house, have decided as this prince's indifputable right.

But fuppofing the rajah of Benares to be a mere subject, and that subject a criminal of the highest form; let us fee what course was taken by an upright English magiftrate. Did he cite this culprit before his tribunal? Did he make a charge? Did he produce witneffes? These are not forms; they are parts of fubftantial and eternal juftice. No, not a word of all this, Mr. Hastings concludes him, `in his own mind, to be guilty; he makes this conclufion on reports, on hearsays, on appearances, on rumours, on conjectures, on prefumptions; and even these never once hinted to the party, nor publickly to any human being, till the whole bufinefs was done.

But the governour tells you his motive for this extraordinary proceeding, fo contrary to every mode of justice towards either a prince or a subject, fairly and without disguise; and he puts into your hands the key of his whole conduct:-"I "will fuppofe, for a moment, that I have acted "with unwarrantable rigour towards Cheit Sing, "and even with injuftice.-Let my MOTIVE be "confulted. I left Calcutta, impreffed with a be"lief that extraordinary means were necessary, and "thofe exerted with a steady hand, to preserve the "company's interefts from finking under the accumu

"lated

"lated weight which oppressed them. I faw a political "neceffity for curbing the overgrown power of a

great member of their dominion, and for mak"ing it contribute to the relief of their preffing exi"gencies." This is plain speaking; after this, it is no wonder that the rajah's wealth and his offence, the neceffities of the judge, and the opulence of the delinquent, are never separated, through the whole of Mr. Haftings's apology. "The juf"tice and policy of exacting a large pecuniary mulct.” The refolution" to draw from his guilt the means "of relief to the company's diftreffes." His determination "to make him pay largely for his pardon, "or to execute a fevere vengeance for paft delinquency." That "as his wealth was great, and "the company's exigencies preffing, he thought it a "measure of justice and policy to exact from him "a large pecuniary mulct for their relief."-" The

..

re

fum (fays Mr. Wheler, bearing evidence, at his defire, to his intentions) "to which the governour "declared his refolution to extend his fine, was "forty or fifty lacks, that is four or five hundred thousand pounds; and that if he refused, he was "to be removed from his zemindary entirely; or by taking poffeffion of his forts, to obtain, out of "the treasure depofited in them, the above fum for "the company."

66

Crimes fo convenient, crimes fo politick, crimes

fo

fo neceffary, crimes fo alleviating of distress, can never be wanting to those who use no process, and who produce no proofs.

But there is another ferious part (what is not fo?) in this affair. Let us fuppofe that the power, for which Mr. Haftings contends, a power which no fovereign ever did, or ever can veft in any of his subjects, namely, his own fovereign authority, to be conveyed by the act of parliament to any man or body of men whatsoever; it certainly was never given to Mr. Haftings. The powers given by the act of 1773 were formal and official; they were given not to the governour general, but to the major vote of the board, as a board, on difcuffion amongst themselves, in their publick character and capacity; and their acts in that character and capacity were to be afcertained by records and mi nutes of council. The defpotick acts exercised by Mr. Haftings were done merely in his private character; and, if they had been moderate and juft, would ftill be the acts of an ufurped authority, and without any one of the legal modes of proceeding which could give him competence for the moft trivial exertion of power. There was no propofition or deliberation whatsoever in council, no minute on record, by circulation or otherwise, to authorize his proceedings. No delegation of power to impofe a fine, or to take any ftep to deprive the rajah of Benares of his government, his property,

VOL. IV.

F

property, or his liberty. The minutes of confultation affign to his journey a totally different object, duty, and destination. Mr. Wheler, at his defire, tells us long after, that he had a confidential converfation with him on various fubjects, of which this was the principal, in which Mr. Haftings notified to him his fecret intentions; " and "that he bespoke his fupport of the measures which ❝he intended to purfue towards him (the rajah.)" This confidential difcourfe, and befpeaking of fupport, could give him no power, in oppofition to an exprefs act of parliament, and the whole tenour of the orders of the court of directors.

In what manner the powers thus ufurped were employed, is known to the whole world. All the houfe knows, that the design on the rajah proved as unfruitful as it was violent. The unhappy prince was expelled, and his more unhappy country was enflaved and ruined; but not a rupee was acquired. Instead of treasure to recruit the company's finances, wafted by their wanton wars and corrupt jobs, they were plunged into a new war which fhook their power in India to its foundation; and, to use the governor's own happy fimile, might have diffolved it like a magick structure, if the talisman had been broken.

But the fuccefs is no part of my confideration, who should think juft the fame of this business, if the spoil of one rajah had been fully acquired, and

f

faithfully

faithfully applied to the deftruction of twenty other rajahs. Not only the arreft of the rajah in his palace was unneceffary and unwarrantable, and calculated to ftir up any manly blood which remained in his fubjects; but the defpotick style, and the extreme infolence of language and demeanour, used to a perfon of great condition among the politeft people in the world, was intolerable. Nothing aggravates tyranny fo much as contumely. Quicquid fuperbia in contumeliis was charged by a great man of antiquity, as a principal head of offence against the governour general of that day. The unhappy people were ftill more infulted. A relation, but an enemy to the family, a notorious robber and villain, called Uffaun Sing, kept as a hawk in a mew, to fly upon this nation, was set up to govern there, instead of a prince honoured and beloved. But when the business of infult was accomplished, the revenue was too serious a concern to be entrusted to fuch hands. Another was fet up in his place, as guardian to an infant.

But here, Sir, mark the effect of all these extraordinary means, of all this policy and juftice. The revenues which had been hitherto paid with fuch astonishing punctuality, fell into arrear. The new prince guardian was depofed without ceremony; and with as little, caft into prifon. The government of that once happy country has been in the utmost confusion ever fince fuch good order was F 2 taken