d to vote with
Sheridan. The conduct of Hastings in authorising the resumption of the
jaghires, and seizure of the treasures of the princesses was, in his
opinion, unjustifiable; and the crime was aggravated by making the son
the instrument of robbing his mother, and by refusing to revise his
proceedings, in obedience to the orders of the directors. Pitt's
explicit declarations made conviction certain, and though some members
of administration looked blank and disappointed, upon a division
Sheridan's proposition was carried by one hundred and seventy-five
against sixty-eight.

Some days were again employed in the examination of witnesses touching
affairs with the Nabob of Ferruckabad; after which, on the 2nd of
March, this fourth charge was opened by Mr. Pelham. In it Hastings was
accused of withdrawing his protection from that prince, in consequence
of having received a present of L100,000 from the Vizier of Oude; and
of being the primary cause of that cruel oppression, which the nabob
for many years had suffered from the vizier, under whom he held his
dominion. The debate on this subject was very dry, but it was rendered
remarkable by a new advocate of the accused, in the person of the
veteran sailor, Admiral Hood, who had maintained the honour of the
British flag in the late war. Hood argued that great allowance ought to
be made for persons in high and responsible situations; they frequently
finding themselves compelled to act in a manner not strictly consonant
with the rules of equity and justice. With honest simplicity Hood
illustrated his argument by his own delinquency. When in the West
Indies, he said, his fleet was in extreme distress for want of bread,
and he obtained a supply by resorting to means which the law did not
authorize. "Those acts," he continued, "were indispensable to the
preservation of my ships and my men; yet, if the government had not
stood between me and legal prosecutions, I should in all probability
have been condemned to linger out the remainder of my days in prison."
Hood said that he considered the eminent services and merits of Hastings
outweighed his errors and delinquencies, and expressed his fears lest
any censure or punishment of him, might operate as a check on the
exertions of future governors and commanders. He added:--"I am an old
man: at my time of life I can entertain no expectation of being again
employed on active foreign service; but I speak for those who come after
me. My