fovereign, what had probably been the mere unauthorifed act of Van Berkel himfelf, fupported by fome of the magistrates of the city of Amfterdam, who were well known to be in the French interest. But fuppofing, fo far as the treaty went, that it was a complete one; before any conclufion was drawn, he thought it behoved thofe who were perfuaded of its completion, to point out how far it did operate, and the perfons whom it was fuppofed to bind, or could bind. Did it bind the ftate, or republic? He believed no perfon would venture to affirm that it did. Did it even bind the province of Holland? That yet remained to be proved. Who then did it bind? For aught that he could learn, from any thing that ap-peared to the contrary, it neither did or could bind any other perfons, but merely the contracting parties whofes names were figned to the

inftrument.

His lordship then proceeded to remark, how different the conduct of the late earl of Chatham had been from that of the prefent adminiftration. In the very zenith of his power, in the fluth of victory, that great ftatcfman had many and ftrong pretences, if not real provocations, for employing the then irreliftible force of this country against the property and pofleflions of the Seven United Provinces. But he was too wife and magnanimous. He judiciously qualified the claims of this country, as well as fet limits to the unreasonable demands of that republic. He acted with moderation, refolution, firmness, and juf tice. He had not only Holland to manage, but the northern kingdoms, who were at the time, independently of the extreme jealouly of the naval power of Great Britain, rather ini

It

mically inclined towards us, particularly Ruffia and Sweden; yet, amidit a variety of difficulties, many adverfe views, and contending inte refts, lord Chatham, by his address and abilities, always avoided a rupture with thofe powers, or with Holland. But the prefent ministry never took any proper methods to be upon good terms with that republic. On the country, before the commencement of hoftilities with France or Spain, they ordered our ambaffador at the Hague to prefent a most infolent memorial to the States-general, containing threats of a most unprecedented nature, when addreffed to an independent state of any defcription; but when addreffed to an ally, to the laft degree provoking, arrogant, and indecent. was to this memorial, more than to any other circumftance whatever, that all the fubfequent conduct of the republic might be attributed. If there was a Gallo-American faction in Holland, that faction owed its very exiftence to the conduct of the British adminiftration. It was their arrogance and infolence which had fupplied food for discontent, and furnified arguments to the fecret and open friends of France in the republic, to inflame the minds of their fellowfubjects against the government and people of Great Britain, and to ag gravate any part of our conduct, fo as to perfuade the Hollanders, that the infults and affronts daily put upon them, tended to establish an univerfal dominion on the ocean, and to lead to reftrictions upon commerce, fuited to the interests and well known ambition of the English nation, who could bear no rival in trade, and who would, fhould the prevail in her prefent conteft with America, derive fuch an accumulation of naval force, as to enable her

to give law to the whole world on that element. His lordship added, that, upon confidering the provocations given on our part to Holland, and the conduct of that republic under thofe repeated infults, and the nature of the connexion between this country and the Seven United Provinces, together with the ruinous confequences that might be the refult of a war between them, he was of opinion, that the manifefto against Holland ought not to receive the fanction of their lordships, till ftronger evidence were produced of the neceffity, juftice, and policy of that meafure; and that if no better grounds of hoftility fhould be the refult of a more particular inquiry, that parliament would be bound to order immediate reparation and fatisfaction to be given for the injury, already fuftained by Holland, and of courfe that an end fhould be put to the farther profecution of hoftilities.

Lord Bathurst threw out fome fevere reflections on the conduct and motives of the lords in oppofition to administration; and was anfwered by the duke of Richmond in a very pointed and farcaftic manner. After fome farther debate, his grace's motion was rejected by a majority of 84 to 19; and the addrefs to his majefty, moved for by lord Stormont, was agreed to by the house. Two protefts were entered in the journals, fgned by the principal lords in op

pofition, in which the precipitation, injuftice, and total want of policy, which appeared in the proceedings against Holland, were ftrongly and feverely cenfured.

On the ift of February, a motion was made in the house of commons by Mr. Fox, that it fhould be refolved by that houfe," that the appointment of fir Hugh Pallifer to be governor of Greenwich Hofpital, after he had been declared guilty of having preferred a malicious and ill-grounded accufation against his commanding officer, by the fentence of a court-martial, was a measure totally fubverfive of the difcipline, and derogatory to the honour of the navy.' In the courfe of the debate which took place on this occafion, it was contended, that the appointment complained of was an infult to the navy, and calculated to introduce mutiny and diforder into the fleet; and it was remarked of the courtmartial on fir Hugh Pallifer's own trial, and by which he was acquitted, that one of the members of it was his nephew, and that three of the other members were officers of the Blue fquadron, and, if there had been guilt found, would have been implicated in that guilt. Lord North vindicated the promotion of fir Hugh Pallifer, and the latter endeavoured to vindicate his own conduct. The motion was rejected by a majority of 214 to 149.

justice to the natives. Mr. Haftings, who was at that time prefident, and who had a high reputation for abilities and integrity, and for his knowledge of the customs and manners of the country, drew up a fet of regulations for thefe two important departments. By degrees many abufes were removed, and greater order and tranquillity appeared in the country. But the iniquities that had been practifed by many individuals in India, and the immenfe fortunes which had been acquired by injuftice and rapacity, had now excited the attention of the people of England, and it was thought neceffary that parliament fhould interfere. Accordingly in 1773, an act was paffed," for eftablishing certain rules and orders for the future management of the affairs of the Eaft India company, as well in India as in Europe." In this act, among other regulations, it was enacted, that the mayor's court of Calcutta, which had been originally eftablished by the authority of the Eaft India company, fhould for the future be confined to fmall mercantile caufes; and that a new court hould be eftablished, confifting of a chief justice, and three puifne judges; and that thefe judges should be appointed by the crown, It was allo enacted, that a fuperiority fhould be given to the prefidency of Bengal over the other prefidencies in India. The falaries of the judges were fixed, at 8oool. per annum to the chief justice, and 6000l. to each of the other three. In confequence of this act, fir Elijah Impey, as chief justice, who was knighted upon the occafion, and three other judges, fet fail for India in the year 1774. They were invested with great powers; they had the title of his majesty's fupreme court of judicature in that

country; they had civil law, common law, ecclefiaftical, admiralty, and criminal jurifdiction; they were empowered to try Europeans on perfonal actions, and to affefs damages without a jury; and, to prevent any Europeans from cluding juftice, under colour of employing natives in the commiffion of their crimes, every native, directly or indirectly in their fervice, or in that of the company, was to be made fubject to the jurifdiction of this court likewife.

Great expectations were formed of the benefits which would refult from the establishment of this court of judicature. But thofe who were moft acquainted with the country, and its inhabitants, were from the firft of a contrary opinion; and it appeared in the event that their opinion was the best founded. The views with which this court was established were, to preferve the commerce and revenues of the company from depradation, by subjecting its fervants to the controul of the court; to relieve the fubject from oppreffion, by facilitating the means of redrefs; and finally, to establish a fixed, lafting, and regular courfe of juftice for the permanent fecurity of liberty and property. But instead of framing a new code of laws for this inftitution, the Englifh laws were introduced in their full extent, and with all their confequences, without any restriction or modification whatever, to ac commodate them to the climate and manners of Afia; without any regard to religious inftitutions, or local habits, or to the influence of other laws handed down from the remoteft antiquity, and fixed in the hearts of the people. The English laws were tranfplanted entire into the oppofite quarter of the globe

to

to be administered by judges educated under them, and wholly unacquainted with the religion, character, or manners of the people over whom they were appointed to prefide. From the first arrival of the judges in Bengal, they were engaged in frequent contests with the majority of the council, and appear to have laboured to extend their jurifdiction far beyond what was intended by the British parliament. Complaints of their conduct were frequently tranfmitted to England from the fervants of the Eaft India company; and in confequence of thefe reprefentations, on the 19th of November, 1777, the directors of the company fent a letter to lord Weymouth, fecretary of fate for the fouthern department, in which they ftated, that the fupreme court in India had extended its jurifdiction to perfons whom it did not appear to have been the intention of the king or parliament to fubmit to its authority; that it had taken cognizance of matters, both originally and pending the ur, the exclufive cognizance of which, they conceived it to have been the intcution of the king and parliament to leave to other courts; that the judges confidered the criminal law of England as in force, and birds c. upon the natives of Bengal, though utterly repugnant to the laws and cuftoms by which they had formerly been governed; that the jurifdiction exercited by the fupreme court was incompatible with the powers given by parliament to the governor general and council, obftructed the adminiftiation of government, and tended to alienate the minds of the natives; and, as it was feared, would prevent the eftablifhment of the government of that country on any fettled or permanent foundation.

The British judges were attended

to India by a number of adventarers, who were allured by the hope of enriching themfelves under the new eftablishment. Some of them were of the lowest fort of people, and perfons whofe vices or extravagance had rendered it very inconve nient for them to live in England, and who could find no refuge from distress but in a flight to the other end of the globe. Many of them were enrolled among the domestics of the judges, or became their immediate dependants; and, upon their arrival in Bengal, were permitted to affume the characters of attorneys, court officers, under fheriffs, and bailiffs. One of thefe, who had been clerk to one of the puifne judges, was afterwards made attorney, proctor, mafter extraordinary in chancery, and under theriff; and acted in this four-fold capacity at one and the fame time in Dacca. Thefe inferior practifers of the law found it for their intereft to promote fuits in the fupreme court as much as poffible, and with that view ope rated upon the ignorance and credulity of the natives with great industry, and fome of them with great address.

The conduct of the fupreme court continued to increafe the difcontents both of the British fubjects, and of the natives; and, indeed, fome re markable decifions of fir Elijah Impey, and his brother judges, have iufficiently fhewn, that, if they were not actuated by any arbitrary, or other improper views, they were under the influence of very narrow prejudices; that their profeffional bigotry was carried to the utmost extremity: and that they were to tally deftitute of thofe liberal and enlarged views, which might have been expected from men appointed, by high authority, to administer juftice in fo remote a quarter of the globe.

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