that a great part of his troops had been employed in the defence of the province of Oude, and the territories of the nabob vizier, that Fyzoola Khan's character was revered by all the neighbouring princes, that no internal rebellion or external attack had disturbed his possessions, and that he had been most unwarrantably treated by the British government under Mr. Hastings, Mr. Burke concluded with declaring, that he had not a doubt of proving every part of the charge to the removal of the scruples of the right honourable and learned gentleman opposite to him, and to the conviction of every man who was not predetermined not to be convinced.

The committee divided: For the question 96: Against it 37. The House being resumed, Mr. Pitt rose to express his wish, that before the House adjourned, a day might be fixed for bringing up the report of the committee. He should certainly, he said, give such a vote on the general question of the impeachment as would correspond with the part which he had already taken; but he must at the same time observe, that having only partially acquiesced in the propriety of several of the charges, particularly in those concerning the affair of Benares, and the contracts, he should endeavour to bring the matter before the House in such a way, as would relieve him from the unpleasant alternative of being obliged either to dissent in toto from a proposition, to several parts of which he wished to give his concurrence, or to vote for one, which contained some circumstances to which he was adverse. But whether he should for this purpose make a separate motion, or only move an amendment when the business was brought before the House by those who conducted the prosecution, he was not as yet prepared to determine.

Mr. BURKE declared, that he approved of the right honourable gentleman's proposition; and with regard to what he had said respecting the difference of opinion which subsisted between them upon certain parts of the charge relative to Benares, and that relative to the contracts, he trusted he would have the candour to keep his mind open upon those points, as he had no manner of doubt but that

he should be able, at a fit opportunity, to convince him, that they might both of them readily concur in the same

vote.

The 2d day of April was then fixed upon for bringing up the report.

April 2.

THIS day Mr. Sheridan opened the seventh charge, relative to the corrupt receiving of bribes and presents. The motion was agreed to, after a long debate, and a division, by 165 against 54. The report from the committee appointed to consider of the several articles of charge against Mr. Hastings was then brought up by their chairman, Mr. St. John; and upon the question that it be now read a first time, Mr. Pitt observed, that in a business of such consequence as that in which they were engaged, he felt every successive stage become more and more important, and could not therefore repress his anxiety to preserve that degree of formality and regularity in the proceeding, which should leave him and other members at full liberty to deliver their votes, without hesitation, singly and exclusively, on the merits of the grand decisive question of impeachment, and free from any objections that might be made to the form in which that question should come forward. He therefore wished to know how Mr. Burke intended to proceed. For his part, having in some of the articles gone only a certain length in his assent, and by no means admitted a degree of guilt equal to that imputed in the charges, he could not think himself justified in joining in a general vote of impeachment, which might seem to countenance the whole of each several charge, those parts which he thought really criminal, as well as those which were of an exculpatory nature. The method which it was most advisable, in his opinion, to pursue, was to refer the charges to a committee, in order to select out of them the criminal matter, and frame it into articles of impeachment; and then, on those articles, when reported to the House, to move the question of impeachment. If, on the contrary, the mode adopted was, to move the impeachment immediately, he should find himself

which had already sat on the charges, several amendments, confining the effects of each charge to that degree of real guilt, which he thought appeared in it.-Mr. Fox declared his opinion to be, that the report should be first taken into consideration, and if agreed to by the House, that the question of impeachment should immediately follow. This, he said, was most agreeable to the ancient constitutional mode, and best adapted to carry the views of every part of the House into execution. Mr. Frederick Montague observed, that the Journals afforded so multifarious a farrago of contradictory precedents, that it was difficult indeed to derive from them a judgment of what was the best mode of proceeding. He instanced the case of Lord Strafford and a variety of others, argued upon the different modes which had at that time prevailed, and concluded with observing, that, upon the present occasion, the most constitutional form of impeachment was that which merited adoption.

Mr. BURKE declared, that he never had risen under a greater pressure of embarrassment and doubt, than at the moment when a right honourable member so conversant in all the forms of proceeding in the House, as his right honourable friend who had spoken last, was rather at a loss to decide, and when consequently it became impossible for him, having just witnessed the utmost splendour of abilities displayed on both sides, in support of opposite positions, to determine on that which was the properest mode of proceeding to follow. But, though nothing could give him so much concern as to differ from his right honourable friend near him *, - and Heaven forbid that it should prove an omen of future frequent variances in opinion, in which case he well knew that the great superiority of his right honourable friend's abilities must bear down and extinguish his talents entirely, yet as it appeared to him, that unanimity was most likely to continue, by adopting the mode of proceeding recommended by the right honourable gentleman opposite to him, he should advise against his own judg

* Mr. Fox.

ment, (for if he gave any preference, it must be to the constitutional mode recommended by his right honourable friend near him,) that the mode so recommended, be the mode adopted and pursued. A mode which, however, appeared to him to be as likely to answer the end of dispatch as any other mode of proceeding whatsoever. Unanimity was now more essential than ever to the great purpose of conducting so important and solemn a proceeding to a proper conclusion, and he had observed, that in proportion as it had taken up time and become necessarily farther and farther discussed, the more the whole business of the inquiry had grown upon the public, and the more it had generated unanimity. Upon that principle, therefore, and that alone, he would recommend the mode proposed by the right honourable gentleman opposite to him. The effects of the inquiry with a view to impeachment had been glorious both in that House and without doors. Without doors men's minds had been changed, rooted prejudice had been eradicated, conviction had followed, and all the world confessed that the House of Commons were engaged in a grave and important proceeding, essential to the establishment of the national character for justice and equity. Within doors all the various modes and styles of eloquence had been called forth and displayed on both sides, to the admiration of the House, and to its infinite honour and advantage. Looking round him and seeing who were near him, he scarcely dared venture to speak farther upon a subject, in which recent experience had proved, that he found many masters much younger than himself. But, the topic operated as an excitement to the display of all the finer powers of the human understanding. It had gone much farther, softening almost into a common bond of union the hitherto obdurate hearts of violently contending politicians; sheathing the sword of embattled party, and lowering its hostile front; whilst, as it occasioned both eloquence and argument to spread themselves abroad in

flourished, resembled the once beautiful aspect of the Rohilla country, and presented to the admiring eye a richly cultivated garden, adorned with fruits and flowers, and forming as luscious a scene as that which the late Governor General of Bengal had delighted to exterminate.

The report was ordered to be taken into further consideration on the following day.

April 3.

THE order of the day being read for taking into further consideration the report of the resolutions on the charges against Mr. Hastings, Major Scott rose and observed that he came to the House with an intention of opposing the resolutions being read a second time; but as a new mode of proceeding had been adopted, which would give him an opportunity of submitting what he had to offer to the consideration of the House, prior to the vote of impeachment, he should reserve himself until that time. Mr. Sheridan apprised the honourable major, that if he or any other friend of Mr. Hastings meant to urge the merits of Mr. Hastings by way of set-off against his criminality, they could not take a more favourable opportunity than the present. Upon this,

Mr. BURKE said, that he felt it necessary to protest, and that in the most solemn manner, against the entertaining, for a single moment, such an idea, as a set-off, against a pointed, positive, and direct personal criminal charge. A set-off could only be urged, where general criminality was imputed or suspected, against which it might be fair to plead general merits; but where a specific charge of criminality had been exhibited, it became an act of duty to put the party accused upon his trial, without regard to any merits which he might possess, in any part of his conduct. In the present case, it would be idle to talk of admitting the plea of any merits in Mr. Hastings as a set-off; and, indeed, if the general maxim to which he had just adverted, was not of itself sufficiently strong, two points were