Bristow was
there; the Governor took Mr.
there; the Governor took Mr.
Edmund Burke
Of the former I know no proofs; I
am sure that it is not an evidence of it, that he has
been enabled to make himself the principal in such a
competition; and for the test of his abilities, I appeal
to the letter which he has dared to write to this board,
and which, I am ashamed to say, we have suffered. I
desire that a copy of it may be inserted in this day's
proceedings, that it may stand before the eyes of every
? ? ? ? 398 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
member of the board, when he shall give his vote
upon a question for giving their confidence to a man,
their servant, who has publicly insulted them, his
masters, and the members of the government, to
whom he owes his obedience; who, assuming an association with the Court of Directors, and erecting himself into a tribunal, has arraigned them for disobedience of orders, passed judgment upon them, and condemned or acquitted them as their magistrate and
superior. Let the board consider whether a man possessed of so independent a spirit, who has already shown such a contempt of their authority, who has
shown himself so wretched an advocate for his own
cause and negotiator for his own interest, is fit to be
trusted with the guardianship of their honor, the execution of their measures, and as their confidential manager and negotiator with the princes of India. "
- My Lords, you here see an instance of what I have
before stated to your Lordships, and what I shall
take the liberty. of recommending to your constant
consideration. You see that a tyrant and a rebel is
one and the same thing. You see this man, at the
very time that he is a direct rebel to the Company,
arbitrarily and tyrannically displacing Mr. Bristow,
although he had previously joined in the approbation
of his conduct, and in voting him a pecuniary reward. He is ordered by the Court. of Directors to
restore that person, who desires, in a suppliant, decent, proper tone, that the Company's orders should produce their effect, and that the Council would have
the goodness to restore him to his situation.
My Lords, you have seen the audacious, insolence,
the tyrannical pride, with which he dares to treat this
order. You have seen the recorded minute which
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. -FOURTH DAY. 399
he has dared to send to the Court of Directors; and
in this you see, that, when he cannot directly asperse
a man's conduct, and has nothing to say against it, he
maliciously, I should perhaps rather say enviously,
insinuates that he had unjustly made his fortune.
" You are," says he, "to judge from the independence of his manner and style, whether he could or
no have got that without some unjust means. " God
forbid I should ever be able to invent anything that
can equal the impudence of what this man dares to
write to his superiors, or the insolent style in which
he dares to treat persons who are not his servants!
Who made the servants of the Company the master of the servants of the Company? The Court of. Directors are their fellow-servants; they are all the servants of this kingdom. Still the claim of a fellowservant to hold an office which the Court of Directors
had legally appointed him to is considered by this
audacious tyrant as an insult to him. By this you
may judge how he treats not only the servants of the
Company, but the natives of the country, and by
what means he has brought them into that abject
state of servitude in which they are ready to do anything he wishes and to sign anything he dictates. I
must again beg your Lordships to remark what this'
man has had the folly and impudence to place upon
the records of the Council of which he was President; and I will venture to assert that so extraordinary a performance never before appeared on the records of any court, Eastern or European. Because
Mr. Bristow claims an office which is his right and
his freehold as long as the Company chooses, Mr.
Hastings accuses him of being an accomplice with the
Court of Directors in a conspiracy against him; and
? ? ? ? 400 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
because, after long delays, he had presented an humble petition to have -the Court of Directors' orders in his favor carried into execution, he says " he has
erected himself into a tribunal of justice; that he
has arraigned the Council for disobedience of orders,
passed judgment upon them, and condemned or acquitted them as their magistrate and superior. "
Let us suppose his Majesty to have been pleased to
appoint any one to an office in the gift of the crown,
what should we think of the person whose business
it was to execute the King's commands, if he should
say to the person appointed, when he claimed his
office, "You shall not have it, you assume to be
my superior, and you disgrace and dishonor me"?
Good God! my Lords, where was this language
learned? in what country, and in what barbarous nation of Hottentots was this jargon picked up? For there is no Eastern court that I ever heard of (and I
believe I have been as conversant with the manners
and customs of the East as most persons whose business has not directly led them into that country) where such condwuct would have been tolerated. A
bashaw, if he should be ordered by the Grand Seignior
to invest another with his office, puts the letter upon his head, and obedience immediately follows.
But the obedience of a barbarous magistrate should
not be compared to the obedience which a British
subject owes to the laws of his country. Mr. Hastings receives an order which he should have instantly obeyed. He is reminded of this by the person who
suffers from his disobedience; and this proves that
person to be possessed of too independent a spirit.
Ay, my Lords, here is the grievance; - no man can
dare show in India an independent spirit. It is this,
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. . - FOURTH DAY. 401
and -not. his having shown such a contempt of their
authority, not his having shown himself so wretched
an advocate for his own cause and so bad a negotiator
for his own interest, that makes him unfit to be trusted with the guardianship of their honor, the execution of their measures, and'to be their confidential manager and negotiator with the princes of India.
But, my Lords, what is this want of skill which Mr.
Bristow has shown in negotiating his own affairs?
Mr. Hastings will inform us. "I He should have pocketed the letter of the Court of Directors; he should
never have made the least mention of it. He should
have come to my banian, Cantoo Baboo; he should
have offered him a bribe upon the occasion. That
would have been the way to succeed with me, who
am a public-spirited taker of bribes and nuzzers.
But this base fool, this man, who is but a vile negotiator for his own interest, has dared to accept the patronage of the Court of Directors. He should have secured the protection of Cantoo Baboo, their more
efficient rival. This would have been the skilful
mode of doing the business. " But this man, it seems,
had not only shown himself an unskilful negotiator,
he had likewise afforded evidence of his want of ill
tegrity. And what is this evidence? His having
" enabled himself to become the principal in such a
competition. " That is to say, he had, by: his meritorious conduct in the service of his masters, the Diree
tors, obtained their approbation and favor. Mr. Hastings then contemptuously adds, "And for the test of
his abilities, I appeal to the letter which he has dared
to write to the board, and which I am ashamed to say
we have suffered. " Whatever that letter may be, I
will venture to say there is not a word or syllable in
VOL. XI. 26
? ? ? ? 402 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
it that tastes of such insolence and arbitrariness with
regard to the servants of the Company, his fellow-servants, of such audacious rebellion with regard to the laws of his country, as are contained in this minute
of Mr. Hastings.
But, my Lords, why did he choose to have Mr. Middleton appointed Resident? Your Lordships have
not seen Mr. Bristow: you have only heard of him as
a humble suppliant to have the orders of the Company obeyed. But you have seen Mr. Middleton.
You know that Mr. Middleton is a good man to keep
a secret: I describe him no further. You know what
qualifications Mr. Hastings requires in a favorite.
You also know why he was turned out of his employment, with the approbation of the Court of Directors: that it was principally because, when Resident in
Oude, he positively, audaciously, and rebelliously refused to lay before the Council the correspondence with the country powers. He says he; gave it up to
Mr. Hastings. Whether he has or has not destroyed
it we know not; all we know of it is, that it is not
found to this hour. We cannot even find Mr. Middleton's: trunk, though Mr. Jonathan Scott did at
last produce his,. The whole of the Persian correspondence,: during. Mr. Middleton's Residence, was refused, as I have said, to the board at Calcutta and
to the Court of Directors, - was refused to the legal
authorities; and Mr. Middleton, for that very refusal,
was again appointed by Mr. Hastings to supersede
Mr. Bristow, removed without a pretence of offence;
he received, I say, this appointment from Mr. Hastings, as a reward for that servile compliance by which he dissolved every tie between himself and his legal
masters.
? ? ? ? -SPEECH IN REPLY. - FOURTH DAY. 403
The matter being now brought to a simple issue,
whether the Governor-General is or. is not bound to
obey his superiors, I shall here leave it with your
Lordships; and I have only to: beg your Lordships
will remark the course of events as they follow
each other, --keeping in mind that the prisoner at
your bar declared Mr. Bristow to be a man of suspected integrity, on account of his independence, and;
deficient in ability, because he did not know how
best to promote his own interest.
I must here state to your Lordships, that it was
the duty of the Resident to transact the money con-,
cerns of the Company, as well as its political negotiations. You will now see how Mr. Hastings divided that duty;, after he became apprehensive that the' Court of Directors might be inclined to assert their
own authority, and to assert it in a proper manner,
which they so rarely did. When, therefore, his passion had cooled, when his resentment of those violent
indignities which had been offered to him, namely,
the indignity of being put in mind that he had any
superior: under heaven, (for I know of noi other,) he'
adopts the expedient of dividing the Residency into
two offices; he makes a fair compromise between
himself and the Directors; he appoints Mr. Middle.
ton to the management of the money concerns, and:
Mr. Bristow to that of the political affairs. Your
Lordships see that Mr. Bristow, upon whom he had
fixed the disqualification for political affairs, was the
very person appointed to that department'; and to
Mr. Middleton, the man of his confidence, he gives
the management of the money transactions. He
discovers plainly where his heart was: for where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also. This;
? ? ? ? 404 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
private agent, this stifler of correspondence, a man
whose costive retention discovers no secret committed to him, and whose slippery memory is subject to a diarrhcea which permits everything he did know
to escape, -- this very man he places in a situation
where his talents could only be useful for concealment, and where concealment could only be used to cover fraud; while Mr. Bristow, who was by his official engagement responsible to the Company for fair and clear accounts, was appointed superintendent of
political affairs, an office for which Mr. Hastings declared he was totally unfit.
My Lords, you will judge of the designs which the
prisoner had. in contemplation, when he dared to
commit this act of rebellion against the Company;
you will see that it could not have been any other
than getting the money transactions of Oude into his
own hands. The presumption of a corrupt motive is
here as strong as, I believe, it possibly can be.
- The next point to which I have to direct your
Lordships' attention is that part of the prisoner's
conduct, in this matter, by which he exposed the
nakedness of the Company's authority to the native
powers. You would imagine, that, after the first
dismissal of Mr. Bristow, Mr. Hastings would have
done with him forever; that nothing could have induced him again to bring forward a man who had dared to insult him, a man who had shown an independent spirit, a man who had dishonored the Council and insulted his masters, a man of doubtful
integrity and convicted unfitness for office. But, my
Lords, in the face of all this, he afterwards sends this
very man, with undivided authority, into the country
as sole Resident. And now your Lordships shall hear
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. - FOURTH DAY. 405
in what manner he accounts for this appointment to
Gobind Ram, the vakeel, or ambassador, of the Nabob
Asoph ul Dowlah at Calcutta. It is in page 795 of
the printed Minutes.
-Extract of an Arzee sent by Rajah Gobind. Ram to
the Vizier, by the Governor-General's directions, and
written the 27th of August, 1782.
" This day the Governor-General sent for me in private. After recapitulating the various informations
he had received respecting the anarchy and confusion
said to reign throughout your Highness's country,
and complains that neither your Highness, or Hyder
Beg Khan,' or Mr. Middleton, or Mr. Johnson, ever
wrote to him on the state of your affairs, or, if he
ever received a letter from your presence, it always
contained assertions contrary to the above informations, the Governor-General proceeded as follows.
" That it was his intention to have appointed Mr.
David Anderson to attend upon your Highness, but
that he was still with Sindia, and there was no prospect
of his speedy return from his camp; therefore it was
now his wish to appoint Mr. John Bristow, who was
well experienced in business, to Lucknow. That,
when Mr. Bristow formerly held the office of Resident
there, he was not appointed by him; and that, notwithstanding he had not shown any instances of disobedience, yet he had deemed it necessary to recall him, because he had been patronized and appointed
by gentlemen who were in opposition to him, and
had counteracted and thwarted all his measures;
that this had been his reason for recalling Mr. Bris'
tow. That, since Mr. Francis's return to Europe,
and the arrival of information there of the deaths of
? ? ? ? 400 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN. HASTINGS.
the other gentlemen, the King and the Company had
declared their approbation of his, the Governor-General's, conduct, and had conferred upon him the most ample powers; that they had sent out Mr. Macpherson, who was his old and particular friend; and that Mr. Stables, that was onl his way here as a member
of the Supreme Council, was also his particular
friend; that Mr. Wheler had received letters from
Europe, informing him that the members of the
Council were enjoined all of them to cooperate and
act in conjunction with him, in every measure -which
should be agreeable to him; and that there was no
one in Council now who was not united with him,
and consequently that his authority was perfect and
complete. That Mr. Bristow, as it was known to me,
had returned to Europe; but that during his stay
there he had never said anything disrespectful of
him or endeavored to injure him; on the contrary,
he had received accounts from Europe that Mr. Bristow had spoken much in his praise, so that Mr. Bristow's friends had become his friends; that Mr.
Bristow had lately been introduced to him by Mr.
Macpherson, had explained his past conduct perfectly
to his satisfaction, and had requested from him the
appointment to Lucknow, and had declared, in the
event of his obtaining the appointment, that he
should show every mark of attention and obedience
to the pleasure of your Highness, and his, the Governor's, saying, that your Highness was well pleased with him, and that he knew what you had written
formerly was at the instigation of Mr. Middleton.
That, in consequence of the foregoing, he, the Governor, had determined to have appointed Mr. Bristow to Lucknow, but had postponed his dismission to his
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. - FOURTH DAY. 407
office for the following reasons, videlicet, people at
Lucknow might think that Mr. Bristow had obtained
his appointment in consequence of orders from Europe, and contrary to the Governor's inclination;
but as the contrary was the case, and as he now considered Mr. Bristow as the object of his own particular patronage, therefore he directed me to forward Mr. Bristow's arzee to the presence; and that it was
the Governor's wish that your Highness, on the receipt thereof, would write a letter to him, and, as
from yourself, request of him that Mr. Bristow may
be appointed to Lucknow, and that you would write
an answer to this arzee, expressive of your personal
satisfaction on the subject. The Governor concluded with injunctions, that, until the arrival of your
Highness's letter requesting the appointment of Mr.
Bristow, and your answer to this arzee, that I should
keep the particulars of this conversation a profound
secret; for that the communication of it to any person whatever would not only cause his displeasure,
but would throw affairs at Lucknow into great con
fusion.
" The preceding is the substance of the Governor's
directions to me. He afterwards went to Mr. Macpherson's, and I attended him. Mr.
Bristow was
there; the Governor took Mr. Bristow's arzee from
his hand and delivered it into mine, and thence proceeded to Council. Mr. Bristow's arzee, and the
following particulars, I transmit and communicate
by the Governor's directions; and I request that
I may be favored with the answer to the arzee and
the letter to the Governor as soon as possible, as
his injunctions to me were very particular on the
subject. "
? ? ? ? 408 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
My Lords, I have to observe upon this very extraordinary transaction, that you will see many things in this letter that are curious, and worthy of being
taken out of that abyss of secrets, Mr. Scott's trunk,
in which this arzee was found. It contains, as far
as the prisoner thinks proper to reveal it, the true
secret of the transaction.
He confesses, first, the state of the Vizier's country, as communicated to him in various accounts of the anarchy and confusion. said to reign throughout
his territories. This was in-the year 1782, during
the time that the Oude correspondence was not communicated to the Council.
Hle next- stated, that neither the Vizier, nor his
minister, nor Mr. Middleton, nor Mr. Johnson, ever
wrote to him on the state of affairs. Here, then, are
three or four persons, all nominated by himself, every
one of them supposed to be in his strictest confidence, - the Nabob and his vassal, Hyder Beg Khan, being, as we shall show afterwards, entirely his dependants, -and yet Mr. Hastings declares, that not one of them had done their duty, or had written him
one word concerning the state of the country, and
the anarchy and confusion that prevailed in it, and
that, when the Nabob did write, his assertions were
contrary to the real state of things. Now this irregular correspondence, which he carried on at Lucknow, and which gave him, as he pretends, this
contradictory information, was, as your Lordships will
see, nothing more or less than a complete fraud.
Your Lordships will next observe, that he tells the
vakeel his reason for turning him out was, that he
had been patronized by other gentlemen. This was
true: but they had a right to patronize him; and
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. -FOURTH DAY. 409
they did not patronize him from private motives, but
in direct obedience to the order of the Court of Di*rectors. He then adds the assurance which he had received from Mr. Bristow, that he would be perfectly obedient to him, Mr. Hastings, in future; and
he goes on to tell the vakeel that he knew the Vizier
was once well pleased with'him, (Mr. Bristow,) and
that his formal complaints against him were written
at the iristigation of Mr. Middleton. . Here is another discovery, my Lords. When he
recalled Mr. Bristow, he did it under the pretence
of its being desired by the Nabob of Oude; and that,
consequently, he would not keep at the Nabob's
court a man that was disagreeable to him. Yet,
when the thing comes to be opened, it appears that
Mr. Middleton had made the Nabob, unwillingly,
write a false letter. This subornation of falsehood
appears also to have been known to Mr. Hastings.
Did he, either as the natural guardian and protector
of the reputation of his fellow-servants, or as the
official administrator of tile laws of his country, or
as a faithful servant of the Company, ever call Mr.
Middleton to an account for it? No, never. To
everybody, therefore, acquainted with the characters
and circumstances of the parties concerned, the conclusion will appear evident that he was himself the author of it. But your Lordships will find there is
no end of his insolence and duplicity.
He next tells the vakeel, that the reason why he
postponed the mission of Mr. Bristow to Lucknow
was lest the people of Lucknow should think he had
obtained his appointment in consequence of orders
from Europe, and contrary to the Governor's inclination. You see, my Lords, he would have the
? ? ? ? 410 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
/people of the country believe that they are to receive the person appointed Resident not as appoint. ed by the Company, but in consequence of his being
under Mr. Hastings's particular patronage; and to
remove from them any suspicion that the Resident
would obey the orders of the Court of Directors, or
any orders but his own, he proceeds in the manner
I have read to your Lordships.
You here see the whole machinery of the business.
He removes Mr. Bristow, contrary to the orders of
the Court of Directors. Why? Because, says he
to the Court of Directors, the Nabob complained of
him, and desired it. He here says, that he knew the
Nabob did not desire it, but that the letter of complaint really and substantially was Mr. Middleton's. Lastly, as he recalls Mr. Bristow, so he wishes him to
be called back in the same fictitious and fraudulent
manner. This system of fraud proves that there is
not one letter from. that country, not one act of this
Vizier, not one act of his ministers, not one act of
his ambassadors, but what is false and fraudulent.
And now think, my Lords, first, of the slavery of the
Company's servants, subjected in this manner to the
arbitrary will and corrupt frauds of Mr. Hastings!
Next think of the situation of the princes of the
country, obliged to complain without matter of complaint, to approve without [ground? ] of satisfaction, and to have all their correspondence fabricated by
Mr. Hastings at Calcutta!
But, my Lords, it was not indignities of this kind
alone that the native princes suffered from this system of fraud and duplicity. Their more essential interests, and those of the people, were involved in it;
it pervaded and poisoned the whole mass of their
internal government.
? ? ? ? :SPEECH IN REPLY. - FOURTH DAY. 411
Who. was the instrument employed in all this
double-dealing? Gobind Ram, the Vizier's diplomatic minister at Calcutta. Suspicions perpetually arise
in his mind whether he is not cheated and imposed
upon. He could never tell when he had Mr. Hastings fixed upon any point. He now finds him recommending Mr. Middleton, and then declaring that Mr. .
Middleton neglects the duty of his office, and gives
him, Gobind Ram, information that is fraudulent
and directly contrary to the truth. He is let into
various contradictory secrets, and becomes acquainted. with innumerable frauds, falsehoods, and prevarications. He knew that the whole pretended government of Oude was from beginning to end a deception; -that it was an imposture for the purpose of corruption and peculation. Such was the situation of the
Nabobs vakeel. The Nabob himself was really at a
loss to know who had and who had not the Governor's confidence; whether he was. acting in obedience
to the orders of the Court of Directors, or whether
their orders were not always to be disobeyed. He
thus writes to Gobind Ram, who was exactly in
the same uncertainty.
"As to the commands of Mr. Hastings which you
write on the subject of the distraction of the country
and the want of information from me, and his wishes,
that, as Mr. John Bristow has shown sincere wishes
and attachment to Mr. Hastings, I should write'for
him to send Mr. John Bristow, it would have been
proper and necessary for you privately to have understood what were Mr. Hastings's real intentions,
whether the choice of sending Mr. John Bristow was
his own desire, or whether it was in compliance with
Mr. Macpherson's, that I might then have written
? ? ? ? 412 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
conformably thereto. Writings are now sent to you
for both cases; having privately understood the wishes of Mr. Hastings, deliver whichever of the writings
he should order you; for I study Mr. Hastings's satisfaction; whoever is his friend is mine, and whoever is his enemy is mine. But in both these cases,
my wishes are the same; that having consented to
the paper of questions which Major Davy carried with
him, and having given me the authority of the country, whomever he may afterwards appoint, I am satisfied. I am now brought to great distress by these gentlemen, who ruin me; in case of consent, I am
contented with Majors Davy and Palmer. Hereafter,
whatever may be Mr. Hastings's desire, it is best. "
Here is a poor, miserable instrument, confessing
himself to be such, ruined by Mr. Hastings's public
agents, Mr. Middleton and Mr. Johnson; ruined by
his private agents, Major Davy and Major Palmer;
ruined equally by them'all; and at last declaring in
a tone of despair, " If you have a mind really to keep
Major Davy and Major Palmer here, why, I must
consent to it. Do what you please with me, I am
your creature; for God's sake, let me have a little
rest. "
Your Lordships shall next hear what account
Hyder Beg Ihan, the Vizier's prime-minister, gives
of the situation in which he and his master were
placed. . Extract of a Letter from Hyder Beg KIhdn, received
21st April, 1785.
"I hope that such orders and commands as relate
to the friendship between his Highness and the Company's governments and to your will may be sent
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. -- FOURTH DAY. 413
through Major Palmer, in your own private letters,
or in your letters to the Major, who is appointed
from you at the presence of his Highness, that, in
obedience to your orders, he may properly explain
your commands, and, whatever affair may be settled,
he may first secretly inform you of it, and afterwards
his Highness may, conformably thereto, write an answer, and I also may represent it. By this system, your pleasure will always be fully made known to his
Highness; and his Highness and we will execute
whatever may be your orders, without deviating a
hair's-breadth: and let not the representations of
interested persons be approved of, because his Highness makes no opposition to your will; and I, your servant, am ready in obedience and service, and I
make no excuses. "
Now, my Lords, was there ever such a discovery
made of the arcana of any public theatre? You see
here, behind the ostensible scenery, all the crooked
working of the machinery developed and laid open to
the world. You now see by what secret movement
the master of the mechanism has conducted the
great Indian opera, - an opera of fraud, deceptions,
and harlequin tricks. You have it all laid open
before you. The ostensible scene is drawn aside; it
has vanished from your sight. All the strutting signors, and all the soft signoras are gone; and instead of a brilliant spectacle of descending chariots, gods,
goddesses, sun, moon, and stars, you have nothing to
gaze on but sticks, wire, ropes, and machinery. You
find the appearance all false and fraudulent; and you
see the whole trick at once. All this, my Lords, we
owe to Major Scott's trunk, which, by admitting us
? ? ? ? 414 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
behind the scene, has enabled us to discover the real
state of Mr. HIastings's government in India. And
can your Lordships believe that all this mechanism of fraud, prevarication, and falsehood could have
been intended for any purpose but to forward that
robbery, corruption, and peculation by which Mr.
Hastings has destroyed one of the finest countries
upon earth? Is it necessary, after this, for me to
tell you that you are not to believe one word of the
correspondence stated by him to have been received
from India? This discovery goes to the whole matter of the whole government of the country. You
have seen what that government was, and by-andby you shall see the effects of it.
Your Lordships have now seen this trunk of Mr.
Scott's producing the effects of Aladdin's lamp, - of
which your Lordships may read in books much more
worthy of credit than Mr. Hastings's correspondence.
I have given all the credit of this precious discovery
to Mr. Scott's trunk; but, my Lords, I find that I
have to ask pardon for a mistake -in supposing the
letter of Hyder Beg Khan to be a part of Mr. Hastings's correspondence. - It comes from another quarter, not much less singular, and equally authentic and unimpeachable. But -though it is not from the
trunk, it smells of the trunk, it smells of the leather.
I was as proud of my imaginary discovery as Sancho
Panza was that one of his ancestors had discovered a
taste of iron in some wine, and another a taste of
leather in the same wine, and that afterwards there
was found in the cask a little key tied to a thong of
leather, which had given to the wine a taste of'both.
Now, whether this letter tasted of the leather of the
trunk or of the iron of Mr. Macpherson, I -confess I
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. -- FOURTH DAY. 415
was a little out in my suggestion and my taste. The
letter in question was written by Hyder Beg Khan,
after Mr. Hastings's departure, to Mr. Macpherson,
when he succeeded to the government. That gentleman thus got possession of a key to the trunk; and it appears to have been- his intentions to follow the
steps of his predecessor, to act exactly in the same
manner, and in the same manner to make the Nabob
the instrument of his own ruin. This letter was
written by the Nabob's minister to Sir John Macpherson, newly inaugurated into his government, and who might be supposed not to be acquainted with all
the best of Mr. Hastings's secrets, nor to have had all
the trunk correspondence put into his hands. However, here is a trunk extraordinary, and its contents are much in the manner of the other. The Nabob's
minister acquaints him with the whole secret of the
system. It is plain that the Nabob considered it as a
system not to be altered: that there was to be nothing true, nothing aboveboard, nothing open in the government of his affairs. When' you thus see that
there can be little doubt of the true nature of the
government, I am sure that hereafter, when we come
to consider the effects of that government, it will
clear up and bring home to the prisoner at your bar
all we shall have to say'upon this subject.
Mr. Hastings, having thrown off completely the
authority of the Company, as you have seen, - having trampled upon those of their servants who had manifested any symptom of independence, or who
considered the orders of the Directors as a rule of
their'conduct, -- having brought every Englishman
under his yoke, and made them supple and fit instruments for all his designs, -- then gave it to be
? ? ? ? 416 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
understood that such alone were fit persons to be employed in important affairs of state. Consider, my Lords, the effect of this upon the whole service.
Not one man that appears to pay any regard to the
authority of the Directors is to expect that any regard will be paid to himself. So that this man not
only rebels himself, in his own person, against the
authority of the Company, but he makes all their
servants join him in this very rebellion. Think, my
Lords, of this state of things, -and I wish it never
to pass from your minds that I have called him the
captain-general of the whole host of actors in Indian
iniquity, under whom that host was arrayed, disciplined, and paid. This language which I used was
not, as fools have thought proper to call it, offensive
and abusive; it is in a proper criminatory tone, justified by the facts that I have stated to you, and in every step we take it is justified more and more. I
take it as a text upon which I mean to preach; I take
it as a text which I wish to have in your Lordships'
memory from the beginning to the end of this proceeding. He is not only guilty of iniquity himself, but is at the head of a system of iniquity and rebellion, and
will not suffer with impunity any one honest man
to exist in India, if he can help it. Every mark of
obedience to the legal authority of the Company is
by him condemned; and if there is anlly virtue remaining in India, as I think there is, it is not his
fault that it still exists there.
We have shown you the servile obedience of the
natives of the country; we have shown you the miserable situation to which a great prince, at least a person who was the other day a great prince, was
reduced by Mr. Hastings's system. We shall next
? ? ? ?
am sure that it is not an evidence of it, that he has
been enabled to make himself the principal in such a
competition; and for the test of his abilities, I appeal
to the letter which he has dared to write to this board,
and which, I am ashamed to say, we have suffered. I
desire that a copy of it may be inserted in this day's
proceedings, that it may stand before the eyes of every
? ? ? ? 398 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
member of the board, when he shall give his vote
upon a question for giving their confidence to a man,
their servant, who has publicly insulted them, his
masters, and the members of the government, to
whom he owes his obedience; who, assuming an association with the Court of Directors, and erecting himself into a tribunal, has arraigned them for disobedience of orders, passed judgment upon them, and condemned or acquitted them as their magistrate and
superior. Let the board consider whether a man possessed of so independent a spirit, who has already shown such a contempt of their authority, who has
shown himself so wretched an advocate for his own
cause and negotiator for his own interest, is fit to be
trusted with the guardianship of their honor, the execution of their measures, and as their confidential manager and negotiator with the princes of India. "
- My Lords, you here see an instance of what I have
before stated to your Lordships, and what I shall
take the liberty. of recommending to your constant
consideration. You see that a tyrant and a rebel is
one and the same thing. You see this man, at the
very time that he is a direct rebel to the Company,
arbitrarily and tyrannically displacing Mr. Bristow,
although he had previously joined in the approbation
of his conduct, and in voting him a pecuniary reward. He is ordered by the Court. of Directors to
restore that person, who desires, in a suppliant, decent, proper tone, that the Company's orders should produce their effect, and that the Council would have
the goodness to restore him to his situation.
My Lords, you have seen the audacious, insolence,
the tyrannical pride, with which he dares to treat this
order. You have seen the recorded minute which
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. -FOURTH DAY. 399
he has dared to send to the Court of Directors; and
in this you see, that, when he cannot directly asperse
a man's conduct, and has nothing to say against it, he
maliciously, I should perhaps rather say enviously,
insinuates that he had unjustly made his fortune.
" You are," says he, "to judge from the independence of his manner and style, whether he could or
no have got that without some unjust means. " God
forbid I should ever be able to invent anything that
can equal the impudence of what this man dares to
write to his superiors, or the insolent style in which
he dares to treat persons who are not his servants!
Who made the servants of the Company the master of the servants of the Company? The Court of. Directors are their fellow-servants; they are all the servants of this kingdom. Still the claim of a fellowservant to hold an office which the Court of Directors
had legally appointed him to is considered by this
audacious tyrant as an insult to him. By this you
may judge how he treats not only the servants of the
Company, but the natives of the country, and by
what means he has brought them into that abject
state of servitude in which they are ready to do anything he wishes and to sign anything he dictates. I
must again beg your Lordships to remark what this'
man has had the folly and impudence to place upon
the records of the Council of which he was President; and I will venture to assert that so extraordinary a performance never before appeared on the records of any court, Eastern or European. Because
Mr. Bristow claims an office which is his right and
his freehold as long as the Company chooses, Mr.
Hastings accuses him of being an accomplice with the
Court of Directors in a conspiracy against him; and
? ? ? ? 400 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
because, after long delays, he had presented an humble petition to have -the Court of Directors' orders in his favor carried into execution, he says " he has
erected himself into a tribunal of justice; that he
has arraigned the Council for disobedience of orders,
passed judgment upon them, and condemned or acquitted them as their magistrate and superior. "
Let us suppose his Majesty to have been pleased to
appoint any one to an office in the gift of the crown,
what should we think of the person whose business
it was to execute the King's commands, if he should
say to the person appointed, when he claimed his
office, "You shall not have it, you assume to be
my superior, and you disgrace and dishonor me"?
Good God! my Lords, where was this language
learned? in what country, and in what barbarous nation of Hottentots was this jargon picked up? For there is no Eastern court that I ever heard of (and I
believe I have been as conversant with the manners
and customs of the East as most persons whose business has not directly led them into that country) where such condwuct would have been tolerated. A
bashaw, if he should be ordered by the Grand Seignior
to invest another with his office, puts the letter upon his head, and obedience immediately follows.
But the obedience of a barbarous magistrate should
not be compared to the obedience which a British
subject owes to the laws of his country. Mr. Hastings receives an order which he should have instantly obeyed. He is reminded of this by the person who
suffers from his disobedience; and this proves that
person to be possessed of too independent a spirit.
Ay, my Lords, here is the grievance; - no man can
dare show in India an independent spirit. It is this,
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. . - FOURTH DAY. 401
and -not. his having shown such a contempt of their
authority, not his having shown himself so wretched
an advocate for his own cause and so bad a negotiator
for his own interest, that makes him unfit to be trusted with the guardianship of their honor, the execution of their measures, and'to be their confidential manager and negotiator with the princes of India.
But, my Lords, what is this want of skill which Mr.
Bristow has shown in negotiating his own affairs?
Mr. Hastings will inform us. "I He should have pocketed the letter of the Court of Directors; he should
never have made the least mention of it. He should
have come to my banian, Cantoo Baboo; he should
have offered him a bribe upon the occasion. That
would have been the way to succeed with me, who
am a public-spirited taker of bribes and nuzzers.
But this base fool, this man, who is but a vile negotiator for his own interest, has dared to accept the patronage of the Court of Directors. He should have secured the protection of Cantoo Baboo, their more
efficient rival. This would have been the skilful
mode of doing the business. " But this man, it seems,
had not only shown himself an unskilful negotiator,
he had likewise afforded evidence of his want of ill
tegrity. And what is this evidence? His having
" enabled himself to become the principal in such a
competition. " That is to say, he had, by: his meritorious conduct in the service of his masters, the Diree
tors, obtained their approbation and favor. Mr. Hastings then contemptuously adds, "And for the test of
his abilities, I appeal to the letter which he has dared
to write to the board, and which I am ashamed to say
we have suffered. " Whatever that letter may be, I
will venture to say there is not a word or syllable in
VOL. XI. 26
? ? ? ? 402 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
it that tastes of such insolence and arbitrariness with
regard to the servants of the Company, his fellow-servants, of such audacious rebellion with regard to the laws of his country, as are contained in this minute
of Mr. Hastings.
But, my Lords, why did he choose to have Mr. Middleton appointed Resident? Your Lordships have
not seen Mr. Bristow: you have only heard of him as
a humble suppliant to have the orders of the Company obeyed. But you have seen Mr. Middleton.
You know that Mr. Middleton is a good man to keep
a secret: I describe him no further. You know what
qualifications Mr. Hastings requires in a favorite.
You also know why he was turned out of his employment, with the approbation of the Court of Directors: that it was principally because, when Resident in
Oude, he positively, audaciously, and rebelliously refused to lay before the Council the correspondence with the country powers. He says he; gave it up to
Mr. Hastings. Whether he has or has not destroyed
it we know not; all we know of it is, that it is not
found to this hour. We cannot even find Mr. Middleton's: trunk, though Mr. Jonathan Scott did at
last produce his,. The whole of the Persian correspondence,: during. Mr. Middleton's Residence, was refused, as I have said, to the board at Calcutta and
to the Court of Directors, - was refused to the legal
authorities; and Mr. Middleton, for that very refusal,
was again appointed by Mr. Hastings to supersede
Mr. Bristow, removed without a pretence of offence;
he received, I say, this appointment from Mr. Hastings, as a reward for that servile compliance by which he dissolved every tie between himself and his legal
masters.
? ? ? ? -SPEECH IN REPLY. - FOURTH DAY. 403
The matter being now brought to a simple issue,
whether the Governor-General is or. is not bound to
obey his superiors, I shall here leave it with your
Lordships; and I have only to: beg your Lordships
will remark the course of events as they follow
each other, --keeping in mind that the prisoner at
your bar declared Mr. Bristow to be a man of suspected integrity, on account of his independence, and;
deficient in ability, because he did not know how
best to promote his own interest.
I must here state to your Lordships, that it was
the duty of the Resident to transact the money con-,
cerns of the Company, as well as its political negotiations. You will now see how Mr. Hastings divided that duty;, after he became apprehensive that the' Court of Directors might be inclined to assert their
own authority, and to assert it in a proper manner,
which they so rarely did. When, therefore, his passion had cooled, when his resentment of those violent
indignities which had been offered to him, namely,
the indignity of being put in mind that he had any
superior: under heaven, (for I know of noi other,) he'
adopts the expedient of dividing the Residency into
two offices; he makes a fair compromise between
himself and the Directors; he appoints Mr. Middle.
ton to the management of the money concerns, and:
Mr. Bristow to that of the political affairs. Your
Lordships see that Mr. Bristow, upon whom he had
fixed the disqualification for political affairs, was the
very person appointed to that department'; and to
Mr. Middleton, the man of his confidence, he gives
the management of the money transactions. He
discovers plainly where his heart was: for where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also. This;
? ? ? ? 404 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
private agent, this stifler of correspondence, a man
whose costive retention discovers no secret committed to him, and whose slippery memory is subject to a diarrhcea which permits everything he did know
to escape, -- this very man he places in a situation
where his talents could only be useful for concealment, and where concealment could only be used to cover fraud; while Mr. Bristow, who was by his official engagement responsible to the Company for fair and clear accounts, was appointed superintendent of
political affairs, an office for which Mr. Hastings declared he was totally unfit.
My Lords, you will judge of the designs which the
prisoner had. in contemplation, when he dared to
commit this act of rebellion against the Company;
you will see that it could not have been any other
than getting the money transactions of Oude into his
own hands. The presumption of a corrupt motive is
here as strong as, I believe, it possibly can be.
- The next point to which I have to direct your
Lordships' attention is that part of the prisoner's
conduct, in this matter, by which he exposed the
nakedness of the Company's authority to the native
powers. You would imagine, that, after the first
dismissal of Mr. Bristow, Mr. Hastings would have
done with him forever; that nothing could have induced him again to bring forward a man who had dared to insult him, a man who had shown an independent spirit, a man who had dishonored the Council and insulted his masters, a man of doubtful
integrity and convicted unfitness for office. But, my
Lords, in the face of all this, he afterwards sends this
very man, with undivided authority, into the country
as sole Resident. And now your Lordships shall hear
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. - FOURTH DAY. 405
in what manner he accounts for this appointment to
Gobind Ram, the vakeel, or ambassador, of the Nabob
Asoph ul Dowlah at Calcutta. It is in page 795 of
the printed Minutes.
-Extract of an Arzee sent by Rajah Gobind. Ram to
the Vizier, by the Governor-General's directions, and
written the 27th of August, 1782.
" This day the Governor-General sent for me in private. After recapitulating the various informations
he had received respecting the anarchy and confusion
said to reign throughout your Highness's country,
and complains that neither your Highness, or Hyder
Beg Khan,' or Mr. Middleton, or Mr. Johnson, ever
wrote to him on the state of your affairs, or, if he
ever received a letter from your presence, it always
contained assertions contrary to the above informations, the Governor-General proceeded as follows.
" That it was his intention to have appointed Mr.
David Anderson to attend upon your Highness, but
that he was still with Sindia, and there was no prospect
of his speedy return from his camp; therefore it was
now his wish to appoint Mr. John Bristow, who was
well experienced in business, to Lucknow. That,
when Mr. Bristow formerly held the office of Resident
there, he was not appointed by him; and that, notwithstanding he had not shown any instances of disobedience, yet he had deemed it necessary to recall him, because he had been patronized and appointed
by gentlemen who were in opposition to him, and
had counteracted and thwarted all his measures;
that this had been his reason for recalling Mr. Bris'
tow. That, since Mr. Francis's return to Europe,
and the arrival of information there of the deaths of
? ? ? ? 400 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN. HASTINGS.
the other gentlemen, the King and the Company had
declared their approbation of his, the Governor-General's, conduct, and had conferred upon him the most ample powers; that they had sent out Mr. Macpherson, who was his old and particular friend; and that Mr. Stables, that was onl his way here as a member
of the Supreme Council, was also his particular
friend; that Mr. Wheler had received letters from
Europe, informing him that the members of the
Council were enjoined all of them to cooperate and
act in conjunction with him, in every measure -which
should be agreeable to him; and that there was no
one in Council now who was not united with him,
and consequently that his authority was perfect and
complete. That Mr. Bristow, as it was known to me,
had returned to Europe; but that during his stay
there he had never said anything disrespectful of
him or endeavored to injure him; on the contrary,
he had received accounts from Europe that Mr. Bristow had spoken much in his praise, so that Mr. Bristow's friends had become his friends; that Mr.
Bristow had lately been introduced to him by Mr.
Macpherson, had explained his past conduct perfectly
to his satisfaction, and had requested from him the
appointment to Lucknow, and had declared, in the
event of his obtaining the appointment, that he
should show every mark of attention and obedience
to the pleasure of your Highness, and his, the Governor's, saying, that your Highness was well pleased with him, and that he knew what you had written
formerly was at the instigation of Mr. Middleton.
That, in consequence of the foregoing, he, the Governor, had determined to have appointed Mr. Bristow to Lucknow, but had postponed his dismission to his
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. - FOURTH DAY. 407
office for the following reasons, videlicet, people at
Lucknow might think that Mr. Bristow had obtained
his appointment in consequence of orders from Europe, and contrary to the Governor's inclination;
but as the contrary was the case, and as he now considered Mr. Bristow as the object of his own particular patronage, therefore he directed me to forward Mr. Bristow's arzee to the presence; and that it was
the Governor's wish that your Highness, on the receipt thereof, would write a letter to him, and, as
from yourself, request of him that Mr. Bristow may
be appointed to Lucknow, and that you would write
an answer to this arzee, expressive of your personal
satisfaction on the subject. The Governor concluded with injunctions, that, until the arrival of your
Highness's letter requesting the appointment of Mr.
Bristow, and your answer to this arzee, that I should
keep the particulars of this conversation a profound
secret; for that the communication of it to any person whatever would not only cause his displeasure,
but would throw affairs at Lucknow into great con
fusion.
" The preceding is the substance of the Governor's
directions to me. He afterwards went to Mr. Macpherson's, and I attended him. Mr.
Bristow was
there; the Governor took Mr. Bristow's arzee from
his hand and delivered it into mine, and thence proceeded to Council. Mr. Bristow's arzee, and the
following particulars, I transmit and communicate
by the Governor's directions; and I request that
I may be favored with the answer to the arzee and
the letter to the Governor as soon as possible, as
his injunctions to me were very particular on the
subject. "
? ? ? ? 408 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
My Lords, I have to observe upon this very extraordinary transaction, that you will see many things in this letter that are curious, and worthy of being
taken out of that abyss of secrets, Mr. Scott's trunk,
in which this arzee was found. It contains, as far
as the prisoner thinks proper to reveal it, the true
secret of the transaction.
He confesses, first, the state of the Vizier's country, as communicated to him in various accounts of the anarchy and confusion. said to reign throughout
his territories. This was in-the year 1782, during
the time that the Oude correspondence was not communicated to the Council.
Hle next- stated, that neither the Vizier, nor his
minister, nor Mr. Middleton, nor Mr. Johnson, ever
wrote to him on the state of affairs. Here, then, are
three or four persons, all nominated by himself, every
one of them supposed to be in his strictest confidence, - the Nabob and his vassal, Hyder Beg Khan, being, as we shall show afterwards, entirely his dependants, -and yet Mr. Hastings declares, that not one of them had done their duty, or had written him
one word concerning the state of the country, and
the anarchy and confusion that prevailed in it, and
that, when the Nabob did write, his assertions were
contrary to the real state of things. Now this irregular correspondence, which he carried on at Lucknow, and which gave him, as he pretends, this
contradictory information, was, as your Lordships will
see, nothing more or less than a complete fraud.
Your Lordships will next observe, that he tells the
vakeel his reason for turning him out was, that he
had been patronized by other gentlemen. This was
true: but they had a right to patronize him; and
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. -FOURTH DAY. 409
they did not patronize him from private motives, but
in direct obedience to the order of the Court of Di*rectors. He then adds the assurance which he had received from Mr. Bristow, that he would be perfectly obedient to him, Mr. Hastings, in future; and
he goes on to tell the vakeel that he knew the Vizier
was once well pleased with'him, (Mr. Bristow,) and
that his formal complaints against him were written
at the iristigation of Mr. Middleton. . Here is another discovery, my Lords. When he
recalled Mr. Bristow, he did it under the pretence
of its being desired by the Nabob of Oude; and that,
consequently, he would not keep at the Nabob's
court a man that was disagreeable to him. Yet,
when the thing comes to be opened, it appears that
Mr. Middleton had made the Nabob, unwillingly,
write a false letter. This subornation of falsehood
appears also to have been known to Mr. Hastings.
Did he, either as the natural guardian and protector
of the reputation of his fellow-servants, or as the
official administrator of tile laws of his country, or
as a faithful servant of the Company, ever call Mr.
Middleton to an account for it? No, never. To
everybody, therefore, acquainted with the characters
and circumstances of the parties concerned, the conclusion will appear evident that he was himself the author of it. But your Lordships will find there is
no end of his insolence and duplicity.
He next tells the vakeel, that the reason why he
postponed the mission of Mr. Bristow to Lucknow
was lest the people of Lucknow should think he had
obtained his appointment in consequence of orders
from Europe, and contrary to the Governor's inclination. You see, my Lords, he would have the
? ? ? ? 410 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
/people of the country believe that they are to receive the person appointed Resident not as appoint. ed by the Company, but in consequence of his being
under Mr. Hastings's particular patronage; and to
remove from them any suspicion that the Resident
would obey the orders of the Court of Directors, or
any orders but his own, he proceeds in the manner
I have read to your Lordships.
You here see the whole machinery of the business.
He removes Mr. Bristow, contrary to the orders of
the Court of Directors. Why? Because, says he
to the Court of Directors, the Nabob complained of
him, and desired it. He here says, that he knew the
Nabob did not desire it, but that the letter of complaint really and substantially was Mr. Middleton's. Lastly, as he recalls Mr. Bristow, so he wishes him to
be called back in the same fictitious and fraudulent
manner. This system of fraud proves that there is
not one letter from. that country, not one act of this
Vizier, not one act of his ministers, not one act of
his ambassadors, but what is false and fraudulent.
And now think, my Lords, first, of the slavery of the
Company's servants, subjected in this manner to the
arbitrary will and corrupt frauds of Mr. Hastings!
Next think of the situation of the princes of the
country, obliged to complain without matter of complaint, to approve without [ground? ] of satisfaction, and to have all their correspondence fabricated by
Mr. Hastings at Calcutta!
But, my Lords, it was not indignities of this kind
alone that the native princes suffered from this system of fraud and duplicity. Their more essential interests, and those of the people, were involved in it;
it pervaded and poisoned the whole mass of their
internal government.
? ? ? ? :SPEECH IN REPLY. - FOURTH DAY. 411
Who. was the instrument employed in all this
double-dealing? Gobind Ram, the Vizier's diplomatic minister at Calcutta. Suspicions perpetually arise
in his mind whether he is not cheated and imposed
upon. He could never tell when he had Mr. Hastings fixed upon any point. He now finds him recommending Mr. Middleton, and then declaring that Mr. .
Middleton neglects the duty of his office, and gives
him, Gobind Ram, information that is fraudulent
and directly contrary to the truth. He is let into
various contradictory secrets, and becomes acquainted. with innumerable frauds, falsehoods, and prevarications. He knew that the whole pretended government of Oude was from beginning to end a deception; -that it was an imposture for the purpose of corruption and peculation. Such was the situation of the
Nabobs vakeel. The Nabob himself was really at a
loss to know who had and who had not the Governor's confidence; whether he was. acting in obedience
to the orders of the Court of Directors, or whether
their orders were not always to be disobeyed. He
thus writes to Gobind Ram, who was exactly in
the same uncertainty.
"As to the commands of Mr. Hastings which you
write on the subject of the distraction of the country
and the want of information from me, and his wishes,
that, as Mr. John Bristow has shown sincere wishes
and attachment to Mr. Hastings, I should write'for
him to send Mr. John Bristow, it would have been
proper and necessary for you privately to have understood what were Mr. Hastings's real intentions,
whether the choice of sending Mr. John Bristow was
his own desire, or whether it was in compliance with
Mr. Macpherson's, that I might then have written
? ? ? ? 412 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
conformably thereto. Writings are now sent to you
for both cases; having privately understood the wishes of Mr. Hastings, deliver whichever of the writings
he should order you; for I study Mr. Hastings's satisfaction; whoever is his friend is mine, and whoever is his enemy is mine. But in both these cases,
my wishes are the same; that having consented to
the paper of questions which Major Davy carried with
him, and having given me the authority of the country, whomever he may afterwards appoint, I am satisfied. I am now brought to great distress by these gentlemen, who ruin me; in case of consent, I am
contented with Majors Davy and Palmer. Hereafter,
whatever may be Mr. Hastings's desire, it is best. "
Here is a poor, miserable instrument, confessing
himself to be such, ruined by Mr. Hastings's public
agents, Mr. Middleton and Mr. Johnson; ruined by
his private agents, Major Davy and Major Palmer;
ruined equally by them'all; and at last declaring in
a tone of despair, " If you have a mind really to keep
Major Davy and Major Palmer here, why, I must
consent to it. Do what you please with me, I am
your creature; for God's sake, let me have a little
rest. "
Your Lordships shall next hear what account
Hyder Beg Ihan, the Vizier's prime-minister, gives
of the situation in which he and his master were
placed. . Extract of a Letter from Hyder Beg KIhdn, received
21st April, 1785.
"I hope that such orders and commands as relate
to the friendship between his Highness and the Company's governments and to your will may be sent
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. -- FOURTH DAY. 413
through Major Palmer, in your own private letters,
or in your letters to the Major, who is appointed
from you at the presence of his Highness, that, in
obedience to your orders, he may properly explain
your commands, and, whatever affair may be settled,
he may first secretly inform you of it, and afterwards
his Highness may, conformably thereto, write an answer, and I also may represent it. By this system, your pleasure will always be fully made known to his
Highness; and his Highness and we will execute
whatever may be your orders, without deviating a
hair's-breadth: and let not the representations of
interested persons be approved of, because his Highness makes no opposition to your will; and I, your servant, am ready in obedience and service, and I
make no excuses. "
Now, my Lords, was there ever such a discovery
made of the arcana of any public theatre? You see
here, behind the ostensible scenery, all the crooked
working of the machinery developed and laid open to
the world. You now see by what secret movement
the master of the mechanism has conducted the
great Indian opera, - an opera of fraud, deceptions,
and harlequin tricks. You have it all laid open
before you. The ostensible scene is drawn aside; it
has vanished from your sight. All the strutting signors, and all the soft signoras are gone; and instead of a brilliant spectacle of descending chariots, gods,
goddesses, sun, moon, and stars, you have nothing to
gaze on but sticks, wire, ropes, and machinery. You
find the appearance all false and fraudulent; and you
see the whole trick at once. All this, my Lords, we
owe to Major Scott's trunk, which, by admitting us
? ? ? ? 414 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
behind the scene, has enabled us to discover the real
state of Mr. HIastings's government in India. And
can your Lordships believe that all this mechanism of fraud, prevarication, and falsehood could have
been intended for any purpose but to forward that
robbery, corruption, and peculation by which Mr.
Hastings has destroyed one of the finest countries
upon earth? Is it necessary, after this, for me to
tell you that you are not to believe one word of the
correspondence stated by him to have been received
from India? This discovery goes to the whole matter of the whole government of the country. You
have seen what that government was, and by-andby you shall see the effects of it.
Your Lordships have now seen this trunk of Mr.
Scott's producing the effects of Aladdin's lamp, - of
which your Lordships may read in books much more
worthy of credit than Mr. Hastings's correspondence.
I have given all the credit of this precious discovery
to Mr. Scott's trunk; but, my Lords, I find that I
have to ask pardon for a mistake -in supposing the
letter of Hyder Beg Khan to be a part of Mr. Hastings's correspondence. - It comes from another quarter, not much less singular, and equally authentic and unimpeachable. But -though it is not from the
trunk, it smells of the trunk, it smells of the leather.
I was as proud of my imaginary discovery as Sancho
Panza was that one of his ancestors had discovered a
taste of iron in some wine, and another a taste of
leather in the same wine, and that afterwards there
was found in the cask a little key tied to a thong of
leather, which had given to the wine a taste of'both.
Now, whether this letter tasted of the leather of the
trunk or of the iron of Mr. Macpherson, I -confess I
? ? ? ? SPEECH IN REPLY. -- FOURTH DAY. 415
was a little out in my suggestion and my taste. The
letter in question was written by Hyder Beg Khan,
after Mr. Hastings's departure, to Mr. Macpherson,
when he succeeded to the government. That gentleman thus got possession of a key to the trunk; and it appears to have been- his intentions to follow the
steps of his predecessor, to act exactly in the same
manner, and in the same manner to make the Nabob
the instrument of his own ruin. This letter was
written by the Nabob's minister to Sir John Macpherson, newly inaugurated into his government, and who might be supposed not to be acquainted with all
the best of Mr. Hastings's secrets, nor to have had all
the trunk correspondence put into his hands. However, here is a trunk extraordinary, and its contents are much in the manner of the other. The Nabob's
minister acquaints him with the whole secret of the
system. It is plain that the Nabob considered it as a
system not to be altered: that there was to be nothing true, nothing aboveboard, nothing open in the government of his affairs. When' you thus see that
there can be little doubt of the true nature of the
government, I am sure that hereafter, when we come
to consider the effects of that government, it will
clear up and bring home to the prisoner at your bar
all we shall have to say'upon this subject.
Mr. Hastings, having thrown off completely the
authority of the Company, as you have seen, - having trampled upon those of their servants who had manifested any symptom of independence, or who
considered the orders of the Directors as a rule of
their'conduct, -- having brought every Englishman
under his yoke, and made them supple and fit instruments for all his designs, -- then gave it to be
? ? ? ? 416 IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.
understood that such alone were fit persons to be employed in important affairs of state. Consider, my Lords, the effect of this upon the whole service.
Not one man that appears to pay any regard to the
authority of the Directors is to expect that any regard will be paid to himself. So that this man not
only rebels himself, in his own person, against the
authority of the Company, but he makes all their
servants join him in this very rebellion. Think, my
Lords, of this state of things, -and I wish it never
to pass from your minds that I have called him the
captain-general of the whole host of actors in Indian
iniquity, under whom that host was arrayed, disciplined, and paid. This language which I used was
not, as fools have thought proper to call it, offensive
and abusive; it is in a proper criminatory tone, justified by the facts that I have stated to you, and in every step we take it is justified more and more. I
take it as a text upon which I mean to preach; I take
it as a text which I wish to have in your Lordships'
memory from the beginning to the end of this proceeding. He is not only guilty of iniquity himself, but is at the head of a system of iniquity and rebellion, and
will not suffer with impunity any one honest man
to exist in India, if he can help it. Every mark of
obedience to the legal authority of the Company is
by him condemned; and if there is anlly virtue remaining in India, as I think there is, it is not his
fault that it still exists there.
We have shown you the servile obedience of the
natives of the country; we have shown you the miserable situation to which a great prince, at least a person who was the other day a great prince, was
reduced by Mr. Hastings's system. We shall next
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