"They
judged it highly impolitic and unsafe to answer the drafts of the King,
until they were satisfied of his amicable intentions, and those of his
new allies." But neither had they any reason to question the King's
amicable intentions, nor was he pledged to answer for those of the
Mahrattas; his trusting to the good faith of that people, and relying on
their assistance to reinstate him in the possession of his capital,
might have been imprudent and impolitic, but these measures, however
ruinous to himself, indicated no enmity to the English, nor were they
productive of any effects injurious to the English interests. And it is
plain that the said Warren Hastings and his Council were perfectly aware
that their motives or pretences for withholding the tribute were too
weak to justify their conduct, having principally insisted on the
reduced state of their treasury, which, as they said, _rendered it
impracticable to comply with those payments_. The _right_ of a creditor
does not depend on the circumstances of the debtor: on the contrary, the
plea of inability includes a virtual acknowledgment of the debt; since,
if the creditor's right were denied, the plea would be superfluous.
Pages:
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478