him by the orders of the Court of Directors, he sets at nought these orders, and asserts that he must be approached with solicitations. "Time" says he,

has obliterated their sufferings." O! what a balm of oblivion time spreads over the wrongs, wounds, and afflictions of others, in the mind of the person who inflicts those wrongs and oppressions. The oppressor soon forgets. This robbery took place in 17...; it was in the year 1783, when he asserted that the waters of Lethe had been poured over all their wrongs and oppressions.

Your Lordships will mark this insulting language, when he says that both the order of the Directors and the application of the Begums for redress must be solicitations to him.

[Here Mr. Burke was interrupted by Mr. Hastings, who said, "My Lords, there was no "order. I find a man's patience may be ex

hausted. I hear so many falsehoods, that I "must declare there was no order of the Court "of Directors: Forgive me my Lords. He "may say what he pleases; I will not again

controvert it. But there is no order; if there ❝is, read it."]

Mr. Burke then proceeded. Judge you, my Lords, what the insolence, audacity, and cruelty

of

of this man must have been, from his want of patience in his present situation, and when he dares to hold this language here. Your Lordships will reckon with him for it, or the world will reckon with you.

Mr. Hastings here again interrupted Mr. Burke, and said, "There was no order for in"quiry."

Mr. Burke.-Your Lordships have heard the letter read; I mean the letter from the Direc tors, which I read just now. You will judge whether it is an order or not. I did hope within these two days, to put an end to this business, but when your Lordships hear us charged with direct falsehood at your bar; when you hear this wicked wretch who is before you

From a Lord.—Order, order, order.

Mr. Burke.-Order, my Lords, we call for in the name of the Commons. Your Lordships have heard us accused, at your bar, of falsehood, after we had read the order upon which our assertion was founded. This man, whom we have described as the scourge and terrour of India; this man gets up, and charges us, not with a mistake, an errour, a wrong construction, but a direct falsehood; and adds, that his patience is worn out with the falsehood he hears. This is not an English court of justice if such a thing is permitted. We beg leave to retire,

retire, and take instructions from our constituents. He ought to be sent to Bridewell for going on in this manner.

[Mr. Wyndham here read the letter again.]

Mr. Burke. With regard to the ravings of this unhappy man, I am sure, if I were only considering what passed from him to the managers in this box, and knowing what allowance is due to a wounded conscience, brought before an awful tribunal, and smarting under the impressions of its own guilt, I would pass them over. But, my Lords, we have the honour of the Commons; we have the honour of this court to sustain. [Your Lordships, the other day, for an offence committed against a constable, who was keeping the way under your orders, did very justly, and to the great satisfaction of the publick, commit the party to Bridewell, for a much slighter insult against the honour and dignity of your Court.] And I leave it therefore for the present, till your Lordships can seriously consider what the mode of proceeding in this matter ought to be.-I now proceed.

We have read to your Lordships the orders of the Court of Directors; I again say we con-sider them as orders; your Lordships are as good judges of the propriety of the term as we

are.

are. You have heard them read, you have also heard that the Council at Calcutta considered them as orders, for resolutions were moved upon them ; and Mr. Stables, in evidence before you here, who was one of the Council, so considered them; and yet this man has the frantick audacity in this place, to assert that they were not orders; and to declare, that he cannot stand the repetition of such abominable falsehoods as are perpetually urged against him. We cannot conceive that your Lordships will suffer this, and if you do, I promise you, the Commons will not suffer the justice of the country to be trifled with and insulted in this manner; because, if such conduct be suffered by your Lordships, they must say that very disagreeable consequences will ensue, and very disagreeable inferences will be drawn by the publick concerning it. You will forgive, and we know how to forgive, the ravings of people smarting under a conscious sense of their guilt. But when we are reading documents given in evidence, and are commenting upon them, the use of this kind of language really deserves your Lordships' consideration. As for us, we regard it no more than we should other noise and brawlings of criminals, who in irons may be led through the streets, raving at the magistrate that has committed them. We consider him as a poor miserable

miserable man, railing at his accusers; it is natural he should fall into all these frantick ravings, but it is not fit or natural that the Court should indulge him in them. Your Lordships shall now hear in what sense Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Stables, two other members of the Council, understood this letter.

"It

Mr. Wheeler thus writes:-" It always has "been, and will be my wish to perform implicitly the orders of the Court of Directors, "and I trust that the opinion which I shall

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give upon that part of the Court's letter, "which is now before us, will not be taken up "against its meaning, as going to a breach of "them; the orders at present under the Board's "consideration are entirely provisional.

"Nothing has passed since the conclusion "of the agreement made by the Governour "General with the Vizier at Chunar, which "induces me to allow the opinion which I "before held, as well as from the Governour "General's reports to this Board, as the opi"nions which I have heard of many individuals totally unconcerned in the subject, that the

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Begums at Fyzabad, did take a hostile part against the Company during the disturbances "at Benares; and I am impressed with a con"viction that this conduct of the Begums did

"not