inent, he was at nil times prepared to give the requisite explanations, and to furnish full information concerning Indian matters; while it was his constant endeavour to collect, and to avail himself of the information and suggestions which his situation placed at his command, in order to introduce those reforms in the company's administration which the rapid extension of their possessions in that quarter of the world rendered necessary. It was with this view, that, in
the session of 1780, Mr Dundas carried a bill through parliament for effecting
certain modifications and improvements in Mr Pitt's India bill. In the same
session Mr Burke originated those discussions which terminated in the impeachment of Mr Hastings. It is now well known that, on that occasion , the exuberant and inexhaustible eloquence of Mr Burke, was, without* his being aware of it, to a certain extent made subservient, not only to party purposes, but to the gratification of the private animosity of Mr Francis. We can now look back dispassionately and with sympathy to the unmerited and protracted sufferings to which Mr Hastings was subjected; but, during the progress of the investigation, truth as well as justice were lost sight of, amidst the splendid declamation of some of the greatest orators who ever appeared in parliament. Even Mr Dundas seems to have yielded to the prevailing delusion ; for although he uniformly opposed himself to the spirit of persecution which characterized the proceedings of the accusers, and ultimately defeated their object, he made no attempt to vindicate Mr Hastings from those charges, which, when stript of rhetorical and oriental embellishments, were found to be either entirely groundless, or such as admitted of explanations not only reconcileable with Mr Hastings' innocence, but which actually exhibited him as at once the benefactor of the natives, and as one who, by the vigour and wisdom of his administration, had contributed more than any of his predecessors to the extension and consolidation of the company's possessions in India.
After taking part with Mr Pitt in the debates on the regency question, during the king's illness in 1788, the next prominent feature in Mr Dundas' public life, was his steady and determined opposition to the pernicious principles of the French revolution. In that memorable struggle in which the salvation of this country was attributable chiefly to the energy and firmness of Mr Pitt, the minister, as usual, found in Mr Dundas his most able and cordial coadjutor. In 1791, he was appointed principal secretary of state for the home department, and thus became a member of the cabinet He, at the same time, retained his other appointments; and yet, such was his aptitude for business, and his unwearied application to his official duties, that the three important departments committed to him, never were in a state of greater efficiency. Many of the most approved public measures originated with, or were directly promoted by him. Among those were the formation of the fencible regiments, the supplementary militia, the volunteer corps, and the provisional cavalry. The whole, in short, of that domestic military force which, during the war, consequent on the French revolution, was raised and kept in readiness as a defence at once against foreign invasion and internal disturbance, was projected and organized under the direction of Mr Dundas. To him also we owe the improved system of distributing the army throughout the country in barracks and garrisons, by which, in times of commercial distress and political agitation, the most prompt protection to the lives and property of the inhabitants might be afforded. On the accession of the duke of Portland and his party to the ministry, in 1793, it was thought advisable to appoint a third secretary of state, rather than remove Mr Dundas from the superintendence of the military system which he had brought into operation. Accordingly, while the duke of Portland took the home secretaryship, Mr Dundas, in 1794, was nominated secretary of state for the war department.
