This storm arose at the bidding of one of the ex-governor’s private friends. On the first day of the meeting of parliament, Major John Scott, whom Hastings had indiscreetly chosen to be his champion in parliament, and his advocate by the press, stood up in the house of commons, and demanded of Burke, whether he intended to produce his charges against the late Governor-general of India. It is probable that neither Burke nor his friends would have troubled their heads any more about the matter, but being thus braved, he could do no other than accept the challenge, and his whole party were bound to give him their support. Accordingly, on the 17th of February, Burke commenced operations, by making a call for papers and correspondence deposited in the India house. As a notion had got abroad that the king, his court, and his ministers were all devoted to Hastings, Burke opened his speech by desiring that two of the resolutions which had been moved and carried in the month of May, 1782, by Mr. Dundas, and which contained an unmitigated censure on the conduct of Hastings, should be read. This being done, Burke expressed his deep regret that the solemn and important business of the day had not been brought forward, in the plenitude and weight of efficiency, by the original mover of these resolutions. The task, he said, would better have become ministers, as the authors of those extreme resolutions against the governor-general, and that it would particularly become Dundas, who had now all the powers and resources necessary for a complete examination, as an influential member of the board of control. Burke then uttered a terrible philippic against men whose notions of right and wrong varied according to circumstances, and depended on their being out of, or in office—men who could find every thing wrong in India in 1782, when they wanted places, but who would make no attempt to punish or correct those whom they then condemned, in 1784, when they had obtained what they wanted. Acting under their sanction, however, he asserted a claim to their protection, and after giving a detailed historical account of parliamentary proceedings with regard to British India, he remarked that there were three species of inquisition which might be adopted against a state culprit; the house might order a prosecution by the attorney-general; or it might proceed by a bill of pains and penalties; or it might act upon the ancient and constitutional mode of impeachment. As the attorney-general was evidently unfriendly to the prosecution, and as he considered that to proceed by a bill of pains and penalties would be unjust towards the accused, inasmuch as it would compel him to anticipate his defence, and impose on the house the twofold character of accuser and judge, he would advise the house to proceed by impeachment, being careful at the same time to do so with all possible caution and prudence. The first-step in such a proceeding was, he said, a general review of the evidence, in order that they might determine whether the person charged, ought to be impeached or not. To this end he proposed that the house should resolve itself into a committee, and that such papers as were necessary for substantiating the guilt of Mr. Hastings, if he was guilty, should be laid before that committee. Then, he said, if the charges should appear to be what he believed them to be, charges of the blackest nature, and supported by competent evidence, the house might proceed with confidence and dignity to the bar of the lords. Burke concluded by justifying his motives, in taking on himself the duties of a public accuser, and by expressing his conviction that Hastings had been guilty of gross corruption, and that his administration had been marked by violence, oppression, and cruelty.
In reply, Dundas acknowledged that he had suggested and moved the resolutions which had been read; and that he entertained the same sentiments respecting Hastings now, as he did when he moved them in the house; but these resolutions, he said, only went to recall, and not to impeach him. Yet, though he thus virtually condemned Hastings in the opening of his speech, before he concluded he applauded his administration. The more, he said, he examined the conduct of the late governor-general, the more difficult he found it to fix any criminal intention, or to separate it from the conduct of the directors at home, who had expressly commanded or urged him on in so many particulars. Mutual recrimination between Fox and Pitt followed this speech of Dundas, in which the deadly sin of the coalition was used with great effect. The papers which Burke called for, however, were not opposed until the following day, when he asked for those relating to Oude, in the latter part of the administration, of the accused governor-general, the part which ministers maintained was without spot, and blameless. Pitt said that this would be producing new and endless matter, and that the inquiry for the present ought to be confined to the period embraced in the reports of 1781. Major Scott, however, said that the Oude papers would establish the reputation of Hastings, and that they ought to be produced; whence the motion was carried. Subsequently motions were made for papers relating to the Mahratta peace, to the negociations which Hastings had carried on at Lucknow with the son of the Great Mogul, and to the mission of Major Brown to Delhi. These papers were all refused, and Burke having got all he could, on the 3rd of April, proposed calling to the bar some of the gentlemen who had been ordered to attend as witnesses. In this he was opposed by all the crown lawyers, who represented that he ought to produce his charges first, and that no proofs ought to be admitted, except such as were applicable to the charges; a mode of proceeding adopted in the courts of law, and which, they contended, ought to regulate the proceedings of the house of commons. Burke and his friends argued, in reply, that the house had already-sanctioned a different mode of proceeding, by gran ting the power of taking evidence, by forming itself into a committee, to receive evidence, and by summoning the witnesses who were in attendance. The lawyers, however, carried their point, and Burke was compelled to bring forward specific charges against the accused. On the 4th of April, therefore, Burke rose to charge Warren Hastings, Esq., late Governor-general of Bengal, with high crimes and misdemeanors in the execution of his office. On this occasion he laid on the table nine distinct articles of accusation, and in the course of the following week, he added thirteen others to the list. The principal charges related to the affairs of Benares; the Rohilla war; the various transactions in Oude; the Mahratta war, and the Mahratta peace; the depriving the Mogul of Corah and Allahabad; the hard treatment of Mohammed Reza Khan; the death of Nuncomar, who had been tried and executed for forgery; the treatment of Fyzoola Khan, the Rohilla chief; disobedience of orders; extravagant expenditure; the enriching of dependents and favourites; and the acceptance of presents, or bribes, by the governor-general himself. Before the whole of these articles were laid on the table, Hastings had petitioned the house to be heard at its bar, and to be allowed a copy of the several charges. These requests were opposed by opposition, but were granted; and on the 1st of May Hastings came to the house to make his defence. He was no orator, and having been supplied with copies of the articles, he brought with him a written defence, which he was allowed to read like a dry sermon. In it, he first referred to the vote of thanks which he had received from the court of directors, his employers, expressing astonishment that any one else should venture to prefer accusations against him. After this, he took a general view of the accusations, and began to read answers, separately to each of the charges. His defence occupied two or three days in the reading, and when it was closed, Hastings requested that it should be laid on the table, and printed for the use of the members, which was ordered. The examination of witnesses now took place, which lasted three weeks; and when all had been examined, on the 1st of June, Burke brought forward the first charge, that of the Rohilla war. Burke commenced his speech by a solemn invocation to British justice, and disclaiming any personal motive or private malevolence. After this he drew a vivid, but overwrought picture of the character and condition of the Rohillas, both before and after the invasion of their territories, by the troops of the Nabob of Oude and the company. This question was debated two nights, and when a division took place, Burke’s motion, declaring that there was ground for charging Warren Hastings with high crimes and misdemeanors, on the matter of the Rohilla war was negatived by a majority of one hundred and nineteen, to sixty-seven. The friends of Hastings hailed this result on the first charge as a triumph; expecting that the next would undergo a like defeat, and that then, Burke would give up the prosecution in despair. But the prospects of the late governor-general were soon overclouded. The second charge was brought forward by Fox on the 13th of June, which charge related to the treatment of Cheyte Sing, Zemindar of Benares. On the previous occasion, Pitt had given a silent vote in favour of Hastings, and it was anticipated that he would act in the same maimer on the present. Popular opinion, however, was with Burke, and the minister seems to have had an idea that he should incur popular odium, if he persevered in crushing all his charges. After Fox, and Francis, the old enemy of Hastings, had spoken, therefore, he rose to state his views on the subject. In his speech, Burke, Fox, and Francis, all came in for a share of his reprobation; he accusing the two former of oratorical exaggeration and party misrepresentation, and the latter, with whom Hastings had fought a duel before their return to England, in which, Francis was dangerously wounded, of dishonesty and malignancy. This would seem to have indicated that Pitt would still take the side of Hastings, and the more so, because in the opening of his speech Pitt had declared that the late governor-general was justified in calling on Cheyte Sing for aid, both in money and men; that he was equally justified in fining him for his contumacy; and that his whole conduct during the insurrection at Benares called for the highest admiration and praise. So far, all was well; but he went on to say, that he thought the fines imposed were too great in amount, and that the conduct of Hastings had been too severe; and he concluded by asserting broadly, that the fine imposed on Cheyte Sing was exorbitant, unjust, and tyrannical, and that, therefore, he should agree to the motion before the house; although he did not thence consider himself pledged to a final vote of impeachment. Not one on the treasury-benches knew when Pitt commenced, how he would vote, or what sentiments he would deliver, but they had fully expected that he would put his negative upon the motion, and were prepared to follow the same course. Mur-murings and whisperings were heard in some parts of the ministerial benches, and Mr. William Grenville, his bosom friend, Arden, the attorney-general, and Lord Mulgrave, ventured openly to differ from him; stating, that they could not, as honest men, think Hastings deserving of impeachment on this charge, or concur in the vote. Other members, however, were more pliant than these, and were prepared “to follow the great bell-wether,” lead he where he might, through flowery meads, or thickets and brakes. Even the amiable Wilberforce, who had hitherto thought that the conduct of Hastings was in part justifiable, and in part excusable; and Dundas, who had recently asserted that it was highly meritorious, and deserving the thanks of the court of Directors, now voted against him; and the motion was carried by one hundred and nineteen against seventy-nine. At this point, the prosecution of Hastings was stopped by the prorogation of parliament; it being found impracticable to go through the rest of the charges during the session.
As might be expected, the motives of the accuser of Hastings were canvassed by a discerning public; some condemning them as unjust, and others applauding them as immaculate. There is every reason to believe, however, that though Burke over-coloured his picture of the guilt of the arraigned governor-general, yet his motives were honest and pure. From the stories related of him, Burke had been led to believe that Hastings was little better than an incarnate fiend; and he seemed to fancy that he had a mission from heaven to redress the wrongs, and prevent the miseries of a large, but weak and oppressed portion of his fellow-creatures. The motives of Pitt, also, in voting against Hastings, on the second charge, were brought before the bar of the public. By the friends of the late governor-general, both in and out of the house, he was accused of a jealousy and fear of him, although it does not appear what he had to fear, or of what he had to be jealous, except it was of his official prerogative: Thurlow, the advocate of Hastings, having indiscreetly stated that he might have a peerage without the minister’s interference. But it would rather seem that Pitt was influenced in his conduct by apprehensions, that, if he supported Hastings indiscriminately, he should forfeit the popular favour, the general voice being against the accused. Nor did his majesty escape public censure on this occasion. While the Rohilla charge was pending, a packet arrived from India, which brought Hastings a diamond of great size and value, as a present from the Nizam of the Decean, who had acted a neutral part during the last war in the Carnatic, but who, as the company were victorious, was now anxious for British friendship. This diamond was presented to the king at a levee on the 14th of June, which was the very day after the decision of the house on the charge relative to the imposition of the fine on Cheyte Sing. This presentation was made at an unlucky moment, for it was interpreted by the public as a bribe to check the “impending vote.” Two nights after, when Major Scott called the attention of the house to some alarming intelligence which had been reported concerning Benares, and to some suspicious preparations which the French were making in the Mauritius, the witty Sheridan said that the only extraordinary news that had come to his ears, was the arrival of an extraordinary large diamond, which diamond was said to have been presented to his majesty at an extraordinary period; and, which was also extraordinary, presented by an individual charged, by that house with high crimes and misdemeanors! The story of the diamond soon got abroad, and it formed the subject not only of public conversation, but of songs, pamphlets, epigrams, and caricatures. In one caricature, the king was represented with crown and sceptre huddled in a wheelbarrow, and Hastings wheeling him about, with a label from his mouth, saying, “What a man buys he may sell;” while in another the king was depicted on his knees, with his mouth wide open, and Hastings pitching diamonds into it. It seems to have been very generally believed at the time that there was no end to the diamonds possessed by Hastings, and that his majesty showed him favour for what he could obtain. And this belief was further strengthened by the fact that the queen, notwithstanding her known severity towards ladies whose virtue would not bear the test of examination, had yet received Mrs. Hastings—who had lived with the late governor-general before her marriage with him, and had been divorced from her former husband in consequence—at court most graciously. To account for this phenomenon, people fancied that the wife or the accused was a “congeries of diamonds and jewels:” and in truth Queen Charlotte did receive from her hands some few diamonds, and a splendid ivory bedstead, which seemed to justify their explanation of her conduct. Yet, after all, Hastings was no Sindbad: he did not roll in diamonds. On his return to England he did not bring home with him more than £130,000 sterling; a sum much less than the fortunes which had been made by other members of the council, and even by the patriotic Francis himself! Moreover, it is said, that he would not have had what he did in reality possess, had his wife not accepted presents which he refused, and saved money unknown to him, which he would have spent in the public service, or in support of his almost regal establishment.
ATTEMPT ON THE KING’S LIFE.
On the 2nd of August, an incident occurred which for a short time engrossed the attention of the public. As the king was alighting from his chariot at the garden-entrance of St. James’s palace, a decently dressed woman presented a paper to his majesty, and while he was in the act of receiving it, she struck at his breast with a knife. The king avoided the blow by drawing back, and as she was preparing to make a second thrust one of the yeomen arrested her, and wrenched the weapon from her hand. His majesty on recovering from his alarm, humanely remarked:—“I am not injured; take care of the poor woman, and do not hurt her.” On examination before the privy-council, it immediately appeared that she was insane. Being asked where she had lately resided, she answered in a frantic manner that “she had been all abroad since the matter of the crown broke out;” and when interrogated, What matter? she replied, “that the crown was hers, and that if she had not her right, England would be deluged in blood for a thousand generations.” The poor woman’s name was Margaret Nicholson, and ten days before she had presented a petition which was full of incoherent nonsense; and from which, if it had been read, the person of the petitioner would probably have been secured. The idea of prosecution was of course abandoned, and she was consigned to Bethlehem Hospital for life. But though it was evident that the woman was a maniac, her attempt led to a display of the affection which the nation entertained towards his majesty. A public thanksgiving was ordered, and addresses of congratulation flowed in from all parts of the kingdom. His majesty felt this so deeply that he distributed the honour of knighthood, on the presentation of these addresses, with such a liberal hand, as to give rise to the bye-word of a “A knight of Peg Nicholson’s order!”
GEORGE III. 1786-1787
TREATIES WITH FRANCE AND SPAIN.
In the month of September his majesty appointed a new committee of council, for the consideration of all matters relating to trade and plantations, of which board Mr. Charles Jenkinson, now created Lord Hawkesbury, was appointed president. Under the auspices of this commission, a treaty of commerce was signed between the courts of England and France, on the 29 th of September, on the principle of admitting the commodities of each country to be freely exported and imported at a low ad valorem duty. The chief negociator of this treaty was Mr. Eden, afterwards Baron Auckland, who, under the coalition administration, had filled the office of vice-treasurer of Ireland. This was the first memorable defection from that inauspicious alliance, and it was considered the more so because Mr. Eden was considered its original projector.