leave him at least as much as might prove sufficient for the ordinary charges of his household.

Mr. Sheridan next stated the application of the Rajah of Berar, to the Governor-General and Council, for a sum of money to relieve his affairs, by paying his army; the whole amount of which sum was computed at sixteen lacks of rupees. This application was rejected as inconvenient to be complied with; but afterwards the Governor-General took the whole responsibility of the measure upon himself, and lent the Rajah of Berar three lacks.

Mr. Sheridan now mentioned the complaint laid before the council board by the Rajah Nundcomar, and the 15,000l. taken from Munny Begum, to whom was intrusted the sole collection of the revenues. The Directors had instructed him to appoint a minister (a guardian!) to superintend Moha reck ul Dowlah, the young Nabob of Bengal; and to manage his affairs. The person whom he chose for this employment was the step-mother of the Nabob, and widow of the deceased Nabob, Myr Jaffier, (an ignorant woman, drawn originally from the lowest class of life, and by Mr. Hastings from the recesses of the Zenana) to instruct her princely pupil in all the arts of future government! This curious appointment would certainly prove more the subject of indignation than surprize to the Committee, when they should discover, from unquestionable authority, that it was assigned for the valuable consideration of 15,000l. to himself; and the same sum to Mr. Middleton. Mr. Hastings's transaction with Cawn Jewan Cawn was the next object of Mr. Sheridan's animadversion:-This man was appointed Phousdar of Houghly, with an income of 72,000 sicca rupees a year-of which Mr. Hastings was charged with taking half, besides 4000 allotted to his black broker and the accusation was made, as well as that proffered by Nundcomar, in full council. The council proposed to inquire into the truth of it, and

required Cawn Jewan Cawn to answer to the facts upon oath; to which procedure he and Mr. Hastings peremptorily objected; and that Cawn Jewan Cawn, could not, by virtue of his religion, take an oath, was the weak excuse of Mr. Hastings; but in the words used in the answer of Mr. Hastings to the charge, he might retort the falsity upon him. Cawn Jewan Cawn was, as a punishment for his contumacy, deprived of his employment; but on the death of Colonel Monson, which gave Mr. Hastings, by virtue of his casting vote, a majority in the council, he was reinstated at the motion of the Governor. He left it to the reflection of the committee, whether any circumstantial proofand the case would admit of nothing farther-could more clearly trace the guilt of Mr. Hastings, or establish the certainty of private practices of a corrupt nature between him and the Phousdar? The whole was a studied maze of theft, bribery, and corruption; unparalleled even in the most ignominious annals of East India delinquency. With respect to the unfortunate Rajah Nundcomar, he was first indicted for a conspiracy; but that failing, he was tried on an English penal statute, (which, although rendered by a stretch of power most dreadfully forcible in Bengal, did not reach even to Scotland!) he was convicted and hanged for a crime (forgery) which was not capital in his own country! Whatever were the circumstances of this judicial proceeding, (which might be the subject of another inquiry,) they could not fail of exciting apprehensions and terrors in the natives; which would put a stop to all farther informations against the Governor. During this transaction, Mr. Hastings-in direct contradiction to the opinions of General Clavering, Colonel Monson, and Mr. Francis-repeatedly asserted, that it was repugnant to the customs, either of the Mussulmen or Hindoos, to take an oath; yet, on a later occasion, he justified himself in all his proceedings at Benares, by the affidavits of per

sons of the religion which he mentioned, taken before the upright judge of the supreme court of Calcutta! It had been allowed, in the evidence given at the bar, that all India was in consternation at the event; and considered the death of Nundcomar as a punishment for having advanced charges against Mr. Hastings. Who, after such an event, would dare step forward as his accuser? None would venture; and the Governor might, in future, pillage the natives as he thought proper, without any fear of being disturbed by their invocations for justice! But this justice, he hoped and trusted, would not be refused in a British parliament;-they owed it to their own dignity, to the support of the resolutions into which they had already entered, to the honour of the country, the prosperity of the government, and the rights of humanity! The present charge (he should beg leave to repeat) was not, perhaps, of that nature which came home most effectually to the feelings of men; it could not excite those sensations of commiseration or abhorrence which a ruined prince, a royal family reduced to want and wretchedness, the desolation of kingdoms, or the sacrilegious invasion of palaces, would certainly inspire! In conclusion, (Mr. Sheridan observed,) that, although within this rank, but infinitely too fruitful wilderness of iniquities-within this dismal and unhallowed labyrinth-it was most natural to cast an eye of indignation and concern over the wide and towering forests of enormities-all rising in the dusky magnificence of guilt; and to fix the dreadfully-excited attention upon the huge trunks of revenge, rapine, tyranny, and oppression; yet it became not less necessary to trace out the poisonous weeds, the baleful brushwood, and all the little, creeping, deadly plants, which were, in quantity and extent, if possible, more noxious. The whole range of this far-spreading calamity was sown in the hot-bed of corruption; and had risen, by rapid and mature growth, into every species of

illegal and atrocious violence! Upon this ground, most solemnly should he conjure the committee to look to the malignant source of every rooted evil; and not to continue satisfied with reprobating effects, whilst the great cause enjoyed the power of escaping from merited crimination, and the infliction of a just punishment. He now moved, "That the committee, having considered the present article of charge of high crimes and misdemeanors against Warren Hastings, esquire, late governor-general of Bengal, is of opinion, that there is ground for impeaching the said Warren Hastings, esquire, of high crimes and misdemeanors upon the matter of the said article."

Major Scott in his defence, among other arguments, urged the favorable reception Mr. Hastings, after the supposed commission of all these crimes, had met with on his return home, both from his masters, the directors of the company, and several members of administration. Lord Mulgrave reprobated what he termed a shabby species of defence. Mr. W. Grenville declared his concurrence with the honorable member who had opened the charge, in almost every point he had urged; he also observed, that upon the present occasion, he could not resist a most justifiable and even necessary attempt to save Mr. Larkins from what he thought rather too harsh treatment; and declared that he had ever understood that gentleman to be a man of strict honor and unimpeachable integrity; and by no means capable of wilful perjury; though he had certainly, through a mere and obvious inadvertency, sworn fully, instead of swearing to the best of his knowledge respecting Mr. Hastings's letter of the 22d of May, 1782, not having been opened since he had parted with it out of his hands.

Mr. SHERIDAN begged leave to remind the right honorable gentleman who spoke last, that of all insinuations whatsoever, that which might have fixed upon the minds of the committee, even the shadow of a suspicion that Mr. Larkins had proved guilty of corrupt and wilful perjury, was the most distant from his idea. The whole of what he meant to intimate was, that an incontrovertible fact stood forward, which, in its nature, ascertained that Mr. Larkins deposed, upon oath, to the truth of some points, which, most certainly, did not

fall within his own immediate knowledge; and doubtless, it was fair for him (Mr. Sheridan) to take this justifiably-drawn conclusion, in aid of such proofs, as it became requisite to establish from the letter in question. Mr. Sheridan trusted, that it was scarcely necessary for him to add, that the right honorable gentleman (Mr. Grenville) could not possibly suppose, that if any solid ground for a charge of perjury had existed, he would not have made it openly; and in that spirit of disdain with which no man considered the base darkness of insinuation more heartily than himself.

Mr. Grenville answered, that he could assure the honorable gentleman, that it was far from his meaning to impute any such charge to him; but barely to say, what he still thought, that the drift of his argument did not stand in need of the introduction of his pleasantry concerning Mr. Larkins and the letter. As to the rest, he rejoiced to find that the honorable gentleman had, with his habitual candor, so satisfactorily explained his meaning.

Upon a division, there appeared for the question 165; against it 54. The house being resumed, the report from the committee was brought up by their chairman. An adjournment of the debate was moved; which was afterwards waved on a proposition being made for bringing up the report afresh. The latter being agreed upon, the house adjourned.

APRIL 3,

PROCEEDINGS AGAINST MR. HASTINGS.

The order of the day being read, for taking into farther consideration the report of the resolutions on the charges against Mr. Hastings, Major Scott observed, that he came to the house with an intention of opposing the resolutions being read a second time; but as a new mode of proceeding had been adopted, which would give him an opportunity of submitting what he had to offer to the consideration of the house, prior to the vote of impeachment, he should reserve himself until that time. Mr. Burke said, that the friends of Mr. Hastings would do right to take their own time for urging such arguments, as, in their opinion, were most likely to serve their cause.

Mr. SHERIDAN remarked, that he thought it fair to apprise the honorable gentleman (Major