Mr. BURKE's SPEECH, IN WESTMINSTER-HALL, On the 18th and 19th of February, 1788, WITH EXPLANATORY NOTES.
THIS SPEECH CONTAINS WHAT MR. BURKE, IN HIS LETTER TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY, CALLS ‘"THOSE STRONG FACTS WHICH THE MANA⯑GERS FOR THE COMMONS HAVE OPENED AS OFFENCES, AND WHICH GO SERIOUSLY TO AFFECT MR. SHORE'S ADMINISTRATION, AS ACTING CHIEF OF THE RE⯑VENUE BOARD."’
WITH A PREFACE, CONTAINING MR. BURKE'S LETTER TO THE CHAIRMAN, ON SIR JOHN SHORE'S APPOINTMENT TO THE GOVERN⯑MENT OF BENGAL, AND REMARKS UPON THAT LETTER.
LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. DEBRETT, OPPOSITE BURLINGTON-HOUSE, PICCADILLY. MDCCXCII.
PREFACE.
[]DURING the receſs of Parliament, when Mr. Burke has no authority to interfere in his ſenatorial character, in the concerns of any public body in the kingdom; he has addreſſed a letter to the Chairman of the Eaſt India Company, to the following effect:
"That he has heard, and that the report is generally credited, that Mr. Shore is in nomination, or actually appointed, to the office of Governor General of Bengal.—[ii] That, having been appointed by the Houſe of Commons, a Member of the Com⯑mittee, to impeach one of their late Go⯑vernors General, he thinks it his duty to inform the Chairman, that in the ex⯑erciſe of the functions impoſed on that Committee by the Houſe, they had found Mr. Shore to be materially con⯑cerned as a principal actor and party in certain of the offences charged upon Mr. Haſtings; namely, in the mal-adminiſ⯑tration of the Revenue Board; of which, under Mr. Haſtings, he was for ſome con⯑ſiderable time the acting Chief.
"That he thinks it incumbent upon him alſo to inform the Chairman, that ſome of the matters charged as miſdemeanors, in which it appears that Mr. Shore was concerned, are actually in evidence before the Lords.
[iii] "That other facts of a very ſtrong nature, which the Managers for the Commons have opened as offences, are upon the Com⯑pany's records; copies of which are in the poſſeſſion of the Managers, and, that they go ſeriouſly to affect Mr. Shore's ad⯑miniſtration, as acting Chief of the Revenue Board.
"That, the Committee of Managers can⯑not conſiſtently with their duty, in making good the charge confided to them by the Houſe of Commons, avoid a proceeding on thoſe matters, or taking ſuch ſteps, both for ſupporting the evidence already before the Peers, as well as putting the other, and not leſs important matters, into ſuch a courſe of proceeding, as the ends of juſtice and the public policy may require. That the Managers have not in any inſtance deviated from their duty.
[iv] "That, in this ſituation, it is for the Court of Directors to conſider the con⯑ſequences, which poſſibly may follow, from ſending out in offices of the higheſt rank, and of the higheſt poſſible power, perſons whoſe conduct appearing on their own records, is, at the firſt view of it, very reprehenſible; and againſt whom ſuch criminal matter, on ſuch grounds, in a manner ſo ſolemn, and by men acting under ſuch an authority as that of the Houſe of Commons, is partly at iſſue, and the reſt opened and offered before the higheſt Tribunal in the nation."
Mr. Burke, in the firſt paragraph of his letter appears to be ignorant of what every man knew, who looked into a newſpaper, a month ago.
On the 18th of September the intended appointment of Sir John Shore was announced. On the 25th he was unanimouſly appointed. [v] On the 2d of October his Majeſty was pleaſed to create him a Baronet of Great Britain; ſo that he came under that deſcrip⯑tion of perſons, whom, to uſe Mr. Burke's words, ‘"The King delighteth to honour"’ and we ſhould have imagined, that ſo loyal a ſubject as Mr. Burke, would have delighted to know the King's pleaſure. On the 3d of October Sir John Shore kiſſed hands on his creation, and on his appointment; and dined on that day with the Court of Direc⯑tors, and the King's Miniſters. On the 11th of October he was at the Queen's Drawing-Room. On the 12th he left London. On the 14th, the day Mr. Burke's letter is dated, he was at Bath, and quitted it, to proceed to to Falmouth, on the 17th.
But, Mr. Burke is ſo much in the woods, that he heard not one ſingle word of theſe ſeveral circumſtances, though he does ſay, that the account is generally credited, of his being in nomination, or actually appointed.
[vi]If he believed the laſt repeat, he very well knew, that, whether the firſt idea of Sir John Shore's appointment originated in Leaden⯑hall-ſtreet, in Mr. Dundas's apartments, at Somerſet Houſe, or at Mr. Pitt's ſeat at Holwood; it could only be made with the full, complete, and entire approbation of the King and his Miniſters. The public muſt look to Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas for the propriety of Sir John Shore's appointment. Mr. Burke's letter is therefore a direct attack upon thoſe miniſters; whom he has ventured to threaten with the future vengeance of Parliament, for preferring a man whoſe con⯑duct he, and he alone, has repreſented as, at the firſt view of it, very reprehenſible.
We are confident that ſo ſtrong an in⯑ſtance of preſumption, in an individual, is not to be met with. Mr. Burke has no right at this moment to uſe the name or authority of the Houſe of Commons, for [vii] any purpoſe whatever; ſtill leſs, for that of intimidation. Either his letter was intended to ſtop Sir John Shore's appointment, to annul it, if it had taken place—or it was an unmeaning rhapſody. But, Mr. Burke does not know that the Houſe will re-appoint him a Manager. It is even poſſible, that the Houſe may ſay, ‘"We will not be the tools and inſtruments of corrupt, revenge⯑ful, or factious men, of any party or deſcription. Above £60,000 has, by this time, been expended in a diſgraceful perſecution of an indivual. We voted to continue the impeachment of Mr. Haſtings, not from any knowledge we had of the charges preferred againſt him, for we never looked into a ſingle allegation; but, becauſe we thought a diſſolution did not of neceſſity abate an impeachment; and, becauſe we had ſo much confidence in the ſenſe and juſtice of the laſt Houſe, as to believe that they did not place an implicit [viii] credit in the aſſertions of any man; but that they had ſober and rational grounds for be⯑lieving that Mr. Burke ſpoke truth, when he told them, that Sir John Shore was a creature of Mr. Haſtings; that, kingdoms which Mr. Haſtings found flouriſhing, he left deſolate; that a whole people happy at his acceſſion, he made miſerable for thirteen years; and that the public re⯑venues which were productive on his ar⯑rival, declined rapidly under his adminſ⯑tration. But, to our aſtoniſhment, the King's Miniſters have promoted to the high office of Governor of Bengal, the very man whom Mr. Burke has called the creature of Mr. Haſtings; and whom Mr. Burke ſo ſtrongly cenſured in Weſtminſter-Hall. We find that this gentleman, ſo ſelected, has ſolemnly depoſed before the Peers, that Bengal had greatly improved in population and agriculture during the go⯑vernment of Mr. Haſtings; that under [ix] him property was better protected, and the natives happier, than under their own So⯑vereigns, and that of Mr. Haſtings the Natives had a very favourable opinion. Have the King's Miniſters ſelected a man for ſo high an office, who is capable of laying perjury on his ſoul to ſerve Mr. Haſtings? and if not, if Sir John Shore is to be believed upon his oath, we diſgrace our⯑ſelves, and our Conſtituents, by ſuffering ſuch execrable falſehoods to continue to ſtain the journals of the laſt Parliament. Nor is this all: the King's India Miniſter has annually preſented accounts of the ſtate of Bengal to this Houſe. We have ourſelves ſeen by thoſe accounts the pro⯑greſſive improvement of the revenues of Bengal during his government, and ſince his departure; and they prove, ſuppoſing the accounts to be correct, that Sir John Shore has ſworn the truth. Whatever motives the King's India Miniſters may [x] have for acting ſo inconſiſtently, we ought to be actuated by a love of juſtice alone. As Repreſentatives of the peo⯑ple, it would be diſgraceful to us, to vote away their money annually, and to oppreſs, in a manner unexampled in any age or nation, a meritorious individual, becauſe infamy muſt reſt ſomewhere, if any part of this proſecution has been wantonly, maliciouſly, or careleſſly un⯑dertaken. But the infamy will fall upon our heads, if after ſuch clear and deciſive proofs, that Bengal was not in the ſituation deſcribed by Mr. Burke, we ſtill permit him to ſay, in the name of the Commons of Great Britain, that the country has been deſolated, its inhabitants plundered and deſtroyed, and its revenues diminiſhed by Mr. Haſtings."’
We think it much more natural for the Houſe to declare theſe manly ſentiments, be⯑cauſe [xi] they are the ſentiments univerſally prevalent amongſt their conſtituents, than to find them ready to ſecond Mr. Burke's attack of Sir John Shore, or to vote alter⯑nately with Mr. Dundas, that white is black, and black is white.
But can Mr. Burke in this inſtance depend upon Mr. Pitt? and was it an article in that curious treaty*, which ſo completely neutra⯑lized and dulcified Mr. Burke, that for two years he has ceaſed to abuſe Mr. Pitt in the groſs terms which he formerly applied to him: was it, we aſk, an article of the treaty, that the national purſe, the national honour, the honour of the King, and even of Mr. Pitt himſelf, ſhould be ceded for ever to Mr. Burke? Though Mr. Pitt may have liſten⯑ed [xii] with calm tranquillity, or with ſecret ſatiſ⯑faction to Mr. Burke, while he ſpent his rage upon his old connections, or upon Mr. Haſtings, yet he will hardly be pleaſed with ſo very direct an attack upon himſelf.
It was a duty impoſed by the law upon Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas, to examine with the cloſeſt attention every tranſaction of Sir John Shore's public life, before they acquieſced in his appointment. We are confident that in this inſtance they performed their duty; and we believe that they, and not the Direc⯑tors, were induced to ſolicit Sir John Shore to accept the office, becauſe he appeared to them to have acted with the ſtricteſt in⯑tegrity and honour, and for the national intereſts, in all thoſe tranſactions, which, Mr. Burke preſumes to ſay, appeared, on the firſt view, very reprehenſible.
We are indeed well aware that Mr. Burke has brought Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas into [xiii] an unfortunate dilemma. Sir John Shore's appointment does throw ſome little diſgrace upon that impeachment for which thoſe Mi⯑niſters voted; but, in juſtice to all parties, we will ſtate how far they were concerned.
The whole of that immenſe maſs of mat⯑ter, which was called "Revenues," was opened by Mr. Francis, in a Committee of the whole Houſe, on the 19th of April 1787. The charge, in ſubſtance, was, that between 1772, and 1785, Mr. Haſtings had violated private property, had oppreſſed moſt griev⯑ouſly perſons of all ages, ranks, and de⯑ſcriptions, had annihilated the nobility and country gentlemen of a great empire, and had materially injured the public revenues, by his various and oppreſſive modes of col⯑lecting them.
Mr. Pitt moſt eloquently and ſtrenuouſly oppoſed every allegation in the charge. He [xiv] declared that Mr. Francis's deſcription of Bengal was utterly unfounded, that country being in a moſt flouriſhing and proſperous ſtate, and that his ſtatement of a declining revenue was diſproved, by the evidence of figures.
Mr. Fox, with much vehemence, ſupported Mr. Francis, and expreſſed his concern that Mr. Pitt, who had lately been in the habit of agreeing with them, ſhould differ upon this, the moſt important of all their charges *. He was ſupported warmly by Mr. Burke.
Upon the diviſion, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Gren⯑ville, Mr. Dundas, and Lord Mulgrave, the [xv] four India Miniſters, with their Secretary, Mr. Rouſe, the Speaker of the Houſe of Com⯑mons, and the Law Officers of the Crown, were in a minority. Fifty-five voted with Mr. Pitt, ſeventy-one with Mr. Francis, who conſequently carried his queſtion by a ma⯑jority of fifteen.
To thoſe who do not know what was the routine of buſineſs, in the laſt Parliament, it may be neceſſary to explain how ſuch a cir⯑cumſtance occurred.
It was the cuſtom of the Treaſury to ſend notes to their friends, to requeſt attendance, when the Miniſter was anxious to ſucceed in a queſtion, and the Oppoſition had ſome active partizan who took the ſame means to collect their forces. Mr. Francis being a man of ſome conſequence, on their ſide, the party were ſummoned, and they came in a body to his ſupport.
[xvi]Whether Mr. Pitt from delicacy did not iſſue his Treaſury notes, as it was a judicial queſtion, or whether he was determined that his influence ſhould never be exerciſed for Mr. Haſtings, though he took ample pains, on many occaſions, to exerciſe it againſt him, the fact is, that from a thin attendance of Mr. Pitt's friends, he was left in a mi⯑nority.
But there were other ſtages in the courſe of this article when Mr. Pitt might have thrown it out, had he pleaſed; for it was not pre⯑ſented to the Houſe in its preſent form, until the 10th of May, and the Tueſday fol⯑lowing was appointed for taking it into con⯑ſideration. At this time, Mr. Dundas had opened his firſt India Budget, and, to a man of reaſon, it was perfectly clear, that unleſs Mr. Dundas impoſed falſe accounts upon the Houſe, the Revenue Article was a groſs libel on the Government of Bengal.
[xvii]A Member, who believed Mr. Dundas told truth, and that the article was filled with falſe aſſertions, took the liberty to ſpeak to Mr. Pitt on the 10th of May, upon this ſubject, and alſo to Mr. Rouſe. He remind⯑ed Mr. Pitt, that he had voted againſt the Revenue article in toto. He pointed out how glaringly it falſified all Mr. Dundas's aſſer⯑tions, and all his accounts, and he aſked Mr. Pitt if he did not intend to oppoſe it on the Tueſday, and to endeavour to throw it out altogether. Mr. Pitt told that Member, in reply, that he ſhould give no further op⯑poſition to the article, but he did not con⯑deſcend to explain his reaſons for being ſilent; ſo that, in point of fact, Mr. Pitt actually voted in direct contradiction to ſentiments forcibly and eloquently delivered by him⯑ſelf: any oppoſition by an unconnected Member to an article which Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox ſupported would have been idle in the extreme.
[xviii]But if Mr. Pitt had given notice, that he would oppoſe the revenue article on its third reading, and if then he had pointed out how materially it cut up all that Mr. Dundas had ſaid, we are confident that the article would have been totally rejected. We re⯑member to have ſeen Mr. Pitt a little ruffled on being left in a minority, on a queſtion relative to the African Carrying Trade; he told the Houſe that he would oppoſe the clauſe which had been carried againſt him, on the Report; and then, an irreſiſtible phalanx crowded down, which inſured his ſucceſs.
As the matter now ſtands, we allow that the laſt Parliament agreed with Mr. Francis, that Bengal was irretrievably ruined, and with Mr. Dundas, that it was the moſt flouriſhing country in India.
But this Houſe is not at all reſponſible for the abſurdity or the injuſtice of the laſt; [xix] what has this Houſe ever heard about Bengal, except from Mr. Dundas? and his communications have been moſt flattering, indeed, to Mr. Haſtings; and to Sir John Shore, who acted under him.
Of the revenue article voted by the laſt Parliament, this Houſe knows nothing, for the beſt of all poſſible reaſons; becauſe it would not condeſcend to inquire.
This Houſe voted two Reſolutions*. The firſt, that the Impeachment of Mr. Haſtings was depending; or, in other words, that an impeachment exiſting at a diſſolution, was not abated by that diſſolution.
The ſecond Reſolution was, that this Houſe would proceed no further in the Impeachment beyond thoſe articles on which the Managers had already cloſed their evi⯑dence, excepting only to Contracts, Penſions, [xx] and Allowances; and thoſe were finiſhed in ſix days, in Weſtminſter Hall.
Beyond this, the preſent Houſe has not gone. The articles voted by the laſt Houſe may have been very well, or very ill found⯑ed; very true, or very falſe.—They might have been conſidered with great care and attention, or by far the greater number may not to this moment have been read by the Members who voted for them—This Houſe neither knew, nor cared, about them—They lent the authority of their name to all that the Managers had done in the laſt Parliament, of which they could know nothing, and they tied up Mr. Burke from proceeding beyond cer⯑tain ſpecified points in future.
We conclude it was an article of the treaty with Mr. Pitt, which the latter in⯑ſiſted upon, that Mr. Burke ſhould not go on eternally, becauſe he lamented in the Houſe*, [xxi] that he was compelled to yield to the crimi⯑nal impatience of the times, and to give up all the remaining articles, the Contracts ex⯑cepted.
Mr. Burke, therefore, cannot ſtir one ſtep without the authority of the Houſe—No con⯑ſequences hoſtile to the Directors, or to the King's Miniſters, can follow from Sir John Shore's appointment; unleſs he can perſuade the Houſe to reſcind their laſt reſolution. The Houſe may undoubtedly prefer new articles, even while Mr. Haſtings is upon his defence—The Houſe may prolong the trial as long as it lives, and its ſucceſſors may alſo continue it until a hundred more of the Judges make a journey to the other world—There is nothing ſubſtantially unjuſt, that the Houſe may not do according to the ſtrict forms of Parliamentary Impeach⯑ments; but Mr. Burke has no right to pre⯑ſume that the Houſe will ſuffer him to move an inch beyond a Reply, upon the matter [xxii] now at iſſue. If there is common ſenſe in his letter, he muſt move to impeach Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas, for reducing to con⯑tempt the impeachment of Mr. Haſtings, by nominating to the office of Governor General, a man who has been a principal actor and party in the mal-adminiſtration of the revenues; but we confidently affirm, that he has not a ſhadow of foundation, on which to reſt a charge againſt the King's Miniſters, or the Court of Directors. The King's Miniſters never would allow that the revenues had been ill adminiſtered.
Mr. Burke writes to the Chairman, ‘"The Managers for the Commons have opened facts of a very ſtrong nature, which go ſeriouſly to affect Mr. Shore's admi⯑niſtration, and they offered evidence upon them to the Lords."’
It is true, that Mr. Burke did open ſuch facts, as he calls them; but, in the firſt [xxiii] place, he acted without authority in opening them—and ſecondly, the facts, or by far the greater number of them, were not true—and thirdly, Sir John Shore cannot be reſponſi⯑ble for ſuch facts as were true, in any poſſible point of view. He certainly did reflect very ſeriouſly upon the character and conduct of Sir John Shore; but in ſo doing he exceeded his powers, and it was neither more nor leſs, than the groundleſs calumny of an unauthorized individual.
To prevent, therefore, all further miſre⯑preſentations, we now publiſh thoſe facts of a very ſtrong nature, which Mr. Burke opened, and we print them from minutes taken at the time by a ſhort-hand writer. There may ſtill be ſome errors, owing to the rapidity of Mr. Burke's utterance, but they cannot materially affect his argument: thoſe who have read Mr. Dodſley's abſtract in his Regiſter, will find how clearly both accounts agree in all eſſential points.
[xxiv]If Mr. Burke's doctrine were to prevail, what would be Mr. Pitt's ſituation!! A Manager, on an India Impeachment, has but to ſelect all the meritorious ſervants of the public, and if he can, like Mr. Burke, call names with the fluency of a Marat, or a Pariſian Poiſſarde, he may apply the epithet Creature to one man, Secret Agent to a ſecond, Bribe Broker to a third, Murderer to a fourth, Corrupt Inſtrument to a fifth, Captain General of Iniquity to a ſixth, Villain to a ſeventh, and ſo on, until he forces Mr. Pitt to have recourſe to the Ranks of Oppoſition for a Governor General.
Many years ago Mr. Burke played the ſame game, though he then acted by authority.—As ſoon as the Rockingham Adminiſtration were in power, he drew out a Parliamentary Report*, in which he moſt violently attacked the Directors for appointing Sir John Mac⯑pherſon, and Mr. Stables, to the Supreme [xxv] Council, and the Hon. Mr. Stuart, and Mr. Sulivan, to a ſucceſſion, upon vacancies.
He imputed to Sir John Macpherſon, a deſign to ſupport the Nabob of Arcot, by bribing the King's Miniſters, and Parlia⯑ment itſelf. Mr. Stables was an improper perſon, becauſe he had not been in the Civil Service; Mr. Stuart was an accuſed man; and Mr. Sulivan was the ſon of the Chairman.
As Mr. Burke, however, has once more thought proper to allude ‘"to the offences opened by the Managers,"’ that is, by him⯑ſelf, the ſtory ſhall be told in intelligible language*.
The day after he had concluded his ac⯑count of thoſe offences, the late Lord Chan⯑cellor [xxvi] (for the trial, after ſurviving almoſt a hundred of its Judges, has now outlived the Preſident of the Court) ſtated in the Houſe of Lords, ‘"that the new matter introduced by Mr. Burke in his opening ſpeech, was of ſuch a nature that, compared with it, the articles, important as they were, ſunk to utter inſignificance; and that Mr. Burke would be a calumniator, if he did not put it into ſuch a form as might enable Mr. Haſtings to refute it; if he could not re⯑fute it, then no puniſhment in the power of their Lordſhips to inflict, could be adequate to his offences."’
The Duke of Richmond took the ſame line; and added the epithet "baſe," to that of calumniator.
Of theſe ſpeeches Mr. Burke took no notice. In the next year, 1789, Mr. Burke, in one of his rants, called Mr. Haſtings "a Murderer;" Mr. Haſtings complained [xxvii] to the Houſe of Commons next day of this ſcandalous outrage; he complained alſo, of the introduction of the ſtory of Deby Sing in the preceding year, and he prayed the Houſe to frame both accuſations into articles, if they thought there were grounds to do ſo; if not, to redreſs the injury which he had ſuſtained.
The Houſe cenſured Mr. Burke for the firſt offence againſt decency and juſtice; but they rejected the ſecond complaint, not becauſe it was unfounded, but becauſe Mr. Haſtings had not complained of the injury, as ſoon as he received it.
Mr. Burke affirmed, upon this occaſion, that he was determined to go into this ſtory of Deby Sing.—The year paſſed over, and he did nothing.
In the next year*, 1790, evidence was offered upon it, as he tells the Chairman; but, however, in ſuch a manner, we will venture [xxviii] to ſay, as no lawyer could have adviſed; for inſtead of going to the Houſe of Commons, and there ſtating the grounds for implicating Mr. Haſtings in any tranſactions of Deby Sing, as a foundation for an additional ar⯑ticle; either Mr. Burke, or Mr. Anſtruther, called for an opinion delivered by Mr. Haſtings in January 1785, in which he ſays, ‘"that he ſo well knows the character and abilities of Rajah Deby Sing, as eaſily to conceive it was in his power to commit the enormities laid to his charge, and to conceal the ground of them from the Engliſh Reſident, Mr. Goodlad."’
Upon this opinion, the Managers ſaid, ‘"they would next proceed to ſhew what thoſe enormities were, which might be concealed from the Engliſh gentlemen reſiding there, and which might be committed without their knowing any thing of the matter."’
[xxix]This miſerable attempt was inſtantly op⯑poſed by the Counſel of Mr. Haſtings, who at the ſame time preſſed Mr. Burke to go to the Commons, and if he could perſuade them to accuſe Mr. Haſtings, they would moſt eagerly, and gladly meet the accuſa⯑tion; but they would neither allow Mr. Burke to make charges of his own authority, nor permit him to adduce evidence upon charges ſo made.
The opinion of the Lords was called for, and they inſtantly determined, ‘"That it is not competent for the Managers for the Commons to give evidence of the enor⯑mities actually committed by Deby Sing, the ſame not being charged in the Impeach⯑ment †."’
A rational man would have ſuppoſed, that after ſuch a deciſion, Mr. Burke would have done one of two things—either that which his [xxx] character and his honour required: namely, to bring the ſubject fully before the laſt Houſe of Commons, or to have been ſilent for ever. He did not adopt the firſt and beſt meaſure; nay, as it reſpects Mr. Haſtings, he has totally dropped it; but as ſoon as his Majeſty had honoured Sir John Shore by his favour, and when the King's Miniſters had ſelected him, ‘"for an office of the higheſt truſt, and the higheſt poſſible power,"’ then Mr. Burke revived this ſtory of Deby Sing, in his letter to the Chairman, in order to make an im⯑preſſion againſt Sir John Shore. To reſcue his character, therefore, from the calumnies of Mr. Burke—to reſcue the character of the Britiſh nation in India, from the reproach which Mr. Burke has ſo unjuſtly caſt upon it; we have printed his ſpeech, and we have added explanatory notes, in order to prove that no one Engliſh gentleman can be re⯑ſponſible for the conduct of Deby Sing.
It has been rumoured in the vicinity of St. James's, that Mr. Burke has complained [xxxi] of Sir John Shore's appointment to Mr. Dundas in very ſtrong terms. To this worthy gentleman, his complaints are not impro⯑perly addreſſed. In return for Mr. Burke's important ſervices to Miniſters, he might have expected a continuance of that cordial ſupport which Mr. Dundas has hitherto given him, in carrying on the impeachment.
Mr. Burke may have addreſſed Mr. Dun⯑das with great propriety, in the following terms: To ſupport you in office, I have given up character, principle, and conſiſtency. No very long period has elapſed ſince I affirmed, in the face of the Houſe of Commons, and of my country, ‘"That all the acts and monuments in the records of pecula⯑tion, the conſolidated corruption of ages, the patterns of exemplary plunder in the heroic times of Roman iniquity, never equalled the gigantic corruption of a ſingle act,"’ conceived and executed by you and [xxxii] Mr. Pitt. I ſolemnly pledged myſelf to be ‘"a ſteady, earneſt, and faithful aſſiſtant to any one who ſhould bring forward any plan that might tend to a ſubverſion of that moſt corrupt and oppreſſive ſyſtem for the government of India*,"’ which you and Mr. Pitt have eſtabliſhed under the ſanc⯑tion of Parliament; but ſo completely was I‘"neutralized and dulcified"’ by your ſupport of the impeachment, that I have now forgot all my former ſpeeches, though I printed them publicly, and though Mr. Dodſley has very lately ſent a freſh edition of them into the world.
The ſyſtem which I cenſured ſo loudly, is ſtill continued in all its parts; but I have long ſince ceaſed to ſound the trumpet of alarm; and you may violate Treaties, you may diſgrace the honour of Great [xxxiii] Britain; in ſhort, you might have done any thing, provided you had given me all the money, and all the time, and all the influence I wanted to carry on the im⯑peachment. But it was not enough that I ceaſed to be your determined and perſever⯑ing opponent; I have lately rendered you moſt eſſential ſervices. I have loſt no opportunity of expoſing the weakneſs of that party, to whoſe intereſts my beſt days were devoted. I have uſed every means in my power to ſcatter them to atoms. I have ſo far ſucceeded, that the people now believe there is hardly one honeſt public man in this nation. I have ſupported your Proclamation. I have excited the fears of the Ariſtocratic Whigs, and I have made the Houſes of Wentworth, Cavendiſh, and Bentinck, your own.
In return for theſe important ſervices, you have diſgraced me in the opinion of [xxxiv] every man of honour in the nation. You ought to have remembered the high tone which I affected, when I originally moved the Impeachment of Mr. Haſtings. I did not venture at once to accuſe him of ſpending half a million improvidently, in thirteen years, while he added millions to the public reſources—with all the ex⯑travagance of the American war before their eyes; with the penſions, ſinecure places, and Peerages, ſo laviſhly beſtowed by Miniſters of late years, open to their view; the Country Gentlemen would have ſcouted every idea of a criminal proſecu⯑tion upon ſo contemptible charge; I, there⯑fore, played a deeper, and a more artful part—I began by telling them, that pro⯑vinces, once moſt flouriſhing, Mr. Haſtings had deſolated—that countries, once emi⯑nently peopled, were now inhabited only by beaſts of prey—that inſtitutions, ſacred in the opinions of nations, he had pub⯑licly [xxxv] violated—that commerce he had deſtroyed, and that the revenues by his miſmanagement had greatly declined. The Country Gentlemen believed me, and they voted with me. My work from this time was eaſy, in the Houſe; but out of doors, your annual budget, in which you ſo pointedly contradicted all my ſtate⯑ments, hurt my reputation conſiderably; and as if that were not enough, you have now taken a ſtep which has ruined me, and will materially injure you. Had you no recollection of the evidence which the new Baronet gave in Weſtminſter Hall? The man, whom you have made Governor General, has ſworn, that from 1770 to 1789, including every year of Mr. Haſting's adminiſtration, Bengal had pro⯑greſſively improved in agriculture and popu⯑lation, that the natives were happier, and their property better protected, in that period, than under their own ſovereigns, and that [xxxvi] of Mr. Haſtings they entertained a very favourable opinion. How can I affirm here⯑after, that Mr. Haſtings was a tyrant, an oppreſſor, a murderer, a captain-general of iniquity, or that India, on his departure from it, felt relieved from a weight under which ſhe had long groaned? It will be ſaid to me, if the ſolemn teſtimony of a man, whom your gracious ſovereign de⯑lighteth to honour, and whom his confiden⯑tial ſervants have appointed Governor General of India, is to be believed, you, Mr. Burke, have been impoſing upon, and deceiving us. What anſwer can I make? unleſs I am ready to pronounce that next to that act which I ſo violently cenſured a few years ago, this appointment of Sir John Shore is ‘"the moſt gigantic inſtance of corruption"’ ever committed in the world!
But though you and Mr. Pitt had no [xxxvii] conſideration for me, you might have been alarmed for yourſelves. Though it be true, that you differed moſt widely from me as to the ſtate of Bengal, and when I declared it to be ruined irretrievably, you pronounced it to be moſt flouriſhing and proſperous, yet it is equally true, that you ultimately voted with me, and you have paid the Solicitors bill, for very heavy charges incurred by my orders, in an attempt to prove legally what you have publickly declared to be utterly un⯑founded in truth.
You ought to have recollected, that ſince this moſt unhappy buſineſs in France, the people of England have had the inſolence to think, and to ſpeak what they think, with much more freedom than formerly. There is no longer a blind reverence paid to great names, or to great authorities—Remember my words in Parliament, prophetic they were, and the prediction is almoſt accom⯑pliſhed. [xxviii] I ſaid, that in this impeachment of Mr. Haſtings, ‘"Infamy muſt neceſſarily reſt ſomewhere."’ It will not be from me alone, that the public will aſk, how it hap⯑pens that ſixty thouſand pounds of their money has been expended? that the firſt principle of Magna Charta has been violated by the extenſion of a criminal trial to a period unknown in former times, and which no man could have ſuſpected would have happened at any time? They will ſay, that you have proved your diſbelief of the foun⯑dation of this impeachment, by preferring a man who has deſtroyed that foundation by his evidence; or they will take up the ar⯑gument in my letter to the Chairman, and totally condemn the appointment, ſo that in either caſe, you cannot eſcape the cenſure of the public—and was this a time to turn po⯑litics into farce? The myſteries of Govern⯑ment ſhould be concealed from the too prying eyes of the ſwiniſh multitude. I have [xxxix] in my time been guilty of great indiſcretions, but I have repented, and have made every reparation in my power. The time was, when I affirmed, and took care to let the whole world know, ‘"that Kings* were na⯑turally lovers of low company."’ The time was when I cenſured the Univerſity of Oxford, for its unconſtitutional addreſs to the Throne†. The time was when I com⯑plimented the republican Thomas Paine, as the great and ſucceſsful champion of Ameri⯑can independence‡. The time was when I gloried in my correſpondence with good Dr. Francklin§, though the law pronounced him a rebel, and declared ſuch correſpond⯑ence to be illegal. The time was when the King's friends were diſguſted by certain in⯑temperate words, which fell from me, during [xl] his indiſpoſition, but I am now the avowed champion of monarchy, of the church, and of ariſtocracy throughout the world. In⯑deed, my dear friend, you have acted incon⯑ſiderately to give no harſher term to your conduct. This was not a time to expoſe me, or to riſque your own ſituation. What concluſion can ſober and thinking men come to? They will ſay, that Mr. Haſtings having been made, as you well know, the ladder by which Mr. Pitt and yourſelf climbed to power, you took the firſt opportunity to ſhew miniſterial gratitude for favours con⯑ferred. They will ſay that my old friends having loſt their ſituations, by attacking that man, felt a reſentment which is venial at leaſt, and that they have acted under the in⯑fluence of that reſentment. Of myſelf, they will ſay, that my enquiries have been ſo very deep, that I muſt have known the true ſtate of India to be, as you have deſcribed it, in the Houſe of Commons. In ſhort, when [xli] they conſider, that no one perſon whom we have repreſented as having been injured by Mr. Haſtings, has been redreſſed by you or Mr. Pitt—that no one reſource which Mr. Haſtings procured, has been abandoned by government—that no one ſyſtem which he framed, has been altered eſſentially by you—that the man* whom I deſcribed as having entered into a corrupt colluſion with another perſon, whom I painted as the moſt execra⯑ble of villains†, has been ſelected by you, for the government of Bengal—that this man, ſo ſelected, was for many years the principal Manager of the Revenues under Mr. Haſtings, and has borne teſtimony to the proſperous condition of Bengal, the happineſs of its in⯑habitants, and their regard for Mr. Haſtings: When they conſider, that the credit of the two great parties of England, and of the laſt Parliament, is implicated in the deciſion of the impeachment, and that with all the [xlii] influence, and all the money, employed in more than five years, we have not been able to procure one ſolitary individual to prefer a complaint againſt Mr. Haſtings from In⯑dia; but, on the contrary, have received the moſt damning proofs of the reſpect and vene⯑ration in which the natives of India hold this perſecuted man; what will be the concluſion? what can be the concluſion which the peo⯑ple will draw? It muſt be this; that we have been actuated by private motives, in thus perſiſting in error, and ought to be reſponſible to our country, for ſo unprecedented a pro⯑traction of a criminal trial.
Mr. Burke might well expreſs theſe ſen⯑timents to Mr. Dundas. He has favoured his late Fellow-Managers with a copy of his letter to the Chairman, and it would be to their edification if he would alſo give them the contents of his letter to Mr. Dundas.
Mr. BURKE's SPEECH, &c. &c.
[]DINAGEPORE, my Lords, is a country-pretty nearly as large as all Yorkſhire together, and has a prince at the head called the Rajah, or Zemindar, of Dinagepore. I find that about July* 1780, the Rajah died, leaving a half brother and a ſon. A litiga⯑tion inſtantly aroſe in the family; and this litigation was intirely to be referred, and it muſt finally be decided by the Governor Ge⯑neral and Council, being the ultimate autho⯑rity [2] for all the revenue queſtions there, and they were to proceed on the opinion of the regiſter in their deciſion. It came before Mr. Haſtings, and I find he* decided the queſtion in favour of Sudernand Sing, ſon of the Rajah, againſt his half brother. I find on that deciſion a rent ſettled, and a fine paid, ſo that all this tranſaction is fair and above board, and I find along with it many extraordinary acts, for I find that Mr. Haſt⯑ings took a part in favour of the miniſter Hyderbeg, agreeable to the principles of others, and contrary to his own; and on his eſtabliſhing the authority of the miniſter Hyderbeg, I find he gave the guardianſhip of this ſon to the brother of the Rajah, as he is called, the brother of the wife of the late Rajah deceaſed; and when the ſteward of the province was coming down to repreſent his caſe to Mr. Haſtings, Mr. Haſtings† not only ſent him back, ſo far from hearing him fully, but he ordered him actually to be turned out of his office, to bring in another that could only increaſe the family diſſenſion. [3] I find he has taken a ſum of £40,000 in 1780, for this account ſeems to begin in July 1780, or ſomewhere thereabouts; and to the ſame period in 1781 there was a regu⯑lar payment; ſo that if it refers to the money paid to him from the Rajah, it is a ſum of money corruptly taken by him. As judge he receives it for judgment: but whether the judgment be right or wrong, true or falſe, he corruptly receives the ſum of £40,000 for that judgment*; he received it, you will obſerve, through Gunga Govind Sing, who was the broker of agreements: he was the perſon that was to receive it by monthly inſtalments, and to pay it to Mr. Haſtings. Gunga Govind Sing's ſon had in his hand all the papers and documents, ſo that Mr. Haſt⯑ings takes a bribe from an infant of five or ſix years old, through the hands of the re⯑giſter, whoſe opinion was to have the whole weight in ſettling the judgment. This was not a public tribute or fine; ſo that in fact, [4] through the regiſter of the country, the keeper of the records, he receives a bribe from a family in point of judgment in diſ⯑inheriting the brother. I do not ſay whether it was proper or not, I know theſe queſtions of adoption are the moſt curious in the Gen⯑too law; this I know, he ſucceeded for a bribe, through a man who was in the office of record: this I contend, and I find very ſoon, other parties concerned.
My Lords, I found very ſoon after this that the man who gave it, and all the officers under him, were turned out of their employments by Gunga Govind Sing. My Lords, we find them all accuſed without any appearance or trace upon record, of the miſ⯑management of his affairs, and accordingly to prevent the relations of his adopted mother, to prevent thoſe who might be ſuppoſed to have intereſt in the family, from abuſing him in the truſt of his affairs and management of his fortune, Gunga Govind Sing, for I hope you will not ſuffer me, if I had a mind, to name that tool of a thing called the Com⯑mittee, of £62,000 a year: Gunga Govind [5] Sing, I will do him juſtice to ſay, that if he had known that there was another man more accompliſhed in all iniquity than Gunga Govind Sing, Mr. Haſtings would have given him the firſt place in his confidence, turns them all out of office: but then there was another next to him, a perſon called Deby Sing, he ranked under Gunga Govind Sing. This man, although he had in former tranſactions in Purnea for ſook the very ſhape, rules, and names of virtue, yet Mr. Haſtings is to acquit him of this—they were reconciled on this occaſion. Deby Sing came into of⯑fice, ſuperſeding all the others.—There is an Engliſh gentleman, one Mr. Goodlad, whom you will hear of preſently; they appointed him, and the firſt act they do is cut off £1000 a month from the Rajah's allowance, becauſe he is ſtated to be extravagant, and to have a great number of dependants to maintain: in ſhort, there is ſuch a flutter and buſtle, there never was ſuch a tender guardianſhip and ſuperin⯑tendance as Deby Sing uſes, always with the knowledge of Mr. Haſtings, to this poor Rajah, who had juſt given £40,000 (if he did give £40,000) for his inheritance to Mr. Haſtings; but probably becauſe that money could not [6] come out of the ſurplus of his affairs, Mr. Goodlad had taken £1000 a month from his eſtabliſhments, which will go very hand⯑ſomely to the payment of any private fine: but Mr. Haſtings ſhould at leaſt have ex⯑amined before they were turned out, whether it was proper or no. Now they are turned out, and when I come to enquire, I do not find that the new guardians have brought to ac⯑count one ſhilling of the money they received; there is not a ſingle ſhadow, no not one word, to be found in the accounts of Deby Sing and Mr. Goodlad. They firſt put Deby Sing in poſſeſſion of the Rajah's family, and the management of it; and the very next ſtep, in the courſe of one year, is to give him the farming of the whole receipt of theſe three provinces*. If the Peſhcuſh was not received [7] as a bribe for the nomination of the Rajah, it was received as a bribe for office. Which is the beſt or the worſt, I ſhall not pretend to determine; or whether Mr. Haſtings got it from Deby Sing for appointing him guardian, or for the judgment; but you find the Rajah in his poſſeſſion, you find his houſe and education in his poſſeſſion: this makes it neceſſary you ſhould know, that after com⯑mitting the family of the Rajah to him, he accepted the propoſals Deby Sing made in the name of his ſon; ‘"and" (ſay the Committee) "his abilities and indefatigable attention to buſineſs are ſo well known, that we truſt the meaſure will meet with your approba⯑tion, &c.§"’ Here is an acknowledgment of his fidelity, and that he is a perſon to [8] whom no objection can be made. This pre⯑ſent to Mr. Haſtings is by him recorded, and ſent to the Eaſt India Company. Mr. Haſtings has recorded (though he publicly authoriſed Deby Sing's nomination to this great body of power) that he knew Deby Sing to be a man againſt whom the moſt atrocious iniquities were charged, that were ever charged upon man. Now, though it is a large field, and though it is a thing that I feel reluctance in mentioning, exhauſted as I am at preſent; yet ſuch is the magnitude of the ſubject, ſuch the hurtful conſequences of ſuperſeding all perſons, to give the country into the hands of Gunga Govind Sing and Deby Sing, that I will proceed. It is not a ſubject for me perhaps to go into, unleſs I can prove to you that Mr. Haſtings knew [9] the man, and that he has avowed his know⯑ledge of him, though he accepts him as a man againſt whom no poſſible objection could be made.
It is neceſſary to ſtate to you who was this Deby Sing, to whom theſe great truſts were appointed and profits given. Deby Sing was a perſon of the tribe of Banyans, that is to ſay, the trading and merchant claſs of India; and he was practiſed in all thoſe little arts and frauds to get money, and was ſucceſsful: He was employed by Mahomed Reza Cawn, while that great man had the management of all the affairs of ſtate and revenue in his hands under the Company. Deby Sing paid his court to him with all the aſſiduity and ſubtilneſs which thoſe who have no princi⯑ple are very apt to uſe. When M. R. Cawn was brought down by Mr. Haſtings and ordered on a ſtrange charge to Calcutta*, [10] Deby Sing lent him conſiderable ſums of money, for this great man was accuſed of great crimes, and acquitted, £250,000 in debt; that is to ſay, as ſoon as he was a [11] great debtor he ceaſed to be a great criminal. Deby Sing obtained his intereſt, and one of the firſt great concerns intruſted to him was the province of Purnea: how did he ſhew himſelf there? he ſo well acquitted himſelf in that place, that the province was totally ruined and deſolated. To give you an idea of this, the revenue, that in one year was £90,000, fell the next year to £60,000; and he ſo completely dried up all the ſource of the revenue, that it produced not equal to half of what it had been originally let at. Now when the farmers, who were Calcutta Banyans, looked at the province in which they hoped to make their for⯑tunes, they ſuddenly fled from it, and gave £10,000 to be rid of the bargain. The corruptions and oppreſſions were too abominable to eſcape notice, and accordingly this man was removed from his employment in 1773, but not from his profits, which he kept*. Stigmatized, but ſtill in power, he [12] obtains the office of high Duan*, or deputy ſteward of the great province, the capital of the country: in ſhort, the whole power of Duan fell into his hands.
The council conſiſted of young men, not, like other young men, of pleaſurable diſpoſitions, but, like young men in India, willing to poſſeſs pleaſure, and the means of acquiring a good fortune, by the effects of ruin. Deby Sing took compaſſion upon them, [13] and endeavoured to lead them to the ways of property, and pleaſure. There is a tax in that country much more productive than honourable—a tax on public proſtitutes, which Deby Sing impoſed, and with that ability for which he has been ſo much com⯑mended, he ſelected thoſe who had the great⯑eſt perſonal merit: the ladies were called Pearl of Price, Ruby of Pure Blood, &c. &c. &c. &c. all thoſe fine names that height⯑ened the general harmony, and increaſed the vivid ſatisfactions of love, with all the al⯑lurements of avarice: and Deby Sing made frequent viſits to the young gentlemen.—He carried this moving ſeraglio about with him wherever he went, and he ſupplied his gueſts liberally with the beſt wines of France, and exquiſite entertain⯑ment; with the Indian perfumes, and every thing that tends to increaſe the luxu⯑ries of ſuch a ſcene. This great magician amongſt them, chaſte in the middle of diſſo⯑luteneſs, ſober in the midſt of drunkenneſs, and active in the lap of drowſineſs, brought theſe young men ſuch papers to ſign, as in a ſober hour never could have been given; and [14] accordingly he conveyed to himſelf ſuch grants, as never could have been made other⯑wiſe*. This keeper of brothels is the man that was choſen by Mr. Haſtings as a pro⯑per man to ſuperintend the young Rajah, to lead him in the path of all piety and virtue. Deby Sing knew that pleaſure would not do alone, and he ſupplied pleaſure under that ſpecies of entertainments which he knew very well how to manage, but it would not have done if he had not done ſomething alſo for their neceſſitites; and accordingly he got the ſole and regular government: he got ſeveral provinces under various names, ſometimes appearing in his own name, ſometimes diſ⯑appearing [15] and ſhrouding himſelf under others, as ſucceſsful or detected villany gave him countenance, or made him timid*. My Lords, in this new caſe every ſituation was a new bribe; he oppreſſed the people, and in one of them he publicly acted by proxy. As for the farm at Dinagepore, he was given it with great apparent conſidera⯑tion: he was given it at an advanced rent, but he was to take care it ſhould not be levied with any new contribution, and he was ſent by Mr. Haſtings† to govern theſe three great countries of Dinagepore, Rungpore, and Edaracpore. He did not loſe a moment. If you can forget his character, you may eaſily believe that [16] Deby Sing had not a more correct me⯑mory. The firſt thing he did* was to ſeize on all the gentlemen of that country, throw them all in priſon, keep them in irons, and oblige them to ſign a paper for the in⯑creaſe of their rents†.
The next ſtep he took, was to lay on them a number of new taxes, which by his co⯑venants he was not to have laid; thoſe taxes amounted to as much as the increaſed rent of the landed gentry and freeholders of the country. Being thus in impriſonment, oblig⯑ed to ſign thoſe bonds, and loaded with taxes, they became totally unable to pay, the next ſtep was, to ſeize on and ſequeſter the lands: thoſe that pay no taxes are the de⯑meſne lands for themſelves and their fami⯑lies, and thoſe that pay rents, are thoſe that wiſh to maintain an independance. Theſe demeſne lands were ſold for one year's pur⯑chaſe, [17] the price there is ten years*. Who were they ſold to? You are ready to antici⯑pate me: they were ſold to Deby Sing him⯑ſelf, through one of his agents: they amounted in all, to the amount of £70,000 ſterling a year†, but according to the value of money in that country, they were worth very con⯑ſiderable ſums; but were ſequeſtered, and purchaſed ſo much under their proper rate, that the fee ſimple of an acre of land ſold for about ſeven or eight ſhillings, and the miſerable wretches received the payment for the lands out of the money that was collected from them. The money was [18] put into a ſeparate collection, and the moment it was paid, the rents were raiſed again, and the produce was reſerved as a ſacred depoſit for himſelf, or ſome other perſon whom Mr. Haſtings ſhould appoint*. The next was the ſale of the goods: they were obliged to carry them to market, and there is one circumſtance that will eſpecially call for your pity. Moſt of the perſons who are principal landholders or Zemindars, happen⯑ed at that time to be women. The ſex there are in a ſtate of impriſonment, but by their ſanctity they are treated with all poſſible at⯑tention and reſpect. No hand of the law can touch them, but they have a cuſtom of ſending family bailiffs and family ſerjeants into their houſes, and accordingly ſuch perſons came into their houſes, and became maſters of them; the men and women all fled; all the charity lands were ſold at the ſame market. But this is not all; there were things yet dearer to them, the poor conſolations of imagination at death, for all the ſubſtantial miſeries of life. There were lands ſet apart for their funeral ſervice; how dear they were to all [19] the people of India I hope you will know on further enquiry. But this tyranny of Deby Sing, more conſuming than fire, more greedy than the grave, ſeized theſe lands alſo; and ſold, indeed, almoſt all the Zemindars poſ⯑ſeſſions. Their houſes were burnt, their carts were broken up. Theſe things are to come in proof*. This was the manner in which all the principal gentry, all the ſe⯑condary gentry, all the women, and all the minors, were diſpoſed of. What was the ſituation of the poor men, of the yeomen? I ſay, their ſituation is ten thouſand times worſe, if poſſible, if there are degrees of degradation in utter ruin. They were driven like horned cattle into the common priſon, and there they were obliged to ſign, as the principal Zemindars had done before; they were obliged to ſign recognitions to their utter ruin; they were let out only to their deſtruction. There were ſuch an incredible variety of new taxes impoſed every day, that they were obliged to ſell almoſt all the corn [20] of the country at once. It happening to be a year of fulneſs, and the markets overloaded, their crops did not ſell for above one-fourth of the value, ſo that being overloaded with taxes, they came to the next reſource; they were obliged to ſell every where, and hurry to market all the cattle: thoſe cattle that were worth 20 s. or 25 s. a-piece, five of them were known to ſell for 10 s. The next thing that they were to part with was the ornaments of the women. They were obliged to be parted with. They do not decorate themſelves according to our mode, but their decoration was a reſource upon emergency, and if they have got any gold, it may ſerve for aſſiſtance. They were all forced to be brought to market along with the cattle; ſo that gold and ſilver ſold for 20 per cent. under its value. But ſome will ſay, gold and ſilver ſold under its value! certainly, where there is an overloaded market and wicked purchaſers.
Permit me, my Lords, to ſet before you the ſtate of the people that remain, the victims of this oppreſſion. What you are going to hear is an anſwer from the author, Deby [21] Sing; who being charged with this compul⯑ſory ſale of the lands, ſays, ‘"It is notorious that poverty generally prevails among the huſbandmen, and the poor are ſeldom poſ⯑ſeſſed of any ſubſtance except at the time they reap their harveſt; and this is the caſe, that ſuch numbers of them were ſwept away by famine, their effects were only a little earthen-ware, and their houſes a handful of ſtraw, the ſale of which was not worth a few rupees—but it is ſtill in⯑credible that there ſhould not be a want of purchaſers."’—My Lords, I produce this ſtrange teſtimomy from the per⯑ſon himſelf who was concerned in racking theſe people, and I produce it to ſhew the ſtate of the country. It is not bribes of £40,000 only. Thoſe who give theſe bribes of £40,000 muſt receive four times that ſum. The people, while they were ha⯑raſſed in this manner, ſought that dreadful reſource that miſery is apt to fly to;—they fell into the hands of uſurers. Uſurers are a bad reſource at any time; thoſe uſurers, to the hardneſs of that kind of deſcription of people, added another that makes men ten times [22] worſe, that is, their own neceſſity. They had very little help againſt the oppreſſion of power; they were obliged to pay, to anſwer the bribes and gifts given to Mr. Haſtings, not 5, 10, 20, or 50 per cent.;—no ſuch thing; 600 per cent. by the year; beggaring the people, therefore, was the only reſource. Such is the conſequence of bribery.—The poor unfortunate people, in this way ſtript of every thing, land and cattle, their in⯑inſtruments of huſbandry next go to market; after that, the perſons attending them dragged them from their own miſerable hovels, and their laſt homes were burnt to the ground. It was not the exaction of revenue, it was a cruel robbery; and there remained to the unhappy people of that country but two things, their families and their friends. Men generally conſole themſelves with a ſatisfac⯑tion, in proportion as they are deprived of other advantages, that they ſtill find a re⯑ſource at home; but the moſt tender of parents, the moſt affectionate and tender huſbands, could not conſole themſelves with their children or their wives. This was the caſe of the country in reſpect of their penury.
[23]I am obliged to make uſe of ſome apology for the horrid ſcene I am now going to open. My Lords, you have already had enough, more than enough, of oppreſſions upon poverty, and oppreſſions upon property.—And, my Lords, permit me to make the apology to you, that Mr. Paterſon made, a man that I wiſh, if ever my name ſhould be men⯑tioned to poſterity, may go down along with his, if poſſible, though in a ſecondary degree*. [24] His apology is this; it is mine: ‘"that the puniſhments inflicted upon the Ryots of Rungpore and Dinagepore, were in many inſtances of ſuch nature, that I would ra⯑ther wiſh to draw a veil over them, than ſhock your feelings by a detail; but it is ſubſtantially neceſſary for the ſake of juſ⯑tice and humanity, and the honour of Government, that they ſhould be expoſed, to be remembered in future."’
My Lords, let this be my anticipating apology. It is indeed a moſt diſgraceful ſcene to human nature that I am now going to mention. When the people were ſtript of every thing, it was in ſome caſes ſuſpected, [25] and juſtly, that they had hid ſome part of their grain. Their bodies were then ap⯑plied to the fierceſt mode of torture, which was this: they began with them, by wind⯑ing cords about their fingers; there they clung and were incorporated together; then they hammered wedges of wood and iron between their fingers, till they* cruſhed and maimed thoſe honeſt and laborious hands which never were lifted to their mouths but with a ſcanty ſupply of proviſion; theſe were the hands ſo tortured, out of which you have purchaſed a ſubſtance which has furniſhed this country with the entertainment of china, a ſubſtance drawn from themſelves and their children, of which you and all this auditory, and all this company, have made that very luxurious meal, without a farthing expence to Great Britain, for 25 years. What was the return? Cords, ham⯑mers, [26] tortures, and maiming was the re⯑turn. This is the ſituation in which thoſe hands were bound, which act with reſiſtleſs power when they are lifted up to heaven, powerful in prayer againſt the authors of ſuch confuſion. Let us at leaſt deprecate, and ſecure [...] ourſelves from the vengeance due to thoſe who maſſacred them. Let us, for God's ſake: it is a ſerious thought. They begun there, but if they begun there, there they did not ſtop. The heads of the villages, the leading yeomen of the country, re⯑ſpectable for their virtue, and age, were tied together, two and two: unoffending and thus helpleſs, they were then thrown over a bar, and beat with bamboo canes on the ſoles of their feet, 'till their nails ſtarted from their toes; and were afterwards ſo beaten with cudgels, that their blood ran both from their noſes, eyes, and ears*.
My Lords, they did not ſtop there; bam⯑boos, wangees, rattans, canes, commonwhips, and ſcourges, were not ſufficient. They [27] found a tree in the country which bears ſtrong and ſharp thorns. Not ſatis⯑fied with thoſe other cruelties, they ſcourged them with that. Not ſatisfied with this, but ſearching every thing through the deepeſt parts of nature, where ſhe ſeems to have forgot her uſual bene⯑volence, they found a poiſonous plant, which is a deadly cauſtic, which inflames the bruiſed part, and often ends with death. This they applied to thoſe wounds. My Lords, this we know, that there are men ſo made, that even the pains of the body fortify the ſufferer to bear the pains of the mind. The mind ſtrengthens as the body ſuffers, and riſes with an elaſtic force againſt thoſe that torture it. The mind gets the better of the body. Thoſe people that are dealt with in this manner, people that can bear their own tortures, cannot bear thoſe of their children and friends. The innocent children were brought and ſcourged before the face of their parents! cruelly ſcourged before their parents*! [28] They bound the father and the ſon face to face, arm to arm, body to body, and in that ſtate, they whipt them with every refinement of cruelty; ſo that every blow which eſcaped the father, ſhould fall upon the ſon, and every blow which eſcaped the ſon, ſhould fall upon the father; ſo that where they did not wound the ſenſe, they ſhould wound and tear the ſenſibilities of nature. This was not all. Virgins that were kept from the ſight of ſun, were dragged into the public court, which ſhould be a refuge againſt all oppreſſion; and there in the preſence of the day, their delicacies were offended, and their virginity cruelly violated, by the baſeſt and cruelleſt of man⯑kind*. It did not end there. The wives of the men of the country only ſuffered leſs by this, they loſt their honour in the bottom of the moſt cruel dungeons, where they were confined†. Theſe are wrongs to the people, wrongs to their manners, wrongs to their bodies, and the feelings of man⯑kind; they were dragged out naked, in [29] that ſituation expoſed to public view, and ſcourged before all the people.
My Lords, here is my authority*, for otherwiſe you will not believe it credible. My Lords, what will you feel when I tell you that they put the nipples of the women into the clift notches of ſharp bamboos, and tore them from their bodies‡. They ap⯑plied burning torches, and cruel ſlow fire, to their bodies.
My Lords, I am aſhamed to open it; theſe infernal fiends, in defiance of every thing divine and human, plunged torches [30] into the ſource of life†. My Lords, this excites feelings, that modeſty, which more diſtinguiſhes man than even his rational nature, bids us turn from the view of, and leave it to thoſe infernal fiends to execute their cruel and diabolical tortures, where the modeſty of nature and the anxieties of parents may not follow them. Theſe are cruelties that aroſe from the giving power to ſuch a man as Deby Sing, and his in⯑fernal villains.
My Lords, I had forgot, I have it here, the manner in which you may know the length, the breadth, and depth of theſe horrible cruelties. They took theſe unfor⯑tunate huſbandmen whom they had impri⯑ſoned; they whipt them: I aſſure you, theſe details are not pleaſant, but they are uſeful. Theſe men were taken often out of priſon, awoke from their ſleep, and theſe tormentors watched for the moments when [31] nature takes refuge from life in a ſtate of inſenſibility: they were awoke to be whip⯑ped* again next morning, in winter time, when the country was quite deſtroyed by froſt; which to them is more terrible than to us. They were plunged into cold water, then led out into the villages, to ſee if they could raiſe any thing from the hands of the villagers.
My Lords, the people of India are patience itſelf; their patience is too criminal; but they burſt at once into a wild and univerſal up⯑roar and unarmed rebellion, from one end to another. The two provinces† broke out into general rebellion. The people fell, [32] as moſt commonly happens, on thoſe leſs guilty, and murdered them; they deſtroyed the ſubordinate inſtruments of tyranny; then followed Mr. Goodlad, who had been a patient witneſs of all theſe things*. To ſay no more, he was a patient witneſs of the rebellion. He immediately ſent [33] for Britiſh officers, who ordered military ex⯑ecution; and you may eaſily believe how [34] ſoon regular troops got the better of unarmed deſpair. They were conquered, vanquiſhed, and ſlaughtered; and Mr. Goodlad ordered, that of theſe miſerable people, two or three ſhould undergo the proceſs of the law, and be publicly hanged up; and hanged up they were.
But, my Lords, though the rebellion ſeemed to be cruſhed, the country was in that ſituation that Mr. Goodlad was [35] obliged to write down to Calcutta, that there never had been ſo material and ſerious a rebellion in Bengal. This was in 1782, and it made a very great noiſe in Calcutta. But there is ſuch a gulph between us and Calcutta, that I venture to ſay, not one of all the great and noble auditors preſent ever heard of it. On the contrary, it is a conſtant rule that, whenever any thing is quiet in Bengal, you are ſure to hear of it. Here, the inſide of Bengal Government was expoſed to view. When they heard this, they thought it behoved them not to paſs by ſuch conduct, and which a poor eaſy man could not tell how to account for. They, therefore, caſt about for a good-natured eaſy man, who ſhould make that ſort of report, which might lay faults on both ſides; and, as a retroſpect could only tend to renew greivances, that the criminal ſhould be left in poſſeſſion of his acquiſitions, and the people of their poſſeſſions. They wiſhed it might appear, that the material cauſe of the inſurrection might be the determination of the Zemindars to pay no more rent. The Committee, however, thought it neceſſary to ſend a Commiſſioner to examine into the [36] cauſe of the inſurrection, and they caſt about to find a man that was fit to be a good re⯑preſenter of affairs, that ſo the channel of all this ferocity and wickedneſs ſhould be con⯑cealed. Accordingly, they found out a man of a tolerable free character, ſuppoſed to be a man of moderation, almoſt to exceſs; mild, quiet, totally unconnected with party, and of peaceable character*. They thought that juſt ſuch a man as that, was exactly the man for their purpoſe; and they took it for granted, that from him they might expect an account in which faults ſhould be left out on both ſides, and buried in oblivion; and it ſhould be remembered, that a retroſpect could only tend to renew grievances. They choſe [37] well; but there never was a man ſo miſtaken in the world. Mr. Paterſon, undert his quiet, honeſt character, concealed a vigorous mind, deciding underſtanding, and a feeling heart. He is the ſon of a gentleman of venerable age, and extraordinary character, in this country, who long filled the ſeat of Chairman of the Committee of Supply in the Houſe of Commons, but is now retired to an honour⯑able reſt in the neighbourhood; this ſon, as ſoon as he was appointed to the commiſ⯑ſion, dreaded the conſequences; but to juſtify himſelf, he took out a letter that he had received from his father, which was the preſervation of his character, and the deſtruc⯑tion of his fortune; and this letter enjoined him to purſue ſuch a perfect line of con⯑duct, and to hazard every proſecution rather than to diſgrace truth, that he went up into the country in a proper frame of mind to do his duty. I beg to read from his letter, how that gentleman found that country on his arrival, and how he accounts for the re⯑bellion. ‘"In my two reports, I have ſet forth the general manner that oppeſſion has provoked the huſbandmen to part with [38] their ſtock and goods; I mean not to enumerate them now; every day my enquiries ſerve to confirm the facts; the wonder would have been if they had not revolted, ſeeing it was not a collection of the revenue, but a robbery with criminal pu⯑niſhment, and every inſtrument of diſgrace; and this extended to every individual.—There is a period at which oppreſſion will be reſiſted. Conceive the ſituation of the huſbandman. Every thing they had in the world was dragged away; expoſed to every exaggerated demand, and ſold at ſo low a price as not to anſwer that demand; ſubjected to criminal puniſh⯑ment, with the loſs of his women and caſt."’
You will allow the full effect of prejudice on this ſubject; the conſequence of a loſs of the caſt to theſe perſons I have ſtated to your Lordſhips before; the loſs of the caſt there amounts to more than a complete excommu⯑nication, outlawry, or attainder, in this coun⯑try; the man or woman that has loſt their caſt are no longer the children of their parents, [39] and they can ſurvive only in the eſtimation of the loweſt and baſeſt of mankind. But there was an inſtrument of torture to them ſtill worſe: there is a kind of pillory, a diſgrace in that country, particularly to the Bramins, which is, to be put on a bullock, with drums beating, and led through the town; this was ſo done*, and the people ſupplicated that the man ſhould not be ſo cruelly treated. I have now ſtated the cauſes of the rebellion, and the opi⯑nion of the man when he ſaw that coun⯑try; which was not a matter of inquiſi⯑tion, it was a matter of public notoriety. There is an expreſſion of one of the men that went into it, that he paſſed twelve miles without ſeeing a light, and with⯑out finding means of fire to dreſs his neceſ⯑ſary [40] food. All theſe hurtful calamities were the conſequence of the government of Deby Sing; one would imagine that this drew up⯑on him the ſeverity of the Governor; that if ever there were any arbitrary power, it would be here exerciſed: we muſt not be too haſty in forming an opinion. The re⯑port of the Commiſſioner might be ſub⯑jected to great miſtakes*; Gunga Govind Sing, when it came before him, well played his part. On the firſt report, the commit⯑tee were a little ſtunned; they did not know what to do with it, but at laſt, after that, came down a full report, with evidence in the full body of it†; as the Commiſſioner was a man of buſineſs, and of ſerious thinking, he made ſuch a report, filled with ſuch a body [41] of evidence, as probably the records of that country cannot furniſh. Reports of all per⯑ſons who act in the government by its autho⯑rity, in public functions, exerciſing public truſt, are entitled to preſumptive credit* for the truth of all they aſſert, and throw the reſponſibility and the burden of the proof on thoſe that ſhake it; unleſs corruption, malice, or ſome evil diſpoſition is found in the per⯑ſon who makes this report, it ought to paſs in the opinion of thoſe who ordered it as proof; but very different ideas prevail in this committee of Mr. Haſtings. The firſt act of this executive body, neither having the right or the name of a judicial character, was to turn Mr. Paterſon into a voluntary accuſer: having made a charge, they call upon him to prove it; they put Deby Sing againſt Mr. Paterſon; they take an objection, that the depoſitions are not all upon oath, they were never ordered to be upon oath, not one [42] word is upon oath; they throw a doubt, a ſhadow, upon them all. In ſhort, Deby Sing appears, as your Lordſhips imagine he will appear, a very difficulty, a very ſlur in the way of their commiſſion, and they ſuppoſe that Mr. Paterſon has been carried away by the warmth of his imagination; that he has aſ⯑ſumed what is not to be proved: they allow that preſumptive proofs are pretty ſtrong againſt Deby Sing, and Mr. Haſtings is of opinion, that there is nothing here charged againſt him, of which he is not guilty*. My Lords, [43] I am ſorry to break your attention, it is a ſubject that pains me very much; it is long, difficult, and arduous; but, with the bleſſing of God, if I can, I will go through it to-day. The next ſtep they took was their putting him into the ſhape of an accuſer, to make good a charge which he made out much to their ſa⯑tisfaction.
The next ſtep they took was a charge*—
I AM convinced that my continuation of this cauſe has been attended with ſome dif⯑ficulties [44] to your Lordſhips, on account of my inability to proceed yeſterday; but your Lord⯑ſhips' love of juſtice has removed every ob⯑ſtruction, and I therefore proceed with con⯑fidence to the buſineſs now before your Lordſhips. I think, to the beſt of my re⯑membrance, the Houſe adjourned at the period of time in which I was endeavouring to illuſtrate the miſchiefs that happened from Mr. Haſtings throwing off his reſpon⯑ſibility, by delegating that power to a council, and in fact to Black Men, and the conſe⯑quence of it, in preventing the detection and the puniſhment of the groſſeſt abuſes that ever were known to be committed in India, or in any other part of the world. I ſtated to you, that Mr. Commiſſioner Paterſon was ſent into that country; that he was ſent, with all the authority of Government, with powers not only to hear, to report, but to redreſs the grievances which he ſhould find; in ſhort, there was nothing wanted to his power, but an honeſt Court to report to. He reported thoſe things which I delivered to you, and did very imperfectly, very faintly, and ſhort⯑ly, according to my materials, ſtate to you, [45] that, inſtead of being furniſhed with that ſhare of power which Mr. Haſtings has en⯑deavoured to uſe on other occaſions againſt thoſe who had incurred his private reſent⯑ment, this man was put in all buſineſs of offence and defence, which the moſt litigious and prevaricating laws that ever were in⯑vented to ſcreen peculation and power from the cries of an oppreſſed people could effect. Mr. Paterſon, who as I ſtated, was deputed, with all the authority of Government, to a great province, was now conſidered as a voluntary accuſer, and to make good the articles of his charge againſt Deby Sing; but I believe Deby Sing did not long remain in the hum⯑ble ſinking ſuppliant ſituation of a man under charges, or in a ſecondary and ſubordinate ſituation, as anſwering thoſe charges. By degrees, as the protection increaſed, his bold⯑neſs grew along with it; he no longer took the tone of an accuſed perſon, he reverſes the ſituation impoſed on Mr. Patterſon; he beeomes Mr. Paterſon's accuſer; he began at firſt to ſay, he believed he was miſtaken; took up things a little too warmly; he now ſteps forward, charges him with forgery, [46] and deſires to be heard in this nominal Com⯑mittee. This buſineſs has now taken a third ſhape; firſt, Mr. Paterſon is a Commiſſioner, to report; then he is to make good his charge; then he is accuſed and ordered to anſwer the charges; this is the third metamorphoſis of Mr. Paterſon's ſituation. In this ſituation, which is what I will venture to ſay never hap⯑pened before in the annals of mankind, he was ordered to bring Deby Sing to priſon, that in⯑famous character, that abandoned mortal, load⯑ed with crimes by the Committee themſelves. Deby Sing was committed under guard, but he was ſoon taken from under that guard, and he ſat aſſeſſor by the ſide of Mr. Pa⯑terſon. In ſuch a ſituation all human con⯑ſtancy would be ſhaken, and its manhood gone. To report the grievances of thoſe that had been rich, but were now undone by oppreſſors, was invidious; the road of for⯑tune was eaſy to Mr. Paterſon. I believe you are convinced, that the Committee would not have received a different report, as a proof of bribery; they would rather have received it as tending to ſoften and conciliate this dif⯑ficult matter, and to ſettle the order of [47] Government as ſoon as poſſible; but this man, who withſtood all temptations; whoſe honour, fidelity, principle, and good cha⯑racter, received the thanks, and withſtood the thanks of thoſe that accuſed him; this man was turned into the accuſed perſon in this Committee. In this ſituation, I muſt do him the juſtice to ſay, he never tottered one moment; he ſtood like a hero*; he was ſent [48] as a protector, when the people looked upon him as carrying with him the whole power of Government. He was forced to go back, to try whether among a miſerable, ruined, undone, abject people, he was to find any who had courage enough to ſtand to their former accuſations; ſuch treatment no ſer⯑vant of Government ever received. The next ſtep was to appoint another ſet of Com⯑miſſioners, to try the queſtion between him and Deby Sing*, Who were thoſe gentle⯑men [49] men appointed on the commiſſion? A ſet of juniors*. They were to enquire into the pro⯑ceedings, [50] and he was to appear like an ac⯑cuſed perſon, but without authority to make out ſuch a ſtate of defence as he could. In that ſituation he repreſented and ſent, I be⯑lieve, one of the moſt pathetic memorials that ever was ſent to a Council. He was a man of honour and principle, and well de⯑ſerved, for his conduct, the honour of ſuf⯑fering all the perſecutions in the cauſe of virtue*. He went back into that country without his commiſſion. The junior ſer⯑vants that were ſent to enquire into the iniquity, into the utter ruin of the country, ſpent a long time in matters of form; but they found they could not do without a re⯑preſentative, and Deby Sing was ſent down to them. This man was under an accuſa⯑tion; he was conſidered as a priſoner, and according to the mild ways of that country, and eſpecially where they choſe to be mild, he was not impriſoned in the common goal [51] at Calcutta; not in the priſon of the Fort; not in the goal where Nundcomar was put, when he appeared in Calcutta; he was put under ſepoys; he was permitted to go abroad; and Mr. Haſtings, with an addreſs which ſeldom failed him, and never wanting to a man poſſeſſing £700,000, managed to con⯑vert this guard into a retinue of honour.—They attended him with their ſide-arms only, and marked him out as a great magiſtrate, in⯑ſtead of attending upon him as a guard. When he was ordered to ſend a vaqueel, he refuſed; upon which the Commiſſioners, finding they could do without him, inſtead of ſaying, if you will not ſend, you are not to come yourſelf, al⯑lowed him to come. It was not neceſſary for him to be there, but he comes himſelf; and enters this place rather as a perſon arriving from vic⯑tory, than as a man under the load of theſe charges. The complainants ſaw him a per⯑ſon high in authority in the country. All theſe marks of reſpect ſhould have been turned into marks of infamy to this infer⯑nal villain, whoſe conduct, I have had the honour, or rather, I ſhould ſay, I have been obliged, to mention to your Lordſhips.
[52]Mr. Paterſon, ſeeing the minds of the people broken, ſubdued, and proſtrate under it, and that ſo far from the means of repre⯑ſenting his duty between the criminal and magiſtrate, he had not that of defending his own innocence, repreſented to theſe Com⯑miſſioners, the junior ſervants of the Com⯑pany, that this appearance, and this immenſe retinue, tending to ſtrike terror into the minds of the natives, had prevented him from exe⯑cuting juſtice. The Council* ſat upon it, and they found it was true that it would have an evil tendency. On the other hand, they ſay, for they are very tender, he ſhould appear under a guard; therefore, they take a middle way, and they ordered them to UN⯑SKREW their bayonets, and to conſider them as troops. The next ſtep they took, was to releaſe Mr. Paterſon from all concern in theſe tranſactions. One would have thought that it was only right for Deby Sing to be excluded. No, there he ſat as a ſovereign four years. They enjoyed the office, and [53] Deby Sing remained in honour, though in ſomething like confinement*.
Now, my Lords, to bring all this buſineſs home to Mr. Haſtings. I ſtated to you, be⯑fore that I conſidered Mr. Haſtings as re⯑ſponſible for the acts of the people he em⯑ployed; doubly reſponſible, if he knew them to be bad. I charge him with putting men of evil characters in ſituations, in which any evil might be committed. I charge him as Chief Governor with deſtroying the in⯑ſtitutions of the country; which were, and ought to have been, the check upon this peo⯑ple. [54] I charge him with putting a perſon called a Steward, or Dewan of the province, as a controul on the Farmers General of it; ſo that no controul ſhould exiſt; and that he ſhould be let looſe to rapine and deſtruction; for the two offices were both veſted in him. It may be aſked—Did Mr. Haſtings order theſe cruelties? I anſwer, No. But if be had kept firm to the duty that the Act of Parliament had appointed, all the revenue regulations muſt have been made by him. But, inſtead of that, he appointed Gunga Govind Sing, and placed him in the ſeat of government. Mr. Haſtings is reſponſible for deſtroying his own legal capacity; next for deſtroying the legal capacity of the council; not one of whom could have any knowledge of the country*. When he had done that, and had [55] deſtroyed all power in the country, he had every thing in his own hands; and for all things he is anſwerable. They could not [56] poſſibly have concealed from the public eye ſuch acts as theſe; the Provincial Councils had removed, but Mr. Haſtings deſtroyed, every charge. Having deſtroyed every con⯑troul, above and below, and delivered the whole country into the hands of Gunga Govind Sing, for all his acts he is reſpon⯑ſible. I have read to you, and I hope, and truſt, it is freſh in your remembrance, that Deby Sing was preſented to Mr. Haſtings by Gunga Govind Sing, namely, by that ſet of ſervants, as they call themſelves, who act as they themſelves tell us, and moſt naturally, as the tools of Govind Sing: and he is fur⯑ther reſponſible, becauſe he took the bribe of Dinagepore, the country that was ravaged in this manner*. We ſhall prove he took [57] bribes of ſome body or other in power of £40,000, through the medium of that per⯑ſon whom he had appointed to exerciſe all the affairs of the Supreme Council above, and of all the ſubordinate Council below.—So that you ſee, he had appointed a Coun⯑cil of Tools, at the expence of £62,000 to do all the offices, for the purpoſe of eſta⯑bliſhing a bribe-factor general, a general receiver, and agent of bribes, through all the country, and he is anſwerable for the whole*.
Here Mr. Burke cloſes his account of the com⯑plaints which were made from Rungpore. We will therefore, in a very few words, give a fair ſtate of the tranſactions relative to that province.
In the year 1781, Sir John Shore and the Committee of Revenue conceived that the Government ought to receive about ſeventy thouſand rupees a year from that province, beyond the rent of the preceding year: and at that advanced rent Deby Sing agreed to take it, entering into obligations not to impoſe any additional taxes upon the Ryots. This engagement was for two years. The firſt year's rent was paid without a ba⯑lance, or a complaint. When ſix months of the ſecond year were expired, an inſurrection broke out in the province, and Mr. Paterſon was ſent by Sir John Shore and the Committee to enquire and report the cauſe of it. He tranſmitted to the Committee ſeveral papers, in which certain Zemindars and Ryots ſtated the ſeveral facts which Mr. Burke has mentioned. To determine upon the truth of theſe complaints, the Su⯑preme Council appointed three ſworn Commiſſioners, and, after the fulleſt and the moſt minute inveſtiga⯑tions, by far the greater number were found to have no ſort of foundation. In ſome inſtances, Deby Sing, following the example of the Zemindars, had collected the revenues with a rigour and ſeverity very unuſual under the Britiſh Government in India, and he was com⯑pelled to make complete ſatisfaction for every act of injuſtice he had committed; but, when the points in which he was culpable are compared with the accuſations ſtated by Mr. Burke, the man muſt appear to be per⯑fectly innocent. The unjuſtifiable deception of Mr. Burke was, in ſtating all the facts, as if they had been proved and eſtabliſhed by evidence.
There is ſomething ſo very foreign from the actual fact in this ſtatement, that we ſhall offer a few remarks upon it. It has happened that Sir John Shore arrived in England in time to depoſe in Weſtminſter-Hall, that the appointment of the Committee of Revenues did not tend to deprive the Supreme Council of all knowledge of a revenue; and that it did not tend to throw power into the hands of Mr. Haſtings. The public official accounts prove, that conſiderable advantages reſulted to the public, by an actual increaſe of the revenues, at a time, as Mr. Haſtings obſerved to the Directors, in May 1781, ‘"when the preſervation of the Company's in⯑tereſt in every part of India depended upon realizing the reſources of Bengal."’ Without troubling our readers with confuſed and perplexed accounts of remiſ⯑ſions, ſettlements, or balances, we ſhall content our⯑ſelves by taking from the records in Weſtminſter-Hall the actual amount of the net money paid into the Company's treaſury from the landed revenues, the three years preceding, and the three years ſubſequent to that plan of Mr. Haſtings', which is ſuppoſed, contrary to truth, and the univerſal knowledge of mankind, to have involved Bengal in ſuch a ſcene of diſtreſs as no other country ever experienced:
| Preceding the new Syſtem. | Subſequent to it. | ||
| Sicca Rupees. | |||
| 1778-9, | 1,93,15,618 | 1781-2, | 1,95,78,993 |
| 1779-80, | 1,90,83,547 | 1782-3, | 1,94,75,316 |
| 1780-81, | 1,80,08,723 | 1783-4, | 1,86,43,107 |
| 5,64,07,888 | 5,77,97,316 | ||
So that this country, ſo ruined and undone, by the change produced a net addition of 13, 89, 328 Sicca rupees, or £150,000 ſterling; and the improved, and improving, ſtate of Bengal, from that time to this, muſt convince any rational being, that there is no foundation for the many ſimple ſtories we have heard of the diſ⯑treſſed ſtate of Bengal; for if Mr. Haſtings had violently kept up the revenue for three years by improper or oppreſſive exactions, thoſe revenues muſt have fallen off in ſucceeding years; whereas, in fact, the country has continued progreſſively improving to the preſent time.
Mr. Burke, in his moſt ſingular compoſition, aſ⯑ſumes it as a fact, that Mr. Haſtings had delivered over the whole kingdom of Bengal to Gunga Govind Sing, in whoſe hands the Committee of Revenue were tools; and, therefore, for all his acts Mr. Haſtings is reſponſible.
But in this letter to the Court of Directors, remon⯑ſtrating againſt the appointment of Sir John Shore to the government of Bengal, he affirms, that he finds Mr. Shore to have been materially concerned as a prin⯑cipal actor and party in the mal-adminiſtration of the Revenue Board; and that againſt him much criminal matter is, at this moment, at iſſue before the higheſt Tribunal in the nation.
Without attempting to reconcile to common ſenſe ſuch abſurdities and contradictions, it will be ſuffi⯑cient to obſerve, that no one act of oppreſſion alleged to have been committed by Mr. Haſtings, or by Sir John Shore, or by Gunga Govind Sing, has been proved; and, let the calculation be made in any poſſible way, it will be found, that in the three years following the eſtabliſhment of the Committee of Revenue, the reve⯑nues actually netted conſiderably more than the revenues netted in the three laſt years of the Provincial Council.
That Mr. Burke moſt groſsly abuſed the power delegated to him by the laſt Parliament, is unqueſtionably true. He confeſſed it, when he ſaid, that he ought not to be expected, like Shylock, to cut juſt the pound of fleſh, and no more. To ſhew the mans utter inconſiſtency upon all ſubjects, we inſert the following paſſage from his "Appeal:"
‘"What can ſound with ſuch horrid diſcordance in the moral ear, as this poſition, that a Delegate, with limited powers, may break his engagement to his conſtituents, aſſume an authority never committed to him to alter things at his pleaſure; and then, if he can per⯑ſuade a large number of men, to flatter him in the power he has uſurped, that he is abſolved in his own con⯑ſcience, and ought to ſtand acquitted in the eyes of mankind. On this ſcheme, the maker of the ex⯑periment muſt begin with a determined perjury. That point is certain. He muſt take his chance for the ex⯑piatory addreſſes. This is to make the ſucceſs of villainy the ſtandard of innocence."’
It is true, Mr. Burke was not a ſworn delegate; but no man of honour needs an oath, to keep him to the ſtrict line of his duty. He has well defined the functions of a delegate; let us examine how he exer⯑ciſed thoſe functions himſelf.
He was appointed one of the delegates of the laſt Houſe of Commons. His duty was defined; namely, to make good certain articles, which that Houſe had voted. Though the fact be true, that the Houſe had never read by far the greater number of thoſe articles, yet Mr. Burke had an undoubted right to expatiate, as he pleaſed, on every allegation in thoſe articles, however irregularly or unjuſtly they were voted. But in mani⯑feſt contradiction to his own ſenſe of the moral obligations impoſed upon a delegate, he introduced the epiſode of Deby Sing; a ſubject on which his conſtituents had never heard a word, and of courſe they could give him no inſtructions upon it. Nor was this all; he told his ſtory moſt unfairly.
He impoſed upon his auditors, by ſtating the facts, as if the truth of them was beyond all queſtion, and that, conſequently, the only matter for conſideration hereafter would be, whether Mr. Haſtings and Sir John Shore could be made reſponſible for the facts. Yet Mr. Burke knew that the truth or falſehood of the facts was a ſubject of a very long and ſolemn enquiry, the reſult of which was, as it has ſince appeared, that the facts charged were falſe in their moſt material parts. Where the charges were not without foundation, it was proved that they had been very greatly exaggerated.
It will naturally be ſuppoſed that this ſtory of Mr. Burke's made a conſiderable noiſe in Calcutta. Mr. Paterſon, who is a man of honour and character, was by no means inclined to ſacrifice truth, in return for Mr. Burke's eulogium; but wrote, the following Letter to Mr. Chapman, a Member of the Board of Revenue, incloſing in it a ſtatement of facts, which proved that Mr. Haſtings was abſent from Calcutta during the courſe of the inquiry into the conduct of Deby Sing, though he was the firſt to order its commencement, and to turn Deby Sing out of all his employments, pending the inquiry:
"IT was with ſincere concern that I ſaw my Reports on the Rungpore inſurrection, pro⯑duced as a charge againſt Mr. Haſtings. How little he had to do in this buſineſs, you will ſee from the in⯑cloſed ſtatement of facts. You will find, that, as far as reſted with him, his conduct was ſuch as you would ex⯑pect from a man of his humanity. I have no party intereſt to ſerve, but it muſt give you ſatisfaction to ſee a vindi⯑cation of Mr. Haſtings, from one who has no other mo⯑tive for the ſtep, than that of juſtice.
This Letter, and the ſtatement incloſed in it, are amongſt the Records at the India Houſe.
This is a moſt cruel and unjuſtifiable attack upon a gentleman of irreproachable character, who fills an important office in Bengal. Mr. Goodlad was the Col⯑lecter of Rungpore when the rebellion broke out, but he never received a ſingle complaint that he did not in⯑ſtantly redreſs.
Having finiſhed our remarks upon Mr. Burke's ſtate⯑ment of the cruelties, we earneſtly call our readers attention to the following opinion of Sir John Shore, recorded by him, when judgment was pronounced upon Deby Sing in November 1788.
"I cannot con⯑clude without an additional remark, that there never was a cauſe which appears to have been more thoroughly inveſtigated, or more impartially conduct⯑ed. Every member of the exiſting government at the time*, it is notorious, had formed a deciſive opinion againſt Deby Sing, in conſequence of Mr. Paterſon's reports; and the meaſures adopted were conformable to thoſe ſentiments, and calculated to ſhew that, if proved guilty, he had no mercy to expect. It was under this decided and avowed diſapprobation of Government, that the Commiſſioners reluctantly undertook an in⯑veſtigation of this cauſe. Their proceedings, in my opinion, do equal credit to their integrity and to their underſtandings. Facts are not left to bare aſſertion for ſupport. Every charge (and ſome not ſpecifically pointed out to the Commiſſioners) is examined with ſcrupulous accuracy; and wherever evidence could be obtained, it has been ſought for, and brought forward. The proceedings are not ſummary, but voluminous and minute; and if the conduct of any Zemindar or farmer in the country were to paſs an inveſtigation of the ſame nature, I may venture to aſſert, that he would not be deemed innocent."
"The tranſactions in Dhee Jumla*, being wholly un⯑connected with the proceedings in Rungpore, I have followed the example of the Commiſſioners, in conſi⯑dering them ſeparately. Their report is ſo full, clear, and deciſive, that I ſhall content myſelf with referring to that in ſupport of my opinion, which is, that Deby Sing, ſo far from being culpable in any inſtance alleged againſt him, appears to have been moderate in his demands for rent, attentive to the complaints preferred, and to have puniſhed the perſons proved to have oppreſſed the Ryots, on their complaints. I am happy alſo to remark, that many of the worſt accu⯑ſations preferred againſt him appear to have had no exiſtence whatever."
Though Sir John Shore acquits Deby Sing of having had any ſhare in ſuch acts of cruelty as were really committed in Dhee Jumla, while he ſtates alſo that many of the worſt accuſations were utterly unfounded, yet the conduct of Deby Sing in Rungpore did not eſcape his cenſure; at the ſame time he thought it but juſtice to remark, that the actual guilt of Deby Sing bore no ſort of proportion to the magnitude of the charges pre⯑ferred againſt him.
- Zitationsvorschlag für dieses Objekt
- TextGrid Repository (2020). TEI. 3529 Mr Burke s speech in Westminster Hall on the 18th and 19th of February 1788 with explanatory notes With a preface. University of Oxford Text Archive. . https://hdl.handle.net/21.T11991/0000-001A-5FC5-C