Star.
London, England, 1806-04-22 00:00:00

Board of Contronl. In mowing for 'bele Papers. he
withed to afcertain, wheth:r the Noble Lord would
acknowledge himfclf as the author of there medium,
or fhift dime part of the gutsy ..1 them upon others.
The Noble Lord concluddi by moving, that there be
laid before the Houfe •• A Copy of a propofed DiC
patch from the Court of Directory dated April 3el,
1805, to the Governor General—a Copy of the An-
fwer of the Board of Controul refuting to tranfmit the
Difpatch, and of the reply of the Court of Direaors
to this refitfal.”—On the (tattoo being pat,
Mr. fiIIDDLESTON ouferved, that the allufion
which had been made to him by the Noble Lord.
made it neceffary for him to Rate the grounds on
which he had seed in this matter. A general_ be-
lief had been Produced. that the Directors approved
of the Treaties with the Nabobs of Oude and Per-
ruckabad, while he knew that they had expreffed
their difapprobation of, hods, He therefore felt anxi-
lIUS to remove this falk impreffion, and, for this
purpole, intended to hive moved for' the Paper's
which were the fubjett of the prefent motion. Thefe
documents, however, in the mean time, had been
called fur, and obtained by the EaR India Proprie-
tors, and thus the objea of his with was eccomplitli-
ed. The Papers had now been produced in another
place, and would diffidently remove the,mitioncep-
iron that bad prevailed. He trotted that what he
had laid; would acct him of the charge of indon-
' fatency. But though he had declined moving for dm •
Papers on thigrounds he had Rated, he thould now
vote for-their produCtion. He did not fee how ddi
matter Aura aired either the Directory or the Board
of Count 1. The Dircaors had delivered their opi-
nion, andthe Board of Controul were 'right in re-
jetting it. if they thought it proper to do fu.
Mr. PDX laid, that it gave him confiderable pain;
when be heard the prefent motion brought forward
by a Noble Lord, for whom he felt the higbetk perfo.
nal' regard, and whole general opinions on political
t fubjedsappearedto him to refi on the Jae@ grounds.
To differ from him on the prefent occafion, was
therefore highly difagreeable ; but he could not help
thinking that the prefent motion went to do an ea
of gra' injustice to the Noble Lord, late at the head
of the government in India. The production of the
papers in queftion would be utterly inconfiltent with
the praltice followed in all Courts of Jullice in every
criminal proceeding. There it would not be admitted
for a moment, that the general opinion of any num-
ber of men, deliveredinto Court, &oald have any
weight with regard to the charges agaiaft the prifo-
ner. Nay, were fuch an opinion read, it would be a
fufficient argument for putting off the trial altoge.
Cher. In the prefent cafe, therefore, from analogy,
he timid equally object to the produaion of papers
that might tend to prepared the Houfe againft a
Noble Lord, whole conduit was afterwards to be the
fubjea of dikullion. According to the eflablithed
fyflem for concluding the affairs of India, the Diem.
tors were bound to submit to the rejection of any dill
patches which they might think proper to make up.
they could only appeal to Parliament on the inkier%
and there was no other mode of obtaining redrefs.—
Who were the .perfone who had delivered this opi-
nion on the condo& of Lord Welletley ? Their names
were of high authority, and their opinions of great
weight. So muds the greater would be the impro-
priety and injuftict of laying their opinions at prefent
before the Honfe, while the perfon whole condo&
they arraigned -was under an accnfaiion in this
Houfe. This principle was fo clew; as to be recog-
nized in the jurifprudence of every country, however
defpotie the government might be. The fituadon of
the Direflors was indeed Gnat/or. They were bound
to execute the commands of the Board of Controul,
whatever their own opinions might be. They flood
ins Rate of peculiar hardthip, and rink only remedy
was an appeal to Parliament. Such a fituation as
theirs, he contended, was not to be found under the
moll defpotic Governments ; but Rill they had it in
their power to Rate their cafe to Parliament, and to
pray redrefs. If the prefent motion was fuppor ted on
the ground of its enabling the Diretiors to juftify
themfelves, be would anfwer that this was not the
proper time for fuch juilification. If the Directors
had thought that their character was at Rake, they
thould, beforethis, have come forward and appealed
to the Houfe. There was betides uo necelfity for
producing a paper in exculpation of perfons who were
under no actufation. No man &mild entertain feel.
ings of anxiety for his own character at the expends
of- another s fafety. It had been laid, was it fit
that the public Ihould be poffeffed of information of
which that Houfe was deprived ? But finely, every
particle of information poffeffed by the public mutt
alfo be poffeffed by that Houfe, which formed only a
part of that public. The information had indeed
been given to the'public ; bet the Houfe of Commons.
and not the public, were to be the judges of Lord
.Wellefley's conduct. The accusers of the Noble
Lord would not avow the with to run down the
Noble Lord, but this would be the evident ten-
dency of the produftion of the papers moved for.—i
He hoped they did not mean to Rand behind the Di-
reelors in making their accufations agaial him. But
whatever might be the reafon for which the papers
were moved, the evident tendency would be collatcr-
ally to make the Houfe prejudge the caufe. On this
fubjea, he would appeal to thole feelings of justice
and equity, which he was lure peculiarly charaaer-
iied the Noble Lord :ha moved for the papers in
quellion. How would he feel if another ufe were
made of them than he intended, or could at prefent
forefee ? He then concluded with recapitulating the
arguments he had ufed, and obferving, that if the
prefent motion fhould not be withdrawn, he fitoulct
confider it as his duty to move the previous queftion.
, Mr. G. JOHNSTONE expreffed an aflonithment
to which he could fcarcely give utterance, pt the fenti.
meats that had fallen from the Right Honourable
Gentleman, who had ever been the advocate of en-
quiry and publicity. He did not think to live toheaf
the public records of the Court of Direttors called
inofficial documents. If he had not heard the Right
Honourable Gentleman, he thould not have believed
him to have fo expreffed himfelf. The Honourable
Member here cited two cafes: one on the IR or June,
18ot ; the other in 1798 ; in which fimilar docu-
ments to thole now called for, had been produced.
lie had mot fimported the criminal charge againtt
Marquis Wellefley, though he difapproved of all his
meafures, which he believed to have arifen not from
criminal motives, but the influence of ambition on a
man of high talents polfelled of power. He thought
it would be an injustice to themfelves, and to the
Prablic, to withhold the t.spera.