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fate of India depended on finishing them this year, and that declaration he had rested entirely on dark hints and suggestions, as if recent advices had been received from India, which justified such an opinion. Perhaps, 'as that honourable gentleman was more in the way of knowing the secrets of India than he was, he knew of some news that had arrived which justified him in his assertion. If so, it would be well for him to state it to the house; but, till he made out a case, and it behoved him to make out a strong one, to prove the fact, that the fate of India did depend on finishing the charges that session, all insinuation of that kind must go for nothing. For his part, Mr. Sheridan said, he had made every possible enquiry in order to learn whether any extraordinary news had recently arrived from India; and he could hear of nothing extraordinary, but of the receipt of an extraordinary large diamond, said to have heen sent to Mr. Hastings, and presented to His Majesty at an extraordinary and critical period of time. It was also a little extraordinary, that Mr. Hastings should be chosen as the person to present this diamond, after the resolutions of 1782 had reached India; especially if, as had been predicted, they had been translated into Persic and all the languages of the East. -With regard to any expectation on the part of Mr. Hastings, or any claim that he could be supposed to have upon the house, he could have none but that the house would continue, as they had begun, solemnly and seriously to investigate his conduct; and after having in due time gone through the charges, come to some ultimate decision upon the whole. Early in the commencement of the session, the right honourable Mr. Chancellor Pitt had himself declared, and he doubted not he would recollect it, "that it would be exceedingly misbecoming in the house either to continue hearing the charges when a full attendance could not be obtained, or to leave off without first moving a bill to hang up the enquiry, as it were, till the next session,-then to be resumed and pursued to its conclusion." At the time of the right honourable gentleman's stating that idea, the honourable gentleman opposite to him (Major Scott) had not offered a word of objection; much less had he said, that the fate of India depended on their being gone through this session; or that it would be injustice if they were not. In point of character, Mr. Hastings, he must con

tend, had no sort of right to complain that he had been injured by the proceedings hitherto; because no person could assert that they were the first arraignments of the character of Mr. Hastings in the house of commons. That gentleman's character and conduct as governor-general of India had been before arraigned in that house. It stood arraigned upon the journals, in the resolutions moved by the right honourable and learned gentleman in 1782; wherein every misdemeanor contained in the charges was generally imputed to that gentleman, in the most strong and pointed terms. With regard to the character and dignity of that house, the best way to support both, was to act evenly and consistently. They had hitherto proceeded deliberately, and in full houses, to discuss and decide upon the charges; and had made a much farther progress than many gentlemen had, at the beginning, imagined it possible for them to do. No delay but what was unavoidable could be imputed to the house; nor could any be imputed to his right honourable friend near him (Mr. Burke ;) since the house could not but have observed, that when the witnesses were under examination, his right honourable friend curtailed it as much as possible, and omitted many questions that he intended to have asked, merely to avoid every appearance of a wish to procrastinate. Every possible dispatch had been used ;-they had proceeded a considerable way;-and it had been originally understood, that when they found it difficult to procure full attendances, the business was to be hung up till the next session. In the course of his speech, he put it to Major Scott, whether, if all the rest of his charges were voted and Mr. Hastings impeached, he was not of opinion that India would be lost? (The Major shook his head.) If he did not think so, he hoped he should hear no more of the bad consequences which would follow in India, if in the discussion of any other charges the house was urged to vote them. On a division the numbers were, ayes for the call 30; noes 99.

JUNE 26.

EAST INDIA BILL.

The report of the committee on the East India Bill having been brought up, the amendments were read a first time; and on the question that these amendments be agreed to,

MR. SHERIDAN observed, that after the confident manner in which the right honourable and learned gentleman opposite him

had declared he would satisfy the house, that the objections taken to the bill were ill-founded, and the doubts entertained of the truth and correctness of the report of the East India Directors, of the state of their affairs, groundless; he did not expect that he learned and right honourable gentleman would have waited for his rising, instead of rising himself, and giving the house the necessary information; without obliging him to restate those objections, and re-assert those doubts he had expressed on a former day. Having made this exordium, Mr. Sheridan proceeded to argue upon the report, and upon the papers, for which he had moved, and which had been printed. The more he examined the subject, the more reason he had to complain of its having been delayed to so late a period of the session; -a delay which he had no manner of doubt was contrived on purpose to prevent discussion, and elude the detection of those fallacies on which the bill was grounded. In order to show that the delay had been altogether unnecessary, he read extracts from the accounts in his hands, particularly from the Bengal letter to the directors; whence it appeared that no additional information on the leading and essential points had been received from Bengal since the first of January; and consequently that most of the statements in the directors' report, though roundly given, were mere assumptions and speculations, founded on no authentic accounts whatsoever. He next entered into an investigation of the two great questions in dispute between him and Mr. Dundas, viz. the quantity or amount of the remittance to China, furnished from Bengal, and the amount of the surplus revenues of Bengal. He referred to an infinite variety of statements in different accounts before the house as evidence, that although it had in former bebate been contended that India furnished a remittance to China to the amount of £275,000 that not more than £6000, or £7000 appeared to have been furnished. Having discussed this head of his argument much at large, he took up the other; and endeavoured to prove that £1,400,000 was the full amount of the surplus of the revenue which could be expected from Bengal to go towards the investment, and towards the relief of the other presidencies. He quoted a phamphlet, which he stated to be of authority, as it came from he pen of a person rather a favourite authority with the right honourable and learned gentleman opposite him; and upon whose argument he was himself inclined to rely in the

particulars to which it referred, although he did not agree with him in many others, not then under consideration. The pamphlet in question was written by Mr. Hastings, and suppressed by him upon better recollection. The extract stated, that the drains of Bengal ought always to be allowed for, and that the utmost surplus revenue that could be expected from Bengal was a crore of rupees, or one million of money. Mr. Sheridan dwelt for a considerable time on this point; and opposed the authority of Mr. Hastings respecting it to the arguments used by Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas upon the subject in former debates. He also said, that he expected to hear no more from the former of these gentlemen respecting the two hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds sent from India to China, unless he meant positively to contradict the papers which had been printed, and which had been presented from the India House, in conformity to his motion. In the course of his speech, Mr. Sheridan argued upon the immense quantity of bills drawn from India upon the company at home; declaring, that in ten years time bills to the amount of twelve millions would be due. He asked whether the Lords of the Treasury, in permitting bills to so large an amount, and which were to be outstanding till so distant a period, did not pledge that house to renew the company's charter, when it should next expire? He reasoned upon the probable effect of such a load of debt; and contended that it must prove ruinous to the company. After a great deal of calculation, reasoning, and remarks, on the two principal heads above stated, Mr. Sheridan took notice of the declaration made by Mr. Dundas in a late debate, that the public were not pledged as a security for the money borrowed by the East-India Company; and said, that if the fact were so, it could not be too well understood. He should therefore move the insertion of a clause, expressly declaring, that neither the present bill, nor any preceeding bill, relative to the company, which had passed the house, pledged the public in any way whatsoever. Before he concluded, he said, he felt himself authorised by the papers which he held in his hand, to declare, that the report of the directors of the state of the company's affairs, was equally fallacious with the state of their affairs presented to that house in 1784, the errors of which the directors themselves had now confessed. Thus, in fact, so far from the company's affairs in India wearing a promising

aspect, they wore a most alarming one. They appeared to be rapidly verging to a state of bankruptcy; and were already so deeply involved, that the relief now proposed was merely tampering with their disorder, and by no means an adequate and effectual cure. Mr. Sheridan now moved his clause.

Mr. Dundas replied at great length to these arguments.

Mr. Sheridan concluded by stating, that from the vigour and length of the defence, he drew the inference that the right honourable and learned gentleman was convinced of the weakness of the side of the argument which he was under the necessity of maintaining; and the more particularly was induced to draw this inference, from the frequent aids which he saw administered, while the right honourable and learned gentleman was upon his legs. He had received a hint from one friend in a whisper, and a viva voce instruction from a second, and he had been furnished with a written calculation and argument from a third; so that it was evident the principal of his friends were conscious he had a difficult task to sustain. Mr. Sheridan concluded with observing that as not one word had fallen from the right honourable and learned gentleman against the clause he had moved, he trusted it would meet with the concurrence of a majority.

The question was put on Mr. Sheridan's clause, and negatived without a division.

JANUARY 24, 1787.

PROCEEDINGS AGAINST MR. HASTINGS.

On the 23d of January, his Majesty having opened the fourth session of the present parliament, no time was lost in bringing forward with all possible expe. dition the proceedings against Mr. Hastings. Mr. Burke on that day gave notice he should renew the proceedings on the 1st day of February following; and on the 24th of January, Mr. Sheridan made a motion on the subject.

MR. SHERIDAN having prefaced his observations, by intimating to the house that he had heard, that on the preceeding Tuesday, when the necessity of attending to some business in the country had obliged him to delay his appearance in the execution of his parliamentary duty; notice had been given by a right honourable friend, that the charge relative to the Princesses of Oude would be brought forward on the ensuing Thursday;

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