distress and calamity, and of the desolation of a
thousand of the villages formerly flourishing in it, is no less a person
than a prince of a neighboring country, a person of whom you have often
heard, and to whom the cause of humanity is much indebted, namely,
Fyzoola Khan,--a prince whose country the English Resident, travelling
through, declares to be cultivated like a garden. That this was the
state of the Rohilla country is owing to its having very fortunately
been one of those that escaped the dominion of Mr. Hastings.

We will now read to your Lordships a letter from Sir Eyre Coote to the
board at Calcutta, dated the 11th of September, 1779.

"Honorable Sir and Sirs,--The day before yesterday I encamped near
Allahabad, where the Vizier did me the honor of a visit; and
yesterday morning, in my way hither, I returned it, and was
received by his Excellency with every mark of respect and
distinction. This morning he called here, and we had some general
conversation, which principally turned upon the subject of his
attachment to the English, and his readiness to show the sincerity
of it upon all occasions. It is to be wished we had employed the
influence which such favorable sentiments must have given us more
to the benefit of the country and ourselves; but I fear the
distresses which evidently appear on the face of the one, and the
failure of the revenues to the other, are not to be wholly ascribed
to the Vizier's mismanagement."

This is the testimony of Mr. Hastings's own pensioner, Sir Eyre Coote,
respecting the known state of the country during the time of this
horrible usurpation, which Sir Eyre Coote mentions under the soft name
of our _influence_. But there could be but one voice upon the subject,
and that your Lordships shall now hear from Mr. Hastings himself. We
refer your Lordships to the Minute of the Governor-General's
Consultation, Fort William, 21st May, 1781: he is here giving his
reasons for going into the upper provinces.

"The province of Oude having fallen into a state of great disorder
and confusion, its resources being in an extraordinary degree
diminished, and the Nabob Asoph ul Dowlah having earnestly
entreated the presence of the Governor-General, and declared, that,
unless some effectual measures are taken for his relief, he must be
under the necessity of leaving his country, and coming down to