made manifest. He must, however, say, that instead of any encouragement from the House, the bonourable member who had brought forward this charge had met with peculiar discountenance; and, notwithstanding the urgency with which the friends of the noble marquis pressed forward this decision, he would ask the House, how far it was ripe for such a decision? How many gentlemen of those now present bad taken time to read, and maturely deliberate upon the great body of evidence adduced in support of the charge? For his own part, he would acknowledge, that the variety of his own avocations had allowed him no such op portunity. How many members had left town, without reading any of the papers? And how far was it consistent with rational justice, to try such a case before a tribunal, reduced in its numbers, and incompetent from its very imperfect knowledge of the evidence upon which it was called to decide, to pronounce a final judgment that night, upon a subject of so much importance? He could assure the friends. of the noble marquis, that never was there any thing less calculated to give satisfaction to the public mind than a decision upon such principles; and those men who could deJude themselves into a supposition, that such a decision could have any other than a bad effect, must judge very ill indeed of public opinion in this country.

Mr. Paull said, it was not his intention to have trespassed upon the attention of the House that night with a single word on the subject; but feeling it necessary to say something in answer to the charges of delay and procrastination imputed to him by a right honourable and learned gentleman (the Master of the Rolls), he rose to vindicate himself from an imputation so unfounded. His first motion for papers was on the 25th of June, 1805; and it was not until the 20th of May last, that any of the criminating documents were laid before the House. For the truth of this he appealed to the House; and he appealed also to the noble lord lately at the head of the board of controul, whether he had not been incessant in his applications to him to forward the production of papers in his department; and whether the noble lord had not told him, in March last, that it was a matter of question and doubt whether some of the papers for which he had moved, and those the most important, would be produced at all. As soon as he could obtain the chief papers for which he had moved, in five days after wards he laid his first charge upon the table; but there

3L2

were

were many other papers for which he had moved, which were not produced to this day-papers to prove the most exorbitant and extraordinary demands upon the Nabob of Oude, to the amount of 300,000l. He moved for the accounts six different times; and all that he had yet been able to obtain, from all the diligence that could be used at the India-house, was a return respecting the 27th light dragoons, which he found to be a most false and exaggerated account. He had said to the House, that he would be ready to bring forward his charge on the 10th June; but the noble lord had taken it out of his hands, and proposed to bring it forward on the 18th. This precluded him from moving a single step until the 18th, when he moved for the oral evidence, which was not concluded, with the examination of Sir James Craig, until two days since, and which was not until last night in the hands of members. Having therefore vindicated himself from the charge of delay and procrastination, he hoped the honourable and learned gentleman (Master of the Rolls) would retract what he had said. But with respect to the subject itself, he conjured the House to consider deliberately, before they precipitated a decision upon a question of so much importance. If Marquis Wellesley's reputation was the only question at stake, he should not wish to delay the decision of the House for a single moment. He disclaimed all personal enmity to the noble marquis, who had never done him an injury; he disclaimed all obligation to him, as never having received any favour at his hands, save an act of justice which it was his duty to render as chief governor of India. But it was not the repu tation of the noble marquis, but the fate of India that de pended upon the decision of the House; and that ample and impartial justice should be done, was of the utmost importance to every British interest in that quarter of the globe; for it was of the first necessity for the British Parliament to shew, whether they were the guardians of the rights and liberties of British subjects in India, or the protectors of Lord Wellesley. For his own part, he had done his duty in bringing forward those charges, and the evidence to support them; and no man could say he was ignorant of the grounds on which he had brought them forward, or the testimony upon which they were to be sustained. India looked anxiously to the issue of this question, and he hoped -would bless the day on which the enquiry was instituted, He hoped they would be enabled to ascertain by the decî

sion upon this question, whether the faith of treaties was to be maintained inviolate or not? to which faith they had witnessed the most honourable adherence under the administration of that ever-to-be-lamented nobleman, Marquis Cornwallis; but he would call upon the House to look at the situation of India from the accursed day when Marquis Wellesley first set foot there until the hour of his departure, during which time it continued a perpetual scene of rapine, of oppression, of fraud, and cruelty, which goaded the whole country into a spirit of revolt. He had brought for ward his charges against the noble marquis in the face of England. He sought nothing but impartial justice, and he hoped Parliament, for its own sake, would decide with the maturest deliberation, and in a full House.

Mr. Perceval said, he understood the honourable member who brought forward this charge, to object that the House should be the judge of the fittest time to form its own decision upon the subject, and to say he would entirely withdraw himself from any interference in discussing the subject, unless he was to be the judge of the fitness of the time for the decision. In such a case, he (Mr. Perceval) was of opinion the honourable member would abandon the duty he had undertaken, and incur the blame of any erro neous decision to which the House might be led without the light which he was enabled to throw upon the subject. If the honourable member, however, would pledge himself to bring forward the investigation at any future day during the present session of Parliament, at any reasonable distance, when he should have his thoughts better arranged upon the subject, he, for one, should not object to adjourning the further proceedings to such a day; and therefore he re quested to know the honourable member's determination ?

Mr. Paull declared he had not the most distant wish for delay; and that, if the remaining papers were produced for which he had moved respecting six British regiments in India, and which would furnish proofs of the most exorbi tant and inconceivable extortion upon the Nabob of Oude, he would be ready to go on with the charge next day or in a week, just as the House should choose; but recollecting the delays and disappointments he had already experienced, he would not pledge himself to any particular day, until the papers were before the House.

Mr. William Smith applauded the prudence of the ho nourable member on this ground, and commended his can.

dour;

dour; he thought the friends of Marquis Wellesley could not do any thing more inconsistent with their own views, for vindicating the honour and innocence of that noble lord in the eyes of the public, than pressing the House to a deci sion, without having before them the whole of the evidence, and deciding upon the fullest deliberation.,

Sir Arthur Wellesley declared, that nothing could be more opposite to the wishes and feelings of himself, or his noble relation, than that the House should decide upon this charge, without having before them all the testimony the honourable gentleman wished to adduce; but as he had reason to believe that the documents which he had mentioned as the cause of delay really were, not in the India-house, and had never been returned from India, he hoped, if the House should be satisfied of that fact, by those gentlemen now present who were officially competent to give information upon the subject, and that no such documents were to be expected, that the House would no longer defer its decision: more especially as it was the declared opinion of a right honourable gentleman (Mr. Fox) hat if a decision should not take place within the ordinary duration of the session, an address should be moved to his Majesty, for prolonging the session for that purpose.

Mr. R. Thornton feeling himself thus called on, said be could not speak with accuracy as to the precise documents moved for being at the India-house; but he rather believed some fresh documents would be found there, and that the House ought not to proceed to final decision until further search should be made.

Mr. Wellesley Pole supported the argument of his ho nourable relation, and wished to have a clear answer from some of those gentlemen who had been in the India direction, as to the existence of such returns.

Mr. Paull was not desirous of the returns of the strength of those six regiments. He only wished for the accounts of the sums charged as paid to them; and was confident such returns must have been made to the directors.

Mr. Grant said, that though he was not now in office, he was fully confident the accounts of pay must be in the India-house; but that the order for furnishing the returns of the strength of the regiments ought to have been directed to the War-office, where they would be found. He was for proceeding with the utmost deliberation upon a subject, whercon hung the fate of India. He thought the House

could

could not, in so thin an attendance, comprising so many of the noble marquis's friends, and at so late a period of the session, come to a decision, consistently with the decorum which belonged to its deliberative justice; but that, if a decision was to be pressed upon the subject, there ought to be a call of the House, for which he, as one, should vote.

Lord Castlereagh objected to the delay, on the ground of the production of the papers, because when on the table they would supply no materials in support of the charges.

Dr. Laurence spoke to order. The papers referred to had been applied for six several times, and it was much too late now to contend that they could be of no utility.

Lord Castlereagh vindicated his own argument.

Mr. Henry Martin, Mr. Burton, Sir Arthur Wellesley, Mr. Panll, Mr. Creevey, Mr. Johnstone, and Sir John Newport, made a few remarks on the testimony to be expected from these documents.

Sir Samuel Romilly said, the question was not if the decision upon these charges were to be deferred until the next session, but if the House would proceed that day to deter mine on an accusation, in which the honourable gentleman (Mr. Paull) says, he is not prepared to advance: so that the -true enquiry was, if in this stage of the business the matter were to be taken out of his hands, in the absence of the information of which the House ought to be possessed in order to form its opinion. He could perfectly understand such an attempt, if this were a case of vexatious delay; but was this the complaint? The papers required were not obtained until the 20th of May; on the 25th of that month the charge was brought; on the 28th it was printed, and the evidence was only closed on Friday last; even at that moment the written testimony called for was not on the table, although the application was made for what is yet deficient as early as the 5th of June. Who could then seriously assert that there had been any unnecessary procrastination on the part of the honourable gentleman? But it was said by the friends of the noble marquis, that from their knowledge of the do cuments sought, they would not at all conduce to support the charges. Were not others to obtain the same information, in order to satisfy their minds and come to the conclusions to which such premises should lead? If, by the endeavour now made, the noble marquis should be acquitted, it would be such an acquittal as would afford him very little consolation; he was, it was to be presumed, an innocent

man,