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indulged in fpeaking in the name of Mr. Haftings, when he faid, that he most anxioufly wished for an enquiry into his conduct, the moft rigid that the houfe could a dopt; that he wished it to be brought down to the very day of his departure from Bengal; and that he defired to rife or fall in the opinion of the house of commons, and of the country at large, by the refult of the enquiry.

Mr. Vanfittart and Mr. alderman le Mefurier rofe in this early stage of the bufinefs, to declare their high fenfe of the merit of Mr. Haftings, and the veneration they entertained for every part of his character. Mr. le Mefurier al luded to the remarks of Mr. Burke in relation to the trial by jury, and faid, that, after fo public an avowal of an opinion of this fort from that fide of the house, the members of oppofition furely would not, when the new court of judicature fhould fall again under difcuffion, exprefs their difapprobation of it in fo vehement terms. The objection was repelled by Mr. Francis; and, though his fentiments were not delivered in the courfe of this day's debate, yet they appear to form too eloquent and fpirited a defence of Mr. Burke's conduct to be omitted in this place. He obferved, that, if it were a contradiction to fay, that, for the punishment of crimes of a fpecial quality and magnitude, the trial by impeachment was the fafeft, the most effectual, and the best; but that, for offences of a lower order, we ought ftill to adhere to the established trial by jury, he, who maintained the alfirmative, charged that contradic tion upon the laws, the inftitutions, the practice, and the wifdom of England, ever fince parliaments had a being. Mr. Francis was not

afraid of erring, with so powerful and venerable authority. The trial by impeachment was founded on a popular right, coeval with the houfe of commons: it was as well known and as well established in our conftitution as the trial by jury, though it could not occur fo often. There were cafes of crimes and of criminals, to whom no other form of proceeding was adequate, to which no other mode of trial was commenfurate. In fuch cafes the trial by impeachment did that, which no other trial could accomplish. It not only forced the crime to an enquiry, it not only demanded juftice against the criminal, and infared his punishment; but it provided for another object, which in fome instances was not lefs interesting and neceffary, than juftice and punishment. It cleared the honour of the nation, in which fuch crimes were committed, and to which fuch criminals belonged it vindicated the character of this country from reproach in the judgment of mankind. Thefe were the occafions, in which the pre-eminence of the wif dom and juftice of England difs played itself over all other nations. Other nations might rival us in our crimes, but there the competition ended. In England alone the dig nity of the trial rofe to a level with the eminence of the crime. When the houfe of commons impeached, it was a folemn appeal to the judg ment of the world. When crimes were charged, by which the happinefs, if not the existence of whole nations had been affected, by which states and princes, and all the highest orders of men, as well as the loweft, had been reduced by the bafe and iron hand of upftart power to mifery and ruin; the trial by impeachment made proclamation to the princes and king

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doms of the world to attend and look on, while the democracy of England advanced in perion to the charge, affumed the noble office of accufer, and forced the crime to trial, before every thing that was great, and noble, and wife, and learned, and venerable in our country. The crime, the criminal, the profecutor, the judges, the audience, and the trial, produced and constituted a fcene, which no other country exhibited to the world.

Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas took up, in part, the objection of major Scott, and maintained, that it was impaper to call for papers tending to the establishment of charges, without first specifying in fome manner the nature of the charges, and the object which the production of the papers was intended to fupport. This difficulty was first preffed by adminiftration, when Mr. Burke proceeded to move for the papers, which refpected the recent fituation of the province of Oude; and accordingly the motion was withdrawn for the prefent, and was again fuggefted to the decifion of the houfe on the Monday following. On this occafion Mr. Pitt obferved, that, while Mr. Burke confined himself within the limits of the reports of the Indian committees, he had been contented to confider thofe reports as amounting to a fort of fpecification of the intended charge; but, when he came to break new ground, he must take the liberty to infift upon his explaining to the house the object he had in view, and leaving them to judge of the propriety of his motions, before he could confent to a general and in difcriminate grant of papers. And, while in every criminal profecution, he found authorities uniform ly operating in his favour, he hop

ed, in making this claim, that he fhould be confidered as acting for and pleading the caufe of every individual in the kingdom, who in any future time might be the object of public and parliamentary profecution.

Mr. Burke confidered this pretention, as an invation of the prerogatives which naturally belonged to a public accufer. He had a claim, in his opinion, generally, to all fuch documents, proofs and papers, as he faw or esteemed to be neceffary, to fupport the charge which he undertook to advance, The downfal of the greatest empire in the world, had been agreed to have originated in the mal-adminiftration of its pro vinces, But, even when Rome felt within herfelf the feeds of decline and the inroads of corruption, a man of the first families, connections and rank in the ftate, was brought to punishment. Verres, the gover nor of Sicily, was united in affinity with all that was moft fplendid and opulent in the feat of the empire, with the Hortenfii and the Metelli, In the mean time, when Cicero undertook his accufation, the go. vernment itfelf adopted the profecu tion; no less than one hundred and fitty days were granted to the accu fer for colketing his materials, though from a province at fo trifling a distance; and the justice of the Roman fenate opened to him without referve, all the cabinets from which documents were to be obtained. The period was not long elapfed, fince the Cicero of the prefent age, Mr. Dundas, had brought in a bill of pains and penalties, against one of thofe characters returned from India,whom the houfe had confidered as an object within its reach. How far he had purfued his point, was in the remembrance of every one; and yet the difficulties he had to

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encounter in the investigation were totally removed, by the general and concurrent difpofition of every party with whom documents were depofited, neceffary to accomplish his views. He had met with a body of India directors difpofed to his purpofe, and with a willing adminitration. Mr. Burke added, that, if Mr. Pitt adhered to his objection, the confequence that would refult, would be a double injuftice. If the accufer wanted collateral or explanatory aid, he ought not to be denied it, fince without it he could not digeft, explain, fimplify, or methodise the facts of which he was already in poffeffion. Or, if on the other hand, the grounds of accufation could be extenuated, and the feverity of the charge abated, a denial of the chance, which was thus offered for an early acquittal, was an injuftice to the fuppofed delinquent. Were the hand of power to deny him fuch documents as he demanded, he must then reft contented with the fingle conviction of having done his duty. If however the defolation of a province, like that of Oude, which extended fiftythree thoufand fquare miles, and the internal wealth of which had upon every calculation, once amounted to eighteen millions; if the oppreffion and extermination of its nobility, were not fufficient in ducements with the house to vote him the papers for which he moved; and if no other ground would be admitted, than that of fpecifying his charges; though he knew that he was acting inconfiftently with the eftablifhed orders and practice of the houfe, yet he would fubmit to this condition, rather than not fubftantiate the truth as foon as poffible. Having accordingly read to the houfe an enumeration of the facts he expected to establish againft

Mr. Haftings in the adminiftration of Oude, the papers for which he had moved, were granted

him.

In this period of the business, major Scott, who is to be confidered as the parliamentary representative of Mr. Haftings, difplayed a degree of impatience, that will probably be thought fomewhat ludicrous. Four days after the house had agreed to the motion of Mr. Burke, for the papers in relation to Oude, he remarked, that during every minute, his eagerness and anxiety to see the papers produced continually increated, and that he had twice one to the India houfe, to discover in what probable time they would be fubmitted to the inveligation of the houfe. He had that morning been informed, that the greatest part of the papers were already prepared, and he would with to move, that fuch as were ready fhould be submitted without delay to the inspec tion of members. The speaker advifed major Scott to withdraw his motion, as it was contrary to the forms of parliamentary proceeding, and wholly unneceffary.

On the third of March, Mr. Burke, proceeding in the plan he had already defcribed to the house, moved for feveral additional papersior the fupport of the profecution, and among others for papers of different defcriptions, which were calculated to illuftrate the demerits of the negociations, that had introduced the peace with the Marattas in 1783. Upon thefe motions Mr. Dundas remarked, that, if the papers moved for were made public, they would occafion that matter to tranfpire, which ought, from motives of the foundeft policy, to remain a secret to all the powers of India; and that he therefore felt himself bound, by the attachment with which ho

was

was animated to the intereft of his country, fteadily to oppofe fo dan gerous a propofition. He pronounced a warm eulogium upon the benefits that refulted from the Maratta peace, which had in reality been effential to the falvation of the British empire in Afia. The plans under which this happy event was effected, were extremely improper to be made public, becaufe they led to the difcovery of the means by which the different confederate powers were rendered jealous of each other, and of the intrigues by which the rajas were induced to diffolve their league againft the British empire, and would bring to light fecrets of infidelity, which were calculated to do the most material injury to our interests.

Mr. Burke replied to thefe ob. jections. He obferved that it had been argued on a former day, that, if the enquiry was intended to feek after crimes, the papers could not be granted; but that, if a direct charge was made, there fhould not be any objection. It could not be maintained that this demur would apply to the prefent cafe. A fpecific charge was brought forward, it was committed in detail to writing, and indeed a great part of it might be found in the reports of that committee, of which Mr. Dundas had once been fo active a member. With refpect to the danger, which it was pretended would arife from making public thefe papers, this was an objection in the highest degree fallacious. There was not a manoeuvre respecting the Maratta peace, of which the powers in India were not in complete poffeffion. The fovereigns there were as well informed as any fovereign in Europe; the fources of their intelligence were fuch as could not fail them; and the most enormous fums

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were expended by them, in procuring fpies even in official fituations in our fettlements. By comparing notes they had fully and fubftantially difcovered that treachery, which our officers had em ployed against them individually, and the confequence was, that they had already entered into a league of an offenfive import againft our poffeffions in Afia. Mr. Burke particularly recurred to the circumftance of the breach of treaty with the rana of Gohud. happy prince was driven from his territories, and become a wanderer in the Eaft; he now held up his hands and implored the British parliament; he conjured them by their own confiftency, by the faith of treaties, by the honour of this nation, to do him justice, to fulfil their promifes, and to punish the man by whom he had fo undefervedly been facrificed. Mr. Burke added, that, if the majority should by their diffenting voices, deprive him of the opportunity to gather up materials, indifpenfibly requifite for the complete fubftantiation of his charges, the great caufe in which he was engaged fhould however never be abandoned; he would avail himself of the fcattered fragments of evidence, and would endeavour from them to ftamp validity upon his accufations.

As the friends of adminiftration in general appeared difpofed to perfift in the objection that had been ftated by Mr. Dundas, the advocates of the profecution were very importunate with them to depart from their determination. Mr, Fox obferved, that there was no behaviour which could operate more injurioufly to the British interests, than to withhold the friendship and protection that was due to our allies. He obferved, that the ad

vantages

vantages of the English conftitution far outbalanced its difadvantages; and that it was one of the leading principles of that conflitution, to prefer the refponfibility which belonged to its officers and fervants, to the fecrecy which was deemed fo neceffary in other countries. He, warned the houfe, that they would do well to reflect upon the fort of precedent they were about to lay down in the prefent inftance; and he affirmed, that there could be no enquiry of a public nature, in which circumstances would not come that might better have remained a fecret. Mr.Windham undertook coolly and rationally to remontirate with adminiftration upon the confequences that would refult from their conduct at the fame time that Mr. i Wilberforce rofe on the other fide, and recommended to adminiftration to employ much circumfpection and caution, before they fuffered any papers to be produced, which were likely to do an injury to the

ftate.

Mr. Pitt upon this occafion ap. peared folicitous to maintain the credit of his impartiality in this momentous tranfaction, and he acknowledged, that the gentleman, who had taken the lead in the profecution, had expreffed and acquitted himfelf with a degree of candour and openness which redounded much to his credit. But he certainly had not offered arguments of fufficient force to evince the neceffity of producing thefe papers. With refpect to the Maratta peace, Mr. Hattings had negociated it at a time when a continuance of the war would have proved abfolute and inevitable ruin, and he completed it with an addrefs and ingenuity that did him immortal honour. In the mean time there was one of Mr. Burke's motions upon this fubject, which

Mr. Pitt would certainly not oppofe; he meant that refpecting the rana of Gohud. However he might differ with him refpecting the propricty of this prince's having been excluded from the benefits of the peace, he certainly thought that in this tranfaction there was a fufficient ground of enquiry. In confequence of Mr. Pitt's-conceffion this motion was carried, and the houfe having divided, in relation to the question of granting the other Maratta papers, the numbers ap peared, ayes 44, noes 87.

One of the poin's moft warmly contested in this ftage of the bulinefs, was relative to the papers moved for by Mr. Burke on the fixth of March, refpecting the negociation which Mr. Hastings had commenced with the Great Mogul in his capital of Dehli in the year 1783; in which Mr. Burke charged him, in the first place, with tranfgreffing the fpirit of the refolutions of the British parliament, against entering into engagements for offenfive meafures with the princes of India; and in the next place with difgracing the character and good faith of the British nation, by betraying and deferting the party of the Mogul, after the negociation had been confiderably advanced." Thefe papers were refufed by adminiftration, upon the fame ground upon which they had already denied the Maraita papers; and, in vindication of the integrity of his motives, and the innocence of the documents in queftion, Mr. Burke read feveral extracts from them as a part of his fpeech. The house having divided upon the question, the numbers tood, ayes 34, noes 88. In the mean time the party, by whom the profecution was fupported, difplayed the fame earnetnefs upon this fubject which.

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