finds them aggrieved, the Court of Directors find them aggrieved, the Parliament of Great Britain find them aggrieved, and the Court here find them aggrieved, but they never found themselves aggrieved. Their being turned out of house and home, and having all their land given, to farmers of revenue for five years to riot in, and despoil them of all they had, is what fills them with rapture. They are the only people, I believe, upon the face of the earth, that have no complaints to make of their government, in any instance whatever. Theirs must be something superior to the government of angels, for I verily believe, that if one out of the choir of the heavenly angels were sent to govern the earth, such is the nature of man, that many would be found discontented with it. But these people have no complaint, they feel no hardships, no sorrow; Mr. Hastings has realized more than the golden age. I am ashamed for human nature, I am ashamed for our government, I am ashamed for this court of justice, that these things are brought before us; but here they are, and we must observe upon them.

My Lords, we have done on our part; we have made out our case; and it only remains for me to make a few observations upon what Mr. Hastings has thought proper to put forward in his Defence. Does he meet our case with any

thing but these general attestations, upon which I must first remark, that there is not one single matter of fact touched upon in them; your Lordships will observe, and you may hunt them out through the whole body of your Minutes, that you do not find a single fact mentioned in any of them. But there is an abundance of panegyrick, and if we were doing nothing but making satires, as the newspapers charge us with doing against Mr. Hastings, panegyrick would be a good answer.

But Mr. Hastings sets up pleas of merit upon this occasion; now, undoubtedly no plea of merit can be admitted to extinguish, as your Lordships know very well, a direct charge of crime; merit cannot extinguish crime; for instance, if Lord Howe, to whom this country owes so much as it owes this day for the great and glorious victory which makes our hearts glad, and I hope will ensure the security of this country; yet if Lord Howe, I say, was charged with embezzling the King's stores, or applying them in any manner unbecoming his situation, to any shameful or scandalous purpose; if he was accused of taking advantage of his station to oppress any of the captains of his ships; if he was stated to have gone into a port of the allies of this country, and to have plundered the inhabitants, to have robbed their women, and broken into the recesses

of

of their apartments; if he had committed atrocities like these, his glorious victory could not change the nature and quality of such acts.

My Lord Malmesbury has been lately sent to the King of Prussia, we hope and trust that his embassy will be successful, and that this country will derive great benefit from his negotiations; but if Lord Malmesbury, from any subsidy that was to be paid to the King of Prussia, was to put 50,0001. in his own pocket, I believe that his making a good and advantageous treaty with: the King of Prussia, would never be thought a good defence for him. We admit, that if a man, has done great and eminent services, though they cannot be a defence against a charge of crimes, and cannot obliterate them; yet when; sentence comes to be passed upon such a man, you will consider first, whether his transgressions were common lapses of human frailty, and whether the nature and weight of the grievances resulting from them, were light in comparison with the services performed. I say that you cannot acquit him. But your Lordships might think some pity due to him, that might mitigate the severity of your sentence. In the second place, you would consider whether the evidence. of the services alleged to be performed, was as clear and undoubted as that of the crimes charged. I confess that if a man has done great

services,

services, it may be some alleviation of lighter faults, but then they ought to be urged as such,with modesty, with humility, with confession of the faults, and not with a proud and insolent defiance. They should not be stated as proofs that he stands justified in the eye of mankind, for committing unexampled and enormous crimes. Indeed humility, suppliant guilt, always makes impression in our bosoms; so that when we see it before us, we always remember that we are all frail men; and nothing but a proud defiance of law and justice can make us forget this for one moment. I believe the Commons of Great Britain, and I hope the persons that speak to you, know very well how to allow for the faults and frailties of mankind equitably.

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Let us now see what are the merits which Mr. Hastings has set up against the just vengeance of his country, and against his proved delinquencies. From the language of the Prisoner, and of his counsel, you would imagine some great, known, acknowledged services had been done by him. Your Lordships recollect that most of these presumed services have been considered, and we are persuaded justly considered as in themselves crimes. He wishes your Lordships to suppose and believe, that these services were put aside, either because we could not prove the facts against him, or could not make

out