county of Hants, attended, which added much to the folemnity that was obferved on an occafion fo truly pleafing as the founding and opening the first public feminary for learning in this province.

The bishop began with prayers, and then delivered a Latin oration, in which he pointed out the many advantages the public would derive from the inftitution; and severally addreffed the magiftrates, the tutors, and the ftudents.

He next read over the regulations that were established by the gentlemen appointed to undertake the general government of the academy-Thefe regulations are well calculated to preferve order, to enforce diligence in the tutors, and promote application and improvement in the fludents; and the books to be read by the feveral claffes are specified, being the fame that are read in the beft feminaries in England.

Seventeen fiudents, the number then prefent, were next admitted into the academy; and the bishop very earnestly addreffed them and the tutors, in English, on the fubject of their refpective duties.

The bufinefs of the academy being finished, the magiftrates and gentlemen of the county of Hants prefented the following addrefs to the bishop:

Right reverend fir,

The magifirates and gentlemen who have the honour to attend you this day, in behalf of themselves and the inhabitants of Hants, beg leave to exprefs their happinefs on the occafion, when the establishment of a public feminary for learning, under your guidance and government, affords them the comfort and hope, that the children, as well as in

general the youth of this province, will have the ineftimable advantage of fuch education as forms the man of learning, with the fentiments that diftinguifh the gentleman, and the morality and piety of the true Chriftian.

Happy as the occafion is, it is rendered infinitely more fo to us, as well as to every parent, and every perfon in the diftrict we reprefent, by the particular fatisfaction arifing from the influence your prefence and encouragement has had with all claffes of people; and, we truft, will yield every blefling to be expected from piety, morality, and learning, while the charge allotted to you in this province is fupported with fuch eminent abilities and zeal for the public good.

We humbly offer our grateful thanks to our benign fovereign, for the gracious and diftinguished mark of his regard for this province, in the appointment of a divine, poffeffed of every virtue and quali fication, to infpire univerfal reverence, affection, and love of religion, as bifhop of this province, to fuperintend this eftablishment, and to extend the light of the gospel among his faithful fubjects: and to Heaven we offer our fervent prayer, that you may live happy to complete the work you have begun, and long to witnefs the comfort and happinefs of all who benefit by thofe inftances of royal favour, till the Saviour, whofe gospel you teach, fhall reward your merits with everlafting blifs.

To which the Bishop returned the following answer. Gentlemen,

I feel myfelf exceedingly obliged by this affectionate and polite ad

drefs,

perfevere in the refolution I had formed, and had declared to the houfe, that nothing fhould perfuade me, upon any occafion, leaft of all upon the prefent, to enter into a laboured, litigious, artificial defence of my conduct. Such a mode of defence belongs to another fort of conduct, and to causes of a different description.

As a faithful and ingenuous fervant, I owe to the houfe a plain and simple explanation of any part of my behaviour, which thall be called in queftion before them. I have given this explanation; and in doing fo, I have done every thing which my own honour and my duty to the houfe could poffibly require at my hands. The left belongs to the houte.

They, I have no doubt, will act in a manner fit for a wife body, attentive to its reputation. I must be fuppofed to know fomething of the duty of a profecutor for the pablic; otherwife neither ought the houle to have conferred that truit upon me, nor ought I to have accepted it. I have not been difapproved of by the firft abilities in the kingdom, appointed by the fame authority, not only for my aliiftance, but for my direction and controul. You, who have honoured me with a partial friendfip, continued without intermiflion for twenty-four years, would not have failed in giving me that firft, and molt decitive proof of friendthip, to enlighten my ignorance, and to rectify my mistakes. You have not done either; and I must act on the inference It is no compliment to mention what is known to the world, how well qualified you are for that office, from your deep parliamentary knowledge,

3

and your perfect acquaintance with all the eminent examples of the ancient and modern world.

an

The houfe having, upon an opinion of my diligence and fidelity, (for they could have no other motive) put a great truft into my hands, ought to give me entire credit for the veracity of every fact I affirm or deny: but if they fail with regard to me, it is at leaft in my power to be true to myfelf. I will not commit myfelf in an unbecoming contention with the agents of a criminal, whom it is my duty to bring to juice. I am a member of a committe of fecrecy, and I will not violate my truft, by turning myfelf into a defendant, and bringing forward in my own exculpation, the evidence which I have prepared for his conviction. I will not let him know on what documents I rely. I will not let him know who the witnelles for the profecution are, nor what they have to depofe against him. Though I have no fort of doubt of the conftancy and integrity of thofe wit nefes, yet becaufe they are men, and men to whom, from my own fitua tion, I owe protection, I ought not to expole them either to temptation or to danger. I will not hold them out to be importuned or menaced, or difcredited, or run down, or poflibly to be ruined in their fortunes by the power and influence of this delinquent, except where the national fervice fuperfedes all other confiderations. If I muft fuffer, I will fuffer alone! No man fhail fall a facrifice to a feeble fentibility on my part, that at this time of day might make me impatient of thefe libels, which, by defpiting through to many years, I have, at

length

length obtained the honour of being joined in committion with this committee, and becoming a humble infirument in the hands of public juftice.

The only favour I have to fupplicate from the houfe is, that their goodnets would fpare to the weakest of their members any unnecellary labour; by letting me know, as Ipeedily as poffible, whether they wifh to difcharge me from my prefent office. If they do not, I folemnly promife them that, with God's afliftance, I will, as a member of their committee, purfue their bufinefs to the end-That no momentary disfavour fhall flacken my diligence in the great cau'e they. have undertaken-That I will lay open, with the force of irresistible proof, this dark fcene of bribery, peculation, and grofs pecuniary corruption, which I have begun to unfold, and in the midst of which my courfe had been arrested.

This poor Indian ftratagem of turning the accufer into a defendant, has been too often and too uniformly practifed by Devi Sing, Mr. Haltings, and Gunga Govant Sing, and other Banyans, black and white, to have any longer the lighteft effect upon me, whom long fervice in Indian committees has made well acquainted with the politics of Calcutta. If the houfe will fuffer me to go on, the moment is at hand when my defence, and included in it the defence of the houfe, will be made in the only way, in which my truft permits me to make it, by proving juridically on this accuting criminal the facts and the guilt which we have charged upon him. As to the relevancy of the facts, the committee of impeachment must be the fole judge

until they are handed over to the court competent to give a final decifion on their value. In that court the agent of Mr. Haftings will foon enough be called upon to give his own tellimony with regard to the conduct of his principal. The agent thall not efcape from the neceffity of delivering it; nor will the prin cipal efcape from the teftimony of his agent.

I hope I have in no moment of this purfuit (now by me continued in one shape or other, for near eight years) fhewn the finalleft fymptoms of collation or prevarication. The laft point in which I fhould with to fhew it, is in the charge concerning pecuniary corruption-a corruption to great and fo fpreading, that the moft unfpotted characters will be juftified in taking meafures for guarding themfelves againft fufpicion. Neither hope, nor fear, nor anger, nor wearinefs, nor difcouragement of any kind, fhall move me from this truft-nothing but an act of the houfe, formally taking away my commiffion, or totally cutting off the means of performing it. I truft we are all of us animated by the fame fentiments.

This perfeverance in us may be called obtinacy, infpired by malice. Not one of us, however, has a caufe of malice. What knowledge have we of Sir Elijah Impey, with whom, you know, we began; or Mr. Haltings, whom we afterwards found in our way? Party views cannot be our motive. Is it not notorious, that, if we thought it con fiftent with our duty, we might have at leaft an equal share of the Indian interefts, which now is almoft to a man against us.

I am fure I reverence the house, [S] 2

at

as a member of parliament and an Englidiman ought to do; and shall fubmit to its decifion with due humility. I have given this apology for abandoning a formal defence, in writing to you, though it contains in effect not much more than I have delivered in my place. But this mode is lefs liable to mifreprefentation, and a trifle more permanent. -It will remain with you either for my future acquittal, or condemnation, as I fhall behave.

I am, with fincere affection and respect;

"

"My lords,

lordships:

AY I be permitted to offer a few words to your

"I feel myfelf unequal to the occafion which fo fuddenly calls upon me to state to your lordships what I feel of the unexampled hardships of this trial. I came here to-day utterly unprepared for fuch an event, as that which I perceive now impending; I therefore entreat your lordships to indulge me for a few moments, while I recollect myfelf"I must beg you will be pleafed to confider the fituation in which I ftand, and the awe which I must unavoidably feel, in addreffing this auguft affembly. I have already,

in a petition prefented to your lordships in the beginning of this year, reprefented the hardships and grievances, and but a part of the hardships and grievances, which I thought I had fuftained when only one year of this impeachment had paffed; these have accumulated.Many of them have proportionably accumulated, with the time that has fince elapfed, but in my fenfe of them, they have been infinitely aggravated, when I have feen fo little done, and fo much time expended; fuch a long period confumed, and yet not one-tenth part, of one fingle article of the twenty, which compofe the charge, brought to a conclufion on the part of the profecution only. If five months have been thus confumed, what period, my lords, fhall I eftimate, as neceflary for the remainder of the impeachment? My life, in any eftimation of it, will not be fufficient. It is impoffible that I should furvive to its clofe, if continued, as it has hitherto proceeded: and although I know not what to make the fpecific prayer of my petition, I do befeech your lordships to confider what injury my health, and my fortune muft fuftain, if it be your determination that I must wait till it fhall please the juftice, or the candour of the honourable house of commons, which has impeached me before your lordships, to close this profecution.

My lords, I hope I fhall not be thought to deviate from the refpect which I feel, equally, I am fure, with any man living, for this high court, if I fay, that had a precedent exifted in England, of a man accused, and impeached as I have been, whofe trial had actually been protracted to fuch a length, or