Star.
London, England, 1806-06-04 00:00:00

74•Rozna

Lord TEMPLE,—purtuant to the notice he had
given upon a former day, now rote for the purpofe
of moving a Specific day, for taking into oonfidera-
tion the charges of high crimes and mifderneanours
agoinfl the Marquis Wellefley, laid on the table by
an Honourable Member on the 28th of lag month.
He hoped it would not be neceffary for him to pre-
face his motion by obfervations of any great length.
But as the Honourable Member who bad brought
forward thole charges, had named no particular day
for moving the Houle to their confideration ; feeling
as he did the nature and importance of thofe charges
to be Inch as called for their full invelligation with
the leall poffible delay, he now role for that purpofe.
Gentlemen who had looked into thofe charges mull
have felt them to be of the moll weighty and impor-
tant nature. They directly imputed- to Lord Wel-
lefley not only every Species of public delinquency
that could brand the charatler of a public officer, but
every charge of private depravity that could Rain
the perfonal reputation of an individual. He had no
doubt that the Hon. Gentleman who brought forward
thofe charges, had done fo under a fellperfuafion of
their truth, and a belief that he Should be able to
fubflantiate them in evidence. He would not pay
the Hon. Gentleman fo bad a compliment, as to fop-
pole he would bring forward Such charges againft
any man, much lets againft the Noble Lord, unlefs
he was himfelf pertuaded they were founded in fall,
and without being prepared with evidence, which he
himfelf conceived competent to fußain them. But
the Honourable Gentleman mull allow that, notwith-
Randing the ftrengh of his own perfoafion upon the
fubjedt, it was Rill poffible that the Noble Lord might
poll-els a confidence in his own innocence, Superior to
every occultation of Such a nature, and muff feel ex-
tremely impatient for the opportunity of his own vin-
dication, more efpecially when thole charges included
one of a nature more atrocious than all the fen, and
Such a one as called for the moil immediate inveiti-
gation, namely. the charge of a foul, deliberate, and
cruel murder. In this charge was alto included ano
ther perfon, not a Member of either Houle of Parlia-
ment, for whole account alto much anxiety mutt be
felt ; though he had not the honour even of a flight
perfonal acquaintance with him, namely, Mr. Henry
Wellcfley. But, from the nature of the charges al.
together, and more efpecially the lag, it became ab
folutely neceffary that an early invelligation Should
now take place. If the Hon. Gentleman had named
any day for Such an enquiry, it would not be his
wish to take it out of his hands : for the prefent, how..
ever, he Should move, " That the Honfe do, on to-
morrow fortnight, take into its confideration the
charges of high crimes and mirdemeannurs, laid on
their table, againft Richard Marquis Wellefley, on
the 28th ult. concerning the affair of Oude." If the
Honourable Gentleman Should then have any motion
to fubmit to the Hottle upon the fulajat, he would
have an opportunity of doing to. If not, he (Lord
Temple) Should certainly propofe a motion on the
fubjelt.
Mr. PAUL adverted to the precedent of Mr.
Burke's proceedings againfl Governor Hollings, and
Paid, that that Right Honourable Gentleman, after
five years deliberation and repeated motions, had,
upon the 4th of April, 1786, laid on the table (even
;articles of charge againft Mr. Hollings; on the 12th
of April, he laid four more ; and on the 7th of
May three more • and notwithlianding the Right
Honourable Gentleman had taken five vears to de-
liberate upon his purpofe ; that he had the benefit of
the Reports of the Secret Committee, of various pa.
pers he moved for, and of evidence examined at the
Bar for the proof of his charges ; yet it was not in
lets than fix weeks afterwards, that he moved the
Houle to any proceeding upon thole charges. Now
he had given notice only yellerday, that he had wit
nefres to examine, and had alto moved for a number
of papers, many of which were abfolutely neceffary
in fupport of the charges alluded to by the Noble
Lord. Let thole witneffes be examined at the Bar ;
let thole papers be produced in proper time, and he
Should have not the fmalleft oblation to proceed to
the invefligation on the day propoled. Indeed, it was
his intention to have moved for that day, if the ter-
timony and documents had been fairly before the
Houle : but until they were, he Should not be induc-
ed to move one Rep to the right nr to the left, or to
move one degree quicker or flower, in confequence
of the Noble Lord's motion, or of any importunity
from the friends of Lord Wellefley : and with raped
to the charge of murder, alluded to by the Noble
Lord, it was a general charge, and only mentioned ,
amongft others, with a hope that, upon fubflantia-
ting the preceding charges, he would be allowed to
bring a rupplementary charge upon that diftiat
head ; and he would be ready to go into the proofs
upon that point to-morrow, it the others were gone
through,
Lord TEMPLE explained, as did Mr. PAULL.
Lord ARCHIBALD HAMILTON could not
let pals tonic expreffions which had fallen from the
Noble Lord, without making tome obfervations
upon them. The Noble Lord had complained that
the charges of the Honourable Gentleman went to
impeach the private charafter of Lord Wellefley for
alts merely of public and official condutt, and that
he had applied to the Noble Marquis perfonally every
latrocious epithet—of tyranny, cruelty, oppredion,
plunder, and even of murder, for acts done in his
public and official fituation. But he mull conceive
it impoilible, that fuch could have been the purpofe
of the Honourable Gentleman; and as to the charge
of murder, he did not conceive it to be put by the !
Honourable Gentleman in the way it was imputed.
But really, if in bringing forward charges Such as
chore now on the table of the Houle, and every tittle
of which his Lordatip conceived to be warranted by

the documents already brought forward in fupport
of them, a Member was to he reftrained in the ufe of
fuch language and fuch epithets as were ufual in ex-
preffing opinions, extremely natural to his feelings,
upon loch circumftances as thole charged, left the
prirate charafter of the party accufed fbonld be flip.
poled to be implicated in his public conduit, it would
be impoffible fur any man to devife a becoming lan.
guage for bringingbefore that Houle criminal charges
againft public delinquency in any man.
Sir JOHN NEWPORT expreffed fome furprife,
how the Noble Lord who (poke lalt, if be had read
the charges upon the table, could fo far miftake that
particular charge, which related to murder, as to fay
the crime was not roundly and fpecificallT charged
againft the Noble Marquis, in conjunBion with others.
I The Honourable Baronet here read an extra& from
the charge, which Rated, that the laid Marquis, in
conjunetion with Richard Wellefley, bad, with num•
hers of armed men, furrounded the manfions of cer•
tain Zemindars and Rajahs, the fubjeas of the Nabob
I of Oude, and within his dominions, and did attack,
flay, and dellroy feveral of the Paid Rajahs, Zemin.
dare, and their attendants and adherents, and did
Pack and plunder their Paid manfions of their proper.
ty ! thus completing the meafure of his oppreffion and
tyranny, by a foul, deliberate, wanton, and cruel
murder. If this, then, was not a charge of murder, I
couched in as Itrong. words as had ever appeared in
the language of an indiOment, he was at a lots to
conceive what words could defcribe it more•ftrongly.
Sir ARTHUR WELLESLEY rote, to exprels
fame furprife at the declaration made by the Noble
Lord who (poke IA but one ;namely, that he thought
the charges againft the Noble Marquis, his relation,
borne out by the documents already laid upon the ta.
ble : and more efpecially, as the Noble Lord's Hon.
Friend (Mr. Paull), had Paid, only the moment be.
fore, that he could not faftain thole charges without
feveral other documents which he had moved for; and
alto the examination of feveral witneffes at the Bar.
It was very extraordinary, therefore, that the Noble
Lord Ihould pronounce to decidedly upon the truth of
charges (which however remained to be proved), that
his Hon. Friend who brought them forward declared
he was not able to ((Alain without much more evidence.
With refpein to the charge of murder, however, it was
one of too foul and atrocious a nature to be fuffered to
go forth unexplained, or remain as a Rain upon the
charatter of his Noble Relation, without placing the
circumnances upon which it was founded in a proper
point of view. There were certain Officers, called
Zemindars and Rajahs, refident in that part of the
Nabob's territory, which was ceded to the Company
in t Sot, and rendered liable to pay certain tributes, in
the way of land tax, upon that territory annually to
the Company. The firft year's tribute they did pay,
he believed, regularly ; and the regulations of the
Company, which were the laws of the country, were
promulgated and ellabliffied in that territory ; but
upon the fecund payment being required, it:Mead of
complying with the law, they combined to refill it :
they affembled together their armed forces under the
chief command of an officer named Amas Ali Khan:
they retired to their forts ; they let the laws at deft.
once ; they refufed to pay any tribute; and it was
found neceffary by the Governor General, in fupport
of the laws, to reduce thofe men by force. So formi-
dable were they, that it required the whole of the
Bengal army, with the Commander in Chief at their
head, to drat this fervice. They were attacked in
their forts, and in the courfe of their obftinate refit.
tance tome perfons fell ; tome blood was fpilt ; and
this was what the Hon. Gentleman impnted to the
Noble Marquis as a murder. It was an a& of public
power done in fupport of the laws of the country, like
what would have been done againft any Oafs of Bri-
tifh fubjeets in timilar refinance to the laws palled by
that Houle ; and the Houle would judge how far it
was kill to defcribe fuch a meafure by the epithet of
murder.

Mr. FOX thought it exceedingly to be deprecated,
that the nature and grounds of the charge (hould be
at all gone into, in the prefent Rage of the bufinefs.
Mr. PAULL, in expllnstion, charged the late
Prefident of the Board of Controul with lupprang
important Papers relative to the charge againit Lord
Wellefley.
Dr. LAWRENCE, from what hag come to his
knowledge on the fubjett, alto thought that papers
had been fupprefed, and confidered it as irregular to
name a day for taking the charge into confideration,
before all the papers in fupport of it were before the
Houk.

Lnrd CASTLEREAGH felt himfelf called upon
to reply to the nbfervations made on his conduet when
at the head of the Board of Controul. No paper had
been then fuppteffed, but merely that difcretion cur-
cifed, with which the Board had been inveßed, of
withholding fuch papers as they might deem it in-
conlißent with the good of the public fervice to pro.
duce.

Dr. LAWRENCE explained.
Mr. JOHNSTONE was of opinion, that the papers
which had been withheld by the Noble Lord were,
of all others, thofe which fhould not have been fup.
preffed, as referring entirely to matters of a public
nature, and notorious through all India.
The motion of LordTEMPLE was then agreed to.

eximrrinms UNDER THE A D TAXIS.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
rote to fay, that a complete mirconception of the
notice which he had given lalt night, had gone
abroad, through a certain channel, and he now walled
the mit-conception to be corre&ed, through the fame
channel. It had been faid, that perfons of Email
fortunes, and having large families, were to be ex.
empted from the operation of the Property Tax ; but
he had now to date, that no intention whatever was
entertained of introducing any Bill for the purport of
making any alterations in that meafure.
Mr. LONG then withed to know in what way the
perfons alluded to, namely, of (mall fortunes, and
with large families, were to enjoy the benefit of ex-
emptions.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER re.
plied, that it was propofed to grant them certain ex-
emptions under the alleiTed taxes.