any delinquency fhort of lofing the country was not to be complained of. And therefore unless it happened, as in the old fable, that the devil came and flew away with the house and all, no mifchief could be fuftained; the door might be forced, and the bureau and efcrutoire pillaged and plundered, and the owner have no claim to redrefs.

Major Scott faid, that he wished to remind the Commit- Major Scott tee of what the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Burke) had faid on a former day, and he would be in the judgement of every gentleman prefent, if the facts which he should ftate to the Honfe were not precisely correct. He knew that there were many on the other fide of the House, who would correct him if he should be wrong. When the right honourable gentleman fix weeks before, opened his mode of proceeding, (the Major faid) he earneftly preffed him then to bring forward his charges, but the wifdom of the House, to which he bowed with all fubmiffion, determined first to grant him papers. On that day three weeks, however, the right honourable gentleman did actually appoint that very day, either to move charges, or refolutions which were to be the foundation of charges: and he went farther; his words were, "that confidering the variety of matter which he "had to bring forward, having a government of thirteen "years to go through, he trufted that the House would not "think three weeks a very diftant day for him to produce "his charges." The Major appealed to all fides of the Houfe to declare, whether thofe were not precifely the expreffons ufed: and now that the day was arrived, what, he added, was the mode of proceeding? Inftead of producing a fingle charge, the right honourable gentleman defired that Captain Leonard Jacques might be called in; his motion he amended by adding, "for the purpose of authenticating certain "letters written by him to Meffieurs Middleton and Johnson." Would the Committee fuffer this ridiculous and contemptible motion to pass, at the very moment that they have a right to call upon the right honourable gentleman for a performance of his promifeHere Major Scott was called to order]-He apologized for the expreffion, but faid he did not mean it as perfonal to the right honourable gentleman: all he meant to fay was this, that he came down, as he believed every gentleman near him did, upon that day, to the House, with the firm perfuafion of hearing what the charges against Mr. Haftings were to be. The motion before him did appear perfectly ridiculous; for what was Captain Jacques to prove that he wrote certain letters to Meffieurs Middleton. and Johnson and fuppofing the fact to be fo, how did it affect Mr. Haftings? If the letters were of fuch a nature as thefe gentlemen ought to have fent to the Governor General

I 2

and

and Council, the omiffion might be neglect of duty in them, but could not poffibly affect Mr. Haftings; therefore he had a right to say the motion was a ridiculous one. The right honourable gentleman affected to hold in great contempt pamphlets and newfpapers: Major Scott faid he was of a different opinion, and though the bufinefs of Mr. Haftings had been fo long depending, he had, to that moment, but one way of gueffing at the charges, and that was by reading a pamphlet published by that right honourable gentleman himself two years and four months ago, ftilled," Mr. "Burke's Speech of the 1ft of December, 1783." This delay in bringing the charges against Mr. Haftings had been attended with all the ill effects which he had predicted. The newspapers had been filled with the moft fcandalous mifreprefentations; but, (Major Scott faid) he held in his hand a pamphlet which had been circulated within this week, in a manner fo infamous, that the party concerned, whoever he was, deferved every opprobrious epithet which could be bestowed upon him by men of honour, let their political principles be what they might. A right honourable and learned gentleman (the Mafter of the Rolls) had already fpoken of the proceeding in terms of abhorrence. He begged to ftate a little at large, the pamphlet and the manner in which it had been circulated. He had the permiffion of a noble Earl, (a member of the other House) to whom it was fent, and who received it with indignation, to mention his name, if any gentleman thought proper to call upon him. The pamphlet contained a letter from Mr. Haftings, dated the 21st of February, 1784; and a copy of the letter had been laid, by order, before that House. To the letter was added a number of malevolent and ill-founded remarks, all tending to fill the minds of gentlemen who fhould read it with unfavourable impreffions of a man against whom an impeachment was threatened; and by the penny post, under blank covers, had this pamphlet been fent to many members of that Houfe, and perhaps of the other. One noble Earl in particular had received it, and had in the most unequivocal manner, reprobated fo infamous and fhameful à proceeding. Major Scott faid he would only relate the fact: The unprincipled and difhonourable character who had iniquitoufly attempted to ftab a man in the dark, who was fo foon to be the object of a public inquiry, remained concealed, and probably would continue fo, fince he was happy to fay, that there was but one fentiment amongst men of honour and integrity upon fuch a conduct. He now mentioned it for the purpofe of imploring the Committee not to permit the right honourable gentleman to continue a mode of proceeding, which fubjected Mr. Haftings to fuch malevolent

malevolent and fcandalous attacks, and he was confident that the juftice, dignity, and honour of the House, would be aufpicious in their decifion on the prefent motion.

Sir Grey Cooper expreffed his wishes that the Committee Sir Grey fhould understand the jet of the queftion, which he con- Cooper. ceived to turn entirely on the doubt whether that was a Committee of inquiry or not?

Mr. Samuel Smith, jun. thought that the witneffes fhould Mr. Samuer not be examined before a charge was made, and obferved Smith. that he had expected it would have been made upon that

day.

Mr. Burke adjured the Houfe not to restrain and narrow Mr. Burkę, evidence. He reminded the House of the murders, the rapine, the delinquencies of various kinds practifed in India, where a whole People had been extirpated, princes fold, the perfons of women of the highest rank treated worse than common prostitutes, and every vice and fraud perpetrated which could degrade human nature, and difgrace the British name. For the fake of their own honour, and for the fake of the national credit, he urged the Committee to confent to examine the witneffes. His reafon for preffing fo much that point was to prevent their being tampered with or influenced, and when he faid fo, he meant no imputation on any one of them; but human nature was human nature. If the Committee fhould, in fpite of his caution, continue to call for the charges, which they had heard exacted as a matter due from him, though he never had even hinted a promise that he would introduce them that night, they fhould have them, for he had the code of accufation with him, though that, in his opinion, was not the fit moment to produce it.

Rolls.

The Mafter of the Rolls complained of the frequent infi- The Mafter nuation thrown out in the course of debate, that he and of the others of his profeffion had been brought down that day to defend Mr. Haftings. He knew nothing in his own character, or in that of the other honourable gentlemen of his profeffon, who were prefent, which would warrant fuch a conclufion; and for his part, he was not acquainted with Mr. Haftings; he had never been under the roof of that gentleman, nor had he been under his roof.

Mr. Burke intimated that the Eaft-India Directors con- Mr. Burke, cealed papers from the Houfe which ought to have been. there, as they were effential to the accufation.

ner.

Sir Gregory Page Turner declared that, after having liftened Sr Gregory to all which had been faid, he was of opinion that witneffes Page urg ought to be examined. He had a confidence in the righ honourable gentleman at the head of the Exchequer, and

therefore

Mr. Samuel
Smith.

Mr. Wi'berforce.

therefore as long as his measures were right he would fupport them.

Mr. Samuel Smith, jun. observed that it excited his indignation and aftonifhment to hear from a right honourable gentleman (Mr. Burke) the infinuation that the Eaft-India Directors had concealed papers from the Houfe; for such a charge was fubftantially falfe. Great, he obferved, was the prefent flourishing state of our affairs in India, as recorded in the laft letters; and befides, the profperous condition of the Company at home gave the lie to those who had roundly charged the Company, not long fince, with being in a state of bankruptcy. As to the late fpeeches of the right honourable gentleman, (Mr. Burke) they were fraught with promise without performance, affertion without proof, and calumny without elucidation.

Mr. Wilberforce remarking, that a right honourable gentleman (Mr. Burke) had declared, that the reafon why he wifhed his witneffes to be examined was, for fear that they fhould be tampered with, added, that to avoid this, they muft not only be examined forthwith, but all of them must be examined that night, a matter utterly impoffible. Mr. Wynd- Mr. Wyndham faid, that by "tampered with," his right honourable friend (Mr. Burke) certainly did not mean any thing difreputable to the gentlemen: every man had his particular connections, and ftood in circumftances which would warrant the fufpicion of influence, bias, or prejudice, without the leaft imputation on his character, or the smallest impeachment either of his honour or integrity.

ham.

Mr. Wilberforce.

Mr. Burke.

Mr. Wilberforce declared, that he meant to fix no difreputable imputation on the words "tampered with:" he had merely mentioned them as an argument to fhew the utter impoffibility of examining the witneffes with a view to prevent their being liable to what the right honourable gentleman had stated as the reason for his preffing to have them called to the bar.

The gallery was at this period of the debate cleared of ftrangers, that the Committee might divide, but the question was afterwards given up.

Mr. Burke then faid, that he would barely produce fuch of the charges as he had ready, without any argument to raise a prejudice either for them or against them; let them come before the Committee refting on the force of the facts which they contained. When the day fhould arrive for him to argue them as the grounds of an impeachment, he fhould endeavour to point out in what degree they criminated Warren Haftings, Efq. against whom he had delivered them as criminal charges,

It was fettled, that the chairman fhould report progress and afk leave to fit again; and that the charges fhould be exhibited and delivered.

Mr. Burke obferved, that the number which he had with Mr. Burke. him made about three fourths of the whole to come. They appeared to be each about the size of the manufcript of a half-crown pamphlet.

The House was refumed; report made, Committee ordered to fit again on the morrow.

The Houfe adjourned.

Tuesday, 4th April.

Mr. Burke in his place charged Warren Haftings, Efq. late Governor General of Bengal, with fundry high crimes and misdemeanors; and prefented to the House several articles of charge of high crimes and misdemeanors against the faid Warren Haftings, Efq.

And the faid articles were delivered in at the table and read.

The Houfe adjourned.

Wednesday, 5th April.

The House having refolved itself into a Committee of the whole House, to confider farther of the fupply to be granted to His Majefty-Mr. Gilbert read from the chair the meffage delivered from the King by Mr. Chancellor Pitt, on the 29th of the preceding month, when,

Mr. Chancellor Pitt remarked, that no meafure could Mr. Chanpoffibly prove more painful to his feelings, however it might cellor Pitt. be exacted from him as a point of duty, than that of fubmitting to the attention of the House the neceffity of introducing fresh fources of expence in addition to those under which the Public already laboured. It was alfo an object of the deepest concern to His Majesty, once more to recur to the liberality of Parliament for the means of relieving his civil lift from the incumbrances with which it was embarraffed. Before he made his motion on the fubject of the meffage juft read, he would ftate fuch circumstances as, he believed, would fully reconcile the Houfe to the propriety of complying with the defire of His Majefty. And firft, he could take upon him to declare, that there had been no endeavour omitted to reduce as much as poffible the expences of the civil government, and of His Majefty's household, within the fum of 850,000l. which was the amount of what at present was allowed for that establishment. When the last regulation took place with refpect to the civil lift,