It was
totally annihilated by him; and we charge, as an act of treason and
rebellion against the act of Parliament by which he held his office, his
depriving the Council of their legitimate authority, by shutting them
out from the knowledge of all affairs,--except, indeed, when he thought
it expedient, for his own justification, to have their nominal
concurrence or subsequent acquiescence in any of his more violent
measures.
Your Lordships see Mr. Hastings's system, a system of concealment, a
system of turning the vassals of the Company into his own vassals, to
make them contributory, not to the Company, but to himself. He has
avowed this system in Benares; he has avowed it in Oude. It was his
constant practice. Your Lordships see in Oude he kept a correspondence
with Mr. Markham for years, and did alone all the material acts which
ought to have been done in Council. He delegated a power to Mr. Markham
which he had not to delegate; and you will see he has done the same in
every part of India.
We first charge him not only with acting without authority, but with a
strong presumption, founded on his concealment, of intending to act
mischievously. We next charge his concealing and withdrawing
correspondence, as being directly contrary to the orders of the Court of
Directors, the practice of his office, and the very nature and existence
of the Council in which he was appointed to preside.
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