things stood at a dead-lock; the personal relationships of
Hastings and Impey were strained almost to severance. In this crisis
Hastings thought of and carried out a compromise. He offered to Impey
the presidency of the Company's chief civil court. Impey accepted the
offer, and, though he has been severely censured for what has been
called the taking of a bribe, the compromise proved to be the best way
out of the difficulty that had arisen. Impey, who has been happily
called the first of Indian codifiers, showed himself to be an excellent
head for the provincial courts that were thus put under his control.
The provincial courts had been hitherto more of a curse than a
blessing; under Impey's guidance they were brought into harmony with
the Supreme Court. Impey was not long suffered to remain in his new
office. Two years after his acceptance of the post he was removed from
it by order of the Court of Directors. But the work he had done in
that short time was good work and left abiding traces. Hastings's plan
had borne fruit in Impey's "Code," and afterwards in the passing of an
Act of Parliament clearly defining the jurisdiction and the powers of
the Supreme Court.

[Sidenote: 1781--Hastings and the Rajah of Benares]

One of the latest acts of Warren Hastings's administration was also one
of the acts that most provoked the indignation and the resentment of
those who in England were watching with hostile eyes the progress of
his career. {269} Chait Singh, the Rajah of Benares, held authority at
first under the ruler of Oude, and afterwards under the government of
the East India Company, to whom the sovereign of Oude had transferred
it. The Rajah of Benares paid a certain tribute to the Company. The
heavy necessities of the war compelled Hastings to call upon the Rajah
for a larger sum. The step was not unusual. In time of war a vassal
of the Company might very well expect to be called upon for an
increased levy. But the Rajah of Benares was very unwilling to give
this proof of his devotion to the Company. He demurred, temporized,
promised aid of men and arms, which was never rendered. Hastings seems
to have been convinced, first of all, that the Rajah was possessed of
enormous wealth, and could well afford to pay heavily for the privilege
of being ruled over by the Company, and in the second place that it was
necessary for the power and influence of the Company to force the
almost mutinous Rajah to his kn