and therefore, upon the whole, they are satisfied, that his intention was good, though he erred in the measure."

I beg leave to state one thing, that escaped me, that the nabob, who was one of the parties to the design, was, at the time of the inquiry, a sort of prisoner or an exile at Calcutta ; that his moonshee was there, or might have been had; and that his spy was likewise there; and that they, though parties to this transaction, were never called to account for it in any sense or in any degree, or to show how far it was necessary to quiet the nabob's mind.

The accomplices by acquitting him upon their testimony to his conscience did their business nobly. But the good court of directors, who were so easily satisfied, so ready to condemn at the first proposition, and so ready afterwards to acquit, put the last finishing hand of a master to it. For the accomplices acquit him of evil intentions, and excuse his act. The court of directors disapproving indeed the measure, but receiving the testimony of his conscience in justification of his conduct, and taking up the whole ground, honourably acquit him, and commend this action as an instance of heroick zeal in their service.

The great end and purpose, for which I produce this to your lordships, is to show you the necessity there is for other inquiries, other trials, other acquittals of parties than those made by a collusive clan abroad, or by the directors at home, who had required the parties to inquire of themselves, and to take the testimony of the judges at secondhand, as to the conscience of the party accused, respecting acts, which neither they nor any man living can look upon but with horrour.

I have troubled your lordships with the story of the three seals, as a specimen of the then state of the service, and the politicks of the servants, civil and military, in the horrid abuses, which then prevailed, and which render at length the most rigorous reformation necessary.

I close this episode to resume the proceedings at the second revolution. This affair of the three seals was, we have seen, to quiet the fears of the nabob. His fears it was, indeed, necessary to quiet; for your lordships will see, that

the man, whose fears were to be set asleep by Major Calliaud's offering him, in a scheme for murdering his sovereign, an odd sort of opiate, made up of blood and treason, was now in a fair way of being murdered himself by the machinations of him, whose seal was set to his murderous security of peace, and by those his accomplices, Holwell and Hastings; at least they resolved to put him in a situation, in which his murder was in a manner inevitable, as you will see in the sequel of the transaction. Now the plan proceeds. The parties continued in the camp; but there was another remora. To remove a nabob, and to create a revolution, is not easy; houses are strong, who have sons grown up with vigour and fitness for the command of armies. They are not easily overturned by removing the principal, unless the secondary is got rid of: and if this remora could be removed, every thing was going on in a happy way in the business. This plan, which now (that is, about the month of July) began to get into great ripeness and forwardness, Mr. Holwell urged forward, Mr. Vansittart being hourly expected.

I do not know whether I am going to state a thing, though it is upon the records, which will not have too theatrical an appearance for the grave state, in which we are. But here it is the difficulty, the knot, and the solution, as recorded by the parties themselves. It was the object of this bold, desperate, designing man, Cossim Ally Cawn, who aimed at every thing, and who scrupled not to do any thing in attaining what he aimed at, to be appointed the lieutenant of the nabob Jaffier Ally, and thus to get possession of his office during his lifetime under that name, with a design of murdering him; for that office, according to many usages of that country, totally supersedes the authority of the first magistrate, renders him a cypher in his hand, gives the administration of his affairs and command of his troops to the lieutenant. It was a part of his plan, that he was, after his appointment to the lieutenancy, to be named to the succession of the nabob, who had several other children; but the eldest son stood in the way.

But as things hastened to a crisis, this difficulty was removed in the most extraordinary and providential unheard of

manner, by the most extraordinary event, that, I believe, is recorded in history. Just in the nick of time, in the moment of projection, on the 3d of July, this prince Meeran, in the flower of his age, bold, active, enterprising, lying asleep in his tent, is suddenly, without any one's knowing it, without any alarm or menace in the heavens, that ever was heard of or mentioned, without any one whatever being hurt or even alarmed in the camp, killed with a flash of lightning. My lords, thus was the Gordian knot cut. This prince dies of a flash of lightning, and Mr. Lushington (of whom you have heard) comes in the morning with his hair standing erect, comes frightened into the presence of Major Calliaud, and, with the utmost alarm, tells him of a circumstance, that was afterwards to give them so much pleasure. The alarm was immediately communicated to the Major, who was seized with a fright; and fearing lest the army should mutiny upon the death of their chief, it was contrived in a manner, that I believe was most difficult to contrive, that what might have excited a general mutiny was concealed by the ability, the good conduct, and dexterity of Major Calliaud for seven days together, till he led the army out of the place of danger. Thus a judgment fell upon one of the (innocent) murderers in the scene of the three seals. This man, who was probably guilty in his conscience as well as in act, thus fell by that most lucky, providential, and most useful flash of lightning.

There were at that time, it seems, in Calcutta a wicked sceptical set of people, who somehow or other believed, that human agency was concerned in this elective flash, which came so very opportunely, and which was a favour so thankfully acknowledged. These wicked, ill-natured scepticks disseminated reports (which I am sure I do not mean to charge or prove, leaving the effect of them to you) very dishonourable, I believe, to Cossim Ally Cawn in the business, and to some Englishmen, who were concerned.

The difficulty of getting rid of Meeran being thus removed, Mr. Vansittart comes upon the scene. I verily believe he was a man of good intentions, and rather debauched by that amazing flood of iniquity, which prevailed at that time,

or hurried and carried away with it. In a few days he sent for Major Calliaud. All his objections vanish in an instant; like that flash of lightning, every thing is instant. The Major agrees to perform his part. They send for Cossim Ally Cawn and Mr. Hastings, they open a treaty and conclude it with him, leaving the management of it to two persons, Mr. Holwell and another person, whom we have heard of, an Armenian, called Coja Petruse, who afterwards played his part in another illustrious scene. By this Petruse and Mr. Holwell the matter is settled. The moment Mr. Holwell is raised to be a secretary of state, the revolution is accomplished. By it Cossim Ally Cawn is to have the lieutenancy at present, and the succession. Every thing is put into his hands, and he is to make for it large concessions, which you will hear of afterwards, to the company. Cossim Ally Cawn proposed to Mr. Holwell, what would have been no bad supplement to the flash of lightning, the murder of the nabob; but Mr. Holwell was a man of too much honour and conscience to suffer that. He instantly flew out at it, and declared the whole business should stop, unless the affair of the murder was given up. Accordingly, things were so settled. But, if he gave the nabob over to an intending murderer, and delivered his person, treasure, and every thing into his hands, Cossim Ally Cawn might have had no great reason to complain of being left to the execution of his own projects in his own way. The treaty was made, and amounted to this, that the company was to receive three great provinces; for here, as we proceed, you will have an opportunity of observing, with the progress of these plots, one thing, which has constantly and uniformly pervaded the whole of these projects, and which the persons concerned in them have avowed as a principle of their actions-that they were first to take care of the company's interest, then of their own; that is, first to secure to the company an enormous bribe, and under the shadow of that bribe to take all the little emoluments they could to themselves. Three great rich southern provinces, maritime, or nearly maritime, Burdwan, Midnapore, and Chittagong, were to be dissevered from the soubah and to be ceded to the company. There were other

minor stipulations, which it is not necessary at present to trouble you with, signed, sealed, and executed at Calcutta between these parties with the greatest possible secrecy. The lieutenancy and the succession were secured to Cossim Ally, and he was likewise to give somewhere about the sum of 200,000l. to the gentlemen, who were concerned, as a reward for serving him so effectually, and for serving their country so well. Accordingly, these stipulations, actual or understood (for they were eventually carried into effect) being settled, a commission of delegation, consisting chiefly of Mr. Vansittart and Major Calliaud, was sent up to Moorshedabad; the new governour taking this opportunity of paying the usual visit of respect to the nabob, and in a manner, which a new governour coming into place would do, with the detail of which it is not necessary to trouble you. Mr. Hastings was at this time at the durbar; and having every thing prepared, and the ground smoothed, they first endeavoured to persuade the nabob to deliver over the power negotiated for into the hands of their friend Cossim Ally Cawn. But when the old man, frightened out of his wits, asked, "What is it he has bid for me?" and added, "I will give half as much again to save myself; pray let me know what my price is;" he entreated in vain. They were true, firm, and faithful to their word and their engagement. When he saw they were resolved, that he should be delivered into the hands of Cossim Ally Cawn, he at once surrenders the whole to him. They instantly grasp it. He throws himself into a boat, and will not remain at home an hour, but hurries down to Calcutta to leave his blood at our door, if we should have a mind to take it. But the life of the nabob was too great a stake, partly as a security for the good behaviour of Cossim Ally Cawn, and still more for the future use, that might be made of him, to be thrown away, or left in the hands of a man, who would certainly murder him, and who was very angry at being refused the murder of his father-in-law. The price of this second revolution was, according to their shares in it, (I believe I have it here) somewhere about 200,000l. This little effusion to private interest settled the matter, and here ended the second revolu