Mr. Fox. Mr. Dempfter. odium which clamour could throw upon it. The bill had paffed the Houfe with little debate or oppofition, but it was rejected by the Lords without a word of argument in debate against it. It was a strange government, he thought, which had not the power of making one branch of the Legislature fupport the other; but the fact was, that a great lawyer happened to be ill at the time the bill was fent to the other House, and it was there thrown out, after a single flaming fpeech had been delivered against it. In his mind, Government would have acted wifely, had they brought in that bill again, instead of the prefent bill, and let it have undergone a fair difcuffion, and been rejected, if it was to be rejected, after it had been objected by rational argument. The present bill would not anfwer the end propofed; it would open a door to daily abufe, and the confequence would be, that infuring in the lottery would prevail to a greater degree than ever. He should vote for omitting the clause, to which the right honourable gentleman fo properly objected, because the idea of infuring whole tickets leading to no mischief was abfurd; any fix or feven could purchase a ticket, and infure it over and over, as had been ftated the other day; or a perfon, willing to gamble, by infuring, could borrow a ticket of any lottery office keeper, fhew it to the infuring officekeeper, and tell him it was his property, and then insure it without the poffibility of any perfon being able to come at the facts, or recover the penalty. Nor was it poffible that the gain of any given number of thousand pounds to the Public could prove an object, compared with the deftruction of the morality of the people. Mr. Fox propofed to defer reading the bill a third time, till the day following, but being rejected, the House divided, Ayes (for letting the claufe ftand part of the bill) 126. -Noes, 97: The House having refolved itfelf into a Committee of the whole Houfe, Mr. St. John in the Chair, on the Fourth Charge against Mr. Haflings, viz. the Refumption of the Jagbires and the Confifcation of the Treafures of the Princeffes of Oude, Mr. Dempfter begged leave, as a preliminary to this important debate, to acquaint the Houfe, that Sir Elijah Impey, having fully and coolly revolved in his mind the nature, fcope, and perfpicuity of his former evidence, and affifted his fresh refearches by the most accurate examination of his papers, difcovered, that the answers which he gave to fome of the queftions put to him, during the course of a preceding evening, were lefs explicit and decifive than he defired to make them them; and, of course, not totally including all which ought to have been fubmitted to a parliamentary confideration; he therefore, earnestly, wifhed to embrace an opportunity of fetting his evidence to rights; and, for that purpose, as well as to fave the time of the Committee, he had written the explanation, which he was defirous of giving upon that paper, that it might be read to the Coinmittee. Mr. Dempfter then read the paper, the general tendency of which was to authenticate the depofitions taken by Sir Elijah at Lucknow, by declaring that the tranflator had been fworn, and had depofed that the translation was authentic and correct. Mr. Francis faid, that the explanation did not ftrike him Mr. Franas being, in all refpects, fatisfactory; nor, indeed, could he cis." discover how it was poffible to put the House into a properly formal poffeffion of the paper which had been just read, unlefs Sir Elijah Impey were called to the bar for the purpose of undergoing another examination. Mr. Chancellor Pitt obferved, that the idea of the honour- Mr. Chanable gentleman coincided with his own; and contended that cellor Pitt. a vivá você statement was indifpenfably requifite. The delivery of this would, furely, confume but little timé; and, therefore, why might not the evidence be called immediately? [Sir Elijah was inquired for, but could not be found.] Mr. Sheridan now rofe; and, during the fpace of five Mr. Sheri hours and forty minutes, commanded the universal attention dan./ and admiration of the Houfe, by an oration of almost unexampled excellence, uniting the moft convincing clofeness and accuracy of argument, with the most luminous precifion and perfpicuity of language; and alternately giving force and energy to truth by folid and fubftantial reafoning; and enlightning the most extenfive and involved subjects with the pureft clearness of logic, and the brighteft fplendour of rhetoric. Every prejudice, every prepoffeffion were gradually overcome by the force of this extraordinary combination of keen, but liberal difcrimination; of brilliant yet argumentative wit. It will be a permanent record of Mr. Sheridan's unrivalled abilities, that, on this trying occafion, which, of all others, had divided not only the House of Commons, but the nation at large into a variety of parties, this memorable fpeech produced almoft univerfal union; with the flight exception of thofe only, who, from perfonal gratitude, and the venial influence of even obfolete attachment, perfevered in filently fupporting what they felt impoffible to defend by argument. It is utterly impoffible to attempt more than an outline of this unprecedented exertion of talents and judgement-We have endeavoured to prepare a faithful miniature of an unequalled original.-Mr. Sheridan commenced his fpeech by obferving, that had it L 2 been been poffible to have received, without a violation of the eftablished rules of Parliament, the paper which the honourable member (Mr. Dempster) had just now read, he fhould willingly have receded from any forms of the House, for the purpose of obtaining new lights and farther illuftration on the important fubject then before them; not, indeed, that, on the prefent occafion, he found himself fo ill prepared, as merely, for this reafon, to be prevented from proceeding to the discharge of his duty; neither, to speak freely, was he inclined to confider any explanatory additions to the evidence of Sir Elijah Impey so much framed to elucidate, as to perplex and contradict. Needless to his prefent purpose was it for him to require Sir Elijah, legally, to recognize what had been read, in his name, by the honourable gentleman. In fact, neither the informality of any fubfifting evidence, nor the adducement of any new explanations from Sir Elijah Impey, could make the flightest impreffion upon the vaft and ftrong body of proof which he fhould now bring forward against Warren Haftings. Yet, if any motive could have fo far operated upon him, as to make him induftrioufly feek for renewed opportunities of queftioning Sir Elijah, it would refult from his fresh and indignant recollection of the low and artful ftratagem of delivering to the members, and others, in this last period of parliamentary inquiry, printed hand-bills of defence, the contents of which bespoke a prefumptuous and empty boast of completely refuting all which, at any time, had, or even could be advanced against Mr. Haftings, on the fubject of the fourth article in the general charge of a right honourable. member (Mr. Burke). But even this was far beneath his notice. The rectitude and the strength of his caufe were not to be prejudiced by fuch pitiful expedients; nor fhould he waste a moment in counteracting measures, which, though infidious, were proportionately frivolous and unavailing. Nor would he take up the time of the Committee with any general arguments to prove, that the fubject of the charge, which it fell to his lot to bring forward, was of great moment and magnitude. The attention which Parliament had paid to the affairs of India, for many feffions paft, the voluminous productions of their Committees on that fubject, the various proceedings in that Houfe respecting it, their own ftrong and pointed refolutions, the repeated recommendation of His Majefty, and their reiterated affurances of paying due regard to thofe recommendations, as well as various acts of the Legislature, were all of them undeniable proofs of the moment and magnitude of the confideration, and incontrovertibly established this plain, broad fact, that Parliament directly acknowledged that the Bri tish name and character had been difhonoured and rendered detefted throughout India, by the malverfation and crimes of the principal fervant of the Eaft-India Company. That fact having been established beyond all queftion by themselves, and by their own acts, there needed no argument, on his part, to induce the Committee to fee the importance of the subject about to be difcuffed upon that day, in a more striking point of view than they themselves had held it up to public obfervation. There were, he knew, perfons without doors who affected to ridicule the idea of profecuting Mr. Haftings, and who not inconfiftently redoubled their exertions, in proportion as the profecution became more ferious, to increase their farcasms upon the fubject, by afferting that Parliament might be more ufefully employed; that there were matters of more immediate moment to engage their attention; that a commercial treaty with France had just been concluded, and that it was an object of a vast and comprehenfive nature, and of itself fufficient to engross their attention." To all this he would oppose these queftions. Was Parliament mifpending its time, by inquiring into the oppreffions practifed on millions of unfortunate persons in India, and endeavouring to bring the daring delinquent, who had been guilty of the moft flagrant acts of enormous tyranny and rapacious peculation, to exemplary and condign punishment? Was it a mifufe of their functions to be diligent in attempting, by the most effectual means, to wipe off the difgrace affixed to the British name. in India, and to rescue the national character from lafting infamy? Surely no man who felt for either the one or the other would think a bufinefs of greater moment or magnitude could occupy his attention, or that the House could with too much steadiness, too ardent a zeal, or too induftrious a perseverance, purfue its object. Their conduct in this refpect, during the course of the preceding year, had done them immortal honour, and proved to all the world, that however degenerate an example of Englishmen fome of the British fubjects had exhibited in India, the people of England collectively, fpeaking and acting by their reprefen tatives, felt, as men should feel on fuch an occafion, that they were anxious to do justice, by redreffing injuries, and punishing offenders, however high their rank, however elevated their station. Their indefatigable exertions in Committees appointed to inquire concerning the affairs of India, their numerous, elaborate and clear Reports, their long and interefting debates, their folemn addreffes to the throne, their rigorous legislative acts, their marked deteftation of that novel and bafe fophifm in the principles of judicial inquiry, (con ftantly ftantly the language of the Governor-General's fervile dependents!) that crimes might be compounded, that the guilt of Mr. Haftings was to be balanced by his fucceffes, that fortunate events were a full and complete set-off against a system of oppreffion, corruption, breach of faith, peculation, and treachery; and finally, their folemn and aweful judgement that, in the cafe of Benares, Mr. Haftings' conduct was a proper object of parliamentary impeachment, had covered them with applaufe, and brought them forward in the face of all the world, as the objects of perpetual admiration. Not lefs unqueftionably just than highly virtuous was the affertion of the Commons of Great Britain, that there were acts which no political neceffity could warrant, and that amidst flagrancies of fuch an inexpiable defcription, was the treatment of Cheit Sing. To ufe the well-founded and emphatic language of a right honourable gentleman (Mr. Pitt) the Committee had difcovered in the adminiftration of Mr. Haf tings, proceedings of strong injuftice, of grinding oppreffion and unprovoked feverity. In this decifion the Committee had, also, vindicated the character of his right honourable friend, (Mr. Burke) from the flanderous tongue of ignorance and perverfion. They had, by their vote on that queftion, declared, that the man who brought the charges was no false accufer; that he was not moved by envy, by malice, nor by any unworthy motives to blacken a fpotlefs name; but that he was the indefatigable, perfevering, and, at length, fuccefsful champion of oppreffed multitudes, against their tyrannical oppreffor. With found juftice, with manly firmnefs, with unfhaken integrity, had his right honourable friend upon all occafions refifted the timid policy of mere remedial acts-even the high opinion of Mr. Haftings' fucceffor, even the admitted worth of Lord Cornwallis character, had been deemed by his right honourable friend, an inadequate atonement to India for the injuries fo heavily inflicted on that devoted country. Animated with the fame zeal, the Committee had, by that memorable vote, given a folemn pledge of their farther intentions. They had audibly faid to India-you fhall no longer be feduced into temporary acquiefcence, by fending out a titled Governor, or a fet of vapouring refolutions-It is not with ftars, and ribbands, and all the badges of regal favour, that we atone to you for paft delinquencies. No-you fhall have the folid confolation of feeing an end to your grievances, by an example of punifhment for thofe that have already taken place.-The House has fet up a beacon, which, while it ferved to guide their own way, would also make their motions more confpicuous to the world which furrounded and beheld them. He had no doubt but in their manly determination, to go through the whole of the |