an.

Your Lordships would imagine that Mr. Hastings would at least ostensibly
have taken some part in endeavoring to bring these corruptions before
the public, or that he would at least have acted with some little
management in his opposition. But, alas! it was not in his power; there
was not one, I think, but I am sure very few, of these general articles
of corruption, in which the most eminent figure in the crowd, the
principal figure as it were in the piece, was not Mr. Hastings himself.
There were a great many others involved; for all departments were
corrupted and vitiated. But you could not open a page in which you did
not see Mr. Hastings, or in which you did not see Cantoo Baboo. Either
the black or white side of Mr. Hastings constantly was visible to the
world in every part of these transactions.

With the other gentlemen, who were visible too, I have at present no
dealing. Mr. Hastings, instead of using any management on that occasion,
instantly set up his power and authority, directly against the majority
of the Council, directly against his colleagues, directly against the
authority of the East India Company and the authority of the act of
Parliament, to put a dead stop to all these inquiries. He broke up the
Council, the moment they attempted to perform this part of their duty.
As the evidence multiplied upon him, the daring exertions of his power
in stopping all inquiries increased continually. But he gave a credit
and authority to the evidence by these attempts to suppress it.

Your Lordships have heard that among the body of the accusers of this
corruption there was a principal man in the country, a man of the first
rank and authority in it, called Nundcomar, who had the management of
revenues amounting to 150,000_l._ a year, and who had, if really
inclined to play the small game with which he has been charged by his
accusers, abundant means to gratify himself in playing great ones; but
Mr. Hastings has himself given him, upon the records of the Company, a
character which would at least justify the Council in making some
inquiry into charges made by him.

First, he was perfectly competent to make them, because he was in the
management of those affairs from which Mr. Hastings is supposed to have
received corrupt emolument. He and his son were the chief managers in
those transactions. He was therefore perfectly competent to it.--Mr.
Hastings has cleared his character; for though it is true, in the
cont