r. Hastings has not only fully admitted, but
has himself proved in the clearest manner to your Lordships. The first
was by taking away that _wicked rabble_, the British troops, represented
by Mr. Hastings as totally ruinous to the Nabob's affairs, and
particularly by removing that part of them which was called the new
brigade. Another remedial part of the treaty regarded the British
pensioners. It is in proof before your Lordships that Mr. Hastings
agreed to recall from Oude that body of pensioners, whose conduct there
is described in such strong terms as being ruinous to the Vizier and to
all his affairs. These pensioners Mr. Hastings engaged to recall; but he
never did recall them. We refer your Lordships to the evidence before
you, in proof that these odious pensioners, so distressing to the Nabob,
so ruinous to his affairs, and so disgraceful to our government, were
not only _not_ recalled by Mr. Hastings, but that, both afterwards, and
upon the very day of signing the treaty, (as Mr. Middleton himself tells
you,) upon that very day, I say, he recommended to the Nabob that these
pensioners might remain upon that very establishment which, by a solemn
treaty of his own making and his own dictating, he had agreed to
relieve from this intolerable burden.

Mr. Hastings, your Lordships will remember, had departed from Benares,
frustrated in his designs of extorting 500,000_l._ from the Rajah for
the Company's use. He had ravaged the country, without obtaining any
benefit for his masters: the British soldiers having divided the only
spoil, and nothing remaining for the share of his employers but
disgrace. He was therefore afraid to return without having something of
a lucrative pecuniary nature to exhibit to the Company. Having this
object in view, Oude appears to have first presented itself to his
notice, as a country from which some advantage of a pecuniary kind might
be derived; and accordingly he turned in his head a vast variety of
stratagems for effecting his purpose.

The first article that occurs in the treaty of Chunar is a power given
to the Nabob to resume all the jaghires not guarantied by the Company,
and to give pensions to all those persons who should be removed from
their jaghires.

Now the first thing which would naturally occur to a man, who was going
to raise a revenue through the intervention of the prince of the
country, would be to recommend to that prince a better economy in his
affairs, and a rat