THE TRIAL.
Indictment.

"Town of Caleutta and Factory of Fort William in Bengal,

racy, combination, and agreement among themselves as aforesaid, did, falsely and wickedly, for the evil purposes aforesaid, frame and make, and caused to be framed and made, a certain paper writing in the Persian language; purporting, that he the said Warren Hastings had then lately, by divers sinister and unlawful means, procured such false accusation as aforesaid, in the name of the said Cummaul ul Deen Allee Cawn, to be made and wrote against the said Joseph Fowke, and had presented the same to the said governor general and council at Fort

thereby falsely and scandalously representing the said Warren Hastings as guilty of the said offence of procuring the said Joseph Fowke to be falsely accused. And the jurors aforesaid, on their oath aforesaid, do further present, that the said Joseph Fowke, Francis Fowke, Maha Rajah Nundocomar, and Roy Rada Churo,

To wit. The Jurors for our lord the king, upon their oath, present, that Joseph Fowke of Calcutta, gentleman, Francis Fowke of the same place, gentleman, son of the said Joseph Fowke, Maha Rajah Nundocomar, Bahader, late of the same place inhabitant, and Roy Rada Churn also of the same place inhabitant, all of whom are subject to the jurisdic-William aforesaid, knowing it to be false; tion of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, being persons of evil name and fame, and dishonest reputation, and wickedly devising and intending Warren Hastings, esquire, governor general of the presidency of Fort William, in Bengal aforesaid, not only of his good name, credit, and reputation to deprive, and to bring him into the ill-afterwards, to wit, on the said 19th day of opinion, hatred, and contempt, of all his majesty's subjects in the said province of Bengal, and of the native inhabitants thereof; and by that means, as much as in them lay, to disturb the good government of the said country, and the management of the commercial concerns of the honourable East India Company therein, which are so eminently intrusted to the said Warren Hastings, but also to bring upon the said Warren Hastings the ill opinion and hatred of the king himself, and of the two houses of the parliament of Great Britain, and of the proprietors and directors of the said East India Company, did, on the 19th day of April, in the 15th year of the reign of our sovereign lord George the 3rd, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, and so forth, in Calcutta aforesaid, in Bengal aforesaid, conspire, combine, and agree among themselves, falsely to charge and accuse the said Warren Hastings of divers enormous and scandalous offences; particuJarly, that he the said Warren Hastings had then lately, by divers sinister and unlawful means, procured a certain false accusation against the said Joseph Fowke, in the name of one Cummaul ul Deen Allee Cawn, to be made and wrote, which said false accusation he the said Warren Hastings had himself presented to the governor general and council at Fort WilJiam aforesaid, knowing it to be false; and also that he the said Warren Hastings had heretofore, corruptly and collusively, received several sums of money from the said Cummaul ul Deen Allee Cawn, in the nature of bribes, for services rendered or to be rendered to him the said Cummaul ul Deen Allee Cawn; by that means representing him the said Warren Hastings as guilty of wilful bribery and corruption in his office and duty. And the jurors aforesaid, on their oath aforesaid, do further present, that the said Joseph Fowke, Francis Fowke, Maha Rajah Nundocomar, and Roy Rada Churn, on the said 19th day of April, in the year aforesaid, at Calcutta aforesaid, in Bengal aforesaid, according to the said conspi

April, in the year aforesaid, at Calcutta aforesaid, in Bengal aforesaid, according to the conspiracy, combination, and agreement aforesaid, between them had as aforesaid, did, for the purposes aforesaid, by certain sinister and unlawful means, to wit, by intreaties, promises, and threats, procure the said Cum Conspiracy, and maul ul Deen Ally Cawn to affix on the Arsee, his seal, containing the impression of his name, to the said paper writing, so framed and made as aforesaid; and that the said Joseph Fowke, in pursuance of and according to the conspiracy, combination, and agreement, hetween him and the said Francis Fowke, Maha Rajah Nundocomar, and Roy Radachurn, so as afore said had, afterwards, to wit, on the said 19th day of April, in the year aforesaid, at Calcutis aforesaid, in Bengal aforesaid, did, against the will and consent of the said Cummaul ul Deen Allee Cawn, and notwithstanding the express declaration of him the said Cummaul ul Deen Allee Cawn, that the said paper writing had been forcibly and illegally obtained, and that the contents thereof were false, take and carry away the said paper writing, and present the same to the governor general and council at Fort William aforesaid, or to some or one of the members thereof, as an arzee or petition of him the said Cummaul ul Deen Allee Cawn to the said governor general and council. And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oath aforesaid, do further present, that the said Joseph Fowke, Francis Fowke, Maha Rajah Nundocomar, and Roy Rada Churn, afterwards, to wit, on the said 19th day of April, in the year afore said, at Calcutta aforesaid, in Bengal aforesaid, according to the conspiracy, combination, and agreement aforesaid, between them as aforesaid had, did, for evil purposes aforesaid, unlawfully, wickedly, and unjustly, frame and make, and caused to be framed and made, a certain paper writing in the Persian language; purporting, that the said Warren Hastings and others had, indirectly and collusively, received from the said Cummaul ul Deen Allee Cawn, by way of bribes for services

day, I have private business of my own; I am | plained; I deposited them with you: what is come to get my dismission. He said to me, That arzee which you gave in to the governor in Mr. Fowke's name, did you give it the last of Aughun, or the first of Poos, and when the Governor gave you the arzee back? Where is that arzee? Bring it me, I will see it, and Mr. Fowke wants to see it; do you bring it to me to-morrow evening, and then go. I then came to my own house: the man who was my old Moonshy was gone home at 12 o'clock; the next day I made my new Moonshy Kewdernawaz write out whatever I remembered. Having made him write, I kept it myself; and in the evening, having put my seal to it, carried it to Maha Rajab's, and said to him, Sir, this is the arzee. He took it, and then gave me my dismission.

What else passed ?—I don't remember. What was the business you thought bad? State it, if you can.-I looked upon this as bad business. Maha Rajah told me to give this barramut against the Governor, Mr. Barwell, Mr. Vansittart, &c.

Who asked you to give the barramut?— Maba Rajah Nundocomar and Rada Churn told me. I saw his house was a cutcherry of barramuts; the Radshaky man went with a barramut, and others went with barramuts. I was a poor man, and was frightened.

Did you see the Radshaky men go with barramuts?-I saw the Radshaky people there; all the world know they went with barramuts.

the reason of your having given them? He then said, Never mind the arzee which you presented against Mr. Fowke by directions of the Governor: do write thus, that the Governor and Mr. Graham made you do it by force against your will; give a writing to this purpose; and Mr. Fowke, from seeing it, will be pleased with you, and he will remember you in his own mind; he will give you that arzee and the two arzees back, when you have got the business of Purneah. Do then give me an arzee of this kind. I was then remediless, and considered in my own mind how I should get back the two arzees; and came home, and wrote down whatever occurred to me, i. e. 1 caused it to be written. At noon I went again to Maba Rajah's; Maha Rajah was not at bome. I sat down till he came. I gave him the arzee, as he was getting out of his palanquin. Maka Rajah read it; and said, This arzee is worth nothing; you have not wrote well; do you bring your moonsby with you in the evening, it shall be wrote here. I was angry, and tore that arzee, threw it away, and came home. I went again in the evening, took my moonshy, and brought him into the presence of Maha Rajah. Then he called his own Moonshy Doman Sing; having called him, he caused my moonshy to write out a foul draught; and then directed his own moonshy to write it out fair. I am not sure whether he made Doman Sing or my moonshy write out the foul draught. After that Maha Rajah took it, and struck out some things with his pen, and made my moonshy write it out fair. When Maha Rajah took the pen to alter the draught, I told him I had a pain in my belly, and wanted to go home, Was the barramut which Maha Rajah spoke and that my moonshy would write it out fair. to you about already made, or one that was to Then Maha Rajah said, Are you in a great be prepared?---They told me to prepare one: deal of pain? I said, I am. He then said, how should it be ready! had I a barramut cut- Go, and come to-morrow morning; Rada cherry, that it should be ready? (Comaul O Churn will go with you to Mr. Fowke's, and Deen desired to go on with his story.) Having will there cause the arzee to be given to you: received my dismission from Maha Rajah, I will speak to Rada Churn to that purpose. went to my house at Houghly; four or five I went home, and then it was about a par or a days after I heard that Moonshy Sudder O par and a half of the night; my moonshy and Deen was come to Calcutta. I came to Cal-Shuk Yar Mahomed came from Maha Rajah's. cutta, aud one or two days after Moonshy Sud- Shuk Yar Mahomed said, Maha Rajah sent der O Deen arrived: after he arrived, the busi- this arzee, do you put your seal upon it. I ness between Gunga Govin Sing and me was said, There was no agreement between Maha settled. I went to Maha Rajah's, and told Rajah and me about sealing it. I then gave him, that the business between Gunga Govin Sheik Yar Mahomed my hooka to smoke, and Sing and me is settled, by means of Moonshy then he went away. At that time my seal was Sudder O Deen: give me back the two arzees, not in my hand; it was in my chest. In the Maha Rajah then said to me, What is to hap-morning I went to Mr. Fowke's; Rada Churn pen in relation to those rupees you conversed with Roy Rada Churn about? I said, Sir, I have not received those rupees yet; when I receive back the arzees, I will make the settlement with you, and pay you; and, if you please, I will give it you in writing, I will give you a receipt for it. Maha Rajah then said, Roy Rada Churn has, without my knowledge, given the arzees to Mr. Fowke, and he has translated them. I said, I had not given them to Mr. Fowke; I had not com

[Question repeated. J---A. I sat in the dewan connah, and saw the Radshaky people there; and from hearing from one and another, my own sense pointed out to me that they went with barraniuts.

was sitting in young Mr. Fowke's room; I went and sat down there: when I had sat down Rada Churn went in to old Mr. Fowke. Rada Churn staid a gurry or two with Mr. Fowke. Then Rada Churn came from there, and sat down where he sat before, in young Mr. Fowke's room. In a few minutes Accour Munnah came and called me, and told me that Mr. Fowke wanted me. I went to him; Mr. Fowke was sitting on the bed, and gave me a chair to sit down opposite to him; he first said

a few civil words to me; he then took the treacherously (dagger) by me; they have causarzee from the bed, and desired me to seal it. ed me to write a very scandalous paper of baThere were two Tringy waiters and two Ben- ramuds: if in the morning Maha Rajah gives gallies standing behind me, one of the Ben- me back this paper, it is very well; if he does gallies was Aubos Munn; the other I do not not, I shall ruin myself: do you enquire after know. Mr. Fowke said, Seal this, and give it. me in the morning, and acquaint Mr. Barwell I said, there is no agreement between Maha and Mr. Vansittart, that this oppression bas Rajah and me to seal; it is not an arzee; it is been used upon me. I am going now to Maha a jabob sawaul, Who is the person to whom Rajah's, and at night I will come to you. the words Gurreeb, Puriver, and Adawlet Having said this, I went to Maha Rajah's; Guosten apply? and who issues the order? Maha Rajah was in private; Roy Rada Chura Mr. Fowke said, Leave that to me. Then was with him: Samsbeer Beg, Shirk Yar MaMr. Fowke was angry with me; when he was homed and I sat down in the gateway. I said angry, I grew afraid. When I saw he was to them, Four pars of the day this oppression angry, I put my jamma in this manner about has been upon me; that I have yet four pars my neck, and fell at his feet, and said, Mr. of the day to remain in this manner. I asked Fowke, this is all a lie; I am a poor man; Yar Mahomed for a glass of water; and he don't ruin me. Mr. Fowke, hearing this, took gave it me. Samsheer Beg and I in the evenup a book, and cried out, God damn you, you ing said our prayers together. After saying son of a bitch! When he took up the book, our prayers, I went to Roy Rada Churn, and and called me names, I said, Bring it, and I said to him, On your account I have been will seal it. He then put down the book; my abused and disgraced by Mr. Fowke; and be body shook for fear, and I sat down on the has, by force, caused me to write a paper I ground in this manner; I cried, and sat on the cannot prove: I cannot sit, give me a pillow ground. He then gave me the arzee, and to lay down. He then gave me a pillow, and I sealed it. He then cried out, Tell these I laid down. Roy Rada Churn said, I have people to be witnesses; I said, It is very well. explained this matter to Maha Rajah, and he is He then took out a furd, and shewed me. very angry with Mr. Fowke. Maha Rajah Within three years have you given 45,000 will just now come; do you go to him, he will rupees to Mr. Barwell; i. e. 15,000 rupees per tell you all. I lay there about a gurry or more, annum? I said, I have given it. He then when Maha Rajah came out into the Dewan said, Did you give the governor a nuzzeer of Connah: I then went to him, and sat down. 15,000 rupees? I said, I gave it. Did you give Maha Rajah said, I have heard every thing Husheia Jung 12,000 rupees? I said, Yes, I did. from Roy Rada Churo: never mind, I will go Did you give Rajah Ragibullub 7,000 rupees ? in the morning to Mr. Fowke's; whatever will I said I did. Did you give Cantoo Baboo 5,000 content you shall be done. He then gave me rupees? I said, I did. He said, Sign this. beetle and my dismission. I then went to Upon some of the names I wrote, I had given; Moonsby Sudder O'Deen, and told him what upon others I wrote, I delivered. Having had passed between Maha Rajah and me, and taken this from me, he said, Go. I ran away then went home. The next morning I went from them, wiping my face. Running away again to Mr. Fowke's; and there was Mr. from thence, I came to the stair case, and stood Fowke, Maha Rajah, and Roy Rada Churn; there. Samsheer Beg was standing there; II do not know where young Mr. Fowke was. said to him, See, this force is put upon me. Samsheer Beg said to me, I see that you are shaking; but what is the matter? I have not heard. I said to him, Will you hear what is the matter? Young Mr. Fowke and Rada Churn came out laughing; and stood at the door of the hall. I then said to young Mr. Fowke, Give me back those papers which your father has taken from me by force, or I will go and complain to the general and to the colonel. When I had said this, he told me to stay; they both went in to Mr. Fowke; they came out from thence, after having staid a long time. Young Mr. Fowke brought out a cover of a letter of this size, and said, Your arzees are all within this; I will put them to-day in my own chest; do you come here in the morning; Maba Rajah will come also: whatever Mala Rajah says, and will be your pleasure, shall be done. I was remediless, and came to my own house. When I got to my own house, I eat nothing; fear arose in my mind. When four gurries of the day were remaining, I went to moonshy Sudder O Deen's, and said, Roy Rada Churn has dealt

For fear, I stood on the stair-case, and did not go into the room. About a gurry after Mr. Fowke came out of the room; I salammed to him; he took no notice of it, and went out: then Maha Rajah and Roy Rada Churn came out; then I asked of Maha Rajah, What have you done for me? He answered, I have spoke to Mr. Fowke about it, but he does not hear me: do not you mind. In saying this, Maha Rajah got into his palanquin, and went away. I called out, Duoy on the king, and the court, the governor, and on the council. Having called out Duoy, I tore my jamma, and cried out, Mr. Fowke, Maha Rajah, and Roy Rada Churn, have caused me to write out a false baramud paper against gentlemen, and I am going to the court to complain. Then Yar Mahomed and Nelloo Sing laid hold of my hands, or one of them; having disengaged my hands, I went into my own palanquin. Many people, I do not know whether Mr Fowke's, Maha Rajah's, or Roy Rada Churn's, went scuffling along with my people and my bearers as far as a house of Rajah Rajibullub's, Inash