HC Deb 08 May 1806 vol 7 cc64-8
Mr. Paull

rose to move for the production of several papers, in further support of his charges against the marquis Wellesley. They consisted of an account of the new taxes levied, and the old imposts revived, under the government and during the administration of the marquis, in India, with a long series of others, respecting the revenues, police, and municipal arrangements of the country. On the question being put upon the first,

Mr. Bankes

observed, that the house having now proceeded so far in this business as to have allowed a charge to be laid upon their table, for the crimination of the noble marquis; and to grant to the hon. gent. who brought it forward, a vast mass of papers to support those charges, the business now began to assume a serious turn; and it therefore became necessary for the house to consider what steps were most fit to be farther pursued. The first thing to be considered was, whether the charges sustained upon such documents as were now before the house, were such as ought to be entertained? and if they were, then the next thing to be considered was, in what manner the house should proceed, as best calculated to attain the ends of public justice, with all convenient dispatch: for he trusted, that the hon. gent. who had brought this charge forward, was not to be indulged in moving for papers ad infinitum, but would be obliged to come to issue upon the points of accusation as speedily as possible. Any person who had looked into the papers upon the table must have observed, that great part of the charges bore upon the political conduct of marquis Wellesley; that they accused him of various illegal and corrupt abuses of his authority; of extorting money from several of the native princes of the country under his government, which he employed in expensive and ruinous wars, contrary to his duty, and to the interests of the company who employed him; and with profusely squandering or corruptly appropriating to his own use several enormous sums of money: charges, undoubtedly, of a very flagitious nature, and which the house, in the ordinary confidence it was bound to give to one of its own members, could not refuse to entertain. without some very solid and substantial reasons — The country, however, had, within the last 20 years, experience enough to shew, how injudicious it was to meddle with impeachments. Besides, by what kind of tribunal was the party accused to be tried? Before one, certainly, where the guilty man might escape through delay, or the most innocent man be ruined through expense; and, therefore, if there were any other legal or competent jurisdiction, before which this cause could be tried, the house ought not, for the sake of speedy and substantial justice, to proceed by the ordinary mode of impeachment. He was happy to know that such a tribunal did exist, for under two clauses of two acts of parliament, namely, of the 24th of the king, cap. 25, and the 26th of the king, cap. 57, for further regulation of the first, provision was made peculiarly for the case of trying charges of delinquency in India, and a discretion was vested in the court of King's Bench, to originate criminal proceedings against such delinquents, if it should appear just so to do: in consequence the house was empowered to nominate a certain number of its members, who, with a certain number of the lords, and three of the judges (one of whom should constantly preside) would form a court for the trial of all such accusations. Conceiving, then, that the charges now laid on the table against the noble marquis were precisely of the description which came legally within the proper cognizance andjurisdiction of such a court, he strongly recom- mended it to the house, and to the hon. gent to proceed in the:manner he suggested, and make his application to the court of King's Bench. He expressed high respect and friendship for the noble marquis, who had his best wishes; and he earnestly hoped, that the charges would ultimately prove unfounded: but the cause of public justice was a motive superior to all private considerations.

Mr. Secretary Fox

said, that he recollected the clauses to which the hon. gent. alluded, and disapproved of them at the time they were under discussion. He agreed with the sentiment of the hon. gent. that the house ought not to assume judicial function is where it could be avoided; because the judicial functions of that house was a powerful weapon, which ought not to be used every day, and upon every slight subject. But the judicial functions of the house was a privilege of too much value and importance to be abandoned or surrendered upon any occasion without due consideration and great caution; for convinced he was that by the exercise of its functions the house of commons had done more towards placing this country upon the high constitutional ground it now stood than any other part of its deliberative proceedings. He therefore wished that it never should be supposed for a single moment, that the house had abandoned or surrendered that privilege to a minor court, upon which so much of the safety of the country might hereafter depend.

The Marquis of Douglas,

instead of considering the subject unfit to be brought before that house, thought it their duty not to recede a single step in the proceeding which had been commenced. He was far from thinking that this was a case which ought to be abandoned to the inferior courts. But in consequence of what had fallen from the rt. hon. sec. of state, in the true spirit of those principles which he had always professed, he should deem it unnecessary to trespass on the time of the house in endeavouring to shew that parliamentary impeachment was the only fit mode of proceeding in accusations of high crimes and misdemeanors.

Sir Arthur Wellesley

declared, that the more speedily the subject of the charges against his noble relation could be put at issue, and the more expeditious the mode by which the matter could be brought to its final decision, the more satisfactory would it be to that noble lord, and to all his friends; but at the same time, he thought it highly necessary that all the papers moved for by the hon. gent. should be laid ons the table, and considered by the house, before they came to any decision whatever as to the mode of further proceeding. He admitted that the charge against his noble relative might originally have proceeded before the court of King's Bench, but having come before the house, he submitted that it must be got quit of by a specific vote, establishing either his guilt or innocence. He therefore thought there could be no objection to the papers being produced.

Mr. Francis

denied the doctrine laid down by Mr. Fox, that the house of commons was a court of justice, or acted in a judicial capacity; to call it so was a misnomer: it was properly the grand inquest, whose province was to inquire respecting the validity of great criminal charges, and then to proceed as the accuser or prosecutor before a high court of justice. But he was of opinion, that such were the charges which the house had now entertained against the noble marquis, and so enormous was their nature, that, if true, they sunk the imputed criminality of another noble lord, now on his trial, comparatively, almost to nothing. If lord Melville's case was one which required impeachment, marquis Wellesley's was one which required it much more strongly, Where one was accused of taking thousands, the other was accused of wasting millions. The house was bound to go into an inquiry, and come to some decision upon the business, instead of abandoning it to the jurisdiction of another tribunal. He did not, for his own part, presume to anticipate any guilt on the part of the noble marquis. He wished to have him heard at the bar, in answer to these charges, as had been the case with sir Elijah Impey and Mr. Hastings; and if he could make a satisfactory defence for his own vindication, he should have his vote to quash all further proceedings.

Mr. Fox

said, he only meant that the particular charge of extortion might be a fit subject for the jurisdiction of the court appointed by the 24th of his majesty, without reference to the other charges.

Mr. H. Addington

stated, that the difference between this case and that of another lord alluded to, consisted in this: the case alluded to proceeded on a resolution of this house, finding that the noble lord in question had violated an act of parliament, and that he had applied the public money to his own advantage. Here no peculation was even alleged, nor was any evidence given of the supposed breach of the law.

Dr. Laurence

thought it was in the power of any individual in the house to propose whatever course he pleased. He could see no object in the observations of the rt. hon. gent. who had just spoken, than to lower the tone of the house. The charges against the marquis Wellesley were of an infinitely stronger nature, than those against the noble lord who was then on his trial. He was in favour of proceeding by impeachment; but as that was not now the question, he would vote for the production of the papers.— The motion was then put and agreed to.

Mr. Paull

then moved for a variety of other papers, for the purpose of shewing the interest paid on the loans by the Marquis Wellesley, the amounts of salaries, house-rents, &c. payable to persons holding offices under him, &c.; which, after some additional remarks from Mr. Bankes, in which he expressed his determination, on a future occasion, to call the attention of the house to the state in which the matter then stood, were agreed to.—On the motion of the Marquis of Douglas, in addition to a former order, there was ordered to be laid before the house an account of all gratuities, pensions, or presents, paid or payable in India to servants of the East India company down to the latest period.