FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117  
118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   >>   >|  
rt of Directors; I conceived it to be ordered by them.--_Q._ Did you conceive the letter of the Court of Directors positively to direct that inquiry?--_A._ I did so certainly at the time, and I beg to refer to the minutes which expressed it."--A question was put to the same witness by a noble lord. "_Q._ The witness has stated, that at the time he has mentioned he conceived the letter from the Court of Directors to order an inquiry, and that it was upon that opinion that he regulated his conduct, and his proposal for such inquiry. I wish to know whether the expression, '_at the time_,' was merely casual, or am I to understand from it that the witness has altered his opinion of the intention of this letter since that time?--_A._ I certainly retain that opinion, and I wished the inquiry to go on." My Lords, you see that his colleagues so understood it; you see that we so understood it; and still you have heard the prisoner, after charging us with falsehood, insultingly tell us we may go on as we please, we may go on in our own way. If your Lordships think that it was not a positive order, which Mr. Hastings was bound to obey, you will acquit him of the breach of it. But it is a most singular thing, among all the astonishing circumstances of this case, that this man, who has heard from the beginning to the end of his trial breaches of the Company's orders constantly charged upon him,--(nay, I will venture to say, that there is not a single step that we have taken in this prosecution, or in observations upon evidence, in which we have not charged him with an avowed direct breach of the Company's order,--you have heard it ten times this day,--in his defence before the Commons he declares he did intentionally, in naming Mr. Markham, break the Company's orders,)--it is singular, I say, that this man should now pretend to be so sore upon this point. What is it now that makes him break through all the rules of common decency and common propriety, and show all the burnings of guilt, upon being accused of the breach of one of the innumerable orders which he has broken, of which he has avowed the breaking, and attempted to justify himself a thousand times in the Company's books for having broken? My Lords, one of his own body, one of the Council, has sworn at your bar what he repeatedly declared to be his sense of it. We consider it as one of the strongest orders that can be given, because the reason of the order is added to it
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117  
118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

inquiry

 

Company

 

orders

 
opinion
 
witness
 

letter

 
breach
 

Directors

 

common

 

understood


avowed
 

singular

 

charged

 

broken

 

direct

 
conceived
 

Commons

 

strongest

 

declares

 
defence

observations

 
venture
 

reason

 

single

 

declared

 

prosecution

 

evidence

 
repeatedly
 

attempted

 

breaking


innumerable

 

justify

 

accused

 

burnings

 

propriety

 

decency

 

thousand

 

Markham

 

naming

 

constantly


Council

 

pretend

 

intentionally

 

proposal

 

conduct

 

mentioned

 
regulated
 

expression

 

altered

 

intention