much lefs one of the fame purport with that proposed by the honourable gentleman.

The question was then put and the Houfe divided.

Mr. Dundas's Eaft-India bill was read a first time, and on putting the queftion that it be read a fecond time,

Mr. Minchin expreffed his uneafinefs at hearing that the Mr. Minlearned and right honourable gentleman had fignified his in- chin. tention, of endeavouring to have all the ufual stages of paffing a bill gone through (with refpect to the prefent bill) in one day. Now as that was directly contrary to the forms of the House, established no doubt on found and rational principles by the wisdom of our ancestors, and was daily getting more and more into practice, which might open a door to much abuse; and as from what he had feen of India bills of late, he had no great reason to be so partial to them as to give his confent blindly to any fuch departure from the general rule of parliamentary proceeding in their behalf, he should expect that the learned and right honourable gentleman would ftate to the Houfe, what was the particular neceffity for paffing any fuch bill, and more especially, the reason which juftified the paffing it in extreme hafte. The learned and right honourable gentleman, he understood, had said the preceding evening, that the bill might lie on the table for the perufal of the members that night; now, as the House was detained till paft eleven at night, gentlemen could not be expected to have been able to read the bill there, and he knew not how they could have been fuppofed to have set down to have read it at home afterwards, even if they could have procured a copy, which he was not confcious that they could poffibly do. If, therefore, the learned and right honourable gentleman could not affign fome ftrong and urgent reason for fuch extreme hafte, he would give his negative to the question of its fecond reading, even if he ftood alone, thinking it much better to wait a week for another fhip to fend it out by, than thus, when no reafon appeared to juftify fuch a deviation, unbecomingly, if not dangerously wander from the fettled modes of parliamentary proceed

Mr.

Mr. Dundas.

Mr. Min

chin.

Mr. Burke.

Mr. Dundas answered, that had the honourable gentleman been in the House when he moved for leave to bring in the bill, he would have heard him ftate, that a doubt had arifen in India which never had been entertained at home, that required to be immediately explained and obviated. That the doubt was founded on two claufes in the 13th and 21ft of the prefent King, wherein the King's fign manual was declared to be neceffary to be fubfcribed to every commiffion appointing a fervant of the Eaft-India Company to ferve as Governor General, Commander in Chief in India, &c. &c. By the 24th of the prefent King, the Court of Directors were empowered to appoint any one of their covenanted fervants to either of thofe offices, fubject only to the approbation of the Board of Control; which power was here in every man's mind fuppofed and understood to do away the neceffity of the King's fign manual being fubfcribed to every commiffion: but it had lately been dearnt, that when Lord Macartney went to Calcutta, a doubt upon this head had been entertained. That being the cafe, and the Judges in India having given it as their opinion, that the doubt was founded, it became neceffary not to lofe one moment in obviating it by the authority of an act of Parliament, and the neceffary defire was to fend out fuch an explanatory act by the earlieft poffible conveyance to India, fo that it might arrive there as soon as Earl Cornwallis fhould arrive in Bengal; because, while the doubt remained there, every act of General Sloper, as Commander in Chief, was liable to be deemed illegal, his commiffion not having the King's fign manual to it any more than the commiffion of Lord Macartney, or the commiffion of Earl Cornwallis. If therefore, the bill was not paffed immediately, we were liable to have Earl Cornwallis's appointment difputed; and there would then be no government at all in India, as the orders of recal would have their effect, though the commiffions appointing perfons to fill the offices of government in Bengal would not have any efficacy.

Mr. Minchin admitted that the right honourable gentleman's argument was ftrong, but fill he thought it advifeable. to defer the fecond reading till Thurfday rather than break through the effential forms of the Houfe.

Mr. Burke expreffed his concern that the government establifhed in India, and the government established at home, could not, with policy and prudence be rendered more fimilar in form, fpirit, and conftitution; but fuch as the government in India was to be, he had at all times been defirous to render it effective, and therefore the fooner any doubt that went to disturb and endanger its eftablishment on a firm footing was obviated and done away, the better: but what he principally role for was, to take notice of an expreffion which

fell

1

fell from the right honourable and learned gentleman, who had talked of the Judges in India having given their opinion about the conftitution and appointment of a Governor General. He wifhed, that in all cafes of doubts of that nature, the reference fhould be to the powers at home and not to the Judges on the fpot. He held it to be highly improper for the Judges to be confulted on political points and quef tions; they had nothing to do with politics, and therefore the lefs they interfered the better.

Mr. Dundas begged leave to correct the mistake of the Mr. Dun right honourable gentleman, and to affure him, that the Judges das. in India had not been declared by him to be politicians, or to have been referred to: he had merely faid, he underflood that their opinion was, that the claufes in the 13th and 21st of the prefent King were not fo effectually and clearly repealed by the claufe in the 24th as the cafes feemed to require.

Mr. Minchin now acknowledging himself convinced, de- Mr. Minclared, that therefore he should withdraw all farther op- chin. pofition to the going through it with the dispatch propofed.

The bill was then read a fecond time, committed, engroffed, read a third time and pafied.

The order of the day for continuing the hearing of Mr. Haftings against the matter contained in the charges of high crimes and mifdemeanors delivered in by Mr. Burke, having been, upon motion, read, Mr. Haftings was called to the bar and defired by the Speaker to proceed.

Mr. Haftings then replied to the 14th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21ft charges. The former of these he answered very fhortly, but went much into detail in reply to that about the Ranna of Gohud: he treated the charge of his letter to the Court of Directors being a libel upon the Board, as a very extraordinary and extravagant imputation, declaring, that the Directors had never fo confidered it, and that they had fince voted him their thanks for his long, faithful, and able fervices. He read an extract from their letter to him, in which they complained of fome warm expreffions that had efcaped him, but in the fame letter, in ftrong and energetic terms, expreffed their approbation of his conduct fubfequent to the writing of the letter charged as a libel. He pofitively denied having been the author of the Mahratta war, and claimed the whole merit of having made the Mahratta peace, which he faid had been negociated and concluded under the preffure of a greater variety of difficulties than had been known to attend the negociation and conclufion of any peace ever made by any minifler in any country.

In the courfe of his detail of all the various tranfactions with the Ranna of Gohud, he defcribed that prince as a

treach

Major Scott

Major Scott

Mr. Burke.

Mr. Sheridan.

treacherous, deceitful, and falfe ally; and contended, that policy, and provocation rendered it both neceffary and justifiable to leave him and the Mahrattas to fettle the terms of peace with each other; and that in fo doing, the national faith had fuftained no injury, nor incurred any impeachment.

At length, after three hours reading, Mr. Haftings concluded, with returning his moft grateful thanks to the Houfe, for their indulgent permiffion and patient attention to what he had faid in his defence; adding his humble intreaty, that they would allow the minutes from which he had spoken to be delivered in and to lie on the table.

He was defired to withdraw, after which Major Scott moved, "That the request made by Mr. "Haflings fhould be complied with."

Alderman Le Mefurier, and Mr. Burke rose to second the motion, which was agreed to unanimously.

The minutes having been delivered by Mr. Haftings to the clerk,

Major Scott moved, "That a fufficient number of copies "be printed for the ufe of the members."

Agreed to, and ordered accordingly.

Mr. Burke remarked, that as the defence which the House had heard, if he had not been perfectly well acquainted with the style of the author of it, from having attentively employed fome years in the study of his works, he might perhaps have wondered at the requeft, that fuch a paper as had been juft prefented fhould be defired to be put on the table; but equal justice was certainly what it became that Houfe to distribute, and indeed without equality there could be no justice. He wifhed that not one word fould fall from him or any other member, at that time, refpecting the defence which they had heard, but that the Houfe would take the whole proceeding into their moft ferious confideration, and make every part of it a matter of grave and deliberate judgement; for which reafon, he would proceed immediately to call and examine his witneffes in fupport of his charges, and he would begin with Sir Robert Barker, whom he meant to interrogate refpecting his firft charge that on the fubject of the Ro

hilla war.

Previous to Sir Robert Barker's coming to the bar to be examined,

Mr. Sheridan gave notice, than when the right honourable the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on Thursday next, fhould move for the Speaker to leave the chair, for the purpose of the House's refolving itself into a Committee to take the report of the Committee on the national-debt bill into confideration, he would object to the motion, and open to the House the refolutions which he meant to propofe on the fubject of

the

the revenue, in cafe what he had to offer fhould have fufficient weight to induce them to negative the motion for the Speaker's leaving the chair.

Sir Robert Barker was then called to the bar, and examined touching the Rohilla war.

After the examination of various witneffes, the Houfe adjourned.

Wednesday, 3d May,

No material bufinefs occurred.

Thursday, 4th May.

The order of the day having been read for going into a Committee for the confideration of the Report on the national-debt bill, the question was put, "That the Speaker do now leave "the chair."

Mr. Sheridan rifing, fignified his determined refolution of Mr. Sher moving to poftpone the queftion till that day fe'nnight, and dan. if he fhould be fo fuccefsful as to prevail on the House to agree to that propofition, he fhould then move certain refolutions grounded on facts, ftatements, and calculations to he found in the Report of the Committee appointed to inquire into the receipt and expenditure of the public revenue, which refolutions he fhould read as part of his fpeech. A plan for paying off the public debt had been published by a noble Earl (Stanhope) no longer a member of that Houfe, and whofe abfence he had to lament upon that day. The noble Earl's plan appeared to him by far the moft preferable of the two compared with that of the right honourable gentleman oppofite to him, which was founded altogether on the Report to which he had alluded. It was not, however, his purpose, at that time, to enter into any argument refpe&ing the principle of the right honourable gentleman's bill, or to difcufs the propriety of applying the furplus fuppofed to exift, in the inanner provided by that bill: what he meant to go to was, the examination of the great and important question, whether there actually exifted any furplus at all or not? To that point he wished to draw their attention; and although be was well aware, that however interesting the fubject was to the nation, it was not one of those in which that House took much delight, or to the difcuffion of which they were very fond of attending; yet the critical fituation of the country, and the magnitude of the object in view confidered, he hoped it would be thought intitled to their efpecial notice. The diminution of the public debt, and the gradual alleviation of the public burdens, were matters well worthy their deliberate Vol. XX.

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