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SIR WILLIAM WILSON. HUNTER, K.C.S.I., C.I.E.
M.A. (Oxford): LL.D. (CAMBRIDGE)
SIR THOMAS MU NRO
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Oxford UNIVERSITY PREss WAREHOUSE
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R U LERS OF IN DIA
$5ír Chomas (II) unto
AAWD 7//Z' AA’ſ 7/SH SETT/ACMEW7" OA' 7"HE
MAJORA,S PRES/DEAVCP’
By
JOHN BRADSHAW, M.A., LL.D.
Inspector of Schools, Madras
Oxfore
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS : 1894
Öxford
P R IN T E D A T T H E C L A R E N D O N P R E S S
BY HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

SINCE this work was printed, news of the
death of the Author has reached England.
John Bradshaw devoted twenty-five years to
education in India, twenty-three of them as
a Professor or Inspector of Schools in the
Madras Presidency, A scholarly man of letters
and a patient searcher into the local sources of
Indian history, he leaves a memory which will
be cherished by many friends, but his sudden
death deprives the world of the harvest of his
long labours. With characteristic zeal he had
given up the brief holiday at the beginning of
the Indian year to verifying certain historical
data in South Arcot, although it was known that
cholera had broken out in that District. He
returned to Madras with the disease upon him,
and there died on January 5, 1894. So passes
away another original worker in India, before
accomplishing what seemed to be his life's-task.
W. W. H.
Feb. II, 1894.
INTRODUCTION
No name, in any part of India, perhaps, is so familiar
or held in such veneration as that of Munro is in the
Madras Presidency, though two generations have
passed away since his death. In the town of Madras
the celebrated equestrian statue by Chantrey serves
as a landmark, ever keeping the name of ‘Munro' in
the mouths of all; but in the Districts where the best
years of his life were spent no monument is needed to
perpetuate his name or memory.
Great changes have taken place in Southern India
during the two-thirds of a century since Munro's death.
The country has been opened up by railways and
telegraph wires, and the people have been modernized
by schools and colleges. Almost every town which
Munro visited as Collector, Colonel, and Governor
has now a railway station or is within a few hours'
drive of one, and each has its English school, its dis-
pensary or hospital, its post and telegraph office,
its magistrate's court and its police station. -
But great as have been the changes since Munro's
time, they are not so great as those which the
6 S/A THOMAS MUAVRO
Presidency witnessed in the half century between
Thomas Munro's arrival at Madras as a military
cadet in 1780, and his death as Governor in
1827. In the former year Haidar was devastating
the Karnātik up to the walls of Fort St. George, and
‘black columns of smoke were everywhere in view
from St. Thomas' Mount.’ During the following forty
years the history of Madras was one of wars, of
cession of territory to the British, and of the settle-
ment of the new Districts. How large a share Munro
took as a soldier and as a civil administrator in the
British settlement of Southern India, these pages
will show.
They will also exhibit a character worthy of imita-
tion by every Indian official and by every well-wisher
of the Indian races. His own letters paint the
man—brave, wise, and kindly. No truer estimate
of his qualities could be given than that by the Hon.
Mountstuart Elphinstone—‘strong practical good
sense, simplicity and frankness, perfect good nature
and good humour, real benevolence unmixed with
the slightest cant of misanthropy, activity and truth-
fulness of mind, easily pleased with anything, and
delighted with those things that in general have no
effect but on a youthful imagination '.'
‘It is not enough,’ the same writer observes, ‘to
give new laws or even good courts. You must
take the people along with you, and give them a share
'm your feelings, which can only be done by sharing
1 Colebrooke's Life of Mountstuart Elphinstone, ii. 35.
JAWTA’O/DUCTIO/V 7
theirs.’ This Munro did fully, and he had his reward,
for to this day the natives of his old Districts rise
up and call him blessed. In my official capacity
I have visited almost every spot in the Madras
Presidency in which Sir Thomas Munro lived or
encamped, and can speak from personal knowledge
of the impression that great administrator has left on
the face of the country, the system on which it is
governed, and on the hearts of the people. From
Salem the Rev. W. Robinson, writing to me, says:
‘Munro's name is held in the greatest reverence in
this District, and the highest compliment they can
pay a civilian is to compare him to Munro. I have
talked to old natives who cherish his memory as that
of their greatest benefactor.” In the Ceded Districts
boys are still named after him, ‘Munrolappa. In the
Cuddapah District wandering mendicants sing ballads
to his praise. At Gooty a Brähman schoolmaster
recently informed me that ‘Sir Thomas Munro is styled
Mandava Rishi, Mandava Rishi being no other than
Munro deified. In the recent season of scarcity, 1891–
92, at a meeting held at Gooty, with the object of
petitioning Government for a reduction of the land
assessment, near the end of the proceedings an old
róyat stood up and merely said in Telugu, “Oh for
Munro Sáhib back again!’
As Munro's own letters afford the truest and the
most vivid record of his life's work. they have been
largely used in the following pages. They give this
volume an autobiographical character which forms
8 S/A 7TA/OA/AS MOWAVA’O
its individual feature in the Rulers of India Series.
In his diary, Feb. 15, 1830, Elphinstone writes:—
‘I have begun Sir T. Munro's Life, and am quite enchanted
with it. It cannot fail to delight even those who had
previously no interest in the subject. It is almost all made
up of his own letters, which have fortunately been pre-
served, and which show that his judgment and Sagacity at
nineteen were as superior to those of ordinary people as they
were to those of his contemporaries when his reputation was
more extensive. They also most fortunately disclose the
many accomplishments which were concealed by his modesty
and that delicacy of taste and tenderness of feeling which lay
hid under his plain and somewhat stern demeanour.’
This Memoir is mainly based on the Life of Sir
Thomas Munro, by the Rev. G. R. Gleig, M.A., late
Chaplain-General of the Forces (Colburn and Bentley),
3 vols. I831, and the Letters have been reprinted
from the revised edition, published in one volume by
John Murray, 1849. The reader is also referred to
Sir A. J. Arbuthnot's Sir Thomas Mºw’m'ro, with
Selections from his Minutes, &c., (Kegan Paul and
Co., 1881); to Sir W. W. Hunter's Brief History of
the Indian Peoples, and to the volumes on Elphinstome
and the Marquess of Hastings in this Series.
Writing in India. I have not had the advantage of
seeing the final proofs of this work, but I desire to
thank the Editor of the Series for his kindness and for
the additional trouble he has had in seeing it through
the press.
J. B.
MADRAs, Oct. 18, 1893.
CHAP.
II.
III.
IV.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
BOYHOOD te e
WAR witH HAIDAR ALí
WAR witH TIPö . e º
THE BARAMAHAL–MUNRo As CoILECTOR
THE THIRD MYSORE WAR
KANARA AND ITS SETTLEMENT
THE CEDED DISTRICTs
WELLESLEY’s CAMPAIGN IN THE DECCAN AND
CoRRESPONDENCE witH MUNRo
MUNRO's FIRST VISIT TO EUROPE
PRESIDENT OF THE JUDICIAL CoMMISSION e
THE PINDARI AND MARATHA WARs, 1817–1818 .
MUNRo's SECOND VISIT TO ENGLAND
GOVERNOR OF MADRAs—ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS
THE BURMESE WAR, 1824–1826
LAST TOURS AND DEATH
APPENDIx
INDEx
PAGES
5–8
II–I6
I 7-42
43–60
6I-8I
82–86
87–IIo
III–I2O
I2I–I4O
I4 I–I52
I53–I6o
I61–173
I74–178
IT9–I93
I94–206
2O7–2I3
2I5–22 I
NOTE ON THE WOWEI, SOUNDS
223-233
The Orthography of proper names follows generally the system
adopted by the Indian Government for the Imperial Gazetteer of India.
That system, while adhering to the popular spelling of very well-
known places, such as Punjab, Poona, Deccan, &c., employs in all
other cases the vowels with the following uniform sounds:—
a, as in woman : á, as in father: i, as in kin: i, as in intrigue :
o, as in cold : u, as in bull : M, as in rural.
S / A 7TA/ O A/ 21 S M O AW A2 O
CHAPTER I
BOYHOOD
THOMAS MUNRO was born in Glasgow on May 27,
1761. His father, Alexander Munro, was a merchant
trading chiefly with Virginia, and his mother was
sister of Dr. Stark, a well-known anatomist of that
day. Thomas was the second child of a family of five
sons and two daughters. In his infancy a severe
attack of measles caused partial deafness; to this
deafness he refers in his first letter from India, and to
the increase of it, as he advanced in life, he makes
frequent allusion in the correspondence of his later
years.
Munro passed from the Grammar School to the
Glasgow University, which he entered when he was
about thirteen, remaining in it for nearly three years.
At college he was distinguished in mathematics and
chemistry, and was besides a great reader of history and
literature apart from his collegiate course. Evidence
of his literary taste and wide reading is disclosed in
I 2. SIR 7"HOMAS MUVRO
many of his private letters, a taste which he kept up
throughout his life in India, showing himself no mean
critic of the current literature of the day. Among
the books or authors named by his biographer as his
favourites were Anson's Voyages, Plutarch's Lives,
Spenser, Shakespeare, Smith's Wealth of Nations,
Hume's History, and the Life of Frederick the Great.
Accounts of wars and of the tactics of generals afforded
him peculiar interest. In order to read Dom Quiacote
in the original when a boy he taught himself Spanish
with the help of a dictionary and a grammar. This
knowledge soon proved useful, for being the only
person known to have a knowledge of the language,
he was called on to translate some papers found in
a Spanish vessel captured by a privateer belonging to
a mercantile house in Glasgow. The reward which he
received for this he gave to his mother as his first
earnings.
Munro was well fitted by nature for the career
he was destined to fill as a soldier and administrator
in India. Tall and robust, he excelled in all athletic
sports, and was possessed of a high courage, extra-
ordinary agility, great presence of mind and powers of
self-denial. Munro spent most of his vacations at
a country house called Northwoodside, then two or
three miles out of Glasgow. This spot was beautifully
situated on the banks of the Kelvin, and the days he
spent here fishing in the stream, or swimming in
Jackson's dam, are often referred to in his corre-
spondence from India.
AO VAZOO/D I3
In 1777 Munro's father obtained for him a clerkship
in the counting-house of Messrs. Somerville & Gordon,
West-Indian merchants in Glasgow. Shortly after-
wards, the magistrates, who were not unacquainted
with young Munro's military propensities, made him
a tender of a lieutenancy in the corps which they were
raising. But his father being opposed to his acceptance
of it he reluctantly declined the offer, his disappoint-
ment being increased by the departure for military
service of several of his old companions, one being the
future Sir John Moore who died at Corunna.
In the following year, however, the house of which
his father was a partner became embarrassed. The
passing of the Act of Confiscation by the Congress
of the United States led to its stopping payment,
and the Munro family were reduced to compara-
tive poverty. The father was now glad to accept
for his son a midshipman's berth in the mer-
cantile marine of the East India Company; but just
before he sailed he was able to get it changed for
a cadetship. Not being able to afford to pay for his
passage, young Munro obtained permission from the
captain of the Walpole to work his way out to Madras
as an ordinary seaman", and here he arrived on
January 15, 1780. -
The following extract from a letter to his mother
gives a humorous account of his first experiences
after landing at Madras:—
* This incident Mr. Gleig was not aware of when he wrote his Life
of Sir Thomas Munro in 1829, but mentions it in the edition of 1849.
I4. S/A 7TP/O MAS MUAVA’O
‘Dear Madam,
“When the ship anchored in the Roads, a number
of the natives came on board. They were dressed
in long white gowns. One of them, a grave, decent-
looking man, came up to me; he held a bundle of
papers in his hand which he begged I would read;
they were certificates from different people of his
fidelity and industry. He said that strangers on their
arrival in India were often at a loss for many
necessary articles, but that I need give myself no
trouble, for if I would only give him money, he would
purchase for me whatever I wanted; he would attend
me as a servant, and would be content with such
wages as I should think upon trial he deserved.
I congratulated myself on having met with so respect-
able a person in the character of a servant. He said
he would go on shore and get me another, for that no
gentleman could do without two, and that he would
at the same time carry my dirty linen to be washed.
I had only a few changes clean ; I gave him the rest.
‘Two days after, when I went on shore, I found my
old man standing on the beach with half a dozen of
porters to carry my baggage to Captain Henderson's
house. I went early to sleep, quite happy at being
rid of my old shipmates the soldiers.
‘My servant entered the room while I was dressing
next morning. He surveyed me, and then my bed,
with amazement. The sea-chest, which occupied one
half of the chamber, was open ; he looked into it and
shook his head. I asked the cause of his wonder.
AO VAZOOD I5
“Oh, Sir, this will never do; nobody in this country
wears buff waistcoats and breeches, or thread stock-
ings, nor sleeps upon mattresses; sheets and blankets
are useless in this warm climate; you must get a table
and chairs, and a new bed.”
‘I was vexed to learn that all the clothes, of which
I had taken so much care in the passage from Europe,
were now to be of no service.
‘He inspected the contents of the chest. The
whole was condemned, together with the bed-clothes,
as unserviceable, except three or four changes of linen
which were to serve me till a tailor should fit me out
in a proper manner.
‘“It is customary with gentlemen,” said the old man,
“to make a present of all their European articles to
their servants, but I will endeavour to dispose of
yours to advantage; four guineas will buy a table
and chairs, and cloth for the tailor, and as Captain
Henderson is gone to Bengal, you must get a couch
of your own; it will not cost above two guineas.”
He went out with the six guineas, leaving me with
an empty chest, and my head full of new cuts of
sleeves and skirts, which the tailor was to make in
a few days. But all my schemes were disconcerted
by some unfortunate accident befalling my good friend
with the credentials, for he never returned.
‘This unexpected blow prevented me from stirring
out above twice or thrice in a week for several months
after. On these days I sallied forth in a clean suit,
and visited all my friends. After Dr. Koenig came to
I6 - S/A 7TP/O MAS // UAVRO
live with Mr. Ross, I spent the greatest part of my
time at his house, amusing myself with shells and
flowers; but before that I employed it differently.
‘I rose early in the morning to review my clothes;
after having determined whether shirt No. 3 or 4 was
best, I worked at my needle till breakfast. When it
was over I examined the cook’s accounts, and gave
orders about dinner; I generally read the rest of the
day till the evening, when I mounted to the top of the
house to observe the stars I had been reading of during
the day in Ferguson's Astronomy.
“While I remained in Madras, my pay as a cadet
was eight pagodas * a month; of this I gave two to
a servant called a dubash, one to a cook, and one to
the washerman ; the remaining four were to answer
every expense in a place where everything is sold at
the highest price.
“With all my economy, it was near six months
before I could save money enough to buy me a few
suits of linen. I did not choose then to ask any of
Mr. R.; and Mr. H. did not seem disposed to give me
any assistance till I should leave Madras. But Mr. R.,
wishing to get me appointed to join the detachment
under Colonel Baillie, I continued in Madras, making
application for this purpose, till Haidar entered the
Karnātik, when I joined the army in the field.’
* A pagoda was worth about 7s.6d.
CHAPTER II
WAR WITH HAIDAR ALí
SIR THOMAS MUNRo’s life and work in India may
be divided into four periods. The first, from 1780 to
1792, was purely military, and during most of these
twelve years he was on active service in the wars
with Haidar Alí and Tipú Sultán. In the second,
1792–1807, he was employed in the civil administration
of the country: from 1792 to 1799 in the Bárámahal,
which had been ceded by Tipá ; in 1799–18oo in
Kánara, and from 1800 to 1807 in the Districts still
known as the Ceded Districts, acquired by treaty with
the Nizām in 1800. The third period, 1814–1818, after
an interval of six years in Europe, was spent partly in
civil and partly in military duty. He was sent out
by the Court of Directors in 1814 as ‘Principal
Commissioner for the revision of the internal ad-
ministration of the Madras territories’—judicial and
financial; and during 1817–1818 he was in command
of a division of the army in the last Maráthá War.
The fourth period, after a short visit to England in
1819, was that of his governorship of Madras from
June 8, 1820, until his death on July 6, 1827.
B
18 S/A 7TP/O MAS MUAVA’O
The year in which Munro arrived at Madras was
the commencement of a critical period in the history
of British India. The conduct of the Madras Govern-
ment—Sir Thomas Rumbold, the Governor, and Sir
Hector Munro, the Commander-in-Chief, being at
variance with the other members of Council—gave an
opening which neither the French nor the other
enemies of English supremacy were slow to make use
of Haidar Alí of Mysore, and the Nizām of the
Deccan, the two strongest Musalmán powers in India,
endeavoured to draw the Maráthás into an alliance
against England, but the diplomacy of Hastings
won over the Nizām and the Maráthá Rájá of
Nágpur.
Haidar, at the head of a numerous and well-
appointed army, joined by a corps of Europeans under
Lally, marched from Seringapatam, and by August
had laid siege to Arcot, a town about sixty-five miles
west of Madras. ‘The Government,’ writes Munro in
a letter to his father in October, 1780, ‘being at length
convinced by the burning of the villages around, and
the country people daily flocking in multitudes to
Madras, that Haidar had passed the mountains,
prepared to oppose him. General Munro was ordered
to take the command of the army, and at the same
time instructions were sent to the north to Colonel
Baillie to march with his detachment and join the
main body.” Sir Hector Munro reached Conjeveram,
and Colonel Baillie had advanced to within fourteen
miles of the latter, when Haidar threw his army be-
WAR WITH HAIDAR AL/ I9
tween the two and completely routed Baillie's detach-
ment at Perambákam on September Io, 178o.
During the remainder of the war with Haidar and
the French, Munro was actively employed, and in
the Appendix will be found a “Memorandum of his
Services, in which he gives a summary of his career
in the army and while in civil employ. Throughout
the war with Haidar, and subsequently during the wars
with Tipú and with the Maráthás, Munro wrote long
letters or journals to his father and to some of his
friends, describing very fully the several campaigns
and giving accounts of the battles and various
military operations in which he was engaged. These
letters not only possess the advantage of being written
by an eye-witness, and at the time or immediately
after the events, but are remarkable for the masterly
criticism of the conduct of the several generals, as
well as for the literary ability displayed by the writer.
The following is an extract from a journal which
he kept in 1781–1782, and despatched to his father
in October, 1782. It was written chiefly by night,
‘when, he says, “I was almost as much plagued by
swarms of troublesome insects flying about the candle
and getting into my hair and eyes and under my
shirt-collar as I would have been by the enemy.”
‘The newspapers say that a Committee of the House
of Commons is appointed to enquire into the causes of
Haidar Alí’s irruption, and the extent of that calamity.
It has extended so far that there is not a human
B 2.
2O S/R 7"HOMAS MUAVRO
being to be seen in the country—the only inhabitants
are the garrisons of the forts, and the British and
Mysorean armies.
‘The Mysorean army, which encamped before Vellore
on the 14th of December [178o], was commanded by
Muhammad Alí ; Haidar himself remained at Arcot.
‘Vellore is situated at the entrance of the Ambúr
valley, which leads to one of the principal passes into
Mysore, and all convoys coming this way must pass in
sight of it; for which reason, a strong guard was always
requisite to prevent their being intercepted by the
garrison. It was chiefly the dread of this that deter-
mined Haidar to attack it. The force that Colonel Lang
had to defend it with was two hundred and fifty Euro-
peans and five hundred sepoys, besides a rabble of one
thousand two hundred Nawāb's troops and poligars.
‘The fortifications were built by the Maráthás more
than two hundred years ago. The walls were formed
of the same hard stone which had been used at Wandi-
wash. The stones were three or four feet thick, and
eighteen or twenty long, and were placed end-ways.
The ditch which surrounded it was two hundred feet
broad, and fifteen or twenty deep. Two miles to the
right of the fort were three fortified hills. A six-pounder
from the nearest threw a shot three hundred yards
over the opposite rampart. It was against this that
the enemy directed their attack. They began their
approaches near a mile from the foot of the wall.
Nothing but their numbers could ever have accom-
plished a work of such amazing labour; the soil on the
WAR WITH HAIDAR AL/ 2. I
hills was so thin that they could not make trenches, but
were obliged to advance under cover of a wall of
gabions, and to fill them they had to bring earth from
the plain below. They met many large fragments of
rock in their way. They undermined some, and rolled
them down the hill; and those they could not manage
they avoided by making a sweep round them. In three
weeks they had got the better of all these obstacles,
and raised a battery, which in a few days demolished
one of the angles of the fort. They at the same time
raised another on an eminence which overlooked the
place ; and the garrison, having only a few small guns,
could neither return their fire, nor show themselves in
the daytime. They laboured hard during the night
in cutting off the ruined angle, by a deep trench with
a breastwork behind it. On the night of the Ioth of
January, the enemy, headed by Muhammad Alí in
person, made two attacks, and in both were repulsed
with great loss.
‘It was surprising that Haidar, after raising the
siege of Vellore, did not hasten to engage the English
army before it was reinforced. Had he been so inclined,
he had time enough to have overtaken it, as it lay three
days at Wandiwash. Perhaps the high military char-
acter of General Coote made him doubtful of success. . . .
“Whilst General Coote carried on this petty war
about Cuddalore, Haidar made himself master of
Ambár' and Thiagur” in the Karnātik: and of all
* Ambir in North Arcot, now a railway station, II2 miles west
of Madras. * Thiagadrug in South Arcot.
2 2. S/A’ 7"ATOMAS A/UV/VRO
Tanjore but the capital. We must, however, suppose
he had good reasons for remaining there. If it was
not the smallness of his force, it might have been
with a view to keep Haidar to the southward, and to
draw his attention from the reinforcement which was
then coming from Bengal.
‘The General moved in the end of May to raise the
siege of Thiagur. He reached Tirivádi the 1st of
March [1781], from whence Mír Sáhib retreated on his
appearance; here he halted two days, and then
returned to his old camp at Cuddalore. I cannot
account for this conduct, unless by supposing that
from Baillie's defeat he conceived too high an opinion
of Haidar's army, and relied too little on his own, or
that he did not think the place of sufficient conse-
quence to risk a general engagement to prevent its
fall, and that he only moved to divert the enemy and
protract the siege.
‘The Bengal troops having by this time entered
the Karnātik, the General, to hinder Haidar from
striking any blow against them, marched to the
southward on the 16th June, and two days after
arrived at Chilambaram, a fortified pagoda, thirty
miles south-west of Cuddalore. Adjoining to the
pagoda there is a large pettah, surrounded by a mud
wall; the garrison were between two and three
thousand poligars. In the evening the General sent
three battalions to attack the pettah; the enemy,
after a scattered fire, ran to shelter themselves in the
pagoda. By some mistake, without orders, the
WAR WITH HAIDAR AL/ 23
foremost battalion pursued them to the gates; which
finding shut, they brought up a twelve-pounder
against them. The second shot burst open the Outer
gate. The sponge staff was fired out of the gun in
the hurry, and the man who carried the match was
not to be found. In this exigency, Captain Moorhouse
of the artillery, with great resolution, loaded and
discharged twice, by the help of a musket, and made
a breach in the second gate large enough to allow one
man to go through at a time. The sepoys rushed in ;
the space between the two inner gates was in a moment
full of them ; they did not observe, midway between
the two, a flight of steps which led to the rampart.
The garrison, every moment dreading the assault,
called for quarter, but their voice was not to be
distinguished in the general tumult which now ensued.
For, some straw having taken fire, caught the clothes
of the sepoys, who were crowded between the gate-
ways, and every one pressing back to avoid suffo-
cation and the fire of the enemy (which was now
redoubled at the sight of their disaster,) many of
them were scorched and burned to death, and those
who escaped hurried away without attempting to bring
off the twelve-pounder. Six officers and nearly 150
men were killed and wounded in this unfortunate affair.
‘The General, who was in the pettah at the
time, ordered some pieces of cannon to batter the
wall. A fine brass eighteen-pounder was ruined
without making any breach ; and day beginning to
dawn, the troops returned to camp. All thoughts
24 SMA THOMAS AM UAVAPO
were now relinquished of taking the place by assault ;
and there being no battering-guns with the army, it
was resolved to send for them to Cuddalore; and,
after taking the rice out of the pettah, to proceed to
Porto Novo to cover their landing. We marched to
this place on the 22nd [June], and the same day Mír
Sáhib encamped five miles to the westward of it.
‘Sir Edward Hughes arrived on the 24th with
the battering train ; and, whilst rafts were preparing
to carry it up the river to Chilambaram, our attention
was called to an object of much greater consequence.
For, at daybreak on the 28th, the sound of the
réveillé was heard in front of the camp, and the
rising of the sun discovered to our view the plain for
several miles covered with the tents of the Mysorean
army. Haidar was preparing to besiege Trichinopoli,
when the commandant of Chilambaram advised him
of his having repulsed the English, and that they had
retreated to Porto Novo. The time he had so long
wished for he imagined was now come, when he
might, in one day, destroy the only army that
remained to oppose him. His expedition showed his
confidence of success—he marched seventy miles in
two days, and encamped at Mútapolliam, four miles
from Porto Novo. His troops were no less sanguine
than himself. Some came near enough to the grand
guard to warn them of the fate that awaited them so
soon as they should come forth to the plain. They
bid the foragers, who kept out of reach of the English
sentries, not fear them, but go wherever they could
WAR WITH HAIDAR AL/ 25
find the greatest plenty, for that they would not dare
to touch them when they themselves were in the
power of Haidar. This language afforded little comfort
to the desponding part of our army, who, when they
beheld the great extent of the Mysorean camp, and
the numerous bodies of horse and foot that moved
about it, could not avoid thinking Haidar as for-
midable as he was represented by those who had
escaped from Perambákam, and entertaining the
strongest apprehensions of the event of the approaching
engagement. But those who considered our artillery,
served by men whom Mr. Bellecombe had pronounced
superior to everything he had seen in Europe, the
perfect discipline of the troops, and their confidence in
their commander, regarded Haidar offering battle as the
most fortunate circumstance that could have happened.
‘A little after daybreak, on the 1st of July, the
General drew up the army in a large plain which lay
between the two camps. On his right was a chain of
sand-hills, which ran along the coast at the distance
of about a mile from the sea in the rear; and on the
left, woods and enclosures, but with an open space
between. Two miles to the left ran another chain
of sand-hills, parallel to the former, and behind them
lay the principal part of the Mysorean army. At
eight o'clock the enemy opened eight guns, in two
batteries which they had raised among the sand-
banks; but they were too distant to do much
execution. The General, having reconnoitred their
situation, saw that it was their wish that he should
26 S/A’ 7TP/O MAS A/UAVA’O
advance across the plain, under the fire of the batteries
they had constructed on every side, that their cavalry
might be able to take advantage of the impression.
He therefore made no change in his disposition, but
kept his ground, offering them battle till eleven
o'clock, when, finding they did not choose to make
the attack, he moved to the rear of the sand-hills on
his right. The army marched in two lines, the first
commanded by General Munro, the second by General
Stuart. In the first were all the European infantry,
with six battalions of sepoys equally divided on the
flanks; in the second, four battalions of sepoys. One-
half of the cavalry formed on the right of the first, the
other half on the left of the second line. The baggage,
guarded by a regiment of horse and a battalion of
sepoys, remained on the beach near Porto Novo.
The army, after marching a mile between the sand-
banks and the sea-shore, again defiled by an opening
into the plain, where the enemy's infantry and artillery
were drawn up waiting our coming; but their horse
still remained behind the sand-hills.
‘In an hour the whole of the first line got into the
plain, where they formed under the fire of forty pieces
of cannon. Not a shot was returned ; the guns were
not even unlimbered; but everything remained as if
the army had been to continue its march. The enemy,
encouraged by this, which they attributed to an
intention of escaping, brought their artillery nearer.
Every shot now took effect. The General rode along
the front, encouraging every one to patience, and
WAR WITH HAIDAR AL/ 27
reserve their fire till they were ordered to part with
it. He only waited accounts from the second line.
An aide-de-camp from General Stuart told him that
he had taken possession of the sand-hills; he im-
mediately gave orders to advance, and to open all the
guns. The artillerymen, who had been so long re-
strained, now exerted themselves. Their fire was so
heavy that nothing could stand before it. The
Mysorean infantry only stayed to give one discharge ;
the drivers hurried away the cannon, while the horse
attempted to charge; but they were always broken
before they reached the line. In a quarter of an hour
the whole were dispersed.
‘While the first line were engaged with Haidar, the
second was attacked by Tipú and Lally, who were
repulsed by General Stuart in all their attacks to
drive him from the sand-hills; and when Haidar fled,
they followed him. A deep watercourse saved the
enemy from pursuit, for we were six hours in crossing
it, which they, from the number and goodness of their
cattle, had done in one. Our army was 7,500 fighting
men. The force of the enemy has been variously
estimated. A Portuguese captain, who deserted to us
during the action, and who pretended to have seen
the returns, made it amount to 300,000 or 400,000 (sic),
(I do not remember which ; it makes little difference)
men that could fight. However it may be, it is
certain that their numbers were such that the most
exact discipline never could have brought the whole
into action.
28 S/A’ TAZOA/AS Al/OWAVA’O
‘I am sure you will be tired before you get to the
end of this long story; but I have been particular,
because it was this action that first gave a turn
to our affairs in the Karnātik, and because it was
considered at the time as the most critical battle " that
had been for a long time fought in India. For what
could be a more serious matter than to engage an
enemy so superior in numbers, whose great strength
in horse enabled him to take every advantage, and
when there was no alternative between victory and
entire ruin Had we been once broken, it would have
been impossible ever to have rallied when surrounded
by such a multitude of cavalry. It was known after-
wards that when the action began Haidar issued an
order to take no prisoners.’
Haidar Alí died in December, 1782. ‘His son
Tipú, writes Munro, succeeded to his power without
any of those violences so common in Indian govern-
ments. He soon afterwards took the field, joined by
a considerable body of French, and prepared to besiege
Wandiwash.' Early in 1783 the English destroyed
the fortifications of Wandiwash and provisioned
Vellore; but meantime Tipú had withdrawn, march-
ing off to his own country on hearing of the progress
of General Mathews on the Malabar coast. In July
Munro was present at the battle of Cuddalore, when
the French under M. Bussy were defeated by General
Stuart. Munro acted as aide-de-camp to the field-
officer of the day, and in concluding his account of
* The battle of Porto Novo, July 1, 1781.
WAR WITH HAZDAR AL/ 29
the battle he observes, ‘There seemed no connexion in
our movements; every one was at a loss what to do,
and nothing saved our army from a total defeat
but the French being, like ourselves, without a
general.” News of the peace in Europe, after the treaty
of Versailles, led to a cessation of hostilities with the
French "; and the war in the Karnātik was brought
to a close by the treaty with Tipá in March, 1784.
The next few years of Munro's service were un-
eventful. He, however, saw a good deal of the Madras
Presidency, being quartered successively in Madura,
Tanjore, Fort St. George, Kásimkota near Vizaga-
patam, and at Vellore. During these years Munro
spent his leisure in the study of Hindustaní and
Persian and the literature of those languages. Of
Persian he seems to have been a great reader; and
a letter of his to a friend in Glasgow about the
beginning of 1787 contains not only some interesting
criticisms on Persian writers, but a translation of the
story of Shylock, which he says he found in a Persian
manuscript. This translation was published a few
years after in Malone's edition of Shakespeare in the
notes to the Merchant of Venice, with the remark that
‘in a Persian manuscript in the possession of Ensign
Thomas Munro of the first battalion of Sepoys, now at
* “The suspension of arms was most unfortunate for the French.
The army of Stuart before Cuddalore represented the last hope of
the English in Southern India. An attack of the French in force
could scarcely have failed to annihilate it. With its destruction
Madras and all Southern India would have passed over to the
French.” Malleson’s Final French Struggles in India, p. 74.
3o SAA’ 7TA/OA/AS /l/ UAVA’O
Tanjore, is found the following story of a Jew and
a Musalmán ; the translation was made by Mr. Munro,
and kindly communicated to me by Daniel Braith-
waite, Esq.”
In August, 1788, Munro, now a lieutenant, was
appointed an assistant in the Intelligence Department,
under Captain Read, and was attached to the head-
quarters of the force sent to take possession of the
province of Guntár ceded by the Nizām of the
Deccan. ‘The most important public transaction,’
he says in a letter to his father in January, 1789,
“since my last, is the surrender of the Guntár Circár
to the Company, by which it became possessed of the
whole coast from Jagannāth to Cape Comorin.’
Of this important event, by which the annexation
of the Districts now known as Kistná, Godávarí,
Vizagapatam, and Ganjám—or the Northern Circárs
—was completed, he wrote the following account,
and gives expression to his opinion on the policy
by which it was effected.
‘The Nizām made himself master of that province
soon after Haidar's invasion of the Karnātilº, as an
equivalent for the arrears of peshcush [tribute] due to
him by the Company for the other Circárs. The Com-
pany not being at that time in a situation to compel
him to restore it, he kept it quietly for several years;
and though Sir John Macpherson sent Mr. Johnson to
Haidarābād to demand the restitution of it, he paid
little attention to his request. But the Company,
seeing their affairs again in a respectable situation,
WAR WITH HAIDAR AL/ 3I
determined to compel him to deliver what they
considered as their own property. They ordered
Lord Cornwallis to intimate to him that they were
willing to discharge their arrears of peshcush, and to
pay it regularly in future, but that the restoration of
Gunttär must be the price; and that, in case of
refusal or delay, their troops would enter the province
in fourteen days.
‘Colonel Edington, with a detachment of a regiment
of Europeans and four battalions of sepoys, being
already arrived on the boundary of the Company's
territory, on the 9th of September [1788), Captain
Kennaway, from Calcutta, presented to the Nizām
a paper, containing a demand of the surrender of the
Circár, a promise of a faithful discharge of all arrears,
as well as regular payment hereafter, and notifying the
time limited for the advance of the Company’s troops.
The Nizām, unable singly to contend with such an
antagonist, and despairing of assistance from any of
the country powers, (for Tipi was unwilling to
make any movement without the co-operation of
France, and the Maráthás were employed in expelling
a usurper, and reinstating Sháh Alam on the throne
of Delhi,) submitted to the terms imposed upon him.
He instantly issued orders for his forces to evacuate
Gunttär, but, at the same time, protested against the
violence and injustice of the Company. “They ought,”
he said, “to have paid their arrears previous to their
insisting on the restoration of the country;-and
what security have I,” he asked, “ that they will be
32 S/A2 ZTA/OA/AS A/OAVA’O
more punctual in future in discharging their peshcush
than they have hitherto been 7°
‘It would certainly have been a more honourable
and manly policy to have paid him, first, all his just
claims, and then to have made the requisition. The
consequence would have been the same, with this
difference, that adopting this method would have
raised, while following the other has degraded, the
name of Englishmen
‘The spirit of the nation humbled in the West by
an unfortunate war, seems to have extended its effects
to this country, in stooping to a timid, where a bold
policy would have been equally safe. The appre-
hension, if any existed, was groundless, that the
Nizām, if he had received the money, might have
employed it against the Company, and refused to
give up the province. The sum did not amount to
the quarter of one year's revenue; and had it been
ten times more, it would have availed little; for to
a weak and distracted government, without an army,
'money is but a poor defence against a warlike and
powerful enemy. He knew that resistance would be
in vain, and that it would serve no other purpose
than to afford the Company a pretence for withholding
the peshcush of the other provinces. . He was too
wise to give them such an opening, and was no doubt
happy to save, in some measure, his credit, by the
consideration that they had some claim to the
possession of Guntſir. His reply to Captain Kenna-
way’s demand is sensible and candid, it is the
WAR WITH HAIDAR AL/ 33
language of a prince, who feels that he is insulted
without having the power to avenge himself. The
perusal of it is affecting—it displays the humiliation
of a great prince compelled to sacrifice his dignity to
necessity, and to suppress his indignation at being
told that this is done with his own approbation, and
purely from motives of friendship, by the English.
If I can get a sight of the original, and a few spare
hours, I shall send you a translation of it.’
But Munro was a student and critic not only of
what was going on about him in India, but of con-
temporary history and politics in Europe, and his
remarks and views on the events then happening
may still be read with interest. In a letter to his
friend Foulis, from Ambiár in April, 1790, he writes
as follows of the likelihood of France becoming
a successful rival to Great Britain, and even wresting
from her all her foreign possessions:–
‘If, like you, I were liable to be possessed by blue
or any other devils, the situation of affairs in France
would be more likely than anything besides to
produce such an event ; for as a friend to the glory
and prosperity of Britain, I cannot behold with in-
difference the restoration of French liberty. That
nation, already too powerful, wanted nothing but
a better form of government to render her the arbiter
of Europe; and the convulsions attending so re-
markable a revolution having subsided, France will
Soon assume that rank to which she is entitled from
her resources, and the enterprising genius of her
C
34 SIR THOMAS MUNRO
inhabitants. You and I may live to see the day
when the fairest provinces of India (reversing Mr.
Gibbon’s boast) shall not be subject to a company of
merchants of a remote island in the Northern Ocean :
but when, perhaps, those merchants and their country-
men, being confined by the superior power of their
rival to the narrow limits of their native isle, shall
sink into the insignificance from which they were
raised by the empire of the sea. With the freedom
of our Government we may retain our Orators, our
poets, and historians, but our domestic transactions
will afford few splendid materials for the exercise of
genius or fancy, and with the loss of empire we must
relinquish, however reluctantly, the idea, so long and
so fondly cherished by us all, of our holding the
balance of power.
‘In looking forward to the rising grandeur of France,
9.
I am not influenced by any groundless despondency,
but I judge of the future from the past. And when
I consider that after the Revolution she opposed for
some time, successfully, the united naval powers of
England and Holland; that she did the same under
Queen Anne, and under George II till 1759; and that
notwithstanding the almost total annihilation of her
marine in that war—in the East, in Europe, America,
and the West Indies—she never shunned, and some-
times sought our fleets, and met us in this country
(the East Indies), if not with superior force, at least
with superior fortune, and perhaps bravery ; that she
made all those exertions when she was left to the
WAR WITH HAIDAR AL/ 35
mercy of capricious women, who made and unmade
ministers, generals, and admirals almost every month,
and when commerce and even the naval profession
met with no encouragement; I cannot but fear that
when she shall direct her attention to the sea, she
may wrest from Britain her empire of that element,
and strip her of all her foreign possessions. When
two countries have made nearly the same progress
in the arts of peace and war, and when there is no
material difference in the constitution of their govern-
ments, that which possesses the greatest population,
and the most numerous resources from the fertility of
her soil, must in the end prevail over her rival. But
let us leave this struggle with France, which I hope
is yet at some distance, and talk of the affair which
we have now upon our hands with Tipti, &c.’
Turning now from Munro's descriptions of campaigns
and views on the politics of the day, we have the
following graphic account of his daily life as a
subaltern in India, and of the hardships and actual
poverty he had to endure. The following is from
a letter to his sister, dated Madras, January 23, 1789.
‘I have often wished that you were transported for
a few hours to my room, to be cured of your Western
notions of Eastern luxury, to witness the forlorn
condition of old bachelor Indian officers; and to give
them also some comfort in a consolatory fragment.
You seem to think that they live like those satraps
that you have read of in plays; and that I in
particular hold my state in prodigious splendour and
C 2.
36 S/A 7TA/OA/AS A/UAVA’O
magnificence—that I never go abroad unless upon an
elephant, surrounded with a crowd of slaves—that
I am arrayed in silken robes, and that most of my
time is spent in reclining on a sofa, listening to soft
music, while I am fanned by my officious pages; or
in dreaming, like Richard, under a canopy of state.
“But while you rejoice in my imaginary greatness,
I am most likely stretched on a mat, instead of my
real couch ; and walking in an old coat, and a ragged
shirt, in the noonday sun, instead of looking down
from my elephant, invested in my royal garments.
You may not believe me when I tell you, that I never
experienced hunger or thirst, fatigue or poverty, till
I came to India—that since then, I have frequently
met with the first three, and that the last has been
my constant companion. If you wish for proofs, here
they are. I was three years in India before I was
master of any other pillow than a book or a cartridge-
pouch ; my bed was a piece of canvas, stretched on
four cross-sticks, whose only ornament was the great-
coat that I brought from England, which, by a lucky
invention, I turned into a blanket in the cold weather,
by thrusting my legs into the sleeves, and drawing
the skirts over my head. In this situation I lay,
like Falstaff in the basket—hilt to point—and very
comfortable, I assure you, all but my feet. For the
tailor, not having foreseen the various uses to which
this piece of dress might be applied, had cut the cloth
so short, that I never could, with all my ingenuity,
bring both ends under cover. Whatever I gained by
WAR WZZ H HAZOAR AL/ 37
drawing up my legs, I lost by exposing my neck;
and I generally chose rather to cool my heels than
my head. This bed served me till Alexander went
last to Bengal, when he gave me an Europe camp-
couch. On this great occasion I bought a pillow and
a carpet to lay under me, but the unfortunate curtains
were condemned to make pillow-cases and towels;
and now, for the first time in India, I laid my head
On a pillow.
“But this was too much good fortune to bear with
moderation. I began to grow proud, and resolved to
live in great style ! For this purpose I bought two
table-spoons, and two tea-spoons, and another chair—
for I had but one before—a table, and two table-cloths.
But my prosperity was of short duration, for, in less
than three months, I lost three of my spoons, and one
of my chairs was broken by one of John Napier's
companions. This great blow reduced me to my
original obscurity, from which all my attempts to
emerge have hitherto proved in vain.
‘My dress has not been more splendid than my
furniture. I have never been able to keep it all of
a piece; it grows tattered in one quarter, while I am
establishing funds to repair it in another; and my
coat is in danger of losing the sleeves, while I am
pulling it off to try on a new waistcoat.
‘My travelling expeditions have never been performed
with much grandeur or ease. My only conveyance is
an old horse, who is now so weak, that, in all my
journeys, I am always obliged to walk two-thirds
38 S/AE 7"HOMAS MUAVA’O
of the way; and if he were to die, I would give my
kingdom for another, and find nobody to accept of
my offer. Till I came here, I hardly knew what
walking was. I have often walked from sunrise to
sunset, without any other refreshment than a drink
of water; and I have traversed on foot, in different
directions, almost every part of the country between
Vizagapatam and Madura, a distance of eight hundred
miles.
‘My house at Wellore consists of a hall and a bed-
room. The former contains but one piece of furniture
—a table; but on entering the latter, you would see
me at my writing-table, seated on my only chair,
with the old couch behind me, adorned with a carpet
and pillow ; on my right hand a chest of books, and
on my left two trunks; one for holding about a dozen
changes of linen, and the other about half a dozen of
plates, knives and forks, &c. This stock will be
augmented on my return by a great acquisition,
which I have made here—six tea-spoons and a pair
of candlesticks, bought at the sale of the furniture
of a family going to Europe. I generally dine at
home about three times in a month, and then my
house looks very superb ; every person on this occasion
bringing his own chair and plate.
‘As I have already told you that I am not Aladdin
with the wonderful lamp, and that, therefore, I keep
neither pages, nor musicians, nor elephants, you may
perhaps, after having had so particular an account of
my possessions, wish to know in what manner I pass
WAR WITH HAIDAR AL/ 39
my leisure hours. How this was done some years
ago I scarcely remember; but for the last two years
that I have been at Wellore I could relate the manner
in which almost every hour was employed.
‘Seven was our breakfast-hour, immediately after
which I walked out, generally alone; and, though ten
was my usual hour of returning, I often wandered
about the fields till one. But when I adhered to the
rules I had laid down for myself, I came home at
ten, and read Persian till one, when I dressed and
went to dinner. Came back before three ; sometimes
slept half an hour, sometimes not, and then wrote or
talked Persian and Moors till sunset, when I went to
the parade, from whence I set out with a party to
visit the ladies, or to play cards at the commanding-
officer's. This engaged me till nine, when I went to
supper, or more frequently returned home without it,
and read politics and nonsense till bed-time, which,
according to the entertainment which I met with,
happened sometime between eleven and two. I should
have mentioned fives as an amusement that occupied
a great deal of my time. I seldom missed above two
days in a week at this game, and always played two
or three hours at a time, which were taken from my
walks and Persian studies. Men are much more
boyish in this country than in Europe, and, in spite
of the sun, take, I believe, more exercise, and are,
however strange it may appear, better able to undergo
fatigue, unless on some remarkably hot days. I never
could make half the violent exertions at home that
4O S/R THOMAS MUNRO
I have made here. My daily walks were usually
from four to twelve miles, which I thought a good
journey in Scotland. You see children of five or six
years of age following the camp, and marching fifteen
or sixteen miles a day with the same ease as their
fathers.
‘I have almost as much local attachment to Vellore
as to Northside; for it is situated in a delightful
valley, containing all the varieties of meadows, groves,
and rice-fields. On every side you see romantic hills,
some near, some distant, continually assuming new
forms as you advance or retire. All around you is
classic ground in the history of this country; for
almost every spot has been the residence of some
powerful family, now reduced to misery by frequent
revolutions, or the scene of some important action in
former wars.
‘Not with more veneration should I visit the field
of Marathon, or the Capitol of the ancient Romans,
than I tread on this hallowed ground. For, in sitting
under a tree, and while listening to the disastrous
tale of some noble Moorman, who relates to you the
ruin of his fortune and his family, to contemplate by
what strange vicissitudes you and he, who are both
originally from the North of Asia, after a separation
of so many ages, coming from the most opposite
Quarters, again meet in Hindustán to contend with
each other—this is to me wonderfully solemn and
affecting.’
Yet, while suffering such privations as he has thus
WAR WITH HAIDAR AL/ 4 I
so graphically described, and while, as he puts it,
‘poverty was his constant companion, Munro and his
brother Alexander, also in India, made up between
them £IOO a year which they regularly remitted to
their father, who from a state of affluence had fallen
into greater distress than when they left home,
and was now with his family mainly dependent on
his sons' help. The letters already quoted have shown
what a master of style Munro was, whether in nar-
rative, description, or banter. But for tenderness
and beauty few published letters could equal those
which he wrote to his mother, such as that on the
death of one of his brothers, or the following, in which
at a previous date he refers to his father's affairs and
his efforts to help him :-
‘Though my situation is not such as I might have
expected, had Sir Eyre Coote lived, yet I still look
forward with hope, and do not despair of seeing it
bettered. The only cause I have for repining, is my
inability to assist my father as I wish, and the hearing
that your spirits are so much affected by the loss of
his fortune. Yet I cannot but think that you have
many reasons for rejoicing. None of your children
have been taken from you; and though they cannot
put you in a state of affluence, they can place you
beyond the reach of want. The time will come,
I hope, when they will be able to do more, and to
make the latter days of your life as happy as the
first. When I compare your situation with that of
most mothers whom I remember, I think that you
42 S/A2 ZTA/OA/AS /l/ UAVRO
have as little reason for grieving as any of them.
Many that are rich, are unhappy in their families.
The loss of fortune is but a partial evil; you are in
no danger of experiencing the much heavier one—of
having unthankful children. The friends that deserted
you with your fortune were unworthy of your society;
those that deserved your friendship have not forsaken.
you. ;
‘Alexander and I have agreed to remit my father
£IOO a year between us. If the arrears which Lord
Macartney detained are paid, I will send £200 in the
course of the year 1786. John Napier will tell you
the reason why it was not in my power to send more.’
CHAPTER III
WAR WITH TIPU
THE second Mysore War, or the war with Tipá
Sultán, 1790–1792, was brought about by Tipá's in-
vasion of Travancore. The Dutch having sold the
fort of Cranganore to the Rájá of Travancore, Tipú
asserted that the Rājā of Cochin, being his vassal, had
no right to sell it to the Dutch, nor they to another
power. The British East India Company then in-
formed him that their ally, the Rájá of Travancore,
was much alarmed at his assembling an army on his
frontiers. Tipú replied that nothing was further from
his thoughts than war. But as soon as he had sup-
pressed a rebellion among the Nāirs in Malabar, he
passed into Travancore, and, though repulsed at first,
soon succeeded in storming the Travancore lines". This
was immediately followed by a declaration of war by
the British. Hitherto the policy had been to regard
Tipú as a useful buffer against the Maráthás, but
on his invasion of Travancore a triple alliance was
formed against him by the Company, the Maráthás,
and the Nizām. A few weeks before the declaration
* Fortified barriers erected by the Rājās of Cochin and Travancore
about I775; see Wilks’ History of Mysore, iii. 31–34.
44 S/A 7TAZOA/AS //UAVA’O
of war, Munro, then stationed at Ambir, in writing
to his father, January 17, 1790, gave his opinion
on the state of affairs and his reasons for differing
from the line of policy pursued as regards Tipú. There
is, however, space for only a few extracts from this
interesting letter.
‘It will require some time to assemble an army able
to face the enemy; and before such an army can be
put in motion, Tipi may be in actual possession of
Travancore and all the southern countries. We have
derived but little benefit from experience and mis-
fortune. The year 1790 now sees us as unprepared
as the year 178o did for war. We have added to the
numbers of our army, but not to its strength, by
bringing so many regiments from Europe. For so
great a number of Europeans serve only to retard the
operations of an Indian army, less by their inability
to endure the fatigues of the field, than by the great
quantity of cattle which is requisite to convey their
provisions and equipage. No addition has been made
to our sepoys, on whom we have long depended, and
may still with security depend, for the preservation
of our empire in this country. We have, therefore,
made Our army more expensive and numerous, though
less calculated for the purposes of war, than formerly,
both on account of the multitude of Europeans and
the want of cattle. We keep up, it is true, a small
establishment of bullocks, but hardly sufficient to draw
the guns, far less to transport the prodigious quantity
of stores and provisions which follow an army. Had
MVA R WITH T/POſ 45
half the money, idly thrown away in sending a naval
Squadron and four additional regiments to this country,
been employed in increasing the establishment of
Sepoys and cattle, we should then have had an army
which, for its lightness and capacity for action, would
have broken the power of our formidable rival.
‘Exclusive of the unwieldiness of our army, we
shall commence the war under the disadvantage of
a want of magazines, for we have none at present but
at Madras. Since the conclusion of the late war, we
have acted as if we had been to enjoy a perpetual
peace. . . .
‘It has long been admitted as an axiom in politics,
by the directors of our affairs, both at home and in
this country, that Tipú ought to be preserved as
a barrier between us and the Maráthás. This notion
seems to have been at first adopted without much
knowledge of the subject, and to have been followed
without much consideration. It is to support a
powerful and ambitious enemy, to defend us from
a weak one. From the neighbourhood of the one, we
have everything to apprehend ; from that of the
other, nothing. This will be clearly understood by
reflecting for a moment on the different constitutions
of the two governments. The one, the most simple
and despotic monarchy in the world, in which every
department, civil and military, possesses the regu-
larity and system communicated to it by the genius
of Haidar, and in which all pretensions derived from
high birth being discouraged, all independent chiefs
46 S/AE 7"HOMAS MUAVRO
and zamindårs subjected or extirpated, justice severely
and impartially administered to every class of people,
a numerous and well-disciplined army kept up, and
almost every employment of trust or consequence
conferred on men raised from obscurity, gives to the
government a vigour hitherto unexampled in India.
The other, composed of a confederacy of independent
chiefs, possessing extensive dominions and numerous
armies, now acting in concert, now jealous of each
other, and acting only for their own advantage, and at
all times liable to be detached from the public cause by
the most distant prospect of private gain, can never
be a very dangerous enemy to the English. The first
is a government of conquest ; the last, merely of
plunder and depredation. The character of vigour
has been so strongly impressed on the Mysore
government by the abilities of its founders, that it
may retain it, even under the reign of a weak prince,
or a minor; but the strength of the supreme Maráthá
government is continually varying, according to the
disposition of its different members, who sometimes
strengthen it by union, and sometimes weaken it by
defection, or by dividing their territories among their
children.
‘That nation likewise maintains no standing army,
adopts none of the European modes of discipline, and
is impelled by no religious tenets to attempt the
extirpation of men of a different belief. But Tipú
supports an army of I IO,OOo men, a large body of
which is composed of slaves, called chelas, trained on
WAR WITH 7 IPC/ 47
the plan of the Turkish janizaries, and follows with
the greatest eagerness every principle of European
tactics. He has even gone so far as to publish a book
for the use of his officers, a copy of which is now in
my possession, containing, besides the evolutions and
manoeuvres usually practised in Europe, some of his
own invention, together with directions for marching,
encamping, and fighting; and he is, with all his extra-
ordinary talents, a furious zealot in a faith which founds
eternal happiness on the destruction of other sects.
‘An opportunity for humbling an enemy so danger-
ous, and so implacable, has now appeared ; and had
we been in the state of readiness for action which
good policy demanded of us, one army might have
entered the Coimbatore country and another sat down
before Bangalore, almost before he could have opposed
us. But so far from this, no army is yet likely to
assemble; and it was with much difficulty that
Colonel Musgrave prevailed on the Governor to send
the 36th regiment, two battalions of Sepoys, one
regiment of cavalry, and a company of artillery, to
Trichinopoli. But the troops there, even when joined
by this detachment, will not form an army that will
be able to act offensively.
‘Our operations will be still farther impeded by
the reference which it will, most likely, be judged
expedient to make to Bengal, before we proceed on an
offensive war. The public look impatiently for the
arrival of *, and seem to be sanguine in their
* Probably Lord Cornwallis is referred to.
48 S/A’ TA/OA/AS M UAVA’O
expectations of the happy effects to be derived from
the ability and exertions of so distinguished a char-
acter. Experience might have taught them, at least
in this country, to build less on great names; for
they have seen so many impositions on the under-
standing of mankind, invested with high offices, and
recommended by common fame, as were enough to pre-
judice them against any man who should come among
them with such credentials.’
Throughout the war with Tipú, Lieut. Munro was
actively engaged, and in his Memorandum of Services
he specifies the various engagements and duties in
which he took part. He was in command of a body
of sepoys called the Prize Guard, was present when
the fort of Bangalore was taken by storm, was at the
battle of Karigal, at the siege of Seringapatam, and
after the peace in March, 1792, he marched with the
detachment in charge of the two sons of Tipú who were
sent as hostages to Madras.
In long letters to his father, Munro describes
the events of the war, and with minute detail the
operations of the British troops at Pálghāt, in
Malabar, and at Satyamangálam, Erode, Karár,
Dhārapuram, and Coimbatore, all in the Coimbatore
District ; and at Tirupatár, Krishnagiri, and Kāveri-
patam in the Salem District. Commenting on
the two days’ fighting with Tipú at Satyaman-
gálam he observes: ‘There seems to be a fatality
sometimes attending the greatest geniuses, which
deadens the energy of their minds, and reduces
WAR WITH 7./P& 49
them to the level of common men, at the moment
when their best concerted schemes are going to be
crowned with success. Had Tipú acted with more
decision on September 14, by bringing up more
guns and pressing Floyd closer, he would probably
have defeated him ; or, if not that day, he would un-
doubtedly have done it the following; for not a man
of the detachment had eaten or slept for two days,
and they could have made little resistance to another
attack. The General, who had gone by mistake,
for it would be unjust to impute it to design, towards
Dhannāyakankóta, could not have been near to support
them ; and after their defeat, he would himself have
fallen an easy sacrifice, for he had only three battalions
of sepoys, and two of Europeans, without their flank
companies; and even Colonel Stuart would have been
fortunate had he escaped with his detachment from
Pálghāt. The Colonel was so much convinced that
these things would take place, that, on receiving in-
formation from the General of F loyd’s situation, he
made preparations for retreating (on the first accounts
of the loss of the army, which he expected every
moment to learn) with all his force to Cochin. Tipú,
fortunately for us, did not act with his usual
vigour, and the southern army escaped from destruc-
tion.’
Munro's relations, naturally proud of his graphic
accounts of the war with Tipú, published one of his
letters in a London paper. On hearing of this he
destroyed what he calls a long treatise on the war.
D
50 S/A 7'A'OA/AS // UAVRO
‘There was no use in keeping it, he writes, “when
I could not venture to send it to those for whose
amusement it was intended. It mentioned what
ought to have been the general plan of the war;
explained the impolicy of commencing it in Coim-
batore, which I believe I took notice of before General
Medows joined the army; the propriety of advancing
from the Karnātilº to Bangalore; pointed out the
mistake of the Seringapatam expedition as well as
the manner in which it ought to be next attempted
and the government of Tipti entirely overthrown; and
by a discussion of the nature of Maráthá armies, their
method of marching, and the way of supplying them
with provisions, showed how little cause there was of
apprehension from them.’ t
The details he gives of the siege of Bangalore and
of the subsequent operations are published in Gleig's
J/ife, and are well worth reading, but are too long to
quote here. So also are the letters he wrote when the
idea was entertained of a speedy accommodation with
Tiptá. Against this he argued strongly, and derided
the policy of maintaining in India the balance of
power. “Men read books,’ he wrote, ‘and because
they find that all warlike nations have had their
downfall, they declaim against conquest as not only
dangerous but unprofitable, from a supposition that
the increase of territory must be always followed by
a proportionable increase of expense. This may be
true when a nation is surrounded by warlike neigh-
bours, which, while it gains a province on one
WAR WITH TVPºž 5I
side, loses as much on the other. But there are times
and situations where conquest not only brings a
revenue greatly beyond its expenses, but brings also
additional security. The kings of England knew
this when they attempted the reduction of Scotland.
There is, however, another example which would
apply better to our position in the Karnātik. When
Spain was, in the last century, engaged in a war
with France and Portugal, would not the possession
of the latter country have added much to her
strength and security, by removing every possibility
of attack from the frontiers of France % By subduing
the country below the Ghâts, from Palgatcherry to
Ambiár, we have nothing to fear. The sea is behind us,
and in front we gain a stronger barrier than we now
have, which would enable us to defend the country
with the present military establishment ; but as this,
with the civil expenses, would be nearly equal to
the whole revenue of the country, let us advance to
the Kistna, and we shall triple our revenue with-
out having occasion to add much to our military
force; because our barrier will then be both stronger
and shorter than it is now.’
In the following letter, dated April 28, 1792,
Munro criticizes the negotiations with Tipú and the
terms of the peace that were entered into. Sub-
sequent events showed how correct was his view of
the situation and his foresight as to the steps that
should have been taken to prevent a recurrence of
hostilities on the part of Tipti.
I) 2.
52 S/R 7TP/OMA.S. MOVAWA’O
‘I am so little pleased with the peace, that I cannot
without difficulty bring myself either to talk or write
of it. When hostilities ceased, Tipti had no place
above the Ghâts from Gurramkonda to Seringa-
patam. Besides the former of these forts, he had Gooty,
Bellary, and Chitaldrüg; but all either so distant
from the scene of action, or so weakly garrisoned, as
to give him no benefit from holding them. He had
likewise Krishnagiri, in the Bárámahal, which was,
however, at this time, of no consequence in the
operations of the war, because its garrison was not
strong enough to attack convoys coming from the
Karnātik, and because the Peddanaididurgum Pass, in
the neighbourhood of Ambiár, being repaired, all
convoys, after the month of September, took that road
as the most direct to the army. He had lost the
greatest part of his troops by death or desertion in
the attack of his lines, and he himself had lost his
haughtiness, his courage, and almost every quality
that distinguished him, but his cruelty, which he
continued to exercise every day on many of the
principal officers of his government, particularly
Bráhmans, on the most idle suspicions. The remains of
his infantry were in the fort, and his cavalry on the
glacis. He slept at night in the fort, in the great
mosque, for he never visited his palace after his
defeat on the 6th ; and during the day he stayed on
the outside amongst his horsemen, under a private
tent, from whence he observed, with a sullen despair,
his enemies closing in upon him from every side—the
MVAR WITH T/PC/ 53
Karnātik army, on the north bank of the river, with
their approaches, which even on this side were carried
within four thousand yards of the wall, and a strong de-
tachment occupying the pettah, and half the island—
the Bombay army on the south side, about four miles
distant, on the Periyapátná road—Parasu Rám Bháo,
after ravaging Biddanore, advancing by rapid marches
to fill up the interval between the right of the Bombay
and the left of the Karnātik army, and complete the
blockade—and no possibility of protracting the siege,
even by the most determined resistance, beyond fifteen
days. In this situation, when extirpation, which had
been so long talked of, seemed to be so near, the
moderation or the policy of Lord Cornwallis granted
him peace, on the easy terms of his relinquishing
half his dominions to the confederates. Tipú accepted
these conditions on the 24th of February, and orders
were instantly issued to stop all working in the
trenches. The words which spread such a gloom
over the army, by disappointing not so much their
hopes of gain as of revenge, were these : “Lord
Cornwallis has great pleasure in announcing to the
army that preliminaries of peace have been settled
between the Confederate Powers and Tipti Sultán.”
“His Lordship probably at this time supposed that
everything would soon be finally settled, and that he
would be able in a few days to leave a sickly camp,
where he was losing great numbers of Europeans; but
Tipú continued to work with more vigour than before
the cessation, and used so many delays and evasions in
54 S/A 7TP/O MAS MUAVRO
ratifying the definitive treaty, that notwithstanding
his having already sent his two eldest sons as hostages,
and a million sterling, it was believed that hostilities
would be renewed. His Lordship furnished him with
the means of protraction by adopting a revenue instead
of a geographical division of his country. It was
stipulated that the confederates were to take portions
of his territories contiguous to their own, and by their
own choice, which should amount to half his revenue.
He was desired to send out an account of his revenues,
that the selection might be made. He replied that he
had none—that they had all been lost at Bangalore and
other places; and on being told that in that case the
allies would make the partition agreeable to statements
in their own possession, he sent out accounts in which
the frontier countries were overrated, and all thosein the
centre of his kingdom, which he knew he would retain
for himself, undervalued. The fabrication was obvious,
not only in this particular, but also in his diminishing
the total amount of his revenue about thirty lacs of
rupees. The confederates, however, after a few days,
consented to submit to this double loss for the sake
of peace; but Tipú, after gaining one point, deter-
mined to try his success on some others. The value
of the whole had been fixed; but on proceeding to fix
that of the districts which were to be ceded, he threw
So many obstacles in the way, that the allies found
themselves at last compelled to adopt the measure
with which they ought to have begun. A list was
sent to him, which he was told contained half his
WAR WITH TVP (7. 55
dominions, and he was desired to put his seal to it.
After a delay of two days, he replied that he would
neither give up Krishnagiri, Chitaldrág, nor Gooty.
His unwillingness to part with these places, which
could only be useful to him in an offensive war, con-
vinced his Lordship of his hostile designs, and made
him resolve to insist on their being surrendered : he
Ordered parties to make fascines, and the young princes
to go next morning to Bangalore. The vakils of
Tipá, seeing his sons marching off at daybreak, ran
and called up Sir John Kennaway, and begged that
they might be detained till they should inform the
Sultán, and get another final answer from him. His
Lordship, with his usual mildness, permitted them to
halt after they had proceeded about two miles; but still
it was not till the 16th, three days afterwards, that the
vakils signed the treaty ; and it did not come out till
the 19th with the signature of Tiptá.
“So much good sense and military skill has been
shown in the conduct of the war, that I have little
doubt but that the peace has been made with equal
judgment. It has given us an increase of revenue
amounting to thirty-nine and a half lacs of rupees,
which, though from Tipú's mismanagement of his
finances it has not produced that for some years past,
will soon be easily afforded by the country; and by
giving us possession of the Bárámahal, it has rendered
it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Tipú to
invade the Karnātik in future from the westward,
for the passes from Mysore into the Bárámahal, though
56 S/A’ ZTA/OMAS A/UAVRO
good, are few ; and though not defended by forti-
fications, there are so many strong posts near them,
that an invading army must either take them, which
might require a whole campaign, or else leave them
in the rear, and run the risk of being starved by the
loss of its convoys. These are, no doubt, great
advantages; but because greater might have been with
ease obtained, I cannot help thinking but that some-
thing has been left undone. Why, instead of stumbling
upon revenue accounts, could we not have traced our
boundary on the map, taken such places as suited us
from their political situation, sent him entirely above
the Gháts, and not left him in possession of Karár
and Coimbatore, to plunder our southern provinces
whenever he shall find it convenient to go to war 7
‘It is true, that the possession of Palgatcherry will
make it always easy for a Bombay army to take
Coimbatore, and force him above the Gháts, with
the assistance of a Karnātik army ; but to collect our
troops is a work of some months, and in that time he
may pass Trichinopoli, and ravage the Karnātik as far
as Madras; whilst, by driving off the cattle and
inhabitants, he may render it difficult for us to equip
an army for the field. If we are in a situation to
march, he will probably lose Bangalore in the first
campaign. But he will always be able to prevent an
army without cavalry from besieging Seringapatam ;
and while he can do this, he can force us, after an ex-
pensive war, to relinquish our conquests for peace. We
ought, therefore, to have kept Coimbatore, and estab-
WAR WITH TIP& 57
lished a strong post at Satyamangálam, which would
have made an invasion on that side as impracticable
as on that of the Bárámahal. Tipii being then without
magazines in the low countries, and seeing strong posts
in the neighbourhood of all the passes, which could
defy his unskilful attacks and intercept his convoys,
would have had no temptation to begin a hopeless
war; but as the allies must also have had a pro-
portional increase of territory, it is said that he would
then have been reduced too low. He would have been
more powerful than Haidar was when he usurped the
government, and would have been as able as he to
defend his possessions; and if he was not, so much
the better. For every person who has seen his army,
and that of the other country powers, must be con-
vinced how much is to be feared from the one, and
how little from the other.
‘Lord Cornwallis was apprehensive that he should
have been driven to the necessity of taking Seringa-
patam ; and frequently exclaimed, “Good God! what
shall I do with this place 3’ I would have said, “Keep
it as the best barrier you can have to your own
countries; and be confident that, with it, and such
a frontier as the Kāveri, skirted by vast ranges of
rugged mountains, which make it impassable for an
army from Arakere to Kāveripuram, no Indian
power will ever venture to attack you.” But every-
thing now is done by moderation and conciliation —
at this rate, we shall be all Quakers in twenty years
more. I am still of the old doctrine, that the best
58 S/A 7TAZOA/AS A/CWAVA’O
method of making all princes keep the peace, not
excepting even Tipti, is to make it dangerous for
them to disturb your quiet. This can be done by
a good army. We have one ; but as we have not
money to pay it, we ought to have taken advantage
of our successes for this purpose, and after reducing
Seringapatam, have retained it and all the countries
to the southward and westward of the Kāveri. By
doing this, we could have maintained a good body of
cavalry; and so far from being left with a weak and
extended frontier, the usual attendant of conquests, we
should, from the nature of the country, have acquired
One more compact and more strong than we have at
present.
* If peace is so desirable an object, it would be wiser
to have retained the power of preserving it in our
hands, than to have left it to the caprice of Tiptá,
who, though he has lost half his revenue, has by no
means lost half his power. He requires no com-
bination, like us, of an able military governor, peace
in Europe, and allies in this country, to enable him
to prosecute war successfully. He only wants to
attack them singly when he will be more than a match
for any of them ; and it will be strange if he does not
find an opportunity when the confederates may not
find it convenient to support the general cause. When
we have a General of less ability than Lord Cornwallis
at the head of the Government, (such men as we have
lately seen commanding armies,) Tipú may safely
try, by the means of Gooty, Chitaldrúg, and Biddanore,
WAR WITH TIPö. 59
to recover the conquests of the Maráthás and the
Nizām. If Lord Cornwallis himself could not have
reduced Tipú without the assistance of the Ma-
ráthás, -for there is no doubt that without them he
could never, after falling back from Seringapatam in
May, have advanced again beyond Bangalore, if his
integrity, his sound manly judgment, and his great
military talents could have done nothing, what is to
be hoped for from those whom we may expect to
supply his room ? We cannot look for better than
, Or , Or , men selected from the army
as great military characters. But these gentlemen
themselves are as well convinced as any private in
the army, how cheap Tipii held them, and how
little honour he could have gained by foiling them.
One, or rather two, Sallied forth; and after spouting
some strange, unintelligible stuff, like ancient Pistol,
and the ghosts of Romans, lost their magazines by
forming them in front of the army, and then spent
the remainder of the campaign in running about the
country, after what was ludicrously called by the army
the invisible power, asking which way the bull ran
‘The other, in May last, on a detachment of Tipú's
marching towards him without ever seeing them,
with an army superior to Sir Eyre Coote's at Porto
Novo, shamefully ran away, leaving his camp and his
hospital behind ; and in advancing in February,
a second time, when Tipá had lost the greatest part
of his army, he allowed a few straggling horse to cut
off a great part of his camp equipage, and would have
6o .S/A THOA/AS MUAVA’O
lost the whole had not Colonel Floyd been sent with
a small detachment to bring him safely past the
ferocious Tipú. The Colonel found him as much
dismayed as if he had been surrounded by the whole
Austrian army, and busy in placing an ambuscade to
catch about six looties ". He must have been a simple
looty that he caught ! Lord Cornwallis said one day,
on hearing that the looties had carried away nine
elephants near Savandrág, “ that they were the best
troops in the world, for that they were always doing
Something to harass their enemies;” and I am confident
that Tipá has not lost a looty in his army who is
not a better soldier than any of these three Generals.
Had his Lordship not arrived, Tipă would have been
too much for them all, and their confederates at their
back. These characters have led me out of my way,
or I should have said a great deal more about the
armies of the Native Powers, the old subject of Tipá as
a barrier against the Maráthás, and some oversights
which his Lordship had nearly committed when he
intended sending Medows with a part of the army to
Assore to wait for him.’
* Looty, a plunderer ; see Yule's Hobson-Jobson.
CHAPTER IV
THE BARAMAHAL–MUNRO As CoILECTOR
By the treaty of Seringapatam, Tipú ceded half his
dominions to the East India Company and their
allies—the Nizām and the Maráthás. The portion
that came to the Company was the District of Malaban'
on the west coast, Dimdigal, now part of the District
of Madura, and what was then known as the B&rd-
mahal, a part of the present District of Salem.
For the civil administration of the latter of these
Lord Cornwallis selected Captain Read, with the title
of Superintendent of Revenue of the Bárámahal; and
Lieutenant Munro and two other military officers
were appointed as his assistants. The selection of
military officers for this work was due partly to the
deficiency of civil servants with a sufficient knowledge
of the language, and partly to the unsatisfactory
manner in which the revenue administration of the
older possessions of the Company had been conducted.
In the Northern Circárs, for example, the land be-
longed chiefly to Zamindārs, who paid a fixed sum to
Government, farming out the land to renters, who
62 .S/A 7TP/O MA.S. M UAVA’O
collected the revenue from the rāyats, and, as might be
expected, pillaged them with unauthorized exactions.
The renting system was also adopted for collecting the
revenue in land not under zamindårs, and in the Jägir",
with similar results to the rāyats, or cultivators, and
with considerable loss to the Government ; ‘the mal-
administration,’ says Sir Alexander Arbuthnot, “was
intensified by the intervention of a class of persons
called “ dubashes,” some of them domestic servants of
the European residents at Madras, who after the
invasion of the Karnātik by Haidar in 1780, purchased
rights in the land at absurdly low rates, and exercised
a most mischievous influence in the district.'
The Bárámahal *, in which Munro spent the next
seven years of his service, 1792–1799, consisted of the
Tāluks of Krishnagiri, Dharmápuri, Utankarai, and
Tirupattir ; these, with Hostir, which was acquired in
1799, form the most beautiful part of the Salem
District, itself perhaps the most picturesque in the
Madras Presidency. The area of these Tāluks varies
from about 600 to 1,200 square miles, with a total of
3,300 ; the chief town of each is named after it, or the
Tāluk after the town, but they are all small places, only
Tirupattir having more than IO,OOO inhabitants at the
present day. The trunk roads, connecting Salem from
One direction and Madras from the east with Banga-
lore, are well made, and in most places are for miles
planted on both sides with banian trees, which form
* The present District of Chengalput.
* Barâmahal means the twelve palaces, i. e. the ‘tract ruled from
the twelve palaces. -
THE BARAMAHAZ–MUNRO AS COLLECTOR 63
a continuous avenue, ‘a pillared shade high over-
arched", affording shelter even in the hottest weather.
“Between Ráyakota and Krishnagiri, writes Mr. Le
Fanu, is a winding ghāt which is perhaps only second
in point of beauty of all the natural beauties of the
Salem District. Commencing about half a mile east of
Ráyakota, it winds through the verdure-clad hills
which abound here ; sometimes descending over steep
declivities, and again wandering through grassy glades
at the bottom of valleys, which echo to the song of birds
and abound with all the wealth of tropical growth,
while over all the bare peaks, with the durgam as
their king, tower in rich shades of grey, brown and
even crimson, due to the weathering of the mother
rock. Shorter than the road is the track used by
foot travellers and known as the Púvatti ghāt, which
penetrates the thick jungles where the banditti of the
country love to lurk; here the footstep startles the
hare from its form, and the jungle cock runs clatter-
ing to his mates in the bamboo undergrowth, while
herds of deer cross the path, and halt to gaze in mute
surprise at the trespassers on their favourite haunts”.'
Not less enthusiastic is Munro's description of
Tirupatūr : “There is nothing to be compared to it in
England, nor, what you will think higher praise, in
Scotland. It stands in the midst of an extensive
fertile valley, from ten to forty miles wide and sixty
or seventy long, surrounded by an amphitheatre of
mountains of every shape, many of them twice as
* Par. Lost, ix. IIo7. * Salem District Manual, ii. 251.
64 S/A TAZOA/AS MOWAVA’O
high as the Grampians ". The country here among
the hills has none of the cold and stinted appearance
which such countries have at home. The largest
trees, the richest soil, and the most luxuriant vegetation,
are usually found among naked masses of granite at
the bottom of the hills.' Writing of a spot near
Dharmápuri where he had made a garden, Munro
says that whenever he happened to be at Dharmá-
puri he always spent at least an hour every day at
it, and to quit it now goes as much to my heart as
forsaking an old friend. In all these places, in
Krishnagiri, in Dharmápuri, at Ráyakota, in the Topár
Pass, at Omalár, at Sankaridrág, the bungalows in
which Munro lived, the tanks and choultries he had
built, and even some of the trees he planted, still
remain, so that wherever an official now travels or
halts there is something to remind him of Munro.
But though nearly a century has passed away since
Munro settled the Salem District, it is in the affections
of the people, and as the rāyats' friend, that he is best
remembered.
The administration of the Bárámahal under both
Haidar and Tipú had been oppressive in the extreme;
and the first thing that Read and Munro had to do
was to settle the amount and the mode of the collection
of the revenue, and this was done in such a way as
to result in the permanent welfare of the people and
benefit to the State. The system adopted was that
* The Shevaroy Hills, a well-known sanitarium five miles from
Salem, are over 4,500 feet above the sea-level.
THE BARAMAHAZ—MUVRO AS COLLECTOR 65
which, with some modifications, was afterwards ex-
tended over the Madras Presidency, and is known as
the Rāyatwārī system. Under it the revenue is col-
lected by the Government officers direct from the
rāyats; an annual enquiry is made as to the extent of
such holding, as the rāyat has the option to give up, or
diminish, or extend his holding from year to year;
but there is no annual settlement of the rate of assess-
ment, as is sometimes erroneously supposed. The rāyat
under this system is virtually a proprietor with
a simple and perfect title, and has all the benefits of
a perpetual lease without its responsibility. Every
registered holder of land is recognized as its proprietor,
and pays the revenue assessed upon his holding direct to
Government; he is at liberty to sublet his property or
to transfer it by gift, sale, or mortgage; and he cannot
be ejected by Government so long as he pays the fixed
assessment. In unfavourable seasons remissions are
granted for entire or partial loss of produce ; the
assessment is fixed in money and does not vary from
year to year, except where water is drawn from
a Government source of irrigation, nor is any addition
made to the assessment for improvements effected at
the rāyat's own expense; he receives assistance in
bad seasons, and cannot be evicted as long as he pays
his dues.
In a long letter 4 to Capt. Allen, dated June 8,
1794, Munro describes the revenue system adopted by
him in the Bárámahal, contrasting it with Haidar's
* Gleig's Life, vol. i. pp. I74–180.
E
66 S/R 7"HOMAS M UAVRO
system of finance, and describing the nature of the
country and its products, and giving his views as to the
advisability of the abolition of road duties, taxes on
ploughs, houses, trades, cotton, &c. He begins by saying,
‘You seem to think that I have a great stock of hidden
knowledge of revenue and other matters, which I am
unwilling to part with. I have more than once en-
deavoured to convince you that we have no mysteries,
that we have made no new discoveries, and that our only
system is plaim hard labour. Whatever success may
have hitherto attended the management of these
districts it is to be ascribed to this talent alone, and it
must be unremittingly exerted, not so much to make
collections as to prevent them, by detecting and
punishing the authors of private assessments which
are made in almost every village in India. We have
only to guard the rāyats from oppression and they
will create the revenue for us.”
In a letter to his father from the Bank of the Káveri,
opposite Erode, in January, I 795, Munro expostulates
with him for endeavouring to obtain promotion for
him through a Mr. P., apparently by showing the
latter some of his letters. ‘They might, he writes,
* raise the curiosity of Mr. P., but could give him no
very favourable opinion of me,’ and ‘if he took any
step in my favour, his doing so would be highly
improper, for it is from the reports of Government
and the Board of Revenue, under whom I immediately
act, and not from my own, that he ought to form his
judgment of my fitness for being entrusted with
THE BARAMAHAL–MUNRO AS COLLECTOR 67
a civil employment.’ In this letter he makes the
following remarks as to the necessity of collectors
knowing the language of the country and being
properly paid, and on the system of annual settle-
ment, which had not yet been modified into the
rāyatwārī system as described above. He says: —
‘ Great additions might certainly be made to the
Company's revenue on the coast. The first step should
be to find proper men to manage it; for, unless this
is done, every attempt at improvement will be in vain.
No man should get the charge of a district who does
not understand the language of the natives; for unless
he had perseverance enough for this, he will never
have enough for a collector; and he would besides
be kept under the dominion of his servants, and
ignorant of everything that was passing around him.
Government have at least been convinced of the
necessity of such a regulation; and Sir Charles
Oakeley", just before he departed, issued an order that
after the 1st of January, 1796, no person would be
appointed a collector who did not understand some
of the country languages. -
‘To this knowledge and zeal in fulfilling the duties
of their station, collectors should also unite a sound
constitution, capable of bearing heat and fatigue; for
if they are not active in going about their districts,
and seeing everything themselves, the petty officers
under them, in combination with the head-farmers,
will make away with the revenue on pretence of bad
* Governor of Madras, Aug. 1792 to Sept. 1794.
E 2
68 SIR THOMAS MUNRO
seasons. In this country, where there are so few
Europeans, and where all business of taxation is
transacted in a strange language, Government have
scarcely any means of learning how the collector
conducts himself, except from his own reports; and
to think of preventing his embezzlements by multi-
plying official checks, would only be an idle waste
of time and money. This evil, which can never be
entirely removed, would best be remedied by selecting
men of industry and talents, and placing them beyond
the necessity of perverting the public money to their
private use.
‘A collector ought to have at least a thousand pagodas
a month ; he will probably have been eight or ten
years in the country before he receives his appoint-
ment ; and allowing that he remains ten more, and
that he annually spends half his income, which he
may do without being very extravagant, by having
no fixed place of abode, and keeping an extra number
of servants and horses for frequent travelling, he may,
at the end of twenty years, return home not much
richer than he ought to be. The Revenue Board
made some time ago an application for an increase
of salary to collectors, which Government rejected,
with great marks of displeasure; but, in doing this,
they showed little knowledge either of true policy or
human nature; for when men are placed in situations
where they can never become independent by their
avowed emoluments, but where they may also, by
robbing the public without any danger of discovery,
THE BARAMAHAZ—MUNRO, AS COLLECTOR 69
become so on a sudden, the number of those who would
balance which side to take is so small, that it ought
not to be brought into the account.
‘We see every day collectors, who always lived above
their salary, amassing great fortunes in a very few
years. The operation by which this is accomplished
is very simple:—when rents are paid in money, by
giving Government a rent-roll below the real one, and
when in kind, by diminishing the produce of the land or
of the sales. It is in vain to say that collectors, being
men of education and character, will not descend to
such practices; the fact is against this conclusion. It is
the same thing whether it is done by themselves or by
those under them. It may be said, that their gains
arise from the successful trade of their agents; but
when these very agents are invested with all their au-
thority, and can, by pushing the payment of the rents,
and other contrivances, get the whole produce of the
lands into their hands at their own price, it is easy to
see how dear such a trade costs both Government and
the people The immediate deduction, though consider-
able, is not all the loss that revenue sustains, the
obstruction of improvement ought also to be reckoned;
for men occupied in such schemes cannot have much
leisure to attend to the extension of cultivation. . . .
‘The rents in some parts of the Karnātik are regulated
by the grain sown, every kind paying a different rate,
and in others they are levied in kind; and, in all,
the leases are annual. Where the rents are fixed
according to the grain, the lands are measured every
7o SMR Z HOA/A.S. A/UAVRO
year. The surveyors, in making their reports, are
guided by the bribes they receive, and a thousand
frauds are practised both on the farmers and the
Government ; and where they are collected in kind,
the produce of the land is either thrown upon the
cultivator, at a price much above its value, or else
a standard is fixed for the market, below which no
person can sell until the whole of the public grain has
been disposed of. Such wretched management, one
would think, must soon ruin the country; but the
universal custom of early marriages is favourable to
population; and the inhabitants, under all their
oppressions, seldom quit their native villages, because
they are attached to them, and can go nowhere that
they will not experience the same treatment. They
soon forget their wrongs, for they must live ; and
they again cultivate their fields the succeeding year,
with the certainty of being plundered in the same
manner as the last. This insecurity of property,
though a great obstacle to the increase of revenue,
does not diminish it much ; for, as the greatest part
of it is at present drawn from grain, the source of it
cannot be lessened in any great degree without
starving the inhabitants; and they will not want
subsistence as long as it can be provided so easily.
‘A man has only to furnish himself with a couple of
bullocks,—a plough hardly costs a sixpence. If he
turns up the soil three or four inches, and scatters his
seed, he is sure of a sufficient return. Were we to
abandon our present oppressive mode of taxation, the
THE BARAMAHAZ—MUNRO AS COLLECTOR 71
country, instead of rice and dry grain, would be
covered with plantations of betel, cocoa-nut, sugar,
indigo, and cotton ; and the people would take a great
deal of our manufactures, for they are remarkably fond
of many of them, particularly of scarlet; but, unfor-
tunately, few of them can afford to wear it. Many
Bráhmans use a square piece of it as a cloak, during
the wet and cold weather; but I don’t remember ever
seeing any of the farmers with it. When they can
appear fine, and think there is no danger in doing so,
there is no doubt but that great numbers of them will
substitute it for the camly, a coarse thick woollen stuff,
with which all of them are provided, which they carry
in all seasons to defend themselves from the sun and
rain, and on which they sit by day and sleep by night.
‘It is a mistaken motion that Indians are too simple
in their manners to have any passion for foreign
manufactures. In dress, and every kind of dissipation
but drinking, they are at least our equals. They are
hindered from taking our goods, not by want of
inclination, but either by poverty, or the fear of being
reputed rich, and having their rents raised. When
we relinquish the barbarous system of annual settle-
ments; when we make over the lands, either in very
long leases or in perpetuity, to the present occupants;
and when we have convinced them, by making no
assessments above the fixed rent, for a series of years,
that they are actually proprietors of the soil, we shall
See a demand for European articles of which we have
at present no conception. If we look only to the
72 S/A 7TA/OMAS M UAVRO
security of our own power in this country, it would
perhaps be wiser to keep the lands, as they now are,
in the possession of Government, giving them to the
inhabitants in leases of from five to twenty years,
than to make them over to them for ever, because
there is reason to fear that such a property may
beget a spirit of independence, which may one day
prove dangerous to our authority; but neither the
present revenue, nor any future increase of it, can be
depended upon, while our military force is inadequate
to the defence of our territories, and while the enemy
can ravage them, and drive away the people, without
our being able to hinder them. We require for this
purpose at least 6,ooo or 7,000 cavalry : an invasion
would cost us more in six months than the additional
expense of such a corps would amount to in ten years.
“While our army is composed only of infantry, our
power here will always be in the most critical situation
in the time of war; for one defeat may ruin us;
because against an enemy strong in horse, defeat and
extirpation are the same. He may lose many battles
without much injury to his affairs, because we cannot
pursue ; but by one victory he annihilates our army.
It was on this principle that Haidar fought us so often
in 1781 ; and had he once defeated Sir Eyre Coote,
he would soon have been master of every place in the
Karnātik but Madras. Four or five thousand horse
might just now lay waste the Karnātik, and Tipú, by
following rapidly with the main body, might make it
a very difficult and tedious business for us to collect
THE BARAMAHAL–MUNRO AS COLLECTOR 73
our scattered army to oppose him. He might, in the
meantime, collect and drive off the inhabitants; the
communication with his own country would be secured
by posting a detachment at Pálákod, for Krishnagiri,
the only place of consequence in the neighbourhood, is
above fifteen miles from the great road, and as the
garrison is only one battalion, no party could be
spared from it to interrupt the march of his convoys.
But if we had 6,ooo or 7,000 cavalry, such an invasion
could not with safety be attempted : irregular horse
would not venture alone into the Karnātik; and if they
waited till Tipú marched with his infantry, our
army might be drawn together in time to oppose him
at entering, or at least to overtake him before he could
reascend the Ghâts. He might be forced to fight,
and the loss of a battle, at so great a distance from
home, and against an enemy now strong in cavalry,
might be attended by the total destruction of his
army. There is no way of protecting the country but
by such a body of horse; it would be more effectual
than a dozen of forts. The revenues of the Karnātik,
under proper management, might, in a few years,
yield the additional sum that would be required for
this establishment.
‘It is of the greatest importance to have a well-
appointed army, not only to carry us successfully
through a war, but also to deter any of our neighbours
from attacking us; because, whether beaten or not,
they still receive some new instruction in the military
art. Though they are averse to innovations, yet the
74 - S/A2 7TAIOMAS A/UAVA’O
force of example will at last operate on them as well
as on other people. Their improved mode of carrying
on war is a sufficient proof of this ; and if they con-
tinue to make such advances as they have done under
Haidar, Sindhia, and Tipti, they will, in thirty or
forty years, be too powerful for any force that we can
oppose to them. It is on this account very absurd
policy to keep two battalions with the Nizām, to teach
him, or his successor, to fight us. He has already formed
above twenty corps on the same model. We have
got a strange fancy, that, for the sake of the balance
of power, it is necessary to support him against the
Maráthás ; but we have less to fear from them than
from him and Tipti ; because the Moors are more
ready than the Hindus in adopting the improvements
of strangers, and are likewise, by the spirit of their
religion, strongly impelled to extend their empire.
I am convinced that, were the Maráthás to overturn
both the Muhammadan powers, we would be more
secure than at present. They would see that nothing
was to be gained by attacking us, and would therefore
let us remain quiet, and either fight among them-
selves, or turn their arms to the northward; and
when they had only Asiatics to contend with, they
would by degrees lose the little of European dis-
cipline which they have already learned. I believe
I have all this time only been repeating what I have
often said to you before.'
In the short compass of this volume it would be
almost impossible to give the reader an idea of
THE BARAMAHAZ—MUVRO AS COLLECTOR 75
the charm of style or of the interesting contents of
Munro's letters to his family and friends. The details
of his daily work, his tours from village to village,
his description of the habits of the people, his con-
versations with them, his references to the books
he had been reading, to the topics of the day, the
state of the country and of the army, and his views
as to what should be done for the consolidation of the
British possessions in India, are all most interesting
reading, and show a vein of humour and a fund of
imagination, coupled with sagacity and foresight, that
prove the writer to have been a man of no ordinary
intellect, but also far in advance of his time. Where
all his correspondence is so entertaining the difficulty
is to decide what to omit. The following are extracts
from letters written between I795 and I798.
‘The place where I am now (Dharmápuri) is far
from being so pleasant, because, besides being the
station of a cutcherry, and a large noisy village, it
is on the high road from Krishnagiri to Salem and
Sankaridrüg, by which means, though I have many
visitors whom I am happy to see, I have sometimes
others who are as tedious as any of your forenoon
gossips. We have no inns in this country; and as
we have much less ceremony than you have at home,
it is always expected that a traveller, whether he is
known or not, shall stop at any officer's house he
finds on the road. When a tiresome fellow comes
across me, it is not merely a forenoon’s visit of which
you complain so heavily, but I have him the whole
76 S/AE 7AHOMAS MUAVRO
day and night to myself. I do not, however, stand
so much upon form as you do with your invaders.
I put him into a hut called a room, with a few
pamphlets or magazines, and a bundle of Glasgow
newspapers, and leave him to go to business, whether
I have any or not, till dinner-time, at four in the
afternoon ; and if I find that his conversation is too
oppressive for my constitution to bear, I give him
a dish of tea, for we have no suppers now in this
country, and leave him at seven to go to more
business. There is nothing in the world so fatiguing
as some of these téte d tâtes—they have frequently
given me a headache in a hot afternoon; and I would
rather walk all the time in the sun, than sit listening
to a dull fellow, who entertains you with uninteresting
stories, or, what is worse, with uninteresting questions.
I am perfectly of your way of thinking about visitors.
I like to have them either all at once in a mass,
or if they come in ones and twos to have them of my
own choosing. When they volunteer, I always wish
to see two or three of them together, for then you
have some relief; but it is a serious business to be
obliged to engage them singly. I wonder that we
waste so much of our time in praying against battle
and murder, which so seldom happen, instead of
calling upon Heaven to deliver us from the calamity
to which we are daily exposed, of troublesome
visitors.”
“If solitude is the mother of wisdom, it is to be
hoped that, in a few years more, I shall be as wise
THE BARAMAHAZ—MUNRO AS COLLECTOR 77
as Solomon or Robinson Crusoe. There is another
thing in favour of this idea, the simplicity of my
fare, which, according to some philosophers, is a great
friend to genius and digestion. I do not know if the
case is altered by this diet being the effect of necessity,
and not of choice. When my cook brings me a sheep,
it is generally so lean that it is no easy matter to
cut it. Fowls are still worse, unless fed with par-
ticular care —a science for which I have no turn ;
and as to river-fish, very few of them are eatable.
If the fish and fowl were both boiled, it would puzzle
any naturalist to tell the one from the other merely
by the taste. Some sects of philosophers recommend
nuts and apples, and other sorts of fruit ; but nothing
is to be found either in the woods or gardens here,
except a few limes, and a coarse kind of plantain,
which is never eaten without the help of cookery.
I have dined to-day on porridge made of half-ground
flour instead of oatmeal; and I shall most likely dine
to-morrow on plantain fritters. Some other philoso-
phers think that gentle exercise, as a branch of
temperance, has also a share in illuminating the
understanding. I am very fond of riding in an
evening shower after a hot day; but I do not rest
much upon this ; my great dependence, for the ex-
pansion of my genius, is upon the porridge.’
‘The cold, lifeless reasoning which is prematurely
forced upon an unfortunate student at a college,
is as different from the vigorous conception which
is caught from mingling with general society, as an
78 S/R THOMAS MUAVA’O
animated body from its shadow. It is distressing
that we should persevere in the absurd practice of
stifling the young ideas of boys of fourteen or fifteen
with logic. A few pages of history give more insight
into the human mind, and in a more agreeable
manner, than all the metaphysical volumes that ever
were published. The men who have made the greatest
figure in public life, and have been most celebrated
for their knowledge of mankind, probably never con-
sulted any of these sages from Aristotle downwards.’
‘We have for several years had a small detachment
of two battalions with the Nizām. This is too
trifling a force to give us any control over his
measures; but it serves as a model for him to dis-
cipline his own army, and it compels us either to
abandon him disgracefully in the hour of danger,
as we did last year, or to follow him headlong into
every war which he may rashly undertake. He is
considered as more particularly our ally than either
Tipi or the Maráthás; and it was, therefore, at
the opening of his last unfortunate campaign, men-
tioned with exultation by our Resident, that there
were in his camp above twenty battalions clothed
and armed like English sepoys. I would rather have
been told that there was not a firelock in his army.
These very troops would have driven the Maráthás
from the field, had they not been deserted by the
great lords, with their bodies of horse and irregular
foot, from cowardice, or more probably from treachery;
and to reduce some of these turbulent, seditious
THE BARAMAHAZ–MUNRO AS COLLECTOR 79
chiefs, is now the principal employment of our
detachment. Thus we are wisely endeavouring to
render him as absolute a sovereign, and of course,
from his greater resources of men and money, a more
formidable enemy than Tipă.
‘We ought to wish for the total subversion of both,
even though we got no part of their dominions; but
as it is not absolutely necessary that we should
remain idle spectators, we might secure a share for
ourselves; and were we in this overthrow of Tipti
to get only his Malabar provinces, and Seringapatam
and Bangalore, with the countries lying between
them and our own boundaries, our power would be
much more augmented by this part, than that of the
Maráthás by all the rest. What are called the
matural barriers of rivers and mountains, seldom
check an enterprising enemy. The best barriers are
advanced posts, from which it is easy to attack him,
and to penetrate into his country, and both Bangalore
and Seringapatam are excellent situations for this
purpose. The balance of power in this country ought
also to be formed on much the same principles—by
making ourselves so strong that none of our neighbours
will venture to disturb us. When we have accom-
plished this, their internal wars and revolutions ought
to give us no concern. It is not impossible but that
the Maráthá chiefs may settle all their differences
without coming to hostilities; but if they should not,
it is not easy to foresee what effect our preparations
may have on Tipú.
8o S/A’ 7"AſOA/AS MOWAVA’O
‘The unity, regularity, and stability of our govern-
ments in India, since they have been placed under
Bengal, and our great military force, give us such
a superiority over the ever-changing, tottering
governments of the native princes, that we might,
by watching times and opportunities, and making
a prudent and vigorous use of our resources, extend
our dominion without much danger or expense, and at
no very distant period, over a great part of the
Peninsula. Our first care ought to be directed to the
total subversion of Tipá. After becoming masters of
Seringapatam and Bangalore, we should find no great
difficulty afterwards in advancing to the Kistna,
when favoured by wars or revolutions in the
neighbouring states; and such occasions would seldom
be wanting, for there is not a government among
them that has consistency enough to deserve the name.’
“There are few of the obstacles here that present
themselves to conquest in Europe. We have no
ancient constitution or laws to overturn, for there is
no law in India, but the will of the sovereign ; and we
have no people to subdue, nor national pride or
animosity to contend with, for there are no distinct
nations in India, like French and Spaniards, Germans
and Italians. The people are but one people; for,
whoever be their rulers, they are still all Hindus; it is
indifferent to them whether they are under Europeans,
Musalmáns, or their own Rájás. They take no interest
in political revolutions; and they consider defeat
and victory as no concern of their own, but merely as
THE BARAMAHAZ—MUNRO As CozzFCTOR 81
the good or bad fortune of their masters; and they
only prefer one to another, in proportion as he
respects their religious prejudices, or spares taxation.
It is absurd to say that we must never extend our
dominions, though we see a state falling to pieces, and
every surrounding one seizing a portion of its terri-
tory. We ought to have some preconcerted general
scheme to follow on such occasions; for, if we have
not, it is probable that we shall either let most of them
slip altogether, or by acting in too great a hurry, not
derive so much advantage from them as we might
otherwise have done.’
CHAPTER V
THE THIRD MYSORE WAR
EVER since the treaty of Seringapatam, Tipú had
been concerting measures to overthrow the English
power in India ; he had sent a mission to Constanti-
nople, and another to Zemán Sháh, the ruler of Afghāni-
stán, urging him to invade India ; he also announced
himself as the champion of the Muhammadan faith,
whose mission it was to expel the English ‘Kafirs, as
he called them, from the country, and with this object
he was in treaty with both the Maráthás and the
French. Thus Munro's forecast of the result of the
policy of 1792 was verified.
At this juncture Lord Mornington was on his way
out to assume the Governor-Generalship, and writing
from the Cape, Feb. 28, 1798, to Mr. Dundas, he says:
‘The balance of power in India, no longer exists
upon the same footing on which it was placed by the
peace of Seringapatam. The question therefore must
arise how it may be brought back again to that state
in which you have directed me to maintain it. My
present view of the subject is that the wisest course
would be to strengthen the Maráthás and the Nizām,
by entering into a defensive alliance with the former
against Zemán Sháh, and by affording to the latter an
THE THIRD M VSOA&E WAA’ 83
addition of military strength and the means of extri-
cating himself from the control of the French party
at Haidarābād.’
Shortly after Lord Mornington's arrival at Calcutta
not only were both these measures proceeded with,
but having secured information of a proclamation
by the French in Mauritius, calling on volunteers to
take service under the ‘Sultán of Mysore’ against the
English, he at once ordered preparations for an army
to take the field against Tipú.
In February, 1799, a force of 20,000 men was
collected at Vellore, and was supplemented by 13,000
furnished by the Nizām, under Col. Arthur Wellesley,
afterwards Duke of Wellington, the whole army being
under the command of General, afterwards Lord,
Harris. On May 4 the war was brought to a close
by the capture of Seringapatam and the death of
Tipá, who was killed in the assault. Munro, who had
attained his captaincy in 1796, was attached to a corps
for collecting supplies for the main army and for
demolishing small forts near Bangalore.
On the fall of Seringapatam Munro and Captain
Malcolm 4 were appointed secretaries to the Com-
mission to arrange for the future disposal of Mysore
and other territories, and for the settlement of questions
arising out of the late war. In a letter to his father,
dated August, 1799, Munro describes this third Mysore
war, gives a long estimate of the character of Tipă,
with details of his life, and thus concludes by giving
* Afterwards Sir John Malcolm, Governor of Bombay, 1827–1830.
F 2.
84 S/R 7"HOMAS MUAVRO
his opinion of the treaty which resulted from the
labours of the Commission :-
‘You will see in the papers how the partition treaty
has been made. I believe that it has not met with
general approbation here. Had I had anything to do
in it, I certainly would have had no Rájá of Mysore,
in the person of a child dragged forth from oblivion,
to be placed on a throne on which his ancestors, for
three generations, had not sat during more than
half a century. I would have divided the country
equally with the Nizām, and endeavoured to prevail on
him to increase his subsidy, and take a greater body
of our troops; but, whether he consented or not, I
would still have thought myself bound by treaty to
give him his fair half of the country. I would have
given the Maráthás a few districts, provided they
consented to fulfil their last treaty with him ; but not
otherwise. We have now made great strides in the
south of India. Many think we have gone too far;
but I am convinced that the course of events will
still drive us on, and that we cannot stop till we get to
the Kistna. I meant, when I began this letter, merely
to have given you the history of my fever, in order to
account for my apparent negligence in writing, and
to let you know exactly how I was left. You might
have had worse accounts of me from other quarters;
but I have, as usual, run into a long gossiping story
of Tipú and his family. But he is now at rest ; and
this is the last time I shall trouble you with him.’
While secretary to the Commission, Munro formed
THE THIRD MVSOPE WAA’ 85
a friendship with Col. Wellesley', which lasted through
‘life. In some correspondence between them in the
following year they argue for and against the exten-
sion of British rule in India. Col. Wellesley was
opposed to it, considering the extension already
greater than our means, and that we had added to the
number of our enemies by depriving of employment
those who had found it in the service of Tipá and the
Nizām, either in managing the revenue, serving in the
armies, or plundering the country. “As for the wishes
of the people, he adds, “I put them out of the question;
they are the only philosophers about their governors
that I ever met with—if indifference constitutes that
character.” In reply to this Munro maintained that
“every inch of territory gained adds to our ability
both of invading and defending.” There are three
things, he said, that greatly facilitate our conquests in
this country; first, the whole of India being not one
nation, but parcelled out among a number of chiefs, and
these parcels continually changing masters, makes a
transfer to us regarded not as a conquest but merely as
One administration turning out another; Secondly, the
want of hereditary nobility and country gentlemen, and
of a respectable class of men who might be impelled by
a sense of either honour or interest to oppose a revolu-
tion ; and thirdly, our having a greater command than
any of the native powers of money—a strong engine
of revolution in all countries, but especially in India.
Wellesley's next letter gives an account of his
* They had previously met at Tópur in the Salem district.
86 S/A’ 7'A'OA/AS /l/UAVA’O
victory" over Dhundia, or Dhundaji, a Maráthá adven-
turer, and he makes no further allusion to the discus-
sion than to say, ‘Ifancy that you will have the pleasure
of seeing some of your grand plans carried out.’
Not the least interesting association with historic
Seringapatam is the fact that there in the summer of
I799 the future conqueror of Napoleon and the future
Governor of Madras discussed the projects of the
latter for the extension of British rule in India—
‘projects which Munro lived to see carried out far in
excess of his early expectations, and which Wellesley
only a few years later did much to further by his
decisive victory over the Maráthás at Assaye.”
‘It may be a question,’ observes Sir Alexander
Arbuthnot, “whether, if Munro had lived in the days
of Lord Dalhousie, he would have approved of the
annexation policy of that ruler in all its details. It
may be that he would have doubted the justice of
suppressing native rule in Nágpur and the policy of
annexing Oudh ; but there can be no manner of doubt
that the proposal to restore Mysore to native rule, after
it had enjoyed for nearly fifty years the benefit of
British administration—a proposal which, having
been repeatedly negatived by the highest authorities,
was eventually sanctioned in 1867—would have en-
countered from him an opposition not less strenuous
than that which was offered to it by Lord Canning and
his successor in the Governor-Generalship.’
1 September Io, 1800—the first occasion on which the future
duke held an independent command in the field.
CHAPTER WI
KANARA AND ITs SETTLEMENT
AMONG the territories ceded by the partition treaty
after the fall of Seringapatam was the District of
Kánara, which stretches along the west coast, north
of Malabar and west of Mysore. To the charge of this
District Munro was appointed by the Governor-
General, and here he remained from July, 1799 till
October, 1800. It was with much reluctance that
Munro took up this appointment. “I have now
turned my back upon the Bárámahal and the Karmátik,’
he says, “with a deeper sensation of regret than I felt
on leaving home; for at that time the vain prospect
of imaginary happiness in new and distant regions
occupied all my thoughts, but I see nothing where
I am now going to compensate for what I have lost—
a country and friends that have been endeared to me
by a residence of twenty years. I feel also a great
reluctance to renew the labours which I have so long
undergone in the Bárámahal. It leaves few intervals
for amusement or for the studies I am fond of, and
wears out both the body and the mind. Col. Read
has sent in his resignation, and I had anticipated the
pleasure of sitting down in the Bárámahal, and
88 S/A’ TAZOA/AS /l/ UAVRO
enjoying a few years of rest after so many of drudgery,
for that country is now surveyed and settled, and
requires very little attention to keep it in order. It
is a romantic country, and every tree and mountain
has some charm which attaches me to them. . . .
‘I must now make new friends, for there is not a man
in Kánara whom I ever saw in my life. Nothing would
have induced me to go there, had I not been pointed
out for the business of settling that country. I had at
one time declined having anything to do with it ;
and only two considerations brought me, after
wavering for some days, to accept of it; the one,
a sense of public duty, and the other, the chance
which I might have of being enabled to return a year
or two sooner to Europe than I could have done by
remaining in the Bárámahal; but I can have no
certainty of this, as my salary is not yet fixed.’
Munro's dislike to Kánara and the life he had to
lead there increased with his experience of it, and he
applied to Mr. Cockburn, of the Board of Revenue,
for a transfer to Mysore, the Bárámahal, or the Kar-
nátik, saying he would be happy ‘to get away from
it on any terms. In reply to this letter Mr. Cock-
burn wrote: “I regret your situation should be so
extremely irksome ; the more so, as any attempt
to procure your removal would be considered treason.
to the State. Such is the estimation of your services,
that no one is deemed equal to the performance
of the difficult task you are engaged in ; and though
I can consider no reward adequate to the sacrifice
RANARA AND /TS SETTLEMENT 89
you make, yet I trust you will be able to overcome
your difficulties, and that Government will do you
ample justice when you have brought the country
into some degree of arrangement.’
Whether encouraged by these words or not, Munro
continued to work on, and at the end of a twelve-
month wrote: ‘Everything was so new and all in such
disorder on my first arrival that the whole of the last
year has been a continual struggle against time to
get forward and bring up arrears; in this one year
I have gone through more work than in almost all
the seven I was in the Bárámahal.’
Throughout his residence in Kánara, Munro, who
had attained the rank of Major in May, 1800, kept up
a correspondence with Col. Wellesley, the latter com-
municating to him accounts of his campaign in the
Maráthá country, and subsequently of that in the
Deccan culminating in the battle of Assaye.
These letters are printed in Gleig's Life, and are
still most interesting reading. In Sir Alexander
Arbuthnot's Memoir will be found an extract from
a minute 1 by Munro on the defences of the Malabar
coast, with reference to the contingency of a French
invasion, Napoleon being then in Egypt. This minute
was one of several memoranda which Major Munro
was called on to prepare for the information of the
Governor-General; in it he observes:—‘Supposing that
any body of Europeans, from 5,000 to IO,OOO, were
landed in Malabar, the only chance they would have of
* Then first printed from the original MS. in the British Museum.
90 S/R 7THOMAS MUAVRO
maintaining possession of their ground would be by
getting possession of some posts which might be capable
of sustaining a long siege, and by being joined by the
Náir Rájás and the other petty chiefs between Cochin
and Sadáshivgarh. We ought therefore to have no
forts of great strength on the coast of Malabar. Those
which we already have, are sufficiently strong to
guard against a surprise, and to resist any enemy
who has no cannon, which is all that is necessary.
Were the French to get possession of them, they
could easily be driven out again by an army from
Mysore; and as the Nāirs, &c. would see that their
footing was precarious, they would be afraid to join
them. Were we, however, to make any place par-
ticularly strong, one of those unforeseen events which
frequently happen in war, might throw it into the
power of the enemy. After they were in it, it would
be difficult to dislodge them, and they might in con-
sequence be able to stir up the neighbouring petty
princes of the country to insurrection.’
In Kánara Munro maintained his practice of keeping
a journal for his sister; which, in spite of his heavy
official work, and the discomforts of the climate and
of his mode of life, is written in the same buoyancy of
spirit and humorous vein that characterizes his
previous home-letters. From it, however, there is
space for only the following extracts:—
‘I am now literally, what I never expected to be, so
much engaged, that I have not leisure to write private
letters. From daybreak till eleven or twelve at night,
RANARA AND ITS SETTLEMENT 9I
I am never alone, except at meals, and these altogether
do not take up an hour. I am pressed on one hand
by the settlements of the revenue, and on the other by
the investigation of murders, robberies, and all the
evils which have arisen from a long course of profligate
and tyrannical government. Living in a tent, there
is no escaping for a few hours from the crowd; there
is no locking oneself up on pretence of more important
business, as a man might do in a house, particularly if
it was an upstair one. I have no refuge but in going
to bed, and that is generally so late, that the sleep
I have is scarcely sufficient to refresh me. I am still,
however, of Sancho's opinion, that if a governor is only
well fed, he may govern any island, however large.
‘I left Kárwär yesterday morning, where the Com-
pany formerly had a factory, but abandoned it above
fifty years ago, in consequence of some exactions of
the Rájá of Sonda, who then possessed this country.
I crossed an arm of the river, or rather a creek, about
half a mile broad, in a canoe, and proceeded on foot,
for the road was too bad for riding, over a low range
of hills, and then over some rice-fields, mostly waste,
from the cultivators having been driven away by fre-
quent wars, till I came again to the edge of the river.
It was almost one thousand yards wide; and as the
tide was going out, it was extremely rapid ; and as
there was a scarcity of canoes, as well as of inhabit-
ants, I was obliged to wait patiently under a tree for
two hours, till one was brought. I was, in the mean-
time, beset with a crowd of husbandmen, as I always
92 S/A’ THOMAS MUAVA’O
am on my journeys, crying out, “We have no corn,
no cattle, no money ! How are we to pay our
rents º' This is their constant cry, in whatever
circumstances they may be ; for, as the oppressive
governments of India are constantly endeavouring to
extort as much as possible from them, their only
defence is to plead poverty at all times, and it is but
too often with just cause they do so. They think that,
if they are silent, their rents will be raised ; and
I shall therefore be pursued with their grievances for
some months, till they find, from experience, that I do
not look upon their being quiet as any reason for
augmenting their rents. The party that attacked me,
though natives of this part of the country, are
Maráthás; they speak in as high a key as the inhabi-
tants of the Gháts, which, as a deaf man, I admire,
but not their dialect, which is as uncouth as the most
provincial Yorkshire. Our conversation about hard
times was interrupted by the arrival of a canoe, which
enabled me to cross the river, and get away from them.
“After a walk of about two miles farther, I got to
my halting-place, at a small village called Ibalgarh.
Though I had only come six miles altogether, I had
been above six hours on the road. As my tent was
not up, I got into a small hot hovel of a pagoda to
breakfast. I forget how many dishes of tea I drank ;
but I shall recollect this point to-morrow. When
I was done, however, as my writing materials were not
come up, as the place in which I was was very close and
hot, and as I knew my tent and bullocks would not,
KANARA AND ITS SETTLEMENT 93
on account of the rivers, be up before dark, I resolved
to make an excursion, and look about me till sunset.
‘There is hardly a spot in Kánara where one can walk
with any satisfaction, for the country is the most
broken and rugged perhaps in the world. The few
narrow plains that are in it are under water at one
season of the year; and during the dry weather, the
numberless banks which divide them make it very
disagreeable and fatiguing to walk over them. There
is hardly such a thing as a piece of gently rising
ground in the whole country. All the high grounds
start up at once in the shape of so many inverted tea-
cups; and they are rocky, covered with wood, and
difficult of ascent, and so crowded together, that
they leave very little room for valleys between.
I ascended one of them, and stood on a large stone at
the summit, till dark. The view before me was the
river winding through a valley from a mile to two
miles wide, once highly, cultivated, but now mostly
waste; the great range of mountains which separates
Sonda from the low country, about twelve miles in
front, many branches running from it like the teeth
of a great saw, to the beach, and many detached masses
running in every direction, and almost all covered
with wood. On returning home, I found my tent
arrived, and it was as usual filled with a multitude of
people, who did not leave me till near midnight. Icon-
tinued my journey at daybreak this morning, over
cultivated fields for the first mile, and all the rest of
the way, about ten miles more, through a tall and
94 SAR 7"HOMAS MUAVA’O
thick forest, up a valley towards the foot of the Ghâts.
The prospect would have been grand from an eminence;
but as it was, I saw nothing, except the heavens above
me, and a few yards on each side through the trees.
I liked the road, because it was carrying me away
for a time from a country I am tired of. My halting-
place was on the edge of a small mountain stream.
There was not a clear spot enough for my tent,
though a small one ; but I was in no hurry about it,
as there was plenty of shade under the bamboos and
other trees to breakfast.
‘Kánara does not produce such a breakfast as you
have every day in Scotland without trouble; mine
was very bad tea, for I had been disappointed in
a supply from Bombay ; some bread, as heavy as any
pebble of equal size in the stream beside me, made
about a week ago by a native Christian of the Ange-
divas, perhaps a descendant of Vasco da Gama, and as
black as the fellow himself. It was however to me,
who had seen no bread for three months, less insipid
than rice, and with the addition of a little butter, of
at least seven different colours, a very capital enter-
tainment. You, who have fortunately never been in
this country, may wonder why butter is so rare. It
is because the cows are so small and so dry, that the
milk of fifty of them will hardly make butter for one
man. They are all black, and not much larger than
sheep ; and as they give so little milk, no man makes
butter for sale. Every farmer puts what milk his
cows yield into a pot or a bottle, and by shaking it for
KANARA AND ITS SETTLEMENT 95
half an hour he gets as much butter as you may lift
with the point of a knife; when, therefore, the serious
task of raising a supply of butter for my breakfast
comes under consideration, my servant, before he gets
a sixpennyworth, is obliged to go round half a dozen
of houses, and get a little at each. The whole together
is not more than you eat every morning to your roll.
When I had finished breakfast, and was sitting, as an
Eastern poet would say, ‘listening to the deep silence
of the woods, the little stream running past me put
me in mind of Alander, and led me insensibly to
Kelvin, and to the recollection of the companions with
whom I had so often strayed along its banks, and
thinking of you amongst the rest. I thought that
none of them, now alive, would feel more interest
than you in * -
* 20th Jan. [1800]-I was interrupted yesterday by
the arrival of my cutcherry people. I meant, I believe,
to have said that, as no person would feel more interest
than you in my solitary journey through Sonda,
I determined, as soon as my writing-table should
arrive, to begin, at least, an account of it to you,
whether I should ever finish it or not. The wood was
so thick that it was not till after some search that
a spot could be found to pitch my tent upon ; it was
an open space of near a hundred yards Square, which
had in former times been cultivated, and had since
been overgrown with high grass, which had a few
hours before our arrival been set fire to by some
travellers (who were breakfasting and washing them-
96 S/R THOMAS MUAVA’O
selves in the river), because they thought it might
afford cover to tigers. It was still burning; but some
of it, nearest the shade of the trees, being too wet with
dew to catch fire, afforded a place for my tent. The
people who accompanied me were so much alarmed
about tigers, that as soon as it grew dark they kindled
fires all round, and passed the night in shouting to
One another. I never go to bed to lie awake, and was
therefore in a few minutes deaf to their noise; but
either it or the cold awoke me about two hours before
daybreak: having no cover but a thin quilt, I was
obliged to put on my clothes before I went to bed
again, as the only way to keep me warm. The ther-
mometer was at 47°, which you would not think cold
in Scotland; but at this degree I have felt it sharper
than I ever did in the hardest frost at home. It is
probably owing to our being exposed to a heat above
90° during the day, that we are so sensible in India to
the chill in the morning. I continued my journey this
morning on foot, for the road was so steep and narrow
that it was in most places impossible to ride.
‘The forest was as thick as yesterday—nothing
visible but the sky above. The trees were tall and
straight, usually fifty or sixty feet to the branches; no
thorns, and scarcely any brushwood of any kind. No
flowers spring from the ground in the forests of India ;
the only flowers we meet with in them are large
flowering shrubs, or the blossoms of trees. The ground
is sometimes covered with long grass, but is more
frequently bare and stony. Nothing grows under the
ÅANARA AND ITS SETTLEMENT 97
shade of the bamboo, which is always a principal
tree in the woods of this country.
“After travelling about two miles I got to the foot of
the Ghāt, where I met some of my people, who had
lost their way yesterday, and had nothing to eat.
I am fond of climbing hills; but I ascended the Ghát
with much pleasure, because it was carrying me into
a colder region, because I should be able to travel
without being stopped, as in Kánara, every four or
five miles by deep rivers, and because I should again,
at Haliyāl, bless my eyes with the sight of an open
country, which I have not seen since I left Seringa-
patam. On getting near the top of the Ghāt, the
woods had been in many places felled, in order to
cultivate the ground under them, and I by this means
had an opportunity, from their open breaks, of seeing
below me the country through which I had been
travelling for two days. It was a grand and savage
Scene—mountain behind mountain, both mountains
and valleys black with wood, and not an open spot,
either cultivated or uncultivated, to be seen. I was
now entering a country which had been long famous
for the best pepper in India—an article which had
been the grand object of most of the early voyages to
the coast of Malabar; but there was not a single plant
of it within many miles. On reaching the summit of
the Ghát, and looking towards the interior of the
country, I saw no plains, and scarcely anything that
could be called a valley; but a heap of hills stripped
of their ancient forests, and covered with trees, from
G.
98 SIR THOMAS MUAVRO
one to twenty years' growth, except a few intervals
where some fields of grain had recently been cut.
* Neither in Kámara nor Sonda does grain grow
annually, except in such lands as can be floated with
water. On all hills, therefore, and rising grounds,
and even flats, where water is scarce, a crop of grain
can only be obtained once in a great number of years
—the time depends on the growth of the wood. When
it is of a certain height it is cut down and set fire to:
the field is then ploughed and sown. If the soil is
good it yields another crop the following year, and it
must then be left waste from eight to twenty years,
till the wood is again fit for cutting. All the land
within my view had undergone this operation; every
field had a different shade, according to the age of the
wood, and looked at first sight as if it was covered
with grain of various kinds; but I knew to my sorrow
that nineteen parts in twenty were wood. My halting-
place was much pleasanter than yesterday, it was an
Open plain of about half a mile in length, surrounded
with wood, but neither so high nor so thick as to
hinder me from seeing the hills beyond it.
‘My baggage being all behind in the pass, I sat
down under a tree, and entered into conversation with
half a dozen of the inhabitants, the owners of the
fields where we were then sitting. They consisted of
the accountant of a neighbouring village, and five
farmers, two of whom were Maráthás; but the other
three belonged to one of the castes of Indian husband-
men who never eat any kind of animal food, nor taste
ÅANARA AND ITS SETTLEMENT 99
anything, not even water, in any house but their own :
they wore beards as long as those of their goats, and
they looked almost as simple and innocent. They
pointed to a few straw huts at the end of the field,
and told me it was the spot where their village
had formerly stood. It had been burned and plum-
dered, they said, about four years before, by Yenji
Naik, who had acted as a partisan in General
Mathews's campaign, and had afterwards continued
at the head of a band of freebooters till the fall of
Tipú, when he relinquished the trade of a robber.
They had forsaken their abodes during all that time,
and were now come to know on what terms they
might cultivate their lands. I told them they should
be moderate, on account of what they had suffered.
“21st January.—I asked them some questions about
the produce of their fields. One of the bearded Sages
replied that they yielded very little ; that it was some-
times difficult to get a return from them equal to
the seed they had sown. Had I asked the question of
any other Indian farmer, five hundred miles distant,
he would just have given me the same answer. It is
not that they are addicted to lying, for they are
simple, harmless, honest, and have as much truth in
them as any men in the world; but it is because an
oppressive and inquisitorial Government, always pry-
ing into their affairs in order to lay new burdens upon
them, forces them to deny what they have, as the only
means of saving their property. An excellent book
might be written by a man of leisure, showing the
G 2
1 OO S/R 7"HOMAS MOWAVA’O
wonderful influence that forms of government have in
moulding the dispositions of mankind. This habit of
concealment and evasive answers grows up with them
from their infancy. I have often asked boys of eight
or ten years old, whom I have seen perched on a little
scaffold in a field, throwing stones from a sling to
frighten the birds, how many bushels they expected
when the corn was cut. The answer was always—
“There is nothing in our house now to eat. The birds
will eat all this, and we shall be starved.”
‘The farmers are, however, as far as their knowledge
goes, communicative enough where their own interest
is not concerned. I therefore turned the discourse to
the produce of a neighbouring district. One of the old
gentlemen, observing that I had looked very attentively
at his cumbly, was alarmed lest I should think he
possessed numerous flocks of sheep; and he therefore
told me, with some eagerness, that there was not
a single sheep in Sonda, and that his cumbly was
the produce of the wool of Chitaldrág. I was
looking at his cumbly with very different thoughts
from those of raising his rents. I had not seen one
since I left Mysore: it is the only dress of the most
numerous and most industrious classes of husbandmen.
They throw it carelessly over their head or shoulders
to defend them from the sun; they cover themselves
with it when it rains, and they wrap themselves up in
it when they go to sleep. The rich man is only
distinguished from the poor man by having his of
a finer quality. It was in this simple dress that I had
KANARA AND ITS SETTLEMENT | OI
for many years been accustomed to see the farmers
and goatherds in the Bárámahal, and when I saw it
again on the present occasion it was like meeting an
old friend: it prepossessed me in favour of the owner;
it brought to my remembrance the country I had left,
and it filled me with melancholy, while I considered
that I might never see either it or any of my former
friends again. Our conference was broken up by the
appearance of my writing-table. I had placed it
under a deep shade, on the side of a clear stream,
little larger than a burn, where, after breakfasting,
I wrote you yesterday's journal. Such streams seem
to abound in this country, for I am now writing on
the bank of such another, but under a canopy of
trees, like which Milton never saw anything in
Wallombrosa; the aged banian shooting his fantastic
roots across the rivulets, and stretching his lofty
branches on every side ; and the graceful bamboo
rising between them, and waving in the wind. The
fall of the leaf has begun for some time, and continues
till the end of February. It was their falling on my
head, and seeing the rivulet filled with them, that put
me in mind of Wallombrosa.
“It was so cold last night that I had very little
sleep. I rose and put on all my clothes, and went
to bed again ; but as I had no warm covering, it
would not do, and I lay awake shivering most part
of the night. At daybreak I found, to my astonish-
ment, the thermometer at 34. I had never seen it
in the Bárámahal below 47. I continued my journey
I O2 S/A’ 7"AſOA/AS MUAVRO
as usual, a little before sunrise, through a forest
with a few openings, except where the wood had
been cut down for the kind of cultivation I men-
tioned to you yesterday, or where there were a
few rice-fields, but none of them half a mile in
extent. Through the openings I had glimpses of
the low hills on all sides of me, some of them
covered with wood, some entirely naked, and
some half covered with wood and half with grain.
I met with several droves of bullocks and
buffaloes, belonging to Dhārwär, returning with salt
from Goa. I saw a herd of bullocks feeding
near the road, and I was glad to find they were
the cattle of Sonda, for they resembled in size
and colour those of Mysore. There is hardly a
cow in Kánara that is not black; but above the
Ghâts black is uncommon, four-fifths of them are
white, and the rest of different colours. Men are
fond of systems, and before I came here I had con-
vinced myself that the diminutive size and the dark
colour of the cattle of Kánara were occasioned by
scarcity of forage, and the deluge of rain which
pours down upon them near six months in the year;
but the rains are as heavy and constant here as in
Kánara—it cannot therefore be by them that they
have been dyed black. I am not grazier enough to
know what influence poor feeding may have on the
colour of cattle; but, if I recollect right, the small
breed from the highlands of Scotland are called black
cattle. -
KANARA AND ITS SETTLEMENT 103
‘There is no want of forage in Sonda, for,
wherever the wood has been cleared away, the grass
is four or five feet high. On coming to the place
where I was to pitch my tent, I found that the
head-farmer of the village, by way of accommodating
me, had prepared an apartment of about twenty
yards square and eight feet high, made of long grass
and bamboos: it had been the work of a dozen of men
for two days. He was much mortified that I would
not go into it. I preferred the shade of trees during
the day, and my tent at night. His son attended
with a present of a fowl and a little milk. It is
the custom in India, and was formerly in Europe,
for men placed in the management of provinces to live
upon the inhabitants during their journeys through
the country; the expense thus incurred, and fre-
quently a great deal more, is commonly in this country
deducted from the amount of the public rent. I told
the farmer that, as I meant to make him pay his full
rent, I could not take his fowl and milk without
paying him for them ; and that I would not enter
his pandal, because he had not paid the labourers
who made it; but that I should pay them, and order
my cutcherry people into it. It cost me a good
deal of time and trouble to persuade him that I was
in earnest, and really intended that he should not
feed any of the public servants who were follow-
ing me.
‘22nd January.—I am now again seated at the
side of a rivulet darkened with lofty trees. I have
IO4. SIR THOMAS MUAVRO
come about ten miles; but as I understand that
Supa is only four miles farther, I mean to go on
again the moment I see my tent come up: for I am
not sure that it is on the right road, and were it to
miss me, I might be obliged to spend the night under
a tree, which is not pleasant in such cold weather, when
there is no military enterprise in view by which
I might comfort myself with the reflection of its
being one of the hardships of war. I passed the
greatest part of the night in endeavouring to keep
myself warm, but with very little success; the cover-
ing I had was too scanty, and all my most skilful
manoeuvres to make it comfortable were therefore to
no purpose. The thermometer at daybreak was at
36. It was 78 yesterday in the shade at three o'clock,
which is the hottest time of the day: it will,
I suppose, be about the same degree to-day. Such
heat would be thought scorching at home, but here
it is rather pleasant than otherwise. I enjoy the sun
when his beams find an opening among the branches
and fall upon me, and were it not for the glare of
the paper I would not wish them away. Nothing
can be more delightful than this climate at this
Season of the year. The sun is as welcome as he
ever is in your cold northern regions; and though
from 7o to 8o is the usual heat of the day, there is
something so light, so cheerful, and refreshing in the
breezes, which are continually playing, that it always
feels cool. They are more healthy and sprightly
than the gales which sported round Macbeth's castle,
KANARA AND ITS SETTLEMENT IO5
where the good King Duncan said “the martins
delighted to build.’ My road to-day was an avenue
of twenty or thirty yards broad through the forest.
The trees were taller and thicker than I had yet seen
them. The bending branches of the bamboo frequently
met and formed a kind of Gothic arch. I passed many
Small rice-fields, and five or six rivulets.
‘The most extensive prospect I had the whole way
was over a flat of rice-fields, about a quarter of a mile
wide and a mile long, bounded at the farther end by
a group of conical hills covered with wood, beyond
which I could not see. It was in woods like these
that the knights and ladies of romance loved to
roam ; but the birds that inhabit them are not the
musical choristers who, at the approach of Aurora,
or when a beautiful damsel opened her dazzling eyes
and shed a blaze of light over the world, were ever
ready with their songs. They do certainly preserve
the ancient custom here of hailing the appearance of
Aurora ; but it is with chirping and chattering, and
every sort of noise but music. I must however ex-
cept some species of the dove and jungle-cock; for
though they cannot warble, the One has a plaintive
and the other a wild note, that is extremely pleas-
ing. The lark is the only musical bird I have
met with in India. But notwithstanding the want
of music and damsels, I love to rise before the
sun and prick my steed through these woods and
wilds under a serene sky, from which I am sure no
shower will descend for many months.
IO6 SAA 7TP/O MAS MUAVA’O
‘31st January.—I have been for these eight days
past at Supa, a miserable mud fort, garrisoned by
a company of sepoys. The village belonging to it
contains about a dozen of huts, situated at the junction
of two deep sluggish rivers. The jungle is close to
it on every side, and the bamboos and forest trees
with which, since the creation, the surrounding hills are
covered, seem scarcely to have been disturbed. Every
evening after sunset a thick vapour rose from the
river and hid every object from view till two hours
after sunrise. I was very glad this morning to leave
such a dismal place. I had for my companion, every
day at dinner, the officer who commanded. He was one
of those insipid souls whose society makes solitude more
tiresome. I was, to my great surprise, attacked one
morning by a party of four officers from Goa, headed
by Sir William Clarke. He was going as far as
Haliyāl to see the country. I told him he ought to
begin where he proposed ending, for that all on this
side of it was such a jungle that he never would
see a hundred yards before him, and that all beyond
it was an open country. He had put himself under
the direction of an engineer officer as his guide, and
had fixed on a spot some miles farther on for their
encampment, so that he could only stay about an
hour with me. He gave me the first account of
the Duke of York's landing in Holland; but the
overland packet, he said, brought nothing from
Egypt.
‘The country through which I came to-day was
RANARA AND ITS SETTLEMENT Io'7
a continuation of the same forest, through which
I have now been riding about sixty miles. My ride
to-day was about twelve miles; not a single hut,
and only one cultivated field in all that distance.
After the first four miles I got rid of the hilly,
uneven country in which I had so long been ; and
the latter part of my journey was over a level
country, still covered with wood, but the trees
neither so tall, nor growing so close together, as
those I had left behind. I could have walked, and
even in many places rode, across the wood in different
directions, which would have been impossible on any
of the preceding days. I have halted under a large
banian tree, in the middle of a circular open space
about five or six hundred yards in diameter. One
half of it is occupied by a natural tank covered with
water-lilies. The rest is a field which was cultivated
last year. It was just in such a forest as this that
the characters in As You Like It used to ramble.
‘What an idle life I have led since I came to India |
In all that long course of years, which I look back
to sometimes with joy, sometimes with grief, I have
scarcely read five plays, and only one novel. I have
dissipated my precious time in reading a little his-
tory, and a great deal of newspapers, and politics,
and Persian. I am not sure that I have looked into
Shakespeare since I left home ; had I had a volume
of him in my pocket, I might have read the Mid-
Swmmer Night's Dream, while I was sitting two hours
under the banian tree, waiting for my writing-table
Io8 S'A R 7TAZOA/AS MOWAVA’O
and breakfast ; but instead of this, I entered into
high converse with a Maráthá boy who was tending
a few cows. He told me that they gave each about
a quart of milk a day; this is a great deal in India.
Twenty cows would hardly give so much in Kánara.
He told me also that the cows, and the field where
we sat, belonged to a Siddee. I asked him what
he meant by a Siddee. He said a Hubshee. This
is the name by which the Abyssinians are distin-
guished in India. He told me that his master lived
in a village in the wood, near a mile distant, which
consisted of about twenty houses, all inhabited by
Hubshees. I was almost tempted to suspect that
the boy was an evil sprite, and that the Hubshees
were magicians, who had sent him out with a flock
of cows, who might be necromancers for anything
that I knew, to waylay me, or decoy me to their den.
But I soon recollected that I had read of Africans being
in considerable numbers in this part of India. They
are, no doubt, the descendants of the African slaves
formerly imported in great numbers by the kings of
Bijapur and the other Muhammadan princes of the
Deccan, to be employed in their armies, who were
sometimes so powerful as to be able to usurp the
government.
‘15th March.--This letter ought, by this time, to
have been half way to Europe; but I have had so
much to do, and have had so many letters, public
and private, on my hands for the last six weeks,
that I never thought of you. I went in the even-
RANARA AND ITS SETTLEMENT Io9
ing, after talking with the cowherd, to see his master.
He was a young boy, whose father had been hanged for
robbery some years before. I saw his mother and
several of his relations, male and female, not of such
a shining black, but all of them with as much of the
negro features, and as ugly as their ancestors were in
Africa two centuries ago. I am now about seventy-
five miles south of their village; but by traversing the
country in different directions, I have come above
twice that distance. I am encamped on the bank of
a little river, called the Wurdee, and am within about
two miles of the borders of Nuggur, usually called
by us Biddanore. I have now seen the whole of the
Sonda ; and it is nothing but an unvaried con-
tinuation of the same forest, of which I have already
said so much. Along the eastern frontier the country
is plain, and appears from ancient revenue accounts
to have been about two centuries ago well cultivated
and inhabited ; but it is now a thick forest, full
of ruinous forts and villages mostly deserted. The
western part of Sonda, towards the Gháts, is an
endless heap of woody hills without a single plain
between them, that never have, nor probably ever
will be cultivated, on account of their steepness
It is among them, in the deepest glens shaded by
the highest hills and thickest woods, that the pepper
gardens are formed. The plant is everywhere to
be met with in its wild state, but its produce is
inconsiderable. It is from the cultivated plant that
the markets of India and Europe are supplied. The
I IO ,S/R Z.HOMAS M UAVRO
cultivators are, with very few exceptions, a par-
ticular caste of Brähmans, who pass the greatest part
of their solitary lives in their gardens, scarcely ever
more than two or three families together ; their
gardens are but specks in the midst of the pathless
wilds with which they are surrounded. They are
dark even in the sunniest days, and gloomy beyond
description when they are wrapped in the storm of
the monsoon.’
CHAPTER VII
THE CEDED DISTRICTS
So successfully did Major Munro administer the
affairs of Kánara that the Government was loth to
transfer him elsewhere. By the end of the fifteen
months which he served in that District he had reduced
it to a state of good order ; the bands of freebooters
were put down, the rāyats, assured of justice in
the collection of the taxes, and free from the fear of
plunder, resumed their habits of industry, and good
government was established throughout the province.
At length the opportunity arrived when the Govern-
ment was able both to gratify Munro's wish for a
transfer from Kánara and to reward his services by
a more important trust. By a treaty with the Nizām
the British Government undertook to protect his
territories from invasion, and entered into a general
alliance with him, in return for which a force, com-
posed partly of British and partiy of native regiments
of the Madras army, was to be (and has ever since
been) maintained at Haidarābād, and is known as the
Haidarābād Subsidiary Force. To meet the cost of
these troops the Nizám on his part agreed to make over
to the Company the territory he had acquired by the
II 2 S/A 7'AſOA/AS MUAVRO
treaties of I792 and 1799, and thus were ceded to
British rule the Districts of Bellary, Cuddapah, &c.,
still known as the Ceded Districts. For the Collector-
ship of these new Districts Munro applied, and to this
he was appointed, and assumed charge of his duties in
November, 1800. Lord Clive, in making the appoint-
ment, observed that the “wishes of so excellent a fellow
and collector ought to be cheerfully complied with.”
‘Pray tell him, he adds, “my desire of detaining him
on the Malabar coast has arisen from my opinion and
experience of his superior management and usefulness;
but that his arguments have convinced me that his
labours in the Cis-Tumbudra and Kistna province
will be more advantageous than his remaining in the
steam of the Malabar coast, although I should have
thought that favourable to a garden.’
When Major Munro assumed charge of his new
duties in the Ceded Districts, it is computed that there
were scattered through them, exclusive of the Nizām's
troops, 30,000 armed peons, under the command of
some eighty poligars, or petty chiefs, who subsisted
by rapine ; bands of robbers, too, wandered through
the open country, plundering and putting to death
travellers who refused to submit to their exactions.
Such a state of things could not fail to inure the
inhabitants to the use of arms; almost every village
had its fort or was surrounded by walls, the remains
of which may be seen to this day. “The ten years
of Mughal government in Cuddapah,’ writes Munro in
Feb. 1801, ‘have been almost as destructive as so many
7TA/AE CAEZ) EZD D.A.STA’ſ CTS II 3
years of war, and this last year a mutinous unpaid
army was turned loose during the sowing season to
collect their pay from the villages. They drove off
and sold the cattle, extorted money by torture from
every man who fell in their hands, and plundered the
houses and shops of those who fled; by which means
the usual cultivation has been greatly diminished ".’
The first step towards the settlement of the Ceded
Districts was to subdue the poligars; many of them
were expelled or pensioned, and all required to disband
their armed followers. This was mainly done by
General Campbell, whose headquarters were at Bellary,
while Munro, with four assistants (one of whom was
Mr. William Thackeray, uncle of the novelist), attended
to the civil administration of the country.
Writing to Read in Sept. 1802, he thus describes his
work and life as an itinerant collector: ‘I have all
the drudgery, without any of the interesting investi-
gations which employed so much of your time in the
Bárámahal. The detail of my own division, near ten
lakhs of star pagodas, and the superintendence of others,
leave me no leisure for speculations. The mere common
business of Amildars' letters, complaints, &c., often oc-
cupy the whole of the day; besides, I am taken up an
hour or two almost every other day in examining spies,
and sending out parties of peons in quest of thieves
* Mr. R. Sewell, Collector of Bellary, has recently printed a
valuable memorandum of Munro's dated March, 1802, giving the
history of eighty poligars in the Ceded Districts, and stating how
he had dealt with each of them.
H
II.4. S/A2 7TA/OA/AS // CZAWA’O
and refugee poligars. I am also obliged to furnish
grain for three regiments of cavalry, and the gun
bullocks, and to transmit a diary every month to the
Board, to show that I am not idle. My annual circuit
is near a thousand miles, and the hours I spend on
horseback are almost the only time I can call my own.’
It was Munro's custom to travel about without
any military escort ; his reasons for doing so are
given in a letter in which he had to explain the
circumstances of an affray in which Mr. Thackeray
nearly lost his life. In quoting this letter, Gleig
observes that it is a document of great public import-
ance even now, furnishing very satisfactory proof
that a civil functionary in India is safer when travel-
ling unattended, than if he be followed by a weak
military escort.’ The condition of India has so changed
that the question has not to be considered as regards
districts under British rule, now as quiet as any agricul-
tural county in England; but, with the Manipur disaster
fresh in our minds, Munro's account of this incident,
and his views as to a small guard attending an official
in a turbulent country, are well worth perusal.
‘Since writing to you yesterday, I have received
yours of the 3rd [Dec. 18OI], giving me the alarm about
Thackeray. I heard of it the 27th of last month, and
instantly wrote to the General to send a party, and
I have offered a reward of one thousand rupees for the
patel of Tornikul, by whose orders the murders were
committed. Such outrages are frequent in the Ceded
Districts, particularly in Gurramkonda ; but I do not
THE CEDAE/O ZD/S 7TA’/CTS 1 I 5
write upon them, because it would only be troubling
the Board to no purpose; and you would have heard
nothing of the late affair, had Thackeray not happened
to be upon the spot. Why did I suffer him, you say,
to be without a guard 3 Because I think he is much
safer without one. I traversed Kánara in every direc-
tion unaccompanied by a single sepoy or military peon,
at a time when it was in a much more distracted state
than the Ceded Districts have ever been, without
meeting, or even apprehending, any insult.
‘I do the same here:—there is not a single man
along with me, nor had I one last year when I met all
the Gurramkonda poligars in congress, attended by
their followers. I had deprived them of all their
cowle, and they knew that I meant to reduce them to
the level of patels, yet they never showed me the
smallest disrespect. The natives of India, not
excepting poligars, have, in general, a good deal of
reverence for public authority. They suppose that
collectors act only by orders from a superior power ;
and that, as they are not actuated by private motive,
they ought not to become the objects of resentment.
I therefore consider the subordinate collectors and
myself as being perfectly safe without guards; and
that by being without them, we get much sooner
acquainted with the people. A Naik's or a Havil-
dar's guard might be a protection in the Karnātik:
but it would be none here in the midst of an armed
nation. Nothing under a company could give
security, and even its protection might not always be
H 2.
II6 S/A 7TA/OA/AS // UAVA’O
effectual, and would probably, in the present state
of the country, tend rather to create than to prevent
outrages. However this may be, such a guard for
every collector cannot be spared from the military
force now in the country.
‘The murders in Adoni seem to have originated in
private revenge. I directed Thackeray to add a certain
• sum to the last year's jumma, but to let the people
know that it would not be finally settled till my
arrival in the district. Under the Nizām's government
many heads of villages had gained considerably by
the general desolation of the country, because they got
credit for a great deal more than their actual loss by
diminution of cultivation. It was necessary to raise
the rent of these villages to a fair level with that of
others in similar circumstances. The people who
brought forward the information required for this
purpose are those who have been murdered. They
were all natives of Adoni, and one of them was
a gumasta in the cutcherry. The village of Torni-
kul, like most others in the country, is fortified.
The patel refused to agree to the increase proposed.
The serishtadar, knowing that there would be no
difficulty in settling with the inhabitants, if he were
removed for a few days, ordered him off to Adoni;
but, instead of obeying, he shut the gates, manned the
walls, and murdered, in the cutcherry, the three men
who had given in statements of the produce. These
unfortunate people, when they saw the pikemen
approaching to despatch them, clung for safety about
7A/AE CAE ZOAX/O ZD/S 7'AºACTS II 7
the serishtadar, which was the cause of his receiving
some accidental wounds. Thackeray, who was en-
camped near the village, hastened to the gate, and on
being refused admittance attempted to get over the wall.
The men above threatened, and called out to him to
desist, saying that they had taken revenge of their
enemies, but had no intention of opposing the Sirkar ;
and he at length, very properly, withdrew to his tent.
This is the account given me by a peon who attended him.
‘Now, had he had the guard, about which you are
so anxious, it would most likely have occasioned the
murder of himself and of all his cutcherry; had it been
in the inside, it would have been easily overpowered
by one hundred and fifty peons; and had it been at
Thackeray's tent, it would have followed him to scale
the wall, and brought on an affray, which would have
ended in the destruction of them all. Nothing is more
dangerous than a small guard in a turbulent country.
The sepoys themselves are apt to be insolent, and to
engage in disputes. Cutcherry people are, in general,
too ready to employ them in overawing the inhabi-
tants, and have very seldom sufficient sense to judge
how far it is safe to go ; and a collector will never
meet with any injury, unless he attempts to employ
force, which he will hardly think of when he has no
sepoys. I am therefore against making use of guards
of regulars. Thackeray has always had above a hun-
dred military peons in his division. I shall give him
three hundred more; and he can select an escort from
them, who will be sufficient for his protection, if he
1.18 S/A2 7THO/AS // UAVRO
does not try to scale forts. The conduct of the people
of Tornikul, after the atrocious murders in the
cutcherry, was certainly, with regard to him at least,
extremely moderate, and affords a strong proof that
he is personally in no danger. On the 22nd Novem-
ber, two days after the affair at Tornikul, three
potails and curmums were murdered by another patel
of Adoni, for giving true statements to the Sirkar
servants. By looking at the map, you will see that
Thackeray's division, lying at nearly equal distances
from Gooty and Bellary, is better covered by a military
force than any other part of the Ceded Districts.”
Munro's first settlement for revenue purposes was
a village one ; each village was assessed at a certain
valuation, and the cultivators were held responsible
for that sum. His next settlement was a step towards
a rāyatwārí one, but though it was made individually
with the cultivators, the village headman was held
responsible for defaulting or absconding rāyats; but
before the cultivation of 18OI–2 could commence, it
was necessary to make advances for the purchase of
seed, of implements, of husbandry, of bullocks, for
the repair of old or digging new wells, and even for
the subsistence of the rāyat till his grain was ready
for cutting. In 1802 Munro commenced his new
survey settlement, which lasted for five years. The
whole of the cultivable area of the District was
surveyed, a number given to each field, the name of
the holder was registered, and the assessment fixed.
‘It is astonishing how Munro was able, with such
7THE CEDA, D DISTRICTS II9
rapidity, to organize an establishment, and carry
through a work which was not only new, but detri-
mental to the interests of the village headmen, whose
false accounts and concealments of cultivation were
thus brought to light. . . . It is, on the whole, wonder-
fully correct, and though it never underwent the
revision which Munro intended to apply to it, it is
even to this day a safe guide in most village disputes".’
While so fully occupied with administrative work,
and constantly on the move, Munro was called on by
the Board of Revenue to give them a particular
account in a diary of the way in which he spent his
time. “I cannot see, he writes, ‘what purpose it
would answer here, except to hinder me from looking
after more important matters.’ The multiplication
of reports, returns, and references of all sorts is in the
present day the bane of Indian officialdom ; if such
work is done by the head of the office it takes him
away from ‘more important matters, and if, as is
generally the case, it is left to a subordinate, it is
calculated to cause needless friction by the work or
diary of an official in a responsible post being reviewed
by a clerk or even an under-secretary. Munro thus
sums up his objections to unnecessary diaries and
details: ‘To explain to my assistants would take more
time than to write it myself; and to write it myself
is to leave part of my business undone, in order to
write about the rest ; for the day is scarcely long
enough to get through what comes before me; and
* Cuddapah District Manual, by J. D. B. Gribble, pp. II7-122.
12 O S/AE 7"HOMAS MUAVRO
I am therefore obliged to relinquish a great deal of
detail, into which I often wish to enter. My time
has been spent so much in the same way during the
last three years, that it is very easy to give an abstract
of it. I have had no holidays since I left Seringapatam
in 1799. I have had but two idle days; one that
I rode over to see Sidout, and another that I went
forty miles to see Cuppage at Nandidrüg. I feel the
effect that a long perseverance in such a course must
always produce. I have had no bad health, but am
perpetually jaded, and get through business much
slower than I should do with more relaxation.’
But Munro had not merely to deal with the poligars
and the rāyats, the Board of Revenue and the Govern-
ment of Madras, he had also to cope with the
forces of nature, which periodically leave man and
beast without a return for their labours in the field,
or more relentlessly sweep them all away. In 1802–3
the land suffered from drought and famine, and in the
following years from excessive rains. In a report
to the Board, Munro calculated that I,000 tanks and
8oo channels had been breached in the Cuddapah
District, and he estimated the cost of repairs at seven
lakhs of rupees. Without waiting for the orders of
Government, Munro ordered his subordinates to spend
an almost unlimited amount, and the repairs were so
speedily effected that, the following years being good
seasons, he was able to report that ‘the settlement was
nearly as high as it need be, and it is not likely that for
some years it can receive any material augmentation.
CHAPTER VIII
WELLESLEY’s CAMPAIGN IN THE DECCAN AND
CORRESPONDENCE WITH MUNRO
THE treaty of Bassein, concluded in 1802 with the
Peshwá of Poona, took the other Maráthá chiefs by
surprise, and Sindhia and the Bhonsla of Berár joined
forces and menaced the Nizām's dominions. Two
British armies were sent against them, one under
General Lake and the other under Wellesley ; the
latter, after taking Ahmadnagar, routed Sindhia's forces
in the battle of Assaye in September, 1803. During
this campaign Munro supplied General Wellesley with
basket-boats and boatmen, bullocks for transport, and
rice for the troops, and was in constant communica-
tion with him. In one of his letters, dated Anantápur,
Aug. 28, 1803, Munro suggested plans for dealing with
the Maráthás, to which Wellesley replied, ‘I have
arranged the conquest of Ahmadnagar exactly as you
have suggested, and expressed his regret that he could
not have him as a Collector of it.
The letter from Wellesley that follows describes his
tactics at the battle of Assaye; it was written to Munro
as ‘a judge of a military operation, and ashe was desirous
of having him on his side, and was in answer to one
from Munro, from which the following is an extract:—
I 2 2. S/A’ TA/OMA.S. MUAVA’O
‘I have seen several accounts of your late glorious .
victory over the combined armies of Sindhia and the
Berár man, but none of them so full as to give me
anything like a correct idea of it; I can, however,
see dimly through the smoke of the Maráthá guns
(for yours, it is said, were silenced) that a gallanter
action has not been fought for many years in any
part of the world. When not only the disparity of
numbers, but also of real military force, is considered,
it is beyond all comparison a more brilliant and
arduous exploit than that of Aboukir. The detaching
of Stevenson was so dangerous a measure, that I am
almost tempted to think that you did it with a view
of sharing the glory with the smallest possible
numbers. The object of his movement was probably
to turn the enemy's flank, or to cut them off from
the Ajanta Pass; but these ends would have been
attained with as much certainty and more security by
keeping him with you. As a reserve, he would have
supported your attack, secured it against any disaster,
and when it succeeded, he would have been at hand to
have followed the enemy vigorously".
“A native army once routed, if followed by a good
* “The men of those days were stronger, bolder, more outspoken,
not so mealy-mouthed as we are apt to be, not frightened at losing
an appointment : Or Bruce could not have bearded Duncan as he did
on April 13, 1804, or Munro–he who to his credit had come out
to India a man before the mast—would never have had the courage
to write to Arthur Wellesley that he had sacrificed more of his men
at Assaye than was at all necessary, and have his letter taken in
good part.”—Doug|As's Bombay.
WAE/C/LAES/L E V AAV/O MUAV/CO I 23
body of cavalry, never offers any effectual opposition.
Had Stevenson been with you, it is likely that you
would have destroyed the greatest part of the enemy's
infantry; as to their cavalry, when cavalry are de-
termined to run, it is not easy to do them much harm,
unless you are strong enough to disperse your own in
pursuit of them. Whether the detaching of Steven-
son was right or wrong, the noble manner in which
the battle was conducted makes up everything. Its
consequences will not be confined to the Deccan : they
will facilitate our operations in Hindustán, by dis-
couraging the enemy and animating the Bengal army
to rival your achievements. I had written thus far
when I received your letter of the 1st of October, and
along with it another account of your battle from
Haidarābād. It has certainly, as you say, been a “most
furious battle"; your loss is reported to be about two
thousand killed and wounded. I hope you will not
have occasion to purchase any more victories at so
high a price.’
‘CAMP AT CHERIKAIN,
Nov. 1, 1803.”
‘My DEAR MUNRO,
“As you are a judge of a military operation, and as
I am desirous of having your opinion on my side,
I am about to give you an account of the battle of
Assaye, in answer to your letter of the 19th October:
in which I think I shall solve all the doubts which
must naturally occur to any man who looks at that
I 24. S/A2 ZTA/OA/AS MOWAVA’O
transaction without a sufficient knowledge of the
facts. Before you will receive this, you will most
probably have seen my public letter to the Governor-
General regarding the action, a copy of which was
sent to General Campbell. That letter will give you
a general outline of the facts. Your principal objection
to the action is, that I detached Colonel Stevenson.
‘The fact is, I did not detach Colonel Stevenson.
His was a separate corps, equally strong, if not
stronger than mine. We were desirous to engage the
enemy at the same time, and settled a plan accordingly
for an attack on the morning of the 24th. We separ-
ated on the 22nd : he to march by the western, I by
the eastern road, round the hills between Budnapore
and Jalna ; and I have to observe, that this separation
was necessary—first, because both corps could not
pass through the same defiles in one day ; secondly,
because it was to be apprehended, that if we left open
one of the roads through those hills, the enemy might
have passed to the southward while we were going to
the northward, and then the action would have been
delayed, or probably avoided altogether. Col. Steven-
son and I were never more than twelve miles distant
from each other ; and when I moved forward to the
action of the 23rd, we were not much more than eight
miles. As usual, we depended for our intelligence of
the enemy's position on the common harkaras of the
country. Their horse were so numerous, that without
an army their position could not be reconnoitred by
an European officer; and even the harkaras in our
WAE/C/LA.S. Z.A. V. A /V/D MOVAWA’O 125
own service, who were accustomed to examine and
report on positions, cannot be employed here, as,
being natives of the Karnātik, they are as well known
as a European.
‘The harkaras reported the enemy to be at Boker-
dun. Their right was at Bokerdun, which was the prin-
cipal place in their position, and gave the name to the
district in which they were encamped; but their left,
in which was their infantry, which I was to attack, was
at Assaye, which was six or eight miles from Bokerdun.
‘I directed my march so as to be within twelve or
fourteen miles of their army at Bokerdun, as I thought,
on the 23rd. But when I arrived at the ground of
encampment, I found that I was not more than five
or six miles from it. I was then informed that the
cavalry had marched, and the infantry were about to
follow, but was still on the ground ; at all events it
was necessary to ascertain these points; and I could
not venture to reconnoitre without my whole force.
But I believed the report to be true, and I determined
to attack the infantry if it remained still upon the
ground. I apprised Colonel Stevenson of this deter-
mination, and desired him to move forward. Upon
marching on, I found not only their infantry, but their
cavalry, encamped in a most formidable position,
which, by-the-by, it would have been impossible
for me to attack, if, when the infantry changed their
front, they had taken care to occupy the only passage
there was across the Kaitna.
‘When I found their whole army, and contemplated
I 26 S/A 7TA/OA/AS MOWAVA’O
their position, of course I considered whether I should
attack immediately, or should delay till the following
morning. I determined upon the immediate attack,
because I saw clearly that if I attempted to return to
my camp at Naulniah, I should have been followed
thither by the whole of the enemy's cavalry, and
I might have suffered some loss: instead of attacking,
I might have been attacked there in the morning ;
and, at all events, I should have found it very difficult
to secure my baggage, as I did, in any place so near
the enemy's camp, in which they should know it was :
I therefore determined upon the attack immediately.
‘It was certainly a most desperate one; but our
guns were not silenced. Our bullocks, and the people
who were employed to drive them, were shot, and they
could not all be drawn on ; but some were ; and all
continued to fire as long as the fire could be of any use.
‘Desperate as the action was, our loss would not
have exceeded one-half of its present amount, if it had
not been for a mistake in the officer who led the
picquets which were on the right of the first line.
“When the enemy changed their position, they threw
their left to Assaye, in which village they had some
infantry; and it was surrounded by cannon. As soon
as I saw that, I directed the officer commanding the
picquets to keep out of shot from that village; instead
of that, he led directly upon it ; the 79th, which were
on the right of the first line, followed the picquets,
and the great loss we sustained was in these two
bodies. Another evil which resulted from this mis-
WE/L/LAES/L E V AAV/O // OAVA’O I 27
take was the necessity of introducing the cavalry into
the cannonade and the action long before it was time,
by which that corps lost many men, and its unity
and efficiency, which I intended to bring forward in
a close pursuit at the heel of the day. But it was
necessary to bring forward the cavalry to save the
remains of the 79th and the picquets, which would
otherwise have been entirely destroyed. Another evil
resulting from it was, that we had then no reserve left,
and a parcel of straggling horse cut up our wounded ;
and straggling infantry, who had pretended to be
dead, turned their guns upon our backs.
“After all, notwithstanding the attack upon Assaye
by our right and the cavalry, no impression was made
upon the corps collected there till I made a movement
upon it with some troops taken from our left, after
the enemy's right had been defeated; and it would
have been as well to have left it alone entirely till
that movement was made. However, I do not wish
to cast any reflection upon the officer who led the
picquets. I lament the consequences of his mistake ;
but I must acknowledge that it was not possible for
a man to lead a body into a hotter fire than he did
the picquets on that day against Assaye.
‘After the action there was no pursuit, because our
cavalry was not then in a state to pursue. It was near
dark when the action was over ; and we passed the
night on the field of battle.
‘Colonel Stevenson marched with part of his corps
as soon as he heard that I was about to move forward,
I 28 SIR 7A/OA/AS MUAVRO
and he also moved upon Bokerdun. He did not
receive my letter till evening. He got entangled
in a nullah in the night, and arrived at Bokerdun,
about eight miles from me to the westward, at eight
in the morning of the 24th.
‘The enemy passed the night of the 23rd at about
twelve miles from the field of battle, twelve from the
Ajanta Ghāt, and eight from Bokerdun. As soon
as they heard that Colonel Stevenson was advancing
to the latter place, they set off, and never stopped till
they had got down the Ghāt, where they arrived in
the course of the night of the 24th. After his
difficulties of the night of the 23rd, Colonel Stevenson
was in no state to follow them, and did not do so till
the 26th. The reason for which he was detained
till that day was, that I might have the benefit of the
assistance of his surgeons to dress my wounded
soldiers, many of whom, after all, were not dressed for
nearly a week, for want of the necessary number of
medical men. I had also a long and difficult
negotiation with the Nizām's Sirdars, to induce them
to admit my wounded into any of the Nizām's forts;
and I could not allow them to depart until I had settled
that point. Besides, I knew that the enemy had
passed the Ghát, and that to pursue them a day sooner
or a day later could make no difference. Since the
battle, Stevenson has taken Barhampur and Asírgarh.
I have defended the Nizām's territories. They first
threatened them through the Caperbay Ghát, and
I moved to the southward, to the neighbourhood of
WAE ZZAZS/CAE V AAVZ) A/UAVA’O I 29
Aurangābād. I then saw clearly that they intended
to attempt the siege of Asírgarh, and I moved up to
the northward, and descended the Ajanta, Ghāt,
and stopped Sindhia. Stevenson took Asírgarh on
the 21st. I heard the intelligence on the 24th, and
that the Rájá of Berár had come to the south with
an army. I ascended the Ghát on the 25th, and have
marched a hundred and twenty miles since in eight
days, by which I have saved all our convoys and the
Nizām's territories. I have been near the Rájá of Berár
two days, in the course of which he has marched five
times; and I suspect that he is now off to his own
country, finding that he can do nothing in this. If
that is the case, I shall soon begin an offensive
operation there.
“But these exertions, I fear, cannot last ; and yet, if
they are relaxed, such is the total absence of all govern-
ment and means of defence in this country, that it
must fall. It makes me sick to have anything to do
with them ; and it is impossible to describe their state.
Pray exert yourself for Bistmapa Pandit, and believe
me ever yours most sincerely, ARTHUR WELLESLEY.”
In reply to the foregoing, Munro wrote:–‘Dear
General, I have received your letter of the Ist instant,
and have read with great pleasure and interest your
clear and satisfactory account of the battle of Assaye.
You say you wish to have my opinion on your side ;
if it can be of any use to you, you have it on your
side, not only in that battle, but in the conduct of the
campaign. The merit of this last is exclusively your
I
I 3o S/A THOMAS MUAVRO
own; the success of every battle must always be
shared, in some degree, by the most skilful General
with his troops. Imust own I have always been averse
to the practice of carrying on war with too many
scattered armies, and also of fighting battles by the
combined attacks of separate divisions. When several
armies invade a country on separate sides, unless
each of them is separately a match for the enemy's
whole army, there is always a danger of their being
defeated one after another; because, having a shorter
distance to march, he may draw his force together,
and march upon a particular army before it can be
supported. When a great army is encamped in
separate divisions, it must, of course, be attacked in
separate columns. But Indian armies are usually
crowded together on a spot, and will, I imagine, be more
easily routed by a single attack, than by two or three
separate attacks by the same force. I see perfectly
the necessity of your advancing by one route, and
Colonel Stevenson by another, in order to get clear of
the defiles in one day; I know also that you could
not have reconnoitred the enemy's position without
carrying on your whole army ; but I have still some
doubts whether the immediate attack was, under all
circumstances, the best measure you could have
adopted.
‘Your objections to delay are, that the enemy might
have gone off and frustrated your design of bringing
them to battle, or that you might have lost the advan-
tage of attack, by their attacking you in the morning.
WAZZZA.SY. EY A/V/O // UAVRO I31
The considerations which would have made me hesitate
are, that you could hardly expect to defeat the enemy
with less than half the loss you actually suffered;
that after breaking their infantry, your cavalry, even
when entire, was not sufficiently strong to pursue any
distance, without which you could not have done so
much execution among them as to counterbalance your
own loss; and lastly, that there was a possibility of
your being repulsed; in which case, the great superi-
ority of the enemy's cavalry, with some degree of spirit
which they would have derived from success, might
have rendered a retreat impracticable. Suppose that
you had not advanced to the attack, but remained
under arms, after reconnoitring at long-shot distance,
I am convinced that the enemy would have decamped
in the night, and as you could have instantly followed
them, they would have been obliged to leave all or
most of their guns behind. If they ventured to keep
their position, which seems to me incredible, the
result would still have been equally favourable; you
might have attacked them in the course of the night ;
their artillery would have been of little use in the
dark; it would have fallen into your hands, and their
loss of men would very likely have been greater than
yours. If they determined to attack you in the
morning, as far as I can judge from the different reports
that I have heard of the ground, I think it would
have been the most desirable event that could have
happened, for you would have had it in your power
to attack them, either in the operation of passing the
I 2
I32 S/A 7TP/O MAS A/CWAVA’O
river, or after the whole had passed, but before they
were completely formed. They must, however, have
known that Stevenson was approaching, and that he
might possibly join you in the morning, and this cir-
cumstance alone would, I have no doubt, have induced
them to retreat in the night. Your mode of attack,
though it might not have been the safest, was un-
doubtedly the most decided and heroic ; it will have
the effect of striking greater terror into the hostile
armies than could have been done by any victory
gained with the assistance of Colonel Stevenson's
division, and of raising the national military character,
already high in India, still higher.
‘I hear that negotiations are going on at a great rate;
Sindhia may possibly be sincere, but it is more likely
that one view, at least, in opening them, is to en-
courage his army, and to deter his tributaries from
insurrection. After fighting so hard, you are entitled
to dictate your own terms of peace.
‘You seem to be out of humour with the country in
which you are, from its not being defensible. The
difficulty of defence must, I imagine, proceed either
from want of posts, or from the scarcity of all kind
of supplies; the latter is most likely the case, and it
can only be remedied by your changing the scene of
action. The Nizām ought to be able to defend his
own country, and if you could contrive to make him
exert himself a little, you would be at liberty to
carry the war into the Berár Rājā’s country, which,
from the long enjoyment of peace, Ought to be able
WE/L/LESIAEY A/VD MUAVRO I 33
to furnish provisions. He would probably make
a separate peace, and you might then draw from
his country supplies for carrying on the war with
Sindhia.’
By the treaty which followed this second Maráthá
war, concluded near the end of 1803, Sindhia ceded all
claim to the territory north of the Jumna, and the
Bhonsla forfeited Orissa to the English, and Berár to
the Nizām.
In a letter to Wellesley, dated Madanapalli, February
20, 1804, Munro writes: “I read yesterday, for the
first time, with great satisfaction, your treaty with
Sindhia ; your successes made me sanguine, but it
exceeds greatly my expectations, and contains
everything that could be wished ; more territory can
hardly be desirable until we have consolidated our
power in what we possess. This cannot be effected
without an augmentation of every description of
troops. . . . The Indian armies in the different augmen-
tations that have been made since the fall of Seringa-
patam, have received no proportionable increase of
Europeans, and the European force is in consequence
much below the proportion which it ought always to
hold to the native battalions. Though we have but
little reason to apprehend any danger from our
native troops, yet it is not impossible that circum-
stances may induce them to listen to the instigations
of enterprising leaders, and support them in mutiny
and revolt. After seeing what has happened among
our own soldiers and sailors in England, we cannot
I34 SAA’ 7TA/OA/AS MOVAWA’O
suppose that it is impossible to shake the fidelity of
our sepoys. The best security against such an event
would be an increase to our European force, which
ought to be, I think, to our native in proportion of
one to four, or at least one to five.’
Munro's suspicions as to the fidelity of the sepoys
were soon verified. In the fort of Vellore, about eighty
miles from Madras, the members of Tipti’s family
had been placed after his death ; and here in July,
1806, the sepoys rose upon their European officers,
killed thirteen of them, and over eighty of the detach-
ment of the 69th regiment; but fortunately Colonel
Gillespie arrived with a troop of dragoons from Arcot in
time to rescue the survivors and prevent the mutiny
from spreading. This outbreak was supposed to be
a plot to restore the Musalmán rule in India, but
it is more probable that it was due to new regula-
tions prohibiting the sepoys from wearing caste
marks, which, with changes prescribed in their dress
and the mode of wearing their beards, were believed
by them to be made with the object of making them
Christians.
In Munro's correspondence there are the following
letters relating to this affair. The first of these is
from Lord William Bentinck, Governor of Madras,
who was recalled in consequence of the mutiny ;
the second is Munro's reply ; and the third, the best
account we have of it, is a letter to his father dated
September, 1806.
WAEZZAZ.S./CAE V AAV/D MUAVA’O I35
‘[Private and confidential.]
‘FoET ST. GEORGE, Aug. 2, 1806.
‘MY DEAR SIR,
‘We have every reason to believe, indeed un-
doubtedly to know, that the emissaries and adherents
of the sons of Tipú Sultán have been most active
below the Gháts, and it is said that the same intrigues
have been carrying on above the Ghâts. Great
reliance is said to have been placed upon the Gurram-
konda Poligars by the princes. I recommend you to
use the utmost vigilance and precaution ; and you are
hereby authorized, upon any symptom or appearance
of insurrection, to take such measures as you may
deem necessary. Let me advise you not to place too
much dependence on any of the native troops. It is
impossible at this moment to say how far both native
infantry and cavalry may stand by us in case of need.
It has been ingeniously worked up into a question of
religion. The minds of the soldiery have been in-
flamed to the highest state of discontent and disaffec-
tion, and upon this feeling has been built the re-
establishment of the Musalmán government, under one
of the sons of Tipá Sultán. It is hardly credible
that such progress could have been made in so short
a time, and without the knowledge of any of us. But,
believe me, the conspiracy has extended beyond all
belief, and has reached the most remote parts of our
army; and the intrigue has appeared to have been
everywhere most successfully carried on. The capture
of Vellore, and other decided measures in contempla-
136 S/A2 TA/OA/A.S. A/UAVA’O
tion, accompanied by extreme vigilance on all parts,
will, I trust, still prevent a great explosion.
“I remain, my dear Sir, your obedient servant,
W. BENTINCK.’
Munro replied, from Anantápur, as follows:—
‘I have had the honour to receive your Lordship's
letter of the 2nd [August]. On the first alarm of the
conspiracy at Vellore, I despatched orders to watch
the proceedings of the principal people of Gurram-
konda, for I immediately suspected that the sons of
Tipú Sultán were concerned, and I concluded that if
they had extended their intrigues beyond Vellore, the
most likely places for them to begin with were Chital-
drug, Nandidrúg, Gurramkonda, and Seringapatam.
“Gurramkonda is perhaps the quarter in which they
would find most adherents, not from anything that
has recently happened, but from its cheapness having
rendered it the residence of a great number of the dis-
banded troops of their father, and from the ancestors
of Cummer ul Din Khán having been hereditary
Killadars of Gurramkonda under the Mughal Empire,
before their connexion with Haidar Alí, and acquired
a certain degree of influence in the district which is
hardly yet done away. The family of Cummer ul
Din is the only one of any consequence attached by
the ties of relationship to that of Tipti Sultán ; and
I do not think that it has sufficient weight to be at all
dangerous without the limits of Gurramkonda.
‘The Poligars, I am convinced, never will run any
risk for the sake of Tipti's family. Some of them
WELCA.S./C.E V AAV/D MOVAWAEO I37
would be well pleased to join in disturbances of any
kind, not with the view of supporting a new govern-
ment, but of rendering themselves more independent.
The most restless among them, the Ghuttim man, is
fortunately in confinement ; and I imagine that the
others have had little or no correspondence with the
princes. Had it been carried to any length, I should
most likely have heard of it from some of the Poligars
themselves.
* The restoration of the Sultán never could alone
have been the motive for such a conspiracy. Such
an event could have been desirable to none of the
Hindus who form the bulk of the native troops, and
to only a part of the Musalmáns. During the in-
vasion of the Karnātik by Haidar, the native troops,
though ten or twelve months in arrear, though ex-
posed to privations of every kind, though tempted by
offers of reward, and though they saw that many who
had gone over to him were raised to distinguished
situations, never mutinied or showed any signs even
of discontent. Occasional mutinies have occurred
since that period, but they were always partial, and
had no other object than the removal of some particular
grievance. The extensive range of the late conspiracy
can only be accounted for by the General Orders
having been converted into an attack upon religious
ceremonies; and though the regulations had un-
doubtedly no such object, it must be confessed that
the prohibition of the marks of caste was well calcu-
lated to enable artful leaders to inflame the minds of
I38 S/A 7TP/OMAS MUAVA’O
the ignorant—for there is nothing so absurd but that
they will believe it when made a question of religion.
However strange it may appear to Europeans, I know
that the general opinion of the most intelligent
natives in this part of the country is, that it was
intended to make the sepoys Christians. The rapid
progress of the conspiracy is not to be wondered at,
for the circulation of the General Orders prepared the
way by spreading discontent; and the rest was easily
done by the means of the tapal, and of sending
confidential emissaries on leave of absence. The
capture of Vellore, and, still more, the rescinding of
the offensive parts of the regulations, will, I have no
doubt, prevent any further commotion—for the causes
being removed, the discontent which has been excited
will soon subside and be forgotten. The native troops,
sensible of their own guilt, will naturally for some
time be full of suspicion and alarm ; but it is hardly
credible that they will again commit any acts of
violence.’
Writing to his father, Munro says:—‘A very
serious mutiny took place in June among the sepoys
at Wellore, in which sixteen officers and about
a hundred Europeans of the 69th regiment lost
their lives. The fort was, during some hours, in the
possession of the insurgents, but was very gallantly
recovered by Colonel Gillespie, who happened very
fortunately to be in the command of the cavalry at
Arcot, and hastened to Vellore on the first alarm with
the 23rd light dragoons and 7th regiment native
IWF LIAES ZEP AAVZ) MOVAWA’O I39
cavalry. Some of his own letters, of which I enclose
a copy, will give you a full account of the affair.
‘A committee was appointed to investigate the
causes of the insurrection. It has lately been dis-
solved ; but I have not heard what report it has made.
I have no doubt, however, that the discontent of the
sepoys was originally occasioned by some ill-judged
regulations about their dress; and that it broke out
into open violence in consequence of being encouraged
by the intrigues of Tipti, son of Moizul Din, then a
prisoner in the place. The offensive article of the Regu-
lations, which occasioned so much mischief, and which
has since been rescinded, ran in the following words:
‘“ Loth.—It is ordered by the Regulations, that
a native soldier shall not mark his face to denote his
caste, or wear earrings when dressed in his uniform.
And it is further directed, that at all parades, and upon
all duties, every soldier of the battalion shall be clean
shaved on the chin. It is directed also, that uniformity,
as far as is practicable, be preserved in regard to the
quantity and shape of the hair upon the upper lip.”
‘This trifling regulation, and a turban, with some-
thing in its shape or decorations to which the sepoys
are extremely averse, were thought to be so essential
to the stability of our power in this country, that it
was resolved to introduce them, at the hazard of
throwing our native army into rebellion. One bat-
talion had already at Vellore rejected the turban, and
been marched to Madras, with handkerchiefs tied
about their heads; but the projectors were not dis-
I4O SIA’ TA/OA/AS MUAVA’O
couraged. They pushed on their grand design until
they were suddenly stopped short by the dreadful
massacre of the Ioth of July. They were then filled
with alarm : they imagined that there was nothing
but disaffection and conspiracy in all quarters, and
that there would be a general explosion throughout all
our military stations. There was fortunately, however,
no ground for such apprehensions; for almost every
person but themselves was convinced that the sepoys,
both from long habit and from interest, were attached
to the service—that nothing but an attempt to force
the disagreeable regulation upon them would tempt
them to commit any outrage, and that whenever this
design was abandoned, every danger of commotion
would be at an end, and the sepoys would be as
tractable and faithful as ever. Their discontent had
nothing in it of treason or disaffection ; it was of the
same kind as that which would have been excited in
any nation by a violent attack upon its prejudices.’
CHAPTER IX
MUNRO’S FIRST VISIT TO EUROPE
IN October, 1807, Lieut.-Col. Munro resigned his
appointment as Principal Collector of the Ceded Dis-
tricts, preparatory to going home on furlough. In
reporting this to the Court of Directors, the Madras
Government referred to his ‘exertions in the advance-
ment of the public service under circumstances
of extreme difficulty, and with a degree of success
unequalled in the records of this or probably of any
other Government. . . . The general amelioration and
improvement of the manners and habits of the Ceded
Districts had kept pace with the increase of revenue;
from disunited hordes of lawless plunderers and free-
booters they are now stated to be as far advanced in
civilization, submission to the laws, and obedience to the
magistrates, as any of the subjects under this Govern-
ment. The revenues are collected with facility, every
one seems satisfied with his situation, and the regret
of the people is universal on the departure of the
Principal Collector.”
Col. Munro had for a couple of years previous to
his departure been looking forward to a return home;
I42. S/A’ ZTAE/OMAS Al/UAVA’O
his remittances to his father and mother had placed
them in comfort ; he had bought a country house,
Leven Lodge, for them ; and he wished to see his
parents again. But his long absence of twenty-seven
years led him to anticipate few pleasures on his
return to the old country, and what he was chiefly
anxious about was what to do when he got home.
I have no rank in the army, he writes, ‘ and could
not be employed upon an expedition to the continent,
or any other quarter, and as I am a stranger to the
generous natives of your isle I should be excluded
from every other line as well as military, and should
have nothing to do but to lie down in a field like the
farmer's boy and look at the lark sailing through the
clouds.” In another letter, addressed to his sister, he
thus refers pathetically to the changes that time and
distance had wrought :-
‘You are now, I believe, for the first time,
a letter or two in my debt ; nothing from you has
reached me of a later date than the 16th of May, 1804.
This correspondence between India and Scotland,
between persons who have not seen each other for
near thirty years, and who may never meet again, is
something like letters from the dead to the living.
We are both so changed from what we were, that when
I think of home, and take up one of your letters,
I almost fancy myself listening to a being of another
world. No moral or religious book, not even the
Gospel itself, ever calls my attention so powerfully to
the shortness of life, as does in some solitary hour the
MUNRO's FIRST VI.SZZ To EUROPE 143
recollection of my friends, and of the long course of
days and years that have passed away since I saw
them. These ideas occur oftener in proportion as my
stay in this country is prolonged; and as the period
of my departure from it seems to approach, I look
with pleasure to home; but I shall leave India with
regret, for I am not satisfied with the subordinate line
in which I have moved, and with my having been
kept from holding any distinguished military command
by the want of rank. I shall never, I fear, be able to
sit down quietly to enjoy private life ; and I shall
most likely return to this country in quest of what
I may never obtain. - -
‘My resolution of going home has been strengthened
by having this year discovered that my sight is not
so good as it was. I find that when writing I must
go to the door of my tent for the benefit of light when
I wish to mend my pen. I endeavour to believe that
this is entirely owing to my having lived so many
years in tents under a burning sun. The sun has
probably not shone in vain; but I suspect that Time
has also had a share in whitening my hair and dimming
my sight. His hand appears now before my eyes
only thin and shadowy, like that of one of Ossian's
ghosts, but it will grow thick and dark in a few years,
and I must therefore return to my native land, and
see my friends before it is too late.’
Colonel Munro arrived in England in April, 1808,
but one chief object of his return to his native land
was not to be gratified; his mother had died some
I44 S/A 7TP/OMA.S. MUAVRO
months before he left India, and his father, who had
all along followed with interest and pride the career
of his distinguished son, had now become too infirm
in mind and body to take an intelligent pleasure in
his society. His own deafness, too, interfered much
with his enjoying intercourse with his old acquaint-
ances: ‘some of them, he says, “stare at me, and think,
no doubt, that I am come home because I am deranged.’
His chief delight was in visiting the old spots, taking
long walks, and ‘rambling up and down the river.’
“I stood above an hour, he writes, ‘looking at the
water rushing over, while the rain and withered
leaves were descending thick about me, and while
I recalled the days that are past. The wind whistling
through the trees and the water tumbling over the
dam had still the same sound as before ; but the
darkness of the day, and the little Smart box perched
upon the opposite bank, destroyed much of the illusion,
and made me feel that former times were gone.
I don’t know how it is, but when I look back on early
years I always associate Sunshine with them.’
After spending some months in Edinburgh, where
he again took up his favourite study of chemistry,
Colonel Munro removed to London, and took an active
interest in the politics and stirring events of the time.
When the expedition to the Scheldt was fitted out, he
accompanied Sir John Hope as a volunteer, and was
present at the siege of Flushing.
While in London Munro was much consulted by
the Court of Directors of the East India Company
MUNRO’S FIRST VISIT TO EUROPE I45
and the Government. The Charter by which the
Company were invested with the government of
India, renewed in 1793, was to expire in 1813, and
the question of its continuance, especially as regards
its trading privileges, was now being hotly discussed.
Lord Grenville went so far as to oppose the continuance
of the Company's territorial powers: he declared in
a remarkable speech that “twenty years was too long
a period for farming out the commerce of half the
globe and the government of sixty millions of people.’
He held that the government of India ought to be
vested in the Crown, that appointments to the civil
service should be made by open competition and not
by patronage, and that military cadetships should
be conferred on sons of officers who had died in
the discharge of their duties. Nearly fifty years,
however, had to elapse before these reforms were
carried out.
The mercantile interests, however, were too strong
for a renewal of the trade monopoly, the abolition
of which was merely a matter of time owing to the
rapid extension of manufactures and to the fact that
the war on the continent had closed many ports to
British trade. The merchants of Liverpool and
Glasgow successfully opposed the proposal of Govern-
ment to limit the extension of the trade to vessels
sailing from and to London, and the result was that,
while the monopoly with China was continued to the
Company for another twenty years, the trade with
India was thrown open to the nation, with the restric-
FC
I46 SIA 7TP/OMAS MUAVRO
tion that no private vessel employed in it should be of
larger dimensions than four hundred tons.
This whole question and other important matters
connected with the internal administration of India—
the system of land tenures, the judicial system, and the
police—formed the subject of a searching enquiry
before a Committee of the House of Commons. On
all these subjects Colonel Munro gave evidence before
the Committee, and, in the words of his biographer,
‘ among all those whose opinions were sought on that
memorable occasion Colonel Munro made the deepest
impression upon the House, by the comprehensiveness
of his views, by the promptitude and intelligibility
of his answers, and by the judgment and sound
discretion which characterized every sentiment to
which he gave utterance.’
In a long Minute on opening the trade of India to
the outports of Great Britain, dated February 1, 1813,
Munro gives an account of the various products of
India, the exports and imports, observing that the im-
ports from India might be increased and the price
diminished by shorter voyages, and that every measure
by which the demand can be enlarged and the supply
facilitated of those commodities which do not interfere
with our own manufactures promotes the national
prosperity. He suggested that the culture of cotton in
India might be improved by introducing American
and other foreign cottons, and more attention paid to
its clearing; raw silk, which had been imported from
Bengal to the amount of about £600,ooo per annum,
MUAVA’O’S AWIRS7 V/S/7 7"O EUROPE I47
might be increased to any extent, if protected by
duties against the French and Italian ; so also sugar,
by a reduction of the existing duties. On the whole, he
was opposed to throwing the trade open to the ports
of Great Britain, and considered that the experiment
should be first tried with London only. The following
are the closing paragraphs of this very interesting
Minute:–
‘The Company are willing that the trade should be
thrown open to the Port of London; but this, it is
asserted, will not afford a wide enough range for the skill
and enterprise of British merchants. But are these
qualities monopolized by the outports 3 Have not the
London merchants their full share, and have they not
capital sufficient to carry on all the Indian trade
which the most visionary theorist can look for 2 If
freedom of trade is claimed on the ground of right,
and not of expediency, every port in the kingdom
ought to enjoy it ; for they have all the same right
abstractedly. But, unfortunately, it is necessary to
withhold the benefit from them, because the ware-
house system and customhouses are not yet sufficiently
spread along our coasts; or, in other words, because
a great increase of smuggling would unavoidably ensue.
‘The East India Company are attacked from all
quarters, as if they alone, in this kingdom, possessed
exclusive privileges. But monopoly pervades all our
institutions. All corporations are inimical to the
natural rights of British subjects. The corn laws
favour the landed interest, at the expense of the public.
E 2
148 SAA TAZOA/AS MUAVA’O
The laws against the export of wool, and many others,
are of the same nature; and likewise those by which
West India commodities are protected and enhanced
in price. It would be better for the community that
the West India planter should be permitted to export
his produce direct to all countries, and that the duties
on East India sugar, &c., should be lowered.
‘When the petitioners against the Company com-
plain that half the globe is shut against their skill and
enterprise, and that they are debarred from passing
the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, and rushing
into the seas beyond them with their vessels deeply
laden with British merchandise, they seem not to
know that they may do so now—that all private
traders may sail to the western coast of America; to
the eastern coast of Africa, and to the Red Sea; and
that India, China, and the intervening tract only are
shut. Some advantage would undoubtedly accrue to
the outports by the opening of the trade. But the
question is, would this advantage compensate to the
nation for the injury which the numerous establish-
ments in the metropolis connected with India would
sustain, and the risk of loss on the Company’s sales,
and of their trade by smuggling?
‘The loss of the China trade would subvert the
system by which India is governed ; another equally
good might possibly be found; but no wise statesman
would overthrow that which experience has shown to
be well adapted to its object, in the vain hope of
instantly discovering another. -
A/UAVA’O’S F/A-S7 V/S/7 7"O AE UROPAE I 49
‘It yet remains doubtful whether or not the trade
can be greatly increased ; and as it will not be denied
that London has both capital and mercantile know-
ledge in abundance, to make the trial on the greatest
scale, the danger to be apprehended from all sudden
innovations ought to induce us to proceed with caution,
and rest satisfied for the present with opening the
trade to the Port of London. Let the experiment be
made; and if it should hereafter appear that London
is unable to embrace the increasing trade, the privilege
may then, on better grounds, and with less danger,
be extended to other places.
‘If Government cannot clearly establish that no
material increase of smuggling, and no loss on the
Company's sales, and consequent derangement of their
affairs, would ensue from allowing the outports to
import direct from India, they should consider that
they are risking great certain benefits for a small
contingent advantage.’
In connexion with this subject a letter written by
Munro when Governor of Madras to Mr. Finlay, a
Glasgow friend, dated August 15, 1825, may be here
quoted; not only as giving his opinions as a free-trader
far in advance of his time, but as bearing on what is
‘done against India’ in the interest of Lancashire.
‘I do not know that I have ever yet acknowledged
the receipt of your letter about Dr. Anderson. I have
never seen him, but I understand that he is a very
good public servant; which, being our townsman, I
consider as a matter of course. I hope that you are
15O S'AA' TAZOA/AS // UAVA’O
a friend to free trade for public servants, as well as
for other articles; and that you do not think that
men ought to have a monopoly of offices because
they come from a particular town; or that we should
call them China, when we know that they come
from the Delft-house. I find, however, that there is
no shaking off early prejudice, and becoming quite
impartial, as a friend to free trade ought to be ;
I find that, notwithstanding my long exposure
to other climates, I am still Glasgow ware ; for, if
I had not been so, I should not, when I saw your
opinion quoted by Mr. Huskisson in support of his
measures, have felt as much gratification as if I had
had some share in the matter myself.
‘I remember, when I was in Somerville and
Gordon's house, about the time of the appearance
of The Wealth of Nations, that the Glasgow mer-
chants were as proud of the work as if they had
written it themselves; and that some of them said
it was no wonder that Adam Smith had written such
a book, as he had had the advantage of their
society, in which the same doctrines were circulated
with the punch every day. It is surprising to think
that we should only just now be beginning to act
upon them ; the delay is certainly not very credit-
able to our policy. Our best apology is, perhaps,
the American and the French revolutionary wars,
during the long course of which the nation was so
harassed that there was no time for changing the
old system. The nation was just beginning to recover
MUAVRO'S FIRST V/SIT TO EUROPE I51
from the American war, when the Revolution in
France began; and had that event not taken place
I have no doubt that Mr. Pitt would have done
what we are now doing. I am not sure that you
are not indebted to your old friend the East India
Company for the measure not having been longer
delayed. The attack upon their monopoly by the
delegates in 1812–13 excited discussions, not only
upon their privileges, but upon all privileges and
restrictions, and the true principles of trade, which
probably prepared the minds of men for acceding
to the new system sooner than they would other-
wise have done. Even now there seems to be too
much solicitude about protecting duties; they may,
for a limited time, be expedient, where capital can-
not be easily withdrawn; but in all other cases why
not abolish them at once 2 There is another point
on which anxiety is shown, where I think there
ought to be none—I mean that of other nations
granting similar remissions on our trade. Why
should we trouble ourselves about this 2 We ought
surely not to be restrained from doing ourselves
good, by taking their goods as cheap as we can get
them, merely because they won't follow our example %
If they will not make our goods cheaper, and take
more of them, they will at least take what they did
before; so that we suffer no loss on this, while we
gain on the other side. I think it is better that we
should have no engagements with foreign nations about
reciprocal duties, and that it will be more convenient
I 52 S/A’ 7TP/O MA.S. A/UAVA’O
to leave them to their own discretion in fixing the
rate, whether high or low.
* India is the country that has been worst used in
the new arrangement. All her products ought un-
doubtedly to be imported freely into England upon
paying the same duties, and no more, which English
products pay in India. When I see what is done in
Parliament against India, I think that I am reading
about Edward III and the Flemings.
‘I hope we shall talk over all this some day, in
a ramble in the country, where the cows are still
uncivilized enough to cock up their tails at strangers'.'
* During Munro’s visit home he was describing a military move-
ment to Mr. Finlay in a field near Glasgow, in which some cattle
were grazing ; the animals, startled by his actions, rushed at them,
and it was with difficulty they escaped over a wall.
CHAPTER X.
PRESIDENT OF THE JUDICIAL COMMISSION
THE celebrated Fifth Report of the Committee of
the House of Commons, published in 1813, drew
public attention to the administration of justice and
police in India. In both Bengal and Madras there
were complaints of great delay in the disposal of
civil suits and of the non-repression of crime. These
defects were partly due to the fact that the judge of
a District was also a magistrate, and, though a sta-
tionary officer, was invested with the superintendence
of the police; and partly to the fact that the salaries of
the native judges were too small to command either
efficiency or integrity, and their number too limited
to dispose of the litigation that naturally ensued on
a settled government. Munro regarded the regulations
passed by Lord Cornwallis in 1793 as too great a
departure from native institutions, and advocated the
revival of the “panchāyat, the transfer of the super-
vision of the police from the judge to the collector,
and the appointment of village officials to deal with
petty suits. These, with other proposals of his, were
approved by the Court of Directors, who appointed
I 54 SIR THOMAS MUAVRO
a Special Commission to inquire into and reform the
judicial system in the two Presidencies.
Of this Commission Colonel Munro was appointed
President; and after a residence of six years at home
he sailed for Madras again in June, 1814. He was
now accompanied by a wife, having married in March
Miss Jane Campbell, daughter of Mr. Richard Campbell,
of Craigie House, Ayrshire, whose portrait, as Lady
Munro, now adorns the drawing-room of Government
House, Madras.
Munro landed at Madras on the 16th of September
after a quick voyage of eighteen weeks; and in his
first letter home he amusingly describes how his
time was wasted in what he had never been accus-
tomed to up-country—the system of calling and
returning visits that still prevails in Madras. ‘The
first operation, he says, ‘is for the stranger to visit
all married people, whether he knows them or not :
bachelors usually call first on him—then his visits
are returned ; then his wife visits the ladies, and
altogether there is such calling and gossiping, and
driving all over the face of the country in an old
hack-chaise, in the heat of the day, that I can hardly
believe myself in the same place where I used to come
and go quietly without a single formal visit. But all
this is owing to a man's being married.’
The then Governor of Madras, Mr. Hugh Elliot',
who had assumed charge on the same day as Munro
* Sir Thomas Munro was his immediate successor as Governor of
Madras.
PRESIDENT OF 5. UD/C/AL COMMISSION 155
landed, seems to have been influenced by those around
him to regard the changes proposed in the judicial
despatch of the 29th of April, 1814, as unnecessary, for,
to the civilian jealousy of a military collector or com-
missioner was added the fear that sweeping changes
were intended by the Commission of which Munro
was the head. Writing to Mr. Sulivan of the
great delay the Commission was likely to encounter
in the beginning, Munro says: ‘Mr. Elliot received an
impression very soon after his arrival, that everything
was in the best possible state, that great improve-
ments had been made since I left India, and that
were I now to visit the districts, I would abandon
all my former opinions, and acknowledge that the
collector could not be entrusted with the magisterial
and police duties without injury to the country.’
Six weeks later, when Munro had been nearly six
months in the country, he wrote to Mr. Cumming,
head of the Revenue and Judicial Department
of the Board of Control, complaining that he was
not now, as when he was in the Ceded Districts,
acting without interference, and authorized to pursue
whatever measures he thought best for the settle-
ment of the country, but obliged before he could
take a single step to wait for the concurrence of
men who had always been averse to the proposed
changes; and that the Government with its secretaries,
the Sadr Adālat with its register, and every member
of the Board of Revenue except one, were hostile to
everything in the shape of the rāyatwārī system ; and
I 56 .S/R 7"HOMAS, A/UAVRO
he advised that in their instructions the Board should
not use such expressions as ‘It is our wish, or ‘We
propose;’ that unless the words ‘We direct,” “We order,’
are employed, the measures to which they relate will
be regarded as optional. In a subsequent letter
(March 14, 1815) he writes:– &
“No orders have yet been issued for carrying into
effect the instructions contained in the judicial
despatch of the 29th of April, 1814; and the Com-
mission consequently still remains at Madras.
‘Mr. Elliot tells me that the resolutions of Govern-
ment on the subject are printing for circulation, and
that they correspond nearly with my view of it,
except in not transferring the office of magistrate to
the collector; but this is the most essential part of
the whole, for without it the collector will be merely
the head darogah of police under the zillah judge,
and the new system will be completely inefficient.
No time should therefore be lost in sending out, by
the first conveyance, a short letter, stating the heads
of alterations in the present system which are im-
perative, and not optional, with the Government here,
and ordering them, not recommending, to be carried
9.
into immediate execution. . . .
‘You will observe that in the two years 1812 and
I 813 there was not a single appeal decided. I have
looked at some of the appeal cases, and am sorry to
say that much of the litigation is occasioned by the
judges being in general very ignorant of the customs
of the natives, and of the internal management of
PRESIDENT OF 5. UD/CIAL COMMISSION 157
villages. This arises from very few of them having
been rāyatwār collectors. I shall mention two cases
which I read the other day.
‘The first originated in the Zillah Court of Trichi-
nopoli in 1808. It was a suit instituted by some
Bráhmans to recover from the rāyats of a village 18Oo
rupees for their share of the crop, as Swāmi Bhogum, or
proprietor's right. The rāyats asserted that the con-
tribution was not as proprietor's share, but voluntary
to a pagoda. The curnum's accounts, which would
probably have settled the matter, were refused by the
judge in evidence, and the plaintiff cast. The Pro-
vincial Court reversed the sentence, and gave them
a decree, not only for the money which they claimed,
but for the land, which they did not claim. The
Sadr Court ordered the whole proceedings of both
courts to be annulled, leaving the parties to pay their
respective costs, and begin de movo if they please.
‘The second is a suit brought by a relation in the
fifth or sixth degree of the Poligar of Woriorepoliam,
to receive from the Poligar an allowance, in land or
money, on account of his hereditary share of the pollam.
He carries his cause in the Zillah and Provincial
Court, and the sentence of the Sadr is not yet
given ; but I see on the back of the paper, in 's
handwriting, “I think the decree of the Provincial
Court is right.” Now I am positive that they are all
completely wrong.
‘This cause, which has been going on for six years,
would have been settled by a collector in half an
158 S/A 7TP/OMAS MUAVA’O
hour. Indeed the plaintiff would not have ventured
to bring his case before a collector; for among the
military zamindārs, such as Woriorepoliam, Kalastri,
Venkatagiri, &c., the nearest relatives, and far less
the more distant, have no claim to the inheritance.
The poligar usually gives to his brothers, &c., an
allowance for their support, according to his own
pleasure, not to any right. The plaintiff, I have no
doubt, has been instigated by some vakil to make
the demand ; for, whatever happens, his fees are
secure. The irregularity and negligence of some of
the courts have been so glaring that the Sadr has
been obliged to stimulate them by a circular letter.
Stratton wished to have established a more effectual
check, by making them send reports showing the
date of the institution of each suit, and of every
document filed; but, though he could not carry this,
and will often be obliged to satisfy himself with
a protest, his exertions will make all the courts more
active.
‘The Commission, too, though it has not yet begun
to act, does yet some good by its presence; for it is
generally believed among the natives that it is
authorized to inquire into all abuses, both in the
judicial and revenue line ; and this opinion has some
influence in checking them. I have had ráyats with
* One of the judges of the Sadr Adálat, the then Chief Court of
Appeal, selected by Colonel Munro to co-operate with him in the
Commission. It was not without much demur that his wishes
were acceded to. - g
PRESIDENT OF 5. UD/CIAL COMMISSION 159
me from almost every part of the country with com-
plaints; but I have no direct authority to inquire
into revenue abuses. I can only take them up
where they are connected with the judicial system.’
At last, on the 3oth of April, 1816, Munro was able
to report to the Board of Control that ‘the Commis-
sioners' proposed Regulations may be considered as
passed, as the Governor means to put their passing
to the vote; but he adds, “they will be opposed in
Council upon the necessity of waiting for all the heads
of information required by the resolution of the 1st
March, 1815, together with a report from the Com-
mission of the potails and taliaries, fit or unfit, willing
or unwilling, to execute the duties expected of them,
and for the referring the regulations to Bengal for
Sanction previous to their being promulgated here.
The information which was sought seemed to be
required merely for the purpose of wasting time; no
man who knew anything of potails or taliaries ever
thought of asking them whether or not they liked
their duty.’
The new Regulations, as eventually passed, are
a monument not only of Munro's force of character
in accomplishing his object against the most powerful
opposition, but of his high administrative ability and
statesmanlike views. -
The most important of the changes effected by the
new Regulations were the transfer of the superintend-
ence of the police and the functions of magistrate of
the district from the judge to the collector; the
16o S/R 7TA/OMAS MUAVRO
employment of hereditary village officials as police,
and of the headmen of villages to hear petty suits;
the extension of the power of native judges, the simpki-
fication of the rules of practice in the courts, and the
legalizing a system of village and district panchāyats,
or courts of arbitration—to which Munro attached
much importance as being adapted to native habits
and usages.
“Some of these measures have stood the test of
the experience of half a century, and have been ex-
tended in principle if not in form throughout India '.'
On two points, however, the reforms of 1816 have
not answered the expectations of their authors. The
pancháyat system, being adapted to a primitive
state of society, has not maintained its place by the
side of the regular courts of justice, which speedily
won the confidence of the natives; and the union of
police and revenue functions in the native stipen-
diary officials, such as tahsildars, proved a mistake,
resulting not only in a failure in the detection and
repression of crime, but in a prolific source of op-
pression.
The ‘Police’ is now a separate force under European
superintendents, and native or country-born inspectors;
it is a half-military body, and performs many of the
duties for which sepoys were formerly employed, and
at present in only eight of the twenty-two Districts
of the Madras Presidency is there a detachment of
European or native troops.
* Sir A. J. Arbuthnot's Memoir, p. cxli.
CHAPTER XI
THE PINDARI AND MARATHK WARs, 1817–1818
THE work of the Judicial Commission had con-
cluded before the end of the three years for which
it was appointed. Colonel Munro had long coveted
a command in the army, and the opportunity seemed
now to have come. The great Maráthá chiefs
had for some years lived as princes rather than as
predatory leaders; but in their place, and secretly
supported by Sindhia and Holkar, large bands of
freebooters, known as Pindaris, with their head-
quarters in Málwā, made raids even into the provinces
of Madras and Bombay. Preparations were being
made by the Governor-General, the Marquess of
Hastings, to repress these hordes, and Colonel Munro
immediately offered his services. In January, 1817,
he wrote to Lord Hastings suggesting that prompt
action should be taken, observing that against native
armies in general defensive measures are always
ineffectual, but more especially against Pindaris; the
great Maráthá armies have to halt occasionally for
their baggage and supplies, but the Pindaris enter
the country merely for plunder and not conquest;
Tu
I62 S/A 7TP/O MAS MUAVA’O
‘they can only be put down by seizing the districts in
which they assemble, and either keeping them or
placing them under a native government which can
keep them under complete subjection.’ He concluded
by requesting that in the event of war he might
be entrusted with the command of the subsidiary
forces of Haidarābād and Nágpur and of such force
as might be destined to act between the Godávari
and the Narbadá. “I am senior,’ he wrote, ‘to
any of the officers now employed in that quarter;
I have seen as much service as any officer in the
Madras Army, having, with the exception of Lord
Wellington's short campaign of 1803, been in every
Service with the army since June, 1780, when Haidar
Alí invaded the Karnātik.” Other arrangements had
apparently been already made for the military com-
mands, but Munro was offered the Commissionership
of the Southern Maráthá country, the Peshwá having
ceded by the treaty of Poona in June, 1817, certain
districts for the pay of the subsidiary force.
After taking up this appointment at Dhārwär,
Munro wrote to the Governor-General stating that he
could not but ‘regret deeply to feel for the first time
the army in advance shut against him, and that his
Lordship's plans did not admit of his being employed
with the forces in the Deccan, but he was sensible
that those plans ought not to give way to the views
of individuals.
The remainder of this letter is a most important
document, giving his views as to the evils which a
PINDARZ AND MARATHA WARS, 1817–18 163
subsidiary force entails upon the country in which it
is established. ‘It has, he writes, ‘a natural tend-
ency to render the government of every country in
which it exists, weak and oppressive; to extinguish
all honourable spirit among the higher classes of
Society, and to degrade and impoverish the whole
people. The usual remedy of a bad government in
India is a quiet revolution in the palace, or a violent
One by rebellion, or foreign conquest. But the
presence of a British force cuts off every chance of
remedy, by supporting the prince on the throne
against every foreign and domestic enemy. It renders
him indolent, by teaching him to trust to strangers
for his security, and cruel and avaricious, by showing
him that he has nothing to fear from the hatred of
his subjects.”
Shortly after his assuming charge at Dhārwär, Munro
was directed to reduce the Chief of Sandúr 4, which
the Peshwā had required in accordance with the
terms of the treaty with him. On Munro's arrival
at Sandiár, in October, 1817, the chieftain Sheo Ráo,
who had repeatedly declared that sooner than submit
to the Peshwā, he would bury himself in the ruins
of his fort, came out and met Munro's detachment
and, delivering up the keys, implored his protection.
* A little State within the Bellary District, containing the sani-
tarium of Râmandrüg. A recent Agent with the Sandéïr Rājā, the
late Mr. John Macartney, brother of Sir Halliday Macartney, will
be long remembered for his excellent administration of the state
and his exertions in the famine of 1876–78.
L 2.
I64 SIR 7"HOMAS MUAVRO
Munro, in reporting this incident to Government, stated
that the Sandir chief ‘went through all the ceremony
of surrendering his fort and abdicating the govern-
ment of his little valley with a great deal of firmness
and propriety, but next day, when he came to my
tent with his brother and a number of his old servants
and dependants to solicit some provision for them, he
was so agitated and distressed that he was obliged to
let his brother speak for him.’ Munro made very
liberal terms with him, and on his recommendation
his little State was restored to Sheo Ráo after the
conclusion of the war and the deposition of the
Peshwá.
While Munro was engaged at Sandiár the Peshwá's
forces were pushing south ; but meantime a Briga-
dier's commission, with command of the division
formed to reduce the Southern Maráthá country, was
On its way to him. Though he had with him only
five companies of sepoys, he determined to push
forward and enter the enemy’s country; and having
already acquired the goodwill and confidence of the
people of the newly-acquired districts, he resolved (to
use his own words) ‘to find the enemy employment
in the defence of his own possessions, and appointed
military amildars to most of the districts in the
enemy's possession, with Orders to raise peons and to
seize as much of their respective districts as prac-
ticable. While this was being done, General Munro
took the important strongholds of Gadak, Damal, and
Hubli, garrisoning each with the peons whom he had
PINDARI AND MARATHA WARS, 1817–18 165
enlisted; he also issued proclamations offering pro-
tection to the cultivators, and announcing that the
British Government would treat as enemies all who
paid any tribute to the Peshwā or his agents. The
people gladly obeyed these acceptable terms, not only
refusing the demands of their own masters, but
acting everywhere in aid of Munro's irregulars".
In a letter, addressed to Mr. Secretary Adam, dated
February 17, 1818, Sir John Malcolm thus writes of
Munro and his modws operamdi :-
“I send you a copy of a public letter from Tom
Mwm'ro Sáhib, written for the information of Sir
Thomas Hislop. If this letter makes the same im-
pression upon you that it did upon me, we shall all
recede, as this extraordinary man comes forward. We
use common Vulgar means, and go on Zealously and
actively, and courageously enough ; but how different
is his part in the drama Insulated in an enemy's
country, with no military means whatever, (five dis-
posable companies of sepoys were nothing,) he forms
the plan of subduing the country, expelling the army
by which it is occupied, and collecting the revenues
that are due to the enemy, through the means of the
inhabitants themselves, aided and supported by
a few irregular infantry, whom he invites from the
* “As General Munro advanced from the Karnatik he sent his
irregulars to the right and left of his column of march, who
Occupied the villages, fought with spirit on several occasions,
stormed fortified places, and took possession in the name of
“Thomas Munro Bahádur.”” Grant Duff’s History of the Marāthās,
ii. 484.
I66 S/A 7TP/O MAS MUAVRO
$º.
neighbouring provinces for that purpose. His plan,
which is at once simple and great, is successful in
a degree that a mind like his could alone have
anticipated. The country comes into his hands by
the most legitimate of all modes, the zealous and
spirited efforts of the natives to place themselves
under his rule, and to enjoy the benefits of a Govern-
ment which, when administered by a man like him,
is one of the best in the world. Munro, they say,
has been aided in this great work by his local repu-
tation,--but that adds to his title to praise. His
popularity in the quarter where he is placed is the
result of long experience of his talents and virtues,
and rests exactly upon that basis of which an able
and good man may be proud.
‘I confess, after reading the enclosed, that I have
a right to exult in the eagerness with which I pressed
upon you the necessity of bringing forward this
master-workman. You had only heard of him at
a distance; I had seen him near. Lord Hastings,
however, showed on this, as on every other occasion,
that he had only one desire—how best to provide for
every possible exigency of the public service.’
Though the Madras Government was not able to
spare the troops intended for Munro, he continued his
aggressive campaign, taking Badāmi" and the much
more important fortress of Belgäum, the only city still
occupied by the Peshwá's troops, the capture of which
* On the Munro coat of arms there is a representation of an
Indian hill-fort, with the word Badamy underneath.
PINDARY AWD MARATHA WARS, 1817–18 167
supplied him with ordnance and stores, both greatly
needed. The capitulation of Belgäum, still the most
important military station in that part of India, took
place in April, 1818; and Munro, having thus completed
the conquest of the Peshwá's dominions south of the
Kistna, was able to make a junction with General
Pritzler's force. He then advanced on Sholápur,
where was concentrated a force of over II,000 picked
troops—Cavalry, infantry, and artillery—in the service
of the Peshwá. After reconnoitring the fort, Munro
decided on attempting an escalade of the walls of the
pettah; the attack was made on the morning of
May Io. The attacking party gained the parapet at
a rush and were soon masters of the pettah; but
meantime the enemy's artillery had attacked the
reserve. Munro, taking advantage of the confusion
caused by the bursting of a tumbril, led a charge,
which the Peshwä's followers were unable to resist ;
they abandoned their guns and took shelter within their
lines. The Maráthá chiefs now endeavoured to secure
a retreat, and in the afternoon the whole army was
in rapid march westward. Munro ordered the cavalry
in pursuit, who completely routed the fugitive army,
and within three days the garrison of the fort capitu-
lated. The news of the capture of Sholápur and of
the victory that preceded it showed the Peshwá that
further resistance was useless, and contributed largely
to bring about the negotiations which led to his
surrender to Sir John Malcolm.
With the reduction of Sholápur the subjugation of
I68 S/R 7"HOMAS MUNRO
the Southern Maráthá country was complete, and
General Munro, whose health was now much broken,
sent in his resignation, and started in August, vid
Bangalore, for Madras, in order to proceed home.
This chapter in Munro's history should not close
without some extracts from the many interesting
letters he wrote at this time. The following is
from a letter to his wife, dated Damal, November 19,
1817:- -
“There is nothing I enjoy so much as the sight and
the sound of water gushing and murmuring among
rocks and stones. I fancy I could look On the stream
for ever—it never tires me. I never see a brawling
rivulet in any part of the world, without thinking of
the one I first saw in my earliest years, and wishing
myself beside it again. There seems to be a kind of
sympathy among them all. They have all the same
sound, and in India and Scotland they resemble each
other more than any other part of the landscape. . . .
‘I have contrived to read the whole four, volumes
you sent me of the Tales of my Landlord. The Black
Dwarf is an absurd thing with little interest, and
some very disgusting characters. I like Old Mor-
tality much ; but certainly not so well as Gwy
Mannering. Cuddie has got a little of Sambo about
him. His testifying mother is just such an auld wife
as I have often seen in the West. Colonel Graham is
drawn with great spirit ; and I feel the more interested
in him from knowing that he is the celebrated Lord
Dundee. I admire Edith, but I should like her better
PINDARI AND MARATHA WARS, 1817–18 169
if she were not so wonderfully wise—she talks too
much like an Edinburgh Reviewer.’
Writing to Sir John Malcolm after his defeat of
Holkar's army at Mehidpur, he says: ‘Your battle
while it lasted seems to have been as severe as that of
Assaye ; but I do not understand why you did not
instantly follow up the victory, instead of halting four
days to sing “Te Deum,” and to write to your grand-
mothers and aunts how good and gracious Providence
had been.’
From his camp near Belgäum he wrote to his sister
(March 28, 1818): ‘I cannot now write by candle-light;
and it was after dark that all my private letters used
to be written. But the great obstacle to my corre-
sponding with you and my brother is the endless
public-business writing, which comes upon me whether
I will or not. Fortune, during the greatest part of
my Indian life, has made a drudge of me; every labour
which demands patience and temper, and to which no
fame is attached, seems to have fallen to my share,
both in civil and military affairs. I have plodded for
years among details of which I am sick, merely
because I knew it was necessary, and I now feel the
effects of it in impaired sight, and a kind of lassitude
at times as if I had been long without sleep.’
The following passages are from a letter to Sir John
Malcolm, dated June Io, 1818:—
‘You were present at the India Board office when
Lord B told me that I should have ten thousand
pagodas per annum, and all my expenses paid ; and
I7o S/A’ 7TA/OA/AS // UAVA’O
you may remember that you proposed that as the
allowance differed only a few hundred pagodas from
that of a Resident, it should be made the same. I
never thought of taking a muchalka” from Lord B–,
because I certainly never suspected that my expenses
would, above two years ago, have been restricted to
five hundred pagodas, a sum which hardly pays my
servants and camp equipage; or that Mr. Elliot
would have taken me by the neck and pushed me out
of the appointment the very day on which the three
years recommended by the Directors expired, though
they authorized the term to be prolonged if deemed
advisable. . . .
‘With respect to myself, it is impossible that I can
undertake the settlement in detail of any part of this
country. I am as well with regard to general health
as ever I was in my life; but my eyes have suffered
so much, that I write with great difficulty at all
times, and there are some days when I cannot write
at all. Without sight nothing can be done in settling.
It is a business that requires a man to write while
he speaks, to have the pen constantly in his hand, to
take notes of what is said by every person, to com-
pare the information given by different men on the
same subject, and to make an abstract from the whole.
Since July last I have been obliged to change the
number of my spectacles three times; and if you are
a spectacle-man, you will understand what a rapid
* A written bond ; see Yule's Hobson-Jobson.
PIVDARY AND MARATHA WARS, 1817–18 171
decay of vision this implies. I cannot now do in two
days what a few years ago I did in one, and I can do
nothing with ease to myself. I cannot write without
a painful sensation in my eyes of straining. The
only chance of saving my sight is to quit business
entirely for some months, and turn my eyes upon
larger objects only, in order to give them relief. At the
rate I am now going, in a few months more I shall
not be able to tell a dockan from a breckan. Before
this happens I must go home and paddle in the burn.
This is a much nicer way of passing the evening of
life, than going about the country here in my military
boots and brigadier's enormous hat and feathers,
frightening every cow and buffalo, shaking horribly
its fearful nature, and making its tail stand on end.
I shall willingly, now that all the great operations of
war are over, resign this part of it to any one else.
I am not like the Archbishop of Granada, for I feel
that I am sadly fallen off in my homilies.’
The following is to Mr. Finlay, Lord Provost of
Glasgow, dated Bangalore, September I I, 1818:-
“A great deal of fine cotton is grown in the
provinces which have fallen into our hands. I was
too much engaged in war and politics to have time to
enter into inquiries regarding its fitness for the
European market. The inhabitants have been so
much impoverished by their late weak and rapacious
Government, that it will be a long time before they
can be good customers to Glasgow or Manchester.
In those districts which I traversed myself, I fear
172 S/A’ TAZOA/AS MOWAVA’O
that I left them no richer than I found them ; for
wherever I went, I appointed myself collector, and
levied as much revenue as could be got, both to pay
my own irregular troops and to rescue it from the
grasp of the enemy.
“I shall not trouble you with military operations,
as you will get the details in the newspapers. It is
fortunate for India that the Peshwá commenced
hostilities, and forced us to overthrow his power; for
the Maráthá Government, from its foundation, has
been one of devastation. It never relinquishes the
predatory habits of its founder, and even when its
empire was most extensive it was little better than
a horde of imperial thieves. It was continually
destroying all within its reach, and never repairing.
The effect of such a system has been the diminution
of the wealth and population of a great portion of
the peninsula of India. The breaking down of the
Maráthá Government, and the protection which the
country will now receive, will gradually increase its
resources, and I hope in time restore it to so much
prosperity as to render it worthy the attention of our
friends in Glasgow.
‘Bailie Jarvie is a credit to our town, and I could
almost swear that I have seen both him and his
father, the deacon, afore him, in the Saltmarket ; and
I trust that, if I am spared, and get back there again,
I shall see some of his worthy descendants walking in
his steps. Had the Bailie been here, we could have
shown him many greater thieves, but none so respect-
PINDARY AND MARATHA WARS, 1817–18 173
able as Rob Roy. The difference between the Maráthá
and the Highland Rob is, that the one does from choice
what the other did from necessity; for a Maráthá
would rather get ten pounds by plunder than a hun-
dred by an honest calling, whether in the Saltmarket
or the Gallowgate.
‘I am thinking, as the boys in Scotland say, I am
thinking, Provost, that I am wasting my time very
idly in this country, and that it would be, or at least
would look wiser, to be living quietly and doucely at
home. Were I now there, instead of running about
the country with camps here, I might at this moment
be both pleasantly and profitably employed in gather-
ing black boyds with you among the braes near the
Largs. There is no enjoyment in this country equal
to it, and I heartily wish that I were once more fairly
among the bushes with you, even at the risk of being
“stickit by yon drove of wild knowte” that looked so
sharply after us". Had they found us asleep in the
dyke, they would have made us repent breaking the
Sabbath, although I thought there was no great harm
in doing such a thing in your company.’
* See note on page I52.
CHAPTER XII
SECOND WISIT TO ENGLAND
IN January, 1819, General and Mrs. Munro sailed
from Madras for England. At St. Helena the vessel
stopped for some days, and Munro visited the spots
associated with the presence of Napoleon. On May 30,
when the vessel was in the latitude of the Azores,
a son was born to him—the present Sir Thomas
Munro. Towards the end of June, Munro and his
family reached England, and proceeded at once to the
homes of their friends in Scotland.
But his fame had preceded him ; it was no longer
confined to the Karnátik, the Bárámahal, or the Ma-
ráthá country. In a vote of thanks to the army, after
the termination of the Maráthá War, Mr. Canning
in the House of Commons thus alluded to the services
of General Munro. **.
“At the southern extremity of this long line of
operations, and in a part of the campaign carried on
in a district far from public gaze, and without the
opportunities of early especial notice, was employed
a man whose name I should indeed have been sorry
to have passed over in silence. I allude to Colonel
SAECO/WZO V/S/T 7"O AEAVG/LA/V/O I 75
Thomas Munro, a gentleman of whose rare qualifica-
tions the late House of Commons had opportunities
of judging at their bar, on the renewal of the East
India Company's Charter, and than whom Europe
never produced a more accomplished statesman, nor
India, so fertile in heroes, a more skilful soldier.
This gentleman, whose occupations for some years
must have been rather of a civil and administrative
than a military nature, was called early in the war to
exercise abilities which, though dormant, had not
rusted from disuse. He went into the field with not
more than five or six hundred men, of whom a very
Small proportion were Europeans, and marched
into the Maráthá territories, to take possession of
the country which had been ceded to us by the treaty
of Poona. The population which he subjugated by
arms, he managed with such address, equity, and
wisdom, that he established an empire over their
hearts and feelings. Nine forts were surrendered
to him, or taken by assault, on his way; and at the
end of a silent and scarcely observed progress, he
emerged from a territory heretofore hostile to the
British interest, with an accession instead of a diminu-
tion of force, leaving everything secure and tranquil
behind him. This result speaks more than could be
told by any minute and extended commentary.’
Munro had already been thought of for an Indian
Governorship ; in August, 1818, the Governorship of
Bombay being about to fall vacant, Mr. Canning
Submitted to the Court of Directors the names of
176 .S/A’ ZTAZOA/AS // UAVA’O
Sir John Malcolm, Mr. Mountstuart Elphinstone, and
Col. Munro, observing that though it had been the ‘prac-
tice of the Court to look for their Governors rather .
among persons of eminence in this country than
among the servants of the Company, the extraordinary
zeal and ability which have been displayed by so
many of the Company's servants, civil and military,
in the course of the late brilliant and complicated war,
and the peculiar situation which the results of that
war had placed the affairs of the Presidency at Bombay,
appear to constitute a case for a deviation from the
general practice.’ ‘The gentlemen,” he adds, ‘whose
names I have mentioned have been selected by me
as conspicuous examples of desert in the various
departments of your service, and on that scene of
action which has been most immediately under our
observation.’
All three of those named were destined to fill
Indian Governorships. The Hon. Mountstuart Elphin-
stone was now selected for Bombay ; he had been Resi-
dent at the Court of the Peshwá at Poona since 1811,
and during the last Maráthá war had been brought into
official communication with Munro, the former carrying
on the campaign in the North Maráthá country and the
latter in the South. Sir John Malcolm, Munro's old
friend at Seringapatam, and like the other two also
engaged in the last Maráthá war, succeeded Elphin-
stone as Governor of Bombay. Munro was in worthy
company when named with these two, who formed two
of “perhaps the most illustrious trio of politicals whom
S.A.CO/WZO V/S/7" TO EAVG/LA/V/O 177
the Indian services had produced.’ His time soon
came, for not many months after his arrival from India
he was nominated to the Governorship of Madras in
succession to Mr. Hugh Elliot, with whom he had
had no too pleasant official intercourse when he was
President of the Judicial Commission a few years
previously.
Munro, who had before he left India been gazetted
Companion of the Bath (Oct. 1818), was promoted to
the rank of Major-General in August, 1819, and on
his acceptance of the Governorship of Madras he was
created a K.C.B. Before his departure for India Sir
Thomas Munro was entertained at a banquet by the
Court of Directors, at which his old friend the Duke
of Wellington was present, as well as Lord Eldon and
the rest of His Majesty's Ministers. In an eloquent
speech Mr. Canning bore testimony to the high esteem
in which the Governor-elect was held. In the course
of it he said:
‘We bewilder ourselves in this part of the world
with opinions respecting the sources from which power
is derived. Some suppose it to arise with the people
themselves, while others entertain a different view ;
all, however, are agreed that it should be exercised
for the people. If ever an appointment took place to
which this might be ascribed as the distinguishing
motive, it was that which we have now come together
to celebrate ; and I have no doubt that the meritorious
officer who has been appointed to the Government of
Madras will in the execution of his duty ever keep in
M
178 SA’ ZTA/OMAS MOAVA’O
view those measures which will best conduce to the
happiness of twelve millions of people.’
Writing to a friend a day or two before he sailed
for India, Sir Thomas said: ‘I do not know that I shall
derive so much enjoyment from the whole course of
my government as from what passed that evening.
It is worth while to be a Governor to be spoken of in
such a manner by such a man.’
Sir Thomas and Lady Munro embarked for India
in the middle of December, arrived at Bombay in May,
where they were entertained for a fortnight by the
Governor, Mr. Elphinstone, and thence proceeded by
sea for Madras, where they landed on the 8th of June,
I82O, and he was sworn in as Governor of Madras two
days later.
In his diary for May 28, Mr. Elphinstone thus alludes
to the visit of the Satrap of the Southern Presidency:
‘Sir T. and Lady Munro went off. I am more than
ever delighted with him ; besides all his old sound sense
and dignity, all his old good humour, simplicity and
philanthropy, Sir Thomas now discovered an acquaint-
ance with literature, a taste and relish for poetry,
and an ardent and romantic turn of mind, which
counteracted the effect of his age and sternness, and
gave the highest possible finish to his character. I felt
as much respect for him as for a father, and as much
freedom as with a brother. He is certainly a man of
great natural genius, matured by long toil in war and
peace.’—Colebrooke's Life of Mowmtstwart Elphinstone,
ll. I IO.
CHAPTER, XIII
GOVERNOR OF MADRAs, 1820–1827—ADMINISTRATIVE
REFORMS ;:
AT the time of Sir Thomas Munro's assumption of
the Governorship of Madras there were many questions
of special importance requiring settlement, and many
reforms needed, not very palatable to the officials who
represented the previous régime. How judiciously
Munro himself acted may be inferred from the counsel
he gave a few months after his arrival to Colonel
Newall with reference to his appointment as Resident
of Travancore. ‘You will, I hope, he writes, ‘keep
everything just as you find it, and let the public
business go on as if no change had taken place. You
will, like all new men coming to the head of an office,
be assailed by thousands of complaints against the
servants of your predecessor. You can hear them
calmly and leisurely, and if you are satisfied that
they have acted wrong you can remove them. But
in all these matters too much caution cannot be used,
and I hope you will write to me on the subject before
you attempt any innovation. We have already, I
think, made too many in this country.’
Writing in the following March to Mr. Canning he
M 2.
I8o S/R 7"HOMAS MUAVRO
says that, though he had not made any extension of
the Regulations of 1816, he had “never lost sight of
the principles on which they are founded, namely, the
relief of the people from novel and oppressive modes
of judicial process; the improvement of our internal
administration by employing Europeans and natives
in those duties for which they are respectively best
suited ; and the strengthening of the attachment of
the natives to our government by maintaining their
ancient institutions and usages.’
On hearing that Canning had resigned his office
of President of the Board of Control he wrote to him
stating that he ‘lamented it deeply both on public
and private grounds,’ and he then proceeds to give
his views, novel at the time, on ‘India for the
Indians ':—
‘I always dread changes at the head of the India
Board, for I fear some downright Englishman may at
last get there, who will insist on making Anglo-Saxons
of the Hindus. I believe there are men in England
who think that this desirable change has been already
effected in some degree ; and that it would long since
have been completed, had it not been opposed by the
Company's servants. I have no faith in the modern
doctrine of the rapid improvement of the Hindus, or
of any other people. The character of the Hindus is
probably much the same as when Wasco da Gama first
visited India, and it is not likely that it will be much
better a century hence.
‘The strength of our government will, no doubt, in
GOVERWOR OF MA DRAS, 1820–1827 I 81
that period, by preventing the wars so frequent in
former times, increase the wealth and population of
the country. We shall also, by the establishment
of Schools, extend among the Hindus the knowledge
of their own literature, and of the language and
literature of England. But all this will not improve
their character; we shall make them more pliant and
servile, more industrious, and perhaps more skilful in
the arts, and we shall have fewer banditti; but we
shall not raise their moral character. Our present
system of government, by excluding all natives from
power, and trust, and emolument, is much more effica-
cious in depressing, than all our laws and school-books
can do in elevating their character. We are working
against our own designs, and we can expect to make
no progress while we work with a feeble instrument to
improve, and a powerful one to deteriorate. The
improvement of the character of a people, and the
keeping them, at the same time, in the lowest state of
dependence on foreign rulers, to which they can be
reduced by conquest, are matters quite incompatible
with each other.
‘There can be no hope of any great zeal for
improvement, when the highest acquirements can lead
to nothing beyond some petty office, and can confer
neither wealth nor honour. While the prospects of
the natives are so bounded, every project for bettering
their characters must fail; and no such projects can
have the smallest chance of success, unless some of
those objects are placed within their reach for the
I82 S/A 7TA/OMAS MUAVRO
sake of which men are urged to exertion in other
countries. This work of improvement, in whatever
way it may be attempted, must be very slow, but it
will be in proportion to the degree of confidence which
we repose in them, and to the share which we give them
in the administration of public affairs. All that we
can give them, without endangering our own ascend-
ancy, should be given. All real military power must
be kept in our own hands; but they might, with
advantage hereafter, be made eligible to every civil
office under that of a member of the Government.
The change should be gradual, because they are not
yet fit to discharge properly the duties of a high civil
employment, according to our rules and ideas; but
the sphere of their employment should be extended in
‘proportion as we find that they become capable of
filling properly higher situations.
‘We shall never have much accurate knowledge of
the resources of the country, or of the causes by which
they are raised or depressed; we shall always assess
it very unequally, and often too high, until we learn
to treat the higher classes of natives as gentlemen,
and to make them assist us accordingly in doing
what is done by the House of Commons in England,
in estimating and apportioning the amount of
taxation.’ -
Among the matters that the Governor had to deal
with were more than one to which residents in Madras
in the last quarter of a century could find a parallel.
In 1822 some trouble was caused by the efforts made
GOVERNOR OF MA DRAS, 1820–1827 183
by a sub-collector in Bellary to convert the natives to
Christianity; and from Sir Thomas Munro's long and
able minute on the subject, the following extracts are
worth quoting:—
“Everything in the sub-collector's report is highly
commendable, excepting those passages in which he
speaks of the character of the natives, and of his
having distributed books among them. He evinces
strong prejudice against them, and deplores the ignor-
ance of the rāyats, and their uncouth speech, which he
observes must for ever prevent direct communication
between them and the European authorities. He
speaks as if these defects were peculiar to India, and as
if all the farmers and labourers of England were well
educated and spoke a pure dialect. . . .
‘Mr. —, in fact, did all that a missionary could
have done ; he employed his own and the district
cutcherries in the work ; and he himself both dis-
tributed and explained. If he had been a missionary,
what more could he have done 3 He could not have
done so much. He could not have assembled the
inhabitants, or employed the cutcherries in distributing
moral and religious tracts. No person could have
done this but a civil servant, and in Harpanahalli
and Bellary none could have done it but him; yet he
cannot in this discover official interference. . . .
‘He employs his official authority for missionary
purposes; and when he is told by his superior that
he is wrong, he justifies his acts by quotations from
Scripture, and by election, a doctrine which has
I84 S/A 7'AIOMAS MOWAVRO
occasioned so much controversy ; and he leaves it to
be inferred that Government must either adopt his
views or act contrary to divine authority. A person
who can, as a sub-collector and magistrate, bring
forward such matters for discussion, and seriously
desire that they may be placed on record and
examined by Government, is not in a frame of mind
to be restrained within the proper limits of his duty
by any official rules. . . .
“In every country, but especially in this, where
the rulers are so few, and of a different race from the
people, it is the most dangerous of all things to tamper
with religious feelings ; they may be apparently
dormant, and when we are in unsuspecting security
they may burst forth in the most tremendous manner,
as at Vellore; they may be set in motion by the
slightest casual incident, and do more mischief in
one year than all the labours of missionary collectors
would repair in a hundred. Should they produce
only a partial disturbance, which is quickly put down,
even in this case the evil would be lasting; distrust
would be raised between the people and the Govern-
ment, which would never entirely subside, and the
district in which it happened would never be so safe
as before. The agency of collectors and magistrates,
as religious instructors, can effect no possible good.
It may for a moment raise the hopes of a few sanguine
men ; but it will end in disturbance and failure, and,
instead of forwarding, will greatly retard, every chance
of ultimate success. . . .
GOVERNOR OF MADRAS, 1820–1827 185
‘The best way for a collector to instruct the natives
is to set them an example in his own conduct ; to
try to settle their disputes with each other, and to pre-
vent their going to law; to bear patiently all their
complaints against himself and his servants, and bad
seasons, and to afford them all the relief in his power ;
and, if he can do nothing more, to give them at least
good words.
‘Whatever change it may be desirable to produce
upon the characters of the natives may be effected by
much safer and surer means than official interference
with their religion. Regular missionaries are sent
out by the Honourable the Court of Directors, and
by different European Governments. These men visit
every part of the country, and pursue their labours
without the smallest hindrance; and, as they have no
power, they are well received everywhere. In order
to dispose the natives to receive our instruction and
to adopt our opinions, we must first gain their
attachment and confidence, and this can only be
accomplished by a pure administration of justice, by
moderate assessment, respect for their customs, and
general good government.’
In the end of May, just before Munro’s arrival in
Madras, a riot, in which several lives were lost, took
place in Masulipatam, between different castes, arising
out of a dispute about ceremonies. In his Minute as
Governor, dated July 3, 1820, he remarks as follows on
the action of the collector whose ‘well-known zeal
had led him to adopt measures for the prevention of
I86 - S/A 7TP/OMA.S. A/UAVA’O
such disturbances, which if sanctioned would rather
augment than mitigate the evil:—
‘The collector's proposition is that all differences
respecting procession and other ceremonies should be
decided by the courts of law, and that, in the mean-
time, he should support the party whose claim seems
consistent with natural right. He observes that the
beating of tom-toms, riding in a palankeen, and erect-
ing a pandál, are privileges which injure nobody, and
naturally belong to every person who can afford to
pay for them. This is very true; but it is also true
that things equally harmless in themselves have in
all ages and in all nations, and in our own as well
as in others, frequently excited the most obstinate and
Sanguinary contests. The alteration of a mere form
or symbol of no importance has as often produced
these effects as an attack on the fundamental prin-
ciples of the national faith. It would therefore be
extremely imprudent to use the authority of Govern-
ment in supporting the performance of ceremonies
which we know are likely to be opposed by a large
body of the natives. On all such occasions it would
be most advisable that the officers of Government
should take no part, but entirely confine themselves
to the preservation of the public peace, which will, in
almost every case, be more likely to be secured by
discouraging, rather than promoting, disputed claims
to the right of using palankeens, flags, and other
marks of distinction during the celebration of certain
ceremonies. -
GovāRNOR OF MADRAS, 1820–1827 187
‘The magistrate seems to think that, because a
decision of the Zillah Court put a stop to the opposition
given to the caste of Banians, in having the Vaduklam
rites performed in their houses in the language of the
Vedas, it would have the same efficacy in stopping
the opposition to marriage processions ; but the cases
are entirely different. The Banians have the sanction
of the shästras for the use of the Vaduklam rites in
their families; the ceremony is private, and the opposi-
tion is only by a few Bráhmans. But in the case of
the marriage procession, there is no sanction of the
shāstras; the ceremony is public and lasts for days
together, and the opposition is by the whole of the
right-hand against the whole of the left-hand castes,
and brings every Hindu into the conflict.
‘The result of the magistrate's experiment ought to
make us avoid the repetition of it. We find from his
own statement that the mischief was occasioned by
his wish to restore to the caste of goldsmiths the right
of riding in a palankeen, which he considered to
belong to every man who chose to pay for it. He
annulled a former Order against it, in consequence of
the complaint of the Zillah Court, that he was
hindered by it from performing his son's marriage in
a manner suitable to his rank; and as he did not
apprehend any disturbance, he left Masulipatam
before the ceremony took place. The assistant magis-
trate, however, two days before its commencement,
received information that opposition was intended.
He did whatever could be done to preserve the peace
I 88 .S/A 7TP/O MAS A/UAVA’O
of the town, but to no purpose. He issued a proclama-
tion, stationed the police in the streets to prevent riot,
reinforced them with the revenue peons, and desired
the officer commanding the troops to keep them in
readiness within their lines. But in spite of all these
precautions a serious affray, as might have been
expected, occurs, in which property is plundered and
lives are lost; and all this array of civil and military
power, and all this tumult, arises solely from its being
thought necessary that a writer of the court should
have a palankeen at the celebration of a marriage.
Had the writer not looked for the support of the
magistrate, he would undoubtedly not have ventured
to go in procession, and no disturbance would have
happened.
‘The magistrate states that this very writer had gone
about for many years in a palankeen without hind-
rance. But this is not the point in dispute: it is not
his using a palankeen on his ordinary business, but
his going in procession. It is this which constitutes
the triumph of one party and the defeat of the other,
and which, whilst such opinions are entertained by the
natives, will always produce affrays. The magistrate
supposes that the opposition was not justified by the
custom of the country, because it was notorious that
in many places of the same district the goldsmith
caste went in procession in palankeens. This is very
likely; but it does not affect the question, which
relates solely to what is the custom of the town of
Masulipatam, not to what that of other places is. . . .
GOVERNOR OF MA DRAS, 1820–1827 189
‘It would be desirable that the customs of the castes,
connected with their public ceremonies, should be the
same everywhere, and that differences respecting them
should be settled by decisions of the courts; but as
this is impossible while these prejudices remain, we
ought in the meantime to follow the course most
likely to prevent disorder and outrage. The conflicts
of the castes are usually most serious and most
frequent when one party or the other expects the
support of the officers of Government. They are
usually occasioned by supporting some innovation
respecting ceremonies, but rarely by punishing it. The
magistrate ought, therefore, to give no aid whatever
to any persons desirous of celebrating marriages or
other festivals, or public ceremonies in any way not
usual in the place, but rather to discountenance inno-
vation. He ought, in all disputes between the castes,
to take no part beyond what may be necessary in
order to preserve the peace ; and he ought to punish
the rioters on both sides, in cases of affray, for breach
of the peace, and on the whole to conduct himself in
such a manner as to make it evident to the people that
he favours the pretensions of neither side, but looks
only to the maintenance of the peace.
‘I recommend that instructions in conformity to
these suggestions be sent to the magistrates for their
guidance.’
It would be impossible to give in this volume
more than an idea of the variety of subjects and the
importance of the topics in the Minutes issued by
I 9o SZR THOMAS MUNRO
Munro. In the valuable collection of his Minutes
and other official writings selected and edited by
Sir A. J. Arbuthnot, there are over ninety papers
under the heads of Revenue, Judicial, Political,
Military, and Miscellaneous. Among them are Minutes
on the settlement of Salem and of Kánara, the principle
of the rāyatwārī system, on the revenue survey, on
the state of the country and the condition of the
people, on trial by Pancháyát, on the administration
of justice, on the interfering with the succession of
native princes, on the maladministration of Mysore,
on recruiting the army by drafts from Europe, on
relieving entire regiments, on reductions in the Madras
army, on procuring military stores from England or
manufacturing them in India, on the war in Burma,
on the course to be taken by Government in dealing
with a scarcity of grain, on import duties, on the
Eurasian population, on the proper mode of dealing
with charges against native officials, on pecuniary
transactions between a European District officer and
a Zamindár, on the danger of a free press in India,
On the employment of natives in the public service,
and on the education of the natives of India.
On few reforms did Munro more frequently insist
than the necessity of more largely utilizing native
agency, and he strongly pointed out the impolicy of
excluding the natives of India from all situations of
trust. A passage on this subject has been quoted from
his letter to Mr. Canning, and three years later in an
important Minute on the state of the country and the
GOVERWOR OF MADAEAS, 1820–1827 I 9 I
condition of the people he once more argues the cause
of the admission of the natives of the country to
positions of trust and emolument. “With what
grace, he asks, ‘can we talk of paternal government
if we exclude the natives from every important office,
and say, as we did till very lately, that in a country
containing fifteen millions of inhabitants no man but
a European shall be entrusted with as much authority
as to order the punishment of a single stroke of
a rattan 7 . . . Let Britain be subjugated by a foreign
power to-morrow, let the people be excluded from all
share in the government, from public honours, from
every office of high trust and emolument, and let
them in every situation be considered as unworthy of
trust, and all their knowledge and all their literature,
sacred and profane, would not save them from becoming
in another generation or two, a low-minded, deceitful,
and dishonest race.”
Writing to Munro, Oct. 27, 1822, the Governor of
Bombay, Mr. Elphinstone, says:—
‘I hear you have instituted something like a Native
Board of Revenue at Madras, and I should be much
obliged if you would inform me of the nature of the
plan. It seems to be one great advantage of the
arrangement that it opens a door to the employment
of natives in high and efficient situations. I should
be happy to know if you think the plan can be
extended to the judicial or any other line. Besides
the necessity for having good native advisers in
governing natives, it is necessary that we should pave
I 92 SZA' 7"Aſ OM/A.S. A/UAVRO
the way for the introduction of the natives to some
share in the government of their own country. It
may be half a century before we are obliged to do so;
but the system of government and of education which
we have already established must some time or other
work such a change on the people of this country
that it will be impossible to confine them to subor-
dinate employments; and if we have not previously
opened vents for their ambition and ability we may
expect an explosion which will overturn our govern-
ment. -
‘I should be much obliged also if you would tell me
whether you think some rules might not be passed
(though not promulgated) for pensioning or endowing
with lands native public servants of extraordinary
merit, as well as of pensioning all who accomplished
a certain period of service.
‘I have had none of your Minutes for a long time;
and, as I do not know your present private secretary,
I do not know how to apply for a proper selection ; but
I set a high value on those I have received, and should
be very thankful if the supply could be continued '.'
In 1822 Munro directed the Board of Revenue to
ascertain the number of schools and the state of
education among the natives in the provinces, and
after receipt of the reports from the collectors, he
summarized and remarked on the Board’s review.
The main causes of the low state of education he con-
sidered to be the little encouragement which it received
* Colebrooke's Life, ii. I42.
GOVERNOR OF MA DRAS, 1820–1827 I93
from there being but little demand for it, and the
poverty of the people; but these difficulties might be
surmounted by good education being rendered more
easy and general, and by the preference which would
be given to well-educated men in all public offices.
He therefore authorized a grant to the Madras School
Book Society for educating teachers, and directed the
establishment in each Collectorate of two principal
schools, one for Hindus and one for Muhammadans,
and one for each Tāluk; the monthly salaries of the
teachers were to be only Rs. 15 and Rs. 9, but as each
schoolmaster would get as much more from his
scholars ‘ his situation will probably be better than
that of a parish schoolmaster in Scotland.’ ‘Whatever
expense, he wrote, ‘Government may incur in the
education of the people will be amply repaid by the
improvement of the country, for the general diffusion
of knowledge is inseparably followed by more Orderly
habits, by increasing industry, by a taste for the
comforts of life, by exertions to acquire them, and by
the growing prosperity of the people.’
CHAPTER XIV
THE BURMESE WAR, 1824–1826
THOUGH complete peace reigned throughout the
Madras Presidency during Munro's tenure of office—
as indeed may be said to have been the case ever since
—it included one of the most important events in
the history of British India—the first Burmese war,
1824–1826. The Burmese had taken possession of the
island of Shāhpuri off the coast of Chittagong, over-
run Assam, and made a series of encroachments on
the British Districts of Bengal. War was declared by
the Governor-General, Lord Amherst, on February
24, 1824, but it was not till the 23rd of that month
that the Government of Madras learned that war
was even impending on being informed that that
Presidency would be required to furnish the native
branch of the force. - -
Writing to the Duke of Wellington, Munro said
that in the previous September (1823) he had sent
a letter to the Court of Directors asking to be relieved;
he had been long enough in India, and as everything
was quiet and settling in good order he thought it
a proper time for leaving ; had he suspected that in
a few months there was to be both war and famine
THE BURMESE WAR, 1824–1826 I95
he should never have thought of resigning until our
difficulties were at an end. “I was probably, he says,
‘more surprised at hearing of the intended war than
people will be at home, for I had not the least suspi-
cion that we were to go to war with the King of Ava
till a letter reached this Presidency in February last,
asking us what number of troops we could furnish
for foreign service.’
On February 25, 1824, Munro wrote to Lord
Amherst stating what Madras could do. ‘Our troops,
he said, ‘lie convenient, and they are eager to be
employed. I am no less anxious that they should go
wherever there is service, but I wish at the same time
that they should go with every means to guard against
failure. A service of this kind requires more than any
other that every equipment should be ample, because
there can seldom be any medium between complete suc-
cess and failure, partial success is little better than an
expensive failure.” Lord Amherst at once replied seek-
ing Munro's advice, stating that the matters on which
he had already written were ‘far beyond the reach of
his experience, and that he ‘might rely upon frequent
communications from his Government upon all matters
connected with the measures in contemplation.’
A constant correspondence was kept up between the
Governor-General and Munro, whose long experience
of Indian warfare and knowledge of Asiatic character
enabled him to be a wise counsellor, in addition to his
indefatigable exertions in seeing to the despatch of
troops, boats, transport, bullocks, and supplies ; at
N 2.
I96 ,S/R 7"HOMAS MUAVRO
the same time he took precautions that there should be
neither an outbreak nor the fear of it owing to the
Presidency being almost denuded of troops.
Writing to Munro on April 22, 1824, Lord Amherst
informed Munro of the conditions of peace to be
offered to the Burmese, as soon as Rangoon should
be taken :—
‘We have no wish to weaken or dismember the
Burmese Empire, nor to acquire for ourselves any
extension of the territory we already possess. We
purpose to require that the Burmese should relinquish
their newly-acquired possessions in Assam, from
whence they have the means of descending the
Brahmaputra, and overrunning our provinces at
a season of the year when our troops cannot keep
the field; that they should renounce the right of inter-
ference in the independent countries of Cachar; that
the boundary between Chittagong and Arakan should
be accurately defined ; and finally, that they should
pay the expenses, or a share of the expenses, of the
war in which they have compelled us to engage.
These conditions, with the addition, possibly, of a
stipulation respecting the imdependence of Manipwr,
we are, I think, entitled to demand.’
The following extract from a letter from Munro to
Mr. Sulivan, dated July 11, 1825, gives his views on
the progress of the war up to that date:–
‘The original plan of the invasion of Ava was
romantic and visionary, and was, I believe, suggested
by Captain Canning. It was that Sir A. Campbell,
THE BURMESE WAR, 1824–1826 197
after occupying Rangoon and collecting a sufficient
number of boats, should, with the help of the south-
west wind, proceed against the stream to Amarápura
at once. This, even if it had been practicable, was
too hazardous, as it would have exposed the whole
force to destruction, from the intercepting of its
supplies. Had there been boats enough, this scheme
might have been partially executed with great
advantage, by going up the river as high as Sarawa.
This would have given us the command of the delta,
and of the navigation of all the branches of the Irawadi,
and would have saved the troops from much of the
privations which they have suffered from being shut
up at Rangoon. But even if there had been a
sufficient number of boats, Sir A. Campbell would
have been justified, by our ignorance of the country
and of the enemy, in not making the attempt until he
should have received more troops, to leave detach-
ments at different places on the river, to keep open
his communications with Rangoon.
“When Captain Canning's plan of sailing up to the
capital was abandoned, two others were thought of,
but both were impracticable: one was to proceed in
the dry season by land from Pegu ; the other was to
re-embark the troops, land somewhere on the coast of
Arakan, and march from thence through the hills to
the Irawadi. This Government, from its subordinate
situation, has of course nothing to say in the plans of
foreign war; but I took advantage of a private corre-
spondence with which I have been honoured by Lord
I98 Jº ZAZ 7 AHOA/AS A/UAVRO
Amherst, to state privately my opinion strongly
against both plans. I said that re-embarkation would
be attended with the most disgraceful and disastrous
consequences; that the measure would be supposed to
have proceeded from fear; that it would encourage
the enemy, and would deter the people of the country
wherever we might again land, from coming near us,
or bringing us provisions for sale ; that we knew
nothing of the coast of Arakan or the interior; that
if the troops landed there, they would be in greater
distress than at Rangoon, because they would find less
rice, and be as much exposed to the weather; that
they could not possibly penetrate into the country
without carriage cattle, of which they had none; and
that they would be at last compelled to re-embark
again without effecting anything. I said that the
nature of the country, and the difficulty of sending
draught and carriage cattle by sea, pointed out clearly
that our main line of operations could only be by the
course of the Irawadi, partly by land" and partly by
water, and that this would give us the double advan-
tage of passing through the richest part of the enemy's
country, and of cutting off his communication with it
whenever we got above the point where the branches
separate from the main stream of the Irawadi.
‘I calculated that if Sir A. Campbell adopted this
plan, he would reach Prome before the rains; and
that when they were over, he would be able to con-
* He had recommended that the Bengal troops should advance by -
Manipur.
THE BURMESE WAR, 1824–1826 I99
tinue his march to Amarápura. When I reckoned on
his getting no farther than Prome this season, I had
not so low an opinion of the Burman troops as I now
have. I was induced to form a very low estimate of
their military character, from their cautious and irreso-
lute operations against the detachment at Rámu, in
May, 1824; and from all their subsequent conduct they
appear to be very inferior in military spirit to any of
the nations of India. There were no letters from
Prome later than the 6th of June; the monsoon had set
in, and everything in the neighbourhood was quiet.
The heads of districts had submitted, and were send-
ing in supplies. It was expected that offers of peace
would be sent from Ava as soon as the occupation of
Prome should be known. It is difficult to say what
such a government will do ; it may submit to our
terms or reject them ; but we ought to be prepared to
ensure them by advancing to Amarápura, and, if
necessary, dismembering the empire, and restoring the
Pegu nation. If we encouraged them, a leader would
probably be found, and we might, without committing
ourselves to protect him hereafter, make him strong
enough, before we left the country, to maintain himself
against the broken power of Ava.
‘We have sent on foreign service beyond sea, from
Madras, five regiments of European infantry, fourteen
regiments of Native infantry, two companies of
European artillery, a battalion of pioneers, and above
one thousand dooly bearers, and we have relieved the
Bengal subsidiary force at Nágpur. The rest of our
2OO SAA’ 7"AſOA/AS MOWAVA’O
troops are thinly scattered over a great extent of
country, and will have very severe duty until those on
foreign service return. We are obliged to be more
careful than in ordinary times; but I see no reason
to apprehend any serious commotion, or anything
beyond the occasional disturbances of poligars, which
we are seldom for any long time ever entirely free
from in this country. I confess I cannot understand
what the Bengal Government want to do with so
many additional troops, or with any addition at all.
Mr. Adam left them quite enough, and more than
enough, to carry on the Burman war and to protect
their own territory. They have not sent a single
Native regiment beyond sea, except a marine bat-
talion; they have in Arakan and their eastern frontier
twelve or thirteen Native regiments more than
formerly ; but they have got nine of them by troops
at Nágpur and Mhow having been relieved from
Madras and Bombay, while these troops, which have
moved to the eastward, still cover the country from
which they were drawn. We had once five battalions
in the Bárámahal; we have one there now—the whole
have been advanced to the Ceded Districts. The
military authorities in Bengal seem to think that when
troops are drawn together in large bodies in time of
war, new levies must always be made to occupy the
stations from which troops have been taken to join
the large body. If we follow such a principle, there
can be no limit to the increase of our armies. I found
much inconvenience from its adoption in Bengal,
THE BURMESE WAR, 1824–1826 201
because the increase of the Bengal army is narrowly
observed by the armies of the other Presidencies, and
raises expectations which cannot be satisfied.’
At the conclusion of the war Munro thus expressed
his views on the peace and as to what should have
been done in a letter to the Duke of Wellington,
dated April 16, 1826:—
‘I did not think of troubling you with another
letter; but as we have at last made peace with the
Burmans, I think I may as well give you a few lines
by way of finishing the war. I mentioned in my last
what kind of troops the Burman armies were composed
of, so that it is not necessary to say anything more of
them, except that they did not improve in the progress
of the war. We are well out of this war. There have
been so many projects since it commenced, that I
scarcely expected ever to see any one plan pursued
consistently. There has been no want of energy or
decision at any time in attacking the enemy ; but
there has certainly been a great want of many of the
arrangements and combinations by which the move-
ments of an army are facilitated, and its success rendered
more certain. There were, no doubt, great difficulties:
everything was new ; the country was difficult, and the
climate was destructive; but still, more enterprise in
exploring the routes and passes on some occasions,
and more foresight in others in ascertaining in time
the means of conveyance and subsistence, and what
was practicable and what was not, would have saved
much time.
2O2 S/A 7TA/O MAS AZ UAVA’O
‘We are chiefly indebted for peace to Lord Amherst's
judgment and firmness in persevering in offensive
operations, in spite of all arguments in favour of
a defensive war, founded upon idle alarms about the
power of the Burmans, and the danger of advancing
to so great a distance as the capital. Had he given
way, and directed Sir A. Campbell to amuse himself
with a defensive system about Prome or Meaday, we
should have had no peace for another campaign or
two. Every object that could have been expected
from the war has been attained. We took what we
wanted, and the enemy would have given up whatever
we desired, had it been twice as much. They have
been so dispirited, and our position in Arakan and
Martaban gives us such ready access to the Irawadi,
that I hardly think they will venture to go to war
with us again. The Tennasserim coast cannot at
present pay the expense of defending it ; it may
possibly do so in a few years, as its resources will, no
doubt, improve in our hands, and there may be
commercial advantages that may make up for its
deficiency of territorial revenue. I should have liked
better to have taken nothing for ourselves in that
quarter, but to have made Pegu independent, with
Tennasserim attached to it.
“Within two months after our landing at Rangoon,
when it was ascertained that the Court of Ava would
not treat, I would have set to work to emancipate
Pegu ; and, had we done so, it would have been in
a condition to protect itself; but to make this still
THE BURMESE WAR, 1824–1826 2O3
more sure, I would have left a corps of about six
thousand men in the country until their government
and military force were properly organized ; five or
six years would have been fully sufficient for these
objects, and we could then have gradually withdrawn
the whole of our force. We should by this plan have
had only a temporary establishment in Pegu, the
expense of which would have been chiefly, if not
wholly, paid by that country; whereas the expense of
Tennasserim will, with fortifications, be as great as
that of Pegu, and will be permanent, and will not
give us the advantage of having a friendly native
power to counterbalance Ava. Pegu is so fertile,
and has so many natural advantages, that it would
in a few years have been a more powerful state
than Ava.
‘One principal reason in favour of separating Pegu
was the great difficulty and slowness with which all our
operations must have proceeded, had the country been
hostile, and if the Burman commanders knew how to
avail themselves properly of this spirit, and the risk
of total failure from our inability to protect our
supplies upon our long line of communication. The
Bengal Government were however always averse to
the separation of Pegu ; they thought that the
Burmans and Peguers were completely amalgamated
into one people; that the Peguers had no wish for
independence; that if they had, there was no prince
remaining of their dynasty, nor even any chief of
commanding influence, to assume the government;
2O4. SIR 7"HOMAS MUAVRO
that it would retard the attainment of peace; that the
project was, in fact, impracticable; and that if even
practicable, the execution of it was not desirable, as it
would involve us for ever in Indo-Chinese politics, by
the necessity of protecting Pegu. Even if we had
been obliged to keep troops for an unlimited time in
Pegu, it would have saved the necessity of keeping an
additional force on the eastern unhealthy frontier of
Bengal, as the Burmans would never have disturbed
Bengal while we were in Pegu. The Bengal Govern-
ment were, no doubt, right in being cautious. They
acted upon the best, though imperfect, information
they possessed.
“Those who have the responsibility cannot be
expected to be so adventurous as we who have none.
But I believe that there is no man who is not now
convinced that the Taliens (Peguers) deserted the
Burman Government, sought independence, and in
the hope of obtaining it, though without any pledge
on our part, aided in supplying all our wants with
a zeal which could not have been surpassed by our
subjects. -
“We sent to Rangoon about three thousand five
hundred draught and carriage bullocks; and could
have sent five times as many, had there been
tonnage.’ -
In June, 1825, Sir Thomas Munro's services were
rewarded by his elevation to a Baronetcy of the
United Kingdom, and at the same time it was under
the consideration of the authorities at home to appoint
THE BURAMESE WAR, 1824–1826 2O5
him to the Governor-Generalship when it should fall
vacant ; but, as he wrote to a friend in the India Office,
it was now too late: “I am like an overworked
horse and require a little rest. Ever since I came to
this Government almost every paper of any importance
has been written by myself, and during the whole
course of the Burman war, though little of my writing
appears, I have been incessantly engaged in discus-
sions and inquiries and correspondence, all connected
with the objects of the war, though, from not being
official, they cannot appear on record. Were I to go
to Bengal I could hardly hold out two years. . . .
I never wish to remain in office when I feel that
I cannot do justice to it.”
On April II, 1826, the Governor-General in Council
wrote to Sir Thomas expressing the ‘heartfelt obliga-
tions of the Government of India, ‘for the ever-active
and cordial co-operation of the Madras Government
in the conduct of the war,’ and stating that ‘ to the
extraordinary exertions of your Government we are
mainly indebted for the prosecution of the Burmese
war to the successful issue which, under Providence,
has crowned our arms. In Nov. 1826 the Court of
Directors passed the following resolution : * Resolved
unanimously, That the thanks of this Court be given to
Major-General Sir Thomas Munro, Bart., K.C.B., for
the alacrity, zeal, perseverance and forecast which
he so signally manifested throughout the whole course
of the late war, in contributing all the available re-
sources of the Madras Government towards bringing
2O6 SIA 7'AIOMAS MUAVRO
it to a successful termination.’ And in the House of
Lords, Lord Goderich declared that it was ‘impossible
for any one to form an adequate idea of the efforts
made by Sir Thomas Munro at the head of the Madras
Government.’
CHAPTER XV
LAST TOURS AND DEATH
THOUGH no Governor of Madras came to the office
with such a thorough knowledge of the country, few,
if any, before or since, have made so extensive and
prolonged tours throughout the Presidency as Munro
did. Recent Governors of Madras have in the course of
frequent tours visited every District in the Presidency,
and even in the hottest seasons of the year have set
an example to district officers when in times of famine
or other difficulties the presence of the head of the
Government was likely to inspire zeal on the part
of officials and confidence in the hearts of the people.
But this has been done with the help of the railways,
now forming a network all over the country; while in
Munro's tours he “marched every day, except when
obliged to halt by the rising of rivers or the necessity
of giving rest to the cattle.’
In the autumn of 1822 he made a tour which lasted
three months, through Nellore and the Northern Cir-
cárs, i.e. from Madras to the Gümsür Hills in Ganjám,
208 S/A 7THOMAS MUAVRO
and left on record a long and most interesting Minute
describing his tour and his interviews with the
zamindårs (of whom he saw all but two), the Rájás
of Vizianagram, Venkatagiri, and Kálahasti, and
embodying in it the result of his observations and
views, many of which have been rendered additionally
interesting by incidents that have occurred in
recent years in the places he visited. In 1821 he
visited the Bárámahal, ‘both for the purpose of
seeing the inhabitants and making some inquiries
into the state of the country, and of revisiting scenes
where above thirty years before he had spent seven
very happy years.’
In 1823 he made a tour through the Ceded Districts;
he was glad to get away from Cuddapah, with ‘the
thermometer at 94 and its dry parching wind, but he
adds: ‘I still like this country, notwithstanding its
heat ; it is full of industrious cultivators, and I like
to recognize among them a great number of my old
acquaintances, who, I hope, are as glad to see me as
I them.’
In 1826 Sir Thomas Munro renewed his applica-
tion to be relieved of the governorship, and looked
forward to the arrival of his successor early in the
following year. Lady Munro, however, was obliged
to leave for Europe before he could accompany her, as
the illness of their second son, Campbell Munro, who
had been born in September, 1823, rendered an im-
mediate departure from India the sole chance of
saving the child's life. Lady Munro left Madras in
EAST 7 OUR'S AND DEATH 2O9
March, 1826, but they never met again, it being the
fate of Sir Thomas, like that of many another Anglo-
Indian, to be buried in the land to which he had given
the best part of his life within a twelvemonth of the time
when he hoped to return to the country of his birth.
In the autumn of 1826 Sir Thomas Munro made
a tour through the Districts of Chengalpat, South Arcot,
Tanjore, Trichinopoli, Madura, Tinnevelli, and Coim-
batore, and thence up to the Nilgiris. From Oota-
camund in September he wrote to his wife a descrip-
tion of those then little-known mountains which,
when published in Gleig's Life, was one of the first
accounts that appeared in print of those Hills and the
sweet ‘half-English Nilgiri air.’
After leaving the Nilgiris, on his way to Madras
vid Bangalore, Munro visited the Falls of the Kāveri,
which he thus describes: ‘They are very grand, and
rather exceeded than fell short of my expectations.
The fall on the southern branch of the river is about
a mile below that on the northern which we visited
together. It is something in the form of a horse-shoe,
and consists of seven streams falling from the same
level, and divided only from each other by fragments of
the rock. There is a descent to the bed of the river by
steps; and when you stand there, nearly surrounded
by cataracts covering you with small rain, and look
at the great breadth of the whole fall, and the woody
hills rising behind it, the scene appears very wild and
magnificent.’
To Munro's great disappointment a delay occurred
O
2 IO SIA 7TP/OMAS MOVAWA’O
in the appointment of his successor, and as he
could not be relieved before October, he decided on
paying a farewell visit to the Ceded T)istricts, and
set out from Madras towards the end of May, 1827.
A legend survives in various forms with reference
to his journey through the Cuddapah District. One
version is that, while riding through a narrow gorge,
where the Pápaghni breaks through the hills, Munro
suddenly looked up at the steep cliffs above, and
then said, ‘What a beautiful garland of flowers they
have stretched across the valley !’ His companions
all looked, but said they could see nothing. “Why,
there it is,' said he, ‘all made of gold.' Again they
looked, and saw nothing: but one of his old native ser–
vants said, ‘Alas! a great and good man will soon die!’
After halting some time at Anantápur, the Governor
and his party reached Gooty on July 4. Here several
sepoys were carried off by cholera ; on the following
morning the camp was moved, and on the 6th the party
reached Pattikonda, in the Karntil District, twenty-
two miles from Gooty. A few hours after their arrival,
Sir Thomas himself was attacked with cholera ; the
symptoms were at first not alarming, and in the
middle of the day hopes were entertained of his
recovery. During one of his rallies he exclaimed, in
a tone of peculiar sweetness, that it was ‘almost worth
while to be ill in order to be so kindly nursed". In the
* Among those about Sir Thomas Munro at the time of his death
was a lad named Henry Bower, afterwards a well-known missionary
and Tamil scholar.
J.A.ST 7"O UA’S AAWD ZD EA 7TA/ 2. II
evening he grew worse, and at about half-past nine on
the night of July 6, 1827, he calmly passed away.
His remains were at once carried to Gooty and buried
in the English graveyard there—a most picturesque
spot at the foot of the great Gooty rock and fortress
which towers above. The tomb, a flat slab with a brief
inscription and railed in, is still carefully seen to.
In April, 1831, his remains were removed to Madras,
and interred just in front of the Governor's pew in St.
Mary's Church, Fort St. George; and close by is a mural
tablet with a bust of Sir Thomas erected by his widow.
The news of Munro's death was received in Madras
with feelings of deep regret by all classes. The Go-
vernment issued a Gazette extraordinary on July 9,
in which occurs the following passage : ‘His sound
and vigorous understanding, his transcendent talents,
his indefatigable application, his varied stores of
knowledge, his attainments as an Oriental scholar,
his intimate acquaintance with the habits and feelings
of the native soldiers and inhabitants generally, his
patience, temper, facility of access, and kindness of
manner, would have ensured him distinction in any
line of employment. These qualities were admirably
adapted to the duties which he had to perform in
organizing the resources, and establishing the tran-
Quillity of those provinces where his latest breath has
been drawn, and where he had long been known by
the appellation of the Father of the People.’
A public meeting was without delay held in Madras,
at which resolutions were passed expressing the
O 2.
2 I 2. SZAZ TAZO/AS //UAVA’O
regret of those assembled of all classes in the com-
munity at ‘ the calamity which has occurred in the
death of our late revered Governor, and ‘the pride they
took in his fame '; that his justice, benevolence,
frankness, and hospitality were no less conspicuous
than the extraordinary faculties of his mind; and
that a subscription be opened to erect a statue to
his memory. •
At Pattikonda Government caused a grove of trees
to be planted and a well or tank with stone steps to
be constructed near the spot where he died ; and at
Gooty a similar well and a large choultry or rest-house
for native travellers were constructed, and for several
years food was distributed gratuitously in his honour
at it; within the ‘Munro choultry’ is hung a copy of
the large full-length portrait of Munro by Sir Martin
Shee, copies of which also adorn the walls of the
cutcherry at Bellary and other public buildings in
the Ceded Districts, and the Revenue Board Office,
Madras.
It was not till 1839 that the equestrian statue of
Munro by Sir Francis Chantrey arrived at Madras,
and on October 23 of that year it was exposed to
public view with all due ceremony, after having been
erected in one of the most conspicuous sites in
Madras. -
Lady Munro survived her husband twenty-three
years, dying in 1850. Both of Sir Thomas' sons are
still living. The eldest, the present Sir Thomas Munro,
was formerly a captain in the I oth Hussars, and is
J.A.S 7" TO OVA'S' AAVAD 7) EA 7TA/ 2 I3
unmarried; the second son, Mr. Campbell Munro,
formerly a Captain in the Grenadier Guards, has had
nine children, the third of whom, Philip Harvey
Munro, Lieut. R. N., born in 1866, was lost in H.M.S.
Victoria on the 22nd June, 1893.
APPENDIX
MEMORANDUM OF THE SERVICES OF
SIR. T. MUNRO,
WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
[The original orthography is retained.]
‘I ARRIVED at Madras on the 15th of January, 178o, and
did duty in the garrison of Fort St. George until the
invasion of the Carnatic, in July, by Hyder.
I marched on the with the grenadier company to
which I belonged, the 21st battalion of Sepoys, and a detach-
ment of artillery, to Poonamallee"; and from thence, after
being joined by His Majesty's 73rd regiment, to the Mount”,
where the army had been ordered to assemble. The cadet
company having arrived in camp, I was ordered to do duty
with it on the 20th of August, 1780, and marched on the 26th
of that month with the army under Lieutenant-General Sir
Hector Munro. I continued with the army while it was
commanded by that officer, and afterwards by Lieutenant-
General Sir Eyre Coote and Lieutenant-General Stewart,
during all the operations in the Carnatic, in the war with
the Mysoreans and the French, from the commencement of
hostilities by Hyder Ally, until the cessation of arms with
the French, on the 2nd of July, 1783.
I was present at the retreat of Sir Hector Munro from
Conjeveram * to Madras, after the defeat of Colonel Bailie by
Hyder Ally on the Ioth of September, 1780 “.
* About thirteen miles south-west of Madras.
* St. Thomas’s Mount, eight miles south of Madras.
* In South Arcot. * See p. 19.
2 I 6 S/A 7TP/O MAS A/CWAVA’O
I was with the army under Sir Eyre Coote, at the relief of
Wandiwash", on the 24th of January, 1781. At the can-
nonade by Hyder Ally, on the march from Pondicherry to
Cuddalore”, on the 7th of February, 1781. At the assault
of Chidambaram *, 18th of June, 1781. At the battle of
Porto Novo”, 1st of July, 1781. At the siege of Tripassore *,
22nd of August, 1781. At the battle of Pollilore”, 27th of
August, 1781. At the battle of Sholinghur', 27th of
September, 1781.
I was with the advanced division of the army, under
Colonel Owen, when that officer was attacked and defeated
by Hyder Ally, near Chittoor', on the 23rd of October, 1781 ;
but the 16th battalion of Sepoys, to which I belonged, having
been detached to the village of Magraul, about five miles
distant, to collect grain, and a body of the enemy having
thrown itself between this post and the corps under Colonel
Owen, and rendered the junction of the battalions impractic-
able, Captain Cox, who commanded it, made good his retreat
to the main army by a forced march of nearly forty miles
over the hills.
I was present at the taking of Chittoor on the I Ith of
November, 1781. On the – of November, 1781, having
been appointed quartermaster of brigade, I joined the 5th, or
left, brigade of the army. I was present when the army,
on its march to relieve Wellore", was harrassed and cannon-
aded by Hyder Ally on the Ioth and 13th of January, 1782.
I was present at the battle of Arni" on the 2nd of June,
1782. At the attack of the French lines and battle of
Cuddalore, on the 13th of June, 1783; on which occasion
I acted as aid-de-camp to Major Cotgrave, field-officer of
the day, who commanded the centre attack.
* In North Arcot. * In South Arcot.
* In Chengalpat District.
AAPA’AAV/D/X 217
I was present at the siege of Cuddalore until the 2nd of
July, 1783, when hostilities ceased, in consequence of accounts
having been received of the peace with France. From this
period I remained with a division of the army cantoned in
the neighbourhood of Madras, until after the definitive treaty
with Tippu Sultan, in March, 1784.
In July, 1784, I proceeded to join my corps stationed
at Melloor, near Madura. In January I 785, having been
removed to the 3oth battalion, I joined it at Tanjore; and
on its being reduced a few months after, I was appointed to
the 1st battalion of Sepoys, in the same garrison, with which
I did duty until 1786, when, being promoted to the
rank of Lieutenant, I was appointed to the battalion
European infantry', in garrison at Madras.
In 1786 I was removed to the 11th battalion, and joined
it in September, at Cassimcottah, near Vizagapatam. In
January, 1787, having been appointed to the 21st battalion,
I joined it in the following month at Vellore.
In August, 1788, having been appointed an assistant in
the Intelligence Department, under Captain Read, and
attached to the headquarters of the force destined to take
possession of the province of Guntoor”, ceded by the Soubah
of the Deccan, I joined the force assembled near Ongole * for
that purpose, and continued with it until, the service having
been completed by the occupation of the forts, I proceeded
to Ambore, a frontier station, commanded by Captain Read,
under whom I was employed in the Intelligence Department
until October, 1790 ; in that month. I joined the 21st bat-
talion of Native infantry in the army under Colonel Maxwell,
which, in consequence of the war with Tippu Sultan, invaded
the Barmahal.
1 The Madras European Regiment. ” In the Kistna District.
* In Willore District.
218 SIA 7. HOMAS MUAVA’O
§§ -
I was with the detachment sent out to cover the retreat of
the Ist regiment of Native cavalry, which fell into an
ambuscade near Caveripatam ", on the 11th of November,
1790. I served in the field with the main army, or with
detachments of it, until the conclusion of the war.
I was present in the pursuit of Tippoo by Lieutenant-
General Meadows, through the Topoor Pass', on the 18th of
November, 1790.
When the army under Lord Cornwallis entered Mysore in
February, 1791, I was appointed to the command of a small
body of two hundred Sepoys, called the Prize Guard, to be
employed in securing captured property and in collecting
cattle for the army on its march, and various other duties.
I was stationed in the town of Bangalore during the siege
of the fort, and was present when it was taken by storm, on
the 21st of March, 1791. -
I was with the army at the battle of Karigal, near
Seringapatam, on the 15th of May, 1791.
On the return of the army from Seringapatam to the
neighbourhood of Bangalore, I was constantly employed on
detachment in escorting military stores and provisions to
camp until December, 1791, when, the army being ready to
advance to the siege of Seringapatam, I was thrown into the
fort of Cootradroog to cover the march of convoys from
Bangalore to camp.
In the following month, January 1792, I was appointed
assistant to Captain Read, who commanded a detachment at
Bangalore, employed in forwarding supplies to the army.
In February, 1792, I marched with this officer and joined
the army before Seringapatam during the negotiations for
peace. On the settlement of the peace, in March, 1792,
I marched with the detachment in charge of the two sons
of Tippoo, who were to be sent as hostages to Madras.
* In Salem District.
A PAE EAVAD/X 2 19
In April, 1792, I marched with the force ordered to
occupy the Baramahal, ceded by Tippoo to the British
Government.
From April, 1792, until March, 1799, I was employed in
the civil administration of that country.
On the breaking out of the war with Tippoo Sultan, Ijoined
the army under Lieutenant-General Harris, intended for the
siege of Seringapatam, near Royacottah', on the 5th of
March, 1799. Colonel Read, to whom I had been appointed
secretary, having been detached on the 11th to bring forward
the supplies in the rear of the army, took the hill-fort of
Shulagherry" by assault on the 15th, on which occasion I was
present. The detachment, after collecting the convoys, set
out for Seringapatam ; but owing to the labour of repairing
the pass of Caveripuram *, it did not reach the army until
the Ioth of May, six days after the fall of the place.
Having been appointed by the Governor-General, Lord
Mornington, one of the Secretaries to the Commission for the
settlement of Mysore, I acted in that capacity until the con-
clusion of the Partition Treaty and the installation of the
Rajah, on the – of July, 1799.
As I had been appointed to the charge of the civil ad-
ministration of Canara, I entered that province in the end of
July, and joined the force which had been previously sent to
expel the enemy's garrisons. From July, I 799, till the end
of October, 1800, I remained in charge of Canara.
In the beginning of November, 1800, I proceeded to the
Ceded Districts, to the civil administration of which I had
been appointed in the preceding month. I continued in
charge of the Ceded Districts until the 23rd of October, 1807,
when I sailed for England, having then been employed, without
interruption, during a period of twenty-eight years in India.
I remained in England from April, 1808, till May, 1814,
* In Salem District. * In Coimbatore.
2, 20 S/A’ ZTAZOA/AS // UAVA’O
when I embarked for India, and reached Madras on the 16th
of September, 1814. -
From September, 1814, till July, 1817, I was employed
as Principal Commissioner for the revision of the internal
administration in the Madras territories.
When preparations were made for taking the field against
the Pindarries I was appointed to the command of the reserve
of the army, under Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Hislop.
The reserve was, in July 1817, ordered to advance and take
possession of Dharwar, which the Peishwah had ceded to the
British Government by the Treaty of Poonah. I reached
Dharwar on the 1 oth of August, three days after it had been
given up to the advanced battalion of the reserve. I remained
at Dharwar until the IIth of October, engaged in arranging
with Mahratta Commissioners the limits of the districts
which had been ceded by the Peishwah. On the 12th of
October I commenced my march for Sundoor, a district held
by a refractory Mahratta chief, whom I was ordered to
dispossess and deliver it up to the officers of the Peishwah.
On the – of October I arrived at Sundoor, which the
chief surrendered without opposition. On the 7th of
November, 1817, having repassed the Toombuddra, I directed
the reserve, in pursuance of orders from headquarters, to
take up a position beyond the Kistna, under Brigadier-
General Pritzler, and proceeded myself to Dharwar to finish
the political arrangements with the Mahratta Commissioners.
On the 14th of November arrive at Dharwar; learn that
the Peishwah has commenced hostilities, and, finding that my
rejoining the reserve was rendered impracticable by the
interposition of the enemy's troops, determine to endeavour
to subdue the neighbouring districts by the influence of
a party among the leading inhabitants, and by the aid of
a detachment from the garrison of Dharwar, assisted by
a body of irregulars collected from the country.
A PAEAAWADIX 22. I
On the – of December, 1817, disperse a body of the
enemy's horse, joined by the garrison of Nawlgoond, and
take possession of the forts evacuated by the enemy on our
approach. On the – of January, 1818, having been joined
by a small battering-train from Bellary, lay siege to Guddur,
which surrenders on the – of January. On the – of
January take the fort of Dumbull. On the – of January
the fort of Hoobli, and on the day following its dependent
fort of Misriekottah is given up to a detachment sent to
occupy it. On the – of February, 1818, pass the Malpurbah;
and after routing a body of the enemy's horse and foot near
the village of , encamped near Badami. On the 17th of
February, a practicable breach having been made, storm and
carry the place. On the 21st of February take Bagricottah.
On the Ioth of February take Padshapoor.
On the 21st of March encamp before Belgaum ; and, after
a siege of twenty days, take the place by capitulation on the
I oth of April. On the 16th of April, Kalla Nundilghur is
given up to a detachment of irregulars which I sent to
invest it. On the 22nd of April rejoin the reserve.
On the Ioth of May take the pettah of Sholapur by
assault. Defeat the Peishwah’s infantry under Gunput Row
at the battle of Sholapur. 15th of May, take the fort of
Sholapur by capitulation after a practicable breach had been
made. 31st of May, encamp before Nepauni and compel
Appah Dessay to give orders for the delivery of Wokarah and
other places to the Rajah of Bolapoor.
On the 8th of August, 1818, having received the surrender
of Paurghur, the last fort held for the Peishwah, resign my
command, after having, in the course of the campaign, reduced
all the Peishwah's territories between the Toombuddra and
Kistna, and from the Kistna northward to Akloos, on the
Neemah, and eastward to the Nizam's frontier.’
I N D E X
ABYSSINIAN, Sidi, or Hubshi
village in Kanara, Io8.
ADAM, John, Malcolm's letter to,
in praise of Munro, 165, I66:
left enough troops for the Bur-
mese war, 200.
AHMADNAGAR, capture of, by
Arthur Wellesley, I 2 I.
ALLEN, Captain, letter of Munro
to, quoted, 65, 66.
AMBöR, taken by Haidar Alí, 2I :
Munro stationed at, 33, 44, 217.
AMHERST, William Pitt, Lord,
Governor-General, declares war
with Burma, IQ4: asks Munro's
advice, 195: describes terms of
peace offered, IQ6: praised by
Munro, 202: officially thanks
Munro, 205.
ANDERSON, Dr., Munro's opinion
of, I49.
ANSON’s Voyages, favourite book
of Munro, I2.
ARBUTHNOT, Sir Alexander J., Sir
Thomas Munro, with Selections
from his Minutes, &c., 8: quoted,
62, 86, 89, 9o, I60, Igo.
ARCOT, besieged by Haidar Alí,
I8.
ARMY, the Madras, European
soldiers hamper, 44 : needs to
be strengthened with cavalry,
72, 73: more Europeans wanted
after the Maráthá war, I 33:
its services in first Burmese
War, I99.
ARNí, Munro present at battle of,
216.
ARTILLERY, excellence of Coote's,
at Porto Novo, 25.
AsíRGARH, taken by Stevenson,
I 28, I29. -
ASSAM, overrun by the Burmese,
I94: to be relinquished by them,
Ioô.
Aºr, battle of, I 2 I : criticized
by Munro, I 22, I 23: described
by Arthur Wellesley, 123–129:
further criticized by Munro,
I 29–I 32.
ASTRONOMY, Munro studies, 16.
IBADAMI, Munro takes, I66.
BAILLIE, Colonel, Munro attempts
to join his detachment, I6: his
defeat, I8, 19.
BAMBOOS, number of, in Kánara,97.
BANGALORE, Munro present at
siege of (I?91), 48, 218: re-
duced forts near (1799), 83. -
BARAMAHAL, the, ceded by Tipá
to the Company (1792), 55, 61 :
Munro appointed to, 6I : de-
scribed, 62–64: Munro's ad-
ministration of, 64–66: life in,
75–77: his sorrow at leaving,
87: his visit to, as Governor, 208.
BARONETCY conferred on Munro,
2O4.
BASSEIN, treaty of (1802), I21.
BATH, Order of the : Munro made
C.B. and K.C.B., 177.
224
JAV/D EX
BATTLES: Assaye, I 2 I-I 32 : Chi-
lambaram, 22–24: Cuddalore,
28, 29: Karigal, 48: Mehidpur,
169: Perambákam, IQ : Porto
Novo, 25–28: Satyamangālam,
48, 49.
BELGAUM, Munro besieges and
takes, 166, 167, 22.I.
IBELLARY, one of the Ceded Dis-
tricts, I I2 : portrait of Munro
in, 2I2.
BELLECOMBE, M., favourable
opinion of Coote's artillery,
25.
BENTINCK, Lord William, Governor
of Madras, letter to Munro on
the mutiny at Vellore, I 35,
I36: Munro's reply, 136–138.
BERAR, ceded to the Nizām, I 33.
IBHONSLA, the, Rájá of Nāgpur,
Arthur Wellesley moves against,
129: cedes Orissa to the Com-
pany and Berär to the Nizām,
I 33.
BIRDS, the, in Kámara, Io9.
BISTNAPA PANDIT commended to
Munro by Arthur Wellesley,
I 29.
Black Dwarf, The, Scott's novel,
Munro's opinion of, I68.
BoMBAY, Munro visits, I 78.
Bow ER, Henry, present at Munro's
death, 2 IO m. -
BRAITHWAITE, Daniel, contributes
Munro’s story of Shylock from
the Persian to Malone's Shake-
speare, 3o.
IBURMESE WAR, the first, causes of,
194: Munro's assistance in,
195, 199: views on the conduct
of, 196–199, 20I : on the peace
which terminated, 202-204.
BUTTER, difficulty in procuring, in
Kánara, 94, 95.
CAMPBELL, General Sir Archibald,
his operations in Burma, 197,
I 98, 202.
CAMPBELL, General Dugald, sup-
presses the poligars in the Ceded
Districts, I 13.
CAMPBELL, Jane, marries Sir T.
Munro, 154.
CAMPBELL, Richard, of Craigie,
father-in-law of Munro, I54.
CANNING, Charles John, Earl,
Viceroy, opposes restoration of
Mysore, 86.
CANNING, Right Honourable
George, praises Munro in the
Płouse of Commons, I 74, I 75:
suggests him for a Governorship,
175, 176: speech on Munro's
appointment to Madras, I 77,
I 78 : Munro's regret at his
resignation, I80.
CANNING, Captain Henry, plan of
campaign against the Burmese,
I96, 197.
CATTLE, the black, of Kánara, Io.2.
CAVALRY, need of, in the Madras
Army, 72, 73.
CEDED DISTRICTs, Munro appointed
Collector of the, I I 2 : life in,
II.3, II 4: Settlement of, I 18,
I Ig : deals with drought and
famine in, I2O : revisits as
Governor, 208 : farewell visit
to, 2 IO.
CHANTREY, Sir Francis, his statue
of Munro at Madras, 5, 212.
CHARTER, East India Company’s,
Munro's views on the renewal
of (1813), I45-I49.
CHEMISTRY, Munro’s taste for, II,
I44.
CHILAMBARAM, Coote's repulse at,
22–24: Munro present, 216.
CHITTúR, Munro at capture of,
2I6.
CLARKE, Sir William, meets Munro
in Kánara, IoG.
CLIVE, Edward, Lord, Governor
of Madras, appoints Munro to
the Ceded Districts, I I2. -
CocKBURN, William, insists on
Munro's stopping in Kánara,
88, 89.
CoIMBATORE, according to Munro,
ought to have been taken by
Tipú in 1792, 56: visited by
Munro in 1826, 209.
AVZDAX
225
CoLEBRookE, Sir T. E., Life of
JElphinstone, quoted, I 78, 191,
I92.
COLLECTORS OFDISTRICTS, Munro's
views on the position and pay-
ment of, 67–69: made Magis-
trates by his Regulations, I 59.
CONSTANTINOPLE, Tipti sends an
embassy to, 82.
Coot E, General Sir Eyre, his
campaign against Haidar Alí,
21, 22: repulsed at Chilambaram,
22–24 : victory at Porto Novo,
25–29: Munro's services under,
215, 2I6.
CORNWALLIS, Charles, Marquess,
Governor-General, ordered to
take the Guntſir Circár, 3.1 :
earnestly expected at Madras,
47, 48: his preliminaries of
peace with Tipú, 53–55: did
not want to take Seringapatam,
57 : Munro's opinion of, 59.
COTGRAVE, Major, Munro aide-de-
camp to, at battle of Cuddalore,
216.
COTTON, Munro’s interest in the
cultivation of, in India, I46,
I7I.
COX, Captain, successful retreat
of, 216.
CRANGANORE sold to Travancore
by the Dutch, 43.
CUDDALORE, battle of, 28, 29 :
Munro present at, 2I6.
CUDDAPAH, ballads on Munro
sung in, 7: one of the Ceded
Districts, II 2 : bad condition,
II2, II 3: damaged by floods
(18oz), I2O: revisited by Munro
as Governor, 208: legend of his
last journey in, 2Io.
Cuddapah District
quoted, II8, II9.
CUMMING, Mr. A., Munro com-
plains of opposition to his reforms
to, I55.
CUPPAGE, Colonel, Munro visits,
I2O.
Manual,
DALHOUSIE, James, Marquess of,
P
Governor-General, wouldlMunro
have supported his policy, 86.
DAMAL, Munro takes, 164.
DEAFNESS, Munro's, II : allusions
to, 92, I44.
DHARMAPURI, táluk in the Bá-
rámahal, 62: Munro's garden
at, 64: description of his life
at, 75, 76.
DHARWAR, Munro's headquarters
in the Southern Maráthá coun-
try, I62, 220.
DHUNDIA WAGH, Arthur Welles-
ley’s defeat of, 86.
DIARY, official, Munro's objections
to keeping an, I2O.
T)INDIGAL, ceded by Tipú (I792),
6I.
Don Quixote, Munrolearns Spanish
to read, I2 : allusion to, 91.
DOUGLAS, J., Bombay, quoted,
I 22 %,
DUNDAs, Right Hon. Henry, Wel-
lesley's letter to, on the state
of India, 82, 83.
EDINBURGH, Munro spends part of
his furlough in, I44.
EDINGTON, Colonel, occupies the
Guntſir Circár, 3.I.
EDUCATION, Munro's encourage-
ment of, in Madras, 192, 193.
ELDON, John, Earl of, present at
banquet to Munro, I'77.
IELLIOT, Right Hon. Hugh,
Governor of Madras, takes up
office, I54: opposes Munro's
reforms, I 55 : pushes him out
of office, I70 : is succeeded by
him, I 77.
ELPHINSTONE, Hon. Mount-
stuart, quoted on Munro's
character, 6, 178 : appointed
Governor of Bombay, 176 :
visited by Munro, 178: his
opinion on the increased em-
ployment of natives, IQ I, I92.
EUROPEAN troops, Munro depre-
cates too many, 44, 45; but
advises more after the Maráthá
War, I 33. -
226
AM/DEX
FALLs of THE KAVERI, Munro's
description of the, 209. -
FERGUSON, R., Astronomy, Munro
studies, I6.
‘FIFTH REPORT, The,’ 153.
FINLAY, Mr., letters of Munro to,
I49–I52, I 7 I–I'73.
FLOYD, General Sir John, at
Satyamangālam, 49, 6o.
FLUSHING, Munro at siege of
(18o0), I44.
FoRT ST.GEORGE, Munro stationed
at, 29 : buried in, 2II.
Foul IS, Mr., Munro's letter to, on .
the French Revolution, 33–35.
FREDERICK THE GREAT, Munro
studies the Life of, 13.
FREE-TRADE, Munro in favour of,
I49-152.
FBENCH, the, assist Haidar Alí,
18: defeated at Porto Novo,
25–27 : at Cuddalore, 28: peace
with, 29 : Munro's opinion on
the Revolution and its probable
results, 33–35: raise volunteers
to aid Tipá, 83.
GADAK, Munro takes, I64.
GILLESPIE, Colonel R. R., puts
down the mutiny at Vellore,
I34, I 38.
GLASGOW, Munro born at, I I :
educated at, II : a clerk at,
13: revisits, I44: loyal to,
I49: ‘still Glasgow ware,’ I 50.
GLASGOW UNIVERSITY, Munro
educated at, II.
GLEIG, Rev. G. R., Life of Sir
Thomas Munro, 8: quoted or
referred to, I 3 m, 50, 65, 89,
II.4, 146, 209. º
GOOTY, Munro still remembered
at, 7: his escort attacked with
cholera at, 2 Io: first buried at,
2 II : memorials to him at, 2 I 2.
GOVERNOR-GENERALSHIP OF INDIA,
Munro would not have accepted,
2O5.
GRANT-DUFF, Captain James,
History of the Mahrattas,
quoted, 165 m.
GRENVILLE, William, Lord, views
on the renewal of the East
India Company's Charter, 145.
GRIBBLE, J. B. B., Cuddapah
District Manual, quoted, I 18,
IIQ.
GóMsúR HILLs, Munro visits the,
2O7.
GUNTúR CIRCAR, Munro present
at the occupation of 30, 217: his
opinion of the transaction, 30–33.
GURRAMKONDA POLIGARS, the, and
Tipá's family, I 36. -
Guy Mannering, Scott's novel,
Munro's opinion of, 168.
HAIDAR ALí besieges Arcot, I8:
defeats Baillie, 18, 19: raises
siege of Vellore, 21 : takes
Ambar and Thiagur, 2 I : de-
feated at Porto Novo, 26, 27 :
death of, 28.
HARRIS, General George, com-
mands in second war against
Tipú, 83.
HASTINGs, Francis, Marquess of,
Governor-General, Munro offers
his services to, I61 : Malcolm's
testimony to, I66.
HASTINGs, Warren, keeps the
Nizām and Maráthás from
joining Haidar Alí, 18.
HENDERSON, Captain, Munro stops
at his house on arriving at
Madras, I4.
HINDUSTANí, Munro studies, 29.
HISTORY, Munro's taste for, II :
remarks on the study of, 78.
HOLKAR, troops of, defeated at
Mehidpur, 169.
HoPE, General Sir John, Munro
accompanied to siege of Flushing,
I44.
HostýR, táluk in the Bárámahal,
annexed in 1799, 62.
HUBLI, Munro takes, 164.
HUGHES, Admiral Sir E., brings
battering guns to Porto Novo,
24.
HUME, David, History of England,
studied by Munro, I2.
AV/DEX
227
INDIA, Munro's and Arthur
Wellesley’s correspondence on
the extension of British power
in, 85.
JARVIE, Bailie Nicol, Munro's
delight in, I 72. .
KANARA, annexed in 1799, 87 :
Munro appointed to charge of,
87: his dislikeof,88: description
of a tour in, 90—I Io: his work
in, officially commended, II 2.
KARIGAL, battle of, Munro present
at, 48, 2 I 8.
KARWAR, Munro's account of, 91.
KASIMKOTA, Munro stationed at,
29, 2 I Z.
FCELVIN, river, Munro fishes in as
a boy, I 2 : fondness for and
allusions to, 95, 168.
KENNAway, Sir John, demands
surrender of the Guntſir Circár
from the Nizām, 31 : carries on
the negotiations with Tipú, 55.
KOENIG, Dr., at Madras with
Munro, 15.
ECRISHNAGIRI, a tâluk of the Bá-
rāmahal, 62: Munro's memory
cherished in, 64.
LAKE, General Gerard, Lord, cam-
paign against Sindhia, I 2 I.
LALLY-TOLLENDAL, Comte de,
joins Haidar Alí, 18: defeated
with him at Porto Novo, 27.
TANG, Colonel, defended Vellore,
2O, 2I.
LE FANU, W. J. H., Salem.
District Manual quoted on the
scenery of the Bárámahal, 63.
LEVEN LODGE, purchased by
Munro for his parents, 142.
LONDON, Munro in favour of re-
stricting trade with India to,
I47-I49.
MACARTNEY, George, Lord, Gover-
nor of Madras, 42.
MACARTNEY, John, Agent at San-
dir, I63 m.
MACPHERSON, Sir John, Governor-
General, attempts to obtain the
Guntſir Circár, 30.
MADRAs, Munro's first arrival at,
I3: early life at, I4–16: returns
to, as President of the Judicial
Commission, Iş4: social customs,
I54: returns again as Governor,
178: buried at, 2II : statue at,
2 I 2.
MADRAS SCHOOL BOOK SOCIETY,
Munro gives grant to, I93.
MADURA, Munro stationed at, 29:
visits on tour (1826), 209.
MALABAR, District of, ceded by
Tipá (1792), 61.
MALCOLM,Major-General Sir John,
joint-secretary with Munro to
Commission for settling Mysore
(1799), 83 : praises Munro's
campaign in the South Maráthá
country, 165, 166: his battle
of Mehidpur criticized by
Munro, 169: Munro's letter
to, complaining of his treat-
ment, 169, 170 : suggested by
Canning for a Governorship,
176.
MALLESON, Colonel G. B., Final
French Struggles in India,
quoted, 29 m.
MALONE, Edmund, published
Munro's Persian story of
Shylock in his Shakespeare,
29, 30.
MANIPUR, disaster in, referred to,
II4: independence from Burma
to be assured, 196 : route by, for
invading Burma recommended
by Munro, 198.
MARATHAs kept from joining
Haidar Alí (1780), 18: form
alliance against Tipá, 43 : be-
lieved by Munro to be less
formidable than Tipú, 46, 5o,
74: their services in the war
against Tipá (1792), 59 : war
with (1802–3), 121 : campaign
of Assaye, I22–133: treaty with,
I33: Munro's operations against,
in the last war, 164–168: his
P 2.
228
AVZ) EX
opinion of their government,
I72 : comparison between them
and Rob Roy, I'72, I'73.
MASULIPATAM, Munro's Minute
on a caste riot at, I85–189.
MATHEMATICS, Munro's taste for,
II.
MATHEws, Brig.-General Richard,
draws off Tipti to Malabar, 28.
MAXWELL, Colonel, Munro served
under, in first war against Tipú,
2 I 7.
MEDows, General Sir William,
5o: Munro served under, 218.
MEHIDPUR, battle of, I69.
MINUTES, Munro's, as Governor of
Madras, subjects of 190: valued
by Elphinstone, I 92.
MíR SAHIB, Haidar Alí's general,
22, 24.
MOORE, General Sir John, a boy-
hood’s companion of Munro, I3.
MOOREHOUSE, Captain, his conduct
at Chilambaram, 23.
MUHAMMAD ALí, general of Haidar
Alí, besieged Vellore, 20, 2I.
MUNRO, Alexander, father of the
Governor, II : gets his son a
cadetship, I 3 : falls into poverty,
4I : becomes infirm, I44.
MUNRO, Alexander, brother of the
Governor, in India with him,
37, 41; 42.
MUNRO, Campbell, younger son of
the Governor, his birth, 208:
family, 213.
MUNRO, General Sir Hector,
quarrels with Rumbold, I8:
advances to meet Haidar Alí,
I8 : commands first line at
battle of Porto Novo, 26 :
Munro serves under, 2 15.
MUNRO, Jane, Lady, wife of the
Governor, marriage, I54: elder
son born, I 74: leaves Madras,
2O8: erects monument to Munro,
2 II: survives her husband many
years, 2 I 2.
MUNRO, Margaret, mother of the
Governor, II : her death, 143.
MUNRO, Philip Harvey, grandson
of the Governor, lost in H.M.S.
Victoria, 213.
MUNRO, Major-GeneralSirThomas,
his memory still cherished in
Madras, 7 : authorities on his
life, 8: family, II : education,
II, I2: receives a cadetship, I 3:
arrives in Madras, I 3: early
experiences, 14–16: periods of
his life, I7: his journal-letters,
I9 : his description of defence
of Vellore, 20, 21 : of repulse at
Chilambaram, 22—24: of battle of
Porto Novo, 25–28: present at
battle of Cuddalore, 28: interval
of peace, 29: translates Persian
story of Shylock, 29, 30: assist-
ant in the Intelligence Depart-
ment, 3o: his account of the
occupation of the Guntſir Circár,
30–33 : letter on the French
Revolution, 33–35: daily life in
India at this time, 35–40: assists
his father, 41, 42 : his opinion
on the first war against Tipti,
44–47: services in the war, 48.:
his criticisms on the conduct of
the war and the terms of peace,
48–60 : appointed Assistant-
Collector in the Bárámahal, 6 I:
still remembered there, 64:
introduces ráyatwārī system, 64,
65 : by sheer hard work, 66:
remarks on the position and pay
of Collectors, 67–69; on the land-
administration, 69–72 : on the
army, 72–74 : on troublesome
guests, 75, 76: his simplicity of
life, 77: love of history, 78 :
opposed to the training of the
troops of native princes, 78, 79 :
desired entire overthrow of Tipú,
8o: ease with which India could
be conquered, 80, 81: served in
second war against Tipti, 83 :
joint-secretary to the Commission
for settling his dominions, 83 :
opinion on the arrangements
made, 84 : makes friends with
Arthur Wellesley, 85 : would
have opposed restoration of
AVADAEX
229
Mysore to its Rájá, 86: ap-
pointed to the charge of Kánara,
87: disliked Kánara, ’88: pro-
moted Major, 89 : note on the
defence of Malabar, 89, 9o :
description of a tour in Kánara,
90—IIo: appointed Collector of
the Ceded Districts, II 2 : hard
work, II 3, II 4: opposed to
guards for civil officers, I I4–
118: village and five-years' settle-
ment, I 18, 119: dislike of official
diaries, II9, 120 : sent supplies
to Arthur Wellesley in campaign
against the Maráthás, I2 I :
criticizes the campaign of Assaye,
122, I23, 129–I33: letter on the
Vellore conspiracy, I36–138: de-
scription of the Vellore mutiny,
I38–14o: resigns his Collector-
ship, I41 : returns to England
(18o3), I43 : at siege of Flush-
ing, I 44; gives evidence before
the House of Commons, 146:
Minute on India, 146–149 : free-
trade views, I49–152 : returns
to Madras as President of the
Judicial Commission, I54: mar-
riage, I54 : opposition to his
schemes, I55: his remarks on
the judicial administration,
I56–I59 : his Regulations, I59,
I6o : desires to serve in the
Pindari war, 161 : appointed
Commissioner in the Southern
Maráthá country, 162 : views
on the subsidiary system, I63:
reduces the Chief of Sandtår,
I63, 164 : Brigadier-General,
I64: his campaign against the
Maráthás, 164, 165: lauded
by Malcolm, 165, I66, and
by Canning, I 74, I75 : takes
Badāmi, Belgáum, and Sholāpur,
I66, I67: resigns his command,
168 : complains of weariness,
partial blindness, and unfair
treatment, I69–171: the Mará-
thas “imperial thieves,’ 172 :
returns to England (1819), I 74:
suggested for an Indian Gover-
norship, 176: promoted Major-
General, made K.C.B. and Gover-
nor of Madras, I'77: reaches
|Madras (1820), 178: objects to
innovations, I 79: advocates the
larger employment of natives,
180–182, 190, 191 : opposed to
officials attempting to prosely-
tize, 183—185: Minute on a
caste-riot, 185–189: his Minutes,
I89, 190 : encouragement of
education, 192, IQ3: asks to be
relieved, 194, 208: advice asked
by Amherst on the Burmese
war, IQ5 : his assistance in the
Burmese war, IQ5, 196, 199:
letters on it to Mr. Sulivan,
I96–20I : to the Duke of
Wellington, 201–204 : created
a baronet, 204: did not wish
to be Governor-General, 205:
thanked by Amherst and the
Directors, 205, 206: his tours
as Governor, 207–2 Io: attacked
by cholera, 2 Io: death, 2II :
sorrow expressed at his death,
2 II, 212: memorials erected to,
2 I 2 : family, 2I 2, 213: summary
of services by himself, 215–
22 I.
MUNRO, Sir Thomas, elder son of
the Governor, his birth, I74 :
succeeded as second baronet,
2 I 2.
MUNROLAPPA, name given to boys
in Madras after the Governor, 7.
MUSGRAVE, Colonel, action in the
first war against Tipú, 47.
MUTINY AT VELLORE, the (1806),
I34: Bentinck's letter to Munro .
upon, I 35, I 36: Munro's reply,
I36–138: his description, I 38–
I4o: alludes to, 184.
MYSORE, Munro would have been
against restoring it to the Rájá,
84, 86. See Haidar Alí, Tipá
Sultán.
NAIRS, the, suppressed by Tipú,
43: their probable behaviour on
an invasion of Malabar, 90.
3:30
AAVZOAX.
NAPIER, John, friend of Munro,
37, 42.
NATIONAL SPIRIT, absence of, in
India, 8o, 81, 85.
NATIVES OF INDIA, larger employ-
ment of, in the public service
advocated by Munro, 180–182,
I90, 191 : by Elphinstone, 191,
IQ2.
Nºur, Munro visits, as Gover-
nor, 207.
NEWALL, Colonel J. F., Munro's
advice to, not to commence
innovations, I 79.
NíLGIRI HILLS, Munro visits and
describes, 209.
NIZAM; the, kept from joining
Baidar Alí in 1780, 18: forced
to surrender the Gunttär Circár,
31–33: joins the alliance against
Tipá in first war (1790), 43:
his troops placed under Arthur
Wellesley in second war (1799),
83 : cedes the Districts given
him from Tipú's dominions to
the Company, III, II 2: receives .
Berár from the Bhonsla, I 33.
NOMADIC hill cultivationin Kánara
described by Munro, 98.
NoBTHERN CIRCARs, occupation of,
completed by cession of Gunttir,
3o : Munro's tour in, when
Governor, 207, 208.
OAKELEY, Sir Charles, Governor of
Madras, ordered that no man
ignorant of native languages
should be made a Collector, 67.
Old Mortality, Scott's novel,
Munro's opinion of, 168.
OMALPUR, Munro still remembered
in, 64.
ORISSA ceded to the Company by
the Bhonsla, I33.
OWEN, Colonel, defeat of, near
Chittàr, 216.
‘PANCHAYATs, Munro wishes to
revive the, I53: legalized but
not successful, I60.
PARASU RAM BHAo, general com-
manding the Maráthás in the
first war against Tipá, 53.
PATTIKONDA, Munro dies at, 2 Io :
memorial to him at, 212.
PEGU, Munro advocates indepen-
dent state of, instead of annexa-
tion, 202-204.
PEPPER COUNTRY, Kánara the, 97:
pepper gardens described, Io9,
II.O.
PERAMBAKAM, defeat of Baillie at,
I9.
PERSIAN, Munro studies, 29 :
translates Persian story of
Shylock, 29, 30.
PESHWA, the, signs treaty of
Poona, 162 : Sandtir reduced
for, I63 : Munro defeats his
troops in the South Maráthá
country, I64–166: surrenders
after the fall of Sholāpur, 167.
PINDARIs, the, 161.
PLUTARCH, Lives, Munro reads,
I 2.
POLICE, Munro advocates that they
should be under the Collector
not the Judge, I53, 156: transfer
accomplished by his Regula-
tions, I 59: now a separate force,
I6o.
POLIGARS, the, in the Ceded
Districts, II 2 : their settlement,
II 3 : the Gurramkonda mot
likely to join Tipú's family, I 36,
I37.
POLLILUR, battle of, Munro present
at, 216.
POONA, treaty of, I62.
PORTO Novo, Coote encamps at,
24 : battle of, 25–28 : Munro
present at, 2 16.
PRITZLER, Major-General T.,
Munro joins after taking Bel-
gåum, I67.
PRIZE GUARD, the, body of Sepoys
commanded by Munro in the
first war against Tipá, 48, 218.
RANGOON, the army shut up in, in
first Burmese war, 197.
JAVADAEX
231
RAYAKOTA, Munro still remem-
bered in, 64. -
RAYAT’s FRIEND, Munro known as
the, 64.
RAYATWARí SETTLEMENT in the
Bárámahal described, 65 : steps
taken towards, in the Ceded
Districts, II8.
READ, Colonel, Munro assistant
to, in the Intelligence Depart-
ment, 30, 217 : Superintendent
of Revenue in the Bárámahal,
61: his resignation, 87: Munro's
letter to, on his work in the
Ceded Districts, II 3, II 4: Munro
secretary to, in 1791, 219.
REGULATIONS, Munro's new, I 59,
I6o, I80.
RELIGION, Munro's opposition to
officials pushing the Christian,
I83–185: or an interference
with the native, I85–189.
ROBINSON, Rev. W., speaks of the
recollection of Munro in Salem,
7.
ROB ROY compared to the Maráthá
freebooters, 172, 173.
ROSS, Mr., Munro stops with, on
his arrival at Madras, I6.
RUMBOLD, Sir Thomas, Governor
of Madras, quarrels with Sir
Hector Munro, 18.
SAINT HELENA, Munro visits,
174.
SALEM, Munro's memory cherished
in, 7, 64: the Bárámahal now
part of, 61.
Salem District Manual, quoted,
63.
SANDöR, the Chief of, submits to
Munro, 163, I64, 220. * *
SANKARIDRúG,Munro remembered
in, 64. -
SATYAMANGALAM, Munro's re-
marks on the battle of, 48, 49.
SCHELDT, expedition to the (1809),
Munro present in the, 144.
SCOTT, Sir Walter, novels of,
quoted and criticized by Munro,
I 68, 169, 172.
SEPOYs, Munro's confidence in,
44: doubtful fidelity of, 133,
I34: mutiny at Vellore, 134:
Munro's comments, I37–14o.
SERINGAPATAM, siege of (1792),
48, 53: Cornwallis did not want
to take, 57: capture of (1799),
83: Munro not present, 219.
SETTLEMENTS, rāyatwārí, described,
65 : annual, called by Munro
“barbarous, 7 I : village and
then five-years made in the
Ceded Districts, I 18.
SEWELL, R., published memoran-
dum of Munro on the poligars
in the Ceded Districts, II 3 m.
SHAHPURI, island taken by the
Burmese, 194. -
SHAKESPEARE, Munro's fondness
for, 12: contributes a Persian
story of Shylock to Malone's
edition, 29, 30 : quotes or
alludes to, 59, Io'7.
SHEE, Sir Martin Archer, paints
portrait of Munro, 212.
SHOLAPUR, taken by Munro, 167,
22 ſ.
SHOLINGHAR, battle of, Munro
present at, 216.
SHYLock, Persian version of, trans-
lated by Munro, 29, 30.
SIDouT, Munro's visit to, I2O.
SIEGES : Arcot, I8: Bangalore, 48:
Belgáum, I65, 166, 22 I : Flush-
ing, I44: Seringapatam (I 792)
48, (1799) 83 : Sholapur, 167:
Thiagur, 21, 22 : Vellore, 20,
2I.
SILK-TRADE OF INDIA, Munro's
views on, 146, I47.
SINDHIA, Daulat Ráo, defeated at
Assaye, 121 : peace with, I 33.
SMITH, Adam, Wealth of Nations,
Munro reads, I 2 : believes in,
I5O.
SoMERVILLE AND GORDON, Messrs.,
Munro clerk in the office of, 13,
I RO.
sºn, Munro learns, I 2.
SPENSER, Edmund, Munro fond of
his poems, I 2.
232
M/V/D EX
STARK, Dr., anatomist, Munro's
uncle, II.
STEVENSON, Colonel, detachment
of, by Arthur Wellesley before
Assaye criticized by Munro, I 22,
I23 : defended by Wellesley,
I 24, I25 : takes Asírgarh, I28,
I 29.
STRATTON, Mr., member of Munro's
Judicial Commission, I58.
STUART, Colonel James, prepares
to retreat from Pálghat, 49.
STUART, General James, commands
second line at battle of Porto
Novo, 26, 27: defeats Bussy at
Cuddalore, 28: Munro’s services
under, 2 I5.
SUBSIDIARY SYSTEM, Munro's argu-
ments against the, I63.
SUGAR-TRADE OF INDIA, Munro’s
views on, I47.
SULIVAN, Right Hon. Lawrence,
Munro's letters to, I55, 196–
2O I.
TANJORE, Munro stationed at, 29:
visits as Governor, 209.
TENASSERIM, Munro opposed to
annexation of, 202, 203.
THACKERAY, William, assistant to
Munro in the Ceded Districts,
I 13 : his conduct at Tornikul,
II.7.
THIAGUR, taken by Haidar Alí,
2 I.
TINNEVELLI visited by Munro as
Governor, 209.
TIPú SULTAN, accession of, 28:
peace made with, 29 : causes of
first war with, 43 : Munro's
opinion of his power, 45, 46; of
his military capacity, 46, 47:
defeated at Satyamangálam, 49:
lost his courage, 52 : Munro
criticizes the peace with, 53–57:
might have won but for Corn-
wallis, 6o : his intrigues, 82 :
defeated and killed, 83 : his
family cause mutiny at Vellore,
I35, I 36.
TIRUPATúR, táluk of the Bárá-
mahal, 62: described by Munro,
63, 64.
TIRUVADI, taken by Coote, 22.
ToPúR PASS, memory of Munro
preserved at, 64: he first met
Arthur Wellesley at, 85 m.
ToRNIKUL, disturbance at, com-
mented on by Munro, II6, II 7.
TRAVANCORE, Tipti invades, 43 :
Newall appointed Resident at,
I'7 O. -
Tºsoror, visited by Munro
as Governor, 209.
TRIPAsúR, Munro present at siege
of, 216. -
UTANKARAI, táluk of the Bárá-
mahal, 62.
VELLORE, Lang's defence of 20,
2 I : siege raised, 2I : Munro
stationed at, 29 : house at, 38:
life at, 39, 4o: fondness for, 4o:
army for second war against
Tipá assembled at, 83 : mutiny
at (1806), 134: Bentinck's letter
upon, 135, I 36: Munro's reply,
I36–138: his description of,
I38–140 : served at the relief
of, 216.
VERSAILLES, treaty of, 29.
Victoria, H.M.S., grandson of
Munro lost in, 2 I3.
Walpole, Munro works his passage
to India in the, 13.
WANDIWASH, fortifications de-
stroyed, 28: Munro served at
the relief of, 216.
WELLESLEY, Arthur, Duke of
Wellington, commanded Ni-
zám’s troops in second war with
Tipá, 83 : made friends with
Munro, 85, 86 : corresponded
with, on the extension of British
power in India, 89 : takes
Ahmadnagar and wins battle
of Assaye, I2 I : describes the
campaign to Munro, I23–129:
AV/D EX
233
WILKs, Colonel M., History of
Mysore, quoted, 43 m.
YENJEE NAIK, partisan freebooter
in Kánara, 99.
YoFK, Duke of, expedition to
IHolland, Io9.
YULE, Colonel Sir Henry, Hobson-
Jobson quoted, 60 m, I 7o n.
ZEMAN SHAH, Tipú invites, to in-
vade India, 82.
present at the banquet to Munro
on his being made Governor of
Madras, 177: Munro expresses
his wish to resign to, I 94 :
describes Burmese war to, 20I—
2O4.
WELLESLEY, Richard, Marquess,
Governor-General, his despatch
on the position of affairs in
India, 82, 83 : appoints Munro
to the charge of Kánara, 87.
THE END.
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SIR WILLIAMI HUNTER’S “DALHOUSIE.”
“An interesting and exceedingly readable volume. . . . . Sir William
Hunter has produced a valuable work about an important epoch in
English history in India, and he has given us a pleasing insight into
the character of a remarkable Englishman. The “Rulers of India.”
series, which he has initiated, thus makes a successful beginning in his
hands with one who ranks among the greatest of the great names which
will be associated with the subject.”—The Times.
“To no one is the credit for the improved condition of public intelli-
gence [regarding India] more due than to Sir William Hunter. From
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definite shape to the truths which its history establishes and the
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‘The book should command a wide circle of readers, not only for its
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everywhere conspicuous. . . . A writer whose thorough mastery of all
Indian subjects has been acquired by years of practical experience and
patient research.”—The Athenaeum.
“Never have we been so much impressed by the great literary abilities
of Sir William Hunter as we have been by the perusal of “The Marquess
of Dalhousie.”... The knowledge displayed by the writer of the motives
of Lord Dalhousie's action, of the inner working of his mind, is so com-
plete, that Lord Dalhousie himself, were he living, could not state them
more clearly. . . . Sir William Hunter's style is so clear, his language
so vivid, and yet so simple, conveying the impressions he wishes so per-
spicuously that they cannot but be understood, that the work must have
a place in every library, in every home, we might say indeed every
cottage.”—Evening News.
* Sir William Hunter has written an admirable little volume on
“The Marquess of Dalhousie ’’ for his series of the “Rulers of India.”
It can be read at a sitting, yet its references—expressed or implied—
suggest the study and observation of half a life-time."—The Daily News.
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SIR WILLIAMI HUNTER’S ‘LORD IMAYO.”
* Sir William W. Hunter has contributed a brief but admirable
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edited by himself (Oxford, at the Clarendon Press).”—The Times.
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Hunter has combined his well-known literary skill with an earnest
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tributed to the making of the Indian Empire of to-day.”—The Scotsman.
* Sir William Hunter has given us a monograph in which there is a
happy combination of the essay and the biography. We are presented
with the main features of Lord Mayo's administration unencumbered
with tedious details which would interest none but the most official of
Anglo-Indians; while in the biography the man is brought before us,
not analytically, but in a life-like portrait.”—Vanity Fair.
“The story of his life Sir W. W. Hunter tells in well-chosen language
—clear, succinct, and manly. Sir W. W. Hunter is in sympathy with
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theme, he brings the man and his work vividly before us.”—The
Glasgow Herald.
“All the knowledge acquired by personal association, familiarity with
administrative details of the Indian Government, and a strong grasp of
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Lord Mayo's personality and career. Sir W. Hunter, however, never
overloads his pages, and the outlines of the sketch are clear and firm.’
—The Manchester Ea:press. -
‘This is another of the “Rulers of India.” series, and it will be hard
to beat. . . . Sir William Hunter's perception and expression are here at
their very best.”—The Pall Mall Gazette.
“The latest addition to the “Rulers of India’’ series yields to mone of
its predecessors in attractiveness, vigour, and artistic portraiture. . . .
The final chapter must either be copied verbally and literally—which
the space at our disposal will not permit—or be left to the sorrowful
perusal of the reader. The man is not to be envied who can read it with
dry eyes.”—Allen's Indian Mail.
“The little volume which has just been brought out is a study of Lord
Mayo's career by one who knew all about it and was in full sympathy
with it. . . . Some of these chapters are full of spirit and fire. The
closing passages, the picture of the Viceroy's assassination, cannot fail
to make any reader hold his breath. We know what is going to
happen, but we are thrilled as if we did not know it, and were still
held in suspense. The event itself was so terribly tragic that any
ordinary description might seem feeble and laggard. But in this
volume we are made to feel as we must have felt if we had been on
the spot and seen the murderer “fastened like a tiger” on the back of
the Viceroy.’—Daily News, Leading Article.
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ON
MIR.W.S.SETON-KAIRR’S*CORNWALLIS.”
‘This new volume of the “Rulers of India. * series keeps up to the
high standard set by the author of “The Marquess of Dalhousie.” For
dealing with the salient passages in Lord Cornwallis's Indian career no
one could have been better qualified than the whilom foreign secretary
to Lord Lawrence.’—The Athenaeum.
‘Lord Cornwallis has been very properly included in the list of those
“Rulers of India” whose biographies are calculated to illustrate the
past growth and present development of the English administration in
that country. His name is connected with several great measures,
which more, perhaps, than any others have given a special colour to our
rule, have influenced the course of subsequent legislation, and have made
the Civil Service what it at present is. He completed the administrative
fabric of which Warren Hastings, in the midst of unexampled difficulties
and vicissitudes, had laid the foundation.”—The Saturday Review.
- ‘We hope that the volumes on the “Rulers of India’’ which are
being published by the Clarendon Press are carefully read by a large
section of the public. There is a dense wall of ignorance still standing
between the average Englishman and the greatest dependency of the
Crown; although we can scarcely hope to see it broken down altogether,
some of these admirable biographies cannot fail to lower it a little. . . .
Mr. Seton-Karr has succeeded in the task, and he has not only pre-
sented a large mass of information, but he has brought it together in an
attractive form. . . . We strongly recommend the book to all who wish
to enlarge the area of their knowledge with reference to India.”—New
York Herald.
‘The “Rulers of India " series. This outcome of the Clarendon
Press grows in value as it proceeds. The account of Cornwallis is from
the pen of Mr. W. Seton-Karr, who was formerly Foreign Secretary to
the Government of India, and whose acquaintance with Eastern affairs
has been of obvious service to him in the compilation of this useful
manual.”—The Globe.
‘One might almost say that the history of our great Indian Empire
might be read with comparative ease in the excellent “Rulers of India
Series,” published at the Clarendon Press at Oxford. . . . Of Cornwallis
it might be said he transformed the East India Company’s servants
from merchants to administrators, and determined to place them above
jobbery, which he despised.’—The Independent.
‘We have already expressed our sense of the value and timeliness of
the series of Indian historical retrospects now issuing, under the editor-
ship of Sir W. W. Hunter, from the Clarendon Press. It is somewhat
less than fair to say of Mr. Seton-Karr's monograph upon Cornwallis
that it reaches the high standard of literary workmanship which that
series has maintained.... His accurate and lucid summary of the necessi-
ties which dictated Cornwallis's policy, and the methods by which he
initiated and, to a great extent, effected, the transformation of our rule
in India from the lines of an Oriental despotism to those with which we
are now familiar, is as attractive as it is instructive.’—The Literary
World.
\
%Dpiniong of the 19tegg
ON
COLONIEI, IVIALLESON'S “IDUPLEIX.”
“In the character of Dupleix there was the element of greatness
that contact with India seems to have generated in so many European
minds, French as well as English, and a broad capacity for govern-
ment, which, if suffered to have full play, might have ended in giving
the whole of Southern India to France. Even as it was, Colonel
Malleson shows how narrowly the prize slipped from French grasp.
In 1783 the Treaty of Versailles arrived just in time to save the
British power from extinction.”—Times.
‘One of the best of Sir W. Hunter's interesting and valuable series.
Colonel Malleson writes out of the fulness of familiarity, moving with
ease over a field which he had long ago surveyed in every nook and
corner. To do a small book as well as this on Dupleix has been done,
will be recognised by competent judges as no small achievement.
When one considers the bulk of the material out of which the little
volume has been distilled, one can still better appreciate the labour
and dexterity involved in the performance.’—Academy.
‘A most compact and effective history of the French in India in a
little handbook of 180 pages.”—Nonconformist.
‘Well arranged, lucid and eminently readable, an excellent addition
to a most useful series.”—Record.
COLONEI, IVIALLESON'S “AIKIBAR.”
“Colonel Malleson's interesting monograph on Akbar in the “Rulers
of India’’ (Clarendon Press) should more than satisfy the general
reader. Colonel Malleson traces the origin and foundation of the
Mughal Empire; and, as an introduction to the history of Muhamma-
dan India, the book leaves nothing to be desired.”—St. James's Gazette.
‘This volume will, no doubt, be welcomed, even by experts in
Indian history, in the light of a new, clear, and terse rendering of an
old, but not worn-out theme. It is a worthy and valuable addition
to Sir W. Hunter's promising series.”—Athenaeum.
“Colonel Malleson has broken ground new to the general reader.
The story of Akbar is briefly but clearly told, with an account of what
he was and what he did, and how he found and how he left India. . . .
The native chronicles of the reign are many, and from them it is still
possible, as Colonel Malleson has shown, to construct a living portrait
of this great and mighty potentate.”—Scots Observer.
“The brilliant historian of the Indian Mutiny has been assigned in
this volume of the series an important epoch and a strong personality
for critical study, and he has admirably fulfilled his task. . . . Alike in
dress and style, this volume is a fit companion for its predecessor.”—
Manchester Gwardian.
4Dpinions of the 19tegg
CAPTAIN TROTTER'S WARREN HASTINGS,
“The publication, recently noticed in this place, of the “Letters,
Despatches, and other State Papers preserved in the Foreign Depart-
ment of the Government of India, 1772–1785,” has thrown entirely new
light from the most authentic sources on the whole history of Warren
Hastings and his government of India. Captain L. J. Trotter's
WARREN HASTINGS is accordingly neither inopportune nor devoid of an
adequate raison d'être. Captain Trotter is well known as a competent
and attractive writer on Indian history, and this is not the first time
that Warren Hastings has supplied him with a theme.”—The Times.
“He has put his best work into this memoir. . . . His work is of
distinct literary merit, and is worthy of a theme than which British
history presents none nobler. It is a distinct gain to the British race
to be enabled, as it now may, to count the great Governor-General
among those heroes for whom it need not blush.”—Scotsman.
‘Captain Trotter has done his work well, and his volume deserves
to stand with that on Dalhousie by Sir William Hunter. Higher
praise it would be hard to give it.”—New York Herald.
‘Captain Trotter has done full justice to the fascinating story of the
splendid achievements of a great Englishman.”—Manchester Guardian.
“A brief but admirable biography of the first Governor-General of
India.”—Newcastle Chronicle.
‘A book which all must peruse who desire to be “up to date” on
the subject.”—The Globe.
MR, KEENE'S ‘MADHAWA RA0 SINDHIA,”
‘Mr. Keene has the enormous advantage, not enjoyed by every
producer of a book, of knowing intimately the topic he has taken up.
He has compressed into these 203 pages an immense amount of informa-
tion, drawn from the best sources, and presented with much neatness and
effect.”—The Globe.
“Mr. Keene tells the story with knowledge and impartiality, and also
with sufficient graphic power to make it thoroughly readable. The
recognition of Sindhia in the “Rulers” series is just and graceful,
and it cannot fail to give satisfaction to the educated classes of our
Indian fellow-subjects.”—North British Daily Mail. -
‘The volume bears incontestable proofs of the expenditure of con-
siderable research by the author, and sustains the reputation he had
already acquired by his “Sketch of the History of Hindustan.”’—
Freeman's Journal.
* Among the eighteen rulers of India included in the scheme of Sir
William Hunter only five are natives of India, and of these the great
Madhoji Sindhia is, with the exception of Akbar, the most illustrious.
Mr. H. G. Keene, a well-known and skilful writer on Indian questions,
is fortunate in his subject, for the career of the greatest bearer of the
historic name of Sindhia covered the exciting period from the capture of
Delhi, the Imperial capital, by the Persian Nadir Shah, to the occupation.
of the same city by Lord Lake. . . . Mr. Keene gives a lucid description
of his subsequent policy, especially towards the English when he was.
brought face to face with Warren Hastings.'— The Daily Graphic.
Q.
%Dpiniong of the 19tegg
* - ON
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR, OWEN BUIRINE’S
* CIYDE AND STRATHNAIRN.”
‘In “Clyde and Strathnairn,” a contribution to Sir William Hunter’s
excellent “Rulers of India” series (Oxford, at the Clarendon Press),
Sir Owen Burne gives a lucid sketch of the military history of the
Indian Mutiny and its suppression by the two great soldiers who give
their names to his book. The space is limited for so large a theme, but
Sir Owen Burne skilfully adjusts his treatment to his limits, and rarely
violates the conditions of proportion imposed upon him.' . . . * Sir Owen
Burne does not confine himself exclusively to the military narrative.
He gives a brief sketch of the rise and progress of the Mutiny, and
devotes a chapter to the Reconstruction which followed its suppression.’
... “ — well written, well proportioned, and eminently worthy of the
series to which it belongs.”—The Times.
‘Sir Owen Burne who, by association, experience, and relations with
one of these generals, is well qualified for the task, writes with know-
ledge, perspicuity, and fairness.”—Saturday Review.
, “As a brief record of a momentous epoch in India this little book is
a remarkable piece of clear, concise, and interesting writing.’—The
Colonies and India.
‘Sir Owen Burne has written this book carefully, brightly, and
with excellent judgment, and we in India cannot read such a book
without feeling that he has powerfully aided the accomplished editor
of the series in a truly patriotic enterprise...—Bombay Gazette.
‘The volume on “Clyde and Strathnairm’” has just appeared and
proves to be a really valuable addition to the series. Considering its
size and the extent of ground it covers it is one of the best books about
the Indian Mutiny of which we know.’—Englishman.
‘Sir Owen Burne, who has written the latest volume for Sir William
Hunter’s “Rulers of India” series, is better qualified than any living
person to narrate, from a military standpoint, the story of the suppres-
sion of the Indian Mutiny.”—Daily Telegraph.
• ‘Sir Owen Burne's book on “Clyde and Strathnairn" is worthy to
rank with the best in the admirable series to which it belongs.’—
Manchester Ea:aminer.
“The book is admirably written ; and there is probably no better
sketch, equally brief, of the stirring events with which it deals.’
Scotsman.
‘Sir Owen Burne, from the part he played in the Indian Mutiny, and
from his long connexion with the Government of India, and from the
fact that he was military secretary of Lord Strathnairn both in India
and in Ireland, is well qualified for the task which he has undertaken.’—
The Athenæum.
ADpinions of the 19tegg
ON
WISCOUNT HARDINGE'S ‘LORD HARDINGE.”
“An exception to the rule that biographies ought not to be entrusted
to near relatives. Lord Hardinge, a scholar and an artist, has given
us an accurate record of his father's long and distinguished services.
There is no filial exaggeration. The author has dealt with some con-
troversial matters with skill, and has managed to combine truth with
tact and regard for the feelings of others."—The Saturday Review.
‘This interesting life reveals the first Lord Hardinge as a brave,
just, able man, the very soul of honour, admired and trusted equally
by friends and political opponents. The biographer . . . has produced a
most engaging volume, which is enriched by many private and official
documents that have not before seen the light.”—The Anti-Jacobin.
‘Lord Hardinge has accomplished a grateful, no doubt, but, from
the abundance of material and delicacy of certain matters, a very
difficult task in a workmanlike manner, marked by restraint and
lucidity.’—The Pall Mall Gazette. -
* His son and biographer has done his work with a true appreciation
of proportion, and has added substantially to our knowledge of the
Sutlej Campaign.”—Vanity Fair.
“The present Lord Hardinge is in some respects exceptionally well
qualified to tell the tale of the eventful four years of his father's
Governor-Generalship.’—The Times.
“It contains a full account of everything of importance in Lord
Hardinge’s military and political career; it is arranged . . . so as to
bring into special prominence his government of India ; and it gives a
lifelike and striking picture of the man.’—Academy.
‘The style is clear, the treatment dispassionate, and the total result
a manual which does credit to the interesting series in which it figures.’
—The Globe.
* The concise and vivid account which the son has given of his
father's career will interest many readers."—The Morning Post.
‘Eminently readable for everybody. The history is given succinctly,
and the unpublished letters quoted are of real value.’—The Colonies
and India.
* Compiled from public documents, family papers, and letters, this
brief biography gives the reader a clear idea of what Hardinge was,
both as a soldier and as an administrator.”—The Manchester Eacaminer.
“An admirable sketch.”—The New York Herald.
‘The Memoir is well and concisely written, and is accompanied by
an excellent likeness after the portrait by Sir Francis Grant.”—The
Queen.
Q 2.
3Dpiniong of the 19tegg
SIR HENRY CUNNINGHAM'S ‘EARL
CAINNING...”
‘Sir Henry Cunningham’s rare literary skill and his knowledge
of Indian life and affairs are not now displayed for the first time,
and he has enjoyed exceptional advantages in dealing with his
present subject. Lord Granville, Canning's contemporary at school
and colleague in public life and one of his oldest friends, furnished his
biographer with notes of his recollections of the early life of his friend.
Sir Henry Cunningham has also been allowed access to the Diary of
Canning's private secretary, to the Journal of his military secretary,
and to an interesting correspondence between the Governor-General
and his great lieutenant, Lord Lawrence.’—The Times. -
‘Sir H. S. Cunningham has succeeded in writing the history of a
critical period in so fair and dispassionate a manner as to make it
almost a matter of astonishment that the motives which he has so
clearly grasped should ever have been misinterpreted, and the results
which he indicates so grossly misjudged. Nor is the excellence of his
work less conspicuous from the literary than from the political and
historical point of view.”— Glasgow Herald. -
‘Sir H. S. Cunningham has treated his subject adequately. In vivid
language he paints his word-pictures, and with calm judicial analysis
he also proves himself an able critic of the actualities, causes, and results
of the outbreak, also a temperate, just appreciator of the character and
policy of Earl Canning.’—The Court Journal.
REV. W. H. HUTTON'S “IMARQUESS
WELLIESI, EY.” -
“Mr. Hutton has brought to his task an open mind, a trained
historical judgement, and a diligent study of a great body of original
material. Hence he is enabled to present a true, authentic, and
original portrait of one of the greatest of Anglo-Indian statesmen,
doing full justice to his military policy and achievements, and also to
his statesmanlike efforts for the organization and consolidation of that
Empire which he did so much to sustain.”—Times. --
“To the admirable candour and discrimination which characterize
Mr. Hutton's monograph as an historical study must be added the
literary qualities which distinguish it and make it one of the most
readable volumes of the series. The style is vigorous and picturesque,
and the arrangement of details artistic in its just regard for proportion
and perspective. In short, there is no point of view from which the work
deserves anything but praise.”—Glasgow Herald.
“The Rev. W. H. Hutton has done his work well, and achieves with
force and lucidity the task he sets himself: to show how, under
Wellesley, the Indian company developed and ultimately became the
'supreme power in India. To our thinking his estimate of this great
statesman is most just.”—Black and White. . .
‘Mr. Hutton has told the story of Lord Wellesley's life in an admir-
able manner, and has provided a most readable book.’—Manchester
JEa'a miner. - +
* Mr. Hutton's range of information is wide, his division of subjects
appropriate, and his diction scholarly and precise.”—Saturday Review.
%Dpiniong of the 19tc.33
ON
MR. DEMETRIUS BOULGER'S ‘LORD
WILLIAMI BIENTINCE.’
*The “Rulers of India” series has received a valuable addition in
the biography of the late Lord William Bentinck. The subject of this
interesting memoir was a soldier as well as a statesman. He was
mainly instrumental in bringing about the adoption of the overland
route and in convincing the people of India that a main factor in Eng-
lish policy was a disinterested desire for their welfare. Lord William's
despatches and minutes, several of which are textually reproduced in
Mr. Boulger's praiseworthy little book, display considerable literary
skill and are one and all State papers of signal worth.”—Daily Tele-
graph.
* Mr. Boulger is no novice in dealing with Oriental history and
Oriental affairs, and in the career of Lord William Bentinck he has
found a theme very much to his taste, which he treats with adequate
knowledge and literary skill.’—The Times.
* His frontier policy was conciliatory, but full of foresight. His minute
on the subject of Afghanistan and the advance of Russia in Asia may
be read with advantage to-day, nearly sixty years after it was written.
Similarly, his observations on the armies of India have lost by no means
all of their force, and Mr. Boulger has done a public service in printing
the document.”—Daily News.
‘How all this was effected has been clearly and forcibly set forth by
Mr. Boulger. Though concisely written, his memoir omits nothing
really essential to a thorough understanding and just appreciation of
Bentinck's work, and of the results which flowed from it, even after he
had ceased to be at the head of Indian affairs. Mr. Boulger's estimate
of the statesman is eminently fair and dispassionate, based on a
thorough knowledge of his administration in all its details. Altogether
the little work is a valuable addition to a most useful series.”—Glasgow
JHerald.
“Mr. Boulger writes clearly and well, and his volume finds an ac-
cepted place in the very useful and informing series which Sir William
Wilson Hunter is editing so ably.’—Independent.
‘Lord William Bentinck occupies a distinct place among Indian
Governors-General. His rule may be regarded as the commencement of
an epoch. Mr. Boulger has not to tell a stirring story of war and conquest,
but the record of Lord William Bentinck's domestic reforms, by which he
began the regeneration of India, is as deeply interesting and certainly
as well worth studying as any chapter of preceding Indian history.
Mr. Boulger has produced an excellent brief history of the period, and
a capital life of the Governor-General. The volume is one of the series
of “Rulers of India,” and none of them is better worthy of perusal.’—
The Scotsman.
‘Mr. Boulger, it should be added, has done his work with care and
judgement.”— The Globe.
Q 3
4Dpiniong of the 19tegg
ON
SIR. LEPEL GRIFFIN’S ‘IRANJIT SINGH.”
‘Sir Lepel Griffin treats his topic with thorough mastery, and his
account of the famous Mahárájá and his times is, consequently, one of
the most valuable as well as interesting volumes of the series of which
it forms a part.”—The Globe.
* We can thoroughly praise Sir Lepel Griffin's work as an accurate
and appreciative account of the beginnings and growth of the Sikh
religion and of the temporal power founded upon it by a strong and
remorseless chieftain.”—The Times.
‘One of the best books recently published on any Indian question.”—
The Manchester Guardian.
“The reading public has here the essence of all that is worth know-
ing about the period.”—The Glasgow Evening News. *
* From first to last it is a model of what such a work should be, an
a classic. The book is one of the most interesting historical sketches
ever given to the public, and illustrated throughout by a unique
acquaintance with the subject, and exquisite point.”—The St. Stephen's
Beview.
* Sir Lepel has done justice to one of the most interesting and pic-
turesque episodes of Indian history. In every respect, but perhaps
most of all from the point of view of the general reader who does not
wholly subordinate enjoyment to instruction, the volume is a most
acceptable addition to the series.”—The Glasgow Herald.
‘The monograph could not have been entrusted to more capable
hands than those of Sir Lepel Griffin, who spent his official life in the
Punjaub, and is an expert in all the knowledge appertaining to a
thorough acquaintance, practical and bookish, with that province. This
is an excellent sketch of Ranjit Singh, his people, and his short-lived
kingdom.”—The Scotsman.
“At once the shortest and best history of the rise and fall of the
Sikh monarchy.’—The North British Daily Mail.
“An excellent piece of work—candid, discriminating, and well-
balanced.”— The Yorkshire Post.
* Not only a biography of the Napoleon of the East, but a luminous
picture of his country; the chapter on Sikh Theocracy being a notable
example of compact thought. For grasp of subject, careful treatment,
and charm of narration, this volume is second to none in the series. It
may fairly be said to “speak volumes,” and possesses an exceptional
value as being by our chief authority on Punjab matters.”—The Liver-
pool Mercury.
“The career of no Indian ruler since the Moghul Aurungzebe and
the Mahratta Sivaji presents a finer subject for the historian; and it
would be difficult to find a writer better qualified than Sir Lepel Griffin
to deal with such a subject.”—The St. James's Gazette.
‘A truly masterly account of Ranjit Singh and the short-lived Sikh
fmonarchy of Lahore.’—The World.
* The sketch is in every respect a masterly one, and proves its author
to be capable of producing something on a larger scale that would be
unsurpassed among histories of our great dependency.’—The Literary
World.
3Dpiniong Of the 19tc33
ON
MR. J. S. COTTON's ‘MOUNTSTUART
< ELPHINSTONE.”
‘Sir William Hunter, the editor of the series to which this book
belongs, was happily inspired when he entrusted the Life of Elphin-
stone, one of the most scholarly of Indian rulers, to Mr. Cotton, who,
himself a scholar of merit and repute, is brought by the nature of his
daily avocations into close and constant relations with scholars. . . . We
live in an age in which none but specialists can afford to give more time
to the memoirs of even the most distinguished Anglo-Indians than will
be occupied by reading Mr. Cotton’s two hundred pages. He has per-
formed his task with great skill and good sense. This is just the kind
of Life of himself which the wise, kindly, high-souled man, who is the
subject of it, would read with pleasure in the Elysian Fields.”—Sir M.
E. Grant Duff, in The Academy.
“To so inspiring a theme few writers are better qualified to do ample
justice than the author of “The Decennial Statement of the Moral and
Material Progress and Condition of India.” Sir T. Colebrooke's larger
biography of Elphinstone appeals mainly to Indian specialists, but
Mr. Cotton’s slighter sketch is admirably adapted to satisfy the growing
demand for a knowledge of Indian history and of the personalities of
Anglo-Indian statesmen which Sir William Hunter has done so much
to create."—The Times.
‘This is the story of a brilliant life, brilliantly told. Mr. Cotton has
a crisp style, a wide knowledge of Indian history, and a strong sympathy
for his hero.”—The Pall Mall Gazette.
‘Mr. Cotton’s “Life of Mountstuart Elphinstone” is one of the most
readable of the valuable volumes that have appeared in the series of
“Rulers of India.” Mr. Cotton has avoided tediousness by the con-
densation of matter, and has secured the interest and close attention of
his reader by a bright and nimble style which carries him along with
quite exhilarating rapidity, yet without skipping the really salient
features of the period.’—The Scotsman.
* Mr. Cotton has evidently performed a congenial task in writing
this excellent little biography, for he has produced a volume so pleasant
to read that it can scarcely be the result of labour against the grain.
He has given us an account of the public career of a man who, though
he declined the post of Governor-General, well deserves to rank among
the ablest “Rulers of India,” and of those literary pursuits which occu-
pied Elphinstone’s spare time during his period of office, and bore good
and abiding fruit both in his despatches and his historical work.”—The
Journal of Education.
‘The author has evidently taken great pains to make the book what
a monograph of the kind ought to be; and those who are familiar with
Anglo-Indian history during the early part of the current century will
appreciate the praise we offer when we say that he has succeeded in
making it worthy of its subject.”—The World.
“A masterpiece of skilful and sympathetic workmanship. . . . Such
a life could scarcely be told without exciting interest: told as it is
by Mr. Cotton, it combines all the qualities of that oft-abused word—
fascination.’—The Queen. - -
%Dpiniong of the 19tc.33
ON
MR, MORSE STEPHENS (ALBUQUERQUE,'
“Mr. Stephens’ able and instructive monograph. ... We may commend
Mr. Morse Stephens’ volume, both as an adequate summary of an
important period in the history of the relations between Asia and
Europe, and as a suggestive treatment of the problem of why Portugal
failed and England succeeded in founding an Indian Empire.”—The
Times.
“Mr. H. Morse Stephens has made a very readable book out of the
foundation of the Portuguese power in India. According to the
practice of the series to which it belongs it is called a life of Affonso de
Albuquerque, but the Governor is only the central and most important
figure in a brief history of the Portuguese in the East down to the time
when the Dutch and English intruded on their preserves . . . A plea-
santly-written and trustworthy book on an interesting man and time.”
—The Saturday Review.
‘Mr. Morse Stephens' Albuquerque is a solid piece of work, well put
together, and full of interest.”—The Athenaeum.
“Mr. Morse Stephens’ studies in Indian and Portuguese history have
thoroughly well qualified him for approaching the subject . . . He has
presented the facts of Albuquerque's career, and sketched the events
marking the rule of his predecessor Almeida, and of his immediate
successors in the Governorship and Viceroyalty of India in a compact,
lucid, and deeply interesting form.’—The Scotsman.
SIR CHARLES AITCHISON'S LORD LAWRENCE,’
* No man knows the policy, principles, and character of John
Lawrence better than Sir Charles Aitchison. The salient features
and vital principles of his work as a ruler, first in the Punjab, and
afterwards as Viceroy, are set forth with remarkable clearness.’—
Scotsman.
‘A most admirable sketch of the great work done by Sir John
Lawrence, who not only ruled India, but saved it.”—Manchester
Eacaminer.
‘Sir Charles Aitchison's narrative is uniformly marked by directness,
order, clearness, and grasp ; it throws additional light into certain
nooks of Indian affairs; and it leaves upon the mind a very vivid
and complete impression of Lord Lawrence's vigorous, resourceful,
discerning, and valiant personality.’—Newcastle Daily Chronicle.
‘Sir Charles knows the Punjab thoroughly, and has made this little
book all the more interesting by his account of the Punjab under John
Lawrence and his subordinates.”—Yorkshire Post.
£Dpiniong Cf the 19tc33
LEWIN BENTHAM BowRING's
“HAIDAR ALí AND TIPU SULTAN.”
“Mr. Bowring's portraits are just, and his narrative of the continuous
Imilitary operations of the period full and accurate.’—Times.
‘The story has been often written, but never better or more con-
'cisely than here, where the father and son are depicted vividly and
truthfully “in their habit as they lived.” There is not a volume of
the whole series which is better done than this, or one which shows
greater insight.”—Daily Chronicle.
‘Mr. Bowring has been well chosen to write this memorable history,
because he has had the best means of collecting it, having himself
formerly been Chief Commissioner of Mysore. The account of the
Mysore war is well done, and Mr. Bowring draws a stirring picture of
our determined adversary.”—Army and Navy Gazette.
“An excellent example of compression and precision. Many volumes
might be written about the long war in Mysore, and we cannot but
admire the skill with which Mr. Bowring has condensed the history of
the struggle. His book is as terse and concise as a book can be.’—
North British Daily Mail.
‘Mr. Bowring's book is one of the freshest and best of a series most
valuable to all interested in the concerns of the British Empire in the
Last.”—English Mail.
‘The story of the final capture of Seringapatam is told with skill
and graphic power by Mr. Bowring, who throughout the whole work
shows himself a most accurate and interesting historian.”—Perthshire
Advertiser.
COLONEL MALLESON'S ‘LORD CLIVE.”
‘This book gives a spirited and accurate sketch of a very extra-
ordinary personality.”—Speaker.
* Colonel Malleson writes a most interesting account of Clive's great
work in India—so interesting that, having begun to read it, one is
unwilling to lay it aside until the last page has been reached. . The
character of Clive as a leader of men, and especially as a cool, intrepid,
and resourceful general, is ably described ; and at the same time the
author never fails to indicate the far-reaching political schemes which
inspired the valour of Clive and laid the foundation of our Indian
Empire.’—North British Daily Mail.
‘This monograph is admirably written by one thoroughly acquainted
and in love with his subject.”—Glasgow Herald.
“No one is better suited than Colonel Malleson to write on Clive,
and he has performed his task with distinct success. The whole narra-
tive is, like everything Colonel Malleson writes, clear and full of
vigour.”—Yorkshire Post. p.
“Colonel Malleson is reliable and fair, and the especial merit of his
book is that it always presents a clear view of the whole of the vast
theatre in which Clive gradually produces such an extraordinary change
of scene.’—Newcastle Daily Chronicle. * * * * *
3Dpiniong of the 19tc33
ON
CAPT. TROTTER’S • EARL OF AUCIKLAND.”
“A vivid account of the causes, conduct, and consequences of “the
costly, fruitless, and unrighteous” Afghan War of 1838.”—St. James's
Gazette.
“To write such a monograph was a thankless task, but it has been
accomplished with entire success by Captain L. J. Trotter. He has
dealt calmly and clearly with Lord Auckland's policy, domestic and
military, with its financial results, and with the general tendency of
Lord Auckland's rule.’—Yorkshire Post.
“To this distressing story (of the First Afghan War) Captain Trotter
devotes the major portion of his pages. He tells it well and forcibly ;
but is drawn, perhaps unavoidably, into the discussion of many topics
of controversy which, to some readers, may seem to be hardly as yet
finally decided. . . . It is only fair to add that two chapters are devoted
to “Lord Auckland's Domestic Policy,” and to his relations with
“The Native States of India’’.”—The Times.
‘Captain Trotter's Earl of Auckland is a most interesting book, and
its excellence as a condensed, yet luminous, history of the first Afghan
War deserves warm recognition.”—Scotsman.
‘It points a moral which our Indian Rulers cannot afford to forget
so long as they still have Russia and Afghanistan to count with.”—
Glasgow Herald.
Supplementary Volume: price 38. 6d.
‘JAMES THOMASON,” BY SIR. RICHARD
TEIVIPLE.
‘Sir R. Temple's book possesses a high value as a dutiful and
interesting memorial of a man of lofty ideals, whose exploits were
none the less memorable because achieved exclusively in the field
of peaceful administration.’—Times.
‘It is the peculiar distinction of this work that it interests a reader
less in the official than in the man himself.”—Scotsman.
‘This is a most interesting book: to those who know India, and
knew the man, it is of unparalleled interest, but no one who has
the Imperial instinct which has taught the English to rule subject
races “for their own welfare” can fail to be struck by the simple
greatness of this character.”—Pall Mall Gazette.
‘Mr. Thomason was a great Indian statesman. He systematized
the revenue system of the North-West Provinces, and improved every
branch of the administration. He was remarkable, like many great
Indians, for the earnestness of his religious faith, and Sir Richard
Temple brings this out in an admirable manner.”—British Weekly.
“The book is “a portrait drawn by the hand of affection,” of one
whose life was “a pattern of how a Christian man ought to live.”
Special prominence is given to the religious aspects of Mr. Thomason's
character, and the result is a very readable biographical sketch.'-
Christian. -
3Dpiniong of the 19tegg
ON
IVIAJOR ROSS OF BI, ADENSIBUTRGPS
“IMARQUESS OF HASTINGS.”
‘Major Ross of Bladensburg treats his subject skilfully and attrac-
tively, and his biography of Lord Hastings worthily sustains the high
reputation of the Series in which it appears."—The Times.
‘This monograph is entitled to rank with the best of the Series, the
compiler having dealt capably and even brilliantly with his materials.’
—English Mail.
“Instinct with interest.”—Glasgow Evening News.
‘As readable as it is instructive.’—Globe.
* A truly admirable monograph.”—Glasgow Herald.
* Major Ross has done his work admirably, and bids fair to be one of
the best writers the Army of our day has given to the country. . . . A
most acceptable and entrancing little volume.”—Daily Chronicle.
“It is a volume that merits the highest praise. Major Ross of
Bladensburg has represented Lord Hastings and his work in India.
in the right light, faithfully described the country as it was, and in
a masterly manner makes one realize how important was the period
covered by this volume.”—Manchester Courier.
‘This excellent monograph ought not to be overlooked by any one
who would fully learn the history of British rule in India.”—Manchester
Eaca miner.
MR. S. LANE-POOLE's ‘AURANGZíB.'
‘There is no period in Eastern history so full of sensation as the
reign of Aurangzíb. . . . Mr. Lane-Poole tells this story admirably;
indeed, it were difficult to imagine it better told.”—National Observer.
‘Mr. Lane-Poole writes learnedly, lucidly, and vigorously. . . . He
draws an extremely vivid picture of Aurangzíb, his strange ascetic
character, his intrepid courage, his remorseless overthrow of his
kinsmen, his brilliant court, and his disastrous policy; and he describes
the gradual decline of the Mogul power from Akbar to Aurangzíb
with genuine historical insight.”—Times.
“A well-knit and capable sketch of one of the most remarkable,
perhaps the most interesting, of the Mogul Emperors.”—Saturday Review,
‘As a study of the man himself, Mr. Lane-Poole's work is marked
by a vigour and originality of thought which give it a very exceptional
value among works on the subject.”—Glasgow Herald.
‘The most popular and most picturesque account that has yet
appeared . . . a picture of much clearness and force.’—Globe.
“A notable sketch, at once scholarly and interesting.’—English Mail.
“No one is better qualified than Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole to take up
the history and to depict the character of the last of the great Mogul
monarchs. . . . Aurangzíb's career is ever a fascinating study.’—
Eſome News.
‘The author gives a description of the famous city of Sháh Jahán,
its palaces, and the ceremonies and pageants of which they were the
scene. ... Mr. Lane-Poole's well-written monograph presents all the most
distinctive features of Aurangzíb's character and career.’—Morning Post.
Uniform with the ‘Ritlers of India’ Series, 38. 6d.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE INDIA
PEOPLES. * .
STANDARD EDITION (TWENTIETH), REVISED To 1892.
SEVENTY-EIGHTH THousAND.
This Edition incorporates the suggestions received by the author
from Directors of Public Instruction and other educational authorities.
in India; its statistics are brought down to the Census of 1891 ; and
its narrative, to 1892. The work has received the emphatic approval
of the organ of the English School Boards, and has been translated
into five languages. It is largely employed for educational purposes in
Europe and America and as a text-book prescribed by the University
of Calcutta for its Entrance Examination from 1886 to 1891.
* “A Brief History of the Indian Peoples,” by W. W. Hunter, pre-
sents a sort of bird’s-eye view both of India and of its people from the
earliest dawn of historical records . . . . A work of authority and of
original value."—The Daily News (London).
* Dr. Hunter may be said to have presented a compact epitome of the
results of his researches into the early history of India ; a subject upon
which his knowledge is at once exceptionally wide and exceedingly
thorough.”—The Scotsman. -
“Within the compass of some 250 pages we know of no history of the
people of India, so concise, so interesting, and so useful for educational
purposes as this."—The School Board Chronicle (London).
‘For its size and subject there is not a better written or more trust-
worthy history in existence."—The Journal of Education. +
“So thoroughly revised as to entitle it to separate notice.”—The Times.
“Dr. Hunter's history, if brief, is comprehensive. It is a storehouse
of facts marshalled in a masterly style; and presented, as history
should be, without the slightest suspicion of prejudice or suggestion of
partisanship. Dr. Hunter observes a style of severe simplicity, which
is the secret of an impressive presentation of details.’—The Daily
Review (Edinburgh). -
‘By far the best manual of Indian History that has hitherto been
published, and quite equal to any of the Historical Series for Schools
edited by Dr. Freeman. We trust that it will soon be read in all the
schools in this Presidency.’—The Times of India. . ... -
Extract from a criticism by Edward Giles, Esq., Inspector of Schools,
Northern Division, Bombay Presidency:—‘What we require is a
book which shall be accurate as to facts, but not overloaded with
them ; written in a style which shall interest, attract, and guide un-
cultivated readers; and short, because it must be sold at a reasonable
price. These conditions have never, in my opinion, been realized
previous to the introduction of this book.’
‘The publication of the Hon. W. W. Hunter’s “School History of
India. * is an event in literary history.”—Reis & Rayyet (Calcutta).
- “He has succeeded in writing a history of India, not only in such a
way that it will be read, but also in a way which we hope will lead
young Englishmen and young natives of India to think more kindly
of each other. The Calcutta University has done wisely in prescribing
this brief history as a text-book for the Entrance Examination.’—The
Hindoo Patriot (Calcutta). .
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