and that land, diftinguished above most others, by the chearful face of paternal government and protected labour, the chofen feat of cultivation and plenty, is now almost throughout dreary defert, covered with rushes and briars, and jungles full of wild beafts.

In Bengal, Seraja Dowlah was fold to Mir Jaffier; Mir Jaffier was fold to Mir Coffim; and Mir Coffim was fold to Mir Jaffier again. The fucceffion to Mir Jaffier was fold to his eldest fon;-another fon of Mir Jaffier, Mobarech ul Dowlah, was fold to his step-mother-The Mahratta empire was fold to Ragoba; and Ragoba was fold and delivered to the Peifhwa of the Mahrattas. Both Ragoba and the Peifhwa of the Mahrattas were offered to fale to the Rajah of Berar. Scindia, the chief of Malva, was offered to fale to the fame Rajah; and the Subah of the Decan was fold to the great trader Mahomet Ali, Nabob of Arcot. To the fame Nabob of Arcot they fold Hyder Ali, and the kingdom of Myfore. To Mahomet Ali they fold the kingdom of Tanjore. To the fame Mahomet Ali they fold, at least, twelve fovereign Princes called the Polygars. But to keep things even, the territory of Tinnivelly, belonging to their Nabob, they would have fold to the Dutch; and, to conclude the account of fales, their great customer, the Nabob of Arcot himself, and his lawful fucceffion, has been fold to his fecond fon, Amir ul Omrah, whofe character, views, and conduct, are in the accounts upon your table. It remains with you, whether they fhall finally perfect this laft bargain.

All these bargains and fales were regularly attended with the waste and havock of the country, always by the buyer, and fometimes by the object of the fale. This was explained to you by the honourable mover, when he ftated the mode of paying debts due from the country powers to the Company.An honourable gentleman, who is not now in his place, objected to his jumping near two thoufand miles for an example. But the southern example is perfectly applicable to the northern

4

claim, as the northern is to the fouthern; for, throughout the whole space of these two thousand miles, take your stand where you will, the proceeding is perfectly uniform, and what is done in one part will apply exactly to the other.

My fecond affertion is, that the Company never has made a treaty which they have not broken. This pofition is fo connected with that of the fales of provinces and kingdoms, with the negociation of univerfal distraction in every part of India, that a very minute detail may well be fpared on this point. It has not yet been contended, by any enemy to the reform, that they have obferved any public agreement. When I hear that they have done so, in any one instance, (which hitherto, I confefs, I never heard alledged) I fhall speak to the particular treaty. The Governor General has even amused himself and the Court of Directors in a very fingular letter to that Board, in which he admits he has not been very delicate with regard to public faith; and he goes fo far as to state a regular estimate of the fums which the Company would have loft, or never acquired, if the rigid ideas of public faith entertained by his colleagues had been obferved. The learned gentleman over-against me (Mr. Dundas, Lord Advocate of Scotland) has, indeed, faved me much trouble. On a former occafion, he obtained no small credit, for the clear and forcible manner in which he stated what we have not forgot, and I hope he has not forgot, that universal systematic breach of treaties which had made the British faith proverbial in the Eaft.

It only remains, Sir, for me juft to recapitulate fome heads. The treaty with the Mogul, by which we stipulated to pay him 260,000l. annually, was broken. This treaty they have broken, and not paid him a fhilling. They broke their treaty with him, in which they ftipulated to pay 400,000l. a year to the Soubah of Bengal. They agreed with the Mogul, for fervices admitted to have been performed, to pay Nudjif Cawn a penfion. They broke this article, with the reft, and ftopped

alfo this small penfion. They broke their treaties with the Nizam, and with Hyder Ali. As to the Mahrattas, they had fo many cross treaties with the States General of that nation, and with each of their chiefs, that it was notorious, that no one of these agreements could be kept without groffly violating the reft. It was obferved, that if the terms of these several treaties had been kept, two British armies would, at one and the fame time, have met in the field to cut each other's throats. The wars which defolate India, originated from a moft atrocious violation of public faith on our part. In the midft of profound peace, the Company's troops invaded the Mahratta territories, and furprifed the island and fortrefs of Salfette. The Mahrattas, nevertheless, yielded to a treaty of peace, by which folid advantages were procured to the Company. Again the Company invaded the Mahratta dominions. The disaster that enfued gave occafion to a new treaty. The whole army of the Company was obliged, in effect, to furrender to this injured, betrayed, and infulted people. Juftly irritated, however, as they were, the terms which they prefcribed were reasonable and moderate; and their treatment of their captive invaders, of the most distinguished humanity. But the humanity of the Mahrattas was of no power whatsoever to prevail on the Company to attend to the observance of the terms dictated by their moderation. The war was renewed with greater vigour than ever; and fuch was their infatiableluft of plunder, that they never would have given ear to any tearms of peace, if Hyder Ali had not broke through the Gauts, and, rushing like a torrent into the Carnatic, fwept away every thing in his career. This was in confequence of that confederacy, which, by a fort of miracle, united the most difcordant powers for our deftruction, as a nation in which no other could put any truft, and who were the declared enemies of the human fpecies.

It is very remarkable, that the late controverfy between the feveral prefidencies, and between them and the Court of

Directors

Directors, with relation to these wars and treaties, has not been, which of the parties might be defended for his fhare in them; but on which of the parties the guilt of all this load of perfidy fhould be fixed. But I am content to admit all these proceedings to be perfectly regular, to be full of honour and good faith; and wish to fix your attention folely to that fingle tranfaction which the advocates of this fyftem select for fo tranfcendent a merit as to cancel the guilt of all the reft of their proceedings; I mean the late treaties with the Mahrattas.... [Here the merits of that treaty were entered into at large; and it was fhewn, that all the allies of the Company were abandoned, and even furrendered, under loofe articles, to the discretion of the enemy; that the treaty was ratified in the camp of one of the Mahratta chiefs, whilst he was battering a castle given as a fecurity to an ally included in that treaty; and, on the authority of a private letter, faid, that Mr. Haftings refused to receive the agent of this ally complaining of this breach of faith].... In this manner, the Company has acted with their allies in the Mahratta war. But they did not reft here: the Mahrattas were fearful, left the perfons delivered to them by that treaty fhould attempt to efcape into the British territories, and thus might elude the punishment intended for them, and, by reclaiming the treaty, might ftir up new disturbances. To prevent this, they defired an article to be inferted in the fupplemental treaty, to which they had the ready confent of Mr. Haftings and the rest of the Company's reprefentatives in Bengal. It was this, "That the English and Mahratta governments mutually agree not to afford refuge to any chiefs, merchants, or other perfons, flying for protection to the territories of the other." This was readily affented to, and affented to without any exception whatever, in favour of our furrendered allies. On their part, a reciprocity was ftipulated, which was not unnatural for a government like the Company's to afk; a government, confcious

that

that many subjects had been, and would in future, be driven to fly from its jurifdiction.

To complete the system of pacific intention and public faith, which predominate in these treaties, Mr. Haftings fairly refolved to put all peace, except on the terms of abfolute conqueft, wholly out of his own power. For, by an article in this fecond treaty with Scindia, he binds the Company not to make any peace with Tippoo Saib, without the confent of the Peishwa of the Mahrattas, and binds Scindia to him by a reciprocal engagement. The treaty between France and England obliges us mutually to withdraw our forces, if our allies in India do not accede to the peace within four months; Mr. Haftings' treaty obliges us to continue the war as long as the Peifhwa thinks fit. We are now in that happy fituation, that the breach of the treaty with France, or the violation of that with the Mahrattas, is inevitable; and we have only to take our choice.

My third affertion, relative to the abufe made of the right of war and peace, is, that there are none who have ever confided in us who have not been utterly ruined. The examples I have given of Ragonaut Row of Guick war, of the Ranah of Gohud, are recent. There is proof more than enough in the condition of the Mogul; in the flavery and indigence of the Nabob of Oud; the exile of the Rajah of Benares; the beggary of the Nabob of Bengal; the undone and captive condition of the Rajah and kingdom of Tanjore; the destruction of the Polygars; and lastly, in the deftruction of the Nabob of Arcot himself, who, when his dominions were invaded, was found entirely destitute of troops, provisions, stores, and (as he afferts) of money, being a million in debt to the Company, and four millions to others: the many millions which he had extorted from so many extirpated Princes, and their defolated countries, having (as he has frequently hinted) been expended for the ground rent of his manfion houfe in an ally in the suburbs of Madras. Compare the condition of all these Princes.