HASTINGS, Warren, English soldier and administrator : b. Churchill, Oxfordshire, 6 Dec. 1732; d. Daylesford, Warwickshire, 22 Aug. 1818. An uncle in London sent him at 10 years of age to Westminster School. On the death of his uncle he obtained an appointment in the East India Company's service and arrived at Bengal in October 1750. He was appointed to the factory at Cossinbazar and was taken prisoner by Surajah Dowlah (1756). On ob taining his freedom he joined Clive, under whom he served with distinction as a volunteer in his campaign of 1757. In 1758 he was ap pointed resident agent of the company at Moorshedabad, in which capacity he continued to act till 1761. It is recorded to his honor that he did not avail himself of the opportunity of making his fortune in the mode then com mon among the servants of the company, by "presents') (forced) from the native princes. In 1764 he returned to England, but as a result of a bad investment of his fortune was com pelled again to ask for employment from the company; and sailed for India in the spring of 1769. In 1771 the East India Company were contemplating extensive changes in the govern ment of India. The government of Bengal was still carried on in the name of the nabob, al though he had become a mere cipher, all his officers being appointed by the company, and they cast their eyes upon Warren Hastings as a fitting instrument to carry out their policy. Clive strenuously supported his appointment to the Calcutta council (1772), with succession as president of the council and governor of Ben gal. He now received instructions from the directors to deprive of his offices Mohammed Reza Khan, who had exercised under the com pany the complete control of the revenues and administration of Bengal, and to bring him to trial for corruption. Mohammed bore a high character and he was accused by Nuncomar, a man of notoriously bad reputation. Shitab Roy, Dewan of Behar, was subjected to similar charges. After a protracted inquiry both Mo hammed and Shitab were fully acquitted of all the charges against them. The object of these charges — the reorganization of the ju dicial and financial administration of the prov ince under the direct control of the company's officers, had in the meantime been carried out by Hastings to the entire satisfaction of the directors. Another important step taken by him was to enter into a treaty with the Nabob of Oude (Treaty of Benares, 7 Sept. 1773), by which he ceded to kim the districts of Corah and Allahabad for 50 lacs of rupees, and engaged to hire out the company's troops to him for the reduction of the Rohillas, whose territory the nabob coveted. By the subsequent act of 1773, Hastings was appointed first gov ernor-general of India, and a supreme council was named, of whom three formed a majority unfavorable to Hastings. The natives were encouraged to bring charges against him, and Nuncomar, his old ally, came forward with various charges of bribery. A Supreme Court
of Justice had been appointed at the same time with the supreme council of Calcutta. The chiefjustice, Sir Elijah Impey, its head, was a friend. of Hastings. Nuncomar was brought before this court, charged with forgery, con victed and executed. This stretch of jurisdic tion, which Hastings could easily have pre vented, alienated from him public sympathy in England. The directors of the company peti tioned the Crown on 8 May 1776 for his re moval from the council. Hastings had deputed Colonel MacLean, who returned to England in 1776, to insist on certain conditions or tender his resignation. It was accepted and a suc cessor appointed to take his place in the coun cil, 23 Oct. 1776. General Clavering assumed the title of governor-general, which Hastings still insisted on retaining, as the change had been made without the conditions he had ap pended to his resignation. The Supreme Court, which was appealed to, decided in favor of Hastings. To end a dispute between the coun cil and the Supreme Court of Calcutta, and to bring the chief justice under the influence of the council, Hastings now appointed Sir Elijah Impey superintendent of the native courts with a salary of i.8,000 a year, an appointment re garded by some as equivalent to a bribe. He involved himself in disputes with the Madras government, made demands for a large war contribution upon the Rajah of Benares, and when the rajah resisted arrested and deposed him. He caused the "begums of mother and grandmother of the Nabob of Oude, to give up extensive estates in land and a large amount of treasure. The House of Commons had passed a resolution (30 May 1782) requir ing the directors to pursue all legal and effect ual means for his removal. In November 1784 he resigned his post, and in February 1785 left India. In 1786 articles of impeachment were brought in by Burke against him. The pre liminary forms were gone through from 13 to 14 February, and Burke opened the charges against him in a speech of three days' duration, begun on the 15th. He was supported by Fox, Sheridan and Grey. Hastings began his de fense on 2 June 1791, and on 17 April 1795 was acquitted by large majorities on all the charges. His acquittal met with general ap proval. The legal expenses of his trial amounted to £76,080. The company in 1796 set tled on him an annuity of f4,000 a year for years, and lent him £50,000 for 18 years free of interest. He passed the remainder of his life in retirement. In 1813 he received the degree of LL.D. from the University of Oxford, and in 1814 was created a privy councillor. Consult 'Lives' by Gleig (3 vols., 1841), Lyall (1902), Malleson (1894) and Trotter (1878); 'The Private Life of Warren Hastings,' by Lanson (1911) ; and 'Letters to His Wife' (1905) ; Macaulay's 'Essay' (distorted in view) ; and Forrest, 'The Administration of Warren Hastings> (1892).