Mr. Hastings, finding that the charge must come fully against him, contrived a plan which your Lordships will see the effects of presently, and this was, to confound this lac and an half, or 15,000_l._, with the two lacs given directly and specifically as a bribe,--intending to avail himself of this finesse whenever any payment was to be proved of the two lacs, which he knew would be proved against him, and which he never did deny; and accordingly your Lordships will find some confusion in the proofs of the payment of those sums. The receipt of two lacs is proved by Nundcomar, proved with all the means of detection which I have stated; the receipt of the lac and a half is proved by Munny Begum's letter, the authenticity of which was established, and never denied by Mr. Hastings. In addition to these proofs, Rajah Gourdas, who had the management of the Nabob's treasury, verbally gave an account perfectly corresponding with that of Nundcomar and the Munny Begum's letter; and he afterwards gave in writing an attestation, which in every point agrees correctly with the others. So that there are three witnesses upon this business. And he shall not disqualify Rajah Gourdas, because, whatever character he thought fit to give Nundcomar, he has given the best of characters to Rajah Gourdas, who was employed by Mr. Hastings in occupations of trust, and therefore any objections to his competency cannot exist. Having got thus far, the only thing that remained was to examine the records of the public offices, and see whether any trace of these transactions was to be found there. These offices had been thrown into confusion in the manner you will hear; but, upon strict inquiry, there was a _shomaster_, or office paper, produced, from which it appears that the officer of the treasury, having brought to the Nabob an account of one lac and a half which he said had been given to Mr. Hastings, desired to know from him under what head of expense it should be entered, and that he, the Nabob, desired him to put it under the head of expenses for entertaining Mr. Hastings. If there had been a head of entertainment established as a regular affair, the officer would never have gone to the Nabob and asked under what name to enter it; but he found an irregular affair, and he did not know what head to put it under. And from the whole of the proceedings it appears that three lacs and a half were paid: two lac by way of bribe, one lac and a half under the color of an entertainment. Mr. Hastings endeavors to invalidate the first obliquely, not directly, for he never directly denied it; and he partly admits the second, in hopes that all the proof of payment of the first charge should be merged and confounded in the second. And therefore your Lordships will see from the beginning of that business till it came into the hands of Mr. Smith, his agent, then appearing in the name and character of agent and solicitor to the Company, that this