ly assured of the corruptions of his superior,--when
he knows it to be laid down as a principle by the Governor-General, that
no corruption is to be inquired into, and that, if it be not expressly
laid down, yet that his conduct is such as to make it the same as if he
had actually so laid it down,--then, I say, every part of the service is
instantly and totally corrupted.

* * * * *

I shall next refer your Lordships to the article of contracts. Five
contracts have been laid before you, the extravagant and corrupt profits
of which have been proved to amount to 500,000_l._ We have shown you, by
the strongest presumptive evidence, that these contracts were given for
the purpose of corrupting the Company's servants in India, and of
corrupting the Company itself in England. You will recollect that
40,000_l._ was given in one morning for a contract which the contractor
was never to execute: I speak of Mr. Sulivan's contract. You will also
recollect that he was the son of the principal person in the Indian
direction, and who, in or out of office, was known to govern it, and to
be supported by the whole Indian interest of Mr. Hastings. You have seen
the corruption of Sir Eyre Coote, in giving to Mr. Croftes the bullock
contract. You have seen the bullock contracts stated to Mr. Hastings's
face, and not denied, to have been made for concealing a number of
corrupt interests. You have seen Mr. Auriol's contract, given to the
secretary of the Company by Mr. Hastings in order that he might have the
whole records and registers of the Company under his control. You have
seen that the contract and commission for the purchase of stores and
provisions, an enormous job, was given to Mr. Belli, an obscure man, for
whom Mr. Hastings offers himself as security, under circumstances that
went to prove that Mr. Belli held this commission for Mr. Hastings.
These, my Lords, are things that cannot be slurred over. The
Governor-General is corrupt; he corrupts all about him; he does it upon
system; he will make no inquiry.

My Lords, I have stated the amount of the sums which he has squandered
away in these contracts; but you will observe that we have brought
forward but five of them. Good God! when you consider the magnitude and
multiplicity of the Company's dealings, judge you what must be the
enormous mass of that corruption of which he has been the cause, and in
the profits of which he has partaken. When your Lo