reated with a
little decorum. When we consider the high rank of their husbands, their
fathers, and their children, a rank so high that we have nothing in
Great Britain to compare with theirs, we cannot be surprised that they
were left in possession of great revenues, great landed estates, and
great moneyed property. All the female parts of these families, whose
alliance was, doubtless, much courted, could not be proffered in
marriage, and endowed in a manner agreeably to the dignity of such
persons, but with great sums of money; and your Lordships must also
consider the multitude of children of which these families frequently
consisted. The consequences of this robbery were such as might naturally
be expected. It is said that not one of the females of this family has
since been given in marriage.

But all this has nothing to do with the rebellion. If they had, indeed,
rebelled to cut their own son's throat, there is an end of the business.
But what evidence have you of this fact? and if none can be produced,
does not the prisoner's defence aggravate infinitely his crime and that
of his agents? Did they ever once state to these unfortunate women that
any such rebellion existed? Did they ever charge them with it? Did they
ever set the charge down in writing, or make it verbally, that they had
conspired to destroy their son, a son whom Mr. Hastings had brought
there to rob them? No, this was what neither Mr. Hastings nor his agent
ever did: for as they never made a civil demand upon them, so they never
made a criminal charge against them, or against any person belonging to
them.

I save your Lordships the trouble of listening to the manner in which
they seized upon these people, and dispersed their guard. Mr. Middleton
states, that they found great difficulties in getting at their
treasures,--that they stormed their forts successively, but found great
reluctance in the sepoys to make their way into the inner inclosures of
the women's apartments. Being at a loss what to do, their only resource,
he says, was to threaten that they would seize their eunuchs. These are
generally persons who have been bought slaves, and who, not having any
connections in the country where they are settled, are supposed to guard
both the honor of the women, and their treasures, with more fidelity
than other persons would do. We know that in Constantinople, and in many
other places, these persons enjoy offices of the highest trust, and are
of gr