Complete Works of Edmund Burke

by Edmund Burke

  1788, April 10. — Pa. 592.

  Second.

  Question. — Whether it be competent for the Managers to produce an examination taken without oath by the rest of the Council in the absence of Mr. Hastings, the Governor-General, charging Mr. Hastings with corruptly receiving 3,54,105 rupees, which examination came to his knowledge, and was by him transmitted to the Court of Directors as a proceeding of the said Councillors, in order to introduce the proof of his demeanor thereupon, — it being alleged by the Managers for the Commons, that he took no steps to clear himself, in the opinion of the said Directors, of the guilt thereby imputed, but that he took active means to prevent the examination by the said Councillors of his servant Cantoo Baboo?

  1789, May 14 — Pa. 677.

  Answer. — The Lord Chief-Baron of the Court of Exchequer delivered the unanimous opinion of the Judges upon the said question, in the negative, — and gave his reasons.

  1789, May 20. — Pa. 718.

  Third.

  Question. — Whether the instructions from the Court of Directors of the United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, to Warren Hastings, Esquire, Governor-General, Lieutenant-General John Clavering, the Honorable George Monson, Richard Barwell, Esquire, and Philip Francis, Esquire, Councillors, (constituted and appointed the Governor-General and Council of the said United Company’s Presidency of Fort William in Bengal, by an act of Parliament passed in the last session, intituled, “An act for establishing certain regulations for the better management of the affairs of the East India Company, as well in India as in Europe,”) of the 29th of March, 1774, Par. 31, 32, and 35, the Consultation of the 11th March, 1775, the Consultation of the 13th of March, 1775, up to the time that Mr. Hastings left the Council, the Consultation of the 20th of March, 1775, the letter written by Mr. Hastings to the Court of Directors on the 25th of March, 1775, (it being alleged that Mr. Hastings took no steps to explain or defend his conduct,) are sufficient to introduce the examination of Nundcomar, or the proceedings of the rest of the Councillors, on said 13th of March, after Mr. Hastings left the Council, — such examination and proceedings charging Mr. Hastings with, corruptly receiving 3,54,105 rupees?

  1789, May 21. — Pa. 730.

  Answer. — The Lord Chief-Baron of the Court of Exchequer delivered the unanimous opinion of the Judges upon the said question, in the negative, — and gave his reasons.

  1789, May 27. — Pa. 771.

  Fourth.

  Question. — Whether the public accounts of the Nizamut and Bhela, under the seal of the Begum, attested also by the Nabob, and transmitted by Mr. Goring to the Board of Council at Calcutta, in a letter bearing date the 29th June, 1775, received by them, recorded without objection on the part of Mr. Hastings, and transmitted by him likewise without objection to the Court of Directors, and alleged to contain accounts of money received by Mr. Hastings, — and it being in proof, that Mr. Hastings, on the 11th of May, 1778, moved the Board to comply with the requisitions of the Nabob Mobarek ul Dowlah to reappoint the Munny Begum and Rajah Gourdas (who made up those accounts) to the respective offices they before filled, and which was accordingly resolved by the Board, — ought to be read?

  1789, June 17. — Pa. 855.

  Answer. — The Lord Chief-Baron of the Court of Exchequer delivered the unanimous opinion of the Judges upon the said question, in the negative, — and gave his reasons.

  1789, June 24. — Pa. 922.

  Fifth.

  Question. — Whether the paper delivered by Sir Elijah Impey, on the 7th of July, 1775, in the Supreme Court, to the Secretary of the Supreme Council, in order to be transmitted to the Council as the resolution of the Court in respect to the claim made for Roy Rada Churn, on account of his being vakeel of the Nabob Mobarek ul Dowlah, — and which paper was the subject of the deliberation of the Council on the 31st July, 1775, Mr. Hastings being then present, and was by them transmitted to the Court of Directors, as a ground for such instructions from the Court of Directors as the occasion might seem to require, — may be admitted as evidence of the actual state and situation of the Nabob with reference to the English government?

  1789, July 2. — Pa. 1001.

  Answer. — The Lord Chief-Baron of the Court of Exchequer delivered the unanimous opinion of the Judges upon the said question, in the affirmative, — and gave his reasons.

  1789, July 7. — Pa. 1030.

  Sixth.

  Question. — Whether it be or be not competent to the Managers for the Commons to give evidence upon the charge in the sixth article, to prove that the rent, at which the defendant, Warren Hastings, let the lands mentioned in the said sixth article of charge to Kelleram, fell into arrear and was deficient, — and whether, if proof were offered, that the rent fell in arrear immediately after the letting, the evidence would in that case be competent?

  1790, April 22. — Pa. 364.

  Answer. — The lord Chief-Baron of the Court of Exchequer delivered the unanimous opinion of the Judges upon the said question,— “That it is not competent to the Managers for the Commons to give evidence upon the charge in the sixth article, to prove that the rent, at which the defendant, Warren Hastings, let the lands mentioned in the said sixth article of charge to Kelleram, fell into arrear and was deficient,” — and gave his reasons.

  1790, April 27. — Pa. 388.

  Seventh.

  Question. — Whether it be competent for the Managers for the Commons to put the following question to the witness, upon the sixth article of charge, viz.: “What impression the letting of the lands to Kelleram and Cullian Sing made on the minds of the inhabitants of that country”?

  1790, April 27. — Pa. 391.

  Answer. — The Lord Chief-Baron of the Court of Exchequer delivered the unanimous opinion of the Judges upon the said question,— “That it is not competent to the Managers for the Commons to put the following question to the witness, upon the sixth article of charge, viz.: What impression, the letting of the lands to Kelleram and Cullian Sing made on the minds of the inhabitants of that country,” — and gave his reasons.

  1790, April 29. — Pa. 413.

  Eighth.

  Question. — Whether it be competent to the Managers for the Commons to put the following question to the witness, upon the seventh article of charge, viz.: “Whether more oppressions did actually exist under the new institution than under the old”?

  1790, April 29. — Pa. 415.

  Answer. — The Lord Chief-Baron of the Court of Exchequer delivered the unanimous opinion of the Judges upon the said question,— “That it is not competent to the Managers for the Commons to put the following question to the witness, upon the seventh article of charge, viz.: Whether more oppressions did actually exist under the new institution than under the old,” — and gave his reasons.

  1790, May 4. — Pa. 428.

  Ninth.

  Question. — Whether the letter of the 13th April, 1781, can be given in evidence by the Managers for the Commons, to prove that the letter of the 5th of May, 1781, already given in evidence, relative to the abolition of the Provincial Council and the subsequent appointment of the Committee of Revenue, was false in any other particular than that which is charged in the seventh article of charge?

  1790, May 20. — Pa. 557.

  Answer. — The Lord Chief-Baron of the Court of Exchequer delivered the unanimous opinion of the Judges upon the said question,— “That it is not competent for the Managers on the part of the Commons to give any evidence on the seventh article of impeachment, to prove that the letter of the 5th of May, 1781, is false in any other particular than that wherein it is expressly charged to be false,” — and gave his reasons.

  1790, June 2. — Pa. 634.

  Tenth.

  Question. — Whether it be competent to the Managers for the Commons to examine the witness to any account of the debate which was had on the 9th day of July, 1778, previous to the written minutes that appear upon the Consultation of that date?
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  1794, February 25. — Lords’ Minutes.

  Answer. — The Lord Chief-Justice of the Court of Common Pleas delivered the unanimous opinion of the Judges upon the said question,— “That it is not competent to the Managers for the Commons to examine the witness, Philip Francis, Esquire, to any account of the debate which was had on the 9th day of July, 1778, previous to the written minutes that appear upon the Consultation of that date,” — and gave his reasons.

  1794, February 27. — Lords’ Minutes.

  Eleventh.

  Question. — Whether it is competent for the Managers for the Commons, in reply, to ask the witness, whether, between the time of the original demand being made upon Cheyt Sing and the period of the witness’s leaving Bengal, it was at any time in his power to have reversed or put a stop to the demand upon Cheyt Sing, — the same not being relative to any matter originally given in evidence by the defendant?

  1794, February 27. — Lords’ Minutes.

  Answer. — The Lord Chief-Justice of the Court of Common Pleas delivered the unanimous opinion of the Judges upon the said question,— “That it is not competent for the Managers for the Commons to ask the witness, whether, between the time of the original demand being made upon Cheyt Sing and the period of his leaving Bengal, it was at any time in his power to have reversed or put a stop to the demand upon Cheyt Sing, — the same not being relative to any matter originally given in evidence by the defendant,” — and gave his reasons.

  1794, March 1. — Lords’ Minutes.

  Twelfth.

  Question. — Whether a paper, read in the Court of Directors on the 4th of November, 1783, and then referred by them to the consideration of the Committee of the whole Court, and again read in the Court of Directors on the 19th of November, 1783, and amended and ordered by them to be published for the information of the Proprietors, can be received in evidence, in reply, to rebut the evidence, given by the defendant, of the thanks of the Court of Directors, signified to him on the 28th of June, 1785?

  1794, March 1. — Lords’ Minutes.

  Answer. — Whereupon the Lord Chief-Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, having conferred with the rest of the Judges present, delivered their unanimous opinion upon the said question, in the negative, — and gave his reasons.

  1794, March 1. — Lords’ Minutes.

  REMARKS IN VINDICATION OF THE PRECEDING REPORT.

  The preceding Report was ordered to be printed for the use of the members of the House of Commons, and was soon afterwards reprinted and published, in the shape of a pamphlet, by a London bookseller. In the course of a debate which took place in the House of Lords, on Thursday, the 22d of May, 1794, on the Treason and Sedition Bills, Lord Thurlow took occasion to mention “a pamphlet which his Lordship said was published by one Debrett, of Piccadilly, and which had that day been put into his hands, reflecting highly upon the Judges and many members of that House. This pamphlet was, he said, scandalous and indecent, and such as he thought ought not to pass unnoticed. He considered the vilifying and misrepresenting the conduct of judges and magistrates, intrusted with the administration of justice and the laws of the country, to be a crime of a very heinous nature, and most destructive in its consequences, because it tended to lower them in the opinion of those who ought to feel a proper reverence and respect for their high and important stations; and that, when it was stated to the ignorant or the wicked that their judges and magistrates were ignorant and corrupt, it tended to lessen their respect for and obedience to the laws themselves, by teaching them to think ill of those who administered them.” On the next day Mr. Burke called the attention of the House of Commons to this matter, in a speech to the following effect.

  Mr. Speaker, — The license of the present times makes it very difficult for us to talk upon certain subjects in which Parliamentary order is involved. It is difficult to speak of them with regularity, or to be silent with dignity and wisdom. All our proceedings have been constantly published, according to the discretion and ability of individuals out of doors, with impunity, almost ever since I came into Parliament. By usage, the people have obtained something like a prescriptive right to this abuse. I do not justify it; but the abuse is now grown so inveterate that to punish it without previous notice would have an appearance of hardship, if not injustice. The publications I allude to are frequently erroneous as well as irregular, but they are not always so; what they give as the reports and resolutions of this House have sometimes been given correctly. And it has not been uncommon to attack the proceedings of the House itself under color of attacking these irregular publications. Notwithstanding, however, this colorable plea, this House has in some instances proceeded to punish the persons who have thus insulted it. You will here, too, remark, Sir, that, when a complaint is made of a piratical edition of a work, the authenticity of the original work is admitted, and whoever attacks the matter of the work itself in these unauthorized publications does not attack it less than if he had attacked it in an edition authorized by the writer.

  I understand, Sir, that in a place which I greatly respect, and by a person for whom I have likewise a great veneration, a pamphlet published by a Mr. Debrett has been very heavily censured. That pamphlet, I hear, (for I have not read it,) purports to be a Report made by one of your Committees to this House. It has been censured, as I am told, by the person and in the place I have mentioned, in very harsh and very unqualified terms. It has been there said, (and so far very truly,) that at all times, and particularly at this time, it is necessary, for the preservation of order and the execution of the law, that the characters and reputation of the Judges of the Courts in Westminster Hall should be kept in the highest degree of respect and reverence; and that in this pamphlet, described by the name of a libel, the characters and conduct of those Judges upon a late occasion have been aspersed, as arising from ignorance or corruption.

  Sir, combining all the circumstances, I think it impossible not to suppose that this speech does reflect upon a Report which, by an order of the Committee on which I served, I had the honor of presenting to this House. For anything improper in that Report I am responsible, as well as the members of the Committee, to this House, and to this House only. The matters contained in it, and the observations upon them, are submitted to the wisdom of the House, that you may act upon both in the time and manner that to your judgment may seem most expedient, — or that you may not act upon them at all, if you should think that most expedient for the public good. Your Committee has obeyed your orders; it has done its duty in making that Report.

  I am of opinion, with the eminent person by whom that Report is censured, that it is necessary at this time very particularly that the authority of Judges should be preserved and supported. This, however, does not depend so much upon us as upon themselves. It is necessary to preserve the dignity and respect of all the constitutional authorities. This, too, depends in part upon ourselves. It is necessary to preserve the respect due to the House of Lords: it is full as necessary to preserve the respect due to the House of Commons, upon which (whatever may be thought of us by some persons) the weight and force of all other authorities within this kingdom essentially depend. If the power of the House of Commons be degraded or enervated, no other can stand. We must be true to ourselves. We ought to animadvert upon any of our members who abuse the trust we place in them; we must support those who, without regard to consequences, perform their duty.

  With regard to the matter which I am now submitting to your consideration, I must say for your Committee of Managers and for myself, that the Report was deliberately made, and does not, as I conceive, contain any very material error, nor any undue or indecent reflection upon any person or persons whatever. It does not accuse the Judges of ignorance or corruption. Whatever it says it does not say calumniously. That kind of language belongs to persons whose eloquence entitles them to a free use of epithets. The Report states that the Judges had given their opinions secretly, contrary to the almost uninterrupted tenor of Parliamentar
y usage on such occasions. It states that the mode of giving the opinions was unprecedented, and contrary to the privileges of the House of Commons. It states that the Committee did not know upon what rules and principles the Judges had decided upon those cases, as they neither heard their opinions delivered, nor have found them entered upon the Journals of the House of Lords. It is very true that we were and are extremely dissatisfied with those opinions, and the consequent determinations of the Lords; and we do not think such a mode of proceeding at all justified by the most numerous and the best precedents. None of these sentiments is the Committee, as I conceive, (and I feel as little as any of them,) disposed to retract, or to soften in the smallest degree.

  The Report speaks for itself. Whenever an occasion shall be regularly given to maintain everything of substance in that paper, I shall be ready to meet the proudest name for ability, learning, or rank that this kingdom contains, upon that subject. Do I say this from any confidence in myself? Far from it. It is from my confidence in our cause, and in the ability, the learning, and the constitutional principles which this House contains within itself, and which I hope it will ever contain, — and in the assistance which it will not fail to afford to those who with good intention do their best to maintain the essential privileges of the House, the ancient law of Parliament, and the public justice of this kingdom.

  No reply or observation was made on the subject by any other member, nor was any farther notice taken of it in the House of Lords.

  The Speeches

  Parliament Square, Trinity College, Dublin — in 1744, Burke started at Trinity, and in 1747, he set up a debating society, “Edmund Burke’s Club”, which, in 1770, merged with TCD’s Historical Club to form the College Historical Society: the oldest undergraduate society in the world.

  LIST OF SPEECHES