he had chiefly risen for was, to interpose between the high authority of the noble lord and the feelings of the House, lest they might be led by his arguments to confound the cases; that of a man struggling against a violent necessity, and at length obliged to give way to the exigency of the public service and deviate into a necessary injustice-and that of a person wantonly committing acts of tyranny and oppression, for which not even a pretence of public service had been alleged. He was by no means apprehensive that this example of the House of Commons taking an active part in bringing those who had served the state, in the most exalted situations, to justice, would be attended with any bad consequence to the public service; but on the contrary, besides that it was a duty which they owed both to their own and the national character, he looked upon it as the best method of insuring the most scrupulous and dutiful conduct of our several commanders, when they were taught that the House would not disgrace themselves by screening a public delinquent, how high soever might have been his rank and situation, how brilliant his abilities, or how eminent his services: they would be cautious when they knew that any deviation from the strict rules of integrity would be judged only by the nuture of the necessity which occasioned it; and that, although no merits would be considered as an excuse for wilful and corrupt misconduct, yet that even a necessary dereliction of principle must only be excusable by uniform and meritorious exertions. He begged the House not to suffer the inference of the noble lord from his own principles and conduct, to mislead them in judging of that conduct and of those principles which gave rise to the present charge. The noble lord, feeling the unimpeachable integrity of his own motives, was willing to impute the same sentiments, where, he much feared, they had not existed.

The question was put; the committee divided Ayes, 112: Noes, 50: Majority, 62.

March 7. Mr. Burke having begged leave to fix the attention of the House upon their present situation with respect to the prosecution in which they were engaged, observed, that in consequence of the rules prescribed many years since by the Court of Directors, the servants of the Company were obliged to send home

copies of all their various correspondence, as well with each other as with the natives, on the business of the Company, in order not only that the Directors at home might be fully masters of all which passed in India, affecting their interests, but also that proofs of the conduct of their servants there might be lodged here at the India House, as a body of evidence to convict them of inconsistency, negligence, or disobedience, should their conduct be inconsistent, or negligent, or disobedient, as the case might happen. This was undoubtedly a necessary and wise precaution, yet it was more or less useful as the rule was rigidly adhered to. In the case of Mr. Hastings, the most glaring instances of disobedience of this rule had occurred. Whenever the late governorgeneral thought proper, he mutilated, garbled, or suppressed his correspondence; and one of the great difficulties of carrying on the prosecution against that gentleman arose from this circumstance, a circumstance involving in itself a charge of very considerable weight and importance. Another difficulty originated from their ignorance what papers to call for. Mr. Burke, instancing the late charge, said, that he had called for the Farruckabad papers, and he thought that all of them had been presented; but a member of that House (major Scott) had afterwards called for others, and had thereby furnished the House with the Persian correspondence, which proved to be material. Mr. Burke observed, that the attorney of Mr. Hastings was the attorney of the India Company, in defence of whose rights, and for the punishment of whose servants that House was now carrying on a prosecution. He begged leave to point out the manifest advantage which this circumstance gave Mr. Hastings over the House; for while they were groping in the dark, and guessing at what papers they ought to call for, Mr. Hastings's attorney, who had daily access to all the Company's papers, might lay his hand on any of them, and come to the bar of the House of Lords, and there produce some paper or other, to overturn the whole of the evidence which they had been able to come at, and assist Mr. Hastings to laugh at the prosecution. It appeared, that a correspondence was kept back, which would show the remonstrances of the Nabob of Oude against any of these measures alleged to be taken at his express suggestion; and what was more, there

was also a suppression of the whole of the Persian correspondence, which, with respect to this point, was undoubtedly very material. As a proof of the very incorrect and suspicious manner in which these papers were disposed of, Mr. Burke instanced the circumstance of many of them being in the possession of the chief justice, sir Elijah Impey, instead of Mr. Middleton, the resident, to whose department they most properly belonged. The House, then, would perceive the extreme inconvenience under which the gentlemen laboured who were engaged in the prosecution. They were obliged to grope their way and guess at those papers, which might prove elucidatory of the subject. Mr. Burke submitted these matters to the consideration of the House, and concluded with moving a string of motions for papers, which were granted.

March 15. The order of the day being read, the House resolved itself into a committee of the whole House, to consider farther of the several articles of charge of high crimes and misdemeanors against Warren Hastings, esq., late governor-general of Bengal. Mr. St. John having taken the chair,

Sir James Erskine rose and said, that previous to the opening of the article of charge against Mr. Hastings, on the subject of Contracts, he must beg leave to premise to the committee, that the matters which he should take the liberty of submitting to their most serious consideration would probably prove dry and unentertaining; yet he hoped that their intrinsic importance would palliate that defect, and entitle them to a full and deliberate investigation. He had not the task, assigned to persons of so much greater ability than himself, to paint the condition of desolated provinces, of princes driven into exile, or abandoned to the tyranny of others; of princesses stript of their possessions, and oppressed by that government which owed them protection: but it was his object to describe the mischiefs of an internal government, of a dissipation of revenue, of a breach of orders, and of the grossest corruption. It was reserved for him to explain how this bad management of affairs produced those very distresses, the remedying of which was pleaded as the cause and the excuse for all the enormities, of which the person now accused had been before convicted.

Adverting to the seventh article of

charge, sir James Erskine now mentioned the contract given to Ernest Alexander Johnson, for providing bullocks for the use of the army. The Court of Directors, he said, had laid down as a fundamental regulation, that all contracts should be publicly advertised, and the most reasonable terms accepted; that these contracts should be given from year to year; and that at the expiration of every year advertisements should be issued for new proposals. But in direct disobedience of these orders, Mr. Johnson had, in 1777, the contract given to him for three years, and so far from being concluded on the most reasonable terms, the expenses were increased to an enormous amount. Thus, seven drivers were allowed to every twelve bullocks; and though Mr. Hastings pleaded the requisition of sir Eyre Coote for the augmentation, yet the number of bullocks charged for were 2,626 more than he demanded; and the difference between the expenditure on that and former contracts no less than 62,400. This increase of expense to the Company was made principally by an accumulation of salary to the contractor to the amount of 46,800/. per annum. And this was justified by Mr. Hastings on the authority of a late member of that House, who was now no more, (sir George Wombwell). gentleman had declared, that the public service was injured by too narrow a spirit of treating with contractors; but this was poor authority in such a case, for it could not be expected, that so great a contractor as he had been, would do otherwise than approve a rich contract. In addition to the 46,800l. which he had just before stated as the increase of annual emolument to Mr. Alexander Johnson, Mr. Croftes, who was in partnership with him, had the grant of a victualling contract which was worth 3,200/., and which made the whole amount an additional douceur of 50,000l. per annum. In October this money had been squeezed from Cheit Sing; and Mr. Hastings, who assigned for the necessity of that extortion, the distresses of the Company, found in April no better method of relieving those distresses, than by applying the money to the enriching of a person, who, as he meant afterwards to prove, was the agent of his corrupt practices, and the confidant of transactions which would not bear the light.

The next article of charge on this subject, was a contract granted to George

Templer for three, and afterwards extended to five years, in defiance of orders, which were said to be plain and unequivocal. This was not only made for a longer term than the rule laid down by the Directors specified, but with another proposal actually before the Board, nearly 30%. per cent. lower. By this contract, which was for feeding the elephants of the army, the Company were considerable losers.

Sir James now animadverted upon the agency given to Mr. Belli. This was for supplying the garrison at Fort William with military stores, and was granted at 30 per cent. allowance on the prime cost of the stores. Three merchants had been consulted at Calcutta, respecting what allowance might be sufficient; and they had unanimously reported it as their opinion, that 201. per cent. would be equivalent to the service, thus including twelve for wastage, five for his trouble, and three for servants and coolies. But Mr. Has tings had declared that a loss would accrue of 45. per cent., and therefore that 201. would not be sufficient, but that he should allow him 30/.; and thus it was that for stores purchased with money advanced by the Company, this agent was to have 10 per cent. more than was declared sufficient by a committee of merchants. Mr. Has tings had said, that he preferred an agency to a contract, because if it were to be performed by contract, it must then be advertised, and it would become a matter of public notoriety what provision was made for the defence of the fort; yet, in defiance of this principle, he in two years after converted it into a contract, without advertising for proposals, and fixed it for the term of five years; Mr. Belli having remonstrated that the indefinite terms of his agency had proved a loss to him, notwithstanding that he had drawn 10,000/. out of 35,000l. expended, besides the difference between the wholesale and retail price, which might amount to between two and three thousand more. Among other instances of profusion in this contract, lie stated, that out of 103 rupees expended on account of the Company, 99 were charged for agency, wastage, and other contingencies. He next considered the application of this expenditure; and maintained, that a supply of warlike stores of a perishable nature at Fort William was much of the same use, as it would be at the Tower of London. He was apprehensive, that if those scandalous and [VOL. XXVI. ]

enormous transactions were suffered to pass without censure, it might be erected into a precedent, which would warrant the placing of navy victuallers and agents in every sea-port throughout the kingdom. It was manifestly a job of the most corrupt nature; for what could be a stronger instance of corruption, than lavishing the revenues of the Company on one, with whom Mr. Hastings had so intimate a connexion? He could not surely plead his poverty, which had been spoken of in a manner calculated to excite the ridicule of the House, as an excuse for all these deviations from the disinterested conduct which became a governor. His disinterestedness had indeed been boasted of; but he feared it was like that of father Dominic; and that when a gift, from its magnitude, could not be any longer concealed, it would be found, though he had not openly taken the bribe, yet that be had some snug pocket or bag, into which it might be slipped without difficulty. In his present state of poverty, he might be compared to the Grand Almoner of India, begging charitable donations from all the native princes, to fill the coffers of his masters; and, like other almoners, bringing disgrace on his master.

The next contract which he should beg leave to submit to the consideration of the Committee, was one concluded in 1777, for an armed vessel to be maintained for the pilotage of Chittigong river, and for the defence of the coast: this service could not be executed without the greatest detriment, and perhaps the total ruin of the contractor; and therefore he was placed in a situation to be tempted by motives of private interest to neglect his duty. The forming the defence of a river was, he contended, wholly unprecedented, and calculated only to enrich the contractor at the expense of the India Company. Mr. Hastings had, in his defence on this charge, urged that the contract was made justly and economically: now this was precisely what was most to be dreaded; that the economy of the contractor should prevent him from discharging the service which he had undertaken to perform.

Sir James now proceeded to a review of the contract granted to the surgeon-gene ral, which, he said, was made in direct opposition not only to the principle with respect to the duration of contracts, but also to a particular order of the Court of Directors. To make a surgeon a contrac[2 Z]