Page:The Marquess Cornwallis and the Consolidation of British Rule.djvu/111

Rh the Ross edition of the Correspondence, to the impeachment of the ex-Governor-General; and the editor expressly states that Cornwallis entertained a very high opinion of his eminent and ill-treated predecessor. The public journals of the time show that the enlightened opinion of the Settlement, as it was termed, was entirely on the side of Hastings; and at the news of his acquittal, the city of Calcutta was illuminated, and messages of congratulation were forwarded by a large number of inhabitants convened at a public meeting by the sheriff. Macaulay was well informed when he wrote that every ship that sailed from Calcutta brought home a 'cuddy-full' of friends and admirers of Hastings. But Cornwallis would take no active part in getting up testimonials to character, and the letter referring to this determination is so honourable to both Statesmen, that it is worth quoting. On the 22nd of April, 1790, Hastings writes: —

'Of thanks I have a large debt due from me to your Lordship for many and substantial favours: for your great goodness to my old domesticks; for your distinguished notice of my friends ; and for the liberal manner in which you were pleased to proclaim your allowance of the testimonials which were subscribed in my favour, and to authenticate them by the transmission of them to the Court of Directors. ... You might, my Lord, have done more to indicate your countenance of those subscriptions, had I been entitled to such a proof of your personal good-will;