must be in the hands of those who have power "to enforce it;" he goes on, "The Governour "General, who, I suppose, had a delicacy to "state more than what had before been made "publick, closes his affidavit with saying, that "all he has deposed to, he believes to be publickly known, as it is particularly set forth in "the printed book entitled Reports of the Com"mittee of the House of Commons. I knew" he adds, "it was there, and was therefore surprised at this application; it is so notorious "that every body in the settlement must have "known it; when I say every body I mean "with an exception to the gentlemen who have "applied to the Court. The only reason I can

give for their applying, is the little time they "have been in the country." The Judge (I think it is Chief Justice Impey,) then goes on, "Perhaps this question might have been deter"mined merely on the dates of the letters to "the Governour General; but as the Council "have made the other a serious question, I "should not have thought that I had done my

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duty if I had not given a full and determinate "opinion upon it, I should have been sorry if "I had left it, doubtful, whether the empty "name of a Nabob should be thrust between a

delinquent and the laws, so as effectually to protect him from the hand of justice."

My

My Lords, the Court as you see bottoms its determination on what we stand upon here, Mr. Hasting's evidence that the empty name of a pretended sovereign should not be thrust forth between a delinquent and justice.

What does Mr. Lemaistre, the other Judge, say upon this occasion, "with regard to this "phantom, that man of straw Mobarick ul "Dowlah, it is an insult on the understanding "of the Court, to have made the question of "his sovereignty. But as it came from the "Governour General and Council, I have too "much respect for that body to treat it ludi"crously, and I confess I cannot consider it "seriously, and we always shall consider a letter "of business from the Nabob, the same as a "letter from the Governour General and "Council."

This is the unanimous opinion of all the Judges concerning the state and condition of the Nabob. We have thus established the point we mean to establish, that any use which shall be made of the Nabob's name, for the purpose of justifying any disobedience to the orders of the Company, or of bringing forward corrupt and unfit persons for the government, could be considered as no other than the act of the persons who shall make such a use of it; and that no letter that the

Nabob

Nabob writes to any one in power, was or could be considered as any other than the letter of that person himself. This we wish to impress upon your Lordships, because, as you have before seen the use that has been made in this way of the Nabob of Oude, you may judge of the use that has been made of the name of Hyder Beg Khan, and of the names of all the eminent persons of the country. One word more and I have done; if whilst you remark the use that is made of this man's name, your Lordships shall find, that this use has ever been made of his name for his benefit, or for the purpose of giving him any useful or substantial authority, or of meliorating his condition in any way whatever, forgive the fraud, forgive the disobedience.

But if we have shewn your Lordships, that it was for no other purpose than to disobey the orders of the Company, to trample upon the laws of his country, to introduce back again, and to force into power, those very corrupt and wicked instruments which had formerly done so much mischief, and for which mischief they were removed, then we shall not have passed our time in vain, in endeavouring to prove that this man, in the opinion of a court of justice, and by publick notoriety, and by Mr. Hastings's own opinion, was held to be fit for nothing but to be made a tool in his hands.

Having stated to your Lordships generally the effects produced upon the Mahomedan interest of Bengal, by the misconduct of the Prisoner at your bar, with respect to the appointment of the guardian of the Nabob or Subadar of that province, and of the ministers of his government, I shall have the honour of attending your Lordships another day; and shall shew you the use that has been made of this government and of the authority of the Nabob, who, as your Lordships have seen, was the mere phantom of power; and I shall shew how much a phantom he was for every good purpose, and how effectual an instrument he was made for every bad one.

[Adjourned.

TRIAL

OF

WARREN HASTINGS, - ESQ.

SATURDAY, JUNE 14th, 1794.

EIGHTH DAY OF THE REPLY.

(MR. BURKE.)

MY LORDS,

YOUR Lordships heard upon the last day of

the meeting of this high Court, the distribution of the several matters which I should have occasion to lay before you, and by which I resolved to guide myself, in the examination of the conduct of Mr. Hastings with regard to Bengal. I stated, that I should first shew the manner in which he comported himself with regard to the people, who were found in possession of the government when we first entered into Bengal. We have shewn to your Lordships the progressive steps by which the Native government was brought into a state of annihilation. We have stated the manner in which that government was solemnly declared by a court of justice, VOL. XVI.

to