a person may be pursued by the cries of a whole people,--that
documents the most authentic and satisfactory, but deficient in
technical form, may be produced against him,--in short, that he may be
guilty of the most enormous crimes,--and yet that legal proofs may be
wanting. This shows you how seriously you ought to consider, before you
reject any proof upon the idea that it is not technical legal proof. To
this assertion of Mr. Hastings I oppose, however, the opinion of a
gentleman who sits near his side, Mr. Sumner, which is much more
probable.

Mr. Hastings says, that the power of the Council is not effectual
against the inferior servants, that [it?] is too weak to coerce them.
With much more truth Mr. Sumner has said, in his minute, you might
easily coerce the inferior servants, but that the dread of falling upon
persons in high stations discourages and puts an end to complaint. I
quote the recorded authority of the gentleman near him, as being of
great weight in the affairs of the Company, to prove what is infinitely
more probable, the falsehood of Mr. Hastings's assertion, that an
inferior servant cannot be coerced, and that they must riot with
impunity in the spoils of the people.

But we will go to a much more serious part of the business. After
desiring arbitrary power in this letter, he desires a perpetuation of
it. And here he has given you a description of a bad Governor, to which
I must call your attention, as your Lordships will find it, in every
part of his proceeding, to be exactly applicable to himself and to his
own government.

"The first command of a state so extensive as that of Bengal is not
without opportunities of private emoluments; and although the
allowance which your bounty has liberally provided for your
servants may be reasonably expected to fix the bounds of their
desires, yet you will find it extremely difficult to restrain men
from profiting by other means, who look upon their appointment as
the measure of a day, and who, from the uncertainty of their
condition, see no room for any acquisition but of wealth, since
reputation and the consequences which follow the successful conduct
of great affairs are only to be attained in a course of years.
Under such circumstances, however rigid your orders may be, or
however supported, I am afraid that in most instances they will
produce no other fruits than either avowed disobedienc