r-General thirty-six thousand rupees
annually, and to his banian, Cantoo Baboo, four thousand more. The
complainant offers to pay to the Company the forty thousand rupees which
were corruptly paid to these gentlemen, and to content himself with the
allowance of thirty-two thousand. Mr. Hastings was, if on any occasion
of his life, strongly called upon to bring this matter to the most
distinct issue; and Mr. Barwell, who supported his administration, and
as such ought to have been tender for his honor, was bound to help him
to get to the bottom of it, if his enemies should be ungenerous enough
to countenance such an accusation, without permitting it to be detected
and exposed. But the course they held was directly contrary. They began
by an objection to receive the complaint, in which they obstinately
persevered as far as their power went. Mr. Barwell was of opinion that
the Company's instructions to inquire into peculation were intended for
the public interests,--that it could not forward the public interests to
enter into these inquiries,--and that "he never would be a channel of
aspersing any character, while it cannot conduce to the good of
government." Here was a new mode of reasoning found out by Mr. Barwell,
which might subject all inquiry into peculation to the discretion of
the very persons charged with it. By that reasoning all orders of his
superiors were at his mercy; and he actually undertook to set aside
those commands which by an express act of Parliament he was bound to
obey, on his opinion of what would or would not conduce to the good of
government. On his principles, he either totally annihilates the
authority of the act of Parliament, or he entertains so extravagant a
supposition as that the Court of Directors possessed a more absolute
authority, when their orders were not intended for the public good, than
when they were.

General Clavering was of a different opinion. He thought "he should be
wanting to the legislature, and to the Court of Directors, if he was not
to receive the complaints of the inhabitants, when properly
authenticated, and to prefer them to the board for investigation, as the
only means by which these grievances can be redressed, and the Company
informed of the conduct of their servants."

To these sentiments Colonel Monson and Mr. Francis adhered. Mr. Hastings
thought it more safe, on principles similar to those assumed by Mr.
Barwell, to refuse to hear the charge; but he reserve