law hath provided for the punishment of fuch offences, and that the fmall remains of the petitioners, who may furvive to return to their native country, are to be dealt with by a different law, and a different courfe of juftice, from the rest of their fellow fubjects. This odious diftinction, by which they are stigmatized, is in itself fufficiently painful to them; but the erection of a tribunal, novel in its kind, and most repugnant to the conftitution, whofe proceedings are reftrained by no fettled rules of law, and fubject to no appeal, the power given to all perfons of moving for informations, and bringing the petitioners to trial for imputed crimes, without the intervention of a Grand Jury; the compelling fuch of the petitioners as may be informed against to enter into recognizances, which are to bind their whole fortunes, and to deprive them of the free enjoyment of their property, during the course of a profecution that may be protracted for many years, an incident never before, as the petitioners are advised, attached to any recognizances, either by the common or ftatute law, not even to thofe required for the moft atrocious offences, which are bailable by the laws of England; the empowering the profecutor to caufe an appearance and a plea to be entered for the party informed againft, and to proceed in fuch information in the abfence of the faid party, in cafe of his neglecting to appear within fuch times as fhall be allowed him for that purpofe; the giving to the faid new-created tribunal the power of adjourning, and confequently of delaying, their proceedings at pleasure, without referving to the party informed against any means of enforcing a decifion, or of obtaining a discharge on the neglect or delay of profecution, and without granting him any remedy, in cafe of his acquittal or discharge from fuch information, for the coft and damages he may have fuftained by a long and vexatious profecution; the compelling the party found guilty of the crime charged in fuch information, and adjudged to pay a fine to the Crown, to enforce his own punifhment, by a discovery upon oath of his estate and effects fufficient to answer the fame; the enacting that all writings, which fhall have been tranfmitted from the East Indies to the Court of Directors, by their officers and fervants refident in the East Indies, in the ufual courfe of their correfpondence with the faid Court of Directors, and which may have been written by perfons heated by party, warped by prejudice, or mifguided by ignorance, fhall be admiffible and competent evidence before the faid new-erected tribunal; the inflicting enormous forfeitures, and indefinite imprisonment, for flight offences; and, finally, the depriving the petitioners of that beft protection of their liberties and fafety, that ineftimable blessing, and their undoubted birthright, the trial

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by Jury, a birthright which they have neither voluntarily renounced, nor forfeited by any crimes, are grievances fo injurious and oppreffive to the petitioners, and precedents of fo fatal a tendency to the liberties and conftitution of their country, that they feel themselves obliged, by the duty they owe to themselves as men, and as citizens of a free nation, to exert every means which the laws and constitution of their country allow, to liberate themselves from the yoke of so severe, ignominious, and unconftitutional a law, and to prevent an example being established in the infraction of their rights, which may hereafter be drawn into a precedent for violating the rights of other claffes, and other orders of their fellow fubjects, and ultimately for the overthrow of the conftitution itself; and that the petitioners have endeavoured to convey their just complaints with temper, moderation, and refpect; but it is their wish to imprefs on the minds of the House, at the fame time that they have a juft and keen fense of the injuries which have been undeservedly inflicted upon them, and that the mode which has been taken to obtain redress of the oppreffive and degrading clauses of the faid act, are not hafty and idle refolutions, excited by the first impreffion of indignation and refentment, but a system of conftitutional mealures, deliberately and unanimoully adopted. Actuated by these motives, and filled with fentiments of loyalty, duty, and attachment to their native country, fentiments which it has still been their pride to cherifh, and which, they hope, no act of the Legislature will ever tend to weaken, the petitioners think they have an indubitable right to claim, and infift upon, a relief from their grievances, and a reftitution of thofe privileges, of which they have been unconftitutionally deprived. The petitioners are perfuaded, that the representatives of the nation, the natural guardians of their liberty and fafety, exulting in the reflection, that the happiness and freedom of a people can be the only true object of a wife and juft government, will not be difpleafed to find, that the British fubjects in the East Indies retain the fentiments and free fpirit of Britons, and that they have no more loft the virtues than the feelings of their countrymen. The petitioners, in conclufion, most earnestly befeech the interference of this House, to repeal the oppreffive claufes of the faid act, as above enumerated, in whole, and without qualification, there being no other relief fuited to the nature of the injuries complained of, or which can be fatisfactory to the petitioners, and remove those discontents which at prefent fill the minds of the British fubjects in India.

The petition was received, read, and ordered to lie upon the table.

Mr. Dempfter next prefented a petition of the feveral perfons whofe names are thereunto fubfcribed, by and on the behalf of themselves, and as agents of the civil and military fervants of the united company of Merchants of England trading to the Eaft Indies, and other the British inhabitants of the prefidency of Fort William in Bengal, and of the forts, factories, and places fubordinate thereunto, which alfo was read; taking notice of the laft preceding petition; and fetting forth, that the petitioners are the agents of the feveral perfons whofe names are fubfcribed to the faid petition, having been appointed by them to act as fuch in profecution of the relief thereby prayed; and alledging, that, fince the faid petition was figned, and before the petitioners had arrived in this country, an act of parliament was paffed, to explain and amend certain provisions of an act, made in the 24th year of the reign of His prefent Majefty, refpecting the better regulation and management of the affairs of the Eaft-India Company, whereby fome of the claufes of the former Act have been entirely repealed, others have been altered and qualified, but many remain in the fame ftate'as when the faid petition was prepared; and that, with refpect to fuch claufes as have been fully repealed, the petitioners are truly fenfible of the wif dom and benignity of the Legislature, in having thus anticipated their juft complaints, and in having administered the proper relief; but the petitioners beg leave to fubmit, as to thofe clauses which have been only altered, that the alterations therein made have not removed the causes of complaint, either from the minds of the petitioners or those whom they reprefent; for the petitioners, for themselves, declare, that the relief prayed by the original petition is not, in their apprehenfion, afforded them by fuch alterations; and, as to the feveral other perfons whofe names are likewise fubfcribed to the fame, they have therein expressly stated, that there is no other relief fuited to the nature of their complaints but a repeal, in whole, and without qualification, of the feveral claufes in faid petition enumerated: In particular, the petitioners obferve, that by the laft-mentioned act, an option is given to His Majesty's Attorney General, or any private profecutor of any information against the petitioners, to have the fame tried before the new tribunal, or, on motion in the court of King's Bench, to have it retained there, and tried in the ordinary way, which option, the petitioners fubmit, is highly injurious to them, because it is thereby left to the difcretion of their profecutor to harals them with a courfe of proceeding, which, in their original petition, they have ftated to be repugnant to their moft valuable rights as British fubjects, and not warranted

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by any neceffity; and the petitioners beg leave farther to reprefent, that, by the faid act, they are made liable to have judgement pronounced againft them in their abfence, in the fame manner as if they were perfonally prefent, which judgement is to be conclufive, fo that the petitioners are thereby deprived of the common rights of every other British fubject, in cafes of a fimilar nature, to move in arrest of judgement, and to be heard in fupport of fuch a motion, before any judgement could be pronounced; and therefore, on their own behalf, and for the feveral perfons whom they reprefent, as herein before ftated, praying, which in their former petition was, through inadvertence, omitted to be done, that they may be heard, by their council, in fupport of the faid petition, and likewife against all thofe claufes of the act paffed in the 26th year of His prefent Majefty's reign, which only alter, and do not repeal, the claufes contained in the former act, and complained of in the original petition, and, farther, against fuch new regulations as herein are before mentioned.

And the faid petitions were feverally ordered to lie upon the table.

Mr. Dempfter now fignified his intentions of moving on the enfuing Wednesday, that the petitioners might be heard by their counfel, at the bar of the Houfe.

The order of the day being read for going into a Committee of the whole Houfe on the charges against Mr. Haftings, the honourable Mr. St. Andrew St. John took the chair; and

Mr. Sheridan moved, that Nathaniel Middleton, Efq. be now called in; which being done, an examination took place, after which

*

Mr. Chancellor Pitt begged leave to remind the Houfe, Mr. Chan❤ that on the morow he fhould fix upon a day to take the cellor Pitt. commercial treaty into confideration. This was of the utmoft national iniportance, and very poffibly a debate might arife refpecting papers to be moved for. He was the more apprehenfive of it, because, on a former day, an honourable member (Mr. Pelham) had intimated his intentions to that effect. If therefore the farther examination fhould take place upon the very next day, a debate might also arife, and affairs of the laft importance would probably be delayed. He acknowledged that Mr. Haftings's bufinefs was a great national concern, and certainly required difpatch; but hoped that no honourable member would confider it of equal importance with the treaty of commerce. He could wish

* See an authentic copy of the Examinations of Mr. Middleton and Sir Elijah Impey, printed for J. Debrett, Piccadilly.

that

Mr.Pelham

Mr. Fox.

that the honourable members would, upon the enfuing day, come prepared with clear and diftinct motions refpecting papers; and if they were fuch as would not tend to procraftinate the confideration of the treaty, he would rejoice to meet them with every intelligence which it could be poffible for him to fupply.

Mr. Pelham repeated his firft determination to call for papers relative to our exports and imports with Portugal, in order to found an inquiry into the general ftate of our trade with that kingdom. Without the affiftance of these papers the House ought not, he conceived, ultimately to determine upon the French treaty.

Mr. Fox faid that he could not avoid acceding to the juftice of the remark of the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) that great and important as the inquiry into the conduct of Mr. Haftings was, yet the commercial treaty was certainly of much higher confequence; and therefore, if either was obliged to give place, it must be the former; but the difficulty arofe in the fame manner with the inquiry as with the treaty; for if it was poftponed until Monday, it would certainly interfere with the charge which was fixed for that day. Major Scott Major Scott having declared that he did not entertain even the most diftant with to throw obftacles in the way of fo interefting a business, observed, that as it appeared that both fides of the House were not averfe from it, he would take an opportunity when the Houfe fhould be refumed to move for a copy of a letter from Mr. Bristow to Mr. Middleton, dated January 22, 1773.

After a little general converfation, the House agreed to complete Mr. Middleton's examination upon the day following.

He was then called again to the bar, and Mr. St. John, the Chairman, asked him the following question, " Whether he "could be prepared with his correfpondence by the early "time appointed?”

The witnefs recollected only one letter which he had received from Sir Elijah Impey, and he could not immediately tell where to lay his hand upon it.

After a few other questions the witness withdrew, and Mr. St. John left the chair. The House was resumed, and a report of progrefs made.

Ordered, That Mr. Middleton do attend the bar of this House upon the morrow; that he produce his correspondence with Sir Elijah Impey, Mr. Briftow, or any other perfon, refpecting the negotiation of a treaty between Warren Haftings, Efquire, the Governor General of Bengal, and the Nabob of Oude.

Ordered,