Thoughts on the Present 
 East India Bill... to Tfr hic- 
 Added,. An Authentic Copy of 
 the Bill
 
 IF 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 THOUGHTS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 PRESENT 
 EAST INDIA BILL 
 
 PASSED INTO A LAW, AUGUST 1784. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, 
 
 AN AUTHENTIC COPY OF THE BILL, 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR JOHN STOCKDALE, 
 
 BURLINGTON-HOUSE, PICCADIJ.LY. 
 MDCC LXXXIV. 
 
 t PRICE TWO SHILLINGS.] 

 
 AaP* 
 
 THOUGHTS, &c. 
 
 
 all the topics which have at different 
 periods attracted the attention of a free 
 and enlightened People, there is none which 
 contains matter of more ferious enquiry, than 
 that which forms the fubjed: of the following 
 pages. A fecond plan has now been received in 
 Parliament, for the future government of our 
 ~ pofieffions in India ; and while the principles 
 r^ on which it is founded, and the meafures which 
 it adopts, are debated by our Reprefentatives, 
 it well becomes us to look with a careful and 
 jealous eye, to the event of a difcuffion in which 
 all our deareft interefts are involved. And, in- 
 ^6 deed, great as this queftion muft at any time 
 * have appeared, extenfive in its objects, and 
 ^formidable in its confequences, there are many 
 circumflances which concur to render it inte- 
 B 2 retting- 
 
 ;.
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 refting to us, in the prefent moment, even 
 much beyond its natural importance. 
 
 It is, in the firft place, a confideration which 
 deeply involves the credit of our Government, 
 and the honour of our Nation. We are bound 
 by every feeling of humanity, juftice, and reli- 
 gion, to provide fome remedy for the multi- 
 plied oppreffions under which the natives of 
 India have groaned. We are bound by our 
 duty to ourfelves, as well as to them, no longer 
 to fuffer the eftablifhment of the Britilh. Nation 
 in that climate, to remain the fcourge and curfe 
 of its unfortunate inhabitants. That it has hi- 
 therto been fo, there is too much reafon to be- 
 lieve ; and allowing in the ftatements which 
 have been made on that head to the Public, for 
 the extravagance of a heated imagination, and 
 the intemperance of party zeal, much ftill re- 
 mains uncontroverted, a reproach to our feel- 
 ings, and a difgrace to our national character. 
 Jt is incumbent on us, therefore, to wipe 
 away this ftain ; and by whatever means we 
 now find ourfelves fubflituted in the place of 
 the natural rulers of that country, we muft be 
 guided in our future conduct towards it, by 
 
 that
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 that firft duty of thofe who govern, the con- 
 f uhing the eafe and happinefs of their fub- 
 jeds. 
 
 * Nor is our own political welfare lefs at Hake. 
 By a diigraceful and ruinous war, our burthens 
 have been more increafed, and our refources 
 more diminiihed, in the fhort fpace of nine 
 calamitous years, than in a whole preceding 
 century of profperity and triumph. Much, 
 therefore, does it behove us to cherifh what is 
 flill ours ; to guard well the remnants of a 
 great and flourilhing empire ; and to prove, by 
 a juft and prudent adminiftration of our re- 
 maining territories, that we have not drunk, 
 without benefit, of the bitter cup of adverfity 
 and humiliation. 
 
 To thefe circumflances, which mark the nc- 
 ceffity and magnitude of the object, is to\c 
 added, the difficulty of the means by which it 
 is to be attained. V/e are to weigh the diftance 
 of the country to be governed, the inveteracy 
 of the abufes to be reformed, the power of 
 delinquents, the hopes of impunity, and the 
 temptations to guilt : Confederations now cer- 
 tainly
 
 ( * ) 
 
 tainly pointed, and brought home to our feel- 
 ings, by the extent and tendency of that plan, 
 which, was attempted on thefe grounds to be 
 defended. But great indeed mufl have been 
 their weight, and infinite their importance, if 
 they could have reconciled this country to the 
 admiflion of the fmallefl part of thofe prin- 
 ciples, which were thus to have been efta- 
 blifhed. Even as a Commercial People, we 
 fhould, undoubtedly, have feen with horror, 
 the annihilation of our firft Trading Company ; 
 but as a Nation jealous of our Freedom, we 
 looked from that meafure to confequcnces of 
 far greater importance. We faw that it was 
 intended to deftroy, at one blow, every legal 
 fecurity under which pur property was enjoyed: 
 That it was meant in the fame moment to efta- 
 blilh in the hands of a powerful FacYion, an 
 Executive Government, independent of the 
 Crown : That to this Government was to be 
 given the abfolute and uncontrouled dominion 
 of the Eaft, including in it patronage, influ- 
 ence, and power, far beyond what is veiled in 
 our own Sovereign ; and flill further, that to 
 thefe perfons, thus exalted above the level, not 
 of their fellow-fubje&s only, but of their King, 
 
 and
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 and of the Government of their Country, there 
 was to be given a PERMANENCY of Power, un- 
 known to any part of our Conftitution, and 
 abfolutely incompatible with the very nature of 
 a Free State. Seeing all this, we felt a necef- 
 fity greater than any which was urged to us ; 
 and we declared, with one voice, that it was 
 defirable that former abufes fhould be corrected ; 
 that it was to be wilhed, that India might be 
 well governed ; but that it was NECESSARY that 
 the PEOPLE OF GREAT BRITAIN Jhould continue 
 
 FREE. 
 
 In a happy hour for this kingdom, that plan 
 mifcarried, which, if it had fucceeded, would 
 have given an abfolute power, under the cloak 
 of reformation, to perfons undiftinguifhed in 
 their country, except by a blind attachment 
 to one daring and ambitious Leader. And we 
 have now the fatisfa&ion to fee, that there are 
 among us men of no mean abilities, of no tri, 
 fling knowledge in public bufinefs, and above 
 all, of no inconliderable experience in this par- 
 ticular branch of it ; who, while they acknow- 
 ledge the importance, extent, and difficulty of 
 the evil, are confident of removing it, by art 
 
 operation
 
 operation lefs violent in its execution, and lefs 
 alarming in its effects. A plan has now been 
 propofed, and has received the marked appro- 
 bation of Parliament, which profefles to relieve 
 public credit without annihilating* the firft 
 Trading Company in the world ; to fecure to 
 us the enjoyment of our territories without en- 
 dangering our conftitution ; and to protect the 
 natives of India, without enflaving the people of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 And yet, much as we muft all defire the ac- 
 complilhment of thefe hopes, let us not be de- 
 ceived 
 
 , * In the debate on the Commitment of the prefent 
 India bill, Mr. F-x was pleafed to fay, that he had never 
 denied that his plan would have gone to the total annihilation 
 of the Eafl India Company. The Writer of thefe pages 
 affirms, that Mr. F-x has repeatedly made that denial, as 
 may be feen by a reference to any of the printed debates 
 of the laft Seilion. And it is, left this admiffion fhould 
 again be retraced, that it is thought proper here to record 
 it. Among all the arts ufed to deceive the people into an 
 approbation of meafures which they abhor, there is none 
 lefc juftifiable than the conftant mifreprefentatiou of Par- 
 liamentary debates in almoft every public paper, which is 
 known to be the daily employment of more than one of 
 Mr. F-x's moft active friends.
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 teived by them into an inclifcriminate approba- 
 tion of the meafure on which they are founded. 
 Let us weigh maturely the objections which are 
 raifed againft it ; and having compared it not 
 only with the former plan (which all condemn) 
 but with the nature of the object propofed, and 
 with the means by which that object can be ob- 
 tained, let us try it on the grounds of reafon ? 
 and on the principles of the Conftitntion. We 
 may then form an impartial and decided judge 
 ment, to which we mall adhere, returning with 
 contempt the daily infults of thofe who treat 
 our opinions as the effects of popular delufion 
 and temporary frenzy. Thofe very men know, 
 and have reafon to lament, that the people of 
 Great Britain are not fo weak as they were wil- 
 ling to believe. They have found in us judge- 
 ment to difcern, and firmnefs to refill, their 
 plans for our oppremon. They will ever find it 
 fo : And till they have perfuaded us to furren- 
 der up our reafon, they will in vain attempt to 
 undermine our liberties ; nor will they DARE to 
 feize them, till they have acquired the power 
 to crufh us.
 
 It is therefore to my fellow-citizens, to att 
 uninfluenced and difcerning Public, to men 
 capable of judging what is right, and defiroua 
 of following it, that I wilh to-fubmit my ideas 
 on this fubject ; and I will proceed without 
 further preface, to the confideration of the 
 plan now propofed, which naturally divides 
 itfelf rnto three diftinct objects. 
 
 Firft, The eflabliming a Power of Controul 
 in this kingdom, by which the Executive Go- 
 vernment in India is to be connected with that 
 over the reft of the Empire* 
 
 Second! y, The regulating the Conduct of the 
 Company's Servants in India, in order to remedy 
 the evils which have prevailed there* 
 
 Thirdly, The providing for the punimmem: 
 of thofe perfons who mail, neverthelefs, con 1 - 
 tinu-e in the practice of crimes which have 
 brought difgrace upon their country, 
 
 To each of thefc, various objections have 
 been raifed, which it is my intention to conii- 
 der feparately j and with them, the fpirit and 
 
 tendency
 
 tendency of the regulations to which they 
 apply. 
 
 I. The neceffity of connecting, in fome 
 meafure, the Executive Government of India 
 xvith that of this country, has long been uni- 
 yerfally felt, was adopted in the former plan, 
 is acknowledged by the oppofers of this, and 
 has in the fprm now prqpofed received the con- 
 fent of the Company. But it is a very material 
 point to confider, how this may be fufficiently 
 accomplished, keeping at the fame time in 
 view the rights of the Company, and having 
 an attentive and watchful eye to the Conftitu- 
 tion of this country. 
 
 With refpec"jt to the rights of the Company, 
 it is perhaps enough for us to confider, that 
 they have themfelves pointed out this mode as 
 confident with their ideas, and agreeable to 
 their wiflies. If any thing more were wanted 
 on this head, the very nature of the objection 
 which has been made to it in Parliament, fuffi- 
 ciently entitles it to our approbation. The fup- 
 porters of the former Bill, (and in this inflance 
 C 2 they
 
 they certainly adt confidently with their paft 
 conduft, however inconfiftently with the laws 
 of juftice, and the principles of the Conflitu- 
 tion) complain that TOO LITTLE is now to be 
 vvrefted from the Company. That too little 
 ihould be refumed by Parliament, of that which 
 has been granted by Charter ; that a Minister 
 fhould take into his own hands too little power, 
 too little influence, and too little patronage, is 
 a. complaint which might well weigh with thofe 
 who fupported government, only* in con- 
 fidence that they would diftributc corruptly 
 what they had fei^ed violently ,' and that they 
 would lhare the plunder among thofe who had 
 affiiled in the robbery. But in the eyes of a 
 virtuous and confederate people, it would, if 
 it were neceflary, overbalance many objections, 
 and compenfate for many faults* 
 
 It is, however, by no means fufficient to 
 avoid trenching on the rights of the Company, 
 unlefs the plan to be adopted holds out a rea- 
 fonable hope of regulation in India, without 
 
 creating 
 
 * I arc far from including in this dcfcription all \vho 
 voted for Mr. Fox's Bill : Many certainly did fo confcien- 
 tioufly, being deceived" into it by fpeciour, though incon- 
 clufive arguments.
 
 creating in any perfon whatever a degree of 
 power formidable to the Conflitution of thefc 
 kingdoms. On both thefe heads objections have 
 keen railed ; and Mr. Fox has afiured us, that 
 the Ppwer of Controul now to be created, is ina- 
 dequate to any purpofe of Reform, while an 
 alarming acceffion of Influence is at the fame time 
 to be given by it to the Crown. Let us, there- 
 fore, recur to the Bill itfelf, in order to examine 
 ihefe affertions, and to decide whether they are 
 j nftifi.ed by any folid ground of argument, or 
 are the fuggeftions of a gloomy and difappointed 
 mind, brooding over the lofs both of popularity 
 and power, and lamenting too late the confe- 
 <quence of an impatient thirft for abfolute domi- 
 nion, an intemperate and " 'vaulting ambition, 
 4f which o'erkapt itfdf- and fell on th y other fide!" 
 
 In the firfl place, therefore, with regard to 
 the regulation of India, we mail find on exa- 
 mination, that this Bill, while it leaves to the 
 Company the entire management of their com- 
 mercial concerns; while it continues in the 
 Directors chofen by the Company, the conduct 
 of their political affairs, provides, neverthelefs, 
 rhat they lhall not be permitted to depart from 
 
 thofe
 
 thofe maxims of government there, on which 
 all men are agreed. And if they fhould be in- 
 clined to forfake the principles of osconomy, 
 peace, and juflice, it prevents their endanger- 
 ing by fuch conducT:, both the interefls of the 
 Company and the profperity of the Empire at 
 large. In thefe inftances they will be controuled 
 by perfons connected with the Executive Go- 
 vernment for the time being, appointed under 
 his Majefty's Commiffion, and daily refponiible 
 to Parliament for every circumftarice in the 
 execution of their office. Thus it i$, that by 
 the eflablifhmerit of that in which the genius 
 of our Conftitutiqn delights, a fpecies of mixed 
 government, every advantage is held out, 
 which can arife from mutual emulation for the 
 public good, from local knowledge, from ex- 
 perience in the detail of bufinefs, from perfonal 
 intereft in the well-being of the Company, 
 added to a permanent fyilem of policy, to the 
 exertion of political talents, and the refponfi- 
 bility of executive office. 
 
 Still, however, with all thefe circumftances, 
 and with the addition of every method which 
 prudence can fuggeft, to enforce from t\ie 
 
 fervants
 
 I '5 ) 
 
 fervants abroad a ftridt obdience to the orders 
 which they receive from hence, this govern- 
 ment has been ftigmatized as weak and ineffi- 
 cient. And it is certainly true, that it poflefles 
 neither the unlimited PATRONAGE, nor the 
 unconditional PERMANENCY, which MF. 
 Fox 'had provided for his .Commiffioners. To 
 the feven perfons of his nomination he had 
 given (in the words of a fpirited and unanfwer- 
 able publication*) " the whole influence of 
 " the offices of every kind, in India and at 
 " home, belonging to the Company ; and the 
 " whole influence arifing from the tranfadtions 
 " of their trade, in the purchafe of goods for 
 " exportation, fur milling fliipping, {tores, and 
 " recruits ; the influence arifing from the 
 " method of felling their goods, by bringing 
 " forward or keeping back goods at the fales, 
 <c or giving indulgencies as to payments, fo as 
 " to accommodate thofe who were meant to 
 " be favoured ; the influence arifing from the 
 " favour they might fliew to thofe who were 
 " then in England, and had left debts or ef- 
 
 " fefts 
 
 * Mr. Pulteney's Pamphlet on Mr. Fox's Eaft India 
 Bill; printed for J. Stockdale, Piccadilly.
 
 ( '6 ) 
 
 rfc feds in India, as to the mode of bringing 
 ** home and recovering their fortunes; the 
 * e influence of contracts of all kinds in India ; 
 " of promotions from ftep to'ftep; of favour 
 * e in the inland trade ; of intimidation with re- 
 " fpe^ft to every perfon then there, who might 
 * 6 come home with a fortune, both with regard' 
 * c to' recovering his debts, and the means of re- 
 * e mittance,' and with regard to enquiries into 
 ** his eondudt; the influence upon Foreign 
 ** Companies or Foreign States, who have 
 " eftablifhments in that country^ whoy in re- 
 turn, might have the means of acling upon 
 * c individuals in this country ; the influence 
 " upon the native Princes of India ; fome erf 
 " whom have already found the way of pro- 
 " curing the Elections of Members of Parlia- 
 <c ment ; and many other means of influence, 
 te which it is impoflible to forefee or to trace :" 
 All this he had given, if his affertions are -to 
 be believed, not to flrengthen any Fadion, or 
 eftablifti any Ariflocracy in this country ; but 
 with the fole view of providing a ftrong Go- 
 vernment in India. 
 
 Thofe
 
 ( '7 ) 
 
 Thofe who have framed the prefent plan 
 appear to have reafoned differently. They 
 feem not to have imagined, that Subordination, 
 the firft principle of flrong Government, can 
 be promoted by teaching inferior fervants to 
 look from their fuperiors to an intereft at 
 home, both for advancement and protection ; 
 or, that we can expert among them any emula- 
 tion for the public fervice, if we veil here the 
 power of reward, in perlbns who can have 
 neither leifure nor opportunity to know their 
 merit, or to enquire into their pretensions. 
 Perhaps, alfo, they carried their reafoning 
 further, and concluded that the Princes of 
 India would not the more refpedt our Gover- 
 nors for being neglected by thofe whom they 
 were fent to command : While the fuperior 
 fervants themfelves would not with much 
 chearfulnefs intruft to perfons, having no de- 
 pendence on them, and in whom they repofed 
 no confidence, meafures of much delicacy in 
 their execution, and involving in their confe- 
 quences the cleared interefts of the Company 
 and the Public. 
 
 D But
 
 fiut it is alfo true, that this Board is && 
 permanent* That, if the Adminiftration of 
 this country be changed, they muft alfo fhare 
 its fate, and make way for perfons connected 
 with thbfe to whofe care his Majefty mall 
 intrufl the reft of his dominions. If it were 
 not fo, What would be our fituation ? The 
 general interefts of the Empire would be di- 
 rected by men of one defenption, while India 
 would be under the command of others in 
 oppofition to the King's Government, perhaps 
 on points intimately connected with Indian 
 politics. Is it fufficient to fay, that in this 
 eafe the latter would be removed by an addrefs 
 of Parliament ? If fa, Where is this boafted 
 permanency ? If whenever a difference of 
 opinion arofe, the Indian Board was to be re- 
 moved, that it might not continue at variance 
 with the Cabinet, then is this fyftenr aban- 
 doned as impracticable, in the only moment 
 in which it could be ufeful : And the whole 
 plainly appears to have been what we have 
 unanimoufly declared it, a plan not for a peiv 
 manency of meafures, but a permanency of 
 MEN ; a permanency of patronage, influence, 
 
 and
 
 ( '9 ) 
 
 and power, to an Ariftocracy already for- 
 midable to the liberties of their country. 
 
 The laft objection which is made to this 
 part of the Bill, can fcarcely be thought to 
 merit a ferious consideration. Mr. Fox having 
 made a general charge ^againfl the prefent 
 Adrniniftration, of defiring to increafe the 
 Influence of the Crown, thought it necefTary, 
 in confidering this capital feature of their 
 Government, to affert that it bore that com- 
 plexion. But he averted it only : He did 
 attempt, for he knew that he was not able, to 
 prove it : The undeniable fadt being, that 
 the Bill gives to the Crown no influence what- 
 ever, civil or military, at home or abroad ; 
 vetting only in the King, as the legitimate 
 Executive Power of this Empire, the appoint- 
 ment of perfons to controul the Executive 
 Government of India, without falaries, and 
 without patronage. 
 
 Thus then, on a view of the provifions held 
 
 out by this plan, for conftituting at home a 
 
 Superintending Government for the dominions 
 
 of this country in the Eaft, it appears, that 
 
 D 2 the
 
 t^e end propofed to us, will be accompliihe4 
 without the mifchiefs which were thought to 
 accompany it. With the full confent of the 
 Company, and confcquently without any viola- 
 tion of property or charters, we (hall eftablilh 
 a power fufficjent effectually to reform the 
 abufes, and controul the Government of India, 
 without having given either to individuals, or 
 to the Crown, any authority dangerous to oui 
 own liberties. 
 
 II. Nor is this Board left at large, like the 
 defpotic Commiffion of Mr. Fox, to exercife 
 their fuperintending power, as caprice or inex- 
 perience may dictate. Regulations are pro- 
 vided, and a fyflem of policy marked out for 
 them, under which alone our dominions in 
 India can be made productive of advantage or 
 honour to this country. And thefe relate to 
 the fecond head under which I propofed to 
 confider this Bill ; as eflablifhing rules for the 
 conduct of the Company's fervauts in India, 
 in order to remedy the evils that have pre- 
 vailed in that quarter. 
 
 Of
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 Of theie evils, the firft and mod finking 
 fccms to be, the unfettled ftate of the Govern- 
 ment, exhibiting a ftruggle of clafhing powers, V 
 with little order or fubordination. It has been 
 our miftaken policy, to controul the power of 
 the feveral Governors, by the addition of four 
 Affiftant Counfellors, any three of whom com- 
 bined, may thwart the meafures which the Go- 
 vernor brings forward, fo as entirely to fuper- 
 fede his authority, To the difunion and dif- 
 traction of Boards thus conftituted, we may 
 refer the bulk of thofe misfortunes which we 
 are now lamenting, and againft which we wifh 
 to provide in future : Not entering into the /^ 
 queflions in iffue between the feveral Parties, 
 but juflly concluding, that the permanent adop- 
 tion of almoft any fyftem would have been at- 
 tended with lefs evil, than a fcene of conten- 
 tion, which degraded the dignity, and of fluc- 
 tuation, which deftroyed the energy, of the 
 Pritifh Government. Wifely, therefore, have 
 the Framers of this Bill begun with reftoring 
 order at the- helm ; for xvhich purpofe they 
 pave reduced the number of Counfellors to 
 three, and given the calling vote, in cafes of 
 equality, to the Governor : Thus fecuring to 
 
 him
 
 him an efficient fupport to his Adminiflration, 
 except in thofe cafes only where his conduct 
 shall be difapproved by all thofe who arc 
 joined in commiffion with him. 
 
 And here let us carefully guard againft the 
 common error of conlldering this, and other 
 meafures, with a view to the characters of par- 
 ticular individuals. Such confederations are ill 
 adapted to the decifion of great and important 
 queftions of policy j becaufe, with them we 
 are too apt to mix our perfonal affections, paf- 
 fions, and refentments. If the Bill propofed 
 by Mr. Fox did eflablifh in this country a new 
 Government, fuperior to our Laws, and dan- 
 gerous to our Conflitution, it was a poor ar- 
 gument, to refc its defence on the cbarafters 
 of the individuals in whom that Government 
 was to be created. Had thofe characters been 
 fuch as they were reprefented ; had they been 
 all, as they certainly were not, men of acknow- 
 ledged and tried abilities, with minds unbiafled 
 by party, and untainted by diffipation and ex- 
 travagance, that would have been a fmall con- 
 folation to us for the furrender of our liberties. 
 In the fame manner, in confidering the power 
 
 to
 
 C *3 ) 
 
 to be given by the prefent plan to the Cover- 1 
 nor General of Bengal for the time being, let us- V 
 be biafled neither by the panegyrifts of Mr. 
 Haftings to approve, nor by his calumniators 
 to condemn it. Its propriety is grounded on 
 general principles of government. If he has 
 abufed his former power, . let him be recalled 
 from his fituation ; if he has ufed it to the 
 advantage of the Company, and the Country, 
 let him be continued in it ; but at all events, 
 let that perfon, whoever lie may be, to whom 
 we entruft the government:, be inverted with: 
 weighty power^ and efficiency to fupport it. 
 
 Another evil under which we have laboured, 
 is the want of a Syfiematic Government, unit- 
 ing all the Britim Dependencies in India in the 
 purfuit of the fame objects, and in the obfer- 
 vance of the fame plans of policy. We have 
 feen our Empire there diftradted by the diffe- J 
 rent views of diftindt Governments, liegociating 
 in oppofition to each other ; and by their divi- 
 fions, weakening the power, and difgracingthc 
 character of the Britilh Nation. This is re- 
 moved by the eilablifhment of a fupreme power 
 on that Continent, to which all the other Go- 
 vernments
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
 vcrnmcnts are made fubordinate. By this Bilf 
 there is given to the Governor and Council of 
 Bengal a Controul over the other Prefidencies, 
 in all points which relate to any tranfadtions 
 with the Country Powers, to peace or war, or 
 to the application of their forces or revenues; 
 It is by this fyftem alone that we can infure, in 
 the exercife of Executive Power, either flrength 
 and efficacy abroad, or obedience and refpon- 
 fibility at home. It conduces to the increafe 
 of our authority, and the prefervation of our 
 public faith in India, to teach the natives to 
 have recourfe, in their tranfactions with us, to 
 one center of Government ; whilft it is eflential 
 to- the efficacy of a controul in England, that 
 there Ihould be one body to receive orders, and 
 to anfvvcr to this country for their execution. 
 
 For it muft not be forgotten, that while we 
 cftabliih the dependency of the inferior Preli- 
 dencies upon the Council of Bengal abroad, 
 they are equally fubjecled to the direction of 
 the Company at home. To them there is left 
 no power of declaring war, of commencing 
 hoiliiiries, or forming treaties at pleafure. In 
 -all cafes, except thofe of immediate danger, 
 
 and
 
 and abfolute neceffity, they are reftrained from 
 acting without orders received from hence. 
 .This feems to be the mo ft effectual method o 
 fecuring to us that pacific fyftem which the 
 Bill holds out, as confonant to the wifli, the 
 honour, a!id the policy of the Britifh Nation. 
 
 Xhe next object that comes under the pro- 
 vifions of this Bill, is the redrefs of the grie- 
 vances of the Natives of India : An objecl: of 
 which all men muil wifli the accomplishment, 
 except thofe who have already profited by our 
 pafl negligence, or thofe who looked from ir. 
 to future advantages. But in the attainment 
 of this we mufl proceed cautioufly and. tempe- 
 rately ; not with prejudice or paffion, not with 
 the blind zeal of indifcriminate reformers, who 
 either believe themfelves, or wifli to be be- 
 lieved, virtuous and humane, in proportion 
 is they are inconfiderate and violent ; but with 
 the equity of impartial judges, and the pru- 
 dence of wife leghlators. To provide for the 
 payment of the debts of the Nabob of Arcot, 
 which are a burthen on his country, difcrimi- 
 jiating at the fame time thofe which have been 
 juftly incurred, from thofe which have been 
 E forced
 
 C 26 ) 
 
 forced upon him by the injuflice and extortion: 
 of Englifh oppreffors : To afcertain the inde- 
 terminate rights and pfetenfkms- on which fo 
 many differences have arifen between him and 
 the Rajah of Tanjore, fomented by Europeans,, 
 for the fupport o-f their own interefted views ; 
 And laftly, to deliver the Zemindars, and other 
 native landholders of India,- from oppreffion ; 
 and to recufc to them their poffeffions, by per- 
 manent rules of moderation affd ju'ftrce : Thefe 
 ar& points upon which all men are agreed ; and 
 upon which this Bill cnads fuch regulations as 
 are well calculated to infure their attainment, 
 without giving authenticity to unexamined 
 chums, o'r attempting in Parliament to fettle 
 at once the detail of rights, which differ fo 
 materially, and in fo many eflential circum- 
 fiances. 
 
 But it was neceftary to guard not only againU 
 itijufticc, but allb againft profufion and extra^ 
 vagance, in the adminiftration of the affairs of 
 a diftant government under a Commercial Com- 
 pany. A material part, therefore, of this 
 Bill, is directed againft the abufes faid to have 
 prevailed in the civil arid military departments^ 
 
 enjoining
 
 enjoining a thorough revifal of their eftablifli- 
 ments; together with a fupprcffion of fuch 
 places as are found to be ufelefs, and of fuch 
 expences as may be conveniently avoided. And 
 in orxler to prevent any delufive fhew of re- 
 trenchment in the prcfent moment, or any 
 deviation from the wife fyflem of ceconomy at 
 a future period, this Reform is dire&ed to be 
 conftantly fubmittcd in its whole ftate and pro* 
 grefs, to the eye of Parliament. 
 
 Cadets and Writers have hitherto been fent s/ 
 to India in fuch unlimited numbers, as to re- 
 main a burthen upon the eftablrmments of the 
 Company and their appointment was a prin- 
 cipal means .qf influence in this country, exer- 
 cifed either by the Directors, or through them 
 by former Minifters, NQ mpre of thefe are 
 now to be fent out ; till their number is reduced 
 within the proper complement, which is not 
 to be exceeded in future. 
 
 The recommendations alfo of the Directors 
 
 (frequently made at the defire of Minifters) 
 
 under which thofe fervants of the Company 
 
 who had an intereft in this country, rofe rapidly 
 
 E 2 and
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 and by partiality, to the prejudice of induftri- 
 ous and meritorious men, are now rendered 
 meffedual ; and a fyflem is eftablilhed, of fuc- 
 ceffioa by feniority : Leaving, ' however, to 
 the Councils abroad, that power which is mdif- 
 jpen fable to' all Executive Government/ of 
 bringing forward (not by caprice, but by rea- 
 fons by them to be aHigned) any perfons of ex- 
 traordinary merit or capacity, to thofe fituations 
 in which they may effectually ferve their country.' 
 Out of this regulation neceffarily flows a limi- 
 tation of the age of perfons entering upon the 
 line of Eaft India fervice. For, if no provifion 
 tvas made to prevent children in their cradle: 
 being enrolled on the Eftabliftiment, they might 
 be brought by fucceflion to many important 
 employments,' before they arrived at manhood : 
 Or, on the other hand, perfons advanced in 
 years might (as has lately been feen in feveral 
 inirances) be appointed to the ftations of young 
 men', for the lole purpofe of repairing diffi- 
 pated fortunes ; and that without the profpe'dt 
 of being able to do it in the ccurfc of years* 
 by regular advancement and legal profit. On 
 the fame ground, and on that of pre'ventirg, 
 as far as pofiible, the niifchief of tainting the 
 
 Govern-
 
 povernment of that Continent, by introducing 
 into it the Parties of Great Britain, all perfons 
 who have refided five years in Europe fincc 
 their return from India, are precluded from 
 any future re-appointment to offices in that 
 country ; with the exception, however, which 
 juilice requires for a certain time, to fuch 
 perfons as are now here, or have left Inctfa 
 Without the knowledge of this provision. 
 
 The laft body of regulations for the Com- 
 pany's fervants in India, apply to Offences 
 committed in that Country. : Regulations of 
 the kind here brought forward, have been fo 
 Jong called for, and fo indifpenfable to the 
 very exiftence of that Government, that it 
 xvould be difficult to imagine an objection 
 againft them. Security has been derived to 
 Indian Delinquents, from the circumftance of 
 their offences being committed within the ter- 
 titories of Indian Princes, fo as not to come 
 within the cognizance of the Britiih Govern- 
 ment. This Ad provides againft further eva- 
 iions of this mifchievous nature, by declaring 
 the offence equally punilhable, in whatever ter- 
 ritory of India it is committed. Under the 
 
 fpe-
 
 ( 30 ) 
 
 f ious name of Prcfents, the groffefl extortion has 
 frequently been cloake.d ; and all attempts to 
 draw a line haying proved nugatory, nothing 
 remained but to put an entire flop to the prao 
 tice. The Adt, therefore, of receiving Pre- 
 fents, is declared to be in itfelf Extortion, and 
 punifhable by law accordingly. Of the fame 
 kind with thefe are the regulations againft Dif- 
 obedience of Orders ; for grofs inflances of 
 \vhich we need not go very far back into their 
 Hiftory ; And alfq againft the bargaining for 
 Offices; a rnifcfyievous pradtipe in all countries, 
 but moft fo in that, where the means of plun- 
 der are great ; and confequently, the more dif- 
 honeft the men, the higher the prices which 
 they can afford to offer, from the profpedt of 
 reimburfing themfelyes by proportionate pecu- 
 lation. Both of thefe offences are accordingly 
 pronounced Mifdemeanors at Law : And prq- 
 vifion is made, that the guilty perfqns IhaU 
 not compound for them with the Company ? 
 nor ever be reflored to appointments in their 
 fervice. Two reflridlions more remain, to 
 complete this general head of Regulations in 
 India : One of them binds Collectors and Re- 
 ceivers by oath, from accepting any private 
 
 gratuity,
 
 C 3' ) 
 
 gratuity, over and above the legal tribute .j 
 and the other guards againft Illicit Correfpon- 
 dence with the Enemies of the Company, and 
 of Great Britain : Points of general policy 
 and utility, which I have thought proper to 
 mentioa in their place ; but upon which men 
 are too univerfally agreed, to require any 
 comment or difcuffion. 
 
 We have feen, then, in what fpirit thefe re- 
 gulations are dictated ; we have judged how 
 wifely they are calculated to meet the evils, 
 and to reform the abufes, which have exifted. 
 May they be profperous in their effects ! May 
 the intentions of a patriot Miniftcr, may the 
 wiihes of a virtuous People, in the caufe of 
 humanity and juftice, be crowned with that 
 fuccefs which they both fo amply merit ! 
 We may then fee the Government of India, 
 which has hitherto been a medley of difcor- 
 dant powers, where nothing was fupreme, 
 nothing fv.bordinate, exhibiting the picture of 
 an orderly and fyftematic Empire, where every 
 part has its proper function, and contributes 
 to the general benefit and harmony of the 
 whole. We may fee that fpot, which has been 
 
 fot
 
 >.,.,- ;. : - " 
 
 for fo many years a theatre where avarice and 
 ambition have contended in rapine and vio- 
 lence, henceforward the feat of liberty, hu- 
 manity, and juftice. The rights of Nature 
 may then be eftabliftied on the ruins of Op- 
 preffion ; and the Britifh Government, long the 
 bane of that Continent, may at length become, 
 what we are bound to make it, a Bleffing to 
 India. 
 
 III. We come now to confider the remain- 
 ing part 6f the Bill, relating to the Trial of 
 Offences which have been committed in India. 
 And here, in the firft place, we have that which 
 forms indeed the ground-work of the whole 
 plan, the univerfal confent of all parties, as ta 
 the neceffity of the objed:. For we are told 
 from every fide, that the temptations to guilt 
 in India are fuch as can never be counteracted, 
 but by the utmoft vigour of efficient laws, to 
 be executed not only in that country, but here 
 alfo, at a diftance from local prejudice, from 
 perfonal partiality, from the hopes of favour, 
 and from the dread of power. How much 
 
 our
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 bur fyflem of Indian Government is in that 
 refpedt deficient, may be learned from the en- 
 couragement which is now held out to delin- 
 quents, by recent and flriking examples of im- 
 punity. We have all feen, that perfons ac- V/' 
 cufed of the mofl flagrant crimes that can even 
 in that country be committed, have defeated 
 every attempt to bring them to punifhment ; 
 and have baffled not only the authority of the 
 King's Bench; our highefl court of criminal 
 juilice^ but even the majefty and terrors of 
 Parliament itfel.f. And, undoubtedly, it was 
 not to any remiffnefs in their profecutors^ but 
 to the genius of our courts of law, and to the 
 very frame and conftitution of a deliberative 
 affembly, that the perfons here alluded to, 
 were indebted on thdfe occafions. What then 
 remained, but the eredtion of fome new Tri- /%. 
 bunal, to which might be given a power over 
 thofe offences, which, in the ordinary courfes 
 of common law, and parliamentary proceeding, 
 have defied the arm of juftice. 
 
 This was ftated by Mr. Fox, when he opened 
 
 his Bill to the late Houfe of Commons, as a 
 
 point of indifpenfable neceffity, without which 
 
 F no
 
 no plan for governing India could be efficacious, 
 He poftponed it, however, till the paffing of 
 his Bill 5 that is, till by annihilating the Com- 
 pany, he fhould have acquired a power which 
 would have left the Parliament littte room for 
 deliberation on this or any other fubjeft. The 
 prefent Minifter has acled differently : He has 
 presented to us> at one view, his whole fyftem ; 
 and has fuffered nothing to- deter him from 
 j^ropofing to Parliament all which he judged 
 neceflary for his object, and confiftent, at the 
 fame time, with the rights of the Company 
 and with the Britifh Conftitution. In this, as 
 in the other difficult but neeefTary meafures of 
 this Seffions, he has proceeded with opennefs. 
 and candour ; Ihewing that he has no refervea 
 with his country y to whom he is fo largely in- 
 debted. 
 
 Let us therefore now confider the principles. 
 on which a plan of Judicature for India fhould 
 be regulated, as applicable to the end pro- 
 pofed ; and let us examine how far what is 
 now brought forward, is confonant to thofe 
 principles, and calculated to produce that end^ 
 Above all other ccnliderations, in the trial of 
 
 Britifli
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 ritim Subjedb, it is neceflary to obferve the 
 clofeft adherence to the SPIRIT of the Britilh 
 Law ; Not from any national or local preju- 
 dice, but became that fpirit is the fpirit of 
 equity, applying equally to every age and 
 every climate, and depending on the immutable 
 principles of univerfal juftice. And the very 
 fame reafon fhould induce us, on the other 
 hand, to rejedt all thofe forms, which are 
 purely of a local nature ; which being adopted 
 by our anceftprs, in conformity to our own in- 
 ftitutions, and with a view to the adminiflra- 
 tion of one kingdom, are repugnant to the 
 manners of a diflant people, and are inappli- 
 cable tq the government of a, widely extended 
 empire. 
 
 We all know, and the experience of every 
 neighbouring country will convince us, that it 
 is not by forms alone, but by the fpirit of mild 
 laws, and by the genius of a free government, 
 that Liberty fubfifts. In almoft every mo- 
 narchy of Europe, the forms of thofe delibe- 
 rative aflemblies are flill preferved, under 
 which their anceftors enjoyed the bleffings of 
 Liberty. But it is in the Parliament of Eng- 
 F 2 Ian d
 
 ( 35 ) 
 
 land alone that their fpirit is maintained, p.? 
 force and energy to protedt us equally againft 
 the encroachments of arbitrary Monarchy, and 
 againft the defperate attacks of turbulent and 
 daring Factions. 
 
 In the formation, therefore, of this Tribu- 
 nal, it was the duty of the Minifter to look to 
 that which we fo juftly efteem and venerate, 
 the right of Trial by Jury. He was to con- 
 fider what were the real principles which have 
 rendered this inftitution the palladium of our 
 Liberties j and diflinguiihing thefe from the 
 minute forms, which cannot be applied to 
 Indian Caufes, both from the length, and the 
 nature of the difcuffions they involve, 'pre- 
 fcrve in his new competition, the effence and 
 fpkit of that to which vve owe the freedom of 
 our Conftitution. 
 
 And here we need not reft on argument only. 
 The principles of our Conftitution, particularly 
 with relation to this fubjeft, have been laid 
 down by men of acknowledged character and 
 ability, lawyers, ftatefmen, and philofophers. 
 
 The
 
 ( 37 ) 
 
 3The names of Hale,* Blackflone,f and DC 
 Lolme, J carry with them an authority far fupe- 
 rior to any which can be derived from the rea- 
 fonings of thefe pages* To thefe I will refer 
 my Reader, and he will certainly think it a mat- 
 ter of no fmall weight, when he finds fuch men 
 agreed on this fubjed:, and ^pointing out unani- 
 moufly the following principles as the chief 
 fource of thofe benefits which they all fo much 
 commend :-~-Firft 9 that the Judicial Power 
 Ihould be placed in hands entirely diftinct from 
 thofe in which the Executive Government is 
 lodged : Secondly, that it Ihould be exercifed 
 by a fluctuating, and not by a permanent body : 
 And laftly, that fuch body fhould be free 
 from all fufpicion of partiality, both by the 
 defcription of men out of whom it is feledted, 
 and by the manner in which that fele&ion i 
 fnade. 
 
 Let us now examine what are the regulations 
 provided by this Bill, in the eftabliihmcnt of a 
 pew Tribunal, with a view to confiaer how far 
 
 they 
 
 * Vide Hift. C. L. c. 12. 
 
 f- Vide Commentaries, B. III. c. 23. 
 
 I Vide B. I. c. 9 and 10. 
 
 35476J
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 they are confonant to the principles here laid 
 down. And to begin with the means by which 
 a perfon may be brought to trial : Informations 
 might, before this Aft, have been filed for the 
 crimes to which they relate, either by the 
 King's Attorney General, in virtue of his office, 
 bf by any other perfon, with permiffion from the 
 Court of King's Bench. This right remains 
 precifely the 'fame, with this addition only, 
 that the Attorney of the Company (who (land, 
 with refpedt to offences committed in India, 
 in the fituation of the Government) has alfo 
 the fame official power, which is given in 
 other cafes only to the Attorney General of the 
 Crown. 
 
 The material points, therefore, to be con- 
 fidered, are the conflitution of the Tribunal be- 
 fore whom thefe informations are to be tried, 
 and the mode of proceeding in the decifion of 
 fuch caufes. And if we find thefe fo ordered as 
 to fecure to us the benefits above-mentioned, 
 we ftiall conclude that this mode of trial is no 
 teal infringement of that which we efleem our 
 birth-right, the Trial by Jury. That tfye firfl of 
 thefe benefits will be preferved in this Court, 
 
 "of
 
 39 ) 
 
 u of being wholly diftinft from the executive 
 " power" is evident, fince no one of the perfons 
 of whom the Court will confift, is to be ap- 
 pointed by the Crown, or even admitted to it, 
 while he exercifes any office under the Govern- 
 ment of the Country. The Court will alfo 
 have the fecond advantage, " in being of ajfoc- 
 i nating nature ;" for it will not be one and the 
 fame body, conftituted for the trial of all fuch 
 caufes,but a Tribunal feledcd for the particular 
 occafion. And as to the third advantage, " of 
 impartiality " that is amply fecured, as well by 
 the defcription of men from whom this felec- 
 tion is to be made, as by the manner of mak- 
 ing it; points which require to be confidered 
 more particularly. 
 
 The pannel or body from whom the Court is 
 to be felected, confifts of a certain number of 
 the Members of both Houfes of Parliament, 
 not chofen indifcriminately, nor yet by the 
 nomination of the Majority of either Houfe, 
 who might be fuppofed to be attached to the 
 Minifter of the day ; but by a mode, by which 
 due weight is given to all parties and defcrip- 
 tjons of men. Every Member is to deliver ia 
 
 a lift
 
 a lift of forty perfonsj whom he moil ap- 
 proves ; and thofe whofe names appear on 
 twenty lifts, provided they hold no place under 
 Government, and are not particularly con- 
 nected with the Company, are to compofe a 
 Lift, to be tranfmitted to the Clerk of the Crown > 
 as proper perfons to ferve on this Tribunal. 
 
 Here then we have in' effect d pannel of jury- 
 mek, anfwering to the character of Jurymen in 
 e'Ve'ry eflential particular ; firft, as being diftinct 
 from the magiftracy ; next, as being a fluc- 
 tuating body; and laftly, chafe n in fuch n 
 manner as to obviate all partiality. The limi- 
 larity continues in the remaining part of the 
 procefs. The perfon accufed has the fame power 
 as in our criminal lauf, of making peremptory 
 challenges, and that to the number of thirteen 
 of the Peers, and twenty of the Commons ; 
 while the profecutor may make challenges 
 upon fpecial caufe ihewn to the Court. From 
 the number then remaining, four Peers and fix 
 Commoners are drawn by lot i To thefe are 
 joined three of the twelve Judges, to be named 
 by their colleagues, one from each of the 
 Courts, And of thefe thirteen thus felectedj 
 
 coufifts
 
 confifts the Tribunal, competent to take cog- 
 nizance of offences committed in India. 
 
 Thus it is, that in the conftitution of this 
 Court we trace every principle which has been 
 judged effentially character iflic of a Jury. If 
 the minute forms have not been equally pre- 
 ferved, it is becaufe they have been found nei- 
 ther applicable to the fubject, nor compatible 
 with the nature of the caufes in queftion ; and 
 would, if adopted here, fail of all the advan- 
 tages to which they were directed in the 
 original inftitution, 
 
 It is true that the Jurors here are chofen from 
 a very different clafs of men. Yet when we 
 coniider what are the objects pointed at in the 
 choice of Juries, namely, that they fhall be men 
 of fufficient fubftance to fecure refponfibility, 
 and enabled by their local knowledge, and ha- 
 bits of life, to judge of the fact, we fliall per- 
 ceive that the objects aimed at would be en- 
 tirely loft, by fubmitting the decifion upon Eafl 
 Indian offences to thofe men of whom Juries 
 ordinarily confift. Even in the common practice 
 of the Britifli Courts, we fee that cafes arife of 
 G too
 
 ( 4* ) 
 
 too delicate or complicated a nature to be 
 trufted to a common Jury ; on which occafions 
 it is ufual for a fpecial Jury to be fummoned. 
 The inftances of Indian Trials may well be 
 thought to require fomething ftill more fpecial, 
 fomething compofed of perfons of a more en- 
 larged fphere of life, and accuftomed to turn 
 their thoughts to points of natipnal concern. 
 In the room therefore of the common, or fpecial 
 Jurymen, are fubflituted perfons, of minds 
 enlarged by education, improved by habit, 
 and verfed in the detail of political concerns : 
 Selected by the choice of all parties 'in Parlia- 
 ment from that bocty, to whom the legiflation, 
 of the Empire at large has been committed by 
 their fellow citizens. When we add to the 
 impartiality with which this Pannel is felected, 
 the fimilarity that takes place in the mode of 
 firiking them off, we fhall fee the advantages 
 of our favourite mode of Trial preferved fo 
 minutely in the conflitution of this Tribunal, 
 that we fhall have every reafon to confide in 
 the juftice of its proceedings. Before fuch 
 a Tribunal as this, the guilty may indeed 
 tremble, but the innocent may approach with- 
 out fear or apprehenfion. 
 
 In
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 111 the manner of their proceeding, greater 
 alterations have been adopted. For neither 
 is this Tribunal denied the power of ad- 
 journing, nor is it reftricted to unanimity 
 in its verdict; it unites alfo the double ca- 
 pacity of Judge and jury, by deciding not / 
 only upon the Fact, but. the Law, and pro- ^ 
 ceeding even to the lafl particular of pro- 
 nouncing fentence; 
 
 As to the power of adjournment, it is eafy 
 to comprehend why it could not be allowed in 
 the conftitution of a common Jury, fince it 
 would expofe them in the interval to all the 
 arts of feduction which might lie in wait for 
 them abroad, and which perfons of the ordi- 
 nary rank might not always be able to refifi. 
 Thefe cannot be fuppbfed to operate upon the 
 perfons felected for this Tribunal, guarded as 
 they are againft all means of corruption or in- 
 fluence, by their rank, their flation in life, and 
 above all, by that dignity and refponfibility of 
 character which is annexed to the fituation of 
 public men. When we add to this, the abfo- 
 lute impoffibility of carrying through in one 
 day the detail of trials which do not turn, like 
 G 2 common
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 common cafes, upon the afcertairtmeht of a 
 limple faft, but comprize various and com- 
 plicated difcuflions, involving in them the 
 choice of evils, and points of flate necefiity, 
 we muft confefs, that a power of adjourn- 
 ment is neceffary, for the firfl purpofes of juf- 
 tice; the hearing attentively, and at full length, 
 the feveral allegations of the contending par- 
 ties. 
 
 We are next to consider, how far it was ex- 
 pedient to difpenfe with the unanimity of their 
 verdict This feature is a firiking peculiarity 
 in the prefent conflitution of the Englilh Courts 
 of Juftice : Whether it exifled in their origi- 
 nal formation is uncertain : Indeed there is 
 great reafon to think that it has crept in at a 
 fubfequent period. It obtains in no other 
 country, not even in Scotland, where Juries 
 are coeval with their Government. In our 
 higheft Court of Juflice, that of the Peers, it 
 never has exifled ; nor has it been adopted in 
 any tribunal which the wifdom of the Legif- 
 lature has found occafion to eflablifh ; not even 
 in that mofl nearly intere fling to the Legiila- 
 ture, which decides upon the legality of elec- 
 tions
 
 < 4S ) 
 
 tions to a feat in Parliament. The objections 
 to it are fo forcible and fo obvious, from the 
 poflibility, and indeed frequency, of thofe 
 differences of opinion between honeft men, 
 which feldom yield to mutual argument, that 
 the moft celebrated writers on this fubject have 
 queilioned its policy. Yet how infinitely are 
 thefe objections increafed by the nature of the 
 caufes to be heard before this Court. Perhaps 
 in the ordinary courfe of civil caufes, where 
 the fact is fimple, and open to the comprehen- 
 fion of every plain underflanding^ there may 
 be little reafon for apprehending fuch diffe- 
 rence of opinion. But in caufes relative to 
 India, at once complicated in their nature, 
 and including in them confiderations of politi- 
 cal and commercial intereft, fuch differences 
 of opinion muft not only often happen, but 
 in ay originate on both fides, in principles of 
 (trict duty, and in the dictates of a (crapulous 
 confcienee. 
 
 The lafl deviations from the forms of a 
 Jury, is that which conftitutes them Judges 
 of the Law, as well as the Fact: And againft 
 this, particular clamour feems to have, been 
 
 railed,
 
 ( 46 ) 
 
 raifed, though perhaps with far the leaft 
 of reafon. For, on the one hand, it is a power' 
 which our Conftitution allows and recognizes 
 in innumerable inftances> not only in Courts 
 Martial, but in all proceedings before Juftiees 
 of the Peace; before Courts of Quarter 
 Seffions; in our Courts of Law, upon attach- 
 ments ; and laftly, in the proceedings of Parlia- 
 ment, as well in cafes of impeachment, as in 
 that eftablifhed mode of trial, which every 
 Peer claims as his dearefl birth-right the pri- 
 vilege of being tried, in cafes affecting his life 
 or his honour, by the whole body of the 
 Peerage fitting in judgement upon him, and 
 . deciding, as in the inftancc of this Tribunal, 
 both the Fact and the Law, as well as pro- 
 nouncing fentence. And, on the other hand, 
 it may be queftioned, whether it is really any 
 deviation ; and whether Juries are not compe- 
 tent to judge of the Law as well as the Fact. 
 For certainly, whenever Juries take upon them- 
 fclves, as in the cafe of Almon, and more re- 
 cently in that of Dean Shipley, to pronounce 
 the fact true, but the intention not illegal, 
 they do in reality exercife that very power 
 which is now to be vefted in this Tribunal. 
 
 But
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 But fuppofing it to be that innovation which 
 it has been vainly contended to be, flill in the 
 jvrefent inftance it would be unavoidable. For, 
 iince in all cafes before this Court, the quan- 
 tum of punilhment mud depend upon the cir- 
 eumftances which induce them to find the de- 
 linquent guilty, there would be a manifefl de- 
 feel:, if thofe who had confidered the one were 
 not alfo to determine the other. And fup- 
 pofing this power to be left to the three Judges, 
 it might then happen that a fentence might be 
 paired, meafured only by their feperate opinion, 
 and very difproportionate to the fenfe which 
 the reft of the Court might have of his guilt : 
 And it would be in vain for the majority to 
 pondemn, if three of the number could de- 
 ftroy the effect of their verdict, by their lenity 
 in meafuring the puniihment. 
 
 In furveying this Tribunal, we have found 
 it affimilated in every eflential circumftance, to 
 the fpirit and practice of the Engliih Law 
 and carrying with it every benefit which re 
 fults from that peculiar mode of trial, which 
 JLnglifhmen fo juflly regard with pride, and 
 watch with jealoufy ; differing from it in thofe 
 
 minute
 
 ( 48 ) 
 
 minute forms alone, which have little weight 
 or fignificance, beyond what cuflom and an- 
 tiquity has given them. And this is a meafure 
 which afforded the faireft plea to the Minifter, 
 of widening the bafts of his power, completed 
 in a manner which entirely excludes the inter- 
 ference of the Crown, and clofes up all the 
 avenues of Minifterial Influence. 
 
 Much has been faid upon the fubjecl of the 
 evidence which is to be received before this 
 Court ; as if this part of the Bill was not only 
 an infringement of the practice of the Eng- 
 lilh Law, but a diredt violation of the eternal 
 principles of Juftice itfelf. But thefe objec- 
 tions, like the others which have been raifed 
 againft this Bill, are conceived in ignorance, 
 or fuggefled in malice. It is faid, that by the 
 provifions for tranfmitting to the Court of 
 King's Bench examinations taken in India, be- 
 fore Englilh Judges, under all the forms and 
 regulations of Englifh Law, and for permitting 
 the authentic records of the Company to be 
 produced before the new Tribunal, an unknown 
 fpecies of evidence is to be introduced into this 
 Country. If they were in truth an innovation, 
 
 it
 
 it would be eafy to prove that it is of indif- 
 penfable neceffity to every idea of a trial of 
 Indian Delinquencies. And here too we might 
 plead the eonfeffion of Mr. Fox, who in the 
 debate on this very Bill, affented to thefeclaufes, 
 even before they were modified to that ftate 
 in which we now fee them. But our argument 
 will reft on more folid grounds than any 
 aflertion of that gentleman, or than any rea- 
 foning of mere neceffity. Whoever will have 
 recourfe to our Statute Books in one inftance, 
 and to the Reports of the Court of King's 
 Bench in the other, will find that a Law was 
 already in exigence for taking depofitidns in 
 India, under a Commiffion from the King's 
 Bench ; and that the Records of the Company 
 were actually read in evidence, under the au- 
 thority of Lord Mansfield, in the Trial of Mr. 
 Stratton. What then fhall we fay of thofe 
 Legiflators, Members alfo of the highefl Court 
 of Juftice in this kingdom, who, in their zeal 
 againft the paffing of this Aclr, have repro- 
 bated as innovations, * things eftablilhed by 
 law, and fan&ioned by pradtice ; and have re* 
 corded to pofttrity 9 their total ignorance of the 
 H laws 
 
 * Vid* Lords' Protect, Auguft 9, 1784.
 
 ( 5 )' 
 
 laws under which they are themfelves protested^ 
 and by which they are to judge of the properties 
 and lives of others. But to fome of them, 
 protefts on this fubject are ominous. A few 
 incoherent words, half-uttered in broken fen- 
 tences, may be tortured into meaning, and 
 mifreprefented into fenfe. But thefe written 
 opinions remain, and rife in judgement againft 
 them, to prove, that while they affect to mo- 
 nopolize the abilities and virtue of this country, 
 they prjfifs neither the knowledge to judge with 
 wifdom^ nor the integrity to aft with conftftency. 
 
 Connected with the Cubjed: of Evidence, is the 
 regulation which compels all Servants of the 
 Company, within two months after their return 
 from India, to deliver into the Court of Ex- 
 chequer, inventories of their property of every 
 kind, which they may then be ppffefled of, 
 The feverity of this is objected to; and- yet it 
 would be difficult to find any other tefl of the 
 conduct of their feveral officers, or any other 
 check to the force of thofe temptations, from 
 , which fo much evil has already proceeded, and 
 Ib much more is flill to be apprehended. What 
 motives can we fuppofe fo ftrong, as the ihame 
 
 of
 
 ( 5' ) 
 
 ijf returning after a ftiort abfencc with a large 
 property, or the pride of bringing home a very 
 moderate fortune after a long refidence in that 
 Country, to ftifle that fpirit of avarice and ra- 
 pacity, which has fo long prevailed; and to 
 fecure the natives from that rapine and oppref- 
 fion, under which they have fo long unfor- 
 tunately laboured. 
 
 For a feries of years, we have been ac- 
 cuftomed to fee every public meafure, as it 
 paired, converted to the purpofes of Minifterial 
 Influence. Not a tax was levied, but it was 
 employed by the unprincipled Minifter of the day > 
 as a means of ftrengthening his power : And per- 
 haps he was lefs fcrupulous what new burthens 
 he laid upon the people, when he found it the 
 moft fuccefsful method of invading their 
 liberties. And within this laft year, we have been 
 witneffes to the eageroefs with which another 
 Miniflerial Leader feized this very meafure, re- 
 lative to the regulation of the Eaft Indies, as an 
 inftrument for giving a death-blow to the Con- 
 flitution ; treating the fuppofition of effecting 
 any reform otherwife, as abfurd and imprac- 
 ticable. What then muil be our feelings of 
 
 furprize
 
 ( 5* ) 
 
 (urjirize and admiration, when we find in thd 
 prefent Bill, this great work effected, without 
 the minuteft acceffion of Patronage to Govern- 
 ment: When we fee a Court of Judicature 
 erected, inacceffible to influence either from 
 the Grown or the Company ; and behold a vaft 
 Continent fubjected fo the controul of this king- 
 dom, without producing the fmalleft ill effect 
 upon the Britifh Conftitution ? When we 
 contemplate fuch a Bill, may we not juflly 
 confider it as an emblem of the PURITY and 
 INTEGRITY of the mind from whence it has 
 proceeded ; and may we not draw conclusion 
 highly favourable to the intentions, and cal- 
 culated to infpire confidence in the conduct of 
 the prefent MINISTER of this Country, 
 
 MR,
 
 27 35
 
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