The observations which were painfully forced upon him in the course of this, and of some other trials, turned his attention to the nature and constitution of the courts in India, and he formed a plan, apparently of an extremely moderate and practical kind, for in some degree lessening their defects, both on the criminal and civil sides of the Court. This he communicated pretty fully, at a future period, to his friend Mr. George Wilson. In a letter (July 26th, 1807) to that eminent lawyer, he says: "In India, no court need consist of more, or ought to consist of less, than two judges, which would suppress one judge at Calcutta, and one at Madras, and establish a supreme court here (this would be a saving of at least 10,000l. a year); that cross-appeals should be granted between the three Courts at the present appealable sum; that the judgment of the second Court should be final in all cases not exceeding 10,000 rupees; and that there should be a power of, as it were, changing the venue for another Presidency, in criminal proceedings against Europeans, where the Courts should deem it conducive to justice. More than two judges are nowhere necessary, and with less there is no advice in difficulty, no encouragement against clamour, no protector and witness against calumny, no provision for necessary absence in dangerous illness, and no immediate successor in case of death. The present appellant-system is, in all causes of moderate value, from its delay and expense, a mere mockery; while, on the other hand, that delay and expense render it an instrument, in the hands of rich men, for wanton and oppressive appeals. At present, the Courts do and may differ in their law; indeed it is only by accident that, in a country without an open press, we can know any thing of each other's judgments. Crossappeals would make justice quicker and cheaper, and render legal decisions uniform. The power of changing

the venue would make the conviction of peculation possible, which it scarcely now is, either in England, from the difficulty of collecting distant evidence, or in their own Presidency, where their connexions and perhaps popularity, are enemies too formidable for public justice; and, on the other hand, it would prevent those vexatious animosities which are the price that small communities must pay for the conviction of a powerful delinquent." The justice of many of these views have lately been recognised by their adoption, in the changes which have recently been made by the Legislature in the Courts of India, and especially in that of Bombay.

CHAPTER VI.

EXCURSION TO POONAH-LETTERS TO MR. SHARP-TO MR. G. MOORE-TO M. DEGERANDO-NEWS OF THE WAR IN GERMANY-LETTERS TO M. GENTZ-TO MR. WINDHAM-ERECTION OF A COURT OF VICE-ADMIRALTY-CASE OF THE 66 MINERVA."

On the termination of the proceedings connected with the trial alluded to, Sir James made a short excursion to Poonah, then the capital of the Mahratta empire, having been invited thither by Colonel (afterwards Major-General Sir Barry) Close, the British Resident at the court of His Highness Bajee Rao, the Peshwa *. A few notices, in his own words, will carry the reader, it is hoped not unwillingly, with him; they are extracted from a journal, which, with very unequal degrees of care at different times, it was commonly his habit to keep. When at home, it was confined chiefly to observations upon books; but when travelling, as on the present occasion, it comprised all those little details of feeling and incident which ordinarily supply materials for letters, of which it indeed took the place, being thrown off generally every evening, and transmitted, as occasion offered, to her whose amusement and instruction was ever amongst the first objects of his life. This was the case throughout the whole of his residence in the East, more particularly towards the close of it, when Lady Mackintosh's ill health, and conse

The Peshwa, it is well known, was the Prime Minister of the Rajah of Sattara. His ancestors, for nearly a century, had kept the Rajah in custody, and governed his dominions with absolute power, in his name, as "Maires du Palais."

quent departure for Europe, afforded unfortunately a more lasting occasion of separation, and indeed during the remainder of his life, whenever the same cause recurred. The frequent recurrence of an address in the second person, in the midst of remarks generally abstract, will be thus explained.

66

Sungum, near Poonah, December 28th.-I closed the last journal with the Deo, or Incarnate Deity of Chincore. His family have enjoyed the privilege of Godhead for about eight generations. In their hands it is not a barren privilege; lands and revenues amounting to 50,000 rupees a year, are settled on this divinity and his ministers. The first grants of land were made to him by Sevajee, the founder of the Mahratta greatness, who died in the year 1680. 1680. His His presence has, on many occasions, proved a blessing to the sacred land. Holkar, when he ravaged most unmercifully all the neighbouring country, spared the districts allotted to the Deo. This intrepid and ferocious adventurer, though utterly devoid of morality, or of common humanity, is the slave of superstition. He is not even satisfied with his native nonsense; he is so eager to pry into futurity, and to secure all chances of the favour of invisible powers, that he attempts to unite the most inconsistent superstitions. He shows the greatest honour to Musselmen, prophets, and saints; and while he is ambitious of appearing as the hero of Braminism, and the deliverer of India, he copies the rites of the oppressors of his country, and the bitterest enemies of his religious faith.

"The example of persons with no restraints of humanity, and yet under the absolute tyranny of superstition, is not uncommon. The Crusaders, when they took Jerusalem, after an indiscriminate butchery of all the inhabitants, of all sexes and ages, burst into tears at the

sight of the Holy Sepulchre. An Irish Roman Catholic, in 1641, after having been engaged in the most bloody scenes of the Irish massacre, is said, on coming into a house, to have unawares eaten meat on a Friday, and, having discovered his sin, to have betrayed all the agonies and horrors of remorse.-But to return :

"We did not leave Chincore till about seven yesterday morning. We rode slowly on, till we came to a river about half way, where we found Colonel Close, Captain Sydenham, Mr. Gowan, Major Shelton, and Major Richardson, of the Bombay establishment, waiting to receive us. We dismounted on both sides. Captain Sydenham introduced me to Colonel Close, whose countenance, and even figure (though he is much taller, and less unwieldy), struck me as having some resemblance to Charles Fox. We remounted our horses, and resumed our ride, Colonel Close in the centre, I on his right, and Captain Sydenham on my right. Our party was now also increased by some important personages, in whose company I never had the honour of riding before, and whose singular appearance would (I was fearful) discompose the tranquillity of my Lord Chancellor of a horse. These were three state elephants belonging to the Residency. The purpose of their attendance will presently appear. Signor Cavallo beheld them undisturbed. After having jogged on about two miles, we saw, at a hill called Gunnesh Candy (or the hill of Gunnesh), the preparations made for my reception by the Mahratta Chiefs. We soon arrived at the spot intended for the interview. About a thousand Mahratta horse were drawn up on both sides of the road. I looked at them with some curiosity, as a specimen of that terrible cavalry, who had wasted the greater part of India, and subdued so large a portion of it. Sydenham told me they were a fair sample. Their countenance and air were in general martial, and even