Mr. Fox. Mr-Fran cis. Mr. Berke. The Maf Mr. Fox replied, that he could anfwer for himself, and his honourable friends near him, but he could not take upon him to anfwer for others. The Houfe divided.-Ayes (for the fecond reading) 110Noes 38.-Tellers for the Ayes, Mr. A. Taylor, and Mr. Steele. For the Noes, Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Alderman Newnham. Mr. Francis having moved for fome papers relative to the bond debt of Bengal, which were granted, ftated to the Houfe that Mr. Middleton had been with him that morning, and affured him, upon his honour, that he had, many years fince, furrendered up to Mr. Haftings, at his demand, every letter, copy, and minute of the correfpondence carried on between him when Minifter at Oude, and the Governot General. A converfation then took place between Mr. Burke, Major Scott, and other gentlemen relative to the fuppreffion of correfpondence on the part of Mr. Haftings. Mr. Burke defcribed the manner in which Mr. Haftings had appointed Mr. Middleton minifter at Oude, taking upon himfelf the refponfibility for Mr. Middleton's conduct. They had carried on a correfpondence together; and fuch parts of which only as the Governor General chofe, he laid before his Council, and when Mr. Middleton was removed, and called home, all the papers refpecting the correfpondence were detained by Mr. Haftings. This conduct had been blamed feverely by the Court of Directors, who, at the fame time that they fent out their cenfure to Mr. Haftings, difpatched an exprefs order for him to fend home the whole of the correfpondence; but with that Mr. Haftings had refufed to comply. Such a proceeding from Mr. Haftings was furely dark and myfterious. Mr. Burke now moved, "that Mr. Haftings be directed to attend that House on Tuesday, in order to deliver up the whole of his corref "pondence, publick and private, while Mr. Middleton had been Minister at Oude.” Mr. Burke faid, that every body knew that in à correfpondence like that which had been carried on between Mr. Middleton and Mr. Haftings, on public bufmefs merely, there could be no fuch thing as private letters; fecret letters there might be. The Mafler of the Rolls compared a demand for private pa of the pers from a party charged as criminal, and with a view to criminate, to the conduct of the inquifition, who put their prifoners to the torture, in order to force from them confeffions of guilt. Breaking into the private apartment of AL gernon Sydney, ranfacking his moft private papers, and feizing upon an unpublifhed one, which was afterwards made the the ground of his charge, and ultimately the plea of his executiou, was justifiable in comparifon to the attempt made by the motion; because in Algernon Sydney's cafe, danger to the ftate was urged; in the prefent cafe, no fuch danger could be or was pretended, but an individual was to be made the means of his own conviction; for, though Mr. Middleton was called upon, it was clear that the charge of fuppreffing of correfpondence was to be purfued to Mr. Hatings. Where was the man, who would, upon reflection, do that which the honourable gentleman called upon the Houfe to do? In the courfe of his fpeech, he treated the idea of a duces tecum which Mr. Burke had mentioned in the courfe of his fpeech, with contempt. He faid, there was no fuch process known in law, and when it had been once mentioned to a great and diftinguished character in an office of the firft profeffional rank, he faid, that the perfon who talked of a duces tecum, might as well talk of a duces cuflard. Mr. Francis contended, that no queftion was more eafily Mr. Frananfwered than that of the right honourable and learned gen- cis. man. The men who would do what the motion called upon the Houfe to do, were the Court of directors, who had done fo by their minutes of June, 1777, and the General Court of Proprietors, (not remarkable for their prejudices against Mr. Haftings!) had done the fame. Mr. Burke asked, where was there an inference to be Mr. Burke. drawn from his conduct in the courfe of the profecution, that looked like a malignant attempt to put the accufed to the torture, or to extort from him a confeffion of criminality dangerous to himfelf? For what end did he defire to fee his correfpondence with Mr. Middleton? Was it to pry into the Governor General's intrigues, or to know what dancing girls he had at his command? Did the Houfe imagine he felt a thought on fuch a fubject? Moft undoubtedly he had no motive fo frivolous as idle curiofity at the bottom of his purpofe. He defired not to afk whether Mr. Haftings was afflicted with the malady that Francis the first died of, nor whether he communicated to Mr. Middleton any other pivate fubject of perfonal lamentation. All he wifhed to do was, to trace his public conduct, and by developing his private inftructions to his own Minifter, to discover the fprings of thofe actions, which had, in his opinion, difgraced the British name, violated the British faith, and degraded the national character Major Scott defired the indulgence of the Houfe, to ftate Major Scatt in a true point of view, what the right honourable gentleman had mifrepresented; and firft, he begged leave to obferve, that the fubject of the fuppreffion of Mr. Middleton's correfpondence, which he called dark and myfterious, and affected to think of fuch mighty confequence at the preVOL. XX. M m fent fent moment, had every fyllable of it been perfectly known to the right honourable gentleman for years; had been known and confidered by him, when he made out his charges, fince the fuppreffion of this correfpondence actually made a part of the charge relative to the Rohilla war. He, therefore, was fure, that the right honourable gentleman would not be able to impofe upon the Houfe, by pretending to bring forward fomething new, and he trufted that the House would refift any attempt to delay the business on fo futile and frivolous a pretence. This was the point, and the only point he was anxious about. Having premised this, he would now relate the circumftances of this correfpondence. When General Clavering, Colonel Monfon, and the honourable gentleman oppofite to him, (Mr. Francis) arrived in Calcutta on the 19th of October, 1774, and formed a majority of the Supreme Council, Mr. Haftings, the Governor General, laid before them a view of the Government of Bengal, and its political connections. He alfo declared, that he fhould lay before them fuch parts of his correfpondence with Mr. Middleton, as related to public affairs. The majority determined, that Mr. Haftings fhould lay the whole of his correfpondence before them. This Mr. Haftings refused to do, formally declaring at the next meeting of the Council, which was on the 26th of October, that all Mr. Middleton's official letters, and even fuch parts of his private correspondence as he could, with propriety fhew, fhould be laid before them. This was not fatisfactory to the majority, and Mr. Middleton was deprived of his office, and ordered to repair to Calcutta, and bring with him his whole correfpondence. The divifion of the Council, which broke out on the first day of meeting was never healed, and Mr. Haftings peremptorily refufed to deliver up his private letters, and Mr. Middleton refufed to do it without Mr. Haftings's permiflion. The matter was referred home, and the Directors and the Proprietors determined unanimously, that the whole of the correfpondence between Mr. Haftings and Mr. Middleton, fhould have been laid before the Supreme Council. This certainly was not an order to lay it before them in 1775-but the honourable gentleman (Mr. Francis) had obferved, that at a fubfequent period, on the 6th of July, 1777, the Directors did pofitively order the corref pondence to be laid before the Council Doubtlefs they did; a circumftance which, the Major declared, he never knew, and it had entirely flipped Mr. Haftings's memory; but he defired the House to confider when and how this order was fent. In October, 1776, the Directors accepted Mr. Macleane's offer for Mr. Haftings's refignation, fo that in July, 1777, they must have conceived Mr. Haftings would have been on his paffage home before that letter could reach Bengal-it was therefore a compliment to his fucceffor-but when they found Mr. Haftings remained in Bengal, they dropped the subject, and therefore it behoved the honourable gentleman (Mr. Francis) to ftate what minutes or proceedings were ever holden upon it in Bengal. The honourable gentleman had ftated that Mr. Middleton informed him, that he had given up all the letters to Mr. 'Haftings, and had alfo declared, that all of any confequence were publifhed, thofe withholden from the confultations being of no moment whatsoever. But though Mr. Haftings would not give up to the majority of the Supreme Council the whole of a correfpondence which he conceived they had no right to demand, and merely perfifted in with a view of irritating him, after he had declared that he would not give it up, yet he did tranfmit the whole to England, and to a perfon in a very high station. In short, he fent it to the Minifter of the Country, who three times fince the receipt of it, had come forwards as Minister of England, and propofed Mr. Haftings to be the Governor General of Bengal, and the laft of the appointments was for ten years. The noble Lord (North) to whom he alluded, had affigned as a reafon for fo acting, even fince this profecution began, that he propofed him because he thought he poffeffed vigour and abilities. Would any of that noble Lord's connections fay, that he would have acted thus, had he thought the correfpondence either improper, dangerous, or criminal. The fact was, that Mr. Haftings conceived, that the majority of the Supreme Council had no right to make the demand they did. It was one, of a variety of steps which they took to fhew their indifpofition towards him, and he was determined to withstand their demand. The right honourable gentleman talked of the majority's not wanting to know any thing which might have paffed between Mr. Haftings and Mr. Middleton on private matters-and he joked about Sujah Dowlah's health and dancing girls-but the fact was, that the majority required a fight of every letter of every kind; it was the whole of the correfpondence which they demanded, and it was to the production of that whole that Mr. Haftings objected. As to the motion, the Major faid, he was perfectly indifferent about it, or how it was worded; but, if it was used as an inftrument of delay, after the many delays which the right honourable gentleman (Mr. Burke) had occafioned by his mode of proceeding, that Houfe and the whole world would condemn it, as a moft pitiful and contemptible attempt to put off the decifion of a bufinefs which he was pledged to bring on, and therefore all he was anxious about, was, to fix upon Thursday to go into the Rohilla war; and before he fat M m 2 down Mr. Fox. Mr. Chan down he begged to fay a word relative to the matter, which brought on this bufinefs. The right honourable gentleman had examined Mr. Middleton four days, chiefly relative to Colonel Hanna's note to Mr. Haftings. An honourable gentleman (Mr. Nicholls) had afked Mr. Middleton feveral material queflions relative to the Rohillas. The right honourable gentleman afked him feveral more, declaring that though he had clofed his examination before, yet as more matter was ftarted, he had a right to begin again upon that matter, and fo he did, and proceeded as long as he pleafed, and when he had done, declared for the first time, that he thould demand that correspondence, which if he was ferious, or meant any thing but delay, he ought to have demanded months ago. Mr. Fox contended, that it was clear that Mir. Haftings had put the copy of his whole correfpondence into the only hands which could not produce it; the hands of a noble Lord (North). He wished the Houfe, however, to recollect that the plea of the whole of the correfpondence between Mr. Middleton and Mr. Haftings having been placed in a Minifter's hands, was a mere fallacy. Who fent it-Mr. Haftings? How were they to know that it was the whole? By what means were they to judge? The proof was not within their reach. Mr. Chancellor Pitt obferved, that the Houfe could by no cellor Pitt. means compel Mr. Haftings to deliver up private papers for the purpofe of furnishing matter of criminal charge against himfelf, neither could they call upon Mr. Middleton to produce any papers of a fimilar defcription, if fuch papers were of a tendency which might criminate him. When his learned friend spoke of the torture, it did not follow that the honourable gentleman was in the leaft warranted to strain the expreffion down to its ftrictly literal fente, because it meant no more than ufing unfair and illegal means of endeavouring to come at truth, which might be as well by perfonal torture, in order to bring out verbal confettion, as by compulfion to procure written evidence from an individual against himself. The mode propofed by the motion was was by no means proper-it ought regularly to be a motion for the Court of Directors to furnish the papers in queftion; for, in their poffeffion only were fuch papers to be fuppofed to remain, that is, if they were of a public nature, because if they were truly private, then it would be highly unconfitutional to look for them at all. He difapproved of the Houfe wording their order exactly in the fame manner as the refolution of the Eaft-India Company, becaufe that would appear as if the Houte took part with the Court of Directors in their former cenfure on Mr. Haftings, a procedure by no means juftifiable except on full inquiry. He appre bended |