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My Lords, as I said, Mr. Hastings becomes a witness, and I believe in the course of the proceedings you will find a false witness, for Gunga Govind Sing. "To my own knowledge," says he, "they are vacant." Why, I cannot find that Mr. Hastings had ever been in Dinagepore; or if he had, it must have been only as a passenger.
He negotiated the bribe and the farm of the latter through the former; and Debi Sing was invested in farm for two years with the three provinces of Dinagepore, Edrackpore, and Rungpore, territories making together a tract of land superior in dimensions to the northern counties of England, Yorkshire included.
Dinagepore, Rungpore, and Edrackpore make a country, I believe, pretty nearly as large as all the northern counties of England, Yorkshire included. It is no mean country, and it has a prince of great, ancient, illustrious descent at the head of it, called the Rajah of Dinagepore.
Hastings's friendship for Gunga Govind Sing, I must re-state some circumstances, that your Lordships may understand thoroughly the nature of it. Your Lordships may recollect, that, about the time of the succession of the minor Rajah of Dinagepore, who was then but five or six years of age, and when Mr. Hastings left Bengal eight or nine, Mr.
Hastings's bribe-agent admits that he had received 10,000l., but he will not account for it; he says there is an arrear of another 10,000l.; and thus it appears that he was enabled to take from somebody at Dinagepore, by a cabooleat, 40,000l., of which Mr. Hastings can get but 20,000l.: there is cent per cent loss upon it. Mr.
I believe, however, I can tell from whom it was taken, and I believe it will appear to your Lordships that it must have been taken from the unhappy Rajah of Dinagepore; and I shall in a very few words state the circumstances attending, and the service performed for it: from these you will be able to form a just opinion concerning this bribe.
We must not, therefore, flatter ourselves, when Mr. Hastings takes 40,000l. in bribes for Dinagepore and its annexed provinces, that from the people nothing more than 40,000l. is extorted.
You will have the perfume-shops of the two countries. One of the accusations which we mean to bring against Mr. Hastings is upon the part of the Zemindar Radanaut, of the country of Dinagepore. Now hear what the Zemindar says himself.
Hastings's own account, after it had been pursued through a series of correspondence in vain, after his agents had come to England to explain it, this is the explanation that your Lordships have got of this first article, Dinagepore.
Hastings decreed in favor of the adoption. We find that immediately after this decree Gunga Govind Sing received a cabooleat on Dinagepore for the sum of 40,000l., of which it appears that he has actually exacted 30,000l., though he has paid to Mr. Hastings only 20,000l.
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