Have I ever been suspected of being corrupted? A strange phenomenon, a corrupter himself not corrupt! Is ambition imputed to me? Why then do I still continue a commoner? I, who refused a white staff and a peerage. I had, indeed, like to have forgotten the little ornament about my shoulders, which gentlemen have so repeatedly mentioned in terms of sarcastick obloquy. But surely, though this may be regarded with envy or indignation in another place, it cannot be supposed to raise any resentment in this house, where many may be pleased to see those honours which their ancestors have worn, restored again to the commons.

Have I given any symptoms of an avaricious disposition? Have I obtained any grants from the crown since I have been placed at the head of the treasury? Has my conduct been different from that which others in the same station would have followed? Have I acted wrong in giving the place of auditor to my son, and in providing for my own family? I trust that their advancement will not be imputed to me as a crime, unless it shall be proved that I placed them in offices of trust and responsibility for which they were unfit.

But while I unequivocally deny that I am sole and prime minister, and that to my influence and direction all the measures of government must be attributed, yet I will not shrink from the responsibility which attaches to the post I have the honour to hold; and should during the long period in which I have sat upon this bench, any one step taken by government be proved to be either disgraceful or disadvantageous to the nation, I am ready to hold myself accountable.

To conclude, sir, though I shall always be proud of the honour of any trust or confidence from his majesty, yet I shall always be ready to remove from his councils and presence, when he thinks fit; and there. fore I should think myself very little concerned in the event of the present question, if it were not for the encroachment that will thereby be made upon the prerogatives of the crown. But I must think, that an address to his majesty to remove one of his scr

vants, without so much as alleging any particular crime against him, is one of the greatest encroachments that was ever made upon the prerogatives of the crown; and therefore for the sake of my master, without any regard for my own, I hope all those that have a due regard for our constitution, and for the rights and prerogatives of the crown, without which our constitution cannot be preserved, will be against this motion.

MR. SHERIDAN'S SPEECH,

DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, ON THE 18TH OF FEBRUARY, 1787, ON THE IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS, FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS.

As one of the leading managers who conducted the

memorable trial of Warren Hastings, the duty particularly assigned to Mr. Sheridan was to support the charge which related to the treatment of the Princesses of Oude. This charge which seems to have been considered as the most criminal of the offences alleged against Mr. Hastings, is so entangled with a complicated portion of the history of his administration, that we despair of being able to convey, within the limits to which we are restricted, an intelligible explanation of the subject. It is, however, a matter of little consequence, since there will be found in the speeches of Mr. Sheridan, especially the concluding one, the charge stated with sufficient distinctness, accompanied too by a narrative of the transactions on which it is predicated, clear, copious, and precise. The first of these inimitable orations was delivered in the house of commons on the question, Whether the conduct of Mr. Hastings towards the Begums deserved impeachment? The theme was peculiarly adapted to display the best powers of eloquence; and never, perhaps, were they exerted with superiour skill, force, and elegance. For more than five hours, he continued without abatement, to fascinate, arouse, and inflame the feelings of his audience, and

when he concluded there was a general and spontaneous burst of applause expressive of a greater degree of enthusiasm than probably was ever before kindled by the influence of eloquence in a deliberative assembly. Three of the most eminent members of the house arose in succession, and bestowed on the speech the highest commendation. Mr. Burke declared it to be the most surprising effort of eloquence, argument, and wit united, of which, there is any record or tradition. Mr. Fox avowed, that all he had ever heard, all that he had ever read, when compared to it, dwindled into nothing, and vanished like vapour before the sun. Mr. Pitt confessed that it surpassed all the eloquence of ancient or modern times, and possessed every quality of excellence that genius or art could furnish to agitate, and control the human mind.

After a short interval, one of the friends of Mr. Hastings endeavoured to reply to the speech, but was unable to proceed from the convulsed and tumultuous state of the house. Enraptured with the eloquence of Mr. Sheridan, the members were unwilling to part with the delightful impressions it had created, and seemed prepared, under the excitement of the moment, to pronounce, by acclamation, the guilt of

the accused.

Perceiving these dispositions in the house, Mr. Pitt very properly moved an adjournment, that the members might have time to recover, so as to be able

* Among other proofs of the astonishing effects of this speech, it is related of the late Mr. Logan, who was one of the warmest friends of Mr. Hastings, and well known as the author of a masterly defence of his conduct, for the publication of which, Stockdale the bookseller was tried, went to the house on that day with the strongest prepossessions in favour of the accused. At the expiration of the first hour, he said to a friend," All this is declamatory assertion without proof?" When the second was finished, "This is a most wonderful oration." At the close of the third, “Mr. Hastings has acted very unjustifiably." At the fourth, "Mr. Hastings is a most atrocious criminal." And at the last, "Of all monsters of iniquity the most enormous is Warren Hastings."

to discriminate between the blaze of eloquence and the light of truth." This motion, with great difficulty, was carried. On resuming the discussion of the subject, the house still retaining its impressions, voted the charge by an immense majority.

The speeches, here inserted, we pretend not to give as a faithful transcript of Mr. Sheridan's eloquence. They are, on the contrary, evidently a very inadequate report of it. No perfect record, we believe, was ever made of these unparalleled productions. They are now presented, we can confidently say, in a better dress than they have hitherto appeared. The chain of reasoning pursued by the orator, will be found sometimes to be abruptly broken, and much of the evidence omitted, but the sublimer parts have not altogether been permitted to escape. Many a gem of the highest polish and the finest lustre is preserved, though detached and separated. These speeches in their present state, can only be viewed as splendid fragments. They have no other pretensions.

SPEECH, &c.

I WILL not, sir, take up the time of the house with any general arguments, to prove that the charge which it has fallen to my lot to bring forward is of great importance. The attention parliament has devoted to the affairs of India, for many sessions past; the voluminous productions of your committees on the subject; our own strong and pointed resolutions; the repeated recommendations of his majesty, and our repeated assurances of paying due regard to these recommendations, are all undeniable evidences of the magnitude of the consideration, and tend most clearly to establish the broad fact, that parliament acknowledges the British name and character have been dishonoured, and rendered detestable throughout the Indian provinces, by the malversation and crimes of the servants of the East India Company.