The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 12 (of 12)Burke, Edmund
History
The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 12 (of 12)
Burke, Edmund
Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1760-1820; Political science -- Early works to 1800
But where, all this time, is the Nabob, against whom this rebellion is
pretended to be directed? Was it ever even insinuated to him that his
mother had raised a rebellion against him? When were the proofs shown to
him? Did he ever charge her with it? He surely must have been most
anxious to prevent and suppress a rebellion against himself: but not one
word on that subject has ever come out of his mouth; nor has any one
person been produced to show that he was informed of the existence of
such a rebellion. The persons said to be rebels are his mother and
grandmother; and I again ask, Was there the least intimation given to
him by Mr. Middleton, or by any other person, of their being even
suspected of rebellion against him? There was, indeed, a hint of some
rebellion, which the creatures of Mr. Hastings got at obliquely; but
neither the person against whom the rebellion is supposed to exist, nor
the persons who were said to be guilty of it, were ever either informed
of or charged with it. I defy the prisoner and his whole gang to produce
one word ever uttered by any one of them, from which the Nabob or
Begums could learn that they were supposed to be concerned in the
rebellion: so that none of those who were said to be the principal
actors in the scene ever heard of the parts they were acting from the
actual authors and managers of the business. Not one word was uttered of
a charge made, much less of proof given. Nothing was heard but "Give me
the money!"--irons,--new irons,--new imprisonment,--and at last the
castle of Chunar.
And here I beg leave to pause, and to leave upon your minds the
impression, first, of the wrong that was done, the violence, and the
robbery,--and, secondly, of the pretences, both civil and criminal, by
which they have attempted to justify their proceedings.
SPEECH
IN
GENERAL REPLY.
SIXTH DAY, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1794.
My Lords,--Your Lordships will recollect that we closed the last day of
your proceeding in this trial at a most interesting part of our charge,
or rather of our observations upon that charge. We closed at that awful
moment when we found the first women of Oude pillaged of all their
landed and of all their moneyed property, in short, of all they
possessed. We closed by reciting to you the false pretence on which this
pillage was defended, namely, that it was the work of the Nabob. Now we
had before proved to you, from evidence adduced by the prisoner himself,
that this Nabob was a mere tool in his hands; and therefore, if this
pretence be true, it aggravates his guilt: for surely the forcing a son
to violate the property of his mother must everywhere be considered a
crime most portentous and enormous. At this point we closed; and after
the detail which has been given you already of these horrible and
iniquitous proceedings, some apology may perhaps be necessary for
entering again into the refutation of this iniquitous pretence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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