tiful, and the moft fertile provinces of Europe. The two Calabrias, once the favoured feat of the mufes, and fo long renowned under the diftinguished appellation of Magna Grecia, were now doomed, along with part of Sicily, to be the melancholy fcene of the most tremendous, the longeft continued, the most fatal with refpect to mankind, and the moft deftructive to the face of the country, fucceffion of earthquakes, that had yet been known, even in thofe volcanic regions. They were indeed fo dreadful, that they ferved rather to imprefs ideas of the final diffolution of all things, than to induce any hope from analogy, founded on the experience of former convulfions of the earth. The first fhock, which happened about noon, on the 5th of February, 1783, was by far the moft deftructive, if not the most tremendous in other refpects. Several caufes concurred to render this fhock particularly fatal. It came on fuddenly, without any of the ufual indications; it was about the Italian time of dinner, when the people were mostly in their houses; but beyond all, the motion of the earth in that fhock was vertical, rifing fuddenly upwards from its foundations, and as fuddenly finking again. By this fatal motion, the greatest buildings, villages, towns, and entire cities, were inftantaneously involved in one common defraction; nothing remaining to be feen, but vaft heaps of undiftinguishable ruins, without any traces of ftreets or houfes. An inhabitant of Cafal Nuova, happening to be on a hill over it at the time of the fhock, and looking eagerly back to the town, could fee no other remains of it, than the ap pearance of a cloud of white finoke, occafioned by the flying mortar, which had been diffipated by the crash of the houses. The Calabria Ultra, particularly that part on the western fide of the Appennines, was the peculiar victim of this firft fhock. Its dreadful effects were not confined to the deftruction of mankind, and to little less than the annihilation of populous and flourishing villages, towns, and cities, but the whole face of that beautiful country was mangled and disfigured. Moun tains were rent; vallies clofed up. the hills that formed them being thrown from their places, and me ting their oppofites in the center; the courfe of rivers was neceffarily changed, or the water, being entirely dammed up, was formed into great and increafing lakes.. Of those towns and cities where the greatest deftruction of mankind took place, we are not to pafs over Cafal Nuovo, where the princess Gerace Grimaldi, with more than four thousand of her fubjects, perifhed in the fame inftant. At Bagnara, above three thousand of the inhabitants were loft. Radichina, and Palma, counted their loss at about three thousand each; Terra Nuova, at about fourteen hundred, and Seminari ftill more. The inhabitants of Scylla thought they had reafon to rejoice in efcaping from their houses, on the celebrated rock of that name, at the inftant of the firft fhock; and following the example of their prince, defcended to a little harbour at the foot of the hill, where getting into boats, or ftretched upon the thore, they thought themfelves free from danger. But in the courfe of the night a ftupendous wave, which is faid to have been driven furiously three miles over land, upon its return fwept away the unfortunate prince, with 2473 of his fubjects. It may not perhaps be entirely unneceffary to obferve, that the barons in the kingdom of Naples, poffefs an abfolute fovereignty over their vaffals. The country moftly ruined by the firft fhock, and where the greateft mortality took place, was the celebrated Sila, of the ancient Brutii. The north-eaft angle of Sicily, including the city of Meffina, were likewife in a confiderable degree victims to that fhock; but the greateft violence of its exertion, and its moft dreadful effects, were in the plain on the western fide of the Appennine. Several fucceeding fhocks, through the months of February and March, were little lefs tremendous, and extended their effects ftill farther than the first. They included the Calabria Citra, and thofe parts of the Ultra which had escaped the firft mifchief. But notwithstanding their violence, the deftruction was by no means equal, and the lofs of lives happily bore no manner of proportion to the first dreadful mortality. The people, warned by that calamity, had every where abandoned their houses, and lived in barracks; and the motion of the earth being fomewhat different in the fucceeding fhocks, though buildings were fhaken down and ruined, yet they were not intirely involved, nor whole towns obliterated in one erufh, as in the first. The earth, in all that part of Italy, continued for feverai weeks, more or lefs, in a conftant ftate of tremor; and feveral fhocks, with different degrees of violence, were every day felt; fo that the unhap py people, already worn down with calamity and grief, through the lofs of their property, and of their deareft relations, were ftill kept in a continual ftate of apprehenfion and terror. The whole of the mortality, according to the returns made to the fecretary of ftate's office in Naples, amounted to 33567. Thefe returns, drawn up in the confufion and mifery that prevailed, could not be accurate; and it was fup, pofed by the best judges, that the real lofs, including ftrangers, amounted, at least, to 40,000. These eftimates only take in the immediate victims to the earthquakes; thofe who perifhed through want, difeafes, anguifh, and every fpecies of fubfequent diftrefs, not being included. Some idea of the general diftreffes may be gathered, from thofe which were fuffered by Don Marcello Grillo. This gentleman poffeffed great landed property, be fides 12,000 pieces of gold, which were buried under the ruins of his house in the city of Oppido. Yet, with all thefe advantages of fortune, he was for feveral days and nights houfelefs, and expofed, without food or fhelter, to the exceffive rains which then conftantly fell; and was in this courfe instructed in the relative duties of humanity, by being beholden to a hermit for lending him a clean fhirt. The king and government of Naples ufed all poffible means for relieving the immediate diftreffes of the people, as well as for enabling them in fome degree to from the ruin in which they were fo calamitoufly involved: The conduct of the archbishop of Reggia recover upon upon this occafion cannot be too much praifed, or too generally known. That excellent prelate immediately difpofed of all the fuperfluous ornaments of the churches, and of his own horfes and furniture, the produce of which he applied to the relief of his diftreffed flock; and continued through the whole courfe of the earthquake, chearfully to bear an equal fhare in the inconveniencies and fufferings to which they were expofed, and to fympathize in thofe calamities which he could not remedy. This admirable conduct was the more ftriking, as the great men of the country did not in general exert a fimilar fpirit. It was a curious observation made upon this unhappy occafion, that the male dead buried in the ruins, were almoft conftantly found in an attitude of exertion, as if struggling against the danger, while, on the other hand, the female attitude was, as generally, the hands clafped over the head, as giving themselves up entirely to defpair; excepting only, when there were children, near them, in which circumftance, they were always found, either clafping them in their arms, or in fome other attitude no lefs expreffive of maternal tenderness; and fully fhewing that the anxious care of their prefervation had in that dreadful moment banished all fear and confideration with refpect to themselves. CHAP III. Recapitulation of the proceedings in parliament relative to the affairs of the Eaft India company. Two Indian committees appointed by the Houfe of Commons in 1781. Objects of the select committee. Objects of the fecret committee. The King's approbation of their proceedings. Reports of the fecret committee brought to the houfe April 1782. Account of Mr. Dundas's Speech on that occafion. Lays three fets of refolutions on the table: First fet, relative to the general misconduct of the company's affairs poftponed. Second fet, relative to the conduct of the prefidency of Madras voted. Third fet, containing criminal charges against Sir Thomas Rumbold voted. Bill of pains and penalties. Proceeding therein. Bill loft. Confideration of the first fet of refolutions refumed. Refolution against Mr. Haftings voted. Conduct of the court of proprietors on that occafion. Proceedings of the felect committee. Refolutions voted. Vote against Sir Elijah Im pey. King's Speeches at the closing and opening of the feffions. THE HE feffions of parliament, on which we are now entering, were diftinguished by a feries of political events of the most intereft ing and important nature. The magnitude and diverfity of the objects they embraced, the means by which they were brought about, the perfons who acted in them, the 1 great conftitutional queftions they involved, the manner in which they fittally terminated, form together an aggregate of political matter, unparalleled in the annals of parlia ment. The firft, as well in magnitude as in order of time, was the bill for the better management of the af fairs of the East India company. From the dangers that threatened the very existence of our empire in that part of the globe, and the fa tal ftroke our national credit might receive from the diffolution of the company, whofe affairs were, by men of all defcriptions, allowed to be in a most precarious ftate, the neceffity of applying fpeedy and effectual remedies was univerfally acknowledged. Strong and vigorous measures were on all fides loudly called for; and the oppreffed na tives of India had at length a prof. pect of deriving from our fears the relief which a fenfe of justice and humanity had hitherto failed to procure them. During a rapid fucceffion of minifters, every party, almoft every individual of any weight or confequence in the country, had in turn pledged themselves to exert both their own and the whole force and power of government for the attainment of this important end. All palliatives were on the one fide earneftly deprecated, and on the other anxiously difclaimed. As the bill we have juft mentioned was grounded on the reports of the committees which had now fat upwards of three years on the affairs of India, it will be neceffary to refume our history of that part of the proceedings of parliament, which from the preffure of other matters we were obliged to poftpone. This accidental delay, will however be attended with fome advantage to our readers. They will by this means have a general view of the whole fubject at once before them. The principles and conduct of the leading public characters in different fituations may be more eafily compared, and the parties will come to a more fair and impartial trial, than during the heat and violence of political contests can poffibly be obtained. Early in the year 1781 two Indian committees were appointed by the Houfe of Commons, on grounds which have been already ftated in a former volume, to enquire into the mal-administration of the company's affairs, both at home and abroad. All parties in the Houfe appear to have concurred in thefe measures. The first, which was a felect committee, was directed to "take into "confideration the fate of the adminiftration of justice in the pro"vinces of Bengal, Bahar, and "Orixa ;" and was afterwards further inftructed to confider how the "British poffeffions in the Eaft In dies might be held and governed "with the greateft fecurity and ad vantage to this country, and by "what means the happiness of the "native inhabitants might be best "promoted." The bufinefs of this committee was conducted by fome of the moft diftinguished members of that fide of the Houfe which then oppofed the general political meafures of his majefty's government. The fecond was a fecret committee, moved by the minister himself; and was under the management of perfons either actually members, or known to be in the confidence of adminiftration. It was directed "yo enquire into the causes of the war in the Carnatic, and of the con"dition of the British poffeffions in thofe parts." Both committees continued to fit with unremitted application till the prorogation of parliament. On clofing the feffions, the king expreffed, in the ftrongeft terms, his approbation of their proceedings, and his fatisfaction in obferving "that "that their attention was not more anxioully directed to the benefits "to be derived from the territorial "acquifitions, than, to the happi"nefs and comfort of the inhabi"tants of those remote provinces." At the fame time he declared his expectation, that "at their next "meeting they would proceed with "the fame wifdom and temper to "provide for the fecurity of those "valuable poffeffions, and for reftraining the abufes to which "they were peculiarly liable." Accordingly, in the fpeech from the throne at the opening of the next feffions, in November following, the House was directed in nearly the fame words to refume the profecution of their important enquiries. On the ninth of April 1782, Mr. Henry Dundas, the lord advocate of Scotland, and chairman of the fecret commitee, moved that the reports of that committee fhould be referred to a committee of the whole Houfe. On this occafion Mr. Dundas, in a fpeech of near three hours length, entered very fully into the caufes and progrefs of the calamities of the Eaft. Amongst the former he infifted principally on the following;-the departure of the company's prefidencies from the line of policy prefcribed to them, of avoiding all offenfive military operations with a view to conqueftthe corrupt interference of their fervants in the domeftic and national quarrels of the country powers--their frequent breaches of faith, and difregard to treaties their peculation and fcandalous oppreffion of the natives and lastly, the criminal relaxation which had. prevailed on the part of the di rectors at home, in the exercife of their controlling power over their fervants, and their ready connivance at the groffest misconduct, provided it was attended with any temporary gain to the company. He then proceeded to trace the operation of these causes in the feveral tranfactions of the company's prefidencies in the Eaft. As thefe facts were afterwards reduced into the form of refolutious, and agreed to by the Houfe, we fhall have occafion hereafter to fpecify them more particularly. At prefent, therefore, it may fuffice to enumerate a few of the most flagrant acts of injuftice, violence, and treachery, by which, he afferted, that not only the company's affairs were brought to the very verge of ruin, but indelible difgrace entailed on the British naine and government in India. He inftanced the injuftice and cruelty of the Rohilla war; the fale of Kora and Illahabad; the ftopping payment of the ftipulated penfions to the king Shah Allum, and to Nudjif Khan; the renewal of the war with the Mahrattas; the double dealing with Ragoba and the Raja of Berar; the proceedings relative to the Guntoor circars, and the pefcufh, or tribute, payable to the Nizam; the fufferings of the Raja of Tanjore; the arbitrary exaction of nazirs, or free gifts; the fraudulent grants of leafes; the harsh and unjustifiable measures * This criminal connivance was attributed, by other members who spoke in the debate, to the overruling influence which, by obvious means, the principal fervants of the company abroad had acquired in the courts at home; infomuch that the relation between them was entirely reverfed, and the latter had become the mere agents and instruments of the former, taken |