he faid, fufficiently explained, or infifted on, and fome of them not even understood. He mentioned that the Begum had faved the life of her fon, the prefent Nabob Afoph ul Dowla, at the hazard of her own. When the father once drew his fabre to kill him, fhe fell down upon him, and thus rescued him, though at the lofs of her own blood, for fhe was wounded in the fcuffle. This was an action Sujah ul Dowla was very capable of, for he hated and defpifed his fon, and fo far from leaving him his treafures and his perfonal eftate, he would willingly have deprived him of his fucceffion-that he heard this fact from Mr. Haftings himself. Mr. Francis faid, when he was at Calutta, Mr. Haftings used to affign a reason for his partiality to the Begum, which he thought at the time a very tolerable one, viz. that the Begum had been recommended to his particular care and protection by the late Sujah Dowlah, in the most pathetic manner. That Mr. Hastings did take her part in 1775, when, as he said, (with a view to reflect on General Clavering, Colonel Monfon, and Mr. Francis) Mr. Briftow, appointed by them, had taken an improper part against the Begum. That the elder Begum was the rightful heir to the Soubadarry of Oude; at least, it was through her that the principality came into the family of Sujah Dowlah; confequently fhe had a better right to the jaghires than the prefent Nabob had to his throne. That whereas it was infifted on, that the plunder of the personal property was refolved on by Mr. Haftings in confequence, and as a punishment of the refiftance made by the Begums to the resumption of the jaghires, it appeared by the pofitive evidence of Mr. Middleton given at the bar, that the refumption of the jaghires was refolved on after the feizure of her treasures.

Here he earneftly entreated the Committee to observe that when all the other pretences by juftifications, fet up in defence of this atrocious act of violence, had been refuted or abandoned, the friends and advocates of Mr. Hastings had been driven at laft to the old-established resource of tyranny, to the common profligate plea of ftate neceffity, viz. that the Company's affairs, in the middle of the year 1781, when Mr. Haftings went up to Benares, were reduced to fuch diftrefs, and all their pecuniary resources fo completely exhaufted, that measures of all forts, and any fort, were to be juftified, provided they tended to procure a fupply of money, and an immediate relief to that extreme diftrefs. That, from the death of Sir John Clavering, in Auguft 1777, Mr. Haftings was unquestionably the mafter of the British Government, not only of Bengal, but of all India; and, as he would be fairly entitled to the merit, fo he ought to answer for the

الذي

ill confequences of every thing that was done during the ex iftence of that power.

That, on the 10th of Auguft 1778, Mr. Haftings had laid before the Board an official estimate of resources and difburfements, which stated an unappropriated balance of current rupees 2.35.66.000, or about two millions four hundred thousand pounds fterling, which he expected to remain in the Company's treafury, (after deducting all the probable difbursements from the expected refources) on the 30th of April 1779. From this balance, Mr. Haftings deducted thirty lacks for extra disbursements, not provided for in the estimate, leaving a corrected balance of cash to the amount of current rupees 2.05.60 000, or above two millions fterling, which he afferted, and, by all manner of official documents, proved, would exift in the Bengal treafury on the 30th of April 1779. Of what nature then were the fubfequent measures, purfued by Mr. Haftings, which, in fo fhort a period as from April 1779, to July 1781, had not only wafted that great furplus, but which forced him to incur a heavy bonded debt, and yet left the Company's affairs in fuch an abandoned ftate of penury and diftrefs, as might, with fome colour of reason, be alledged and pleaded in juftification of the various crimes committed by Mr. Haftings for the avowed purpofe of getting money, and which were the fubject of the last and prefent charge against him. Mr. Francis requested the Committee to carry this reflection in their minds when they fhould come to inquire into the wars made by Mr. Haftings, and other caufes of the monftrous waste of the public property committed to his care.

Mr. Francis offered other pertinent obfervations as to the facts ftated in the charge, and, among others, he quoted the following paffage from a letter of Mr. Middleton to Sir Elijah Impey: "I foon found that no real advantage was to be ob"tained by proceeding, at once, to violent extremities with "the Begum; and that he was only to be attacked through "the medium of her confidential fervants, whom it required "confiderable addrefs to get hold of: however, we at last "effected it; and, by ufing fome few feverities with them, we "at length came at the fecret boards of this old lady!" What was this, asked Mr. Francis, but the language of thieves and ruffians, plotting in a night cellar to break into a house, and rob fome innocent woman of her property?-Mr. Francis went on with a series of obfervations, in allufion to the facts in the charge. He faid, that it was true, he thought the Begum had no right to appropriate the produce of the conqueft and plunder of the Rohilla country, while the money due to the Company on account of that war remained unpaid. No opinion of his ever went farther than that.

The

The Council never interfered, otherwife than by approving and confirming the guarantee given by our Refident to the final fettlement between the Nabob and his mother, on the 15th October 1775, after he had already obtained from her above 600,000l. That treaty was a receipt in full, a fecurity against farther demands, and a quietus for ever. Mr. Haftings went farther than any Member of the Council, in approving that settlement; though now he fays, that the whole of this tranfaction paffed under the order and guidance of the Board, which excluded him from any share in their acts, equally in fuch as he approved, and in fuch as he disapproved! At that time, his language was different; but now, it seems, he may approve of an act, and vote for it, and yet he is to have no fhare in it. Whether he approved of it or not, he was bound by the sense of the majority, which conftituted the act of Government. In the prefent inftance, the Council were unanimous, and Mr. Haftings took the lead. It was true, the Begum, at her own defire, paid a fmall part of the above demand in goods of different forts. Whether Mr. Briftow did right or wrong in accepting of fuch articles, the Council certainly did right in ordering them to be fold by public auction. The fufpicion which unavoidably fixed itself upon arbitrary valuations and private contracts, cannot exist in the cafe of a public auction. Mr. Middleton's evidence will fhew in what manner the property of the Begums was fold in 1782. That it was true, that he, (Mr. Francis) in the year 177.5, had expreffed his fuprife that two ladies, locked up in a feraglio, fhould talk of meddling with affairs of ftate: but was that any reason for plundering them of their property; for robbing them of all they had; for treating them with the most scandalous injustice, extortion, violence, and cruelty? Could the opinion attributed to him be accommodated to fuch actions? And if it could, was it just to allow Mr. Haftings, who never followed his advice in any thing, to fhelter himself under the concurrence of his opinion ?--I hat these unfortunate women were, indeed, difqualified by their fex and fituation from meddling in the affairs of government, and perfectly incapable of disturbing it if they would. That the attempt to charge them with a defign to extirpate the English out of India, was equally bafe and ridiculous; as if it were poffible for two old women, locked up in a feraglio, and two decrepit çunuchs, first to depofe the Nabob, their fon and fovereign, and then to expel the English, which could not be effected by a combination of the four first powers of India, affifted by the French; that this abfurd pretence, in addition to all the cruelty and injuftice of the proceeding, fixed upon it a brand of falfehood and ignominy which would render the name of an Englishman, in Afia, contemptible as well as

-

19

odious for ever. Mr. Francis, in the courfe of his fpeech, took occafion to fet Mr. Burgess right as to a point he had fet out with on the preceding night, namely, faying that Mr. Haftings began his Indian career with making the treaty of Illahabad, whereas the treaty of Illahabad was made fo long ago as 1765, by Lord Clive and General Carnac, who were the political opponents of Mr. Haftings.

Mr. Burgess rofe next, and, addreffing himself to the Chair, faid,

Sir,

As the honourable gentleman has particularly alluded to me in what he is pleafed to fay I afferted laft night, I rife merely to explain that point. I imagined, from the manner in which the honourable gentleman fet out, that he would have answered, and, if poffible, have controverted fome of the propofitions I then advanced. Inftead of this, he has thought fit to affert, that, in the debate of last night, I faid the treaty of Illahabad had been made by Mr. Haftings. This, I am clear, could not have been the cafe, as I neither knew, nor had ever inquired who made it. Nor was it material to my argument that I fhould. I mentioned it merely to prove, that an actual treaty exifted, made by two powers competent to contract; which treaty, the honourable gentleman himself, jointly with General Clavering and Colonel Monfon, who then formed a conftant and decided majority in the Council, had broken; and that this very circumftance was now included in the charge against Mr. Haftings, who at that time was in the minority. This fact, Sir, with others which I alfo ftated, the honourable gentleman has thought proper to pass over. That he has, I hope, the Committee will remark, and put the proper conftruction upon it.

Mr. Francis anfwered, that he was not upon his trial. That when the treaty of Illahabad was put an end to, it was a matter of opinion whether the treaty, was meant to continue for Sujah Dowlah's life only, or whether it was a permanent treaty depending on no fuch contingency. Mr., Francis faid, he hoped, till he knew any thing ill of him, the honourable gentleman would prefume well of him, but the characters of General Clavering and Colonel Monfon ought at all events to be holden facred. Unfortunately they were no more, and had left the weakest of the triumvirate to defend their characters.

し

Mr. Nicholls obferved, that whilft he paid a juft tribute to the aftonishing eloquence and highly cultivated talents of an honourable gentleman (Mr. Sheridan) he muft prefume, even in oppofition to all his brilliant oratory, to contend, that the whole of his fafcinating harangue had turned upon a fal

3

lacy;

lacy; the question was not whether the Begums were in actual rebellion, but whether Mr. Haftings was given to underftand that they were fo, in a manner fufficiently plaufible, to induce him to credit the alleged fact. Mr. Nicholls entered into a series of reafoning upon the right conftruction 'of the words in Mr. Middleton's letter of the 6th of December, 1781, and the measure heretofore propofed, which he affirmed were to be understood differently from the manner in which they had been argued in the fpeech of the mover of the motion. Mr. Nicholls remarked, that taking the jaghire from the Begums, two women fhut up in a Zenana, and incapable of managing fuch a property, for which they received an equivalent, was a benefit, and not an injury. He alfo defended the feizure of the treafures, referring the Committee to Mr. Middleton's letters, and to other documents, to prove that the Nabob had always confidered the wealth as his property, by inheritance.

Major Scott now rofe, and faid,

Mr. St. John,

Before I request the indulgence of the Committee on the Maj. Scott. fubject of the prefent debate, I shall take the liberty of offering a few words, in reply to the honourable gentleman (Mr. Francis) who has juft fat down, and who has told you, that I generally pay particular attention to whatever falls from him. Allufions have been made to publications out of this House, and to the means that have been taken to bias the Public, upon the important queftion now under confideration. I have no fcruple to fay, that Mr. Haftings, instead of being merely an accufed, is a perfecuted, a fhamefully perfecuted man, and that means the most indecent, means the moft fcandalous and infamous, have been reforted to, in order to prejudice Mr. Haftings in the opinion of thofe parties who divide this kingdom, and who may be the ultimate judges of this important queftion. In the first fpeech, made by the honourable gentleman in this Houfe, he declared, in the most folemn manner, "that he fhould be "forry to be fufpected of retaining a spark of personal ani"mofity against Mr. Haftings,-We are both, he added, I " believe, men of tempers too warm to be capable of refent"ments; our conteft is at an end, and the hoftilities it pro"duced expired with it." If it had not been for this folemn declaration, made by the honourable gentleman, in his first fpeech in this Houfe, and afterwards carefully printed, and publifhed by himfelf, I fhould be led to conclude, that he was the author of a pamphlet, which I now hold in my hand, as the ftyle of the work bears fo near a refemblance to the minutes and writings of the honourable gentleman. Sir, Ipay him na compliment, when I fay his ftyle is a good one, and VOL. XXI.

fome