This is
presented
for your Highness's information.
Edmund Burke
453
and that sne, the mother of the Nabob, did afterwards
send the same to the Resident, Bristow, asserting
their innocence, and accompanying the same with the
copies of letters (the originals of which they asserted were in their hands) from the chief witnesses against them, Hannay and Gordon, which letters did
directly overturn the charges or insinuations in the
affidavits made by them, and that, instead of any accusation of an attempt upon them and their parties by the instigation of the mother of the Nabob, or by
her ministers, they, the said Hannay and Gordon,
did attribute their preservation to them and to their
services, and did, with strong expressions of gratitude
both to the mother of the Nabob and to her ministers,
fully acknowledge the same: which remonstrance
of the mother of the Nabob, and the letters of the said
Hannay and Gordon, are annexed to this charge;
and the said Hastings is highly criminal for not
having examined into the facts alleged in the said
remonstrance.
LXXXI. That the violent proceedings of the said
Warren Hastings did tend to impress all the neighboring princes, some of whom were allied in blood to the oppressed women of rank aforesaid, with an ill
opinion of the faith, honor, and decency of the British
nation; and accordingly, on the journey aforesaid
made by the Nabob from Lucknow to Fyzabad, in
which the said Nabob did restore, in the manner before mentioned, the confiscated estates of his mother and grandmother, and did afterwards revoke his said
grant, it appears that the said journey did cause a
general alarm (the worst motives obtaining the most
easy credit with regard to any future proceeding, on
? ? ? ? 454 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
account of the foregone acts) and excited great indignation among the ruling persons of the adjacent country, insomuch that Major Brown, agent to the said Warren Hastings at the court of the King Shah Al
lum at Delhi, did write a remonstrance therein to ]Mr.
Bristow, Resident at Oude, as follows.
"The evening of the 7th, at a conference I had
with Mirza Shaffee Khan, he introduced a subject, respecting the Nabob Vizier, which, however it may be
disagreeable for you to know, and consequently for
me to communicate, I am under a necessity of laying before you. He told me he had received information from Lucknow, that, by the advice of Hyder
Beg Khan, the Vizier had determined to bring his
grandmother, the widow of Sufdar Jung, from Fyzabad to Lucknow, with a view of getting a further sum
of money from her, by seizing on her eunuchs, digging up the apartments of her house at Fyzabad, and
putting her own person under restraint. This, he
said, he knew was not an act of our government, but
the mere advice of Hyder Beg Khan, to which the
Vizier had been induced to attend. He added, that
the old Begum had resolved rather to put herself to
death than submit to the disgrace intended to be
put upon her; that, if such a circumstance should
happen, there is not a man in Hindostan who will attribute the act to the Vizier [Nabob of Oude], but every
one will fix the odium on the English, who might easily,
by the influence they so largely exercise in their own concerns there, have prevented such unnatural conduct
in the Vizier. He therefore called upon me, as the
English representative in this quarter, to inform you
of this, that you may prevent a step which will destroy
all confidence in the English nation throughout Hin
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 455
dostan, and excite the bitterest resentment in all those
who by blood are connected with the house of Sufdar
Jung. He concluded by saying, that,' if the Vizier
so little regarded his family and personal honor, or his
natural duty, as to wish to disgrace his father's mother
for a sum of money, let him plunder her of all'she
has, but let him send her safe up to Delhi or Agra,
and, poor as I am, I will furnish subsistence for her,
which she shall possess with safety and honor, though
it cannot be adequate to her rank. '
" This, Sir, is a most exact detail of the conversation (as far as related to that affair) on the part of
Mirza Shaffee Khan. On my part I could only say,
that I imagined the affair was misrepresented, and
that I should write as he requested. Let me therefore request that you will enable me to answer in a
more effectual manner any further questions on this
subject.
LXXXII. "As Mirza Shaffee's grandfather was
brother to Sufdar Jung, there can be no doubt of what
his declaration means; and if this measure of dismissing the old Begum should be persisted in, I should
not, from the state of affairs, and the character of the
Amir ul Omrah, be surprised at some immediate and
violent resolution being adopted by him. "
LXXXIII. That Mirza Shaffee, mentioned in this
correspondence, (who has since been murdered,)
was of near kindred to the lady in question, (grandmother to the Nabob,) was resident in a province immediately adjoining to the province of Oude, and, from proximity of situation and nearness of connection,
was likely to have any intelligence conlcerning his
female relations from the best authority.
? ? ? ? 456 A'RTICLES OF CHARGE
LXXXIV. That the Resident, Bristow, o0n receiv
ing this letter, did apply to the said Hyder Beg Khlla
for an explanation of the Nabob's intentions, who denied that the Nabob intended more than a visit of
duty and ceremony: which, whatever his dispositions
might have been, and probably were, towards his own
mother, was not altogether probable, as it was well
known that he was on very bad terms with the mother of his father, and it appears that intentions of a similar nature had been before manifested even with
regard to his own mother, and therefore obtained the
more easy credit concerning the other woman of high
rank aforesaid, especially as the evil designs of the
said iyder Beg were abundantly known, and that the
said Hastings, upon whom he did wholly depend, continued to recommend " the most effectual, that is, the most violent, means for the recovery of the small remains of his extorted demand. " But although it does not appear that the Resident did give credit to the
said report, yet the effect of the same on the minds of
the neighboring princes did make it proper and necessary to direct a strict inquiry into the same, which was not done; and it does not appear that any further inquiry was made into the true motives for this projected journey to Fyzabad, nor into the proceedings
of Hyder Beg Khaln, although the said Warren Hastings well knew that all the acts of the Nabob and his principal ministers were constantly attributed to him,
and that it was known that secret agents, as well as
the Company's regular agent, were employed by him
at Lucknow and other places.
LXXXV. That the said Hastings, who did, on
pretence of the majesty of justice, refuise to ilqluire
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 457
into the charges made upon the female parents of
the Nabob of Oude, in justification of the violence offered to them, did voluntarily and of his own accord
make himself an accuser of the Resident, Middleton,
for the want of a literal execution of his orders in the
plans of extortion and rapine aforesaid: the criminal
nature, spirit, and tendency of the said proceedings,
for the defective execution of which he brought the
said charge, appearing in the defence or apology
made by Mr. Middleton, the Resident, for his temporary and short forbearances.
LXXXVI. "'It could not, I flatter myself, be
termed a long or unwarrantable delay [two days],
when the importance of the business, and the peculiar embarrassments attending the prosecution of it
to its desired end, are considered. The Nabob was
son to the Begum whom we were to proceed against:
a son against a mother must at least save appearances
in his mode of proceeding. The produce of his negotiation was to be received by the Company. Receiving
a benefit, accompanying the Nabob, withdrawing their
protection, were circumstances sufficient to mark the
English as the principal movers in this business. At a
court where no opportunity is lost to throw odium on
us, so favorable an occasion was not missed to persuade the Nabob that we instigated him to dishonor
his family for our benefit. The impressions made
by these suggestions constantly retarded the progress, and more than once actually broke off the business: which rendered the utmost caution on my part necessary, especially as I had no assistance to expect
from the ministers, who could not openly move in the
business. Iln the East, it is well known that no man,
? ? ? ? 458 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
either by himself or his troops, can enter the walls of
a zenanah, scarcely in the case of acting against an
open enemy, much less of an ally, -an ally acting
against his own mother. The outer walls, and the Begum's asgents, were all that were liable to immediate attack: they were dealt with, and successfully, as the
event proved. " -- He had before observed to Mr.
Hastings, in his correspondence, what Mr. Hastings
well knew to be true, " that no farther rigor than
that he had exerted could be used against females in
that country; where force could be employed, it was
not spared;- that the place of concealment was only
known to the chief eunuchs, who could not be drawn
out of the women's apartments, where they had taken
refuge, and from which, if an attempt had been made
to storm them, they might escape; and the secret of
the money being known only to them, it was necessary to get their persons into his hands, which could be obtained by negotiation only. " - The Resident concluded his defence by declaring his " hope, that, if the main object of his orders was fulfilled, he should be
no longer held criminal for a deviation from the precise letter of them. "
LXXXVII. That the said Warren Hastings did
enter a reply to this answer, in support of his criminal charge, continuing to insist "that his orders
ought to have been literally obeyed," although he did
not deny that the above difficulties occurred, and the
above consequences must have been the result, - and
though the reports of the military officers charged
with the execution of his commission confirmed the
moral impossibility, as well as inutility in point of
profit, of forcing a son to greater violence and rigor
against his mother.
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 459
LXXXVIII. That the said Hastings, after all the
acts aforesaid, did presume to declare on record, in
his minute of the 23d September, 1783, " that, whatever may happen of the events which he dreads in
the train of affairs now subsisting, he shall at least
receive this consolation under them, that he used his
utmost exertions to prevent them, and that in the annals of the nations of India which have been subjected
to the British dominions HE shall not be remembered
tamosig their oppressors. " And speaking of certain alleged indignities offered to the Nabob of Oude, and
certain alleged suspicions of his authority with regard to the management of his household, he, the
said Hastings, did, in the said minute, endeavor to
excite the spirit of the British nation, severely animadverting on such offences, making use of the following terms: " If there be a spark of generous virtue in the breasts of any of my countrymen who shall be the readers of this compilation, this letter " (a letter of complaint from the Nabob) " shall stand for an
instrument to awaken it to the call of vengeance
against so flagitious an abuse of authority and reproach to the British name. "
From her Excellency the Bhow Begum to Mr. Bristow,
Resident at the Vizier's Court.
THERE is no necessity to write to you by way of information a detail of my sufferings. Fromn common
report, and the intelligence of those who are about
you, the account of them will have reached your ears.
I will here relate a part of them.
After the death of Sujah Dowlah, most of his ungrateful servants were constantly laboring to gratify
? ? ? ? 460 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
their enmity; but finding, from the firm and sincere
friendship which subsisted between me and the English, that the accomplishment of their purposes was frustrated, they formed the design of occasioning a
breach in that alliance, to insure their own success.
I must acquaint you that my son Asoph ul Dowlah
had formerly threatened to seize my jaghire; but, upon producing the treaty signed by you, and showing it to Mr. Middleton, lie interfered, and prevented the
impending evil. The conspiration now framed an accusation against me of a conduct which I had never conceived even in idea, of rendering assistance to Rajah Cheyt Sing. The particulars are as follow. My son Asoph ul Dowlah and his ministers, with troops
and a train of artillery, accompanied by Mr. Middleton, on the 16th of the month of Mohurum, arrived
at Fyzabad, and made a demand of a crore of rupees.
As my inability to pay so vast a sum was manifest, I
produced the treaty you signed and gave me, but to
no effect: their hearts were determined upon violence. I offered my son Asoph ul Dowlah, whose will
is dearer to me than all my riches, or even life itself,
whatever money and goods I was possessed of: but
an amicable adjustment seemed not worth accepting:
lie demanded the delivering up the fort, and the recall
of the troops that were stationed for the preserving
the peace of the city. To me tumult and discord
appeared unnecessary. I gave up these points, upon which they seized my head eunuchs, Jewar Ali Khanl and Behar Ali Khan, and sent them to Mr.
Middleton, after having obliged them to sign a bond
for sixty lacs of rupees; they were thrown into prison, with fetters about their feet, and denied food and water. I, wlho had never, even inl my dreams, expe
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 461
rienced such an oppression, gave up all I had to preserve my honor and dignity: but this would not satisfy their demands: they charged me with a rupee
and a half batta upon each mohur, and on this account laid claims upon me to the amount of six lacs
some thousand rupees, and sent Major Gilpin to exact the payment. Major Gilpin, according to orders,
at first was importunate; but being a man of experience, and of a benevolent disposition, when he was
convinced of my want of means, he changed his conduct, and was willing to apply to the shroffs and bankers to lend me the money. But with the loss of my
jaghire my credit was sunk; I could not raise the
sum. At last, feeling my helpless situation, I collected my wardrobe and furniture, to the amount of
about three lacs of rupees, besides fifty thousand rupees which I borrowed from one place or other, and
sent Major Gilpin with it to Lucknow. My sufferings
did not terminate here. The disturbances of Colonel
Hannay, and Mr. Gordon were made a pretence for
seizing my jaghire. The state of the matter is this.
When Colonel Hannay was by Mr. Hastings ordered
to march to Benares, during the troubles of Cheyt
Sing, the Colonel, who had plundered the whole country, was incapable of proceeding, from the union of thousands of zemindars, who had seized this favorable opportunity: they harassed Mr. Gordon near Junivard [Juanpore? ], and the zemindars of that place and Acberpore opposed his march from thence, till he arrived near
raunda. As the Taunda nullah, from its overflowing, was difficult to cross without a boat, Mr. Gordon
sent to the Phousdar to supply him. He replied, the
boats were all in the river, but would, according to
orders, assist him as soon as possible. Mr. Gordon's
? ? ? ? 462 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
situation would not admit of his waiting: he forded
the nullah upon his elephant, and was hospitably entertained and protected by the Phousdar for six days. In the mean time a letter was received by me from
Colonel Hiannay, desiring me to escort Mr. Gordon
to Fyzabad. As my friendship for the English was
always sincere, I readily complied, and sent some
companies of nejeebs to escort Mr. Gordon, and all
his effects, to Fyzabad, where, having provided for his
entertainment, I effected his junction with Colonel
Haimay. The letters of thanks I received from both
these gentlemen upon this occasion are still in my
possession, copies of which I gave in charge to Major
Gilpin, to be delivered to Mr. Middleton, that he
might forward them to the Governor-General. To
be brief, those who have loaded me with accusations
are now clearly convicted of falsehood. But is it
not extraordinary, notwithstanding the justness of
my cause, that nobody relieves my misfortunes?
Why did Major Gilpin return without effect?
My prayers have been constantly offered to Heaven
for your arrival; report has announced it; for which
reason I have taken up the pen, and request you will
not place implicit confidence in my accusers, but,
weighing in the scale of justice their falsehoods and
my representations, you will exert your influence in
putting a period to the misfortunes with which I am
overwhelmed.
Copy of a Letter from Colonel Hannay to Jewar Ali
Ihdn and Behar Ali KIhin.
I had the pleasure to receive your friendly letter,
fraught with benevolence; and whatever favors you,
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 463
my fiiends, have been pleased to confer respecting
Mr. Gordon afforded me the greatest pleasure.
Placing a firm reliance on your friendship, I am
in expectation that the aforesaid gentleman, with his
baggage, will arrive at Fyzabad in safety, that the
same may oblige and afford satisfaction to me.
A letter from Mr. Gordon is inclosed to you. I
am in expectation of its being inclosed in a cover to
the Aumil of Taunda, to the end that the Aumil may
forward it to the above-mentioned gentleman, and procure his reply. Whenever the answer arrives, let it be delivered to Hoolas Roy, who will forward it to me.
Always rejoice me by a few lines respecting your
health. [Continue to honor me with your correspondence. ]
Copy of a Letter from Colonel iannay to Jewar and
Behar Ali Khan.
Khan Saib, my indulgent friends, remain under
the protection of God!
Your friendly letter, fraught with kindness, accompanied by an honorary letter from the Begum Saib,
of exalted dignity, and inclosing a letter from Mr.
Gordon, sent through your hircarrahs, obliged and
rejoiced me.
With respect to what you communicate regarding
your not having received an answer to your friendly
epistle, I became perfectly astonished, as a reply was
written from Mohadree. It may be owing to the
danger of the road that it never arrived, - not to the
smallest neglect oil my side [or of mine].
I now send two letters to you, - one by the Dawk
people, and the second by one of my hircarrahs, (who
? ? ? ? 464 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
will present them to you,) which you certainly will
receive.
I am extremely well contented and pleased with
the friendship you have shown.
You wrote me to remain perfectly easy concerning
Mr. Gordon. Verily, from the kindness of you, my
indulgent friends, my heart is quite easy. You also
observed and mentioned, that, as Mr. Gordon's coining with those attached to him [probably his sepoys and others] might be attended with difficulty, if I approved, he should be invited alone to Fyzabad. My friends, I place my expectation entirely upon your
friendships, and leave it to you to adopt the manner
in which the said gentleman may arrive in security,
without molestation, at Fyzabad; but at the same
time let the plan be so managed that it may not
come to the knowledge of any zemindars: in this
case you are men of discernment. However, he is
to come to Fyzabad: extend your assistance and endeavors.
It is probable that the Begum Saib, of high dignity,
has received authentic intelligence from the camp at
Benares. Favor me with the contents or purport.
From Mr. Gordon's letter I understand that Mirza
Imaum Buksh, whom you dispatched thither [Taunda], has and still continues to pay great attention to that gentleman, which affords me great pleasure.
An answer to the Begum's letter is to be presented.
I also send a letter for Mr. Gordon, which please to
forward.
An Address from Colonel Hannay to the Begum.
Begum Saib, of exalted dignity and generosity,
&c. , whom God preserve!
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 465
Your exalting letter, fraught with grace and benevolence, that through your unbounded generosity and
goodness was sent through grace and favor, I had the
honor to receive in a fortunate moment, and whatever you were pleased to write respecting Mr. Gordon,-' that, as at this time the short-sighted and deluded ryots had carried their disturbances and ravages beyond all bounds, Mr. Gordon's coming with his
whole people [or adlerents] might be attended with
difficulty, and therefore, if I chose, he should be
invited to come alone. " Now, as your Highness is
the best judge, your faithful servant reposeth his.
most unbounded hopes and expectation upon yourHighness, that the aforesaid Mr. Gordon may arrive:
at Fyzabad without any apprehension or danger. I
shall be then extremely honored and obliged.
Considering me in the light of a firm and faithful
servant, continue to honor and exalt me by your
letters.
What further can I say?
A Copy of an Address from Mr. Gordon to the
Begum.
Begum Saib, of exalted dignity and generosity,
whom God preserve!
After presenting the usual professions of servitude,
&c. , in the customary manner, my address is presented.
Your gracious letter, in answer to the petition of
your servant from Goondah, exalted me. From the
contents I became unspeakably impressed with the
honor it conferred. May the Almighty protect that
royal purity, and bestow happiness, increase of wealth,.
and prosperity!
VOL. VIII. 30
? ? ? ? 466 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
The welfare of your servant is entirely owing to
your favor and benlevolence. A few days have elapsed
since I arrived at Goondah with the Colonel Saib.
This is presented for your Highness's information.
I cherish hopes from your generosity, that, considering me in the light of one of your servants, you will always continue to exalt and honor me with your gracious letters.
May the sun of prosperity continually shine!
Copy of a Letter to Mahomed Jewar Ali Khdn and
Behar Ali Khdn, from MJr. Gordon.
Sirs, my indulgent friends,
Remain under, &c. , &c.
After compliments. I have the pleasure to acquaint you that yesterday having taken leave of you,
I passed the night at Noorgunge, and next morning,
about ten or eleven o'clock, through your favor and
benevolence, arrived safe at Goondah. Mir Aboo
Buksh, zemindar, and Mir Rustum Ali, accompa-:iied me.
To what extent can I prolong the praises of you,
my beneficent friends? May the Supreme Being, for
this benign, compassionate, humane action, have you
in His keeping, and increase your prosperity, and
speedily grant me the pleasure of an interview!
Until which time continue to favor me with friendly
letters, and oblige me by any commands in my power
to execute.
May your wishes be ever crowned with success!
My compliments, &c. , &c. , &c.
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 467
Copy of a Letter from Colonel Iannay to Jewar Ali
Khan and Behar Ali Khan.
KhEhn Saib, my indulgent friends,
Remain under the protection of the Supreme Being!
After compliments, and signifying my earnest desire of an interview, I address you.
Your friendly letter, fraught with kindness, I had
the pleasure to receive in a propitious hour, and your
inexpressible kindness in sending for Mir Nassar Ali
with a force to Taunda, for the purpose of conducting
Mr. Gordon, with all his baggage, who is now arrived
at Fyzabad.
This event has afforded me the most excessive pleasure and satisfaction. May the Omnipotence preserve
you, my steadfast, firm friends! The pen of friendship
itself cannot sufficiently express your generosity and
benevolence, and that of the Begum of high dignity,
who so graciously has interested herself in this matter. Inclosed is an address for her, which please to
forward. I hope from your friendship, until we meet,
you will continue to honor me with an account of
your health and welfare. What further can I write?
V. - REVOLUTIONS IN FURRUCKABAD.
I. THAT a prince called Ahmed Kha1n was of a family amongst the most distinguished in Hilndostan, and
of a nation famous through that empire for its valor
in acquiring, and its policy and prudence in well governing the territories it had acquired, called the Patans, or Afghans, of which the Rohillas were a branch. The said Ahmed Khaln had fixed his residence ill the
? ? ? ? 468 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
city of Furruckabad, and in the first wars of this nation in India the said Ahmed Khan attached himself
to the Company against Sujah Dowlah, then an enemy,
now a dependant on that Company. Ahmed Khan,
towards the close of his life, was dispossessed of a large
part of his dominions by the prevalence of the Mahratta power; but his son, a minor, succeeded to his
pretensions, and to the remainder of his dominions.
The Mahrattas were expelled by Sujah ul Dowlah, the
late Vizier, who, finding a want of the services of the
son and successor of Ahmed Khan, called Muzuffer
Jung, did not only guaranty him in the possession of
what he then actually held, but engaged to restore
all the other territories which had been occupied by
the Mahrattas; and this was confirmed by repeated
treaties and solemn oaths, by the late Vizier and by
the present. But neither the late nor the present
Vizier fulfilled their engagements, or observed their
oaths: the former having withheld what he had stipulated to restore; and the latter not only subjecting
him to a tribute, instead of restoring him to what his
father had unjustly withheld, but having made a further invasion by depriving him of fifteen of his districts, levying the tribute of the whole on the little that remained, and putting the small remains of his
territory under a sequestrator or collector appointed
by Almas Ali Khan, who did grievously afflict and
oppress the prince and territory aforesaid.
That the hardships of his case being frequently represented to Warren Hastings, Esquire, he did suggest
a doubt whether " that little ought to be still subject
to tribute," indicating that the said tribute might be
hard and inequitable, - but, whatever its justice might
have been, that, " from the earliest period of our con
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 469
nection with the present Nabob of Oude, it had invariably continued a part of the funds assigned by his
Excellency as a provision for the liquidation of the
several public demands of this government [Calcutta]
upon him; and in consequence of the powers the board
deemed it expedient to vest in the Resident at his
court for the collection of the Company's assignments,
a sezauwil [a sequestrator] has always been stationed
to enforce by every means in his power the payment
of the tribute. " And the said tribute was, in consequence of this arrangement, not paid to the Nabob,
but to the British Resident at Oude; and the same
being therefore under the direction and for the sole
use of the Company, and indeed the prince himself
wholly dependent, the representatives of the said Company were responsible for the protection of the prince,
and for the good government of the country.
II. That the said Warren Hastings did, on the 22d
of May, 1780, represent to the board of Calcutta the
condition of the said country in the following manner.
" To the total want of all order, regularity, or authority in his government [the Furruckabad government], among other obvious causes, it may, no doubt, be owing, that the country of Furruckabad is become
an almost entire waste, without cultivation or inhabitants; that the capital, which but a very short time
ago was distinguished as one of the most populous
and opulent commercial cities in Hindostan, at present
exhibits nothing but scenes of the most wretched poverty, desolation, and misery; and the Nabob himself,
though in possession of a tract of country which with
only common care is notoriously capable of yielding
? ? ? ? 470 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
an annual revenue of between thirty and forty lacs
[three or four hundred thousand pounds], with no
military establishment to maintain, scarcely commanding the means of bare subsistence. " And the said Warren Hastings, taking into consideration the said state of the country and its prince, and that the latter had
4"preferredfrequent complaints" (which complaints the
said Hastings to that time did not lay before the board,
as his duty required) " of the hardships and indignities
to which he is subjected by the conduct of the sezauwil [sequestrator] stationed in the country for the
purpose of levying the annual tribute which he is
bound by treaty to pay to the Subah of Oude," he, the
said Warren Hastings, did declare himself " extremely desirous, as well from motives of common justice as
due regard to the rank which that chief holds among the
princes of Hindostan, of affording him relief. " And
he, the said Warren Hastings, as the means of the said
relief, did, with the consent of the board, order the
said native sequestrator to be removed, and an English Resident, a servant of the Company, to be appointed in his room, declaring i' he understood a local interference to be indispensably necessary for realizing
the Vizier's just demands. "
III. That the said native sequestrator being withdrawn, and a Resident appointed, no complaint whatever concerning the collection of the revenue, or of
any indignities offered to the prince of the country
or oppression of his subjects by the said Resident, was
made to the Superior Council at Calcutta; yet the
said Warren Hastings did, nevertheless, in a certain
paper, purporting to be a treaty made at Chunar with
the Nabob of Oude, on the 19th September, 1781. , at
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 471
the request of the said Nabob, consent to an article
therein, " That no English Resident be appointed to
Furruckabad, and that the present be recalled. " And
the said Warren Hastings, knowing that the Nabob
of Oude was ill-affected towards the said Nabob of
Furruckabad, and that he was already supposed to
have oppressed him, did justify his conduct on the
principles and in the words following: " That, if the
Nabob Muzuffer Jung must endure oppression, (and
I dare not at this time propose his total relief,) it concerns the reputation of our government to remove our participation in it. " And the said Warren Hastings making, recording, and acting upon the first of
the said false and inhuman suppositions, most scandalous to this nation, namely, that princes paying money wholly for the use of the Company, and directly to its agent, for the maintenance of British troops, by whose force and power the said revenue was in
effect collected, must of necessity endure oppression,
and that our government at any time dare not propose
their total relief, was an high offence and misdemeanor
in the said Warren Hastings, and the rather, because
in the said treaty, as well as before and after, the said
Hastings, who pretended not to dare to relieve those
oppressed by the Nabob of Oude, did assume a complete authority over the said Nabob himself, and did dare to oppress him.
IV. That the second principle assumed by the said
Warren Hastings, as ground for voluntarily abandoning the protection of those whom he had before undertaken to relieve, on the sole strength of his own
authority, and in full confidence of the lawful foundation thereof, and for delivering over the persons so
? ? ? ? 472 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
taken into protection, under false names and pretended descriptions, to known oppression, asserting
that the reputation of the Company was saved by removing this apparent participation, when the new as
well as the old arrangements were truly and substantially acts of the British government, was disingenuous, deceitful, and used to cover unjustifiable designs: since the said Warren Hastings well knew
that all oppressions exercised by the Nabob of Oude
were solely, and in this instance particularly, upheld
by British force, and were imputed to this nation;
and because he himself, in not more than three days
after the execution of this treaty, and in virtue thereof, did direct the British Resident at Oude, in orders
to which he required his most implicit obedience, " that
the ministers [the Nabob of Oude's ministers] are to
choose all aumils and collectors of revenue with your
concurrence. " And the dishonor to the Company,
in thus deceitfully concurring in oppression, which
they were able and were bound to prevent, is much
aggravated by the said Warren Hastings's receiving
from the person to whose oppression he had delivered
the said prince, as a private gift or donation to himself and for his own use, a sum of money amounting
to one hundred thousand pounds and upwards, which
might give just ground of suspicion that the said gift
from the oppressor to the person surrendering the
person injured to his mercy might have had some
share in the said criminal transaction.
V. That the said Warren Hastings did (in the paper justifying the said surrender of the prince put
by himself under the protection of the East India
Company) assert, " that it was a fact, that the Na
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 473
bob Muzuffer Jung [the Nabob of Furruckabad] is
equally urgent with the Nabob Vizier for the removal
of a Resident," without producing, as he ought to
have done, any document to prove his improbable assertion, namely, his assertion that the oppressed prince
did apply to his known enemy and oppressor, the Nabob of Oude, (who, if he would, was not able to relieve him against the will of the English government,)
rather than to that English government, which he
must have conceived to be more impartial, to which
he had made his former complaint, and which was
alone able to relieve him.
VI. That the said Warren Hastings, in the said
writing, did further convey an insinuation of an ambiguous, but, on any construction, of a suspicious and
dangerous import, viz. : " It is a fact, that Mr. Shee's
[the Resident's] authority over the territory of Fur
ruckabad is in itself as much subversive of that [of
the lawful rulers] as that of the Vizier's aumil [collector] ever was, and is the more oppressive as the
power from whence it is derived is greater. " The
said assertion proceeds upon a supposition of the illegality both of the Nabob's and the Company's government; all consideration of the title to authority
being, therefore, on that supposition, put out of the
question, and the whole turning only upon the exercise of authority, the said Hastings's suggestion, that
the oppression of government must be in proportion to
its power, is the result of a false and dangerous principle, and such as it is criminal for any person intrusted with the lives and fortunes of men to entertain, much more, publicly to profess as a rule of action, as the same hath a direct tendency to make
? ? ? ? 474 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
the new and powerful government of this kingdom in
India dreadful to the natives and odious to the world.
But if the said Warren Hastings did mean thereby
indirectly to insinuate that oppressions had been actually exercised under the British authority, he was bound to inquire into these oppressions, and to animadvert on the person guilty of the same, if proof thereof could be had, - and the more, as the authority was given by himself, and the person exercising it was by himself also named. And the said Warren
Hastings did on another occasion assert that " wheth
er they were well or ill-founded he never had an opportunity to ascertain. " But it is not true that the
said Hastings did or could want such opportunity:
the fact being, that the said Warren Hastings did never cause anlly inquiry to be made into any supposed abuses during the said Residency, but did give a
pension of fifteen hundred pounds a year to the said
late Resident as a compensation to him for an injury
received, and did afterwards promote the Resident,
as a faithful servant of the Company, (and nothing
appears to show him otherwise,) to a judicial office
of high trust, - thereby taking away all credit from
any grounds asserted or insinuated by the said Hastings for delivering the said Nabob of Furruckabad to the hand of a known enemy and oppressor, who had
already, contrary to repeated treaties, deprived him
of a large part of his territories.
VII. That, onil the said Warren Hastings's representation of the transaction aforesaid to the Court of Directors, they did heavily and justly censure the
said Warren Hastings for the same, and did convey
their censure to him, recommending relief to the suf
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 475
fering prince, but without any order for sending a
new Resident: being, as it may be supposed, prevented from taking that step by the faith of the treaty
made at Chunar.
VIII. That all the oppressions foreseen by him,
the said Warren Hastings, when he made the article
aforesaid in the treaty of Chunar, did actually happen: for, immediately on the removal of the British
Resident, the country of Furruckabad was subjected
to the discretion of a certain native manager of revenue, called Almas Ali Khan, who did impoverish
and oppress the country and insult the prince, and
did deprive him of all subsistence from his own estates,- taking from him even his gardens and the
tombs of his ancestors, and the funds for maintaining
the same.
IX. That, on complaint of those proceedings, the
said Hastings did of his own authority, and without
communicating with his Council, direct the native
collector aforesaid to be removed, and the territory
of Furruckabad to be left to the sole management of
its natural prince. But in a short time the said Hastings, pretending to receive many complaints purporting that the tribute to the Nabob remained wholly unpaid, and the agent to the prince of Furruckabad
at the Presidency, and afterwards chief manager to
the prince aforesaid, having, as the said Warren Hastings saith, " had the insolence to propagate a report
that the interference to which his master owed the
power he then enjoyed was purchased through him,"
he, the said Hastings, did again (but, as before, without the Council) " withdraw his protection and inter
? ? ? ? 476 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
ference altogether," on or about the month of August,
1782, and did signify his resolution, through the Resident, Middleton, to the Nabob Vizier. But the said
Hastings asserts that "the consequence of this his
own second dereliction of the prince of Furruckabad
was an aggravated renewal of the severities exercised
against his government, and the reappointment of a
sezauwil, with powers delegated or assumed, to the
utter extinction of the rights of Muzuffer Jung, and
actually depriving him of the means of subsistence. "
And the said Hastings did receive, on the 16th of
February, 1783, from the prince aforesaid, a bitter
complaint of the same to the following tenor.
"' The miseries which have fallen upon my country,
and the poverty and distress which have been heaped
upon me by the reappointment of the sezauwil, are
such, that a relation of them would, I am convinced,
excite the strongest feelings of compassion in your
breast. But it is impossible to relate them: on one
side, my country ruined and uncultivated to a degree
of desolation which exceeds all description; on the
other, my domestic concerns and connections involved in such a state of distress and horror, that even
the relations, the children, and the wives of my father are
starving in want of daily bread, and are on the point of
flying voluntary exiles from their country and from
each other. "
But although the said Hastings did, on the 16th of
February, receive and admit the justice of the said
complaint, and did not deny the urgent necessity of
redress, the said letter containing the following sentence, "If there should be any delay in your acceptance of this proposal, my existence and the existence of my family will become dificult and doubful," - and
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 477
although he did admit the interference to be the more
urgently demanded, "as the services of the English
troops have been added to enforce the authority of
the sezauwil," -- and although he admits also, that,
even before that time, similar complaints and applications had been made, - yet he did withhold the said letter of complaint, a minute of which he asserts he
had, at or about that time, prepared for the relief of
the sufferer, from the Board of Council, and did not
so much as propose anything relative to the same
for seven months after, viz. , until the 6th of October,
1783: the said letter and minute being, as he asserts,
" withheld, from causes not necessary to mention, from
presentation. " By which means the,aid country and
prince did suffer a long continuance of unnecessary
hardship, from which the said Hastings confessed it
was his duty to relieve them, and that a British Resident was necessary at Furruckabad, " from a sense
of submission to the implied orders of the Court of
Directors in their letter of 1783, lately received,
added to the conviction I have L ONIVG SINCE entertained of the necessity of such an appointment for the preservation of our national credit, and the means
of rescuing an:ancient and respectable family from
ruinl. "
And the said Warren Hastings did at length perform what he thought had long since been necessary;
and in contradiction to his engagements with the
Nabob in the treaty of Chunar, and against his
strong remonstrances, urging his humiliation from
this measure, and the faith of the agreement, and
against his own former declaration that it concerned
the reputation of our government to remove our participation in the oppressions which he, the said Hast
? ? ? ? 478 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
ings, supposed the prince of Furruckabad must undergo, did once more recommend to the Council a
British Resident at Furruckabad, and the withdrawing the native sezauwil: no course being left to the
said Hastings to take which was not a violation of
some engagement, and a contradiction to some principle of justice and policy by him deliberately advanced and entered on record. That Mr. Willes being appointed Resident, and
having arrived at Furruckabad on the 25th of February, 1784, with instructions to inquire minutely into
the state of the country and the ruling family, he, the
said Resident, Willes, in obedience thereto, did fillly
explain to him, the Governor-General, the said Warren Hastings, (he being then out of the Company's
provinces, at Lucknow, on a delegation which respected this very country, as part of the dependencies of
Oude,) the situation of the province of Furruckabad;
but the said Warren Hastings did not take or recommend any measure whatsoever for the relief thereof
in consequence of the said representation, nor even
communicate to the Council-General the said representation; and it was not until the 28th of June, 1783
[1785? ], that is, sixteen months from the arrival of
the Resident at his station, that anything was laid before the board relative to the regulation or relief of
the distressed country aforesaid, and that not from
the said Warren Hastings, but from other members
of the Council: which purposed neglect of duty,
joined to the preceding wilful delay of seven months
in proposing the said relief originally, caused near
two years' delay. And the said Warren Hastings is
further culpable in not communicating to the Council
Board the order which he had, of his own authority,
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 479
and without any powers from them, given to the said
Resident, Willes, and did thereby prevent them from
taking such steps as might counteract the ill effects of
the said order; which order purported, that the said
Willes was not to interfere with the Nabob of Furruckabad's government, for the regulation of which
he was ill effect appointed to the Residency, - declaring as follows: "I rely much on your moderation
and good judgment, which I' hope will enable you to
regulate your conduct towards the Nabob and his servants in such a manner, that, without interfering in
the executive part of his government, you may render
him essential service by your council and advice. "
And this restriction the said Hastings did impose,
which totally frustrated the purpose of the Resident's
mission, though he well knew, and had frequently
stated, the extreme imbecility and weakness of the
said Nabob of Furruckabad, and his subjection to unworthy servants; and in the Minute of Consultation
upon whlich he founded the appointment did state
the Nabob of Furruckabad " as a weak and unexperienced young man, who had abandoned himself entirely. to the discretion of his servants, and the restoration of his independence was followed by a total breach of the engagements he had promised to fulfil, attended by pointed instances of contumacy and disrespect";
and' inl the said minute the'said Hastings adds, (as
before mentioned,) his principal servant and manager had propagated a report that the " interference"
(niamely, his, the said Hastings's, interference) " to
which his master owed the power he then enjoyed
was purchased by him," the principal servant aforesaid: yet lie, the said Hastings, who had assigned on
record the character of the said Nabob, and the con
? ? ? ? 480 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
duct of his servants, and the aforesaid report of his
principal servant, so highly dishonorable to him, the
said Hastings, as reasons for taking away the independency of the Nabob of Furruckabad, and the subjecting him to the oppression of the Nabob of Oude's
officer, Almas Ali, did again himself establish the pretended independence of the said prince of Furruckabad, and the real independence of his corrupt and perfidious servants, not against the Nabob of Oude, but,against a British Resident appointed by himself (" as a character eminently qualified for such a charge ")
for the correction of those evils, and for rendering the
prince aforesaid an useful ally to the Company, and
restoring his dominions to order and plenty.
That the said Hastings did not only disable the
Resident at Furruckabad by his said prohibitory letter, but did render his very remaining at all in that
station perfectly precarious by a subsequent letter,
rendering him liable to dismission by the Vizier, --
thereby changing the tenure of the Resident's office,
and changing him from a minister of the Company,
dependent on the Governor-General and Council, to
a dependant upon an unresponsible power, -in this
also acting without the Council, and by his own
usurped authority: and accordingly the said Resident
did declare, in his letter of the 24th of April, 1785,'" that the situation of the country was more distressful than when he [the prince of Furruckabad] addressed himself for relief in 1783, and that he was
sorry to say that his appointment at Furruckabad
was of no use "; that, though the old tribute could
not be paid, owing to famine and other causes, it was
increased by a new imposition, making the whole
equal the entire gross produce of the revenue; that
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 481
therefore there will not be " anything for the subsist.
ence of the Nabob and family. " And the uncles of the
said Nabob of Furruckabad, the brethren of the late
Ahmed Khan, (who had rendered important services
to the Company,) and their children, in a petition to
the Resident, represented that soon after the succession of Muzuffer Jung " their misery commenced.
The jaghires [lands and estates] on which they subsisted were disallowed. Our distress is great: we
have neither clothes nor food. Though we felt hurt
at the idea of explaining our situation, yet, could we
have found a mode of conveyance, we would have
proceeded to Calcutta for redress. The scarcity of
grain this season is an additional misfortune. With
difficulty we support life. From your presence without the provinces we expect relief. It is not the custom of the Company to deprive the zemindars and jaghiredars of the means of subsistence. To your
justice we look up. "
This being the situation of the person and family
of the Nabob of Furruckabad and his nearest relations, the state of the country and its capital, prevented from all relief by the said Warren Hastings,
is described in the following words by the Resident,
Willes.
"Almas Ali has taken the purgunnah of Marara at
a very inadequate rent, and his aumils have seized
many adjacent villages: the purgunnahs of Cocutmow
and Souje are constantly plundered by his people.
The collection of the ghauts near Futtyghur has been
seized by the Vizier's cutwal, and the zemindars in
four purgunnahs are so refractory as to have fortified
themselves in their gurries, and to refuse all payments
of revenue. This is the state of the purgunnahs.
VOL. VIII. 31
? ? ? ? 482 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
And Furruckabad, which was once the seat of great
opulence and trade, is now daily deserted by its inhabitants, its walls mouldering away, without police, without protection, exposed to the depredations of a banditti of two or three hundred robbers, who, night after night,
enter it for plunder, murdering all who oppose them.
The ruin that has overtaken this country is not to be
wondered at, when it is considered that there has been
no state, no stable government, for many years. There
has been the Nabob Vizier's authority, his ministers',
the Residents' at Lucknow, the sezauwils', the camp
authority, the Nabob Muzuffer Jung's, and that of
twenty duans or advisers: no authority sufficiently
predominant to establish any regulations for the benefit of the country, whilst each authority has been exerted, as opportunity offered, for temporary purposes.
" Such being the present deplorable state of Furruckabad and its districts, in the ensuing year it will
be in vain to look for revenue, if some regulations
equal to the exigency be not adopted. The whole
country will be divided between the neighboring powerful aumils, the refractory zemindars, and banditti
of robbers; and the Patans, who might be made useful subjects, will fly from the scene of anarchy. The
crisis appears now come, that either some plan of government should be resolved on, so as to form faithful
subjects on the frontier, or the country be given up
to its fate: and if it be abandoned, there can be little
doubt but that the Mahrattas will gladly seize on a
station so favorable to incursions into the Vizier's
dominions, will attach to their interests the Hindoo
zemindars, and possess themselves of forts, which,
with little expense being made formidable, would
give employment perhaps to the whole of our force,
should it be ever necessary to recover them. "
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 483
That the Council at Calcutta, on the representation
aforesaid made by the Resident at Furruckabad, did
propose and record a plan for the better government
of the said country, but did delay the execution of the
same until the arrangements made by the said Hastings with the Nabob Vizier should be known; but
the said Hastings, as far as in him lay, did entirely
set aside any plan that could be formed for that purpose upon the basis of a British Resident at Furruckabad, by engaging with the said Nabob Vizier that no British influence shall be employed within his dominions, and he has engaged to that prince not to abandon him to any other mode of relation; and he has informed the Court of Directors that the territories
of the Nabob of Oude will be ruined, if Residents are
sent into them, observing, that " Residents never will
be sent for any other purposes than those of vengeance
and corruption. "
That the said Warren Hastings did declare to the
Court of Directors, that in his opinion the mode of
relief most effectual, and most lenient with regard
to Furruckabad, would be to nominate one of the
family of the prince to superintend his affairs and to
secure the payments; but this plan, which appears to
be most connected with the rights of the ruling family, whilst it provides against the imbecility of the
natural lord, and is free from his objection to a Resident, is the only one which the said Hastings never
has executed, or even proposed to execute.
That the said Hastings, by the agreements aforesaid, has left the Company in such an alternative,
that they can neither relieve the said prince of Furruckabad from oppression without a breach of the
engagements entered into by him, the said Hastings,
? ? ? ? 484 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
with the Nabob Vizier in the name of the Company,
nor suffer him to remain under the said oppression
without violating all faith and all the rules of justice
with regard to him. And the said Hastings hath
directly made or authorized no less than six revolutions in less than five years in the aforesaid harassed province; by which frequent and rapid changes of
government, all of them made in contradiction to all
his own declared motives and reasons for the several
acts successively done and undone in this transaction,
the distresses of the country and the disorders in its
administration have been highly aggravated; and in
the said irregular proceedings, and in the gross and
complicated violations of faith with all parties, the
said Hastings is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.
VI. - DESTRUCTION OF THE RAJAHI OF SAHLONE.
I. THAT the late Nabob of Oude, Sujah ul Dowlah,
did (on what reasons of policy or pretences of justice
is unknown) dispossess a certain native person of distinction, or eminent Rajah, residing in the country of Sahlone, " the lineal descendant of the most powerful Hindoo family in that part of Hindostan," of his patrimonial estate, and conferred the same, or part
of the same, on his, the Nabob's, mother, as a jaghire,
or estate, for the term of her life: and the mother
of the Nabob, in order to quiet the country, and to
satisfy in some measure the principal and other inhabitants, did allow and pay a certain pension to the said Rajah; which pension, on the general confiscation of jaghires, made at the instigation of the said
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 485
Warren Hastings, and by the letting the lands so confiscated to farmers at rack-rents, was discontinued and
refused to be paid; and the discontinuance of the said
pension, " on account of the personal respect borne to
the Rajah, (as connections with him are sought for,
and thought to confer honor,)" did cause an universal discontent and violent commotions in the district of Sahlone, and other parts of the province of
Oude, with great consequent effusion of blood, and
interruption, if not total discontinuance, to the collection of the revenues in those parts, other than as
the same was irregularly, and with great damage to
the country, enforced by British troops.
II. That Mr.
and that sne, the mother of the Nabob, did afterwards
send the same to the Resident, Bristow, asserting
their innocence, and accompanying the same with the
copies of letters (the originals of which they asserted were in their hands) from the chief witnesses against them, Hannay and Gordon, which letters did
directly overturn the charges or insinuations in the
affidavits made by them, and that, instead of any accusation of an attempt upon them and their parties by the instigation of the mother of the Nabob, or by
her ministers, they, the said Hannay and Gordon,
did attribute their preservation to them and to their
services, and did, with strong expressions of gratitude
both to the mother of the Nabob and to her ministers,
fully acknowledge the same: which remonstrance
of the mother of the Nabob, and the letters of the said
Hannay and Gordon, are annexed to this charge;
and the said Hastings is highly criminal for not
having examined into the facts alleged in the said
remonstrance.
LXXXI. That the violent proceedings of the said
Warren Hastings did tend to impress all the neighboring princes, some of whom were allied in blood to the oppressed women of rank aforesaid, with an ill
opinion of the faith, honor, and decency of the British
nation; and accordingly, on the journey aforesaid
made by the Nabob from Lucknow to Fyzabad, in
which the said Nabob did restore, in the manner before mentioned, the confiscated estates of his mother and grandmother, and did afterwards revoke his said
grant, it appears that the said journey did cause a
general alarm (the worst motives obtaining the most
easy credit with regard to any future proceeding, on
? ? ? ? 454 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
account of the foregone acts) and excited great indignation among the ruling persons of the adjacent country, insomuch that Major Brown, agent to the said Warren Hastings at the court of the King Shah Al
lum at Delhi, did write a remonstrance therein to ]Mr.
Bristow, Resident at Oude, as follows.
"The evening of the 7th, at a conference I had
with Mirza Shaffee Khan, he introduced a subject, respecting the Nabob Vizier, which, however it may be
disagreeable for you to know, and consequently for
me to communicate, I am under a necessity of laying before you. He told me he had received information from Lucknow, that, by the advice of Hyder
Beg Khan, the Vizier had determined to bring his
grandmother, the widow of Sufdar Jung, from Fyzabad to Lucknow, with a view of getting a further sum
of money from her, by seizing on her eunuchs, digging up the apartments of her house at Fyzabad, and
putting her own person under restraint. This, he
said, he knew was not an act of our government, but
the mere advice of Hyder Beg Khan, to which the
Vizier had been induced to attend. He added, that
the old Begum had resolved rather to put herself to
death than submit to the disgrace intended to be
put upon her; that, if such a circumstance should
happen, there is not a man in Hindostan who will attribute the act to the Vizier [Nabob of Oude], but every
one will fix the odium on the English, who might easily,
by the influence they so largely exercise in their own concerns there, have prevented such unnatural conduct
in the Vizier. He therefore called upon me, as the
English representative in this quarter, to inform you
of this, that you may prevent a step which will destroy
all confidence in the English nation throughout Hin
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 455
dostan, and excite the bitterest resentment in all those
who by blood are connected with the house of Sufdar
Jung. He concluded by saying, that,' if the Vizier
so little regarded his family and personal honor, or his
natural duty, as to wish to disgrace his father's mother
for a sum of money, let him plunder her of all'she
has, but let him send her safe up to Delhi or Agra,
and, poor as I am, I will furnish subsistence for her,
which she shall possess with safety and honor, though
it cannot be adequate to her rank. '
" This, Sir, is a most exact detail of the conversation (as far as related to that affair) on the part of
Mirza Shaffee Khan. On my part I could only say,
that I imagined the affair was misrepresented, and
that I should write as he requested. Let me therefore request that you will enable me to answer in a
more effectual manner any further questions on this
subject.
LXXXII. "As Mirza Shaffee's grandfather was
brother to Sufdar Jung, there can be no doubt of what
his declaration means; and if this measure of dismissing the old Begum should be persisted in, I should
not, from the state of affairs, and the character of the
Amir ul Omrah, be surprised at some immediate and
violent resolution being adopted by him. "
LXXXIII. That Mirza Shaffee, mentioned in this
correspondence, (who has since been murdered,)
was of near kindred to the lady in question, (grandmother to the Nabob,) was resident in a province immediately adjoining to the province of Oude, and, from proximity of situation and nearness of connection,
was likely to have any intelligence conlcerning his
female relations from the best authority.
? ? ? ? 456 A'RTICLES OF CHARGE
LXXXIV. That the Resident, Bristow, o0n receiv
ing this letter, did apply to the said Hyder Beg Khlla
for an explanation of the Nabob's intentions, who denied that the Nabob intended more than a visit of
duty and ceremony: which, whatever his dispositions
might have been, and probably were, towards his own
mother, was not altogether probable, as it was well
known that he was on very bad terms with the mother of his father, and it appears that intentions of a similar nature had been before manifested even with
regard to his own mother, and therefore obtained the
more easy credit concerning the other woman of high
rank aforesaid, especially as the evil designs of the
said iyder Beg were abundantly known, and that the
said Hastings, upon whom he did wholly depend, continued to recommend " the most effectual, that is, the most violent, means for the recovery of the small remains of his extorted demand. " But although it does not appear that the Resident did give credit to the
said report, yet the effect of the same on the minds of
the neighboring princes did make it proper and necessary to direct a strict inquiry into the same, which was not done; and it does not appear that any further inquiry was made into the true motives for this projected journey to Fyzabad, nor into the proceedings
of Hyder Beg Khaln, although the said Warren Hastings well knew that all the acts of the Nabob and his principal ministers were constantly attributed to him,
and that it was known that secret agents, as well as
the Company's regular agent, were employed by him
at Lucknow and other places.
LXXXV. That the said Hastings, who did, on
pretence of the majesty of justice, refuise to ilqluire
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 457
into the charges made upon the female parents of
the Nabob of Oude, in justification of the violence offered to them, did voluntarily and of his own accord
make himself an accuser of the Resident, Middleton,
for the want of a literal execution of his orders in the
plans of extortion and rapine aforesaid: the criminal
nature, spirit, and tendency of the said proceedings,
for the defective execution of which he brought the
said charge, appearing in the defence or apology
made by Mr. Middleton, the Resident, for his temporary and short forbearances.
LXXXVI. "'It could not, I flatter myself, be
termed a long or unwarrantable delay [two days],
when the importance of the business, and the peculiar embarrassments attending the prosecution of it
to its desired end, are considered. The Nabob was
son to the Begum whom we were to proceed against:
a son against a mother must at least save appearances
in his mode of proceeding. The produce of his negotiation was to be received by the Company. Receiving
a benefit, accompanying the Nabob, withdrawing their
protection, were circumstances sufficient to mark the
English as the principal movers in this business. At a
court where no opportunity is lost to throw odium on
us, so favorable an occasion was not missed to persuade the Nabob that we instigated him to dishonor
his family for our benefit. The impressions made
by these suggestions constantly retarded the progress, and more than once actually broke off the business: which rendered the utmost caution on my part necessary, especially as I had no assistance to expect
from the ministers, who could not openly move in the
business. Iln the East, it is well known that no man,
? ? ? ? 458 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
either by himself or his troops, can enter the walls of
a zenanah, scarcely in the case of acting against an
open enemy, much less of an ally, -an ally acting
against his own mother. The outer walls, and the Begum's asgents, were all that were liable to immediate attack: they were dealt with, and successfully, as the
event proved. " -- He had before observed to Mr.
Hastings, in his correspondence, what Mr. Hastings
well knew to be true, " that no farther rigor than
that he had exerted could be used against females in
that country; where force could be employed, it was
not spared;- that the place of concealment was only
known to the chief eunuchs, who could not be drawn
out of the women's apartments, where they had taken
refuge, and from which, if an attempt had been made
to storm them, they might escape; and the secret of
the money being known only to them, it was necessary to get their persons into his hands, which could be obtained by negotiation only. " - The Resident concluded his defence by declaring his " hope, that, if the main object of his orders was fulfilled, he should be
no longer held criminal for a deviation from the precise letter of them. "
LXXXVII. That the said Warren Hastings did
enter a reply to this answer, in support of his criminal charge, continuing to insist "that his orders
ought to have been literally obeyed," although he did
not deny that the above difficulties occurred, and the
above consequences must have been the result, - and
though the reports of the military officers charged
with the execution of his commission confirmed the
moral impossibility, as well as inutility in point of
profit, of forcing a son to greater violence and rigor
against his mother.
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 459
LXXXVIII. That the said Hastings, after all the
acts aforesaid, did presume to declare on record, in
his minute of the 23d September, 1783, " that, whatever may happen of the events which he dreads in
the train of affairs now subsisting, he shall at least
receive this consolation under them, that he used his
utmost exertions to prevent them, and that in the annals of the nations of India which have been subjected
to the British dominions HE shall not be remembered
tamosig their oppressors. " And speaking of certain alleged indignities offered to the Nabob of Oude, and
certain alleged suspicions of his authority with regard to the management of his household, he, the
said Hastings, did, in the said minute, endeavor to
excite the spirit of the British nation, severely animadverting on such offences, making use of the following terms: " If there be a spark of generous virtue in the breasts of any of my countrymen who shall be the readers of this compilation, this letter " (a letter of complaint from the Nabob) " shall stand for an
instrument to awaken it to the call of vengeance
against so flagitious an abuse of authority and reproach to the British name. "
From her Excellency the Bhow Begum to Mr. Bristow,
Resident at the Vizier's Court.
THERE is no necessity to write to you by way of information a detail of my sufferings. Fromn common
report, and the intelligence of those who are about
you, the account of them will have reached your ears.
I will here relate a part of them.
After the death of Sujah Dowlah, most of his ungrateful servants were constantly laboring to gratify
? ? ? ? 460 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
their enmity; but finding, from the firm and sincere
friendship which subsisted between me and the English, that the accomplishment of their purposes was frustrated, they formed the design of occasioning a
breach in that alliance, to insure their own success.
I must acquaint you that my son Asoph ul Dowlah
had formerly threatened to seize my jaghire; but, upon producing the treaty signed by you, and showing it to Mr. Middleton, lie interfered, and prevented the
impending evil. The conspiration now framed an accusation against me of a conduct which I had never conceived even in idea, of rendering assistance to Rajah Cheyt Sing. The particulars are as follow. My son Asoph ul Dowlah and his ministers, with troops
and a train of artillery, accompanied by Mr. Middleton, on the 16th of the month of Mohurum, arrived
at Fyzabad, and made a demand of a crore of rupees.
As my inability to pay so vast a sum was manifest, I
produced the treaty you signed and gave me, but to
no effect: their hearts were determined upon violence. I offered my son Asoph ul Dowlah, whose will
is dearer to me than all my riches, or even life itself,
whatever money and goods I was possessed of: but
an amicable adjustment seemed not worth accepting:
lie demanded the delivering up the fort, and the recall
of the troops that were stationed for the preserving
the peace of the city. To me tumult and discord
appeared unnecessary. I gave up these points, upon which they seized my head eunuchs, Jewar Ali Khanl and Behar Ali Khan, and sent them to Mr.
Middleton, after having obliged them to sign a bond
for sixty lacs of rupees; they were thrown into prison, with fetters about their feet, and denied food and water. I, wlho had never, even inl my dreams, expe
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 461
rienced such an oppression, gave up all I had to preserve my honor and dignity: but this would not satisfy their demands: they charged me with a rupee
and a half batta upon each mohur, and on this account laid claims upon me to the amount of six lacs
some thousand rupees, and sent Major Gilpin to exact the payment. Major Gilpin, according to orders,
at first was importunate; but being a man of experience, and of a benevolent disposition, when he was
convinced of my want of means, he changed his conduct, and was willing to apply to the shroffs and bankers to lend me the money. But with the loss of my
jaghire my credit was sunk; I could not raise the
sum. At last, feeling my helpless situation, I collected my wardrobe and furniture, to the amount of
about three lacs of rupees, besides fifty thousand rupees which I borrowed from one place or other, and
sent Major Gilpin with it to Lucknow. My sufferings
did not terminate here. The disturbances of Colonel
Hannay, and Mr. Gordon were made a pretence for
seizing my jaghire. The state of the matter is this.
When Colonel Hannay was by Mr. Hastings ordered
to march to Benares, during the troubles of Cheyt
Sing, the Colonel, who had plundered the whole country, was incapable of proceeding, from the union of thousands of zemindars, who had seized this favorable opportunity: they harassed Mr. Gordon near Junivard [Juanpore? ], and the zemindars of that place and Acberpore opposed his march from thence, till he arrived near
raunda. As the Taunda nullah, from its overflowing, was difficult to cross without a boat, Mr. Gordon
sent to the Phousdar to supply him. He replied, the
boats were all in the river, but would, according to
orders, assist him as soon as possible. Mr. Gordon's
? ? ? ? 462 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
situation would not admit of his waiting: he forded
the nullah upon his elephant, and was hospitably entertained and protected by the Phousdar for six days. In the mean time a letter was received by me from
Colonel Hiannay, desiring me to escort Mr. Gordon
to Fyzabad. As my friendship for the English was
always sincere, I readily complied, and sent some
companies of nejeebs to escort Mr. Gordon, and all
his effects, to Fyzabad, where, having provided for his
entertainment, I effected his junction with Colonel
Haimay. The letters of thanks I received from both
these gentlemen upon this occasion are still in my
possession, copies of which I gave in charge to Major
Gilpin, to be delivered to Mr. Middleton, that he
might forward them to the Governor-General. To
be brief, those who have loaded me with accusations
are now clearly convicted of falsehood. But is it
not extraordinary, notwithstanding the justness of
my cause, that nobody relieves my misfortunes?
Why did Major Gilpin return without effect?
My prayers have been constantly offered to Heaven
for your arrival; report has announced it; for which
reason I have taken up the pen, and request you will
not place implicit confidence in my accusers, but,
weighing in the scale of justice their falsehoods and
my representations, you will exert your influence in
putting a period to the misfortunes with which I am
overwhelmed.
Copy of a Letter from Colonel Hannay to Jewar Ali
Ihdn and Behar Ali KIhin.
I had the pleasure to receive your friendly letter,
fraught with benevolence; and whatever favors you,
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 463
my fiiends, have been pleased to confer respecting
Mr. Gordon afforded me the greatest pleasure.
Placing a firm reliance on your friendship, I am
in expectation that the aforesaid gentleman, with his
baggage, will arrive at Fyzabad in safety, that the
same may oblige and afford satisfaction to me.
A letter from Mr. Gordon is inclosed to you. I
am in expectation of its being inclosed in a cover to
the Aumil of Taunda, to the end that the Aumil may
forward it to the above-mentioned gentleman, and procure his reply. Whenever the answer arrives, let it be delivered to Hoolas Roy, who will forward it to me.
Always rejoice me by a few lines respecting your
health. [Continue to honor me with your correspondence. ]
Copy of a Letter from Colonel iannay to Jewar and
Behar Ali Khan.
Khan Saib, my indulgent friends, remain under
the protection of God!
Your friendly letter, fraught with kindness, accompanied by an honorary letter from the Begum Saib,
of exalted dignity, and inclosing a letter from Mr.
Gordon, sent through your hircarrahs, obliged and
rejoiced me.
With respect to what you communicate regarding
your not having received an answer to your friendly
epistle, I became perfectly astonished, as a reply was
written from Mohadree. It may be owing to the
danger of the road that it never arrived, - not to the
smallest neglect oil my side [or of mine].
I now send two letters to you, - one by the Dawk
people, and the second by one of my hircarrahs, (who
? ? ? ? 464 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
will present them to you,) which you certainly will
receive.
I am extremely well contented and pleased with
the friendship you have shown.
You wrote me to remain perfectly easy concerning
Mr. Gordon. Verily, from the kindness of you, my
indulgent friends, my heart is quite easy. You also
observed and mentioned, that, as Mr. Gordon's coining with those attached to him [probably his sepoys and others] might be attended with difficulty, if I approved, he should be invited alone to Fyzabad. My friends, I place my expectation entirely upon your
friendships, and leave it to you to adopt the manner
in which the said gentleman may arrive in security,
without molestation, at Fyzabad; but at the same
time let the plan be so managed that it may not
come to the knowledge of any zemindars: in this
case you are men of discernment. However, he is
to come to Fyzabad: extend your assistance and endeavors.
It is probable that the Begum Saib, of high dignity,
has received authentic intelligence from the camp at
Benares. Favor me with the contents or purport.
From Mr. Gordon's letter I understand that Mirza
Imaum Buksh, whom you dispatched thither [Taunda], has and still continues to pay great attention to that gentleman, which affords me great pleasure.
An answer to the Begum's letter is to be presented.
I also send a letter for Mr. Gordon, which please to
forward.
An Address from Colonel Hannay to the Begum.
Begum Saib, of exalted dignity and generosity,
&c. , whom God preserve!
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 465
Your exalting letter, fraught with grace and benevolence, that through your unbounded generosity and
goodness was sent through grace and favor, I had the
honor to receive in a fortunate moment, and whatever you were pleased to write respecting Mr. Gordon,-' that, as at this time the short-sighted and deluded ryots had carried their disturbances and ravages beyond all bounds, Mr. Gordon's coming with his
whole people [or adlerents] might be attended with
difficulty, and therefore, if I chose, he should be
invited to come alone. " Now, as your Highness is
the best judge, your faithful servant reposeth his.
most unbounded hopes and expectation upon yourHighness, that the aforesaid Mr. Gordon may arrive:
at Fyzabad without any apprehension or danger. I
shall be then extremely honored and obliged.
Considering me in the light of a firm and faithful
servant, continue to honor and exalt me by your
letters.
What further can I say?
A Copy of an Address from Mr. Gordon to the
Begum.
Begum Saib, of exalted dignity and generosity,
whom God preserve!
After presenting the usual professions of servitude,
&c. , in the customary manner, my address is presented.
Your gracious letter, in answer to the petition of
your servant from Goondah, exalted me. From the
contents I became unspeakably impressed with the
honor it conferred. May the Almighty protect that
royal purity, and bestow happiness, increase of wealth,.
and prosperity!
VOL. VIII. 30
? ? ? ? 466 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
The welfare of your servant is entirely owing to
your favor and benlevolence. A few days have elapsed
since I arrived at Goondah with the Colonel Saib.
This is presented for your Highness's information.
I cherish hopes from your generosity, that, considering me in the light of one of your servants, you will always continue to exalt and honor me with your gracious letters.
May the sun of prosperity continually shine!
Copy of a Letter to Mahomed Jewar Ali Khdn and
Behar Ali Khdn, from MJr. Gordon.
Sirs, my indulgent friends,
Remain under, &c. , &c.
After compliments. I have the pleasure to acquaint you that yesterday having taken leave of you,
I passed the night at Noorgunge, and next morning,
about ten or eleven o'clock, through your favor and
benevolence, arrived safe at Goondah. Mir Aboo
Buksh, zemindar, and Mir Rustum Ali, accompa-:iied me.
To what extent can I prolong the praises of you,
my beneficent friends? May the Supreme Being, for
this benign, compassionate, humane action, have you
in His keeping, and increase your prosperity, and
speedily grant me the pleasure of an interview!
Until which time continue to favor me with friendly
letters, and oblige me by any commands in my power
to execute.
May your wishes be ever crowned with success!
My compliments, &c. , &c. , &c.
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 467
Copy of a Letter from Colonel Iannay to Jewar Ali
Khan and Behar Ali Khan.
KhEhn Saib, my indulgent friends,
Remain under the protection of the Supreme Being!
After compliments, and signifying my earnest desire of an interview, I address you.
Your friendly letter, fraught with kindness, I had
the pleasure to receive in a propitious hour, and your
inexpressible kindness in sending for Mir Nassar Ali
with a force to Taunda, for the purpose of conducting
Mr. Gordon, with all his baggage, who is now arrived
at Fyzabad.
This event has afforded me the most excessive pleasure and satisfaction. May the Omnipotence preserve
you, my steadfast, firm friends! The pen of friendship
itself cannot sufficiently express your generosity and
benevolence, and that of the Begum of high dignity,
who so graciously has interested herself in this matter. Inclosed is an address for her, which please to
forward. I hope from your friendship, until we meet,
you will continue to honor me with an account of
your health and welfare. What further can I write?
V. - REVOLUTIONS IN FURRUCKABAD.
I. THAT a prince called Ahmed Kha1n was of a family amongst the most distinguished in Hilndostan, and
of a nation famous through that empire for its valor
in acquiring, and its policy and prudence in well governing the territories it had acquired, called the Patans, or Afghans, of which the Rohillas were a branch. The said Ahmed Khaln had fixed his residence ill the
? ? ? ? 468 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
city of Furruckabad, and in the first wars of this nation in India the said Ahmed Khan attached himself
to the Company against Sujah Dowlah, then an enemy,
now a dependant on that Company. Ahmed Khan,
towards the close of his life, was dispossessed of a large
part of his dominions by the prevalence of the Mahratta power; but his son, a minor, succeeded to his
pretensions, and to the remainder of his dominions.
The Mahrattas were expelled by Sujah ul Dowlah, the
late Vizier, who, finding a want of the services of the
son and successor of Ahmed Khan, called Muzuffer
Jung, did not only guaranty him in the possession of
what he then actually held, but engaged to restore
all the other territories which had been occupied by
the Mahrattas; and this was confirmed by repeated
treaties and solemn oaths, by the late Vizier and by
the present. But neither the late nor the present
Vizier fulfilled their engagements, or observed their
oaths: the former having withheld what he had stipulated to restore; and the latter not only subjecting
him to a tribute, instead of restoring him to what his
father had unjustly withheld, but having made a further invasion by depriving him of fifteen of his districts, levying the tribute of the whole on the little that remained, and putting the small remains of his
territory under a sequestrator or collector appointed
by Almas Ali Khan, who did grievously afflict and
oppress the prince and territory aforesaid.
That the hardships of his case being frequently represented to Warren Hastings, Esquire, he did suggest
a doubt whether " that little ought to be still subject
to tribute," indicating that the said tribute might be
hard and inequitable, - but, whatever its justice might
have been, that, " from the earliest period of our con
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 469
nection with the present Nabob of Oude, it had invariably continued a part of the funds assigned by his
Excellency as a provision for the liquidation of the
several public demands of this government [Calcutta]
upon him; and in consequence of the powers the board
deemed it expedient to vest in the Resident at his
court for the collection of the Company's assignments,
a sezauwil [a sequestrator] has always been stationed
to enforce by every means in his power the payment
of the tribute. " And the said tribute was, in consequence of this arrangement, not paid to the Nabob,
but to the British Resident at Oude; and the same
being therefore under the direction and for the sole
use of the Company, and indeed the prince himself
wholly dependent, the representatives of the said Company were responsible for the protection of the prince,
and for the good government of the country.
II. That the said Warren Hastings did, on the 22d
of May, 1780, represent to the board of Calcutta the
condition of the said country in the following manner.
" To the total want of all order, regularity, or authority in his government [the Furruckabad government], among other obvious causes, it may, no doubt, be owing, that the country of Furruckabad is become
an almost entire waste, without cultivation or inhabitants; that the capital, which but a very short time
ago was distinguished as one of the most populous
and opulent commercial cities in Hindostan, at present
exhibits nothing but scenes of the most wretched poverty, desolation, and misery; and the Nabob himself,
though in possession of a tract of country which with
only common care is notoriously capable of yielding
? ? ? ? 470 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
an annual revenue of between thirty and forty lacs
[three or four hundred thousand pounds], with no
military establishment to maintain, scarcely commanding the means of bare subsistence. " And the said Warren Hastings, taking into consideration the said state of the country and its prince, and that the latter had
4"preferredfrequent complaints" (which complaints the
said Hastings to that time did not lay before the board,
as his duty required) " of the hardships and indignities
to which he is subjected by the conduct of the sezauwil [sequestrator] stationed in the country for the
purpose of levying the annual tribute which he is
bound by treaty to pay to the Subah of Oude," he, the
said Warren Hastings, did declare himself " extremely desirous, as well from motives of common justice as
due regard to the rank which that chief holds among the
princes of Hindostan, of affording him relief. " And
he, the said Warren Hastings, as the means of the said
relief, did, with the consent of the board, order the
said native sequestrator to be removed, and an English Resident, a servant of the Company, to be appointed in his room, declaring i' he understood a local interference to be indispensably necessary for realizing
the Vizier's just demands. "
III. That the said native sequestrator being withdrawn, and a Resident appointed, no complaint whatever concerning the collection of the revenue, or of
any indignities offered to the prince of the country
or oppression of his subjects by the said Resident, was
made to the Superior Council at Calcutta; yet the
said Warren Hastings did, nevertheless, in a certain
paper, purporting to be a treaty made at Chunar with
the Nabob of Oude, on the 19th September, 1781. , at
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 471
the request of the said Nabob, consent to an article
therein, " That no English Resident be appointed to
Furruckabad, and that the present be recalled. " And
the said Warren Hastings, knowing that the Nabob
of Oude was ill-affected towards the said Nabob of
Furruckabad, and that he was already supposed to
have oppressed him, did justify his conduct on the
principles and in the words following: " That, if the
Nabob Muzuffer Jung must endure oppression, (and
I dare not at this time propose his total relief,) it concerns the reputation of our government to remove our participation in it. " And the said Warren Hastings making, recording, and acting upon the first of
the said false and inhuman suppositions, most scandalous to this nation, namely, that princes paying money wholly for the use of the Company, and directly to its agent, for the maintenance of British troops, by whose force and power the said revenue was in
effect collected, must of necessity endure oppression,
and that our government at any time dare not propose
their total relief, was an high offence and misdemeanor
in the said Warren Hastings, and the rather, because
in the said treaty, as well as before and after, the said
Hastings, who pretended not to dare to relieve those
oppressed by the Nabob of Oude, did assume a complete authority over the said Nabob himself, and did dare to oppress him.
IV. That the second principle assumed by the said
Warren Hastings, as ground for voluntarily abandoning the protection of those whom he had before undertaken to relieve, on the sole strength of his own
authority, and in full confidence of the lawful foundation thereof, and for delivering over the persons so
? ? ? ? 472 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
taken into protection, under false names and pretended descriptions, to known oppression, asserting
that the reputation of the Company was saved by removing this apparent participation, when the new as
well as the old arrangements were truly and substantially acts of the British government, was disingenuous, deceitful, and used to cover unjustifiable designs: since the said Warren Hastings well knew
that all oppressions exercised by the Nabob of Oude
were solely, and in this instance particularly, upheld
by British force, and were imputed to this nation;
and because he himself, in not more than three days
after the execution of this treaty, and in virtue thereof, did direct the British Resident at Oude, in orders
to which he required his most implicit obedience, " that
the ministers [the Nabob of Oude's ministers] are to
choose all aumils and collectors of revenue with your
concurrence. " And the dishonor to the Company,
in thus deceitfully concurring in oppression, which
they were able and were bound to prevent, is much
aggravated by the said Warren Hastings's receiving
from the person to whose oppression he had delivered
the said prince, as a private gift or donation to himself and for his own use, a sum of money amounting
to one hundred thousand pounds and upwards, which
might give just ground of suspicion that the said gift
from the oppressor to the person surrendering the
person injured to his mercy might have had some
share in the said criminal transaction.
V. That the said Warren Hastings did (in the paper justifying the said surrender of the prince put
by himself under the protection of the East India
Company) assert, " that it was a fact, that the Na
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 473
bob Muzuffer Jung [the Nabob of Furruckabad] is
equally urgent with the Nabob Vizier for the removal
of a Resident," without producing, as he ought to
have done, any document to prove his improbable assertion, namely, his assertion that the oppressed prince
did apply to his known enemy and oppressor, the Nabob of Oude, (who, if he would, was not able to relieve him against the will of the English government,)
rather than to that English government, which he
must have conceived to be more impartial, to which
he had made his former complaint, and which was
alone able to relieve him.
VI. That the said Warren Hastings, in the said
writing, did further convey an insinuation of an ambiguous, but, on any construction, of a suspicious and
dangerous import, viz. : " It is a fact, that Mr. Shee's
[the Resident's] authority over the territory of Fur
ruckabad is in itself as much subversive of that [of
the lawful rulers] as that of the Vizier's aumil [collector] ever was, and is the more oppressive as the
power from whence it is derived is greater. " The
said assertion proceeds upon a supposition of the illegality both of the Nabob's and the Company's government; all consideration of the title to authority
being, therefore, on that supposition, put out of the
question, and the whole turning only upon the exercise of authority, the said Hastings's suggestion, that
the oppression of government must be in proportion to
its power, is the result of a false and dangerous principle, and such as it is criminal for any person intrusted with the lives and fortunes of men to entertain, much more, publicly to profess as a rule of action, as the same hath a direct tendency to make
? ? ? ? 474 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
the new and powerful government of this kingdom in
India dreadful to the natives and odious to the world.
But if the said Warren Hastings did mean thereby
indirectly to insinuate that oppressions had been actually exercised under the British authority, he was bound to inquire into these oppressions, and to animadvert on the person guilty of the same, if proof thereof could be had, - and the more, as the authority was given by himself, and the person exercising it was by himself also named. And the said Warren
Hastings did on another occasion assert that " wheth
er they were well or ill-founded he never had an opportunity to ascertain. " But it is not true that the
said Hastings did or could want such opportunity:
the fact being, that the said Warren Hastings did never cause anlly inquiry to be made into any supposed abuses during the said Residency, but did give a
pension of fifteen hundred pounds a year to the said
late Resident as a compensation to him for an injury
received, and did afterwards promote the Resident,
as a faithful servant of the Company, (and nothing
appears to show him otherwise,) to a judicial office
of high trust, - thereby taking away all credit from
any grounds asserted or insinuated by the said Hastings for delivering the said Nabob of Furruckabad to the hand of a known enemy and oppressor, who had
already, contrary to repeated treaties, deprived him
of a large part of his territories.
VII. That, onil the said Warren Hastings's representation of the transaction aforesaid to the Court of Directors, they did heavily and justly censure the
said Warren Hastings for the same, and did convey
their censure to him, recommending relief to the suf
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 475
fering prince, but without any order for sending a
new Resident: being, as it may be supposed, prevented from taking that step by the faith of the treaty
made at Chunar.
VIII. That all the oppressions foreseen by him,
the said Warren Hastings, when he made the article
aforesaid in the treaty of Chunar, did actually happen: for, immediately on the removal of the British
Resident, the country of Furruckabad was subjected
to the discretion of a certain native manager of revenue, called Almas Ali Khan, who did impoverish
and oppress the country and insult the prince, and
did deprive him of all subsistence from his own estates,- taking from him even his gardens and the
tombs of his ancestors, and the funds for maintaining
the same.
IX. That, on complaint of those proceedings, the
said Hastings did of his own authority, and without
communicating with his Council, direct the native
collector aforesaid to be removed, and the territory
of Furruckabad to be left to the sole management of
its natural prince. But in a short time the said Hastings, pretending to receive many complaints purporting that the tribute to the Nabob remained wholly unpaid, and the agent to the prince of Furruckabad
at the Presidency, and afterwards chief manager to
the prince aforesaid, having, as the said Warren Hastings saith, " had the insolence to propagate a report
that the interference to which his master owed the
power he then enjoyed was purchased through him,"
he, the said Hastings, did again (but, as before, without the Council) " withdraw his protection and inter
? ? ? ? 476 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
ference altogether," on or about the month of August,
1782, and did signify his resolution, through the Resident, Middleton, to the Nabob Vizier. But the said
Hastings asserts that "the consequence of this his
own second dereliction of the prince of Furruckabad
was an aggravated renewal of the severities exercised
against his government, and the reappointment of a
sezauwil, with powers delegated or assumed, to the
utter extinction of the rights of Muzuffer Jung, and
actually depriving him of the means of subsistence. "
And the said Hastings did receive, on the 16th of
February, 1783, from the prince aforesaid, a bitter
complaint of the same to the following tenor.
"' The miseries which have fallen upon my country,
and the poverty and distress which have been heaped
upon me by the reappointment of the sezauwil, are
such, that a relation of them would, I am convinced,
excite the strongest feelings of compassion in your
breast. But it is impossible to relate them: on one
side, my country ruined and uncultivated to a degree
of desolation which exceeds all description; on the
other, my domestic concerns and connections involved in such a state of distress and horror, that even
the relations, the children, and the wives of my father are
starving in want of daily bread, and are on the point of
flying voluntary exiles from their country and from
each other. "
But although the said Hastings did, on the 16th of
February, receive and admit the justice of the said
complaint, and did not deny the urgent necessity of
redress, the said letter containing the following sentence, "If there should be any delay in your acceptance of this proposal, my existence and the existence of my family will become dificult and doubful," - and
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 477
although he did admit the interference to be the more
urgently demanded, "as the services of the English
troops have been added to enforce the authority of
the sezauwil," -- and although he admits also, that,
even before that time, similar complaints and applications had been made, - yet he did withhold the said letter of complaint, a minute of which he asserts he
had, at or about that time, prepared for the relief of
the sufferer, from the Board of Council, and did not
so much as propose anything relative to the same
for seven months after, viz. , until the 6th of October,
1783: the said letter and minute being, as he asserts,
" withheld, from causes not necessary to mention, from
presentation. " By which means the,aid country and
prince did suffer a long continuance of unnecessary
hardship, from which the said Hastings confessed it
was his duty to relieve them, and that a British Resident was necessary at Furruckabad, " from a sense
of submission to the implied orders of the Court of
Directors in their letter of 1783, lately received,
added to the conviction I have L ONIVG SINCE entertained of the necessity of such an appointment for the preservation of our national credit, and the means
of rescuing an:ancient and respectable family from
ruinl. "
And the said Warren Hastings did at length perform what he thought had long since been necessary;
and in contradiction to his engagements with the
Nabob in the treaty of Chunar, and against his
strong remonstrances, urging his humiliation from
this measure, and the faith of the agreement, and
against his own former declaration that it concerned
the reputation of our government to remove our participation in the oppressions which he, the said Hast
? ? ? ? 478 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
ings, supposed the prince of Furruckabad must undergo, did once more recommend to the Council a
British Resident at Furruckabad, and the withdrawing the native sezauwil: no course being left to the
said Hastings to take which was not a violation of
some engagement, and a contradiction to some principle of justice and policy by him deliberately advanced and entered on record. That Mr. Willes being appointed Resident, and
having arrived at Furruckabad on the 25th of February, 1784, with instructions to inquire minutely into
the state of the country and the ruling family, he, the
said Resident, Willes, in obedience thereto, did fillly
explain to him, the Governor-General, the said Warren Hastings, (he being then out of the Company's
provinces, at Lucknow, on a delegation which respected this very country, as part of the dependencies of
Oude,) the situation of the province of Furruckabad;
but the said Warren Hastings did not take or recommend any measure whatsoever for the relief thereof
in consequence of the said representation, nor even
communicate to the Council-General the said representation; and it was not until the 28th of June, 1783
[1785? ], that is, sixteen months from the arrival of
the Resident at his station, that anything was laid before the board relative to the regulation or relief of
the distressed country aforesaid, and that not from
the said Warren Hastings, but from other members
of the Council: which purposed neglect of duty,
joined to the preceding wilful delay of seven months
in proposing the said relief originally, caused near
two years' delay. And the said Warren Hastings is
further culpable in not communicating to the Council
Board the order which he had, of his own authority,
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 479
and without any powers from them, given to the said
Resident, Willes, and did thereby prevent them from
taking such steps as might counteract the ill effects of
the said order; which order purported, that the said
Willes was not to interfere with the Nabob of Furruckabad's government, for the regulation of which
he was ill effect appointed to the Residency, - declaring as follows: "I rely much on your moderation
and good judgment, which I' hope will enable you to
regulate your conduct towards the Nabob and his servants in such a manner, that, without interfering in
the executive part of his government, you may render
him essential service by your council and advice. "
And this restriction the said Hastings did impose,
which totally frustrated the purpose of the Resident's
mission, though he well knew, and had frequently
stated, the extreme imbecility and weakness of the
said Nabob of Furruckabad, and his subjection to unworthy servants; and in the Minute of Consultation
upon whlich he founded the appointment did state
the Nabob of Furruckabad " as a weak and unexperienced young man, who had abandoned himself entirely. to the discretion of his servants, and the restoration of his independence was followed by a total breach of the engagements he had promised to fulfil, attended by pointed instances of contumacy and disrespect";
and' inl the said minute the'said Hastings adds, (as
before mentioned,) his principal servant and manager had propagated a report that the " interference"
(niamely, his, the said Hastings's, interference) " to
which his master owed the power he then enjoyed
was purchased by him," the principal servant aforesaid: yet lie, the said Hastings, who had assigned on
record the character of the said Nabob, and the con
? ? ? ? 480 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
duct of his servants, and the aforesaid report of his
principal servant, so highly dishonorable to him, the
said Hastings, as reasons for taking away the independency of the Nabob of Furruckabad, and the subjecting him to the oppression of the Nabob of Oude's
officer, Almas Ali, did again himself establish the pretended independence of the said prince of Furruckabad, and the real independence of his corrupt and perfidious servants, not against the Nabob of Oude, but,against a British Resident appointed by himself (" as a character eminently qualified for such a charge ")
for the correction of those evils, and for rendering the
prince aforesaid an useful ally to the Company, and
restoring his dominions to order and plenty.
That the said Hastings did not only disable the
Resident at Furruckabad by his said prohibitory letter, but did render his very remaining at all in that
station perfectly precarious by a subsequent letter,
rendering him liable to dismission by the Vizier, --
thereby changing the tenure of the Resident's office,
and changing him from a minister of the Company,
dependent on the Governor-General and Council, to
a dependant upon an unresponsible power, -in this
also acting without the Council, and by his own
usurped authority: and accordingly the said Resident
did declare, in his letter of the 24th of April, 1785,'" that the situation of the country was more distressful than when he [the prince of Furruckabad] addressed himself for relief in 1783, and that he was
sorry to say that his appointment at Furruckabad
was of no use "; that, though the old tribute could
not be paid, owing to famine and other causes, it was
increased by a new imposition, making the whole
equal the entire gross produce of the revenue; that
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 481
therefore there will not be " anything for the subsist.
ence of the Nabob and family. " And the uncles of the
said Nabob of Furruckabad, the brethren of the late
Ahmed Khan, (who had rendered important services
to the Company,) and their children, in a petition to
the Resident, represented that soon after the succession of Muzuffer Jung " their misery commenced.
The jaghires [lands and estates] on which they subsisted were disallowed. Our distress is great: we
have neither clothes nor food. Though we felt hurt
at the idea of explaining our situation, yet, could we
have found a mode of conveyance, we would have
proceeded to Calcutta for redress. The scarcity of
grain this season is an additional misfortune. With
difficulty we support life. From your presence without the provinces we expect relief. It is not the custom of the Company to deprive the zemindars and jaghiredars of the means of subsistence. To your
justice we look up. "
This being the situation of the person and family
of the Nabob of Furruckabad and his nearest relations, the state of the country and its capital, prevented from all relief by the said Warren Hastings,
is described in the following words by the Resident,
Willes.
"Almas Ali has taken the purgunnah of Marara at
a very inadequate rent, and his aumils have seized
many adjacent villages: the purgunnahs of Cocutmow
and Souje are constantly plundered by his people.
The collection of the ghauts near Futtyghur has been
seized by the Vizier's cutwal, and the zemindars in
four purgunnahs are so refractory as to have fortified
themselves in their gurries, and to refuse all payments
of revenue. This is the state of the purgunnahs.
VOL. VIII. 31
? ? ? ? 482 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
And Furruckabad, which was once the seat of great
opulence and trade, is now daily deserted by its inhabitants, its walls mouldering away, without police, without protection, exposed to the depredations of a banditti of two or three hundred robbers, who, night after night,
enter it for plunder, murdering all who oppose them.
The ruin that has overtaken this country is not to be
wondered at, when it is considered that there has been
no state, no stable government, for many years. There
has been the Nabob Vizier's authority, his ministers',
the Residents' at Lucknow, the sezauwils', the camp
authority, the Nabob Muzuffer Jung's, and that of
twenty duans or advisers: no authority sufficiently
predominant to establish any regulations for the benefit of the country, whilst each authority has been exerted, as opportunity offered, for temporary purposes.
" Such being the present deplorable state of Furruckabad and its districts, in the ensuing year it will
be in vain to look for revenue, if some regulations
equal to the exigency be not adopted. The whole
country will be divided between the neighboring powerful aumils, the refractory zemindars, and banditti
of robbers; and the Patans, who might be made useful subjects, will fly from the scene of anarchy. The
crisis appears now come, that either some plan of government should be resolved on, so as to form faithful
subjects on the frontier, or the country be given up
to its fate: and if it be abandoned, there can be little
doubt but that the Mahrattas will gladly seize on a
station so favorable to incursions into the Vizier's
dominions, will attach to their interests the Hindoo
zemindars, and possess themselves of forts, which,
with little expense being made formidable, would
give employment perhaps to the whole of our force,
should it be ever necessary to recover them. "
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 483
That the Council at Calcutta, on the representation
aforesaid made by the Resident at Furruckabad, did
propose and record a plan for the better government
of the said country, but did delay the execution of the
same until the arrangements made by the said Hastings with the Nabob Vizier should be known; but
the said Hastings, as far as in him lay, did entirely
set aside any plan that could be formed for that purpose upon the basis of a British Resident at Furruckabad, by engaging with the said Nabob Vizier that no British influence shall be employed within his dominions, and he has engaged to that prince not to abandon him to any other mode of relation; and he has informed the Court of Directors that the territories
of the Nabob of Oude will be ruined, if Residents are
sent into them, observing, that " Residents never will
be sent for any other purposes than those of vengeance
and corruption. "
That the said Warren Hastings did declare to the
Court of Directors, that in his opinion the mode of
relief most effectual, and most lenient with regard
to Furruckabad, would be to nominate one of the
family of the prince to superintend his affairs and to
secure the payments; but this plan, which appears to
be most connected with the rights of the ruling family, whilst it provides against the imbecility of the
natural lord, and is free from his objection to a Resident, is the only one which the said Hastings never
has executed, or even proposed to execute.
That the said Hastings, by the agreements aforesaid, has left the Company in such an alternative,
that they can neither relieve the said prince of Furruckabad from oppression without a breach of the
engagements entered into by him, the said Hastings,
? ? ? ? 484 ARTICLES OF CHARGE
with the Nabob Vizier in the name of the Company,
nor suffer him to remain under the said oppression
without violating all faith and all the rules of justice
with regard to him. And the said Hastings hath
directly made or authorized no less than six revolutions in less than five years in the aforesaid harassed province; by which frequent and rapid changes of
government, all of them made in contradiction to all
his own declared motives and reasons for the several
acts successively done and undone in this transaction,
the distresses of the country and the disorders in its
administration have been highly aggravated; and in
the said irregular proceedings, and in the gross and
complicated violations of faith with all parties, the
said Hastings is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.
VI. - DESTRUCTION OF THE RAJAHI OF SAHLONE.
I. THAT the late Nabob of Oude, Sujah ul Dowlah,
did (on what reasons of policy or pretences of justice
is unknown) dispossess a certain native person of distinction, or eminent Rajah, residing in the country of Sahlone, " the lineal descendant of the most powerful Hindoo family in that part of Hindostan," of his patrimonial estate, and conferred the same, or part
of the same, on his, the Nabob's, mother, as a jaghire,
or estate, for the term of her life: and the mother
of the Nabob, in order to quiet the country, and to
satisfy in some measure the principal and other inhabitants, did allow and pay a certain pension to the said Rajah; which pension, on the general confiscation of jaghires, made at the instigation of the said
? ? ? ? AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. 485
Warren Hastings, and by the letting the lands so confiscated to farmers at rack-rents, was discontinued and
refused to be paid; and the discontinuance of the said
pension, " on account of the personal respect borne to
the Rajah, (as connections with him are sought for,
and thought to confer honor,)" did cause an universal discontent and violent commotions in the district of Sahlone, and other parts of the province of
Oude, with great consequent effusion of blood, and
interruption, if not total discontinuance, to the collection of the revenues in those parts, other than as
the same was irregularly, and with great damage to
the country, enforced by British troops.
II. That Mr.
