before he had quitted Calcutta: it points out the execution of it, and the manner, in which every part of the sum was paid; one lack by herself in Calcutta ; one lack, which she ordered Nundcomar to borrow, and which he did borrow; and a lack and an half, which were given to him, Mr. Hastings, besides this purchase money, under colour of an entertainment. This letter was produced, translated, examined, criticised, proved to be sealed with the seal of the begum, acknowledged to have no marks but those of authenticity upon it; and, as such, was entered upon the company's records, confirming and supporting the evidence of Nundcomar, part by part, and circumstance by circumstance. And I am to remark, that since this document, so delivered in, has never been litigated or controverted in the truth of it, from that day to this, by Mr. Hastings; so, if there was no more testimony, here is enough upon this business. Your lordships will remark, that this charge consisted of two parts; two lacks, that were given explicitly for the corrupt purchase of the office; and one lack and an half given, in reality, for the same purpose, but under the colour of what is called an entertainment.

Now in the course of these proceedings it was thought necessary, that Mr. Hastings's banyan, Cantoo Baboo (a name your lordships will be well acquainted with, and who was the minister in this and all the other transactions of Mr. Hastings) should be called before the board to explain some circumstances in the proceedings. Mr. Hastings ordered his banyan, a native, not to attend the sovereign board, appointed by parliament for the government of that country, and directed to inquire into transactions of this nature. He thus taught the natives not only to disobey the orders of the court of directors, enforced by an act of parliament; but he taught his own servant to disobey, and ordered him not to appear before the board. Quarrels, duels, and other mischiefs arose. In short, Mr. Hastings raised every power of heaven and of hell upon this subject, but in vain the inquiry went on.

Mr. Hastings does not meet Nundcomar, he was afraid of him; but he was not negligent of his own defence, for he flies to the supreme court of justice; he there prosecuted

an inquiry against Nundcomar for a conspiracy. Failing in that, he made other attempts, and disabled Nundcomar from appearing before the board by having him imprisoned, and thus entirely crippled that part of the prosecution against him. But as guilt is never able thoroughly to escape, it did so happen, that the council finding monstrous deficiencies in the begum's affairs; finding the nabob's allowance totally squandered, that the most sacred pensions were left unpaid, that nothing but disorder and confusion reigned in all his affairs, that the nabob's education was neglected, that he could scarcely read or write, that there was scarcely any mark of a man left in him, except those, which nature had at first imprinted ;-I say, all these abuses being produced in a body before them, they thought it necessary to send up to inquire into them. And a considerable deficiency or embezzlement appearing in the Munny Begum's account of the young nabob's stipend, she voluntarily declared, by a writing under her seal, that she had given 15,000l. to Mr. Hastings for an entertainment.

Mr. Hastings finding, that the charge must come fully against him, contrived a plan, (which your lordships will see the effects of presently,) and this was to confound this lack and an half or 15,000l. with the two lacks given directly and specifically as a bribe; intending to avail himself of this finesse whenever any payment was to be proved of the two lacks, which he knew would be proved against him, and which he never did deny and accordingly your lordships will find some confusion in the proofs of the payment of those sums. The receipt of two lacks is proved by Nundcomar, proved with all the means of detection, which I have stated; the receipt of the lack and an half is proved by Munny Begum's letter, the authenticity of which was established, and never denied by Mr. Hastings. In addition to these proofs, rajah Goordass, who had the management of the nabob's treasury, verbally gave an account perfectly corresponding with that of Nundcomar, and the Munny Begum's letter; and he afterwards gave in writing an attestation, which in every point agrees correctly with the others. So that there are three witnesses upon this business. And he

shall not disqualify rajah Goordass, because whatever character he thought fit to give Nundcomar, he has given the best of characters to rajah Goordass, who was employed by Mr. Hastings in occupations of trust; and therefore any objections to his competency cannot exist. Having got thus far, the only thing, that remained, was to examine the records of the publick offices and see whether any trace of these transactions was to be found there. These offices had been throw into confusion in the manner you will hear; but, upon strict inquiry, there was a shomaster or office paper produced, from which it appears, that the officer of the treasury, having brought to the nabob an account of one lack and an half, which he said had been given to Mr. Hastings, desired to know from him, under what head of expense it should be entered; and that he, the nabob, desired him to put it under the head of expenses for entertaining Mr. Hastings. If there had been a head of entertainment established, as a regular affair, the officer would never have gone to the nabob and asked under what name to enter it; but he found an irregular affair, and he did not know what head to put it under. And from the whole of the proceedings it appears, that three lacks and an half were paid; two lacks by way of bribe, one lack and an half under the colour of an entertainment. Mr. Hastings endeavours to invalidate the first obliquely, not directly, for he never directly denied it and he partly admits the second, in hopes, that all the proof of payment of the first charge should be merged and confounded in the second. And therefore your lordships will see from the beginning of that business till it came into the hands of Mr. Smith, his agent, then appearing in the name and character of agent and solicitor to the company, that this was done to give some appearance and colour to it by a false representation, as your lordships will see, of every part of the transactions.

The proof then of the two lacks rests upon the evidence of Nundcomar, the letter of Munny Begum, and the evidence of rajah Goordass. The evidence of the lack and an half, by way of entertainment, was at first the same; and afterwards begins a series of proofs, to which Mr. Hastings has himself helped us. For, in the first place, he produces

this office paper in support of his attempt to establish the confusion between the payment of the two lacks, and of the lack and an half. He did not himself deny, that he received a lack and an half, because with respect to that lack and an half he had founded some principle of justification. Accordingly this office paper asserts and proves this lack and an half to have been given, in addition to the other proofs. Then Munny Begum herself is inquired of. There is a commission appointed to go up to her residence; and the fact is proved to the satisfaction of Mr. Goring, the commissioner. The begum had put a paper of accounts, through her son, into his hands, which shall be given at your lordships' bar; in which she expressly said, that she gave Mr. Hastings a lack and an half for entertainment. But Mr. Hastings objects to Mr. Goring's evidence upon this occasion. He wanted to supersede Mr. Goring in the inquiry; and he accordingly appoints, with the consent of the council, two creatures of his own to go and assist in that inquiry. The question, which he directs these commissioners to put to Munny Begum, is this: Was the sum of money, charged by you to be given to Mr. Hastings, given under an idea of entertainment, customary, or upon what other ground, or for what other reason?" He also desires the following questions may be proposed to the begum "Was any application made to you for the account, which you have delivered, of three lacks and an half of rupees, said to have been paid to the governour and Mr. Middleton; or did you deliver the account of your own free will, and unsolicited?"

My lords, you see, that with regard to the whole three lacks and an half of rupees the begum had given an account, which tended to confirm the payment of them; but Mr. Hastings wanted to invalidate that account by supposing she gave it under restraint. The second question is In what manner was the application made to you, and by whom?" But the principal question is this, "On what account was the one lack and an half given to the governourgeneral, which you have laid to his account? Was it in consequence of any requisition from him, or of any previous agreement, or of any established usage?" When a man asks

concerning a sum of money, charged to be given to him by another person, on what account it was given, he does indirectly admit, that that money actually was paid, and wants to derive a justification from the mode of the payment of it; and accordingly that inference was drawn from the question so sent up, and it served as an instruction to Munny Begum; and her answer was, that it was given to him, as an antient usage and custom, for an entertainment. So that the fact of the gift of the money is ascertained by the question put by Mr. Hastings to her, and her answer. And thus at last comes his accomplice in this business, and gives the fullest testimony to the lack and an half.

I must beg leave, before I go further, to state the circumstances of the several witnesses examined upon this business. They were of two kinds: voluntary witnesses; and accomplices, forced by inquiry and examination to discover their own guilt. Of the first kind were Nundcomar and rajah Goordass; these were the only two, that can be said to be voluntary in the business, and who gave their information without much fear, though the last unwillingly, and with a full sense of the danger of doing it.

The other was the evidence of his accomplice, Munny Begum, wrung from her by the force of truth, in which she confessed, that she gave the lack and an half, and justifies it upon the ground of its being a customary entertainment. Besides this, there is the evidence of Chittendur, who was one of Mr. Hastings's instruments, and one of the begum's servants. He being prepared to confound the two lacks with the one lack and an half, says, upon his examination, that a lack and an half was given; but, upon examining into the particulars of it, he proves, that the sum he gave was two lacks, and not a lack and an half; for he says, that there was a dispute about the other half lack. Nundcomar demanded interest, which the begum was unwilling to allow, and consequently that half lack remained unpaid. Now this half lack can be no part of the lack and an half, which is admitted on all hands, and proved by the whole body of concurrent testimony to have been given to Mr. Hastings in one lumping sum. When Chittendur endeavours to confound it