some favor from government which it is not
necessary now to state. In order to make good his claim, he states what
nobody denied, but which is universally known in fact. Says he, "I have
never entertained any such intention or idea," that is, of seizing upon
other people's zemindaries; "neither am I at all desirous of acquiring
any other person's zemindary in this country," &c....

[_The document read here is wanting, ending_] "as several Calcutta
banians have done," &c.

He states it as a kind of constant practice, by which the country had
been robbed under Mr. Hastings, known and acknowledged to be so, to
seize upon the inheritance of the widow and the fatherless. In this
manner did Gunga Govind Sing govern himself, upon the direct precedent
of Cantoo Baboo, the banian of Mr. Hastings; and this other instrument
of his in like manner calls upon government for favor of some kind or
other, upon the same principle and the same precedent.

Your Lordships now see how necessary it was to say something about
arbitrary power. For, first, the wicked people of that country (Mr.
Hastings's instruments, I mean) pretend right, title, purchase, grant;
and when their frauds in all these legal means are discovered, then they
fly off, and have recourse to arbitrary power, and say, "It is true I
can make out no right, title, grant, or purchase; the parties are
minors; I am bound to take care of their right: but you have arbitrary
power; you have exercised it upon other occasions; exercise it upon
this; give me the rights of other people." This was the last act, and I
hope will be the last act, of Mr. Hastings's wicked power, done by the
wickedest man in favor of the wickedest man, and by the wickedest means,
which failed upon his own testimony.

To bring your Lordships to the end of this business, which I hope will
lead me very near to the end of what I have to trouble your Lordships
with, I will now state the conduct of the Council, and the resolution
about Gunga Govind Sing. I am to inform your Lordships that there was a
reference made by the Council to the Committee of Revenue, namely, to
Gunga Govind Sing himself,--a reference with regard to the right, title,
mode, and proceeding, and many other circumstances; upon which the
Committee, being such as I have described, very naturally were silent.
Gunga Govind Sing _loquitur solus_,--in the manner you have just heard;
the Committee were the chorus,--they sometimes talk, fil