Hastings's government, that I have charged this with everything that is chargeable against him, namely, that, if your Lordships should ratify those principles by your acquittal of him, they become principles of government,--rejected, indeed, by the Commons, but adopted by the Peerage of Great Britain.
Burke warns that acquitting Hastings would legitimize corrupt governmental principles.
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More from Edmund Burke
I would not exclude alteration neither; but even when I changed, it should be to preserve.
The improvements of the National Assembly are superficial, their errors fundamental.
Our people will find employment enough for a truly patriotic, free, and independent spirit, in guarding what they possess from violation.
Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.
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