Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1868-03-12

"The sergeants made proclamation. Hast
ings advanced to the bar and bent his knee.
The culprit was indeed not unworthy of that
great presence. He had ruled an extensive and
populous country, had made laws and treaties,
hld sent forth armies, had set up and pulled
down princes, and in his high place had so
borne himself that all had feared him, that most
had loved him, and that hatred itself could
deny him no title 70 glory except virtue.
He looked like great man, and not like bad
man. A person small and emaciated, yet de-
rivIng dignity from carriage which, while 1t
indicated deferenc to the court indie cated, also,
hasitual sell. possession and selt-respect, high
not gloomy, mouth OF infiexible decision, a
face pale and worn, but serene, on which was
written, as legibly as under the picture in the
council chamber at Calcutta, meas egud in
dais; such was the aspect with which the great
Proconsul presented himself TO his judges.
.'His counsel accompanied him, men all Of
and learning to the highest posts in their pro-
fession; the bold and strong minded Law, after.
wards Chief Justice Of the Kings Bench; the
more humane and eloquent Dallas, afterwards
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and
Plomer, who, near twenty years later, success.
fully conduc cted in the same high court the de.
fence Of Lord Melville, and subseq uently be.
came Vice Chancellor and Master Of the Rolls
"But NJ. .ther the culprit nor his advocates at.
tracted so much notice as the accusers. In the
midst Of the blaze of red drapery, a space had
been lifted up with green benches and tables
10 10 ,s .ne commons. Inc managers, with Burke
lectors of gossip did not fail to remark that
even Fox, generally SO regardless of his ap.
pearance, had paid to the illustrious tribunal
the compliment OF wearing a bag and sword
Pitt had refused to be one Of the conductors of
the impeachment, and his commanding, co.
Plous, and sonorous eloq uence was wanting to
that great m ulster Of various talents. Age and
blindness had untitled Lord North for the duties
OF public prosec utor; and his friends were left
without the help Of his excellent sense, his tact
and his urbanity. But in spite of the absence
n ti10 sfod
house, the box in which the managers stood
contained an array of speakers such as perhaps
had not appeared together since the great age of
Armenian eloQuence. 4
4" The charges and answers of Hastings were
nrst read The ceremony occupied two whole
days, and was rendered less tedious than it
would otherwise have been by the silver voice
and just emphasis of Cowper, the clerk of
the court, near relation of the amiable poet
On the third day Burke rose. Four sittings
We're occupied by his opening speech, which
was intended to be general introduction to all
the charges"
At length the orator concluded. Raising his
voice till the old arches Of Irish oak resounded
he said:
Therefore hath II with all confidence been
ordered, by the Commons of Great Britain,
that impeach Warren Hastings Of high crimes
and misdemeanOrs. impeach him in the name
of the Commons House Of Parliament, whose
trust he has betrayed. i impeach him in the
name Of the English nation, whose ancient
honor he has sullied. l impeach him in the
name of the people of India, whose rights he
has trodden under foot, and whose country he
has turned into a desert. Lastly, in the name
of human nature itself, in the name OF both
sexes, i'll the name of every age, in the name of
every rank, impeach the common enemy and
oppressor of ALL"
Then commenced the struggle between the
counsel aid the managers. The accusers
wished the investigation Of each charge closed
before another was commenced. The opposite
course was desired by Hastings and his coun-
sci, and the point was finally decided by the
judges in favor Of the accused. The conduct of
III at part of the case relating to the Princesses
Of Dude was entrusted to Sheridan, and so
great was the public anxiety to hear him that
during the two days through which his speech
lasted the hall was crowded TO suffocatIon, and
fifty guineas We're said TO have been paid for a
single ticket. The interest taken by the public
in the trial at its commencement did not last,
however. The spectacle soon lost its attraction
Of novelty. The trial went on languidly, un-
til at length, in the Spring Of 1875, the decision
was pronounced. As to the Judgment there
was Little anxiety, as it had long been known
that there was large majority for the de-
fendant. Nevertheless many wished to see the
pageant, and the crowd on the last day Of the
trial was nearly as great as on the first. Only
twenty-nine peers voted. OF these only SIX
found Hastings guilty on the charges relating
TO Cheyte Sing and to the Princesses On other
charges the vote against him was stlll smaller,
and OF some he was unanimously absolved.
Says the historian s.He was then called to the
bar, was informed from the wool sack that the
Lords had acquitted him, and was sole1nnly
discharged. He bowed respectfully and re-
tired"
In this connection II will be both curious and
interesting to understand Lord Macaulay's
views as to the act Of impeachment. On this
point,-writng in October, 1s41,-he says:
"In truth ii is impossible to deny that i'm.
though IL may have been useful in the seven
teenth century, is not proceeding from which
much good can now be expected. Whatever
confidence may be placed in the decision of the
peers on an appeal arising out of ordinary liti-
cation, II is certain that no man has the least
confidence in their impartiality when a great
public functIonary, charged with great State
crime, is brought TO their bar. They are all
politicians. There is hardly one among them
whose vote on an Impeachment may not be
predicted before a witness Is ex-
Touching the effect OF the proceeding upon
the public mind, particularly where it is pro.
longed, he holds the following opinion
1--WE have said that the decision had been
fully expected. Ii was also generally ap.
proved. at the commencement of the trial
there mad been strong and indeed unreason.
able feeling against Hastings. AT the close of
the trial there was a feeling equally strong
and equally unreasonable in his favor. One
cauA OF the change was, no doubt, what is
called the fickleness of the multi
tude, but what seems to us to be merely the
general law of human nature. Both in indi-
vlduals and in masses violent excitement is
always followed by remission, and often by
reaction. We are all inclined to depreciate
Whatever we have overpraised, and, on the
o'her hand. TO show undue indulgence where
We have shown undue rigor. Ii was thus in
the case of Hastings. The length of his trial,
made him an object of compassion
II was thought, and not without reason, that,
even II he was guilty, he was still an ill used
man, and that an impeachment of more than
ment. 1t was also felt that in the ordinary
course Of criminal law, a defendant is not al.
lowed to set off his good actions against his
crimes, great political cause should be tried
ON different principles, and that a man who
had governed an empire during thirteen wears
might have done some very reprehensible
things, and yet might be on the whole de.
serving OF rewards and hOnOrs rather than of
6ne ard Imprisonment
The striking contrasts presented by and the
curious analogies existing to some extent be.
tween the case Of Warren Hastings and that
Of President Johnson no less than the con cIu.
sions in relation to the general subject of i'm.
peachment expressed by the eminent historian
must fOrcibly impress the mind Of every one
who has given II thoughtful attention, and they
will give rise also 70 reflections varied and
valuable in their character, according to the
stand mint from (which II 10 yioxr,ad mr.