been adopted by Lord Hastings. Before recourse was had to hostilities, every mode of remonstrance and negociation had been exhausted, and apparently with such success, that the Bengal Government, more than once, thought that all disputes and differences were at an end." He then went on to state, that "the chief purpose of the war was to detach from the Ghoorka power its more recent conquests; but no addition to the territories of the British empire was contemplated, except where there were no means of restoring the former Governments. The campaign ended by leaving no less than one-third of the Ghoorka dominions in the power of the British, and by the rest being restored to its former condition." He added, that "the result of this war he believed to be a source of safety-certainly of honour and glory to this country, but in its future consequences of an importance not easy to trace. Mr. Brougham, who followed Mr. Canning, said that "the difference of opinion as to the policy and conduct of the war to which he alluded, existed in a quarter well know: to that House and the India Board. Mr. Edmonstone and Mr. Dowdeswell's names were familiar to all persons conversant with Indian affairs." It should, however, be remarked, that Mr. Canning asked for no opinion on the policy or justice of the war from the House of Commons, and he confined his motion to General the Marquess of Hastings. He (Mr. Kinnaird) was now stating, and uncontradictedly stating, not matters of opinion, but the official proceedings of men high in office. Mr. Cauning, in answer to the observation of Mr. Brougham, thought it necessary to say that "it was totally a mistake to suppose that any difference of opinion as to the policy of the war existed between the Marquess of Hastings and his Council." Here, then, they had the thanks of the Houses of Lords and Commons, and of the Court of Directors and Court of Proprietors, for the manner in which the Noble Marquess had conducted the Nepaul war. In the introduction of those votes, the official persons by whom they were brought forward distinctly stated and admitted the justice and necessity of that war (nor were those statements ever contradicted), while the votes were SO drawn up as entirely to restrict any person from going into the question of the policy or justice in which the contest was founded. Mr. Brougham had, indeed, put a single question, but it received a prompt and decisive answer from Mr. Canning. The next vote to which he would call the attention of the Court, was that of the Court of Proprietors on the 3d of February 1819, which was, for the most part, a transcript of the resolution previously carried in the Court of

Directors on the 20th of January. Here he should observe, that, on the occasion of these debates, no papers were produced; but, on a question being put by a gentleman near him, the then Chairman stated that the papers were open for the inspection of the Proprietors. Despatches were afterwards produced, and some of them were read; and the Chairman observed that he wanted words to express his high opinion of the Noble Marquess's conduct. It was objected at the time of these proceedings, by Mr. Hume and others, that the way in which the thanks were drawn up excluded all consideration of the policy pursued by the Governor-General, contrary to what had been done in the case of Warren Hastings, Lord Cornwallis, and other Governors-General. Several Proprietors were of opinion that something should be said of the propriety of the war against the Pindarrees, instead of the vote being confined to the skill with which it was carried on, and the success in which it terminated. The resolution to which he now alluded was as follows:

"That the thanks of this Court be presented to the Most Noble the Marquess of Hastings, Knight of the Garter, for the great and signal wisdom, skill, and energy, so eminently displayed by his Lordship, in planning and conducting the late military operations against the Pindarrees, of which the happy result has been the ex-. tinction of a predatory power, establishing itself in the heart of the empire, whose existence experience had shown to be alike incompatible with the security of the Company's possessions and the general tranquillity of India. Also that this Court, while it deeply regrets any circumstances leading to the extension of the Company's territory, duly appreciates the foresight, promptitude, and vigour, by which the Most Noble the Marquess of Hastings, by a great combination of political and military talent, dispersed the gathering elements of a hostile confederacy amongst the Mahratta states against the British power in India."

This resolution the Chairman introduced by stating, that "the papers which had been laid before the Proprietors afforded proofs the most manifest of the ability, foresight, and wisdom with which the Noble Marquess had met the exigencies of the times; and he could not entertain a doubt but the Proprietors would unite in their unanimous approbation. He conceived that the details and dispatches to which he had adverted, furnished ample reason for satisfying every unprejudiced mind of the absolute and decided necessity of the Pindarree war." He concluded by observing, "when the Court considered all these glorious events, and reflected upon them as the result of one brilliant campaign, he was sure they

would agree with him, that words must fall short of expressing what they felt and what they owed to the consummate ability, skill, energy, and foresight of the illustrious Commander-in-Chief." An amendment, and a strong one, was moved to this resolution, which amendment was finally carried. The resolution, as amended, ran thus:

"That the thanks of this Court be presented to the Most Noble the Marquess ef Hastings, K.G., for the great and signal wisdom, skill, and energy, so eminently displayed by his Lordship in planning and conducting the late military operations against the Pindarrees, of which the happy result has been the extinction of a predatory power, establishing itself in the heart of the empire, whose existence experience had shown to be alike incompatible with the security of the Company's possessions, and the general tranquillity of India. Also, that this Court, while it deeply regrets any circumstances leading to the extension of the Company's territory, duly appreciates the foresight, promptitude, and vigour by which the Most Noble the Marquess of Hastings, by a great combination of political and military talent, anticipated and encountered the proceedings of a hostile confederacy amongst the Mahratta states, defeated their armies, reduced them to submission, and MATERIALLY LESSENED their means of future aggression."

He (Mr. Kinnaird) felt it right to draw the attention of the Court to this point, as a matter of record, and to remind them that, on the occasion of this vote, there were many observations as to whether it would not be right to include in the resolution some general notice of the policy which guided the Noble Marquess. He was not questioning the judgment of the Court in confining the resolution to the military part of the subject, but he wished merely to call their attention to the fact; not, however, that the topic of the Noble Lord's policy was passed over in silence, but that it formed no part of the vote, which was distinctly brought forward on the military merits of the Marquess of Hastings. While, however, the Court cautiously abstained from expressing an opinion on the political question, it was stated by the Chairman and others, that no doubt could be entertained of the absolute necessity of that war. At the same time, in the House of Lords, the Earl of Liverpool, the chief minister of the country, moved the thanks of that House to the Marquess of Hastings in the following terms:

"That the thanks of this House be given to General the Marquess of Hastings, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, and Governor-General of the British possessions in the East-Indies, for

the promptitude and vigilance displayed by him in the overthrow and suppression of the Pindarrees, and for adopting those skilful and decisive measures, which enabled him to overthrow the Mahratta princes in a campaign marked by the most signal and brilliant successes, and highly honourable to the British arms."

The Earl of Liverpool on this occasion said, "the House would see that the late hostilities in India originated in necessary measures of self-defence, adopted by the Government in India against the aggres sions of the Pindarrees." And, after going on in some detail, he observed that "he had shown that the war had been one of self-defence, and it was not necessary for him to endeavour to do this by remote inference of argument; the fact appeared directly from the papers on the table. The war had been undertaken on no grounds of doubtful policy." He afterwards said that "no general or troops bad ever more meritoriously distinguished themselves." To shew that this vote was not idly passed over, he begged to observe, that the Marquess of Lansdowne, in the course of that debate, thus expressed himself: "Whatever," said the Noble Marquess, "might be the character of the policy which had been adopted with regard to India, the Governor-General had, on this occasion, been placed in a situation which rendered hostilities unavoidable, and that he had displayed consummate abilities on a field of operations more extensive than it had ever fallen to the lot of any one commander to direct." He also moved an amendment relative to the conduct of Sir Thomas Histop, in the affair of the Killedar of Talneir, which, after a partial alteration had been made in it, was agreed to. Lord Holland, on the same occasion, said that "he had a high gratification in paying this tribute to the Governor-General of India, because he remembered that he was the same Marquess of Hastings whom he had often heard with satisfaction in that place, who was an ornament to the House by his eloquence and his virtues, whose voice was always raised in defence of innocence and weakness against oppression, and in main. taining the rights of the people as well as those of the crown." The statements of the Earl of Liverpool were uncontradicted. All parties united in praising the Marquess of Hastings for his conduct in the war; but all considerations of policy were carefully excluded on both sides of the House. He had thus shewn that on a second occasion, in the year 1819, although the votes of the two Houses of Parliament were given distinctly, and by men of all parties, to the Marquess of Hastings, yet the policy of the war was entirely excluded from their observations; at the same time that all official persons, in all places, proclaimed loudly that it was a war, the

justice and necessity of which no person could deny. These declarations remained entirely uncontradicted to the present hour. Under those circumstances, the feelings of those who might be of opinion that it was unwise on our part to exclude from our resolutions the general question of policy; who thought that the policy of the war ought to be kept equally in view with the success of it, and therefore contended that it should distinctly appear on the face of the vote, were not a little excited. They contented themselves, how ever, with the reflection, that the time would ultimately arrive when the principle for which they then argued must be admitted. He now came to the resolution of thanks proposed in the House of Commons by Mr. Canning on the same occa→ sion. He could not allude to the record which he held in his hand-which contained the history and conduct of the war to which the resolution referred-without stating, that he quoted with sensations of peculiar pleasure that elegant and elo. quent document.

He spoke of the address of Mr. Canning in moving the vote of thanks; that gentleman re-echoed the sentiments of Lord Liverpool, as to abstaining from calling upon the House to give an opinion on the policy of the war. In the course of his speech he took a most luminous view of the manner in which the contest had been carried on, and of the happy results with which it had been crowned. The Right Hon. Gent. said, "this vote, I wish the House to understand, is intended merely as a tribute to the military conduct of the campaign, and not in any wise as a sanction of the policy of the war. The political character of Lord Hastings' late measures forms no part of the question upon which I shall ask the House to decide." He proceeded to observe, "from these papers I will describe, as succinctly as I can, the situation in which the British Government found itself placed toward the different Native Powers of India; and if, in performing this task, I should let slip any expression of my own opinions as to the policy of the Governor-General (and it may be hardly possible to avoid doing so, whatever caution I endeavour to observe), I beg to be understood as by no means calling upon the House to adopt these opinions." Difficult indeed was it (observed Mr. Kinnaird) to speak of the Marquess of Hastings, and to refrain from expressing admiration of the talents of that nobleman as an accomplished statesman. Mr. Canning thus went on, "I approach the subject, Sir, with the greater caution and delicacy, because I know with how much jealousy the House and the country are in the habit of appreciating the triumphs of our arms in India. I know well that, almost uniformly successful as

our military operations in that part of the world have been, they have almost as uniformly been considered as questionable in point of justice: hence, the termination of a war in India, however glorious, is seldom contemplated with unmixed satisfaction." The Right Hon. Gent. next observed "Neither, however, do I accuse of want of candour those who entertain such notions; nor do I pretend to deny that the course of Indian history, since our first acquaintance with that country, furnishes some apparent foundation for them. It may be a mitigation, if not a justification, of such a tendency, that the inroads which it has occasioned, have grown out of circumstances hard to be controlled; that the alternative has been, in each successive instance, conquest or extinction; and that, in consequence, we have prevailed, for the most part, over preceding conquerors, and have usurped, if usurped, upon old usurpations." Farther on, he said, "Would to God that we could find, or rather that we could long ago have found, the point, the restingplace, at which it was possible to stand. But the finding of that point has not depended upon ourselves alone. I state these considerations rather as qualifying generally the popular and sweeping con siderations of Indian warfare, than as necessary or applicable in the case of the present war. He (Mr. D.. Kinnaird) might, with great propriety, recommend the perusal of the whole of this speech to the Proprietors; the elegant manner in which the facts were stated, would afford them almost as much satisfaction, as the faithful and authentic record which it contained of the consummate skill and unwearied energy of the Marquess of Hastings. The Right Hon. Gent. concluded that part of his speech which related to the Marquess of Hastings in this manner: "I have said enough to shew the providence with which he called forth, and the skill with which he arrayed the forces of the great empire committed to his charge; the wisdom with which he laid his plans, and the vigour with which he carried them into execution. I conclude with proposing the vote to Lord Hastings, as the Commander under whose auspices these successes have been acheived; but I think it due to him as a statesman, at the same time, to assure the House that his most anxious wish is to improve, by the arts of peace, the provinces acquired in war; extending the protection of British justice to every part of our widelyspread dominions, but leaving as he may find them the harmless prejudices of nations, and conforming our government to native habits and institutions, wherever those habits and institutions are not at variance with equity and reason; convinced that the British rule will be stable

throughout India in proportion as it is beneficent and beloved." He (Mr. Kinnaird) knew, that on the occasion of this vote, no person questioned, or could question, the accuracy of these facts, or the propriety of the expression with which they were brought forward; he should now, therefore, recall to the recollection of the Court, that in the Houses of Lords and Commons, there was an universal and uncontradicted recognition of the justice and necessity of the war by those individuals who introduced the resolutions, although, in drawing up the votes, they abstained from giving any opinion whatever as to its policy. Very shortly after those different votes had passed the Houses of Lords and Commons, the Court of Directors, and the Court of Proprietors, the Executive Body specially summoned the Proprietors together, to lay before them, for their approbation, a resolution which they had agreed to on the 10th of March 1819, by which it was proposed to grant an annuity of £5,000 per annum for the term of twenty years to the Marquess of Hastings. That proposition was, however, abandoned, as it was held to be illegal to grant a pension for a period extending beyond the term of the Company's Charter. On the 26th of May 1819, the Proprietors were again specially summoned, when the Chairman laid before them the following resolution of the Court of Directors:

"At a Court of Directors held on Wednesday, the 20th of April 1819:-The Chairman, in pursuance of the notice given by him on the 31st ult., submitted the following motion, viz. The Court, adverting to the repeated unanimous votes of thanks to the Most Noble the Marquess of Hastings, at the close of two glorious and successful wars, as they appear on the records of the East-India Company, and being deeply impressed with a high sense of the merits and services of that distinguished nobleman, and of the unwearied assiduity with which he has devoted himself to the attainment of a comprehensive knowledge of the Company's affairs, have resolved to recommend to the General Court of Proprietors, that the sum of £60,000 be granted to the Right Hon. Charles Hope, Lord President of the Court of Sessions, the Right Hon. David Boyle, Lord Justice Clerk, the Right Hon. Lord Chief Commissioner Adam, the Right Hon. David Cathcart, Lord Alloway, Thomas Macdonald, Esq., and W. George Adam, Esq., as trustees thereof, in order to its being laid out in the purchase of estates of inheritance in any part of the United Kingdom, so that the fee simple of such estates may be settled upon such persons, to such uses and trusts, and subject to such limitations and provisions, as the Court of Directors, by any

resolution to be made by them, shall di rect, for the benefit of the Most Noble the Marquess of Hastings, Governor-General of India, or the Most Noble the Marchioness, his present wife, and their issue, in such manner as to the Court of Directors shall seem best adapted to their welfare, and to perpetuate the sense entertained of his Lordship's high and meritorious services as Governor-General of the British Possessions in India."

The Chairman then moved, "that this this Court concur in the recommendation of the Court of Directors, as contained in their resolution of the 20th ult.; and that the sum of £60,000 be accordingly granted, to be applied to the benefit of the Marquess of Hastings, in the mode point. ed out in that resolution, subject to the confirmation of another General Court." On this occasion, too, he might be permit. ted to remind the Court, that observations similar to those he had before adverted to, were made with respect to the propriety of noticing specifically the policy of the Noble Marquess's proceedings. But the Court consistently and properly said, "that was not then the point for consideration, as the vote was for two specific services, both exclusively military in their nature, and for which the Noble Marquess had been twice thanked in that Court." He, and others, who wished a different course to be pursued, were not actuated by a mere de, sire to hasten the thanks of the Court to the Marquess of Hastings on the ground of the policy he had adopted, because they knew the time was speedily approaching when such thanks could not be withheld: but they wished to place the India Company firm on their legs in the face of the country; they wished to set them straight, to place them upright before the world; they were desirous to have their political conduct in India, more even than their military operations, canvassed; because they well knew that the Company could make out an unanswerable case. The motion was, however, expressly confined to a grant for those specific military services in consequence of which the Noble Marquess had previously received their thanks; and, if he were not mistaken, to prove how completely the resolution of that day was confined to the military part of the subject, a number of considerations were stated on the occasion which otherwise would not have been introduced in making this grant. The grant was evidently conferred on the General, and on the General alone. So anxious was the Court to confine the resolution solely to the military services of the Marquess of Hastings, that when an Hon. Bart. (Sir J. Graham) in the course of his speech endeavoured to draw an inference, namely, that the Court of Directors had expressed a favourable opinion of his political merits, the present

Deputy Chairman (Mr. Astell) stood up and said, that "the Hon. Baronet was quite mistaken in supposing that the Court of Directors had entered into an unanimous resolution, approving of the Noble Marquess's political conduct; he (Mr. A.) felt no disposition to enter into any argument upon the political merits of the Noble Marquess, but he could not help undeceiving the Hon. Baronet upon the point he had assumed. The fact was, that the Court of Directors, on the occasion alluded to, did not touch upon the political services of the Noble Marquess, nor had they ever been brought under review by that body. When the Court of Directors passed an unanimous resolution of thanks to the Noble Marquess, they specially guarded themselves against giving any opinion as to his political merits; this he ventured to say, because he could do so without the possibility of being contradicted. Another Hon. Gent. (Mr. Kinnaird), for whom he had the highest respect, entered into a very warm eulogium upon the Noble Marquess's civil services. Whenever that subject came under consideration, there was no man who should be more disposed than himself (Mr. A.) to review the Noble Marquess's conduct on that head with liberality and candour, for he was not the man to detract from any merit due to the Noble Marquess; but it must not be said by those who agitated this question, that the Court of Directors had unanimously approved of the political services of his Lordship." The Hon. Gent., in thus expressing himself, was quite right: he was reproving that which the Directors thought a too great impatience on the part of the Proprietors, to elicit an opinion on the political character of the Marquess of Hastings. Here then they were, in the year 1819, having repeatedly thanked the Noble Marquess, but cautiously abstained from taking into consideration the policy of his conduct. Let it, however, be recollected, that every official authority had admitted the propriety of that policy; and let it also be remembered, that the papers were before the public, which enabled them to judge of the course that had been taken, and of the reasons which rendered hostile measures necessary: so that, in fact, the justice and necessity of those wars were no more matter of question, than was the ability with which they had been conducted. The Court would perceive that, in all he had advanced, he had confined himself strictly to public records: from that principle he would not depart; all his statements should speak for themselves. He now came to the year 1822. On the 29th of May in that year, the Directors summoned the Proprietors, for the purpose of laying before them a resolution of thanks to the Marquess of Hastings, which

had been unanimously agreed to by the Court of Directors on the 15th of May. That resolution was as follows:

"Resolved unanimously, That this Court, highly appreciating the signal merits and services of the Most Noble the Marquess of Hastings, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and Knight Grand Cross of the Most Hon. Military Order of the Bath, and Gover nor-General of India, are anxious to place on the records of the East-India Company their expression of deep regret that family circumstances have led to a declaration on the part of that distinguished nobleman, of his wish to be relieved from the duties of his exalted station. And this Court, being desirous that the sense they entertain of the conduct and services of the Marquess of Hastings should be promulgated previously to his departure for Europe, have further

"Resolved unanimously, That the thanks of this Court be given to the Most Noble the Marquess of Hastings, K.G. and G. C. B., for the unremitting zeal and eminent ability with which, during a period of nearly nine years, he has administered the Government of British India, with such high credit to himself, and advantage to the interest of the EastIndia Company."

The Chairman, who introduced this re solution to the Court of Proprietors, observed that "it was usual on these occasions to state to the Proprietors the preliminary vote to which the Court of Directors had agreed, and it sometimes happened that the vote was proposed to the Court of Proprietors for their adoption; but that course would not now be taken, as it was considered more gratify. ing to the Proprietors themselves, as well as more complimentary to the Noble Individual in question, to leave it entirely to the Court to take such steps as might appear best calculated to attain the object they all had in view. The object of the vote which the Court of Directors had come to, was not to praise any particular act of this Noble Person's administration, but to place on the records of the Company their opinion of his general conduct, during a period of nine years. On that account, they had not deemed it necessary to produce any papers, for the history of the Noble Marquess was to be found in every document which had been transmitted from India for several years past. The result of his Lordship's administration was to be seen in the general pacification of India; in the flourishing state of the Company's finances; and in the total absence of any thing which appeared likely to disturb the existing tran quillity. Only that morning he had re~ceived from his Lordship a very clear exposé of the finances of India. And, in