he, “are my accusers.”  If they were, it was their duty; but they were not his accusers, but were inquiring into matters which it was equally his duty to inquire into.  He would not suffer Nundcomar to be produced; he would not suffer Nundcomar to be examined; he rather suffered such an accusation to stand against his name and character than permit it to be inquired into.  Do I want any other presumption of his guilt, upon such an occasion, than such conduct as this?

This man, whom he calls a wretch, the basest and vilest of mankind, was undoubtedly, by himself, in the records of the Company, declared to be one of the first men of that country, everything that a subject could be, a person illustrious for his birth, sacred with regard to his caste, opulent in fortune, eminent in situation, who had filled the very first offices in that country; and that he was, added to all this, a man of most acknowledged talents, and of such a superiority as made the whole people of Bengal appear to be an inferior race of beings compared to him,—­a man whose outward appearance and demeanor used to cause reverence and awe, and who at that time was near seventy years of age, which, without any other title, generally demands respect from mankind.  And yet this man he calls the basest of mankind, a name which no man is entitled to call another till he has proved something to justify him in so doing; and notwithstanding his opulence, his high rank, station, and birth, he despises him, and will not suffer him to be heard as an accuser before him.  I will venture to say that Mr. Hastings, in so doing, whether elevated by philosophy or inflated by pride, is not like the rest of mankind.  We do know, that, in all accusations, a great part of their weight and authority comes from the character, the situation, the name, the description, the office, the dignity of the persons who bring them; mankind are so made, we cannot resist this prejudice; and it has weight, and ever will have prima facie weight, in all the tribunals in the world.  If, therefore, Rajah Nundcomar was a man who (it is not degrading to your Lordships to say) was equal in rank, according to the idea of his country, to any peer in this House, as sacred as a bishop, of as much gravity and authority as a judge, and who was prime-minister in the country in which he lived, with what face can Mr. Hastings call this man a wretch, and say that he will not suffer him to be brought before him?  If, indeed, joined with such circumstances, the accuser be a person of bad morals, then, I admit, those bad morals take away from their weight; but for a proof of that you must have some other grounds than the charges and the railing of the culprit against him.