Hastings's _Defence_, which he has acknowledged to have
been written by other people.
From the Tartarian I shall now proceed to the later Mahometan conquerors
of Hindostan: for it is fit that I should show your Lordships the
wickedness of pretending that the people of India have no laws or
rights. A great proportion of the people are Mahometans; and Mahometans
are so far from having no laws or rights, that, when you name a
Mahometan, you name a man governed by law and entitled to protection.
Mr. Hastings caused to be published, and I am obliged to him for it, a
book called "The Hedaya": it is true that he has himself taken credit
for the work, and robbed Nobkissin of the money to pay for it; but the
value of a book is not lessened because a man stole it. Will you
believe, my Lords, that a people having no laws, no rights, no property,
no honor, would be at the trouble of having so many writers on
jurisprudence? And yet there are, I am sure, at least a thousand eminent
Mahometan writers upon law, who have written far more voluminous works
than are known in the Common Law of England, and I verily believe more
voluminous than the writings of the Civilians themselves. That this
should be done by a people who have no property is so perfectly
ridiculous as scarcely to require refutation; but I shall endeavor to
refute it, and without troubling you a great deal.
Pages:
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270