XCI.

That the said Warren Hastings, in order to ruin the resident Bristow, and to justify himself for his former proceedings respecting him, did bring before the board a new charge against him for having paid a large establishment of offices and pensions to the company's servants from the revenues of Oude; and the said Bristow, in making his defence against the charge aforesaid, did plead, that he had found all the allowances on his list established before his last appointment to the residency; that they had grown to that excess in the interval between his first removal by the said Warren Hastings, and his reappointment; and having adduced many reasons to make it highly probable that the said Hastings was perfectly well acquainted with it, and did approve of the expensive establishments, which he the said Bristow simply had paid, but not imposed, he did allege, besides the official assurances of his predecessor Middleton, certain facts as amounting to a direct proof that the governor general, Warren Hastings, was not averse to the vizier's granting large salaries to more than one European gentleman; and the first instance was to Mr. Thomas, a surgeon, who, exclusive of his pay from the company, which was 1,440l. a year, claimed from the vizier, with Mr. Hastings' knowledge, the sum of 9,7631. a year, and upwards, making together 11,2031. per annum. The next was Mr. Trevor Wheler, who did receive upon the same establishment, when he was fourth assistant at Oude, 6,000l. a year; and which last fact the said Hastings has admitted upon record, "that the accusations of Mr. Bristow and Mr. Cowper did oblige and compel him tə acknowledge," denying at the same time that the allowances of the residents Middleton and Bristow, except in this single instance, were ever authorized by him: whereas his own agent Palmer did, in his letter of the 27th of March, 1785, represent that the said salaries and allowances (if not more and larger) were by him authorized or confirmed.

XCII.

That the aforesaid Bristow did also produce the following letter, in proof that Mr. Hastings knew and approved of large salaries to British subjects upon the revenues

of Oude, and which he did declare that nothing but the necessity of self defence could have induced him to produce.

"Dear Bristow,

"Sir Eyre Coote has some field allowances to receive from the vizier; they amount to sicca rupees 15,554. per month, and he has been paid up by the vizier to the 20th of August, 1782. The governor has directed me to write to you, to request you to receive what is due from the vizier from the 20th August last, at the rate of Lucknow sicca rupees 15,554. per month, and send me a bill for the amount, the receipt of which I will acknowledge in the capacity of Sir Eyre Coote's attorney; and the governor desires that you will continue to receive Sir Eyre Coote's field allowances at the same rate, and remit the money to me as it comes in.

"Charles Crofts."

XCIII.

That Sir Eyre Coote aforesaid was, at the time of the said field allowances, not serving in the country of Oude, on which the said allowances were charged, but in the Carnatic.

XCIV.

That from the declaration of the said Hastings himself, that it was the conviction of Mr. Bristow and Mr. Cowper, that could alone oblige and compel him to acknowledge certain of his aforesaid practices, and that nothing but the necessity of self defence could have induced Mr. Bristow to make public another, and much stronger, instance of the same, it is to be violently presumed, that where these two, or either, or both, necessities did not exist, many evil and oppressive practices of the said Hastings do remain undiscovered. That if it had not been for the contests between him the said Hastings and the resident Bristow, not only the before mentioned particulars, but the whole of the expensive civil establishments for English servants at Oude, would have been for ever concealed from the directors, and from parliament; and yet the said Hastings has had the audacity to pre

tend so complete an ignorance of the facts, that representing the vizier as objecting to the largeness of the payments made by Bristow, and stating a very reduced list, which he was willing to allow for, amounting to 30,000l. a year, the said Hastings did affect to be alarmed at the magnitude even of the list so curtailed, expressing himself as follows, in his minute of the 7th of December, 1784: "for my own part, when the vizier's minister first informed me that the amount which his master had authorized, and was willing to admit, for the charges of the residency, and the allowances of the gentlemen at Lucknow, was 25,000 rupees per month, I own I was startled at the magnitude of the sum, and was some days hesitating in my mind whether I could with propriety admit of it." Whereas he well knew that the three sums alone, of which the necessities aforesaid had compelled the discovery, did greatly exceed that sum, of which, at the first hearing, he affects to have been so exceedingly alarmed, and thrown into a state of hesitation, which continued for some days; and although he the said Hastings was conscious that he had at the very time authorized an establishment to more than four times the amount thereof.

XCV.

That in the said deceits, prevarications, contradictions, malicious accusations, fraudulent concealments, and compelled discoveries, as well as in the said secret, corrupt, and prodigal disposition of the revenues of Oude, as well as in his breach of faith to the nabob in continuing expensive establishments under a private agent of his own, after he had agreed to remove the company's agent, the said Warren Hastings is guilty of a high offence and misdemeanour.

XVII. MAHOMED REZA KHAN.

I.

THAT it was the declared policy of the company, on the acquisition of the duannee of Bengal, to continue the country government under the inspection of the resident at the nabob's durbar in the first instance, and that of the president and council in the last; and for that purpose they did stipulate to assign, for the support of the dignity of the nabob, an annual allowance from the revenues, equal to four hundred thousand pounds a year.

II.

That, during the country government, the principal active person in the administration of affairs, for rank, and for reputation of probity, and of knowledge in the revenues and the laws, was Mahomed Reza Khan, who, beside large landed property, was possessed of offices, whose emoluments amounted nearly, if not altogether, to one hundred thousand pounds a year.

III.

That the company's servants, in the beginning, were not conversant in the affairs of the revenue, and stood in need of natives of integrity and experience to act in the management thereof. On that ground, as well as in regard to the rank which Mahomed Reza Khan held in the country, and the confidence of the people in him, they, the president and council, did inform the court of directors, in their letter of the 30th of September, 1765, that

as Mahomed Reza Khan's short administration was irreproachable, they determined to continue him in a share of the authority;" and this information was not given lightly, but was founded upon an inquiry into his conduct, and a minute examination of charges made against him by his rivals in the nabob's court; they having insinuated to the

nabob, that a design was formed for deposing him, and placing Mahomed Reza on his throne; but, on examination, the president and council declare, that " he had so openly and candidly accounted for every rupee disbursed from the treasury, that they could not, without injury to his character, and injustice to his conduct, during his short administration, refuse continuing him in a share of the government."

V.

That the company had reason to be satisfied with the arrangement made, so far as it regarded him; the president and council having informed them in the following year, in their letter of the 9th of December, 1766, that "the large increase of the revenue must, in a great measure, be ascribed to Mr. Sykes's assiduity, and to Mahomed Reza Khan's profound knowledge in the fi

nances."

VI.

That the then president and council, finding it necessary to make several reforms in the administration, were principally aided in the same by the suggestion, advice and assistance of the said Mahomed Reza Khan; and in their letter to the court of directors of the 24th of June, 1767, they state their resolution of reducing the emoluments of office, which before had arisen from a variety of presents, and other perquisites, to fixed allow ances; and they state the merits of Mahomed Reza Khan therein, as well as the importance, dignity, and responsibility of his station, in the following manner:

"Mahomed Reza Khan has now, of himself, with great delicacy of honour, represented to us the evil consequences that must ensue from the continuance of this practice; since, by suffering the principal officers of the government to depend for the support of their dignity on the precarious fund of perquisites, they, in a manner, oblige them to pursue oppressive and corrupt measures, equally injurious to the country and the company; and they accordingly assigned twelve lack of rupees for the maintenance and support of the said Mahomed Reza Khan, and two other principal persons, who held in their hands the most important employments of that govern