"Every step," says he, "which I had taken before that fatal
moment, namely, the flight of Cheyt Sing, is an incontrovertible proof
that I had formed no design of seizing upon the Rajah's treasures or of
deposing him. And certainly, at the time when I did form the design of
making the punishment that his former ill conduct deserved subservient
to the exigencies of the state by a large fine, I did not believe him
guilty of that premeditated project for driving the English out of India
with which I afterwards charged him." Thus, then, he declares upon oath
that the Rajah's contumacy was the ground of his suspecting him of
rebellion, and yet, when he comes to make his defence before the House
of Commons, he simply and candidly declares, that, long after these
alleged acts of contumacy had taken place, he did not believe him to be
guilty of any such thing as rebellion, and that the fine imposed upon
him was for another reason and another purpose.
In page 28 of your printed Minutes he thus declares the purpose for
which the fine was imposed:--"I can answer only to this formidable
dilemma, that, so long as I conceived Cheyt Sing's misconduct and
contumacy to have me rather than the Company for its object, at least to
be merely the effect of pernicious advice or misguided folly, without
any formal design of openly resisting our authority or disclaiming our
sovereignty, I looked upon a considerable fine as sufficient both for
his immediate punishment and for binding him to future good behavior.
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