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
The next point for your Lordships' consideration is the evidence which
he produces to prove the falsity of a paper written by himself. Why, he
himself is the sole evidence. And how does he prove it? Why, says he,
"The reason of my writing that letter was this: she had sent a person
with me as an escort, and this person was desirous of receiving some
proof that he had done his duty; and therefore I wrote a complaisant
letter. I meant nothing by it. It was written merely to satisfy the mind
of the man." Now is that the way in which formal and solemn letters,
written upon great occasions to great people, are to be explained away?
If he had said nothing but "Your servant, such a one, has done his
duty," this explanation might pass. But you see it has another
complexion. It speaks of his owing his life to her. But if you admit
that it is possible (for possibilities have an unknown extent) that he
wrote such a letter at such a time and for such a purpose, and that the
letter he wrote was false, and that the falsity of the letter is proved
by his own testimony given in an affidavit which we have also reason to
believe is false, your Lordships must at the same time admit that it is
one of the most complex pieces of fraud and falsehood that, I believe,
ever existed in the world. But it is worse than all this. There is
another letter, written some days after, which I will read to you, and
which he has not pretended to say was written only to testify that a
messenger had executed his commission properly.
"Your gracious letter," (he thus writes,) "in answer to the petition of
your servant from Goondah, exalted me. From the contents, I became
unspeakably impressed with the honor it conferred."
My Lords, this letter was not sent back by a messenger, in
acknowledgment of his having done his duty, but was written in
consequence of a correspondence in the nature of a petition for
something or other which he made to the Begum. That petition they have
suppressed and sunk. It is plain, however, that the petition had been
sent, and was granted; and therefore the apology that is made for the
former letter does not apply to this letter, which was written
afterwards.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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