:

ordering Middleton to do the work himself if Asoff-ul- | Dewia still delayed. To save his authority the nabob now seized the jaghires, but he still spared the treasures; and Middleton took this work into his own hands, or, at least, acted in conjunction with the nabob. The victims lived at Fyzabad; or, the "Beautiful Residence," about eighty miles to the east of Lucknow and the robbers, accompanied by some sepoys, repaired thither; and by throwing two old eunuchs in the palace, who had been the confidential servants of Sujah Dowla, into a dungeon, they sncceeded in extorting from the ladies treasures to the amount of more than £500,000 sterling. But this was not sufficient for the support of the ruinous war in the Carnatic; and Hastings laid claim to the revenues of the jaghires which the nabob had seized as his portion of the robbery. But Hastings, in his transactions with the Nabob of Oude, did not seek money for the company alone; for, during the conferences at Chunar, he accepted a present of £100,000, which, on the part of the governor-general, was altogether illegal, and therefore subjected him to the charge of venality In the conferences of Chunar, it was agreed that the Nabob of Oude should, "when time should suit," take possession of the territories of Fyzoola Khan, the last of the great Rohilla chiefs that remained in Rohilcund, under pretence that by his independence he caused a.arm to Asoff-ul-Dowla. The chief design of Hastings, however, was to extort money from Fyzoola Khan; and when he found that there was no money in the country, he put his interdict on any hostile proceedings by the Nabob of Oude; poverty therefore was his protection.

from the supreme council at Calcutta for that purpose. This new office added £7800 a year to the £8000 which he already enjoyed, as king's chief justice. This, in effect, made him a servant of the company; and subse. quently some of his juniors received company's places or gratifications: as Sir Robert Chambers, who was made company's judge at Chinchura. But this was contrary to the spirit, if not to the letter of the regulating act of 1773; and in a committee of the house or commons on Indian affairs, it was declared that the power conferred upon Sir Elijah Impey in his new capacity was exorbitant, dangerous, irregular, and illegal, and a bargain between Hastings and him not to be permitted: that by selling his independence to the governor-general, he sold the administration of justice and vitiated his tribunal. This was during Lord North's administration; and soon after, on the 20th of March, 1782, the Shelbourne and Rockingham administration was formed. Reform under this shortlived government became the order of the day; and on the 3rd of May, an address was carried in the house of Commons, by a large majority, for the recall of Sir Elijah Impey, to answer to the charge of having "accepted an office not agreeable to the true intent and meaning of the act 13 George III." About the same time Hastings himself had a narrow chance of being recalled as a criminal, to answer for his conduct at Benares; but as the danger of India was at its height when the last news arrived, and as it was supposed that he alone was capable of protecting the British interests in that country, he was permitted at present to go unscathed.

Hastings retained his station till February, 1785, when, without any previous notice, he resolved to quit his government and return to England. The last years of his administration had been marked by judicious measures; measures by which India was restored to a state of tranquillity, which had not been known for ages. He had also made some atonement for the crime committed against the wife and mother of Sujah Dowla. by ordering the jaghires-not the money, for that was all spent-which had been unjustly seized, to be restored to Asoff-ul-Dowla. His last actions seemed to have wiped out the remembrance of the deeds for which he had been loudly condemned, for on his arrival in England, the board of directors voted him thanks for his long and meritorious services, and Mr. Dundas, who had moved for his recall in 1782, and who had declared, that "he could scarcely leave the walls of Calcutta, that his steps were not followed by the deposition of some prince, the desertion of some ally, or the depopulation of some country," now asserted in the house of commons, that had he been one of the directors, he would have concurred in their vote, and that he was glad that the resolution, which he himself had moved for his recall, had not been carried into effect. At court also Hastings was received with favour and treated with distinction, and though on his arrival, Burke had menaced him with impeachment, yet, months rolled on, in which he was left undisturbed; and he was still unmolested when the parliament reassembled in January, 1786. But this calm was only the prelude to a storm, which suddenly broke over the head of Hastings, and disturbed his peace.

It must not be supposed, however, that Hastings ventured to rob the palace of Fyzabad as a robber of the Robin Hood order. Up to the time of his wanting money for the Carnatic war, he had protected the mother and wife of Sujah Dowla, and had even written to Middleton, commanding him to take active measures for preventing Asoff-ul-Dowla from plundering them; asserting that they were entitled to English protection. But now, when it was determined to despoil them of their jaghires and their money, it was thought expedient to devise some means of colouring over the transaction, so as to save his honour and reputation. Doubts were now thrown out as to the validity of Sujah Dowla's testamentary bequests; and the ladies were represented as dangerous rebels and traitors to the company. His violence to Cheyte Sing had created an insurrection at Benares, which could only be quelled by bloodshed; and this was followed by some slight disturbances in the province of Oude. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth than that these old ladies had taken any part in the tumult. They were, indeed, too fond of their money to spend it in exciting insurrection. Nevertheless, this was made the plea for robbing them; and to carry out the farce, after they had been plundered of their wealth, they were tried for the imputed offence at Lucknow, by the chief-justice, Sir Elijah Impey, an old schoolfellow and bosom-friend of the governor-general. Impey had not the slightest authority at Oude; but it was thought that the presence of the head of the supreme court at Calcutta would impart a dignity to the proceedings, and give a fair colouring to the act. This storm arose at the bidding of one of the exIt was not difficult in India to obtain a conviction; governor's private friends. On the first day of the for men who would perjure themselves by giving false meeting of parliament, Major John Scott, whom Hastwitness were to be met with on every hand. A hostings had indiscreetly chosen to be his champion in of such were brought forward, therefore, with affidavits parliament, and his advocate by the press, stood up in ready drawn in their hands, to testify against the vic- the house of commons, and demanded of Burke, whe tims. The result was certain: a partial judge and ther he intended to produce his charges against the false swearing convicted the accused, and by their late Governor-general of India. It is probable that deaths justified the deed which stripped them of their neither Burke nor his friends would have troubled jaghires and money. The services which Sir Elijah their heads any more about the matter, but being thus Impey rendered Hastings, in this and many other braved, he could do no other than accept the chal transactions in India, were rewarded by his appoint- lenge, and his whole party were bound to give him ment to the office of judge of the Sudder Dewannee their support. Accordingly, on the 17th of February, Adaulut, or Court of Appeal, which Hastings separated Burke commenced operations, by making a call for

papers and correspondence deposited in the India | governor-general, the part which ministers maintained house. As a notion had got abroad that the king, his court, and his ministers were all devoted to Hastings, Burke opened his speech by desiring that two of the resolutions which had been moved and carried in the month of May, 1782, by Mr. Dundas, and which contained an unmitigated censure on the conduct of Hastings, should be read. This being done, Burke expressed his deep regret that the solemn and important business of the day had not been brought forward, in the plenitude and weight of efficiency, by the original mover of these resolutions. The task, he said, would better have become ministers, as the authors of those extreme resolutions against the governor-general, and that it would particularly become Dundas, who had now all the powers and resources necessary for a complete examination, as an influential member of the board of control. Burke then uttered a terrible philippie | against men whose notions of right and wrong varied according to circumstances, and depended on their being out of, or in office-men who could find every thing wrong in India in 1782, when they wanted places, but who would make no attempt to punish or correct those whom they then condemned, in 1784, when they had obtained what they wanted. Acting under their sanction, however, he asserted a claim to their protection, and after giving a detailed historical account of parliamentary proceedings with regard to British India, he remarked that there were three species of inquisition which might be adopted against a state culprit; the house might order a prosecution by the attorney-general; or it might proceed by a bill of pains and penalties; or it might act upon the ancient and constitutional mode of impeachment. As the attorney-general was evidently unfriendly to the prosecution, and as he considered that to proceed by a bill of pains and penalties would be unjust towards the accused, inasmuch as it would compel him to anticipate his defence, and impose on the house the twofold character of accuser and judge, he would advise the house to proceed by impeachment, being careful at the same time to do so with all possible caution and prudence. The first-step in such a proceeding was, he said, a general review of the evidence, in order that they might determine whether the person charged, ought to be impeached or not. To this end he proposed that the house should resolve itself into a committee, and that such papers as were necessary for substantiating the guilt of Mr. Hastings, if he was guilty, should be laid before that committee. Then, he said, if the charges should appear to be what he believed them to be, charges of the blackest nature, and supported by competent evidence, the house might proceed with confidence and dignity to the bar of the lords. Burke concluded by justifying his motives, in taking on himself the duties of a public accuser, and by expressing his conviction that Ilastings had been guilty of gross corruption, and that his administration had been marked by violence, oppression, and cruelty.

was without spot, and blameless. Pitt said that this would be producing new and endless matter, and that the inquiry for the present ought to be confined to the period embraced in the reports of 1781. Major Scott, however, said that the Oude papers would establish the reputation of Hastings, and that they ought to be produced; whence the motion was carried. Subsequently motions were made for papers relating to the Mahratta peace, to the negociations which Hastings had carried on at Lucknow with the son of the Great Mogul, and to the mission of Major Brown to Delhi. These papers were all refused, and Burke having got all he could, on the 3rd of April, proposed calling to the bar some of the gentlemen who had been ordered to attend as witnesses. In this he was opposed by all the crown lawyers, who represented that he ought to produc his charges first, and that no proofs ought to be admitted, except such as were applicable to the charges; a mode of proceeding adopted in the courts of law, and which, they contended, ought to regulate the proceedings of the house of commons. Burke and his friends argued, in reply, that the house had already sanctioned a different mode of proceeding, by granting the power of taking evidence, by forming itself into a committee, to receive evidence, and by summoning the witnesses who were in attendance. The lawyers, however, carried their point, and Burke was compelled to bring forward specific charges against the accused. On the 4th of April, therefore, Burke rose to charge Warren Hastings, Esq., late Governor-general of Bengal, with high crimes and misdemeanors in the execution of his office. On this occasion he laid on the table nine distinct articles of accusation, and in the course of the following week, he added thirteen others to the list. The principal charges related to the affairs of Benares; the Rohilla war; the various transactions in Oude; the Mahratta war, and the Mahratta peace; the depriving the Mogul of Corah and Allahabad; the hard treatment of Mohammed Reza Khan; the death of Nuncomar, who had been tried and executed for forgery; the treatment of Fyzoola Khan, the Rohilla chief; disobedience of orders; extravagant expenditure; the enriching of dependents and favourites; and the acceptance of presents, or bribes, by the governor-general himself. Before the whole of these articles were laid on the table, Hastings had petitioned the house to be heard at its bar, and to be allowed a copy of the several charges. These requests were opposed by opposition, but were granted; and on the 1st of May Hastings came to the house to make his defence. He was no orator, and having been supplied with copies of the articles, he brought with him a written defence, which he was allowed to read like a dry serion. In it, he first referred to the vote of thanks which he had received from the court of directors, his employers, expressing astonishment that any one else should venture to prefer accusations against him. After this, he took a general view of the accusations, and began In reply, Dundas acknowledged that he had sug- to read answers, separately to each of the charges. gested and moved the resolutions which had been read; His defence occupied two or three days in the reading, and that he entertained the same sentiments respecting and when it was closed, Hastings requested that it Hastings now, as he did when he moved them in the should be laid on the table, and printed for the use of house; but these resolutions, he said, only went to re- the members, which was ordered. The examination call, and not to impeach him. Yet, though he thus virtu- of witnesses now took place, which lasted three weeks; ally condemned Hastings in the opening of his speech, and when all had been examined, on the 1st of June, before he concluded he applauded his adminstration. Burke brought forward the first charge, that of the The more, he said, he examined the conduct of the late Rohilla war. Burke commenced his speech by a governor-general, the more difficult he found it to fix solemn invocation to British justice, and disclaiming any criminal intention, or to separate it from the con- any personal motive or private malevolence. After duct of the directors at home, who had expressly com- this he drew a vivid, but overwrought picture of the manded or urged him on in so many particulars. Mutual character and condition of the Rohillas, both before recrimination between Fox and Pitt followed this and after the invasion of their territories, by the troops speech of Dundas, in which the deadly sin of the coali- of the Nabob of Oude and the company. This question tion was used with great effect. The papers which Burke was debated two nights, and when a d'ision too' called for, however, were not opposed until the follow-place, Burke's motion, declaring that there was grown i ing day, when he asked for those relating to Oude, in for charging Warren Hastings with high crimes and the latter part of the administration of the accused misdemeanors, on the matter of the Rohilla war, was

before the bar of the public. By the friends of the late governor-general, both in and out of the house, he was accused of a jealousy and fear of him, although it does not appear what he had to fear, or of what he had to be jealous, except it was of his official prerogative: Thurlow, the advocate of Hastings, having indiscreetly stated that he might have a peerage without the minister's interference. But it would rather seem that Pitt was influenced in his conduct by apprehensions, that, if he supported Hastings indiscriminately, he should forfeit the popular favour, the general voice being against the accused. Nor did his majesty escape public censure on this occasion. While the Rohilla charge was pending, a packet arrived from India, which brought Hastings a diamond of great size and value, as a present from the Nizam of the Deccan, who had acted a neutral part during the last war in the Carnatic, but who, as the company wers victorious, was now anxious for British friendship. This diamond was presented to the king at a levee on the 14th of June, which was the very day after the decision of the house on the charge relative to the imposition of the fine on Cheyte Sing. This presentation was made at an unlucky moment, for it was interpreted by the public as a bribe to check the "impending vote." Two nights after, when Major Scott called the attention of the house to some alarming intelligence which had been reported concerning Benares, and to some suspicious preparations which the French were making in the Mauritius, the witty Sheridan said that the only extraordinary news that had come to his ears, was the arrival of an extraordinary large diamond, which dia mond was said to have been presented to his majesty at an extraordinary period; and, which was also ex

negatived by a majority of one hundred and nineteen, to sixty-seven. The friends of Hastings hailed this result on the first charge as a triumph; expecting that the next would undergo a like defeat, and that then, Burke would give up the prosecution in despair. But the prospects of the late governor-general were soon overclouded. The second charge was brought forward by Fox on the 13th of June, which charge related to the treatment of Cheyte Sing, Zemindar of Benares. On the previous occasion, Pitt had given a silent vote in favour of Hastings, and it was anticipated that he would act in the same manner on the present. Popular opinion, however, was with Burke, and the minister seems to have had an idea that he should incur popular odium, if he persevered in crushing all his charges. After Fox, and Francis, the old enemy of Hastings, had spoken, therefore, he rose to state his views on the subject. In his speech, Burke, Fox, and Francis, all came in for a share of his reprobation; he accusing the two former of oratorical exaggeration and party misrepresentation, and the latter, with whom Hastings had fought a duel before their return to England, in which, Francis was dangerously wounded, of dishonesty and malignancy. This would seem to have indicated that Pitt would still take the side of Hastings, and the more so, because in the opening of his speech Pitt had declared that the late governor-general was justified in calling on Cheyte Sing for aid, both in money and men; that he was equally justified in fining him for his contumacy; and that his whole conduct during the insurrection at Benares called for the highest admiration and praise. So far, all was well; but he went on to say, that he thought the fines imposed were too great in amount, and that the conduct of Hastings had been too severe; and he concluded by asserting broadly, that|traordinary, presented by an individual charged, by the fine imposed on Cheyte Sing was exorbitant, unjust, and tyrannical, and that, therefore, he should agree to the motion before the house; although he did not thence consider himself pledged to a final vote of impeachment. Not one on the treasury-benches knew when Pitt commenced, how he would vote, or what sentiments he would deliver, but they had fully expected that he would put his negative upon the motion, and were prepared to follow the same course. Murmurings and whisperings were heard in some parts of the ministerial benches, and Mr. William Grenville, his bosom friend, Arden, the attorney-general, and Lord Mulgrave, ventured openly to differ from him; stating, that they could not, as honest men, think Hastings deserving of impeachment on this charge, or concur in the vote. Other members, however, were more pliant than these, and were prepared "to follow the great bell-wether," lead he where he might, through flowery meads, or thickets and brakes. Even the amiable Wilberforce, who had hitherto thought that the conduct of Hastings was in part justifiable, and in part excusable; and Dundas, who had recently asserted that it was highly meritorious, and deserving the thanks of the court of Directors, now voted against him and the motion was carried by one hundred and nineteen against seventy-nine. At this point, the prosecution of Hastings was stopped by the prorogation of parliament; it being found impracticable to go through the rest of the charges during the session.

As might be expected, the motives of the accuser of Hastings were canvassed by a discerning public; some condemning them as unjust, and others applauding them as immaculate There is every reason to believe, however, that though Burke over-coloured his picture of the guilt of the arraigned governor-general, yet his motives were honest and pure. From the stories related of him, Burke had been led to believe that Hastings was little better than an incarnate fiend; and he seemed to fancy that he had a mission from heaven to redress the wrongs, and prevent the miseries of a large, but weak and oppressed portion of his fellow-creatures. The motives or Pitt, also, in voting against Hastings, on the second charge, were brought

that house with high crimes and misdemeanors! The story of the diamond soon got abroad, and it formed the subject not only of public conversation, but or songs, pamphlets, epigrams, and caricatures. In one caricature, the king was represented with crown and sceptre huddled in a wheelbarrow, and Hastings wheeling him about, with a label from his mouth, saying, "What a man buys he may sell;" while in another the king was depicted on his knees, with his mouth wide open, and Hastings pitching diamonds into it. It seems to have been very generally believed at the time that there was no end to the diamonds possessed by Hastings, and that his majesty showed him favour for what he could obtain. And this belief was further strengthened by the fact that the queen, notwithstanding her known severity towards ladies whose virtue would not bear the test of examination, had yet received Mrs. Hastings-who had lived with the late governor-general before her marriage with him, and had been divorced from her former husband in consequence-at court most graciously. To account for this phenomenon, people fancied that the wife or the accused was a "congeries of diamonds and jewels:" and in truth Queen Charlotte did receive from her hands some few diamonds, and a splendid ivory bedstead, which seemed to justify their explanation of her conduct. Yet, after all, Hastings was no Sindbad: he did not roll in diamonds. On his return to England he did not bring home with him more than £130,000 sterling; a sum much less than the fortunes which had been made by other members of the council, and even by the patriotic Francis himself! Moreover, it is said, that he would not have had what he did in reality possess, had his wife not accepted presents which he refused, and saved money unknown to him, which he would have spent in the public service, or in support of his almost regal establishment.

ATTEMPT ON THE KING'S LIFE.

On the 2nd of August, an incident occurred which for a short time engrossed the attention of the publ.e As the king was alighting from his chariot at i