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The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. / From the Accession of George III. to the Twenty-Third Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria cover

The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III. / From the Accession of George III. to the Twenty-Third Year of the Reign of Queen Victoria

Chapter 499: TERMINATION OF THE TRIAL OF WARREN HASTINGS.
By Edward Farr
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About This Book

The volume traces British political, parliamentary, and military developments from the accession of George III through the early nineteenth century, chronicling changes of ministry and cabinet, debates over colonial taxation and the American conflict, parliamentary controversies involving figures such as Wilkes and Warren Hastings, questions of Catholic relief and slave-trade abolition, and responses to the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, including major naval and continental campaigns, the union with Ireland, and domestic legislation on finance, civil liberties, and parliamentary reform.

TERMINATION OF THE TRIAL OF WARREN HASTINGS.

The trial of Warren Hastings terminated on the 23rd of April. The public interest in this trial had been much diminished by its prolongation; and at this time it seems to have been superseded by other matters of overwhelming importance. Only twenty-nine peers assembled at the final judgment; to each of whom every one of the sixteen articles was put separately, with the question of guilty or not guilty. On two charges he was unanimously acquitted; and with respect to the others the votes varied from three to six “guilty,” against the remainder “not guilty.” The lord chancellor then pronounced Warren Hastings acquitted of all the charges, and the ex-governor bowing to the court retired in silence. The propriety of his sentence was chiefly disputed by the advocates of strict justice; the public in general seemed satisfied with the result of the trial. The East India Company paid him the cost of his trial, amounting to more than seventy thousand pounds sterling, and conferred upon him a pecuniary donation. This was nothing but just; for Hastings had attended more to their interests in his government than his own: if he was cruel, it was for them; and if he exacted money from tributaries beyond that which was due, it was for them likewise. It must be confessed that the conduct of Hastings was, in some instances, inconsistent with the rules or British justice and the sentiments of humanity; but, at the same time, it must be confessed that his abilities secured the authority and established the dominion of this country over the east.