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crown.

The bill was read a first and fecond time without having any particular notice taken of it, or at all challenging the attention of the house. Upon its being reported on the 29th of June, Mr. Jolliffe ftrongly objected to its further progrefs. The commiffioners appointed by the bill were, he faid, to continue in their office dusing the existence of the bill itfelf, which was for three years, without being removable by his majefty, or by addrefs or petition of parliament. The appointment of the commiffioners in Mr. Fox's India bill, for the term only of one year more, though they were removable by addrefs of parliament, had yet excited the greatest alarm and clamour, because they were not removable by the crown. This appeared the more extraordinary, as they were not concerned in matters that had any particular relation to the crown; neither did the bill in queftion compel the commiffioners to report their proceedings, or give any fecurity to the public that they would do their duty. Thus an immenfe expence might be incurred, without producing any effect what ever. This omiffion he added was the more unpardonable, fince the bill appointing the commiffioners of the public accounts compelled

them to report their proceedings at the opening of every feffion.

But his ftrongeft objection to the bill was, the unlimited power it gave to the commiflioners to call for, and take into their cuftody, all titles, maps, plans, and documents, which related to lands holden of the crown. This, he faid, was inftituting a court of inquifition unknown in any other, much lefs in this country; it left every man concerned without any thing like certainty of title or eftate; whereever a refervation was made for the delivery of copy deeds, it was invariably the custom to infert a claufe that they fhould be made by perfons appointed by the holder of the deeds, but at the expence of the perfon claiming them.

July 7th.

Mr. Jolliffe concluded by moving amendments for the protection of title deeds, and to oblige the commiffioners to report their proceedings to the houfe; which were immediately received without a divifion, and the bill paffed the commons. It was afterwards attacked with a confiderable degree of feverity in the house of lords by lord Loughborough, who, upon the third reading, oppofed it chiefly upon the following grounds :-Firft, Because the bill did not agree with his majefty's meffage, on which it profeffed to be founded: that meffage only authorized an enquiry to be made into the ftate and condition of the woods, forefts, and land revenues belonging to the crown; but the bill proceeded to alienate and difpofe of the land revenues of the crown, contrary to the ufage of parliament, and inconfiftent with the refpect due to the crown.

Secondly,

Secondly, Because the bill repealed the acts of the 22d and 23d of Charles the Second, and created a new power for the fale of those lands, without any exception of the rents in the former acts referved in behalf of divers perfons, and for fundry good and wholesome purpofes in thofe acts mentioned.Laftly, Because the powers granted to the commiffioners were dangerous to the fubject, and derogatory to the honour of the crown. It fubjected all perfons holding of the crown, or holding eftates adjoining to crown lands, to an inquifition into their ancient boundaries and title deeds, at the mere motion of the commiffioners, without any other legal or ordinary procefs. It tended to restrain the tenants of the crown from their accustomed rights and privileges; and the crown itfelf was deprived by it of the management of its own eftate, which it transferred to the commiffioners. The bill was nevertheless carried by a majority of ten, the house dividing; contents 14, proxies 14; non-contents 11, proxies 7.

A protest against this bill, containing the objections already mentioned, and fome other additional ones, was afterwards figned by his lordship the earl of Carlifle, the duke of Portland, the earl of Sandwich, and the bishop of Bristol.

An attempt was made this feffion by the Hon. Mr. Martham to extend the difqualifications refpecting the power of voting at elections, contained in the bill generally known by the name of Mr. Crewe's bill, to perfons holding places in and ordnance-office. Thefe places he added were all of a civil nature, and had not the moft diftant connection or interfe

the

navy

rence with the officers of the army or navy.

Mr. Crewe's bill, in fetting afide the votes of all perfons holding places in the customs, excife, post, and ftamp - offices, had done the highest fervice to the conftitution. The bill he proposed, Mr. Marfham faid, was fo fimilar in its principle and operation to Mr. Crewe's, that every argument which was or could be adduced in favour of that bill, was equally applicable to the one in queftion.

The minifter oppofed the bill, alledging that it stood upon very different grounds from the bill brought in by Mr. Crewe, for which he had himself voted. The reafon, he faid, for paffing that act, was the neceffity of reducing the influence of the crown-an influence which the house had previously declared had increased, was increafing, and ought to be diminifhed. If Mr. Crewe's bill had anfwered that purpose, then the object contended for was gained; if it had not, it was unwife to extend fuch principles as that bill contained, where no benefit arofe from their operation.

At the fame time Mr. Pitt allowed that Mr. Crewe's bill might be faid to have gone a good way in deftroying that influence which in matters of election ought effectually to be eradicated: but there were other grounds of objection which he had to the prefent bill, and which he felt to be infurmountable. The perfons difqualified by Mr. Crewe's bill were of fuch a defcription, that the very burthens impofed upon the public were conducive to their private interefts; and therefore they were peculiarly unfit to elect the members of that affembly,

whofe

whose business it was to impofe thofe burthens. Again, the officers of the excife and cuftoms pervaded the whole kingdom; whereas the prefent description of men were confined only to particular parts of the coaft. There exifted another difference between them, which was to be taken into confideration: the revenue officers were completely under the influence of government, but the perfons employed in the departments in queftion were fubject to no controul whatever; they were at all times capable of procuring what was equal to their prefent falaries in foreign fervices, or with our merchantmen at home. If the present bill paffed, the whole corps of our naval artificers might carry their skill and induftry to a foreign market, and there did not exist a maritime country that would not grant them their own terms. Laftly, he added, that it did not appear, that the influence of the perfons in question was ever felt in thofe parts of the kingdom where, if at all, it must be the more prevalent.

Mr. Fox made fome obfervations on the minister's reasons for rejecting the proposed meafure. He began with obferving, that it was allowed that no degree of influence with refpect to elections ought to remain in the crown; but if depriving the revenue-officers of the right of voting tended to reduce that influence, the depriving thofe other fervants of the crown muft neceffarily reduce it still more.

With respect to the diftinction made between the different perfons

concerned, namely that one body extended over the whole kingdom, whilft the other was confined to a few places, it only proved, when taken in its fullest extent, that as the officers of the revenue were more numerous and more diffused than the fervants of the navy and ordnance, the difqualifying of the latter, although an useful and neceffary regulation, was not fo in the fame degree, and to the fame ex, tent, as the difqualification of the former. Next, it had been urged that the influence of the perfons in queftion had not been felt; but would it, Mr. Fox faid, be argued, that because the influence might be either dormant or unfuccessful, that it therefore did not exift? It had also been fuggested, he said, that the naval artizans, if deprived of their votes, would hire themfelves to foreign powers; but fuch a fuppofition, he added, was too ridiculous to be treated seriously, They were to go abroad, he fuppofed, to have voices in the ap, pointment of members of parlia ment in France, or were to influence the elections of Spain, or were to look for a fhare in the ariftocracy of Holland. He con cluded by seriously calling the attention of the houfe to the confideration of the prefent influence of the crown, and to the confequent neceffity of applying the remedy now propofed. After fome further debate Mr. Marfham's motion for the fecond reading of his bill was negatived by a majority of 76; the numbers being for the queftion 41, against it 117.

CHAP.

CHA P. VII.

Accufation of Mr. Haftings.-Speech of Mr. Burke on opening that business in the house of commons; he gives the reafons for his undertaking it; reminds the houfe of their former proceedings; ftates three different modes of accufation, profecution in the courts below, bill of pains and penalties, impeachment; objection to the two former modes; his plan of conducting the last; general obfervations on the whole; he moves for a variety of India papers and documents; debates thereon; Mr. Dundas's defence of himself; Mr. Pitt's argument on the fame fide; answer to objections by Mr. Burke; rights and privileges of an accufer; the production of papers relative to the treaties with the Mahrattas and the Mogul objected to, on the ground of difclofing dangerous fecrets; anfwer to that objection; papers refufed on a divifion; motion renewed by Mr. Fox, and rejected. Mr. Burke delivers in twenty-two articles of charge against Mr. Haftings; Mr. Haftings petitions to be heard in his own defence; converfation thereon; Mr. Haftings heard at the bar; his defence laid on the table: first charge, respecting the Rohilla war, moved by Mr. Burke; his introductory Speech; lift of Speakers on both fides ; charge rejected on a divifion: fecond charge, refpecting Benares, moved by Mr. Fox; Supported by Mr. Pitt; carried by a large majority ; indecent reflections of Mr. Haftings's friends thereupon.-Mr. Dundas's Bill for amending the India act of 1784; its arbitrary principles ftrongly oppofed; defended by Mr. Dundas; paffes both houses.-King's Speech. -Parliament prorogued.

W

E have before related, that on the first day of the sesfion Mr. Burke was called upon by the agent of the late governor general of Bengal to produce the criminal charges against Mr. Haftings in fuch a fhape as might enable parliament to enter into a full difcuffion of his conduct, and come to a final decifion upon it.

On Friday the 17th of February, Mr. Burke brought this fubject before the house of commons: after defiring the clerk to read the 44th and 45th refolutions of cenfure and recal of Mr. Haftings, moved by Mr. Dundas on the 29th of May 1782, he said that he entirely agreed in opinion with the friends of that gentleman, that the refolution which had been read fhould not be

fuffered to remain a mere calumny on the page of their journals; at the fame time he lamented that the folemn bufinefs of the day fhould have devolyed upon him by the natural death of fome, by the political death of others, and in fome inftances by a death to duty and to principle. It would doubtlefs, he said, have come forward with much more weight and effect in the hands of the right honourable gentleman who had induced the house to adopt those refolutions, or in thofe of another gentleman, who had taken an active part in the felect committee, and then enjoyed a confidential poft in the Indian department, the fecretary of the board of controul; but as he could not perceive any inten

tions of the kind in either of thofe members, and as he had been perfonally called upon, in a manner highly honourable to the party interested in the proceeding, but in a manner which rendered it impoffible for him not to do his duty, he should endeavour to the beft of his power to fupport the credit and dignity of the house, to enforce its intentions, and give vigour and effect to a sentence paffed four years ago; and he trusted that he should receive that protection, that fair and honourable interpretation of his conduct, which the houfe owed to those who acted in its name, and under the fanction of its authority.

Having endeavoured upon this ground to remove the odium of appearing a forward profecutor of public delinquency, Mr. Burke called back the recollection of the house to the feveral proceedings which had been had in parliament respecting the mal-adminiftration of the company's affairs in India, from the period of Lord Clive's government down to the reports of the secret and felect committees, the refolutions moved thereupon, and the approbation repeatedly given to thefe proceedings by his majesty from the throne.It was upon the authority, the fanction, and the encouragement thus afforded him, that he refted his accufation of Mr. Haftings, as a delinquent of the first magnitude.

After going through an infinite variety of topics relative to this part of his fubject; he proceeded to explain the procefs which he fhould recommend to the houfe to purfue. There were, he obferved, three feveral modes of proceeding against ftate delinquents, which, according to the exigencies

of particular cafes, had each at dif ferent times been adopted. The firft was to direct his majesty's attorney general to profecute; from this mode he acknowledged himself totally averfe, not only because he had not difcovered in the learned gentleman, whofe refpectable character and profeffional abilities had advanced him to that high official fituation, that zeal for public juftice in the prefent inftance, which was a neceffary qualification in a public profecutor; but more efpecially, because he thought a trial in the court of King's Bench, amidst a cloud of caufes of meum and tuum, of trefpafs, affault, battery, converfion, and trover, &c. &c. not at all fuited to the fize and enormity of the offender, or to the complicated nature and extent of his offences. Another mode of proceeding occafionally adopted by the houfe was by bill of pains and penalties; this mode he also greatly dif approved of, in the firft place, as attended with great hardship and injuftice to the party profecuted, by obliging him to anticipate his de fence; and fecondly, as putting the house in a fituation which, where the nature of the cafe did not abfolutely require it, ought carefully to be avoided, that of shifting its character backwards and forwards, and appearing in the fame cause one day as accufers, and another as judges. -The only procefs that remained, was by the ancient and conftitutional mode of impeachment; and even in adopting this procefs he fhould advise the house to proceed with all poffible caution and prudence. It had been ufual, he obferved, in the first instance, to refolve that the party accufed fhould be impeached, and then to appoint a committee to

examine

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