where different : the Lacedemonian government, fo much cele- [ 55 ] celebrated in antiquity, would be oonfidered at prefent as a paradox in politics ; and the perfect character of the Greeks, as has been (hewn by an ingenious philofopher*, would be execrated in France or England, ic &# From the earlieft records of time, the political code of Alia hath always differed eflentially from the political code of Europe. The kingdoms of the Eafl, though feudal in their form, have been always defpotic in their nature. Examine the volumes pf hiftory ; furvey the anpals of Afia for three thoufand years paft; you find one form of government invariably to prevail; abfolute authority univerfally eftablifhed. lt The power of the King is every thing, the rights of the people nothing;" is the de~ fcription which Montefquieu gives of the Oriental empires ; is the maxim which Tamerlane lays down in his laws ; and which, antecedent to both, Nature has eflablifhed in that divifion of the world, * Hume's Treatife on Morals. Who [ 56 3 Who dare fay to the king what do ft thou ? charafterifes Afia, from the fubjefts of the great Monarch of Perfia, to thofe of the petty Rajah of Jerufalem, and from the ancient sera of Ninus, to the recent reign of Hyder Ally. At thirteen different periods hath Afia been over- run and fubdued by the na- tions of the Weft or of the North ; ftill, however, amidft all its changes, the pre- dominant features have been the fame. The conquerors affumed at once the man- ners of the conquered people j a revolution effected only the alteration of a name in the reigning family : the Sovereign was changed, but the Defpot remained. The rude Scythian, who had no fceptre but his fword, and no palace but his tent, erected the throne of defpotifm j and wandering hords, accuftomed to the wild freedom of nature, fubmitted to the yoke of fervitude. The Grecian patriotifm gave way to the predominating fpirit of the Eaft ; and the Hero of Macedon, who had fought and conquered among his equals, became a tyrant over flaves. The Hebrew tribes, after C 57 ] after their long wanderings in jthe deferts f Arabia, when they fettled in Paleftine, rejected the authority of God himfelf, and required to be governed by a Defpot, like the nations around them*. Among the people of the Eaft, thefe political propcn- fities have become blended with human nature; and they cannot fo much as con- ceive the idea of another form of govern- ment -f-. We have now the experience of ages to demonstrate, that any^attempts to intro- duceEuropean maxims and manners among the Afiatic nations, mufl be for ever in vain'. Nature, and long-eftabliOied habits ftronger than nature, fix unfurmountable * 'i Sam. iii. 10,, 20. t Mr. Gibbon, inthefirft volume of his Hiftoryof the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, after mentioning the prevalence of defpotifm in the Eaft in all ages, adds, The Engljfh of late have endeavour- ed to communicate to the inhabitants of India ideas of a more liberal form of government ; they could not have done them a more eflential injury." The calm voice of philofophy in the clofet certainly merits attention. H obstacles [ 58 J obftacles in the way. IMMUTABILITY appears to be the chara&eriftic of Afia, and its forms, like the laws of the Medes and Perfiaps, are incapable of change. The manners of the Perfians and Indians of this day originate from the fame fpirit, and exhibit the fame appearance, that prevailed among their anceftors at a period too re- mote for historical refearch. Vitii an afto- niming attachment to their own ufages and cuftoms, they have an inveterate and in- vincible averfion to thofe of the Europeans. Afia and Europe have been in contact for three thoufand years 3 and although many innovations and improvements have pafTed from the former to the Jatter, not a fmgle trace can be found of one cuftom, originally European, having been adopted by the na- tions of Afia. Even the Turks, not with- tfanding their vicinity to Europe, and their intercourfe with the moft enlightened and refined nations of our Continent, preferve the Oriental character pure and unchanged, aa if they had been feparated from us by thf f 59 1 the mountains of Thibet, or the rivers Ganges and Burrampooter *. When theBritifh power was eflablifted in Indoftan, it fucceeded to all the rights and privileges of the Mogul empire, on ie ruins of which it arofe. TheEnglifh at their firft fettlemeirt in India, were merely mercantile adventurers, and carried on a trade with the natives in the fame manner as they do with the Chinefe. Our ommions there, like the progrefs of em- pire mod parts of the world, arofe not from a preconceived plan of ambition, but from an accidental combination of circum- ftances, which neceffity, and that natural province which belongs to focieties as well as individuals, directed and improved s to blend territorial dominion with commercial advantages. The invafion of * The origin of defpotifm in Afia, and the caufes its uniform appearance and permanent exiftence in that part of the world, the reader may find iliuftrated h much ingenuity and eloquence, in a and > H 2 Nadir [ 60 ] Nadir Shah nearly accomplifhed the de- tfrudion of the Mogul empire, which had been gradually declining fmce the death of Aurengzebe. The forms of government were preferved, but the fpring of autho- rity was loft. Ally Verdy Cawn, Nabob of Bengal in 1740, ufurped the fovereign. power after he had murdered his prede- ceflbr, and tranfmitted the government, though in oppofiticn to the laws of the empire, to his grandfon Surajah Dowlah. In 1756, that inhuman tyrant wantonly attacked the Englifh, who, from their firft fettlement in Bengal, had carried on their commercial purfuits m tranquillity, with- out forming any plans of ambition or policy to difturb the eftabliihed govern- ment. Irt confequence of this attack the Englim were driven from their forts and fettlements, and many of them were put to the fword. After various adventures, by their fingular and vigorous exertions, they not only recovered their former footing in Bengal, but effected a revolution in the country, f 61 ] country, and laid the foundation of the iih empire in Indoflan. In the firft effufions of youthful patriot- ifin, it is natural to wifh, that wherever the Britim ftandard, is planted, it mould confecrate the foil to Liberty, and to what, for a century part, we have deemed the rights of mankind. But a large and liberal acquaintance with the hiflory of our fpe- cies, will teach us, that freedom is a boon which cannot be conferred, and that it muft fpring from the patriotic feelings and a&ive exertions of the people. To govern conquered provinces according to their ancient laws and eflabliflied cuftoms, has been the wife and beneficent policy of all civilized nations. No punifhment could be fo fevere to the natives of India as to fubmit to the laws of England. The ge- nius of Britim freedom wduld to them be a demon of terror. Political prejudices, deri- ved from an unknown antiquity, ftrength- ened in the courfe of thoufands of years, and confirmed by the folemn fandions of 3 religion, religion, would make them revolt at the idea; and they would confider it as im- piety, as well as rebellion, to renounce the habits of immemorial time, and the cuf- toms of their fathers. The confinement and ilavery of the women, refulting from the inexorable law of neceffity, in a torrid clime, might furnim an ample fubjecl: for declamation in the Houfe of Commons, and fuperadd many an elegant and pathetic period to the orations of a Burke and a Sheridan. The fair eft part of the fair creation, fecluded from fociety, guarded by eunuchs, and trembling at the nod of a mafter, till the concealment of their for- rows and their wimes, " like a worm in the bud, preys on their damafk cheeks," would furely intereft the feelings of every Britifh bofom. The fighs of neglected beauty, the pangs of defpifed love, tears of ten- dernefs fhed in the folitude of the Haram, or the Khord Mahal, could not fail to a* wake fympathetic emotions in St. Stephen's Chapel; till the Members/^, or thought they faw, the formerly invifible millions of diftrejfed f 63 ] diftrelfed damfeh fetching out their hands, and imploring relief; and heard, or thought they heard, the congratulations of their gratitude re-echoed from the blue vault of heaven, and wafted on the downy pinions of the zephyr, to the tender texture of their fentimental bofoms ! If, in alluding to a fpeech which inter- mixed tragedy with farce, I have in fome meafure caught the contagion, I hope I mall be forgiven. The mind, when railed to a high tone, may be allowed occafion- ally to, relax -, nor is it forbidden by the wifeft of men, to anfwer a certain defcrip- tion of orators according to their own ar- guments. An innovation in this grand arrange- ment of domeftic life, however conform- able to European manners, would un- hinge the government, tfrangle the happi- nefs, and fend a poignard to the heart of }ndia. - This [ 64 1 This is only one trait of the pi&ure j all the other features correfpond. The introduction of Englifh maxims, manners, and laws into India, would be the fevereft calamity. which the natives have ever ex- perienced fro^n the Government of Britain. If we aflume a dominion over a people whofe modes of thinking, and habits of acling, are fo different from our own, that dominion is to be maintained by adapting our adminiflration to their apprehenfions and feelings, and not vainly attempting to fubjugate their minds to the novelty of our ideas. The eftimate of the merits or de- merits of any adminiflration muft be form- ed on thefcene of its influence and opera- tions. Merit of every kind muft be tried by a contiguous and cotemporary ftandard. Tranfaclions at Fyzabad or Furruckabad, Oude,or Benares, are reviewed by ignorance and apathy on the banks of the Thames. The maxims of one country apply not to another. Shakefpeare is not to be j udged by Ariftotle's rules; nor Ariftotle's philofophy by the Novum Organutn of Lord Bacon ; nor [ 65 ] nor the victorious difciple of Ariftotle by the common law of England. An Afiatic empire would foon moulder away, unlefs it were preferved by the extended arm. An Indian fceptre would become a bauble un- lefs it were fupported by the fword. So fenfible at laft have the Englifh admini- (rration become of this important truth, that, though they have cenfured Mr. Ha- flings for ftepping beyond the line of offi- cial orders, when prompted by neceffity and duty, they have inverted the prefent Governor of Bengal with greater powers, and, by uniting the offices of Governor General and Commander in Chief, have appointed him in fome meafure Dictator of India. 2. In reviewing the adminiflration of a Governor General of Bengal, we ought not only to confider the original and eter- nal forms of government eftablifhed by nature in the regions of Afia, but to ex- amine the particular map of India, and contemplate the character of the native I Princes, [ 66 ] Princes, Nabobs, Soubahs, and Rajahs, with whom he had to aft. A free and regular government, founded on principles of equity, and afcertained by laws, is the greateft improvement which the human genius, aided by the experience of ages, has introduced into fome favoured corners of the world. The natural and necefTary confequences refulting from defpotifm, ex- plain the progrefs, though they do not vindicate the character, of that defective and corrupted policy which has ever pre- vailed in the Eaft. When authority is not founded on law, but on fuperior force, there will be cruelty and oppreffion on the part of the governors, diilimulation and ftratagemon the part of the governed. Hence the ancient as well as modern hiftory of the Eaft, is ajmoft a continued fcene of crimes and calamities, of blood/lied and horror. The records of the kingdoms of Judah and Ifrael, a portion of Afiatic hittory known to every reader, illuftrate the fpirit and maxims of Oriental rule. A defpotic throne. throne, founded on the fears of the fub- jec~b, but liable to be lhaken by confpiracy ; rapid revolutions, effected by the fword 5 intrigues and plots among the defcendants of the royal family for the fucceffion to the crown ; the revolt of a favourite or a ge- neral to fupplant his matter, and wrett the iceptre from his hand ; infecurity to the lives and property of the fubje<5rs, who pafs with facility and tamenefs, from the yoke of one tyrant to that of another ; conftitute the uniform and calamitous hif- tory of thefe petty kingdoms. Although the arts of luxury and refinement have been known in the Eaft from the earlieft times, their maxims of war and policy are fcarcely fuperior to thofe of the barbarous and vagabond tribes of Scythia, by whom they have been fo often fubdued. They acknowledge no rights but thofe of the fword, and have not conceived the idea of a law of nations. They break leagues, and violate engagements, when it is no longer convenient to keep them : and engage in wars, whenever they are fufficiently power- I 2 fu [ 68 ] ful to take the field. Hence their political maxims are fo different from ours. Power juftifies oppreffion ; humanity is deemed weaknefs ; fraud, cunning, and treachery, become the legitimate weapons of the feeble againft the violence of the ftrong. In the Jewifh records, we find one king * dethroned, and another -f- doomed to de- ftruclion, for what, according to our ideas, were ads of companion and clemency ; but that generality which, among a people truly refined, converts an enemy into a friend, among nations whofe manners are barbarous, is warming a frozen fnake to fling the bofom by which it is cherifhed. Eradut Khan, in his Memoirs, relating that Jehaun Shaw had fpared the life of an enemy, makes the following reflection : " Though Jehaun Shaw was generous in this action, yet the policy of Government will not admit of fuch conduct being copied as an example of propriety. The world is deceitful^ and cannot be commanded but by * Saul, for fparing the^ife of Agag. j- Ahab, for fparing the king of Samaria. deceit. t 69 ] 'deceit. The thief who fhould wake his fleeping prey, would only bring ruin on his own head *." Thefe facts exhibit a fyftem of manners very different from ours, and fhew, that in Afia the theory of morals agrees with the practice. Independent of the general character of Oriental government, the courfe of hiftory for half a century paft, has prefented the political map of India in its darkeft lines and moft odious colours. The moft fa- vourable afpect of the eaftern monarchies, is that of a great empire, extending its au- thority-over many dependent provinces. Such was the empire of Cyrus, the moft extenfive and renowned of antiquity j fuch would have been the empire of Alexander, who had talents to govern, as well as to fubdue the world, had fate permitted him to enjoy a longer life. Abfolute power,' when fpread over a wide circumference, is more falutary to the fubjecls, than when fplit into feparate fedions : the authority of * Mem. Erad. Khan, p. 74. Printed for Stockdale. 4 one [ 7 ] one defpot is milder and more beneficent than the tyranny of twenty. Hiftory re- marks the difference between the empire of Alexander and that of his fucceflbrs. Upon the invafion of Indoflan by Shaw Nadir, the Mogul Empire was difmem- bered, and divided into fragments. The tributary princes not only deferted the Im- perial ftandard on that critical occafion, but fuperadded the crimes of revolt and ufurpa- tion. They eftabliihed petty principali- ties ; and, like the Captains of Alexander, governed by cruelty the dominions which they had acquired by trealbn. Such was the origin of thofe traitors, who are at pre- fent dignified by the appellation of Princes of India. i . : '-'if** OrtW The character of Nizam-ukmuluc, xvho betrayed his matter, has been the theme of univerfal execration ; and the remnant of perfidious Nabobs, many of whom fuffered from the chaos of deftruo tion C 7' 3 lion which their treafons brought on the Empire, merit no better reputation. When we hear or read poetical orations on the delinquencies of India, we ought never to forget, that the greateft delin- quents are the native princes. The fim- plicity.and innocence of the inhabitants of Indoftan have been a frequent theme of declamation, but, like other topics of a fimi- lar nature, have no foundation in truth. " In cunning, treachery, and perfidy," faid Mr. Dundas, after his enquiries into the affairs of the Eaft, " no European is a match for an Indian. In oppreflion and cruelty the fame character is predominant. The feelings of Britain have not yet for- got the {hocking cruelties praflifed in the black hole at Calcutta, when hundreds of our countrymen perifhed in the moll excru- ciating agonies, by hunger, thirft, and fuffocation becaufe the (lumbers of the Nabob were not to be difturbed ! The fate of General Matthews, and his officers, at Syringpatnam, is- frefh in the memory of of England. The inhuman tortures which they fuffered in prifon ; the horrid deaths to which they were condemned; and the atrocious cruelties committed on their dead bodies, are fcenes that would make an In- quifitor tremble ; and over them I fhall draw a veil, for the fake of human nature. When acting againft perfons of this cha- racter and defcription, wifdom as well as virtue will dictate the prevention of evil, rather than its remedy ; and a temporary feverity may be the moft enlarged and libe- ral humanity. 3. In eftimating the character, and pro- nouncing concerning the conduct of a Governor of Indoftan, we are to confider the fovereign power, whofe minifter he is, and whofe perfon he reprefents. A com- pany of merchants, porTefling extenlive do- minions, and at the head of a great em- pire on the oppofite extremity of the globe, opens a new fcene in human affairs. No ,laws nor precedents apply to a fituation which is without a parallel in the hiftory of paft [ 73 1 part ages. We are not to expect, that the maxims of commercial policy will be the mod liberal and enlarged ; nor that the fpirit of mercantile fovereignty will be the moft heroic and generous. The govern- ment of provinces, fituated at fiich an im- menfe diftance, muft always be unfavour- able to the fubject, as the object of the legiflators mufl neceflarily be to monopo- lize the produce of the country, and con- vert the labours of the people to their own emolument and advantage. Such it woulcj be in a fingle monarch or an ariftrocracy, much more in a mercantile republic. Act- ing in the double capacity of fovereigns and merchants, the character of the latter will ever predominate over that of the former. Mercantile habits and afTociations draw them, in a natural and infenfible manner, to grafp the prefent at the ex- pence of the future, and to prefer the tran- fient profits of the monopolift, to the per- manent revenue of the prince. Confidered' as fovereigns, the intereft of the India Company coincides with that of the pro*' K vinces f 74 J vinces which they govern, confidered as merchants, it is frequently oppofite, aspre- fent gain is preferred to future advantage. Treating on thefe fubjefts, the moft in-' gemous and profound philofopher of the prefcut age, whofe luminous intellect is only excelled by the perfeft probity of his heart, thus express his fentiments*: " I mean not, by what I have faid, to throw any odious imputation upon the general character of the fervants of the Eaft-India-Company, and muchlefs upon that of any particular perfons. It is the lyltem of government, the fituation in which they are placed, that I mean to cen- fure not the character of thofe who have. 1m n: they afted as their Htuation naturally direfted ; and 23? kudejl asaiaji tbem > Fobably, not have aSled better '" d / e S dation . the councils of , Madras, and Calcutta, have, upon n feveraj [ 75 1 ievcral occafions, conduced them felves with a refolution and decifive mind, which would have done honour to the Senate of Rome in the beft days of that Republic. The members of thofe councils, however, had been bred to profeffions very different from war and politics 5 but their fituation alone, without education, experience, or even example, feems to have formed in them all at once the great qualities which it re- quired, and to have infpired them both with abilities and virtues, which they them- felves could not well know they poflefTed. If, upon fome occafions, it has animated them to actions of magnanimity which could not have been well expected from them, we fhould not wonder that upon others it has prompted them to exploits of fomewhat a different nature." Mr. Burke, in his fpeech on Mr. Fox's India bill, exprefles his fentiments flill more ftrongly : " All the mif chiefs in the Eaft" fays he, " originated E 9 1 by the retrofpect of hiftory, and juftified to the confcience of mankind. They only attempted to retain and tranfmit undimi- nifhed and unimpaired, the powers and prerogatives which had been hereditary in the houfe of Tudor. The flate of the kingdom, the fituation and the fentiments of the people, had changed ; but every prin- ciple which has hitherto actuated the maf- ters of mankind, gives its fancYion to the maxims which they purfued, to maintain the dignity, and fupport the privileges, which defcended to them from their pre- deceflbrs. The fuccefs of the grand rebel- lion ferved only to render the crimes of the confpirators more flagrant ; the trial, fen- tence, and condemnation of Charles the Firft has left an indelible and eternal dif- grace on the character of Britain. Is one century to renew the follies, and repeat the barbarities of another ? While we blufh for the mifconducl:, and tremble at the crimes of our fathers, fhall we bequeath the fame infamous legacy to future generations ? There There is a principle of improvement and melioration in every conftitution or government -, the obfervation and experi- ence of former times enlighten and correct the following j and the voice of time gra- dually teaches more perfect leflbns of wif- dom. But legiflation has no retrofpect ; new regulations extend only to the future, and turn no reverted afpect on the paft. If an attempt is made to introduce the Englifh conftitution among theGentoos (an attempt as impoffible as it would be pernicious), thofe are exempted from its jurifdidtion who acted under a different government, and from other maxims of policy. If a new SUN is to rife in the WEST, and fend its propitious ray to India, let not its dazzling fplendours confume the heads of thofe who acted in the fhade of former ob- fcurity. 5. Rewards and punifliments are the great engines of government, and the wife and proper adminiftration of them forms M -2 the [ 9* 3 the chief diftinction between a good and a bad minifter. There are particular occa- fions, when, from the manners of the times, remuneration of public merit, and retribution for national offences, become eflentially neceffary. At the commence- ment of a former war with France, when no zeal appeared among our commanders, and officers in the fervice of their country, the punifhment of Admiral Byng operated on the army and the navy like an electrical fhock, brought all the valour of the king- dom into exertion, and led on to victory and conqueft. After a war fo difaftrous and difgracefuj as the lafl, juftice, as well as policy, might demand a victim to befacrificed to the public irefentment. If the Generals who accepted of their commiflion with an intention to' betray their country, who fought the bat- tles of America inflead of the parent flate, and delivered up armies into the hands of the enemy, had been impeached for having; difmem- I 93 3 jlifmemberecl the Britifh dominions, and loft thirteen provinces to this empire, the feelings and reflexions of the nation would perjiaps have gone along with the meafure. But to have haraffed with perfecutions and impeachments Admiral Rodney, and the Governor of Bengal, without whofe fplendid and meritorious exertions Britain would have read the lafl brilliant page of her hiftory, and funk into her primitive iniig- nificance in the map of the world, is an infult to the common fenfe and fpirit of the nation, and eftablifhes a precedent that, in, future times, muft check the ardour and in- frigidate the exertions of the executive branch of government : for it muft occur to every perfon who is acquainted with po- litical affairs, that if to all the metapbyfical mifdemeanors which have been imputed to Mr. Mailings, he had added one real c-rhne 9 had thrown his weight into the fcale of op- pofition, and violated the principles of duty and allegiance which he has ever main- tained to his fovereign, the fame broad Ihieid [ 94 ] fhield of patriotifm which protected the American delinquents, would have covered the Governor of India from every hoftile attack ; his impeachment would have beeri as much unknown as that of Lord North ; and his name and character tranfmitted without a ftain to the moil diflant poflerity. Has attachment to principle, has loyalty to the fovereign, become fuch a crime, as to cancel the merit and obliterate the fervices of thirty years ? Is there no medium be- tween forming a monftrous and immoral coalition, and becoming the fubject of im- peachment ? If fuccefs, in any degree, attends the de- figns of the accufers of Mr. Haftings, the voice of Britain henceforth to her fons is, " Go and ferve your country, but if you tranfgrefs the line of official orders, though compelled by necefHty, you do fo at the rifque of your fortune, your honour, and your life ; if you act with proper prudence againft the interefts of the empire, and bring [ 95 ] bring calamity and difgrace upon your country, you have only to court oppofi- tion, and coalefce with your enemies, and you will find a party zealous and devoted to fupport you j you may obtain a vote of thanks from the Houfe of Commons for yourfervicesy and you may read your hiftory in the eyes of the mob by the light of bon- fires and illuminations. But if, after exert- ing all your efforts in the caufe of your country, you return covered with laurels, and crowned with fnccefs 5 if you preferve a loyal attachment to your fovereign, you may expect the thunders of parliamentary vengeance; you will certainly be im- peached, and probably be undone." No government can exift on fuch maxims of policy. An adminiftration fo unprin- cipled and improvident as to make it an object to reward its enemies and punifh its friends, contains within itfelf the prin- ciples of deflruclion. Such a mafs of in- coherent and difcordant materials muft foon. be difiblved.. 6. The i 96 ) 6. The principles from which men act in public life, flamp merit or dement on their actions. If we can trace their con- duct to difappointed ambition, perfonal re- fentraent, or envy of fuperior worth, no pretenfions to philanthropy or patriotifm will vindicate their character in the view of an impartial public. The firft great man whofe impeachment is recorded in hiftory was Miltiades, who had refilled the fove-* reignty of Cherfonefus, in order to eliablifh the liberty of his country j and who, by gaining the victory of Marathon, gave an elevation to the character of the Athenians, which in every fubfequent age rendered them fuperior to the Perfians. The glory which he had acquired, in diminifhing the confequence, excited the envy, of the Ale^ meonidae; the fecurity of the common- wealth, procured by his extraordinary abilities, rendered thofe abilities lefs ne- cefiary ; and his accidental failure at Paros afforded means of accomplifhing his ruin with a fickle multitude poflefTed of abfolute authority. The Chief of the oppofite faction C 97 ] fadtion conduced a capital accufationagainft him ; he was condemned in a fine of fifty talents, which he was unable to pay and languished out the remains of a glorious life in the confinement and ignominy of a prifon. Among the confpiratprs againft Csefar, there was a fingle Brutus, who loved his country ; but a multitude of perfonal foes, who fought only to gratify their private refentment by the aflaffination of the Dic- tator. The honourable men, who firft con- fpired agairift the Governor of India, have happily furnifhed a key to their own cha- racter. Difappointed of empire in the Eaft, by the failure of Mr. Fox's celebrat- ed bill, they meditated revenge -, and as their ambitious projects had been ftrongly refitted by the Eaft India Company, they fixed upon their favourite fervant, whom they had formerly accufed, as an objed: of perfection and impeachment. Will it add to the credit of any fadion, that they have forfeited the approbation and the confidence . N of [ 98 } of their country ? Will it ferve as a recom- mendation to any caufe, that the arch- acciifer of Mr. HafHngs was the apologift of Powel and Bembridge ? Or will it add to the credibility of his prefent charges, that, after having accufed Lord North of crimes that could only be expiated on the public fcajfold, and drawn up articles of im- peachment againft him, he now employs that very hand to crown him with laurels, which was formerly armed for his deftruc- tion ? -Does the addition of the name of a celebrated General to the Committee of impeachment, reflect any luftre on their caufe? A general who, in June 1777, ac- cording to his own ftatement, " gave a War-feaft to the Indians, according to their tfwn cuftomj" that is, authorifed their horrid ceremony of drinking human blood out of the fkulls of their enemies; who gave them his fanclion to mangle the bodies of the flain, and take the fcalps of the deadj who, in a proclamation written by himfelf, talks of " giving aftr 'etch to the Indian forces, of executing the vengeance of the fiat e , of the meffengers. " ' ' t 99 ] meffcngers of wrath t ofdevaftation, famine^ and every concomitant horror ;" and who, after this pompous prologue of tragic fero- city, known only to the moft favage of the American tribes, figned the fatal and ignominious convention at Saratoga, which drew France and Spain to the affiftance of America, and deprived us of one half of our empire. The youthful virtue of Mr. Anftrutherwill not foon be forgotten; who, after having declared in a full Court of Proprietors, " That Mr. Haftings pofleffed two of the moft effential requifites of a Governor, undoubted ability and undoubt- ed integrity ; and that he had made exer- tions during the war which exceeded be- lief," in a few years afterwards became a member and a manager of the committee of impeachment, and took as zealous and active a part againft Mr. Haftings, as he had formerly done in his favour. The inconfiftent and contradictory character of Mr. Francis is hardly an object of criti- cifm. The perfonal enemy of Mr. Haftings gught to have been filent in a caufe that was N 2 fubmitted fubmitted to the decifion of juftice, not the dictates of animofity j nor ought he to have added to the reproach and ridicule he has already incurred from the world, by conitantly attending the meetings of the Secret Committee, from which he was ex- cluded by the Houfe of Commons. The motives from which this impeach- ment originated are farther illustrated by the manner in which it has been carried into execution. As it began, fo it has been conducted, with that violent animofity and vindictive fpirit, which feeks to blaft the character of an individual ; not by that cool fenfe of juftice and equity which is fo- licitous only to vindicate the honour of the nation. Inflead of fair and candid reafon- ing, his. accufers have had recourfe to fa- tire, ridicule, and buffoonery ; and have loaded with invectives and reproaches, un- worthy at all times to be heard in the Bri- tifh Senate, and fit only to be applied to the moft atrocious criminal after conviction, a perfonage pronounced innocent by the law till [ 101 J till he is found guilty, and placed in a fitu- ation, which, from its eminence ahone, entitled him to refpecl and veneration. This is a language which truth difclaims ; thefe are weapons which virtue difowns. There is a difference between the ftroke of juftice and the ftab of an afTaflin. The office of calm deliberate juftice is to redrefs grievances, as well as to punifh of- fences. It has been affirmed, that the na- tives of India have been deeply injured j but has any motion been made to make them compenfation for the injuries they have fuftained ? Have the accufers of Mr. Haftings ever propofed to bring back the Rohillas to the country from which they were expelled ? to reftore Cheit Sing to the Zemindary of BenaresJ 1 or to return to the Nabob of Oude the prefent which the Go- vernor of Bengal received from him for the benefit of the Company ? Till fuch mea- fures are adopted, and in the train of ne- gociation, the world has every reafon to conclude, that the impeachment of Mr. Haftingfi [ .102 ] Haftings is carried on from motives of perfonal animofity, not from regard to public juflice. In turning my attention to the other fide of the Houfe of Commons, I mail only ftate a few facts. In 1785, Mr. Dundas exprefled his aftonimment at the manner by which Mr. Haftings difcovered or cre- ated refources during the war ; (t but by thefe means," fays he, " he has faved In- dia. I approved of his receiving the thanks of the Directors -, and had I been a Direc^ tor, I would have joined moil heartily in that vote." The fame Mr. Dundas, in 1786, gave his vote to impeach Mr. Haft- ings for the identical conduct on which he had formerly pronounced a panegyric. Mr. George Hardinge exprefied his opi- nion of Mr. Haftings at the bar of the Houfe of Lords in the moft animated and glowing terms. " Long the fervant of the Company, .Mr. Haftings has lived but for them, and for the Public united with them. What t 103 ] What is the raz/chara&er of this wonderful man ? He is the Chatham of the Eaft ; an equal fpirit of enterprize, the fame refource, commanding genius, enlarged conceptions, and purity of character, will make both erf them the idols of pofterity, when their little adverfaries will be too obfcureim infamy to record them." If thefe gentlemen have fince taken a different tone, it is not from any new difcoveries that have been made ; the reports of the SelecT: Committee were pub- lifhed at the period when thofe Members of Parliament defended the caufe of Mr. Haft- ings ; and if fince that time they have re- ceived a new light, it muft have come through fome medium unknown to the public. The conduct of theMinifter on this occa- lion, has been covered with a cloud, which no ray of reafoning can difperfe, and in- volved in a labyrinth which no thread of argument can unwind. In the firft, and in appearance the heavieft, charge brought againfl Mr. Haftings, he acquitted him by x his vote. In the celebrated debate con- o, cerning [ 104 cerning the tranfaftlons at Benares, he defcribed Mr. Haftings as one of the firft men this country has produced -> vindicated him in every ftep of his conduct towards Cheit Sing, whofe obftinacy he criminated in the ftrongeft terms ; and at the fame time found him liable to impeachment for an error in judgment, in which his greatefl enemies difcerned no trace of blame. In the queftion concerning the Begums, he advanced the grofs and monflrous pofition, that rebels ought to Ke tried by law, and denied the exigence of the ftate-necefTity, which had been proved by Major Scott, from the evidence of authentic records. In the other debates, he alternately mixed the higheft panegyric with the moft poig* nant feverities. At one time he extolled Mr. Haftings, as having preferved an em- pire to Great Britain, and faved a nation from periming by famine. At another time, he poured forth the pathos of ap- parent compaffion over the misfortunes of a man who had incurred the cen- fure of the Houfe of Commons. The. reprimand I 105 ] reprimand which he gave to Lord Hood, for expreffing the manly, fen timents of a gallant officer ; his vindication of the low and indecent ribaldry employed by fome of the enemies of Mr. Haftings, certainly ex- cited no fmall degree of aftonifhment, both within the Houfe, and amongft the Public. On thefe fa6ts I fliall make no commentary,, but leave the reader to his own reflections, Whatever conjectures may be formed in confequence of the warm panegyrics, and the harfh cenfures which the fame men have, at different periods, heaped upon Mr. Haftings , whether the one or the other, or both, are to be attributed to private intereft, to caprice, to difappointed ambition, or to mo- mentary paflion ; whether men who have been deprived of comfortable finecufes, in which they thought themfelves fccure for life, attribute their misfortunes to the late Governor General of Bengal, and' are actuated by private revenge ; whether, as Mr. Sheridan once laid, certain meji feel a pleafare in bumbling the raan by whofe Q affiftance [ i6 ] afliflance (if Oppofition is to be believed) they defeated a very powerful party ; wher ther thofe who have carried the impeach^ ment to the Lords were actuated by any of . thefe motives, it is now of no moment to en- quire. Every friend of Mr. Haflings and of humanity, will rejoice that his caufe v i$ carried before a tribunal competent to his acquittal, or his condemnation \ and the nation will look with confidence on the deliberative wifdorn, and impartial juftice, \vhich will dictate the decifion of the moft auguft tribunal upon earth. F I N J S. . j . ~, i . Tfbe following BOOKS are juft pubUfied fo JOHN STOCKDALE, Piccadilly, ana r, Fleet-ftreet. 1 A ^^ ertation n the Governments, .Manners, and X\ Spirit of Afia. By the Rev, Mr. Logan. Price ;,??^ d * 3 2. Effays t ? I 4* Eflays on Hunting : containing a Philosophical Enquiry into the Nature and Properties of the Scent j and Observations on the different Kinds of Hounds, with the Manner of training them. Alfo, Directions for the Choice of a Hunter; the Qualifications requi- fite for a Huntfman ; and other General Rules to bo oBferved in every Contingency incident to the Chace. With an Introduction, defcribing the Me*hod of Hare Hunting, pradtifed by the Greeks. A new Edition : With a Supplement, containing an Account of the Vi- zier's Manner of Hunting in the Mogul Empire. By William Blane, Efq. In one Volume 8vo. Price 43* in Boards* 3. Articles exhibited by the Knights, Citizens, and Burgefles.in Parliament affembled, in the Name ofthem-* felves and of all the Commons of Great-Britain, againft WARREN HASTINGS, Efq. late Governor General of Bengal, in maintenance of their Impeachment againft him for High Crimes and Mifdemeanors, (WITH THE AMENDMENTS.) Price 2. 6d. 4. The Anfwer of Warren Haftings, Efq. to the Articles exhibited by the Knights, Citizens, and Bur- gefles in Parliament aflembled, in the name of them- ielves, and of all the Commons of Great-Britain, .in maintenance of their Impeachment againft him for High Crimes and Mifdemeanors, fuppofed to have been by him committed. Delivered at the Bar of the Houfe / of Peers, on Wednefday, November 28, 1787. In one Volume 8vo. Price only 45. in Boards. 5. Articles of Charge of High Crimes arid Mifde- meanors againft Warren .Haftmgs, Efq. prefented to the Houfe of Commons by the Right Hon. Edmund Burke. In one large Volume 8vo. Price 75. in Boards* .6. The Defence of Warren Haftings, fq. (late Governor General of Bengal,) at the Bar of the Houfe &f Commons, upon the Matter of the feveral Charges O 2 Of C 108 ] of High Crimes and Mifdemeanors, prefented again!?. him in the Year 1786. In one Volume 8vo. Price 55. in Boards. 7. Minutes of the Evidence taken before a Com- mittee of the Houfe of Commons, being a Committee of the Whole Houfe, appointed to confider of the feve- ral Articles of Charge of High Crimes and Mifde- .meanors prefented to the Houle againft Warren Haft- ings, Efq. late Governor General of Bengal : Con- taining the Examinations of Sir Robert Barker, Bart. Colonel Champion ; Major Marfack ^ Captain Leo- nard Jacques; Major Balfour ; Major Gardener ; Ma- jor Gilpin ; Nathaniel Middleton, Efq. Captain Wil- liams ; Sir Elijah Impey ; Captain Thomas Mercer ; William Young, Efq. Mr. Ifaac Baugh ; William Harwood, Efq. Ewan Law, Efq. Alexander Higgin- fon, Efq. Peter Moore, Efq. William Markham, Efq. David Anderfon, Efq. Mr. William Wright. In one large Volume 8vo. Price 75. 6d. in Boards. 8. A Narrative of the Infurre&ion which happened in the Zemeedary of Benares, in the Month of Au- - guft 1781, and of the Tranfac-Hons in that Diftri6t ; with an Appendix of authentic Papers and Affidavits. By Warren Haftings, Efq. 9. The Prefent State of the Eaft-Indies, by War- ren Haftings, Efq. late Governor General of Bengal ; with Notes by the Editor. Price only 2S. 10. Articles of Charge of High Crimes and Mifle- meanors, againft Sir Elijah Impey, Knt. late Chief Juftice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William, in Bengal, prefented to the Houfe of Com- mons, upon the i2th Day of December, 1787, by Sir Gilbert Elliot, Bart. Price 2S. 6d. ii. Minutes of Warren Haftings and Philip Francis, Enquires, relative to their perfonal Quarrel. Priec is. 6d.' 12, Mr, t 109 3 12. Mr. Sheridan's Speech on the Charges brought againft Mr. Haftings. Price 35. 13. The Debate on the Rohilla War, in the Houfe of Commons, the ift and 2d of June 1786, Price is. 6d. 14. The Debate on the Charge relative to Mr. Haf- tings's Conduit to Cheyt Sing, at Benares, in the Houfe of Commons, on the i3th of June, 1786. Price is. 15. The Debate in the Houfe of Commons, June 25th, 1786, on the Eaft-India Relief Bill, in which is included the Hiftory of the Diamond delivered to Lord Sydney by Major John Scott. Price is. 16. The Bengal Calendar, for the Year 1 788 : In- cluding a Lift of the Honourable and United Eaft-India Company's Civil and Military Servants on the Bengal Eftabliftiment, &c. Including alfo thofe at Madras, Bombay, Fort Marlborough, China, and St. Helena. A new Edition. Corrected at the Eaft-India Houfe* Price is. 6d. fewed in Marble Paper. 17. The London Calendar, or Court and City Regifter for England, Scotland, Ireland, and America, for the Year 1788, including a complete and correct Lift of the prefent Parliament, &c. &c. &c. more ex- tenfive and ufeful than in any other Book of the Kind yet published. Carefully corrected at the refpedtive Offices. Printed on a large Paper. Price only is. 6d. fewed, or 2S. bound. %* The above Calendar may be had complete with the New Heraldry in Miniature, containing the Arms of the Peers and Baronets : Almanack, Companion, and Bengal Calendar, bound together. Price 8s. N, B. Be careful to a(k for the London Calendar. zl. FUlcU C no I j$. Fielding's New Peerage of England, Scotland,, and Ireland, for 1788; containing the Origin and Progrefs of Honours, Manner of creating Peers, Order of Knighthood, Introduction to Heraldry, with an Heraldic Dictionary, and a complete Extinct Peerage. In a neat Pocket Volume. Price only 6s. in Boards, or ys. 6d. Calf gilt. *^* The above New Edition of the Peerage is cor* xected to the prefent Time, and contains of Cop- per-plate and Letter- prefs 400 Pages, which is nearly double the Quantity of the laft Edition, though the Price is not advanced to the Public. 19. New Heraldry in Miniature: Containing all the ArmS, Oefts, Supporters, and Mottos, of the Peers, Peerefles, and Bifhops, of England, Scotland, and Ire- land, with the Baronets of Great-Britain ; and the infignia of the different Orders of Knighthood in the Three Kingdoms : alfo an Introduction to the Science of .Heraldry, a Dictionary of Heraldic Terms, as well as an Index" to all the Peers, .&c. with the Tranflatioa -of their Mottos : Likewife a Lift of Titles conferred by . his prefent Majefty, and thofe extinct fmce his Ac- ceflion to the Throne. Containing upwards of 1000 Arms of the Peers and Baronets, and Rules of Pre- cedejxry amongft ; Men and 'Women. Price only 2S. 6d fewed in Marble Paper. Remarks upon Colonel Fullarton's View of the Interefts in India. Dedicated to the Officers in the Service of the Eaft-India Company in Bengal, . rBy an Officer, late in the Company's Service in Ben- gal. Price is. 6d. lo Y',tC,he .Debates of the Laft Seflion of the late Parlia- t , ^nent, in Six Volumes, gvo. Price i!. iis. (^d. half Jw)Utid and lettered. .*j* The above Six Volumes contain Mr. Pitt's and "Mr. Fox's Eaft-India -Bills, and al] the Debates .?.| 9Q that Subject, j 32. [ III 1 71. Alfo the Debates for 1-84, Firft SefTion of the prefent Parliament (being the i6tb,) in Three large Volumes, 8vo. Price if. is. half bound and lettered, 22. Ditto 1785, Second Sefiion, in Three Volumes, fivo.' Price il. is. half bound and lettered. 23. Debates in Parliament in 1786, Third Seflion, r.i '1 hree Volumes, #vo, Price il. is. half bound and lettered. 24. Ditto 1787, Fourth Seffion, in Three Volumes, 8vo. Price il. is. half bound and lettered. ^** The above Debates contain a very full Account of the Proceedings refpecling Mr. Haftings, and the Eaft-India Affairs. 25. The Tribunal, addreffed to the Peers of Great- Britain about to fit in Judgment on Warren Haftings, fice 22. 6d. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below JAH , 192 JUN JRL W8Z a UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000000127 1