No More Learning

" Whereas the
said Warren Hastinlgs did apply the whole produce
of the revenue to the mere pay of some part of the
? ? ? ? 1. 50 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
British army in Oude; and did not mention in his
correspondence that he. had remitted any money
whatsoever to Calcutta, nor to any other place, (except the fifty thousand pounds taken from Almas Ali
KhAn, and said to be remitted to Surat,) for the said
"' substantial relief," in consequence of the said pretended "recovery of property," - admitting that it
had been suggested to him, and not by him denied,
that he had "'disappointed the popular expectation
by not adopting the policy which he. had, on the conception of better grounds, rejected; nor did he begin
the reduction of the interest debt" at the time stated, nor at any time; but the whole (he well knowing
the state of the country from whence the resources
aforesaid were by him promised) was a premeditated deceit and imposition on the Board of Council,
his colleagues, and on the Court of Directors, his
masters.
LXIX. That no traces of regulation appear to
have been adopted by the said Warren Hastings
during his residence at Lucknow, in conformity to
the spirit and intentions of the treaty of Chunar, or
of his instructions to Middleton and Bristow, or of
the proposed objects of his own commission. But he
did, in lieu thereof, pretend to free the Nabob's government from the interference of the Company's servants, and the usurpation (as he called it) of a Resident, and thereby to restore it to its proper tone and energy; whereas the measures he took were such as
to leave no useful or responsible superintendence in
the British, and no freedom in the Nabob's government: for he did confirm the sole, unparticipated, and
entire administration, with all the powers annexed to
? ? ? ? AGAINST WA R. REN HASTINGS. 151
the government, on the minister, Hyder Beg Khfn,
to whom he prevailed on the Nabob Vizier to commit
the entire charge of his revenues, although he knew
that his master was a cipher in his hands,- that he'" had affixed his seal to letters written without his knowledge, an. d such as evidently tended to promote
Hyder Beg Klaiil's influence' and interest," -that his
said master did not consider him as a minister of his
choice, but as an instrument of his degradation, --
that "' he exists as a minister by his dependence onl
the Calcutta government,,and that the Nabob himself
had no other opinion of him, -that it is by its declared
and most obvious support alone that he could maintain
his authority and influence. " And in his instructions
to his secret agent, Major Palmer, dated 6th of May,
1782, to ease his mind and remove his jealousy with
regard to British interference, he did instruct him,
"that much delicacy and caution will be required in
your declarations on this subject, lest they should be
construed to extend to an immediate change in the
administration of his affairs, or the instruments of it.
Their persons must be considered as sacred, while they
act with the participation of our influence. This distinction the Nabob understands; nor will it be either necessary or proper to allude to it, unless he himself
should first introduce the subject. " And the said
Hastings did assume, as to a dependant of the lowest
order, to prescribe to him the conditions on which lie
is to hold his place, - to threaten him with scrutinies
into his conduct, with dismission, with punishment,
-that he was guilty of falsehood and duplicity, and
that he had made his master assert what was true to
be false, -that he suspected he had withheld from
his master what he ought to have paid to him, -that
? ? ? ? 152 A'lTCLES'OF CHARGE
the event of his having prevailed on the: Nabob to
intrust him as aforesaid was, according to his, the
said Hastings's, own letter, written to the said Hyder
Beg Khan. himself, " an accumulation of distress,
debasement, and dissatisfaction to the Nabob, and of'disappointment and disgrace to me. Every measure which he had: himself proposed, and to which he had
solicited my assistance, has been so conducted as to
give him cause of displeasure; there are no officers
established by which his;affairs could be regularly
conducted; mean, incapable, and indigent men have
been appointed aumils of the districts, without authority, and without the means of personal protection; some of them have been murdered by the zemindars,
and those zemindars, instead of punishment, have
been permitted to retain their zemindaries with independent authority; all the other zemindars suffered to rise up in rebellion, and to, insult the authority of the
sircar, without any attempt made to suppress, them;
and the Company's:debt, instead of being discharged
by the assignments, and extraordinary sources of
money provided for that purpose, is likely to exceed
even the amount at which it stood at the time in
which the arrangement with his Excellency was
concluded. The growth of these evils was early made
known to me, and their effects foreboded in the same order
and manner as they have since come to pass. In such
a state of calamity and disgrace, I can no longer remain a passive spectator; nor would it be becoming
to conceal my sentiments, or qualify the expression
of them. I: now plainly tell you, that you are answerable for every misfortune and defect of the Nabob Vizier's government. " And after giving orders, and
expressing some hopes of better behavior, he adds,
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 153
"If I am disappointed, you will impose on me the
painful and humiliating necessity of acknowledging
to him that I have been deceived, and of recommending the examination of your conduct to his justice,
both for the redress of his own and the Company's
grievances, and for the injury sustained by both in
their'mutual connection. Do not reply to me, that
what I have written is from the suggestion of your
enemies; nor imagine that I have induced myself to
write in such plain and declaratory terms, without
a, clear insight into all the consequences of it, and a
fixed determination upon them. "
LXX. That the aforesaid being the tenure of the
power of the said minister, and such his character, as
given by the said Warren Hastings himself, who did
originally compel the Nabob to receive him, who did
constantly support him against the Nabob, his master,
as. well as against' the Company's Resident, - the delivering over to such a person his master, his family,
his country, and the care of the British interests
therein, without control or public inspection, was an
high crime and misdemeanor.
LXXI. That the next person whom the said Hastings did invest with power in the said country was a
certain opulent and powerful native manager of revenue, called Almas Ali Khan, closely connected with
the said Hyder Beg Khan, and to whom the said Hyder Beg Khan, as the said Hastings has admitted,
"had intrusted the greatest part of his revenues, without any pledge or security for his fidelity. " And afterwards the said Hastings charges the said Almas Ali with an intention of removing from the Nabob's
? ? ? ? 154 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
dominions: he states, "as taking with him," and
therefore being possessed of, " an immense treasure,
the fruits of his embezzlements and oppressions, and
an army raised for its protection. "
LXXII. That the said Warren Hastings was, or
pretended to be, impressed with the evil character,
dangerous designs, and immoderate power of the said
Almas Ali; that he did insert among his instructions
to the Resident Bristow an order of a dangerous and
unwarrantable nature, in which, upon his, the said
Hastings's, simple allegation of offences, not accurately described or specified, with regard either to the
fact, the nature of the offence, or the proof, he was required to urge the Nabob to put him to death, with
many qualifications in the said instructions, full of
fraud and duplicity, calculated to insnare the said
Resident Bristow, and to throw upon him the responsibility of the conduct of the said Almas Ali Khan, if
he should continue at large contrary to his orders, or
to subject him, the said Resident, to the shame and
scandal of apprehending and putting him to death by
means which, in the circumstances, must necessarily
be such as would be construed into treachery, and he,
the said Almas Ali Khan, being from nature and situation suspicious and watchful, and being at that
very time in the collection, or farmer of the most important part. of the revenues, with an extensive jurisdiction annexed, and at the head of fourteen thousand of his own troops, and having been recently accepted
by the Resident Middleton as security for large sums
of money advanced by the bankers of Benares to the
use of the East India Company; which orders (if the
said Resident would or could have executed them)
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 155
must have raised an universal alarm among all the
considerable men of the country concerned in the
government, and would have been a means of subverting the public credit of the Company, by the murder of a person engaged for very great sums of money
that had been advanced for their use. And the said
instruction is as followeth.
" If any engagement shall actually subsist between
them at the time you have charge of the Residency, it mullst, however exceptionable, be faithfully observed; but if he has been guilty of any criminal offence to the Nabob, his master, for which no immunity is provided in the engagement, or he shall break any one of the conditions of it, I do most strictly enjoin you, and it must be your special care to endeavor, either by force or surprise, to secure his person and
bring him to justice. By bringing him to justice I
mean, that you urge the Nabob, on due conviction, to
punish him with death, as a necessary example to deter
others from the commission of the like crimes; nor
must you desist till this is effected. I cannot prescribe the -means; but to guard myself against the
obloquy to which I may be exposed by a forced misconstruction of this order by those who may hereafter
be employed in searching our records for cavils and
informations against me, I think it proper to forbid
and protest against the use of any fraudulent artifice
or treachery to accomplish the end which I have prescribed; and as you alone are privy to the order, you
will of course observe the greatest secrecy, that it
may not transpire: but I repeat my recommendation
ofit, as one of the first and most essential duties of
your office. "
? ? ? ? 156 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
LXXIII. That, among the reasons assigned for
putting to death the said Almas Ali, which the said
HIastings did recommend directly and repeatedly to
the Resident, " as one of the first and most essential
duties of his office," was, in substance, " that, by his
extensive trust with regard to the revenues, lie had
been permitted to acquire independency; that the
means thereof had been long seen and the effects.
thereof foretold by every person acquainted with the
state of government, except those immediately interested in it"; and he, the said Warren Hastings, did also charge: the said Almas Ali with embezzlement
of the revenues and oppression of the people; and
nothing appears to disprove the same, but much to
give ground to a presumption that the said Almas Ali
did grievously abuse the power committed to him, as
farmer and collector of the revenue, to the great oppression of the inhabitants of the countries which had been rented to him by Hyder Beg Khan with the
knowledge and consent of the said Warren Hastings.
LXXIV. That the Resident, Bristow,. declining the
violent attempt on the life of Almas Ali deceitfully
ordered by the said Warren Hastings, did, on weighty
reasons, drawn from the spirit of the said Hastings's
own instructions, recommend that his the said Almas
Ali KMan's, farms of revenue, or a great part of them,
should be, on the expiration of his lease, takeni out
of his hands, as being too extensive, and supplyinpg
the means of a dangerous power in the country; but
yet he, the said Warren Hastings, did lot only conti nue him in the possession of the said revenues, but did give to him a new lease thereof for the term of
five years. And on this rellovation and increase of
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 157
trust, the said Wa. rrell Hastings did not consent to
produce the informer upon whose credit he had made
his charge of capital crimes oni the said Almas Ali,
and had directed him to be put to death, or call upon
him to make good his charges; but, instead of this,
totally chlanging his relation to the said Almas Ali,
did himself labor to procure from all parts attestations
to prove him not guilty of the perfidy and disloyalty
of which the said EHastings himself appears to have
been to that very time his sole accuser, as he hath
since. been his most anxious advocate: but though he
did use many endeavors to acquit Almas Ali of his
intended flight, yet concerning his embezzlements and
oppressions, the most important of all charges relative
to that of the revenue and collection, he, the said
Hastings, hath made no inquiry whatever; by which
it, might appear that he was not as fully guilty thereof as he had always represented him -to be. But some time after. he, the, said Warrell. Tastings, had arrived at
Lucknow, in the year 1784, lie suggested to the said
Almas Ali Khlan the advance to the Company's use
of a sum of money amoulting to fifty thousand pounds
or thereabouts; and the said suggested advance was
(as tile said Warren Hastings asserts, no witness or
document of the transaction appearing) " cheerfully
and without hesitation complied with, considering it as
an: evidence seasonably offered for the general refutation of the charges of perfidy and disloyalty": which practice of charging wealthy persons with treason and
disloyalty, aand afterwards acquitting them on the
payment of a sum of money, is highly scandalous to
the houor, justice, and government of Great Britain;
and the offence is highly aggravated by the said IIastings's declaration to the Court of Directors that the
? ? ? ? 158 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
charges against Almas Ali Khan have been too laboriously urged against him, and carried at one time to such an excess as had nearly driven him to abandon
his country "for the preservation of his life and honor,"
and thus to give a " colcr to the charges themselves,"
when he, the said Warren Hastings, did well know
that he himself did consider as a crime, and did make
it an articld in a formal accusation against the Resident Middleton, that he did not inform him, the said Hastings, of the supposed treasons of Almas Ali Khln,
and of his design to abandon the country, when he
himself did most laboriously urge the charges against
him, and when no attempt appears to have been made
against the life of the said Almas Ali Khan except by
the said Warren Hastings himself.
LXXV. That the sum of fifty thousand pounds
sterling, or tlhereabouts, publicly taken by the said
Warren Hastings, as an advance for the use of the
Company, if given as a consideration or fine, on account of the renewal for a long term of civil authority and military command, and the collection of the revenues to an immense amount, the same being at least eight hundred thousand pounds sterling yearly, was
so totally inadequate to the interest granted, that it
may justly be presumed it was not on' that, or on any
public ground or condition, that the said Hastings did
delegate, out of all reach of resumption or correction,
a lease of boundless power and enormous profit, for
so long a term, to a known oppressor of the country.
LXXVI. That Warren Hastings, being at Lucknow
in consequence'of his deputation aforesaid, did, in his
letter from that city, dated 30th of April, 1784, recom
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 159
mend to the Court of Directors, "as his last and
ultimate hope, that their wisdom would put a final
period to the ruinous and disreputable system of interference, whether avowed or secret, in the affairs of the
Nabob of Oude, and withdraw forever the influence by
which it is maintained," and that'they ought to confine
their views to the sole maintenance of the old brigade
stationed in Oude by virtue of the first treaty with,
the reigning Nabob, expressing himself in the following words to the Court of Directors. " If you transgress that line, you may extend the distribution of patronage, and add to the fortunes of individuals, and to the nominal riches of Great Britain; but your own
interests will suffer by it; and the ruin of a great and
once flourishing nation will be recorded as the work of
your administration, with an everlasting reproach to the
British name. To this reasoning I shall join the
obligations of justice and good faith, which cut off every
pretext for your exercising any power or authority in
this country, as long as the sovereign of it fulfils the
engagements he has articled with you. "
LXXVII. That it appears by the extraordinary
recommendation aforesaid, asserted by him, the said
Hastings, to be enforced by the "' obligations of justice
and good faith," that the said Warren Hastings, at the
time of writing tile said letter, had made an agreement
to withdraw the Britislh ilterference, represented by
him as a " ruinous and disreputable system," out of
the dominions of the Nabob of Oude. But the instrument itself, in which tlie said agreement is made,
(if at all existing,) does not appear; nor hath the
said Hastings transmitted any documents relative to
the said treaty, which is a neglect highly criminal,
? ? ? ? 160 ARTiCLES OF CHARGE
especially as he has informed the Company, in his letter from Benares, "that he has promised the Nabob
that he will not abandon him to the chance of any
other mode of relation, and most confidently given
him assurance of the ratification and confirmation of
that which he [the said Hastings] had established
between his government and the Company ": the said
confident assurance being given to an agreement never produced, and made without any sort of authority
from the Court of Directors, - all agreement precluding, on the one hand, the operation of the discretion
of his masters in the conduct of their affairs, or, on
the other, subjecting them to the hazard of an imputation on their faith, by breaking an engagement confidently made in their name, though without their consent, by the first officer of their government. That the said iHastings, further to preclude the operation of such discretionary conduct in the administration of this kingdom as circumstances might call
for, has informed the Directors that he has gone so far
as even to condition the existence of the revenue itself
with the exclusion of the Company, his masters, from
all interference whatsoever: for in his letter to Mr.
Wheler, dated Benares, 20th September, 1784, are
the following words. "The aumils [collectors] demanded that a clause should be inserted in their engagements, that they were to be in full force for the
complete term of their leases, provided that no foreign
authority was exercised over them,'or, in other
words, that their engagements were to cease whenever they
should be interrupted in their functions by the interference
of an iEnglish agent. This requisition was officially notified to me by the acting minister, and referred to me
in form by the Nabob Vizier, for my previous consent
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 161
to it. I encouraged it, and I gave my consent to it. "
And the said Hastings has been guilty of the high
presumption to inform his said masters, that he has
taken that course to compel them not to violate the
assurances given by him in their name: "There is
one condition" (namely, the above condition) "' which
essentially connects the confirmation of the settlement
itself with the interests of the Company. "
LXXVIII. That the said Warren Hastings, who
did show an indecent distrust of the Company's faith,
did endeavor, before that time, at other times, namely,
in his instructions to his secret agent, Major Palmer,
dated the 6th of May, 1782, to limit the confidence to
be reposed in the British government to the duration
of his own power, in the following words in the fifth
article. "It is very much my desire to impress the
Nabob with a thorough confidence in the faith and
justice of our government, - that is to say, in my own,
while I am at the head of it: I cannot be answerable
for the acts of others independent of me. "
LXXIX. That the said Warren Hastings did, in
his letter, dated Benares, the 1st of October, 1784, to
the Court of Directors, write, "'that. if they [the
Directors] manifested no symptoms of an ( 1. ) intended
interference, the objects of his engagements will be
obtained; (2. ) but if a different policy shall be adoptcd, -- if new agents are sent into the country, and armed with authority for the purposes of vengeance
or corruption (for to no other will they be applied), -
(3. ) if new demands are made on the Nabob Vizier,
(4. ) and accounts overcharged on one side, with a
wide latitude taken on the other, to swell his debt
VOL. IX. 11
? ? ? ? 162 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
beyond the means of payment, - (5. ) if political dangers are portended, to ground on them the plea of burdening his country with unnecessary defences and enormous subsidies, --(6. ) or if, even abstaining from direct encroachment on the Nabob's rights, your government shall show but a degree of personal kindness to
the partisans of the late usurpation, or by any constructive indication of partiality and dissatisfaction furnish
grounds for the expectation of an approaching change
of system, - I am sorry to say, that all my labors will
prove abortive. "
LXXX. That all the measures deprecated in fu
ture by the said Warren Hastings, with a reference to
former conduct, in his several letters aforesaid, being
(so far as the same are intelligible) six in number,
have been all of them the proper acts and measures
of the said Warren Hastings himself. For he did
himself first of all introduce, and did afterwards continue and support, that interference which he now informs the Court of Directors " is ruinous and disreputable, and which the very symptoms of an intention
to renew" he considers in the highest degree dangerous; he did direct, with a controlling and absolute
authority, in every department of government, and
in every district in the dominions of the Nabob of
Oude. Secondly, the appointment of agents, which
was eminently the act of his own administration: he
not only retaining many agents in the country of
Oude, both " secret and avowed," but also sending
some of them, in defiance to the orders of that very
Court of Directors, to whom, in his said letter of the
1st of October, 1784, he assigns " vengeance and corruption " as the only motives that can produce such
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 163
apploxitments. Thirdly, that he, the said Warren
Hastings, did instruct one of the said agents, and did
charge him upon pain of " a dreadful responsibility,"
to perform sundry acts of violence against persons
of the highest distinction and nearest relation to the
prince; which acts were justly liable to the imputation
of " vengeance " in the execution, and which he, in his
reply to the defence of Middleton to one of his charges,
did declare to be liable to the suspicion of " corruption
in the relaxation. " Fourthly, that he did raise new
demands on the Vizier, "and overcharge accounts on
one side and take a wide latitude on the other," by
sending up a new and before unheard-of overcharge
of four hundred thousand pounds and upwards, not
made by the Resident or admitted by the Vizier, and,
by adding the same, did swell his debt " beyond the
means of payment "; and did even insert, as the ninth
article of his charge against Middleton, " his omitting
to take any notice of the additional balance of Rupees
26,48,571, stated by the Accountant-General to be due
from the Vizier on the 30th of April, 1780," to which
he did add fourteen lac more, making together the
above sum. Fifthly, that he, the said Warren Hastings, did assign " political dangers," in his minute of
the 13th December, 1779, fdr burdening the said Nabob of Oude " with unnecessary defences and enormous subsidies," with regard to which he then declared, that " it was our part, not his [the Nabob's], to judge and to determine. " And, sixt. hly, that he
did not only show the design, but thefact, of personal
kindness to the partisans of what he here calls, as well
as in another letter, and in one Minute of Consultation, a " late usurpation," - he having rewarded the
principal and most obnoxious of the instruments of
? ? ? ? 164 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
the said late usurpation, (if such it was,) Richard
Johnson, Esquire, with an honorable and profitable
embassy to the court of the Nizam.
LXXXI. That the said Warren Hastings, therefore,-by assuming an authority which he himself
did consider as an usurpation, and by acts in virtue
of that usurped authority, done in his own proper
person and by agents appointed by himself, and proceeding (though with some mitigation, for which one
of them was by him censured and accused) under his
own express and positive orders and instructions, and
thereby establishing, as he himself observed, " a system of interference, disreputable and ruinous, which
could only be subservient to promote patronage, private interest, private embezzlement, corruption, and
vengeance," to the public detriment of the Company,
" and to the ruin of a once flourishing nation, and
eternally reproachful to the British name," and for
the evil effects of which system, " as his sole and ultimate hope " and remedy, he recommends an entire
abdication, forever, not only of all power and authority, but even of the interference and influence of
Great Britain, -is guilty of an high crime and misdemeanor.
LXXXII. That the said Warren Hastings, in his
letter from Chunar of the 29th of November, 1781,
has represented that very influence and interference,
which in three public papers he denominates " a late
usurpation," as being authorized by a regular treaty
and agreement, voluntarily made with the Nabob himself, at a place called Chunar, on the 19th of September, 1781, a copy of which hath been transmitted
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 165
to the Court of Directors,-and that three persons
were present at the execution of the same, two whereof were Middleton and Johnson, his agents and Residents at Oude, the third the minister of the Nabob. And he did, in his paper written to the Council-General, and transmitted to the Court of Directors, not only declare that the said interference was agreed to by the said Nabob, and sealed with his seal, but would
be highly beneficial to him: assuring the said Council,' that, if the Resident performed his duty in the execution of his [the said Hastings's] instructions, the Nabob's part of the engagement will prove of still
greater benefit to him than to our government, in
whose behalf it was exacted; and that the participation which is allowed our Resident in the inspection
of the public treasure will secure the receipt of the
Company's demands, whilst the influence which our
government will AL WAYS possess over the public minister of the Nabob, and the authority of our own, will be
an effectual means of securing an attentive and faithful discharge of their several trusts, both towards the
Company and the Vizier. "
LXXXIII. And the said Warren Hastings did not
only settle a plan, of which the agency and interference aforesaid was a part, and assert the beneficial
consequences thereof, but did also record, that the
same "was a great public measure, constituted on a
large and established system, and destructive, in its
instant effects, of the interest and fortune of many
patronized individuals"; and in consequence of the
said treaty, he, the said Warren Hastings, did authorize and positively require his agent aforesaid to interfere in and control and regulate all the Nabob's affairs
? ? ? ? 166 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
whatsoever: and the said Warren Hastings having
made for the Company, and in its name, an acquisition of power and authority, even if it had been abused
by others, he ought to have remedied the abuse, and
brought the guilty to condign punishment, instead of
making another treaty without their approbation, consent, or knowledge, and to this time not communicated to them, by which it appears he has annulled the former treaty, and the authority thereby acquired to
the Company, as a grievance and usurpation, to which,
from the general corruption of their service, no other
remedy could be applied than a formal renunciation
of their power and influence: for which said actings
and doings the said Warren Hastings is guilty of an
high crime and misdemeanor.
LXXXIV. That the Company's army in India is
an object requiring the most vigilant and constant
inspection, both to the happiness of the natives, the security of the British power, and to its own obedience
and discipline, and does require that inspection in
proportion as it is removed from the principal seat
of government; and the number and discipline of
the troops. kept up by the native princes, along with
British troops, is also of great moment and importance to the same ends. That Warren HIastings,
Esquire, pretending to pursue the same, did, in virtue of an authority acquired by the treaty of Chunar
aforesaid, give strict orders, and to which he did
demand a most implicit obedience, that all officers of
the Nabob's army should be appointed " with the concurrence of the Resident," and supposing the case that
persons of obnoxious description or of known disaffection to the British government should be appointed,
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 167
(of which he left the Resident to be the judge,) he did
direct in the following words: "You are in such case
to remonstrate against it; and if the Vizier should
persist in his choice, you are peremptorily, and in my
name, to oppose it as a breach of his agreement "; and
he did also direct that the "mootiana [or soldiers
employed for the collection of revenue] should be
reformed, and reduced into one corps for the whole'
service, and that no infantry should be left in the Nabob's service but what may be necessary for his bodyguard "; and he did further order and direct as follows: "That in quelling disturbances the commander of the forces should assist you [the said Resident] on
the requisition of the Vizier communicated through
you to him [the said commander], or at your own
single application. It is directed that the regiment
ordered for the immediate protection of your office
and person at Lucknow shall be relieved every three
months, and during its stay there shall act solely and
exclusively under your orders. " And it appears in
the course of the Company's correspondence, that
the country troops under the Nabob's sole direction
would be ill-disciplined and unserviceable, if not
worse, and therefore the said Warren Hastings did
order that "1no infantry should be kept in his service"; yet it appears that the said Warren Hastings
did make an arrangement for a body of native troops
wholly out of the control or inspection of the British
government, and left a written order in the hands of
Major Palmer (one of his agents, who had been continued there, though the Company was not permitted
to employ any) to be transmitted to Colonel Cumming as soon as an adequate force shall be provided
for the defence of the Nabob's frontier by detachments
? ? ? ? 168 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
from the Nabob's own battalions, -- the said Colonel
Gumming's forces, whom the others were to supersede
and replace, consisting wholly of infantry, and which,
being intended for the same service, were probably
of the same constitution.
LXXXV. That the old brigade of British troops,
which by treaty was to remain, had been directed, by
the instructions of the said Hastings to the Resident
Middleton and to the Resident Bristow, "not to be
employed at the requisition of the Vizier any otherwise than through the Resident"'; and the said direction was properly given, - it not being fit that British troops should be under the sole direction of foreign
independent princes, or of any other than the British government: yet, notwithstanding the proper and
necessary direction aforesaid, he, the said Warren
Hastings, hath left the said troops, by his new treaty,
without any local control, or even inspection, notwithstanding his powers under the treaty of Chunar, and
his own repeated orders, and notwithstanding the mischiefs and dangers which the said Warren Hastings
did foresee would result therefrom, if left under the
sole direction of the Nabob, and their own discretion,
the said Hastings having stipulated with the said Nabob
not to exercise any authority, or even influence, secret
or avowed, within his dominions.
LXXXVI. That the crime of the said Warren
Hastings, in attempting thus to abandon the British
army to the ksole discretion of the Nabob of Oude, is
exceedingly aggravated by the description given by
him severally of the said Nabob of Oude, and of the
British army stationed for the defence of his dominions.
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 169
In his letters to the Court of Directors, and in his
Minutes of Consultation, and particularly in his letter
of, immediately on the accession of the Nabob,
he did inform the said. Court, "that the Nabob had
not, by all accounts, the qualities of the head or heart
which fitted him for that office, though there was no
dispute concerning his right. to succeed "; and some
years afterwards, when his accounts must have been
rendered more certain, he did, in his Minute of Consultation of the 15th of December, 1779, (regularly
transmitted to the Court of Directors,) upon a discussion f6r withdrawing certain troops kept up in the Nabob's country without his consent, by him, the said
Warren Hastings, strongly urge as follows, - the necessity of maintaining the influence and force which
we possess in the country; that the disorders of his
state [the Nabob of Oude's state] and dissipation of
his revenues are the effects of his own conduct, which
has failed, not so much from the usual effects of incapacity as from the detestable choice he has made of
the ministers of his power and the participation of his
confidence. I forbear to expatiate further on his character; it is sufficient that I am understood by the members of this board, who must know the truth of my allusions. Mr. Francis " (a member of the board)' surely was not aware of the injury he did me [Warren Hastings] by attributing to the spirit of party the character I gave Asoph ul Dowlah [the Nabob of Oude];
he himself knows it to be true; and it is one of those
notorieties which supersede the necessity of any evidence.
I was forced to the allusion I made by the imputation
cast on this government, as having caused the evils which
prevail in the government of the Nabob of Oude, which
[ could only answer by ascribing them to their true
? ? ? ?
170 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
cause, the character and conduct of the Nabob of Oude. "
And the Resident (appointed by the said Hastings,
against the orders of the Coulr of Directors, as his
particular confidential representative, one whom the
said Nabob did himself request might be continued
with him by an engagement in writing forever) did some
time before, that is, on the 3d of January, 1779, assure the said'Iastings and the Council-General, that
4 "such is his Excellency's [the Nabob of Oude's] disposition, and so entirely has he lost the confidence and
affections of his subjects, that, unless some restraint
is imposed on him which would effectually secure
those who live under the protection of his government
from violence and oppression, I am but too well convinced that no man of reputation or property will
long continue in these provinces "; and that the said
Resident proceeds to an instance of oppression and
rapine, " out of many of the Nabob's, which has caused
a total disaffection and want of confidence among his
subjects: he hoped the board would take it into their
humane consideration, and interpose their influence,
and prevent an act which would inevitably bring disgrace upon himself, and a proportionable degree of discredit on the national character of the English, which I consider to be more or less concerned in every act
of his administration. "
LXXXVII. That no exception was ever taken by
the said Warren Hastings to the truth of the facts,
or to the justness of the observation of the said Resident, which he did transmit to the Court of Directors.
And the said Warren Hastings, in his letter from
Chunar, dated the 29th of November, 1781, speaking
of the restraints which had been put by him, the said
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 171
Hastings, on the Nabob, relative to his own mootiana,
or forces for collection and police, and the necessity
of giving the Resident a control in the nomination of
the officers of his army, has asserted, " that the necessity of the reservation arose from a too well known
defect in the Nabob's character: if this check be withlldrawn, and the choice left absolutely to the Nabob,
the first commands in his army will be filled with the
most worthless and abandoned of his subjects: his
late comlmander-in-chief is a signal and scandalous instance of this. "
LXXXVIII. And the said Warren Hastings, in
his letter to the Court of Directors, dated Benares,
the 15th of October, 1784, even after he had made
the aforesaid renunciation of the Company's authlority and influence to the Nabob, did write, "that the
Nabob, though most gentle in his manners, and endued with an understanding much above the commoll level, has been unfortunately bred up in habits that draw his attention too much from his own affairs,
and often subject him to the guidance of insidious and
unworthy confidants"; which, though more decently
expressed with regard to the Nabob than in his former
minutes, substantially agrees with them. And the
said Warren Hastings did inform the Court of Directors, after he had solemnly covenanted to withdraw
all the Company's influence on the assurances and
promises of a person so by himself described, that, for
reasons grounded on his knowledge of the imbecility
of the character of the Nabob, he waited. in a frontier
town, " that he might be at hand to counteract any
attempt to defeat the effect of his proceedings at Lucknow"; and in his letter to Mr. Wheler from the
? ? ? ? 172 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
same place he did write in the following words: " I
am still near enough to attend to the first effects of
the execution, and to interfere with my influence for
the removal of any obstructions to which they are or
may be liable. " He therefore found that there was
none or but an insufficient security to the effect of his
treaty, but in his own direct personal violation of it.
What otherwise was wanting in the security for the
Nabob's engagements was to be supplied as follows:
" The most respectable persons of his family will be
employed to counteract every other which may tend
to warp him from it; and I am sorry to say that such
assistance was wanting. " And in another letter,
" that he had equal ground to expect every degree of
support which could be given it by the first characters
of his family, who are warmly and zealously interested in it ": the principal male character of the family,
and of the most influence in that family, being Salar
Jung, uncle to the Nabob; and the first female characters of the family being the mother and grandniother of the reigning sovereign: all of whom, male and female, he, the said Warren Hastings, in sundry letters of his own, in the transmission of various official
documents, and even in affidavits studiously collected
and sworn before Sir Elijah Impey during his short
residence at Lucknow and Benares, did himself represent as persons entirely disaffected to the English
power in India, - as having been principal promoters,
if not original contrivers, of a general rebellion and
revolt for the utter extirpation of the English nation, -and as such, he, the said Warren Hastings,
did compel the Nabob reluctantly to take from them
their landed estates; and yet the said Warren Hastings has had the presumption to attempt to impose
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 173
on the East India Company by pretending to place
his reliance on those three persons for a settlement
favorable to the Company's interests, on his renunciation of all their own power, authority, and influence,
and on his leaving their army to the sole and uncontrolled discretion of a stranger, meriting in his opinion the description given by him as aforesaid, as well
as by him frequently asserted to be politically incapable of supporting his own power without the aid of the
forces of the Company. And the offence of the said
Warren Hastings, in abandoning a considerable part
of the British army in the manner aforesaid, is much
increased by the description which he has himself
given of the state of the said army, and particularly
of that part thereof which is stationed in the Nabob
of Oude's dominions: for he did himself, on the 29th
of November, 1781, transmit the information following, on that subject, to the Court of Directors, namely, -" that the remote stations of those troops, placing the commanding officers beyond the notice and control of the board [the Council-General] at Calcutta, afforded too much of opportunity and temptation
for unwarrantable emoluments, and excited the contagion
of peculation and rapacity throughout the whole army.
A most remarkable instance and uncontrovertible
proof of the prevalence of this spirit has been seen
in the court-martial upon Captain Erskine, where the
court, composed of officers of rank, and respectable
characters, unanimously and honorably, (most honorably,) upon an acknowledged fact, acquitted him,
which in times of stricter discipline would have
been deemed a crime deserving the severest punishment. " From which representation (if the said
Warren Hastings did not falsely and unjustly accuse
? ? ? ? 174 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
and slander the Company's service) it appeared that
the peculation which infected the whole army, derived
from the taint which it had in Oude, and so fatal to
the discipline of the troops, would be dangerously increased by his treaty and agreement aforesaid with the Nabob, and by his own said evil counsel to the
Court of Directors.
LXXXIX. That it appears, after the said Warren
Hastings had, on grounds so disgraceful to the British
nation and government, agreed to remove forever the
British influence and interference from the government of Oude, on account bf the disorders ill the said government, solely produced by his owl) criminal acts
and criminal connivances, that he did overturn his
own settlement as soon as he had made it, and did,
after he had abolished the Company's Residency, as a
grievance, wholly violate his own solemn agreement:
for he did, for his private purposes, continue therein
his own private agent, Major Palmer, with a number
of officers and pensioners, at a' charge to the revenues
of the country greatly exceeding that of the establishment under Mr. Bristow, which he did represent as frightfully enormous, and which he pretended to remove: the former amounting to 112,9501. , the latter only to 64,2021.
XC. That his own secret agent, Major Palmer, did
receive a salary or allowance, equal to 22,8001. a
year, out of the distressed province of Oude; and
this the said Palmer did declare not to be more than
he absolutely did really and bond fide spend, and that
he had retrenched considerably "in some of the
articles since the expense has been borne by the Viz
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 175
ier, and in every particular he made as little parade
and appearaiice as his station would admit," -his station being that of the said Warren Hastings's private
agent. But if the said large salary must be considered as merely equal to the expenses, large secret
emoluments must be presumed to attend it, in order
to make it a place advantageous to the holder thereof.
That the said Palmer did apply to the board at Calcutta for a new authority to continue the said establishments, - he conceiving their continuance, "after the period of the Governor-General's departure, depended upon the pleasure of the board, and not upon the
authority of the Governor-General, under the sanction
of which they were established or confirmed.
XCI. That the said Warren Hastings, in order to
ruin the Resident Bristow, and to justify himself for
his former proceedings respecting him,. did bring before the board a new charge against him, for having
paid a large establishment of offices and pensions to
the Company's servants from the revenues of Oude;
and the said Bristow, in making his defence against
the charge aforesaid, did plead, that he had found all
the allowances on his list established before his last
appointment to the Residency, -that they had grown
to that excess in the interval between his first removal. by the said Warren Hastings and his reappointment; and having adduced many reasons to
make it highly probable that the said Hastings was
perfectly well acquainted with it, and did approve of
the expensive establishments which he, the said Bristow, simply had paid, but not imposed, he did allege,
besides the official assurances of his predecessor, Middleton, certain facts, as amounting to a direct proof
? ? ? ? 176 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
that the Governor-General, Warren Hastings, was not
averse to the Vizier's granting large salaries to more
than one European gentleman. And the first instance was to Mr. Thomas, a surgeon, who, exclusive
of his pay from the Company, which was 1,4401. a
year, claimed from the Vizier, with Mr. Hastings's
knowledge, the sum of 9,7631. a year, and upwards,
making together 11,2031. per annum. The next was
Mr. Trevor Wheler, who did receive, upon the same
establishment, when he was Fourth Assistant at Oude,
6,000/. a year; and which last fact the said Hastings
has admitted upon record " that the accusations of
Mr. Bristow and Mr. Cowper did oblige and compel
him to acknowledge," - denying, at the same time,
that the allowances of the Residents Middleton and
Bristow, except in this single instance, were ever
authorized by him; whereas his own agent, Palmer,
did, in his letter of the 27th of March, 1785, represent, that the said salaries and allowances (if not more
and larger) were by him authorized or confirmed.
XCII. That the aforesaid Bristow did also produce
the following letter in proof that Mr. Hastings knew
and approved of large salaries to British subjects uponl the revenues of Oude, and which he did declare
that nothing but the necessity of self-defence could
have induced him to produce. ' DEAR BRISTOW,"Sir Eyre Coote has some field-allowances to receive from the Vizier; they amount to Sicca Rupees 15,554 per month, and he has been paid up by the
Vizier to the 20th of August, 1782. The Governor
has directed me to write to you, to request you to re
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 177
ceive what is due from the Vizier from the 20th August last, at the rate of Lucknow Sicca Rupees 15,554
per month, and send me a bill for the amount, the
receipt of which I will acknowledge in the capacity
of Sir Eyre Coote's attorney; and the Governor desires that you will continue to receive Sir Eyre Coote's
field-allowances at the same rate, and remit the money to me as it comes in.
(Signed) "CHARLES CROFTES.
"( CALCUTTA, January 25, 1783. "
XCIII. That Sir Eyre Coote aforesaid was at the:
time of the said field-allowances not serving in the.
country of Oude, on which the said allowances were
charged, but in the Carnatic.
XCIV. That, from the declaration of the said Iastings himself, that it was the conviction of Mr. Bristow
and Mr. ' Cowper that could alone oblige and compel
him to acknowledge certain of his aforesaid practices,
and that nothing but the necessity of self-defence could
have induced Mr. Bristow to make public another and
mluch stronger instance of the same, it is to be violently presumed, that, where these two, or either, or both
necessities did not exist, many evil and oppressive
practices of the said Hastings do remain undiscovered, --that, if it had not been for the contests between him, the said Hastings, and the Resident Bristow, not only the before-mentioned particulars, but the whole of the expensive civil establishments for
English servants at Oude, would have been forever
concealed from the Directors and from Parliament:
and yet the said Hastings has had the audacity to pretend so complete an ignorance of the facts, that. i'CpiloVOL. IX. 12
? ? ? ? 178 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
senting the Vizier as objectillg to the largeness of the
payments mlade by Bristow, and stating a very reduceldI list, whlicli lhe was willing to allow for, amountilng to 30,0001. a ycal, thle said Hastings did affect to l,e lllllned at, tie magnlitulde even of the list so curt1,ilv;l, exl')ci'os. '! ll imnsolf as follows, in his millute,i' ti:}, 7t i lf I )ecember, 1784: "For my own part, wlI,hm tlie AVizior's minister rirst informed me that the;llillllt whlicll hlis mastler ha1. autllorized, and was
willioig tni a(llit, fi)r the c'larges of the Residency,
a! n(l t ie all(,laices of tle g:,ltlOlll at Lucknow, was
2;5,000 rupees per montlh, I own I was startled at
tile maglitude of the sum, alld was some days hesitatiing ill my mind whetlier I could with propriety admit of it": whllereas ie well kllew that the three sums alone of wlhich tli necessities aforesaid llad compelled
the discovery did greatly excoe' tliat sumin of which at
tile first hearinog he affects to h11a\-: been so exceedingly alarmd and thrown into a state of lhesitation
which continued for some days, and although lie, the
said Hastillgs, was consciour s that he had at tlhe very
time authorized ain establislhm-ent to more than four
times the namoulnt thereof.
XCV. Tllat, in tile said deceits, prevarications,
contradictions, malicious accusations, fraudulent concealmlents, and compelled discoveries, as well as in the
said secret, corrupt, alcl prodigal disposition of the
revenues of Oude, as well as in his breach of faith to'tile Nabob, in continuing expensive establishments
under a private agent of his own after he had agreed
to remove the Companyll's aget, the said Warren
Hastinigs is guilty,,t' a lhigli offence and misdemeanlolr.
? ? ? ? &GAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 179
XVII. -MAHOMED REZA KHAN.
I. THAT it was the declared policy of the Company, on the acquisition of the dewanny of Bengal, to
contilue the country government, under the inspection of the Resident at the Nabob's durbar in the first
instalce, and that of the President and Council in
the last; and for that purpose they did stipulate to
assign, for the suplport of the digllity of the Nabob,
an annlual allowance from the revenues, equal to four
hundred thousand pounds a year.
II. That, during the coulltry government, the principal active person in the administl'ation of affairs, for
rank, and for reputation of probity, aldc of knowledge
in the revenues and the laws, was Mabhomlled Reza
KhIall, who, besides large landed property, was possessed of' offices Avlose emoluments amounted nearly,
if not altogether, to one hundred thousand pounds a
year.
IV. - That the Company's servants, in the beginning, were not conversant in the affairs of the revenue, and stood ill lneed of natives of integrity and experience to act in the manacgement tlleeof. On that ground, as well as ill regard to thle rank which Mahomned Reza K. han held in the country, and the confidence of the people in him, tlhey, tlhe President and
Cotncil, did intform the Cotrt of Directors, in their
letter of the 30thll of September, 1765, that, " as Mahomed Reza ^Khanli's short administration was irreproachable, they determined to continue him in' a
share of the authority"; and this information was
not given lightly, but was founded upon an inquiry
Sic orig.
? ? ? ? 180 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
into hlis conlduct, and a minute examination of charges
made against him by his'rivals in the Nabob's court,
-- they having insinuated to the Nabob that a design
was formed for deposing him, and placing Mahomed
Reza on his throne; but; on examination, the President and Council declare, that "he had so openly and candidly accounted for every rupee disbursed from
the treasury, that they could not, without injury to
his character, and injustice to his conduct during his
short administration, refuse continuing him in a share
of the government. "
V. That the Company. had reason to be satisfied
with the arrangement made, so far as it regarded
him: the President and Council having informed
them, in the following year, in their letter of the 9th
of December, 1766, that " the larye increase of the
revenue must in a great measure be ascribed to Mr.
Sykes's assiduity, and to 1Mahonmed Reza. Khdn's profound knowledge in th7e finances. "
VI. That the then President and Council, finding
it necessary to make several reforms in the administration, were principally aided in the same by'the snggestion, advice, and assistance of the said Mahomed Reza Khan; and in their letter to the Court of Directors of the 24th of June, 1767, they state
their resolution of reducing the emoluments of office,
which before had arisen from a variety of presents
and other perquisities, to fixed allowances; anlldthey
state the merits of Mahomned Reza Khan':therein, as
well as the importance, dignity, and responsibility of
his station, in the following manner.
"Mahomed Reza Khaln has now of himself, with
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 181
great delicacy of honor, represented to us the evil coilsequences that must ensue from the continuance of
this practice, -since, by suffering the principal officers of the government to depend for the support of
their dignity on the precarious fund of perquisites,
they in a manner oblige them to pursue oppressive
and corrupt measures, equally injurious to the country and the Company; and'they accordingly assigned
twelve lac of rupees for the maintenance and support of the said Mahomed Reza Khan, and two other
principal persons, who held in their hands the most
important employments of that government, - having
regard to their elevated stations, and to the expediency of supporting them in all the show and parade
requisite to. keep up the authority and influence of
their respective offices, as they are all men of weight
alid consideration in. the country, who held places of
great trust and profit'under the former government.
We further propose', by this act of generosity, to engage their cordial services, and confirm them steady
in our interests; since they cannot hope, from the
most successful ambition, to rise to greater advantages by any chance or revolution of affairs. At the
same time it was reasonable we should not lose sight
of Mahomed Reza Kha^n's past services. He has pursued the Company's interest with steadiness and diligence; his abilities qualify him to perform the most important services; the unavoidable charges of his
particular situation are great; in dignity he stands
second to the Nabob only; -- and as he engages to
increase the revenues, without injustice or oppression, to more than tlle'amount of his salary, and to
relinquish those advantages, to the amouv. t of eight lacs
of rupees per annum, which he heretofore enjoyed, we
? ? ? ? 182 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
thought it proper, in the distribution of salaries, to
consider Mahomed Reza Khfin in a light superior to
the other ministers. We have only to observe further, that, great and enormous as the sum must appear which we have allotted for the support of the minlisters of the government, we will not hesitate to
pronounce that it is. necessary and reasonable, and
will appear so on the consideration of the power
which men employed on these important services
have either to obstruct or promote the public good,
unless their integrity be confirmed by the ties of
gratitude and interest. "
VII. That the said Mallomed Reza Klchan continued, with the same diligence, spirit, and fidelity, to
execute the trust reposed in him, wlhich comprehended a large proportion of the weight of government, and particularly of the collections; and his attachment to the interest of the Coipatny, and his
extensive knowledge, were again, in the course of
the year 1767, fully acknowledged, and stated to the
Court of Directors. And it further appears that
by an incessant application to business his health
was considerably impaired, which. gave occasion in the
year following, that is, in Fcbruary, 1768, to a fiesh
acknowledgment of his services ini these terms: 1" We
must, in justice to Mahomed Reza KhIlan, express the
high sense we entertain of his abilities, and of the indefatigable attention he has shown ill the executioi
of the important trust reposed in him; and we cannot
but lament the prospect of losing his services from
the present declining state of his health. "
VIII. That as in the increase of the revenue the
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 183
said Mahomed Reza Khnll was employed as a person
likely to improve tlhe same without detriment to the
people, so, whlen thle state of any province seemed to
require a remission, he was employed as a person
disposed to'tlle relief of thle people without fraud. to
the revenue; and thlis was expressed by the Presidenlt and Coulicil as follows, with relatioin to the remissions granted ill the province of Blahar: " That
the general kinowledge of Mahomed Reza Khan, in
all matters relative to the dewanny revenues, induced
us to consent to such deductions being made from
the general state of that province at the last poonah
as may be deemed irrecoverable, or such as may procure an immediate relief and encouragement to the
ryots in the future cultivation of their lands. "
IX. That the said Mahomed Reza Khan, in the
execution of the said great and important trusts and
powers, was not so much as suspected of an ambitious
or encroaching spirit, which might make him dangerous to the Company's then recent authority, or which
might render his precedence injurious to the consideration due to his colleagues in office; but, on the contrary, it appears, that, a plan having been adopted for dividing the administration, in order to remove the
Nabob's jCeloutsies, tlle same was in danger of being
subverted b)y tlhe ambition. " of two of his colleagues,
and the ex:eessive mzoderation of Mahomed Reza Khdn. "
And for a remedy of the inconveniencies which might
arise from the excess of an accommodating temper,
though attended with irreproachable integrity, the
President and Council did send one of their ownl m'embers, as their deputy, to the Nabob of Bengal, at his
capital of Moorshedabad; and this measure appears to
? ? ? ? 184 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
have been adopted for the support of Mahomed Reza
Khan, ill consequence of an inquiry made and advice
given by Lord Clive, in his letter of the 3d of July,
1765, in which letter he expresses himself of the said
Mahomed Reza Khan as follows: " It is with pleasure
I can acquaint you, that, the more Isee of Mahomed Reza Khdn, the stronger is my conviction of his honor and moderation, but that, at the same time, I cannot help
observing, that, either from timidity or an erroneous
principle, he is too ready to submit to encroachments
upon that proportion of power that has been allotted
him. "
X. That, the Nabob Jaffier Ali Khan dying in
February, 1765, Mahomed Reza Khan was appointed guardian to his children, and administrator of his
office, or regent, which appointment the Court of
Directors did approve. But the party opposite to
Mahomed Reza Khan having continued to cabal
against him, sundry accusations were framed relative
to oppression at the time of the famine, and for a
balance due during his employment of collector of
the revenues; upon which the Directors did order
him to be deprived of his office, and a strict inquiry
to be made into his conduct.
XI. That the said Warren Hastings, then lately
appointed to the Presidency, did, on the 1st of April,
and on the 24th of September, 1772, write letters to
the Court of Directors, informing them that on the
very next day after he had received (as he asserts)
their private orders, "addressed to himself alone,"
and not to the board, he did dispatch, by express messengers, his orders to Mr. Middleton, the Resident at
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. :185
the Nabob's court at Moorshedabad, in a public character:and trust with the Nabob, to arrest, in his capital, and at his court, and without any previous notice given of any charge, his principal minister, the aforesaid: Mahlomed Reza Khan, and to bring him down to
Calcutta; and he did carefully conceal his said proceedings from the knowledge of the board, on pretext
of his not being acquainted with their dispositions,
and the influence which he thought that the said Mahomed Reza Khan had amongst them.
XII. That the said Warren Hastings, at the time
he gave his orders as aforesaid for arresting the said
Mahomed Reza Khan, did not take any measures to
compel the appearance of any other persons as witnesses,- declaring it as his opinion, "that there
would be little need of violence to obtain such intelligence as they could give against their former master,
when his authority is taken from him"; but he did
afterwards, in excuse for the long detention and imprisonment of the said Mahonmed Reza Khan, without
any proofs having been obtained of his guilt, or measures taken to bring him to a trial, assure the Directors,
in direct contradiction to his former declaration, " that
the influence of Mahomed Reza Khan still prevailed
generally throughout the country, in the Nabob's
household, and at the capital, and was scarcely affected by his present disgrace," -notwithstanding, as he,
the said Hastings, doth confess, he had used his utmost endeavors s" to break that influence, by removing his dependants, and putting the direction of all the affairs that had been committed to his care into
the hands of the most powerful or active of his enemies;
that he depended on the activity of their hatred to
? ? ? ? 186 ARTTCLES OF CHARGE
Mahomed Reza Khh^lln, incited by the expectation of
rewards, for investigati(ng the conduct of the latter;
that with this the institution of thle new dewanny
coincided; and that the same principle had guided
him ill the choice of Mnlllly 3Begiln and' Rajah
Gourdas, --the former for the chief administration,
the latter r" (tle sonl of Nundcomar, and a more instrument in thle lands of his fahiller) " for the dclewaliyv of tile NaT. lol)'s llousellold, - both the declared enemzies of Mniolned rPeza. lhahln. "L)
XIII. That, althoughl it might be true that enemllies will become thle most active prosecutors, and as
such may, though ll ndller much guard and maly precautions, be used evenc as witnesses, andl that it ought
not to be an exception, supposing their character and
capacity otherwise good, to the appointing them to
power, yet to advance persons to power on. the ground
not of their honor and integrity, which miglht have
produced the enmity of had men, but merely for the
enmity itself, without any -reference whatsoever to a
laudable cause, and even with a declared ill opinion
of the morals of onlle of the party, such as was actually
delivered in the said letter by him, the said Hastings,
of Nundcomar, (and whllich time has showni lie might
also on good glrould have conceived of otliors,) was,
in tlhe circumstances of a crimiilal inquiry, a motive
highlly disgracefl. to the holor of government, and
destructive of impartial justice, by holding out the
greatest of all possible temptatioll to false accusation,
to corrupt and factious collspiracies, to. pclrjry, and
to every species of injustice and oppression.
XIV. That, in consequence of thle aforesaid mo
? ? ? ? AGATNST WARREN HASTINGS. 187
tives, and others pretended, wllich were by no means
a sufficient justification to the said Warren Hastinlgs,
lie did appoint the woman aforesaid, ca~lled Munny
Begum, who had b)eti of the lowest and most discreditable order in society, accordilng to thle ideas preva~lent in India, but froml whom he received several sums of money, to be guardian to the Nabob in preferelnce to his own mother, and to accldmini. ster the cfcilrs
qf the govcrnmCent in the place of' the said Mahomled
Reza IKthln, the seconed Mussulman in rank after the
Nabob, and the first in knowledg'e, gravity, weight,
and character amonlg the Mussulmen1 of that proviince.
And in order to try every mothod a. nd to take every
chance for his destruction, thie said Warren11 Hastings
did maliciously and oppressively keep him under confinement, for a part of the time witlhout any inquiry,
and afterwards with a slow and dilatory trial, for two
years together.
XV.