salutary
properties. But if you look at his defence before the House of Commons,
you will see that that very system upon which he governed, and under
which he now justifies his actions, did appear to himself a system
pregnant with a thousand evils and a thousand mischiefs.

The next thing that is remarkable and singular in the principles upon
which the Governor-General acted is, that, when he is engaged in a
vicious system which clearly leads to evil consequences, he thinks
himself bound to realize all the evil consequences involved in that
system. All other men have taken a directly contrary course: they have
said, "I have been engaged in an evil system, that led, indeed, to
mischievous consequences, but I have taken care, by my own virtues, to
prevent the evils of the system under which I acted."

We say, then, not only that he governed arbitrarily, but
corruptly,--that is to say, that he was a giver and receiver of bribes,
and formed a system for the purpose of giving and receiving them. We
wish your Lordships distinctly to consider that he did not only give and
receive bribes accidentally, as it happened, without any system and
design, merely as the opportunity or momentary temptation of profit
urged him to it, but that he has formed plans and systems of government
for the very purpose of accumulating bribes and presents to himself.
This system of Mr. Hastings's government is such a one, I believe, as
the British nation in particular will disown; for I will venture to say,
that, if there is any one thing which distinguishes this nation
eminently above another, it is, that in its offices at home, both
judicial and in the state, there is less suspicion of pecuniary
corruption attaching to them than to any similar offices in any part of
the globe, or that have existed at any time: so that he who would set up
a system of corruption, and attempt to justify it upon the principle of
utility, that man is staining not only the nature and character of
office, but that which is the peculiar glory of the official and
judicial character of this country; and therefore, in this House, which
is eminently the guardian of the purity of all the offices of this
kingdom, he ought to be called eminently and peculiarly to account.
There are many things, undoubtedly, in crimes, which make them frightful
and odious; but bribery, filthy hands, a chief governor of a great
empire receiving bribes from poor, miserable, indigent people, this is