thing he did was to
attempt to conceal it; and accordingly we find him depositing very great
sums of money in the public treasury through the means of the two
persons I have already mentioned, namely, the deputy-treasurer and the
accountant,--paying them in and taking bonds for them as money of his
own, and bearing legal interest. This was his method of endeavoring to
conceal some at least of his bribes: for I would not suggest, nor have
your Lordships to think, that I believe that these were his only
bribes,--for there is reason to think there was an infinite number
besides; but it did so happen that they were those bribes which he
thought might be discovered, some of which he knew were discovered, and
all of which he knew might become the subject of a Parliamentary
inquiry.

Mr. Hastings said he might have concealed them forever. Every one knows
the facility of concealing corrupt transactions everywhere, in India
particularly. But this is by himself proved not to be universally true,
at least not to be true in his own opinion; for he tells you, in his
letter from Cheltenham, that he _would_ have concealed the Nabob's
100,000_l._, but that the magnitude rendered it easy of discovery. He,
therefore, avows an intention of concealment.

But it happens here, very singularly, that this sum, which his fears of
discovery by _others_ obliged him to discover _himself_, happens to be
one of those of which no trace whatsoever appears, except merely from
the operation of his own apprehensions. There is no collateral
testimony: Middleton knew nothing of it; Anderson knew nothing of it; it
was not directly communicated to the faithful Larkins or the trusty
Croftes;--which proves, indeed, the facility of concealment. The fact
is, you find the application always upon the discovery. But concealment
or discovery is a thing of accident.

The bribes which I have hitherto brought before your Lordships belong to
the first period of his bribery, before he thought of the doctrine on
which he has since defended it. There are many other bribes which we
charge him with having received during this first period, before an
improving conversation and close virtuous connection with great lawyers
had taught him how to practise bribes in such a manner as to defy
detection, and instead of punishment to plead merit. I am not bound to
find order and consistency in guilt: it is the reign of disorder. The
order of the proceeding, as far as I am able to t