almost as soon as he had named him; and to exclude specially from all kind of trust. We have heard of much tyranny, avarice, and insult in the world, but such an instance of tyranny, avarice, and insult combined has never before been exhibited.

We are now come to the last scene of this flagitious transaction. When Mr. Hastings imprisoned the Rajah, he did not renew his demand for the 500,000l. but he exhibited a regular charge of various pretended delinquencies against him, digested into heads, and he called on him, in a dilatory, irregular way of proceeding, for an The man, under every difficulty and every distress, gave an answer to every particular of the charge, as exact and punctilious as could have been made to articles of impeachment in this House.

answer.

I must here request your Lordships to con sider the order of these proceedings. Mr. Hastings, having determined upon the utter ruin and destruction of this uufortunate prince, endeavoured by the arrest of his person, by a contemptuous disregard to his submissive applications, by the appointment of a deputy, who was personally odious to him, and by the terrour of still greater insults, he endeavoured, I say, to goad him on to the commission of some acts of resistance, sufficient to give a colour of justice

to

to that last dreadful extremity, to which he had resolved to carry his malignant rapacity. Failing in this wicked project, and studiously avoiding the declaration of any terms upon which the Rajah might redeem himself from these violent proceedings, he next declared his intention of seizing his forts, the depository of his victim's honour, and of the means of his subsistence. He required him to deliver up his accounts and accountants, together with all persons who were acquainted with the particulars of his effects and treasures, for the purpose of transferring those effects to such persons as he (Mr. Hastings) chose to nominate.

It was at this crisis of aggravated insult and brutality, that the indignation, which these proceedings had occasioned in the breasts of the Rajah's subjects, burst out into an open flame. The Rajah had retired to the last refuge of the afflicted, to offer up prayers to his God and our God, when a vile chubdar or tipstaff came to interrupt and insult him. His alarmed and loyal subjects felt for a beloved sovereign that deep interest which we should all feel if our sovereign were so treated. What man with a spark of loyalty in his breast,-what man regardful of the honour of his country, when he saw his sovereign imprisoned, and so notorious a wretch appointed his deputy, could be a VOL. XV. patient

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patient witness of such wrongs? The subjects of this unfortunate prince did what we should have done; what all who love their country, who love their liberty, who love their laws, who love their property, who love their sovereign, would have done on such an occasion. They looked upon him as their sovereign, although degraded. They were unacquainted with any authority superiour to his, and the phantom of tyranny, which performed these oppressive acts, was unaccompanied by that force, which justifies submission, by affording the plea of necessity. unseen tyrant, and four miserable companies of Sepoys, executed all the horrible things that we have mentioned. The spirit of the Rajah's subjects was roused by their wrongs, and encouraged by the contemptible weakness of their oppressors. The whole country rose up in rebellion, and surely in justifiable rebellion. Every writer on the law of nations;-every man that has written, thought, or felt upon the affairs of government, must write, know, think and feel, that a people so cruelly scourged and oppressed, both in the person of their chief and in their own persons, were justified in their resistance. They were roused to vengeance, and a short but most bloody war followed.

We charge the Prisoner at your bar with all the consequences of this war. We charge him

with the murder of our Sepoys, whom he sent unarmed to such a dangerous enterprise. We charge him with the blood of every man, that was shed in that place; and we call him, as we have called him, a tyrant, an oppressor, and a murderer. We call him murderer in the largest and fullest sense of the word; because he was the cause of the murder of our English officers and Sepoys, whom he kept unarmed, and unacquainted with the danger to which they would be exposed by the violence of his transactions. He sacrificed to his own nefarious views every one of those lives, as well as the lives of the innocent natives of Benares, whom he designedly drove to resistance by the weakness of the force opposed to them, after inciting them, by tyranny and insult, to that display of affection towards their sovereign, which is the duty of all good subjects.

My Lords, these are the iniquities which we have charged upon the Prisoner at your bar; and I will next call your Lordships' attention to the manner in which these iniquities have been pretended to be justified. You will perceive a great difference in the manner in which this Prisoner is tried, and of which he so much complains, and the manner in which he dealt with the unfortunate object of his oppression. The latter thus openly appeals to his accuser,

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"You

"are,"

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are," says he, " upon the spot. It is happy "for me that you are so. You can now inquire "into my conduct.' Did Mr. Hastings so inquire? No my Lords, we have not a word of any inquiry; he even found fresh matter of charge in the answer of the Rajah; although if there is any fault in this answer, it is its extremely humble and submissive tone. If there was any thing faulty in his manner, it was his extreme humility and submission. It is plain he would have almost submitted to any thing. He offered in fact, 220,000l. to redeem himself from greater suffering. Surely no man going into rebellion would offer 220,000l. of the treasure which would be so essential to his success; nor would any government, that was really apprehensive of rebellion, call upon the suspected person to arm and discipline two thousand horse. My Lords, it is evident no such apprehensions were entertained; nor was any such charge made until punishment had commenced. A vague accusation was then brought forward, which was answered by a clear and a natural defence, deny. ing some parts of the charge, evading and apologizing for others, and desiring the whole to be inquired into. To this request the answer of the governour general was, That won't do, you shall have no inquiries. And why? Because I have arbitrary power, you have no rights, and