Saint George was planted on the walls of
Ghizni.

financial embarrassments of the government. The allowance of the Nabob of Bengal was reduced at a stroke from 320,000l. a year to The Emperors of Hindostan themselves half that sum. The Company had bound itself came from the other side of the great moun to pay nearly 300,000l. a year to the Great tain ridge: and it had always been their pracMogul, as a mark of homage for the provinces tice to recruit their army from the hardy and which he had intrusted to their care; and they valiant race from which their own illustrious had ceded to him the districts of Corah and house sprang. Among the military advenAllahabad. On the plea that the Mogul was turers who were allured to the Mogul standnot really independent, but merely a tool in the ards from the neighbourhood of Cabul and hands of others, Hastings determined to retract Candahar, were conspicuous several gallant these concessions. He accordingly declared bands, known by the name of the Rohillas. that the English would pay no more tribute, Their services had been rewarded with large and sent troops to occupy Allahabad and Co- tracts of land-fiefs of the spear, if we may rah. The situation of these places was such, use an expression drawn from an analogous that there would be little advantage and great state of things-in that fertile plain through expense in retaining them. Hastings, who which the Ramgunga flows from the snowy wanted money and not territory, determined to heights of Kumaon to join the Ganges. In the sell them. A purchaser was not wanting. general confusion which followed the death of The rich province of Oude had, in the general Aurungzebe, the warlike colony became virdissolution of the Mogul Empire, fallen to the tually independent. The Rohillas were distinshare of the great Mussulman house by which guished from the other inhabitants of India by it is still governed. About twenty years ago, a peculiarly fair complexion. They were more this house, by the permission of the British honourably distinguished by valour in war government, assumed the royal title, but, in and by skill in the arts of peace. While the time of Warren Hastings, such an assump- anarchy raged from Lahore to Cape Comorin, tion would have been considered by the Mo- their little territory enjoyed the blessings of hammedans of India as a monstrous impiety. repose under the guardianship of courage. The Prince of Oude, though he held the power, Agriculture and commerce flourished among did not venture to use the style of sovereignty. them; nor were they negligent of rhetoric and To the appellation of Nabob or Viceroy, he poetry. Many persons now living have heard added that of Vizier of the monarchy of Hin-aged men talk with regret of the golden days dostan-just as in the last century the Electors when the Afghan princes ruled in the vale of of Saxony and Brandenburg, though independ- | Rohilcund.

ent of the Emperor, and often in arms against Sujah Dowlah had set his heart on adding him, were proud to style themselves his Grand this rich district to his own principality. Chamberlain and Grand Marshal. Sujah Right, or show of right, he had absolutely Dowlah, then nabob vizier, was on excellent none. His claim was in no respect better terms with the English. He had a large trea-founded than that of Catherine to Poland, or sure. Allahabad and Corah were so situated that of the Bonaparte family to Spain. The that they might be of use to him, and could be | of none to the Company. The buyer and seller soon came to an understanding; and the provinces which had been torn from the Mogul were made over to the government of Oude for about half a million sterling.

Rohillas held their country by exactly the same title by which he held his and had governed their country far better than his had ever been governed. Nor were they a people whom it was perfectly safe to attack. Their land was indeed an open plain, destitute of natural defences; but their veins were full of the high

But there was another matter still more important to be settled by the Vizier and the Go-blood of Afghanistan. As soldiers, they had vernor. The fate of a brave people was to be decided. It was decided in a manner which has left a lasting stain on the fame of Hastings and of England.

not the steadiness which is seldom found except in company with strict discipline; but their impetuous valour had been proved on many fields of battle. It was said that their The people of central Asia had always been chiefs, when united by common peril, could to the inhabitants of India what the warriors bring eighty thousand men into the field. Suof the German forests were to the subjects of jah Dowlah had himself seen them fight, and the decaying monarchy of Rome. The dark, wisely shrank from a conflict with them. slender, and timid Hindoo shrank from a con-There was in India one army, and only one, flict with the strong muscle and resolute spirit against which even those proud Caucasian of the fair race which dwelt beyond the passes. tribes could not stand. It had been abundantly There is reason to believe that, at a period an- proved that neither tenfold odds nor the mar terior to the dawn of regular history, the peo-tial ardour of the boldest Asiatic nations, ple who spoke the rich and flexible Sanscrit could avail aught against English science and came from regions lying far beyond the Hy-resolution. Was it possible to induce the phasis and the Hystaspes, and imposed their yoke on the children of the soil. It is certain that, during the last ten centuries, a succession of invaders descended from the west on Hindostan; nor was the course of conquest ever turned back towards the setting sun, till that memorable campaign in which the cross of

Governor of Bengal to let out to hire the irre sistible energies of the imperial people--the skill, against which the ablest chiefs of Hin dostan were helpless as infants--the discipline, which had so often triumphed over the frantic struggles of fanaticism and despairthe unconquerable British courage which it

never so sedate and stubborn as towards the close of a doubtful and murderous day?

large ransom, but in vain. They then resolved to defend themselves to the last. A bloody battle was fought. The enemy," says Colonel Champion, “ gave proof of a good share of military knowledge; and it is impossible to describe a more obstinate firmness of resolution than they displayed." The dastardly sovereign

This was what the Nabob Vizier asked, and what Hastings granted. A bargain was soon struck. Each of the negotiators had what the other wanted. Hastings was in need of funds to carry on the government of Bengal, and to send remittances to London; and Sujah Dow-of Oude fled from the field. The English were lah had an ample revenue. Sujah Dowlah was bent on subjugating the Rohillas; and Hastings had at his disposal the only force by which the Rohillas could be subjugated. It was agreed that an English army should be lent to the Nabob Vizier, and that, for the loan, he should pay 400,000. sterling, besides defraying all the charge of the troops while employed in his service.

left unsupported; but their fire ånd their charge were irresistible. It was not, however, till the most distinguished chiefs had fallen, fighting bravely at the head of their troops, that the Rohilla ranks gave way. Then the Nabob Vizier and his rabble made their appearance, and hastened to plunder the camp of the valiant enemies, whom they had never dared to look in the face. The soldiers of the Company, trained in an exact discipline, kept unbroken order, while the tents were pillaged by these worthless allies. But many voices were heard to exclaim, "We have had all the fighting, and these rogues are to have all the profit."

"I really cannot see," says the Rev. Mr. Gleig, "upon what grounds, either of political or moral justice, this proposition deserves to be stigmatized as infamous." If we understand the meaning of words, it is infamous to commit a wicked action for hire, and it is Then the horrors of Indian war were let wicked to engage in war without provocation. loose on the fair valleys and cities of RohilIn this particular war, scarcely one aggravat- cund. The whole country was in a blaze. ing circumstance was wanting. The object More than a hundred thousand people fled of the Rohilla war was this-to deprive a large from their homes to pestilential jungles, prepopulation, who had never done us the least ferring famine and fever, and the haunts of harm, of a good government, and to place tigers, to the tyranny of him, to whom an Engthem, against their will, under an execrably lish and a Christian government had, for bad one. Nay, even this is not all. England shameful lucre, sold their substance and their now descended far below the level even of blood, and the honour of their wives and daughthose petty German princes, who, about the ters. Colonel Champion remonstrated with same time, sold us troops to fight the Ameri- the Nabob Vizier, and sent strong representacans. The hussar-mongers of Hesse and An- tions to Fort William; but the Governor had spach had at least the assurance that the ex-made no conditions as to the mode in which the peditions on which their soldiers were to be employed, would be conducted in conformity with the humane rules of civilized warfare. Was the Rohilla war likely to be so conducted? Did the Governor stipulate that it should be so conducted? He well knew what Indian warfare was. He well knew that the power which he covenanted to put into Sujah Dowlah's hands would, in all probability, be atrociously abused; and he required no guarantee, no promise that it should not be so abused. He did not even reserve to himself the right of withdrawing his aid in case of abuse, however gross. Mr. Gleig repeats Major Scott's absurd plea that Hastings was justified in letting out English troops to slaughter the Rohillas, because the Rohillas were not of Indian race, but a colony from a distant country. What were the English themselves! Was it for them to proclaim a crusade for the expulsion of all intruders from the countries watered by the Ganges? Did it lie in their mouths to contend that a foreign settler, who establishes an empire in India, is a caput lupinum? What would they have said if any other power had, on such We hasten to the end of this sad and disa ground, attacked Madras or Calcutta, with- graceful story. The war has ceased. The out the slightest provocation? Such a defence finest population in India was subjected to a was wanting to make the infamy of the trans-greedy, cowardly, cruel tyrant. Commerce and action complete. The atrocity of the crime agriculture languished. The rich province and the hypocrisy of the apology are worthy which had tempted the cupidity of Sujah Dov of each other. lah became the most miserable part even of his miserable dominions. Yet is the injured nation not yet extinct. At long intervals gleams of its ancient spirit have flashed forth. and even at this day, valour, and self-respec

One of the three brigades of which the Bengal army consisted was sent under Colonel Champion to join Sujah Dowlah's forces. The Rohillas expostulated, entreated, offered a

war was to be carried on. He had troubled himself about nothing but his forty lacs; and, though he might disapprove of Sujah Dowlah's wanton barbarity, he did not think himself entitled to interfere, except by offering advice, This delicacy excites the admiration of the reverend biographer. “Mr. Hastings." he says, "could not himself dictate to the Nabob, nor permit the commander of the Company's troops to dictate how the war was to be carried on." No, to be sure. Mr. Hastings had only to put down by main force the brave struggles of innocent men fighting for their liberty. Their military resistance crushed, his duties ended; and he had then only to fold his arms and look on, while their villages were burned, their children butchered, and their women violated. Will Mr. Gleig seriously maintain this opinion? Is any rule more plain than this, that whoever voluntarily gives to another irresistible power over human beings, is bound to take order that such power shall not be barbarously abused? But we beg pardon of our readers for arguing a point so clear.

and a chivalrous feeling, rare among Asiatics, and the bitter remembrance of the great crime of England, distinguish that noble Afghan race. To this day they are regarded as the best of all sepoys at the cold steel; and it was recently remarked by one who had enjoyed great opportunities of observation, that the only natives of India to whom the word "gentlemen" can with perfect propriety be applied, are to be found among the Rohillas.

Whatever we may think of the morality of Hastings, it cannot be denied that the financial results of his policy did honour to his talents. In less than two years after he assumed the government, he had, without imposing any additional burdens on the people subject to his authority, added about 450,000l. to the annual income of the Company, besides procuring about a million in ready money. He had also relieved the finances of Bengal from military expenditure, amounting to near 250,000l. a year, and had thrown that charge on the Nabob of Oude. There can be no doubt that this was a result which, if it had been obtained by honest means, would have entitled him to the warmest gratitude of his country; and which, by whatever means obtained, proved that he possessed great talents for administration.

to every mind. Was he the author of the Letters of Junius? Our own firm belief is, that he was. The external evidence is, we think, such as would support a verdict in a civil, nay, in a criminal proceeding. The handwriting of Junius is the very peculiar handwriting of Francis, slightly disguised. As to the position, pursuits, and connections of Junius, the following are the most important facts which can be considered as clearly proved: first, that he was acquainted with the technical forms of the Secretary of State's office; secondly, that he was intimately acquainted with the business of the war-office; thirdly, that he, during the year 1770, attended debates in the House of Lords, and took notes of speeches, particularly of the speeches of Lord Chathan; fourthly, that he bitterly resented the appoint ment of Mr. Chamier to the place of Deputy Secretary at War; fifthly, that he was bound by some strong tie to the first Lord Holland. Now, Francis passed some years in the Secre tary of State's office. He was subsequently chief clerk of the war-office. He repeatedly mentioned that he had himself, in 1770, heard speeches of Lord Chatham; and some of those speeches were actually printed from his notes. He resigned his clerkship at the war-office from resentment at the appointment of Mr. Chamier. It was by Lord Holland that he was first introduced into the public service. Now here are five marks, all of which ought to be found in Junius. They are all five found in Francis. We do not believe that more than two of them can be found in any other person whatever. If this argument does not settle the question, there is an end of all reasoning on circumstan

In the mean time, Parliament had been engaged in long and grave discussions on Indian affairs. The ministry of Lord North, in the session of 1773, introduced a measure which made a considerable change in the constitution of the Indian government. This law, known by the name of the Regulating Act, provided that the presidency of Bengal should exercise a control over the other possessions of the Company; that the chief of that presidencytial evidence. should be styled Governor-General; that he should be assisted by four councillors; and that a supreme court of judicature, consisting of a chief justice and three inferior judges, should be established at Calcutta. This court was made independent of the Governor-General and Council, and was intrusted with a civil and criminal jurisdiction of immense and, at the same time, of undefined extent.

The internal evidence seems to us to point the same way. The style of Francis bears a strong resemblance to that of Junius; nor are we disposed to admit, what is generally taken for granted, that the acknowledged compositions of Francis are very decidedly inferior to the anonymous letters. The argument from inferiority, at all events, is one which may be urged with at least equal force against every The Governor-General and councillors were claimant that has ever been mentioned, with named in the act, and were to hold their situa- the single exception of Burke, who certainly tions for five years. Hastings was to be the was not Junius. And what conclusion, after first Governor-General. One of the four new all, can be drawn from mere inferiority? councillors, Mr. Barwell, an experienced ser- Every writer must produce his best work; vant of the Company, was then in India. The and the interval between his best work and other three, General Clavering, Mr. Monson, his second best work may be very wide indeed. and Mr. Francis, were sent out from England. Nobody will say that the best letters of Junius The ablest of the new councillors was, be- are more decidedly superior to the acknow yond all doubt, Philip Francis. His acknowledged works of Francis, than three or four of ledged compositions prove that he possessed considerable eloquence and information. Several years passed in the public offices had formed him to habits of business. His enemies have never denied that he had a fearless and manly spirit; and his friends, we are afraid, must acknowledge that his estimate of himself was extravagantly high, that his temper was irritable, that his deportment was often rude and petulant, and that his hatred was of intense bitterness and long duration.

Corneille's tragedies to the rest; than three or four of Ben Jonson's comedies to the rest; than the Pilgrim's Progress to the other works of Bunyan; than Don Quixote to the other works of Cervantes. Nay, it is certain that the Man in the Mask, whoever he may have been, was a most unequal writer. To go no further than the letters which bear the signature of Junius-the letter to the king and the letters to Horne Tooke have little in common, except the asperity; and asperity was an inIt is scarcely possible to mention this emi-gredient seldom wanting either in the writings nent man without adverting for a moment to or in the speeches of Francis. the question which his name at once suggests

Indeed, one of the strongest reasons for be

lieving that Francis was Junius, is the moral | found an equally serviceable tool. But the
resemblance between the two men. It is not members of Council were by no means in an
difficult, from the letters which, under various obsequious mood. Hastings greatly disliked
signatures, are known to have been written by the new form of government, and had no very
Junius, and from his dealings with Woodfall high opinion of his coadjutors. They had heard
and others, to form a tolerably correct notion of this, and were disposed to be suspicious
of his character. He was clearly a man not and punctilious. When men are in such a
destitute of real patriotism and magnanimity-frame of mind, any trifle is sufficient to give
a man whose vices were not of a sordid kind. occasion for dispute. The members of Coun-
But he must also have been a man in the cil expected a salute of twenty-one guns from
highest degree arrogant and insolent, a man the batteries of Fort William. Hastings al-
prone to malevolence, and prone to the error lowed them only seventeen. They landed in
of mistaking his malevolence for public virtue. ill-humour. The first civilities were exchanged
"Doest thou well to be angry?" was the ques-with cold reserve. On the morrow commenced
tion asked in old time of the Hebrew prophet. that long quarrel which, after distracting Bri-
And he answered, “I do well." This was evi- tish India, was renewed in England, and in
dently the temper of Junius; and to this cause which all the most eminent statesmen and ora-
we attribute the savage cruelty which dis-tors of the age took active part on one or the
graces several of his letters. No man is so other side.
merciless as he who, under a strong self-delu- Hastings was supported by Barwell. They
sion, confounds his antipathies with his duties. had not always been friends. But the arrival
It may be added, that Junius, though allied of the new members of Council from England
with the democratic party by common enmi-naturally had the effect of uniting the old ser-
ties, was the very opposite of a democratic
politician. While attacking individuals with
a ferocity which perpetually violated all the
laws of literary warfare, he regarded the most
defective parts of old institutions with a re-
spect amounting to pedantry-pleaded the
cause of Old Sarum with fervour, and con-
temptuously told the capitalists of Manchester
and Leeds, that, if they wanted votes, they
might buy land and become freeholders of
Lancashire and Yorkshire. All this, we be-
lieve, might stand, with scarcely any change,
for a character of Philip Francis.

It is not strange that the great anonymous writer should have been willing at that time to leave the country which had been so powerfully stirred by his eloquence. Every thing had gone against him. That party which he clearly preferred to every other, the party of George Grenville, had been scattered by the death of its chief, and Lord Suffolk had led the greater part of it over to the ministerial benches. The ferment produced by the Middlesex election had gone down. Every faction must have been alike an object of aversion to Junius. His opinions on domestic affairs separated him from the Ministry, his opinions on colonial affairs from the Opposition. Under such circumstances he had thrown down his pen in misanthropic despair. His farewell letter to Woodfall bears date the 19th of January, 1783. In that letter he declared that he must be an idiot to write again; that he had meant well by the cause and the public; that both were given up; that there were not ten men who would act steadily together on any question. "But it is all alike," he added, "vile and contemptible. You have never flinched that I know of, and I shall always rejoice to hear of your prosperity." These were the last words of Junius. In a year from that time Philip Francis was on his voyage to Bengal.

With the three new councillors came out the judges of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice was Sir Elijah Impey. He was an old acquaintance of Hastings, and it is probable that the Governor-General, if he had searched through all the Inns of Court, could not have

vants of the Company. Clavering, Monson, and Francis formed the majority. They instantly wrested the government out of the hands of Hastings; condemned, certainly not without justice, his late dealings with the Nabob Vizier; recalled the English agent from Oude, and sent thither a creature of their own; ordered the brigade which had conquered the unhappy Rohillas to return to the Company's territories, and instituted a severe inquiry into the conduct of the war. Next, in spite of the Governor-General's remonstrances, they proceeded to exercise, in the most indiscreet manner, their new authority over the subordinate presidencies; threw all the affairs of Bombay into confusion; and interfered, with an incredible union of rashness and feebleness, in the intestine disputes of the Mahratta government. At the same time they fell on the internal administration of Bengal, and attacked the whole fiscal and judicial system-a system which was undoubtedly defective, but which it was very improbable that gentlemen fresh from England would be competent to amend. The effect of their reforms was, that all protection to life and property was withdrawn, and that gangs of robbers plundered and slaughtered with impunity in the very suburbs of Calcutta. Hastings continued to live in the Governmenthouse, and to draw the salary of GovernorGeneral. He continued even to take the lead at the council-board in the transaction of ordinary business; for his opponents could not but feel that he knew much of which they were ignorant, and that he decided, both surely and speedily, many questions which to them would have been hopelessly puzzling. But the higher powers of government and the most valuable patronage had been taken from him.

The natives soon found this out. They considered him as a fallen man, and they acted after their kind. Some of our readers may have seen in India a cloud of crows pecking a sick vulture to death—no bad type of what happens in that country as often as fortune deserts one who has beer. great and dreaced. In an instant all the sycophants who had lately been ready to lie for him, to forge for him t

The other members kept their seats, voted themselves a conncil, put Clavering in the chair, and ordered Nancomar to be called in. Nuncomar not only adhered to the original charges, but, after the fashion of the East, pro duced a large supplement. He stated tha Hastings had received a great sum for appointing Rajah Goordas treasurer of the Nabob's highness's person to the Munny Begum. He put in a letter purporting to bear the seal of the Munny Begum, for the purpose of establish

pander for him, to poison for him, hasten to an end, and left the room, followed by Barwell purchase the favour of his victorious enemies by accusing him. An Indian government has only to let it be understood that it wishes a particular man to be ruined, and in twentyfour hours it will be furnished with grave charges, supported by depositions so full and circumstantial, that any person unaccustomed to Asiatic mendacity would regard them as decisive. It is well if the signature of the des-household, and for committing the care of his tined victim is not counterfeited at the foot of some illegal compact, and if some treasonable paper is not slipped into a hiding-place in his house. Hastings was now regarded as help-ing the truth of his story. The seal, whether less. The power to make or mar the fortune of every man in Bengal had passed, as it seemed, into the hands of his opponents. Immediately charges against the Governor-General began to pour in. They were eagerly welcomed by the majority, who, to do them justice, were men of too much honour knowingly to countenance false accusations, but who were not sufficiently acquainted with the East to be aware that, in that part of the world, a very little encouragement from power will call forth in a week more Oateses, and Bedloes, and Dangerfields than Westminster Hall sees in a century.

forged, as Hastings affirmed, or genuine, as we are rather inclined to believe, proved nothing. Nuncomar, as everybody knows who knows India, had only to tell the Munny Begum that such a letter would give pleasure to the majority of the Council, in order to procure her attestation. The majority, however, voted that the charge was made out; that Hastings had corruptly received between thirty and forty thousand pounds, and that he ought to be com pelled to refund.

The general feeling among the English i Bengal was strongly in favour of the Governor General. In talents for business, in knowledg of the country, in general courtesy of demean

It would have been strange indeed if, at such a juncture, Nuncomar had remained quiet.our, he was decidedly superior to his persect That bad man was stimulated at once by malignity, by avarice, and by ambition. Now was the time to be avenged on his old enemy, to wreak a grudge of seventeen years, to establish himself in the favour of the majority of the Council, to become the greatest native of Bengal. From the time of the arrival of the new councillors, he had paid the most marked court to them, and had in consequence been excluded, with all indignity, from the Governmenthouse. He now put into the hands of Francis, with great ceremony, a paper containing several charges of the most serious description. By this document Hastings was accused of putting offices up to sale, and of receiving bribes for suffering offenders to escape. In particular, it was alleged that Mohammed Reza Khan had been dismissed with impunity, in consideration of a great sum paid to the Governor-General.

tors. The servants of the Company were na turally disposed to side with the most distin guished member of their own body against War-office clerk, who, profoundly ignorant of the native languages and the native characters took on himself to regulate every department of the administration. Hastings, however, in spite of the general sympathy of his countrymen, was in a most painful situation. There was still an appeal to higher authority in England. If that authority took part with his enemies, nothing was left to him but to throw up his office. He accordingly placed his resignation in the hands of his agent in London, Colonel Macleane. But Macleane was instructed not to produce the resignation, unless it should be fully ascertained that the feeling at the India House was adverse to the Governor-General.

The triumph of Nuncomar seemed to be complete. He held a daily levee, to which his Francis read the paper in Council. A vio-countrymen resorted in crowds, and to which, lent altercation followed. Hastings complained in bitter terms of the way in which he was treated, spoke with contempt of Nuncomar and of Nuncomar's accusation, and denied the right of the council to sit in judgment on the Governor. At the next mecting of the Board, another communication from Nuncomar was produced. He requested that he might be perinitted to attend the Council, and that he might be heard in support of his assertions. Another tempestuous debate took place. The GovernorGeneral maintained that the council-room was not a proper place for such an investigation; that from persons who were heated by daily conflict with him he could not expect the fairness of judges; and that he could not, without betraying the dignity of his post, submit to be confronted with such a man as Nuncomar. The majority, however, resolved to go into the charges. Hastings rose, declared the sitting at

on one occasion, the majority of the Council condescended to repair. His house was an office for the purpose of receiving charges against the Governor-General. It was said that, partly by threats and partly by wheedling, he had induced many of the wealthiest men of the province to send in complaints. But he was playing a desperate game. It was not safe to drive to despair a man of such resource and of such determination as Hastings. Nuncomar, with all his acuteness, did not understand the nature of the institutions under which he lived. He saw that he had with him the majority of the body which made treaties, gave places, raised taxes. The separation between political and judicial functions was a thing of which he had no conception. It had probably never occurred to him that there was in Bengal an authority perfectly independent of the Council-an authority which could protect one whom