levolent to enter into my council; and I acted not by
their advice; and I listened not to their insinuations
to the prejudice of others.
their advice; and I listened not to their insinuations
to the prejudice of others.
Edmund Burke
-459
written rules, and coerced by no controlling muagistracies or well-settled oraers in the state. But if
it has no written law, it neither does nor can cancel
the primeval, indefeasible, unalterable law of Nature
and of nations; and if no magistracies control its
exertions, those exertions must derive their limitation and direction either from the equity and moderation of the ruler, or from downright revolt on the part of the subject by rebellion, divested of all its
criminal qualities. The moment a sovereign removes
the idea of security and protection from his subjects,
and declares that he is everything and they nothing,
when he declares -that no contract he makes with
them can or ought to bind him, he then declares
war upon them: he is no longer sovereign; they
are no longer subjects.
No man, therefore, has a right to arbitrary power. But the thought which is suggested by the depravity of him who brings it forward is supported
by a gross confusion of ideas and principles, which
your Lordships well know how to discern and separate. It is manifest, that, in the Eastern governments, and the Western, and in all governments, the supreme power in the state cannot, whilst that state
subsists, be rendered criminally responsible for its actions: otherwise it would not be the supreme power.
It is certainly true: but the actions do not change
their nature by losiilg their responsibility. The arbitrary acts which are unpunished are not the less
vicious, though none but God, the conscience, and
the opinions of mankind take cognizance of them.
It is not merely so in this or that government,
but in all countries. The king in this country is
undoubtedly unaccountable for his actions. The
? ? ? ? 460 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
House of Lords, if it should ever exercise, (God forbid I should suspect it would ever do what it has never done! ) - but if it should ever abuse its judicial power, and give such a judgment as it ought not to give, whether from fear of popular clamor on the
one hand, or predilection to the prisoner on the other,
-if they abuse their judgments, there is no calling
them to an account for it. And so, if the Commons
should abuse their power, nay, if they should have
been so greatly delinquent as not to have prosecuted this offender, they could not be accountable for it; there is no punishing them for their acts, because
we exercise a part of the supreme power. But are
they less criminal, less rebellious against the Divine
Majesty? are they less hateful to mall, whose opinions they ought to cultivate as far as they are just? No: till society fall into a state of dissolution, they
cannot be accountable for their acts. But it is from
confounding the unaccountable character inherent in
the supreme power with arbitrary power, that all this
confusion of ideas has arisen.
Even upon a supposition that arbitrary power can
exist anywhere, which we deny totally, and which
your Lordships will be the first and proudest to
deny, still, absolute supreme dominion was never
conferred or delegated by you, - much less, arbitrary power, which never did in any case, nor ever will in any case, time, or counti'y, produce any one
of the ends of just government.
It is true that the supreme power in every constitution of government must be absolute, and this may be corrupted into the arbitrary. But all' good constitutions have established certain fixed rules for the exercise of their fuinctions, which they rarely or ever
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 461
depart from, and which rules form the security against
that worst of evils, the government of will and force
instead of wisdom and justice.
But though the supreme power is in a situation resembling arbitrary, yet never was there heard of in the history of the world, that is, in that mixed chaos
of human wisdom and folly, such a thing as an intermediate arbitrary power, - that is, of an officer of government who is to exert authority over the people
without any law at all, and who is to have the benefit
of all laws, and all forms of law, when he is called to
an account. For that is to let a wild beast (for'such
is a man without law) loose upon the people to prey
on them at his pleasurd, whilst all the laws which
ought to secure the people against the abuse of power
are employed to screen that abuse against the cries of
the people.
This is defacto the state of our Indian government.
But to establish it so in iright as well as in fact is a
thing left for us to begin with, the first of mankind.
For a subordinate arbitrary or even despotic power
never was heard of in right, claim, or authorized
practice; least of all has it been heard of in the
Eastern governments, where all the instances of severity and cruelty fall upon governors and persons intrusted with power. This would be a gross contradiction. Before Mr. Hastings, none ever came before his superiors to clai'm it; because, if any such thing
could exist, he claims the very power of that sovereign
who calls him to account.
But suppose a man to come before us, denying all
the benefits of law to the people under him, --and
yet, when he is called to account, to claim all the
benefits of that law which was made to screen man
? ? ? ? 462 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
kind from the excesses of power: such a claim, I will
venture to say, is a monster that never existed, except
in the wild imagination of some theorist. It cannot
be admitted, because it is a perversion of the fundamental principle, that,every power given for the protection of the people below should be responsible to the power above. It is to suppose that the people
shall have no laws with regard to him, yet, when he
comes to be tried, he shall claim the protection of
those laws which were made to secure the people from
his violence, -- that lie shall claim a fair trial, an
equitable hearing, every advantage of counsel, (God
forbid he should not have them! ) yet that the people under him shall have none of those advantages.
The reverse is the principle of every just and rational
procedure. For the people, who have nothing to use
but their natural faculties, ought to be gently dealt
with; but those who are intrusted with an artificial
and instituted authority have in their hands a great
deal of the force of other people; and as their temptations to injustice are greater, so their means are
infinitely more effectual for mischief by turning the
powers given for the preservation of society to its
destruction: so that, if an arbitrary procedure be
justifiable, (a strong one I am sure is,) it is when
used. against those who pretend to use it against
others.
My Lords, I will venture to say of the governments
of Asia, that none of them ever had an arbitrary
power; and if any governments had an arbitrary
power, they cannot delegate it to any persons under
-them: that is, they cannot so delegate it to others
as not to leave them accountable on the principles
upon which it was given. As this is a contradiction
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY, 463
in terms, a gross absurdity, as well as a monstrous
wickedness, let me say, for the honor of human nature,
that, although undoubtedly we may speak it with the
pride of England that we have better institutions for
the preservation of the rights of men than any other
country in the world, yet I will venture to say that
no country has wholly meant, or ever meant, to give
this power.
As it cannot exist in right on any rational and solid
principles of government, so neither does it exist in
the constitution of Oriental governments, - and I do
insist upon it, that Oriental governments know nothing
of arbitrary power. I have taken as much pains as I
could to examine into the constitutions of them. I
have been endeavoring to inform myself at all times
on this subject; of late my duty has led me to a
more minute inspection of them; and I do challenge
the whole race of mall to show me any of the Oriental governors claiming to themselves a right to act by arbitrary will.
The greatest part of Asia is under Mahomedan governments. To name a Mahomedan government is
to name a government by law. It is a law enforced
by stronger sanctions than any law that can bind a
Christian sovereign. Their law is believed to be given
by God; and it has the double sanction of law and of
religion, with which the prince is no more authorized
to dispense than any one else. And if any man will
produde the Koran to me, and will but show me one
text in it that authorizes in any degree an arbitrary
power in the government, I will confess that I have
read that book, and been conversant in the affairs of
Asia, in vain. There is not such a syllable in it; but,
on the contrary, against oppressors by name every
? ? ? ? 464 IMPEACHM. ENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
letter of that law is fulminated. There are interpreters established throughout all Asia to explain that law, an order of priesthood, whom they call mzen of
the law. These men are conservators of the law; and
to enable them to preserve it in its perfection, they
are secured from the resentment of thre sovereign:
for he cannot touch them. Even their kings are not
always vested with a real supreme power, but the.
government is in some degree republican.
To bring this point a little nearer home, - since
we are challenged thus, since we are led into Asia,
since we are called upon to make good our charge
on the principles of the governments there, rather
than on those of our own country, (which I trust
your Lordships will oblige him finally to be governed by, puffed up as he is with the insolence of Asia,) -the nearest to us of the governments he
appeals to is that. of the Grand Seignior, the Emperor of the Turks. - He an arbitrary power! Why,
he has not the supreme power of his own country.
Every one knows that the Grand Seignior is exalted high in titles, as our prerogative lawyers exalt an abstract sovereign, - and he cannot be exalted
higher in our books. I say he is destitute of the
first character of sovereign power: he cannot lay
a tax upon his people. The next part in which he
misses of a sovereign power is, that he cannot dispose of the life, of the property, or of the liberty of any of his subjects, but by what is called the fetwah,
or sentence of the law. He cannot declare peace
or war without the same sentence of the law: so
much is he, more than European sovereigns, a subject of strict law, that he cannot declare war or peace without it. Then, if he can neither touch
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. -SECOND DAY. 465
life nor property, if he cannot lay a tax on his subjects, or declare peace or war, I leave it to your Lordships' judgment, whether he can be called, according to the principles of that constitution, an arbitrary power. A Turkish sovereign, if he should
be judged by the body of that law to have acted
against its principles, (unless he happens to be secured by a faction of the soldiery,) is liable to be deposed on the sentence of that law, and his successor comes in under the strict limitations of
the ancient law of that country: neither can he
hold his place, dispose of his succession, or take
any one step. whatever, without being bound by law.
Thus much may be said, when gentlemen talk of
the affairs of Asia, as to the nearest of Asiatic sovereigns: and he is more Asiatic thani European,
he is a' Mahomedan sovereign; and no Mahomedan is born who can exercise any arbitrary power
at all, consistently with their constitution; insomuch
that this chief magistrate, who is the highest executive power among them, is the very person who, by the constitution of the country, is the most fettered by law.
Corruption. is the true cause of the loss of all
the benefits of the constitution of that country.
The practice of Asia, as the gentleman at your bar
has thought fit to say, is what he holds to; the
constitution he flies away from. The question is,
whether you will take the constitution of the country as your rule, or the base practices of those usurpers, robbers, and tyrants who have subverted it.
Undoubtedly, much blood, murder, false imprisonment, much peculation, cruelty, and robbery are to be found in' Asia; and if, instead of going to the sa.
VOL. IX. 30
? ? ? ? 466 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
cred laws of the country, he chooses to resort to the
iniquitous practices of it, and practices authorized
only by public tumult, contention, war, and riot, he
may indeed find as clear an acquittal in the practices
as he would find condemnation in the institutions
of it. He has rejected the law of England. Your
Lordships will not suffer it. God forbid! For my
part, I should have no sort of objection to let him
choose his law, - Mahomedan, Tartarian, Gentoo.
But if he disputes, as he does, the authority of an
act of Parliament, let him state to me that law to
which he means to be subject, or any law which he
knows that will justify his actions. I am not authorized to say that I shall, even in that case, give up
what is not in me to give up, because I represent
anl authority of which I must stand in awe; but, for
myself, I shall confess that I am brought to public
shame, and am not fit to manage the great interests
committed to my charge. I therefore again repeat of
that Asiatic government with which we are best acquainted, which has been constituted more in obedience to the laws of Mahomet than any other, that the sovereign cannot, agreeably to that constitution,
exercise any arbitrary power whatever.
The next point for us to consider is, whether or
no the Mahomedan constitution of India authorizes
that power. The gentleman at your Lordships' bar
has thought proper to say, that it will be happy
for India, (though soon after he tells you it is an
happiness they can never enjoy,) "when the despotic institutes of Genghiz Klhhn. or Tamerlane shall
give place to the liberal spirit of a British legislature; and," says he, "I shall'be amply satisfied in
my present prosecution, if it shall tend to hasten
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 467
the approach of an event so beneficial to the great
interests of mankind. "
MIy Lords, you have seen what he says about
an act of Parliament. Do you not now think it
rather an extraordinary thing, that any British subject should, in vindication of the authority which
he has exercised, here quote the names and institutes, as he calls them, of fierce conquerors, of men ewho were the scourges of mankind, whose power
was a power which they held by force only?
As to the institutes of Genghiz Khan, which he
calls arbitrary institutes, I never saw them. If he
has that book, he will oblige the public by producing
it. I have seen a book existing, called Yassa of
Genghiz Khan; the other I never saw. If there be
any part of it to justify arbitrary power, he will pro-'duce it. But if we may judge by those ten precepts
of Genghiz Kllhn which we have, there is not a shadow of arbitrary power to be found in any one of them. Institutes of arbitrary power! Why, if there is arbitrary power, there can be no institutes.
As to the institutes of Tamerlane, here they are in
their original, and here is a translation. I have carefully read every part of these institutes; and if any
one shows me one word in them in which the prince
claims in himself arbitrary power, I again repeat,
that I shall for' my own part confess that I have
brought myself to great shame. There is no book
in the world, I believe, which contains nobler, more
just, more manly, more pious principles of government
than this book, called the Institutions of Tamerlane.
Nor is there one word of arbitrary power in it, much
less of that arbitrary power which Mr. Hastings supposes himself justified by, - namely, a delegated.
? ? ? ? 468 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
subordinate, arbitrary power. So far was that great
prince from permitting this gross, violent, intermediate arbitrary power, that I will venture to say the
chief thing by which he has recommended himself to
posterity was a most direct declaration of all the
wrath and indignation of the supreme government
against it. But here is the book. It contains the
institutes of the founder of the Mogul empire, left as
a sacred legacy to his posterity, as a rule for their
conduct, and as a means of preserving their power.
"BE it known'to my fortunate sons, the conquerors
of kingdoms, to my mighty descendants, the lords of
the earth, that, since I have hope in Almighty God
that many of my children, descendants, and posterity
shall sit upon the throne of power and regal authority, upon this account, having established laws and regulations for the well governing of my dominions,
I have collected together those regulations and laws
as a model for others, to the end that, every one of
my children, descendants, and posterity acting agree-:ably thereto, my power and empire, which I acquired ithrough hardships and difficulties and perils and
bloodshed, by the Divine favor, and by the influence
of the holy religion of Mahomet, (God's peace be up
on him! ) and with the assistance of the powerful
descendants and illustrious followers of that prophet,
may be by them preserved. And let them make
these regulations the rule of their conduct in the affairs of their empire, that the fortune and the power which shall descend from me to them may be safe
from discord and dissolution.
"Now, therefore, be it known to my sons, the fortunate and the illustrious, to my descendants, the
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 469
mighty subduers of kingdoms, that, in like manner
as I by twelve maxims, which I established as the
rule of my conduct, attained to regal dignity, and
with the assistance of these maxims conquered- and
governed kingdoms, and decorated and adorned the
throne of my empire, let them also act according to
these regulations, and preserve the splendor of mine
and their dominions.
"And among the rules which I established for the
support of my glory and empire, the first was this,
- that I. promoted the worship of Almighty God,
and propagated the religion of the sacred Mahomet
throughout the world, and at all times and in all
places supported'the true faith.
"-Secondly. With the people of the twelve classes
and tribes I conquered and governed kingdoms, and
with them I strengthened the pillars of my fortune,
and from them I formed my assembly.
"Thirdly. By consultation and deliberation and
provident measures, by caution and by vigilance, I
vanquished armies, and I reduced kingdoms to my
authority. And I carried on the business of my empire by complying with times and occasions, and by generosity, and by patience, and by policy; and I
acted with courteousness towards my friends and
towards my enemies.
" Fourthly. By order and by discipline 1 regulated
the concerns of my government; and by discipline
and by order I so firmly established my authority,
that the emirs and the viziers and the soldiers and
the subjects could not aspire beyond their respective
degrees; and every one of them was the keeper of
his own station.
"' Eifthly. I gave encouragement to my emirs and
? ? ? ? 470 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
to my soldiers, and with money and with jewels 1
made them glad of heart; and I permitted them to
come into the banquet; and in the field of blood
they hazarded their lives. And I withheld not from
them my gold nor my silver. And I educated and
trained them to arms; and to alleviate their sufferings, I myself shared in their labors and in their
hardships, until with the arm of fortitude and resolution, and with the unanimity of my chiefs and my
generals and my warriors, by the edge of the sword,
I obtained possession of the thrones of seven-andtwenty kings, and became the king and the ruler
of the kingdoms of Eraun, and of Tooraun, and of
Room, and of Mughrib, and of Shaum, and of Missur, and of Erauk-a-Arrub, and of Ajjum, and of Mauzinduraun, and of Kylaunaut, and of Shurvaunaut, and of Azzurbauejaun, and of Fauris, and of Khorausaun, and of the Dusht of Jitteh, and the Dusht of
Kipchauk, and of Khauruzm, and Khuttun, and of
Kauboolistaun, and of Hindostaun, and of Bauktur
Zemeen.
"And when I clothed myself in the robe of empire, I shut my eyes to safety, and to the repose which
is found on the bed of ease. And from the twelfth
year of my age I travelled over countries, and combated difficulties, and formed enterprises, and vanquished armies, and experienced mutinies amongst my officers and my soldiers, and was familiarized to
the language of disobedience; and I opposed them
with policy and with fortitude, and I hazarded my
person in the hour of danger; until in the end I vanquished kingdoms and empires, and established the
glory of my name.
"Sixthly. By justice and equity I gained the affec
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. -SECOND DAY. 471
tions of the people of God; and I extended my clemency to the guilty as well as to the innocent; and I passed that sentence which truth required; and by
benevolence I gained a place in the hearts of men;
and by rewards and punishments I kept both my
troops and my subjects divided between hope and
fear. And I compassionated the lower ranks of my
people, and those who were distressed. And I gave
gifts to the soldiers.
"And I delivered the oppressed from the hand of
the oppressor; and after proof of the oppression,
whether on the property or the person, the decision
which I passed between them was agreeable to the
sacred law. And I did not cause any one person to
suffer for the guilt of another.
" Those who had done me injuries, who had attacked
my person in battle, and had counteracted my schemes
and enterprises, when they threw themselves on my
mercy, I received them with kindness, I conferred
on them additional honors, and I drew the pen of oblivion over their evil actions; and I treated them in such sort, that, if suspicion remained in their hearts,
it was plucked out entirely.
" Seventhly. I selected out, and treated with esteem
and veneration, the posterity of the Prophet, and the
theologians, and the teachers of the true faith, and
the philosophers, and the historians. And I loved men
of courage and valor; for God Almighty loveth the
brave. And I associated with good and learned men;
and I gained their affections, and I entreated their support, and I sought success from their holy prayers. And I loved the dervishes and the poor; and I oppressed them not, neither did I exclude them from
my favor. And I permitted not the evil and the ma
? ? ? ? 472 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
levolent to enter into my council; and I acted not by
their advice; and I listened not to their insinuations
to the prejudice of others.
" Eighthly. I acted with resolution; and on whatever undertaking I resolved, I made that undertaking the only object of my attention; and I withdrew not
my hand from that enterprise, until I had brought it
to a conclusion. And I acted according to that which
I said. And I dealt not with severity towards any
one, and I was not oppressive in any of my actions;
that God Almighty might not deal severely towards
me, nor render my own actions oppressive unto me.
" And I inquired of learned men into the laws and
regulations of ancient princes, from the days of Adam
to those of the Prophet, and from the days of the
Prophet down to this time. And I weighed their institutions and their actions and their opinions, one
by one. And from their approved manners and their
good qualities I selected models. And I inquired into the causes of the subversion of their power, and I shunned those actions which tend. to the destruction
and overthrow of regal authority. And from cruelty
and from oppression, which are the destroyers of posterity and the bringers of famine and of plagues, I found it was good to abstain.
" Ninthly. The situation of my people was known
unto me. And those who were great among them I
considered as my brethren; and I regarded the poor
as my children. And I made myself acquainted with
the tempers and the dispositions of the people of
every'country and of every city. And I contracted
intimacies with the citizens and the chiefs and the
nobles; and I appointed over them governors adapted to their manners and their dispositions and their
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. -SECOND DAY. 473
wishes. And I knew the circumstances of the inhabitants of every province. And in every kingdom I
appointed writers of intelligence, men of truth and
integrity, that they might send me information of the
conduct and the behavior and the actions and the
manners of the troops and of the inhabitants, and of
every occurrence that might come to pass amongst
them. And if I discovered aught contrary to their
information, I inflicted punishment on the intelligencer; and every circumstance of cruelty and oppression in the governors and in the troops and in the inhabitants, which reached my ears, I chastised agreeably to justice and equity. "' Tenthly. Whatever tribe, and whatever horde,
whether Toork, or Taucheek, or Arrub, or Ajjum,
came in unto me, I received their chiefs with distinction and respect, and their followers I honored
according to their degrees and their stations; and to
the good among them I did good, and the evil I delivered over to their evil actions.
"And whoever attached himself unto me, I forgot
not the merit of his attachment, and I acted towards
him with kindness and generosity; and whoever had
rendered me services, I repaid the value of those services unto. him. And whoever had been my enemy,
and was ashamed thereof, and, flying to me for protection, humbled himself before me, I forgot his enmity, and I purchased him with liberality and kindness.
"In such manner Share Behraum, the chief of a
tribe, was along with me. And he left me in the
hour of action, and he united with the enemy, and
he drew forth his sword against me. And at length
my salt, which he had eaten, seized upon him; and
? ? ? ? 474 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
he again fled to me for refuge, and humbled himself before me. As he was a man of illustrious descent, and of bravery, and of experience, I covered my eyes from his evil actions; and I magnified him,
and I exalted him to a superior rank, and I pardoned his disloyalty in consideration of his. valor.
"Eleventhly. My children, and my relations, and
my associates, and my neighbors, and such as had
been connected with me, all these I distinguished
in the days of my fortune and prosperity, and I paid
unto them their due. And witli respect to my family, I rent not asunder the bands of consanguinity
and mercy; and I issued not commands to slay them,
or to bind them with chains.
" And I dealt with every man, whatever the judgment I had formed of him, according to my own
opinion of his worth. As I had seen much of prosperity and adversity, and had acquired knowledge
and experience, I conducted myself with caution and
with policy towards my friends and towards my enemies.
" Twelfthly. Soldiers, whether associates or adversaries, I held in esteem,-those who sell their permanent happiness to perishable honor, and throw themselves into the field of slaughter and battle, and
hazard their lives in the hour of danger.
"And the man who drew his sword on the "side
of my enemy, and committed hostilities against
me, and preserved his fidelity to his master, him I
greatly honored; and when such a man came unto me, knowing his worth, I classed him with my
faithful associates; and I respected and valued his
fidelity and his attachment.
" And the soldier who forgot his duty and his
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 475
honor, and in the hour of action turned his face
from his master, and came ill unto me, I considered
as the most detestable of men.
"And in the war between Touktummish Khaun,
his emirs forgot their duty to Touktummish, who
was their master and my foe, and sent proposals and
wrote letters unto me. And I uttered execrations
upon them, because, unmindful of that which they
owed to their lord, they had thrown aside their honor and their duty, and came in unto me. I said
unlto myself,' What fidelity have they observed to
their liege lord? what fidelity will they show unto
me? '
"And, behold, it was known unto me by experience, that every empire which is not established
in morality and religion, nor strengthened by regulations and laws, from that empire all order, grandeur, and power shall pass away. And that empire may be likened unto a naked man, who, when exposed to view, commandeth the eye of modesty to
be covered; and it is like unto a house which hath
neither roof nor gates nor defences, into which whoever willeth may enter unmolested.
"THEREFORE I established the foundation of my
empire on the morality and the religion of Islaum;
and by regulations and laws I gave it stability. And
by laws and by regulations I executed every business and every transaction that came before me in
the course of my government. "
I need not read any further, or I might show
your Lordships the noble principles, the grand, bold,
and manly maxims, the resolution to abstain from
oppression himself, and to crush it in the govern
? ? ? ? 476 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
ors under him, to be found in this book, which Mr.
Hastings has thought proper to resort to as containing what he calls arbitrary principles.
But it is not in this instance only that I must
do justice to the East. I assert that their morality
is equal to ours, in whatever regards the duties of
governors, fathers, and superiors; and I challenge
the world to show in any modern European book
more true morality and wisdom than is to be found
in the writings of Asiatic men in high trust, and
who have been counsellors to princes. If this be
the true morality of Asia, as I affirm and can prove
that it is, the plea founded on Mr. Hastings's geographical morality is annihilated.
I little regard the theories of travellers, where
they do not relate the facts on which they are
founded. I have two' instances of facts attested by
Tavernier, a traveller of power and consequence,
which are very material to be mentioned here, because they show that in some of the instances recorded, in which the princes of the country have used any of those cruel and barbarous executions
which make us execrate them, it has been upon
governors who have abused their trust,- and that
this very Oriental authority to which Mr. Hastings
appeals would have condemned. him to a dreadful
punishment. I thank God, and I say it from' my
heart, that even for his enormous offences there
neither is nor can be anything like such punishments. God forbid that we should not as much
detest out-of-the-way, mad, furious, and unequal punishments as we detest enormous and abominable
crimes! because a severe and cruel penalty for a
crime of a light nature is as bad and iniquitous as
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. -SECOND DAY. 477
the crime which it pretends to punish. As the instances I allude to are curious, and as they go to
the principles of Mir. Hastings's defence, I shall
beg to quote them.
The first is upon a governor who did what Mr.
Hastings says he has a power delegated to him to do:
he levied a tax without the consent of his master.
"Some years after my departure from Com," says
Tavernier, "the governor had, of his own accord,
and without any communication with the king, laid
a small impost upon every pannier of fruit brought
into the city, for the purpose of making some necessary reparations in the walls and bridges of the town. It was towards the end of the year 1632 that the
event I am going to relate happened. The king,
being informed of the impost which the governor
had laid upon the fruit, ordered him to be brought
in chains to court. Theking ordered him to be exposed to the people at one of the gates of the palace; then he commanded the son to pluck off the mustachios of his father, to cut off his nose and ears, to
put out his eyes, and then cut off his head. The
king then told the son to go and take possession of
the government of his father, saying, See that you
govern better than this deceased dog, or thy doom shall
be a death more exquisitely tormenting. "
My Lords, you are struck with horror, I am struck
with horror, at this punishment. I do not relate it
to approve of such a barbarous act, but to prove to
your Lordships, that, whatever power the princes of
that country have, they are jealous of it to such a
degree, that, if any of their governors should levy
-a tax, even the most insignificant, and for the best
purposes, he meets with a cruel punishment. I do
? ? ? ? 478 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
not justify the punishlment; but the severity of it
shows how little of their power the princes of that
country mean to delegate to their servants, the whole
of xvhich the gentleman at your bar says was delegated to him.
There is another case, a very strong one, and that
is the case of presents, which I understand is a customl admitted throughout Asia in all their governments. It was of a person who was raised to a high office; no business was suffered to come before him
without a previous present. " One morning, the
king being at this time on a hunting party, the nazar
came to the tent of the king, but was denied entrance
b)y the meter, or master of the wardrobe. About the
samne time the king came forth, and, seeing the nazar,
commanded his officers to take off the bonnet from
the head of that dog that took gifts from his people, and that he should sit three days bareheaded in
the heat of the sun, and as many nights in the air.
Afterwards he caused him to be chained about the
neck and arms, and condemned him to perpetual
imprisonment, with a mamoudy a day for his maintenance; but he died for grief within eight days
after he was put in prison. "
Do I mean, by reading this to your Lordships, to
express or intimate anll approbation either of the cruelty of the punishment or of the coarse barbarism of
the language? Neither one nor the other. I produce it to your Lordships to prove to you, from this
dreadful example, the horror which that government
felt, when any person subject to it assumed to himself a privilege to receive presents. The cruelty and
severity exercised by these princes is not levelled at
the poor unfortunate people who complain at their
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 479
gates, but, to use their own barbarous expression.
to dogs that impose taxes and take presents. God forbid I should use that language! The people, when
they complain, are not called dogs and sent away,
but the governors, who do these things against the
people: they are called dogs, and treated in that
cruel manner. I quote them to show that no governors in the East, upon any principle of their constitution or any good practice of their government, can lay arbitrary imposts or receive presents. When
they escape, it is probably by bribery, by corruption,
by creating factions for themselves in the seraglio, in
the country, in the' army, in the divan. But how
they escape such punishments is not my business to
inquire; it is enough for me that the constitution
disavows them, that the princes of the country disavow them, -- that they revile them with the most
horrible expressions, and inflict dreadful punishments on them, when they are called to answer for
these offences.
Thus much concerning the allhomedan laws of
Asia. That the people of Asia have no laws, rights,
or liberty, is a-doctrine that wickedly is to be disseminated through this country. But I again assert,
every Mahomedan government is, by its principles,
a government of law.
I shall now state, from what is known of the government of India, that it does not and cannot delegate, as Mr. Hastings has frequently declared, the whole of its powers and authority to him. If they
are absolute, as they must be in the supreme power,
they ought to be arbitrary in none; they were, however, never absolute in any of their subordinate parts,
and I will prove it by the known provincial constitu.
? ? ? ? 480 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
tions of Hindostan, which are all Mahomedan, the
laws of which are as clear, as explicit, and as learned
as ours.
The first foundation of their law is the Koran.
The next part is the Fetwah, or adjudged cases by
proper authority, well known there. The next, the
written interpretations of the principles of jurisprudence: and their books are as numerous upon the
principles of jurisprudence as in ally country in Europe. . The next part of their law is what they call
the fanon, -that is, a positive rule equivalent to acts
of Parliament, the law of the several powers of the
country, taken from the Greek'word Kavcov, which
was brought into their country, and is well known.
The next is the Rawaj-ul-Mulk, or common law and
custom of the kingdom, equivalent to our common
law. Therefore they have laws from more sources
than we have, exactly in the same order, grounded
upon the same authority, fundamentally fixed to be
administered to the people upon these principles.
The next thing is to show that in India there is
a partition of the powers of the government, which
proves that there is no absolute power delegated.
In every province the first person is the Subahdar
or Nazim, or Viceroy: he has the power of the sword,
and the administration of criminal justice only. Then
there is the Dewan, or High Steward: he has thei revenue and all exchequer causes under him, to be governed according to the law and custom and institutions of the kingdom. The law o&f inheritances, successions, and everything that relates to them, is under the Cadi, in whose court these matters are tried.
But this, too, was subdivided. The Cadi could not
judge, but by the advice of his assessors. Properly
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. -SECOND DAY. 481
in the Mahomedan law there is no appeal, only a removal of. the -cause; but when there is not judgment,
as none can be when the court is not unanimous, it
goes to the general assembly of all the men of the
law. There are, I will venture to say, other divisions
and subdivisions; for there. are the Kanongoes, who
hold their places for life, to be the conservators of the
canons, customs, and good usages of the country: all
these, as::well as the Cadi and. the Mufti, hold their
places and situations, not during the wanton pleasure
of the prince, but on permanent and fixed terms for
life. All. ;these powers of magistracy, revenue, and
law are all different, consequently not delegated in
the whole to any one person.
This is the provincial constitution, and these the,
laws of iBengal; which proves, if there were no other
proof, by the division of the functions and authorities,
that the isupreme\ power of the state in the Mogul
empire did by no means delegate to any of its officers the supreme power in its fulness. Whether or
no we have delegated to Mr. 'Hastings the supreme
power of King and Parliament, that he should act
with the plenitude of authority of the British legislature, you are to judge. : Mr. Hastings has no- refuge here. Let him run from: law to. law; let him fly from the common law
and the sacred institutions of the country in which
he was born;let him fly from acts of Parliament,
from which. his power originated; let him plead his
ignorance' of them, or fly in the face of them, Will
he fly to; the Mahomedan law? That condemns him. .
Will he fly to the high magistracy of Asia to defend~
taking of presents? Padishah and the Sultan wouldi
condemn himn to a cruel death. Will he fly to the:
VOL. IX. 31
? ? ? ? 482 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
Sophis, to the laws of Persia, or to the practice of
those monarchs? I cannot utter the pains, the tortures, that would be inflicted on him, if he were to
govern there as he has done in a British province.
Let him fly where he will, from law to law; law, I
thank God, meets him everywhere, and enforced, too,
by the practice of the most impious tyrants, which he
quotes as if it would justify his conduct. I would as
willingly have him tried by the law of the Koran, or
the Institutes of Tamerlane, as on the common law
or statute law of this kingdom.
The next question is, whether the Gentoo laws
justify arbitrary power: and if he finds any sanctuary there, let him take it, with the cow in the pagoda.
The Gent6os have a law which positively proscribes
in magistrates any idea of will, - a law with which,
or. rather with extracts of it, that gentleman himself
has furnished us. These people in many points are
governed by their own ancient written law, called the
Shaster. Its interpreters and judges are the Pundits.
This law is comprehensive, extending to all the coneerns of life, affording principles and maxims and legal theories applicable to all cases, drawn from the sources of natural equity, modified by their institutions, full of refinement and subtilty of distinction
equal to that of any other law, and has the grand test
of all law, that, wherever it has prevailed, the country
has been populous, flourishing, and happy.
Upon the whole, then, follow him where you will,
let him have Eastern or Western law, you find everywhere arbitrary power and peculation of governors
proscribed and horribly punished,-'more so than I
should ever wish to punish any, the most guilty,
human creature. And if this be the case, as I hope
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 483
and trust it has been proved to your Lordships, that.
there is law in these countries, that there is no delegation of power which exempts a governor from the law,
then I say at any rate a British governor is to answer
for his conduct, and cannot be justified by wicked
examples and profligate practices.
written rules, and coerced by no controlling muagistracies or well-settled oraers in the state. But if
it has no written law, it neither does nor can cancel
the primeval, indefeasible, unalterable law of Nature
and of nations; and if no magistracies control its
exertions, those exertions must derive their limitation and direction either from the equity and moderation of the ruler, or from downright revolt on the part of the subject by rebellion, divested of all its
criminal qualities. The moment a sovereign removes
the idea of security and protection from his subjects,
and declares that he is everything and they nothing,
when he declares -that no contract he makes with
them can or ought to bind him, he then declares
war upon them: he is no longer sovereign; they
are no longer subjects.
No man, therefore, has a right to arbitrary power. But the thought which is suggested by the depravity of him who brings it forward is supported
by a gross confusion of ideas and principles, which
your Lordships well know how to discern and separate. It is manifest, that, in the Eastern governments, and the Western, and in all governments, the supreme power in the state cannot, whilst that state
subsists, be rendered criminally responsible for its actions: otherwise it would not be the supreme power.
It is certainly true: but the actions do not change
their nature by losiilg their responsibility. The arbitrary acts which are unpunished are not the less
vicious, though none but God, the conscience, and
the opinions of mankind take cognizance of them.
It is not merely so in this or that government,
but in all countries. The king in this country is
undoubtedly unaccountable for his actions. The
? ? ? ? 460 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
House of Lords, if it should ever exercise, (God forbid I should suspect it would ever do what it has never done! ) - but if it should ever abuse its judicial power, and give such a judgment as it ought not to give, whether from fear of popular clamor on the
one hand, or predilection to the prisoner on the other,
-if they abuse their judgments, there is no calling
them to an account for it. And so, if the Commons
should abuse their power, nay, if they should have
been so greatly delinquent as not to have prosecuted this offender, they could not be accountable for it; there is no punishing them for their acts, because
we exercise a part of the supreme power. But are
they less criminal, less rebellious against the Divine
Majesty? are they less hateful to mall, whose opinions they ought to cultivate as far as they are just? No: till society fall into a state of dissolution, they
cannot be accountable for their acts. But it is from
confounding the unaccountable character inherent in
the supreme power with arbitrary power, that all this
confusion of ideas has arisen.
Even upon a supposition that arbitrary power can
exist anywhere, which we deny totally, and which
your Lordships will be the first and proudest to
deny, still, absolute supreme dominion was never
conferred or delegated by you, - much less, arbitrary power, which never did in any case, nor ever will in any case, time, or counti'y, produce any one
of the ends of just government.
It is true that the supreme power in every constitution of government must be absolute, and this may be corrupted into the arbitrary. But all' good constitutions have established certain fixed rules for the exercise of their fuinctions, which they rarely or ever
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 461
depart from, and which rules form the security against
that worst of evils, the government of will and force
instead of wisdom and justice.
But though the supreme power is in a situation resembling arbitrary, yet never was there heard of in the history of the world, that is, in that mixed chaos
of human wisdom and folly, such a thing as an intermediate arbitrary power, - that is, of an officer of government who is to exert authority over the people
without any law at all, and who is to have the benefit
of all laws, and all forms of law, when he is called to
an account. For that is to let a wild beast (for'such
is a man without law) loose upon the people to prey
on them at his pleasurd, whilst all the laws which
ought to secure the people against the abuse of power
are employed to screen that abuse against the cries of
the people.
This is defacto the state of our Indian government.
But to establish it so in iright as well as in fact is a
thing left for us to begin with, the first of mankind.
For a subordinate arbitrary or even despotic power
never was heard of in right, claim, or authorized
practice; least of all has it been heard of in the
Eastern governments, where all the instances of severity and cruelty fall upon governors and persons intrusted with power. This would be a gross contradiction. Before Mr. Hastings, none ever came before his superiors to clai'm it; because, if any such thing
could exist, he claims the very power of that sovereign
who calls him to account.
But suppose a man to come before us, denying all
the benefits of law to the people under him, --and
yet, when he is called to account, to claim all the
benefits of that law which was made to screen man
? ? ? ? 462 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
kind from the excesses of power: such a claim, I will
venture to say, is a monster that never existed, except
in the wild imagination of some theorist. It cannot
be admitted, because it is a perversion of the fundamental principle, that,every power given for the protection of the people below should be responsible to the power above. It is to suppose that the people
shall have no laws with regard to him, yet, when he
comes to be tried, he shall claim the protection of
those laws which were made to secure the people from
his violence, -- that lie shall claim a fair trial, an
equitable hearing, every advantage of counsel, (God
forbid he should not have them! ) yet that the people under him shall have none of those advantages.
The reverse is the principle of every just and rational
procedure. For the people, who have nothing to use
but their natural faculties, ought to be gently dealt
with; but those who are intrusted with an artificial
and instituted authority have in their hands a great
deal of the force of other people; and as their temptations to injustice are greater, so their means are
infinitely more effectual for mischief by turning the
powers given for the preservation of society to its
destruction: so that, if an arbitrary procedure be
justifiable, (a strong one I am sure is,) it is when
used. against those who pretend to use it against
others.
My Lords, I will venture to say of the governments
of Asia, that none of them ever had an arbitrary
power; and if any governments had an arbitrary
power, they cannot delegate it to any persons under
-them: that is, they cannot so delegate it to others
as not to leave them accountable on the principles
upon which it was given. As this is a contradiction
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY, 463
in terms, a gross absurdity, as well as a monstrous
wickedness, let me say, for the honor of human nature,
that, although undoubtedly we may speak it with the
pride of England that we have better institutions for
the preservation of the rights of men than any other
country in the world, yet I will venture to say that
no country has wholly meant, or ever meant, to give
this power.
As it cannot exist in right on any rational and solid
principles of government, so neither does it exist in
the constitution of Oriental governments, - and I do
insist upon it, that Oriental governments know nothing
of arbitrary power. I have taken as much pains as I
could to examine into the constitutions of them. I
have been endeavoring to inform myself at all times
on this subject; of late my duty has led me to a
more minute inspection of them; and I do challenge
the whole race of mall to show me any of the Oriental governors claiming to themselves a right to act by arbitrary will.
The greatest part of Asia is under Mahomedan governments. To name a Mahomedan government is
to name a government by law. It is a law enforced
by stronger sanctions than any law that can bind a
Christian sovereign. Their law is believed to be given
by God; and it has the double sanction of law and of
religion, with which the prince is no more authorized
to dispense than any one else. And if any man will
produde the Koran to me, and will but show me one
text in it that authorizes in any degree an arbitrary
power in the government, I will confess that I have
read that book, and been conversant in the affairs of
Asia, in vain. There is not such a syllable in it; but,
on the contrary, against oppressors by name every
? ? ? ? 464 IMPEACHM. ENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
letter of that law is fulminated. There are interpreters established throughout all Asia to explain that law, an order of priesthood, whom they call mzen of
the law. These men are conservators of the law; and
to enable them to preserve it in its perfection, they
are secured from the resentment of thre sovereign:
for he cannot touch them. Even their kings are not
always vested with a real supreme power, but the.
government is in some degree republican.
To bring this point a little nearer home, - since
we are challenged thus, since we are led into Asia,
since we are called upon to make good our charge
on the principles of the governments there, rather
than on those of our own country, (which I trust
your Lordships will oblige him finally to be governed by, puffed up as he is with the insolence of Asia,) -the nearest to us of the governments he
appeals to is that. of the Grand Seignior, the Emperor of the Turks. - He an arbitrary power! Why,
he has not the supreme power of his own country.
Every one knows that the Grand Seignior is exalted high in titles, as our prerogative lawyers exalt an abstract sovereign, - and he cannot be exalted
higher in our books. I say he is destitute of the
first character of sovereign power: he cannot lay
a tax upon his people. The next part in which he
misses of a sovereign power is, that he cannot dispose of the life, of the property, or of the liberty of any of his subjects, but by what is called the fetwah,
or sentence of the law. He cannot declare peace
or war without the same sentence of the law: so
much is he, more than European sovereigns, a subject of strict law, that he cannot declare war or peace without it. Then, if he can neither touch
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. -SECOND DAY. 465
life nor property, if he cannot lay a tax on his subjects, or declare peace or war, I leave it to your Lordships' judgment, whether he can be called, according to the principles of that constitution, an arbitrary power. A Turkish sovereign, if he should
be judged by the body of that law to have acted
against its principles, (unless he happens to be secured by a faction of the soldiery,) is liable to be deposed on the sentence of that law, and his successor comes in under the strict limitations of
the ancient law of that country: neither can he
hold his place, dispose of his succession, or take
any one step. whatever, without being bound by law.
Thus much may be said, when gentlemen talk of
the affairs of Asia, as to the nearest of Asiatic sovereigns: and he is more Asiatic thani European,
he is a' Mahomedan sovereign; and no Mahomedan is born who can exercise any arbitrary power
at all, consistently with their constitution; insomuch
that this chief magistrate, who is the highest executive power among them, is the very person who, by the constitution of the country, is the most fettered by law.
Corruption. is the true cause of the loss of all
the benefits of the constitution of that country.
The practice of Asia, as the gentleman at your bar
has thought fit to say, is what he holds to; the
constitution he flies away from. The question is,
whether you will take the constitution of the country as your rule, or the base practices of those usurpers, robbers, and tyrants who have subverted it.
Undoubtedly, much blood, murder, false imprisonment, much peculation, cruelty, and robbery are to be found in' Asia; and if, instead of going to the sa.
VOL. IX. 30
? ? ? ? 466 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
cred laws of the country, he chooses to resort to the
iniquitous practices of it, and practices authorized
only by public tumult, contention, war, and riot, he
may indeed find as clear an acquittal in the practices
as he would find condemnation in the institutions
of it. He has rejected the law of England. Your
Lordships will not suffer it. God forbid! For my
part, I should have no sort of objection to let him
choose his law, - Mahomedan, Tartarian, Gentoo.
But if he disputes, as he does, the authority of an
act of Parliament, let him state to me that law to
which he means to be subject, or any law which he
knows that will justify his actions. I am not authorized to say that I shall, even in that case, give up
what is not in me to give up, because I represent
anl authority of which I must stand in awe; but, for
myself, I shall confess that I am brought to public
shame, and am not fit to manage the great interests
committed to my charge. I therefore again repeat of
that Asiatic government with which we are best acquainted, which has been constituted more in obedience to the laws of Mahomet than any other, that the sovereign cannot, agreeably to that constitution,
exercise any arbitrary power whatever.
The next point for us to consider is, whether or
no the Mahomedan constitution of India authorizes
that power. The gentleman at your Lordships' bar
has thought proper to say, that it will be happy
for India, (though soon after he tells you it is an
happiness they can never enjoy,) "when the despotic institutes of Genghiz Klhhn. or Tamerlane shall
give place to the liberal spirit of a British legislature; and," says he, "I shall'be amply satisfied in
my present prosecution, if it shall tend to hasten
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 467
the approach of an event so beneficial to the great
interests of mankind. "
MIy Lords, you have seen what he says about
an act of Parliament. Do you not now think it
rather an extraordinary thing, that any British subject should, in vindication of the authority which
he has exercised, here quote the names and institutes, as he calls them, of fierce conquerors, of men ewho were the scourges of mankind, whose power
was a power which they held by force only?
As to the institutes of Genghiz Khan, which he
calls arbitrary institutes, I never saw them. If he
has that book, he will oblige the public by producing
it. I have seen a book existing, called Yassa of
Genghiz Khan; the other I never saw. If there be
any part of it to justify arbitrary power, he will pro-'duce it. But if we may judge by those ten precepts
of Genghiz Kllhn which we have, there is not a shadow of arbitrary power to be found in any one of them. Institutes of arbitrary power! Why, if there is arbitrary power, there can be no institutes.
As to the institutes of Tamerlane, here they are in
their original, and here is a translation. I have carefully read every part of these institutes; and if any
one shows me one word in them in which the prince
claims in himself arbitrary power, I again repeat,
that I shall for' my own part confess that I have
brought myself to great shame. There is no book
in the world, I believe, which contains nobler, more
just, more manly, more pious principles of government
than this book, called the Institutions of Tamerlane.
Nor is there one word of arbitrary power in it, much
less of that arbitrary power which Mr. Hastings supposes himself justified by, - namely, a delegated.
? ? ? ? 468 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
subordinate, arbitrary power. So far was that great
prince from permitting this gross, violent, intermediate arbitrary power, that I will venture to say the
chief thing by which he has recommended himself to
posterity was a most direct declaration of all the
wrath and indignation of the supreme government
against it. But here is the book. It contains the
institutes of the founder of the Mogul empire, left as
a sacred legacy to his posterity, as a rule for their
conduct, and as a means of preserving their power.
"BE it known'to my fortunate sons, the conquerors
of kingdoms, to my mighty descendants, the lords of
the earth, that, since I have hope in Almighty God
that many of my children, descendants, and posterity
shall sit upon the throne of power and regal authority, upon this account, having established laws and regulations for the well governing of my dominions,
I have collected together those regulations and laws
as a model for others, to the end that, every one of
my children, descendants, and posterity acting agree-:ably thereto, my power and empire, which I acquired ithrough hardships and difficulties and perils and
bloodshed, by the Divine favor, and by the influence
of the holy religion of Mahomet, (God's peace be up
on him! ) and with the assistance of the powerful
descendants and illustrious followers of that prophet,
may be by them preserved. And let them make
these regulations the rule of their conduct in the affairs of their empire, that the fortune and the power which shall descend from me to them may be safe
from discord and dissolution.
"Now, therefore, be it known to my sons, the fortunate and the illustrious, to my descendants, the
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 469
mighty subduers of kingdoms, that, in like manner
as I by twelve maxims, which I established as the
rule of my conduct, attained to regal dignity, and
with the assistance of these maxims conquered- and
governed kingdoms, and decorated and adorned the
throne of my empire, let them also act according to
these regulations, and preserve the splendor of mine
and their dominions.
"And among the rules which I established for the
support of my glory and empire, the first was this,
- that I. promoted the worship of Almighty God,
and propagated the religion of the sacred Mahomet
throughout the world, and at all times and in all
places supported'the true faith.
"-Secondly. With the people of the twelve classes
and tribes I conquered and governed kingdoms, and
with them I strengthened the pillars of my fortune,
and from them I formed my assembly.
"Thirdly. By consultation and deliberation and
provident measures, by caution and by vigilance, I
vanquished armies, and I reduced kingdoms to my
authority. And I carried on the business of my empire by complying with times and occasions, and by generosity, and by patience, and by policy; and I
acted with courteousness towards my friends and
towards my enemies.
" Fourthly. By order and by discipline 1 regulated
the concerns of my government; and by discipline
and by order I so firmly established my authority,
that the emirs and the viziers and the soldiers and
the subjects could not aspire beyond their respective
degrees; and every one of them was the keeper of
his own station.
"' Eifthly. I gave encouragement to my emirs and
? ? ? ? 470 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
to my soldiers, and with money and with jewels 1
made them glad of heart; and I permitted them to
come into the banquet; and in the field of blood
they hazarded their lives. And I withheld not from
them my gold nor my silver. And I educated and
trained them to arms; and to alleviate their sufferings, I myself shared in their labors and in their
hardships, until with the arm of fortitude and resolution, and with the unanimity of my chiefs and my
generals and my warriors, by the edge of the sword,
I obtained possession of the thrones of seven-andtwenty kings, and became the king and the ruler
of the kingdoms of Eraun, and of Tooraun, and of
Room, and of Mughrib, and of Shaum, and of Missur, and of Erauk-a-Arrub, and of Ajjum, and of Mauzinduraun, and of Kylaunaut, and of Shurvaunaut, and of Azzurbauejaun, and of Fauris, and of Khorausaun, and of the Dusht of Jitteh, and the Dusht of
Kipchauk, and of Khauruzm, and Khuttun, and of
Kauboolistaun, and of Hindostaun, and of Bauktur
Zemeen.
"And when I clothed myself in the robe of empire, I shut my eyes to safety, and to the repose which
is found on the bed of ease. And from the twelfth
year of my age I travelled over countries, and combated difficulties, and formed enterprises, and vanquished armies, and experienced mutinies amongst my officers and my soldiers, and was familiarized to
the language of disobedience; and I opposed them
with policy and with fortitude, and I hazarded my
person in the hour of danger; until in the end I vanquished kingdoms and empires, and established the
glory of my name.
"Sixthly. By justice and equity I gained the affec
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. -SECOND DAY. 471
tions of the people of God; and I extended my clemency to the guilty as well as to the innocent; and I passed that sentence which truth required; and by
benevolence I gained a place in the hearts of men;
and by rewards and punishments I kept both my
troops and my subjects divided between hope and
fear. And I compassionated the lower ranks of my
people, and those who were distressed. And I gave
gifts to the soldiers.
"And I delivered the oppressed from the hand of
the oppressor; and after proof of the oppression,
whether on the property or the person, the decision
which I passed between them was agreeable to the
sacred law. And I did not cause any one person to
suffer for the guilt of another.
" Those who had done me injuries, who had attacked
my person in battle, and had counteracted my schemes
and enterprises, when they threw themselves on my
mercy, I received them with kindness, I conferred
on them additional honors, and I drew the pen of oblivion over their evil actions; and I treated them in such sort, that, if suspicion remained in their hearts,
it was plucked out entirely.
" Seventhly. I selected out, and treated with esteem
and veneration, the posterity of the Prophet, and the
theologians, and the teachers of the true faith, and
the philosophers, and the historians. And I loved men
of courage and valor; for God Almighty loveth the
brave. And I associated with good and learned men;
and I gained their affections, and I entreated their support, and I sought success from their holy prayers. And I loved the dervishes and the poor; and I oppressed them not, neither did I exclude them from
my favor. And I permitted not the evil and the ma
? ? ? ? 472 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
levolent to enter into my council; and I acted not by
their advice; and I listened not to their insinuations
to the prejudice of others.
" Eighthly. I acted with resolution; and on whatever undertaking I resolved, I made that undertaking the only object of my attention; and I withdrew not
my hand from that enterprise, until I had brought it
to a conclusion. And I acted according to that which
I said. And I dealt not with severity towards any
one, and I was not oppressive in any of my actions;
that God Almighty might not deal severely towards
me, nor render my own actions oppressive unto me.
" And I inquired of learned men into the laws and
regulations of ancient princes, from the days of Adam
to those of the Prophet, and from the days of the
Prophet down to this time. And I weighed their institutions and their actions and their opinions, one
by one. And from their approved manners and their
good qualities I selected models. And I inquired into the causes of the subversion of their power, and I shunned those actions which tend. to the destruction
and overthrow of regal authority. And from cruelty
and from oppression, which are the destroyers of posterity and the bringers of famine and of plagues, I found it was good to abstain.
" Ninthly. The situation of my people was known
unto me. And those who were great among them I
considered as my brethren; and I regarded the poor
as my children. And I made myself acquainted with
the tempers and the dispositions of the people of
every'country and of every city. And I contracted
intimacies with the citizens and the chiefs and the
nobles; and I appointed over them governors adapted to their manners and their dispositions and their
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. -SECOND DAY. 473
wishes. And I knew the circumstances of the inhabitants of every province. And in every kingdom I
appointed writers of intelligence, men of truth and
integrity, that they might send me information of the
conduct and the behavior and the actions and the
manners of the troops and of the inhabitants, and of
every occurrence that might come to pass amongst
them. And if I discovered aught contrary to their
information, I inflicted punishment on the intelligencer; and every circumstance of cruelty and oppression in the governors and in the troops and in the inhabitants, which reached my ears, I chastised agreeably to justice and equity. "' Tenthly. Whatever tribe, and whatever horde,
whether Toork, or Taucheek, or Arrub, or Ajjum,
came in unto me, I received their chiefs with distinction and respect, and their followers I honored
according to their degrees and their stations; and to
the good among them I did good, and the evil I delivered over to their evil actions.
"And whoever attached himself unto me, I forgot
not the merit of his attachment, and I acted towards
him with kindness and generosity; and whoever had
rendered me services, I repaid the value of those services unto. him. And whoever had been my enemy,
and was ashamed thereof, and, flying to me for protection, humbled himself before me, I forgot his enmity, and I purchased him with liberality and kindness.
"In such manner Share Behraum, the chief of a
tribe, was along with me. And he left me in the
hour of action, and he united with the enemy, and
he drew forth his sword against me. And at length
my salt, which he had eaten, seized upon him; and
? ? ? ? 474 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
he again fled to me for refuge, and humbled himself before me. As he was a man of illustrious descent, and of bravery, and of experience, I covered my eyes from his evil actions; and I magnified him,
and I exalted him to a superior rank, and I pardoned his disloyalty in consideration of his. valor.
"Eleventhly. My children, and my relations, and
my associates, and my neighbors, and such as had
been connected with me, all these I distinguished
in the days of my fortune and prosperity, and I paid
unto them their due. And witli respect to my family, I rent not asunder the bands of consanguinity
and mercy; and I issued not commands to slay them,
or to bind them with chains.
" And I dealt with every man, whatever the judgment I had formed of him, according to my own
opinion of his worth. As I had seen much of prosperity and adversity, and had acquired knowledge
and experience, I conducted myself with caution and
with policy towards my friends and towards my enemies.
" Twelfthly. Soldiers, whether associates or adversaries, I held in esteem,-those who sell their permanent happiness to perishable honor, and throw themselves into the field of slaughter and battle, and
hazard their lives in the hour of danger.
"And the man who drew his sword on the "side
of my enemy, and committed hostilities against
me, and preserved his fidelity to his master, him I
greatly honored; and when such a man came unto me, knowing his worth, I classed him with my
faithful associates; and I respected and valued his
fidelity and his attachment.
" And the soldier who forgot his duty and his
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 475
honor, and in the hour of action turned his face
from his master, and came ill unto me, I considered
as the most detestable of men.
"And in the war between Touktummish Khaun,
his emirs forgot their duty to Touktummish, who
was their master and my foe, and sent proposals and
wrote letters unto me. And I uttered execrations
upon them, because, unmindful of that which they
owed to their lord, they had thrown aside their honor and their duty, and came in unto me. I said
unlto myself,' What fidelity have they observed to
their liege lord? what fidelity will they show unto
me? '
"And, behold, it was known unto me by experience, that every empire which is not established
in morality and religion, nor strengthened by regulations and laws, from that empire all order, grandeur, and power shall pass away. And that empire may be likened unto a naked man, who, when exposed to view, commandeth the eye of modesty to
be covered; and it is like unto a house which hath
neither roof nor gates nor defences, into which whoever willeth may enter unmolested.
"THEREFORE I established the foundation of my
empire on the morality and the religion of Islaum;
and by regulations and laws I gave it stability. And
by laws and by regulations I executed every business and every transaction that came before me in
the course of my government. "
I need not read any further, or I might show
your Lordships the noble principles, the grand, bold,
and manly maxims, the resolution to abstain from
oppression himself, and to crush it in the govern
? ? ? ? 476 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
ors under him, to be found in this book, which Mr.
Hastings has thought proper to resort to as containing what he calls arbitrary principles.
But it is not in this instance only that I must
do justice to the East. I assert that their morality
is equal to ours, in whatever regards the duties of
governors, fathers, and superiors; and I challenge
the world to show in any modern European book
more true morality and wisdom than is to be found
in the writings of Asiatic men in high trust, and
who have been counsellors to princes. If this be
the true morality of Asia, as I affirm and can prove
that it is, the plea founded on Mr. Hastings's geographical morality is annihilated.
I little regard the theories of travellers, where
they do not relate the facts on which they are
founded. I have two' instances of facts attested by
Tavernier, a traveller of power and consequence,
which are very material to be mentioned here, because they show that in some of the instances recorded, in which the princes of the country have used any of those cruel and barbarous executions
which make us execrate them, it has been upon
governors who have abused their trust,- and that
this very Oriental authority to which Mr. Hastings
appeals would have condemned. him to a dreadful
punishment. I thank God, and I say it from' my
heart, that even for his enormous offences there
neither is nor can be anything like such punishments. God forbid that we should not as much
detest out-of-the-way, mad, furious, and unequal punishments as we detest enormous and abominable
crimes! because a severe and cruel penalty for a
crime of a light nature is as bad and iniquitous as
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. -SECOND DAY. 477
the crime which it pretends to punish. As the instances I allude to are curious, and as they go to
the principles of Mir. Hastings's defence, I shall
beg to quote them.
The first is upon a governor who did what Mr.
Hastings says he has a power delegated to him to do:
he levied a tax without the consent of his master.
"Some years after my departure from Com," says
Tavernier, "the governor had, of his own accord,
and without any communication with the king, laid
a small impost upon every pannier of fruit brought
into the city, for the purpose of making some necessary reparations in the walls and bridges of the town. It was towards the end of the year 1632 that the
event I am going to relate happened. The king,
being informed of the impost which the governor
had laid upon the fruit, ordered him to be brought
in chains to court. Theking ordered him to be exposed to the people at one of the gates of the palace; then he commanded the son to pluck off the mustachios of his father, to cut off his nose and ears, to
put out his eyes, and then cut off his head. The
king then told the son to go and take possession of
the government of his father, saying, See that you
govern better than this deceased dog, or thy doom shall
be a death more exquisitely tormenting. "
My Lords, you are struck with horror, I am struck
with horror, at this punishment. I do not relate it
to approve of such a barbarous act, but to prove to
your Lordships, that, whatever power the princes of
that country have, they are jealous of it to such a
degree, that, if any of their governors should levy
-a tax, even the most insignificant, and for the best
purposes, he meets with a cruel punishment. I do
? ? ? ? 478 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
not justify the punishlment; but the severity of it
shows how little of their power the princes of that
country mean to delegate to their servants, the whole
of xvhich the gentleman at your bar says was delegated to him.
There is another case, a very strong one, and that
is the case of presents, which I understand is a customl admitted throughout Asia in all their governments. It was of a person who was raised to a high office; no business was suffered to come before him
without a previous present. " One morning, the
king being at this time on a hunting party, the nazar
came to the tent of the king, but was denied entrance
b)y the meter, or master of the wardrobe. About the
samne time the king came forth, and, seeing the nazar,
commanded his officers to take off the bonnet from
the head of that dog that took gifts from his people, and that he should sit three days bareheaded in
the heat of the sun, and as many nights in the air.
Afterwards he caused him to be chained about the
neck and arms, and condemned him to perpetual
imprisonment, with a mamoudy a day for his maintenance; but he died for grief within eight days
after he was put in prison. "
Do I mean, by reading this to your Lordships, to
express or intimate anll approbation either of the cruelty of the punishment or of the coarse barbarism of
the language? Neither one nor the other. I produce it to your Lordships to prove to you, from this
dreadful example, the horror which that government
felt, when any person subject to it assumed to himself a privilege to receive presents. The cruelty and
severity exercised by these princes is not levelled at
the poor unfortunate people who complain at their
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 479
gates, but, to use their own barbarous expression.
to dogs that impose taxes and take presents. God forbid I should use that language! The people, when
they complain, are not called dogs and sent away,
but the governors, who do these things against the
people: they are called dogs, and treated in that
cruel manner. I quote them to show that no governors in the East, upon any principle of their constitution or any good practice of their government, can lay arbitrary imposts or receive presents. When
they escape, it is probably by bribery, by corruption,
by creating factions for themselves in the seraglio, in
the country, in the' army, in the divan. But how
they escape such punishments is not my business to
inquire; it is enough for me that the constitution
disavows them, that the princes of the country disavow them, -- that they revile them with the most
horrible expressions, and inflict dreadful punishments on them, when they are called to answer for
these offences.
Thus much concerning the allhomedan laws of
Asia. That the people of Asia have no laws, rights,
or liberty, is a-doctrine that wickedly is to be disseminated through this country. But I again assert,
every Mahomedan government is, by its principles,
a government of law.
I shall now state, from what is known of the government of India, that it does not and cannot delegate, as Mr. Hastings has frequently declared, the whole of its powers and authority to him. If they
are absolute, as they must be in the supreme power,
they ought to be arbitrary in none; they were, however, never absolute in any of their subordinate parts,
and I will prove it by the known provincial constitu.
? ? ? ? 480 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
tions of Hindostan, which are all Mahomedan, the
laws of which are as clear, as explicit, and as learned
as ours.
The first foundation of their law is the Koran.
The next part is the Fetwah, or adjudged cases by
proper authority, well known there. The next, the
written interpretations of the principles of jurisprudence: and their books are as numerous upon the
principles of jurisprudence as in ally country in Europe. . The next part of their law is what they call
the fanon, -that is, a positive rule equivalent to acts
of Parliament, the law of the several powers of the
country, taken from the Greek'word Kavcov, which
was brought into their country, and is well known.
The next is the Rawaj-ul-Mulk, or common law and
custom of the kingdom, equivalent to our common
law. Therefore they have laws from more sources
than we have, exactly in the same order, grounded
upon the same authority, fundamentally fixed to be
administered to the people upon these principles.
The next thing is to show that in India there is
a partition of the powers of the government, which
proves that there is no absolute power delegated.
In every province the first person is the Subahdar
or Nazim, or Viceroy: he has the power of the sword,
and the administration of criminal justice only. Then
there is the Dewan, or High Steward: he has thei revenue and all exchequer causes under him, to be governed according to the law and custom and institutions of the kingdom. The law o&f inheritances, successions, and everything that relates to them, is under the Cadi, in whose court these matters are tried.
But this, too, was subdivided. The Cadi could not
judge, but by the advice of his assessors. Properly
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. -SECOND DAY. 481
in the Mahomedan law there is no appeal, only a removal of. the -cause; but when there is not judgment,
as none can be when the court is not unanimous, it
goes to the general assembly of all the men of the
law. There are, I will venture to say, other divisions
and subdivisions; for there. are the Kanongoes, who
hold their places for life, to be the conservators of the
canons, customs, and good usages of the country: all
these, as::well as the Cadi and. the Mufti, hold their
places and situations, not during the wanton pleasure
of the prince, but on permanent and fixed terms for
life. All. ;these powers of magistracy, revenue, and
law are all different, consequently not delegated in
the whole to any one person.
This is the provincial constitution, and these the,
laws of iBengal; which proves, if there were no other
proof, by the division of the functions and authorities,
that the isupreme\ power of the state in the Mogul
empire did by no means delegate to any of its officers the supreme power in its fulness. Whether or
no we have delegated to Mr. 'Hastings the supreme
power of King and Parliament, that he should act
with the plenitude of authority of the British legislature, you are to judge. : Mr. Hastings has no- refuge here. Let him run from: law to. law; let him fly from the common law
and the sacred institutions of the country in which
he was born;let him fly from acts of Parliament,
from which. his power originated; let him plead his
ignorance' of them, or fly in the face of them, Will
he fly to; the Mahomedan law? That condemns him. .
Will he fly to the high magistracy of Asia to defend~
taking of presents? Padishah and the Sultan wouldi
condemn himn to a cruel death. Will he fly to the:
VOL. IX. 31
? ? ? ? 482 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
Sophis, to the laws of Persia, or to the practice of
those monarchs? I cannot utter the pains, the tortures, that would be inflicted on him, if he were to
govern there as he has done in a British province.
Let him fly where he will, from law to law; law, I
thank God, meets him everywhere, and enforced, too,
by the practice of the most impious tyrants, which he
quotes as if it would justify his conduct. I would as
willingly have him tried by the law of the Koran, or
the Institutes of Tamerlane, as on the common law
or statute law of this kingdom.
The next question is, whether the Gentoo laws
justify arbitrary power: and if he finds any sanctuary there, let him take it, with the cow in the pagoda.
The Gent6os have a law which positively proscribes
in magistrates any idea of will, - a law with which,
or. rather with extracts of it, that gentleman himself
has furnished us. These people in many points are
governed by their own ancient written law, called the
Shaster. Its interpreters and judges are the Pundits.
This law is comprehensive, extending to all the coneerns of life, affording principles and maxims and legal theories applicable to all cases, drawn from the sources of natural equity, modified by their institutions, full of refinement and subtilty of distinction
equal to that of any other law, and has the grand test
of all law, that, wherever it has prevailed, the country
has been populous, flourishing, and happy.
Upon the whole, then, follow him where you will,
let him have Eastern or Western law, you find everywhere arbitrary power and peculation of governors
proscribed and horribly punished,-'more so than I
should ever wish to punish any, the most guilty,
human creature. And if this be the case, as I hope
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN OPENING. - SECOND DAY. 483
and trust it has been proved to your Lordships, that.
there is law in these countries, that there is no delegation of power which exempts a governor from the law,
then I say at any rate a British governor is to answer
for his conduct, and cannot be justified by wicked
examples and profligate practices.
