“Q. Had you any opportunity of knowing the character of the Begums, and whether they were disaffected to our government?—­A. I had a very good opportunity of knowing, from the circumstance of my having commanded so long there.  The elder Begum, it was generally understood, (and I have reason to believe,) was disaffected to our government; and my sentiments of her conduct stand recorded in my correspondence to the court of Lucknow to that effect; but with respect to the Bhow Begum, I acquit her entirely of any disaffection to our government, so far as comes to my knowledge:  appearances were for some time against her; but, on cool, deliberate inquiry, I found there was no ground for supposing her guilty of any rebellious principles, at the time of Cheyt Sing’s rebellion.—­Q. Whether that, according to your belief, is not your present opinion?—­A. I think I have answered that very fully, that it was upon those very principles that I did form an opinion of her innocence; how far they are justifiable or right I will not take upon me to say upon oath; there was no one circumstance that came to my knowledge, during my residence at Fyzabad or my residence in India, that I would wish to withhold from your Lordships.—­Q. You state here, ‘upon cool, deliberate inquiry’:  what was that cool, deliberate inquiry?—­A. That cool, deliberate inquiry was the conversations I had with the ministers and the people of Fyzabad, and the letters from herself expressing her innocence; and it appeared to me from those letters that she really was our friend and ally.”

The same witness goes on afterwards to say:—­

“Q. I understood you to say, that originally the report prevailed with respect to both the Begums, but that you was induced to alter that opinion with respect to the younger Begum, in consequence of Mr. Gordon’s letters, and the intelligence of some of her ministers and other persons:  were not those other persons in the interest of the younger Begum?—­A. In general the town of Fyzabad were in her interest.—­Q. In what sense do you mean generally in her interest?  Were the persons you conversed with merely those who were in her service and household, or the inhabitants of Fyzabad in general?—­A. Both:  I held conversations with both her own body-servants and the inhabitants of the city.”

A little lower down, in the same page:—­

“Q. What do you mean by the word rebellion, as applied to the Begums?  In what sense do you use it?—­A. In raising troops, and in other acts of rebellion, in the common acceptation of the word.—­Q. Against whom?—­A. Against the Nabob’s government and the British government jointly:  but I beg to know the particular time and circumstance the question alludes to.—­Q. I understand you to have said you understood the elder Begum was in a constant state of rebellion.  In what sense do you use the word rebellion?  Did