nny Begum's
interference, and were committed by her creatures, why did he not say to
the Nabob, "The Begum must not interfere; the Begum's eunuchs must not
interfere"? He dared not: because that woman had concealed all the
bribes but one from public notice to gratify him; she and Yatibar Ali
Khan, her minister, who had the principal share in this destruction of
justice and perversion of all the principal functions of government, had
it in their power to discover the whole. Mr. Hastings was obliged, in
consequence of that concealment, to support her and to support him.
Every evil principle was at work. He bought a mercenary silence to pay
the same back to them. It was a wicked silence, the concealment of their
common guilt. There was at once a corrupt gratitude operating mutually
by a corrupt influence on both, and a corrupt fear influencing the mind
of Mr. Hastings, which did not permit him to put an end to this scene of
disorder and confusion, bought at the expense of twenty-four thousand
pounds a year to the Company. You will hereafter see what use he makes
of the evidence of Yatibar Ali Khan, and of this woman, for concealing
their guilt.

Your Lordships will observe that the virtuous majority, whose reign was
but short, and two of whom died of grief and vexation under the
impediments which they met with from the corruptions and oppositions of
Mr. Hastings, (their indirect murderer,--for it is well known to the
world that their hearts were thus broken,) put their conduct out of all
suspicion. For they ordered an exact account to be kept by Mahomed Reza
Khan,--though, certainly, if any person in the country could be trusted,
he, upon his character, might; but they did not trust him, because they
knew the Company did not suffer them to trust any man: they ordered an
exact account to be kept by him of the Nabob's expenses, which finally
must be the Company's expenses; they ordered the account to be sent down
yearly, to be controlled, if necessary, whilst the means of control
existed.--What was Mr. Hastings's conduct? He did not give the persons
whom he appointed any order to produce any account, though their
character and circumstances were such as made an account ten thousand
times more necessary from them than from those from whom it had been in
former times by the Company strictly exacted. So that his not ordering
any account to be given of the money that was to be expended leaves no
doubt that the appointment of Mun