The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 10 (of 12)

This volume gathers a series of powerful speeches delivered before the House of Lords during the historic impeachment of Warren Hastings, the former Governor‑General of Bengal. Presented in the autumn of 1788 and the spring of 1789, the orations reveal the painstaking deliberations of the Commons as they confront allegations of misconduct and mismanagement in the far‑reaching East India Company.

In the opening address, the speaker frames the entire case around a single, corrosive vice: avarice. He argues that personal greed underpinned every charge, from the waste of public funds to the oppression of allies and subjects. By tracing how unchecked ambition corrupted governance, the speeches lay bare the moral and political stakes of imperial rule, offering listeners a vivid glimpse into eighteenth‑century parliamentary debate and the fight for accountability.