he would bring forward a motion for an addrefs to the king, praying him to take the fituation of the prince into confideration, and to grant him fuch relief as he in his wifdom fhould think fit, and pledging the house to make good the fame. This gave rife to an interesting converfation; and Mr. Newnham was by the minifter and many other members of the houfe, earneftly entreated to withdraw his motion, as fertile of inconvenience and mifchief.

Mr. Pitt faid, "that by the perfeverance of Mr. Newnham he fhould be driven to the disclosure of circumftances which he fhould otherwife have thought it his duty to conceal." And Mr. Rolle, member for Devonshire, declared, "that the investigation of this question involved in it circumstances which tended immediately to affect the conftitution in church and ftate."

Mr. Fox, Mr. Sheridan, and other gentlemen in the confidence of the prince, declared that "there was nothing which the prince of Wales lefs feared, than a full and impartial inveftigation of his conduct; and nothing that his royal highnefs would more deprecate, than a ftudied ambiguity or affected tendernefs, on the pretence of refpect or indulgence." Mr. Rolle was particularly called upon, though in vain, to explain the extraordinary language he had ufed.

The fubject being in a few days refumed, Mr. Fox again called the attention of the house to the declaration of Mr. Rolle. "To what that declaration alluded (Mr. Fox faid) it was impoffible to ascertain, till the perfon who made it thought proper to explain his meaning: but he fuppofed it muft refer to that bafe and malicious calumny which had been propagated without doors by the enemies of the prince, with a view to depreciate his character, and injure him in the efteem of his country." Mr. Fox further declared that the prince had authorifed him to affert, that, as a peer of parliament, he was ready in the other

houfe

houfe to fubmit to any the most pointed queftions that could be put to him upon the subject, or to afford the king or his minifters the fulleft affurances of the utter falfehood of the fact in question."

Mr. Rolle now thought proper to acknowledge, that the fubject upon which Mr. Fox had spoken, was the matter to which he had alluded as affecting both church and ftate. He faid " that the reports relative to this tranfac tion had made a deep impreffion upon the minds of all men who loved and venerated the constitution. He knew that this thing could not have been accomplished under the formal fanction of law; but if it exifted as a fact, it might be productive of the most alarming confequences, and ought to be fatisfactorily cleared up.”

Mr. Fox replied, "that he did not deny the calumny in queftion merely with regard to the effect of certain existing laws, but he denied it in toto, in fact as well as in law. The fact not only could never have happened legally, but never did happen in any way, and had from the beginning been a vile and malignant falfehood."

Mr. Rolle rofe again, and asked, "whether in what he now afferted Mr. Fox spoke from direct authority?" Mr. Fox faid he had spoken from direct authority.

In confequence of thefe explicit and authoritative affeverations, Mr. Rolle was loudly called upon to express his fatisfaction. But this he obftinately declined, faying only "that the house would judge for themselves of what had paffed." On this Mr. Sheridan was provoked to declare, "that if Mr. Rolle perfifted in his refufal, or otherwise to put the matter into fuch a state of enquiry as bould fatisfy him, the house ought to come to a refolution, that it was feditious and difloyal to propagate reports injurious to the character of the prince."

Mr. Pitt now properly interpofed, and protested against fo flagrant an attack on the freedom of fpeech and deliberation in that houfe. And it must be confeffed that Mr.

Rolle was fo far justified as the voice of the public could juftify him, in retaining his doubts; for a general and firm persuasion still prevailed of a secret marriage between the prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert: though no one prefumed to call in queftion the honor of Mr. Fox in the declarations made by him in the prince's name, for which he undoubtedly had, or thought he had, fufficient authority, and which operated to the perfect apparent conviction of the house of commons; though, to complete the mystery and perplexity of the business, it was fubfequently reported and believed that a temporary coolness at least had taken place between the prince and Mr. Fox from the æra of this debate, and as the confequence of that warmth of indignation which carried Mr. Fox inadvertently beyond the ftrict limits of his commiffion.

In this ftage of the business an interview, at the defire of the king, took place between the prince of Wales and Mr. Pitt, at Carlton Houfe; and the prince was informed,

that if the intended motion were withdrawn, every thing might be fettled to his royal highness's fatisfaction." This being acceded to, a meffage was delivered by the minifter from the king to the house, ftating his majesty's great concern," that from the accounts of the prince of Wales it had appeared that he had incurred a debt to a large amount, which, painful as it was to him to propose any addition to the burdens of his people, he was induced by his paternal affection to the prince, to defire the affistance of parliament to discharge-on the well-grounded expectation, nevertheless, of the prince's avoiding to contract any fimilar debt in future; with a view to which, the king had directed a fum of ten thoufand pounds to be paid out of the civil lift, in addition to his former allowance."

On the very next day after the accounts referred to in the royal meffage were laid before the house, and of which the dignified generofity of the house fuffered not the inspection,

fpection, an address was voted to the king, to request him to direct the fum of one hundred and fixty-one thoufand pounds to be paid out of the civil lift for the full difcharge of the debts of the prince of Wales, and the farther fum of twenty thousand pounds to complete the repairs of Carlton House.

It may be remarked, in difmifling this fubject, that the fum of fifty thousand pounds had been already actually expended on Carlton Houfe; fo that, if the prince had enjoyed a revenue equal to that of the late king when prince of Wales, there would have accrued in the four years elapfed fince his majority a very confiderable faving, notwithstanding that extraordinary expence; and thus the complaints of extravagance do not appear to reft upon 2 very folid foundation.

The fubject of Mr. Haftings's impeachment had been refumed early in the prefent feffion, and had occupied a large proportion of it. The primary charge refpecting the Rohilla war, brought forward by Mr. Burke towards the conclufion of the feffion of 1786, had made a deep impreffion upon the houfe: and although Mr. Haftings had been acquitted of the charge, it was upon grounds on which it was impoffible to reft his future defence.

The conduct of Mr. Pitt had been hitherto indecifive and mysterious; but the part taken by Mr. Jenkinson, and the party of which he was confidered as the head, left no room for doubt as to the fecret inclination of the court: and although Mr. Pitt, on the Benares charge, ftated by Mr. Fox, had voted against Mr. Haftings, he exprefsly declared that he did not, upon that account, confider himfelf as committed to a final vote of impeachment. The grand question therefore still remained doubtful, when on the 7th of February 1787. Mr. Sheridan opened the third charge refpecting the Begum princeffes of Oude, with an eloquence and energy which were perhaps never furpaffed

paffed, and which, in their conféquences, proved entirely decifive.

The fubftance of this, as of the other principal charges, has already been recorded in the regular narration of India tranfactions. A flight extract or two from Mr. Sheridan's fpeech may ferve to excite a faint idea of the tranfcendent ability with which this charge was enforced :—

Mr. Sheridan faid, "that the conduct of Mr. Haftings respecting the nabob and begums of Oude comprehended in it every fpecies of human offence. He had been guilty of rapacity at once violent and insatiable, of treachery cool and premeditated, of oppreffion unprovoked, of barbarity wanton and unmanly. So long fince as the year 1775 the begum princefs, widow of Sujah ul Dowla, had written to Mr. Haftings in the following moving terms;

"if it is your pleasure that the mother of the late nabob, that myfelf, his other women, and his infant children should be reduced to a state of dishonor and distress, we muft fubmit. But if, on the contrary, you call to mind the friendship of the late bleffed nabob, you will exert yourself effectually in favor of us who are helpless.” Inflamed by disappointment at Benares, he haftened to the fortrefs of Chunar, to put in execution the atrocious defign of inftigating the nabob, fon of this princess, to parricide and plunder. No fooner had Mr. Haftings determined to invade the fubftance of juftice, than he refolved to avail himself of her judicial forms, and dispatched a meffenger for the chief justice of India to affist him in perpetrating the violence he had meditated. Without a moment's paufe, or the fhadow of process instituted, sentence was pronounced. And thus, at the fame time that the fword of government was converted to an affaflin's dagger, the pure ermine of justice was ftained and foiled with the bafeft contamination. It was clear to demonstration that the begums were not concerned in the infurrection of Benares. No, their treasures were their treafon.

If