HC Deb 07 July 1806 vol 7 cc938-40
Mr. Paull

brought forward a Supplementary Charge against the marquis Wellesley with respect to his treatment of the Zemindar of Sassnee, and some other Zemindars and Rajahs therein named.—The title of the charge being read, and the question being put on the motion for its being printed,

Sir A. Wellesley

stated, that he had no objection to the charge being printed, but he should take the opportunity to request the hon. gent. would inform him and the house, whether it was his intention to bring forward any motion in the course of the present session, upon the charge now before the house? He had conceived it necessary for him to attend regularly in expectation of such a motion, but as he had also professional duties to perform, he should be very glad to know, whether it was necessary for him to continue this constant attendance?

Mr. Paull

said, it was his most anxious wish to come to a decision on the Oude Charge, if possible, in the present session. There were still, however, very important accounts which he had moved for, and which were not furnished. He had called at the India-house on Saturday last, to facilitate them, but found that it would be near two months before they could be produced. He could not, therefore, in the present state of the session, and when the attendance was so small, give any pledge, that he should make a motion this session: but if that was impossible, he should pledge himself to do so at the commencement of the next session. A charge of a most serious nature, and much connected with the present, had been expected to have been brought forward by a right hon. gent. (Mr. Sheridan), but he appeared to have abandoned it. The transactions in the Carnatic were so much connected with the administration of the noble marquis, that if that right hon. gent. chose to abandon the charge of which he had given notice, he should feel it his duty to take it up, in order to throw light upon the general system of the administration of the noble marquis.

Mr. W. Pole

thought it would not be proper for the friends of the noble marquis to press for any hasty decision of the house, after those circumstances had been stated. Their object was not to gain a premature decision, but to obtain the solemn decision of a full house, after a minute and deliberate examination of all the documents and evidence which the hon. member could bring forward to support his case. If they ever appeared to wish to press a speedy decision, it was merely when they supposed that the hon. gent. had produced all his documents, and that the house had had sufficient time to consider them, and form their judgment upon them. It never was the intention of his noble friend (lord Temple) to take, in any degree, the management of the business from the hands of the hon. gent. nor did the friends of the noble marquis wish to press the decision at all sooner than was necessary for the examination of all the documents. They had conceived, however, that all the documents moved for had been before the house, except one military account, and in that case they had offered, in order to save time, to admit every fact or inference which the hon. gent. could draw from, it. He did not object to this supplemental charge being printed, but wished to know whether the hon. gent. had now moved for all the documents that he thought necessary?

Mr. Sheridan

begged leave to trouble the house with a few words in consequence his having been accused by the hon. gent. with having abandoned the subject of Carnatic, and hinted that this had been done since he had come into administration. The fact was, and he thought the hon. gent. might have known it very well, that he had abandoned that subject when lord Powis was appointed, or understood to have been appointed, lord lieutenant of Ireland. But he had not abandoned his opinion respecting those transactions, and when the hon, gent. brought the affair forward, the should have his support. But his charge was against lord Powis, and not against marquis Wellesley, and he must say that it was somewhat singular that the hon. gent. who must have known this at the beginning of the session, had not come forward with this charge when be had the materials prepared to his hands.

Mr. Paull

pledged himself, that if the right hon. gent. did not bring the business forward, he should do so, in the next session.—After some further explanations, the motion for printing the charge was agreed to.