It appears then by the confession of the said Warren Hastings, that this money was received by him; but it does not appear, that he has converted it to the property and use of the company. "have concealed them from their eye and that of "the publick for ever." That the discovery, as far as it goes, establishes the guilt of the said Warren Hastings in taking money against law, but does not warrant a conclusion, that he has discovered all that he may have taken. That, on the contrary, such discovery not being made in proper time, and when made, being imperfect, perplexed, and wholly unsatisfactory, leads to a just and reasonable presumption, that other facts of the same nature have been concealed, since those which he has confessed might have been for ever; and that this partial confession was either extorted from the said Warren Hastings by the dread of detection, or made with a view of removing suspicion, and preventing any further enquiry into his conduct. That in a letter from the said Warren Hastings to the said court of directors, dated the 22d of May 1782, but not dispatched as it might and ought to have been at that time, but detained and kept back by the said Warren Hastings till the 16th of December following, he has confessed the receipt of various other sums, amounting (with that, which he accepted from the nabob of Oude) to That the said Warren Hastings, in a letter to nearly £.200,000, which sums he affirmed had been the court of directors, dated 21st of February converted to the company's property through his 1784, has confessed his having privately received means, but without discovering from whom, or on another sum of money, the amount of which he what account, he received the same. That, in- has not declared, but which, from the application stead of converting this money to the company's he says he has made of it, could not be less than property as he affirmed he had done, it appears, thirty-four thousand pounds sterling. That he that he had lent the greater part of it to the comhas not informed the directors from whom he repany upon bonds bearing interest, which bonds ceived this money, at what time, nor on what acwere demanded and received by him, and for count; but, on the contrary, has attempted to aught, that yet appears, have never been given up justify the receipt of it, which was illegal, by the or cancelled. That for another considerable part application of it, which was unauthorized and unof the above-mentioned sum he has taken credit to warrantable, and which, if admitted as a reason himself, as for a deposit of his own property, and for receiving money privately, would constitute a therefore demandable by him out of the com- precedent of the most dangerous nature to the pany's treasury at his discretion. That all sums company's service.-That in attempting to justify so lent or deposited are not alienated from the the receipt and application of the said money, he person who lends or deposits the same; conse- has endeavoured to establish principles of conduct quently, that the declaration made by the said in a governour, which tend to subvert all order Warren Hastings, that he had converted the whole and regularity in the conduct of publick business; of these sums to the company's property, was not to encourage and facilitate fraud and corruption true; nor would such a transfer, if it had really in all offices of pecuniary trust; and to defeat all been made, have justified the said Warren Hast-enquiry into the misconduct of any person, in ings in originally receiving the money; which, being in the first instance contrary to law, could not be rendered legal by any subsequent disposition or application thereof; much less would it have justified the said Warren Hastings in delaying to make a discovery of these transac-"though required to enable me to execute the tions to the court of directors, until he had heard of the enquiries then begun, and proceeding in parliament; in finally making a discovery, such as it is, in terms the most intricate, obscure, and contradictory. That, instead of that full and clear explanation of his conduct, which the court of directors demanded, and which the said Warren Hastings was bound to give them, he has contented himself with telling the said directors, that, "if this matter was to be exposed to the "view of the publick, his reasons for acting as he had done might furnish a variety of conjectures, to which it would be of little use "to reply. That he either chose to conceal the "first receipts from publick curiosity by receiving "bonds for the amount, or possibly acted without any studied design, which his memory could at "that distance of time verify; and that he could whom pecuniary trust is reposed. That the said Warren Hastings, in his letter above mentioned, has made a declaration to the court of directors in the following terms :-"Having had occasion to "disburse from my own cash many sums, which, "duties of my station, I have hitherto omitted to "enter in my publick accounts, and my own for"tune being unequal to so heavy a charge, I "have resolved to reimburse myself in a mode "the most suitable to the situation of your affairs, by charging the same in my durbar accounts of "the present year, and crediting them by a sum "privately received, and appropriated to your "service in the same manner with other sums re"ceived on account of the honourable company, "and already carried to their account."-That, at the time of writing this letter, the said Warren Hastings had been in possession of the government of Fort William about twelve years, with a clear salary, or avowed emoluments, at no time less than twenty-five thousand pounds sterling a year, exclusive of which all the principal expences of his residence were paid for by the company. T That if the services mentioned by him were required to enable him to execute the duties of his station, he ought not to have omitted to enter them in his publick accounts at the times when the expences were incurred. That if it was true, as he affirms, that when he first engaged in these expences he had no intention to carry them to the account of the company, there was no subsequent change in his situation which could justify his departing from that intention.-That if his own fortune in the year 1784 was unequal to so heavy a charge, the state of his fortune at any earlier period must have been still more unequal to so heavy a charge. That the fact so asserted by the said Warren Hastings leads directly to an inference palpably false and absurd, viz. that the longer a governour-general holds that lucrative office, the poorer he must become.-That neither would the assertion, if it were true, nor the inference, if it were admitted, justify the conduct avowed by the said Warren Hastings, in resolving to reimburse himself out of the company's property without their consent or knowledge.-That the account transmitted in this letter is styled by himself an aggregate of a contingent account of twelve years. -That all contingent accounts should be submitted to those, who ought to have an official controul over them, at annual or other shorter periods, in order that the expence already incurred may be checked and examined, and similar expences, if disapproved of, may be prohibited in time; that, after a very long period is elapsed, all check and controul over such expences is impracticable; and, if it were practicable in the present instance, would be completely useless, since the said Warren Hastings, without waiting for the consent of the directors, did resolve to reimburse himself.— That the conduct of the said Warren Hastings, in withholding these accounts for twelve years together, and then resolving to reimburse himself without the consent of his employers, has been fraudulent in the first instance, and in the second amounts to a denial and mockery of the authority placed over him by law; and that he has thereby set a dangerous example to his successours, and to every man in trust or office under him.-That the mode, in which he has reimbursed himself, is a crime of a much higher order, and greatly aggravates whatever was already criminal in the other parts of this transaction. That the said Warren Hastings in declaring that he should reimburse himself by crediting the company by a sum privately received, has acknowledged himself guilty of an illegal act in receiving money privately. That he has suppressed or withheld every particular which could throw any light on a conduct so suspicious in a governour, as the private receipt of money.-That the general confession of the private receipt of a large sum in gross, in which no circumstance of time, place, occasion, or person, nor even the amount, is specified, tends to cover or protect any act of the same nature, (as far as a general confession can protect such acts,) which may be detected hereafter, and which in fact may not make part of the gross sum so confessed, and that it tends to perplex and defeat all enquiry into such practices. That the said Warren Hastings in stating to the directors, that he has resolved to reimburse himself in a mode the most suitable to the situation of their affairs, viz. by receiving money privately against law, has stated a presumption highly injurious to the integrity of the said directors; viz. that they will not object to, or even enquire into, any extraordinary expences, incurred and charged by their governours in India, provided such expences are reimbursed by money privately and illegally received.--That he has not explained what that situation of their affairs was, or could be, to which so dangerous and corrupt a principle was or might be applied.—That no evidence has been produced to prove, that it was true, nor any ground of argument stated to shew, that it might be credible, that any native of India had voluntarily and gratuitously given money privately to the said Warren Hastings, that is, without some prospect of a benefit in return, or some dread of his resentment, if he refused.-That it is not a thing to be believed, that any native would give large sums privately to a governour, which he refused to give or lend publickly to government, unless it were to derive some adequate secret advantage from the favour, or to avoid some mischief from the enmity, of such governour. That the late confessions made by the said Warren Hastings of money received against law are no proof, that he did not originally intend to appropriate the same to his own use, such confessions having been made at a suspicious moment, when, and not before, he was apprized of the enquiries commenced in the house of commons, and when a dread of the consequence of those enquiries might act upon his mind; that such confessions, from the obscure, intricate, and contradictory manner in which they are made, imply guilt in the said Warren Hastings, as far as they go; that they do not furnish any colour of reason to conclude, that he has confessed all the money which he may have corruptly received; but that, on the contrary, they warrant a just and reasonable presumption, that in discovering some part of the bribes he had received he hoped to lull suspicion, and thereby conceal and secure the rest. That the court of directors, when the former accounts of these transactions came before them, did shew an evident disposition not to censure the said Warren Hastings, but to give the most favourable construction to his conduct; that nevertheless they found themselves obliged "to confess, that "the statement of those transactions appeared to "them in many parts so unintelligible, that they "felt themselves under the necessity of calling on "the governour-general for an explanation, agree 66 ably to his promise voluntarily made to them." That their letter, containing this requisition, was received in Bengal in the month of August 1784, and that the said Warren Hastings did not embark for England until the 2d of February 1785, but made no reply to that letter before his de parture, owing, as he has since said, to a variety | person, from whom any part of the money in See his letter of the 11th July 1785, at the end of the Charges. question was received, nor what was the motive of any one person for giving the same. That he has indeed declared, that his motive for lending to the company, or depositing in their treasury in his own name, money, which he has, in other places, declared to be their property, was to avoid ostentation; and that lending the money was the least liable to reflection; yet, when he has stated these and other conjectural motives for his own conduct, he declares he will not affirm, though he is firmly persuaded, that those were his sentiments on the occasion. That of one thing only the said Warren Hastings declares he is certain; viz. "That it was "his design originally to have concealed the re of other more important occupations.-That, un- 66 66 66 : That the said Warren Hastings, in affecting to doubt whether the information expressly required of him by his employers was expected or not, has endeavoured to justify a criminal delay and evasion in giving it. That, considering the importance of the subject, and the recent date of the command, it is not possible that it could be lost to his recollection; much less is it possible, that he could have understood the specifick demand of an answer to specifick questions to be intended only as a reprehension for a former offence; viz. the offence of withholding from the directors that very explanation, which he ought to have given in the first instance. That the said Warren Hastings, in his answer to the said questions, cautiously avoids affirming or denying any thing in clear positive terms, and professes to recollect nothing with absolute certainty. That he has not, even now, informed the directors of the name of any one 66 ceipt of all sums, except the second, even from "the knowledge of the court of directors; but "that when fortune threw a sum in his way of a "magnitude, which could not be concealed, and the peculiar delicacy of his situation at the time, in "which he had received it, made him more circumspect of appearances, he chose to apprize "his employers of it."-That the said Warren Hastings informs the directors, that he had endorsed the bonds taken by him for money belonging to the company, and lent by him to the company, in order to guard against their becoming a claim on the company, as part of his estate in the event of his death; but he has not affirmed, nor does it any where appear, that he has surrendered the said bonds, as he ought to have done. That the said Warren Hastings in affirming, that he had not time to answer the questions put to him by the directors, while he was in Bengal-in not bringing with him to England the documents necessary to enable him to answer those questions, or in pretending that he has not brought them-in referring the directors back again to Bengal for those documents, and for any further information on a subject, on which he has given them no informa tion, and particularly in referring them back to a person in Bengal for a paper, which he says contained the only account he ever kept of the transaction, while he himself professes to doubt whether that paper be still in being, whether it be in the hands of that person, or whether that person can recollect any thing distinctly concerning it—has been guilty of gross evasions, and of palpable prevarication and deceit, as well as of contumacy and disobedience to the lawful orders of the court of directors; and thereby confirmed all the former evidence of his having constantly used the influence of his station for the most scandalous, illegal, and corrupt purposes. IX. RESIGNATION OF THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOUR GENERAL. and did transmit to the said governour-general and council copies of the said instruments of appointment and confirmation. THAT Warren Hastings having by his agent" resignation, if such nomination shall be apLauchlin Macleane, Esquire, on the 10th day of "proved by His Majesty:" which nomination October, in the year 1777, "signified to the court and appointment was afterwards, in due form, "of directors his desire to resign his office of approved and confirmed by His Majesty. "governour-general of Bengal, and requested That the court of directors did, by a postscript "their nomination of a successor to the vacancy, to their general letter, dated 25th October 1776, "which would be thereby occasioned in the su- acquaint the governour-general and council at preme council," the court of directors did there- Calcutta of their acceptance of the said resigupon desire the said Lauchlin Macleane "to nation, of their appointment of Edward Wheler, "inform them of the authority, under which he Esquire, to fill the said vacancy, and of His Ma"acted in a point of such very great importance;" jesty's approbation of the said appointment, toand the said Lauchlin Macleane" signifying there-gether with the grounds of their said proceedings: "upon his readiness to give the court every pos"sible satisfaction on that subject, but the powers, "with which he was intrusted by the papers in "his custody, being mixed with other matters of That the said dispatches from the court of dia nature extremely confidential, he would submit rectors were received at Calcutta, and were read "the same to the inspection of any three of the in council on the 19th day of June, in the year "members of the court," the said court of di- 1777; and that Warren Hastings, Esquire, having rectors empowered the chairman deputy chairman, taken no steps to yield the government to his sucand Richard Becher, Esquire, to inspect the au- cessour, General Clavering, and having observed thorities, powers, and directions, with which Mr. a profound silence on the subject of the said disMacleane was furnished by Mr. Hastings, to make patches, he, the said General Clavering, did, on the propositions contained in his letter of the 10th the next day, being the 20th of June, by a letter October 1776, and to report their opinion thereon. addressed to the said Warren Hastings, require And the said committee did accordingly, on the him to surrender the keys of Fort William and of 23d of the said month, report, "that, having con- the company's treasuries; but the said Warren "ferred with Mr. Macleane on the subject of his Hastings did positively refuse to comply with the "letter presented to the court the 11th instant, said requisition," denying, that his office was they found, that from the purport of Mr. Hast-" vacated, and declaring his resolution to assert and ings's instructions, contained in a paper in his" maintain his authority by every legal means." own hand-writing given to Mr. Macleane, and produced by him to them, Mr. Hastings declared "he would not continue in the government of "Bengal, unless certain conditions, therein specified, could be obtained, of which they saw no "probability; and Mr. George Vansittart had "declared to them, that he was present when "these instructions were given to Mr. Macleane, "and when Mr. Hastings empowered Mr. Mac"leane to declare his resignation to the said "court; that Mr. Stewart had likewise confirmed "to them, that Mr. Hastings declared to him, that "he had given directions to the above purpose by Mr. Macleane." 16 66 And the court of directors, having received from the said report due satisfaction respecting the authority vested in the said Lauchlin Macleane to propose the said resignation of the office of governour-general of Bengal, did unanimously resolve to accept the same; and did also, under powers vested in the said court by the act of the 13th year of His present Majesty, "nominate and appoint Edward Wheler, Esquire, to succeed to "the office in the council of Fort William in Bengal, which will become vacant by the said 66 That the said General Clavering, conceiving, that the office of governour-general was vacated by the arrival of the said dispatches, which acquainted the council-general of the resignation of the said Warren Hastings, and the appointment of the said Edward Wheler, Esquire, and that he, the said General Clavering, had in consequence thereof legally succeeded under the provisions of the act of the 13th year of His present Majesty's reign to the said office of governour-general, become vacant in the manner aforesaid, did, in virtue thereof, issue in his own name summonses to Richard Barwell, Esquire, and Philip Francis, Esquire, members of the council, to attend the same; and in the presence of the said Philip Francis, Esquire, who obeyed the said summons, did take the oaths as governour-general, and did sit and preside in council as governour-general, and prepared several acts and resolutions in the said capacity of governour-general; and did, amongst other things, prepare a proclamation to be made of his said succession to the government, and of its commencing from the date of the said proclamation; but did not carry any of the acts or resolutions so prepared into execution. 66 66 The said Warren Hastings did, notwithstanding | ceded only from their desire to preserve the peace thereof, and in pursuance of his resolution to assert of the settlement, and to prevent the mischiefs, and maintain his authority, illegally and unjusti- which the illegal resistance of the said Warren fiably summon the council to meet in another de- Hastings would otherwise infallibly have occapartment, and did sit and preside therein, apart sioned. from the said General Clavering and his council; That after the said judges had delivered their and in conjunction with Richard Barwell, Esquire, opinion, " that the place and office of governourwho concurred therein, issued sundry orders, and general of this presidency had not yet been vadid sundry acts of government belonging to the "cated by Warren Hastings, and that the actual office of governour-general; and amongst others, assumption of the government by the member did order several letters to be written in the name "of the council next in succession to Mr. Hastof the governour-general and council, and did "ings, in consequence of any deduction, which subscribe the same, to the commandant of the "could be made from the papers communicated garrison of Fort William, and to the commanding" to them, would be absolutely illegal;" and after officer at Barrackpore, and to the commanding the said General Clavering and Philip Francis, officers at the other stations, and also to the pro- Esq. had signified to the said Warren Hastings, vincial councils and collectors in the provinces, by a letter dated the 21st of June, "their intenenjoining them severally "to obey no orders," tion to acquiesce in the opinion of the judges;" excepting such as should be signed by the "said Warren Hastings, or a majority of his "council." 66 That the said Warren Hastings did by the said proceedings, which were contrary both to law and to good faith, constitute a double government, thereby destroying and annihilating all government whatever; and, by his said orders to the military officers, did prepare for open resistance by arms, exposing thereby the settlement, and all the inhabitants, subjects of or dependent on the British government, whether native or European, not only to political distractions, but to the horrours of civil war; and did, by exposing the divisions and weakness of the supreme government, and thereby loosening the obedience of the provinces, shake the whole foundation of British authority, and imminently endanger the existence of the British nation in India. and when the differences in the supreme council were by these means composed, and the calamities consequent thereon were avoided, the said Warren Hastings and Richard Barwell, Esq. did once more endanger the publick peace and security by other illegal, unwarrantable, and unprovoked acts of violence; having omitted to summon either the said General Clavering, or the said Philip Francis, Esq. to council; and having, in a council held thus privately and clandestinely, and contrary to law, on the 22d day of June, come to the following resolutions, viz. Resolved, that by the said acts, orders, and declarations of Lieutenant-General John Clavering, recited in the foregoing papers, [meaning the proceedings of General Clavering in his separate council on the 20th of June,] he has actually usurped and assumed, and taken possession of the place and office of governour-general of the presidency of Fort William in Bengal, granted by the act of the 13th of His present Majesty to Warren Hastings, Esq. "Resolved, that Lieutenant-General John Clavering has thereby relinquished, resigned, surrendered, and vacated his place of commander-inchief of the company's forces in India. That the said evils were averted only by the moderation of the said General Clavering, and Philip Francis, Esq. in consenting to a reference, and submitting to the decision of the judges of the "Resolved, that Lieutenant-General John Clasupreme court of judicature, although they enter-vering has thereby relinquished, resigned, surrentained no doubts themselves on the legality of dered, and vacated the office of senior counsellor their proceedings, and the validity of General of Fort William in Bengal. Clavering's instant right to the chair; and although they were not in any way bound by law to consult the said judges, who had no legal or judicial authority therein in virtue of their offices, or as a court of justice, but were consulted, and interposed their advice, only as individuals, by the voluntary reference of the parties in the said dispute. And the said Warren Hastings by his declaration, entered in minutes of council, "that it was his "determination to abide by the opinion of the "judges," and by the measures he had previously taken as aforesaid to enforce the same by arms, did risk all the dangerous consequences above mentioned; which must have taken place, if the said General Clavering and Philip Francis, Esq. had not been more tender of the publick interests, and less tenacious of their own rights, and had persisted in their claim, as they were by law entitled to do, the extra-judicial interposition of the judges notwithstanding; and from which claim they re "Resolved, that Richard Barwell, Esquire, by virtue of the said act of parliament, and by the death of the honourable George Monson, Esq. is promoted to the office of senior counsellor of the presidency of Fort William in Bengal, in consequence of the said relinquishment, resignation, surrender, and vacation of General Clavering. "Resolved, that the office of commander-inchief of the company's forces in India, by the relinquishment, resignation, surrender, and vacation of General Clavering, and by the death of the honourable George Monson, Esq. does no longer exist. "Resolved, that, for the preservation of the legality of our proceedings, Lieutenant-General John Clavering be not in future summoned or ad |