consequences which they produced. It is the declaration of one of the latest of their allies, concerning all these proceedings. It is contained in a letter from the rajah of Berar, directly and strongly inculpating Mr. Hastings, upon facts which he has never denied, and by arguments which he has never refuted, as being himself the cause of that very junction of all the powers of India against us. Letter from Beneram Pundit.-" As the friendship of the English is, at all events, the first and most necessary consideration, I will therefore exert myself in establishing peace; for the power of making peace with all is the best object; to this, all other measures are subservient, and will certainly be done by them, the English. You write, that after having laid the foundation of peace with the Pundit Purdhaun, it is requisite that some troops should be sent with General Goddard against Hyder Naig, and take possession of his country, when all those engagements and proposals may be assented to. My reason is confounded in discussing this suggestion, at a time when Hyder Naig is in every respect in alliance with the Peishwa, and has assisted, with his soul and life, to repel the English. For us to unite our troops with those of the enemy, and extirpate him; of infamy upon us for ever? Would any prince, for generations to come, ever after assist us, or unite with the Peishwa? Be yourself the judge, and say, whether such a conduct would become a prince or not.-Why then do you mention it ?-why do you write it? would not this fix the stamp "The case is as follows.-At first there was the utmost enmity between Hyder Naig and the Pundit Purdhaun, and there was the fullest intention of sending troops into Hyder Naib's country; and after the conclusion of the war with Bombay and the capture of Ragonaut Row, it was firmly resolved to send troops into that quarter; and a reliance was placed in the treaty which was entered into by the gentlemen of Bombay before the war; but when Ragonaut again went to them, and General Goddard was ready to commence hostilities-when no regard was paid to the friendly proposals made by us and the Pundit Peishwa-when they desisted from coming to Poonah, agreeable to their promise, and a categorical answer was given to the deputies from Poonah ; the ministers of Poonah then consulted among themselves, and having advised with the nabob Nizam ul Dowlah, they considered that as enemies were appearing on both sides, and it would be difficult to cope with both, what was to be done. Peace must be made with one of them, and war must be carried on with the other. They wished above all things, in their hearts, to make peace with the English gentlemen, and to unite with them to punish Hyder Naig; but these gentlemen had plainly refused to enter into any terms of reconciliation; it was therefore advisable to accommodate matters with Hyder Naig, although he had been long an enemy.What else could be done? Having nothing left for it, they were compelled to enter into an union with Hyder." My lords, this declaration, made to Mr. Hastings himself, was never answered by him; indeed, answered it could not be; because the thing was manifest, that all the desolation of the Carnatic by Hyder Ally, all these difficulties upon which he has insisted; the whole of that union by which he was pressed, and against which, as he says, he bore up with such fortitude, was his own work, the consequences of his bad faith and his not listening to any reasonable terms of peace. But, my lords, see what sort of peace he afterwards made. I could prove, if I were called upon so to do, from this paper, that they have had the folly and madness to produce to you for other purposes, that he might at any time have made a better treaty, and have concluded a more secure and advantageous peace than that which at last he acceded to: that the treaty he made, was both disadvantageous and dishonorable; inasmuch, as we gave up every ally we had, and sacri ficed them to the resentment of the enemy: that Mahadajee Scindia gained by it an empire of a magnitude dangerous to our very existence in India: that this chief was permitted to exterminate all the many little gallant nations that stood between us and the Mahrattas, and whose policy led them to guard against the ambitious designs of that government. Almost all these lesser powers, from central India, quite up to the mountains that divide India from Tartary, almost all these, I say, were exterminated by him, or were brought under a cruel subjection. The peace he made with Mr. Hastings was for the very purpose of doing all this; and Mr. Hastings enabled him, and gave him the means of effecting it. Advert next, my lords, to what he did with other allies. By the treaty of Porunda, made by Colonel Upton, and which he flagitiously broke, we had acquired what, God knows, we little merited from the Mahrattas, twelve lacks (£112, 000) for the expenses of the war; and a country of three lacks of annual revenue, the province of Burratch and the Isle of Salset, and other small islands convenient for us upon that coast. This was a great, useful, and momentous accession of territory and of revenue, and we got it with honor; for not one of our allies was sacrificed by this treaty. We had even obtained from the Mahrattas for Ragonaut Row, our support of whom against that government was a principal cause of the war, an establishment of a thousand horse, to be maintained at their expense, and a jaghire for his other expenses, of three lacks of rupees per annum, payable monthly, with leave to reside within their territories, with no other condition than that he should not remove from the place fixed for his residence, for the purpose of exciting disturbances against their government. They also stipulated for the pardon of all his adherents, except four; and the only condition they required from us was, that we should not assist him in case of any future disturbance. But Mr. Hastings, by his treaty, surrendered that country of three lacks of revenue; he made no stipulation for the expenses of the war, nor indemnity for any of the persons, whom he had seduced into the rebellion, in favor of Ragonaut Row.-He gave them all up to the vengeance of their governments, without a stroke of a pen in their favor, to be banished, confiscated, and undone. And as to Ragonaut Row, instead of getting him this honorable and secure retreat, as he was bound to do, this unfortunate man was ordered to retire to his enemy's (Mahadajee Scindia's) country; or otherwise he was not to receive a shilling for his maintenance. I will now ask your lordships, whether any man, but Mr. Hastings, would claim a merit with his own country, for having broken the treaty of Porunda? Your lordships know the opinion of the House of Commons respecting it; his colleagues in council had remonstrated with him upon it, and had stated the mischiefs that would result from it; and Sir Eyre Coote, the commander of the company's forces, writing at the same time from Madras, states, that he thought it would infallibly bring down upon them Hyder Ally, who, they had reason to think, was bent upon the utter destruction of the power of this country in India, and was only waiting for some crisis in our affairs favorable to his designs. This, my lords, is to be one of the set-offs against all the crimes, against the multiplied frauds, cruelties, and oppressions, all the corrupt practices, prevarications, and swindlings, that we have alleged against him. My lords, it would be an endless undertaking, and such as at this hour of the day we, as well as your lordships, are little fitted to engage in, if I were to attempt to search into and unveil all the secret motives, or to expose, as it deserves, the shameless audacity of this man's conduct. None of your lordships can have observed, without astonishment, the selection of his merits, as he audaciously calls them, which has been brought before you. The last of this selection, in particular, looks as if he meant to revile and spit upon the legislature of his country; because we and you thought it fit, and were resolved to publish to all India, that we will not countenance offensive wars; and that you felt this so strongly, as to pass the first act of a kind that was ever made; namely, an act to limit the discretionary power of government in making war solely; and because you have done this solely, and upon no other account, and for no other reason under heaven, than the abuse which that man at your bar has made of it, and for which abuse he now presumes to take merit to himself. I will read this part of the act to your lordships. [Mr. Burke here read 24th Geo. 3, cap. 24, sect. 34.] "And whereas to pursue schemes of conquest and extension of dominion in India are measures repugnant to the wish, the honor, and policy of the nation; Be it therefore further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That it shall not be lawful for the governor-general and council of Fort William aforesaid, without the express command and authority of the said court of directors, or of the secret committee of the said court of directors, in any case, (except where hostilities have actually been commenced, or preparations actually made for the commencement of hostilities against the British nation in India, or against some of the princes or states dependent thereon, on whose territories the said united company shall be at such time engaged by any subsisting treaty to defend or guaranty,) either to declare war or commence hostilities, or enter into any treaty for making war, against any of the country princes or states in India, or any treaty for guarantying the possessions of any country princes or states; and that in such case it shall not be lawful for the said governor-general and council to declare war, or commence hostilities, or enter into treaty for making war, against other prince or state than such as shall be actually committing hostilities or making preparations as aforesaid, or to make such treaty for guarantying the possessions of any prince or state, but upon the consideration of such prince or state actually engaging to assist the company against such hostilities com |